Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 62: Damage

After a long silence, Ruan Xian responded calmly, “I don’t know the subject of your observation, but humans of your type are usually placed on the list of potential dangers.”

“Ah, the list of potential dangers.” Tang Yibu tore off a piece of cloth from the corpse and wiped the sai in his hand clean. “I know the Supervision Agency.”

Ruan Xian couldn’t be more familiar with the Supervision Agency.

In the days he remembered, physical defects were relatively rare, and most problems could be prevented by obstetric examinations. Even if the child had already been born, as long as it wasn’t a rare disease or an IQ problem, most physical and sensory disabilities could be solved by artificial replacement.

Mental problems were much more complicated.

The name of Supervision Agency was very harmless, and its responsibility was only to evaluate school-age children or adolescents and screen individuals with serious mental defects in advance, then carry out differentiation education and ensured that they would not enter industries that were prone to problems.

People with pedophilia tendencies would be placed in communities and occupations far from children, and people with severe antisocial behavior would be isolated and educated and enter industries with high surveillance. Strictly speaking, they would get a job that would make ends meet, since usually, environmental constraints make it difficult to commit crimes. It sounded good and the public was quite supportive of these practices.

However, there were still some people whose classification was ambiguous, and they were usually not included in the watch list. If the personality defects weren’t manic, bloodthirsty, or extremely violent, the Supervision Agency usually didn’t make special treatment for these people.

But if personality defects were matched with an extremely high IQ, the situation would become complicated. They were good at disguise, elusive, and even more difficult to control as adults. They would be recorded on the list of potential dangers, tracked and followed regularly by the Supervision Agency, and their rights would be restricted accordingly.

However, even without access to politics, there were also strict restrictions on going abroad or long-distance travel. Using their own minds, these people could still obtain considerable wealth through legitimate means.

While society wouldn’t plunder them, they would always have a pair of eyes next to them.

Even with the prestige of his adoptive mother, Meng Yunlai, Ruan Xian was guaranteed to enter the top research institute in China, but he needed a recognized, authoritative colleague to know about it. The Supervision Agency entrusted this heavy task to Fan Linsong, who had a good reputation. They signed a surveillance remuneration agreement and a confidentiality agreement with Fan Linsong.

They thought they were doing it seamlessly, that he didn’t know who his watcher was. Fan Linsong also concealed it well, but Ruan Xian had always been extremely sensitive to the lies of others.

He would never forget the complicated emotions hidden in his eyes when the other party smiled and talked to him. It was dominated by fear, like dirt accumulating in the sewers. No one knew what else was in it, and no one really wanted to know what it was.

This was why he liked Tang Yibu’s eyes. The brilliant light golden color was like the sunlight cast on the skin on a summer afternoon. The emotions inside were extremely clean, only pure and curious.

But right now, the android was standing in a pool of blood and corpses, and his eyes looked abnormal.

But he still couldn’t help being attracted to them.

“…Okay, Yu Le is still waiting. I’ll think about your intuition and the like. Let’s go back.”

“Have you been in contact with the Supervision Agency?” Tang Yibu wasn’t distracted from the topic at hand. “The general public doesn’t care about the list of potential dangers, let alone scientists with relatively limited social interaction.”

“This question is not free.” Ruan Xian didn’t put the gun back into the holster. “Do you want an exchange for it? I’ll you why I care about the list of potential dangers, and you tell me how you developed your intuitive fighting style. That’s not something you can master by just thinking about it.”

It was impossible to just learn combat skills by reading about it. It was something that required a lot of accumulated actual combat and fighting experience.

But according to his own understanding of Tang Yibu, Tang Yibu was extremely afraid of death. He had caught a glimpse of his grumbling when he was shot in the thigh. This android was terribly cautious. Even if his combat abilities were enough for him to win, he didn’t seem to be the type who would actively participate in battle.

Tang Yibu stood still and struggled for a while, and said pitifully, “Well, I won’t ask. Let’s go back.”

Unsurprisingly, Tang Yibu covered his key origins tightly and refused to leave any cracks. He returned to the expressionless state that Ruan Xian was familiar with, but he didn’t hide the trace of loss in his eyes—it wasn’t a fake emotion. Ruan Xian could see it.

How interesting.

Ruan Xian stretched out his hand, brushed off the piece of flesh stuck to Tang Yibu’s shoulder, and patted him. ‘Maybe this was indeed an “effective emotional connection,’ he thought.

“Is the injury serious? If it’s not serious, it’s better to go back with it—”

Before Ruan Xian could finish, Yu Le’s car rushed over. The originally clean front of the car was covered with blood, staining most of the glass.

“Yo, still alive.” Yu Le still had squid feet in his mouth. His voice sounded muffled as he didn’t roll down the window. “What are you two doing? A few of them had managed to reach me.”

“I think as a veteran pirate in an armored off-road vehicle, you didn’t need the two of us to take care of a few stragglers.” Ruan Xian was neither humble nor overbearing.

“They used bombs, okay? Can that be compared to hitting them with a car? My door was almost blown up.” Yu Le bared his teeth. He turned on the headlights, which illuminated the pool of blood and corpses on the ground. “Forget it, come in. Since you two aren’t dead yet, it seems you’re quite capable… Get in the car, get in the car. Are you waiting for an expiration?”

Ruan Xian didn’t respond. He put a safety lock on the gun he collected from the corpse and threw it into the simple arms box in the car. The iron bead jumped around in the back seat, barking with appetite, as if it was particularly interested in the body of the metal gun.

“Mr. Yu, you deliberately detoured this way,” Ruan Xian said casually after the car started again.

“Yu Ge, it seems like more food has increased on your side?” Tang Yibu spoke at almost the same time.

“Oh, we’re going to encounter them sooner or later.” Yu Le glanced at Ruan Xian through the rearview mirror. “What’s that saying? Better to suffer now than long-term*. If you meet early, solve it early, and nip the danger in the bud—”

*(长痛不如短痛) Saying that refers to better to suffer short-term pain so that you won’t have to suffer long-term. (Just get it over with now rather than prolong the agony).

“You have five more dried eggs, two packs of vegetable chips, and three canned sardines. This is what I have found so far,” Tang Yibu insisted on staying on his topic.

“I thought you wanted to give us a nice face slapping, or just solve the problem with us as soon as possible.” Ruan Xian smiled and continued the conversation. “After all, the number of people on the opposite side was several times more than ours.”

“How can you say that, Xiao Ruan.” Yu Le also ignored Tang Yibu and increased his speed. “It’s better to fight now than later. Think about it. These people have blocked all the entrances that could be blocked, just waiting for us to throw ourselves into their net. The efficiency of each attack is relatively good… Okay, okay. I apologize. When we get to their base, I’ll distribute a 70-30 ratio for the weapons.”

“You also took my and Mr. Ruan’s drinks,” Tang Yibu persisted, and was unmoved by the topic. “When we get to their base, our food’s going to be a 0-100 ratio.”

“It seems you know where their base is.” Ruan Xian tried hard to stay on topic.

“Gwah!” The iron bead called out.

Yu Le immediately slammed on the brakes.

“The three of you are so noisy that laozi’s going to explode!” Yu Le took in a deep breath. There was a bit of a pirate aura in his breath. “Fuck, alright! Yes, I took some food and let you out so you could clear the way. Something wrong with that?”

Ruan Xian shook his head at the idea of making a steady profit without losing money. If he and Tang Yibu could come back alive, Yu Le would use them to solve his troubles and formally determine their combat abilities.

And if they died in this battle, as a veteran pirate, Ruan Xian believed that Yu Le had another way to sneak into the city—Then he would have a whole cart of supplies and wouldn’t need to worry about strangers in the back seat making any dangerous moves.

“I don’t intend to complain. I can understand what you mean. If you have information on the bandits, then this is business.” Ruan Xian raised his hand decisively and patted Tang Yibu’s mouth, causing the latter to make a sound of protest. “We really don’t need such a friendly relationship… but there’s no harm in temporarily cooperating before entering the Underground City.”

“Oh, is that right? Then let that kid keep watch tonight. I want to sleep.” The frivolous expression on Yu Le’s face disappeared, “Just understand, without subordinates, I can’t handle the two of you, but you also saw that snakes have their own ways, and so do rats. Your elder is chalk full of intelligence, so there’s no harm in giving them respect.”

Tang Yibu’s whining voice became louder.

“I also want to be full.” Yu Le glanced at Tang Yibu. “There’s still a week to go, so this can be regarded as intelligence expenses.”

A few hours later.

“He took our two bottles of soda.” Tang Yibu sat cross-legged on the roof of the car. His voice was full of grievances.

Ruan Xian silently handed Tang Yibu a can of iced soda and opened his own. “It’s a reasonable deal. At least we now know the location of the bandits.”

“As long as we get close, you can also find their location,” Tang Yibu said, dissatisfied. “In case you can’t use your abilities because of a lack of physical strength—”

“Just treat it as a human investment. It’s more worry-free.” Ruan Xian took a sip of soda. The icy carbonated liquid ran across his tongue.

“I don’t understand.”

“Yu Le is a tough one. He won’t like being treated that way by you. What he did today was a partial warning.” Ruan Xian raised his head and looked at the brilliant starry sky that was glued to the edge of the desert. “…Even if there is no practical value, give some respect, and the possibility of something going wrong in the future will be reduced by a lot.”

“But we never had any friendly behavior between us and him,” Tang Yibu muttered. “Since he is neither a friend nor a companion, why is he unhappy? This was a simple transaction from the beginning.”

“It’s not that simple. Reason is one thing, but mood is another.” Ruan Xian retracted his gaze into the distance. “In our relationship, we don’t have the need to be friendly to each other. From the beginning, it was a simple transaction… or even worse.”

Tang Yibu held the can and no longer spoke.

“If I stop communicating with you now, how will you react?”

“I will have some… negative emotions.” Tang Yibu thought carefully for a while. “But that’s because I like your voice.”

“But these have nothing to do with transactions, right?”

“You mean I hurt him.” Tang Yibu was shocked. “This is an interesting angle. I never thought about it. Can you…”

Ruan Xian yawned.

“…Let’s sleep for a while.” Tang Yibu grabbed the blanket and piled it beside him, patting his leg. “Tomorrow, we have to have someone watch Yu Le with full energy. It’s not safe in the car. I can help you block the wind.”

“Nn.”

“In exchange, you have to talk to me tomorrow…”

Ruan Xian didn’t hear the next words clearly, so he curled up and fell quickly asleep. Yu Le parked his car near the dead wall. The car was well hidden by the shadow of the boulder. Yu Le’s slight snoring came from inside.

Ruan Xian wrapped the quilt tightly and leaned unconsciously in the direction of Tang Yibu. Tang Yibu hummed softly. He thought about it for a long time, lowered his head, and gently rubbed Ruan Xian’s hair with his cheek.

“Good night, Mr. Ruan.” he said.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 61: Sadness

Yu Le parked his car behind a granite stone that was about one person’s length.

Ruan Xian casually grabbed two ordinary handguns and jumped out of the car with Tang Yibu. The latter weighed the long gun in his hand and waved it like a stick.

“For a scientist who doesn’t have much actual combat experience, this may be a bit difficult.” They quietly walked around the rock, making sure that Yu Le couldn’t hear him before Tang Yibu spoke again. “Even if it is an S-type Prototype, it may not be able to adapt to multi-person close-range combat immediately—the opponents will not come up one by one but will attack in a disorderly manner.”

“Understood.” Ruan Xian nodded indifferently.

Tang Yibu looked at him for a while. “I will be responsible for the attack, but Yu Le is watching…”

“We don’t have clothes to change here. Even if your wound can be healed after being injured, the bloodstains and tears will remain. It’s best not to get hit.” Ruan Xian took over Tang Yibu’s sentence, still thinking about Guan Haiming’s words.

“Indeed, watch out for stray bullets.” Tang Yibu turned his head a little off the edge and glanced at the opposite side. “But we have a reconnaissance advantage. Are all our enemies in front of us?”

“Yes. They are discussing how much supplies would be in the car, how many people, and whether to kill them all. There’s no intention of attacking for the time being.”

“It’s still too late.” Tang Yibu flashed behind Ruan Xian. The cool air behind him became warm, and Ruan Xian’s body stiffened.

“Whether it’s attacking or defending, it’s actually similar to dancing.” Tang Yibu supported his arm with one hand from behind and slid his palm from his upper arm to his forehead through his clothes, guiding Ruan Xian to move his gun. “I have observed before that you have a lot of extra movements when attacking… You first think, formulate action strategies, and then command your body movements. Isn’t that right?”

Ruan Xian’s joints seemed to be rusty, and his movements were stiff and rigid. He answered the question with a rhetorical question. “Is there a problem?”

Tang Yibu seemed to notice his nervousness and moved a little lighter.

“If you don’t feel too much guilt, this is an advantage. You won’t hesitate at critical moments because of unnecessary pity or doubt. You just do it—just like this, intuitively. There’s a rhythm to any movement, so you need to grab it and pull the trigger. Too much thinking will disrupt this rhythm.”

Tang Yibu was a little taller than him, dressed in tight clothes. A steady stream of heat was radiating from behind him. Ruan Xian let out a long exhale and could only feel the corners of his mouth stiffen.

“An AI without any human habits is telling me to act according to ‘intuition’.” After a few attempts, he succeeded in showing a wry smile.

“The human brain is also an organic computer, so the difference isn’t that big.” Tang Yibu exerted a slight force in his hand and adjusted Ruan Xian’s posture with the gun. “Most people are aware of their own consciousness manipulation, but they don’t know why. According to my observations, the subconscious mind is the cause. Thinking and emotions are the inductive results of coordinated calculations, and behavior is the secondary result. Now you have to follow the guidance of the root cause and omit the intermediate steps, which is the most efficient.”

He paused. “In human terms, this approach is called following your intuition. You need to abandon your logical habits.”

Ruan Xian mumbled, noncommittal.

“It just so happened that we’re being attacked, so let me demonstrate.” Tang Yibu bent his eyes. “You don’t need to give me any auxiliary instructions this time. Just watch.”

There were four people in the first wave of attacks. They were wearing tattered and dirty armor, but they were also fully armed. They rushed straight in the direction of the car. Yu Le kept the car on with the intention of slamming on the gas at any moment.

This gang of robbers were experienced. One of them threw an EMP bomb at the off-road vehicle, attempting to freeze it.

Tang Yibu shot his gun.

He destroyed the bomb in a single shot, then he suddenly appeared alone in front of the four robbers. There was no communication, no intimidation. The experienced robbers directly mounted their firepower to meet the attack, and a hail of bullets rushed towards Tang Yibu.

The latter avoided gracefully, as if time had slowed. Tang Yibu moved naturally. Air columns from the bullets rubbed against the android, adding a little gunpowder to his clothes. This, however, didn’t stun the bandits. They began to concentrate all their firepower on where Tang Yibu was going to land. The parched land was hit with a cloud of dust, but bullets didn’t pass through Tang Yibu as they wished.

“Observe the subtle movements of the enemy.” Tang Yibu flashed behind one of the robbers, used the gun in his hand like it was a crowbar, and directly knocked one down. His voice was neither loud nor low, but Ruan Xian could hear it clearly. “Don’t think about their reactions. Don’t make detailed plans in our mind—watch, and then move.”

The remaining three bandits weren’t sad because their companion had fallen. They were frighteningly quiet as they attacked Tang Yibu nonstop, like hungry hyenas. They rushed at Tang Yibu at the same time. One of them tried to hug his legs tightly and tried to drag him to the ground while the other carefully aimed his gun, and the third clenched a sai tightly in his hand, stabbing at Tang Yibu, trying to aim for his heart.

“This is a siege situation.” Tang Yibu took advantage of him falling down to kick the shackler’s throat.

As a result, the android dropped his gun, turned around in a half circle, and grabbed the gunner that had lost his balance and used him as a meat shield against the third attacker with the sai. The stab went through the man’s chest and went deep into his lungs.

The strength of the injured suddenly decreased drastically, allowing Tang Yibu to break free. The third attacker showed a little anger and suddenly pulled out the sai from his companion’s chest and slashed at Tang Yibu again. The latter tilted his head slightly to dodge, grabbed the man’s wrist, and abruptly twisted it.

Following a brief scream, Tang Yibu turned half a circle again and slashed the enemy’s throat with a hand knife that almost looked invisible.

With commentary, the whole process took less than half a minute. Tang Yibu’s movements were like flowing water, or a beast that was highly skilled in predation—The whole process was smooth and beautiful, without any stagnation or redundancy. He seemed to have anticipated the opponent’s trajectory in advance. Rather than attacking, it looked as if the enemy was actively embracing death.

“Your scientist way of thinking is very typical. With too much information, it’s easy to overthink things.” Wiping the blood from his face casually, Tang Yibu stepped over a few lifeless bodies of the bandits and walked back to Ruan Xian. “It’s fine if you’re location is long-ranged, but if attacked at close range, you can easily suffer.”

Ruan Xian was in a trance, thinking what he saw was an illusion. It was like an experienced beast teaching its young to hunt… But the object that was hunted was humans.

He suddenly felt funny.

In the first half of his life, those who knew him were faintly afraid that he would become a vicious criminal, a serial killer, or an evil scientist intent on destroying the world, so Ruan Xian wrapped himself in cellophane and tried to look gentle and harmless.

Before he successfully deceived them, but those cautions were so heavy that it was as if no matter what happened, as long as someone died at his hands, his life would immediately collapse.

Such examples were not uncommon.

Even if it was because of the recklessness and arrogance of tourists, beasts that knew the taste of human flesh would be executed—even if it was the humans themselves who put them in cages. People needed to protect the visitors who came later. They weren’t sure if the beast would continue to love the taste; they only knew that it was theoretically bloodthirsty and people wouldn’t be able to resist its attack*.

