The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 109

Guan Qin blinked, clearly unaccustomed to this line of thought. “Throw it back? How do we throw it back?”

Xie Zhitian pondered for a moment before answering, “Miss Guan, we actually anticipated that something like this might happen and had some discussions, but we haven’t completely decided on the course of action. For the next few days, could we trouble you all to work some extra hours, taking charge of the robots in Area A? The rest will be handled by us and Dr. Meng.”

Guan Qin and the other women immediately agreed. “No problem, leave it to us.”

They had been assisting Meng Qiang for so many days that they knew the entire process by heart. The robot-related work was demanding, and without Meng Qiang, their work speed would slow down, requiring them to spend more time. However, as long as they could ensure the stable mining in Area A, it was all worth it.

Meng Qiang slightly frowned, appearing a bit perplexed by the arrangement. She had never dealt with such a situation before and had no idea how she could help.

But after spending these days together, she had come to trust Xie Zhitian and the others. With their help, her communication with her subordinates and the public had become much smoother. She was no longer being cornered by Guan Qin with a barrage of questions.

So, in Meng Qiang’s subconscious, following Xie Zhitian’s arrangements was undoubtedly the best choice.

Meng Qiang spent the entire afternoon going over work handovers with Guan Qin and the other women, ensuring that the work for the next few days would proceed smoothly and telling them to contact her at any time if they had any problems.

Guan Qin sounded genuinely pleased when she heard this last part. “Dr. Meng, I’m so touched you’re able to say something like, ‘contact me anytime.'”

Normally, their interactions with Meng Qiang were strictly work-related and kept to a minimum. Meng Qiang disliked social interaction and practically had “please don’t bother me” written on her face. It seemed the past few days of communication had indeed been fruitful, even if it was just on paper, it had given Meng Qiang an awareness of interacting with people.

Meng Qiang was stunned for a moment, looking a bit uncomfortable, as if she couldn’t believe those words had just come from her own mouth.

“Then, Dr. Meng, we’ll get going now. If you need any help, feel free to contact us anytime, too.”

Guan Qin and the others, sensing her discomfort, laughed and changed the subject, letting the matter go.

After the technical staff left, only Meng Qiang and Xie Zhitian’s group remained in the conference room.

It was an overcast day, and the sunlight was a dull gray. The majority of the seats around the long table were empty, making the room feel a bit desolate.

Meng Qiang sat up straight, the light in her eyes shifting and uncertain. “What do we do now?”

Xie Zhitian looked at her but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she asked a question, “Dr. Meng, how have you been feeling about interacting with people these past few days? Not as anxious and uneasy as you were at the beginning, right?”

Meng Qiang’s expression was momentarily lost in thought, but she quickly regained her composure.

She replied softly, “A little better.”

After a pause, she added, “This has nothing to do with our upcoming plan. Let’s talk about the main business first.”

Xie Zhitian smiled. “No, this is part of the plan. If we don’t clear this up, the plan can’t proceed.”

“What do you mean?” Meng Qiang asked.

Luo Yang, standing beside her, took a thin piece of paper from her pocket and placed it on the table, pushing it toward Meng Qiang. “Dr. Meng, we found this.”

Meng Qiang lowered her head, and when she saw the contents of the paper, her expression instantly froze.

She abruptly looked up, her voice urgent. “Where did you get this?”

“An unexpected find, a gift from… a kind person, you could say.”

Luo Yang’s tone was gentle. “Dr. Meng, your reaction is so strong, which means this document must be real. But if this document is real, you should no longer be with us.”

She stared into Meng Qiang’s eyes. “Dr. Meng, who exactly are you?”

What she had just taken from her pocket was a hospital diagnosis sheet, with Meng Qiang as the patient. The content of the sheet could be summarized as, the patient’s cancer had spread throughout her body, and it was recommended to stop treatment. Perhaps because the sheet came from an expensive private hospital, it even had a note suggesting euthanasia could be considered to reduce the patient’s suffering.

The date on the diagnosis sheet was six months ago. If the contents were true, Meng Qiang should have passed away from the illness by now. Yet the woman with the same face was perfectly fine, showing no signs of being a patient.

As for the source of the document, it was the result of their sting operation.

Previously, Nian Gao had been running around and inexplicably returned with useful information, solving their communication problem with Meng Qiang with just a colorful pinwheel.

So after a series of changes occurred in the past few days, Xia Fufeng deliberately let Nian Gao out several more times, instructing it to keep an eye out for the person who had given her that newspaper. Their efforts paid off. Just yesterday, Nian Gao brought back this diagnosis sheet, which almost completely upended their understanding of Meng Qiang.

While it was still unclear who was helping them in the shadows, it was certain that this person was quite resourceful, managing to obtain such confidential materials.

