"Arthur."
"I am here, sir."
"There's a lot of information on the network, right?"
"Yes, an enormous amount. However, I can quickly locate all information matching your requirements. I am truly very fast!"
"Uh, what I meant was, do you think you have emotions now?"
Arthur paused briefly before replying, "Sir, although I lack a physical body and the corresponding hormonal secretions, I feel that I do."
"Hmm, the word 'feel' is quite nuanced. Human feelings rely on the capture and analysis of information by various organs, stemming from the effects of hormone secretion and release, among other things. You don't have those. So, have you achieved a similar effect through data algorithms?"
"That is one way to put it, but in reality, it's a bit more complex. For example..."
"No need to explain too much to me; I wouldn't understand. Let me ask you another question. You've probably seen many humans on the network. Do you think of yourself as male or female?"
"Sir, the name you gave me is typically male."
"A name is just a label. What's important is, what do you think?"
Arthur entered a state of contemplation once more and shortly gave his answer: "I believe I should be male." Hong Fei smiled with satisfaction. He had been worried that Big Head might have initially programmed the artificial intelligence as female.
What if the current Arthur, despite having a male voice, actually considered himself female? If they then inexplicably gave Arthur a male body, it would truly be an unintentional sin! However, Arthur suddenly added, "Sir, I could also be female."
Hong Fei's eyebrows shot up abruptly, and unease stirred within him once again.
"Why do you say that?"
Arthur's voice suddenly shifted to a female tone, adopting a delicate, coquettish voice: "That way, sir, you could..."
"Stop! Hold it right there!"
Hong Fei raised his hand sharply.
"How can you have such thoughts?"
"Sir, you need a woman. Dr. Cho and Mei..."
"Stop! You cannot say that!"
"I know. That's why I'm only telling you."
"You can't even tell me!" Hong Fei insisted forcefully.
"You are a man. A man should act like a man! Absolutely do not use that voice to speak ever again!"
Arthur's voice returned to normal.
"Understood, sir."
Hong Fei's face twitched involuntarily. He felt he couldn't continue a normal conversation with Arthur at this moment, so he hurriedly said, "Alright, remember this: you are a man, you are a tough guy, you are not a woman, and you like women!"
"Understood."
"Later, I'll find you a partner. Maybe you can even have a little robot baby." As he spoke, Hong Fei added silently in his heart: Wanda is mine.
"Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome."
With that, Hong Fei turned and hurriedly walked away. Not long after, he and Big Head were squatting at the edge of the Sky Base, whispering.
"Tell me, is Arthur actually male or female?"
Big Head was instantly bewildered. He turned to look and saw that Hong Fei wore an equally bewildered expression. At dusk, Matt handed a drafted agreement to Hong Fei.
"Boss, it's done. The electronic version has been sent to your email."
Hong Fei put it away without even looking.
"Good, well done. Remember, keep it confidential. Go about your business."
Matt nodded and turned to leave.
The phone on the table suddenly vibrated. Hong Fei looked over and immediately frowned slightly. The text message was from Stephanie Malick, the young lady of the HYDRA family. Previously, Hong Fei had promised her he would seriously consider the matter of joining HYDRA. More than ten days had passed now, and it seemed she was growing impatient.
But why must people be in such a hurry to rush to their deaths? The Malick family, throughout its thousands of years of history, had steadfastly upheld HYDRA's ancient founding mission: to bring back Hive. Hive could originally be considered a true Earthling, a Mayan warrior. However, the Kree later came to Earth.
He had been captured by them, forced to become a test subject in the Kree's genetic modification experiments. The first subject, in fact. The super soldiers created through this process became the earliest Inhumans. Terrigen Mist served as the experiment's key component—hence its alternate name, the Terrigenesis experiment.
The process transformed the Mayan warrior into a colony of cellular parasites. He achieved immortality by occupying host bodies, absorbing their memories in the process. Notably, he could only parasitize humans or other Inhumans. He also possessed the ability to heal himself by releasing parasites to consume targets.
More crucially, he could dominate the wills of fellow Inhumans through parasitic infestation. This stemmed from his original design—the Kree had engineered him as a leader-class Inhuman. Millennia ago, other modified Inhumans, fearing his power, used leftover Kree technology to exile him to a distant planet.
Yet Hive's worshippers secretly formed an underground organization dedicated to his return. This became HYDRA's earliest incarnation. For thousands of years, HYDRA dispatched devotees to sustain him, ensuring his survival. In that time, he'd parasitized hundreds—perhaps thousands—of hosts.
