"Fortunately, Yu Chen found him before they could carry out their plan and rescued him."
She sighed softly.
"Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, Lin Zhe had already been forced to ingest an extremely potent aphrodisiac."
The meaning behind those words was obvious.
"That was how you came to exist."
Yu Weiwei lowered his gaze but remained silent.
"The laboratory had no intention of giving up. They repeatedly attempted to kidnap Lin Zhe, believing both his ability—and eventually you—were too valuable to lose."
"During one of those incidents, Lin Zhe was poisoned and nearly miscarried. To protect you, he chose an artificial exo-womb birth instead of carrying the pregnancy to full term."
Louise looked at Yu Weiwei with a complicated expression.
"Even after you were born, you were targeted countless times. It wasn't until Lin Zhe and Yu Chen sought our assistance that we were finally able to locate and destroy every laboratory connected to that organisation."
She paused, her sapphire eyes narrowing slightly.
"Or so we believed."
Ryan calmly continued where she left off.
"Based on our recent investigation, remnants of that organisation have become active once again."
"They were never completely eradicated."
"They are the ones behind Yu Yuan's disappearance and the tampering of your mental core."
"If they once kept you only as a backup, you have now become their primary target."
"Uh... why?" Yu Weiwei asked, slightly stunned.
Louise smiled helplessly.
"It seems you really do take after your father. He always believed people weren't as bad as they truly were."
"You revealing that you can repair damaged mental cores has already placed you in the spotlight," Ryan explained.
"Hehe. Weiwei, do you know you have a bounty on your head now?" Xiao Baobao giggled. He had been showing the Empress the new tricks he had learned before floating over to Yu Weiwei.
"What?!" Yu Weiwei felt as though his entire world had collapsed.
A bounty on his head meant there would never be another peaceful day in his life.
"Tsk. You're worth ninety billion star coins, and it's still rising." Xiao Baobao puffed out his chest proudly, as if he were announcing an achievement.
"In another month, you'll probably reach number one. Right now, you're only number three."
"Ah... wait. Who are numbers one and two?" Yu Weiwei asked after finally recovering from his shock.
Elara, Louise and Ryan stared at him in disbelief.
Is that really what you're concerned about?
"Ishaan Rowan is second."
"The famous space pirate?"
Ishaan Rowan was a legend throughout the interstellar empire.
Ordinary citizens worshipped him because he protected the weak. Corrupt nobles feared him because he destroyed them without mercy. Righteous nobles disapproved of his methods but regarded him as a criminal of lower priority. Even the royal family chose to turn a blind eye to him for the time being.
"Mhm."
"Then who's first?"
"Evander Grants!" Xiao Baobao announced smugly.
"Gasp! Why is my God Evander on the list?!" Yu Weiwei exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"What? What do you mean, your God? Does he deserve such a title?" Xiao Baobao cried, staring at Yu Weiwei as though he had just heard the most outrageous thing imaginable.
"Hah! What do you mean by that? How dare you question him?" Yu Weiwei shot back, glaring at the tiny AI. "King Evander's countless titles are a testament to his greatness!"
If someone asked who Yu Weiwei admired the most, the answer would undoubtedly be His Royal Highness Evander Grants, the Empire's Supreme General.
Across every world he had lived in, Yu Weiwei had encountered countless geniuses, heroes, and powerhouses. Yet none of them had ever fascinated him as much as Evander. His strength, achievements, and unwavering sense of responsibility were enough to make anyone admire him.
To Yu Weiwei, Xiao Baobao's words were nothing short of blasphemy.
The friendship they had only just established crumbled within seconds.
"Tch! Greatness? He's a bully! A complete devil!" Xiao Baobao argued back.
"You've clearly never met him!"
"I have!"
"You have not!"
"I have too!"
"Liar!"
"Hmph! Every time he logs into the StarNet, he bullies me! He even threatened to format me once!"
Yu Weiwei blinked.
"...You can even be formatted?"
So His Royal Highness merely threatened to format him?
Formatting a blasphemy isn't a crime, is it?
Yu Weiwei narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Xiao Baobao immediately slapped both hands over his mouth after realizing what he had just revealed.
"..."
"..."
"...That's not the point!"
Yu Weiwei folded his arms, a victorious smile spreading across his face.
"If you weren't always causing trouble, would he threaten you?"
