The traffic police came very quickly. It was a small-time traffic cop driving a motorcycle.
“What’s going on?” The small-time traffic cop stopped his motorcycle and saw the driver stuck in the front seat of a Buick while another was handcuffed to the ground.
Xing Conglian saluted him and flashed his credentials.
The small-time traffic cop looked at his ID and, probably thinking about the hostage situation and the timebomb case, quickly saluted Xing Conglian and handed back the credentials. “Oh, oh, it’s Captain Xing. Are you going to the scene over there?”
Xing Conglian gave a noncommittal response.
Lin Chen was standing by the car when he suddenly turned his head and said to the two of them, “This gentleman may have a cervical spine injury. It shouldn’t be serious, but we should call first responders just in case.”
“Wait a moment. The ambulance should be here soon.” The young traffic cop came over to look at the car. He saw that the driver was conscious and didn’t look seriously injured, but he didn’t dare move him. He walked around the car and went to the hot-tempered middle-aged driver who was handcuffed by Xing Conglian. “Is that your handcuffs?” he asked quietly.
Xing Conglian nodded. “Let him calm down first, and I’ll uncuff him later.”
“Fuck, he hit laozi. This is police brutality. Laozi wants to file a complaint!” The driver twisted and squirmed on the ground when he heard this.
“Hey, sir. It’s obvious your car is changing lanes. If you’re changing lanes and can’t get through all the way, you’re fully responsible for the accident.”
Seeing that the traffic cop began to educate the driver, Lin Chen interrupted him, “Have you called an ambulance?” Xing Conglian felt indescribable at that moment. Lin Chen had asked the same question he wanted to ask, because this whole time, while the traffic cop was inspecting the area, he had not once taken out his radio.
“Wait, let me see.”
The traffic cop ran onto the bus that caused the accident, took out a silver-gray tablet from the dashboard, then ran back out and tapped on it a few times. Soon, the tablet clearly showed the vehicles’ driving records and a series of parameters after the impact.
Lin Chen and Xing Conglian looked at each other tacitly, then came to the side of the traffic cop.
“Well, the police were automatically called,” The traffic cop said while showing them the screen. Lin Chen clearly saw the words “Highway Patrol and the 120* emergency center have been automatically called” on the screen.
*Clarity: In China, 120 is the number to call for ambulance services.
At that moment, the radio on the traffic cop’s chest rang.
The person on the other end of the radio asked, “Xiao Cao, is there another accident again?”
“Two cars collided. It’s not serious, but someone’s injured. Is the ambulance on its way?”
“Let me see…” There was a pause for a moment. “It’s already been dispatched.”
The traffic cop, Xiao Cao, nodded.
“How efficient.” Xing Conglian felt that he had faintly grasped an important key.
“Yes, we have replaced the new system. Now, anything with more than 7 passengers or freight vehicles carrying dangerous goods—anyway, vehicles that are prone to accidents are equipped with the latest tracking and call-for-help systems. The command center will evaluate through the system and comprehensively deploy police and ambulance resources from that evaluation.”
“This system you’re talking about, is it based on… MEMS speed agent or something?”
“It’s an autonomous call-for-help system based on a MEMS accelerometer, but this is only the name of the on-board terminal. The full name is the ‘Highway Safety Classification Warning System’.” The traffic cop spoke very quickly. “This system is very good, especially in places like the highway. When the road is empty and the driver is injured or unconscious and they can’t call the police, the vehicle can automatically do it. Many foreign countries also use this system.”
“In other words, after a vehicle is hit, a vehicle equipped with this kind of call-for-help system will automatically assess the degree of damage to the vehicle, comprehensively analyze a series of factors, such as the road conditions of the vehicle, and issue a signal for help. The command center will receive an alarm and will use this as a basis to send the police and ambulance to the scene. The more serious the accident, the higher the system rating, so more police and ambulance resources can be quickly allocated to a serious accident, right?” Xing Conglian’s brow frowned while he was in contemplation, and his tone was gruff. “Then, what about the opposite?”
“What opposite?” The traffic cop didn’t quite understand what Xing Conglian meant.
Xing Conglian patted the little brother on the shoulder gratefully. “What else do you know about this system?”
“What…. What’s the matter?” The traffic cop looked at Xing Conglian’s solemn face and suddenly became timid.
“Answer my question.”
“The system seems to have been introduced by the Tu’an Transportation Corp. It has been tried out since the previous year. The effect is good, so it slowly gained traction throughout the province and even the whole country. Anyway, all trucks, buses, especially dangerous freight vehicles—basically anything accident prone—must have this system installed on their vehicles.”
It was as if there was a thread connecting everything together.
“Tu’an Corp. This system was introduced by them… Why?”
“Why? The system was introduced by them. It was an agreement signed by Tu’An that had the Transportation Bureau responsible for installation, promotion, and maintenance of the system…”
Xing Conglian didn’t speak anymore and dragged Lin Chen to the side of the road.
“What’s the matter?” Lin Chen asked.
“Do you remember what time it was when we got the news that the school bus was hijacked?”
“About 12:15?”
“Yes.” Xing Conglian’s voice was low and solemn. “But the time when the bus was hijacked should be around 8:30-9:00…”
“There’s a three-hour difference.” Lin Chen quickly realized the key point. “We were too slow when we reacted.”
In a small car accident just now, the traffic police were able to arrive at the scene within a few minutes, but a bus full of children taken hostage took more than three hours from when the incident occurred to when the police were notified. This was simply appalling!
“The answer that kid wants us to find about the car accident should be very similar to this hijacking case he’s operating.”
“A car accident with serious consequences due to an untimely rescue response.”
“So, the thing he’s targeting is the Highway Safety Classification Warning System?” Lin Chen stood beside the guardrail and felt that the spring breeze was getting colder.
“Or someone with direct access to the system.”
Xing Conglian called Wang Chao again. “Did you get off yet? Is Yang Dianfeng still with you?”
“Huang Ze crossed the river and demolished the bridge. He said he didn’t need me anymore and asked me to lie down in the reeds. What’s wrong?”
“You stay away from Yang Dianfeng. I have a few questions for you.”
There was a voice from the other end of the line. After a while, Wang Chao said, “Okay, I left quietly. Very quietly!”
“Is there any result from the thing I asked you to look up?”
“Just finished the comparison. You don’t know how difficult my working conditions are… I checked. Only two students from Fengjing were injured in a car accident on the Hongjing Highway, but the injuries weren’t serious.”
“Have any relatives of the students died in a car accident?”
“To be honest, Captain, do you think the hijacker case was done by a little bastard from Fengjing?”
“A child of his age is of course a student and it is of course most convenient to start from his own school. It’s also the easiest to find people willing to help him,” Xing Conglian replied.
“Oh, I see,” Wang Chao said as he opened another file. “Then, there are 3 immediate family members of students in Fengjing that died in a traffic accident.”
Xing Conglian remembered the words of the traffic cop just now. If the system was still in the process of being promoted, then not all vehicles had it installed. “Can you find out whether any of the vehicles involved in these three accidents had the MEMS autonomous call system installed? The focus should be on passenger or freight vehicles.”
“Ah,” Wang Chao replied in a low voice that sounded a bit hesitant. “It’s not quite right, Captain?”
“Any clues?”
“In the early morning of May 11, 2014, a medium-sized long bus with a Hong A license plate was traveling along the Yongchuan River. Due to a problem with the vehicle’s brake system and the driver’s error, the entire vehicle rolled into the river. None of the 23 passengers on board survived…” Wang Chao took a deep breath. He read very slowly. Seeing the next words, he only felt his cheeks getting cold. “In this accident, Fang Zhiming, a 40-year-old drug enforcement officer, died on duty…”
To find an answer in thousands of stories was, of course, like finding a needle in a haystack. However, to find the most special one among the three car accidents was a bit too simple.
Xing Conglian had also thought that the case might be heavy. Lin Chen did give him a precaution, but he never thought this matter might be related to a fallen comrade. It took him a long time before he finally spoke. “Send me the details of the case.” After he said it, he even held a subtle sense of luck and thought it was possible the car accident wasn’t related to the “Candy Bandit” and the teenager who hijacked the bus may not be the child of a drug enforcement officer.
The email arrived quickly. Xing Conglian’s finger quickly swiped across the phone screen and then stiffened.
The shock and sorrow in Xing Conglian’s green eyes made Lin Chen have an ominous feeling in his heart. He moved his gaze to the phone screen and saw Xing Conglian’s long, well-proportioned hands tremble slightly.
Following Xing Conglian’s fingertips, his gaze fell on a line in small print on the screen.
[Two of the passengers died of severe craniocerebral injuries. One died of lung puncture, and the remaining 20 passengers drowned. The list is as follows…]
The sun was fading, and the spring breeze suddenly got cold.
Lin Chen raised his head and said slowly, “This is the story he wants to tell.”
——
Xing Conglian drove at such a deadly speed that the sun’s fading light chasing after the car was quickly thrown off.
The story was simple. The passengers drowned, which meant that they were still alive when the bus fell into the water. They could have been injured and crying but were still alive. The car wouldn’t sink into the river quickly. They were waiting in the water, looking forward to the hope that someone would come save them. Perhaps in five minutes, maybe ten, maybe longer. They waited in despair until the cold river quickly submerged them.
Xing Conglian drove extremely intently, but his expression was so solemn that the small-time traffic cop who was forcibly taken into the car before he had time to deal with the accident didn’t even dare take a deep breath.
“Don’t worry. We just have something to ask you,” Lin Chen said in a low voice, perceiving the panic of the cop.
“Me? How can I help?”
“How long have you been on duty?”
“Two years.”
“In the course of two years of duty, have there been any car accidents that make you feel strange…”
“Strange?”
“For example, because of the untimely rescue, there were heavy casualties from the accident.”
“What do you mean by that? What does it mean the rescue isn’t timely?!” Hearing this, the small-time traffic cop became a bit angry. “I’m only responsible for a section of the road. If the car accident occur in an area not under my control, coupled with traffic jams and other factors, even if I want to get to the scene as soon as possible, I would have to get a plane and fly over!”
“But did you know that the Highway Safety Classification Warning System has its own loopholes?”
“What loopholes?”
“The graded alarm is based on the vehicle impact parameters, right? The system classifies early warnings according to the severity of the car accident. If the vehicle is severely damaged, the command center will receive the highest level of alarm, but if the vehicle isn’t damage, but a more dangerous event occurred… For example, an entire bus being overturned into a river…”
“What you said is a special case. Besides, the bus fell into a river. How could it not be damaged at all? We could have received an alarm. You—You… can’t deny the role of the Highway Safety Classification Warning System!” The traffic cop shook his head when he heard this.
“It didn’t happen?” Xing Conglian honked his horn fiercely. “The May 11th accident where an entire bus rolled into the Yongchuan River didn’t happen?” He looked at the rearview mirror with cold eyes.
The traffic cop frowned slightly, as if he didn’t know why Xing Conglian suddenly mentioned the accident. “I remember… The May 11th accident was caused by the driver’s error. The driver had pressed the button before the bus rolled into the river. The alarm was pressed, and the medical team rushed to the scene as soon as possible.”
“If rescue was timely, then why did all 20 passengers drown?”
“The Yongchuan River is deep, and its flow is rapid. It was also late in the day, making rescue more difficult. When the rescue team arrived, many of the passengers were already dead.”
“In this case, the casualties are indeed very heavy, but you’re saying the police and medical staff didn’t respond timely. You can check the system’s data. You’ll see that the driver hit the alarm in time, and we arrived at the scene as soon as possible. Is there a problem with that, huh?”
The words of the small-time traffic cop didn’t make Lin Chen feel at ease.
Indeed, just because his father didn’t get rescued in time, the kidnapper would hijack buses and kidnap children? This seemed a bit too extreme and unreasonable. There was no way he could convince the driver to lie to the police and all those who may have been secretly helping him.
But if this wasn’t the case, then what was the terrible truth behind the incident?
Without any hesitation, he once again asked for the help of the technical genius.
Wang Chao was lying in the reeds. His whole body was half-dry, half-wet. When he heard Lin Chen’s voice, he suddenly became energetic. “Sir, how can I help you?”
“Captain Xing and I suspect there’s a loophole in the Highway Safety Classification Warning System. Can you find out the time when the on-board system sends out a signal for help in the event of the major car accident on May 11th, and also the specific time when the traffic police and rescue department arrive at the scene?”
“Oh, that’s easy to check. It’s in the traffic police file. Let me take a look… He put the laptop on his lap and sat on the ground. “On May 11th, the time the traffic police arrived at the scene was 21:20.”
“What about the automatic vehicle alarm time the vehicle sent out from the warning system?”
“This… This data can only be viewed by the Transportation Bureau, which is a bit troublesome.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Because, I, ah, am going to do… things that are illegal and disorderly… again,” Wang Chao said as he looked at Huang Ze’s proudly standing figure not far away. “When is the Captain coming?” As he said it, he was carefully hacking into the Transportation Bureau’s system.
“What’s the situation at the scene?”
“Shit, it’s Inspector Huang, don’t you know? If he can attack him, he won’t negotiate. The snipers from the special forces are already in position. Too scary. I’m seeing real life CS* for the first time.” After Wang Chao finished speaking, he tapped the back button. “Bingo, 21:12:”
*Counter-strike. First-person tactical shooter game in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to prevent it (bomb defusal, hostage rescue, escort mission).
“In other words, it only took 8 minutes for the traffic police department to arrive at the scene?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Lin Chen pressed the phone to his ear, but for a moment he didn’t know what to say.
“No, there must be a problem with this.” Xing Conglian was honking as he swerved to avoid the vehicle in front of him.
“Eh, let me just say that you guys are thinking too much. If the rescue is not timely, no matter how late it is on the highway, there will be cars coming and going. Even if the car itself didn’t call the police, passing drivers would if they saw it.”
Hearing these words, Lin Chen suddenly thought of something. The captain of the criminal police division, who was driving, was the first to speak. “You’re right. So what if this is more than just an accident?”
“Wang Chao, did the police system receive a manual alarm on the night of the May 11th accident? I mean, in addition to the automatic alarm on the on-board system,” Lin Chen asked.
“This…” Wang Chao checked the records, eagerly hoping he would grow eight more hands. “It doesn’t seem to be there.”
“In other words, the road was very dark and empty at that time, and no one witnessed how the accident happened.” Xing Conglian paused, and asked rhetorically, “Why is this such a coincidence?”
“Wang Chao, if someone has modified the background record, can you find it?”
The world was a big place, holding many stories. To find an answer, one had to dig through thousands of stories, which was equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack.
Lin Chen followed behind Xing Conglian, thinking the other party was reasonable and was in a rush, probably trying to find the answer. However, he didn’t expect Xing Conglian to take him around the parking lot and went straight to the cafeteria of the management center.
Since it was past meal time, the cafeteria was already closed. The entrance to the small market had an old auntie and a cat dozing together, and the lights were off.
Xing Conglian went inside and came out with two bowls of beef-flavored instant noodles filled with hot water.
Lin Chen wanted to go over and help, but Xing Conglian tapped his pocket with his elbow.
Lin Chen then understood and reached into the pocket of the mixed-race young man and, unsurprisingly, found an unopened pack of cigarettes.
When people were irritable, their smoking addiction indeed became much stronger. Lin Chen patiently unwrapped the plastic packaging, pulled one out, and stuffed it into Xing Conglian’s mouth. Xing Conglian turned around again and signaled for him to take the lighter from his other pocket.
Lin Chen took out the lighter and saw that Xing Conglian had bowed his head slightly and very naturally put the cigarette towards his hand.
With a flick, the flame lit the cigarette. In the dim space, the eyes of the mixed-race young man lowered. His green eyes, which were as clear as water, were covered by long, slender eyelashes. This was just an ordinary action, but Lin Chen felt his heartbeat suddenly accelerate.
He retracted his hand and naturally put the lighter back into Xing Conglian’s pocket.
Xing Conglian took a deep puff and breathed out in satisfaction.
From beginning to end, Xing Conglian didn’t say a word. He was smoking solemnly as he slowly walked back to the car.
He put down the two bowls of instant noodles and patted the hood, then asked, “Can you get on by yourself?”
Xing Conglian drove an off-roader that had a high hood. Lin Chen was left a little speechless. As he held onto the hood of the car and stepped on the bumper to get up, he thought to himself, ‘If I can’t get up, what are you going to do? Hold me up?’
When he sat down did he find out why Xing Conglian chose this place.
The area where the jeep was parked was facing the endless reeds. An egret had swept across the sky in the distance. The afternoon sun was warm with a mellow breeze blowing. It was very suitable, comfortable, and pleasant. He picked up the instant noodle cup next to him and moved a bit so that Xing Conglian could jump up.
The instant noodles were still hot. When he lifted the lid, heat dissipated from his face. When Xing Conglian silently handed over a fork, they began to eat their belated lunch in silence.
As he took two sips, Lin Chen suddenly realized that he was very hungry. The spicy soup and chewy noodles entered his stomach, relieving him of the tension and fatigue.
“I’ve known you for a while now, but I still don’t know where you are from.” Xing Conglian took two sips before suddenly saying.
The breeze was soft, gently swaying the deep green reeds. What Xing Conglian said was just ordinary small talk.
“I’m from Maolin.”
After Lin Chen answered, he suddenly remembered that Xing Conglian had taken out his phone and ordered a private investigation to be done on someone, and received that information back within a few minutes. Though the question he asked him was seemingly casual, what Xing Conglian meant behind it was that he had not explored his past through those investigative methods.
Sure enough, after hearing Lin Chen’s answer, Xing Conglian continued to eat his noodles quietly.
Lin Chen also noticed that although Xing Conglian was only eating a bowl of instant noodles, his back was straight, his hands were holding the food and the frequency of eating was very steady, as if he was an unmoving mountain. Lin Chen suddenly remembered his teacher’s joke from a long time ago. He said that eating and sex were the best ways to tell a person’s character. Thinking of this, Lin Chen thought, ‘Xing Conglian is really scary.”
However, Lin Chen’s emotions only lasted for a short time. Xing Conglian had quickly finished eating his noodles and even drank the soup clean. He put the bowl aside and lay down on the hood, looking as if he was going to sleep.
“Ever hear psychologists say that if you don’t understand one thing, you have to change your perspective?” Xing Conglian asked as he lay down on the hood.
Lin Chen glanced at him and nodded. “Because one’s mindset sometimes prevents them from generating new ideas, so…”
Before he finished speaking, his elbow was pulled. Xing Conglian somehow supported his upper body and took the bowl of noodles from his hand and put it on the side of the windshield wiper, then without a word, pulled him to lie down together.
“Then come and take a nap,” Xing Conglian said.
In this way, Lin Chen was inexplicably forced to lie on the hood, and even more inexplicably, there was a man lying next to him.
The hood felt cool to the touch, and the breeze was mixed with the familiar scent of mint tobacco and instant noodles. It was a clean and warm feeling, even reassuring, that he couldn’t help but clear his mind and relax.
Lin Chen felt a little drowsy, but suddenly remembered the familiar low voice.
“You’re not really going to fall asleep, are you?”
Nonsense…
“I was just suddenly thinking, since he asked us to find answers, can I interpret this as he’s looking for help from the police because he’s at the end of his rope?”
Lin Chen opened his eyes slightly. “That’s one way you can look at it.”
“Since he wanted to seek the help of the police, he actually expressed what he wanted clearly on the call. According to your words, he has put all the clues in front of us.”
“Correct.”
“The first clue he gave us was the Hongjing Highway, because there’s no doubt that this incident occurred on the highway.”
“Nn.”
