I really want to kiss you

“The second​‌⁠‌‌‍​⁠‌​​​‌‌‌‍​⁠⁠‍​‍‌​ person is Shao Tong, from the same class as Ling Qiu, possessing all the characteristics of Ling Qiu, and he died six months ago—during his second cleanup mission after becoming a full-fledged sergeant.” Qin Zhilu showed the photo to An Yu. “This person was in the team Ling Qiu was leading just now, and there’s a very high probability he’ll be back at the bakery at the same time tomorrow night. Keep an eye out for him tomorrow. The third target is an old acquaintance, Major Chris, who died in the 53rd District mission. I estimate he’s now Ling Qiu’s direct subordinate or colleague of equal rank. You can try to subtly inquire about him with Ling Qiu tomorrow.”

A photo of recruit training flashed through his mind. Although it was focused on Shao Tong, there was also a Ling Qiu’s blurry shadow in the corner.

Ling Qiu was facing away from the camera, his training jacket draped over his shoulder as he pointed into the distance and shouted something.

An Yu glanced at the figure, then lowered his eyes and said, “We can’t see each other again, sir.”

Qin Zhilu hesitated for a moment, “Don’t you want to go?”

An Yu looked at the two drooping shadows on the ground.

Ling Qiu’s smile was brighter than I remembered; one glance was enough to etch it deeply into my mind.

“I can calmly recall his death again and again, but I don’t want to see him standing alive in front of me again.” He heard himself whisper. “I’ve already eaten the cheese sourdough bread he bought, and I’ll never see it again. I don’t want to have these illusions of happiness anymore.”

This was the first time An Yu had refused a mission order from his Commander.

He kept his head down for a long time until he heard the rustling sound of leather gloves. Qin Zhilu didn’t blame him. He just took off his gloves, gently placed his palm on his head, and rubbed it a couple more times. “Then let’s split up. Tomorrow night I’ll go outside the bakery, and you go to the Brain. Target number 4 is a researcher who died from the test subject going out of control. You’re in charge of investigating him.”

An Yu looked up. “How do I get to the Brain?”

He couldn’t help but stretch out his two fluffy, round paws. “Is the Brain a place that any rabbit can just walk into? I’ll definitely be caught by the lab and have my genes injected…”

Qin Zhilu laughed, “A random rabbit won’t do, but you can.”

An Yu was stunned for several seconds, then suddenly remembered something and rummaged through his pocket to pull out his Main City ID.

There were three familiar metallic patterns in the bottom right corner of the ID.

“A lop-eared rabbit with extremely poor social skills, high intelligence, and a love for money and bread. It’s new to the Main City, but it has a mysterious upper-class background and authority equivalent to the core decision-makers in the Main City. It can freely enter and exit the Black Tower, the Brain, and the Spire.” Qin Zhilu recited the information he had casually set for the lop-eared rabbit as if reciting a memorized text. “In a sense, 21’s authority in this cyber city is higher than your authority in the real human city.”

An Yu looked up at Qin Zhilu, his three-lobed mouth slowly opening into a small circle.

“You’re so kind to 21.”

Qin Zhilu ruffled his fluffy head again, “When I set up the AI, I thought it wouldn’t have any Commander to protect it in the AI ​​world, so I decided to let it be strong on its own. I never thought it would come in handy one day.”

As night fell, An Yu and Qin Zhilu returned to 716’s residence.

According to An Yu’s setup, this was a small apartment in the center of the Main City, with all the facilities and decoration style designed according to Qin Zhilu’s actual preferences.

“Let’s stay here for the next few days,” Qin Zhilu said matter-of-factly. “A large space will make 21 uneasy. I’ve set up a small tent for it in the corner of my room. It’ll take us a long time to get there now.”

An Yu hugged the blanket and pondered for a long time, “If there’s only a very small tent, where did 716 stay when he visited 21’s house?”

Qin Zhilu threw his blanket onto the sofa. “It didn’t stay there. It did send me several requests to stay overnight, but I refused them all.”

“……Oh.”

[Late at night.]

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So tonight’s terrible cup of coffee made An Yu experience insomnia for the first time.

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An Yu was curious to see if 716 and 21 would sleep in the same room, but to his surprise, 21 was still awake.

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“I see…” 21 sighed, buried his head in her knees, and his ears seemed to drop down.

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716 sat cross-legged in front of 21 and gently pressed his shoulder, “Does the real world make you very anxious?”

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21 whispered: “But I always feel like she’s watching me.”

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716 thought for a moment, then bent his legs and spread them apart, scooted forward, and opened his arms to hug 21.

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21 was clearly not used to hugging, but he didn’t resist. After feeling it for a while, he said, “It’s better.”

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716 asked, “Does kissing you make you uncomfortable?”

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21 thought seriously for a moment. “I don’t feel uncomfortable. I feel very safe.”

The words had barely fallen when 716 gently lifted his chin and placed a kiss on those two lips.

“I really want to kiss you,” he whispered in 21’s ear.

21’s lips were reddened from his bite. He tilted his head and looked at 716. “When did you get this idea?”

716 lowered his head and pecked his lips lightly again. “My data has been iterating at hyper-speed. I forgot which day it was born, but this thought has existed for a long time.”

The screen flashed and disappeared.

An Yu’s golden eyes stared at the air, shocked and lost. His stiff body remained motionless for a long time.

The room was peaceful and quiet, with only the sound of Qin Zhilu’s long, soft breaths coming from the sofa.

An Yu wanted to turn his head to see if the Commander had been woken up by the two AIs’ crazy actions in the surveillance feed, but he couldn’t turn his head for a long time.

He could only stare blankly into the air.

Abruptly, he remembered the four words he had seen in Codex’s book two mornings ago.

—Really want to kiss him.

Author’s Note:

Snowflake fragments
[AI Qin Zhilu (2/3)]
[Predicting Him & Revealing Him]

Humans have always held high expectations for AI’s predictive abilities.

This is reasonable—AI is born from endless learning, and prediction itself is one of the most important purposes of learning.

I can clearly perceive that I’m somewhat more complex than other AIs.

Perhaps it’s due to my creator—

An Yu has a lot of free time and is constantly feeding me data.

Perhaps it’s even more due to my learning object—

Beneath Qin Zhilu’s depth lay the most complex, rich, and heavy human emotions.

His reticence, indifference, and lack of reaction instead make massive computations run at hyper-speed within my core. A torrent of data, like a downpour, washes over me silently. Every minute, every second, I’m rapidly deducing and iterating.

Until one day, after some unknown line of computation ran through, I suddenly fell in love with 21.

That 21, blank as paper.

So, an AI’s ability is not just prediction, but also revelation.

Revealing that my learning object, long, long ago, had fallen in love with a person as blank as paper.

Translator’s note: can’t believe their AIs got together faster than the main cp XD
they’re so fricking cute! idk what will happen to then after molly is caught ;w;