Chapter 39 We’re Talking About Chips Not Feelings
Still, she couldn’t help but think of the missing corpse from the morgue. Something about Jasper’s data collection didn’t sit right with her; it didn’t seem entirely above board.
“Interested?”
Jasper seemed to know she was back before she even said a word.
But he didn’t pause his experiment; it was as if he had no fear of her uncovering anything suspicious.
Scarlett understood that crossing into a different field was like facing a whole new world, but this particular area was tightly connected to medicine. She couldn’t deny her growing curiosity.
The eagerness in her eyes was impossible to hide.
“Come try it.”
Jasper stood and gave up his spot at the computer.
She didn’t hesitate; she walked right over and placed her hand on the mouse. It was still warm from his touch. Her fingers instinctively curled slightly, then quickly relaxed again, and the cursor darted across the
screen.
“This here is the gene sequence. And this, the outer appearance of the neural fibers.”
Jasper stood beside her.
His voice was calm and unhurried.
He was seriously giving her a hands–on lesson.
That cool, crisp aura of his slowly seeped into the space around them.
Before she realized it, it felt like the entire world had narrowed down to just the two of them. For some
reason-
A tremor ran lightly through Scarlett’s fingertips. The cursor slid to the lower right corner of the screen.
“Here, we can collect the electrical signals generated by neuronal activity in the brain.”
Scarlett snapped out of it and quickly adjusted her mindset.
Then, she voiced her question.
“This is where the computer’s thoughts and emotions originate?”
He nodded.
She couldn’t help but marvel.
No wonder the robotic cat seemed so lifelike–turns out it really was embedded with all of this.
If this technology matured and could be applied to humans, beyond medical applications…
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
If it were used on the battlefield, people could instantly receive tactical data through the brain–computer interface and rapidly control equipment.
This would be a revolutionary advancement with monumental impact for generations to come.
“How accurate and stable is it right now?” she asked, drawing a deep breath.
Jasper went quiet for a moment.
“That’s why I made you my research subject. Only you can help me fine–tune this data so I can obtain high–quality brain signals.”
Scarlett lifted her fingers off the mouse and turned to look at him.
“You’re not worried that once I understand the principle, I might sabotage your experiment?”
Jasper’s expression didn’t change.
“You call me Professor Jasper. Fulfilling my teaching duty is perfectly reasonable.”
The implication is that if you misbehave during research, there are plenty of unreasonable ways to deal with it. Even his threats sounded elegant and refined.
But oddly, that made Scarlett feel like he was being unusually upfront.
“Professor Jasper, is this how you usually scare your students?”
A flicker passed through Jasper’s gaze.
Strictly speaking, Scarlett was his very first student.
“No.”
Scarlett propped her chin on her hand. “As a teacher, you shouldn’t be too stiff. You need expression, some flair. Professor Jasper, you’ve never taught a public lecture before, have you?”
Jasper shook his head.
“No wonder. Scaring students is a rookie move–it’s not really threatening at all.”
Jasper went quiet. Who’s the teacher here? Why did it feel like Scarlett was lecturing me instead?
“Alright, I’m going to check on the lab mice. You focus on your research.”
She stood up; her gaze met his.
Big eyes stared at smaller ones.
Scarlett spoke first. “Now I get why you didn’t rush to use me in your tech experiments.”
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Chapter 39 We’re Talking
Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Once your technology is more stable and refined, feel free to come find me.”
Jasper went quiet.
Jack, who had come to call them to lunch, stared with eyes wide open.
Wait, what now? Technology? Stable and refined? What the heck did I just walk in on? She couldn’t possibly be that bold, right? No–that wasn’t the point. The point was… Jasper wasn’t mad? He stared at Scarlett, eyes full of disbelief.
He usually hated women invading his space.
And not only was he not angry-
That slight upward curve at the corner of his lips… What the heck did that mean?
Jack rubbed his eyes hard.
When he opened them again, Jasper’s face was expressionless, calmly working on signal processing.
Okay, must’ve been my imagination. Definitely.
But the very next second, Jasper put down his work.
Walked to the door and motioned for him to follow.
Jack, utterly baffled and dying for answers, trailed him out to the hallway.
“Get me a copy of the school’s public lecture materials,” Jasper said.
Jasper had only come to teach at the university as a favor to Wayne.
All other schedules and logistics had been handled by Jack.
So assigning this task to him made perfect sense.
But still! Jack was even more confused now.
“You’re acting weird.”
Jasper opened the window beside them. Right on cue, the robotic cat was patrolling outside.
“I agreed to lecture. Naturally, I need to be prepared.”
Jack didn’t believe a word of it. There was definitely something fishy going on here.
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