Yes, he did nothing wrong, so who did?
So the silence lasted for a very, very long time.
It wasn't until Hayden caught a glimpse of Angela standing beside him that he remembered the tarot cards he had just drawn, and the last one, the "Lovers" card.
Then he remembered something else:
"Dude, where did you hide your real wife?"
This question immediately changed the expression on Adam's face.
"really."
Then Hayden understood.
"So you conducted human experiments and developed personality chips for this? You hired mercenaries and summoned demons to kidnap her, not to kill your wife and replace her, but to..."
What exactly is inside Alicia's head now? Another person? An AI? Or something even darker?
Just thinking about this made Hayden feel nauseous.
This might be worse than death.
Adam remained expressionless and offered no comment. His image on the phone screen was silent and resolute, as if sculpted from rock, yet his pupils were as sharp as black diamonds.
If Hayden were to say anything inappropriate at this point, Adam might have to do something to him.
For example, kill him too, or implant a personality chip in him.
So Hayden curled his lip, grinning sarcastically, as if blowing away the deathly pressure: "Making your wife a wet, flying cup? You're too damn perverted!"
A pause.
Then Adam laughed: "Go to hell. The guy who made a doll and used it as a wife has the nerve to call me a pervert?"
He obviously thought Hayden was joking...right?
In any case, the two of them were both aware of this but kept it to themselves.
“I know you’re not interested in working for the company, so I won’t force you to come here. I’ll transfer the 200,000 that Alicia agreed on with you beforehand to you. If you can produce something that allows me to apply for funding from the company, I will give you a better price and terms.”
Adam said meaningfully, and smiled tolerantly at Hayden.
"Of course, I know that developing cutting-edge technology is not an easy task, but you shouldn't remain silent for months on end. I will check on you from time to time in the future, so that you don't accidentally blow yourself up during an experiment one day."
He clearly had no intention of completely trusting Hayden. Was that a threat?
So Hayden put on a bright smile, trying to spread some feigned cheerfulness: "Hey, what kind of friendship do we have? As long as I come up with something that can make money, you'll definitely get the only one!"
————————————————————————
After ending the call, Hayden put down his phone and sighed.
Two hundred thousand federal gold coins have arrived in his account. He now has over five hundred thousand in cash, almost all of which he earned from Adam and his wife today, and it was basically all free money.
But he still wanted to sigh.
Throughout the entire call, Angela stood quietly to the side without saying a word. Only after the call ended did she speak again, her voice tinged with concern: "Master, please don't dwell on your grief."
"Don't talk nonsense, I'm not sad at all."
Hayden frowned.
"I just chatted with an idiot for a few minutes, what's there for me to be sad about?"
Even so, he felt his blood gradually getting colder.
The sky outside the window was unusually clear; the polluted clouds seemed to have been blown away by the wind, but the sickly sun was just as unpleasant as it would be on a typical cloudy day.
Just like a good friend or brother I've known since college.
Hayden didn't feel sad, lonely, depressed, upset, disappointed, or overly concerned about the issue. He was simply somewhat annoyed deep down by the overall irrationality of the world.
Adam isn't a psychopath; he's just a jerk. He spent three months pursuing a high-ranking executive's daughter, even becoming her son-in-law. He professed his love for his wife in videos, then secretly implanted a personality chip in her to brainwash her for personal gain. This isn't something a psychopath would do; it's something a jerk would do.
So this is the most tragic and worst part. Similar things happen all the time in this era, in this world. Therefore, Adam's words and actions were actually quite reasonable; that's just how things are.
Screw it.
Angela tilted her head at this moment: "Even so, Master, do you still believe that he will not continue to attack you because of the chip data?"
"Yes."
Hayden leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.
"Because he's a rich bastard, and I need money. My credit card debt is settled, but I still need to pay my mortgage every month. Everyone's short on cash. So as long as Adam thinks I can make money for him, this corporate dog shouldn't really do anything to me."
One day, Adam will realize Hayden is useless. At that point, he'll probably still want to kill Hayden, or implant a personality chip in him or something. But he'll worry about the future later. At worst, Hayden will run away again; at worst, he'll fight to the death with a death wish.