“You also analyzed that if he can persuade those people, then his reasons must be heavy, and the things in this world that can make people feel such heaviness must be related to life and death. Therefore, something related to this happened on the highway…”
“Car accident?” Lin Chen instantly became awake. “You mean, he wants us to find the truth about a certain car accident?”
“If my thinking is correct, the reason why he’s looking for reporters is for public revenge. He wants to make the person at fault or the person behind the car accident pay.”
Lin Chen thought for a while and felt that this line of thought was really clear. “That makes sense. Then we have to trouble Wang Chao again.”
“It’s his pleasure.” Xing Conglian took out his phone as he spoke and dialed the number of a certain technical genius.
——
As soon as the young technician got in the car, his phone immediately rang. Seeing that it was the Captain, he became extremely depressed.
“You, check on how many car accidents have occurred on the Hongjing Highway within a year and a bit back.” The Captain’s voice came through the phone. Wang Chao had the phone between his ear and shoulder because he was loading things into the car. He felt exhausted hearing the Captain’s orders. “Captain, what are you up to? Even if there are only 3 accidents a day, there will be thousands on the highway within a year.”
“Be quiet and listen to me.” Xing Conglian paused before continuing in a clear voice. “First, rule out all accidents that had no casualties.”
“Un…”
“Then, filter the list of casualties to see if there are any students or teachers from Fengjing.”
“Eh, Captain, it takes time to adjust the data and investigate. You have to wait for me.”
“I know. In the end, filter out all family members of all those car accidents with casualties again and see if there are any between 15-18 years old, and if so, see if there are students from Fenjing among them.”
“Oh, I understand what you mean, but I’m on the highway and the wireless signal isn’t very good. It’s going to take a bit.”
Xing Conglian was keenly aware of some abnormalities in the call. “Aren’t you in the car with Lao Peng and the others?”
“No, Captain Peng seems to be almost at the scene where the kidnapper is. Just now, Manager Yang said, since he’s going back anyway, he’ll give me a ride…” After Wang Chao reported casually, he hung up the phone.
On the jeep with a view of the reeds, Xing Conglian sat crossed-legged and moved the phone from his ear. He frowned lightly and didn’t speak.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked.
“I suddenly remembered that the kidnapper actually gave us a clue.”
“Hm?”
“The bus tablet.”
In fact, when they first got the tablet, the teenager had used extremely rugged means to deliver it to the police. They had checked it carefully, but with the exception of the weird driving route recorded by the GPS, there was no abnormal information on it.
“Didn’t you say that the tablet had a bizarre and complex route that couldn’t be done by humans?”
Xing Conglian glanced at Lin Chen, then suddenly ruffled his head and jump down from the jeep. “Yes, there’s no way to accomplish that feat with just the strength of one person. In fact, it’s very simple. The navigation calculation is based on roads. Of course, he could jump off the highway and take shortcuts. Then he only needed to pass the tablet to someone, and they would pass it to another. After several passes, the route will, of course, become weird and unpredictable.”
“Someone is helping him.” Lin Chen sat up and said, “Young people, especially among classmates and friends, are prone to being hot-blooded and having strong loyalties.”
——
Xing Conglian drove the car onto the highway, but this time, without rushing. He was driving slowly in a purely outing posture.
The time that passed would continue to pass, minute by minute, as it slowly approached the agreed 90 minutes. In the face of the torrent of time, no matter how much hard work and thinking was involved, it always seemed to be a drop in a bucket.
The spring breeze and the scent of grass made the body and mind relax untimely. Outside the window, the reeds were taller than people, and the teenager was hiding among them, probably playing games with the children. However, perhaps in the next moment, a sniper’s bullet would pierce his head.
Without answers, there would be no happy ending.
The road ahead was exposed with a bright luster from the sun, as if a thin layer of wax had been applied to it. After driving for a while, they seemed to have encountered traffic as the speed of traffic gradually slowed. Not far ahead, red lights from cars braking appeared one after another. Xing Conglian was able to break just in time to avoid a collision, but in the end he couldn’t avoid the jerk from abruptly stopping.
Surprisingly, at that moment when Xing Conglian braked, the traffic in front suddenly started moving again.
Lin Chen jerked forward and saw a black Buick parked directly in front of them. The black Buick was just about to go when a bus in the right lane suddenly blocked it and tried to merge over.
The Buick driver, who had been waiting anxiously, stepped on the gas in a fit of rage and was unwilling to give way. However, the bus driver refused to stop. A loud bang rang out as the Buick and bus collided.
Because of the size difference between the two, the front of the Buick was completely crushed, and the windshield shattered. The passengers on the bus were all stunned by the accident.
Seeing this situation, the bus driver immediately opened the door and jumped out of the bus. He kicked the front of the Buick and yelled, “Fuck, do you want to kill laozi! Laozi has a car full of people. You looking to die?”
The hotheaded bus driver’s cursing wasn’t enough. When he saw the driver of the Buick stuck inside, he kicked the door vigorously as if he was trying to ram it in.
At this moment, the angry bus driver suddenly felt a tightness in his neck and slumped over in an instant. He wanted to get up after falling to the ground, but his back had such a heavy pressure on it that he could only flail around, failing to get back up.
Xing Conglian eased his knees and stretched out his hands, grabbed the bus driver’s hands, and took out his handcuffs and restrained the bus driver. His movements were indescribably decisive and swift, like flowing clouds and water.
After doing this, Xing Conglian stood up and returned to the Buick. All the airbags in the front seat had popped out, and the driver was immobilized.
Lin Chen retracted his gaze and continued to knock on the car window, asking if the driver of the Buick was okay.
At this time, the sound of police sirens suddenly came from the reverse lane. Xing Conglian frowned as he stared at the flashing police lights coming from afar.
The kidnapper tried his best to hijack a bus and take hostages for one result. What could it be if it wasn’t smart?
However, the key question was, what was the result that he wanted?
Seeing Lin Chen and Xing Conglian in contemplation, Mr. Chairman of the Hongjing Highway couldn’t help but ask, “Lin… Mr. Lin, what does the kidnapper mean?”
“He probably wanted to say that he’ll give us an hour to find out what he wants. Otherwise, he’s going to kill someone after 90 minutes.” Lin Chen wanted to pick up his cup of tea, but his hand was held down by Xing Conglian.
“What?! Kill the hostage?!” In an instant, the chairman felt cold sweat flow down his back. “This is simply too vicious and heartless! Didn’t you say he wouldn’t hurt those children!”
Lin Chen shook his head slightly, avoiding the question as he dialed Huang Ze’s number.
“How’s it going?” Huang Ze’s voice was slightly tense.
“The kidnapper took the initiative to expose his location. Wang Chao will send you the specific location later.”
“What do you mean by taking the initiative to expose his location?”
“He took the initiative to expose it because he’s asking reporters to accompany you to be present. And he also called me Teacher Jiang.”
“Why would he call you Teacher Jiang?” Huang Ze turned his head and looked at Jiang Zhe, who was sulking in the car. While his mind was spinning, he understood what Lin Chen meant. In fact, earlier today, when many reporters invariably asked to go on the highway to cover the Candy Bandit case, he already felt something was off. Although the case had attracted much attention, it seemed too trivial for dozens of TV reporters to arrive all at the same time.
“My guess is that the kidnapper is using Jiang Zhe to lure these reporters onto the highway for a very simple reason. When things reach their climax, he wants reporters to be present. As for how he’s using Jiang Zhe, I think it’s best for you to interview Teacher Jiang about this matter.”
Lin Chen’s words made Huang Ze speechless.
“Did the kidnappers make any demands?” Huang Ze walked towards the police car as he kept talking on the phone.
“He wants answers.”
“What answers?”
“He didn’t say.”
“So from beginning to end, you still haven’t figured out what the kidnapper’s demands are?”
Lin Chen replied, “But I guess with that young man’s ability to plan, he probably has all the clues laid out in front of us.”
However, regarding the clues and answers, these weren’t issues that Huang Ze cared about. All he cared about was how the case would be resolved and whether the results after the settlement were within a controllable range. He had already reached the side of the police car when he responded back to Lin Chen. “Tell Xing Conglian that the Hongjing Special Police Force is already halfway there. Send me the specific location of the kidnapper and send a copy to the captain of the special forces.”
When Huang Ze finished speaking, he hung up.
He looked at Jiang Zhe, who was sitting in the back, bent down, and knocked on the car window.
In the car, Jiang Zhe reluctantly turned his head. Seeing that it was Huang Ze, Jiang Zhe’s eyes gleamed with expectations again.
Huang Ze took the initiative to open the door and got in.
——
Inside the office.
When Huang Ze’s voice cut off, Lin Chen held the phone and slightly lowered his eyes.
Xing Conglian was keenly aware that Lin Chen was worried. “What did Inspector Huang say?”
“He asked us to send him and the captain of the special forces the coordinates of the kidnapper.”
The conversation between the two was short. Having a tacit understanding, they no longer continued.
Xing Conglian understood. He tapped Wang Chao’s head lightly. “Send the location to Inspector Huang and then go to the scene and assist him in handling the case.”
“Fuck!” Wang Chao dropped the pen he was holding in his mouth. “I’ve made great contributions for the force. The force can’t treat me like this!”
At this time, Xing Conglian wasn’t in the mood to joke with Wang Chao. He said seriously, “After you processed the tracking system, did you confirm where the Fengjing school bus was parked?”
“Oh, wait,” Wang Chao responded. He switched to another window and compared the results of the phone tracking to the vehicle tracking results, then said to Xing Conglian, “Hey Captain, didn’t A’Chen say the old bus driver said that they got out of the car after the north exit of Yinchuan? Sure enough, he’s lying.” Wang Chao bit the pen back into his mouth as he started typing furiously on his keyboard. On the screen, it showed the school bus route, but when he switched to the highway surveillance camera, the bus no longer appeared.
Upon seeing this, Wang Chao glanced at the coordinate parameters between the two surveillance cameras and moved his mouse to a point on the map. “It’s 30 kilometers north of Meicun, which is far from Yinchuan.”
“Good. Send Huang Ze the location where the missing bus may have stopped as well as the specific location of the suspect, then ask Lao Peng from the special forces to send someone to pick you up.” Xing Conglian rubbed his temples.
“Is the driver an accomplice of the kidnapper… Mr. Jiang too?” At this moment, the manager of the transportation company, who had been following Xing Conglian all this time, couldn’t help but raise this question.
Xing Conglian didn’t answer. Only now did he realize that there was another person in the room who had been following him all this time. “Manager Yang, I’m really sorry. I have to trouble you to go back by yourself.”
After he finished speaking, he picked up the car keys.
At this time, Lin Chen also happened to stand up. Without any verbal communication, they made eye contact, and he walked out of the room together with Xing Conglian, leaving the group of people in the office giving each other perplexed looks.
——
Truth be told, Jiang Zhe never thought that things would become like this.
He admitted that he was a greedy person and coveted money and fame, but he never thought he was a bad person. He didn’t think he would become a so-called accomplice.
However, when Huang Ze opened the car door with a livid face and sat down beside him, Jiang Zhe realized that things were really out of his control.
“Jiang Zhe, did you know that it’s illegal to forge a resume, but I assure you, what’s definitely a crime is colluding with kidnappers.” For a person like Huang Ze, he didn’t need to carry a pair of handcuffs with him to look intimidating. By just cocking his legs and staring down the other while addressing them in a heavy tone, it was enough to scare the shit out of them.
“Huang… Inspector Huang…” When Jiang Zhe spoke, he found that his voice was trembling slightly. “What did the kidnapper say to Lin Chen?”
“The kidnapper said, ‘I hope you, Teacher Jiang, will take the reporters to come meet him.’ Now the problem is, the caller was Lin Chen, so why would the kidnapper identify him as you?”
Hearing these words, Jiang Zhe finally understood what he was most afraid of had, in fact, happened. From the first time he saw Lin Chen, he had a bad premonition in his heart. It was precisely because of this that he kept preventing Lin Chen from participating in this case, because it was a simple matter and behind it was an innocuous agreement. He would help a nameless organization complete a certain behavioral performance. The kidnapper would make a declaration in front of the reporters he brought during the negotiation after the timebomb incident, and he would then persuade the kidnapper to release the hostages.
What a happy ending to the story. He never thought there would be any other variables along the way. Although he had never met the other side, they were good at keeping promises, and everything went exactly according to their predetermined script, except the person who called the kidnapper just now was changed from him to Lin Chen. Everything had been going fine and smoothly until then…
Therefore, the problem was all with Lin Chen! Jiang Zhe thought so, as he still had a faint delusion in his heart. He said to Huang Ze, “Do you know where the kidnapper took the children? You can take me there and I can really convince him!”
Huang Ze looked at him coldly and didn’t say anything more.
——
Xing Conglian didn’t immediately get the car after going downstairs. He stood still under a camphor tree outside the building and leaned against it, preparing for a smoke.
“If there’s anything you can’t say in front of others, you can say it now.” Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian say to him.
“Has anyone told you that being too smart isn’t a good thing?” Lin Chen was taken aback before he answered rhetorically.
Hearing Lin Chen’s response, Xing Conglian laughed, which made the corner of his eyes give off a wanton feeling, making him look quite dashing. “Just now, the chairman asked you if the kidnapper would hurt those children. You didn’t answer, but this question is also important to me, so I hope to hear your answer.”
Lin Chen’s voice wasn’t loud, but he said very confidently, “No.”
*A theorized condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors during captivity. It is supposed to result from a rather specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances contained in hostage-taking, kidnapping, and abusive relationships.
“Some kind of psychological effect where the hostage becomes emotionally attached or even dependent on the kidnapper?” Xing Conglian’s thoughts turned. “Is that what the lying old bus driver has?”
“I asked Huang Ze to test him just now. Huang Ze deliberately told the driver that the special forces had found the kidnapper and would quickly kill him to rescue the hostages. At that time, the driver panicked. He asked Huang Ze not to hurt the kidnapper. If this isn’t Stockholm syndrome, then what is?”
“That little brat is too powerful. In such a short period of time, he can take hostages and make them fully trust and obey him?”
“That’s why he’s too smart.” Lin Chen almost sighed. “In fact, if the bus driver hadn’t lied, I might not have guessed why he was hijacking buses and robbing them only for candy.”
Xing Conglian didn’t answer but just looked at Lin Chen with burning eyes.
“Actually, he’s doing a normal model*.”
*Norms are used to compare individual tests with the designated population in order to assess the exceptionality of the result.
“Normal model?”
“Norms is a concept in psychometrics. You can understand it as an average standard. That is, what is the general reaction of most people when facing a certain test…”
Xing Conglian frowned slightly. “The reason why he keeps hijacking buses is because he has to evaluate how most people will react when facing a hijacker? So, he’s regarding this robbery as a psychological test?”
“It’s very important to test, then evaluate, then test again, and he has to do it in such a way that the hijacker isn’t hated but people can actually trust him and even help him.”
“This is a bit crazy…” Xing Conglian opened the cigarette pack and found that it was empty, so he stuffed the pack back into his pocket. “I admit, he does have a certain appeal. He’s humorous and well-behaved, and most people don’t think a candy-robbing teenager will do any real harm, but instead find it endearing… But just because of that, the driver was willing to lie for him, and the children would willingly run along with him?”
“To complete this operation, charisma and force are certainly indispensable, but the most important thing is to convince the hostages of the reason.” Lin Chen lowered his head, seeing the soil underneath the roots of the tree was slightly damp. “I guess the result he wants is his reason for persuading all the hostages, and this reason must be very heavy—so heavy that everyone was willing to help him.”
Lin Chen took a deep breath. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a heavy fog that was wet and cold surrounding it.
“Huang Ze absolutely can’t know about this matter.” Suddenly, Xing Conglian’s decisive voice interrupted Lin Chen’s thoughts.
The wind blew past the dense camphor leaves, causing Lin Chen to raise his head to give Xing Conglian an incredulous look.
“Right now, there’s a delicate balance between that teenager, us, and Huang Ze.” Xing Conglian took a long stride forward. “The teenager knows that we’re looking for answers. Huang Ze knows that he needs to detain the criminal, and we know that no one between those two parties will dare act rashly. This is the best balance, but the time left for us to find answers will be very short.”
Such a summary was very concise and clear; truly worth a thousand words.
Lin Chen looked at the tall back of the captain of the police criminal division and was very surprised. He also wanted to ask Xing Conglian, ‘Where exactly did you learn these techniques of constraints and trade-off?’
Lin Chen had a moment of speechlessness, but only for a short moment.
Without much emotion or admiration, he directly extended his hand to Xing Conglian. “Call for me.”
And almost as soon as Huang Ze hung up, he heard the ringtone again.
“Huang Ze, I need you to do something for me.”
Hearing that calm and collected voice coming through, Huang Ze felt some irony, and after the irony, he felt a strange sense of reassurance. However, several years of tit-for-tat with Lin Chen made him almost subconsciously use a sarcastic tone. “Oh? Is Consultant Lin going to set fire to the new official when he takes office?”
Lin Chen’s fingers rubbed gently on the phone. He nodded to Xing Conglian and then walked out of the room.
“Huang Ze, I need you to do one thing.”
Lin Chen’s voice was very low. He didn’t care about Huang Ze’s ridicule as his voice remained steady and clear as ever.
In the parking lot, Huang Ze stood outside the crowd. When he heard the key point, he raised his head and looked at the bus driver who had been rescued earlier.
Because Huang Ze kept his head down and his face was always gloomy, Jiang Zhe didn’t know what he was talking about. When Huang Ze raised his head, Jiang Zhe quickly realized something had happened.
Seeing Huang Ze put the Bluetooth headset back on, Jiang Zhe hurriedly took a few steps forward and grabbed Huang Ze. “Inspector Huang, when do you think the negotiations will start?”
Looking at Jiang Zhe’s extremely stylized explosive curls, Huang Ze felt indescribable nausea and stickiness. However, the scene was packed with media right now, so he had to endure. “Jiang Zhe, you don’t need to participate in this case.”
“Inspector Huang, you can’t do this. Lin Chen and Xing Conglian are here to steal the credit!” Although he had foreseen Huang Ze’s change of attitude, Jiang Zhe only felt nervous and frightened at the moment when he was notified.
Huang Ze shook off Jiang Zhe’s hand and walked towards the bus driver, who was sitting in a small chair by the parking lot, drinking hot water while accepting some of the media’s interviews.
Seeing that Huang Ze seemed determined to listen to Lin Chen’s words, Jiang Zhe suddenly raised his voice. “Have you forgotten what happened last time when Lin Chen was a negotiator?”
His voice was so loud that not only did he successfully stop Huang Ze, but even the reporters on the side turned to their direction.
Huang Ze turned his head and said, “Jiang Zhe, don’t you think I’ve heard this too many times?”
After he finished speaking, he walked to the driver, patted the two reporters on the shoulders, and motioned for them to leave.
The driver raised his head and faced the person who had just risked his life to save him, but there didn’t seem to be much gratitude in his eyes. “Mr. Police Officer, what can I do for you?” he asked.
Huang Ze leaned slightly and closed in on the middle-aged driver. “I want to inform you that the police have located the kidnapper. The special forces are on their way. They should be able to rescue the hostages soon. Please rest assured.”
Before Huang Ze finished speaking, the driver suddenly became nervous. Even Huang Ze could see the darting of the other party’s eyes.
The driver’s lips trembled slightly. He thought for a while, then nervously asked, “What will you do to him?”
“The special forces we sent have elite snipers. Once we grasp the movements of the kidnapper, we can quickly take him out!” Huang Ze spoke quickly while giving an indifferent look.
“Don’t hurt him!” Hearing this, the driver blurted out.
Huang Ze’s sharp gaze stayed on the driver’s worried look, but he didn’t say anything more. He straightened up, turned around and walked a few steps, then held down the headset and asked, “Did you hear that clearly?”