*Clarity: For those confused, it’s saying that due to his psychological evaluation as a kid, Ruan Xian is categorized as highly psychotic and, thus, with this label, people will never treat him normally. Despite his best to act harmless and gentle, if anything were to happen that would cause human death related to him, they would immediately think it’s because of his psychotic nature. It’s compared to that of a wild animal. If a wild animal shows that it has the tendency to attack humans, it will be put down, even if humans were the ones that captured and caged it to put it on exhibition.

And now someone was teaching him how to protect himself by killing people.

“Is this okay?” Seeing another group of bandits rushing towards him, Ruan Xian asked lightly. “You have to observe humans, and this would make it easier for me to…”

Easier for me to leave you.

He wouldn’t die because of this injury. If it became more troublesome, they could also find other ways to fool Yu Le. If Tang Yibu wanted to control him fundamentally, he didn’t need to teach him how to resist.

The android should corrode him and trap him in a tower with nothing. He should hide his combat skills tightly, preferably make him not be able to do anything, then use the guise of ‘protection’ to control him.

“One earring is enough.” Tang Yibu raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if he saw through his thoughts. “Aren’t we partners? Giving you a collar isn’t already conducive to our cooperation. If I cut off your claws, how are you going to approve of me?”

“I may never approve of you.” Ruan Xian relaxed. As he spoke, columns of air shot out from Tang Yibu and killed three people who were rushing to them in front.

“Humans can still divorce when they get married.”

Tang Yibu curled his lips. He threw his long gun casually and nailed one of the robbers straight in the heart, then he took the sai from the robber’s corpse.

“There’s no permanent relationship in the world, and no cooperation without risk.”

A light grenade that was about to explode was thrown at the feet of the two of them. Tang Yibu instantly picked it up and threw it back. The next second, when it exploded, he flashed out from behind a boulder and lifted the sai and rushed over. Ruan Xian jumped onto the boulder immediately, emptied his thoughts, and fired several shots at the dust in the darkness.

The ground didn’t crack, and the sky didn’t collapse. His life was the same as before. Every second was still so ordinary.

[This is wrong.]

Countless voices echoed in his ears. Like his mother, like the doctors, like many people.

[You should be ashamed, you should be afraid. You have a better way to solve all this. You have this ability because you are much stronger than them. This is your responsibility.]

But he felt an unprecedented ease.

“Very good.” Tang Yibu stepped out of the smoke and dust. His bare skin and the sai were stained with blood. “I didn’t catch a few of them. Your intuition is good.”

“It seems that I’m more suitable to be a serial killer than a scientist.” Ruan Xian put the gun away, his tone undulating. “There is a lot of movement over there. They’re driving a car over. It’s a convertible. There’s—”

Tang Yibu stretched out his blood-stained hands and held Ruan Xian’s face. Ruan Xian stopped talking and frowned.

“You look sad.” Those pale golden eyes were softened by the night, and they even looked a little gentle. “Why? Because you killed some people?”

After a moment of silence, Ruan Xian replied, “Because I killed those people and didn’t feel bad about it.”

“I don’t know what’s in your memory,” Tang Yibu got closer, “But you know, humans also kill other humans. There are many reasons. Accidents, self-preservation, selfish desires, hatred, power, or religion.”

“I know.”

“Heroes, soldiers, or criminals. People who kill can have many identities, and I think purpose and action are where the value is.”

“But this is wrong,” Ruan Xian continued. “…I mean, this feeling is…”

“I don’t judge,” Tang Yibu replied. “At least I don’t think I did anything wrong, nor do I think I did the right thing. I just want to deal with the incoming enemy and live better. You don’t feel bad about this fight, and neither do I.”

The tips of their noses almost touched.

“This kind of feeling can easily bring a sense of threat to other individuals.” Ruan Xian’s voice became flat, “It is impossible to establish an effective emotional connection for survival—”

“Oh, you didn’t make me feel threatened. As for effective emotional connection…”

Tang Yibu shook the blood off the sai.

“You already have me.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

Apparently, the weapon Tang Yibu stole is a “sensitive word”, so the author had to censor it, but the weapon is basically a three-pronged dagger type weapon. Sai or trident dagger, is probably what that robber was wielding, so I just went with sai. Chinese censorship is so weird.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 60: Skirmish

“Professor Guan.” Ruan Xian accepted the communication request as naturally as possible. Yu Le raised his eyebrows and paused the music.

Guan Haiming was still in a white research suit that was a bit too big but without the irritable expression when he first met him. The dark bags under his eyes had not faded a bit, but his complexion had improved a lot. He was now glancing at Ruan Xian’s environment through the light screen.

The Ding Zepeng they knew also had on a white research uniform as he adjusted the data on the communication machine next to Guan Haiming. Ruan Xian could only see his side face.

Xiao Ding turned his head sideways and smiled slightly nervously at him. After a few weeks of not seeing each other, the simplicity and innocence in the young man’s eyes disappeared without a trace, and he looked a lot calmer.

“Are you in a car? What about 231?”

Without seeing Tang Yibu on the light screen, Guan Haiming really raised this question. Lao Yu turned around and listened to their conversation openly.

“231 is very good, don’t worry. We got a little information in the Sea of Ruins, and we’re planning to go to the Underground United City now,” Ruan Xian raised the corner of his mouth and responded calmly. “It just so happens that someone in the Sea of Ruins is going to the Underground United City, so we hitched a ride. The driver is listening intently. Would you like to say hello?”

“Comrades of the rebel army?” Sure enough, Guan Haiming’s brows frowned quickly when he heard that there were outsiders on the other side.

“No, just an ordinary pirate.” Ruan Xian told the truth and glanced at Yu Le. “Seriously, we’ve been through a lot in the past few weeks…”

Deliberately slowing down his tone, Ruan Xian carefully observed Guan Haiming’s reaction. Seeing Guan Haiming’s expression on the other side of the light screen showing a little anxiety, he quickly hit the iron while it was hot.

“I have to keep the details of the mission secret. There have been a lot of movements in the Sea of Ruins recently, so I don’t know if the situation on your side has deteriorated. Speaking of this, do you want to see 231? But we have to prepare. We just escaped from the Sea of Ruins. Everything is a mess right now, and we’re still cleaning up…”

Sure enough, Guan Haiming finally couldn’t bear it any longer. “Mr. Ruan, time is limited. Let me make the long story short.”

“Sorry.” Ruan Xian smiled. “I finally met someone I knew, and I talked a bit too much.”

“I still have four minutes and fifty seconds on my side.” Guan Haiming cleared his throat. “The distance of the Underground United City… Well, I think it’ll work. If I find another opportunity, I will contact you again.”

“How did you do it?” Ruan Xian stopped procrastinating. He gave Tang Yibu a wink, and the latter opened his bulging backpack knowingly and began to look around, making it look like he was extremely busy.

“You gave me Major Ding’s armor cracking algorithm before you left, and I contacted him. This time I just want to explain this matter, so I’ll talk quickly.”

“An Order Supervisor willingly cooperated with you?” Ruan Xian remembered Major Ding. Although the other party had a lot of gaps, he wasn’t an easy bone to chew.

“It doesn’t count.” Guan Haiming smiled wearily. “Judging from the information I have obtained, the Order Supervisor of Petri Dish No. 1036 doesn’t need to be hidden and will be ‘refreshed’ every day. Fifteen minutes before the normal refresh, the black box in his body will be turned off, and the spider-shaped monitoring machine in which he’s located will also enter a dormant handover state. Next, the Mainbrain will destroy the body that has been ‘used’ for that day and replace it with a new one.”

“In these fifteen minutes, the Mainbrain has no record of his behavior, unless he maliciously destroys something.” Ruan Xian didn’t go in circles any longer. “But this means that if it’s refreshed the next day… No, Major Ding, who was copied again, won’t remember what happened in those fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, it’s hard. We always only have fifteen minutes to talk, and even if we successfully reach a consensus, he won’t remember the next day, but the fifteen minutes during this period of time at least let me get to know him better. On this point, Zepeng on our side has also helped a lot.”

A smile finally appeared on Guan Haiming’s pale face.

“If I can successfully convince Major Ding within fifteen minutes to manually set a time for the shielding system and destroy the operation records, I can get a few minutes to contact the outside world.”

“Just like this.”

“Yes, just like this.” Guan Haiming sighed and glanced at the time again. “Although I don’t know who gave you the information, the information about the Underground United City should be reliable. My teacher once mentioned that there is a big headquarters there, but he personally doesn’t like it very much.”

“He stayed there 20 months ago. Ruan Xian and Fan Linsong had a falling out. Have you heard of this?”

“No.” Guan Haiming’s tone revealed a bit of surprise. “My teacher and Fan Linsong have a deep friendship, and their relationship has always been pretty good.”

“In other words, you don’t know about the Order Supervisors raid after that?” Ruan Xian paused for a few seconds.

“No.” Guan Haiming frowned, and the familiar irritable aura returned to him. “I can’t figure out why my teacher and Professor Fan had a falling out. They had a lifelong friendship. Professor Fan watched my teacher grow up from childhood…”

The light screen suddenly went out.

“At zero sharp, it seems that the magic has disappeared.” Yu Le started the car again and continued to play music. “That’s Guan Haiming, right? I have heard about him a few times, but I didn’t expect you two to recognize Ruan Xian’s students. What’s the matter? You two said you’re trying to find the headquarters of the rebel army, but you’re actually looking for Ruan Xian.”

“Yes.” Tang Yibu finally stopped digging through his backpack. He stuffed the electronic paper that he dug out casually into Ruan Xian’s hand and actively took over the conversation. “We really didn’t tell Mr. Tu directly. It’s not like we can go up and say ‘please tell us the whereabouts of Ruan Xian’… I don’t think it would be a wise choice.”

“I see.” Yu Le took the bag of dried squid legs from the passenger seat and held it in his mouth like a cigarette. “At least in this way I can safely take you two to the ruins of the rebel army… Err, but how interesting. Xiao Tang, Guan Haiming doesn’t seem to care much about you. What is 231?”

“The code name of a certain thing. We didn’t come to find Ruan Xian empty-handed just to say hello.” Ruan Xian smoothly took over. “Yibu and Guan Haiming don’t have a good relationship, so it’s easier not to meet.”

The squid’s beard swayed up and down beside Lao Yu’s mouth. The former pirate leader glanced at them meaningfully through the rearview mirror and murmured something.

“Mr. Ruan.” Tang Yibu immediately got up from the seat; his voice soft. “Don’t talk about this kind of sore spot. I’m sleepy.”

“Then go to bed.” Ruan Xian picked up the electronic paper he got from the refuge and pretended like he was reading a book. The night outside the window was becoming darker. The iron bead had already fallen asleep on his knees, and it almost rolled to the ground.

“Are you not sleeping?” Tang Yibu’s voice became softer, even a bit coquettish.

‘Truly good at acting,´ Ruan Xian thought.

“…I’ll read the book for a bit.” In order to ensure their safety, Lao Yu turned off the light, so it was extremely dark. The electronic paper emitted a faint light in the dark that just allowed Ruan Xian to see the words clearly.

“Oh, okay.” Tang Yibu curled up his long legs, turned around, and put his head straight into Ruan Xian’s thigh.

The android cruelly pushed off the sleeping iron bead, causing it to slam onto the carpet. It clicked its mouth twice in protest.

The space was narrow. Ruan Xian didn’t try to hide it and just sighed. In the past two days in front of Yu Le, as his disguised lover, Tang Yibu didn’t make any rude acts of intimacy. At most, it was just a hug or rubbing his cheeks, like he was taming a large beast.

He lowered his gaze and faced the golden eyes. Tang Yibu’s slightly long black hair was scattered around his face, and the person was looking at him without blinking.

“What? Do you want to have a bedtime story?” Ruan Xian shook the electronic paper in his hand and grabbed the soft black hair. “From the start, Guan Haiming only gave me theoretical books.”

“You like my eyes and I like your voice. That’s a fair exchange of information.” Tang Yibu squinted his eyes comfortably and almost let out a soft grunt. “Just say something. Anything is fine.”

“Good night,” Ruan Xian said calmly, continuing to look at the electronic paper. Tang Yibu hummed in frustration, turned his head in the direction of Ruan Xian’s knees, and closed his eyes.

In order to monitor Yu Le during the past two days, Tang Yibu never really closed his eyes. After the iron bead rolled to the ground, it slept vigorously in the corner of the carpet. Even mechanical life couldn’t escape the need for sleep. Though Tang Yibu could last a few more days since he had human tissue in him, he would have a similar sense of fatigue.

Now that the environment had stabilized, the android was lying on his lap, soundly asleep. His exposed neck in front of him showed the pale blue of blood vessels that could be faintly seen under his fair skin, giving people the illusion of fragility.

…Very confusing

Ruan Xian gently stroked Tang Yibu’s soft hair for a while, trying not to move, focusing his gaze on the electronic paper in his hand. In fact, he had already read the things in it, so much so that he could recite them backwards, but he needed a prop so that he could think more naturally…

[They had a lifelong friendship. Professor Fan watched my teacher grow up from childhood…]

There was no need for Guan Haiming to lie about this matter.

If the other “Ruan Xian” and Fan Linsong got along happily, this was still within his acceptance range. Even if Professor Ruan claimed that he was happy in his childhood, he could treat it as a beautified speech, but this kind of detail didn’t need to be falsified at all.

Before entering the institute, his understanding of Fan Linsong was limited to his papers and achievements. They had never met, let alone Fan Linsong, who was watching him grow up. It was estimated that only the Citizen Risk Assessment Department would watch him in this way, but even for government agencies, people would work in shifts every few years.

Holding the electronic paper in one hand and Tang Yibu’s strands of black hair in the other, Ruan Xian’s expression became more serious.

What’s more, he had never had a good impression of Fan Linsong. His other “self” didn’t seem to be like him at all.

Time passed. Ruan Xian was still contemplating when Yu Le, in front of him, suddenly slammed on the brakes. The iron bead nestling in the corner slammed into the car wall violently, and Tang Yibu almost rolled off his seat. Amidst the screams of iron bead, the android propped up his body and rubbed his eyes.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Ruan Xian rubbed his sore leg and passed the second half of the sentence with his earring. [There are people nearby, more than a dozen.]

“I knew we didn’t have such good luck.” Yu Le snorted and picked up the gun in one hand. “Arm yourself, boys. I dare not use this car to run over the bastards in front of me.”

“What’s the matter?” Ruan Xian humbly asked.

“A bunch of bastards.” Yu Le grinned. His expression wasn’t like a smile but more like a threat. “They don’t have the guts to go to the Sea of Ruins to pan for gold, and they can’t stay in the Underground City, so they’re stuck out here doing robbery. Didn’t I tell you? If you want to go to the Underground City, this road is the best way.”

“The Mainbrain doesn’t care about this?” Tang Yibu muttered, with a confused drowsiness on his face.

“These bastards won’t last long. After all, there are no supplies, so they can only eat by stealing things. They’re all a bunch of nasty shits.”

It was obvious that Yu Le’s mood had become terrible.

“There won’t be any strong forces that cross the dead wall. It’s ordinary people who engage with ordinary people.”

“An ordinary person is walking here with an enhanced laser cannon.” Tang Yibu patted the car seriously. “Yu Ge, you’re about to lose your life.”

“Fuck them.” Yu Le slapped the steering wheel. “You two have both touched a gun before. I’m staying here to watch the car. Go!”

“…You’re not going?” Ruan Xian protested tactfully, even though he had already guessed the other party’s answer.

“I have to guard the car with my life and can also provide distraction.” Yu Le rolled his eyes. “I’m the only one who can drive this car. You want it to sit here and become a fixed target?”

“Okay.” Tang Yibu yawned and skillfully took a long gun from the back seat. “I want to listen to ten Carol Young songs later.”

“Deal.” Yu Le flicked the door impatiently.

Tang Yibu tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“I like the night, Mr. Ruan.”

Before getting out of the car, Tang Yibu approached Ruan Xian’s right ear and whispered softly, “…Since only humans can’t see at night. Let’s go.”

---

The author has something to say:

Tang: The real get up and go.

Ruan: (Touches head)

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 59: Dangerous Call

Yu Le smoked two cigarettes in the direction of the Sea of Ruins, then closed the window and officially started the car. He adjusted the interior rearview mirror, glanced at the two young people sitting in the back seat, and snorted.

“Thanks to the two of you, I have driving fatigue.” He held the steering wheel with his left hand and used his right hand to point his middle finger at Tang Yibu. “I’ll be bumping into things later…”

“Mr. Tu said that if something happens to this car, he will kill you personally.” Tang Yibu showed that bright and invulnerable smile again and emphasized the word “personally”.

Yu Le cursed in a low voice.

The engine of the heavy armored off-roader hummed lowly, and several operation light screens appeared in Yu Le’s hands. For the captain of the main ship of the Walking Stones, this task was just a trivial matter—Yu Le didn’t even look at it. He clicked on a few screens casually, and the car took a sharp turn and drove away from the Sea of Ruins.

Ruan Xian leaned against the window. The desolate scenery outside the window was dissolved by the night and turned into a paste. They quickly regressed, and the withered vegetation was much the same as the sand and gravel, like a cheap loop cutscene.

After a stuffy day in the ruins of the dilapidated ship, Tang Yibu was much more excited than he was. The android hummed the upside-down version of “Step by Step” again, tore off a piece of soft cloth from the luggage rack, and rubbed the iron bead that was trying to eat the decoration on the back of the chair.

“It would be nice if you could take a bath here,” Tang Yibu commented enthusiastically. He threw the iron bead that had been wiped down to Ruan Xian, and then stuffed all the cherry soda in his bag into the freezer. “I have always wanted to go to Underground United City, and I want to leave with a better impression of it.”

Ruan Xian took the iron bead. The little thing rolled half a circle on his thigh and began to bite the metal button on his sleeve. Ruan Xian tapped the thick shell twice. “You seem to be very interested in everything.”

With Yu Le, they could no longer communicate without scruples. Tang Yibu, at the very least, would no longer speak in his peculiar manner. Ruan Xian stared at Tang Yibu, who was desperately wiping his face with a towel, and slowed down his breathing.

