Alice's Pride

"You saved Nana?" Xiang Kun asked in surprise. "What happened?"

"Last night, Nana was on the rooftop, and she was walking back down the stairs when she was like this, and then like this. It was extremely dangerous, a close call. I grabbed her leg and used all my strength to save her!"

As Alice spoke, she gestured to mimic the posture of Tang Baona when she was about to fall, and even made a crispy pork knuckle, which she then placed behind her thigh, simulating her own position from the previous night.

However, the crispy pork knuckle naturally couldn't reach out with both arms to grab her legs and stop her from falling. So Alice, faithfully mimicking Tang Baona's falling posture, simply plopped to the ground.

Of course, she felt no pain. She got up again, then knelt on the ground and said, "If I hadn't caught Nana would have fallen down the stairs like she did just now! Then I caught her, and she knelt down and landed safely! I checked, and her knees are fine!"

"Well done, Alice." Xiang Kun naturally knew that Alice's fancy performance was just to curry favor, so he didn't hold back his praise and patted her head.

Of course, in Xiang Kun's original plan, after Alice's abilities fully penetrated the network and were incorporated into the "Super-Sensing Item System," it was her duty to protect the personal safety of Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, Lao Xia, Little Apple, Little Chubby Girl, her parents, and even Chang Bin, Zi Cheng, Liu Caifu, and others within the scope of her abilities.

The fact that Alice was able to do this proves that she was indeed faithfully fulfilling her duties and that she also possessed the actual ability to do so.

This will allow Xiang Kun to feel more at ease entrusting her with his "backbone" and some important but potentially unmanageable tasks.

Alice possesses the ability to become a truly all-around assistant who can support Xiang Kun.

Moreover, it seems that her genuine "personality traits" have not only not hindered her from carrying out her missions, but have sometimes been of great help.

Just like when the Little Chubby Girl felt lonely and bullied in her hometown, the presence of a genuinely affectionate Alice to accompany and protect her was a completely different feeling from having a cold, mechanical Alice by her side.

Not to mention, in many cases, when it comes to the invocation and cognition of "emotional projection" of Emotion-Infused Object, she also needs to have a certain emotional judgment ability.

Upon receiving Xiang Kun's praise, Alice's face beamed with joy, a hint of pride in her expression.

"Was Nana frightened by you, or did she see you?" Xiang Kun continued to ask.

"No! I finished my work and then we left!" Alice replied immediately. "But Sister Nana wants to see the surveillance footage, and she even sent you WeChat. I asked Lao Xia, and Lao Xia asked me to tell her the location of the spare key on your behalf."

Xiang Kun picked up his phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, he saw the chat history between Alice and Tang Baona, where Alice was speaking in his voice.

Xiang Kun knew that when Alice manifested, all the cameras capable of capturing her location would stop working; she had absolute control over this. Not to mention, she could tamper with all the information and data stored on electronic devices, so Tang Baona naturally wouldn't be able to see anything when she tried to view the surveillance footage.

Alice continued, "When Sister Nana was watching the surveillance footage, Lao Xia was also there. I recorded their conversation. Does the boss want to hear it?"

After Xiang Kun nodded, Alice immediately turned on the computer speakers in the room to play the chat conversation between Tang Baona and Lao Xia from last night.

No matter where they are, as long as they have a mobile phone or an electronic device that can receive sound data nearby, Alice can record the sound. She can even pre-process the sound, increasing the volume of the voice and removing background noise. If there are objective reasons that make some sounds unclear or interfered with, she can even repair and restore the sound herself if she can identify the original sound. Therefore, the recorded sound quality is very good and very clear.

Xiang Kun had Alice speed up the recording and skip to the part with more dialogue. She quickly listened to the recording and realized that Lao Xia had skillfully soothed Nana's frightened mind and even successfully made Nana feel fond of and expectant of the possible existence of a "guardian spirit".

It has to be said that Lao Xia has a really good grasp of the personalities of the people around him.

Xiang Kun also noticed a detail: Nana seemed to be more skilled at flipping Coin than before. Lao Xia mentioned, "You've learned it," which was clearly not a minor improvement, but a significant sign.

Xiang Kun believed that Lao Xia, who was extremely familiar with the "Super-Sensing Item System," must have had sufficient reasons for saying that and making that judgment.