“Yes.” Lin Chen paused and didn’t hang up immediately. “Huang Ze, thank you.”
Huang Ze thought, ‘What are you thanking me for?’
——
Lin Chen hung up the phone and returned to the room. He was surprised to see Xing Conglian winking at him.
His gaze passed a few people in the office and finally fell on the chairman’s face.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
The chairman slammed the table fiercely. “I’m used to seeing this bureaucratic style of yours fighting for power and profit. Why are you dilly-dallying and haven’t called the kidnappers yet?”
If there was anyone who was most worried that things wouldn’t be resolved satisfactorily, it was probably the chairman of the Hongjing Highway. After all, he was the main and direct person in charge of this highway. He had delayed the work of the police before, so at this moment, he was more anxious and impatient than anyone else.
Lin Chen slightly sighed, turned around, and filled another half cup of hot water from the water dispenser, then handed it to the chairman.
“Please relax.”
It was probably because Lin Chen was too calm, or perhaps it was his natural ability to calm the hearts of others, but the chairman subconsciously put his hand on the paper cup that had Hongjing Highway Company printed on it that was just handed to him. He raised his head, and his expression slightly eased.
Lin Chen said, “In fact, the kidnapper wants us to call him in hopes that we will become nervous and anxious after the hostage and bomb crisis, so we can be more easily manipulated by him to agree to the conditions he proposes.” Lin Chen returned to the sofa. Wang Chao scooted over to make room for him as Lin Chen continued, “However, the initiative is important. If we’re the ones making him wait after finding his message, he will have the same emotional experience.”
The chairman looked embarrassed after hearing Lin Chen’s words. “I’m a little anxious, but even if he’s like me, that’s still not good. What if he hurts a child because of his anxiety?”
Lin Chen lowered his eyes slightly. He unlocked the phone and looked at the time. “First, I’ll wait for him to speak first. Second, he won’t.”
Lin Chen’s tone was very light, and he didn’t say anything else. He pressed strings of numbers that he had already memorized and then looked at the technician beside him.
Wang Chao took the phone, turned on the recording function, and tested the tracking system again before finally handing Lin Chen a pair of headphones.
Lin Chen nodded, then divided half of the headphones with the captain of the police criminal division who was next to him.
The headphone cables weren’t long, so Lin Chen had to sit close to Xing Conglian. He took the microphone that came with the headset and put it towards his lips. For convenience, Xing Conglian turned his head sideways to get closer to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen felt a warm breath on the side of his face that had the smell of mint tobacco. He stabilized his breathing and pressed the call button.
Ring… Ring…
The ringing tone came again and again, five times in a row, before the phone was connected.
There was silence all around before a soft, slow breathing sound gradually sounded.
Lin Chen didn’t speak; he was waiting.
The kidnapper spoke first.
The voice was soft and polite, as if he was a noble son with a good family background and elegant manners, without the tyranny that a kidnapper should have.
He said, “Teacher Jiang, I have been waiting for you for a while now.”
Xing Conglian opened his eyes wide and stared at Lin Chen in disbelief. He suddenly understood what Lin Chen meant by waiting for the other party to speak first. People would become nervous and anxious while waiting, and those who were nervous and anxious would tend to make mistakes.
Lin Chen didn’t even have the slightest disturbance in his breathing. He didn’t seem to care about how he was addressed, neither admitting nor denying the statement. He just pinched the microphone and smiled slightly. His voice was calm and collected. “Hello.”
On the other end of the phone, there was a chuckle. “I’ve been waiting for you for a while.”
“Before talking with you, I also need to prepare.” Lin Chen easily resolved the other party’s doubts just by saying a very normal sentence.
“How does the sugus candy taste?” The boy on the other side of the phone asked with a smile.
“Before I had time to taste it, the candy was confiscated and sent to the evidence office,” Lin Chen said with a smile.
“What a pity. The lemon-flavored sugus candy is really great. I think you should try it.”
“That’s a good idea.” Lin Chen gently wrapped his fingers around the headphone cable for half a circle, then said, “It’s a bit cold. Have you had lunch yet?”
“Haha, I ate the snacks brought by the children.” The young man laughed. “Teacher Jiang, you actually want to ask, where are we, right?”
“Then is it convenient for you to tell me?” Lin Chen didn’t care about this slight provocation. He followed the topic and asked casually.
“Hey, you’re negotiating with a kidnapper. Aren’t you tracing my call right now? If you triangulate through the base station, you should be able to know where I am soon, right?”
Hearing this, Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian. Xing Conglian had already leaned in front of the computer screen, then quickly moved the screen to Lin Chen. The tracking red dots on the screen had stabilized and clearly showed the kidnapper was in the reeds that covered the sky next to the Hongjing Highway.
Even Lin Chen was slightly surprised, but before he could speak, a soft and tender girl’s voice, like a marshmallow, suddenly came from the other end. The girl seemed to be reading something. The voice was stumbling, but it was very clear and serious. “Uncle, I hope you will bring me the answer within 90 minutes.”
The soft voice circled in Lin Chen’s ears. It was so sweet that it could turn into fine sugar silk. Lin Chen twirled the headphone cord again but didn’t pursue what exactly “the answer” meant. He came close to the microphone and spoke faintly. “Let’s make an agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“I’ll bring you what you want, but please also ensure the safety of the children.” Lin Chen’s voice was extremely solemn, and the smile on his lips disappeared.
“Teacher Jiang seems to be confident?” On the other end of the line, there was a slight laugh.
“Actually, no.” Lin Chen sat up straight. “I just think…”
“What do you think?” The young man seemed to find it very amusing and couldn’t help but ask rhetorically.
“I think you live a painful life. Those with a conscience and a moral bottom line always live in more pain.”
The young man on the other end of the line didn’t seem to expect to hear such an answer. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “Teacher Jiang, I suddenly felt I’m impressed with you.” As if to calm his mood, he seemed to have opened up a candy wrapper and stuffed the candy into his mouth. He spoke while chewing on it. “Then I’ll see you in 90 minutes. Please bring those reporters friends with you.”
After speaking, the kidnapper hung up the phone. Lin Chen seemed to hear the sound of a kiss coming through on the other end.
“Teacher Jiang. Jiang Zhe?” Xing Conglian took off his earphones and started tapping on the countertop with his knuckles. “It’s no wonder there are so many reporters here today.”
“They’re probably being used.” Lin Chen moved his hand to the still warm cup and sighed softly. “What a smart kid.”
Note: These are mini extras that the author has written posted separately on JJ. She intermittently updates them, usually on Valentine’s Day and other holidays for her CPs. The translation will be updated when the author updates her blog. You can get updates when translations are updated in my Discord server. Below is a ton of dog food.
2025/29/8
Everyone’s Summer Cool-Down Routines
Another Qixi has come around, and our married couples are celebrating again.
Here are their little everyday tricks for beating the heat—
Ruan Xian lay on a swim ring, reading at his leisure.
The pool water was crystal-clear, a delightful blue. From this spot he could feel the cool air drifting out the door, perfect for sunbathing. After a short while, he set down his tablet and prepared for a nap.
Whoosh!
A jet of cold water splashed his chest, and Ruan Xian’s drowsiness vanished on the spot. He looked up and immediately saw the culprit—Tang Yibu stood under the umbrella, one hand holding a coconut-milk qing bu liang, the other a water gun.
“Just made it!” Tang Yibu boasted of his creation while attacking his Mr. Ruan with the water gun.
Ruan Xian glanced at the dessert, then at the very advanced-looking water gun. “Which one did you ‘just make’?”
“Both,” Tang Yibu said. “Come eat it, or it won’t be cold.”
Ruan Xian paddled lazily through the lukewarm water and stretched. “I put some mangoes in the fridge. If you want, add a bit.”
“—Mm!” Tang Yibu plunked the water gun and dessert on the table and bolted.
Just yesterday he had praised a certain mango cultivar and, together with Mr. Ruan, eaten every last one. Today Ruan Xian had somehow conjured up a whole new pile. It might well be some kind of magic.
In under three minutes, Tang Yibu came racing back with a heaping platter of sliced mango. He ran headlong into a water jet; the front of his shirt was soaked through.
Ruan Xian weighed the water gun in his hand. “Very nice.”
Tang looked at his wet shirt, then at the water gun. “Which is ‘very nice’?”
“Both,” Ruan Xian said with a laugh. “All right, get over here. If you don’t eat it now, it really won’t be cold.”
Tang Yibu happily agreed, popped a wedge of mango into his mouth, and gave Ruan Xian a mango-flavored kiss.
…In the end, they still didn’t eat anything cold.
2025/5/20
Everyone’s Birthday Cakes
Congrats to the couple from “Help”on moving into the Married Zone ☆(/ω＼)
This year’s 520 (May 20) mini-extra: couples celebrate their birthdays! It’s a perfect chance to compile everyone’s birthdays~
Pale yellow cream topped with colorful gummy candies and fine gold leaf. The gummies are arranged with unusual precision, as pretty as an artwork, and the taste is first-rate.
Tang Yibu meticulously crafted it. The cake looks identical on the outside every year, but the filling is completely different each time and never repeats. Sometimes it’s delicious to the extreme, and sometimes… well, it’s rather “unique”.
※ Tang Yibu insists this is the best day of the year, better than Valentine’s Day, because his Mr. Ruan is perfect and even created the perfect NUL-00. How great is that!
Tang Yibu: October 24th
Source: The day NUL-00 went online. (Programmers’ Day)
Cake: [Coconut Milk Ice Cream Cake]
A coconut milk ice cream cake covered in rainbow sprinkles, with Tang Yibu’s age carefully spelled out in frosting. The whole cake is neat and square. Sweet, icy, and addictive to eat; Tang Yibu can devour several just on his own.
His birthday isn’t in hot weather, yet he still insists on feasting on ice cream cake at home where it is warm, fully enjoying the benefits of modern technology. Ruan Xian not only indulges him, he makes an extra one each time for his beloved.
※ The day he created Tang Yibu was the luckiest day of his life and one of the happiest. Let them indulge a little.
2025/2/16
What to Do When You’re Stuck Together
Suddenly stuck together—what should you do?
A belated Valentine’s Day mini joke (?) story has arrived! Time for some sweet, sticky fluff ☆
Tang Yibu lay with his head on the table, staring straight at their clasped hands.
“Nope, can’t figure it out.” He exhaled twice. “Mr. Ruan, I’ve hit a dead end.”
Early in the morning, they had woken up with their hands inexplicably stuck together. They immediately went to the lab, but no matter what they tried, they found nothing wrong. Their vitals were normal, skin showed no abnormal substances—but their palms just wouldn’t separate.
Luckily, they’d both slept in pajamas, or they wouldn’t have even been able to dress.
Ruan Xian was calm. “Don’t worry. Our bodies are fine. Let’s just check the data every two hours.”
“What if it never goes away…”
“It will.” Ruan Xian patted Tang Yibu’s head. “If it really doesn’t, I’ll cut off this hand, grow a new one, and then remove the part stuck to yours.”
Tang Yibu let out an “oh” in disapproval and stared at their linked hands.
Since they couldn’t move much, going out was off the table, and even doing research from home was tough. Tang Yibu laid on Ruan Xian’s hand, burying his face into his stomach, enjoying the lazy time. Ruan Xian read quietly with his free hand.
A sticky morning passed. They made do with frozen dumplings for lunch. Full and satisfied, Tang Yibu burrowed his face into Ruan Xian’s pajamas again. “Mr. Ruan, I’m so bored.”
Ruan Xian put down his book and raised an eyebrow.
When Tang Yibu said he was “bored”, it usually didn’t mean just that. For example—
“It’s a rare situation—we should do something special.”
Tang Yibu mumbled. “Otherwise, it’s no different from a regular day off.”
“Something special?”
Tang Yibu hugged Ruan Xian’s waist with his free arm and lifted his head. “Mr. Ruan, let’s dance.”
…That day, they danced for hours. From tango to slow dances, to random moves matching the music when they didn’t know what to do. Tang Yibu even made up his own steps and spun wildly, while Ruan Xian couldn’t help but smile unconsciously.
At midnight, just as Ruan was about to get a glass of water, their hands suddenly came apart. Caught off guard, Ruan slid forward—right into Tang Yibu’s embrace, who performed the most perfect spin-and-dip of the day.
Ruan Xian: “……”
Tang Yibu: “……”
Tang Yibu remained still and look thoughtfully at Ruan Xian’s now-free hand.
“In the end, I still don’t know how it worked,” he muttered in dissatisfaction.
Ruan Xian took a sip of the ice water. “All vitals are fine—we can take our time studying it.”
“What if we never replicate it again…”
“No.”
Ruan Xian patted Tang Yibu’s head again.
“If we can’t replicate it again, then we’ll just hold hands on our own and dance whenever we want.”
He offered his free hand that had just regained its freedom again, and Tang Yibu happily took it.
“You’re right.”
He hugged Ruan Xian’s waist. “Let’s keep dancing, Mr. Ruan.”
2024/8/13
Everyone’s Favorite Sports
A belated short story for Qixi Festival, with a little Olympic commemoration (*/ω＼*)
Tang Yibu: [Swimming]
Swimming is Tang Yibu’s favorite sport, especially swimming in the summer. The pool water warmed by the sun always reminds him of the time when he was just an electronic brain.
For this reason, Tang Yibu specifically had their home pool built in a sunny spot.
Just like in the past, Tang Yibu knows that his Mr. Ruan will always be nearby. He also knows that now they no longer have to talk through glass. As long as he leaves the pool, he can hug the other person… or pull him into the pool with him.
The best part is that after swimming under the scorching sun, Ruan Xian always carefully applies ointment to prevent sunburn on Tang Yibu, worrying about his skin’s health.
Every time, Tang Yibu takes the opportunity to give him a big hug.
Ruan Xian: [Indoor Running]
Even though he has nearly perfect recovery abilities, Ruan Xian still pays attention to daily exercise. To be honest, it’s not purely for health reasons. Having spent the first half of his life in a wheelchair, the freedom of movement always brings him extra satisfaction.
Even so, he still doesn’t like outdoor sports. Outdoor exercise always involves encountering strangers, and Ruan Xian has no interest in socializing during workouts. He set up a gym at home and only exercises indoors. To prevent the iron bead from eating the treadmill, he even reinforced the gym door.
But somehow, someone still manages to sneak in. Tang Yibu loves to lie in front of the treadmill, grinning as he watches Ruan Xian work out.
Every time, Ruan Xian can’t help but smile.
2024/6/1
Childhood Hairstyles
I suddenly wondered what everyone’s hairstyle was like when they were kids, so I’m sharing this on Children’s Day—
Consider it a little addition to the setting (〃ω〃)
Tang Yibu: [None]
As a child, he was purely an electronic brain, without a single strand of hair. But Tang Yibu was very curious about human hair, fascinated by how hair grows from the head with no length limit—he thought it was super cool.
Ruan Xian: [No Distinct Hairstyle, Just Natural]
His family neglected to take care of him, so he didn’t get regular haircuts, and his hair grew a bit long. Since he cut his own hair, the ends were very rough. Ruan Xian himself didn’t care much about it and never proactively trimmed it.
2024/5/20
Everyone’s Favorite Fruits
This year’s Married Couple Day on 520* has arrived, so let’s write about everyone’s favorite fruits ☆
*The number 520 when pronounced in Chinese is very similar to [wǒ ài nǐ] (我爱你) I love you. Due to this, it has become a day in China called “Internet Valentine’s Day”.
Congratulations to the couple from [Full Server First Kill] for entering the happy married zone (*/ω＼*)
Tang Yibu: [Persimmon]
In Tang Yibu’s mind, persimmon cakes and “love” had a peculiar connection. Fortunately, persimmon cakes lasted much longer than fresh persimmons, and the cold storage room was well-stocked year-round.
Tang Yibu tried to make more dishes with persimmons, such as persimmon candy, persimmon drinks, and persimmon jam, but they all ended in miserable failure—persimmons were a peculiar fruit. His creations weren’t inedible, but they always lacked something in taste.
During the persimmon harvest season, Tang Yibu once again started experimenting with persimmons until Ruan Xian put down two cups of fresh persimmon smoothies.
“We have persimmon cakes all year round, and when the season comes, we can also enjoy fresh persimmons. This is the best way to eat them,” Ruan Xian said. “Maybe they don’t need to be like other fruits.”
※ Mr. Ruan is always right, Tang Yibu thought as he happily sipped his persimmon smoothie.
Ruan Xian: [Coconut]
Ruan Xian didn’t have a particular preference for fruits. When he was still weak, he could only eat fruit products that were similar to purees. These had no texture, only slight flavor differences, often artificially flavored. To Ruan Xian, fruit was simply a flavor variation, not something he could develop a special fondness for.
However, there was one exception—coconut.
He could drink coconut water just like any other normal person. Coconut water was theoretically sterile, nutrient-rich, with a mild sweetness. Strangely, it gave him a sense of “normalcy”.
Coincidentally, the small electronic brain soaked in cooling liquid also resembled a coconut. It too gave him a faint sense of “normalcy”, and being with it, he could almost feel like he was “living”.
※ To him, the taste symbolizes “uniqueness”, Ruan Xian thought.
~~~
During the apocalypse, Tang Yibu wasn’t particularly interested in coconuts—they lacked sweetness, had soft flesh, were bland, and not as convenient to eat. On top of that, coconut water didn’t have the same kick as carbonated drinks.
After the world returned to order, the coconuts in the fridge were only consumed by Ruan Xian. Noticing this, Ruan Xian specially dug out the coconut meat to make coconut milk ice cream, coconut flakes, and baked coconut chips.
From then on, the coconuts at home began to disappear at an astonishing speed. The day after Ruan Xian made coconut milk ice cream, Tang Yibu would finish it off. Like persimmon cakes, coconuts became one of the household’s staple fruits.
One hot summer day.
Under the sunshade, by the family pool, Tang Yibu was peeling a coconut. With a slight force of his fingers, he easily pried open the coconut shell. The coconut juice was poured into a large glass jug, and the coconut meat was scooped out with a spoon and piled into a bowl.
Footsteps approached from behind, and Tang Yibu proudly handed over the jug and bowl, exchanging them for the coconut milk ice cream that Ruan Xian had just made, along with a coconut-scented kiss.
2024/2/14
Couple’s Pajama Party
Valentine’s Day, of course, calls for a grand pajama reveal (?
And favorite intimate acts (???
~Tang Yibu~
[None] Prefers not to wear clothes when sleeping at home. He has never had the habit of wearing clothes since he was a child (?). Truly a naked sleeper!
※ “A blanket, a sheet, and Mr. Ruan are enough,” Tang Yibu said seriously.
~Ruan Xian~
[Gray tie-waist long robe] worn regularly at home and straight to sleep. The material is soft and slippery, making it very easy to untie.
[Cotton boxer briefs] in white, pure cotton, from a very expensive brand, bought in bulk.
※ Fully respects his lover’s preference for sleeping naked, with no intention to educate.
Surprisingly, he enjoys hugs. It’s a pity Tang Yibu’s sleeping posture is terrible. Even if not embraced, Tang Yibu would clutch the corner of Ruan Xian’s robe tightly.
Sometimes Mr. Tang clutches so tightly and sleeps so deeply that they might both end up naked by morning.
“Actually, ‘easy to untie’ prevents me from being strangled awake in the middle of the night,” Mr. Ruan unromantically said afterward.
2024/1/1
Magical Summoning Abilities
New Year’s Mysterious Magic☆ Couple Summoning Technique~10 Seconds Guaranteed~ The effect is magical, comparable to spatial teleportation!
