The Host Has Fallen for the Second Female Lead Again - Chapter 113

Within an hour, all the surveillance footage was on the computer. Each screen was tiny, barely visible to the naked eye, but it didn’t matter; alarms would sound either way.

“It’s getting late. I’ll keep an eye on things, you go to bed,” Xi Ruan said.

Ji Mingxiao glanced at Xi Ruan. “Can you even see anything?”

“No,”

“Then come to bed with me. Didn’t you say you’d sleep with me?”

“When did I ever say that?”

Despite her words, Xi Ruan moved closer to Ji Mingxiao and leaned against her obediently.

“I knew you couldn’t bear to leave me.”

Ji Mingxiao rolled over and hugged Xi Ruan’s waist.

“I feel like you only researched this stuff for yourself,” Xi Ruan said.

“Nonsense, it’s for you. I know you’re sad because you can’t hug me.”

Xi Ruan: …

“What is wrong with you?”

“What about me?” Ji Mingxiao scoffed.

Xi Ruan didn’t want to talk anymore.

Ji Mingxiao closed her eyes, feeling completely satisfied. Xi Ruan watched her profile.

This person was truly shameless.

How had she ever fallen for her?

Xi Ruan reached out and poked Ji Mingxiao’s face, then closed her eyes as well.

Just as Ji Mingxiao was about to fall asleep, a blaring alarm woke her up. She sat up instantly, but Xi Ruan was already in front of the computer.

“Is this it?”

Ji Mingxiao squinted at the person on the screen and quickly pinpointed their location.

It was a surveillance video from a noodle shop.

She had already prepared a teleportation talisman and various other equipment. She grabbed Xi Ruan and teleported them directly into a nearby alley. Finding a surveillance blind spot was no longer difficult for her.

Looking at the person not far away, she flicked a talisman from her hand.

Han Zhao and Ji Mingxiao exchanged a look. He raised an eyebrow, waved his hand, and turned to run.

Ji Mingxiao used a sprint talisman to catch up quickly, grabbing Han Zhao by his collar.

“Why go through all this trouble?” Han Zhao looked at Ji Mingxiao. “You really went to a lot of effort to find me.”

“I wasn’t looking for you; I was looking for the person you met with today.”

Han Zhao paused. “Why would you look for a lunatic?”

He sized up Ji Mingxiao.

“Anyone who can make an enemy of a lunatic, it must be you.”

“What did he tell you?” Ji Mingxiao’s eyes narrowed, looking at him coldly.

“What, did he tell you the same boring stuff? That our world is a fake one, and we’re all just pre-programmed routines?” Han Zhao looked at Ji Mingxiao. “He told me he was a conscious AI. At that moment, I knew he had gone crazy.”

“I also thought about it. If my thoughts are set by someone else, then wouldn’t his words to me also be pre-programmed? So what kind of conscious AI is he?”

Ji Mingxiao was silent.

She felt like this was getting into philosophical territory.

“Host, AIs all have autonomy and can choose to think for themselves. Conscious, well, that probably means a conscious rebellion?”

Ji Mingxiao didn’t want to talk. It all felt messy and confusing.

But based on what the system said, looking for “awakened” AIs was more like looking for AIs that wanted to rebel.

“Miss Qin, do you need anything else?” Han Zhao smiled at Ji Mingxiao. “Can you let me go now?”

“What did you want to achieve by bringing Xiang Ying here?”

Han Zhao’s expression cooled. “Miss Qin knows a little too much, don’t you think?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to come back with me.” Ji Mingxiao fumbled with her items for a while but found that none of them were working.

Han Zhao looked at Ji Mingxiao in surprise. “I let you catch me on purpose.”

“So?”

“So I’m not going back.” Han Zhao smiled broadly, but his expression immediately froze and he turned into a paper doll.

Ji Mingxiao’s face darkened instantly.

She knew it; there was no way this person would be caught so easily.

It was three or four in the morning, on a deserted street.

A woman with messy hair held a paper doll in her hand, a terrifying sight.

A late-night traveler was startled.

Ji Mingxiao crumpled the paper doll into a ball, stomped on it twice, and threw it in a trash can.

“He used a body double.”

Ji Mingxiao’s eyes narrowed as she glanced at a surveillance camera.

So her actions were being watched?

She didn’t plan on removing the surveillance cameras, though. Useful or not, she’d leave them there.

Han Zhao was actually not far away. He hadn’t expected Ji Mingxiao to appear so suddenly, nor did he understand how she had found him.

And the information she had just revealed was too vast. He didn’t understand how she knew what he was doing.

Han Zhao frowned. Had she learned some dark magic?

He stood at a window.

Her talent was high, so if she wanted to learn dark magic, she could probably do it quickly.

But he had been here for a while, and she still hadn’t followed.

Han Zhao tapped the glass and thought of that lunatic again.

He couldn’t figure out why Ji Mingxiao would be involved with him.

Could the lunatic have been telling the truth?