He sensed the "Lucky Coin" he had given to Nana, and it didn't have the slightly diminished connection he had with the Coin the Little Chubby Girl had received. However, this didn't mean that Nana hadn't established a connection with the Coin. After all, in the entire "Super-Sensing Item System," only the Little Chubby Girl could cause such a decrease in the connection of "Super-Linked Object"—she had linked that connection to herself, which was why she was able to thrive in the "Super-Sensing Item System."

Xiang Kun entered a "Hyper-Sensory State," randomly selected an "Emotion-Infused Object" in that building, and used his consciousness to locate Nana. Sure enough, he discovered a faint connection between Nana's cognitive information and that "Lucky Coin."

Clearly, Tang Baona has also entered the "Super-Sensing Item System".

Or, to be more precise, he's already halfway in.

According to Xiang Kun's previous understanding, to enter the "Super-Sensing Item System" and be able to actively connect with "Super-Linked Object" or "Emotion-Infused Object," the first requirement is his "approval," and the second is a unique way to trigger the connection.

Tang Baona undoubtedly possesses the former qualities. Regardless of the circumstances, Xiang Kun trusts her, and when he gave her that "Lucky Coin," he clearly demonstrated this "approval."

However, Tang Baona had never had a way to connect with the "Lucky Coin" or other "Super-Linked Object" or "Emotion-Infused Object." It was like a cave containing a secret treasure, the door of which had been opened for a specific person, but that person still needed to find the way to the cave entrance and discover its location in a dense forest.

Nana's sudden connection with "Super-Linked Object" was because she was startled by Alice?

Xiang Kun recalled the recording he had just listened to and immediately dismissed the guess. Nana had clearly told Lao Xia that she was thinking about something on the rooftop at night when she unconsciously flipped the Coin with her hand. The flipping became smoother and smoother, as if she had suddenly "mastered the skill." So it was obvious that she had already established a connection with the Coin before she tripped and was rescued by Alice.

The key question is: what was Nana thinking about on the rooftop at that time? Or rather, what was her state of mind while thinking about it?

Xiang Kun then asked Alice Tang Baona about the time she went up to the rooftop and the time she tripped when she was leaving.

"So late... where is Yang the Third at this hour?"

"She's sleeping!" Alice answered instantly, then immediately realized what Xiang Kun was thinking about, so she played a recording of Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona's conversation on the rooftop earlier for Xiang Kun at a faster speed.

Now the logical relationship is established. Most likely, Nana was confused by Yang the Third's wild reasoning, or perhaps Yang the Third brought up some of her original observations and questions about certain unusual things. So, while Yang the Third was asleep, she couldn't sleep and came to the rooftop to think about these things.

Based on her later conversation with Lao Xia, Xiang Kun was able to roughly deduce her thought process. When she was thinking on the rooftop, she probably unconsciously developed a cognitive framework about Xiang Kun's abilities.

Based on past experience, this cognitive system does not need to completely match reality or Xiang Kun's actual abilities. As long as she believes in it, has a complete set of logical explanations, and can reflect the specific manifestations of some abilities, it will be effective.

Alice, still in her manifest state, looked at Xiang Kun, who was deep in thought, with shining eyes, and asked, "Boss, what abilities does Sister Nana have?"

Clearly, Alice has also realized that Tang Baona is about to be included in the "Super-Sensing Item System".

"I don't know either." Xiang Kun glanced at her, then suddenly asked, "You really like Nana?"

When Alice was first born, she addressed everyone except Xiang Kun by their full names. However, as she grew rapidly, her self-awareness increased, her "little emotions" became richer, and especially after being fully integrated into the "Super-Sensing Item System" and able to exist purely as hypersensory information, she began to have her own likes and dislikes—of course, mainly influenced by Xiang Kun, but with certain biases related to herself.

When Alice recounted her actions from the previous night and mentioned Tang Baona, Xiang Kun could clearly sense that she had a strong affinity and affection for "Sister Nana," and was proud that she could protect Tang Baona and prevent Tang Baona from getting hurt.

Alice said matter-of-factly, "The boss likes Sister Nana, Lao Xia likes Sister Nana, Little Bell and Little Apple like Sister Nana! Of course, Alice likes Sister Nana too! And... Sister Nana likes Alice too!"

Xiang Kun asked in surprise, "How do you know Nana likes you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the speaker next to her immediately emitted a voice that Tang Baona clearly kept quiet, as if she were whispering:

"The Little Sprite who just saved me, can you hear me? I didn't have a chance to thank you. Could you come out again so I can see you? Of course, it's okay if you can't come out. Um... if you can hear me, could you flash your light?"

