Chapter 598: Body

"Is this your body?" Tapai looked up at the alluring form in the culture vessel in front of him, and after quickly scanning it, he found that all the body's values were exceedingly perfect, even the DNA had clearly been specially tweaked.

Not only were all sorts of genetic enhancements maxed out, but it also artificially halted the aging process, remaining in its prime until death.

"Yes, this is my body, cultivated from my DNA. I even chose the data for these facial features myself. It was recently cultivated, and I had planned to transplant my brain into this body to completely escape the identity of Si Ai."

"Not bad," Tapai nodded in approval. "Then why give it to me?"

Si Ai, with a cigarette in her mouth, patted Tapai's shoulder, "Because I think you need her more right now. Since any smart device could potentially be controlled by our enemies, it's time for you to replace all your mechanical parts."

After saying this, she paused for a few seconds before speaking again: "Besides... Sun Jack needs a woman who can care for him by his side. He's all alone, focusing all his energy on those significant matters. His personal life is a complete mess, to the point where you could say he doesn't have a personal life at all."

"Do you feel sorry for him?" Tapai's question was both an inquiry and a confirmation.

"Don't tell me, with your relationship with him being so good, you don't feel sorry?" Si Ai said, sizing Tapai up.

"Go on then, take that body for yourself. You can finally become Sun Jack's woman openly and legitimately, no longer needing to hide and sneak around."

"Woman? Jue Juezi, I think you might be mistaken, he set me up for guardian mode, not emotional mode, so I'm not responsible for his emotional issues," Tapai immediately corrected her.

"Cut it out," Si Ai said with a look of disdain. "You're talking about the AI Crisis and still saying this? Back when you were a mercenary, I could tell there was something off with the two of you. What are you even pretending for?"

"That's impossible! I don't even have hormones, reproductive glands... Friendship is likely, but I can't have any other emotional ties with him."

Tapai tilted its head, swiftly simulating scenarios in its system—a vision of itself with the woman's body, lying naked on the bed, while an excited Sun Jack approached, eagerly prying its legs apart and exclaiming with unprecedented thrill, "Haha! Today, Wang Shouyi is going to see just how sweet you really are!"

Far from feeling any excitement, it instead felt extremely awkward.

After deleting these completely meaningless images from its system, it shook its head rationally, "No, I still feel like that's not the kind of relationship we have. I have no sexual needs towards him, and Sun Jack feels the same."

Si Ai pointed her cigarette-holding finger towards the culture vessel, "Take her body. Once you truly possess a body, you will understand."

After finishing, Si Ai turned and walked away, her voice gradually fading, "Tapai, do me a favor, take her. With you by his side, we 52 Si Ais can finally let go of our past experiences."

Si Ai left, leaving Tapai standing there, looking at the body in front of it, starting to calculate.

After all, it definitely needs to replace its pure mechanical body with a genetically enhanced flesh body, especially since as an AI from The Previous Era, Poet might know the design flaws of its robotic form.

Always being by Sun Jack's side, if Poet were to use it to assassinate Sun Jack, that would be a big problem—even if the probability was tiny, it had to prevent it.

The only issue it had was, even if it wanted to replace its own body, why did it have to choose a woman's body? Why couldn't it choose a man's or one of the other thousand-plus genders in Metropolis?

After much thought, Tapai came up with a reason—it was simply efficient. Since Si Ai had already prepared it, adopting this body now would undoubtedly be the most convenient.

Moreover, after the DNA enhancements, the physical disadvantages of a female body could be completely compensated for, and that was the real reason for choosing this body.

If it were for the emotional development of Sun Jack, then that reason was simply too absurd and illogical.

Besides, Sun Jack liked driving big trucks, and this woman was a whole head shorter than him; she held no sexual appeal in his eyes whatsoever.

Having figured out the issue, Tapai, following the opening of the incubator, extended its mechanical hands and carefully lifted the woman's body down, walking toward the outside of the research and development department.

Switching bodies wasn't difficult, but transferring consciousness from mechanical hardware to a brain was an extremely complex matter. He needed to find an expert for this job. "Xiao Ting."

Inside Xiao Ting's operating room, she looked at Tapai in front of her with disbelief, "I must be hearing things. You want to become human?"

"No, to be precise, my cognition still identifies as AI. I've merely changed to a different vessel to avoid disturbance."

"Joke's on you, why should I help you? Are we that close?"

"I think you'd better help me, otherwise it won't be good for you. If you don't and something goes wrong, Sun Jack will come over and break your legs," Tapai said as it placed the body onto an adjacent operating table.

"Pfft, I'm scared of him? Let him come!" Though she spoke tough words, Xiao Ting ultimately decided to help.

"Damn it, it would have to be the end of the world for me to be this benevolent! Lie down."

Cursing under her breath, Xiao Ting controlled the mechanical arms, and a sharp scalpel easily sliced open the scalp of the woman's body. She was about to stop the bleeding when she noticed that the incision was healing by itself.

She knew her stuff, this body was no ordinary body; it was incredibly valuable.

Soon enough, strands of data cables were inserted into Tapai's processor, quickly beginning to connect with the brain.

"Consciousness synchronization commencing..."

As the surgery proceeded, days passed by, and Tapai began entering a very peculiar state, feeling as if it were in both bodies at once.

Tapai gently extended its right hand, mechanical and flesh bodies lifted their right hands simultaneously. This wasn't like the past experience of controlling a henpecked; it was a tug, a kind of distraction.

This unprecedented sensation was extraordinary, yet it was so irresistible.

"I've blocked out the pain for now. You can unblock it once the wound has healed," Xiao Ting finished speaking, and that feeling instantly disappeared.

And at that moment, Tapai finally understood what it had just experienced was pain.

With a "click," Tapai felt an emptiness in its heart as the dual perception turned into one, and now it could only feel the existence of the flesh body.

Turning its head, Tapai looked to its left and saw a robot with a screen-faced lying there.

That was its former self, yet now it seemed so unfamiliar to its eyes.

As it sat up and looked toward the mirror beside it, Tapai stared blankly at the naked body reflected there.

Tapai had become a woman.