In a crossover anime, do you believe that a machine spirit can defeat a fake human?

"Commander, the danger level at night is far greater than during the day. From all perspectives, we do not recommend choosing this route," Kluka replied.

Moreover, fame doesn't come overnight; it requires years of hard work and gradual accumulation.

"Alright." Chen Yi paused for a moment, then continued constructing the robot's joints.

"Commander, if that's really your plan, you should at least wait until the robots are capable of combat." Kluge's voice was tinged with helplessness.

"I know," Chen Yi said dismissively.

He wasn't foolish enough to deliver it tonight; after all, the integrated sensing device was still undergoing upgrades at Futaba's place.

Speaking of which, I'm meeting Futaba's mother tomorrow. Should I bring a gift?

Chen Yi's mind wandered, but his hands didn't stop moving.

......

"Editor Machida, I've decided to hold a book signing event." Kasumigaoka replied the next day after considering it all night.

"Well, the scheduled time is probably next Wednesday, at K-BOOKS in Akihabara, Tokyo, is that alright?" Machida Sonoko asked after a moment of silence.

"Make sure you make time for it," she added.

“Yes, I will. Can I bring a few friends?” Kasumigaoka asked again.

“Okay, I’ll talk to them later and they’ll make the arrangements,” Machida Sonoko agreed.

"Keep it up, Ms. Xia Shizi!" she said encouragingly before hanging up the phone.

"Akihabara..." Putting down her phone, Kasumigaoka lay down and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Her legs stretched out naturally, her ankles hooked together, pressing against the armrests of the sofa, squeezing the cushions and making them bulge out, while her heels sank in.

The toes wiggled restlessly, as if they had their own ideas.

"Junior, going to Akihabara next Wednesday should be okay, right?" She reached for her phone on the coffee table again, and skillfully opened the chat window of the person pinned to the top of her chat list.

On the one hand, she knew exactly what the place Machida mentioned meant: after the book signing, sales would increase again. On the other hand, she was also apprehensive about making a public appearance.

"No problem." Chen Yi replied shortly afterward, always seemingly available whenever needed.

Oh, he's not around at night, so it's impossible to talk to him about anything.

Having received a positive response, Kasumigaoka sent the same message to the Service Club, quietly waiting for the other members' reactions.

"Senior's autograph session? I'll be there! Where shall we meet?" This was Yui Hama, who happened to see the message from Kasumigaoka and quickly replied.

"If I'm free next Wednesday, I'll go check it out too." Miko Yotsuya's profile picture is a potted plant; her taste is quite unique compared to her peers.

"Yes, I'll go too." Yukinoshita's reply was brief, but she also promised to go.

'Count me in.' That's Megumi Kato; her responses are always concise.

Everyone in the Service Club agreed, probably because the unforgettable trip to Izu brought them all closer together.

Kasumigaoka's mood brightened, and she chuckled like a fox, then habitually covered her mouth, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

......

"Xue-no~"

Miss Yukinoshita has come to bother her again today.

"Sister, what is it?" Yukinoshita was reading Kasumi Shiko's book, "Heartbeat Service Club." From the occasional pursed lips, it was easy to tell that she was quite interested in the book's delicate descriptions.

However, she did not agree with the rigid, aloof, and beautiful female president depicted in 'Kasumi Shiko's' writing, believing it to be a vilification of outstanding individuals.

Hmm, I'll try a more indirect approach next time.

Making jokes about herself is one of the new changes Yukinoshita has recently learned.

A psychologist once said that spending time with things that make you feel good can help you recover from psychological trauma, and Yukino Shinobu never hesitates to take advice.

"Speaking of which, we haven't really had a proper chat since we got back... What did the psychologist say?" Yukinoshita Haruno handed over a mug with a cartoon panda printed on it, filled with steaming hot black tea.

"The psychologist's diagnosis was fairly optimistic; I'm fine." Yukinoshita closed the book and put it aside, then picked up her mug and gently blew on it.

"There is no need for targeted treatment, and no medication is required."

The black tea was slightly more astringent than I usually brew, probably because my sister doesn't know how to brew it properly.

Setting the cup down, Yukino crossed her arms and quietly gazed at Hinano.

"I asked Xiaojing, and that international student is pretty impressive, right?" After a moment of silence, Yang Nai got straight to the point, seeing no need for further buildup.

"Hmm..." Yukinoshita lowered her head and admitted, a feeling of inferiority rising inexplicably in her heart.

It comes quickly and goes quickly.

"When are you bringing her home? My mother says she really wants to meet her." Yang Nai tilted her head and grinned at Yukino.

Summer Vacation: Chapter 118 Futaba's Mother

"Nice to meet you. I am Xiaoliyang's mother. You can call me Aunt Xing."

"Okay, Sister Xing."

The meeting place was a famous luxury restaurant in Chiba, frequented by high-spending customers.

Chen Yi sat opposite Shuangye's mother, and Shuangye sat next to her mother. The seat opposite them was specially left empty for Sakurajima Mai.

I mentioned it on LINE before, I didn't expect you to remember, I thought I would have to explain it again.

Chen Yi watched as Mai Sakurajima sat down, silently thinking to himself.

So how exactly does this 'forgetting' mechanism work? Why do some people remember things sometimes, and then suddenly forget them at other times?

"Has Xiao Yi ever eaten at a place like this before? Would you mind if I recommended a place?" Shuangye's mother seemed quite sophisticated and generous, and she even considered the possibility that Chen Yi might be unfamiliar with the ways of the world.

"I usually cook at home and rarely eat out," Chen Yi replied.

I don't eat much Western food; the only things I can recall are pasta and steak.

