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Chapter 67: Xiao Ting%
chapter 67: xiao ting%
sitting in the subway, sun jack stared at the massive ghostly figure before him. tentatively, he asked, “xiao ting%?”
the ghost floated silently, its gaze unwavering. sun jack realized it might only respond to specific memory-related keywords. with this in mind, he spoke again, “i’m here to find xiao ting%. i’d like to make a deal about memories—the price is negotiable.”
as if triggered, the enormous ghost swiftly shrank into a chibi cartoon version of itself. it floated around sun jack’s head and chirped, “hi there! i’m ghost 3! hahaha! user 1931 left me here to handle things for them. just tell me what you need.”
despite its fluent speech, sun jack quickly discerned it wasn’t human—it was an ai, and a rudimentary one at that.
“wait, i’ve seen this cartoon character on a billboard somewhere...” sun jack muttered, initiating a rapid system search. the results led to a defunct company. the firm had specialized in intelligent products and developed a unique ai capable of adapting to user habits, assisting with learning, combat, and even stock trading. the ai learned through constant observation, handling repetitive tasks for the user.
clever, sun jack thought. to avoid being traced, xiao ting% had opted for offline operations, relying solely on a support ai to communicate with clients.
considering his next steps, sun jack kept his request simple. “i want to know if my memories have been edited, how much of them are real, and how much is fake.”
ghost 3 spun a few times before sticking out its tongue in a cheeky gesture. “central zone, building 145, unit 2314.”
with a pop, the cartoon ghost vanished. not only did its projection disappear, but even sun jack’s access logs, the shared links he sent to aa and tapai, and the paper in his pocket were erased. checking his pockets repeatedly, sun jack gave up trying to understand how this was possible and focused on whether xiao ting% could answer his questions.
“central zone, building 145, unit 2314,” he repeated, inputting the address into his navigation software.
a quick scan identified it as “the grail,” though its purpose remained unclear.
“no idea. maybe a corporate hq,” sun jack replied absentmindedly. he was too focused on his impending meeting with xiao ting%.
after nearly two hours of travel, they arrived at building 145, unit 2314, which turned out to be a parking space in a multi-level garage. cars were neatly stacked like a museum exhibit of vehicles.
in the midst of the rows of cars was a black truck hauling a massive shipping container—sun jack’s destination.
the size of the container brought father’s warning to mind. this person was dangerous. “prepare your weapons. if anything feels wrong, we’re leaving immediately,” sun jack instructed.
after checking their gear, sun jack took a deep breath and knocked on the container. the rear door creaked open, revealing an interior filled with precision electronic equipment, tangled cables, and glowing fiber optics.
what caught sun jack’s attention most, however, were the brains. suspended in liquid-filled tanks, dozens—possibly hundreds—of human brains were stacked like inventory. wires and data cables extended from the bases, indicating the brains were still alive.
sun jack’s scalp tingled at the sight. human consciousness stored and traded like merchandise. this wasn’t just one or two victims—there were at least a hundred.
hearing footsteps, sun jack tensed and turned toward the sound. at last, he saw the person he had come for: xiao ting%.
her body resembled a sultry woman clad in revealing black-and-red leather, but she had no head. with a hiss, a projection flickered to life, displaying a short-haired, anime-style girl’s head above the body.