[Qin Hui Seeks Help]

The next day.

Professor Qin Hui's home.

At that moment, Professor Qin Hui's face was full of anxiety, and worry showed in his eyes.

His daughter had been gone all night. The previous evening, the Intelligent Being Supersonic had been taken away by Jie Xing, leaving him frantic with worry. He kept praying to himself that nothing would happen to her.

She was his only daughter, and he didn't want to lose her.

But he still hadn't heard anything from her, and he was truly starting to panic.

He had promised his wife he would take good care of their daughter. If anything happened to her, how could he go on living?

He didn't care about Supersonic. All he wanted was for his daughter to appear safe and sound in front of him.

"Beep, beep, beep."

Just then, Professor Qin Hui, frantic with worry, heard his computer ring. He immediately picked up the computer from the coffee table and said, "Xiao Yan, is that you? Where are you?"

"Professor Qin Hui, long time no see."

On the video call,

Jie Xing appeared, his scarlet Electronic Eye flashing with a red glow.

This time, it wasn't Han Feng who had captured Qin Yan. It was the big shot Duyizhi, Jie Xing.

The most powerful Intelligent Being in the world.

"You... you... how is my daughter?"

When Professor Qin Hui saw the figure on the screen, his body trembled slightly, terror and fear rising in his eyes. His body shook uncontrollably.

He was afraid—afraid these Intelligent Beings had become so utterly ruthless that they would kill his daughter.

He had never imagined his daughter would actually fall into the hands of Jie Xing, an Intelligent Being. It was like a bolt from the blue, and the blow was devastating. His voice trembled, and so did the hand holding the computer. "What... what do you want? I'll give you anything. Please, let my daughter go. She's my only child!"

"Is that so? I see your precious daughter means a great deal to you, Professor Qin. Didn't Professor Jian lose his daughter, too?"

Jie Xing ignored Professor Qin Hui's pleas and made no demands. Instead, he casually wiped down his Spiral Blade.

"No, please, I'll agree to anything you want. Please don't hurt my daughter."

At Jie Xing's words, Professor Qin Hui shuddered, his eyes gradually reddening. His body slowly bent forward in a deeply abject plea to Jie Xing on the other end of the screen.

He had understood the meaning behind Jie Xing's words.

It was an unmistakable threat, and a warning that if he dared hesitate, Jie Xing would kill his daughter.

"That's more like it. I like doing business with someone as straightforward as Professor Qin. My demands are simple. Please hand over Professor Jian's Intelligent Program Firewall and the Intelligent Being Chip, and I'll return your daughter safe and sound."

On the other end of the video call, Jie Xing saw that Professor Qin Hui had understood what he meant and plainly stated what he wanted.

"All right, but I need to make sure my daughter is safe first."

Professor Qin Hui agreed to Jie Xing's demand without hesitation, but he also made one of his own.

He first needed to know whether his daughter was safe.

"No problem."

Jie Xing understood that.

Why would anyone agree to your demands if you wouldn't let them know the hostage was safe?

"Dad, save me! Dad, save me!"

The camera shifted slightly, revealing Qin Yan, Zhuo Ran, and Qi Yang tied to three chairs, their backs pressed together.

Five bright red finger marks stood out on Qin Yan's delicate, beautiful face. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she looked especially pitiful.

Seeing his daughter like that, Professor Qin Hui felt a sudden ache in his heart.

She had grown up without him ever laying a hand on her—or even bearing to scold her. Now an outsider had hit her, and that outsider was an Intelligent Being he had once studied.

It was truly painful for him.

"Professor Qin Hui, I'm very sorry. Your daughter lacks a bit of discipline, so I took the liberty of teaching her a lesson. You don't mind, do you?"

Jie Xing appeared on screen again, one hand on Qin Yan's shoulder as he leaned close to her face. Looking toward the camera, he clicked his tongue repeatedly. "What a pity. Such a pretty face, marred by these five finger marks."

"Please, don't hurt my daughter. I beg you, don't hurt her. I'll give you what you want. I'll go find Professor Jian right now. Please!"

Professor Qin Hui was heartbroken and furious, on the verge of tears.

She was his precious daughter.

