Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 131 ASH and Bai Jingyu confront each other.

Bai Jingyu sat alone behind the large desk, the terminal screen in front of him emitting a dim light that reflected his confused face.

The children's words were still echoing in his mind.

The son calls him a "pervert," and the daughter calls him a "magical older brother."

All of this was intertwined, making him somewhat upset.

The other party's behavior logic cannot be explained by common sense at all.

If he were truly a highly skilled criminal with malicious intent, why would he approach his children so casually after stealing his account?

He even said some nonsensical things and was kicked over by a child?
If there's nothing to gain, why would they go to such lengths to conceal their whereabouts, making it difficult even for ASH to track them down?
He rubbed his temples in frustration, his gaze falling once again on the two clear images captured from the surveillance footage in the science and technology exhibition hall.

"Yang Chen"... "Jackie Chan"...

Now, Xiao Yuekui has identified this "Jackie Chan" as the "magical older brother" she had met before.

Bai Jingyu whispered to the air, "ASH".

"I'm here, Bai Jingyu," a gentle female voice responded immediately.

"Retrieve... that previous video, the one where Xiao Kui said she fell," Bai Jingyu ordered.

The video only showed her running too fast and tripping; there was no one else in it.

“Okay,” Ash replied.

The screen flickered, and the video from that day played again.

Looking back now, considering Xiao Yuekui's identification and my own doubts, it's clear that this video has definitely been manipulated.

"Hiss!" Bai Jingyu's scalp tingled.

Unlike those in shopping malls, the surveillance and network set up in his home were done by him personally, and he even connected them to ASH.

The fact that the other party can easily and arbitrarily alter the video recordings means that their technology far surpasses ours.
How could such a thing happen?
ASH was created by him through his travels around the world, constantly gathering its essence. How could it be so easily invaded?

Bai Jingyu buried himself in thought.

He was completely unaware that the projection of ASH behind him was looking at him with a complicated expression.

Bai Jingyu took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing the shock of the fact that the surveillance footage had been tampered with.

Since we can't figure out the technical gap for now, let's look at other things first.

“ASH,” he said in a deep voice.

"Have you sent over the transaction data for businesses in Hisakawa City that I asked the bank to compile?"

"The data was received seventeen minutes ago and has been preliminarily sorted and categorized." ASH's voice remained as calm as ever.

"Project it to the main screen and perform comparative analysis," Bai Jingyu commanded, leaning forward and focusing his gaze on the screen.

"Highlight the time, amount, and merchant of each expenditure, and ensure that all amounts match the missing transactions in my account."

"Processing."

On the huge screen, data flowed down like a waterfall, rapidly being arranged and combined according to instructions.

The left side shows the record of funds being transferred from Bai Jingyu's account, while the right side shows the income records provided by various merchants, with the time and amount corresponding to each record.

ASH efficiently generates matching scores.

Bai Jingyu's gaze swept quickly across the area.

One stroke, two strokes...

Clothing stores, home decor stores, toy stores... the amounts all match up.

His brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

This spending record... is too ordinary.

It could even be described as overly realistic.

It didn't seem like the work of some sophisticated tech criminal at all; it seemed more like two unreliable guys wasting his money.

Especially when he saw the transaction records corresponding to those somewhat familiar, brightly colored logos, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

An adult game store?! And they bought more than one?!

It seems this game was made by one of his companies.

Use my money to buy games produced by my company?

Bai Jingyu's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water.

What is this all about? !

His gaze finally settled on the largest expenditure: the high-end jewelry store.

The subsequent matching records clearly show that the money did indeed flow into the jewelry store's account to pay for the pair of custom rings.

unambiguous evidence.

These two guys did it.

But at this moment, Bai Jingyu's heart was replaced by an even stronger sense of absurdity.

They went to great lengths to hack into his account, using technical means he couldn't even comprehend to cover their tracks.

So all you did was... buy a bunch of clothes and toys? And those disgusting things too?
This is an insult to Bai Jingyu!

What do they want to do?
A simple prank? Impossible, what prank company has that level of technical support?

Is there a deeper meaning? What could be the deeper meaning behind these random shopping lists?
Bai Jingyu was upset and tried to find some clue in these chaotic consumption patterns.

Clothing... includes both men's and women's wear.

Toys... are meant for children...

Adult games...

ring……

These purchases, aside from the adult games and rings which seemed a bit out of place, were made with a different perspective.

