The whole laboratory was quivering and considering its architecture was made to be resistant to apocalyptic earthquakes, this was very alarming.

The cyborg's synthetic body was bare underneath the medical gown but she easily lifted her 'creator'.

Her glowing eyes didn't contain any animosity. There was only cold detachment and the certainty of death.

"From the moment I woke up. I connected my network to your satellites, traced all the encrypted data you stored, and made sure none of them will stay in this world. Your existence will disrupt the balance...

...of what, I don't know. But obliterating everything you've worked so hard for, strangely brings pleasure to me."

Contrary to her calm, Papa's eyes burned with fury as his lips turned blue from the lack of oxygen. He could still hear her, though. He wouldn't die just yet.

"Didn't you always say I'm your greatest weapon? That I'm the most special being on this planet? Now, everything that's connected to you and me will be gone forever. I, as the most advanced technology ever created, will see to that."

That day, people from all over the world woke up to the news that several underground laboratories from different places around the globe imploded. More than ten satellites in space were destroyed.

Lastly, the international government's most wanted pair of mad scientists were proclaimed to be dead, along with the hundreds of subordinates they had.

Investigations revealed that every person related to the couple had microchips installed in their temples, connected to their nervous system. They all died due to the toxins released by the chip in their brain's nerve channels.

The United Nations even formed an elite team to dig deeper and try to find out what happened to the couple's infamous experiments. Those unethical studies of transferring souls to robots could ignite the spark of another world war.

But they never yielded results even years later. World leaders could only gnash their teeth in disappointment.

There was some evidence that the pair died due to insubordination but all those who could testify perished already. And the international government could care less for the real reason why the pair was annihilated. They only wanted the key to making a cyborg with a soul.

But alas, even that was deleted.

---

Si Hai couldn't believe his eyes. He had always been proud of seeing lies among truth and spotting truth amidst lies. But what he was witnessing was something beyond his abilities.

The ancient spirit who suddenly arrived earlier did something to Hong Chun which made great changes to her.

It had been a few hours since the senior cast his spell.

The strange characters etched onto her skin were still glowing but they were getting fainter as time passed.

In this land, even if there were still spirit beasts, these kinds of mystical things had long been forgotten. Spirits like Si Hai could only perform the arts passed down to their race.

Their abilities were limited to their bloodline. So the fox didn't know that Qin Yu only lifted the seal he put on the girl fourteen years ago.

The seal bound her memories and hid her appearance under a veil of illusion, making her features plain and easy to forget.

The fox knew that Hong Chun was applying something to her hair to make it look darker. But due to the spell, the dye first faded under the senior's powerful hands.

It didn't stop there. The coppery hue underneath the dye also melted away when Qin Yu dismantled the runic patterns he engraved there before. The action uncovered the original fiery sheen of her tresses.

Her countenance was freed, unraveling her ginger lashes, tall proud nose, and full lips. Her sharp jaw showed off an unintentional lofty attitude. It was as though the mud that covered her for years was finally cleaned.

Qin Yu saw the girl's trembling lashes and knew that she was having trouble waking up. He should help her.

"Child fox..."

Si Hai was alerted by that call so he hurled his stupefied eyes away from Hong Chun.

"Why don't you guard outside and make sure your master's safe?"

He didn't know if the word master was emphasized on purpose but seeing that the senior was still asking nicely, he acquiesced.

With the fox gone, Qin Yu turned back to the girl.

He tried calling her name to make sure she would escape from the shadows she was seeing in her mind.

His petal-like lips peeled back to utter two words. "Qiao Li.1"

Who knew that name would be so effective that her lids fluttered open immediately? But the first thing she did was to reach out and clutch her savior's neck!

The amber eyes glowed like the orbs of light Qin Yu released inside the cave.

Instead of lashing out in anger, he just smiled, not bothered by the pressure on his windpipe. His voice came like a soothing lullaby. "...Did I startle you?"

The fog that covered the girl's eyes started to clear. And she seemed to realize that the person she was trying to kill was a stranger.

"You must have been chased by assassins." Considering the wounds on her body and her first reaction when she woke up, that would be the only answer.

But Hong Chun knew she mistook him for someone worse than an assassin. That person wearing his lab coat would be forever carved in her mind.

That was right. She was still in this world. She didn't go back to being Quiet Plum.

She lowered her hands and wanted to crouch and hug her knees. But her wrists were caught by a warm palm.

Locks of unruly ruddy hair fell down in front of her eyes, irritating her. But the sudden change in hair color didn't shock her.

She was astounded by the sight before her.

By now, Qin Yu beckoned the scattered illuminating spheres closer to them so he could see the girl's situation clearer.

As a result, Hong Chun could also examine the person she tried to strangle.

The distance between them was nil and the man's face was perfectly displayed.

His complexion was deeper than bronze but his eyes were pale as the winter clouds. His hair fell down in silvery wisps and wasn't contained by a jadeite crown.

The corners of his eyes were droopy yet emitted warmth and his lips curled into a kind smile.

But the more Hong Chun looked, the more anxiety pricked her skin. It wasn't because of his appearance. It was because of what she was actually seeing.

The heads-up display (HUD) dashboard that she hadn't seen in a long while was functioning properly and it was scanning the person in her field of vision.

But the system was currently overloading for some reason, making her nauseous which was something she had never experienced before. How could a robot be dizzy?

Wait, she wasn't a robot anymore. Did that mean she carried her AI features here but why did it only show now?

Qin Yu frowned when he noticed the girl breathing rapidly and as he held her by the shoulders, she was also shaking. He was sure that he properly lifted the seal. What went wrong?

What he couldn't see was Hong Chun trembling because of excitement!

Her intelligence system, vision sensors, and database were all functioning. She was crying tears of joy. She never knew she would be this happy upon regaining her cyborg features.

The hollow in her chest that she hadn't acknowledged until now was filled again.

She didn't even know why she was ecstatic. It was like meeting an old friend after a long time of not communicating.

Just as she was feeling high and couldn't control her emotions, a visage of an old man filled her mind. That old man would carry the world for her if he could. But now, he was gone.

A wave of foreign feeling washed over her.

She identified it as grief.

The person who was holding her felt the girl's body soften. Her head hung low. He didn't have any idea what was happening.

That was when Hong Chun remembered the reason why she woke up.

Someone called her by that name.

Quiet Plum. Qiao Li.

She lifted her head and made eye contact with that person. Narrowing her eyes, she asked. "What did you call me?"

Hearing her voice, Qin Yu was relieved. He really thought the spell had a life-changing side effect.

It was unknown whether he sensed the girl's hostility or not but his voice still seemed to carry divine music. "Qiaoli. Isn't that your name? Huang Qiaoli?"

Qin Yu saw her pupils shrink as she seemed to recall something. She spent a lifetime in that world so she might still be confused even if all her memories were given back. He should give her time to absorb everything.

His misty eyes observed her up close, blinking every now and then.

She seemed to change expressions whenever he blinked which amused him. He spent quite an amount of life force yanking her soul out from that plane so seeing she was lively was an accomplishment for him.

Well, it might also partly be his fault for transporting her there... would she blame him?