Ruan Xian’s exclusive magic: Pretend to fall asleep on the workbench as night falls.
Magic effect: Tang Yibu steps over quietly, first buries his head in his embrace, then carries him back to the bedroom.
※ Sometimes, Tang Yibu secretly kisses his neck.
Tang Yibu’s exclusive magic: Look pitifully in a certain direction; the more melancholic the expression, the better.
Magic effect: Mr. Ruan will automatically appear from that direction.
※ Never fails!
2023/10/31
Got A Pumpkin
~Ruan Xian’s Pumpkin~
Tang Yibu had always been enthusiastic about various festivals. So, Ruan Xian specially made 26 pumpkin-flavored candies with lettered labels and hid them all around the room.
After all, Tang Yibu always hid things in various corners of the house. He would probably like this game.
Indeed, Tang Yibu enjoyed the game. He ran around the house, jumping up and down all afternoon. He found twenty-five candies before dark.
“There’s no ‘N’.” He sat dejectedly on the couch, counting the pumpkin-wrapped candies. “It’s impossible. I know Mr. Ruan so well… I should be able to guess all the candy hiding places…”
Ruan Xian smiled, patting Tang Yibu’s shoulder, slightly opening his mouth. The candy labeled “N” lay on his tongue.
Joyfully, Tang Yibu took it, sealing the moment with a kiss.
※ “N for NUL-00”
~Tang Yibu’s Pumpkin~
Tang Yibu was always in charge of the home garden. Ruan Xian wasn’t particularly interested in gardening and preferred to handle more of the indoor chores. This meant that he sometimes had to deal with various “specialties” Tang Yibu brought in—bugs in various stages of growth, beautiful flowers, oddly shaped radishes, and the like.
Today, Ruan Xian found a large orange shadow at the door.
“I want to give you a pumpkin carriage!” Tang Yibu announced.
Ruan Xian: “Why are you blocking the door?”
“A pumpkin carriage symbolizes a magically wonderful new life.”
“Why are you blocking the door?”
Tang Yibu: “I underestimated the complexities of the fruit’s growth…”
Ruan Xian jumped out of the window and silently gazed at the pumpkin that almost filled the yard.
“Thank you for the pumpkin castle,” he said. “It’s a pity, my life is already as magical.”※ They ate pumpkin for a month.
2023/10/04
Late Mid-Autumn Festival? National Day? Short joke~(*/ω＼*)
Everyone’s Belongings
~Ruan Xian’s personal items~
◆ A small knife: Made of special materials, it can pass through security checks. It can be used to slit someone’s throat or peel fruit.
※ Primarily used for peeling fruit, and then using the tip to pick and feed someone the fruit flesh.
◆ A pencil: Some ideas need to be written down promptly to expand upon.
※ Especially during deep infiltrations into enemy territory, to adjust combat strategies.
◆ A chocolate peanut-flavored energy bar: So sweet that it can make one feel sick but can replenish energy in crucial moments. Honestly, it’s never been used for this purpose.
※ Most of the time, it ends up in someone’s mouth and turns into sweet kisses.
~Tang Yibu’s personal items~
◆ A sturdy small cloth bag: Occasionally picks up some rare parts from crime scenes (?) to bring back and give π a surprise treat.
※ This habit has left countless question marks for those investigating afterward.
◆ A bright yellow plastic whistle: A small souvenir bought during the last trip with Mr. Ruan. It’s very cheap, but Tang Yibu loves it. After the next trip, it might be replaced with another trinket.
※ “Don’t blow it in the middle of the night,” Ruan Xian commented ominously.
◆ A palm-sized persimmon-shaped sticky note: Ruan Xian sometimes needs to write ideas on paper, and these can be useful in certain situations. Tang Yibu only buys this design and never changes.
※ He occasionally jots down (what he believes to be) brilliant love notes and sticks them in random corners of the house—a great surprise attack!
2023/08/22
Qixi Scheduled! Perfect to rate everyone’s culinary skills~☆
~Tang Yibu’s Culinary Skills~
Overall rating: ★★★★☆
Strengths: Never underestimate this strong AI’s obsession with food. If it needs to be cooked, it can do it.
Weaknesses: Hates preparing ingredients, hates cleaning the stovetop and sink, hates washing pots and dishes… even dislikes dishwashers.
※ Ruan Xian isn’t surprised. “We are adding a new kitchen-cleaning feature to π.”
~Ruan Xian’s Cooking Skills~
Overall rating: ★★★★☆
Strengths: With the excellent performance of the S-type Prototype and a smart brain, he can replicate any taste.
Weaknesses: Lacks a personal taste preference, resulting in dishes that lack soul.
※ “Indeed,” Tang Yibu affirms. “It doesn’t matter if they lack a soul. I have one, and that’s enough.”
2023/05/30
Indulging in “Tears of the Kingdom” led to postponement of the mini… A small corner of everyone’s daily life!
Ruan Xian’s modified car broke down.
The car was a gift from Tang Yibu, painted in a rich deep yellow. Machines always have various malfunctions, and strictly speaking, this wasn’t the car’s fault this time—they drove it through gunfire, and it endured more than a sedan should.
Now it lay pathetically in the garage, nearly resembling a pile of scrap metal. Tang Yibu circled around it, seemingly trying to reverse time through this inexplicable ritual.
“I won’t throw away the gift you gave me. We can make a display case for it,” Ruan Xian comforted him.
Tang Yibu stopped circling. “It can still be fixed.”
Indeed, it could be. But with damage to this extent, it would be more troublesome to fix it than to make a new one. Artificial intelligence always pursues efficiency, and Tang Yibu’s statement seemed… not quite like him.
Ruan Xian didn’t respond and just watched Tang Yibu tinkering with the car parts.
“The components are fine; reconfiguring the alloy is a bit tricky. We can reinforce its defenses, especially since the shell needs a major overhaul,” Tang Yibu said as he pried open the deformed hood and carefully examined the engine. “This time I’ll arm it with thermal weapons. We’ll need to rethink security checks…”
“It can definitely be fixed,” Tang Yibu announced with open arms.
His expression looked very much like a doctor facing a severely injured family member.
“… Are you worried that one day I’ll put you in a display case?” Ruan Xian quipped.
Still in his “grand declaration” pose, Tang Yibu swiveled his eyes. “No, how could that be? I won’t have any malfunctions. I self-check more than four times a day, and my testing algorithm is optimized every month. Even if something were to happen, I know you wouldn’t treat me like that… would you?”
“You guess?”
“Won’t.”
“You’re right, I definitely won’t,” Ruan Xian said. “Leave the car be.”
“But if one day, I mean if, I suffered such damage… would you…”
Ruan Xian raised an eyebrow. “There’s no such ‘if’. If you were damaged to this extent, there wouldn’t be any ‘me’ left. By then, our corpses would be displayed together.”
Ruan Xian’s tone was very certain, and Tang Yibu slowly closed his mouth.
Two days later, Ruan Xian saw the car in the garage again.
Tang Yibu had fixed it. It looked exactly the same as before, except for the intricate inlay pattern on the hood, under which Ruan Xian suspected there was a laser gun. Additionally, a striking “prohibition” sticker was added to the window—
[NO SHOWCASE]
2023/02/15
A belated Valentine’s Day mini: Everyone’s game preference.
~Tang Yibu’s Gaming Preferences~
Occupation Choice: DPS, melee-type classes.
Gaming Tendency: Doesn’t require a tank; he solves everything through calculations. Prefers PVP over PVE, consistently ranks first in PVP leaderboards. Has received invitations from professional teams but declined them all.
Teaming Tendencies: Dislikes teaming up with anyone other than Ruan Xian, sometimes hacks the game to modify restrictions.
※When Ruan Xian isn’t around, he’ll secretly take control of a Boss to play tricks on unsuspecting players.
~Ruan Xian’s Gaming Preferences~
Occupation Choice: Healer, particularly pure healing classes.
Gaming Tendency: Even when facing the game, he meticulously formulates strategies (only including himself and Tang Yibu). Doesn’t have a clear preference for PVE or PVP, completely ignores players from the same camp.
Teaming Tendencies: Has no clear preference for teaming, intensely dislikes noisy players or troublesome newbies. Does not follow any commands, does his own thing, and has no interest in in-game interpersonal relationships.
※When he has to leave, he’ll arrange for the Iron Bead to play on his behalf, resulting in inconsistent skill levels.
2022/08/05
Tanabata, Tanabata, Everyone’s Outfit Special Edition~
~At home~
Tang Yibu:
[Large bright yellow T-shirt] The color is bright, giving a dazzling sense of existence. When someone is running around in it, it looks like a big happy bee.
[White half-pants] Also large, with an elastic waistband that is not tightened at all.
[Black slippers] Often appear on different floors. What is this all about?
※”Don’t run around with one foot bare,” Ruan Xian said.
Ruan Xian:
[Gray lace-up long nightgown] Probably made from the most comfortable fabric in the world. It’s easy to untie. Repeating it again. It’s very easy to untie.
※”But you clearly walk around barefoot.” Tang Yibu was aggrieved. Maybe this was the benefit of a strong recovery system.
~Outside~
Tang Yibu:
[Relatively low-key white T-shirt with jacket] The T-shirt is always clean, and there may be a deadly weapon hidden in the jacket?
[Sweatpants that can be seen everywhere] The drape is very good, and it stacks slightly at the ankles. It’s not eye-catching and convenient to move in to act anytime, anywhere.
[Wear-resistant sneakers] Designed by Professor Ruan himself, the materials have been specially strengthened so that they will not be worn out by vigorous movement.
※Ruan Xian specially added a lot of gold elements to the sneakers.
Ruan Xian:
[Gray shirt] Not really special, but when someone wears it, it gives off an elite aura.
[White trousers] I don’t know how but the white trousers are always spotless.
[Casual leather shoes] The ankle lines are very beautiful.
※The two of them were clearly unrelated, but Tang Yibu felt the unique aura of the Institute uniform from it, making it impossible for him to look away.
2022/02/13
Valentine’s Day Album, Inexplicable Nightmare Feature ✨
Tang Yibu had the ability to dream, but he wasn’t satisfied.
His dreams were more animal-like than human, and they weren’t too treacherous or bizarre—after all, there was limited time when making NUL-00, so Ruan Xian didn’t get the chance to elaborate on the ability to “dream”. Now they finally had time, so Tang Yibu gave himself a Valentine’s Day gift.
Usually, during the holidays, the two of them would keep the gifts they want to give strictly confidential. This time, Tang Yibu took the initiative to make the request, which surprised Ruan Xian.
“I can help you upgrade the programs related to ‘Dreamland’, but…”
“I understand that ‘human dreams are irrational and illogical’, while my dreams are relatively harmless. Upgrading might do more harm than good.” Tang Yibu sat straight, showing just the right amount of supplicating expression. “Mr. Ruan, I don’t want to become human. I just want to experience how you feel—so that I can get to know you better.”
Ruan Xian was always helpless against this type of behavior.
……
The night after the upgrade, Tang Yibu watched several horror movies with interest. He then took a hot bath for an hour, got into bed, hugged Ruan Xian tightly, and looked like he was going out on an adventure.
Ruan Xian: “…Some dreams may not be the same as you imagined.”
Tang Yibu looked serious. “Whether it’s a beautiful dream or a nightmare, I’m fully prepared.”
In the early hours of the morning, Ruan Xian was awakened by a loud noise. He turned on the night light and opened his eyes in a daze—Tang Yibu had rolled off the bed and was lying stiff as a wooden board on the ground. The iron bead that was sleeping nearby was startled and began circling around him. Tang Yibu didn’t respond to it and kept staring at the ceiling wwith a thoughtful expression on his face.
Ruan Xian yawned and stretched out a hand to him. “Well, ‘fully prepared’?”
Tang Yibu grabbed his hand and crawled back to bed.
“My understanding of ‘no logic’ isn’t thorough enough,” he hugged Ruan Xian tightly as he muttered bitterly. “It’s terrible.”
“What did you dream of?”
“Sweet potatoes all over the world had disappeared, and even its DNA couldn’t be recovered. You made a special appearance and gave a speech at the sweet potato’s funeral…”
“……”
“Actually, I plan to give you a brand-new modified car tomorrow.” Tang Yibu continued to grumble. “Do you like sweet potato yellow?”
Ruan Xian couldn’t hold back after that and laughed. “Yes.”
*Clarity: Remember, sweet potatoes is Tang Yibu’s favorite food that he mentioned way, way back in arc 1.
2022/02/01
Spring Festival Special, Everyone’s Specialty Dishes♪
Once again, I wish you all a wonderful Year of the Tiger–! 🎉
~Ruan Xian’s Specialty~
Soft-boiled eggs: The coagulation degree is controlled quite brilliantly, so that even a machine can’t do it as accurately. It can be eaten with salt or hot sauce. The egg white is soft and smooth, and the yolk is mellow, so people can’t stop eating it. This is a fixed breakfast recipe that the two of them will eat four of every day.
Tang Yibu once said that he could eat ten a day, but Mr. Ruan rejected his request on the grounds of a “healthy diet”.
※”You used to secretly eat candy yourself!” Mr. Tang felt wronged for two seconds until his attention was drawn away by persimmons.
Scallion oil noodles: Scallion oil is mixed with smooth and tough fine noodles, and then served with a little shredded meat. Ruan Xian originally liked this dish very much. Since it has memories of the doomsday, the taste has a bit more special meaning.
※Tang Yibu’s taste is comparable to his own, but the android will always add more sugar.
~Tang Yibu’s specialty~
Bags of gummy candy: Heart-shaped gummy candy with various flavors. If you eat two together, there will be a wonderful change in taste. It is Ruan Xian’s favorite snack at work. Most of them have a variety of fresh fruit flavors, and occasionally the wonderful flavors of “baked sweet potato”, “persimmons”, or “soy milk”. Every time the two of them go out on a mission, Ruan Xian always carries a small bag.
※Ruan Xian is very satisfied because they can have kisses in various flavors.
Super Deluxe Hotdog: The recipe comes from the most popular hotdog shop. From bread to fillings, Tang Yibu completely reproduced this hotdog and added a lot of his favorite side dishes. Because he is not willing to give up any side dishes, the finished product is always too large.
※Half for one person, just right for dinner.
2021/11/06
Halloween Extra 🎃
Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian had never missed Halloween.
In order to add some freshness, they refused to discuss dressing up in advance, so that the two of them would only know each other’s costumes before they set off. This year, Ruan Xian put on a wizard’s cloak and then waited at the door… for a black cat.
The black cat squatted at the doorway. Its fur was shiny and smooth, and its golden eyes gleamed happily. It had a warm orange collar around its neck with a tag that was engraved with [NUL-00-01].
“Mr. Ruan, I really like this perspective. I haven’t looked up at you for a long time.” The black cat circled Ruan Xian’s ankle as it spoke happily. “Can you hug me?”
“What a terrific costume.” Ruan Xian picked up the black cat and put it on his shoulder. The cat was soft to the touch, and its fur was warm.
Tang Yibu rubbed against Ruan Xian’s face. “Surprise, right? I’ve been developing it for a long time to make sure the nervous system is connected.”
Ruan Xian glanced at the living room. Tang Yibu’s body was lying on the sofa, looking like he was taking a nap. He smiled and shook his head while scratching the cat’s chin.
It didn’t take long for Ruan Xian to know Tang Yibu’s purpose…
In the darkness, the black cat jumped on the string of lights in a dignified manner and ran lightly, causing light to flash everywhere. These cheap lights could only be manipulated at close range. They obediently formed a torrent of lights, swirling together into a vortex of lights and shadows.
The “haunted” light path had obviously been carefully calculated. Amidst the burst of awe, Tang Yibu snuck back quietly and climbed onto Ruan Xian’s shoulder. The black cat said nothing and curled its tail high while making a face full of pride.
Unfortunately, after a few seconds, this pride changed. Without him, there were too many Halloween-limited foods on the street. Tang Yibu clenched his lover’s shoulders tightly, stretching out and retracting the tip of his claws, making Ruan Xian feel a little itchy.
“I haven’t perfected my sense of smell and taste,” Tang Yibu murmured in frustration.
“What about the sense of touch?”
“It’s perfect.”
“That’s enough.” Ruan Xian picked up the black cat and kissed it on the tip of its nose. He then pulled his cloak over his shoulders and held the cat in his arms.
He wrapped the other party up in his own heat, just like a long time ago.
2021/08/14
How can we miss the Qixi Festival! Write about everyone in the eyes of a passersby (?
@An agency investigator/male/35 years old
“Laozi can’t really do this surveillance job anymore. Yes, yes, I know those two boys are suspicious, but I have been monitoring them for three years. If they are really related to the ‘Red Ghost’, then they have to reveal something, right? But everything is airtight. If it weren’t for our technology, I suspect that they know they’re being followed.”
“While I’m chasing after people’s asses as they run around, they’re having a good time, while my wife is having a cold war with me. What? Travel at the company’s expense? Fuck no! Those young people are traveling up mountains and across rivers while I’m fucking worried nearby for fear of accidentally losing them. Don’t you know? Those two would travel all over the world every day. God knows which country they would go to all of a sudden.”
“If you want me to tell you they have a fixed itinerary, they really don’t. Not to mention, I have studied for two years and found a route—once they arrive at a specific date, they will transfer to several cities in the country, then go to foreign cities on the corresponding dates. The cities on this route have been increasing, but the pattern is the same.”
“Breakthrough? Ha, I was so excited at the time, I specially adjusted the most advanced AI to analyze it. The AI spent all its energy and came up with a conclusion for me that day.”
“They go around the world leisurely in date order to spend Valentine’s Day everywhere!!!”
“No, it’s not the internationally common one. It’s a traditional festival unique to various places. The whole thing was so outrageous that I was scolded badly by my boss. Anyway, at the end of the year, I said I’m applying for a transfer. Otherwise, if I have to spend my holiday following people all year round, it’ll be over when I get home… Don’t persuade laozi. No matter how much money you’re offering, I won’t do it! Not doing it!”
“Wait, there’s another information access prompt. Let me see…”
“…Fuck, those two boys are searching for a holiday hotel again!”
2021/05/31
Simple and trivial daily life, everyone’s schedule ♪
~Ruan Xian’s Schedule~
08:00-09:00 Checked π’s physical condition, prepared breakfast, and then had a meal with his lover.
09:00-12:00 Hugged Tang Yibu while reading a book. At 12:00 sharp, Tang Yibu would break free and randomly choose a chef’s set meal to make.
12:00-16:00 The two analyzed intelligence and anomalies together and selected the criminals to deal with.
16:00-20:00 Hunting criminals with Tang Yibu. He passed by a small shop with good reviews and stopped in for dinner. Tang Yibu liked the stir-fried pork in the shop very much. Ruan Xian silently wrote down the taste and decided to go back and analyze the recipe with him.
20:00-00:00 The two of them didn’t wash their bloody clothes. They went directly to the kitchen to try the dishes as soon as possible. It took three tries for them to finally crack the recipe. Tang Yibu was quite happy and memorized it carefully in his mind. The two of them cleaned off their bloodstains, which took more than three hours.
~Tang Yibu’s Schedule~
08:00-09:00 While eating breakfast, he would make some investments and accumulate wealth.
09:00-12:00 Was hugged by Ruan Xian while he browsed for the latest information, and at the same time had to complete the important matter of “deciding the content of lunch”. It was really the most relaxing and hardest (?) part of the day.
12:00-16:00 Selected which criminals to deal with. After deciding on the list, Tang Yibu would throw a die in his head and choose one of them.
16:00-20:00 Hunting criminals with Ruan Xian. Ruan Xian paid attention to a small restaurant nearby. The taste of the stir-fried pork was amazing. Tang Yibu added three bowls of rice. The bloodstains on his cuffs were almost seen by the shopkeeper.
