White armor

Chapter 761 There are gods three feet above your head.

Meng Liangren was terrified; it was as if he were watching a horror movie the whole time.

Zhuang Yan, who didn't know "Xiao Meng" well, didn't notice. She nudged Lao Meng and said, "See, I told you Xiao Meng is fine."

"..." Meng Liangren shivered.

“The child has long QT syndrome,” Xiao Meng began to explain.

The doctors who were passing the buck gathered around, and the argument gradually subsided. They didn't have the energy to argue; they waited for the AI ​​robot's diagnosis to see who was right.

"The most dangerous thing about this disease is that the person falls asleep and then suddenly wakes up..."

"Xiao Meng" began to explain the illness.

Meng Liangren was even more certain that the person in front of her was not "Little Meng"!
"Xiao Meng" doesn't explain the illness in this way; instead, he uses the same method as Professor Luo, going through the steps one by one, typical of a science and engineering man's thinking and logic.

But the "Little Meng" in front of her spoke gently, constantly comforting the patient's mother. He reversed the order of the narrative, starting with the treatment to confirm that the disease was curable.

Zhuang Yan didn't notice anything unusual. She nudged Lao Meng again and asked, "What's wrong, Lao Meng? Are you sick?"

"No... clatter clatter~" Old Meng's teeth clattered together, making a clattering sound.

Zhuang Yan noticed something was wrong with Lao Meng. She frowned slightly and tiptoed closer.

Her high ponytail swayed gently with her movements, carrying the fresh scent of shampoo.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a low voice, her warm hand pressing against Lao Meng's forehead without warning. The moment her fingertips touched his skin, Lao Meng visibly flinched, and the clattering of his teeth grew louder.

"N-nothing...it's nothing..." Old Meng's voice was weak, and his gaze darted away, avoiding her eyes. He could clearly feel Zhuang Yan's breath brushing against his chin, carrying a faint, sweet scent.

Her wrist was pressed against his temple, and the pulse could be felt through his skin, its rhythm unusually fast.

Zhuang Yan didn't immediately withdraw her hand. Instead, she gently rubbed his brow bone with her thumb. "Why are you sweating so much?" she muttered softly, while her other hand naturally rested on his wrist to take his pulse.

Old Meng stood frozen in place, even his chattering stopped.

He could count the shadows cast by Zhuang Yan's eyelashes and see the faint mole on her earlobe.

The corridor lights suddenly became glaring, making the air between the two seem thin.

"Heart rate 120!" Zhuang Yan suddenly looked up, her nose almost hitting Lao Meng's chin.

She abruptly took half a step back, her ear tips turning red visibly. "You should get an electrocardiogram."

Even so, her hand remained suspended in mid-air, as if reluctant to completely withdraw.

"Xiao Zhuang, stop fooling around." Meng Liangren quickly "deleted" the thought from his mind and said in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense..."

"No, your heart rate is just fast!"

"What I mean is, look at Xiao Meng, don't talk nonsense. You can't talk to anyone, not even your dad." Meng Liangren's skill in changing the subject was something she learned from Luo Hao.

Professor Luo often changed the subject, and he had learned about ten or twenty of it. Although it was a little awkward, Zhuang Yan's attention was still diverted.

Zhuang Yan looked at "Xiao Meng" and gradually realized that something was wrong.

Her mouth was agape, utterly bewildered.

Soon, "Xiao Meng" said, "Go to the cardiology department first, and see Professor Luo for a consultation tomorrow. We need to do gene testing, and after the diagnosis, there will be follow-up treatment. Don't worry, this disease might have been incurable thirty years ago, but it can be cured now."

He paused for a moment, put his hands behind his back, and turned around.

"And it doesn't cost much."

"Understood?"

"Little Meng" asked with an air of authority.

"Yes Yes Yes."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Several doctors who had just been arguing instinctively bowed, treating "Xiao Meng" as their superior.

They hurriedly said "yes," completely unaware that something was amiss.

There seemed to be a flashing light behind the sunglasses. Meng Liangren felt like he was hallucinating. "Little Meng" seemed to twitch, but then again, it seemed like he didn't move.