Before arriving at the Underground United City, he must continue to pretend to be in a relationship with the android. It was best to stay calm. If something were to happen, he would kiss or have to kiss him. It was estimated that the healing blood gun wouldn’t be useful in the city.

“Because it’s fresh.” Tang Yibu took some water from the water maker and rubbed the stubborn blood stains on his face. “Each petri dish has its own set of ecology, which makes for a very good adventure.”

When he said this, Tang Yibu wasn’t expressionless. Except for the way he deliberately showed this to Yu Le, his micro-expression became clearer. This weird android really liked this journey. It was as if they were just planning to travel abroad rather than engage in dangerous actions under the nose of the Mainbrain.

“Oh.” Ruan Xian looked out the window and decided to test it from another angle. “I thought you wouldn’t bring the iron bead. After all, it’s useless to you.”

“It wants to be friends with us!” Tang Yibu had “how can you say that” written all over his face, sounding a little shocked. “It’s different from Yu Le. The recipe basically doesn’t overlap with ours. Since there’s no conflict of interest, as the saying goes, good company on the road is the shortest cut*.”

*(多个朋友多条路) Proverb that means traveling alone can seem much longer than when you do it in pleasant company.

Ruan Xian began to have a headache. Yu Le, in the driver’s seat, gave a loud huff. “At least Yu Le, whose recipe seems to overlap with yours, can drive. Apart from rattling, can this thing even fart? Not everywhere would have a dangerous thing like the Annihilation Point.”

The iron bead screeched, jumped up and slammed into the bulletproof glass, causing it to crack.

Yu Le: “……”

“Mr. Yu, according to Tu Rui’s love for this car, I think the damage just now is worth a punch.” Tang Yibu touched the shell of the iron bead approvingly. The latter made a grunting sound, and the three eyes in the gap stared at Yu Le tightly.

“Don’t encourage it.” Ruan Xian rubbed his temples. “It’s not good for anyone if the glass breaks. Mr. Yu is already reaching for his gun.”

The iron bead made a series of angry rattling noises.

“I don’t think it likes us coming and going every day.” Tang Yibu leaned over and touched the iron bead lying on Ruan Xian’s thigh. “We have to give it a name.”

“I think ‘asshole’ is good,” Yu Le muttered, causing the iron bead to smack into the glass again, adding a brand-new crack into the bulletproof glass.

“Do you have any ideas, Mr. Ruan?” Tang Yibu ignored Yu Le and blinked at Ruan Xian. “After all, people… Ahem, everyone likes to name things.”

“I have no thoughts. I haven’t raised anything before.” Ruan Xian turned his head and looked out the window again.

After thinking about it carefully, he didn’t seem to have much of his own. Of course, he had money and assets that were worth more than what ordinary people could ever save in their lives, but he didn’t have the time or chance to spend it—

Although the rooms of the institute were arranged according to his wishes, they were specially disinfected by the people who come and go every day. After the age of twenty-five, his condition deteriorated further, and he basically wouldn’t step out of the building of the institute. His body slowly and irrevocably weakened, and the three meals a day gradually decreased, and in the end, only specially treated fluid food was left or he simply was infused with medicine to maintain his necessary nutrition.

The assets in his account were increasing rapidly, but his life was getting paler.

Later, NUL-00 was basically his only remaining subject of conversation. As the top figure in the institute, because of his appalling appearance and bad health, no one dared to speak loudly in front of him, let alone communicate bluntly.

And he didn’t even name NUL-00. It was just a system number of the project. If he could do it all over again, maybe he would give it a special name. He never even asked what it thought about it…

“Oh…” Tang Yibu sighed slightly, pulling him out of his memories. “In other words, it’s just you and me, iron bead. Now, I’ll come up with a name. If you like it, rattle three times. If you don’t like it, rattle once.”

Ruan Xian turned his head. Tang Yibu picked up the iron bead with both hands, raised it in front of him, and looked at its three little eyes.

“Tanghulu.”

“Gwah.”

“Tangyuan.”

“Gwah.”

“Profiterole.”

“Gwah…”

“Sesame Ball.”

“Gwah!”

“It’s starting to tremble.” Ruan Xian couldn’t watch it anymore, so he kindly prompted. “You sound like you really want to eat it.”

“But it’s spherical,” Tang Yibu said solemnly, trying to look at the iron bead. “Those names sound much better than iron bead.”

“You mean ‘much more delicious’… Forget it. Let me think about it too.” Ruan Xian pinched the center of his brows, then tapped the iron bead with his knuckle. “π*, how about this name? At least it’s a little bit related to a sphere.”

*Spelled Pi but pronounced like pie, it’s a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle circumference to its diameter, approximately 3.14… It’s an infinite number. || Technically, a circle and a sphere are different, but nevertheless related.

“Gwah, gwah, gwah!” the iron bead hurriedly affirmed.

“Then π it is.” Ruan Xian shrugged. “It likes the name.”

“Strictly speaking, this pronunciation is also a kind of food.” Tang Yibu didn’t object. “You just added to the package.”

“Let me interrupt.” Yu Le turned his head solemnly and interrupted the conversation. “Did you two just graduate from kindergarten?”

The iron bead that just got its name smacked into the bulletproof glass wall for the third time. Yu Le swallowed the freshly baked rice-shaped crackers he was eating before continuing, “When I didn’t say… Forget it, let’s talk about something serious. How old are you two?”

“More than 28.” Ruan Xian spoke straightforwardly. In a sense, this was indeed true. After smacking into the glass, the iron bead crawled back into Ruan Xian’s thigh and laid down angrily.

“25 years old.” Tang Yibu lied seriously.

“It’s nice to be young that you can make mistakes in front of your target.” Yu Le played with his tongue for a while. “Old people like me are envious. Laozi’s 36. I’ll be called Yu Ge from now on. You hear me?”

“At this rate, we will be able to reach the border of the Underground City in about four days. Coupled with the time to search for the remnants of the rebel army, it will take half a month to complete the plan. Does your “from now on” refer to this time period?” Tang Yibu spoke with bad intentions as he stared at the rice cracker.

“Fuck you and your four days. I’m going to sleep!”

“I’ll drive for you if you’ll authorize me—”

“Dream on!” Yu Le snapped, then flicked the floating music icon skillfully. Bach’s music floated out and Yu Le’s face became painfully visible to the naked eye. “Damn Tu Rui…”

He operated his metal wristband with one hand for a while, and less than ten seconds later, the Bach music in the car turned into an explicit love song as moans rang out. Lao Yu let out a long sigh and shook his head to the beat.

“Is there a Carol Young song?” Tang Yibu began to request.

Yu Le glared at him and mumbled vaguely.

“Is there a Carol Young song, Yu Ge?” Tang Yibu knew well when to advance and when to retreat.

“When this album is finished, I’ll play one for you. Kid your taste is quite popular,” Yu Le said with satisfaction. “Driving in the middle of the night is also boring. Accompany me for a while, and I will play you five songs.”

Tang Yibu nodded quickly. Ruan Xian tore open a bag of beef jerky and had no intention of joining the conversation. Unfortunately, Yu Le didn’t let him off easily—he didn’t know if it was because of curiosity or suspicion that the former captain of the Walking Stones picked a rather deadly topic.

“How did you two meet?” From this angle, they could only see the back of Yu Le’s head and the sharp eyes in the rearview mirror. “It’s not just me. You two are excellent quality. Most of the people who can survive these days are crooked melons and cracked dates*. Occasionally, there are a few beauties who want stability, so they pair with those crooked melons and cracked dates. Not to mention the fact that homosexuals are even rarer, and that both sides have top appearance. Did you meet before the end of the world? Or…?”

*(歪瓜裂枣) Idiom referring to something that’s ugly.

Ruan Xian became alert instantly. Not to mention that he still didn’t know much about the world, due to his physical factors, his love experience was completely zero. Not only that, Yu Le was an experienced human. He was afraid he would expose his horse’s feet* with just a few sentences.

*(露马脚) Metaphor referring to giving oneself away/exposing the hidden truths.

He stopped chewing, looked at Tang Yibu, and made his voice sound lazy. “You tell him, Yibu.”

“After the end of the world.” Tang Yibu accepted the topic very naturally. His eyes slightly bent because of a smile. “It was just such a coincidence. Didn’t I tell you that I came out of Petri Dish No. 1036?”

“Uh-huh, I heard Tu Rui mention this.”

“At that time, I was looking for some kind of valuable resource outside, but I met Mr. Ruan, who had just crawled out of a dormant warehouse. At that time, he was still recovering from hibernation, and he couldn’t even stand. I took him back to the base and became acquainted with him.”

“Wow, the hero saves a beauty.”

Ruan Xian’s face was a little stiff. Tang Yibu’s words were half-true and half-false, but it was easy for him to follow.

“In short, we develop a relationship, and our personalities are quite compatible. After going through so many scruples, things just happened.” Tang Yibu touched the back of Ruan Xian’s head. “That’s all.”

“How did you pass the time?” Yu Le persisted. “Xiao Ruan, you can continue. How the hell did you two get along? You don’t seem to be the type who’s willing to make promises, so why do you like this annoying kid? If you want to dump him one day, I can also consider a man…”

“I’m starting to find him annoying.” Ruan Xian swallowed the beef jerky in his mouth and spoke calmly. “I was terribly weak at the time, and the first thing he did was kiss me.”

Since Tang Yibu threw this deck of cards over, he could catch it.

“That’s because of your body… You needed artificial respiration!” Tang Yibu cried aggrieved, though he wondered if the grievance was actually fake.

“That doesn’t prevent me from finding you annoying. In addition, not many men like to be held in the arms of another man.”

“Hey, that’s too much. It’s not like I can drag or carry—”

Ruan Xian smiled. The content and reaction of this conversation were extremely smooth, and no one could pick out anything suspicious.

“It’s true that we met like that. It wasn’t very pleasant.” Ruan Xian spread his hands at Yu Le. “As for why I like him? Later, I found out that he’s an unexpectedly simple person. Once, when an attack was about to happen, this fool dragged me to dance in the ruins. I know he didn’t think too much about it, but that… felt good.”

“Oh, seems like it’s mutual, Xiao Tang.” Yu Le whistled.

“Also, I like his eyes. That’s all.” Ruan Xian threw another piece of jerky into his mouth and stuffed the plastic bag to π on his knee.

“Do you like my eyes?” Tang Yibu pressed his face closer. “You never mentioned it to me—”

“Don’t be too proud.” Ruan Xian pushed the android’s face away. “I confessed and he accepted it. I also have no plans to change boyfriends for the time being. Is there anything else you want to ask? I’m just telling you upfront, if you ask any more, there’s only adult paid content left.”

“Oh, what a pity.” Yu Le accelerated his driving speed.

While Ruan Xian lay back in his chair, Tang Yibu leaned his head over again and quickly rubbed his cheek.

“Do you really like my eyes?” The android continued with interest.

“Shut up.”

“Then I’ll keep watching you more,” Tang Yibu replied happily. “Besides, I won’t get tired of it.”

Ruan Xian stopped breathing for a moment, then he smiled at Tang Yibu with a perfect lover’s smile and continued to eat the jerky in the bag.

Lao Yu rolled his eyes. He pulled up a song list for a while and put on Carol Young’s “Farewell Without Saying Goodbye”. He slammed on the steering wheel. The time was approaching midnight.

“Look, that’s the dead wall of Petri Dish No. 1036 over there.”

He nodded to the right side of the car with his unshaven chin. The dark, dead wall was almost swallowed up by the night.

“A few kilometers further, this wall is regarded as the dead wall of the Underground City. There are marshes and mountains separating it from the petri dish. To get to the Underground City, the Sea of Ruins is the safest way. Otherwise, you have to choose the mountains, sea routes, or No. 1489…”

Before he finished speaking, there was a beep from Ruan Xian’s electronic wristband.

“Whoa, is there still a signal here? This is new.” As soon as Lao Yu stepped on the brakes, the vehicle slowly stopped in the wilderness. “Pick it up?”

Ruan Xian scanned the name on the light screen, turned around, and excluded Tang Yibu from the scanning range of the light screen.

His back was sweating slightly.

Guan Haiming’s name jumped on the light screen, but he obviously shouldn’t have the ability to send signals outside the dead wall. They just got away with it under Yu Le’s noses, and another test appeared…

In Guan Haiming’s mind, Tang Yibu wasn’t his sweet boyfriend, but a STR-Y type 307a231 with almost no sense of autonomy.

Things were about to get troublesome.

---

The author has something to say：

Tang: You like my eyes!

Tang: (Stares hard)

Ruan: ……_(:з”∠)_

——

The iron bead finally has a name. Congratulations! XD

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 58: Departure

The night temperature in the wasteland wasn’t high.

The hull, half-buried in the sand, barely blocked the wind. Tang Yibu dragged the cushions buried in the pit into the ship, piled up the wreckage of the furniture lying to the side of the ship, and made a simple bed that looked a bit like a bird’s nest.

He lay in first and rolled over in the middle of the cushion to make sure it was secure. Then the android placed the bulging bag full of food on the side away from Yu Le and stretched out his slender arms.

“Sleep for a bit, Mr. Ruan.” He patted his side skillfully. “It’s important to accumulate physical strength.”

“I also want to sleep for a while.” Yu Le’s tone was firm.

“Someone has to keep night watch, Captain Yu.” Tang Yibu patted the bed again. “And I think your adrenaline… No, after almost dying, you have a very high probability of insomnia.”

“Some people sleep with their sweethearts, and some people keep a corpse under their ass as they keep night watch. That’s fair.” Yu Le tore open the bag of dried fish and put some in his mouth. “Guess what? I’m starting to miss Tu Rui.”

Ruan Xian didn’t participate in this conversation. The sense of relaxation from achieving his goal swept through his spirit. He climbed onto the cushion, but instead of lying down beside Tang Yibu, he turned his back and curled up on the edge of the cushion, supporting himself.

He didn’t like his hazy thoughts.

Once he knew the principle of things, those romantic imaginations would no longer have room to survive. Ruan Xian knew the source of his vague affection. Tang Yibu was strong enough, and his gestures were filled with subtle inhumanity. Right now, though he had dropped his disguise in front of Yu Le, Ruan Xian could still see the familiar indifference in those golden eyes.

It wasn’t the suspension bridge effect. It wasn’t the attraction to appearance. He just gradually cleared the fog and saw the sense of security that he longed for for years and the possibility that his life hadn’t existed from the beginning.

Something brilliant and free.

Just like a beast in a cage that had been kept for many years, seeing its wild kind, longing, envy, and craving were mixed with some emotions that he didn’t understand, which made his throat bitter, and he instinctively wanted to get closer.

But no.

Beautiful things are often toxic, and he must not let himself indulge in them. Tang Yibu was still the unknown and dangerous Tang Yibu, and this had never changed.

The night wind was whizzing in from the crack half a meter away. Ruan Xian tightened his body, trying to reduce heat loss. The cold iron bead was leaning against his ankles, snoring comfortably. The cool touch of metal made him shiver.

This time, two arms attacked from behind him. Considering that Yu Le might be watching, Ruan Xian forcibly suppressed his aggressive act of resistance. Tang Yibu effortlessly pulled the other party into his arms, holding him in a possessive posture and making a satisfied grunt from his throat.

If he were to replace himself with a large can of sugar water, most likely Tang Yibu’s behavior wouldn’t change much, Ruan Xian thought. This idea so successfully entertained him that it made him laugh softly.

He could feel Tang Yibu pressing the tip of his nose against the top of his hair, sniffing lightly and then sneezing a little. He listened to the other party’s breathing. It was steady and strong, but those long legs moved restlessly under the thin cloth trying to keep out the cold. Tang Yibu was pretending to be asleep, probably so he could better test Yu Le.

Come to think of it, he should probably do it too.

Ruan Xian rolled over and laid down face-to-face with the android. Even at this distance, he still couldn’t pick out anything wrong with Tang Yibu’s face. It could be seen that when the android perfected his body as an “energy supply device” for himself, he carefully considered the aesthetics of humans.

How cunning.

Those bright golden eyes were tightly closed, their eyelashes were long, and they trembled slightly. Ruan Xian couldn’t help but quietly stretch out his hand and approach Tang Yibu’s face, feeling the warm breath full of vitality.

Seeing Ruan Xian being dragged away, the iron bead stretched out its four thin legs from the holes in its shell, then squeezed into the gap between the two entangled legs and began to snore again.

A mechanical life, a strange species that had flourished in the past ten years.

The desire to find the other “Ruan Xian” as soon as possible was becoming stronger, but Ruan Xian didn’t know what kind of result he wanted. If he wanted to choose one among things like “ontology”, “clones”, and “android” belonging to mechanical life…

Click.

Yu Le was really not an honest man. Seeing that the two people on the cushion didn’t move much, the captain of the Walking Stones stood up quietly, walked around Tang Yibu lightly, and stretched out his hands to the backpack full of food.

Tang Yibu turned over and grabbed it, and instantly pinned Yu Le, who was much taller than him, to the ground. The latter was still holding a half-piece of Snickers in his hand as he kept swearing.

“I’m fucking starving to death! That dried fish is not enough to feed a cat.” Yu Le, whose face was slapped into the mud, tilted his head and spat out a few mouthfuls of dirt. “Damn, when Tu Rui comes tomorrow, this will be settled!”

Ruan Xian turned over again, turning his back to the two of them, and smoothed the smile at the corner of his mouth with his hand.

The next day, Yu Le’s complaint didn’t go well. When he first saw Tu Rui wearing bandages, it was like he was coming to greet the pirates’ ancestors of Elysium for eighteen generations.

“Two riots. One happened when you left yesterday and another one when we were doing a ship burial for you. Dozens of laborers with a low degree of addiction were persuaded by us to go to the Walking Stones, while the rest were still unwilling to submit. That kid named Feng Jiang took advantage of us when we went to the Annihilation Point to hold your ship’s burial and detached the main ship of Elysium from our main ship.”