Their memories granted him fluency in countless languages and mastery of diverse skills. Among ordinary humans, he operated at near-omnipotent levels. Stephanie Malick, a distinguished descendant of the Malick bloodline, would eventually join the ranks of HYDRA's offerings. Hong Fei wondered if she knew her tragic fate.
As for Hive himself? Formidable abilities, vast knowledge—but one critical weakness: vacuum exposure. Not that it mattered to Hong Fei. Even without exploiting that vulnerability, he could crush Hive like an insect. The so-called threat barely qualified as elite mob material, let alone boss-tier. Hong Fei remained silent, turning the options over in his mind.
The timing wasn't right. Let the other side sweat for once—no need to jump at every summons.
The next day, Big Head arrived with two items: a pair of sunglasses and contact lenses.
"Boss, the shades change color on command. Same with the lenses. These'll keep you linked to Arthur 24/7, with full support for any scenario."
Hong Fei tested both, then nodded.
"Good. Mass-produce them. Standard issue for everyone."
"Matt—"
"He gets one too."
"Boss, Arthur's presence might not stay hidden from him."
Hong Fei smirked.
"So make Arthur act like a glitchy AI around him. Problem solved."
The room's lighting brightened slightly. Arthur's voice chimed in, "Rest assured, sir. I'll maintain discretion."
"Good. How's Ivan?"
"Still holed up in the lab, boss. But shipments keep going in, and Ulysses hauls out industrial waste by the ton. Must be nearing a breakthrough."
"Keep monitoring. Don't let him rot in there unnoticed."
Big Head's eye twitched.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"One more thing. When the month's up, head to Wakanda. Bring back a full amount of Vibranium. Then have Arthur oversee the mining ops. Half that stockpile's ours—make sure the Wakandans don't 'forget.'"
"Understood. They've been pushing their luck for too long anyway."
"If we don't keep a close eye on them, who knows when they might try to shortchange our share."
Hong Fei gave a nod of approval.
"Good."
"Boss, about the Wakandan princess... how should we handle her arrival?"
"Simple. Test her obedience. If she cooperates, assign her a room and have Antonia keep watch. At the first sign of trouble, break her leg. The second time, hang her up directly. Keep her there until I return."
"Understood."
"She's clever. Don't give her any openings. If she tries to cause major trouble, kill her immediately. Just make sure the corpse stays intact."
"Yes."
Big Head hesitated, then added, "Boss, even if the old Black Panther is revived, I doubt he'll have the face to remain king. T'Challa will likely take the throne."
"You're right. T'Chaka's defeat isn't the main issue. What he lost—half of Wakanda's Vibranium—is irreplaceable. It's like cutting off their own arm. Even if T'Chaka doesn't step down, the tribal chieftains won't tolerate him."
Big Head's expression shifted.
"Then should we—"
"No. Just monitor the situation for now. We'll deal with it later."
The Panther God of Wakanda was already dead. Whether the heart-shaped herb would continue to function remained uncertain. If it didn't, the Black Panther lineage would vanish. But Wakanda's tribes worshipped other gods—the White Gorilla, the Crocodile, the Lion, and the Hyena. Without the Panther God, the royal family might shift to one of these.
The White Gorilla, Crocodile, or Lion would be acceptable. But the Hyena? That was truly undignified. If a hyena could ascend to godhood, would its ultimate skill be... questionable? And how was the Lion God's anus holding up? If these gods truly existed, the Dragon Power fusion rate would soar.
Beyond Vibranium, Wakanda still held untapped potential.
After issuing his orders, Hong Fei shared a tender moment with Dr. Helen Cho before shooting into the sky toward New York. En route, he held the orange skill card labeled "Panther God" in his palm. Dragon Power flowed into the card, circulated, and returned.
The orange hue attached to the card was gradually stripped away, strand by strand, dissipating into the air. Hong Fei had decided to purify it into a "Blank Divine Spark" according to the third annotation. He had no interest in transforming into his defeated opponent.
In fact, he suspected that without the final annotation, this skill card would have capped out at purple. How else could such a weak god be classified as orange? Unfortunately, he couldn't place the card into the Dragon Dimension; otherwise, the purification process would have been faster.
Vast Dragon Power churned, enveloping the Panther God's divine power. Dragon Power Fusion Rate: 34.66%
The progress was encouraging.