Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 82: Intelligence Leak

Before Yu Le could wink, Ruan Xian quickly accepted the conversation.

He put away the broken eggshell in front of him and sighed slightly regretfully. “We did find one, but they’re too slow. We’re thinking about changing to a different one. Do you have any recommendations?”

“Slow?” He An raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, after we dropped you off, we found someone named Ji Xiaoman nearby. The shop was very close.” Yu Le naturally took over and patted He An beside him. “Unfortunately, that girl mentioned the long repair time and asked for a lot of things. These brothers are unfamiliar with life here and are afraid of being cheated. If things were going well, do you think we’d be out here in the middle of the night eating noodles?”

He An looked at the expressions of the two of them back and forth and nodded noncommittally.

“Then you have escaped disaster.” He casually drew circles on the table with his fingers. “Ji Xiaoman has just been involved in a power struggle, and no one can find her. If you do see her, remember to go to the edge of the city and let us know. There’s a lot of gratitude you get for assisting the City Defenders, enough to repair your car twice… So you found this noodle shop by yourself?”

“Of course not. When we left, that kid asked the girl casually. After all, I’ve been in the Sea of Ruins for a long time and usually don’t lack food, so I want to try something special.” Lao Yu was obviously a good liar. When some truth was mixed with lies, he had almost no subtle reactions that were unique to liars.

“It seems that this place is more chaotic than we thought.” Ruan Xian brought the topic back again. “I thought you were good at finding people. So, she’s gone and you can’t find her? Isn’t there a woman in her shop?”

“Disappeared with her.” He An shrugged. “Since you’re not familiar with this area, I advise you to leave early after eating. After all, you have Xiao Tang in your group. There’s no guide in a place like this, and there are people from all walks of life. Well, I’m just here to check on some news.”

As he spoke, he took an insulated lunch box from the old man and stood up. “I’ll leave first. Have a good meal everyone.”

He An’s attitude during the whole process was extremely friendly and natural, but before leaving, he glanced in Tang Yibu’s direction a few more times.

When they returned to the off-roader to try to rest, a light screen note was suspended in the air. The iron bead was jumping up and down trying to bite it, but it could only make a clattering sound as it bit the empty air. Seeing Tang Yibu stepping back into the car, it immediately barked in a low voice, jumping anxiously under the palm-sized light screen note.

The information on the light screen note was simple…

[When you come back, look for me in the container. Ji Xiaoman.]

This time, even Yu Le, who didn’t have superhuman analytical power, could see that Ji Xiaoman hadn’t rested well.

Her android mother was sleeping in a standard bed, wearing a patched nightgown and was tightly wrapped in her blanket. Ji Xiaoman specially isolated the lights from the metal plate in front of the workbench while she herself was working hard on it. The tablet given by Ruan Xian was lying quietly in a small dish. Ji Xiaoman was gently shaking a test tube, which reflected the heavy black bags under her eyes.

Seeing the three of them entering the carriage, she stopped her work, and didn’t seem too surprised.

“You brought this thing in again.” She locked the door of the carriage and glanced at the drooling iron bead in Tang Yibu’s arms. Those sticky secretions wet Tang Yibu’s sleeves and had the tendency to spread further.

“After all, we left it to dry all night. If we leave it in the car again, it’ll cause trouble and things will become more of a headache if we’re noticed.” Tang Yibu patted the shell of the iron bead and lowered his voice thoughtfully. “Don’t worry Miss Ji, I won’t let it run around.”

“Are you making cybernetic brain paralysis drugs?” Ruan Xian focused on the workbench.

“Yes, thanks for the pill.” Ji Xiaoman carefully got some powder and dissolved it in a solvent. “I tried it. The effective principle of this thing is to interrupt all thinking signals outside the cybernetic brain. As a result, androids taking it will retain their physical functions and certain computing power… But emotional simulation and intermediate thinking will be suppressed, and the advanced thinking correction obtained from MUL-01 will also be blocked.”

Her voice was soft and fast, as if she wanted to divert some attention.

Yu Le’s face was blank.

