Chapter 27: The Initial Source of Infection

“According to your needs, we have already handled the pre-settings in the store. Would you like us to carry it inside?”

Two androids dressed in courier uniforms stepped down from the delivery truck.

One of them, holding a digital tablet, spoke to Jing Jing, who was hovering in the air.

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary,” Jing Jing replied.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuanyuan, the round-headed, egg-shaped robot, extended its eight large claws and hoisted the massive, heavy-looking Luxury Game Cabin.

Su An watched from inside the villa with her mouth agape.

Yuanyuan was clearly smaller than her, yet it possessed the strength to move mountains.

There was another game cabin as well.

After a moment of thought, Jing Jing agreed to let the remaining two androids carry it to the villa door.

Of course, letting them inside was out of the question.

“Understood.”

The two androids did not complain.

They lifted each side, though they looked quite strained under the weight.

“Hiss, why don’t I have that kind of strength?”

Su An leaned against the door, her voice filled with envy.

“Very good. Right here is fine.”

“Understood.”

With that, the two courier androids set it down.

They lowered it gently, but it still hit the ground with a heavy thud, making its weight obvious.

Su An was not allowed to leave the villa and could not even enter the courtyard, so she had only been able to watch from a distance before.

Now, she could finally take a close look at her Luxury Game Cabin.

“Two… oh right, I almost forgot about that certain brat.”

The two courier androids, who were dusting off their hands and preparing to leave, had their attention drawn by Su An.

They turned to look at the little canary kept in the villa.

“Eh?”

Su An noticed their gaze and blinked.

She then reached out her small hand and waved.

The two hesitated for a moment, but because of their polite underlying code, they waved back.

The door closed once Yuanyuan finished moving the other game cabin inside.

Only then did the two courier androids walk back toward their delivery truck.

Opening the door, sitting down, closing the door, and starting the truck—the sequence was completed in one smooth motion without a single trace of hesitation.

The android in the passenger seat had unfocused eyes, as if lost in thought.

The delivery truck started.

Vroom!

Vroom!

[Welcome to the Virtual Universe]

A certain Baozi-like voice chirped.

It was said that the old folks missed the old days of clumsy artificial intelligence and liked to use this voice as the default.

[Entering local server]

Su An slowly opened her eyes.

Endless white light flooded her retinas.

This was a space of pure white.

Black lines divided the floor into equal squares, providing a sense of distance and scale, yet the horizon remained out of reach.

“Hello, I am your game assistant. What would you like to call me?”

A beautiful humanoid figure appeared beside her, speaking in a soft voice.

A light blue chat box appeared next to her.

Su An looked at her and realized she was just a beautified version of the Baozi mascot.

“Baozi.”

“Understood. And what would you like others to call you?”

“Great Ancestor Hongjun.”

“Understood, Great Ancestor Hongjun. What would you like me to call you?”

“Uh, there’s another one? Then call me Master.”

“Mas-what?”

“Master… wait! You set me up!”

Su An’s eyes widened.

Was this right?

Baozi gave a soft laugh and then apologized.

“I am very sorry. Humor is one of the pre-activation modes. If it caused you any distress, you may choose to disable it.”

“Forget it, forget it. I want to play the game!”

Su An decided to be the bigger person and let it go.

“Understood.”

Baozi waved her hand, revealing a rich game menu, and added, “If you do not like me, you can manually disable the assistant.”

“Narrow Gate! I want to play Narrow Gate!”

Su An said impatiently.

“Understood. Game, ‘Narrow Gate’, successfully retrieved.”

“Which server would you like to enter? Private servers may have special restrictions.”

“Server No. 2030!”

“I am sorry, Server No. 2030 operates on a member-invitation system. You need an invitation from a member of Server No. 2030 to enter.”

“Huh?”

Su An was dumbfounded.

Her eyes darted around as she came up with an idea.

“I’m an android. Let me in!”

“I am very sorry, but you have not received any invitations.”

“I’m an android, you know, the special kind. You get what I’m saying, right?”

Su An started winking and making faces.

Baozi shook her head.

“I am sorry, Master. Without an invitation, you cannot enter a private server. You may wait for a friend to log in and invite you, or you may enter another server.”

Su An furrowed her brows.

The fact that she had found her way here meant there had to be something related to deviant androids.

She felt like she was doing a quest and was suddenly missing a vital item.

It was frustrating.

‘I must have missed something.’

Su An wracked her brain, trying to figure out which part of the puzzle was missing.

“Master, you can try sending an entry application. If the server administrator notices you, you might be invited to join.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

“You said you wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

Inside the warehouse, Zhang Jiwei of the Logistics Department glared at the other man.

“You don’t need to worry about him. He’s just taking a nap and losing a segment of his memory, that’s all.”

The other man, a tall figure, spoke as he pulled a syringe out of a port and tucked it into his pocket.

Zhang Jiwei took a deep breath.

“Then what do we do now? That deviant android has already been caught.”

The man stood in the shadows and shook his head dismissively.

“It doesn’t matter. He was just a fool we could discard at any time. Now, we simply need to wait for that lovely Companion Android lady to enter the server. There, she will receive the Lord’s baptism.”

“What exactly is on that girl that makes the Holy Church willing to risk exposing you and me? Once Gu Yu finds out…”

Zhang Jiwei didn’t continue, but both men knew full well that the power Gu Yu and her family could mobilize was terrifying.

“I don’t know,” the man admitted frankly.

“Huh?”

“You’ll understand once you see the recording.”

The man sent a video file to Zhang Jiwei.

The footage was simple.

It showed Gu Yu holding the girl as they prepared to enter an elevator, while an android janitor happened to pass by.

The little girl was caught peeking, so she waved her hand in farewell.

“It’s a normal scene. Is there a problem?”

Zhang Jiwei asked.

He had his own thoughts on the matter, but asking directly was the fastest way to get an answer.

“I excluded all other impossible answers and finally narrowed it down to her.”

The tall man instinctively reached for a cigarette before pausing.

Realizing it might leave a scent, he put it back.

He said, “Don’t you find it miraculous? She just gave a gentle wave, and that android, who was as normal as could be, just… defected.”

“That… how is that possible?”

Zhang Jiwei’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Nothing is impossible.”

The man helped the unconscious Jiang Yiyun into a chair and turned around.

“Have you forgotten the Bionic Human Virus War from ten years ago? The Original Source of Infection simply raised a hand on the street, and every android present instantly awakened and rebelled.”

“That’s different.”

Zhang Jiwei shook his head.

“Back then, people’s awareness of android security wasn’t as strong as it is today. Modern androids have been improved through many generations. It’s impossible for them to be infected without contact.”

“Yes, I thought so too,”

the man sighed, then added solemnly,

“That is why I am very curious to find out what exactly is inside her.”