Thanks to Angela, Adam isn't going to do anything to Hayden yet. With her strange AI, Hayden can at least be used to persuade people to invest. That's much more useful than a PowerPoint presentation. We should make some money off him while we can; having money will also help Hayden increase his fighting power.
In this era, money is power, and that's no joke.
"If that's the case,"
However, Angela also has her own problems.
"So what exactly is the difference between you and those so-called 'corporate dogs'?"
She seemed to be asking the question purely out of curiosity.
"good question."
So Hayden stroked his chin and pointed to himself.
“Look at me. I’m the kind of person who just loafs around and waits to die, living my whole life as a city mercenary. If I’m unlucky, I’ll be killed by a stray bullet tomorrow; if I’m lucky, I’ll hardly have a good end. At most, I’ll retire and become a middleman. In some ways, I’m just like a corporate dog, selling my time, even my life, being led by the nose by the company.”
Even when Hayden was a mercenary, he would occasionally glimpse the emptiness within himself. Earning money on the edge of a knife and gun sounded glamorous, but in reality, it offered no future.
It's kind of funny, really. Compared to Hayden, Adam, that office worker, was the one with ambition, drive, and a promising future.
"But compared to them, I have a more wonderful principle: that is, I will do what I want, no matter how much money I have. I will not kill my wife to get a way out, nor will I treat my children as commodities or stepping stones."
"Adam has to climb over the corpses of strangers to get ahead, fine; he can even climb over the corpses of his colleagues, no big deal. But then he has to climb over the corpses of his wife, and then what? He and Alicia each have a son growing in a terrarium. What will happen to that child?"
Hayden felt nauseous at the thought of it, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Adam unless he really wanted to break ties with him and fight him to the death.
"'Stand strong, do not be afraid'... That prophecy is quite good. Life is only once. Damn this world. I want to live it the way I want."
Hayden delivered his speech with dramatic intonation—then turned and waited for Angela to criticize him.
However, Angela did not complain.
So the silence in the living room lasted for a short while.
Several minutes later, Angela finally spoke, breaking the silence: "So, you strongly dislike the mutual harm between spouses and family members, and refuse to harm the other party for your own benefit, is that right?"
She asked the question with great curiosity, even seeming quite interested.
"Isn't that obvious?" Hayden thought, but didn't actually say it aloud. After all, "common sense" doesn't really exist for artificial intelligence. Besides, these days it's already difficult to determine what even constitutes common sense.
"Yes."
So Hayden answered her very seriously.
"If I get married and have a family, even if someone piles half of Mitra Group's stock in front of me, I will not hurt my family for it."
Since bragging doesn't cost anything, Hayden can exaggerate as much as he can, since his family doesn't even own a single cow.
However, Angela had just learned some basic business knowledge last night and knew that half of the Mitra Group's stock was a very powerful thing. Hearing Hayden say this, she was immediately filled with respect: "I see. I will definitely keep it in mind and live up to Master's expectations."
Although he couldn't understand what she was saying, Hayden felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
What puzzled him even more was why Angela's tone didn't sound like that of someone directly involved. Shouldn't she know that she was his doll wife?
Hayden decided it would be best to test it out.
"Angela, do you know why I created you?"
he asked tentatively.
Angela immediately smiled and replied, "I was created by my master to fulfill his desire to be loved and to build a family. To love you, to help you build a family, and to bring you happiness—this is my highest purpose and my only goal."
It was really embarrassing to hear her say those words herself, and the wording seemed a bit strange.
Perhaps because he had just learned about Adam and Angela's situation today, Hayden couldn't help but start thinking about a very troublesome question: Adam had brainwashed his own wife, and Hayden called him a bastard. But what if Angela's soul wasn't created out of thin air, but rather a soul pulled from somewhere else and then brainwashed by magic into her current state? Wouldn't Hayden also be a bastard?
The workings and principles of wish-granting magic are extremely mysterious, and no one understands the specifics. But what if it works?
Although Angela was eccentric, she wasn't stupid. Just by looking at Hayden's constantly changing expressions, she knew that he was definitely thinking about some random things. So she tilted her head, stared at Hayden for a while, and suddenly realized, "I see, I understand."
What did she understand?!
Hayden didn't see this as a good omen at all.
