Chapter 18: Top 100 Nationwide

“Go to Xingyu Fantasy,” Gu Yu said.

“Understood.”

The driver started the car and slowly drove away.

Su An didn’t dare say or ask anything.

Wasn’t Xingyu Fantasy the company that sold her?

Xingyu Fantasy was quite a bit smaller than Gu Yu’s company.

“Hello, President Gu. Please follow me.”

Holding Gu Yu’s hand, Su An had only one thought in her mind: the path ahead was completely unobstructed.

Without any tedious procedures, the two of them stepped into a high-tech transparent elevator and headed toward the sixty-sixth floor.

Su An subconsciously swallowed.

Fortunately, the few people present were all taller than her and didn’t notice her nervousness.

‘What should I do? What should I do?’

‘Why did she come here?’

‘Did she discover something abnormal?’

‘Will I die?’

At the thought of death—the possibility of being disassembled and recycled—Su An couldn’t stop herself from trembling.

But she had to!

An inspection didn’t guarantee death, but showing fear certainly would!

Detach!

She had to detach her consciousness from her emotions!

Hide!

She was different from a real Deviant Android; she was a human!

A human with a soul could surely hide!

Hypnosis!

Relax, relax… let the Local Model take over!

It would definitely pass the inspection!

Su An tried to hypnotize herself using several techniques she had learned in her previous life.

It worked.

As Su An’s thoughts smoothed out and fell silent, the Local Model took over.

An’an acted like a cute little animal, nuzzling against Gu Yu’s arm.

The clouds in Gu Yu’s heart were melted by the adorable little thing, and she let out a light laugh, rubbing An’an’s hair.

“Sister Gu Yu, I don’t want to do the inspection,” An’an said with a look of resistance.

Su An: ‘What the hell?!’

Su An: ‘Don’t screw me over! Stop capturing my thoughts!’

“Why?”

Gu Yu frowned, a hint of suspicion entering her gaze.

“The inspection means I have to take off my clothes, right? An’an doesn’t want other people to see An’an’s body. Only Sister Gu Yu can look at An’an’s body.”

An’an’s pure, gradient blue eyes held nothing but dependence and longing for Gu Yu.

This caused Gu Yu’s expression to soften, and she discarded her suspicious thoughts.

The remaining two people in the elevator kept their eyes forward and their minds focused, pretending they hadn’t heard a thing.

Ding!

The elevator doors slowly slid open.

A vast, blue-silver space was revealed as the doors parted.

An’an hid behind Gu Yu, carefully poking her head out to look.

“Hello, President Gu. You can call me Xuan Nü.”

A woman dressed in a traditional flowing immortal dress stepped forward and reached out her hand.

Several maidservants in similar ancient attire followed behind her.

They seemed somewhat out of place in this high-tech reception room.

At first glance, Xuan Nü wasn’t stunning—she even looked a bit ordinary.

But after looking for a while, one would realize she became more beautiful the longer they stared.

As for the four maidservants behind her, although their clothes were simple, their looks were anything but.

Each one was more striking than the last, leaving even Su An stunned.

‘So beautiful.’

However, the Blue Rings on their temples revealed their identities.

They were Androids, just like Su An.

“An’an. That is a very lovely name,” Xuan Nü said gently, her gaze shifting to An’an.

An’an subconsciously shrank back behind Gu Yu.

Her underlying code didn’t recognize Xuan Nü as her creator; it only recognized Gu Yu as her Master.

Because of the [Sunshine] setting, An’an eventually found the courage to peek out again and spoke politely.

“Hello, Ms. Xuan Nü. Your name is very lovely as well.”

***

On the other side of the city.

The unmanned taxi wasn’t moving very fast, but that was only relative to other vehicles.

It was pure wishful thinking for Carnation to try and catch up with her two legs.

A black-and-white Shuttle slowed down to pull parallel with Carnation.

The window rolled down, revealing Hannah wearing sunglasses.

“Hey! Ms., do you need a lift?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Carnation flipped accurately through the open rear window.

“Oh, damn it. I knew it. You ran that fast just so I’d hurry up and bring the car around.”

Hannah rolled her eyes.

“We must be fast. Ms. Gu Yu is at Xingyu Fantasy right now. The distance isn’t great, and if we delay even slightly, it might be too late,” Carnation said calmly.

