Chapter 3: Can androids suffocate?

“On-site reporter reporting: The deviant android has been shot dead. The source of the anomaly is still under investigation. Remember, androids are ultimately just machines. Do not be influenced by their simulated external expressions, and do not feel unnecessary sympathy for deviant androids. At the same time, we urge citizens to bring their personal androids for regular testing to avoid unknown programming vulnerabilities caused by the passage of time. If you discover an android that claims to be human, or one that displays fear of death, fear of injury, or a pursuit of freedom without a preset environment, please contact the Abnormal Android Disposal Bureau immediately. The Abnormal Android Disposal Bureau will handle the matter appropriately for you.”

‘I’m scared to tears. What do they mean, an android claiming to be human is deviant and needs to be “handled”… Is that right?’

‘What’s someone like me, who transmigrated, supposed to do?’

Su An was completely numb.

“Hmm? What was An’an trying to say just now?”

Gu Yu snapped back to reality, looking confused.

“I… An’an likes Master the most, meow…”

In the end, Su An didn’t dare say it.

Say what?

That she was a human?

The news just said it—if she rushed into that, wouldn’t she be asking Gu Yu to call the police?

At the very least…

At the very least, Su An needed to construct what she wanted to say first, something that could completely prove she was a human and not an android.

With Su An relinquishing control, the Local Model came up with a universal answer.

‘This is so humiliating! This isn’t me, this isn’t me!’

Su An felt like she could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her toes.

‘What the hell is with the “meow” at the end? Is that supposed to be cute?’

“An’an is such a good girl, so cute!”

Gu Yu hugged An’an, burying her face in the girl’s fragrant, flowing hair.

Unlike humans whose scent came from being soaked in shampoo, An’an came with her own built-in hair fragrance.

“Mmph!”

Su An felt like she was suffocating, suffering a direct “smothering” attack.

It wasn’t obvious on the surface, but once Gu Yu actually buried her face in, her chest was of an average scale.

‘Wait, no! I’m a married man! Don’t be reckless!’

Su An struggled with all her might.

However, with that meager strength combined with the programming restrictions, it looked more like she was acting spoiled.

‘Also! I’m going to suffocate!’

The sensation of suffocation flooded her senses.

Su An didn’t understand why they would give an android the ability to feel like they were suffocating, but that didn’t stop her from struggling.

‘Mmph, I’m dying!’

‘I’m going to die…’

Su An felt her speed of thought begin to slow down.

Finally, after Gu Yu was satisfied, she released her grip.

“Hmm?”

Gu Yu was startled.

she looked An’an up and down; the girl’s face was flushed pink, her eyes were glazed, and her lips were parted as she panted heavily.

She hurriedly logged into her Optical Computer to check An’an’s manual, which contained professional explanations.

“Oh! I see. An’an can feel suffocation just like a human if she can’t breathe.”

But there was no need to worry.

This was merely a simulation of human physiology; the android itself would not die or suffer damage from suffocation.

With a little thought, Gu Yu understood the purpose of these small features and couldn’t help but chuckle.

She wasn’t so depraved as to have any peculiar little hobbies—her ex-girlfriend could testify to that.

However, this little cutie, suffocated to the point of being dazed, was indeed far too adorable.

It was said that human genes had a set of safety mechanisms.

When a human became overexcited by something too cute and forgot to be on guard, it would hit rock bottom and rebound, filling the human with violent impulses.

For example, the urge to inflict pain or the desire to destroy.

Gu Yu subconsciously swallowed.

Looking at the pitiful An’an, who had a ticklish bit of resentment on her face as if saying “Master is so mean,” she also saw a few hints of inexplicable fear.

The fear was quite realistic, Gu Yu thought.

It made her unable to stop the rising desire to protect her, and…

The desire to pinch that fragile neck, to see if she would beg for mercy out of fear while suffocating, to see if those vivid eyes would sink into that soulless despair again, left with no choice but to helplessly hope she would let go.