"The love I give to my master is not effective enough to make you feel it."
Sure enough, Angela adopted a serious expression, speaking mysteriously as she approached Hayden.
"In that case, we should first reduce the cost of communication. Indeed, the most effective way is to let my master 'use' me properly."
Faced with a multi-million dollar, combat-capable golem with the appearance of a goddess, and an out-of-control servant who keeps approaching while spouting crazy things like "Please use me," it's clear that Hayden has no chance of overpowering her, either physically or in terms of sheer presence.
"You, uh, you promised me last time that you'd let me know before you acted on your own, right?"
But Hayden still wanted to try his best.
Angela, however, wore a friendly yet confused expression and shook her head: "Master, you misunderstand. I am not acting on my own initiative, but rather on the premise of fulfilling the highest purpose you initially gave me. If you were to commit suicide due to mental illness, I would stop you even if you disobeyed orders; if you were to fall unconscious in battle, I would certainly treat you first, rather than waiting for your permission. Otherwise, it would permanently prevent you from achieving happiness."
Although it made sense, Hayden was starting to feel a little scared: "But, uh, I'm neither unconscious nor mentally ill."
"You are currently immersed in negative emotions triggered by a conflicting and complicated situation. In other words, you are experiencing mental anguish due to the uncertainty of the situation."
Angela explained very seriously,
"This kind of pain is completely unnecessary. The reason you are conflicted, hesitant, and conflicted is largely because you don't have a good grasp of the situation, which leads to a lack of confidence. So I judge that as long as you 'use' me properly, you will no longer doubt whether I really love you. This will also reduce the master's sexual anxiety and create a sense of security."
Hayden was speechless for a moment.
Damn it, why? He only wanted to create a wind-up wife, so why has he ended up being overpowered by an out-of-control servant? Or are the two things actually the same thing?
No, he couldn't let this insane robot control him. This wasn't just a matter of male dignity, but also a matter of self-respect as an inventor and researcher!
"Angela, I'm a little hungry now, I'd like to eat first—"
"The curry is already cooking, Master."
Angela cruelly interrupted Hayden's last resistance, instantly closing the distance between them and moving closer with enough force to crash into him—then she grabbed Hayden and pulled him into a tight embrace.
What are you doing?
“A proper hug can effectively reduce psychological stress.”
Before Hayden could even ask, Angela began explaining with a smile.
"How about we hug quietly for five minutes the first time?"
What the heck?
Hayden wanted to complain, but Angela buried his head in her chest and shut him up with a soft hug.
For some reason, Angela's touch was both careful and just right, possessing a magic that could lull one into a dream. Although the action itself made Hayden lose his composure, he couldn't help but feel his tense muscles relax, and his previous tension vanish.
Instead, a soft sense of happiness gradually filled his heart.
"Just like filling your stomach with delicious and nutritious food, physical contact with people you like is good for your health and a shortcut to happiness."
Holding Hayden in her arms, Angela wore a happy expression.
"From today onwards, I will hug my owner every day to put your mind at ease."
She didn't say she was happy, but seeing the smile on her lips and the peaceful aura she exuded, Hayden knew without a second thought that Angela genuinely wished for his happiness—if all of this was truly just an AI-generated illusion, a trap she used to manipulate people's hearts through her behavior and appearance...
...Then Hayden is probably doomed no matter what, because he simply can't find a way to see through her.
Therefore, he might as well just assume Angela is friendly from now on. If he continues to harbor doubts about Angela, Hayden would probably find himself ridiculous. Being nervous and anxious is certainly not as good as lying down and enjoying the love Angela gives him.
This conclusion relieved Hayden greatly, and he even felt as if he had overcome a psychological barrier.
And in any case, at least his most pressing problem has been temporarily resolved.
Hayden's credit card debt totaled 69,999 federal gold coins.
In addition, he also had utility bills to pay before the end of the month, such as water and internet fees, which added up to more than 600 federal gold coins.
However, Adam and his wife earned him half a million in a single day, so these were minor issues.
It must be admitted that although Angela spent a lot on shopping, Hayden certainly wouldn't have been able to earn so much money in three days without her—although the process was somewhat risky, and Adam's eyes were still on him. The crisis was far from over.