Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter 51: Are You the Terminator?

Leila Fox sat next to Zhou Qingfeng in the mobile command vehicle as she checked him out. She was a little doubtful.

“Victor Hugo, you have a mysterious aura to you,” Leila Fox said decisively. She raised her phone, pointed her finger at the news report, and said, “The reporters thoroughly investigated your background, the report about you is completely inaccurate compared to who you are right now.”

Zhou Qingfeng glared at the photo on her phone and thought to himself, the Catastrophe had just begun and everything was still relatively calm; communication systems were still normal as well. However, it would not be long until public safety deteriorated; robberies and other crimes would start after two or three more days.

Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng was silent, Leila Fox began reading his profile out loud. The keywords were, ’18 years old’, ‘uneducated’, ‘no criminal record’, and ‘lives off government aid’.

“A normal boy would never have been able to turn into such a warrior with just a few days’ time. The fact that you even survived after getting cornered and attacked by a huge team of NYPD officers is a miracle! There has to be a reason for it.”

Leila Fox moved closer to Zhou Qingfeng and said with a stern face, “You’ve been keeping your distance from me. Even though I volunteered to follow you, you wore an impatient look on your face. All kinds of men have always tried to get on with me because of my beauty, intelligence, and status. However, it seems like you’re an exception. Nevertheless, I think your reaction just now upon seeing me explains everything. You asked why didn’t I disappear? It’s evident that you think I should have disappeared by now. Do you know how I was like when the cops disappeared? I was so terrified that I started shaking. I was at a loss for words. At first, I thought that there was something wrong with my eyes. Only after a while did I finally realize that it wasn’t me, it was the world around me. The reporters who had come over were shaken as well. They yelled for God as they ran for their lives in tears. To them, it was the arrival of the apocalypse.

“You were the only person I saw who was normal yet strange at the same time. You didn’t seem scared, you seemed extremely excited. I saw you run out of the memorial hall from afar and watched you check out this vehicle in excitement. While everyone else began to freak out, it was as if things were completely normal to you. As of this moment, you’re still hellbent on finding that robot dog, aren’t you a little too obsessed with it? You were willing to turn down my invitation to go to the Caribbean with me; it was as if you were waiting for the cops to disappear.

“The cops had you cornered and you nearly died. You made it out alive, but you’re injured. Anyone else in that position would be looking for a doctor right now. On the other hand, you’re determined to find that robot dog. Is the dog really that important to you?

“You knew that the cops were going to disappear, didn’t you? Hey… stop playing dead! We’re partners now, you have to tell me the truth.”

Zhou Qingfeng smiled and shrugged in response to Miss Fox’s string of questions. He only had one thing on his mind — smart women were the most terrifying.

As she saw Zhou Qingfeng ignore her, Leila Fox became extremely mad. She shouted angrily, “Bastard, I wish I could bite you to death!”

It was obvious that Miss Fox was not going to give up that easily. Upon realizing that she was not going to get any answers from Zhou Qingfeng, she started thinking of other ways to do so.

Leila Fox dialed 911; of course, she did not get any answers from them. After that, she called a few reporters, but all the lines were busy. Hence, she was not connected to anyone. Thankfully, there were various news articles on the internet; one thing was for sure — all the cops had disappeared.

The media had started contacting the government right away. It took only a few minutes before news broke out that all government officials had disappeared. Some even took to live-streaming to show the world how empty government buildings were.

“The government and police have disappeared, anyone else?” Leila Fox glared at Zhou Qingfeng before calling her uncle who had always been trying to kill her before this. She couldn’t get through to him, so she called the other directors of her company. None of them picked up.

After that, the precious daughter called every businessman she knew. In the end, she sighed and said, “Looks like everyone in my company has disappeared, and that was why you thought I should’ve disappeared. It’s because I’m the leader of the Fox Group.”

Zhou Qingfeng found the girl next to him rather interesting for being able to uncover so much with so little information. He then watched Leila Fox search for the phone numbers of all the departments in the US Army before calling them.

Not one of them answered and Leila Fox eventually fell silent. Her expression shifted multiple times before she asked out of the blue, “I remember an old movie that featured a robot that had come from the future to destroy artificial intelligence and protect humankind. That movie’s name was ‘Terminator’. Since you’re so powerful, you have to be Terminator, am I right?

“I might be wrong about some things, but you’ve protected me up till now. Although you act pretty nonchalantly around me, it’s just you trying to get my attention. I have to admit it worked pretty well; I find myself attracted to you. Had you tried to make obvious moves instead, I would’ve been suspicious of you.

“Truth be told, you know me well. Even when I was attacked, you were already waiting by the roadside to stop my kidnappers from killing me. So… I’m the human in the movie, aren’t I?

“Now that the government, army, police, and business corporations have disappeared, only a beautiful, intelligent, charming, and classy woman like me is human’s civilization hope. I’m the best indeed!”

Hahaha… Zhou Qingfeng could not help but laugh out loud when he saw Leila Fox’s proud expression. ‘What kind of logic is this? Miss Fox, you’re too self-absorbed!’

It didn’t take long for the expression on Leila Fox’s face to change. She said, “You saved me, but your priority is to eliminate the threat of artificial intelligence to the world.

“You’re not actually looking for the ‘dog’ that currently represents the best form of artificial intelligence. In truth, your objective is to destroy the Babylon SmartLab’s supercomputer, ‘Titan’. ‘Titan’ has control over the modern world, doesn’t it?”

Zhou Qingfeng felt as if he was listening to a comedy skit at this point; he was laughing non-stop about it. However, as he laughed, the wound on his chest began to hurt pretty bad. He said reluctantly, “Miss Fox, your conclusion is logical. However, I think you should think about how to survive in a situation like this.”