Tu Rui shook his bandaged arm, indicating that he was fine. In order not to attract the attention of the Mainbrain, he picked a late night, disguised himself, and came here alone. To avoid the scans, he put a lot of meat from the meat incubator on his body and dressed himself up as a fat man who smelled extremely fishy.

“It’s my fault. We moved most of the supplies, and I thought no one would do anything with a broken ship that needs urgent maintenance…”

“You’re just not greedy enough.” Yu Le beat his chest and paused. “What happened to the broken ship? It’s very big. Did you move supplies? Didn’t you cleanly take all the daily necessities? My captain Tu, if I had really died yesterday, what would happen to the Walking Stones…”

“There were preventive measures, but they also had experts on their side. Still…” Tu Rui smiling face twitched. “Oh, don’t you know that you can’t easily die?”

“Didn’t I have an awesome death? You found two fucking little monsters that threw laozi into the mud like a fish. Laozi’s back is still hurting right now.”

“Do you still have the face to complain?” Tu Rui looked like he wanted to take out a knife.

“…Forget it, forget it. Don’t mention it. Can you handle the deserters from Elysium?” Yu Le snickered and changed the subject.

“I can handle it.” Tu Rui sighed fiercely, glancing at Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu not far away. He poked at the raw meat stuck to his body in disgust. “This outfit can avoid the primary scan at most. I have to go back as soon as possible. To make a long story short, Lao Yu, these two boys want to find the headquarters of the rebel army and add a blockage to the Mainbrain. I made a little deal with them…”

“Let them save me, and then I will take them to the ruins of the previous rebel headquarters?” Yu Le curled his lips. “I don’t know about you… Come on, isn’t it in the Underground United City?”

Tu Rui finally showed a relaxed expression. “Yeah, your mind is not so annoying.”

“I understand. After all, these two little monsters are likely to abandon me halfway. They don’t even feed me.” Yu Le finally remembered what he was going to complain about, “You have to give me some weapons and food. Just for me, with my name written on them—”

“Fuck off.” Tu Rui refused coldly. “Weapons are indispensable, and you can’t even protect your own food. Don’t bother going to the Underground United City. It’s faster if you just commit suicide directly.”

After speaking, he shook his head and snapped his fingers.

Another modified off-road vehicle drilled out of the optical camouflage cloth and drove automatically in front of the four people. The dark gray door slowly opened and Yu Le took a deep breath.

Ruan Xian knew a little about the vehicle and could see that the prototype of the vehicle in front of him was an armored off-road vehicle. Tu Rui removed all enjoyment arrangements, including wine cabinets and soft blankets, and only kept the freezer that could keep medicines and necessities, and added a simple water maker, a generator, and special weapons cabinets. Including the driver and co-pilot, there were three rows of seats in the car, which could seat at least six people.

“There are other arrangements in it. You can take a look.” Tu Rui shrugged. “Lao Yu, I know that your car is very important to you, but to be honest, your remodeling skills aren’t very good. Take a look at this—This is the result of all the top mechanics I found in the Walking Stones when I asked them to modify my car. All my savings over the years have been fucking drained! Listen, if you mess up this car, even if you come back, I’ll kill you myself.”

Yu Le just slapped the sturdy metal outer wall of the vehicle with his palm as he whistled.

“Oh my god.” It took a long time before he spat out trembling words. “How the hell did you save this much in the past few years… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s awesome!” Seeing Tu Rui started cracking his fingers, Yu Le immediately changed his tone.

“I have prepared all the basic supplies that can be used, but I haven’t been in contact with Underground City for a few years, so I don’t know what it’s like there now. When you get to the city, you have to adapt and mix in on your own.” Tu Rui kicked Yu Le’s ass and rolled his eyes.

Tang Yibu was the first to get into the car and touched it happily. He pounded the console for a while and stretched out his head suspiciously. “The power supply system of the console is locked.”

“Only Yu Le’s and my palmprint can unlock it.” Tu Rui smiled. “This car can only be driven by Yu Le.”

Are you serious? Ruan Xian wiped his face. As soon as he said this, even if Tang Yibu had the ability to crack the system firewall of this car, in order to retain his strength, this car had to be driven by Yu Le or this old man himself.

It seemed that Tu Rui’s approach of “delivering the remaining information” was very wise. Tang Yibu secretly glanced at Yu Le, with “abandon his ass” written on his left cheek and “steal it” written on his right.

“Thank you.” Ruan Xian shook hands with Tu Rui casually. Tang Yibu reluctantly touched the console twice and jumped out of the car.

Yu Le looked like he had won a jackpot. He happily sat in the driver’s seat, touched a gun from the glove compartment, and saw a pile of food on the co-pilot’s seat. Then he raised the bulletproof glass wall between the driver’s seat and the back seat.

“Thanks, brother.” He opened the car window and leaned against the window with one arm. “Then I’ll go to the Underground United City for two laps and come back in half a year?”

“It’s only been more than a year and you’re already on the list. I’m not so unlucky as you. Be safe and take at least a year.” Tu Rui gestured. “Be careful on the road and take good care of my car.”

“I remember the signal from the driver’s seat! Maybe there is something new in the Underground United City. Wait for me to contact you…”

Tu Rui nodded in relief.

“…I will send you the photo of the girl I know.” Yu Le paused, and finally finished the second half of the sentence.

The deputy captain of the Walking Stones—or rather the new captain—began to exude a murderous aura again.

“Let’s go.” Seeing that the dialogue between the two sides had come to an end, Ruan Xian patted Tang Yibu, who was standing beside him. “Before it’s dawn, we should leave the area around the Sea of Ruins.”

“Nn.” Tu Rui simply agreed.

There was no reluctant farewell. Tu Rui put away the optical camouflage cloth, started the small hoverbike covered under it, and the disguised bloated body gradually disappeared into the night.

Yu Le leaned against the window, took an unlit cigarette, and watched his friend leave. After Tu Rui’s figure disappeared, he looked in that direction for a while.

“Wait.” As soon as Ruan Xian was about to get into the car, Tang Yibu grabbed his coat.

Tang Yibu chose an angle that Yu Le couldn’t see and put the iron bead in his arms down on the ground. Just like the first time they met, Tang Yibu put his hand on the round shell of the iron bead, and the outline of his palm lit up with a circle of blue light.

[What are you doing?] After glancing at Yu Le, who was still in the driver’s seat in a daze, Ruan Xian asked directly using the earring.

“Changing its program.” Tang Yibu mouthed his words without making a sound. “Do you remember? I tricked it and made it think that I’m its kind. Now I’m doing again.”

[……]

“I told it that we are leaving here soon. Now it can choose by itself, return to its own kind, or…”

The iron bead lay dumbfounded on the ground. It turned to Tang Yibu for a while, then to Ruan Xian, with a puzzled rattling in its mouth. Ten seconds later, it catapulted and returned firmly to Tang Yibu’s head.

“It seems that it wants to go together with us.” This time, Ruan Xian spoke out without hesitation.

“I don’t understand.” Tang Yibu held the iron bead in both hands and removed it from his head. “It was originally caught in the Sea of Ruins, and there must be many of its kind in the wasteland.”

“…Living with the same kind may not necessarily be a good thing.”

Ruan Xian turned his back and got into the car to make sure Tang Yibu couldn’t see his expression.

“It just wants to go with you. Sometimes this kind of thing doesn’t need a reason.”

---

The author has something to say:

Set off to a new area—!

Yu Le: Hehe, I don’t believe laozi can’t cure these two young people.

Yu Le: ……

Yu Le: They can’t be cured. _(:з”∠)_

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 57: Body Heat

Yu Le gulped in the net.

From here, he could see the Sea of Ruins in the distance, and the distance was indeed within the fishing range of the net. However, the strange thing was that he couldn’t figure out how this young man, surnamed Ruan, managed to get himself out.

With the momentum and cushion of the net casting tool, it was feasible to throw a set of nets over people. While the calculation time was barely feasible, the problem lies in other factors…

Let’s not talk about how the other party was able to lock onto him from such a long distance. If his car door wasn’t knocked open by a stone, the net would fix itself around the car and pull him together with the car. Even if the smoke from the bombs covered the view, the Order Supervisors were close at hand and would surely find him. The route to the impact of the aircraft from him was also temporarily planned, and it was impossible even for someone as smart as Tu Rui to send the bombs to the designated place… This was still under the premise that Tu Rui even knew what he was planning.

In other words, this newcomer and the forces behind him—no matter what force it was—determined his intentions in just ten minutes, and threw equipment and manpower to this location and detonated the explosion at the right time and place. Along with that, they made sure that his car flew into the range where the net could catch him.

Everything just sounded like one big joke.

Yu Le irritably broke free from the big net stuck to his body and looked around vigilantly, but he didn’t find the support troops he had imagined. There was only Ruan Lijie and the screaming iron bead in front of him. Tang Yibu, who was usually stuck to him, wasn’t there.

“Where’s the kid surnamed Tang?”

“He has to ensure the Order Supervisors confirms that you’re dead and throw the body of an adult male into the car. Fortunately, there are quite a few on Elysium. The explosion caused by the shuttle agent will completely destroy human tissue, so don’t worry.” Ruan Xian opened the net of the mouth and Yu Le awkwardly crawled out.

The captain of the Walking Stones still carried fragments of the porn magazine on his body. He still subconsciously hugged the bottle of wine that hadn’t break in his arms.

“How many people are behind you? Where did you get this information from?” Yu Le obviously didn’t have much joy despite being alive. He immediately lowered his face and stared at Ruan Xian’s eyes. “What are you planning on by saving me? There’s a bunch of useless ordinary people in the Walking Stones, including me.”

“There’s only the two of us. As for the information… Tu Rui knows that there are modified off-road vehicles in the warehouse on the top of the ship, and you don’t seem to be the type who would escape in embarrassment. In addition to taking the car to stick it to the Order Supervisors, you could also rush directly to the Annihilation Point to commit suicide. But when you started the car and raised the front of it, there was only one possibility left.”

Ruan Xian packed up the net and dragged Yu Le into the wreckage of a ship from Elysium that was torn to pieces by Tang Yibu.

“As for our purpose, someone will help me explain it.”

“Two loopholes.” Yu Le’s face was still tense. He narrowed his eyes at Ruan Xian, who was deliberately staying away from the corpse, and sat down next to the honeycomb corpse nonchalantly. “Unlike the Order Supervisors, we can’t scan the Sea of Ruins to track specific people. You don’t know that I would enter the warehouse, and it’s impossible for Tang Yibu to quickly arrange bombs in the right place to blow up the car.”

Ruan Xian twitched the corners of his mouth.

Although he could fully use the ability of the S-type Prototype to detect everything, he still had to pretend enough on the surface to not reveal this. Yu Le was very shrewd, so they weren’t stupid enough to expose all their abilities from the very beginning.

“That’s why Tu Rui will call you. Without a powerful scanning system like the Mainbrain, a simple call could locate your position. Tang Yibu, on the other hand… Considering that we won’t be in contact with you again, you don’t need to know the status of our equipment.”

“Equipment?” Yu Le hummed, noncommittal.

“You don’t have to thank us. I understand.” Ruan Xian hugged the iron bead that was still yelping at Yu Le in his arms and petted the shell to appease it. “I also have no obligation to explain my lover’s background.”

Yu Le reluctantly smiled. He stretched out his hand and rubbed the dirt next to the corpse, and his whole being fell silent. Ruan Xian had no intention of extending the conversation. He was enjoying the rare peace comfortably.

Just when the air began to thicken because of the endless silence, there was another noise not far away. Yu Le stood up cautiously while Ruan Xian just sighed—The android who would mess everything up had just arrived.

“The cushion is leaking a bit.” Tang Yibu’s entire body was smeared with smoke, and his hands were covered with blood. He squeezed into the wreckage and sat down beside Ruan Xian without hesitation, instantly dirtying Ruan Xian’s white coat.

The vigilance in Yu Le’s eyes increased a bit.

“Hurt your hand?” Ruan Xian glanced at Tang Yibu’s blood-stained hands.

“If I said yes, would you kiss me?”

The vigilance in Yu Le’s eyes changed a bit.

“…No,” Ruan Xian responded dryly.

“Okay, this is not my blood. It was just stained when I was moving the body.” Tang Yibu glanced at Yu Le, who was a few steps away, and admitted with a little loss. “But I did get a lot of corrosion damage from the exploding shuttle agent… Well, I’m not in a good mood. Are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

“Enough.” Yu Le decisively interrupted the conversation. “I’m waiting for your explanation, Ruan Lijie. I don’t want to be left here. If the Order Supervisors find out that I’m not dead…”

“I won’t put the corpse in the wrong place. Besides, to them, you’re just a bigger bug, and they will not be too concerned about the corpses destroyed by the shuttle agent,” Tang Yibu responded impartially.

“Then I need to know the status of the Walking Stones.” Yu Le narrowed his eyes. “Tu Rui’s involved in this matter, right?”

“Of course.” Tang Yibu took out a canned food from his backpack, opened it carefully, and then solemnly placed it on Ruan Xian’s thigh. “This is peaches in sugar water, Mr. Ruan. You can kiss me after eating…”

“Enough!” Yu Le couldn’t bear it. “Fuck, are you in such a rush to make out? I want to get down to business!”

Ruan Xian fed the lid of the can to the iron bead. Seeing the little thing happily chewing on the metal, he unceremoniously ate the peaches and nodded towards Tang Yibu.

“Okay, I’ll tell you the status of the Walking Stones.”

Time turned back to a little while ago.

Thirty minutes ago, on the main ship of Elysium.

The scarlet light screen that received the vote disappeared in front of Feng Jiang. His heart was pounding, and his fingertips were still stuck in the position of Yu Le’s name. Elysium, which was being dragged behind by the Walking Stones, was even more unstable during the trip causing Feng Jiang to injure his arm. He stuck himself to a shelf in front of a window to avoid the deterioration of his injury.

He originally planned to vote for Zhou Dahui in accordance with the instructions. But Duan Lili’s voice lingered in his ears, and he just couldn’t press the name in front of the light screen.

Duan Lili was too friendly, so he had never doubted her, but now she had proven it with her life—In the turbulence, the poor girl’s body slipped to the first floor. The beautiful eyes that had lost their vitality were wide open, and her face was full of fear. There was a big hole in her chest, and he wasn’t sure if the mob had done it.

He shouldn’t have doubted. What kind of Order Supervisor would die with such fear on their face?

Duan Lili was just an unfortunate girl, and he didn’t have time to take her away from this terrible ship, even if she saved his life. Feng Jiang felt sour in his heart. Not long after he joined the rebel army, they suffered the biggest defeat in history, and he seemed destined to be unable to protect anyone.

The man standing in front of him in the queue was swearing loudly as he picked Yu Le’s name. Feng Jiang closed his eyes in pain, lowered his hands, and crawled in the direction of Duan Lili’s body while the hull became stable.

“I’m sorry,” he said to her as he tremblingly stretched out his hand and closed her eyes, which were still wide open.

“Do you know my sister?” A voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Feng Jiang turned his head abruptly.

A thin and handsome young man was standing a few steps away from him. His face was full of fatigue and sadness. The red light screen was still floating next to him, indicating this person hadn’t yet voted.

“Duan Lili is your sister?” Feng Jiang’s voice became dry.

“Yes, I have been looking for her for a long time, and I only arrived at the Sea of Ruins yesterday.” The young man sounded helpless and at a loss. His eyes flushed, and tears were about to fall. “They told me my sister was here. I thought… she would be safe…”

He cleared his throat and suppressed the cry in his voice.

“My name is Duan Feng.” The young man’s eyebrows were very similar to Duan Lili’s. “I was a pharmacist before the end of the world. I originally thought that when I came, I could use my skills to make my sister live a better life…”

He finally burst into tears.

“Feng Jiang. Just returned from the rebel army.” Feng Jiang stretched out his uninjured hand and shook hands with the young man. “Your sister is a very kind girl. She saved my life.”

Hearing the “rebel army”, Duan Feng, who still had tears on his face, became a little surprised.

“I should have saved her. I could’ve persuaded her to leave with me.” Feng Jiang’s voice became hoarse. “I am responsible for this matter.”

Feng Jiang was silent for a few minutes, and finally opened his mouth. “What should we do now? After voting for Zhou Dahui, we all have to go to the Walking Stones, right?”

Duan Feng wiped the tears from his face. “But… the Walking Stone is my sister’s enemy, right?”

“……Sort of.”

Duan Feng quickly chose Yu Le’s name, numbly watching the light screen disappear in front of him.

“Whether Yu Le is dead or not, I won’t go to the Walking Stones.” His voice was soft but firm. “This is the place my sister wants to protect, and I will… find a way to rebuild it.”

Feng Jiang clenched his fists and sighed slowly.

“I’m with you. Are you willing?” He said. “I’ll definitely repay your sister’s kindness. There’s no humanity at all on the Walking Stones, and these people will go through very painful rehab treatment, but if we intervene in time, I think we will get more support… There are not so many people loyal to the Walking Stones.”

As he said it, he aimed his sight in the direction of Lei Ge.

“Really?” Duan Feng was taken aback. He twitched his nose, and the tip of his nose was slightly red. “Of course, I am! Thank you, thank you… Sister, she would be very happy.”

“Just like you are good at managing drugs, I am good at managing people.” Feng Jiang smiled reluctantly. “The captain has the risk of being voted to death, so you’ll be the deputy captain.”

“I like the position of deputy captain.” Duan Feng scratched his nose. “Just like my sister.”

He stepped forward and gave Feng Jiang a big hug. Feng Jiang patted the young man on the back, but from an angle he couldn’t see, his future deputy captain instantly put away all emotions and was expressionless.

Five minutes ago, on the main ship of the Walking Stones.