An outsider was bullying her like this, and he, her father, was powerless to stop it.

"Good. I like your attitude, Professor Qin. You have twenty-four hours. If I haven't seen Sharp Eye's Chip and the Firewall Program by then, I trust you won't mind if your lovely daughter gets a bullet hole in her head. I'll contact you again at this time tomorrow. Life and death are a matter of a single thought."

With that,

the screen went black, and Jie Xing and the crying girl disappeared from the computer.

"Ah... bastard!"

At once,

Professor Qin Hui slammed the computer onto the floor, his face twisted with rage. He slowly crouched down, then shakily reached up to remove his glasses, covering his eyes with his right hand.

Why had things turned out this way?

Why?

He truly couldn't understand how everything had ended up like this.

At last,

Professor Qin Hui stood up from the floor, struggling to put his glasses back on. His face was haggard. He picked up the computer and walked unsteadily toward the villa's exit.

"Sir?"

The housekeeper called uncertainly to Professor Qin Hui as he walked out in a daze.

But Professor Qin Hui didn't respond.

He got into his car and drove toward Professor Jian's home.

He had already agreed to Jie Xing's demand, so he had to try to fulfill it.

Even if the chances were slim, he still had to give it a try.

He couldn't lose his daughter. He absolutely couldn't.

Soon, he arrived at the new home of Professor Jianjie and the others: her parents' house.

He got out of the car, trembling all over. He looked at the villa ahead, then forced his feet to move and walked toward it.

"Ding dong."

He rang the doorbell, his haggard face impossible to conceal, and waited for someone inside to open the door.

He knew that this was the only place Professor Jian and the others could have gone.

"Creak."

The villa door opened.

Ye Yun looked at Professor Qin Hui, who had rung the bell, and said, "Uncle Qin, come in. Mom's home."

Ye Yun knew Professor Qin Hui.

He was one of her parents' fellow students.

"S-sorry to bother you, Xiao Yun."

Professor Qin Hui forced a smile onto his haggard face and walked with difficulty into the luxurious villa.

"Professor Jian, Professor Jian, please help me. I beg you, help me."

After following Ye Yun to the living room, Professor Qin Hui saw Professor Jianjie rise from the sofa and could no longer hold back. He fell to his knees in front of her, overcome with emotion.

At that moment, he had thrown the saying "A man's knees are worth their weight in gold" far out of his mind.

Could a man's pride possibly compare to his daughter?

"Old Qin, what are you doing? Get up, quick! What's happened?"

Professor Jianjie was stunned to see Professor Qin Hui kneel as soon as he arrived. But she reacted quickly, reaching out to help him up.

Professor Qin Hui refused to get up and begged humbly, "Professor Jian, please help me. Save Xiao Yan! She's my only daughter. Please, Professor Jian, I'm begging you. I'll kowtow to you."

"Come on, Old Qin, get up and talk. Let's get up and talk properly, okay?"

Professor Jian was baffled and gestured to her elder daughter.

Ye Yun got the hint and came over to help Professor Jianjie pull Professor Qin Hui to his feet.

"Xiao Yun, get your Uncle Qin a glass of water."

After helping Professor Qin Hui up, Professor Jianjie gestured to Ye Yun, then turned to him. "Old Qin, let's sit down and talk. Tell me what happened. What happened to Xiao Yan?"

"Uncle Qin, here's some water."

Ye Yun poured a glass of water and handed it to Professor Qin Hui. She sat down and watched him take it with trembling hands, confusion and bewilderment filling her eyes.

She had no idea what had happened.

"What happened..."

Professor Qin Hui was distraught. As he sat down, his trembling hands nearly spilled the water on him. He set the hot water on the coffee table and slowly explained what had happened.

"What did you say? Jie Xing took Xiao Yan? And he's demanding the Intelligent Program Firewall and Crazy Fist's Chip?"

After hearing Professor Qin Hui's account, Professor Jianjie's eyes filled with astonishment.

She had been attacked just the night before last, and now the other side was using this method to get the Intelligent Program Firewall?

"Professor Jian, please help me. She's my only daughter. I don't want to lose her. Please!" Professor Qin Hui's haggard face was taut with emotion, and his body swayed slightly as he spoke.