“To be precise, it can lock personality data in the cybernetic brain. Using a human analogy, the bionic life after taking the medicine will be like a vegetative person with a clear mind. The body is controlled and operated by a program that’s set by others.” Ji Xiaoman explained. “This kind of locking is irreversible… But as long as the dose is controlled, it can protect the cybernetic brain and let it sleep for a short time. A very delicate design.”

“In other words, it can be used as an anesthetic for androids after dilution,” Ruan Xian added, and Yu Le’s expression became serious.

After making sure that the pirate leader understood, Ruan Xian turned to Ji Xiaoman again. “I don’t think you called us over in the middle of the night to specifically give Yu Le a lesson on bionic mechanics.”

Ji Xiaoman was startled. She seemed to want to twist the corners of her clothes with her fingers, but her sharp fingertips directly cut the fabric. The young girl seemed to be choked by something in her throat, and after taking a few sips of water, she barely made a sound.

“…I’ll join.” Her voice was as low as a mosquito humming. “You destroyed one of his stores, right? I am willing to join.”

“News sure travels fast.” Yu Le was the first to question as he crossed his arms tightly. “Even the City Defenders have just arrived here not long ago.”

“The monitoring equipment I installed in that store is unresponsive.” Ji Xiaoman buried her head. “And you have a heavy smell of human brains.”

She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “Since you really have the courage to take action against Qian Yigeng, I can cooperate—not only will I provide you with information and tools, I can also tell you the location and structure of each of his stores, but I have two conditions.”

Ruan Xian motioned for her to continue with his gaze.

“First, you must never pull me and my mother into the water. I’m still the one who was kidnapped by you in name.” Ji Xiaoman cleared her throat. “Second, if you don’t get the mind access needle, or Qian Yigeng hasn’t been taken down, you can find someone else to repair the car.”

“I have no problem.” Yu Le raised his arms, and Tang Yibu nodded.

“Deal.” Ruan Xian stretched out his hand to her.

Ji Xiaoman hesitated for a few seconds and reached out. The metal prosthetics were cold and lighter than imagined.

“You have a bit of knowledge with that golden eye over there.”

Ji Xiaoman didn’t have the slightest intention of asking Tang Yibu if he was human. She just sat back in her seat and started heating the test tube. Compared to when they first came in, her metal fingers shook a little more this time.

“There’s a data indexing machine on the red table. Can you use it? There is medical equipment in the corner over there, but I can only do a simple blood analysis. I mainly use it to observe whether my mother’s blood is normal.” Setting up the test tube, she muttered and pointed to the two corners. “You don’t need to ask if you need to use it. Hong, keep an eye on your mechanical life.”

“My name is Yu Ge!” Yu Le grinned.

Ji Xiaoman glanced at Yu Le up and down before saying in a low voice, “…Uncle* Yu, keep an eye on that mechanical life.”

*Basically, she’s calling him old as ge is generally used for older males of the same generation, while Uncle is more like someone who’s around your father’s age.

“I’ll bring the iron bead back to the car.” Yu Le rolled his eyes and picked up the iron bead, which bit him on his finger, from Tang Yibu’s arms. “Little miss, give me some parts. I’ll go back and change some weapons. This broken container is too suffocating.”

“Do you want needles and threads? I also have those.” Ji Xiaoman asked very seriously.

“No, I have my own pants!”

“In half an hour, once I finish here.”

Watching Yu Le leave, Ji Xiaoman carefully drew the finished product into a syringe and put it in the refrigerator for storage.

“After I’m done, I’ll prepare the information on Qi Yigeng’s store for you. You can check it out for yourself… Remember to not cross the metal plate and keep your movements light. My mother is still sleeping in the back.”

Ruan Xian nodded and walked straight to the blood analyzer. Tang Yibu wiped off the saliva from the iron bead on his sleeve and followed Ruan Xian with a contemplative look.

Ruan Xian didn’t mind Tang Yibu’s gaze now. He quickly took a few tubes of blood from his arms and began to observe them with the analytical machine. Before, he had always put his real situation in a less important position in his heart, but after seeing those brains up close, his desire to find answers had swelled again—not for position or belonging, but because the puzzle kept getting bigger.