After receiving the news of the success of Tang Yibu’s action, Tu Rui collapsed on the chair. He buried his face in his hands and made a few sounds that he didn’t know whether he was laughing or crying. The ups and downs of his mood made him sweat all over and his body was still shaking.

“We fulfilled our promise.” Tang Yibu, standing in front of him, wrinkled his nose, as if he didn’t like what he said. “Mr. Tu, before I leave here, it’s time to tell us the agreed information. If you lie to us…”

“No, I will give you a hostage.” Tu Rui waved his hand weakly.

“Hostage?”

“Go southeast and cross the dead wall. It’s Petri Dish No. 1315. We’re used to calling it the Underground United City. It’s one of the most stable petri dishes with the largest number of people under the Mainbrain.” Tu Rui unscrewed a bottle of water and gulped down half the water inside before he could completely calm down. “There is a wilderness all around here. It’s impossible for Yu Le to survive outside for a long time, and if he comes back, he’s likely to be discovered again. There’s an anti-scanning machine in the Underground United City that can perform full-body plastic surgery. He can choose to come back after a while, or he can settle there.”

Having said that, Tu Rui glanced at Tang Yibu, who was covered in soot. The latter simply hummed, indicating that he was still listening.

“Yu Le’s funeral will be held tomorrow, and I will find a way to send you transportation. 20 months ago, the general headquarters of the rebel army was near the Underground United City. This is the information you want.”

“According to you, this is a petri dish that occupies a huge area. I have heard that large petri dishes have an area that can be the size of a small province.” Tang Yibu raised his arms. “This range is quite large, so the information isn’t anything exclusive.”

“I talked to Yu Le about this. When you send him to the Underground United City, he can take you there.” Tu Rui wiped his glasses, and his voice was still steady. “Sorry, I have to consider the possibility of you leaving him halfway. Yes, I know that this approach may cause unhappiness between the two of you… I will try my best to provide the materials you want as compensation.”

A series of sirens sounded from the main ship of Elysium, and Tu Rui frowned. “For the rest of the questions, I’ll answer tomorrow. I have to deal with an emergency.”

……

“When I left, the situation of the Walking Stones was like this.”

Tang Yibu, whose stomach was grumbling, snatched the last two peaches in the can and drank all the sugar water. Ruan Xian pouted and acquiesced to the other party’s behavior.

“The Underground United City.” Yu Le glanced at the big bag behind Tang Yibu and touched his chin habitually.

“I have no opinion,” Tang Yibu said with a muffled voice as he threw the empty can at the iron bead circling at his feet. “What about you, Mr. Ruan?”

“How long will it take to go to the Underground United City?” Ruan Xian tapped his thigh quickly with his fingers.

“On foot will be half a month, but my deputy captain won’t let us walk. I guess it’ll be about a week.” Yu Le raised his chin towards Tang Yibu. “Kid, you brought a lot of food? I’m hungry. Give me some.”

Tang Yibu stiffened his face and pretended not to hear.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Give him some, Tang Yibu.” Ruan Xian rubbed his forehead. “Tu Rui will send supplies tomorrow.”

“Our appetites are bigger than the average person, and I still have injuries. We must consider the allocation of resources.” Tang Yibu guarded the backpack behind him very solemnly. “Besides, an adult can go hungry…”

Ruan Xian held the android’s cheeks with both hands and took the initiative to kiss him.

“What about now?” After a deep kiss, Ruan Xian asked calmly.

“…Oh.” Tang Yibu opened his backpack solemnly and threw Yu Le a small bag of dried fish.

Yu Le: “……”

The expression of the captain of the Walking Stones turned blue, and he didn’t seem to have much appetite right now.

Ruan Xian shook his head in amusement. He took out a bag of candy from Tang Yibu’s backpack and began to comfort his hungry body. “It’s just routine,’ he thought.

A relaxing, moist, and warm routine.

It would be nice if the iron bead had body heat. He threw Tang Yibu a piece of candy while Ruan Xian threw another piece into his mouth.

…Perhaps in that way, the thirst for body heat could be relieved in an alternative manner.

---

The author has something to say:

Yu Le: I’m full on dog food. Thanks. (……

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Kinky Thoughts:

End of arc 2. It seems Feng Jiang will become the next Fan Baiyan, or at the very least, the captain of Elysium, and “Duan Feng” is the Order Supervisor sent to replace Duan Lili.

Ahhh, Ruan Xian is slowly falling for Tang Yibu. I can’t get over how cute Tang Yibu is.

Arc summary below:

After leaving the refuge, Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu stumbled upon the Sea of Ruins. A floating ruin filled with ruins of city landscapes and pirates. They were captured by one group of pirates, the Walking Stones, and sent to work.

After integrating with the Walking Stones, they met Yu Le, the captain of that ship, and his deputy captain, Tu Rui, who was part of the rebel army. They also encountered another group of pirates, Elysium, who were the Walking Stones’ enemies.

A few days before the voting commences, they were sent to the Annihilation Point, a sort of blackhole in the Sea of Ruins, to gather items so they could earn points to stay in the Walking Stones. Taking this time, they decided to infiltrate Elysium to observe more of the Sea of Ruins.

While the Walking Stones used a points system, Elysium seemed to be a paradise that welcomed all. However, it was quickly discovered that the captain of Elysium, Fan Baiyan, tricks his crew into consuming the fruit of the flickering grass, which is essentially an addictive drug, and uses the promise of a peaceful life if they contribute hard enough to control his ship.

Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu did some experimental work to get to the bottom of the drug that Fan Baiyan uses and discovered that the fruit of the flickering grass not only generated shuttle agent (fuel used by the ships in the Sea of Ruins), but also an addictive psychedelic. Fan Baiyan had been using his people as essentially fertilizer to grow more fruit in order to keep producing the drug, however, his homemade version had a fatal flaw in that it didn’t have enough of the psychedelic compound. Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu discovered that the psychedelic compound was naturally produced from radiation from the Annihilation Point and resolved to basically fix the wavelength so it no longer emitted radiation that would enhance the psychedelic component of the fruit.

It is then discovered that a voting system was about to take place where all the populace of the Sea of Ruins would have to vote for the top 10 captains that the Order Supervisors of the Mainbrain deemed “unstable” and the one with the most votes would be sacrificed. This was to ensure that the Sea of Ruin remained free of the Mainbrain’s control (or else the Mainbrain would just bomb the entire area, blowing all the population to bits).

However, things weren’t so simple as the Mainbrain wouldn’t let this area of human life remain unchecked. It had sent its spies to infiltrate the area to keep tabs and influence the actions of the humans there. Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu’s goals became two-fold: first to remove the spy, thus the threat of them being exposed to the Mainbrain, and second to find out more information about “Ruan Xian” from Tu Rui.

Things came to a head when Elysium broke out in chaos as Fan Baiyan’s drugs were no longer effective due to Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu’s actions, and the people of Elysium went through a withdrawal. Elysium was then attacked by the Walking Stones and eventually suffered defeat while Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian figured out who the Order Supervisor was and killed her while not exposing their identities.

When the voting came to an end, the captain of the Walking Stones, Yu Le, garnered the most votes and was sent to his death. To go out in style, Yu Le planned to make as much chaos as possible for the Order Supervisors and go out in blazing glory, but was saved by Tang Yibu and Ruan Xuan, who cut a deal with Tu Rui. In return for saving Yu Le, Tu Rui would reveal the whereabouts of the rebel army headquarters, which is where they plan to head to next.

That’s it for this summary.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 56: Straight into the Sky

Yu Le had seen the pirate captain with the highest number of votes executed more than once.

The Order Supervisors would operate a light combat aircraft to follow the ship where the captain was located until the captain rushed out the Sea of Ruins in despair, and the fleeing ship crashed into the wilderness; or in the endless pursuit until their shuttle agent was exhausted, and the entire ship sank into the ruins, pulling all the pirates with them.

He once took people to salvage a ship stuck in the ruins. The honeycomb-shaped human tissue was interlocked with the soil, and it would shatter with a little touch. No one knew what the expression of the deceased was at the end. The corpses were mixed into a mess. Under the action of the shuttle agent, the torsos of different people were intermixed. Not to mention their identity, even the number of people couldn’t be determined.

After lighting a homemade cigarette, Yu Le fiddled with the operation panel a few times and adjusted the Walking Stones to automatic navigation.

His life was about to come to an end, but he didn’t have much feeling. Yu Le had foreseen such an ending since the day he decided to stand up to Fan Baiyan.

He was also prepared for this.

Tu Rui’s face was frighteningly ugly, and he clenched his fists tightly. His deputy captain was a person who came from the battlefield, and he was very smart. Tu Rui could definitely guess the impact of Duan Lili’s words.

Yu Le stood up from the driver’s chair. He whistled, took the unopened bottle of good wine back into his arms, and casually rolled up a pornographic magazine and stuffed it into his waist.

“Won’t you send me off?” Patting the dirt off his clothes, he winked at Tu Rui.

“You can find a way to get out of the Sea of Ruins.” Tu Rui took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “There is always a way.”

“What are you talking about. Are you sleep talking in broad daylight?” Yu Le waved his hand. “There are not even high bushes on the ground. Even if I’m lucky enough to get out of the Sea of Ruins, I’ll be just a lame rabbit, waiting for an eagle in the sky to catch it… Oh, when did you hide something more awesome than the Mainbrain?”

Tu Rui gritted his teeth and said, “You are fucking struggling.”

“Of course I have to struggle, but this is my personal privacy, so don’t come with me until you’re old.”

Yu Le didn’t look at Tu Rui’s face. He could guess what the other party’s expression was. It was better to say that since he had picked up the little leader of the rebel army who was rigid in doing things, he had let go of most of his heart—at least after he was crushed by the Mainbrain, this nonsense wouldn’t become useless too soon.

“I’ll go to the warehouse on the top of the ship to finish smoking this cigarette. If you have anything you want to tell me, there are still ten minutes for you to consider. Of course, it’s okay if you don’t come… Ouch, Lao Tu, how old are we? Can you stop your sniveling?”

“Fuck off. My nose is just stuffy.” Tu Rui’s voice was a bit muffled.

“Okay, I’m leaving now. Remember what I said before. Don’t really lose all my books.”

Tu Rui didn’t respond.

Yu Le smiled softly and opened the door. The two newcomers with good skills were blocking the door with complicated expressions. He didn’t know how much they had heard. However, now that he was finished, he didn’t have much interest in these things. Yu Le slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and watched as the beautiful boy surnamed Ruan silently got out of the way.

“Heh, how obedient.” He grinned and climbed the metal ladder with the wine bottle in his hand. “It seems like you two didn’t come for me.”

Tu Rui was so irritable that he paced up and down like a beast in the cage. Yu Le had a unique temperament, and once he decided something, even ten cows wouldn’t be able to pull him back. However, Tu Rui’s personality that allowed him to escape from the army was very useful. They had been together for less than two years. He had to admit that it was no worse than his days in the rebel army.

He could see that Yu Le wasn’t a born leader, but he never thought it would be so fast.

But even in the order of the original list… Unless Yu Le was willing to resign as the captain in advance, cross the desert on foot, and completely leave the sphere of influence of the Sea of Ruins, this situation was unsolvable from the beginning.

From equipment to strength, the Order Supervisors were different from the pirates in the Sea of Ruins. After all, even the rebels under Ruan Xian’s leadership suffered a complete defeat.

Tu Rui kicked the rusty chair at his feet fiercely.

“…Mr. Tu,” a calm voice sounded. Tu Rui raised his head, and before he could put away the blankness on his face, he subconsciously put his hand on the handle of the gun.

The two newcomers followed inside from the door opened by Yu Le, and the defensive lasers in the four corners of the hub ceiling instantly locked on the two of them. Tu Rui frowned and didn’t raise his defense. “If you want something, wait until the disinfection is over.”

“We don’t plan to stay here for long.” Ruan Xian admitted generously, disregarding the laser lights pointed at his chest. “So I came in advance to ask for a reward.”

“Okay, I’ll give you five minutes.” Tu Rui wanted to give a polite smile, but unfortunately, the corners of his mouth were stiff as if they had been glued shut. “It’s still the same as I told you. As long as it’s not the position of the captain or the deputy captain, I can agree to any of your requests.”

“We want to know the situation of the rebels.”

Afraid of arousing Tu Rui’s unnecessary vigilance, Ruan Xian didn’t directly put forward the request.

“Yibu and I want to join the rebel army, but the news we have found is vague. Some people say that Ruan Xian is missing, and some people say that the rebel army was disbanded two years ago. There are all kinds of claims. Looking at the development of the Walking Stones, it seems you didn’t have a small role in the rebel army. Mr. Tu, can you tell us the general situation? After all, this world is not suitable for tourism. If the rebel army is really finished, we need to find a place to settle down earlier.”

Tu Rui didn’t show much surprise.

“You are so determined to make a deal with me that I think it has nothing to do with this matter. There are Ruan Xian’s cronies in Petri Dish No. 1036, so it’s normal for people to come out of there to know something… It’s just that this transaction may not be fair to you, as it’s no secret to well-informed people.”

Tu Rui looked at the concealed door of the hub, and his tone was a bit haunted. “About two years ago, Ruan Xian and Fan Linsong had a falling out. They were regarded as the souls of the rebel army, so the negative impact was quite great. I didn’t know where Fan Lingsong went, and Ruan Xian’s temper became more… strange. The rebel army headquarters persisted for a while but didn’t survive the raid from the Order Supervisors twenty months ago. After that, Ruan Xian also disappeared.”

He took a breath and sped up his speech. “It’s not impossible to join. There are headquarters in various regions, but without Ruan Xian, failure is only a matter of time. It depends on your own thoughts. Anyways, I…”

Tu Rui stopped talking, his face full of bitterness.

“Can the soul of a person really disappear quietly like this?” Ruan Xian adjusted all kinds of emotions and naturally brought up the topic. “Forget about Fan Linsong, with the limited mobility Ruan Xian had…”

“He left by himself. Ruan Xian had avoided the Mainbrain for so many years. If he wanted to leave by himself, a few humans couldn’t stop him.”

“Where was the headquarters 20 months ago?” Ruan Xian took the topic away lightly again. “Let’s not talk about whether to join or not; we want to go to the relatively important headquarters.”

Tu Rui laughed hoarsely, with a trace of despair in his voice. “Young people are just boiling with blood. Since the two of you didn’t dig out my brain for analysis, you’re not with the Order Supervisors. However, there’s still a threshold. The strength you possessed now… Unfortunately, no. Otherwise, if you go there, you’ll just die.”

Professor Ruan, who was in a wheelchair, disappeared 20 months ago, and his last stop was bound to be the headquarters. Even simply inferring a geographical location, it was far more advantageous than blindly looking for it. Unfortunately, Tu Rui didn’t let his guard down even when he was in the worst of moods. Their hopes were slim, unless…

“If we can rescue Yu Le from the Sea of Ruins, is this enough to prove our strength?” Tang Yibu interrupted suddenly, turning his gaze to Ruan Xian.

Ruan Xian was stunned for less than half a second. He thought about Yu Le’s situation for a moment and pinched Tang Yibu’s wrist.

[Act.] He sent a simple message.

On the other side, the only stiff smile left on Tu Rui’s face also disappeared. He pushed his glasses up, and his whole person suddenly became gloomy. “Don’t joke around like this.”

“You won’t lose anything anyway.” Tang Yibu grabbed Ruan Xian’s hand with his backhand and took a step forward with an impeccable polite smile on his face. “At most, the two of us cause some chaos and lose our lives along with Yu Le. If we’re successful, at least your friend still has some hope of surviving.”

“…Yes.” Tu Rui didn’t think about it for long. He straightened his face and took out his gun. “If he dies and you live, don’t let me see you two again. If someone disturbs my brother’s last journey because of arrogance, I will personally destroy them.”

“Deal.”

Tang Yibu let go of his hand, put his arm on Ruan Xian’s shoulder, and the smile on his face became more standard.

“But we have to borrow something from you.”

With a cigarette in his mouth, Yu Le kicked open the door of the small warehouse on the top of the ship and rubbed the iron wedge stuck in the waterproof canvas with his feet. The slightly faded army-green canvas clattered to the ground, revealing what was covered inside—

It was an old-fashioned modified off-road vehicle. It was shaking slightly with the slightly bumpy hull, and the tires made a slight friction sound.

In the next instant, the hairs on Yu Le’s back stood up. Someone was spying on him. He pulled out his gun and turned around.

The dim space was extremely quiet, without the slightest trace of any living thing. He let out a complicated sigh and patted the thick metal car wall with his hand, and his eyes softened.

In his short life, he had been with a ship all this time, but his sister Yu Xi preferred cars, or someone who liked to drive a specific off-road vehicle. Yu Le was very disdainful of this.

[When my bonus is paid, I will buy you a more beautiful one.]

[It’s a public car. What are you making a fuss about, kid?]

[I don’t care, sis. You said you are so beautiful, but to go out with that off-roader—oh, that contrast, so domineering! I don’t know if the people on the geological team see you like this…]

[Come here you brat!]

After the bonus was paid, he still bought a car, but he didn’t succeed in giving the car keys to his sister.

For the world at that time, it might just have been an inconspicuous small piece of news. Another low-level girl was harmed by a scumbag high on drugs, and they would let out a few sighs at most. Or those who were more malicious in their analysis—going to such a remote place after dark, it could be seen that that woman was up to no good.

With no savings and no worries, everything that followed made sense. Yu Le still remembered the exclamation of the crowd when he threw the monster’s head at the door of the police station. He still had no regrets.

A day lived counted as another day. Everyone would eventually die. There weren’t many such people in the world like him. Yu Le had no intention of falling but had no desire to live. He would usually count the days waiting for his death penalty and occasionally experience a little mood swing. He felt a bit of loss for the new car he bought—Before he went to commit his murder, he hid it well so that it would rot and disappear silently with him.

However, God had a big joke for him. A few days before he was sentenced to death, the entire society was the first to receive that sentence.

