The Battle of Wits

In the library, Christine was encrossed in reading "Melic." Ming Fa had dragged her to the shooting range last time, leaving her no time to finish the book, even though she was halfway through.

She wasn't using the fantasy world in the book to escape reality like Ming Fa did. It was because she was a robot, and she wanted to have the human imagination, so that's why she read these fantasy works. As for whether the content was good or not, she didn't care at all; she was just indulging in the wonderful world within.

"Is this book... good?" A soft male voice interrupted her reading, causing her to unconsciously stop.

She turned her head and saw a handsome man's face before her. His gentle eyes looked at her face, and the slightly upturned corners of his mouth emphasized his handsome and suave demeanor.

"Peter?" Christine recognized the man who had been staring at her all this time.

"Is this book good?" Peter repeated the question.

"...It's good." Christine could only answer his question; otherwise, he would certainly continue asking.

Peter snatched the book she had just closed and sat across from her, starting to read intently. Christine was a robot who could read the innermost thoughts of all humans, but for some reason, she couldn't figure out what this man was thinking because his thoughts kept changing, as if the system was clearing out junk files, deleting old thoughts from the brain and filling them with new ones, constantly cycling.

Because of this, his inner thoughts were like garbled code, unreadable.

Christine suddenly remembered Ming Fa mentioning a spy, which made her freeze in place.

Could it be that this man in front of her already knew she was a robot, and that's why he was acting this way?

Was he declaring war on her?

"Gwenpool, huh," Peter said with a solemn tone that sounded like an old man's nonchalance, "Do you really like reading fantasy books?"

"Um... yes." Christine could only answer his question; she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Why?" Peter put the book down, propped his chin, and looked at Christine with deep eyes, his expression gentle enough to make her fall for this man.

"...just because, no other reason."

"Oh~" Peter's lips slightly curled, as if he could see through her. Although she didn't think a human could understand a robot's inner thoughts.

"Do you... like sci-fi?" Peter took out a book titled "Creator."

"Not really."

"Do you want to take a look?"

"Thank you for your kindness, but I don't want to." Christine's patience was successfully worn down. She snatched "Melic" back, pushed her chair back, and stood up, intending to leave.

"Do you know, you're very much like the... Cyborg that often appears in sci-fi novels?" Peter pretended to ponder, "I'll just say it straight. I found out about your last conversation with General Nolan about the spy, and the general entrusted me to investigate the spy. And you, seem to be that robot~" Peter pointed at Christine, deliberately elongating the word "robot" with an exaggerated tone, "How could you deceive Ming Fa's trust in you like this? And also my trust in you."

Christine coldly met Peter's mocking gaze, and she sat down.

"What do you want to say?" Christine's tone became serious and icy, filled with the power of a queen. She was no longer the lively and sarcastic girl she used to be.

"I want to make a deal." Peter grinned maliciously, his face exuding ill intent.