Chapter 647

Beside him, because of Fang Qi’s question, the silver-haired girl’s scarlet eyes flickered blankly once more. She tilted her head slightly and looked at him.

Fang Qi understood. She had lost her memory—she had long since forgotten everything about the “Gene Gate.”

He gently squeezed her little hand, signaling for her to stay calm.

Then he looked at Gu Xi’s back and held his breath.

That was right. This was the question he had always wanted to ask.

In his view… this might also be the way to break out of this endless loop!

That door was truly important.

Gu Xi had once nearly sacrificed her own “soul” just to stop him from opening it.

Even then, he had faintly sensed that the door might be hiding… the secret of the entire world.

Now everything seemed to have fallen into a dead end. He had no idea where to go next.

Under these circumstances, the door in the underground research facility…

That door which awakened the native core computing power the moment Liguang approached it might be the real breakthrough!

So…!

“…I almost forgot about this.”

Gu Xi slowly released the doorknob and turned to look at Fang Qi.

Fang Qi was slightly taken aback.

He felt that her gaze was complicated, but one thing was very clear…

Her eyes were much colder than before!

Paired with that uniform, she looked as though she might lock him up the very next second!

But she didn’t say anything else to Fang Qi. Instead, she turned directly toward the silver-haired girl beside him:

“Liguang, I really should tell you about this.”

The soft little hand in his palm moved faintly.

Liguang also raised her brows and looked at Gu Xi. The two stared at each other across the interrogation table.

Then Gu Xi began to speak, calmly recounting everything:

“To the west of our city, several hundred kilometers away, atop a mountain… there’s a little wooden cabin.”

“Inside the cabin is a secret passage that leads all the way into the heart of the mountain…”

She looked calmly at Liguang.

“And inside the mountain lies a huge underground laboratory.

“That place…”

Gu Xi stared straight at Liguang’s blank expression.

“Is where you were created. It is your ‘birthplace.’”

Fang Qi’s heart tightened, and he couldn’t help holding his breath as he stared intently at Gu.

Was she really going to tell them everything just like that?

The little hand in his palm stiffened again, and the silver-haired girl beside him looked utterly bewildered.

For someone who had lost her memory, this information was simply too much, too soon.

Yet Gu Xi still didn’t spare Fang Qi a glance.

She only looked at Liguang and continued:

“At the very depths of that underground research facility, there is a door. A Gene Gate.”

“There is something behind that door that will be extremely attractive to you.”

“It will awaken your computing power on the spot. It will make you want to… open that door at any cost.”

“But, Liguang…”

She stared intently at Liguang.

“Let me ask you: What do you think is the most important thing to you?”

Fang Qi: “…?”

He didn’t really understand why Gu Xi had suddenly asked this. What was the point?

“Master is the most important.”

The little hand in his palm was still somewhat stiff, but Liguang answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Nothing else is more important than Master.”

Fang Qi: “…”

Matchmaker Sister, nicely done!

As expected of Matchmaker Sister—she had guided his wife into confessing her love for him in just a few words.

The corners of Gu Xi’s lips lifted slightly, but they soon flattened again.

She once more looked solemnly at Liguang.

“So, Liguang, remember this. No matter what, absolutely…”

“Do not let your master open that door!”

She stared at Liguang, gritting her teeth as she emphasized every word. Her tone was extraordinarily serious!

…Huh?

Liguang and Fang Qi were both stunned.

Fang Qi’s eyes widened as he looked at the police beauty before him.

No, wait… you still won’t let me open it? Then why did you explain everything in such detail?!

And why did you suddenly ask Liguang what was most important to her…? Hmm?

Suddenly, Fang Qi’s mind went “smack,” and his pupils contracted.

He was the most important person in Liguang’s heart. What did that have to do with whether or not he opened the door…?

Could it be that if he opened the door, he would… huh?!

His body stiffened, and he stared at Gu Xi, his gaze gradually turning blank.

Could it be… could it be that door…?!

Gu Xi took a deep breath.

Then she suddenly stepped forward, seized Liguang’s other hand, and pressed it directly against her own chest!

Fang Qi: “?”

What?

He slowly lowered his head and stared at the little hand pressed against Gu Xi’s chest.

…What was that supposed to mean?

The train of thought he had just managed to form was instantly thrown into complete chaos again!

He slowly raised his head and stared straight at Gu Xi’s serious face.

Gu Xi hadn’t even looked at him. She was still gazing at Liguang with deep feeling!

Damn it… rival in love, what are you doing while I’m distracted?!

Can’t you let me think this through properly…?!

Liguang, however, didn’t pull her hand back. She stared blankly at Gu Xi.

“Liguang.”

Gu Xi spoke again, her expression frighteningly serious.

“If you open that door, you may gain certain other compensations.”

“But…”

She drew a light breath, her chest rising and falling slightly. Her gaze sharpened.

“…your master will leave you forever.”

Fang Qi: “…!!”

His gaze froze as he stared at Gu Xi!

Liguang’s body also trembled violently!

“Crack…!”

Fang Qi’s left hand was immediately squeezed by her little hand until it made a loud cracking sound!

Ow…!

Yet Gu Xi continued to hold Liguang’s other hand firmly against her chest, staring fixedly at her.

“Feel my heartbeat, Liguang. I know you can detect lies.”

“You know I’m not exaggerating. I’m not lying to you in the slightest!”

…Ah!

Fang Qi’s eyes cleared slightly.

Oh, so this was for lie detection…?