Yu Le spit the cigarette butt in his mouth out onto the ground and crushed it with the soles of his feet.

When Tu Rui was rescued at the beginning, part of it was due to his goodwill for the rebels, but mainly it was due to the logo of the geological team. He didn’t have a chance to know who his sister liked. He also knew that the injured person lying in the mud wouldn’t be his sister’s sweetheart, but he still couldn’t help but stretch out his hand.

It was all God’s will. Yu Le slowly exhaled the last puff of smoke.

Now, the death penalty was still here, and it was livelier than originally planned. This life wasn’t a loss after living for so many years and getting an incredible end.

He looked around the corner to make sure Tu Rui hadn’t caught up. Yu Le slapped the button on the door, and the ceiling of the warehouse on the top of the ship slowly opened. He flipped off the dark ruins with his middle finger, put the wine bottle on the chair, and began to burn the shuttle agent.

An infrared scan was immediately activated, and Yu Le spread out the pornographic magazine on his thigh but stared at the screen without blinking.

The modified off-roader slowly raised its front. At that moment, the metal wristband on his wrist received news. Seeing that Tu Rui’s name was on the screen, Yu Le didn’t pick it up.

“I’m a coward. I don’t even dare say goodbye in person,” he cursed in a low voice, glanced at the time, and stepped on the gas.

Half an hour had passed, and the voting results should be out. A flight signal was rapidly approaching his position from the sky, and it was probably an aircraft used by the Order Supervisor to execute the death penalty.

Yu Le calculated the signal height and grinned.

“Grandpa, I’m here, dumbass.”

He drove the thrust to the maximum, and the seat of the warehouse on the top of the ship exploded in response. The modified vehicle rushed diagonally above, dashing from the dark ruins to the twinkling starry sky, leaving the aircraft carrying out the death penalty behind.

The fleet of flying ships belonging to the Mainbrain had a streamlined silhouette with beautiful lines, as white as clouds. It created quite an eye-catching scene with a dilapidated off-roader plunging into the gap in the sky.

The Order Supervisors didn’t expect their target to be delivered to their door, or even sent over their heads. The aircraft dropped a load of tracking missiles. Those dangerous things circled in the sky and had a faint tendency to come back…

Under the abnormal spray of force, the heavy off-road vehicle leaped under the vast starry sky. It rose more and more slowly, and then fell in a close to free fall. Unlike falling straight down, Yu Le hummed a song, changed the direction of the fall with the remaining fuel, and rammed straight into an aircraft.

Under the action of inertia, the magazine and the wine bottle flew up at the same time. Wrapped in the brilliant starry sky, this moment seemed extremely long.

Whether it was hit or not, it was worth it…

Before the word “it” flashed through Yu Le’s mind, there was another series of huge explosions below. Huge stones flew wildly in the wind. One hit the bottom of his car, and the other smashed his car door. The magnificent starry sky was covered by smoke and dust as sand rushed towards the car, covering Yu Le.

Fuck life.

Fortunately, the infrared scanner was still working normally. Supported by another blast of wind and smoke thick enough to choke someone, Yu Le rushed towards the signal transmitter without hesitation—

As a result, as soon as he saw the outline of the aircraft in the smoke, before he could show a satisfied smile, he was firmly caught by a net. It slid through the metal wall of the off-road vehicle, pulling him squarely back, straight in a certain direction, surprisingly fast.

At the same time, the off-roader and the missile hit the aircraft together, and there was another earth-shattering explosion, like fireworks in the night sky.

Yu Le’s brain was blank.

He still didn’t react until he fell on a cushion with his feet facing the sky. He stared at the soft cushion that was filled in a pit for a while, and then looked at the ruins of Elysium beside him. It took him a full ten seconds to distinguish his position.

He was caught near the dead wall of Petri Dish No. 1036.

He raised his wrist stiffly, but it was a pity that the ordinary communication signal of the Walking Stones couldn’t reach such a distance.

“Mr. Yu, we met again.”

The young man with cold and beautiful eyes stretched out a hand to him. An iron bead was nestling at his feet, barking loudly at the net.

“This net is quite good, right?”

---

The author has something to say:

Ruan: In fact, the user experience is extremely poor. _(:з”∠)_

The iron bead agrees.

Tang: ??? Very fun.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 55: Sudden Accident

Tang Yibu, who got the answer, stopped speaking. He sighed softly, rubbed his head against Ruan Xian’s chest, and found a comfortable posture for himself.

This was a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Ruan Xian had a vague feeling that Tang Yibu’s reaction wasn’t like a simple program simulation. Although instinct and emotion themselves were also part of the logical chain of life, the complexity of the two procedures could be said to be very different.

Through various means, creatures with higher intelligence could learn patience and camouflage. They knew that expressing specific emotions on specific occasions would bring benefits to themselves—sympathy, recognition, or assistance from other individuals, and so on.

Most humans would express joy when they are together, emphasize unwillingness when they were separated, show pain at funerals, and pour anger and disdain on outsiders who didn’t fit in. Some were attributed to etiquette, and some were used as their own protective colors. As long as you integrated into a “normal” emotional environment, life would be a lot less troublesome.

Even if this didn’t resonate with their external performance in the slightest.

But some things couldn’t be disguised. If you couldn’t understand something, naturally you couldn’t manipulate it skillfully. Tang Yibu’s mood swings were small but extremely delicate, like listening to a musical through a poorly received communicator.

The android tightened his arms, and his warm and humid breath sprayed on his chest, as if he had suffered a grievance that he himself couldn’t explain.

“Didn’t your maker teach you?” Ruan Xian subconsciously raised his right arm and smoothed the soft black hair on his chest.

“He thinks it’s better for me to learn than to directly program definitions or infuse personality data.” Tang Yibu rubbed his head in enjoyment. “But this is very inefficient.”

Ruan Xian’s movements paused for a moment. “Do you have many situations like this?”

Once again, he thought of the warm computer room and the endless quarrels with Fan Linsong.

Their biggest rival, Plan Corp, had always advocated “making life more human”. According to the information Tang Yibu once revealed, Plan Corp tried to use existing personality data to build artificial intelligence, so Ruan Xian wasn’t surprised.

But the practice of “making life more human” had never been seen in anyone other than himself.

At the beginning, Fan Linsong insisted on setting up a perfect moral judgment system for NUL-00 and directly weaving the rules and regulations into a giant net, carefully wrapping NUL-00’s thinking.

This was right, that was wrong. This was normal, that was abnormal. That was noble. This was morbid. After refining countless cases, that net was so fine that it was suffocating.

It was almost as routine as his life after disguise.

As the creator of NUL-00, Ruan Xian simply rejected this proposal. This decision was seen as deviant at the time and would cause unnecessary trouble for himself, and he understood this.

But he couldn’t do it.

The precision cybernetic brain he made slept in a glass cover. As the crystallization of the world’s top technology, NUL-00 was only half the size of a coconut. It would always ask all kinds of stupid questions that would make people laugh and give unexpected answers. It learned quickly and had a very interesting way of thinking. Unlike humans, who are imperceptibly educated in social environments, it was a completely blank piece of paper.

It had a vigorous vitality that he didn’t have.

Curious and pure, close to a life form that was different from his roots. He saw countless puzzles in it, just like his original self. If you could use that complicated set of concepts and definitions to crucify it, it would die, and countless brand-new possibilities would be destroyed.

On the other hand, for weak artificial intelligence, this approach may be effective. But it had cognitive abilities far beyond humans, and no one could tell what would happen… No, they may have known what would happen.

Taking himself as an example, he would doubt, contradict, and feel inefficient and depressed about his own behavior, but it was different from him. It had no peers or constraints. Once it came into contact with powerful forces, it could become extremely dangerous. The social structure that was highly dependent on the internet and technology was still too fragile in the face of strong artificial intelligence.

As the creator, he was undoubtedly the one who knew it best in the world. As Ruan Xian, he was undoubtedly the outsider who knew its dangers best.

[NUL-00 is just a set of programs, a tool. If you are really worried, just take more control measures.] Fan Linsong reminded him more than once. [Everyone believes in your abilities, Professor Ruan. It is also feasible to regularly detect data and investigate vulnerabilities, in short…]

[Then trust my judgment and let it learn and improve on its own.] The self in his memory replied like this. [Giving a definition requires a price, and there will always be loopholes in the concept. Strong artificial intelligence will not accept everything as it is. If we take away all its judgement capabilities, we will completely lose the opportunity for it to understand.]

[We don’t need a tool to understand.]

[To defeat your enemy, one must first learn to think like them, but the vast majority of humans cannot understand this mode of thinking. It’s not a toaster, Lao Fan. We must be cautious.]

[It’s just a bunch of data.]

[We are just a bunch of data.]

Ruan Xian clenched Tang Yibu’s black hair in his hand, and a slightly tingling expectation surged in his heart.

He knew this was impractical. Since Fan Linsong and the “Ruan Xian” made a MUL-01, their NUL-00 had only two endings: either it was destroyed, or it was directly transformed into MUL-01. When he “died”, it didn’t even have the ability to move freely, and there was no third possibility.

“More or less,” Tang Yibu really gave a cruel answer. “Some people like this kind of ‘education’ process, and some people hope to produce some abnormal results, so there will be models like me that start from scratch. After all, the existing personality may not be able to meet the needs, and the types that come with too many constraints will not…”

Tang Yibu thought for a while before choosing his words. “I won’t do this kind of thing like murder and arson.”

“Indeed.” Ruan Xian curled the corners of his mouth bitterly.

The terrible bumps interrupted their whispering, and the hull of the ship tilted for a while. From the angle where he was, Ruan Xian could see a little bit of the outside world through the window…

The giant ship sailed in the Sea of Ruins as a fluorescent explosion fell from the sky. A bomb that exploded near them lit the entire dark ruins as if it were day.

Just like a small school of fish swimming with the big fish, many small ships tried to mimic the movements of the Walking Stones as they moved forward, but many were bombed by the Order Supervisors. It wasn’t easy to avoid the bombs, and the reaction speed of the navigators wasn’t able to keep up.

Fluorescent bombs exploded like cobwebs, pinning these small fishes by their heads and tails. The shuttle structure was completely destroyed, and the ships blended in with the background ruins as human flesh and blood mixed with the concrete. Naturally, it goes without saying what their fate was.

It seemed that a century had passed.

The giant ship took a sharp turn, and Ruan Xian saw the main ship of Elysium. It was firmly fixed behind the main ship of the Walking Stones by countless thick chains and was dragged forward. There was a world of difference between the flexibility of being dragged and actively avoiding it. Several fluorescent bombs rubbed against the main ship of Elysium from time to time, exploding. The scope of the damage was unknown. However, there was also good news. The Walking Stones had stabilized a lot after a sharp turn.

“Go near the cockpit.” Ruan Xian dodged the flying empty cans and gave instructions with difficulty. “Tu Rui is on the ship. We can rush to see him.”

He didn’t want to continue to enjoy the current torturous voyage.

Tang Yibu’s face didn’t look good either. He nodded, pulled his arms out of the barbed wire, and grabbed the hook rope again.

“Hold on to me tight, Mr. Ruan,” he muttered. “I may not have time to take care of you.”

Ruan Xian hugged the other party’s waist tightly, and his leg hooked around Tang Yibu’s left leg. The android let go by leaning, and they slipped through the layers of barbed wire to the bow. Ruan Xian slumped his shoulders, quite certain that his soles had accidentally rubbed a few heads.

The iron bead in the backpack was frightened. It rattled and shivered and was unusually quiet.

After wandering hard for more than half an hour, the two finally managed to reach the bow of the Walking Stones as unobtrusively as possible. The ship was indeed surprisingly big. Ruan Xian felt as if he had run thirty miles on a mountain road as his whole body was soaked in sweat.

The door near the cockpit was closed tightly. Now they could use Gang Zi’s guidance, but the pirates behind them were more crowded than the catacombs of Paris. From any point of view, Ruan Xian didn’t want to wander around the ship again.

“I can hear Tu Rui’s voice.” Ruan Xian fumbled to the closed door. “He’s…”

After focusing on the content of the other party’s words, Ruan Xian rubbed his forehead. “He’s quarreling with Yu Le.”

“The voting will begin soon.” Tu Rui’s voice was full of anger. “We should just let go of the group of people of Elysium. Now is your last chance. Don’t tell me you can’t be cruel to a bunch of addicts, Yu Le.”

“I can kill those trash behind the ship with just a kick.” Yu Le’s voice was mixed with beeping electronic sounds from the console. “But those groups of people, if even three-quarters of them die, that means there goes hundreds of labor resources. Fai Baiyan failed to cheat smart people, but can’t you even handle a few dozen? They would all have their uses. Besides, if laozi kills all of Fan Baiyan’s people so quickly, I’ll earn a bad reputation and it’ll be me who will die half a year later.”

“If Fan Baiyan is dead, you might be fucking voted to die now!”

“Of course I might be fucking voted to die, or I might be lucky enough not to die.” Yu Le’s voice was as light as ever, with an indifferent posture.

“Yu Le!”

“You just think too much.”

“Not as much as you think.” Tu Rui gritted his teeth. “Don’t think I can’t see it.”

Yu Le didn’t answer.

“Is there something you are fucking hiding from me?”

“No, no, how can it be! It’s just that laozi has lived long enough. Two days after the world was over, was supposed to be my execution day,” Yu Le responded faintly. “Unlike you, I don’t have much thought… I originally wanted to just eat and drink to get by each day. That’s all. However, Fan Baiyan made me feel very uncomfortable. Then I met you, a great talent, who helped me get to this point today. Look at this broken place. Living is similar to squatting. While it doesn’t taste good, you have to just bear it.”

“Fuck,” Tu Rui responded calmly and rationally.

“So, I have established this prestige, but the hatred value was also held back by you. The Order Supervisors are also concerned with the white face as well as the red*. It’s not easy to get a ship this big. You can probably stabilize the situation. It’s impossible to unify the Sea of Ruins, but it’s fine to be a leader.”

*Reference to (一个唱红脸一个唱白脸) refers to one person playing the villain while the other acts as a kind and likable person (AKA good cop, bad cop).

“You finally decided to hang yourself, didn’t you?” Tu Rui continued to grit his teeth.

“Fan Baiyan got off the stage. Even if I don’t die this time, I don’t want to be captain.” Yu Le’s tone was relaxed, “Don’t argue, when it comes to swearing, you can’t out spray laozi. I’ve been a bastard for half my life. If you want me to be Maitreya Buddha* for this dog’s life, I might as well hang myself.”

*Basically, asking him to be the equivalent of a saint.

Tu Rui trembled and took a breath.

“Well, you always know the big picture best.” Yu Le struck while the iron was hot. “Don’t bother me, okay? If that old scoundrel Fan is still alive, they have to weigh in before they vote for me. Don’t look like I’m a dead dog with my feet in the air.”

“If Fan Baiyan is dead, I will command people to vote for Zhou Dahui,” Tu Rui responded coldly.

“Fuck you, Zhou Dahui didn’t offend you. Do you really want to be a second Fan Baiyan?”

“At least then you can… Ahem, the Mainbrain will definitely put people in there. It’s not easy for them to infiltrate us, but there must be some in Elysium. Now that Elysium is gone, Zhou Dahui’s ship is the best choice.”

“How do you know that MUL-01 didn’t throw dozens of Order Supervisors here? It’s hard to say if we have any of them on board. Many of the Order Supervisors just want to experience life—”

“At least 10,000 survivors are assigned an Order Supervisor. Have I told you this ratio? This is not a sensitive area. It’s impossible to have two Order Supervisors on a ship. The cost and risk are too high. It’s even more impossible for them to do it honestly. You and I are both stable on our ship…”

“Okay, okay, I understand. The Mainbrain wants to be able to adjust the position of the battle, so I’ll take it seriously, but then you have to be careful when you choose your deputy captain…”

“You fucking—be serious for me!”

The sound of explosions had subsided, and Tu Rui swallowed loudly.

“The intensity of the bombing has temporarily weakened by 70%, and it’s time to vote.”

A sweet female voice rang through the Sea of Ruins.

“For the sake of order and peace in the Sea of Ruins, we must force out the bad elements that have caused a great negative impact. Please understand. The voting list will be distributed within ten seconds, and everyone has 30 minutes to make a decision. If there is a tie, the bombing will continue for another six hours until the result is conclusive.”

Six hours was enough to deplete the shuttle agent of a small ship. The Mainbrain had squeezed a good time slot. This was the perfect opportunity to leave. Ruan Xian pursed his lips and jumped onto the floor that had become stable, ready to greet Tu Rui.

At that moment, a small red light screen appeared in front of him. Fan Baiyan’s name had disappeared, and Yu Le was undoubtedly in first place.

Ruan Xian heard Tu Rui swearing at the door, cleared his throat, and picked up something.

“Listen, everyone on the Walking Stones, vote for Zhou Dahui, who is number two. Listen, those on Elysium. Your captain has abandoned you, ran away, and now he’s dead. If you want to live a good life, you better weigh that thought and vote for Zhou Dahui. Do you hear me?”

There was also Yu Le’s faint swearing in the background.

However, another voice was louder. It came from the main ship of Elysium, and the broadcast range was much wider than Tu Rui’s in-ship communication. Ruan Xian stopped knocking on the door and frowned.

On Elysium, Feng Jiang, who planned to press number two for Zhou Dahui, stopped and held his breath…

That voice belonged to Duan Lili.

Sweet, sad, and pitiful, with a little hoarseness. There were many pirate ships following Yu Le, and the sound echoed between different ships.

“I am Duan Lili, deputy captain of Elysium. When you hear this, my captain and I are dead. As the former… Former deputy captain, I have something to tell you.”

“Stop it!” Tu Rui yelled, but his instructions were suppressed by Duan Lili’s voice.