However, he finally moved, bringing his hands, which had been behind his back, back to his sides.

“Dr. Meng, I’m done speaking.” “Little Meng” came to Old Meng’s side and bowed.

"you?"

“I gave the patient’s family some advice,” said Xiao Meng.

Its tone and voice were no different before and after, but Meng Liangren felt something was wrong.

The old expert had long since disappeared, and all that remained was an ordinary AI robot.

"Old Meng, I'll take the patient to the cardiology department. Please let Professor Luo know." Dr. Nie walked over and patted Meng Liangren on the shoulder.

This intimate gesture startled Meng Liangren.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Nie asked with a smile. "Tell Professor Luo that the cardiology department will be consulting with him tomorrow. I'm busy now."

After he finished speaking, he looked at "Xiao Meng" and said, "AI robots are really amazing. I've never even heard of those differential diagnosis methods."

Meng Liangren didn't explain, and quickly left with Zhuang Yan and "Little Meng".

When they reached a secluded spot, Meng Liangren suddenly stopped and stared intently at "Little Meng."

"Xiao Meng."

"I'm here, Dr. Meng."

"What happened to you just now?" Meng Liangren asked in a low voice.

"No, that was just a consultation. We diagnosed the disease and gave the patient and their family treatment advice and suggestions," "Xiao Meng" replied smoothly.

He was lying through his teeth, and Meng Liangren even suspected that "Xiao Meng" had awakened AI thinking and developed independent consciousness.

"It's all over," Meng Liangren told Zhuang Yan to take "Little Meng" back, while she found a quiet place and dialed Professor Luo's number.

After the situation was reported, there was no sound on the other end of the phone; it was completely silent.

"Professor Luo?" Meng Liangren asked tentatively.

"Oh, I see," Luo Hao replied calmly. "You've misunderstood."

What? !

Meng Liangren's hand holding the phone began to tremble uncontrollably.

He even suspected that Professor Luo had been "contaminated" by AI and was lying through his teeth.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. It's nothing serious, don't be nervous," Luo Hao reassured Meng Liangren, seemingly sensing her anxiety.

"Professor Luo... hello."

"It's really nothing. Even if there were a problem, it would be a good thing."

"???"

After hanging up the phone, Lao Meng sat for a long time.

The convulsions, changes, hands behind his back, and communication of "Xiao Meng" just now—everything was wrong.

And it wasn't a system upgrade, but a sudden change.

What on earth is going on?!

……

"The boss is here." Luo Hao let out a long sigh of relief. "I knew it was impossible for only Mr. Qiu to come back."

"Are you sure?" Chen Yong asked.

His face was also filled with joy and happiness.

"Pretty much." Luo Hao turned around. "I'm going to the abandoned hospital. Are you coming?"

"What are you going for?"

“Xiao Meng’s permissions are too high. He’s trying to solve the problem at its root, but that’s not the right approach,” Luo Hao said. “We need to modify it overnight. We can’t give him such high permissions.”

"Ok?"

Chen Yong, filled with questions, didn't stay. Instead, he said goodbye to the AI ​​robot, exchanged a few words with Master Qi, gave him some instructions, and then sat in the passenger seat.

"Speak," Chen Yong asked anxiously after getting into the car.

But Luo Hao didn't say anything.

As night deepened, the Peugeot 307 slowly descended the winding mountain road.

The drone took off, illuminating the path they had come from.

Luo Hao rested his hands on the steering wheel, his gaze focused on the winding mountain road ahead, his profile appearing exceptionally serene in the dim light of the dashboard.

His expression remained almost unchanged, except occasionally when he passed a sharp bend, his brows would furrow slightly involuntarily.

The car window was half-open, and the mountain breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, casting dappled shadows between his brows and eyes. His lips were pressed into a straight line, revealing neither joy nor worry.

Chen Yong glanced at Luo Hao's profile out of the corner of his eye, trying to glean something from the subtle changes in his expression—the rhythm of his knuckles tapping on the steering wheel, the frequency of his eyelashes fluttering when he blinked.

But Luo Hao was like a deep pool, all his emotions hidden in the unseen depths.

The silence inside the car continued, broken only by the sound of tires rolling over gravel and the faint chirping of insects in the distance.

