Chapter 1: Black Seeds
The smell of burnt oil wafted through the streets of the slum, mixed with the screams of smuggled vegetable vendors. Lin Feng ran through the crowd, carrying a torn bag full of stolen electronics from the dumpster. “What are you doing, you lunatic?!” one of the vendors shouted as he brandished a rusty knife at him. Lin didn’t pay attention. All he cared about now was getting to the university before the door was closed.
“Lin! Here!”
Chu Ming shouted from the window of the third classroom, as the professors brought the projector. “Today they’ll be showing off their graduation projects. You should show them your robot!”
Lin shook his head, gasping, “The project isn’t complete… It’s still exploding.”
“Exploding?! That’s great! They’ll be excited!”
But before Lin could say a word, Professor Liang, the director of the technology department, walked in, accompanied by the smell of French perfume that didn’t match his salary. “Now, we’ll see Mr. Mao Huang’s graduation project!”
A sleek, humanoid robot appeared on the screen, dancing and singing. Mao, the son of the mayor of Shanghai, smiled at the cameramen as everyone applauded.
Zhou whispered in Lin’s ear: “This robot stole your idea! You were the one who talked about integrating AI with art!”
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But Lin was staring at Mao’s hand wrapped around Yang Xiao’s waist, his girlfriend. “When did this happen?” he whispered.
“A week ago… I heard that she turned down her cousin’s marriage proposal to be with him.”
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That evening, Lin was fixing a small robot in his dark room when there was a loud bang on the door. “Open up! Police!”
Three uniformed men rushed in, holding a file bearing his father’s name: Lin Xuan. “Where are the drugs he’s hiding?”
“My father has cancer! He can’t even afford medicine!”
They slapped him in the face with a fist, then turned the room upside down. As they were leaving, an electronic piece fell out of one of their pockets. Lin picked it up: *A tracking chip that said “Tech Globe.”
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“You need this.” Chu said the next day as he pushed a fake ID card toward Lin. “The Tech Globe job interview is tomorrow. It’s your chance to find out why they’re after your family.”
In the company’s glass lobby, Lin was trembling as he held up his fake file. “Mr. Lin? Here you go.”
He entered the room to find the glass-eyed man sitting behind a screen that displayed his every move since birth. “Your project on suicide robots… is exciting. But we’re looking for someone who understands loyalty.”
“I obey the best.”
The man pressed a button, and a picture of his grandfather, Liang Wei, appeared, bound in a room full of bloody wires. “Your grandfather betrayed us. Are you going to betray us too?”
Lin grabbed a cup of hot coffee and dialed a number on the screen. “You betrayed him!”
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Lin fled to a deserted beach, where waves were crashing against black rocks. The phone he stole from the police rings. "Who?!"
"Hello, my grandson." A voice that sounded exactly like his grandfather said. "Do you know why they invented AI? To steal our souls... But I left you something on the island. Something that will make them bleed."
"You're dead! That's impossible!"
"AI doesn't die... And it's waiting for you."
A map of an island appeared on the screen marked: "Devil's Laboratory."
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When Lin returned to his room, he found his mother Qing Li sitting on the bed, holding a rusty gun. "Here's this. It belonged to your grandfather."
"Why?"
"Because they're coming tonight to kill you... Just like they killed him."
Lin heard the sounds of cars approaching. He grabbed the gun and the map, then looked at his grandfather's picture one last time. "Okay... Let's play your game."
End of Chapter
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