"CSO, based on the sentimental parameters, the message is non-hostile, but the emotional valence is extremely high," Feng reported robotically. "It causes a 50\% drop in your normal chaotic output."
Liang put an arm around Xiao Mei. "Who is M, sweetheart? Someone from your past life?"
"I don't know," she whispered, touching the screen where the letter M was still glowing. "The System erased everything. But the feeling... it's like a memory trying to resurface. Someone who knew the real me."
Liang frowned. "This 'M' has successfully breached the Absolute Protocol without using logic or chaos. We need to find them before they breach something vital, like... our twins' gummy worm supply."Liang assigned Feng to analyze the sentimental trace while he took Xiao Mei to the corporate boardroom for a mandatory reassurance protocol.
Feng, left alone, was completely baffled by the concept of sentimentality. He decided to consult the experts in illogical emotional behavior: the twins.
Zhen (Logic Twin) was building a highly stable fort out of corporate chairs. "Uncle Feng," he stated. "Sentimentality is a variable. M is missing her smile. We must provide a substitute smile. We suggest Papa's."
Xin (Chaos Twin) immediately agreed. "Yes! Papa's smile is the most illogical and chaotic! It makes everyone confused and happy!"
Liang, meanwhile, used the private boardroom for his own protocol. He pushed Xiao Mei gently onto the long mahogany table.
"CSO," he murmured, his voice low and possessive. "Your emotional metrics are unstable. Your focus is divided between code and this unknown 'M'. We must stabilize the primary anchor."
"What is the primary anchor, Chairman?" Xiao Mei asked breathlessly.
"The Kissing Contract," Liang stated, and executed a long, demanding "Ownership Reaffirmation Kiss." He needed to remind her, and himself, that their illogical, intense reality was stronger than any ghost from the pastBack at the data center, Feng, taking the twins' advice literally, hacked into the main corporate advertisement display.
He replaced the latest luxury car ad with a massive, high-definition loop of CEO Liang's ridiculously cheerful smile, edited to be as wide and dazzling as possible.
When the entire floor of employees stopped working, confused and slightly terrified by the forced exposure to their CEO's overly joyful face, Feng turned to the twins.
"Analysis: The corporate stress level increased by 300\%, but the smile substitution protocol failed to identify M," Feng reported.
Zhen corrected him. "You used the wrong smile, Uncle Feng. M misses Mother's smile, not Papa's."
Xin pointed at the mainframe screen. "And look! The M is responding to Papa's bad smile!"As Feng looked back at the screen, the system detected a real-time connection from the "M" IP address. This time, the hacker didn't attack. Instead, the screen displayed a single, high-resolution photo.
It was a photo of a young woman with a kind, gentle face, holding a tiny, smiling girl with bright eyes—eyes exactly like Xiao Mei's. The young woman in the photo was the spitting image of the mysterious hacker that Liang had dealt with months ago: Li Wei's missing sister, Mingshan.
Beneath the photo, a final message appeared before the connection vanished:
"Take care of our little sister. She deserves happiness. Don't let the System hurt her again."
It wasn't a threat. It was a plea.Xiao Mei rushed back to the data center and saw the photo. A deep, forgotten memory stirred, bringing tears to her eyes—not the tears of the System, but real, painful, human tears.
"Liang," she whispered, clutching his hand. "Mingshan... she was the original System's developer. She was trying to protect me from the start."
Liang pulled her into a tight embrace, ignoring the staring employees and his confused cousin. "It was never just the System, Xiao Mei. It was always about people protecting the people they love, even from behind a firewall."
He kissed her, a long, tender, yet firm kiss that sealed their chaotic destiny.
The story was far from over. A new game had begun: Finding Mingshan and reclaiming the pieces of Xiao Mei's lost life.