Han Zhao laughed again. Whether it was true or not, what did it matter to him? He felt his life was pretty good right now and he didn’t want to change anything.

When Ji Mingxiao returned, she wanted to go back to sleep, but she remained in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

Xi Ruan poked Ji Mingxiao’s forehead, murmured something softly, and watched as her brows relaxed before lying back down.

She knew Ji Mingxiao was probably feeling down. For a proud person like her, having all her investigations hit a dead end must be frustrating.

Xi Ruan poked Ji Mingxiao’s face again, then leaned down and kissed her cheek before closing her eyes.

Because no one woke her, Ji Mingxiao slept until past 10 a.m. She felt a bit groggy when she woke up.

Xi Ruan was floating nearby and had already picked out the clothes Ji Mingxiao would wear for the day, placing them by the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Mingxiao felt like Xi Ruan was looking at her strangely today.

“Nothing, I just think you’re great today.”

Ji Mingxiao, who was in the middle of putting on her clothes, froze for a few seconds. She looked at Xi Ruan and blinked.

“What happened to you? Did you have some kind of shock?”

Xi Ruan: …

So much for giving her compliments.

“Stop overthinking things.” Ji Mingxiao raised her hand and flicked Xi Ruan’s forehead.

The “lazy fish” was gone again. Apparently, she had left early in the morning.

Ji Mingxiao had come to the realization that the lazy fish was a person who prioritized her own interests. She wasn’t close with her and didn’t have a mindset for collaboration. Letting her in this time was simply to repay a favor.

Ji Mingxiao didn’t think too much about it; there was a high chance she wouldn’t see her again.

After finishing her meal and returning to her room, she heard a sharp alarm.

This time, the target was Xiang Ying.

She had appeared at the subway, dragging a suitcase, and kept looking around, though it was unclear what she was looking for.

“Is she looking for someone?”

“Looks like it.” Ji Mingxiao watched Xiang Ying. The cameras switched one after another, and the scene changed rapidly. Finally, she saw Xiang Ying enter a hotel and then go into a room.

That was the end of the footage.

Ji Mingxiao tapped the table and sent out a small paper doll.

“Han Zhao might discover it.”

“It’s fine.” Ji Mingxiao rubbed her neck.

She glanced at the surveillance screen again. The lazy fish also appeared at that hotel, with a man next to her. It didn’t seem to be the same two men as last time.

Truly a princess.

The lazy fish and the man had already entered a room.

“This should be a coincidence, right?” Xi Ruan asked.

“Who knows.” Ji Mingxiao leaned back in her chair and swung her legs. She continued to watch the surveillance. Two hours later, the man came out, but the lazy fish remained in the room. Xiang Ying hadn’t left either. According to the small paper doll’s report, Xiang Ying had been in her room the whole time, watching TV, and no one had contacted her.

The little paper doll also secretly peeked at the lazy fish.

For two hours, the two had just been talking, but the paper doll couldn’t hear what they were saying; there was a barrier around them.

At around 9 p.m., Xiang Ying left the hotel. She had disguised herself, and her style of dress and makeup were completely different from before. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t be able to recognize her.

Ji Mingxiao’s tapping finger stopped. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Xi Ruan next to her say,

“Her makeup is so good. I’m jealous.”

Noticing Ji Mingxiao was looking at her, Xi Ruan immediately became serious. “Why did she suddenly dress up like this? Where is she going?”

“Let’s see.” Ji Mingxiao pulled Xi Ruan into her arms, resting her chin on her shoulder. “Actually, my makeup skills are pretty good, too. I’ll do your makeup next time.”

Xi Ruan: …

“Are you jealous just because I complimented her?”

“No, I just want to do your makeup.” Ji Mingxiao stroked Xi Ruan’s hair. “Am I that petty?”

“Aren’t you?”

They looked at each other.

“Fine, fine, let’s just watch her.” Ji Mingxiao poked Xi Ruan’s waist.

“Wait a minute, look at the direction she’s going. Isn’t that towards the Qin family’s house?” Xi Ruan glanced at the screen and exclaimed.

Ji Mingxiao looked as well, and her expression darkened.

She got up and left the room.

“Are we just going to go and check it out directly?”

“We’ll just follow her.” Ji Mingxiao held a talisman, concealing their figures.

Sure enough, after walking a short distance, she spotted Xiang Ying.

She was walking and looking at her phone.

She was probably heading to the Qin family’s house.

“What do you think she’s here for?”

“Who knows.” Ji Mingxiao frowned. “She’s not here to ask me to resurrect her first love, is she?”

To be honest, she thought this was a very high possibility. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t good.

Xiang Ying had already reached the gate of the Qin family’s house.

But she didn’t ring the doorbell. Instead, she took something out of her bag and was about to stick it on the door.

Just as she was about to do it, Ji Mingxiao grabbed her wrist.

“What are you trying to do?”

Xiang Ying: …

“Ah!”

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