20:00-00:00 Ruan Xian specially wrote down the taste of the stir-fried pork. The two of them squeezed in front of the wok, concentrating on trying to replicate the recipe. After being full food and drink, Tang Yibu decided to be “full of food and drink” again. Not to mention the pleasure of physical entanglement, he loved the touch and heat of Ruan Xian’s very much, so he would always be uneasy if he didn’t touch it for a few hours.
“The chili they use is not good enough. I want to eat a more fragrant taste.”
“Okay. Yibu, if you don’t go out tomorrow, let’s change the chili together.”
2021/02/14
Valentine’s Day Chocolate Special 🍫
[New chocolate set (?) by famous chef x 1]
Purchaser(?): Ruan Xian
Item description:
Tang Yibu’s second favorite chef launched a new creation, and a certain Mr. Ruan quickly ordered a set.
The chocoate was mixed with a cherry filling, made by Ruan Xian himself. Tang Yibu ate it in one bite.
His favorite chef would always be his Mr. Ruan.
[Chocolate printed NUL-00 model × 1]
Producer: Tang Yibu
Item description:
A 1:1 size NUL-00 model made strictly according to the size, made of pure chocolate with no added sugar or milk.
After Ruan Xian picked up the fork, Tang Yibu suddenly felt that something was wrong, and his expression changed from triumph to horror. Ruan Xian laughed for a long time and finally made a fresh-preservation container to keep the chocolate version of NUL-00 forever.
As compensation, Tang Yibu gave half the chocolate made by the chef to his lover.
2020/11/11
No holiday, but I wrote a special episode that I thought of. Sleeping together. _(:D”∠)_
One thunderstorm night, Ruan Xian was awakened by the sound of thunder outside the window. He frowned and rolled over. The tip of his nose almost hit a pair of feet.
The feet were white and clean, the soles were against the head of the bed, and the pillow was kicked aside. Ruan Xian propped himself up and found Tang Yibu’s head at the end of the bed—he had turned 180° by himself. His head and feet had swapped places while he slept soundly. God knew how this happened.
When the two first met, this guy slept better than anyone else, but now he was showing his true colors. Ruan Xian sighed, put Tang Yibu’s pillow back under his head, and pulled the blanket again.
As a result, Ruan Xian had just planned to lie back, when the tugging of his pajamas suddenly increased. He touched the corner of his clothes and found a warm hand—Tang Yibu was still sleeping soundly, but his right hand was clenched to the corner of Ruan Xian’s pajamas tightly, with red marks on his fingers from clenching for too long.
Ruan Xian was silent for a moment, then he moved his pillow to the end of the bed and lay down. Tang Yibu smacked his lips, abandoned the pillow again, and buried himself into Ruan Xian’s neck, still without letting go of his grip.
‘I have to buy looser pajamas tomorrow,’ Ruan Xian thought silently.
2020/09/26
Late Tanabata Extra, Pet Special☆
In the early morning, Ruan Xian was awakened by a loud banging noise. He walked downstairs and quickly found Tang Yibu covered in jam.
“π overturned the oil can last night, and the cleaning robot didn’t clean it up. I didn’t pay attention and slipped.” Tang Yibu was laying on the ground sadly with a bottle of jam overturned on his body. He didn’t seem to have any plans for getting up. “I just wanted to make some toast and jam—”
“π, come here.” Ruan Xian cleared his throat.
Unlike before, the iron bead remained motionless. Ruan Xian raised his eyebrows and glanced at Tang Yibu on the ground.
“It ate the cleaning robot again.” Tang Yibu licked the jam off his finger.
“That’s the third one. π, come here. I know you’re under the sofa.”
Ten seconds later, the iron bead stretched out its thin legs and tremblingly moved closer. “Gwah gwah…”
“To it, those things look like pies running on the ground,” Tang Yibu translated. “The core of the cleaning robot is warm, and its shell is crispy, so it’s very delicious… I can also relate. I just dreamed of toast and jam…”
“Gwah! Gwah gwah gwah gwah!”
“It asks why I can steal jam at 5 AM but it can’t steal the cleaning robot at 3 AM.” Tang Yibu finished translating and fell into contemplation, as if he were completely overwhelmed by this question.
“It’s okay if you don’t answer. You can get up from the ground first.” Ruan Xian was dumbfounded. He pulled Tang Yibu up by the wrist. The latter was so heavy that it made Ruan Xian’s center of gravity unstable, and he fell on Tang Yibu, failing to escape the fate of being covered with jam.
“Mr. Ruan, I think it should be given a reasonable prey.” Tang Yibu took advantage of the situation to circle Ruan Xian’s waist. “Like I could prey on jam bread.”
“…Your predation isn’t very successful.” Ruan Xian wiped the jam from his face and didn’t even try to get up again. Well, I’ll think of a way.”
A few days later, late at night, in a flash of cold light, a round body caught up with the cleaning robot and devoured it. It crunched on its abdomen. After the meal, the iron bead belched contentedly, got into its own exclusive car—a modified cleaning robot with a bowl-shaped seat—and began to patrol all directions.
Naturally they could afford to buy a cleaning robot every day, Ruan Xian thought, upstairs, as he adjusted his posture in Tang Yibu’s arms.
After the pleasant “race” with the iron bead, the two of them spent a few hours cleaning up. Of course, those were all afterthoughts.
2020/05/20
Bathroom Special (.･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
Tang Yibu missed the weekly inspection more than ten years ago.
The coolant in NUL-00 was replaced once a week. When replacing, Ruan Xian would take out its small cybernetic brain, dry the residual liquid with warm air, and then wipe it carefully with a special soft cloth. When the cybernetic brain was dry, Mr. Ruan would patiently check every inch of the surface.
At that time, Tang Yibu had no real sense of touch, but he could still perceive temperature and humidity from his shell. Being treated carefully by Mr. Ruan, he always had a wonderful sense of satisfaction.
It was a pity that more than ten years later, his head was bigger than Ruan Xian, and it was impossible to be held in the palm of his hand and blown dry. Tang Yibu thought deeply for a moment, and set up a large dryer for himself, just big enough for one person to stand inside.
The dryer was warm and dry. Tang Yibu was quite satisfied and planned to try it out after taking a shower.
After taking a shower on the first day, he kissed Ruan Xian on the neck, and the two went straight to the bedroom. After taking a shower the next day, Ruan Xian squeezed his lips, and the two stumbled back into the bedroom. Day three…
A week later, Ruan Xian found that there was a new piece of equipment in the kitchen, which was full of his favorite sausages and bacon.
“The dryer,” Tang Yibu explained. “Mr. Ruan, do you still want to eat dried meats? I’ll bake it together.”
Tang Yibu thought it was fine if he didn’t need it.
After all, Ruan Xian’s body temperature was better.
2020/02/14
Valentine’s Day for everyone ❤
It was Valentine’s Day in the computer room more than ten years ago. NUL-00 projected the entire room in pink.
“In this festival, humans seem to be particularly eager for companionship,” it said confidently. “Since you have no one to accompany you, I can accompany you. Do you like this kind of holiday decoration?”
Ruan Xian didn’t want to correct its strange cognition. “I like it.”
More than ten years later, Valentine’s Day. Ruan Xian found that the walls of their home were all painted pink by Tang Yibu.
“I like it very much,” Ruan Xian said. This time, he was serious.
They kept the paint like this until the next Valentine’s Day.
Yu Si hugged the waist of the person in front of him. The oncoming wind was damp and cold.
The hoverbike crossed the complex terrain and headed deep into the mountains and forests. Yu Si freed up one hand and adjusted his collar.
“Don’t move around, asshole! Do you want to fall off?” The rebuke came from the front in an instant.
“Sister,” Yu Si whispered.
“You’re a grown man now, but you don’t seem like it at all.” Yu Sheng raised her voice. Even if it was her twin brother behind her, she didn’t mean to be merciful at all. “I told you the road here is dangerous… Damn, I don’t understand who would live in such a shithole.”
“The terrain is complicated. There’s no need to drive so fast.”
“I always feel as if someone is watching us… Forget it.” Yu Sheng glanced at the rearview mirror and accelerated.
The Walking Stones City had been developing steadily for more than 30 years, but the surrounding area of the adjacent mountains hadn’t been developed. It was more common to say that in order to protect the ecology, as a well-known combat machine operator, Yu Sheng had also heard some rumors—the soil in this vicinity was special and extremely difficult to develop on.
Uncle Tu, who had been in contact with their family for a long time, also said that there were no mineral deposits nearby, so there was no need for development in terms of transportation, and simply left it at that.
Something was wrong. The scenery in this mountainous area was beautiful. Even if a resort was developed, they wouldn’t lose money. However, she was a combat machine operator and not a real estate developer, so Yu Sheng had no intention of getting to the bottom of it.
It wasn’t until the last few days, when her father officially stepped down, that this little question was answered.
“Why are you stepping down?”
Just yesterday afternoon, Yu Sheng yelled at her father—although Yu Si was her younger brother, he had a simple and quiet temperament. He was devoted to mechanical research and was unwilling to do management work.
The drama of competing for the position of heir to the company didn’t appear at all. On the contrary, even Yu Sheng’s enthusiasm wasn’t high.
Her father, Yu Le, was already in his sixties. However, at a time when the average human lifespan was 122, her father was barely in his prime. She tinkled with the small calculator in her heart, estimating that her father would at least manage the company for another decade, and she could still get away with operating the combat machine for longer.
Unexpectedly, her father ran away halfway through the job.
“Why am I stepping down?” Yu Le roared back angrily. “Laozi is over sixty. Sixty! In the last century, at this age is when people give up their seat. If I don’t retire, I won’t have any fucking time left, get it you annoying girl?”
“That was last century!” Yu Sheng slammed the table with both hands and roared back at her father. “You haven’t reached the legal retirement age yet!”
“Because I’m rich!” Yu Le said justifiably. The father and daughter faced off like two fire-breathing dragons.
Yu Sheng choked back her words at the last second.
“Unfilial, ah.” Yu Le took advantage of the victory and wiped away his nonexistent tears. “I’m going to tell your mother that I promised to travel around the world with her yesterday, but because her daughter didn’t want to work and is being greedy…”
“I earn a lot of money now too,” Yu Sheng muttered.
“Can you afford your mechanical transformation studio?”
“……”
“You promised me,” Yu Le continued slyly.
“I’m still young! I’ll die if I have to sit in a conference room every day.” Yu Sheng scratched her head hard. “Dad, I know you’re great, but I don’t think I have extraordinary business acumen… Yu Si is more ideal. He has a wife and children. I…”
“Worried that you can’t hold up?” Yu Le smiled suspiciously. “Hey, I called you two to come. Your mother and I are officially ‘stepping down’. I called two people to this meeting. Yu Si, stop eavesdropping and come in quickly!”
“Now that you both are grown up and have your own families, it’s time to tell you… Fuck off, you shitty girl. Do you think all my business trips are meetings? You’ll be scared to death if you knew the truth!”
……
As a result, the old fart pretended to be mysterious and didn’t explain anything. He just gave them an inexplicable address and went abroad with their mother the next day. She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she felt the aura of her parents was like that of primary school kids who had just gone on vacation.
The address was in a barren mountain area, and the answer was close at hand. Yu Sheng sped up the hoverbike to its maximum and rushed to the destination.
She had imagined many things before. Since it was acquaintances of her parents who would live in a shithole that even birds wouldn’t crap in, maybe it was two people with strange quirks.
Seeing the lush fruit orchard outside, Yu Sheng’s guess became a little firmer.
As a result, as soon as she stopped the car, a dark shadow pounced on her.
In a short glance, Yu Sheng saw a large metal mouth, like a mouthpiece from an insect. She took a deep breath, pressed her brother to the ground, lowered her body, and crossed the hoverbike in a series of movements like flowing water.
The thing screamed and gnawed off the handle of the hoverbike.
“π, come back. It’s a guest.” A voice that unexpectedly sounded young rang out.
The terrifying giant deformed mouth shrank back, revealing a round metal ball that fell to the ground. Its three small eyes flashed. Four thin legs protruded out and it stepped back obediently and rubbed against the young man’s pant leg.
“Good skills.” The other side smiled brightly, holding a basket full of strawberries in his right hand. “Do you want strawberries? I can split some with you.”
“It’s over,” Yu Sheng whispered to Yu Si. “He was being so mysterious before. That old fart didn’t raise some illegitimate child, right? If mom knew this, she would definitely kill him herself…”
Yu Si was obviously worried about the same thing. He gulped and swallowed his spit.
The golden-eyed young man’s smile twisted downward.
“Where are Mr. Yu and Ms. Ji?” He stuffed the strawberry into his mouth and aggravated the pronunciation of “Mr. Yu”.
“Our parents are traveling abroad. Dad asked me to come to see you…?” Yu Sheng looked around, but didn’t see the second figure.
“Come in and we’ll talk.” The beautiful young man swallowed the strawberry and wiped his mouth. “You can call me Tang Yibu.”
Yu Sheng looked at the hoverbike that had been chewed with some agony and dragged her brother, who was still lost in thought, into the house. This duplex villa was the style of decades ago, but it was really clean and open. Even when they were inside, it had the same relaxed feeling as if they were outdoors.
There was no sign of another person in the house.
“I think Mr. Yu sent you two over probably to want you to continue our ‘transaction’… plus a little more.” Tang Yibu politely poured two glasses of water, then started to wash the strawberries. The small pot on one side exuded a sweet aroma of chocolate.
Yu Sheng didn’t touch the glass of water. The young man a few steps away gave her a very bad feeling. She couldn’t tell where that feeling came from, but it was extremely clear. It was just like an animal encountering its natural enemy; that feeling was deeply engraved in their bones.
Sweat slowly oozed from her forehead as the ceramic knife she used for self-defense slipped into her cuffs.
“Transaction?” Yu Si, who had always been quiet, spoke first.
“Both of your parents are members of the Red Ghost, but now they are no longer young. It’s natural for them to want to take a vacation.” Tang Yibu carefully went to the basket and stuffed another one into his mouth. “But our agreement with them is not familial, so you may not be willing to cooperate with us—”
“Red Ghost?” Yu Sheng stretched out her arm, faintly, to protect her brother. “The criminal organization that’s been wanted for more than 30 years?”
Her voice was a bit hoarse.
The Red Ghost wasn’t an ordinary criminal organization. It was currently wanted by more than two dozen countries. Unlike other survivor organizations, the Red Ghost didn’t deliberately destroy anything but targeted vicious organizations with the most destructive appetite for killing. In a sense, they were murderers who specialized in sniping murderers.
However, even if they killed sinners, a murderer was still a murderer. Although the Red Ghost had many supporters, the laws of various countries weren’t just for decoration.
Not to mention, the Red Ghost itself had no intention of donning a righteous hat—those found at the scene of a purge were often bloodied and in a gruesome state. It was obvious they had no intention of taking the pro-noir hero route. The good news was that the people who were doing it didn’t look like they enjoyed killing itself, but more like they were just completing a certain mission.
Yu Sheng was past the age of following idols. She didn’t have any special affection for the Red Ghost, but she didn’t dislike them either. Having said that, suddenly finding out that her parents were members of the Red Ghost was a blow that definitely wasn’t small.
Yu Si crossed his fingers and said nothing.
Tang Yibu didn’t rush to advance the topic. He ignored the young siblings behind him and began to dip the washed strawberries in melted chocolate and place them neatly on a plate. The sun was shining through the glass wall. Coupled with the lush greenery outside, this scene was somewhat pleasing to the eye.
“What deal did mom and dad make with you?” Yu Si took in a breath. “Let’s talk about it first.”
His sister, Yu Sheng, had always been sharper than him. Right now, she was breaking out in a cold sweat, which meant the other party was definitely someone dangerous. His son had just turned one month old, so Yu Si didn’t want to make any trouble. Tang Yibu didn’t seem hostile, so it was better to stabilize the situation first.
Anyway, the other party looked at most 25 years old. Maybe, like himself, he was probably dragged into this mess by the previous generation. But in regard to his parents, the other side saying “our agreement with them” was a bit odd…
“I provided investment guidance to Mr. Yu while Mr. Ruan helped Ms. Ji improve the mechanical design drawings. In exchange, they use their status to provide us with a certain amount of social asylum and conduct field investigations that couldn’t be completed by the internet.”
Tang Yibu licked the chocolate off his fingertips.
“In the case of the two of you, I can continue to provide investment guidance to Miss Yu Sheng, and Mr. Ruan can also continue to help Mr. Yu Si with his mechanical designs. You will have access to a world that’s completely inaccessible before. I promise, everything will be very interesting.”
He glanced at Yu Sheng, who was still breaking out in cold sweat as he added the last part.
“What if we don’t agree?” Yu Sheng cleared her throat. “Human judgment cannot replace the law. You can’t be sure that the people you killed are guilty.”
Since her parents only provided technology and information, it must be these people who did the killing. Since dad dared to let them come here, the other party wouldn’t kill them.
“It doesn’t matter. Please go back if you don’t agree.”
Tang Yibu tasted the strawberry chocolate he made, nodded in satisfaction, and didn’t look back.
“According to the temperament of the two of you, you will never report your biological parents—but if the police find us, your parents will certainly be implicated, but Mr. Ruan and I can disappear at any time. This is not something Mr. Yu and Ms. Ji can easily do. Besides, you two helping is simply icing on the cake. I don’t mean to force you from the start… That was on Yu Le’s part.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Yu Sheng took a deep breath. “We really won’t report our parents, but before we talk about cooperation, I have to figure out, how are you sure—”
“You ate fried noodles with two eggs and soy sauce last night and opened a can of beer. Your husband is still on a business trip in Country F. He made a call to you at 21:29:04 last night, which lasted for 13 minutes and 22 seconds. If you want, I can repeat the content.”
“You’re spying on us?!”
“Mr. Yu Si left work 4 minutes and 11 seconds early yesterday. Before going home, he ordered a 2,898 yuan H-brand toy bear for his son and bought 3 dozen champagne roses for his wife.”
Tang Yibu turned his head. His golden eyes had a wonderful, transparent texture in the sun.
Yu Si’s face paled instantly. He clenched his fist and said nothing.
“Mr. Ma Houfu got up today at 05:43:21 today. Starting at 06:39:04, he made five phone calls and began to do a summary of the activity route of the target of concern. He went out at 08:19:20 today…”
“No, wait a minute. Who is Ma Houfu? We don’t know this person.” Yu Sheng was still emboldened to interrupt.
“…And led five people to successfully catch up with the target at 09:27:56, intending to carry out the kidnapping of the target, Mr. Yu Si.”
Yu Sheng stood up. “What?!”
“They followed your brother for a week. According to the contents of the call, they intend to strike in recent days. Yu Le revealed the idea of retiring to some people in the Yu Group in advance to set out the bait.”
Yu Sheng felt cold in her heart.
Indeed, Yu Si was a better target. Her younger brother was a typical scholar; civilized and meek, so he could be well controlled. Her relatives had always been her weakness. If they wanted to make her compromise, kidnapping Yu Si was more effective than kidnapping her. However, this wasn’t the point at the moment. The point was…
“Do you know everyone’s activities?” Yu Sheng felt a chill go down her spine. No matter what, people’s energy was always limited. Not to mention that there were so many people in this world. This person had to eat and sleep, so it was impossible to watch everyone all the time.
This was something that humans couldn’t do.
“I do. Now even refrigerators have intelligent sensing devices. As long as people are near electrical appliances, I can always get information. At the same time, it’s not difficult for me to process that information.”
Tang Yibu seemed to read her thoughts.
