On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Liao Ji. How about this? I'll follow up on it again. It seems there's a system malfunction on the emergency care team's end. I'll contact you via email as soon as I get the information, okay?"

"Okay, then thank you for your hard work, Tia."

"You're too kind, Dr. Liao. This is my employee card. Please place your card here so we can establish a contact."

After Liao Jizhao did this, in addition to Luo Xiaoji, a new name appeared in his private address book: Tia.

Like the other scholars from the Magic Garden, Liao Ji didn't linger. He left the company building with Irene, where a car prepared by Kyle Technology was waiting to pick up the consultants and take them back to the hotel.

Liao Ji was almost at the end; the emergency medical team and Steward William had already left the VIP room, and even Caroline had gone back to the hotel with the rest of the scholars.

Luo Xiaoji pretended to play on his phone and waited for several more people until he was the only one left who hadn't enrolled. He waved to the scholars who were waiting for him to go back to the hotel, indicating that they should leave first and not wait for him. After everyone had left, Luo Xiaoji smiled and looked at the VIP room where only he and Tia remained.

"Dr. Luo Xiaoji, could you please give me your Magic Garden ID card?" Although she had been acting as a "guide" for half a day, there was still no sign of fatigue on Tia's pretty face. Even when dealing with the last person, Luo Xiaoji, she maintained the same smile as when dealing with the first person.

"Miss Tia, actually there are still many things I don't understand about Kyle Technology. How about we add each other as friends? That way it will be easier for me to ask you questions later."

Luo Xiaoji smiled and deliberately avoided talking about medical insurance, instead changing the subject.

After listening, Tia maintained her professional smile but shook her head and said, "Dr. Luo Xiaoji, you can contact me directly through corporate communications for questions like this."

After being rejected, Luo Xiaoji tried several more ways to get a "friendship" spot, but Tia rejected him every time. This made his expression stiffen and he even got a little angry.

because

"Is it really that hard to become friends with Miss Tia? I saw it all just now. You weren't like this with Brother Liao. You directly exchanged ID cards with Dr. Liao Ji! Why can't it be the same with me?"

Luo Xiaoji admitted that Liao Ji was indeed a little more handsome than him, but the difference shouldn't be this big!

"You misunderstand Dr. Luo Xiaoji. Dr. Liao Ji had some personal issues related to insurance, so I took the initiative to add Dr. Liao Ji."

"Damn! You can even use this method! I really underestimated Brother Liao. How come I didn't think of that?"

As Luo Xiaoji grumbled in dissatisfaction, pondering whether he should imitate it himself, something he didn't know happened: a Red Cross letter appeared in Tia's mind.

It was the emergency medical team's response to her investigation regarding Liao Ji's insurance enrollment. Tia was operating on two fronts, waiting for Luo Xiaoji while opening this red letter.

[Insured Person: Q*9a]

[Insurance Package: Up to @:?cWQ5O)

It was at the very moment Tia saw the letter

Countless garbled characters burst forth from the letter like a virus, instantly filling Tia's entire field of vision. The speed was so fast that Tia was completely caught off guard.

The garbled text flooded into Tia's system like a plague. In reality, Tia suddenly covered her forehead, swayed, and was about to fall to the side.

Luo Xiaoji, who was still figuring out how to strike up a conversation, was startled and jumped in surprise. He managed to catch Tia before she fell.

"Miss Tia? Miss Tia, what's wrong?! Don't scare me!"

Luo Xiaoji asked anxiously, but only received a reply.

"Error. An unknown error has occurred."

A mechanical voice kept coming from Tia's mouth, which made Luo Xiaoji find it hard to believe. This was the same researcher who had been introducing them to them for several hours. Instead, she seemed more like the androids from the emergency medical team.

Just as Luo Xiaoji was feeling surprised, a casual glance made his eyes widen and he felt a chill run down his spine.

Through the gaps in Tia's disheveled clothes, Luo Xiaoji saw two glittering things on Tia's back; to be precise, they were patterns imprinted on Tia's back like tattoos.

These are brand marks!?

No, no!

Didn't they clearly say that branding marks couldn't possibly be on a living creature? No, wait a minute, could it be that...?

