17: Chapter 17 Alice is jealous? Boss, is your back okay?
"The interview begins."
As Chen Yuan's voice trailed off, the female assassin who called herself "Viper" moved.
She had no flashy opening moves; she was still as a maiden, swift as a thunderbolt.
Her military boots stomped hard against the ground, and she shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
The two daggers in her hands traced two eerie cold glints in the air, aimed directly at Alice's throat and heart.
Fast.
So fast that the retinas of an ordinary person could only capture a black afterimage.
If one didn't consider who her opponent was, this would absolutely be a textbook example of the art of assassination.
But in front of T-X, this was just a slow-motion replay.
"Too slow."
Alice didn't even move her feet, merely tilting her body slightly.
The daggers, capable of slicing through steel plates, grazed past the tip of her nose, the resulting gust of wind disheveling a lock of her golden hair.
The next second, that palm, which looked slender and delicate, clamped onto Viper's wrist without warning.
"Crack."
"Urgh!"
Viper let out a muffled groan, her face instantly turning deathly pale.
She felt as if her wrist had been clamped by hydraulic pliers, her bones emitting a groan of unbearable strain.
Before she could change her move, Alice's other hand had already grabbed her by the throat.
"Boom!"
Without any chivalry, Alice picked Viper up like a chick, turned, strode into the office, and slammed her hard onto that large mahogany desk.
The files and pen holder on the desk scattered all over the floor with a clatter.
Viper's back slammed heavily against the hardwood tabletop, the intense pain nearly making her lose her breath.
Just as she tried to struggle, Alice's knee pressed into her abdomen, and her right hand, now transformed into a sharp blade, hovered 0.1 millimeters above her eyeball.
The outcome was decided in an instant.
Chen Yuan strolled into the office and closed the door behind him, cutting off the inquisitive gazes of the group of new employees outside.
He looked at Viper, who was pinned to the table and unable to move, and then at the domineering Alice with her icy gaze, and couldn't help but whistle.
"Alice, I told you to interview her, not dismantle her."
Chen Yuan walked over to the desk, observing the scene with great interest. "Although this pose is quite pleasing to the eye, my desk is quite expensive."
"Boss, she is lying."
Alice didn't let go; instead, she pressed down even harder.
In her electronic eyes, which usually had no waves, there was now a flicker of what seemed like… anger.
"Her heart rate increased by 30% when she approached you, her pupils dilated, and her muscles tensed. She wants to kill you."
Alice turned her head, staring fixedly at Chen Yuan, her tone carrying an unprecedented level of firmness and possessiveness:
"Such a source of danger must be eliminated. Your safety can only be my responsibility."
Chen Yuan was stunned for a moment.
He understood the implication of those words.
Was this… jealousy?
A bio-synthetic human running on logical code had actually developed a "possessive" emotion?
It seemed the system's "biological ascension" wasn't just physical; even the AI's emotional modules were self-evolving.
"Ahem."
Chen Yuan rubbed his nose, amused, and pacified her: "Alright, I know you're loyal. Put the blade away first; this is a great talent, it would be a shame to break her."
Alice seemed somewhat reluctant, but Chen Yuan's orders were absolute.
She snorted coldly, the blade on her hand turning back into fair skin, but she still pressed down firmly on Viper, full of warning.
Chen Yuan lowered his head to look at the female assassin who, even while subdued, still had a stubborn look in her eyes.
"Now, can we have a proper talk? Miss Viper."
He extended his finger, gently tracing Viper's tense jawline. "Or, do you prefer this way of talking, pinned to the desk?"
Viper gritted her teeth, staring fixedly at Chen Yuan.
Humiliation.
As the renowned "Black Widow" of the mercenary world, she had never been defeated so thoroughly and so miserably.
In front of this blonde monster, her fighting skills, which she prided herself on, were like a baby's flailing.
"You win."
Viper took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently. "Kill me or torture me, do as you please. But don't try to humiliate me."
"Humiliate? No, no, no, I am a serious businessman."
Chen Yuan turned and sat in his boss chair, crossing his legs, and took a vial of that blue "vaccine" from the drawer. "I said, I'm here to recruit. Since you didn't pass the interview, you'll just have to take the special route."
He tossed the syringe in front of Viper.
"Do it yourself, or should I let Alice help you?"
Viper looked at the tube of blue liquid, a flash of struggle in her eyes.