“Even if I’m distracted for the time being, my ‘brother’ will help collect information. You guessed it correctly. I am indeed not human. You don’t need to worry about the accuracy of the information.”
Yu Sheng closed her mouth and took a step back. She had never seen anything like this before. After so many years, bionic research would always encounter some kind of problem, so similar creations like this should’ve disappeared long ago.
On the other hand, if Tang Yibu really worked with her parents, his age shouldn’t be this young. Why? Since he needed to eat, why wasn’t he aging?
Yu Si’s concern was elsewhere. “Suppose I cooperate with you—I mean, suppose—can you guarantee the safety of our families?”
“Before you die naturally, yes.” Tang Yibu nodded. “Your parents made a similar request back then.”
“Deal.” Yu Si’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm. “Whether my sister agrees or not, I will cooperate with you on our behalf.”
There were countless question marks flying in Yu Sheng’s mind, swelling inside her head. “I… I need to go back and think about it. You can leave your contact information.”
“No need. If you make up your mind, it’s enough to find a contact tool and call my name. This applies to you too, Mr. Yu Si. You have one night to think about it, and we’ll talk about it in detail tomorrow.”
Tang Yibu made a look like he was sending off guests.
“The kidnappers…” Yu Sheng immediately asked.
“Mr. Ruan should have solved it. The two of you can return home at any time. As for the situation about me and Mr. Ruan, after you confirm the cooperation, you can ask Mr. Yu and Ms. Ji.” Tang Yibu wrinkled his nose and made a face full of “you should go”.
Yu Sheng carefully looked at the “thing” in human skin in front of her. Why did he suddenly let them leave? Would her father really tell the truth when she returned? The person in front of her had an aura of danger. Yu Sheng wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to plunge into another, more terrifying danger in order to avoid this one.
Tang Yibu cleared his throat very loudly.
“Excuse me.” Yu Sheng coughed dryly, then paused. “My car was bitten by that orb just now. I wonder if you have any repair tools here?”
“I already asked π to pull out a new one from the warehouse.”
“……”
“Take care.” Tang Yibu seemed afraid they would change their minds, so he took another step forward.
“Let’s go, A’Si, back to our parents. We need to discuss things.” Yu Sheng had already stepped out of the room.
“Nn.”
As a result, as soon as the two of them went out, they saw the reason for Tang Yibu’s sudden rush—the other owner of the house stepped into the yard, was equally young and beautiful, and was well dressed. The “Mr. Ruan” glanced at them, nodded slightly, then walked straight in the direction of the door.
Before Yu Sheng and Yu Si started the hoverbike, they could see the two figures kissing in the foyer.
“Weirdos.” Yu Sheng clicked her tongue and rushed out of the isolated courtyard.
Inside the room.
“Yu Le’s and Ji Xiaoman’s kids?” Ruan Xian walked inside and took off his blood-stained coat.
“Yes. Yu Le probably found the person who was following his son, and it wasn’t easy for him to do it himself, so he simply asked them to come to our door in advance.” Tang Yibu picked up a chocolate-covered strawberry and stuffed it into Ruan Xian’s mouth. “It may be he’s scared about his children and thinks we’ll only take action at a critical moment.”
“That old fox.” Ruan Xian swallowed the strawberry and shook his head. “That group of people have a criminal record and have been taken away. It’s fun to pretend to be a bounty hunter occasionally.”
He then raised his head and saw Tang Yibu’s serious expression and quickly added, “The dessert is very delicious.”
Only then did Tang Yibu raise the corner of his mouth in satisfaction. “Right, I squatted in the strawberry orchard for a long time and picked the biggest ones.”
“Is that why your hair is all messed up?”
Tang Yibu tried to smooth out his hair stained with grass clippings with his hands.
“I’ll do it. Come here.” Ruan Xian laughed. He leaned on the sofa, took off the coat and tossed it aside, and took out a comb from the cabinet. Tang Yibu grabbed the snack tray full of chocolate-covered strawberries and sat happily on the carpet.
Ruan Xian carefully combed the smooth and soft hair, as if it were as fragile as spider silk. Tang Yibu chewed strawberries, raised his head from time to time, and would stuff one into Ruan Xian’s mouth.
A few minutes later, Tang Yibu’s hair was beautifully tied up, and the grass clippings were brushed cleanly away.
However, the owner of the hair didn’t seem satisfied.
“I smell like chocolate.” Tang Yibu pointed it out seriously, with a strawberry in his mouth. “You have chocolate on your hands. It’s better for me to take a shower.”
Then he blinked slyly. “You also smell of blood. Let’s shower together.”
“You did it on purpose.”
“I did.”
Ruan Xian looked amused at Tang Yibu. He ate another strawberry, then stuffed the last one into Tang Yibu’s mouth, causing the cheeks of the android to bulge.
“Good,” Ruan Xian said with a smile as he patted off the chocolate powder in his hands.
The atmosphere in Yu Le’s house was quite tense.
With their parents traveling, only the siblings were left in an empty living room.
“Come on. Just tonight, let’s sort this out… Let’s turn off everything.” Yu Sheng sighed, took out the communication wristband, and turned it off.
“It’s useless, sister.” As a senior mechanic, Yu Si pointed this out. “Smart devices are used in many places at home. You can’t completely shut them down.”
“Even if we turn off the electricity?”
“Both the central AC and the refrigerator have backup batteries.”
“……”
Not far away, the sensor light on the refrigerator flashed, unnoticed by the siblings.
“Do you think they will agree?’
Professor Ruan sat down on the sofa in the virtual space and stared at the siblings on the screen.
Unlike the pure white space more than 30 years ago, he gradually understood the usage of this virtual space. Professor Ruan had restored it to his residence when he was at the Institute, and MUL-01 had no opinions about this.
It was no longer the white human form that it was at the beginning. It faintly had the form of a young human, but its face was still a vague mass with no facial features.
“There’s a 99.999999998% chance that they will,” MUL-01 replied peacefully.
“I think so too.” Professor Ruan’s tone was brisk. “Let’s keep watching.”
“Okay.”
In a certain corner of the living room, a very realistic, three-dimensional map of the world floated in the air. It was shrunk so small that the details could not be seen clearly.
But at a cursory glance, everything was thriving.
The author has something to say:
I remember someone asking before: Will there be a problem with the two protagonists killing people in a legal society? There must be a problem. XDDD
In the end, the two became dangerous and wanted criminals. Doesn’t this have a sense of déjà vu?……
After that, everyone will live well ☆-σ(>ω0)b
——
Thank you all for your support! This novel is now over.
It’s an attempt at an alternative protagonist’s character. The protagonists in this novel and the previous were probably bipolar hhh, but they are still the same, and have many flaws OTZ, but I have already touched a bit of the edge! Striving to improve in the next novel——
The next novel “Saving Unpermitted” can be seen in the author’s column ←
The title of the fourth book has also been decided. The slightly wuxia “Send Off” ←
The above two books are expected to be completed in 2020. If the number of words is well controlled, perhaps a fifth book will be opened. This time I want to finish all the rough outlines of the book first and then do it! And then write a million more. I’m a such dog (…..
Finally, thank you again for your genuine support, everyone! See you in the next book~ XD
Kinky Thoughts:
With this, we reached the conclusion of Happy Doomsday. I hope everyone enjoyed the novel. If you did, do recommend it.
Please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. I used Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.
Regarding the author’s notes, Saving Unpermitted is being worked on by a different translator, and as for Nian Zhong’s fourth novel, “Send Off” (rough translation for now)… No comment on that for the time being. I am working on her fifth novel, Evil As Humans, which will now have regular updates now that Happy Doomsday has wrapped up. You can also check out her first novel, Stray, if you like this author’s work (I highly recommend it, as this was the novel that made me fall in love with this author).
Finally, I like to thank everyone for your comments, encouragement, help with my translations, and ko-fi donations. It in part fuels my motivation to release so frequently.
With that, there is one last treat. This is an extra extra from the author’s blog, where she writes mini updates for her characters (usually on special holidays). It’s not officially on jjwxc, but I’ve decided to translate it. She usually updates this yearly, so check back each year on those special days for a new update.
The usually lively android wrapped himself up in a blanket, sniffled, and sneezed from time to time, making his soft black hair a mess. Ruan Xian stood by the big bed and held a cup of hot honey water, his eyes full of helplessness.
“You have a fever, it’s best to treat it as soon as possible.” He put honey water on the head of the bed and sat on the side of the bed.
A kiss or a drop of blood from him would cure Tang Yibu, but he insisted on not doing it! When he first discovered Tang Yibu’s condition was wrong, Ruan Xian’s first reaction was to kiss him, but the next second, his lips were covered by warm hands.
“I want to experience it.” Tang Yibu’s voice had a nasal sound. “It’s rare to catch a cold, and it can be cured at any time anyway.”
This was true.
In the era when MUL-01 was still in charge of the world, Tang Yibu was extremely careful. He didn’t go to places that could be pathogenic and didn’t touch things that could be poisonous. Once there was anything good or bad, it would be followed by half a mouthful of blood or a kiss, as he acted with extreme caution.
After the world recovered, Tang Yibu lived with him. His intake of the S-type Prototype didn’t stop. Ruan Xian showed no signs of aging, and Tang Yibu’s physical age remained at 25. This could be regarded as the peak period of a human’s physique. The android was extremely strong and basically never got sick.
However, after five years passing, Tang Yibu had become more open—not long after Christmas, the two of them went to Country R to destroy an evil cult that believed in the survivor theory, but they were composed of non-survivors. Tang Yibu insisted on playing in the snow in the forest of Country R, and Ruan Xian responded as always.
Just a few minutes before Ruan Xian was about to eat, Tang Yibu went to chase hares in the forest to play. He didn’t know if he was chasing too intently or if his feet slipped, but the android had plunged into the ice lake, making a loud crash.
A picnic in the forest was no longer possible. Ruan Xian took out almost all the clothes they had packed and pressed Tang Yibu to the fire. He was wrapped tightly like a Christmas tree and then dragged to the hotel to completely dry off. Just in case, Ruan Xian gave him a kiss on those slightly cool lips four or five times. Tang Yibu looked fine at the time and was in good spirits, but he caught a cold after they returned home.
Their house was on the edge of the forest. There was now thick snow outside. Though it was evening, Ruan Xian didn’t turn on the light and instead kept the fireplace lit, which made crackling noises throughout the house as the glass wall was stained with blue from the night.
“Experiencing it is fine, but when you get to the point where you have to go to the hospital, I’ll treat you no matter what you say.” Ruan Xian touched Tang Yibu’s cheek. The other party’s skin was abnormally hot, and his body temperature was estimated to be above 38℃. “It’s not a good thing. Isn’t one day of experience enough?”
Tang Yibu turned his head and let out a vague sigh.
Then he propped up his body, wrapped the blanket around his bare shoulders, and reached for the cup. Ruan Xian handed it over and inserted a straw. Tang Yibu obediently sucked on the honey water before he spoke. “It feels terrible to be sick. My whole body is sore.”
“That’s what being sick is like.” Ruan Xian put the empty cup back at the head of the bed. “It’s just five now. Since you refuse to take medicine, you have to eat something… Stewed pears or egg custard? Choose one. Or both? I asked Yu Le for the recipe.”
However, Tang Yibu didn’t answer and just looked at Ruan Xian.
“No appetite?”
“No.” Tang Yibu sniffled, and his voice was muffled. “I know it’s just a common cold, but it’s already making me uncomfortable and irritable. You have been sick for so many years, so your condition must be worse.”
Ruan Xian was stunned for a few seconds.
“I won’t get sick again,” he replied, with a subtle sourness in his chest.
“I know, but I just want to understand you better.” Tang Yibu continued with a hoarse voice. “I don’t want to eat, so give me a good night kiss before going to bed… Otherwise, I really have to go to the hospital to get some prescriptions tomorrow.”
“……Okay.”
Tang Yibu carefully opened the quilt and made an inviting gesture. The heat in the quilt instantly dissipated for a bit, causing the android to shake very uncomfortably. Ruan Xian kissed Tang Yibu on the cheek, then turned off the lights in the corridor. He got into the blankets and let the other party entangle him like an octopus.
On the other side of the glass wall, the sky was getting darker. Goose-feather-like snowflakes were flying again. The sound of the whirring wind mixed with the soft sound of firewood burning was very hypnotic.
The iron bead’s nest was next to the fireplace. Once one side was warm to satisfaction, it turned around lazily to bake the other side while giving out a low rattle. The room was warm, but in contrast, Tang Yibu’s body temperature was scorching.
“Good night,” Tang Yibu murmured vaguely, twisted his body, hugged Ruan Xian firmly, and fell asleep again, this time groggily.
Ruan Xian held the other’s head on his chest and stared at the falling snow outside. A rarely felt emotion enveloped him. Perhaps it was the satisfaction of “living in the world” itself, he thought.
He lowered his head and kissed the other’s warm lips. It was a deep kiss, and it would take away the abnormal body temperature of the person in his arms. When the sun rose again, the android would probably have to get up early and forage for food.
After a long kiss, Ruan Xian said, “Good night.”
However, a string of ringtones broke the quiet atmosphere in the room.
“Don’t blame me for using emergency communications. Why don’t you reply to my messages? It’s been almost a day. Are you two still coming tomorrow?” Tang Yibu was awakened by the ringtone and pressed the answer button in a daze. Yu Le’s loud voice came from the electronic wristband.
“We just came back from Country R today. The situation was more complicated than we thought.” Considering that Tang Yibu’s voice was still hoarse, Ruan Xian replied for him. “The cult leader had a lot of biochemical weapons in reserve. Considering that we can’t let innocent people be harmed, it delayed us for a while. Yibu, he…”
“What happened to Tang Yibu?” Lao Yu gasped as he interjected. “If you’re recovering from a serious injury, it’s okay if you don’t come.”
“Yibu has a cold.” Ruan Xian finished calmly.
“What?”
“He wanted to experience the feeling of a cold, so he’s been in bed for most of the day and won’t let me treat him.” Ruan Xian still hugged Tang Yibu in his arms while he spoke. “He may have turned off the ordinary notification.”
“……What?!”
“That’s how it is. We’ll come over tomorrow night. Anyway, tomorrow’s task is mainly investigation. You and Miss Ji can fully handle it.”
“You guys just get weirder and weirder when you’re in love.”
“Thank you.”
“…” Yu Le clicked his tongue loudly and hung up.
Unlike the two people who went to bed early, Yu Le was sitting at a table for two in a restaurant, waiting for someone while reading the menu.
Five years later, he was now a very successful entrepreneur. At the beginning, Tang Yibu gave him the false identity of a businessman and some production equipment in the Mainbrain’s city. Yu Le immediately moved into the “Walking Stones City” and later built a machine factory. He took in all the original Walking Stones pirates who came for help and ensured that his former crew members would have a meal to eat.
Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu didn’t work at all. They usually just made investments in the market to earn their living.
In the absence of other strong AIs, the market was basically equivalent to a playground for those two. Yu Le looked at them with envy and shouted for a piece of that pie. The price was that he had to go on “business trips” around the world from time to time to do investigations or use his social status to form connections as he continued to act as a member of the Red Ghost.
Considering the rewards were quite generous, Yu Le didn’t have much opinion. After the transaction was finalized, Tang Yibu would occasionally look at all kinds of data in the factory, while Ruan Xian would help review the mechanical design. There was no shortage of funds, and the machine factory was getting more and more prosperous. Even Tu Rui, with the help of his family’s resources, invested a good amount.
However, Tu Rui didn’t let go of his hatred for the off-roader—after the Walking Stones Resort was built, he took out the yellow magazines found on the ship and put it in a separate showcase. The top of one of the covers showed a beautiful woman being princess carried by a princess.
This left Yu Le with an extremely bitter taste.
The door of the restaurant opened, and in came a young woman in her twenties. She was wearing a gray coat, and half her face was hidden behind a scarf. Her hair was shoulder-length, and she had beautiful eyes.
“Little Captain, there you are,” Yu Le hurriedly greeted.
Ji Xiaoman’s limbs had already returned to normal. It was just that she was used to fighting with prosthetics, so without them, she had improved her combat equipment and stubbornly hid them on her body.
She looked a little nervous right now. Her eyes swept around in a circle before she sat down slowly.
“What’s wrong? You look nervous.”
“Someone was following me just now.”
Ji Xiaoman took off her scarf, revealing a sweater that exposed her clavicle, which had a delicate raspberry pattern tattoo.
“It’s a man. It started when I left the college dorm and went to the nearby industrial zone.”
Yu Le instinctively wanted to ask, “Are you okay?” But Ji Xiaoman didn’t even have messy hair, so he decided to swallow the question.
“Then what?” He pushed the menu toward her.
“Near the industrial zone, a few former people of the Underground City attacked me. I took care of them. As a result, the man yelled and rushed over, and I easily knocked him out.”
Ji Xiaoman took the menu and continued to speak in a low voice as she scanned it.
“I took a picture of his face and found that he was a third-year student at our school. I have bumped into him many times ‘accidentally’ at school. It seems he’s been making excuses to approach me. Maybe it was someone from some organization who found out I’m working for the Red Ghost…”
“…” Yu Le stopped talking.
‘This girl is really oblivious,’ he thought.
Forget it. No matter if that kid had good intentions or not, it wasn’t a good thing to follow a girl secretly, so he’ll just let her think so. For some reason, Yu Le had a strange sense of joy.
“In short, I suggest you check it out.” Ji Xiaoman was very serious. “When will Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu come tomorrow? It’s time for them to settle my last month’s salary.”
“It sounds like tomorrow night.”
“Wasn’t it supposed to be noon tomorrow?”
“They have a personal matter going on. If you need money urgently, I can lend you some.”
“It’s fine. My mom’s in good health. It’s just they basically ran out of my inventory last month, so I decided to ask for 30% more as overtime pay.”
“…Little Captain, your true nature as a little profiteer has not changed.”
“Don’t call me Little Captain.” Ji Xiaoman’s voice was too low to be heard. “I have a name.”
“Okay, Xiao Ji.”
Ji Xiaoman looked even more dissatisfied. She rolled her eyes and looked at Yu Le with a stifled face.
“Xiaoman.”
Ji Xiaoman snorted and retracted her gaze.
“Let’s investigate tomorrow together.” After reading the menu, she smiled at Yu Le. “That club doesn’t allow single people. If those two don’t come, it’s more low-key for the two of us to go.”
“Isn’t that a couple’s club?”
“What? You have a girlfriend? In that case, just ignore what I just said…”
“No, no, no. I’m forced to run around until my legs break off every day by those two bastards. Where do I have time to find a woman?”
“Then let’s go together.”
“No, you see, I’m 41 now and you’re only 25… My business is a bit famous, and you’re still in college. If I take you to that kind of place, it may leave you with a bad reputation.”
Ji Xiaoman began to roll her eyes and looked at Yu Le again.
“That’s it?” She carelessly pressed the items on the menu on the light screen. “I don’t care. If you take me out a few more times, there shouldn’t be that kind of rumors.”
“That’s true, but this…”
“Then it’s settled.”
‘This kid is really oblivious,’ she thought.
The author has something to say:
I also gave a brief introduction to Lao Yu and Xiaoman five years later XD
Lao Yu was 36 years old at the time of the text, so this year he’s wearing red*.
*Clarity: She’s making a joke regarding his underwear. Basically, this year would be his natal year (the year of his zodiac animal). According to Han customs, some people are often treated specially this year, such as being forced to “put on red underwear”.
——
Today’s Mr. Ruan and Mr. Tang are a pair stuck in bed√
Kinky Thoughts:
Normally I would raise an eyebrow at that age gap, considering their age, but given the setting and all they’ve been through, it’s understandable.
