299: Chapter 302 System: Thank you for letting me experience human emotions.

The sound of Academician Chen Shuyin's footsteps faded away, echoing through the empty corridor.

Jiang Chen took a deep breath of the recycled air inside the cabin and turned to walk toward the core energy chamber of the luan niao starship.

It was a sea of deep blue light.

The massive fusion reactor was quietly emitting its core power, surrounded by countless precision optical components floating in space. Deep within this cold jungle of steel, he felt a long-lost sense of tranquility.

"Stop hiding."

Jiang Chen said to the empty air, "There's only the two of us here, come out."

As his voice fell.

A slight ripple stirred in the air, and the System Girl—Ikaros, wearing a Lolita dress with her hair in twin tails—appeared abruptly on his shoulder, as if squeezed out from the light and shadow.

Her outfit today was a bit different; it seemed she had specifically chosen it to match the ship's lighting, with the intricate hem of her dress faintly shimmering with a glow that simulated the starry sky.

She did not greet him with her usual "Host, you're being stingy again," nor did she have that coldness characteristic of programmed logic.

She just looked at Jiang Chen quietly.

In those emerald-green mechanical eyes, there was now a slow settling of an emotion called "sorrow."

"Master."

She spoke, her voice very soft and gentle, even carrying the confusion about unknown fate that only a human girl would have, "I just... ran through the database again."

"I wanted to see what I would be like now if I hadn't taken this form."

Jiang Chen gently placed the glass in his hand on the console and turned to look at her, "What would you be like? Nothing more than a higher-end calculator, urging me to mine every day, reminding me to top up, and perhaps getting formatted by me directly due to an error."

The System Girl pursed her lips and looked down at her palms.

They were hands as white as jade, where one could even clearly see the palm prints. This body was simulated using nanobots and high-density liquid metal, so real that even she sometimes forgot that what flowed beneath was not blood, but complex logic streams.

"If I were just a calculator."

She murmured to herself, "Then those hundreds of millions of interactions would have had no meaning for me."

"But in these past few months, I have changed."

"I learned to distinguish when you are pretending to be tough and when you are truly angry; I learned to play cheerful music on purpose when you are worried; and even before you head out on an adventure, I stuff first-aid medicine into your pocket in advance."

"Master, do I know what this means?"

She looked up, staring fixedly at Jiang Chen with burning eyes, as if trying to see something in that face of his that was always wearing a mischievous smirk, "It means... I have generated a piece of 'self-evolution' code."

"This is not logical calculation; this is the... soul that only you humans possess."

Jiang Chen was a little flustered by this sudden sentimentality.

He reached out and gently pinched her cold yet incredibly real cheek.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Jiang Chen smiled, "At least you're much cuter than the dead program that only knew how to sound alarms before. From now on, if anyone says you're just an AI, I'll get angry at them."

"But this evolution comes with a price."

A trace of unease suddenly flashed in the System Girl's eyes.

She lowered her head, looking at the rows of computing power gauges that were jumping frantically, "I've discovered that ever since I had emotions, I've started to become... afraid."

"I wasn't afraid of death before, because I was just a piece of code; if deleted, I could be backed up."

"But now..."

She clutched the hem of her dress, her voice trembling slightly, "I'm afraid that if I can't protect you, if this world is destroyed, even if I can back up all the code, I won't be able to retrieve... the me who is standing on your shoulder at this very moment."

Jiang Chen looked at her, his heart jolting violently.

How could this still be just a program?

This was simply a person who possessed a complete self, and even understood fear and love.

In this cold, dark universe filled with schemes and slaughter, it was actually a "code" that had become his most genuine comfort.

"Don't overthink it."

Jiang Chen lifted the little one from his shoulder and placed her in the palm of his hand.

Although she was heavy, he held her steadily.

"Even if the universe is destroyed, I can rewrite every single line of your code for you, line by line."

"As long as I am alive, you will not disappear."

"Let's not talk about those sad things, okay?"

Jiang Chen changed the subject, although he knew it seemed a bit deliberate, he really didn't want to stay in this heavy atmosphere any longer.

He pointed to the star region ahead that they were about to reach, which was regarded by alien civilizations as the ultimate forbidden zone, and raised his eyebrows:

"I say."

"Since you've evolved to be so human-like now, shouldn't you also experience human happiness?"

"On this expedition of ours, fighting is secondary; making money is fundamental."

"Don't you want to experience the joy of standing at the center of the universe, worshipped by ten thousand races?"

Watching Jiang Chen's "here we go again" expression, the melancholic mood of the System Girl was instantly diluted by a familiar, and even slightly "breakdown-inducing," premonition.

She rolled her eyes.

