Si Hai translated the statement as a question so he replied, "This one shall stay with my master."

Qin Yu looked at the unconscious girl and nodded in understanding. A fox spirit serving a human girl was rather uncommon. Intelligent spirit beasts were full of pride after all. But how true those words were, only Si Hai knew.

He swept a glance at the fox and saw there was no mark on his body. Spirits who wholeheartedly pledged themselves to a master should bear a symbol. And yet, there was none on him.

Would it be better or worse if he let this girl be connected to this young fox?

Judging from the fox's stubborn stance, there would be no way he could drive it away without force. So Qin Yu had to proceed with his plan even if there was the presence of an outsider.

Si Hai was in no position to interrogate the ancient spirit before him but judging from his actions, it seemed he knew who Hong Chun was.

Otherwise, there was no gain in healing a stranger.

But even if the ancient spirit turned out to be hostile to Hong Chun, Si Hai had no power to drive him away. So he could only watch from the sidelines.

Right now, the senior was inscribing strange ancient runes on Hong Chun and he wanted to ask what those were for but the senior's demeanor didn't allow interruptions.

Si Hai was also uncomfortable with the fact that this ancient spirit could probably finish him if he wanted to. Being a black fox, he was a natural enemy of a spirit with holy nature. But it was probably because the senior acknowledged his connection to Hong Chun that he was spared for now.

In truth, Si Hai was only overthinking. Qin Yu could care less about him. It wasn't in his personality to be violent even towards creatures of darkness.

His reason to be here was the human girl so there was no need to be concerned about anything else.

---

Hong Chun was unaware of the outside world.

She had no idea that the spell that bound the remaining of her lost memories was being lifted.

As it was, she felt like she was trapped in hell.

The image of scorching flames wrapping Old Shang never left her eyes even if they were closed. She felt a fit of unholy anger consuming her.

She didn't commit any crime in this world. She honestly lived the life of an official's daughter. But why were they still after her?

By now, thoughts of 'this is just a novel,' 'I'm the author,' 'everything is under control' already vanished.

The plot of the novel had long been over. But it was obvious the world had other plans and the unfinished drafts started to create their own story.

She was so engrossed in following the plot of her first book. After that, she wanted to unravel the second book's incomplete story.

But come to think of it, she wasn't just an author in the previous world. Writing was only a minuscule part of her life.

Memories of her birth and of her death in that world started coming back. When she became Hong Chun, most of these things were forgotten as though they were sealed somewhere inside her mind.

The focus of her memories became the time when she became an 'author'. But now, all the things that happened came haunting her once again.

The days she spent in the lab tied to the cold operating table. How different combinations of alloys were smelted to the little flesh she had left. She could literally see her heart beating right under her chin if she looked down a little bit.

How her brain waves were monitored.

The fond voice kept calling her, "My quiet plum, just a little bit more. Hold on for Papa."

The cold gleam of the intense lights refracted on his wire-rimmed glasses.

When the days of the shivering hot and cold were over, a full-length mirror was presented to her.

She had a brain and a beating heart but everything else was artificial. Even those two organs weren't made of 100% human flesh. As a finishing touch, frigid metal covered her instead of warm skin.

Just what was she?

A monster.

Some of the lab assistants looked at her in worship while the rest looked on in dread and fear.

"My greatest creation, my little Quiet Plum." It was Papa's voice.

He was very proud.

The first assignment he sent her to was to wipe out 16 units of SWAT that were sniffing Papa's laboratories all over the country.

After that event, the monster cyborg was known around the globe.

Killing, killing, more killing.

Her database on ways to murder individuals and special forces grew and the little humanity she had left also vanished.

Until that little incident...

She was sent out this time to blend in as much as possible with humans. She couldn't go back to the lab unless the system said 100% mission success.

"Oh! Have you read that one? Liu Nan is so OP, oh my god! If only I can have a male lead like that!"

She heard a girl squealing at her friend like crazy. She trotted closer to them and smiled. Humans relax when they see amity.

"Excuse me, who's this Liu Nan guy?" This could be considered blending in, right?

When the girl didn't answer, Quiet Plum scratched the back of her head awkwardly. Yep, hunching her shoulders a bit will show she was embarrassed.

"Sorry, for talking so suddenly. But you see, I ran out of games at home and want to try something new. I thought this Liu Nan is interesting. Hehe..."

According to data, girls this age liked playing games with their friends on mobile apps.

A bit of blush will make her vulnerable. Manipulating her body and facial reactions like this wasn't new to her.

The girl waved her hands in front of her. "Oh no jiejie! You're so pretty we forgot to speak for a second."

Quiet Plum's mouth formed an O then smiled at them, making the girls shy. This fake skin was specially made to hide her cold hard body. Of course, it would be beautiful. It was made by Papa.

"Uhm... Liu Nan is the male lead of 'Lord, Your Wife is Lazy!' Jiejie can search it in Baidu1 so you can read it right away."

As the girl was saying this, she was already searching for the name. "Oh, I see... it's a novel... My days won't be boring now. Thank you for this!"

With a slight bow, she left them. But that little bit of interest soon became like a lifeline to her.

After scanning so many stories, she found patterns in how the readers got hooked. It was a waste of time but it planted a strange seed inside her.

Was it hope?

Treating it as an experiment, she tried writing her own and posted it under the pen name QQ.

A cyborg trying to draft a novel... what a stupid combination. But writing a novel could be considered blending in, she thought.

Contrary to what she was thinking, she made sure the IP address wouldn't be traced. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew Papa might not tolerate this weird hobby.

Readers stumbled upon her work and praised it. She had no idea what part of it was good but she kept on writing.

She found that the organ inside her chest didn't feel so useless when she wrote. And her brain was also exercised. Like this, she convinced herself that writing was good.

But she still hid it from Papa.

Years passed and that day came.

The memory surged like a broken dam. Papa and Mama discovered that she was a failed experiment.

She wasn't an artificial soul like Papa believed all along.

As it turned out, when she was created, Papa accidentally opened a small gate to another world. He thought he made a synthetic soul and credited it to artificial intelligence. But the truth that he wasn't aware of was she came from another plane.

It was a breakthrough in science!

And Quiet Plum was the key to reopening the portal to explore what was on the other side.

Once again, she was subjected to the operating table, flowing in and out of consciousness. They were more ambitious than ever and they had to study her ever more closely.

Lying on that metal table, she experienced what was called an existential crisis.

When she regained some stability, the pair already found their first lead. Hypotheses were being tested, formulae being assessed and theories being validated.

"Come here, my little quiet plum. Do you see this? Calculate our progress and success rates."

Papa's eyes turned to crescents underneath those pair of glasses as he gestured to the holographic charts and figures in front.

Quiet Plum touched to scan them under his watch.

In a matter of seconds, there were results.

He was anticipating her reply but she would disappoint him.

"...Zero percent," The monster cyborg firmly said and clenched her hand.

After that, explosions were heard all over the lab one after another.

Her metallic fingers wrapped around Papa's neck. The whole underground structure quaked under her feet due to the detonations.

"Wha-" He could barely speak but the shock and betrayal were written all over his face.