In his memory, Fan Linsong shot him in the head. There was no other possibility than for him to die on the spot as his brain wasn’t intact. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t meet the living requirements of the “Farewell Project” at that time.

If this memory wasn’t forcibly stuffed in by others, the memory of “Ruan Xian” should have been extracted. Then the situation of the other “Ruan Xian” was very interesting. Assuming the other party was a fake, how did his “memory” come to form?

But this may also be intentional. Perhaps his designer just wanted to make him mistakenly think he was the deity Ruan Xian. At present, it was impossible to find another Ruan Xian to study or confront. The only thing he had was himself.

This was undoubtedly a great opportunity, and Ji Xiaoman wasn’t their enemy. After all, she was just a young girl with insufficient resources who only wanted to cure her mother, and it wasn’t easy to find clues from cleaned machinery.

Not to mention that this blood analyzer was a terribly old model. Ruan Xian had used an extremely similar old model in the past, and this one only underwent a few technical changes.

Under Tang Yibu’s gaze, Ruan Xian pushed the dark red blood into the machine.

Accompanied by the rumble of mechanical operation, he leaned down and began to check the blood composition through the observation mirror. Then he held his breath for an instant—Not only was the machinery very familiar, but the results it gave also made him very familiar.

His own blood cells were mixed with a large number of artificial cells with α-092 characteristics, but there were some subtle differences. After all, Ruan Xian was still researching the improvement of the nanorobot α-092 “before his death”, and it could be said that he remembered its characteristics clearly.

If the S-type Prototype fused with him, why was there only such a single feature in his blood cells?

Ruan Xian stood up and quickly walked to the area where the data retrieval machine was located. Ji Xiaoman had a lot of research on bionics and shouldn’t let go of that knowledge.

“Your face is a bit ugly.” Tang Yibu concluded after observation. He was like a shark smelling blood, following Ruan Xian closely.

Before entering the information on the retrieval machine, Ruan Xian hesitated for half a second. His gaze swept past Ji Xiaoman, who was still working hard, and stopped on Tang Yibu. They looked at each other in silence for a while, and then Ruan Xian finally stretched out his hand and clearly typed out the information he wanted to find.

Search object: α-092

Search result: Searching

Ruan Xian tapped the desktop hurriedly with his fingertips, while Tang Yibu turned to look at the blood analyzer in the corner of his eyes and touched his chin. Ruan Xian noticed the other party’s small movements but didn’t give any explanation. Because the retrieval machine gave the answer almost at the next moment—a light screen almost jumped on him.

[Nanobot α-092, originally used for organ preservation for transplantation, has extremely high cell-repairing power. It was later improved by Mr. Ruan Xian into an artificial cell structure, which can mimic all known cells and has strong stability.]

[The polymer based on α-092 is named Sense-Type artificial stem cells, also known as S-type Prototype. After inducing differentiation, the A-type (Attack type) Prototype and the D-type (Defense type) Prototype came out one after another.]

[The α-092 before the transformation still stayed around. After a series of fine-tuning, it’s still widely used in biological tissue preservation and cell division stimulation.]

“Yibu.” Ruan Xian turned off the light screen.

“Hmm?”

“I remember Chi Lei mentioned in his book, ‘In order to ensure safety, humans have not equipped them with any artificial intelligence’… Ruan Xian didn’t give the Prototype the ability to think, right?” His voice was as soft as a whisper.

“Yes,” Tang Yibu replied, with interest.

“What do they look like? I mean…those Prototypes. Is it a white mass, shapeless? At first glance, it looks like—”

“Like a large jellyfish.” Tang Yibu propped up the edge of the table and turned his head sideways, putting his face close to him. “Mr. Ruan, why are you asking this all of a sudden? There’s no records in your initial visual data. No, maybe it should be said that you should ‘remember’ it. There was definitely a mechanical pump port, or something like that, to introduce it into your blood circulation…”

The android’s voice became lower, and his brows frowned. A faint suspicion gradually appeared in his eyes as he looked at the blank face of the person in front of him.