While Luo Xiaoji was still in a daze, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the VIP room, followed by the steward William and four or five researchers in white coats.

"Take her away."

"Yes."

After four or five researchers pulled Tia, who kept "reporting errors," away from Luo Xiaoji, Steward William squatted down and stared into Luo Xiaoji's eyes, looking at Luo Xiaoji who was still completely confused about what had happened.

"Dr. Luo Xiaoji, you guessed right, Tia is an android, an AI."

"An android? But she was clearly like that."

"So it's the same as for humans, right? Dr. Luo Xiaoji should have also discovered the brand on Tia's back, right? This also falls under our Kyle Technology's brand research."

"So you mean there's a kind of mark that can give androids a more advanced, almost human-like quality?"

"Alright, Dr. Luo Xiaoji, this was an accident. I hope you can keep this trade secret for Kail Technology. In return, I've noticed that you bought a lot of Kail Technology stock today, right? I'm willing to transfer my shares to you at half the market price. How about it?"

"This"

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Dr. Luo Xiaoji." Before the young man could reply, Manager William took the initiative to shake his hand.

Then he leaned close to Luo Xiaoji's ear and added something.

"Dr. Luo Xiaoji, I know you have a powerful background at Magic Garden, so I don't want any conflict between us. This trade secret is very important to Kyle Technology, and we will pursue anyone who leaks it to the end. You're a smart man; you must understand the principle that it's better to have one more friend than one more enemy, right?"

After saying all this, Steward William added Luo Xiaoji as a friend, patted the young man on the shoulder, and without saying anything more, hurriedly left towards the place where the researchers had taken Tia away.

Luo Xiaoji, who remained where he was, quickly recovered and stood up. He felt he had vaguely grasped something, but he was afraid to think about it any further.

After witnessing the strange occurrences at Tia's place, he was 100% certain that Kyle Technology was far more complex than it seemed, and they would never claim to have gone bankrupt. The branding technology might not even be their ultimate weapon; Kyle Technology was probably still holding back something even more powerful.

After taking a deep breath, Luo Xiaoji shook his head, putting these thoughts out of his mind and ceasing to think about them. Some things are better known the more you know. He was just an ordinary person with no other intentions, and he didn't want to be drawn into any inexplicable dangerous vortex.

After leaving the Keltech Building, Luo Xiaoji thought for a moment about the car that had been waiting for him to go to the hotel. He then asked the smart driver to change the route and set the destination to a bar.

In the car, for some reason, Luo Xiaoji suddenly saw the image of another person.

Liao Ji.

And Liao Ji's words about "Tia" that he had once said to him.

I'm afraid he won't be able to accept it.

Hmm, could it be that Liao Ji was implying to him back then that Tia wasn't human?

Doesn't that mean Brother Liao already saw through Tia's android identity, and even the mark on her back?

Upon realizing this, Luo Xiaoji's eyes widened, and he gasped.

However, the young man quickly chuckled and shook his head.

how is this possible

He's overthinking things out of anxiety.

Chapter 192 Two-Pronged Approach

The Dream Inspection Bureau held its thirteenth hearing today regarding the "Dream Closure Project." During the hearing, representatives from Kyle Technology repeatedly emphasized that their fully automated defense AI is solely for maintenance of Dream Zero and will never be used for any personal or commercial purposes.

[Midnight Column: Let's take a look at today's top headlines in Dream City. Invited by KEL Technology, a delegation of scholars from Shanghai arrived in Dream City this afternoon. According to sources within KEL Technology, the two sides conducted in-depth research and discussions on a groundbreaking new technology, which received unanimous recognition and high praise from the Shanghai scholars. KEL Technology also announced that it will hold an open-air launch event for its new product in three days. Let's wait and see!]

[Hey hey hey! This is Night Love Radio, your source of amusement. We're dedicated to finding all the eerie tales of the City of Dreams for you. Today's story is about a killer that's recently become popular on various forums!]

Good evening, Dream City! It's time for everyone's favorite gang fight segment again. According to official police statistics, there were 201 gang fights in Dream City today, with 144 of them concentrated in District 13. Let's see if the rising star, the "Blackfire Gang," can become the new underground emperor of District 13.