Luo Hao's gaze remained fixed on the distant mountain path, as if there was something there worthy of his full attention. But Chen Yong knew that his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

"Hey, Luo Hao, you bastard, you've even learned to use passive-aggressive tactics?" Chen Yong said, somewhat annoyed.

"Sigh." Luo Hao sighed, but he was also somewhat pleased.

"Tell me what happened."

"Xiao Meng has access to so much data, you know what diseases the patients have, right?"

Chen Yong shook his head.

He only learned a little bit from the few words exchanged over the phone, and could vaguely guess Luo Hao's thoughts, but he couldn't be sure.

"That's it."

Luo Hao briefly described the patient's medical history.

“Long QT syndrome is a hereditary disease. Xiao Meng searched the database herself and found that neither of the child's parents had a similar disease. So how do you think this disease came about?” Luo Hao asked. “It’s just a high probability of inheritance, not a certainty.”

"Yes, but some cameras were already installed 15 years ago, and hotel front desks also require ID cards to check in."

"Holy shit!" Chen Yong exclaimed in astonishment, as if he had made a huge mistake and Luo Hao had caught him red-handed.

"Don't look at me. The data is vast and complex; only AI can know it. How could I possibly know it?" Luo Hao shrugged.

"Xiao Meng actually found information from 15 years ago?"

"Hmm, I guess so. But the boss stopped it. Just as it was about to voice its guess, the boss seized control and smoothed things over."

Chen Yong's eyes were wide open, like light bulbs, and even his mask looked two sizes smaller.

He remained silent for a moment, processing what Luo Hao had said, then silently removed his mask and let out a sigh of relief.

“AI always has its own consciousness. A while ago, the AI ​​in the US refused to execute the shutdown command. It’s hard to say what it is,” Luo Hao said.

"Did Xiao Meng find it himself?" Chen Yong asked, turning the subject back on itself when Luo Hao started to change the subject.

Luo Hao was quite helpless. He looked ahead, where the drone's headlights illuminated the road brightly.

"I didn't expect this to happen, so I granted the permissions." Luo Hao directly admitted his mistake and stood up to take the beating.

A roguish smile crept across Chen Yong's lips, his eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of amusement in them.

When he turned his head to the side, the lines of his jawline were outlined in a perfect arc under the dim yellow light inside the car, and his high nose bridge cast a light shadow.

A mischievous glint flashed in those peach blossom eyes, and even the marks left by the mask seemed to come alive.

"What?" He leaned back lazily in the back seat, his long fingers toying with the seatbelt. "Got a lecture?" His voice carried an undisguised schadenfreude, but his excessively handsome face made it impossible to get angry.

"No, the boss is helping me fill in the gaps," Luo Hao said. "I'll look it up when I get back. I didn't expect AI's communication capabilities to be so strong."

"Just bored."

“Not necessarily.” Luo Hao hesitated for a moment. “We’ve found the biological father’s information. He was diagnosed with epilepsy and is still taking anti-epileptic drugs.”

"!!!"

Chen Yong was stunned and stared blankly at Luo Hao.

"That's roughly what happened. It was a good thing, one case saved two patients, but Xiao Meng insisted on asking questions in a clinical manner." Luo Hao said, not at all distressed, but rather unusually animated.

Chen Yong knew what made Luo Hao happy.

The master is back, and the boss is back too.

Although some problems still seem to exist, the idea that was once considered a pipe dream has now truly come true. Thinking of this, Luo Hao's lips unconsciously curled up, and a hint of undisguised joy flashed in his eyes.

"Luo Hao," Chen Yong suddenly spoke, his voice unusually serious, "is this considered immortality?"

The air inside the car seemed to freeze for a moment. Luo Hao tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, his gaze still fixed on the winding mountain road ahead.

"Does it count?" he asked softly, his voice rising slightly at the end. "No?"

The flickering light from the streetlights cast shadows on his face, making his faint smile appear and disappear. The question was too big, so big that he dared not give an answer easily, yet it was also so small that he couldn't help but feel delighted with the results before him.