Distracted. Ruan Xian clenched his fists. He revealed a little flaw in himself, and he had to quickly cover up.

But the weirdness of this incident was hindering his thinking and diverting his attention. If the Prototype had no thinking abilities, why did it take the initiative to attack him?

“I remember.” He grinned, quickly assembling known information in his head. “I just suddenly thought of something. My blood sample is a bit like the tissue solution of a previous α-092. The source of the prototype wasn’t mentioned in Chi Lei’s book. I thought it—”

Tang Yibu suddenly stretched out a hand and squeezed Ruan Xian’s wrist tightly. His strength was so terrifying that Ruan Xian thought for a second that his wrist would be directly crushed. For the first time, he saw the android made an expression close to “sharp”. Tang Yibu imprisoned him silently by the table, with his back to Ji Xiaoman, making sure the little girl couldn’t see their faces.

“In order to ensure that the mechanism of the Prototype wouldn’t be hacked, the function of α-092 variant after its introduction hasn’t changed much, but it’s mixed with a lot of interference expressions, which looks far from the Prototype. The variant samples before the transformation are a top secret. There are fewer than 30 people in the world who have been exposed to it.”

“…Where did your information come from, Mr. Ruan?”

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The author has something to say:

Ruan: Trying to cover the horse feet√

Tang: Trying to pick up the horse.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 81: Out of Control

Yu Le watched the noodles in the bowl bubble up in front of him, fiddled impatiently with the branches, and finally gave up the idea of continuing to eat. After surviving in the Sea of Ruins for so many years, he wasn’t a picky eater, but the fishy smell of the human brains in his memory still lingered at the end of his nose, and his nausea refused to dissipate.

He raised his head again and glanced at Ruan Xian, who was silently peeling eggshells. A few hours ago, that handsome young man looked much paler than he was now.

“Can anyone answer me, what were these things used for before the Great Rebellion?” The memory returned to the basement of the flower peacock shop again, and the other party’s question was still buzzing in his ears.

Yu Le suspected that after returning to the car to rest tonight, he would still dream of those crazy scenes in the basement.

Ruan Xian actually had no appetite. Although everything on the ground floor of that shop had disappeared with the flames, the white light on the operating table was still engraved in his mind.

For the purpose of study and research, he had dissected many creatures since he was a student, until the disease made him lose the ability to pick up a scalpel. Ruan Xian had a high degree of acceptance of blood, but the madness in that scene shook him.

It was difficult for people in peacetime to imagine a pile of real corpses.

People may have seen it in film and television works, texts, or pictures and mistakenly believed that their receptivity was sufficient, but vision and imagination were only two aspects of perception. When a person stood in a real pool of blood, surrounded by the bodies and wreckage of their own kind, the sensory impact wasn’t in the same order of magnitude at all. In an era when people still needed to personally shoot and execute criminals, police officers dealing with all kinds of darkness still needed psychological counseling from all the too twisted scenes that were most likely to collapse the public’s imagination.

Ruan Xian was calmer than he thought, but the cold he felt was more inclined in the other direction.

He suddenly had a weird feeling—his previous self was like a wolf raised among a rabbit pile, and he insisted on living on vegetable leaves under various training. And when they stepped out of the cage, the rabbits were busy gnawing on the flesh scraps of corpses, their mouths full of blood.

Even though there was no shortage of corpses in the Sea of Ruins, the ones here were even more frenzied. The corpse pile itself was bad enough but appearing on a battlefield and appearing in a relatively peaceful neighborhood created two different effects.

The blood was spreading through his memory.

“I don’t know.” Yu Le hesitated for the first time in his memory. “I have been in prison for some years, so I don’t know what was going on outside. Fuck, what the hell are these things…”

The former captain of the Walking Stones seemed to be trying to adjust the atmosphere, but there was an uncontrollable shock in his voice.