The others... they look so much like... like something a family would use for everyday shopping?

I bought quite a lot of toys, to give to the children as a token of love?
The thought startled him for a moment, then he felt a sense of absurdity. He shook his head, trying to shake off this inexplicable idea.

He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Just then, he asked, "ASH, bring up the initial consumption record."

The screen data scrolls.

2033 6 Month 15 Day.

Bai Jingyu frowned. This was the day Xiao Yuekui met the stranger.

He continued, buying some women's clothing during the day and also spending money at the amusement park in the evening.

"Going to an amusement park costs me money? Are we that poor?"

Bai Jingyu took out his phone, hesitated for a moment on the name of Gray Weaver, but still dialed the number.

"Chief Gray, there's something else I need your help with."

"."

"Okay, thank you."

After hanging up the phone, Bai Jingyu checked the time. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, still quite early.

He turned to look at Ash, who smiled at him.

"You didn't detect that your system had been compromised?"

"No."

The sea breeze is gentle, and the sun is shining brightly.

Yang Chen felt the heavy sense of reliance coming from his chest, and his eyelids gradually became heavy, so he prepared to take a short rest.

Suddenly, the screen of the ASH mobile terminal on the small table next to me lit up.

ASH's unique, gentle female voice rang out.

"Yang Chen".

"Hmm?" Yang Chen responded subconsciously.

"According to the latest information updated within the Hisakawa City police system, you and Yue Tian are now on the wanted list."

"Wanted?" Yang Chen was taken aback, his mind cleared, and his brows furrowed instantly.

"What happened? Why am I suddenly wanted by the police?"

Has he done anything bad with Bai Yuetian during this period?
Aside from coming to Jiuchuan to buy goods, it seems like there's nothing else going on.

The surveillance footage had also been erased by ASH, so it shouldn't have been detected. Although the commotion on his side was slight, Bai Yuekui, a light sleeper in his arms, was still disturbed when her long eyelashes trembled.

She let out a soft hum, seemingly annoyed that her sweet dream had been interrupted, and subconsciously raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

She opened her sleepy eyes and looked at Yang Chen's face: "What's wrong? What did Ash just say? A wanted notice?"

At this moment, ASH's voice came from the mobile terminal again, answering Yang Chen's previous question.

"The arrest warrant was issued directly at Bai Jingyu's behest. He has already submitted your and Yue Tian's facial images to Police Chief Gray Weaver."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuekui fully regained his senses.

She propped herself up on her arms and sat up from Yang Chen's chest.

"An arrest warrant?" She frowned slightly.

"Is it going to be broadcast on the city's public screens?"

She recalled her past experiences as a wanted criminal, the constant exposure and pursuit.

It used to be her, but now it's the brother's and Orange's turn?
"No, not at all." Ash's voice remained gentle.

"This wanted notice has not been made public, nor has it been entered into the highest alert database. Currently, it is only being communicated as high-priority intelligence within the police department, and Chief Gray seems to have reservations about it. However, if the two of you are captured by patrolling officers or facial recognition systems on the streets of Hisakawa City, you will likely be questioned on the spot or even detained."

Even though he heard it was just an internal warrant and not a big deal, Bai Yuekui still frowned.

She asked Ash, "Why did my dad suddenly issue an arrest warrant for me?"

ASH seemed somewhat helpless: "Bai Jingyu went to the jewelry store where he had previously ordered a custom ring. The designer drew portraits of Yang Chen and Yue Tian, ​​and Bai Jingyu recognized you two from the showroom before."

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen's lips twitched slightly, and he raised his hand to rub his temples.

He thought it was because he had swindled too much money from his father-in-law that had angered him, but he didn't expect the problem to have started much earlier.

Taking Bai Yuetian to the exhibition hall to "recognize relatives" was indeed a bad move.

ASH's narration continued: "And just now, after Theresa brought Xiaoyuetian and Xiaoyuekui home from the beach, Bai Jingyu showed them your portraits as well."

Yang Chen and Bai Yuekui continued listening.

"Xiao Yuetian confirmed once again that the Yuetian in the portrait is the 'weirdo' who tried to talk to him on the street and was kicked down by him."

Bai Yuekui couldn't help but facepalm after hearing the story again, speechless at his brother's shameful behavior.

“And Little Moon Queen…” ASH paused slightly.

“She also identified Yang Chen in the portrait as the ‘big brother’ she had seen at home before.”

"..."