“I want everyone to know that the current misfortune is entirely the fault of Fan Baiyan alone.” The female voice had a hint of firmness in her crying, which was very contagious. “It’s not everyone’s fault that we failed you. Fireflies are not a bad thing, it is Fan Baiyan who overworked everyone. You can imagine, as long as the work is a little easier, won’t life be much better? That discomfort stems from overworking. I once argued with Fan Baiyan, but unfortunately I didn’t succeed.”

“Fireflies shouldn’t be a chain that binds people, they should be a soothing medicine. I made it only to relieve pain and give people short-term relief. Please believe that as long as the right amount is used, it is almost harmless. It’s just that Fan Baiyan took it and used it in the wrong way by pushing it to the extreme.”

“Elysium had given a lot of people years of warmth. Please don’t simply give up and don’t completely deny yourself because of other people’s mistakes. I believe that after the disaster, the remaining people will definitely be able to be more considerate of each other. Crude prohibition cannot bring about any progress…”

Tu Rui threw the communicator in his hand to the ground, his face ashen. Yu Le snorted with a calm expression.

“We all know that the Order Supervisor may be on Elysium.” Yu Le stroked his beard and stubbled chin. “Lao Tu, now we know who it is.”

“You…”

“In fact, no matter whether Fan Baiyan is dead or not, the Order Supervisors will always have a way to kill me. Regarding the voting list this time, tsk, it’s ugly. Even with rebels like you who came out of that, you still dared to dream again.”

Yu Le shrugged and continued to navigate the ship.

“I bought you at least a year. Use it well. Don’t let the Walking Stones sink.”

---

The author has something to say:

Lao Yu is a reliable person!

Yes, what Tangtang and Ruanruan know is only the size of half a coconut (gesture)

Not as big as the iron bead (???

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 54: Disinfection Commences

Ruan Xian took a deep breath and almost choked on the smoke and dust from the bombs. Tang Yibu stood obediently in front of him, trying his best to look innocent, like a cat who had accidentally knocked over a water cup, making his hands itchy.

“You already did it.” Ruan Xian tried to maintain a calm tone while his face was a little stiff.

Seeing that he couldn’t hide it, Tang Yibu simply spread out his hands. “You have seen the interior decoration of his ship, and you can see that he’s a self-preservation type person. Judging from the management of Elysium, Mr. Fan doesn’t care much about the life and death of the crew. There’s a very high possibility that he’ll privately use the spare energy. I just made some basic inferences.”

Tang Yibu probably manipulated the wiring of the backup energy. Ruan Xian pinched his eyebrows. Neither of them could resurrect the dead Fan Baiyan, and it didn’t make much sense for this topic to continue.

He could hear Fan Baiyan starting the private ship to leave, and the people in Elysium quickly discovered the disappearance of their captain. The artillery fire temporarily weakened and finally stopped. The group of warships from the Walking Stones stopped on the deck of the main ship of Elysium in a V-shape. The heavily armed pirates didn’t rush onto Elysium but went around the deck to outflank the commercial building and slowly advanced. With gestures, one could see that they have been trained countless times.

There was a rumbling sound in the distance, and another giant ship approached with a low rumble. The Walking Stones obviously didn’t install the settlement on the main ship. It preserved the original appearance of a giant ship to the maximum extent, like an iron-gray whale with countless bright yellow eyes.

“Let’s go.” Ruan Xian flashed over a piece of falling gravel. “Let’s go find Tu Rui.”

After Duan Lili’s death, Elysium didn’t show any changes. Seeing Tang Yibu’s relaxed reaction, Ruan Xian didn’t think that the Mainbrain had placed a second Oder Supervisor on Elysium, but there were also many other pirate ships that came to inquire about the news. No one knew whether there would be backup personnel for the Mainbrain on the other ships or a lower-level crew member. The overall situation had been set and staying any longer would only increase the risk of exposure.

“Nn. At dinner, you have to tell me why those people don’t think Fan Baiyan is hurting them—”

He patted the dust on the tip of Tang Yibu’s hair. “Okay.”

Tang Yibu rubbed his hand against his cheek in satisfaction. “Wait for me here for two minutes, and we’ll leave immediately.”

“You want to go back to Elysium?” Seeing the android turning to the fallen commercial building, Ruan Xian frowned.

“The iron bead is still inside.”

“…” Ruan Xian wiped his face. “Go ahead. Remember to drive a ship back.”

The main ship of the Walking Stones.

Yu Le carried a scanner in his left hand and squeezed a pen and paper in his right. He sat lazily on a recliner, close to the sealed warehouse door leading to the interior of the giant ship, with two tall, armed pirates standing on the left and right.

Countless weird-looking small broken ships hung along the edge of the giant ship, and the people on board lined up in a long row on the deck.

“Zhou Hongmei, Chen Baoshan, and Chen Wei’s family.” He held half of his cigarette butt in his mouth and made a few simple strokes on paper with a pen. 5,000 per child, for a total of 25,000 contribution points. Here, this is the proof. Take it.”

“Sun Qin, 10,000. Take the proof.”

“Zheng Shangqu, 10,000. Take it.”

“Wu Jiacheng, 10,000. Here.”

The team moved forward very quickly, and there were more and more contribution points on the light screen beside Yu Le, but there was not much joy on his face, only a deep impatience. After calling a few names, Yu Le picked up the water cup and filled it, wiping his mouth.

“…Wu Honglei.” This time, Yu Le’s speed of speech slowed down a lot. He crossed his legs and looked at the tall man in front of him. “What are you waiting for? Do you have the contribution points? You didn’t sew a trading instrument to your crotch, did you Lei Ge?”

“I only have five thousand.” Lei Ge replied with a stern face. “Captain, I’ve been with you for a long time. Can I get an advance on the credit?”

“Five thousand is the fare of a child. At your height, I estimate that you can only enter by cutting yourself in half.” Yu Le bared his teeth. “Rules are rules. Come back when you have it.”

“Everyone is exchanging points, and it will be disinfection in less than half a day. Where can I get it?!”

“Hey, it’s not like I didn’t tell everyone in advance. Look, you see, little girls are able to put together their fees but a big master like you can’t gather supplies for a few days? Don’t spend a lot on your little lovers again.” Yu Le straightened up and knocked on the armrest with his pen impatiently. “Leave quickly if you don’t have the credits. It’s not like you don’t have a ship. You can hide yourself.”

“Fuck you, Yu Le!” The blue veins on Lei Ge’s forehead bulged. “I spend points on people, but in the end is it not to your pockets? Fucking Elysium never charges a disinfection fee. Are you here to suck blood dry while pretending to be a great uncle?”

“Then go to Elysium. Once on that ship, you’re bound for life. Unlike my side, where people can come and go, it’s more cost-effective.” Yu Le stood up and responded without a smile. “I’m not forcing you to make a contribution. Like I said earlier, don’t you love hiding yourself? What’s the matter? Laozi’s craft can keep everyone alive, so he must give it away selflessly? Do you have the manpower and resources to get a shuttle agent?”

“You’re the captain!”

“Yes, I’m the captain, not your nanny. Are you finished? Get out of here quickly. You’re wasting for my time.” Yu Le waved his hand, as if he was squatting away a fly. “Either you really go to Elysium or drag yourself forward, but if you don’t survive, you can only blame yourself.”

“How many years have I been on this ship, and how many times have I made contributions, huh?” Instead of leaving, Lei Ge punched the railing. “Damn it, you won’t even give me an advance credit. What if you happen to be sick or injured? You don’t even recognize me because I don’t have the points, yet you pretend to be a good person? Yu Le, let me tell you, when the voting screen comes down in the middle of the night, I hold a vote in my hand.”

With a gunshot, Yu Le shot directly through Lei Ge’s foot, and Lei Ge suddenly screamed.

“My boat, my rules.” Yu Le glanced at the ugly-looking pirate nearby without showing the slightest gentle expression. “I’m so sick that I have a medical certificate so I can tell those who are seriously injured. If you have good hands and feet, then you should get out.”

Lei Ge spit bitterly, opened his throat and yelled at the back. “Do you see this? Don’t take any sincerity here. After a few years of friendship, he won’t even extend any credit. Sooner or later, you’ll become the next Fai Baiyan.”

“Next.” Yu Le ignored him.

Lei Ge dragged his feet and walked bitterly towards the main ship of Elysium. Feng Jiang stepped forward with his eyes wide open.

“Newcomer? Three thousand for newcomers is enough. What do you mean by this number?”

“I didn’t dive deep,” Feng Jiang said hoarsely. “I just came from Elysium a few days ago…”

“I told you three days in advance. I remember you were there. There’s no shortage of work to prepare for disinfection. You can work bare-chested for a day or two, dive deep into the ruins, and three thousand could easily be made up.” Yu Le rolled his eyes. “Hide by yourself or be dragged away by Elysium. You can choose. Next!”

“I’m a rebel…”

“Even if you are Ruan Xian’s own son, you have to follow laozi’s rules in laozi’s territory. Don’t expect anything from Tu Rui. He won’t intercede for you. Are you sick? Disabled? Why are there so many mothers-in-laws* today. Next!”

*(婆婆妈妈) Term used to describe people who are long-winded and do trivial actions. Also used to describe those who are emotionally vulnerable, but in this context it’s the former.

Feng Jiang took a few deep breaths and turned his head in the direction of the main ship of Elysium. A young man in the team poked his head out for a while, then walked up.

Half an hour later, Yu Le turned his wrist and smiled for the first time. “Oh, you two are back. You both look like you were dug out of a construction site. Bathing is not included in the disinfection. Well, since you two are in a relationship, you can both get a discount for your contributions…”

“We got another ship. The chains are tied, and we will stop there.” Tang Yibu pointed in the direction of the stern, “Is that enough?”

Yu Le grinned and waved his pen and paper. “Enough, it’s enough, go on. Gang Zi is down there. You can ask him if you don’t understand.”

Ruan Xian took the proof, glanced casually, and his facial muscles twitched.

“This is the captain’s anti-counterfeiting method. I’m afraid someone will try to sneak in.” They climbed down the iron ladder, and Gang Zi was waiting for them below the ship as he checked the proof in people’s hands one by one. “I recognize the captain’s handwriting. Even if I’m not sure, I can still ask the captain about it.”

“No, I want to ask about the content…”

“The captain’s own impression of everyone is hard to fake. Look at this. A litter of mongooses, the captain’s impression of Chen Baoshan and his family.”

On the piece of paper were simply drawn a few U-shaped objects that looked more like a bunch of ghosts than mongooses. Ruan Xian instantly understood the anti-counterfeit effect of this thing, as most people really can’t draw like this.

Ruan Xian looked at his speechlessly. He tried to distinguish it for a long time, and he probably had a guess in his heart but…

“You’re a snake.” Gang Zi confirmed his guess. “I know what you want to say, it looks like a lump… Ahem, the captain has always drawn snakes like this. Forgive me.”

Ruan Xian numbly stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket and raised his chin at Tang Yibu. Gang Zi frowned at the voucher that Tang Yibu handed over, sighed, and stuffed it back.

“It stands to reason that I have to confirm with the captain, but since the two came together, and the handwriting is also like the captain’s, it shouldn’t be a forgery. It’s just that it’s usually an animal, Xiao Tang… Forget it, forget it.”

Tang Yibu smiled and picked up the piece of paper, folding it. Ruan Xian moved half a step back, and saw the contents of the paper from the gap between Tang Yibu’s movements…

A poorly painted stick figure was drawn on it.

“It’s past four in the afternoon, and there’s less than an hour before we set sail. The two of you can find a comfortable place to sit down. It may get bumpy.” Gang Zi cleared his throat and continued to check tickets.

Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu exchanged glances.

The interior of the boat was divided into many layers by breathable metal mesh, and people generally got together when camping. Relying on their physical strength, the two of them climbed to the top floor with the least number of people and shrank in the corner.

“It’s impossible for Yu Le to tell. There’s no problem with my disguise.” Tang Yibu untied his backpack and grabbed two bottles of champagne, a large piece of fresh cornbread, and even a can of caviar. In the end, he took out the iron bead that was being crushed to death and stuck it firmly between the two iron bars.

“Next time you can choose reasons other than a sexual fetish,” Ruan Xian said, while accepting the bread, “You didn’t just pick up the iron bead, did you?”

“If I didn’t grab these, they would be broken.” Tang Yibu confidently pulled off the cap of the bottle of champagne and handed it to Ruan Xian. “I can’t figure it out…”

“Maybe he just thinks you look like an android.” Ruan Xian comforted him very sincerely and took a bite of the bread. “Anyway, he doesn’t have evidence. At best, he can only guess that you’re my android—Don’t worry too much. We’ll leave as soon as possible after disinfection.”

Tang Yibu stuffed a mouthful of bread with a contemplative expression on his face.

“Okay, let’s talk about something else.” Ruan Xian took a sip of champagne cautiously.

There was less than an hour left. When the disinfection began, Tu Rui would definitely be back, and they could ask questions. Even if something went wrong, it was very convenient to escape under the bombardment. Whether it was the Walking Stones or the Order Supervisors, it was destined that they wouldn’t concentrate their efforts on tracking the whereabouts of two people.

“Oh.” Tang Yibu was shocked. He stretched out his arm and put some caviar on Ruan Xian’s bread. “Fan Baiyan’s side just now…”

“People will live like that.”

Ruan Xian suddenly felt that the bread in his mouth had no taste. He stopped chewing and looked at the caviar on the bread. This may be Fan Baiyan’s private collection. It didn’t release much of a fishy smell, but rather a faint nutty aroma.

“As long as you firmly believe that the other party is good, no matter how much you have suffered, you will not treat them seriously as if they are harmful. Those who are paranoid will also use them as a test and tempering.”

The hand holding the wine bottle trembled a little. Ruan Xian was silent for a while and put the champagne bottle on the ground.

“Their bodies are broken, and the fact that they are under control is also very obvious. You may not notice it for a day or two, but long-term drug use will inevitably weaken the body.” Tang Yibu frowned slightly.

“’Knowing’ and ‘understanding’ are two different things,” Ruan Xian replied indifferently. “It’s not that Fan Baiyan had brilliant acting skills, but the people of Elysium had the desire to believe. They want to believe that Elysium is stable, and that their dedication and trust will be rewarded.”

As long as there were enough people moving in a certain direction, someone would follow in a daze. At this point, the difference between man and sheep may not be that great. Once immersed in a certain kind of water, it was like being entangled in a warm swamp. Sober people would try to question it, while docile people usually just sink. They were gathered so closely and so united—how could the “vast majority” be wrong?

Not to mention that they “wanted” to join this illusory dream.

Tang Yibu swallowed the bread in his mouth, lowered his eyes, and chewed on the edge of the bread in small bites. There was still blood on his hands, and his long eyelashes were stained with dust.

“I don’t understand.” After thinking for nearly ten minutes, the android spoke again.

“It took me a long time to figure this out,” Ruan Xian replied quietly, withdrawing his gaze from Tang Yibu. “After all, you’re not the same kind, so this kind of idea may be more difficult to understand.”

“It seems that the sample information I collected is still not enough.” Tang Yibu stuffed the pieces of bread stained with caviar into his mouth, his voice a little muffled. “…Thank you for your explanation.”

“You’re welcome.” Ruan Xian smiled briefly and fed the metal bottle cap to the iron bead.

The iron bead opened its mouth happily, ready to pick up the two bottle caps that flew over when the hull of the ship bumped at this moment, causing the two bottle caps to fly away, making the iron bead stuck to the bars let out a rattling cry.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Walking Stones are fixing Elysium’s main ship, a bit like a trailer.” Tang Yibu hugged Ruan Xian tightly for the first time. He tightly grabbed the other party’s waist with one hand and the iron railing with the other and put his face on the small window. “The Walking Stones are about to make their move.”

Another wave of tremors. Ruan Xian also pulled out the iron bead stuck in the railing and stuffed it into his backpack and carried it behind him. The finished champagne bottle rolled down the slopping metal mesh and hit the ground with a clatter.

“It’s time for us… Uh.” Ruan Xian wanted to say that it was time to find Tu Rui, but he was almost vomited by the sudden bumps created by the Walking Stones. He didn’t know where Yu Le learned his sailing skills from, but the Walking Stones trembled as if it was a tricycle riding on a mountain road.

Tang Yibu left the window, put his arms through the metal mesh, put his knees on top, and pressed Ruan Xian against the metal mesh. The backpack containing the iron bead was thrown aside and firmly hooked onto Ruan Xian’s shoulders. This posture was obviously very labor-saving, and the android breathed in satisfaction and directly used Ruan Xian as a meat mat.

“You are going to crush me to death,” Ruan Xian said with difficulty.

The other person’s weight and body temperature hit together, causing him to have difficulty breathing in every sense.

“Is Tu Rui back?” Tang Yibu leaned aside, aggrieved. “If I don’t lock you in place and it starts shaking badly, you may be seriously injured by something. So many people are watching. In case you recover on the spot…”

“Tu Rui hasn’t come back yet, so you don’t have to explain,” Ruan Xian gasped with difficulty. The air in the confined cabin was already muggy, and the continuous turbulence aggravated his discomfort. “If you keep talking, I’ll vomit on your face.”

Tang Yibu hummed, then backed down, resting his head on Ruan Xian’s chest. “What about this?”

If it weren’t for the terrible environment, Ruan Xian would have wanted to refuse this overly intimate posture, but after the vomit of another person flew over his head and almost splashed on him, Ruan Xian decided to remain silent and stick firmly to his original position.

Amidst the huge bumps, Tang Yibu began to hum the sad love song while upside-down. Ruan Xian tried his best to calm down for a while, and finally was able to open his mouth.

“Why are you humming upside down?” He asked with difficulty. “This is Carol Young’s ‘Step by Step’. I can hear it.”

Tang Yibu stopped humming. From this angle, Ruan Xian could only see the top of his head and the tip of his nose. The soft black hair was scattered on his chest, and the weight of the other person brought an inexplicable sense of security.

“I don’t know,” the android replied, “but it seems to make me feel like I can go back in time, which gives me a strange feeling.”

“Strange feeling?”

“Nn.”