“Ruan Xian and Fan Linsong’s ‘Farewell Project’ was different. I should have mentioned that plan to you,” Tang Yibu answered smoothly and coldly. “Extract the memories of patients with special brain damage and complete loss of perception and replace the brain with a cybernetic brain. They let such new products accompany their families in life, and they also let them get rid of the fate of spending money on a hopeless, vegetative person for many years. Of course, some people insist that such products are also considered their family members, but they are just equipped with artificial organs, which is very common.”

“You said that the Farewell Project is strictly controlled.”

“Correct.” Tang Yibu glanced at the cybernetic brain on the shelf. “But I also said that Plan Corp chose another path. They used human tissue and a mechanically synthetic shell, combined with a cybernetic brain, to make androids and put them on the market… At that time, the Ministry of Ethics required that the composition of human tissue in the android’s body could not exceed 35%, and the tissue donation must also be through legal means.”

Then he walked to the edge of the pool full of bodies, lowered his head, and looked at the bodies packed like sardines in it. “Strictly controlling the content of human tissue requires very cutting-edge bionic mechanical technology. We all know how to do it the easiest way. Just combine this plan with the Farewell Project—to create a complete clone, remove the brain, and replace it with a cybernetic brain. Natural design is much more subtle than humans, and it’s faster to manufacture.”

“Part of the black market…?” Ruan Xian felt uncomfortable all over.

“Not necessarily.” Tang Yibu turned his head, and all the smiles on his face disappeared. “To be honest, many people don’t care.”

“……”

“Few people really care about the emotions of others, let alone what’s on their minds. As long as you don’t have to see this picture in person, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to treat humans as commodities. “

Tang Yibu stretched out his hand and pulled out a wet arm from the pool.

“On the other hand, if a large number of artificial mechanical organs are used, the natural tissue content of normal humans may also be less than 35%. Can such a person be classified as an android? Later, people simply turn a blind eye.”

“Your ethics department’s efficiency is terrible.” Ruan Xian forced a smile. The inexplicable discomfort became stronger.

“No, the benefits are too great.” Tang Yibu threw back the unresponsive arm. “When Plan Corp launched the android…”

“I know about this. There was much opposition to the use of humanoid mechanical life, right?” Yu Le was still staring at the barrel of brains as he grinded his teeth loudly. “Just before I was jailed, I remember it was quite noisy, but everyone quickly settled down. With legal slaves, they could live more comfortably by themselves. There’s public opinion and money on top of it; who cares about morality and bottom lines?”

“So this is the machine that takes out the brain.” Ruan Xian moved his gaze from the operating table to the pool. “…And that’s the body preservation tank. The bodies are made by an organic printer like that of the refuge. How truly convenient.”

He was silent for a while; his gaze swept over the blood-stained operating table machinery. In the dim lighting, the machine’s slender metal feet cast messy black shadows on the operating table, and with the bloodstains on it, it showed a scene of teeth and claws.

“The technique of taking memory samples from living bodies and then filling a cybernetic brain with memory is definitely not something that non-professionals can do casually. The Farewell Project was Ruan Xian’s own thing, yet he can’t even manage his own technology?”

The anger that he hadn’t experienced in a long time hit him again. Ruan Xian pierced his nails into the palm of his hand and tried to keep his tone steady.

“Sorry, I don’t know the details here.” Tang Yibu’s voice was flat. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but Ruan Xian felt a bit lonely coming from it. The android stood on the edge of the pool filled with body parts, as if he was a part of it, looking strong but also fragile.

“…Crazy, all crazy,” Yu Le murmured. “Compared with these people, Fan Baiyan could be considered a conservative. It seems that it was right to be locked up. I would rather face that group of murderers than watch this…”

“Let’s make a big noise.” Ruan Xian said clearly.

Yu Le and Tang Yibu looked at him at the same time. Tang Yibu turned his head slightly, his eyes flashing with something Ruan Xian didn’t understand.

“What are you planning?” Yu Le sounded eager to try.

“No, our intelligence is insufficient right now.” Tang Yibu rarely puts forward opposition. “This is not the Sea of Ruins. I don’t know much about it. Coupled with the previous City Defenders, the power situation in the Underground City is relatively complicated. Even if our combat ability is fine, if we make too much trouble, it’ll definitely attract the Order Supervisors…”

He paused.