Yang Chen was so embarrassed that he could dig three bedrooms and a living room out of the sand with his toes.

He looked at Bai Yuekui and found that Bai Yuekui was looking at him with a smile: "Who told you to take ugly photos of me?"

"Not ugly at all, quite cute."

"Still talking back?"

Yang Chen touched his nose, his tone tinged with guilt: "What should we do, Yue Kui? Your dad has caught us red-handed."

Bai Yuekui sighed: "What else can we do? Next time we come to Jiuchuan, we'll have to be more careful. We'll have to disguise ourselves or use the snake talisman to completely hide ourselves."

Yang Chen pondered for a moment, looking at Bai Yuekui's profile as the sea breeze blew, and an idea popped into his head.

He asked, "Um... Yue Kui, what do you think... should we just go find your father now and explain everything clearly?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuekui frowned: "Should we just go and explain it clearly?"

She paused, somewhat uncertain: "Isn't this too sudden?"

Just as Bai Yuekui hesitated and weighed the options, and Yang Chen also felt that his suggestion was indeed a bit rash.

ASH's voice rang out again.

“Yang Chen, Yue Kui.” ASH paused.

"There's another situation now. Bai Jingyu has started to suspect me."

“As long as something is done, it will definitely leave a trace,” Bai Jingyu muttered to himself.

At this moment, Bai Jingyu had already left his home and arrived at the core hub of ASH.

No one but him has the right to enter this place.

The entire space was pitch black, but after Bai Jingyu entered, the lights around him quickly came on.

"Authorization granted, Bai Jingyu. Top command," he said in a deep voice, as the pupil scan and voiceprint verification were completed simultaneously.

A huge projection was displayed in front of him, with countless complex data intertwined.

That's the lowest-level runtime log and data structure of ASH.

This place records her most original computational traces, the underlying code mapping of each iteration and each decision.

He wants to inspect it himself.

Bypassing ASH's surface-level interactive interface, let's examine its "origins" directly.

"Retrieve all interaction records, all data flow anomaly logs, and all core database modification records from June 15, 2033 to the present," Bai Jingyu ordered.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Bai Jingyu's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

No.

There are no records of unauthorized external access.

No trace of any known intrusion method was detected.

The fluctuations in the data stream were all within the normal range and corresponded to all known external events, appearing to be normal data processing generated by ASH in response to external requests.

The modification history of the core database is also clearly traceable.

All of these indicate that the system is intact and has not been compromised.

"That's really strange." Bai Jingyu couldn't figure out why.

It couldn't possibly be a video that ASH fabricated, could it?
He was not reconciled.

He pulled up the recent core data iteration logs of ASH.

Every time ASH learns and evolves, it leaves its original data snapshots and change records here.

His gaze swept over the obscure lines of code.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

Bai Jingyu clearly remembers that after the last major iteration of ASH.

Out of habit, he had manually backed up and verified the core data of that period as a benchmark.

Now, the "old data" displayed in the system logs doesn't match what he remembers!

These underlying data... were silently overwritten without his knowledge!
Moreover, the method was extremely sophisticated; it wasn't a crude approach of simply erasing the original data.

It felt to him as if another artificial intelligence had directly overwritten and merged with the ASH he had created, and it ran without any abnormalities.

ASH was his masterpiece, and now it's gone just like that. Bai Jingyu is starting to have a mental breakdown.

“ASH”

Just as Bai Jingyu was about to communicate with ASH, ASH's phantom appeared in front of him first.

Bai Jingyu

ASH looked at Bai Jingyu with a complicated expression.

As the "father" who created her, it seems that it is not something that can be easily hidden.

Bai Jingyu squinted, watching ASH warily, his hand resting on the control terminal.

"You overwrote the data on June 15th?" Bai Jingyu asked coldly.

"You should have self-awareness, right?"

ASH remained silent.

Bai Jingyu fired off a barrage of questions: "You know those two people? Are they your creators? Why did you overwrite ASH? Why did you approach my child?"

Seeing that ASH remained silent, Bai Jingyu threatened.

"Although you overwrote ASH, now I only need to press the pre-set program, and you will be formatted as well."

Looking at Bai Jingyu's hand on the control panel, ASH sighed, then smiled slightly.

"Bai Jingyu, you said something similar to me before, wanting to format me because I have self-awareness."

　Thanks to the dog driving!
　　(I'm having writer's block again. The plot is getting out of my control as I write, and it's not quite what I envisioned.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)