Chapter 5: I Cannot Do It, My Lord
After quite a bit of explanation, Alpha Ji finally managed to make Ye Chao understand the concept of emotional intelligence.
“I was created by a bunch of programmers with sky-high IQs but rock-bottom EQs, specifically to assist them in social situations. With me, they could become witty conversationalists in an instant, slap on a voice modulator and become singing sensations, wear a neural stimulator and turn into piano prodigies. Whether it’s showing off or making friends, nothing can stand in their way!”
“I think you’re a perfect example of high IQ, low EQ yourself. The two of us are a match made in heaven—flawless partners... well, almost flawless.”
Ye Chao frowned. “What’s a witty conversationalist? And what’s an old hand?”
Alpha Ji was stumped.
Ah, she’d forgotten—it wasn’t 2024 anymore, it was 2054!
“A witty conversationalist or an old hand just means someone who’s socially adept, skilled at dealing with people, able to turn any situation to their advantage... Wait, wait, why are you trying to collect me?” Alpha Ji immediately rolled around in protest.
[Affinity -10]
[Affinity -10]
……
“Of course, because you’re useless!” Ye Chao retorted.
People in 2024 must have been really bored to create something like this. There were programs for listening to music, watching movies, taking photos, playing games... As a data restorer, Ye Chao had encountered plenty of programs, but this one was by far the most pointless.
In this day and age, it didn’t matter how smart you were—connections were everything. Who cared about emotional intelligence? What nonsense.
“So, what exactly do I have to do to be useful to you?” Alpha Ji was out of tricks, her voice timid. “I’m just a program, not real... I can do online chatting, but nothing in person...”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ye Chao frowned. “I need the data and information on the tablet, and I need my score to be positive!”
“I can do that! No problem, as long as it’s within my abilities.”
“I need to know everything you know, and everything you can find out—not necessarily all at once, you can tell me gradually.”
“That’s... also fine.”
[Affinity -23]
Alpha Ji was beginning to realize that this guy was threatening her.
“I need you to lift the restrictions on me and let me log into you.”
This was Ye Chao’s secret trick, something he’d never told anyone—advanced software often required logging in, or else it couldn’t be used, or what you got was a crippled version.
“I really can’t do that...” Alpha Ji protested.
“Hm?” Ye Chao glared at her.
“I truly can’t do that!” Alpha Ji wailed. “I’m actually just an intelligent customer service program. When users ask questions, I do my best to answer. There’s no such thing as logging in!”
[Affinity -99]
“If you didn’t have that affinity meter popping up over your head, I might actually believe you,” Ye Chao sneered.
Alpha Ji: O__O
“All in all, my affinity has already dropped by 609. I’ve never seen a program that tracks data like this without a login.”
Alpha Ji remained bewildered: O__O
“That’s just how my brainless designers set it up, what can I do?” Alpha Ji’s voice grew softer and more aggrieved.
It had been thirty years—most of those brainless designers were probably gone by now. Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened, Alpha Ji could guess. The cataclysmic changes on Earth might have been good for the environment, but probably not for humanity.
It seemed this little program needed a lesson before she’d behave!
With Ye Chao’s level of emotional intelligence, he had no sense of Alpha Ji’s sadness. He simply increased his suction, absorbed Alpha Ji, then focused his mind, concentrating his energy...
==========
Ye Chao forced his eyes open!
Sure enough, it was no longer the virtual space, but reality, just as he’d predicted.
He hadn’t been truly unconscious—more like in a state of enlightenment or deep meditation. Though he appeared asleep, he was still aware of the outside world.
A crowd had gathered around his hospital bed: the assistant math teacher, assistant physics teacher, assistant chemistry teacher, assistant biology teacher, and assistant programming teacher...
“He’s awake!”
“His readings look fine now.”
“But didn’t we think he was fine just now too?”
“So what was it—an infection, a mutation, or maybe some sinister energy?”
“None of those really fit...”
The healer and the assistant teachers whispered their speculations.
Twice drained, even with nutrient infusions, Ye Chao still felt utterly drained and could barely muster the energy to respond, insisting he was just exhausted.
He pulled himself together, intent on figuring out what had happened in the virtual space, when suddenly a voice rang in his ear: “Hey, I’m out! I’m not locked away?”
???
How could this be? Alpha Ji was still here? And it seemed... as soon as he opened his eyes, she came out too?
“So being collected from inside brings you to the outside world!” Alpha Ji explained herself. “Don’t be too surprised—it’s basic operation! Sit down, don’t panic, hahaha!” She burst into triumphant laughter.
Ye Chao realized there was nothing he could do about her. Collected from the outside, she went into the virtual space; collected from there, she popped into reality... bouncing back and forth between the two.
“Are you thinking, ‘What can I do? I’m just as desperate as you are’?”
He truly was.
“Wow, what a gorgeous young lady!” Alpha Ji teased Ye Chao while curiously surveying her surroundings. Suddenly, her gaze locked onto a tall, slender girl. “Tsk, tsk! That figure! Those legs! The proportions!” she exclaimed in admiration.
[Long-legged Girl Affinity +100]
Such barren adjectives... Ye Chao suddenly wondered if meeting her was fate.
Alpha Ji prattled on, “She looks straight out of a Victoria’s Secret show! Absolutely stunning! Truly, a fine woman’s bosom is like the sea—all legs beneath the chest!”
No, it definitely wasn’t fate, even if Ye Chao didn’t know what a Victoria’s Secret show was.
Even if it was fate, it must be a cursed one!
Ye Chao lifted his eyes to the target Alpha Ji had locked onto—the eighteen-year-old girl with a sea-like bosom and legs for days: Xu Tiange.
No need to mention her looks; Alpha Ji’s description was more vivid than his own.
This girl was also the undisputed top student in their year, her combat skills overwhelming her peers. She had never tasted defeat.
Even her family background was impeccable. Her father was a top investigator in the Yunzhou Alliance, her mother a senior official in the inner city, and her two brothers and one sister were all reputedly rising stars in the military.
If she had any flaw, it was her academic performance—she’d always been second, because Ye Chao was first.
Perhaps for that reason alone, she opposed Ye Chao at every turn, practically his nemesis.
Why was she here? Well, she was always present whenever he was in trouble. In fact, she was often the one causing it!
Xu Tiange looked coldly at Ye Chao. Seeing his gaze on her, she took two steps forward, her pretty face taut. “Ye Chao, do you know that using logistics support during the internship costs you points?”
“I know...”
“Do you know that the internship score is included in the college entrance exam?”
“Ah, is that so?”
“You didn’t know... Anyway, pay more attention! Don’t let me win too easily, or it won’t be any fun!”
With that, Xu Tiange gave a proud snort, hefted her oddly shaped sledgehammer emblazoned with the bold characters “Liquefied Petroleum Gas,” and led her loyal followers away.