“What’s more, most of the people here are accustomed to this kind of thing. Qian Yigeng most definitely isn’t the only person doing this. It’s pointless to make a big fuss. Mr. Ruan, this isn’t the purpose of our coming here. It’s better to choose a plan with the greatest chance of winning.”

“I don’t care how other people react, nor how many people are still doing it. Tang Yibu, do you really think I want to be a self-indulgent hero? You still have to learn in terms of observation.”

Ruan Xian began to take materials from the medicine cabinet next to the operating table with extremely firm movements.

“I know how to get the best win rate. It’s just that I’m not in a good mood right now and I don’t care to control it.”

He threw two packs of hemostatic powder casually on the blood-stained operating table and supported himself on the edge of it with both hands, not caring at all about the bloodstains on his hands. Across the operating table, he looked directly into Tang Yibu’s eyes.

“Next, I will declare war, and I will bite Qian Yigeng’s throat tightly and pull him out of this street. As for power, it’s good to take advantage of every move. Our winning chance isn’t zero. We can win. If you want to stop… You know how you can stop me.”

Ruan Xian touched the earring stud in his left ear. Tang Yibu was silent and didn’t respond.

The android silently watched Ruan Xian mix the medicine with other chemicals, while Yu Le began to destroy the large machine proficiently and dumped fuel at key points. The priceless old-fashioned cybernetic brains were placed on the shelf besides him, but the former pirate didn’t even bother to look at them again.

“Yu Le, there’s a fireproof device here. You first go upstairs and make a small fire first. Check to see if those who need to evacuate get out. Then just leave. Remember to draw the attention of those people at the door. Yibu and I will guard this area. When the time is right…”

He pulled the corners of his mouth up, showing a smile that was almost joyful.

“This place will burn to the ground with a bang.”

“Where will we meet?” Yu Le didn’t express any protest against Ruan Xian’s command. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his sturdy forearms, and then put a sharp scalpel in his waist bag.

“Yibu, do you still want something to eat?” When turning to Tang Yibu, Ruan Xian’s voice softened slightly. “It’s a bit risky to go directly back to the car. Let’s meet at Li Ji Noodle House.”

Yu Le gave him a thumbs up and quickly left the creepy basement. Tang Yibu remained silent. He stared at Ruan Xian tightly, as if he had met him for the first time.

“Perhaps it’s a miscalculation of personality data.” After a long time, he spoke. “Starting from the Sea of Ruins, you’re getting more and more… out of control.”

“Facing such a scene, you want to put the words out of control on me?” Ruan Xian wrapped the wet mixture and stuffed it into an iron pipe he found. “I thought you would like this kind of experiment. After all, you can see a lot of things that you can’t normally see.”

Silence floated between the two for a few seconds.

“Ah.” Ruan Xian put the ready-made time bombs in place. He wiped his hands on his white coat, and the smile on his face became weird. “You’re worried.”

He walked slowly to Tang Yibu and raised his head slightly. “I’m getting more out of control because I’m starting to choose a more difficult path, right? You’re starting to guess… If I continue like this, maybe one day I will also ignore the most reasonable choice and risk my life to attack you.”

He stretched out his hands and held Tang Yibu’s cheeks. He found vigilance in the other party’s gaze without surprise, and there was a hint of panic that was almost untraceable.

“I don’t like this feeling,” Tang Yibu murmured, stretched out a hand, and vaguely stuck it on Ruan Xian’s throat. “It makes me a little uncomfortable.”

The android tightened his fingers slightly, and his gaze swept across the absurd room. Ruan Xian didn’t struggle. He let go of the hand holding the other party’s cheek and touched the operating table behind him.

Two steps away from their feet was a pool with countless bodies piled up and shattered brains that kept spitting out fishy smells from the metal barrels. Tang Yibu pressed him to the edge of the operating table, completely snatching all his escape routes, but the confusion in those golden eyes became deeper.

“It seems you found that I’m not the only one who is out of control,” Ruan Xian continued with some difficulty, clenching his fists secretly.