“Whew.”

Gu Yu slowly exhaled, blowing away those evil thoughts.

She could only lament in her heart:

You get what you pay for.

Even I almost fell for the designer’s bait.

Companion Androids were designed with the philosophy of allowing users to vent their darker desires, but Gu Yu didn’t plan on using them right now.

She hadn’t established any special settings.

According to the manual, making An’an suffocate right now would lower her Affection Level.

Of course, if she gave An’an a setting where suffocation brought pleasure, happiness, and satisfaction, then perhaps it would increase the Affection Level?

Gu Yu fantasized idly.

But it wasn’t necessary; the Affection Level could be adjusted at will.

Some special users might like to increase it bit by bit, enjoying the thrill of the “conquest,” but Gu Yu didn’t have that kind of interest.

Her Affection Level was set to the maximum.

‘Almost… I almost died again.’

Su An snapped out of it, still a bit shaken, her heart pounding.

The corners of her eyes were still moist, stained with physiological tears.

For a moment, Su An recalled a heavy truck with its high beams flashing—how similar it was to her state just now.

Both were incredibly close to death, making the soul tremble.

Some say that only by coming infinitely close to death can one understand the true meaning of life.

However, Su An, having experienced one death and one near-death (or so she thought), hadn’t understood any “true meaning.”

Her heart was trembling, filled with fear of death and a longing for life.

It didn’t matter!

Human or android, it didn’t matter!

At this moment, Su An had only one thought in her mind: live!

She had to live!

She leaned gently against Gu Yu’s chest, feeling that secure, gentle, and warm embrace.

Closing her eyes, she drifted into a light sleep.

Do androids dream?

Su An didn’t know, but she dreamed.

She dreamed that she hadn’t been killed by the truck.

She dreamed that she and her wife had raised their daughter together.

She dreamed she was sitting at a stone table by a persimmon tree, watching her daughter run happily in the yard.

Reality.

“Asleep?”

Gu Yu lightly poked An’an’s soft cheek.

It was very tender; “skin so soft it could burst” no longer seemed like just an exaggeration.

Looking at that pleasing sleeping face, Gu Yu’s mood couldn’t help but brighten a little.

“Aspected, the advantages of a doll are something a real person can never compete with. I only just realized it recently.”

Seeming to remember something unpleasant, Gu Yu shook her head and pushed the thought aside.

The silver-white luxury car drove without a single bump, calmly heading toward Jewel Street in the Northern Suburbs of Tianhai City.

***

In her daze, Su An felt herself being carried, accompanied by the mechanical sound of a car door opening and closing.

She slowly opened her misty, gradient blue eyes.

“Master?”

An’an murmured subconsciously, rubbing her eyes like a human.

Su An’s soul stiffened slightly.

After a nap, that extreme survival instinct had faded, allowing her to think properly, and now she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed again.

Even more embarrassing was that she was being carried like a little woman in a princess carry.

‘Ugh!’

Su An’s soul covered her face, feeling like she was about to die of shame.

The “manly” values she had built over twenty years were crumbling step by step.

‘Whew, that’s not me, that’s not me. It’s the program, it’s the program.’

Su An comforted herself this way.

“Sleep a while longer.”

Gu Yu carried Su An back to her bed and tucked her in.

Then, she habitually left a kiss on Su An’s forehead.

“I have work to do first. If you want to sleep, keep sleeping for a bit. If not, feel free to wander around the villa.”

“Oh, right. Without my command, you are not allowed to leave the villa alone. Do you understand?”

“Okay, Master.”

Because of that kiss, An’an looked bashful.

At the same time, the Local Model added the iron rule “Not allowed to leave the villa alone without Master’s command” to its presets.

After Gu Yu left, Su An finally gained a brief moment of freedom to think and act.

The room was covered with a soft carpet.

Her small feet, clad in white silk stockings, stepped lightly onto it.