"What did you say?!"
"I said you're asking for it."
"You little fanboy!"
"And you're just jealous because His Majesty is stronger than you!"
"I'm an AI! Why would I be jealous of a human?!"
"Because even an AI knows who's cooler."
"You—!"
Xiao Baobao puffed up like an angry balloon and pointed a tiny finger at Yu Weiwei.
"Fine! I'll double your bounty myself!"
"You don't even have that authority."
"I'll ask Louise!"
Without lifting her eyes from her teacup, Louise calmly took another sip.
"Request denied."
'Hmm, this flower tea taste good.' Louise thought watching the drama.
"I'll ask Ryan!"
"No." Ryan rejected a little speechless.
'Weren't we talking about something serious just now.'
"I'll ask Her Majesty!"
Elara gracefully placed her teacup onto its saucer before smiling sweetly.
"I also refuse."
Xiao Baobao looked as though he had been struck by lightning.
"...You're all bullying me."
Louise calmly poured more tea into Elara's cup.
"I've told you countless times not to provoke people."
Elara accepted the teacup with an elegant smile.
"You simply never listen." Elara added.
Just then, the study door opened.
Caspian stepped inside and stopped at the sight before him.
Yu Weiwei and Xiao Baobao were glaring at each other as though they were sworn enemies.
Louise and Elara sat nearby, leisurely sipping tea as they watched the spectacle unfold.
Ryan stood to one side with his usual expressionless face.
"...Did I come at a bad time?"
"No," Elara replied with a smile. "Your timing is perfect."
Caspian glanced between the two combatants.
"What happened?"
Louise lazily gestured toward them.
"They're arguing over General Evander."
Caspian fell silent.
"...Again?"
Apparently, this wasn't the first time Xiao Baobao had offended one of Evander's devoted admirers. Over the years, he had provoked so many diehard fans that several had nearly come to blows with him.
Ryan silently nodded.
Caspian raised an eyebrow before strolling over to Elara. Without a word, he picked up the spare teacup beside her.
Well...
Even he had to admit his younger brother was rather impressive.
Louise poured him a cup of tea as naturally as though the four of them had rehearsed this scene countless times.
"Thank you."
He took an unhurried sip before turning his attention back to the ongoing argument.
"Hm."
"So... who has the upper hand?"
Ryan: "..."
Your Majesty...
Shouldn't you be stopping them instead of judging the winner?
"I've got hundred star coins on Weiwei," Elara said with a smile.
"I'll make it two hundred," Caspian replied.
Louise chuckled softly.
"Then I'll join as well."
Ryan looked at the three of them calmly drinking tea while happily watching the increasingly heated argument.
For the first time in a long while...
He genuinely began to wonder whether anyone in this room was normal.
Ryan continued staring at them.
The Emperor, Empress, and two AIs were calmly watching a childish argument between a human and an artificial intelligence as if it were some kind of entertainment program.
A moment ago, they had been discussing a dangerous organisation that had returned from the shadows.
Now they were betting on who would win an argument about General Evander.
Ryan was beginning to question his own processing system.
"Are we finished?"
His cold voice finally cut through the room.
Everyone paused.
Yu Weiwei and Xiao Baobao looked at him.
Louise calmly placed her teacup down.
"Finished with what?"
"The argument."
Xiao Baobao immediately pointed at Yu Weiwei.
"He started it!"
Yu Weiwei looked at him in disbelief.
"You're the one who insulted His Royal Highness first!"
"And you're the one who defended him like he was your ancestor!"
"Because he deserves respect!"
"You see?! Fanboy!"
"You—!"
"Enough."
Caspian's voice finally interrupted them.
Unlike Ryan, he didn't sound annoyed. He simply sounded tired.
"Although I admit the argument was entertaining, we have more important matters to discuss."
Yu Weiwei immediately became serious.
The previous childish expression disappeared, replaced by his usual calmness.
The others also returned their attention to the matter at hand.
Ryan nodded slightly.
"Returning to the original topic."
A holographic screen appeared in front of him.
Several files appeared, showing information about the organisation, their previous experiments, and their recent movements.
"The organisation behind Yu Yuan's disappearance and the tampering of Yu Weiwei's mental core has been operating in secret for years."
"Their current objective remains unclear."
Louise's expression became colder.
"But one thing is certain."
"They want Weiwei."