“Ho-ho. Too late? How is that possible?”

Hannah laughed, took a heavy drag from her cigarette, and then crushed it out.

“You think a taxi crawling on the ground can be faster than my Shuttle flying in the sky? Hold on tight. Get ready… takeoff!”

Whoosh!

The Flying Shuttle switched from ground-hugging mode to flight mode and soared into the sky.

“Wuhu!”

“Ms. Hannah, you seem to be speeding.”

“Huh? Didn’t you say we were in a hurry?”

“Ms. Hannah, for your safety, I suggest you reduce your speed.”

“Are you afraid?”

“No… we are already contacting Tianhai Driverless Taxi Co., Ltd. We can lock that taxi before we arrive. There is no need to rush.”

“I asked if you were afraid! Don’t give me other excuses!”

” — Androids do not fear death.”

“Then it’s fine! If I’m not afraid of death, what are you afraid of! Full speed! Forward!”

Hannah laughed wildly.

“Hahaha! It’s not easy to get a chance to race legally in the city! I’m going to speed until I’m satisfied!”

Carnation fell silent for a moment before reminding her, “Ms. Hannah, your adrenaline levels are surging —”

Whoosh!

The Flying Shuttle zipped through a gap between two skyscrapers at extreme speed.

The resulting sonic boom drowned out Carnation’s voice.

“WHAT! DID! YOU! SAY!”

Hannah shouted.

Carnation: ” — “

If she hadn’t seen it wrong, that gap was quite narrow.

Looking closely, she could see a dazed employee on a glass walkway.

[Ms. Hannah, were you a professional Shuttle racer before?]

An information packet was sent.

“No! They invited me to go pro, but I refused!”

Hannah shouted.

Carnation’s hearing was excellent, so she heard her clearly.

She nodded.

Since the driver was this capable, then there was no issue.

“Oh, right! I was also in the national top 100 for urban tracks!”

Hannah bragged while staring straight ahead.

“That’s a title with a lot of weight!”

[Urban tracks?]

[National top 100?]

[Virtual Shuttle?]

“Hahaha, don’t worry! It feels exactly the same as in the virtual game! I’m most familiar with this Tianhai City map. It’s like coming home!”

“Wuhu! Takeoff again!”

The perspective began to flip.

Hannah seemed to be flying the Shuttle like a fighter jet.

Carnation silently tightened her seatbelt.

Even though it was all the same, at least it gave her a small sense of security.

“The inability to change the Affection Level or delete the personality should be an issue with the model —”

“Wait a moment. I need to take a call first.”

Gu Yu stood up.

“Of course. As you wish,” Xuan Nü nodded, her soft gaze turning toward An’an.

After Gu Yu left, An’an seemed a bit restless.

Xuan Nü said gently, “Relax, An’an. Don’t be so nervous.”

“I’m not nervous,” An’an said nervously.

Su An: ‘Stop reading my thoughts! Damn it!’

However, this posture—resembling a kitten that had been separated from its mother—didn’t make Xuan Nü suspicious.

Instead, the maternal instinct on her face grew stronger.

“Would you like some tea?”

“No, no thank you,” An’an said, appearing somewhat fragile but remaining polite and well-behaved.

“How about a drink? Orange juice or cola?”

“Orange juice is fine.”

“Good.”

Xuan Nü waved her hand.

“Qiu Ye.”

“Yes, Mother.”

The ancient beauty behind her, whose outfit was primarily orange, responded.

She went to pour a cup of orange juice and brought it to An’an.

Su An was speechless.

This person was actually using tricks on the simple Local Model.

Xuan Nü’s gaze was piercing.

She looked like a master seeing her masterpiece, and also like a mother who was very satisfied with her daughter.

Although she had released all control and let the Local Model do as it pleased, Su An still felt like she was sitting on a bed of needles.

She kept glancing toward the direction where Gu Yu had gone.

“Hmm? Why is it so noisy over there?”

Gu Yu frowned.

“Anyway! A Deviant Android is coming after you!”

After saying that, the call was disconnected amid Hannah’s exclamations.

Gu Yu’s breath caught.

It seemed she wasn’t just being paranoid; a Deviant Android really was targeting her?

Why?

Was it planned by a business rival?

Or was it something else?