[Global Evening News: The Shanghai Upper House drafted a name change bill today. If passed, the old name "Modu" (魔都) may become history. However, reports indicate that most members are currently debating whether to use the new name "Mocheng" (魔城) or "Moyuan" (魔园).]

[Breaking News: Fire breaks out in hangar of the Emergency Medical Services building. Cause unknown. The fire is currently under control. Emergency Medical Services officials stated that all data is safe. A possible hacker attack cannot be ruled out, and the investigation will continue.]

In front of the extra-large, wraparound LCD TV, Irene was constantly switching channels with the remote control. The colorful TV screen echoed the neon lights of the city outside the window, as if for the city of dreams, the night was when life truly began.

After leaving the Keltech Building and returning to the hotel, Liao Ji focused all his attention on the onboarding instructions and company documents that the staff had brought him, flipping through them on the sofa. Meanwhile, Irene, who had nothing to do, started watching TV.

After flipping through several channels, Irene found the others boring and uninteresting, but this "Night Love Radio" program seemed to have a certain appeal to the young girl.

Irene stopped on this channel, listening with great interest to the urban legend being introduced on the program, a story called "The Murderer."

Legend has it that every night, as neon lights shimmer in the City of Dreams, beneath the dazzling lights and in the shadows of the buildings, a pair of eyes observes every pedestrian in the streets and alleys.

The killer has an extreme aversion to women and specifically targets young and beautiful women. After identifying his prey, the killer will use magic to control her, causing her to gradually drift away from crowds and willingly enter dark, deserted alleys.

[When the police riot squad arrived the following day, all that remained were the victims, now dismembered.]

Some say the killer is a mad butcher from a bankrupt meat processing plant, endlessly repeating the work of slaughter; others say he's a cyborg medic working for the mob, performing one masterful surgery after another.

So far, the police have not issued any reports related to the "murderer." We have no way of knowing whether the ghost story is true or not. This station will continue to follow up. We also advise all the beautiful and beautiful single women in Dream City to reduce going out late at night and not to walk alone. Otherwise, one night, you might find a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey."

"Ahhhh!"

A piercing scream rang out in the room. Liao Ji sighed and looked across at the girl opposite him, who had jumped up and darted away like a startled rabbit after he had patted her on the shoulder from behind.

"Doctor! Can you please stop scaring me like that!" Irene was still patting her chest, looking like she was still shaken.

"It's because I called you several times and you didn't respond."

"I...I'm just focused on gathering intelligence for us."

"You've gotten yourself into urban legends while looking for information, haven't you?" Liao Ji said, glancing at the "murderer" ghost story program playing on the TV next to him, which the girl had just been so engrossed in.

Irene was speechless for a moment, then lowered her head in embarrassment. But feeling a little wronged, she stubbornly muttered under her breath, "With your troublemaking nature, Doctor, you might just run into someone."

"What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing!"

Irene waved her hands repeatedly, then quickly changed the subject, asking, "So, Doctor, do you have any ideas? Have you thought of any other ways we can get into Dream Zero?"

"Pretty much, since the methods are all written in the employee handbook."

"Employee Handbook?"

The girl was immediately puzzled. She had already read the employee handbook of Kyle Technology, which contained mostly company rules and regulations for employees.

If we're really talking about anything related to Zero Dream, it's only mentioned in the "Confidentiality and Security" section that employees are prohibited from bringing any electronic products or prosthetic parts purchased from the black market without authorization. At the same time, employees are warned not to believe any so-called "Black Dream" terminals sold on the black market that supposedly allow access to Zero Dream.

Once discovered, in addition to immediate dismissal, if an employee's black market products contain viruses that lead to the intrusion and damage of Kyle Technology's internal network, the employee will also face a series of serious crimes that will result in imprisonment, including huge compensation payments and leaking confidential information.

No matter how you look at it, there's not a single word about how to enter the Zero Dream.

Suddenly, Irene seemed to understand something.

"Doctor, you're not thinking of buying that Black Dream from the black market, are you?!"

"Since it's in the employee handbook, it's worth a try."