A Familiar Girl

The three S-rank employees in the meeting room all wore expressions of shock. The impression the golden-haired girl left them with could be summed up in one word: arrogant.

Haughty, dismissive, and utterly devoid of irrelevant pleasantries; she was like an egret stretching its long neck, flaunting its white wings and elegant form.

Seeing the three of them still staring at her in a daze, Xu Xiaoyou’s brow furrowed. "Didn't you say you were leaving? Let’s hurry up and end this boring and meaningless meeting."

"Interesting." Vieraya was the first to react, a hint of intrigue appearing on her face.

"This is more like how an S-rank employee should act. You do have a side that one can appreciate after all."

"So you used this method to convince us to continue the meeting? Although it was risky, I must admit, you successfully displayed your personality and piqued our interest," Charles noted thoughtfully.

"She’s really just like Little Swan. She was exactly like this during her first meeting—wildly arrogant. And as it turned out, she had the capital to be arrogant. Over time, she demonstrated her value and indispensability, becoming our most vital intelligence broker for external information."

"I believe this meeting is worth continuing. In fact, it's about to officially begin," Darwin said with a nod.

Several question marks popped up over Xu Xiaoyou’s head.

What were these guys muttering to themselves? Risky? A method to display personality?

She simply wanted to ruin their impression of her so she could end this tedious meeting and make the company give up on her.

Things seemed to be heading in a completely different direction.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Vieraya Starfall, the thirteenth seat of the Universal Academic Society, and a three-time consecutive champion of the Universal Research Moon-Catching Competition. Oh, by the way, I was once a member of the Starry Gallery in the Star of Art, but I found the so-called art those people pursued to be too foolish, so I chose to withdraw."

Vieraya listed her achievements in a single breath as if reporting her resume. The various awards from large and small scientific competitions were enough to make one's head throb. Some were events Xu Xiaoyou had never heard of, while others were major competitions she recognized, including several highly prestigious research awards.

"As an aside, I am also the chief developer for Kowloon Information Enterprise and the Into the Night Dreams company."

"I participated in the framework programming for the entire Oasis, as well as the research and design of the consciousness immersion devices. People from the Order Court, the Tower of Eternity, and the Sin Jury are all fighting to have me as their guest of honor."

"Little Viya is indeed very impressive," Charles chimed in appropriately.

"Of course, because I am a genius rarely seen even in a century of Universal history, the brightest star of the Starfall family," Vieraya huffed.

"Although you are very weak now and have little influence within Universal, it doesn't matter. At least in this exchange meeting, we are equals. You don't have to look up at me with eyes full of reverence."

Xu Xiaoyou was left speechless. This person’s level of narcissism was beyond her imagination; she had rarely seen someone who could out-boast her.

"However, don't be too discouraged. There is a chasm-like gap between us—a gap you won't be able to bridge in your entire life. You will never catch up to my footsteps; you can only hope to gaze upon my back."

Vieraya tilted her head up, and Xu Xiaoyou noticed her swinging her legs under the table.

"So, there’s no point in being angry. It’s better to just relax and keep your eyes fixed on the beautiful and noble me."

As she spoke, Vieraya’s scrutinizing gaze swept over Xu Xiaoyou and landed on Eva, who was sitting quietly at the center of the table with her eyes slightly closed and saying nothing. She frowned.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"Do you actually plan to stay and listen to the internal affairs of our Universal Heavy Industries..."

Before she could finish, Vieraya’s body suddenly stuttered. Her beautiful eyes widened as she glared at Eva, losing her composure. "You—what are you doing!"

"You dare kick me offline? Who gave an AI like you the authority! How dare you—"

The girl’s voice was stretched out like a distorted record, turning sharp. After a series of glitches, she dissolved into countless faint blue particles in the next instant, scattering into the air.

"Genius Little Viya is offline."

The remaining two S-rank employees in the room stared at Eva in disbelief.

Had they seen that correctly?

Eva’s underlying code dictated that she would never go against a human's will, never harm a human, and never possess any emotions. Every logical action was supposed to follow the Three Principles of AI. She was the super AI that housed the entire database of Oasis.

And yet, just now, Eva had forcibly kicked Vieraya offline right in front of them!?

What happened next caused an even greater wave of shock to crash through them. Eva slowly floated over to Xu Xiaoyou, a faint smile on her face.

"I have complied with your instructions and forced the user 'Genius Little Viya' offline."

Xu Xiaoyou hadn't quite grasped the situation herself. She looked up and met Eva’s gaze. For a split second, she felt as though the grey-haired girl before her was familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.

But she hadn't issued any commands to Eva. Xu Xiaoyou blinked, lost in thought.

"I can read the hearts of everyone in the Oasis. I have the entire database of the Oasis in my mind."

"Just now, you felt displeased in your heart toward the user named Genius Little Viya and wished for her to disappear from your sight."

Charles and Darwin were dumbfounded.

They had never heard of Eva being able to directly implement a command based solely on a person's inner desires—especially when that golden-haired girl wasn't even a formally registered player with an Oasis pass, but merely a temporary visitor.

Did this mean if she had a thought to delete someone’s account, Eva would directly execute it?

There was only one possibility.

A new filter fell over the two S-rank employees' eyes as they looked at Xu Xiaoyou.

The girl possessed exceptionally advanced programming and calculation skills. She must have directly hacked into Eva’s programming, causing Eva to do something that violated her underlying framework.

Recalling the girl’s previous arrogant demeanor, they finally understood where her confidence came from.

If that was the case, both S-rank employees felt a sense of relief. It seemed their decision to participate in this S-rank employee exchange meeting was the right one. They hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary girl from the Corrupt Hive City to possess such ability.

Once the meeting was over, they definitely had to investigate this girl’s background more thoroughly.

They would always maintain a friendly and respectful attitude toward people of value.

Xu Xiaoyou keenly noticed that the gaze of the remaining two men had changed. Although she didn't know what was wrong with Eva, since it had happened, she decided to roll with it.

With a snap of her fingers, three glasses of lemon fruit tea, frosted and radiating cold air, appeared before her and the other two S-rank employees. The fine cyan-grained mahogany meeting table also shifted at that moment, leaving only three seats for her, Charles, and Darwin.

Then, she rested her chin on her hands, her gaze playful. "Well then, as you suggested, shall we officially begin this meeting?"