Chapter 1166
Fighting against Choi Myung-bak special forces?!
"Thanks for your hard work."
A gentle yet somewhat indifferent voice sounded beside her. Naoko Akagi, carrying two cups of coffee, slowly walked to Cui Ming's side and handed him one of them. She noticed that Cui Ming was so focused on adjusting the data that he didn't even have time to drink water, so she quietly went to make coffee.
Cui Ming didn't even look up. He nodded slightly, took the coffee, unscrewed the lid, and took a big gulp. After tasting it, he raised an eyebrow and said in a flat tone, "It's quite weak."
"??????" Naoko Akagi's calm expression shattered instantly. She stared at Choi Myung in astonishment, her voice filled with disbelief. "This is the bitterest coffee I've ever made! I deliberately didn't add any sugar or milk, how could it be weak?"
"Maybe it's because I've developed a drug resistance," Cui Ming said, raising his hand to take another sip. His face was expressionless, as if he were drinking plain water instead of bitter coffee.
As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a small sealed bag from his pocket, unscrewed the bag, grabbed a handful of dark brown powder, and added it directly into the coffee cup with practiced ease.
Naoko Akagi instinctively leaned over and took a sniff. The next second, her pupils contracted sharply, and her heart exploded: Holy crap!!! The caffeine concentration of this stuff is insane! The pungent bitterness hit her nasal cavity, and just smelling it made her throat feel tight. It was more than ten times stronger than the bitter coffee she brewed!
She instinctively took a half step back, staring at Cui Ming in shock, her voice trembling slightly: "You...you drank this? Such a strong stuff, won't it cause problems?"
“Yes, this works for me.” Cui Ming said calmly, adding more powder to the cup, stirring it well, and then taking another sip. His expression remained unchanged. “When I’m working late into the night on research or in intense battles, this helps me stay alert quickly. I’m used to it.”
"By the way, what do you think of my idea?" Naoko Akagi suppressed her shock, concealed her astonishment, and regained her indifference, though a hint of barely perceptible expectation lingered in her eyes—she was referring to a plan she had been preparing for a long time.
The three supercomputers, personally spearheaded by Naoko Akagi, were named "MAGI." They were designated Casper, Balthasar, and Melchior, and she planned to implant three different personalities of herself—as a woman, a mother, and a scientist—into each computer. All subsequent core decisions were made through joint consultation among these three systems, employing a veto system to ensure rigorous decision-making and prevent emotional errors.
Cui Ming stopped stirring his coffee, looked up at Akagi Naoko, and said bluntly without any tact: "To be honest, the main reason you're a bit silly is that you don't know if you'll become emotional. I'm an example. When my emotions get the better of me, I can't even control myself, let alone a computer with an implanted personality."
“That’s true.” Naoko Akagi was silent for a few seconds, then slowly nodded. Cui Ming’s words touched on her concerns. She had only thought about the rigor of the decision-making process before, but had not carefully considered whether she would experience emotional outbursts after her personality was implanted.
"Furthermore," Cui Ming put down his coffee cup, his gaze turning serious as he looked directly at Akagi Naoko, his tone carrying a hint of warning, "you need to be careful, developing this MAGI system will attract attention."
"Uh, really?" Naoko Akagi hesitated for a moment, her tone uncertain. She just wanted to do her research and develop a more rigorous supercomputer system, and never thought she would be targeted. "It can't be that ruthless, right? It's just a research project."
"Who knows?" Cui Ming shook his head slightly, his tone calm, not uttering a definitive statement—he had experienced too many cycles of reincarnation, witnessed too much of the wickedness in people's hearts, and knew that many seemingly ordinary studies concealed hidden calculations. Most of the time, unless the opponent was an enemy, he would truly fight to the death, showing no mercy whatsoever. But usually, in such situations, Cui Ming would never waste words; if he could resolve the matter through action, he would not waste a single extra word. Akagi Naoko remained silent, only looking down at the equipment before her, her brows slightly furrowed. Cui Ming's reminder was like a thorn piercing her heart, forcing her to re-examine her plan and the potential risks it might bring.
"You're right."
Naoko Akagi sighed softly, the hesitation in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a hint of regret and clarity. She looked down at her fingertips and said frankly, "I did think too simply. I was only focused on the rigor of the MAGI system, but I didn't really consider how many people would covet it once it was completed, nor did I prepare for the risks."
“However, even if someone is targeting me, I won't be afraid.” She paused, then looked up, a determined glint in her eyes, her tone tinged with stubbornness. “Since I dared to develop it, I have the confidence to deal with it. At worst…”
“You might have had some room to deal with it before, but now there are monsters and that giant.” Cui Ming interrupted her before she could finish speaking, his tone calm but with an undeniable certainty, his fingers still rapidly typing on the keyboard.
"..." Naoko Akagi was speechless for a moment, her resolute expression freezing as she fell silent. Of course, she knew that the appearance of monsters and giants had completely disrupted all order, and the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic. If someone were to target MAGI at this time, they would be even more ruthless than usual. Her so-called confidence might be utterly worthless in the face of such chaos.
As Cui Ming spoke, he skillfully operated the supercomputer. His fingertips tapped a few times on the keyboard, and dense code and data appeared on the screen. He quickly selected all the production data related to MAGI, clicked copy, imported the data into a small storage device, casually unplugged it, and turned to hand it to Akagi Naoko.
"Huh?" Naoko Akagi subconsciously reached out and took the storage device, her face full of surprise. She looked down at the thing in her hand, then looked up at Choi Myung, her eyes full of doubt, not understanding what he was going to do.
"Get ready." Cui Ming's tone was concise, without any further explanation. He turned around and took out two gas masks from the cabinet next to him, handing one to Akagi Naoko. Seeing that she didn't react, he reached out and carefully helped her put it on her face, adjusting the tightness.
"Prepare what?" Naoko Akagi's voice came through the gas mask, tinged with a hint of confusion. She reached out and adjusted her mask, still not understanding Cui Ming's intentions, when she saw Cui Ming turn around, walk to a hidden control panel, reach out, and press a red button on it without hesitation.
The next second, a piercing alarm sounded in the research institute. Then, thick white smoke began to rise from every corner of the institute. The smoke spread extremely quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the entire research room was shrouded in smoke, making visibility blurry and carrying a faint, pungent odor in the air.
Naoko Akagi instinctively took a step back, grabbing the table beside her to steady herself. Through the lenses of her mask, she vaguely saw Choi Myung's figure, her voice filled with urgency: "Choi Myung! What happened? Why did you activate the smoke device? If someone discovers the smoke, we'll only be in more danger!"
Choi Myung put on his gas mask and walked to her side, his tone still calm: "Don't worry, the smoke is just to obstruct vision. If someone really has their eye on MAGI, they should already be on their way. We need to take advantage of the smoke cover and leave here as soon as possible. The data can't fall into other people's hands, and the research institute can't be left here." (End of Chapter)