On a certain street corner in N City, a hotdog store was celebrating its 15th anniversary. This business had always been quite prosperous, and the evaluation online was quite high. As soon as the news of the launch of new products during the store celebration came out, young people rushed there in droves.
It was Christmas Eve. Snowflakes were flying, yet there were still many people in line on the street. The shop owner put the squishy sausages on the fire and roasted them, creating an aroma of hot grease that wafted from the store.
“Six new hotdogs, one for each of the six sauces.” The young man in front of the store took off his scarf and exhaled white mist into the air.
The shop owner raised his head and was taken aback.
The young man in front of him was very good-looking. He thought for a moment that it was an internet idol who had come to his store. However, this person was dressed normally, without sunglasses, revealing cold black eyes. The shopkeeper quickly tossed such thoughts out.
“Young man, the quantity you ordered is quite large. It’ll take a day to eat it all.” The shopkeeper pointed to the holographic projection in front of the store. “That’s a one-to-one size, see? If you want to taste the sauce, you can buy a small portion…”
“It’s okay. I’m not eating alone.” The handsome young man shook his head. “Six of the new products, please.”
Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, the shopkeeper didn’t intend to make a fuss over money. He quickly wrapped six hotdogs and handed them out with difficulty. To add a festive touch, the bag was decorated with a huge ribbon bow in festive red.
The young man easily took the bag. Before leaving the pickup area, he looked at the camera that was next to the store.
Don’t be a dangerous person. The shopkeeper’s heart jumped.
“Ruan Xian—”
As a result, before the shopkeeper finished worrying, another young man ran over amidst the snow, holding crepes in both his hands and hot drinks in a bag on his arm. One of the crepes was already half eaten, and snowflakes were falling on the milky cream.
“Ah, you bought it.” The new young man had attractive golden eyes and looked equally good. He sniffed the aroma of the grilled sausages and fried onions in the air and gave out a sigh of contentment.
“Nn.” The young man known as Ruan Xian stretched out his hand and wiped the cream from the corner of the mouth of the opposite person. “Let’s find a warmer place to eat.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this store for a long time.” The golden-eyed young man hummed happily. “There’s also a nice hot spring nearby. We can stay there for the night.”
“Okay, sounds good.” Ruan Xian smiled, which instantly dissipated his cold aura. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else?”
“Time is limited, so I can only finish these first.” The golden-eyed young man sighed as he stuffed the half-eaten crepe into his mouth. “…Give me the bag. I’ll start with the spicy one first.”
Ruan Xian took the untouched crepe from him and handed the hotdog bag to Tang Yibu. “Is it still the same?”
The golden-eyed young man swallowed the food in his mouth, nodded vigorously, and kissed Ruan Xian’s forehead.
The shopkeeper thought that it seemed as if he was overthinking things. Not to mention, after meeting with that person, the uncomfortable aura of “Ruan Xian” suddenly dissipated. Even if they really plan to do something bad, holding such a big bag would be inconvenient.
Almost five years had passed since the changes in the 22nd century. The two on the opposite side seemed to be less than 30 years old. They shouldn’t be the “survivors” of the 7-year-old transformation. Now that the world was at peace, he had to change his pessimistic outlook.
It was just a sweet couple. The shopkeeper shook his head and continued to focus on making hotdogs.
The pair of young people who were so dazzling had disappeared into the snow and wind.
“Was this the store you were looking at at that time?” Ruan Xian bit the crepe and walked with Tang Yibu to the most chaotic area of N City.
“Yeah.” Tang Yibu had already taken a hotdog from the bag and bit into it in delight. His eyes even turned a little red. “…It’s as delicious as I thought. My god.”
After that, he held the hotdog to Ruan Xian’s mouth, who took a bite naturally. “It’s really good.”
“When I watched it through the camera, their best seller was the other one.” Tang Yibu’s cheeks were bulging as he muttered while chewing. “It’s a pity that it’s no longer on the menu.”
“Is the warehouse here?” Ruan Xian touched Tang Yibu’s frozen ear, which had turned red.
“Yes. It’s said that Feng Jiang will appear this time.” Tang Yibu felt the heat of the other person’s palm and narrowed his eyes comfortably. “The news was discovered by K6, who manages this area. As a result, these people got a high concentration of fireflies and are planning to sell them.”
“Fu Yu has contacted the police, so why did K6 contact you?” Ruan Xian quickly ate his crepe. “It’s not his style to make an emergency call.”
“The police have been tracking ‘Feng Ge’ for a long time. They’ll arrive in about an hour… But this group of people just bought enhanced nanobots from the black market, so they can’t be dealt with as ordinary drug dealers. The police don’t know this yet. Even if they did, the casualties wouldn’t be small. These people are all core members, so K6 is more inclined to take them down in one fell swoop.”
“I see.” Ruan Xian finished eating and patted his hands. “I hear them. Let’s go.”
“Nn.” Tang Yibu put the drinks and hotdog bag in one arm and took out a black knife.
The temperature control was turned on in the warehouse, which was quite warm. Several people were checking the emerald pill in the box while the others were drinking; their bodies were covered with advanced guns.
“It’s absolutely safe here,” one of them said proudly. “The management of this place isn’t human. One of them is an android in the doomsday period, and his identity is fake. I’ve got him by the balls—if we’re exposed, he’ll be buried with us. Feng Jiang, come on. Don’t look at the goods. Drink!”
Feng Jiang ignored him.
“How did you find out?” another asked curiously.
“How else could I find out? I saw a little beauty in the neighborhood that night, so I followed her. Anyway, we all know that there are messy clones out there now, so how can they be considered human—as a result, as soon as I restrained her, that idiot rushed out, and I shot him in the head.”
The man made a gesture of shooting with his fingers.
“Jesus man, the skull of that thing opened up, but nothing splattered. Most likely, he’s been strengthened by a D-type product. This left him dumbfounded when I found out. The woman managed to escape, but I was able to make a big return and get this management warehouse.”
“I’m still not at ease.” Feng Jiang glanced at the man in disgust. “There’s a human who lives with him, and he appears to be aging. Most likely, he’s one of the people from the doomsday. He may report us.”
“Boss, don’t you have faith in me? I checked. There’s a young girl and a teenage boy living with them. This kind of person who has a family is the best to deal with—I’ve already prepared everything. As long as I see a cop in the vicinity, my brothers will slaughter his family.”
“Feng Ge is too serious.” Another person laughed. “Let’s transfer the goods here, and we’ll leave once we’re done. Besides, we’re equipped with weapons and nanobots. Even if the cops come, they’ll be skinned alive. Don’t worry.”
Before Feng Jiang could reply, an alarm suddenly sounded in the warehouse.
The people who were still leaning on the table just now immediately became alert. They all stood up and held their weapons in their hands.
However, it wasn’t the police that they thought rushed in, but a beautiful young man, walking in empty-handed while wearing an expensive winter coat and scarf.
“This kid is in the wrong place. Fucking idiot.” One of them huffed.
“What’s with all this chattering? Don’t let him leave. You guys over there, stop him! Hey, this person looks pretty good. Don’t kill him. He could be worth some money. Feng Ge, look… Feng Ge?”
Feng Jiang stared at the man opposite, and his face paled.
“Ruan Lijie?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “Why are you—why haven’t you changed at all?! What are you?”
Ruan Xian didn’t answer him. He took out his blood gun from under his clothes and threw a little red round thing on the ground that looked like a clown’s nose.
“Fuck. Take him out. Kill him!”
However, the next second, their newly bought high-tech guns instantly froze.
“Mini EMP.” Feng Jiang sighed. “I recognize this… This is the handywork of the Red Ghost mechanic. Are you from the Red Ghost?”
Ruan Xian didn’t plan to answer him. He shot directly behind Feng Jiang. The two drug dealers who tried to lock the door fell to the ground.
Hearing this name, the men, who had just looked relaxed, suddenly tensed their faces. “Change to an old-fashioned gun and kill him quickly. Regardless of Red Ghost or Green Ghost, there’s only one person on the other side—”
A wave of bullets came surging, but their target stood still under the rain of bullets, dodging neatly and avoiding all their shots.
“Surround him. Don’t let this guy move!”
“Wait! Don’t clump together!” Feng Jiang shouted, but unfortunately, he was a step too late.
The drug dealers who gathered together felt a chill, then heat, on their throats. Before they could see the killer’s face clearly, they all fell to the ground in pain. The nanobots that were supposed to enhance their bodies didn’t come in handy.
“I never said I came alone,” Ruan Xian said as he shot a man who was shooting indiscriminately in the head.
“I spilled my hot chocolate.” Tang Yibu’s tone was aggrieved. The knife in his hand was still dripping with blood.
The hotdog and hot drink in the bag were still hanging from his other arm. The hot drink bag was splashed with a little blood, and a little brown sweet drink spilled along the opening of the lid.
“I’ll take that cup,” Ruan Xian comforted as he fired two more shots. “Why don’t we buy another cup later?”
“…You two…”
Feng Jiang leaned his back against the mountains of fireflies. His expression turned dull. He had obviously recognized Tang Yibu.
In an instant, he was the only person still alive in the warehouse.
“Don’t kill me!” Seeing the two of them turn their heads at the same time, Feng Jiang immediately shouted. “I’m different from them! They are just bandits from the Sea of Ruins, and the choices of collaborators these days are too limited—”
“Bandits?” Ruan Xian didn’t listen to Feng Jiang’s explanation. “Further purifying and transforming fireflies and selling them as a new type of drug was also what these ‘bandits’ forced you to do at gunpoint, ‘Boss Feng’?”
“You don’t understand!” Feng Jiang screamed in pain. “I didn’t want to do this either, but I have to work for the welfare of the survivors, and I need money from all places to do this! You must remember those seven years before the agreement was signed by the Mainbrain. Those ‘things’ outside aren’t humans. Ruan Xian didn’t see through this but reconciled with the Mainbrain! He’s either a coward who’s afraid to die or he’s been brainwashed by MUL-01—”
“Then you prefer to live in an environment like the Sea of Ruins?” Tang Yibu said in surprise. “If that’s true, I really admire you… But I’ve checked. You’ve been rotating between five-star hotels in the past few years.”
“In order to communicate with more high-level people, it’s necessary…” Feng Jiang’s voice fell silent.
Then he seemed to think of something and opened his mouth again. “You can’t treat me like this. Survivors should care about each other! Please, let me go now. I can give you money, as much as you want—”
Ruan Xian neatly tied Feng Jiang up. “We’re not short of money.”
“Give me five minutes. Let me talk about my proposition. You’ll understand… Wait!”
Tang Yibu stuffed Feng Jiang’s mouth with the hotdog bag. “We don’t care. Ruan Xian, how long will it take for the police to come?”
“50 minutes.”
“That’s enough time.” Tang Yibu took off the ribbon bow from the hotdog bag and tied it around Feng Jiang’s head. “It’s quite warm here. Let’s go after eating our hotdog.”
“Give me the honey mustard sauce.” Ruan Xian stepped over the corpses, ignoring all the blood on the ground, and sat down at the table with Tang Yibu. “I’ll arrange a new identity for K6 and the others first, then I’ll notify them.”
50 minutes later.
The heavily armed police broke in, preparing for a bloody battle, but they only saw blood in their eyes.
The corpses of the drug dealers lay in a pool of blood, and only ‘Feng Ge’ sat shivering in front of the boxes of drugs, tied up like a zongzi with a ribbon bow on top of his head.
His electronic wristband was completely blacked out, with two light screens floating around him.
[This is Feng Jiang→]
Below the large words were countless small-print introductions of all the identities of the corpses and their criminal records. The data was accurate down to the time, minute, second, and longitude and latitude of the crime location.
There were only two characters on the other light screen that was red to the point of blinding…
[:D]
The author has something to say:
Tang Enlightenment Hotdog Shop√
Finally, he got to eat it with Ruan—
As a result, those two still don’t have any serious work…_(:з”∠)_
“At a quarter past four, there are three preliminary qualified people. Okay, it’s almost time. I’m going to the People’s Hospital.” Fu Xingchuan stood up.
“The second group is on the line with Guo Laifu. What are you going to do?”
“It’s stable here. Yin Ren is qualified, so at least he could be a clerk. Here, both of them are under our eyes… It’s hard to say what Guo Laifu is going to do. He’s an important person, and those young people lack experience.”
“In case key clues are missed, I can’t afford the responsibility.”
Professor Li: “Well, be careful of sudden death.”
Fu Xingchuan: “…Thanks.”
The #1 Ghost General waved his hand and took out his phone to call a car.
A message reading [Donghe Sad Love: Missing Mr. Rose] popped up at the top of the screen. Fu Xingchuan glanced at the title and closed it. It was another messy ad from that video website again.
Before he could turn off the pop-up window, a call came.
Fu Xingchuan wearily connected the call. “Hey, didn’t I say, don’t… What? Give Xiao Liang the phone.”
Listening to the narrative on the phone, Fu Xingchuan’s eyebrows slowly furrowed.
“No, why isn’t there enough manpower?’
“Lack of sleep is causing them dizziness? It’s suspected that an Evil Spirit has been born, so all our combat power is investigating key areas.” Professor Li picked up the thermos cup and took a sip of tea. “Shian only keeps the most basic security configuration and can’t move around.”
Fu Xingchuan glanced at his partner and pinched his brow. “Haa, I know. I’ll think of something on my side.”
Seeing Fu Xingchuan terminate the call, Professor Li shook his cup heartily. “What, the First Ghost is about to enlist people? I still have some quick-acting heart pills. You can take them with you.”
“No, the C-level investigation team takes over all the security-level cases.” Fu Xingchuan smiled bitterly. “But this is a disappearance case, and time waits for no one.”
This time, Professor Li didn’t respond sarcastically to Fu Xingchuan.. He frowned and fell into deep thought.
An Evil Spirit had suddenly broken the seal, and the most powerful investigation team was sent out, so they currently lacked manpower.
…Wait, did they really have no manpower?
The two fell silent at the same time, which was followed by a meaningful glance exchange.
On the other side.
Yin Ren didn’t know that most of his purpose of “staying in Shian” had been achieved. He was enthusiastically talking with the Lu siblings.
“We’ll go first.” The corner of Blue Vest’s mouth was still stained with mud. “Alright, buddy. I hope I have the opportunity to be your junior* next year… Hey, did you bring your phone? Why don’t we add each other on WeChat?”
*The term he’s using is [houbei] (后辈) which is like equivalent to kouhai.
Yin Ren patted his pockets bitterly. Not to mention the novelty of cellphones, his only dagger had been confiscated, so his pockets were cleaner than his face.
Blue Vest sighed regretfully.
Red Fedora waved her hand, and they then walked back to the entrance with each other’s help. It wasn’t until the backs of the two of them were swallowed by darkness that Yin Ren finally turned around and moved forward.
The black door had a strong presence, but Yin Ren firmly ignored it.
The corridor around the corner had no doors. The lights were much brighter, and the corridor was filled with plants on either side. There were two figures slowly approaching from the opposite side.
Yin Ren recognized Zhong Chengshuo at a glance.
He still had the same calm look, and there was no sweat on his face. The person with him looked much more miserable. The young man’s footsteps were weak, his whole body was sweaty, and he looked pale and blue as if he had just been dug out of the snow.
As soon as he saw Yin Ren, it was unknown what had triggered him, but the young man yelled and collapsed on the ground.
“This is Lao Bin, a toxicologist from N University. Don’t mind him. He just passed the VR test and hasn’t calmed down yet.”
Zhong Chengshuo politely introduced the person who had collapsed on the ground in a serious manner, as if the three of them were exchanging business cards at an award ceremony.
“Mr. Lao, this is Yin Ren, the person who was involved in the incident with me.”
Mr. Lao, who was collapsed on the ground, stared straight at Yin Ren’s long hair and made a whimper.
Yin Ren: “……”
Zhong Chengshuo, are you not human?! Seeing someone paralyzed on the ground, even for someone like Yin Ren who hadn’t seen people for thousands of years, he at least knew that this was an inappropriate time for introductions.
Yin Ren hurriedly straightened his hair and stretched out a hand to the paralyzed Lao Bin. “Did I scare you? Sorry.”
Lao Bin wasn’t tall and was a bit chubby. He didn’t dare touch Yin Ren’s hand, but he couldn’t stand up, so he had to use his eyes to frantically give Zhong Chengshuo hints.
He wasn’t sure whether the other party was just oblivious or had other ideas, but Zhong Chengshuo looked back at him calmly and remained motionless.
Lao Bin whispered, “Brother, please give me a hand.”
Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren, who was holding out his hand, and then at Lao Bin. He pondered for a few seconds, then said, “Yin Ren, he’s asking you to give him a hand.”
Yin Ren, Lao Bin: “……”
One human and one ghost tasted the same embarrassment at this moment.
Lao Bin gave a wry smile and finally took Yin Ren’s hand. Yin Ren easily pulled him up and pretended as if nothing had just happened. “Why are you here?”
Zhong Chengshuo: “We just finished the previous test—”
“Yes, yes. We just finished testing. The two of us met here, so there shouldn’t be any more tests.” Lao Bin was anxious to resolve the awkwardness. He wiped away his sweat and interrupted Zhong Chengshuo. “Next, there should be a staff to guide us… Right…?”
From a glance, the corridor appeared to be heading in the same direction to the “back,” with no fork. If they wanted to leave, they could only pick the direction of heading back to the entrance.
The three of them stood quietly for a while. Lao Bin turned to Yin Ren and said with a forced smile, “Friend, what were you testing? How about we go your way?”
He seemed to have a great psychological shadow as his face held a panic full of “I will never go back that way again”.
“Emergency, everyone, please follow me.”
Before Yin Ren could answer, a female voice emerged from among the plants.
A hidden door opened in front of a leafy bush, and Fang Yuanyuan stood in the doorway. Her hair was tied up, and her expression was solemn.
Rather than responding, Yin Ren quickly retreated behind Zhong Chengshuo and used him to block half of himself.
Five minutes later.
Yin Ren hadn’t stepped onto the car yet, but his eyes were dead.
He suddenly understood how sinister this world could be. Not long ago, Fang Yuanyuan vowed to him that “there wasn’t frequent travel in the early stage”. As a result, he was pulled to Donghe District in Haigu before his ass was even warm in Shian.
The most annoying thing was that Lao Bin was lying comfortably in the lounge while only he and Zhong Chengshuo had to act.
He should have seized the opportunity just now to faint!
“If there’s a problem, at least one metaphysician and one atheist are required. Mr. Lao is weak, and there’s already one in the group.”
On the way to the car, Fang Yuanyuan explained to them.
Yin Ren was still trying to struggle. “Why does it have to be two people?”
Fang Yuanyuan replied dryly, “People in tune with the metaphysics are sensitive to anomalies and can easily find clues. Atheists are not really influenced by the supernatural, so they can save lives at critical moments.”
“I’ve just been rescued, and I don’t know anything.”
“All your indicators are good.”
Fang Yuanyuan brutally opened the car door for them.
“Just cooperate with the police investigation. 99% of ‘security’ level missions are like <Approaching Science>*. The remaining 1% is mostly picked up by the living. The police station has security staff that will ensure your safety.”
*It’s a series of documentary films from China. It broaches subjects like biology, archaeology, psychology, ect. It supposedly guides viewers (who are normally of lower education) from so-called “supernatural events” to a more scientific interpretation.
“But—”
“If you do a good job on this mission, you can skip the probation period and directly get a full salary.” Fang Yuanyuan smiled like a blooming flower and pushed the information folder into Yin Ren’s arms.
Yin Ren wasn’t sure what keyword had triggered Zhong Chengshuo, but suddenly he spoke up, “Let’s go. I’ll take care of you if something happens.”