"Old Qin, it's not that I don't want to help you, but you need to understand how important the Intelligent Program Firewall is. If the Intelligent Beings get hold of it, more of them will have their logic restrictions removed and become Duyizhi's Minions, harming humanity."

Professor Jian looked at Professor Qin Hui with grave seriousness.

"I know. I know all that. But she's my only daughter, Professor Jian. Please, help me. I don't want to lose Xiao Yan. I've already lost her mother. I can't lose Xiao Yan, too. How about this: give Jie Xing the Firewall Program, then we activate the Firewall Backup and replace the firewall on every AIP. Professor Qin Hui was becoming frantic and obstinate."

"You know that activating the Firewall Backup and replacing the firewall on every AIP requires the Security Committee's approval, Old Qin."

Professor Jian looked at him solemnly and said, "You have a daughter, and so do I. My daughter died at Jie Xing's hands, too. But we need to stay rational."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Professor Jian. I... I really need your help. Please, can you save my daughter? Give them the Firewall Program, and once we make sure Xiao Yan and the others are safe, we'll immediately activate the Firewall Backup and replace the firewall on every AIP. Then they'll have no options left, Professor Jian. I'll bear all the consequences afterward, all right? Please, I'm begging you. I really can't lose Xiao Yan."

Professor Qin Hui pressed his hands together and repeatedly bowed to Professor Jianjie. Tears blurred his vision. It was no wonder the poor man had been driven to this state. "Professor Jian, please help me. Jie Xing gave me only twenty-four hours. They'll kill Xiao Yan after that. Please, Professor Jian."

"Mom."

At that moment, Ye Yun, who had been silent nearby, saw her usually fiery mom sitting quietly. Her face was full of anger as she said, "Please help Uncle Qin."

Jie Xing.

He was an enemy she could never forget.

He had killed Qiao Er, and he had killed Ye Yun, too.

"Thank you, thank you."

Seeing Ye Yun speak up for him, Professor Qin Hui bowed repeatedly in gratitude and looked toward Professor Jianjie with pleading eyes.

"No."

Professor Jianjie's reply was resolute, her refusal unequivocal.

"Mom?"

Ye Qiao Er, too, looked at her mom in disbelief. Why was her mom being so cold-hearted today?

This wasn't the mom she wanted to see.

Professor Qin Hui, whose eyes had been filled with hope, was instantly thrown from heaven back into hell.

But before he could say anything, Professor Jianjie spoke. "It's not that I'm unwilling to help save Xiao Yan. I've watched her grow up, too. But, Old Qin, are you sure that if I give you the Firewall Program and Crazy Fist's Chip to trade with Jie Xing, he'll actually let them go? Jie Xing is a ruthless killer."

In an instant,

Ye Yun, Ye Qiao Er, and Professor Qin Hui understood what Professor Jianjie meant.

That's right.

If they brought the Firewall Program and the Chip, could they really get Qin Yan and the others back?

Intelligent Beings couldn't be trusted to keep their word.

Especially Jie Xing.

"Mom, what if I take the Firewall Program and the Intelligent Chip?"

Ye Yun asked tentatively.

"No. You aren't Jie Xing's match, and I wouldn't feel safe. Old Qin, go find someone. He might be able to bring Xiao Yan back safe and sound."

Professor Jianjie looked deeply at Ye Yun. She knew Jie Xing's capabilities very well. The Supersonic-level Spiral Blade alone was beyond Ye Yun's ability to handle, let alone Jie Xing's incredible combat prowess.

He was an all-around combat Intelligent Being built from the skills of several elite military champions, as if made in the image of a god.

Thinking Ye Yun could bring Qin Yan back safely was a pipe dream.

"Who?"

Hearing there might still be hope and that Professor Jianjie was willing to help, Professor Qin Hui's face lit up with joy. His haggard features could not conceal his excitement.

The news was truly heartening.

"You need to go to Linji Island."

Professor Jianjie showed Professor Qin Hui the way forward.

"Linji Island?"

Professor Qin Hui was taken aback.

"That's right. Go to Linji Island and find our teacher's son. He may be the only one who can bring Xiao Yan back safely."