"Hmm... how about a tomahawk steak? And a cream soup, please?"

"Thank you, Sister Xing."

"Well, actually I've been wanting to meet you for a while, but I haven't been able to find the time. Sorry. You're the one who saved my daughter, and I didn't bring a gift when I came today. How negligent of me."

"No need, no need. Shuangye is my friend. It's only right to lend a hand in times of crisis," Chen Yi waved his hand.

"What would you like to order, Miss X?" Futaba's mother asked casually, holding the menu.

"Huh?" Mai Sakurajima blinked, somewhat caught off guard.

"Yi-kun, can they see me?...No, can they remember me?" Mai Sakurajima reached out and gently poked Chen Yi's elbow, deliberately lowering her voice as she asked.

“If I use a very vague reference and package you as my figment of imagination, others will be able to remember some of your characteristics,” Chen Yi explained slowly.

Of course, Futaba's mother was quite intelligent and could see that Chen Yi's 'fantasy friend' was essentially a facade, and that there might actually be something to it about Miss X.

So she probed, wanting to see Chen Yi's reaction to get more clues.

"You order." Chen Yi grabbed the finger that Sakurajima Mai had been poking at him with and gently squeezed it.

"Just one meatball pasta dish will do... Hmm, and maybe a crème brûlée too." Mai Sakurajima pondered for a moment.

"Sister Xing, please add a meatball pasta dish and a caramel pudding for 'me'," Chen Yi relayed.

A look of understanding flashed in Futaba's mother's eyes. She casually called over the waiter and handed him the menu.

"I've completely disassembled that VR device and integrated it into the headset. Is that alright?" Futaba asked.

Now it's time for the younger generation to talk.

"No problem. What material is the helmet made of?"

"Considering safety, how about using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber with a carbon fiber reinforcement layer?" Shuangye took out her phone and sent a concept drawing to Chen Yi's chat interface.

"Thank you for your trouble." Chen Yi looked at the design in the concept sketch and expressed his sincere gratitude.

"It was just a small favor."

"That man in the mist you mentioned before... I think there's something fishy about him," Rio Futaba said, changing the subject.

"Strange?"

"I didn't look at that South American forum I found before in detail, but later I found that the people in the fog there are very different from those you have encountered."

Rio Futaba opened a file on her phone, revealing a document entirely in English, with many paragraphs and sentences circled in red.

She gently swiped her finger across the screen to show Chen Yi her annotations and understanding.

Futaba's mother stood nearby, watching with great interest without disturbing them.

"This is a research report from the Eagle Nation's cutting-edge laboratory. The average height of the Fog People is about 3.8 meters, with abnormal upper limb proportions, outstanding climbing and attacking abilities, and extremely long fangs."

"The above content is extremely similar to what I encountered at the hotel, but the height doesn't match up." Rio Futaba pushed up her glasses.

"So far, there have been no sightings of any juvenile pseudohuman variants in the literature; without exception, they have all been highly aggressive adults. And the fog-dwelling man at the hotel is only a little over two meters tall."

"Of course, that's not all." Futaba put her phone away, fiddled with it a couple of times, and then put it back out.

"The autopsy report stated that more than half of the contents of the human body in the fog were plant cells, including structures such as chloroplasts and cell walls. Some scientists also suspect that the human body in the fog is something similar to cordyceps."

"But Cordyceps sinensis is a fungus."

"I know, what I mean is, their way of doing things, many scientists believe that the way the Fog Man moves may be similar to that of Cordyceps sinensis."

"Unfortunately, I didn't get my hands on the specific case reports from Izu." Chen Yi shrugged.

"Don't look at me, I don't have any either," Rio Futaba said irritably.

"Let's eat first, we can talk about this later," Shuangye's mother interrupted at the opportune moment.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Sister Xing."... The meal was a pleasant one for both host and guests.

"Xiao Yi, can I ask you for a favor?" Shuangye's mother said casually.

"Please feel free to speak."

“You see, Shuangye is usually quite lonely and doesn’t have many friends. I still want to thank you for being willing to talk to her… My father and I are often away from home for research work and rarely take the initiative to inquire about her life. Xiaoyi, please take good care of Shuangye.”

"Futaba is my friend, I will," Chen Yi agreed.

......

'Is this you?'

Late at night, just as Chen Yi was about to go to sleep as usual, he received a message on his phone.

When I opened it, it was a video and a question from Kasumigaoka-senpai.

You don't even need to watch the video; the frame you've extracted is enough to tell it's a video of him playing and singing.

"It's me," Chen Yi replied, then exited the chat interface and entered the Service Department's group chat, where he discovered that it was Hibin who found it and shared it extensively in the group.

"Is this Xiao Chen? Come listen, his voice sounds so similar!"

"It does look a bit like him, but Chen Jun never said he could play the guitar, did he?" Yotsuya asked.

Sister, I only posted the video a few days ago, and you've already opened my box?

'Hehehe... Junior, you don't want your secret music blogging career to be exposed, do you...?'

No, it's already been announced to the whole world in the Service Department's group chat, how could it possibly be exposed?

"What do you want to do?" Chen Yi asked directly.

'It's nothing, just asking if I could pre-order a song for the next video.'

Kasumigaoka's words began to waver again.

"That's fine. What song would you like to request, senior?"

How about "Renai Circulation"?

"..."

There's a hidden meaning in his words, Chen Yi raised an eyebrow.

'no problem.'

P.S.: During dinner today, my mom asked me why I don't research AI short dramas while I'm writing my novel...

Who's using two accounts simultaneously? Me? Am I really using two accounts? I'll probably get smeared (sad).