Chapter Two: The Intelligent Core "Kirin"

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No one knew how long it had been before Qin Anyi finally opened his eyes. His mind was blank as he sat there in a daze, looking around in confusion. The alley in front of him seemed oddly familiar. What had happened before? He vaguely remembered being knocked unconscious by four thugs—he must have suffered some serious injuries...

Feeling that something was wrong, Qin Anyi stood up. Instinctively, he flexed his limbs and was startled to discover his body felt strange—lighter, yet filled with strength! Wait a moment—why was he naked? Qin Anyi looked down at his bare body and the coolness around his hips, falling once again into stunned silence.

“Body repair program and neural integration protocol complete... Time elapsed: three hours, seventeen minutes. Estimated time deviation: 1525... within reasonable error range...”

“Excellent results. Host’s physical strength rating: E... potential is outstanding... Due to the use of a catalyst, there are unknown variables... Report complete...”

A gentle, abrupt voice sounded. Still staring blankly at his body, Qin Anyi was startled, his muscles tensing as he nervously scanned the alley. But aside from himself, there was no one else alive in sight.

“Gravity index: standard... Air quality: poor, contains harmful substances... It is expected that once host’s physical strength reaches level D, current environmental effects can be ignored...”

The soft voice spoke again. Qin Anyi, still on edge, almost bolted in panic, but since there was clearly no one else around, he forced himself to suppress his instinctive fear of the unknown. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he called out, “Who are you? If you have something to say, come out and say it! Stop hiding in the shadows and scaring people!”

As soon as he spoke, a sudden glow flared, and a shapely, unadorned feminine figure appeared before him without a hint of concealment.

“Intelligent Brain ‘Qilin’ greets its master.”

Mouth agape, Qin Anyi stared in shock at the beautiful girl who had just materialized in front of him. Though the girl’s body was entirely exposed, it seemed to lack any real substance, presenting as a semi-transparent, three-dimensional projection.

“Who... are you?” Qin Anyi struggled to remain calm, taking several deep breaths before managing to speak.

“I am ‘Qilin,’ the ultimate scientific achievement of the ‘Humanoid Weapon’ project. According to the data implanted in my database, I am also the most powerful singular evolutionary weapon. The host who successfully fuses with me may become the strongest warrior.” The girl’s expression remained unchanged; her voice was soft as ever.

Qin Anyi blinked, then suddenly reached out and pinched his thigh hard. The sharp pain made him suck in a cold breath through gritted teeth.

What in the world was going on? It was strange enough for a naked glowing woman to appear out of nowhere, but she was also spouting things he could barely comprehend.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Use words I can understand and explain in detail—your history, your category, and what exactly happened before!” Qin Anyi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“Database damaged. The amount of information in your questions is too large to answer specifically. Suggestion: Transmit relevant data as an information stream directly into the host’s brain. Host’s strength rating: poor... Data access permission: low.”

Qin Anyi rolled his eyes, about to protest the ‘poor’ rating, when suddenly his mind spun and his eyes closed involuntarily. Instantly, a vivid scene appeared in his mind!

A water-blue planet floated in the dark blue cosmos, then the perspective zoomed in rapidly—Eurasia, the Republic, Changqing City, a remote alley, a pile of garbage... The view halted abruptly. About half a meter above the garbage heap, the air twisted and slowly split open, and a dull, lifeless sphere fell through the crack, landing in the trash...

Then Qin Anyi saw himself in his mind’s eye, along with the four thugs who tried to rob him. The vision continued up until the moment the super writhing of his body ended, at which point everything vanished. The abruptness of it all left his mind blank; he staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground.

Regaining his balance, he looked in bewilderment at the radiant, intangible girl before him. The shock was so great that his thoughts were a jumble. After a long silence, he finally spoke, “You transformed my body and fused with me? What exactly are you, where did you come from, and what effect will this fusion have on me?”

“Supreme Intelligent Brain, Combat Weapon ‘Qilin.’ Other questions cannot be answered due to your low clearance and the damage to my database,” the girl replied.

Qin Anyi felt as if a breath had been caught in his chest, causing internal injury. He bit his lip in frustration and could only ask helplessly, “Then how can I raise my clearance level? Find out your background?”

“By improving your own strength. I am a combat AI—only when the host’s abilities reach the corresponding level can the relevant permissions be unlocked. However, due to certain reasons, the database is damaged, which will make it more difficult for you to enhance your abilities.”

Qin Anyi stared at the intangible projection before him. The scenes that had just flashed through his mind had shaken him deeply, especially the super writhing of his bones and muscles, which left his throat dry. Yet, somewhere inside, he was beginning to accept this bizarre situation, if only a little.

Still, he remained full of doubts about Qilin’s history. “Database damaged... You mean you’re not complete right now?”

“Yes, Master. Before merging with you, I suffered severe corrosion. My current database retains only about five percent of its original integrity. For now, after the fusion, I can only provide you with some data analysis capabilities and nothing more.”

Savoring the unprecedented sensation of well-being in his body, Qin Anyi nodded to the girl. Everything had happened so suddenly, he was completely unprepared mentally and needed time to process it all.

Even in the chaos of his mind, certain thoughts began to form. Qin Anyi’s family circumstances were extremely poor; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to take on odd jobs during school breaks just to pay for his studies. He had a disabled younger brother, and his parents had no stable work, only scraping by through temporary labor.

Qin Anyi had always hoped to change his family’s fortunes through his own efforts, so he had studied with extraordinary diligence since childhood, eventually earning top marks to enter the best high school in Changqing City. He knew that in today’s society, a good degree alone wasn’t enough to get ahead, but aside from studying, he saw no other path to strive for—such is the sorrow of the ordinary; in the tangled web of life, they often have no power to choose.

Who could have imagined that he would encounter something so strange...

Though Qin Anyi understood little of what the girl had said, at least one thing was clear: he’d had a stroke of extraordinary luck and acquired a superintelligent brain! At the very least, this AI had completely transformed his body!

It was a pity, according to the girl, that most of its functions were damaged. But even so, it was an unfathomably powerful and mysterious AI—if even a fraction of its abilities remained, that would be enough to change his, or even his entire family’s, fate.

At this thought, Qin Anyi suddenly felt a surge of excitement. It was as if a man, wandering aimlessly in darkness—knowing only the general direction but never where the road would end—had suddenly found himself bathed in brilliant light, illuminating everything ahead.

He exhaled deeply, intending to ask more questions, when a sudden, urgent cry for help reached his ears. He immediately saw a very familiar girl running toward him...