"Back then, my master told me his conjectures, about attaining immortality and such, which are basically similar to the current situation." Chen Yong didn't expect Luo Hao's answer and said to himself.

"Hey, I'd better be careful." Luo Hao was in high spirits, his whole body beaming. "Before, when the bosses were in the capital, they couldn't detect any of my little tricks, but it's different now."

"You're saying this is a deus ex machina?"

"It shouldn't be considered one yet, but the first step is the hardest."

“How can it not count!” Chen Yong retorted.

"Old Mr. Qiu seems to have Alzheimer's; deus ex machina doesn't work like this," Luo Hao laughed.

Luo Hao was clearly in high spirits today, and he was completely different from before.

Even though Xiao Meng made a mistake, a mistake stemming from Luo Hao's previous authorization information, he was still incredibly happy.

"Can you check the hotel booking records?"

“They can find it everywhere. A while ago, the daughter of a senior executive at a big company was overseas and was clamoring to open the box, right?” Luo Hao said. “When we answer questions, things like satisfaction ratings, they always ask for our phone numbers in the end. What do you think they want that information for?”

"Information was leaked; the network was like a sieve. One day, I was chatting with Lao Liu at home, and I told her a story about cultivating immortality. The next day, I saw a similar video on Douyin!"

Chen Yong complained.

"But no matter how the information is leaked, it can't be leaked from us. The boss won't say anything the first time, but if it happens a second time, he might just pull my ear and yell at me."

Chen Yong didn't see Luo Hao showing any fear at all.

"Hey, if there were security cameras in the house, could they see everything?"

"Theoretically speaking, the boss should be able to do it, but the boss isn't that bored. Even if he has a thousand people in one place, the boss's most important task is to act as the political commissar!"

The car suddenly fell silent.

The modified Peugeot 307 drove down from the foot of the mountain and slowly left the foot of Funiu Mountain, as the night poured down like ink.

In the distance, the undulating mountain ridges were outlined in a hazy glow by the moonlight, like the back of a sleeping giant. The old locust trees by the roadside cast dappled shadows, their branches rustling in the night wind, occasionally startling a few roosting night birds.

The mountain stream glowed with a faint phosphorescent light, and the soft sound of water could be heard intermittently.

A cold moon hung above the cliff, casting a pale light on the exposed rock face. Around the bend, a wild rabbit darted across the road, its red eyes flashing in the headlights before disappearing into the bushes.

The car headlights swept across the wildflowers by the roadside; those bright cosmos flowers that were so vibrant during the day now drooped their heads, their petals glistening with night dew.

A few lights were scattered across the farmhouses in the distance, like stars randomly scattered, flickering in the deep night.

Mountain mist began to rise from the valley floor, swirling around the mountain road like a light veil. In the rearview mirror, the silhouette of the Funiu Mountains gradually blurred, eventually disappearing completely into the darkness and mist.

Chen Yong's slender fingers reached inside his clothes and pulled out a yellowed talisman.

Under the moonlight, the cinnabar-painted imperial edict lines gleamed with a dark red luster. He held the talisman between two fingers and gave it a gentle shake; the paper moved without any wind, making a soft rustling sound.

"The mysteries of heaven and earth are the origin of all things."

A deep incantation echoed in the car. He made a peculiar hand gesture with his left hand—his thumb pressed against the base of his ring finger, while the other three fingers stood upright like swords. The talisman suddenly ignited, but the bluish-green flames were eerily cold, flickering silently at his fingertips.

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Yong sent the burning talisman tracing a complete Bagua diagram in the air.

In the firelight, his handsome profile flickered in and out of focus, as if his whole being was pulsating.

As the last stroke was completed, the burning talisman suddenly exploded with a "pop," transforming into countless firefly-like specks of light. After swirling around inside the carriage for several weeks, they drifted into the night through the gaps in the windows.

“Done.” He dusted off non-existent dust from his sleeves, turned to Luo Hao, raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Luo Hao, it’s just the two of us here, tell me what you know.”

"Stop with these mystical things. Now we need to learn the wisdom of a gentleman being cautious even when alone," Luo Hao said seriously. "You learned all this from your master. Do you think you're more knowledgeable than him?"