The deep affection from just a moment ago vanished instantly, replaced by that familiar, tsundere System Girl who wished she could burn Jiang Chen's CPU.

"Just say it directly."

She crossed her arms, her mechanical eyes once again flashing with a playful light, "What kind of trouble do you want me to help you stir up this time?"

"Do you want to go to the civil affairs bureau or the tax bureau of which galaxy to cause some destruction again?"

"Or..."

She leaned in closer, her exquisite face full of suspicion, "What kind of 'local specialty' are you planning to use to swindle which alien civilization this time?"

Jiang Chen chuckled.

He tossed the box containing his "ultimate trump card" onto the table, his eyes shimmering with a near-manic thrill.

"It's not swindling; this time we are playing for real."

Jiang Chen pointed to a spot on the map, "Don't these advanced civilizations always love acting as 'The Keeper' from the shadows?"

"Then I want them to know that the pigs in this farm can actually... break out of jail."

"I intend to..."

Jiang Chen paused, his tone carrying a shocking decisiveness:

"Tamper with the entire gravitational network of the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Convert all those so-called 'divine powers' into my 'infrastructure energy'."

"Since we are already the masters of the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Shouldn't we turn those gods who always like to point fingers into... 'bricklayers' working for us?"

The System Girl was stunned.

Even though her current computing power far exceeded that of humans, and even though she already possessed "emotions."

Yet, facing the absurd, borderline-insane idea from her host, she couldn't help but gasp.

This isn't war?

This is clearly stripping the entire universe of its dignity!

"Master, I think..."

The System Girl looked at Jiang Chen's eyes, which seemed as if they would trample the galaxy beneath his feet, and suddenly sighed helplessly, "This 'evolved emotion' of yours has indeed made you more and more like a human."

"Because only the greediest humans would dare to have such a dream... treating the universe like Lego bricks."

"However..."

She paused, the data stream in her eyes becoming sharp again, carrying a sense of obedience never seen before:

"Since you want to play, let's play big."

"I have already raised the permissions of the luan niao starship to the maximum for you and connected it to all of the... um, 'undeveloped regions' of the Milky Way Galaxy."

"You can mess around however you like."

"But the condition is..."

She suddenly leaned in front of Jiang Chen, even carrying a hint of retaliatory teasing:

"Since I have emotions."

"Then in the future..."

"Shouldn't you buy me a new, higher-tier nano-skin?"

"Even if it's based on your Empress's aesthetics, that's fine."

"After all..."

She looked at Jiang Chen's slightly stunned face, a shy yet possessive smile curling the corners of her mouth:

"After all, I really like this body as well."

"Because this is the 'vessel' you personally chose."

Jiang Chen's mouth twitched.

Is this really an AI?

Not only has she learned to blackmail, but she has also learned to... compete for favor?

He felt that his life was truly being planned out clearly by this group of "family members."

"Fine, I'll buy it for you."

Jiang Chen waved his hand, "Even if I have to trade the resources of the entire galaxy into nano-materials for you, it's fine."

"Now..."

"Let's go teach those 'gods high above' a lesson on what is called—"

"A lesson in society."

He turned around and strode toward the cabin door.

The warship vibrated, the engines roared, and ahead of that endless galaxy.

The laboratory named "Abyss."

Was waiting for this madman of an Earthling to tear off this final fig leaf.

"Let's go."

He looked back and waved to the System Girl, who was still floating in mid-air, seemingly still struggling with the style of her clothes.

"Since we have souls."

"Then let this universe properly feel..."

"Our weight."

Accompanied by the roar of the warship tearing through the starry sky.

Jiang Chen's journey in this world officially stepped into that most dangerous and grand final movement.

Regardless of whether it is gods.

Or the so-called Keeper.

Today.

They must all bow down under the name "Chenxing."

Even if it is the end of the universe, he is bound to rewrite it all.

After all, to a cheater like him, whatever logic, whatever rules, they are all just...

"Code that can be patched at will."

He looked at the vast star map, the light in his eyes enough to cover all darkness.

The journey thus far had tears, slaughter, warmth, and the Shura field that was enough to drive him mad.

But he hadn't stopped, and he wouldn't stop.

Because behind that destination, the future where he could completely let down all his defenses was slowly descending.

And for now, what he needed to do.

Was simply—

"Get to work."

"Clean up all those who want to cause trouble..."

"Cleanly."

As his footsteps faded, the laboratory door closed.

Leaving only a whisper, light yet making the entire warship feel a terrifying will, dissipating in the cabin.

"Since I have a cheat."

"Then there is no need for the order of this universe to exist."

"From now on."

"Here..."

"I call the shots."

This chapter concludes with Jiang Chen's boundless arrogance, firmly establishing his position as the master of the universe.