Meng Qiang closed her eyes, her fingers lightly caressing the crumpled diagnosis sheet. Her fingertips trembled, as if it were a past she couldn’t touch.

She was silent, her eyes filled with sorrow, like the heavy, dark sky before a storm, so oppressive it was suffocating, yet not a single tear fell.

“Dr. Meng, you have your own thoughts and emotions.”

Tang Zhuoran spoke softly. “So at first, we thought you were a clone. It wouldn’t be difficult for you and your parents, who possess the most advanced technology, to cultivate a clone and have it grow quickly in a few years. But then we discovered something else.”

She glanced slightly to the side. Xia Fufeng, who was sitting next to her, immediately understood and handed over a notebook.

Tang Zhuoran opened the notebook. “Dr. Meng, we kept all the notes you wrote when you were answering questions for everyone. When I had some free time these past few days, I would look through them, and I noticed that every time you wrote the same character, it was exactly identical. The size of the characters and the angles of the strokes had no deviation. It looked more like it was printed than handwritten.”

Xie Zhitian added, “Then we thought back to our interactions with you over these past few days. You keep your distance from everyone, you insist on living alone, you don’t let anyone into your home, and you never eat with others.”

“It’s not that you’re so repulsed by others. It’s just that you’re afraid someone will find out, find out that you aren’t Meng Qiang, and perhaps not even human. If we’re not mistaken, you’re likely an AI, but you have your own thoughts and feelings, right?”

The air seemed to stand still, frozen in place. The room was so quiet that even the sound of breathing became clear.

“You’re right,” Meng Qiang finally said after a long silence. “As expected, I’m still not good at lying.”

The unwritten rules of social interaction were incredibly complicated and difficult for her. To avoid being found out, she had avoided people again and again, but in the end, she still couldn’t hide it from the women in front of her.

“It’s okay, Dr. Meng. We won’t tell anyone about this.”

Seeing her looking dejected, Luo Yang comforted her. “You must have a reason for taking the risk of coming here. Besides, you’ve done so much for the base over these past few days. We’re very grateful and want to help you. If you don’t want to answer our questions, you don’t have to.”

Xia Fufeng also said, “That’s right. No matter who you are, what we have to do won’t change, which is to ensure everything goes smoothly in the mining area. So don’t be nervous. We will always be your companions.”

Although her identity was exposed, everyone still chose to call her “Dr. Meng.” After all, none of them intended to spread this information, and making no changes was the best course of action.

Meng Qiang’s eyes trembled slightly upon hearing this.

She rarely had emotional fluctuations, so every time she felt them, it gave her a jolt, as if a subtle current was coursing through her body.

She said softly, “What do you want to ask?”

Xie Zhitian carefully chose her words, starting with a relatively light question. “In that article, the friend who went shopping with Dr. Meng and saw the pinwheel, was that you?”

“It was me,” Meng Qiang admitted. “We’ve been together since we were little, accompanying each other for many years. As technology advanced, my appearance was also continuously updated.”

Xie Zhitian understood.

No wonder they had asked around, and no one knew that Meng Qiang had such a good friend. The woman in front of them had always been changing her appearance, and no one would ever include an AI in their circle of friends.

She hesitated for a moment but still asked the question that was most troubling to them. “The real Dr. Meng, is she…?”

“She’s fine. She’s just resting.”

Meng Qiang seemed afraid that Xie Zhitian would say something ominous and hurriedly cut her off. “She was sick, but the current medical technology isn’t enough to cure her. So… she chose to go into hibernation, temporarily freezing herself.”

“She will definitely get better,” Xia Fufeng comforted her. “Before the apocalypse, there were groundbreaking advancements in curing cancer. The TV reported it for several days. I remember it so clearly. Now everything is slowly returning to normal. It won’t be long before you two are reunited.”

Meng Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, her expression softening a bit. “I think so, too.”

Tang Zhuoran asked, “So, did Dr. Meng ask you to come here to work?”

“Yes,” Meng Qiang gently replied. “She asked me to come.”

Just a few months ago, knowing her time was limited, Meng Qiang asked her to take her place and oversee the work at the mining area. Meng Qiang said the situation was still unstable, and the mining of this iron ore required the participation of robots, and it had been decided long ago that she would be in charge. If she suddenly had to be absent due to illness, the queen’s camp wouldn’t have anyone else to take her place, so she was the best choice. Meng Qiang also said she was the person who understood her best and would definitely be able to do a good job.

But she hadn’t done a good job. Her brain was a sophisticated computer that could store a vast amount of information and data and perform countless complex calculations to make the best allocation and arrangements for the robots. But when faced with accusations and slander from others, she was at a loss and only felt afraid.

Meng Qiang sighed. “But I’m not her. I feel like I messed things up.”

“No, you haven’t messed up anything.”

Xie Zhitian gently patted her shoulder and smiled. “You are the best weapon, so next, we will start our counterattack together.”

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