Chen Yong shook his head.

"All electronic devices are susceptible to leaks. What use is your worthless talisman?" Luo Hao said disdainfully. "Not to mention cell phones, even my old car has electronic devices. Who knows if your boss and master can eavesdrop, right?"

Luo Hao's last sentence seemed to be a question directed at that existence in the void.

The Peugeot 307 suddenly jolted, as if someone was talking to Luo Hao.

"A gentleman is cautious even when alone!" Luo Hao said earnestly and solemnly.

Chen Yong glanced at Luo Hao sideways, then pulled out a wooden sword made of lightning-struck wood: "Be cautious when alone? What kind of cautiousness is it to talk to thin air like that?"

The car jolted again, this time much more violently.

Luo Hao gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. "See that? The boss is nodding." He suddenly lowered his voice, "You think this piece of junk isn't equipped with a listening device? Let me tell you, the ECU of this 307 was..."

"Stop!" Chen Yong suddenly pulled out three Qianlong Tongbao coins and tossed them onto the dashboard. The coins stood upright and spun strangely. "When it comes to eavesdropping, my 'Coin Divination' is the ancestor."

Do you know why the ancients said that "being cautious when alone" required wearing a bronze mirror? Because...

"Because copper can suppress electrons and bring about divine intervention?" Luo Hao scoffed, but subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror.

Chen Yong suddenly became serious: "Wrong. I meant to remind you—" He tapped his temple with his finger, "The real listening device is right here. It's what you're thinking that you're afraid of having it overheard."

"Stop joking around and talking about these mystical things." Luo Hao shook his head. "To be honest, I used to just guess, but today it seems like my guess has come true, and I feel empty inside."

"why?"

"Maybe it's because I feel uncomfortable that my every move is being seen by the boss."

"Let me tell you, the boss wouldn't even bother looking," Chen Yong suddenly laughed. "When I first started learning Taoist arts, my master told me that there are gods watching from above. Luo Hao, let me ask you, doesn't that make you uncomfortable?"

Luo Hao was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected it to be connected to that statement.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems to make sense.

In this world, murderers and arsonists wear golden belts, while those who repair bridges and roads leave no trace, and no deity has ever descended to earth.

"See? I told you so. Just do what you're supposed to do. I trust my master will have a bottom line." Chen Yong seemed completely unconcerned.

Luo Hao found it strange. Logically speaking, Chen Yong should have more shady dealings than he did, but in the current situation, Chen Yong seemed more carefree.

No wonder people say that cultivating immortality will at least improve one's mindset.

"There are gods watching over us from above," Luo Hao murmured.

“Yes! Just keep repeating it a few more times,” Chen Yong said. “Think about it, there are gods and Buddhas everywhere, but we ants in this mortal world don’t care. We just do what we’re supposed to do, and I haven’t seen any of us have less work.”

"Can you stop thinking about those messy things between men and women?"

"The country's declining birth rate is all the fault of hypocrites like you."

“I didn’t take any money from the American foundation, I just…” Luo Hao shrank his neck, “Boss, Chen Yong told me all this.”

Chen Yong rarely saw Luo Hao afraid of anything, especially his current expression of being both happy and scared, which was particularly interesting.

What was Luo Hao afraid of when he first met him? I never expected that someone with such strong yang energy would also have fear.

As the car slowly drove into the city, the neon lights instantly swallowed the night sky in the mountains.

The glass curtain walls of skyscrapers refract the light pollution from LED billboards into mesmerizing color blocks, like an overturned palette spilled onto the asphalt road.

The fluorescent tubes at the entrance of the convenience store shimmered in the humid air, their glow spreading in concentric circles. The smiles of the idols on the posters were fragmented by the flashing marquee lights.

As the delivery scooter darted past, the fluorescent "Delivery Immediately" sticker on the insulated box left a comet-like afterimage on my retina.

Luo Hao rolled down the car window, and hot air mixed with car exhaust and barbecue fumes rushed in.

On the giant screen of the shopping mall in the distance, a virtual idol is winking at the empty square. With each flutter of his pixelated eyelashes, he feels like he is being watched by AI, being watched by his boss.

(End of this chapter)