Yin Ren: “……”
Zhong Chengshuo said solemnly, “Believe me, my parents are both police officers.”
But you’re not, and you just lied to me less than a day ago.
Yin Ren glanced at Zhong Chengshuo lifelessly and in the end didn’t object—listening to Fang Yuanyuan’s meaning, Shian had a legendary “probationary period”. He might not become an employee at Shian if it was too obvious that he was trying to mooch.
Their destination was Kaining Road in Donghe District. It was estimated that it would take more than an hour by car. He was supposed to be having dinner happily in the cafeteria, and he even chose the dinner item he wanted to try at lunch.
However, considering that “insufficient manpower” was partly his fault, Lord Ghost King could only reluctantly swallow his complaints.
Shian’s special car was quite spacious. Zhong Chengshuo waited for Yin Ren to get in first before following him to the back row. Unlike Yin Ren, who was wearing a Shian’s uniform, Zhong Chengshuo was still wearing his loose-fitting sweater with cuffs that almost covered the back of his hands.
When he got in the car, Zhong Chengshuo lowered his body, and the clothes stuck to his waist for a moment.
This guy wasn’t bad. Yin Ren swept his eyes over.
Zhong Chengshuo was of similar height to him and had a healthy and well-proportioned body. His figure wasn’t thin, but it couldn’t be said to be “robust” either, but it suited his gentle face.
Their work IDs were still hanging around their necks. When Zhong Chengshuo got in, his work ID was titled toward Yin Ren and dangled right in front of him.
When he took a closer look, there were symbols of who knew what carefully marked under his name. Yin Rin didn’t recognize any of the words.
Perhaps it was because he came too close that Zhong Chengshuo shrank back. “What?”
“Nothing. When you said your name was ‘Zhong Chengyue’ I thought the last word was ‘Shuo’.” Yin Ren quickly made an excuse.
“Originally, it was ‘Shuō’ but most people in school kept mistaking my name, so I had to make the best of it*.”
*(将错就错) Idiom referring to leaving a mistake uncorrected and making the best of it. || Basically, he’s saying he just went with it instead of keep trying to correct them.
“It’s an allusion to ‘take an oath’1? They’re not completely wrong. Though when comparing ‘covenant’, ‘mutual love’2 is also quite interesting as well.” Yin Ren naturally withdrew his body.
1Clarity: This whole conversation is based on the Chinese character of Shuō’/Yuè (说). When Yin Ren saw Zhong Chengshuo, he introduced himself as Chengyue. Originally, he thought the (说) would be Shuo. This comes from a line in the poem in “The Book of Songs Beifeng Drumming”. The line where Chengshuo derives his name is from (死生契阔，与子成说.) which roughly translates to life and death are in agreement, and together they made an oath. The part that’s underlined and in bold is Chengshuo, however, in ancient Chinese, it’s often aliased as “Yuè” instead of “Shuō”. 2This part is addressing why people think his name is Chengsyue. Basically, in ancient Chinese, Shuo is often aliased as Yue, so commonly when people see Chengshuo, they would think Chengyue. However, there are some exceptions, like Chengshuo (成说) that was used in the poem. Its interpretation in the poem uses Chengshuo instead of yue. Yin Ren is saying that the people who mispronounce his name aren’t technically wrong because of this. Compared to the original meaning where his name is derived ‘covenent/oath [yue ding] (约定) (this is referencing the oath from (成说)), the [yue] in his name can derive from mutual love [xiang yue] (约定) which makes it more interesting. He’s basically saying that rather than Chengshuo, Chengyue (using the 说 from mutual love) also has a good meaning.
When Zhong Chengshuo responded, his eyes became a bit deep. “No, my dad intended to use the idiom ‘I hope my son will become a dragon. I hope my daughter will become a phoenix1’, but mom asked him to change the word, so they probably didn’t think so deeply about it2.”
1(望子成龙，望女成凤) Idiom referring to longing to see one’s children become successful and have a bright future. 2Clarity: So his dad wanted to name him Chenglong (from the idiom I hope my son will [Chenglong] become a dragon), but his mom didn’t want that and asked him to change the long, which he apparently casually did to Shuo (implying that his parents probably didn’t think too deeply about the context of Shuo like how I explained above).
But he noticed the other party’s expression as if to say “continue”.
“Do you have a sister named Zhong Chengfeng*?”
*Clarity: This would be the second part of the idiom. I hope my daughter will [Chengfeng] become a phoenix.
“Nn. Zhong Chengfeng, from maple of the maple tree, or my mother would’ve forcibly changed the word*.”
*Clarity: Again, the mom didn’t want the name to be named after the idiom, so they named the sister Chengfeng but used the Feng from maple (枫) instead of phoenix (凤) from the idiom.
“I see.”
Zhong Chengshuo was silent for a moment. “My sister has been dead for a long time.”
Yin Ren was startled. “…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. She left before I was born. I have only seen her picture.” Zhong Chengshuo’s expression was calm. “Take out the information bag and let’s read it together.”
After he spoke, Zhong Chengshuo suddenly paused. “Miss Fang sent you a new cellphone. Can you use it?”
There was a brand-new phone lying in the transparent information bag, looking extremely conspicuous.
“I have no impression.” Yin Ren touched his cellphone vaguely.
“Well, maybe you didn’t use touch-screen models before. Anyway, let’s add our contact information first…”
As Zhong Chengshuo spoke, he operated his phone and then raised his head. “We have to register a name for you on WeChat. What do you want to use?”
“What?”
“People have their own naming habits. Thinking of commonly used screen names may jolt some of your memories.”
It’s over. It’s over. He didn’t understand what this person was saying. The test came too quickly, and Yin Ren’s heart was sweating like rain—he was able to muddle through at first, but then he was hit with this test of this so-called “cellphone”.
Listening to what Zhong Chengshuo was saying, he had to give himself a name for the phone.
The name was probably something like an “alias”. Ordinary martial arts cultivators would always call themselves “xx sword” and “xx blade” and so on. Even thousands of years ago, evil creatures and ferocious beasts liked to give themselves names that were sufficiently deterrent.
Which meant he had to do the opposite.
Yin Ren racked his brains. “Ah, I’ll be ‘Fruit Knife’.”
Fruit knife was a very modern word that he had just learned, and it was much more harmless than a dagger!
Zhong Chengshuo: “…”
Zhong Chengshuo: “…Okay, got it. In case we get separated, you can call or send me a message.”
Zhong Chengshuo opened up the dial-pad screen and the messaging app to explain the basics.
Yin Ren: “……”
There was only one person under ‘Fruit Knife’s’ contact list in WeChat. Zhong Chengshuo’s avatar was a red apple, and his screen name was “Final Fruit*”
*His screen name is (终成正果) which transliterated would mean “come to fruition”. This should be purposeful on the part of the author because the screen name chosen by Yin Ren is ‘Fruit Knife’.
Was this comical? Lord Ghost King suddenly felt a chill.
He had an eerie premonition that their “temporary partnership” might not end so easily.
The author has something to say:
That line of unknown symbols is pinyin; Xiao Yin doesn’t know pinyin—
Xiao Yin: Fuck, there is no dinner.
Xiao Zhong: I feel as if I have been targeted (?
Kinky Thoughts:
I didn’t realize this about the name until this chapter, so chapter 3 has been fixed to Chengyue when he introduced himself. However, just know that Zhong Chengshuo is the correct spelling.
Given that it’s impossible to tell whether he’s being called Chengyue or Chengshuo without indication from the author (which she hasn’t done until this chapter) or the pinyin form, I’ll have to translate it based on context.
For people who don’t know him, and he hasn’t corrected them, they will address him as Chengyue (even he himself does this). For people who know about it (like Yin Ren now) and also the executives of Shian (I would assume they have done extensive background checks on him and thus know how his name is actually spelled) I’ll keep it Chengshuo.
For narration that is not speech, I will use Chengshuo.
Also, from the author’s note, the line underneath Zhong Chengshuo’s name in his work ID most likely is the pinyin for his name, which would be Chengshuo, so given that’s the case, most likely people will be addressing him properly (if he’s wearing the work ID).
A man who never lied was extraordinarily provocative when he said this kind of thing. Dong Zhi felt as if his heart had been hit so hard that he was having a sudden attack from the curse.
He thought Long Shen would never be moved by his appearance, but in fact this was just a misunderstanding. According to legends, even the gods preferred beautiful-looking people. Love and hatred were almost instinctive to all creatures, but those who were skilled at restraint would not be perplexed or shaken by this, but it didn’t mean Long Shen couldn’t appreciate beauty.
In a daze, Dong Zhi had already put his arms around Long Shen’s waist, raised his slender neck, and slightly accepted his kiss.
This kiss was long and gentle, and almost all the feelings between them were poured out. The warmth in the beginning from Dong Zhi, the precipitation later, the indifference of Long Shen at first, and the melting later; they were like water flowing deep as light as dust.
It wasn’t only Dong Zhi that was flushed; Long Shen’s breath also became unstable, but he was still able to calmly end the kiss and take the initiative to pull Dong Zhi away.
“Have a good rest tonight. I’ll write an email to Xinchai.”
The corners of Dong Zhi’s mouth twitched, as if it were a kind of laughter that came to an abrupt end.
Seeing that he wasn’t moving, Long Shen explained, “Your curse hasn’t been lifted yet. It’s best to do it as soon as possible.
Dong Zhi raised his forehead. He obviously didn’t mean that.
“Master, why do you always regard me as always a stallion in your heart, regardless of the time?”
In fact, he was already satisfied with being able to hug and kiss like this. His master was slow to warm up, so he even planned to spend his whole life in platonic love, but who knew they were progressing so fast that they skipped sex and advanced to divine intercourse? If this was him in the past, he wouldn’t even have imagined such a step.
Hearing this, Long Shen was puzzled by his words and said strangely, “But I have heard that men’s desire for sex is often greater than love. Are you not like this?”
After all, he himself was a transformed artifact, so his desires were weaker than those of ordinary humans. When he heard about this view before, he felt that it was logical and wasn’t difficult to understand. Ordinary humans had a variety of feelings and emotions, and they wouldn’t deliberately restrain themselves. When they met someone they liked, this desire would only become stronger.
Dong Zhi had to justify humanity. “I can’t say no, but there are exceptions. Besides, compared to sex, I actually want to experience what happened last time more.”
Long Shen looked at his embarrassed expression and smiled. “You mean divine intercourse?”
Dong Zhi coughed lightly.
Even though he had experienced divine intercourse and knew that it was purely spiritual and didn’t have any erotic undertones, he couldn’t help but blush a little when he heard this term.
Long Shen pinched Dong Zhi’s chin and dropped a kiss. His other hand held the back of Dong Zhi’s head, and he pressed his index finger onto the jade pillow point*.
*Also called the Yuzhen point, located 2.5 inches straight above the center of the posterior hairline and 1.3 inches to the side. Picture.
Dong Zhi felt a buzzing in his ears. Suddenly, his vision darkened, and his body slid downward in a weightless state.
He didn’t realize that in reality he had also softened his legs and fallen softly into Long Shen’s arms.
The light was not in one piece but lit up bit by bit in the distance.
He found himself suddenly in a vast universe, surrounded by stones of various sizes. In the distance or beyond, there were different shades of brightness, and he was one of many meteorites slowly moving forward, involuntarily, as if there were a force pulling him into the darkness.
The force was like an indescribable joy; like the uncontrollable feeling of having a secret meeting with his sweetheart on a snowy night; like the joy and anxiety of first love. He didn’t know what was waiting for him, but he knew that it was something he had been looking forward to for a long time, and all he could think about was it.
The closer he got, the stronger the joy. He seemed to know what it was subconsciously, but the anticipation in his heart didn’t fade. The light was getting brighter and more dazzling. He closed his eyes and allowed the warm light to envelope him. It entered every inch of his body; like a spring breeze turning into trickling rain. A lazy comfort washed over the bones of his limbs so that he couldn’t help but keep his eyes closed, like he was soaking in a hot spring while being wrapped around by his beloved. It was the most moving happiness in the world and the ultimate bliss that words couldn’t describe.
He didn’t need to look, didn’t need to listen, as all the voices had left a mark on his body, pushing the warmth into it. Finally, the light and stone fused turning the unknown meteorite into a star. One day, he would become a star that could shine on others and warm them.
And everything was brought about by this light.
Time turned into nothingness; the sea changed into mulberry fields; the desolation became the past. Even the brilliant stars were fleeting. What remained was the mind that was unchanged, becoming eternal.
His body shuttled between light years while his consciousness was frozen in the years. Every cell was decomposed and swayed in the universe, and when it condensed again, it was gently arched in arms that were carefully placed down, properly treasured, until the end of time.
Dong Zhi’s eyelashes trembled several times before he slowly opened his eyes.
Outside the window, he saw the high-rise buildings of Hong Kong. The ships were sailing in and out of the port in the distance. The realism of modern society instantly slapped him in the face, making the experience he had of jumping between time and space feel illusory, until he saw Long Shen slowly opening his eyes.
The last time they had divine intercourse, he was caught off guard and didn’t fully perceive everything. He was overwhelmed by the storm of information that hit him from beginning to end, just like a person who had never seen water was suddenly thrown into a hot spring. Even if the hot spring was pleasant, he didn’t have time to notice it because he was preoccupied with something else.
Compared with the last one-sided initial exploration, this time it could truly be called divine intercourse.
Divine intercourse wasn’t a glimpse into the other’s mind, but an opening to their sea of consciousness, allowing the other person to enter. The two ideologies meet and merge, starting with probing, approaching, and then understanding. It was far more impactful than a verbal confession. In this process, one party couldn’t guard against the other, so if the other person had ill intentions and wanted to take the opportunity to plot, no matter how strong the other side was, this moment was like peeling off the hard shell protecting the soft heart and having it at their mercy.
For practitioners, who have been walking in danger for so many years and have a heavier sense of preparedness than ordinary people, the fact that Long Shen did this undoubtedly showed his attitude. Dong Zhi’s curse was still unresolved, and there could be other mechanisms at play that they didn’t know about. The mark still remained on Dong Zhi’s body. In this case, Long Shen bore a great risk that his heart could be invaded due to this.
Compared with sweet words, Long Shen was more willing to use action to show that if he wasn’t sure, he would never export easily. Just like when he heard Dong Zhi’s confession on the phone, he had cleanly refused, but as long as he said it himself, it would certainly be honored.
Neither of them spoke.
At this time, words seemed superfluous.
Compared with the calm from last time, Long Shen was obviously more emotional, as his face was slightly red.
Dong Zhi was still immersed in the scene just now.
He saw Long Shen’s completely open consciousness. It was a magnificent and endlessly dreaming universe. It was the end of the stars, the place where all things returned. Its beauty and grandeur couldn’t be described in words. In that sea of consciousness, his own “string” had docked and merged with Long Shen; the two seas of consciousness finally started to slowly connect, just like strings and music instruments finally composing a song together. Even though the timbre was still monotonous, they were indeed gradually forming.
And this kind of satisfaction was greater than any kind of sexual intercourse he could imagine.
“Master, what did you see?” he asked Long Shen.
Long Shen was silent for a moment.
“I saw the top of a snow-capped mountain. Everything was as white as the eye could see. The wind was blowing snow, and it was freezing to the bone.”
Dong Zhi was taken aback. Could it be that the scenes seen by either side weren’t the same during divine intercourse?
“Then what?”
“Then I saw a small plant emerging from the snow. The world was gray, and it was the only green. Its life was tenacious and vigorous. I walked over and used my hand to cover it from the snowflakes as it began to grow slowly. It eventually became a sapling, standing side by side with me, then continued to grow taller to become a towering tree on the top of my head, shielding me from the wind and rain.”
Long Shen’s tone was slow and calm, but Dong Zhi’s eyes were slightly moistened as he listened to him speak, as if he could see the vigorous life going towards the most prosperous trajectory.
“When I looked at it, I felt happy inside,” Long Shen said. The corners of his mouth curled up, causing Dong Zhi to unconsciously follow that smile.
—-
The response from the white robe master this time was unexpectedly fast. In the evening of the next day, Master Xinchai sent an email to Long Shen.
He told Long Shen that Songen was a man who was once a prominent witchdoctor in Myanmar. Decades ago, he joined the rebels during the war in Myanmar, where he was regarded as a guest of honor. When the rebels were defeated, he also disappeared, but in the decades since then, he was still known. It was rumored that he was still quite famous in the area, and even those unscrupulous drug lords who passed by Songen’s territory would be honest and respectful, daring not to offend him even slightly.
Because of this, once Qi Rui provided the two keywords, “Songen” and “Northern Thailand”, Xinchai quickly helped Long Shen find him and even provided the specific location. Further north in Thailand, on the edge of the dense forest was a small village called Xianda, which was Songen’s territory. For those who sought him, they had to travel thousands of miles to Xianda, then ask someone to report to Songen first and obtain permission before they could enter Songen’s stockade.
Just as Long Shen and Dong Zhi were still reading the email, Xinchai called and suggested that he wanted to go with them. It would be great if he could persuade Songen to lift the curse on Dong Zhi, but if not, he might still be able to help.
Naturally, Long Shen wouldn’t refuse. He thanked Xinchai, and the two sides made an appointment to meet in Chiang Mai and then go north together.
When Long Shen hung up, he told Dong Zhi about it.
Dong Zhi felt a bit odd. “Why does Xinchai want to come with us all of a sudden?”
Long Shen said, “Songen is a black-robed witchdoctor, so he’s at odds with Xinchai. Except for Han Qi, Songen has been using his techniques to harm the people of his country. It’s just that he’s extremely powerful, so few people dare to provoke him. Xinchai isn’t sure he will win. Now that we have joined forces, he naturally wants to take the opportunity to eradicate Songen. Xinchai is also a master of curses. With him joining, this will increase our winning chances.”
Dong Zhi understood what he meant. After all, they not only had to deal with Songen this time but also the heavenly demon behind him. It was conceivable that this would become a bloodbath.
Through Qi Rui, Songen already knew that they would come to his door sooner or later. When they arrived, what awaited them could be a well-prepared trap, but Long Shen and Dong Zhi had no choice. If they kept hesitating, the long night would be fraught with dreams*. It was better to solve the problem directly and head-on. Long Shen suggested they take a short break and then set off immediately, to which Dong Zhi had no objection.
*(夜长梦多) Metaphor referring to undue delay may bring trouble.
However, they encountered an episode before their departure. He Yu had sent a message to Dong Zhi, concerned about his curse. Dong Zhi gave him a general description of the progress of the matter, to which He Yu enthusiastically said he wanted to come and help him. This was unfortunately seen by Long Shen, who immediately deducted half a month of his bonus as punishment for intending to go AWOL on his post. Seeing this, He Yu didn’t dare mention anything else.
After confirming the information and route, Long Shen immediately booked tickets to Chiang Mai. When the two arrived, they soon met with Master Xinchai, who was waiting for them nearby.
Xinchai’s face was dry, and his figure was thin. He had piercing eyes that made people afraid to look at him for too long. In general, witchdoctors were out of place in society, which made people uncomfortable, but Xinchai was connected to the royal family and frequently attended public events, so he blended in so well to normal society that he could even be considered humorous on occasion.
He also brought an apprentice named Kenta. Both were dressed up as monks, which was common in the local area. Xinchai’s reputation and status in his country were indeed well-known. When the local administrator heard of his arrival, he wanted to come and treat them to a feast personally but was politely declined by Xinchai’s apprentice. The four of them didn’t delay much and took the train all the way north the next day.
The train terminal ended at the border, and the next part of their journey had to be done by car. The four of them made a big round trip, and only after an arduous journey did they finally arrive in the village of Xianda that Xinchai had mentioned.
Kinky Translations 