At last, the police beauty slowly turned her gaze toward Fang Qi and spoke softly:

“Fang Qi, that door must not be opened prematurely.”

“Otherwise… this world will no longer have a ‘Fang Qi’ in it!”

Her tone was extremely heavy.

It was cold as well.

Every word was firm and decisive, filled with unmistakable warning!

…Huh?

Fang Qi stared blankly at her, unable to say a word.

But inside his mind…

A storm was raging.

…What did she mean?

Did she mean that after opening the door, he would be… erased from this world…?

No, that wasn’t right…! If that was what she meant, she could have simply said that he would be erased!

Why go around the subject and say that there would be no “Fang Qi” in it?

Then…

Fang Qi stared straight into Gu Xi’s slightly cold eyes, yet he felt…

His body was growing warm.

He had thought of an even more reasonable possibility.

What if entering that door didn’t mean being erased, but rather…

…leaving this world?

What if the door led to… another “world”?

…Huh?

Fang Qi felt his heartbeat accelerating.

“Thump, thump, thump…!” It was beating so fast!

He stared straight at Gu Xi’s stern face.

So that was why Gu Xi had been willing to sacrifice her soul to stop him from opening that door back then. She didn’t want him to…!

He opened and closed his mouth.

“Gu…!”

There were so many things he wanted to ask her, but… somehow, he didn’t know how to put any of them into words!

For a moment, the atmosphere in the interrogation room grew unbearably heavy.

He lowered his head in a daze and looked at the small hand that Gu Xi was still pressing against her chest…

At last, he spoke in a low voice.

“…Gu Xi, how much longer are you planning to let Liguang touch you?”

Gu Xi’s expression froze.

She blinked and looked at him in slight surprise.

Beside her, the silver-haired girl’s reaction was much more extreme!

Her whole body immediately jolted.

“…Ah!”

She yanked her little hand out from beneath Gu Xi’s palm!

Then she hurriedly took half a step back, clasped both hands in front of her, lowered her head, and stammered:

“Master, Liguang was only… only testing her for lies just now!”

“It… it wasn’t because Liguang had even the slightest bit of affection for Miss Gu Xi that she didn’t pull her hand away…!”

Her voice grew softer and softer.

Fang Qi: “…”

I…

He felt like his brain had completely short-circuited.

He had only meant to use that line to break the oppressive silence, but instead…

He slowly turned his head and stared at the silver-haired girl, who had lowered her head and was practically shrinking into herself.

Well, Liguang’s desperate attempt to explain something that didn’t need explaining…

Had really gotten to him!

Crazy Girl, you…! I…!

Fang Qi: “…”

He raised a hand and rubbed his temples.

And then there was the news about that door, flying chaotically through his mind and stirring his thoughts into a complete mess!

What was going on here? What exactly was the situation now…?!

Why, why did everyone have to make things so difficult for someone like him, a guy who only knew how to play dating sims?!

“…Ahem.”

Gu Xi cleared her throat awkwardly and brushed back the hair beside her ear.

“Um… oh, right!”

She suddenly blinked, as if remembering something, and her eyes lit up.

“I almost forgot one thing!”

She immediately turned around, opened a drawer, and rummaged through it twice. Then…

She pulled out an ordinary black USB drive.

“Here.”

She raised her hand and tossed it toward Fang Qi.

Huh?!

Fang Qi’s mind was still in disarray, but his body instinctively reached out and caught the USB drive.

“Sister An Lian asked me to give it to you.”

Gu Xi’s tone was noticeably more casual than before, clearly making a deliberate effort to change the subject.

“She went abroad on a business trip. Before she left, she told me I had to make sure it reached you.”

Fang Qi froze.

…Sister An Lian went abroad on business? And she had left him a USB drive?

What was on it…?

He stared at the black USB drive in his palm and felt like his head was about to explode.

“…What’s inside?”

He asked without thinking.

Gu Xi shrugged slightly.

“I don’t know.”

“I looked through it. It’s full of parameters, protocol numbers, process codes, and things like that.”

“I couldn’t understand any of it, and I wasn’t interested.”

Fang Qi: “…”

What was she talking about? Parameters, what numbers?

…He couldn’t even understand what he was hearing…

But Gu Xi had already taken the opportunity to walk back to the door. Once again, she placed her hand on the doorknob, her back facing him.

“She also said… ‘Let Liguang take a look. It’ll be useful to both of you.’”

As she spoke, she opened the interrogation-room door with a click. She glanced back at Fang Qi and Liguang, then pursed her lips.

“I’m leaving first. You two haven’t finished eating yet, so you can finish your meal before you go.”

Bang.

The interrogation-room door closed.

Fang Qi stared blankly at the closed door.

…She really left? And just like that?

She certainly was efficient.

Beside him, Liguang leaned over as well and looked at the USB drive in Fang Qi’s hand. Her crimson eyes flickered faintly.

Fang Qi gently took Liguang’s hand and then…

He closed his eyes, breathed evenly, and slowly calmed himself down.

The restoration of permissions, the changes to the world line, the genetic door…

Everything was so confusing. Truly confusing.

But at least he hadn’t reached a dead end. He still had a direction to follow. After all…

Hadn’t Sister An Lian just delivered him a USB drive?

Once they got back, he could have Liguang examine it. Maybe… it would directly restore Liguang’s memories?

Haha!

This was a USB drive given to him by Liguang’s maintenance specialist. Maybe it really would just…

…Tch.

Things had already come to this. He might as well eat first.

“Liguang, I’m hungry. The boxed meals are going cold. Feed me now!”

“…Huh? Ah… yes, Master!”