After a while, it was Tang Baona's voice again. "Goodnight, Little Sprite, thank you."

Xiang Kun laughed when he heard this. Clearly, after talking with Lao Xia and having safely overcome her fear and terror, Tang Baona, who had developed a lovely imagination about Alice, wanted to start actively contacting and searching for the person who had saved her.

After playing the recording, Alice raised her chin slightly and said proudly, "Sister Nana calls me Little Sprite!"

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "Little Bell also calls her Coin Little Sprite."

Alice froze, her mouth slightly agape. Although each of the Little Bell's Coin was a "Super-Linked Object Coin" that she could "super-activate," and each had its own name, she clearly didn't think that the Coin could compare to her. In her view, "Little Sprite" should be synonymous with cuteness, justice, and power.

"It's different! Nana's Little Sprite isn't Coin! Little Bell's Little Sprite is 'Little Sprite Guardians'! Not 'Little Sprite'!" Alice said, pursing her lips.

Xiang Kun smiled and nodded, "Yes, yes, Nana's Little Sprite is the super powerful Alice." Then he asked, "So, did you respond to Nana's call and flash the light back then?"

"No," Alice sighed. "Lao Xia said whether or not Nana can know about me depends on the boss."

"Hmm, not for now," Xiang Kun said.

"Lao Xia guessed you would say that."

After learning about the situation from Alice, Xiang Kun left the courtyard and headed towards the small building where Lao Xia and Tang Baona were.

He knew that Xia Tianhuo was in town, and only Lao Xia, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, Little Bell, and Little Apple were in the house.

When he pushed open the door and entered the courtyard, stepping into the living room on the first floor, he found Xia, Na, Guo, and Niu all gathered around the sofa, pointing and talking to Yang the Third, who was sitting on the sofa.

He knew, of course, that the four of them were instructing Yang Zhen'er on how to flip Coin, each offering their own opinions and "teaching" her their own skills and insights.

Even without asking Alice or anyone else, just by looking at the situation, he could tell that Yang Zhen'er was clearly spurred on by seeing that Nana had also learned to flip Coin. She felt frustrated that everyone else could do it but she couldn't, so she became determined to learn it.

He didn't say anything, but moved closer to Lao Xia and Tang Baona, craning his neck to look at Yang Zhen'er, who was practicing flipping Coin with a worried and anxious expression.

The Coin Yang the Third used were also "Super-Linked Object"—Lao Xia had lent them to her.

Xiang Kun suddenly spoke up, "Don't tense your forearm, rest your elbow on your thigh, relax your wrist and fingers, don't treat it like Coin, treat it like a cigarette, hold it gently, and then slip it between your fingers to the side..."

"I don't smoke... Hey, Chef Xiang!" Yang Zhen'er replied subconsciously, then suddenly realized something and looked up at Xiang Kun.

But at that moment, the Coin on the back of her left hand suddenly flipped up smoothly and deftly, then passed smoothly from her little finger to her thumb.

"Huh?" Liu Shiling, standing to the side, widened her eyes slightly, looked at Xiang Kun, then at the Coin, and then gave him an expression that said, "I understand."

Yang Zhen'er was startled by her own reaction. She looked at the Coin in her hand and exclaimed, "Holy crap... Ouch... Holy crap! I just did it?" She almost blurted out a curse, but when she glanced at the Little Chubby Girl next to her, she swallowed the word back.

"This is very simple. Don't concentrate too much, just relax. The more you try to learn it, the less you'll learn it. Your hands will get too tense, and it won't be smooth. Hey, are you guys hungry? Want to get a midnight snack?" Xiang Kun said with a smile.

Actually, it wasn't that Yang Zhen'er suddenly had an epiphany and mastered the technique; rather, he subtly controlled the Coin, causing it to flip around once following the unconscious mechanical movements of Yang Zhen'er's hand.

If Yang Zhen'er really focuses her attention on her hand and the Coin, he won't be able to control the Coin to flip so smoothly, because he'll be struggling against Yang Zhen'er's fingers.

He knew that connecting with "Super-Linked Object" wasn't simply a matter of "hard work"; it required "fate." Therefore, he didn't want Yang Zhen'er to get too caught up in the details or take it too seriously.

--

I'd like to recommend a new fantasy book, "The Unromantic Fantasy World." The friend who recommended it to me has excellent taste, so I'm sure the book is good.