She knew what that was.
Just now outside, she had witnessed with her own eyes the blind fanaticism in the eyes of those thugs after they injected it.
This was definitely some kind of neurotoxin or nano-control agent.
Once injected, her life would no longer belong to her.
"What if I don't take it?"
"Then you can go die."
Chen Yuan's answer was concise and clear, without the slightest hesitation. "I have many secrets; only dead people and my own people can keep them. Which one do you choose?"
As he spoke, he made a "click" motion with the cigar cutter in his hand.
That action reminded Viper of the rumors about Jack.
This man was a devil.
"Fine."
Viper was a smart person, and smart people knew how to choose.
She grabbed the syringe and stabbed it fiercely into her own carotid artery.
As the blue liquid was pushed into her veins, she felt a cold sensation instantly flow through her entire body, finally converging in her cerebral cortex, turning into a strange… sense of belonging.
The murderous intent and vigilance she originally felt toward Chen Yuan inexplicably dissipated at this moment, replaced by an instinct to obey.
"That's right."
Chen Yuan looked at the [Viper Surrenders] notification popping up on the system panel and nodded with satisfaction.
"Alice, let her go."
Alice released her hand but still stood between Chen Yuan and Viper, like an insurmountable wall.
Viper climbed off the table, rubbed her wrist which felt like it was about to break, and looked at Chen Yuan with complex eyes.
"Since you are one of us now, let's talk."
Chen Yuan lit his cigar and exhaled a puff of smoke. "Who sent you? Or rather, who wants my head?"
"It's the Vulture."
Viper straightened her messy leather jacket, her voice returning to a cold chill. "One of the largest mercenary groups in Mexico, the 'Vulture Legion'. Their leader, Carl, accepted $500,000 to bring your head back within three days."
"500,000?"
Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat dissatisfied. "I'm only worth that much? It seems these Mexicans are really poor."
"That's just the down payment."
Viper added, "And it's not just about killing. Their mission objectives also include blowing up your Pharmaceutical Factory and stealing the formula for 'Dali'."
"Vulture Legion…"
Chen Yuan searched his mind for this name.
He had an impression of it in his predecessor's memories. They were a pack of true war hyenas, all well-equipped, even possessing armed helicopters and light armored vehicles. They were active in various war-torn areas of South America; as long as they were paid, they would even dare to kill a president.
"When will they arrive?"
"I am the vanguard." Viper glanced at the wall clock. "According to the plan, if I don't send a reply by midnight tonight, the main force will launch an attack."
"Main force?"
"Three hundred men." Viper's tone became grave. "Fully armed, equipped with RPGs and heavy machine guns, and possibly even mortars. Boss, forgive my frankness, but with that mob of newly recruited rabble you have outside, you won't be able to stop them."
Three hundred men.
Heavy weaponry.
This was no longer a gang fight; this was a small-scale local war.
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have pissed themselves upon hearing this news and bought a plane ticket to run away overnight.
But Chen Yuan just smiled.
He turned his head and looked at Alice.
"Did you hear that? Three hundred guests."
A gleam of something called excitement flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes. "Our new toys can finally fire at full capacity."
Alice bowed slightly, a cruel yet elegant smile appearing on her exquisite face:
"Boss, the ammunition in the warehouse is sufficient. The Tyrant has finished charging and is ready for… a cleanup at any time."
Chen Yuan stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and watched the sky outside gradually darkening.
The setting sun was like blood.
"Then let's prepare a big gift for this bunch of vultures."
He looked back at Viper, who was still stunned. "Since you are the vanguard, send a signal back. Tell them the defense here is empty, the boss is opening champagne to celebrate, come quickly."
Viper was stunned: "You want to ambush them? But the disparity in numbers…"
"Numbers?"
Chen Yuan chuckled softly, his fingers tapping lightly against the bulletproof glass.
"In the face of an absolute technological generation gap, numbers are just a figure used to fill a mass grave."
He turned around and opened his arms to the two women, his tone as relaxed as if he were inviting them to a dinner party:
"Also, it might be a bit noisy tonight."
"Alice, remember to soundproof my office. After all…"
He glanced at Viper's long, slender legs, and then at Alice's S-shaped curves, which were still tense from "jealousy," and smiled meaningfully:
"The night is long; besides fighting, we must always find something else to do, right?"