“Would you mind explaining?”

“It’s like a caviar jar that was dropped to the ground as soon as it was opened, and the cornbread fell into the mud.” Tang Yibu raised his head, with a little emotion in his eyes that Ruan Xian couldn’t understand. This was so rare that Ruan Xian was taken aback.

“They used to be my things, but I can’t restore them to their original state.” Tang Yibu’s voice was a little low. “What do humans call this?”

In an instant, countless memories hit his chest. Ruan Xian was a little nauseous again this time, but the reason wasn’t from the turbulence of the Walking Stones.

“Regret,” he replied softly.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 53: Captain’s End

At the beginning of the Great Rebellion in the 22^nd century, first-tier cities* were taken as the primary targets by MUL-01, and various research institutions and elite gathering places bore the brunt. Despite the fact that many people escaped, the survivors were mostly middle- and lower-class people. It wasn’t that there weren’t people with top-notch knowledge, but the number was pitifully small.

*Hierarchical classification of Chinese cities. It depends on multiple factors on what determines their rank, though it usually reflects consumer behavior, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity.

Ships and weapons were not made of children’s building blocks, so it was impossible for inexperienced people to put them together casually.

No one thought Fan Baiyan would let go and give up such a big cake like Elysium. The Sea of Ruins was rich in materials, but it was necessary to use the limited talents to build a main ship into Elysium, which wasn’t possible in just a few years.

Under the threat of that behemoth, most of the captains chose to keep a low profile. There was already a giant tree in this forest, so they had to stretch their branches horizontally to steal a little leaked sunlight. If someone dared to go up, even if they didn’t die before disinfection, they would sooner or later become Fan Baiyan’s sacrifice to the Order Supervisors.

But there were always lunatics who wanted to try. In recent years, the craziest and most successful ship was now bombarding the giant ship trying to escape.

Tu Rui commanded the movement of the fleet and used an infrared scanner to infer the condition of the main ship of Elysium. He and Yu Le were located directly behind the attacking fleet, outside the maximum attack range of Elysium, guaranteeing some safety. Nevertheless, he was unwilling to bring Yu Le…

“What the hell are you doing here?” Tu Rui gritted his teeth.

Yu Le slumped on the chair in the command cabin, still looking through a cheap pornographic magazine. He shook the thin pages of paper loudly and, from time to time, would let out a whistle.

“Coming to accompany you? If I die in two days, no one will play background music for you.”

“Fuck off,” Tu Rui responded weakly as he adjusted his glasses. “Be serious.”

“Lao Tu, you said that we have known each other for almost two years.” In the tremor caused by the artillery fire, Yu Le stretched out his long legs and kicked over the empty cup on one side of the iron cabinet. The tinplate cup jingled and fell to the ground, but Yu Le didn’t even bother to look at it.

“Less than 20 months.” Tu Rui stared at the display screen in front of him and quickly deployed his manpower. “Team A and Team E go to the left wing. That Old Scoundrel Fan has to turn left and retreat 500 meters to the right. Be careful on the stern and watch for stray bullets.”

“Back then, I saw a little four-eyed buried in the mud, and I grabbed it so easily ending up with a deputy captain. Do you think this is luck?” Yu Le opened a can of beer, poured it into his throat, and let out a sigh of relief. “Time flies by so quickly.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you for saving your life.” Tu Rui used his fingers to draw an offensive road map on the display screen. “Do you have anything else to do? Huh, we finally got a chance to turn around. Listening to this tone, the Mainbrain will not kill you, so are you going to find a place to hang yourself? If you want to, go quickly. Don’t waste the feelings of this big guy here.”

“Fuck your mother.” Yu Le crushed the beer can, paused a few seconds, and cursed with a smile as usual.

“…I’m here just in case. Lao Tu, when I hang myself, remember to go under my bed and feel around. The yellow books* that laozi has saved for all these years are all there! I’m quite dignified and upright. It’s okay if people are gone, but spiritual inheritance can’t be lost. When the time comes, you must remember to find them and provide for them well. If you do borrow them, make sure to register and disinfect them—”

*Slang for dirty/vulgar materials like porn mags.

“I never want to touch your pile of books with my hands in my life.” Tu Rui didn’t hide the disgust in his tone.

“That won’t do. I also mixed in the ship operation tips I wrote.”

Tu Rui’s movements suddenly stopped. “Yu Le, what do you mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just in case.” Yu Le stood up from the chair and patted his ass. “Don’t you understand, Mr. Tu? Captain Tu? It’s getting bright outside. We have to wait for the bombs from the Order Supervisors at night. Your job is to clean up Elysium, while I have to drive the ship away. Do you hear me?”

“I’ll be done before three in the afternoon.” Tu Rui stared at Yu Le’s movements and agreed. “Disinfection always starts around six. It’s always been like this.”

“Okay, let’s talk about it then.” Yu Le skillfully untied the steel cable and squatted into a spherical single boat. “I’ll go back to the main ship and collect a wave of boarding fees. Let’s meet here at three in the afternoon.”

“Get out of here.”

“By the way, help me thank those two boys.”

“Thank them yourself.”

Yu Le waved his hand and didn’t respond.

At the same time, the fleet pressed forward.

“Are you sure you won’t go to Tu Rui?” Tang Yibu was squatting on a collapsed square column as an artillery shell flew over half a meter above their heads. The blast caused the android to sway. “Or we can just kill Fan Baiyan.”

“No.” Ruan Xian, who was held in his arms, didn’t move. He grabbed the front lapel of Tang Yibu’s clothes with one hand and clenched the blood gun tightly with the other. “There are more than two ships in this Sea of Ruins, and Yu Le’s behavior isn’t flattering. If Fan Baiyan is killed, the remaining votes may concentrate on him.”

One mountain couldn’t hold two tigers*. When two tigers are killed and injured, wolves and hyenas wouldn’t mind letting them both disappear at the same time.

*(一山不容二虎) Metaphor referring to two strong people in the same place aren’t compatible.

“I don’t want to protect Fan Baiyan,” Tang Yibu said discontentedly. “What you are talking about is just a possibility. Looking at this offensive, the Walking Stones don’t seem to have any scruples about Fan Baiyan’s life. They definitely have a backup plan.”

“That’s right, so I just suggest waiting and see. As long as Tu Rui can’t pick out any mistakes on our part, everything else will go smoothly.” Ruan Xian looked at the outside of the commercial building that was blowing thick smoke. He always felt that something was wrong. Reality shouldn’t be this calm.

“Duan Lili died too quietly.” After a long time, he decided to speak out about his concerns.

As an Order Supervisor, the position of the deputy captain could at least ensure that she won’t die so casually. Even if Elysium wasn’t a safe place to live, if she had the same physical body as Major Ding, she may also die due to other types of accidents. As a canary in a birdcage, the possibility of this death being widely witnessed by others was quite high, and she couldn’t let a clone come back from the outside world like the petri dishes.

In such a haphazard and weird environment, it was highly unlikely that Duan Lili hadn’t considered the possibility of “death”. She had always been committed to making herself look extremely miserable. Death was the easiest thing to write off, yet she simply let it go.

It was too unnatural.

However, after Duan Lili died, there were no strange changes to Elysium. The fleet of the Walking Stones was desperately attacking, and more than a dozen sentinel submarines of the other pirate ships were watching from a distance. The battle was right in front of them, and even if the situation was quite lively, no other forces were willing to join at this moment.

The safest route was to go back to the Walking Stones first and directly to Tu Rui, but…

Another wave of explosions exploded around him, causing Ruan Xian’s ears to buzz. His blood mixed with molten iron burned all the way along his blood vessels. He licked the blood stains at the corners of his mouth and glanced back and forth at the fast-moving battleships.

For the first time, the feeling of being “alive” had never felt so real.

“Let’s dance to another song,” he said in a little hoarse voice. “Help them end things early.”

Tang Yibu lowered his head with a little surprise in his eyes. “From my understanding, I thought you would want to evacuate quickly and take shelter at the Walking Stones.”

“I don’t know why, but I don’t seem to be destined to die simply.” Ruan Xian twitched the corners of his mouth, broke away from Tang Yibu’s embrace, and stepped on the square pillar with both feet. “Now I want to verify it.”

Obviously, his body was extremely fragile, but he was able to escape death time and time again, and as a result, he obtained better material conditions. He was shot in the head by Fan Linsong as an adult. Not only did he not die, but he was also transformed into something that won’t easily die now.

It was like a lame joke.

Or maybe his mother’s judgement wasn’t all that off.

[You are a demon. A demon… You’re not my child. I can’t give birth to such a child…]

She was probably right.

“Come on.” Ruan Xian opened his arms and made a gesture similar to a hug. “I don’t think this fall will make it to the point where I can’t fight.”

“Okay.” Tang Yibu thought for a few seconds and then walked forward. “You’re right. I also suspect that Duan Lili has left something behind. Well, if her plans aren’t revealed before the disinfection, we’ll go back to the Walking Stones.”

“Deal.”

Ruan Xian hugged the other person’s warm arms and made a dance posture. “It’s a pity that there’s no music this time.”

“The sound of the cannon is too loud, otherwise I can hum it to you.” Tang Yibu smiled. “Are you ready?”

“Nn.”

In the next moment, the two let go of each other.

Ruan Xian fell from the square pillar and onto a small battleship that rushed over. Ignoring the pain of the fall, he rolled directly onto the deck and jumped above the weapon that was firing. Blood bullets poured towards the shaft of the weapon, forcibly adjusting its angle.

The barrel of the Elysium’s ship that was just about to fire was hit upright and the artillery shell exploded directly inside. The big ship let out a long creak and tilted to the other side under the effect of the explosion. Dozens of shells were fired out of the small barrel and rushed towards the battleship of the Walking Stones.

Ruan Xian turned around and stared at the fragile interface on the artillery shell. The S-type Prototype provided him with all the information he wanted or didn’t want, and he absorbed it all and turned it into his own weapon.

The blood bullets rushed towards several of the shells, successfully penetrated into the burning seams, and detonated them in advance. A small battleship of the Walking Stones rushed out of the thick smoke and its attack was uninterrupted.

Tang Yibu jumped onto another battleship, and his approach was even more crude—the android tore open the ammunition box, directly grabbed the slender metal ammunition, and threw it in the direction of Elysium’s main ship.

The main battery was blown to pieces, and the big ship tilted even more severely. Finally, when the next artillery shell was dropped, it went straight through Elysium’s main ship.

Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, Fan Baiyan started to burn the shuttle agent, causing Ruan Xian to let out a sigh.

The Walking Stones naturally had a way to deal with this kind of situation. Another fluorescent artillery shell ripped through the thick smoke in the air and hit Elysium’s main ship again. Ruan Xian’s battleship was probably not equipped with such weapons, and it was about to turn back.

Ruan Xian lowered his gaze, looked at the dark abyss under his feet, and took a step forward without hesitation.

In the next second, Ruan Xian hit the familiar solid chest.

A strong wind passed by his ears, and his feet stepped on the sand-covered ground again. Tang Yibu let go of the hands around his waist, retracted the hook rope that served as a support point, and looked for a battleship with anti-shuttle weapons on the high platform. “Mr. Ruan, you just stepped on my foot.”

“It’s the first time I’ve danced to this kind of tune, so I’m not used to it.” Amidst the continuous explosions, Ruan Xian casually pointed to the artillery fire in the distance with a smile in his voice. “The ship you want is over there.”

“I see. I guessed it right.” Tang Yibu turned his head and smiled slightly.

Ruan Xian frowned—that smile wasn’t Tang Yibu’s usual smirk. It was a bit jerky, but it was indeed a smile-like expression.

“Next time you jump, it’s best to find a more conspicuous place.” The android straightened his messy black hair. “I have to see you clearly before I can catch you.”

“You did a great job just now.” Ruan Xian spun the gun in his hand twice. “See you later.”

They each stretched out an arm, took each other’s hands, and danced in a circle ritually.

Another round of destruction began.

Things shouldn’t have developed like this.

Fine sweat began to appear on Fan Baiyan’s forehead. While systematically allocating extremely limited power and controlling the navigation of the entire ship, his brain exploded with pain. The molecular printer had produced a lot of fireflies that could be used normally. However, the energy consumption for it was huge. If he continued, he would lose the electrical power that he needed to keep this behemoth called Elysium flickering.

The group of people who were restored by the fireflies didn’t come to much use either. Before the main ship of the Walking Stones appeared, the two main battery forts were already blown away. The battle lasted for nearly three hours, and in the end, they didn’t even shoot down a single enemy ship.

Even Fan Baiyan, who was experienced, was becoming more suffocated at this moment. Panic gradually infected his heart. His hands and feet were cold as bursts of fireworks appeared in front of him.

He had been operating Elysium for so long. This huge system shouldn’t be destroyed so easily. However, since Yu Le appeared, his good luck seemed to have been sucked dry. Almost every time he recruited a group of people, he would always manage to get a few usable people or get some interesting inspiration.

Just like meeting Duan Lili for the first time. That stupid girl ate indiscriminately, letting herself discover the beauty of the flickering grass fruit. Since then, his luck had been going uphill, and he had never encountered such a ridiculous situation.

The addicts in the hall were drowsy, and the gunfire outside the window was approaching. Fan Baiyan cursed a few expletives, kicked away a bodyguard and rushed back to the sixth floor. “Duan Lili, didn’t you hear me? Ah?”

But there was only a corpse waiting there.

A big hole was implanted in the young girl’s heart and blood dyed her moon-white cheongsam black and red. She lay helplessly among the patches of potholes made by ammunition and mechanical debris. Her eyes were wide open and was filled with terror.

Fan Baiyan immediately took a few steps back. His heart ran cold.

It was over. This was a bad sign. His lips trembled, and he rushed back to his room and began to do what he wanted to arrange for Duan Lili to do—check the amount of spare energy.

Outside the fake window, the sun was shining, birds and flowers were fragrant, and the blue lake was shimmering with sparkling light. Fan Baiyan’s heart was as gray as death. He took two steps back and turned off the backup energy meter.

Duan Lili didn’t come to his support in time and his estimation was wrong. Caught between internal and external troubles, even if he did survive this wave of offensiveness, he didn’t have the energy to move to Elysium and escape the oncoming disinfection.

It’s all over. Everything is over. Outside and inside too.

God forbade him to live.

Fan Baiyan racked his brains and couldn’t find any way to solve the current situation. If only the abnormality of flickering grass was discovered one day earlier, even if the attack of the Walking Stones arrived later…

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this situation. The old man swallowed his spit and let out a few groans.

He couldn’t figure out what went wrong, but he still had an out. No matter how bad it was, Yu Le couldn’t catch him. With his heart beating like a drum, Fan Baiyan connected all the spare energy into his room—his own private ship, and then pressed start.

He had to escape.

After several hours of bombing, Elysium finally stopped slowly. At the top of the building, a luxury yacht rushed through the air into thicker darkness. After half an hour, he had left the cannon fodder and explosions behind, and everything became quiet. Fan Baiyan finally regained his calm, rhythmic breathing and took in a deep breath.

Without the cover of the sound of artillery fire, a weird sizzling sound coming from behind became louder.

Something rushed from outside the door, bending it distortedly, and a slightly yellowish milky white liquid squeezed through the crack of the door. A faint sweet scent penetrated into his nostrils, causing Fan Baiyan to turn around cautiously, but he failed to recognize his enemies.

At almost the same second, a sharp alarm sounded in a certain corner of the operation panel, and the lights with insufficient energy kept flashing.

“Impossible!” Fan Baiyan roared. The energy he connected was enough for the ship to run a hundred times around the entire Sea of Ruins. The old man beat down on the operation panel irritably to check the distribution of energy consumption—

Under the display of the scanner, a small machine was hidden in his storage room, and the system recognized it as a molecular printer, but unlike other molecular printers, it didn’t have its own serial number and its shape was rough and rudimentary. The moment the ship was activated, it also began to turn on and work synchronously, as it was pre-set to work.

“Avoid the main energy source and use the spare energy external to the ship to produce… soymilk ice cream?”

Fan Baiyan was stunned for a few seconds.

He should have used these few seconds to close it, or simply jumped out of the window, but the order on the machine was so astonishing that he was frozen in place until the cold dessert rushed open from the hatch and instantly flooded the entire cabin.

‘All this may be just a funny nightmare,’ this was the last thought in the mind of the captain of Elysium.

Once again, he took Ruan Xian, who was falling, into his arms and held him up high. Tang Yibu wiped a few handfuls of dirt from his face and made an embarrassed look. He was planning to give Mr. Ruan a disheartened look so that he could meet with Tu Rui, but before he could do so, his actions froze.

“Ah,” he yelled softly after realizing it, “Can Fan Baiyan really not be killed?”

“Why do you ask this?” Ruan Xian was busy making a gap in Tang Yibu’s collar. He didn’t stop moving his hands and just raised his head. “You’re really intent on killing him.”

“He made everyone look the same, so I don’t like it.” Tang Yibu wiped Ruan Xian’s cheeks with two dirty hands and rubbed his ears again. “Of course, it’s mainly because he hurt them and tried to hurt me and you.”

“…Those pirates may not think it’s harmful to them.” Ruan Xian patted away the hands that were kneading his ears.

“But he gave them drugs that were addictive and hurtful and let them work intensively, overdrawing they health…”

“We can talk about this topic later.” Ruan Xian wasn’t led astray by Tang Yibu. “You answer me first. Why do you keep asking about Fan Baiyan?”

“Oh.” Tang Yibu put down his hands with a serious expression. “I set up a small little trick on his ship, so he might be dead.”

“……”

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The author has something to say:

Tang chic method of killing (×

Tang who finished dancing at Annihilation Point:

→It’s boring to go back alone.

→I don’t even have the iron bead.

→It’s better to set up a death trap for Fan Baiyan.

→You can even eat ice cream.

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Kinky Thoughts:

LMAO. God, I love Tang Yibu.

As they say, a captain must always go down with his ship!

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