“This is a test.” Tang Yibu’s voice was hoarse. “You deliberately supported Yu Le, and you didn’t choose a more dangerous approach purely out of emotions…”

“I even prepared a venue and equipment for you.” Ruan Xian smiled. “If you destroy my brain, you may even have the opportunity to replace it with a new old-fashioned cybernetic brain. Very convenient. This is the safest and most reasonable solution. Why don’t you take action?”

A near-dark rage mixed with subtle longing burst out the moment he discovered the true use of the machine. This move was completely foolish but full of temptation. His reason and common sense screamed to stop, but Ruan Xian involuntarily moved his feet to the edge of the cliff.

Perhaps the absurd environment exacerbated this madness, and the almost illogical pleasure made his blood boil.

An outburst of anger, a subtle desire. Ruan Xian wasn’t sure if he wanted to confirm something or deny something impatiently. He didn’t know if he was seeing things, but the barrel of the gun that was clinging to the skin near his ribs was slightly warm. The makeshift explosive device held in his hand made his palm hurt, perhaps because it was bleeding.

He ignored the pain and looked at those beautiful eyes with fascination.

“Why don’t you do it?” He repeated it again and was satisfied to find that Tang Yibu’s ability to restrain himself was getting smaller. For a moment, he looked like a lone wolf who had lost his pack.

“This is a dangerous influence,” Tang Yibu murmured, sounding even a little aggrieved. “Unknown and dangerous, but very valuable. And it makes me… very uncomfortable.”

He looked at Ruan Xian, as if he wanted to dig out some antidote from the other person’s face with his gaze.

“Mr. Ruan,” a few seconds later, he whispered in a low voice, as if it wasn’t himself who had just shown murderous intent. “You win. Let’s take this step first and see Qian Yigeng’s reaction. I still don’t support your approach, but if I can’t hear you anymore…”

Ruan Xian didn’t respond. He hooked Tang Yibu’s waist with one hand, grabbed the other’s black hair with his other hand, and kissed him fiercely. The makeshift bomb in his hand rolled to the ground and stopped quietly. Tang Yibu responded to the kiss a little awkwardly for the first time. He pressed the other party on the operating table again and almost rubbed his forehead against the bloodstained mechanical tip.

It wasn’t a lustful kiss. Ruan Xian didn’t even know why he was doing it—maybe he wanted to prove a certain emotion, or maybe he wanted to defeat his opponent with this.

And the other party’s reaction was also marked by the same uncertainty and vacillation.

‘Simply escaping was no longer an option,’ Ruan Xian thought. Not to mention Tang Yibu, he couldn’t accept this—the other party was like a beautiful butterfly with a high degree of poison. He understood that it was fatal, but he couldn’t bear to look away from it. If he wanted to be free, then freedom was bound to be bloody.

The original simple use of the relationship gradually developed into a mess, only to see who would show the knife first.

He pulled Tang Yibu’s hair fiercely, making sure that the other party bit the tip of his tongue, intentionally or unintentionally. While deepening the bloody kiss, he kicked the makeshift bomb on the operating table. The bomb exploded and the fire ignited the side of the metal barrel filled with brains.

“Let’s go.”

Ruan Xian grabbed two parts and ended the long panting kiss. The air began to be filled with the peculiar smell of burnt flesh. The ceiling was collapsing, and he knew that those bright red signal bombs were exploding. The flames would follow the iron pipe through the roof and light up a bright red marker in the dark.

“…What kind of noodles do you want to eat this time? My bowl still belongs to you.”

The things that followed were much simpler. With Tang Yibu, a person who could quickly shuttle through the darkness, they arrived at the noodle restaurant almost at the same time as Yu Le.

Dragging himself out of his memories, Ruan Xian put the peeled boiled eggs into Tang Yibu’s bowl and sighed.

Tang Yibu’s chopsticks stopped for a few seconds. He carefully opened the egg and took the egg yolk solemnly to Ruan Xian’s mouth. His movements were a bit aggressive, as if he was playing some kind of game.

“You two stop.” Yu Le pushed the soggy bowl of noodles aside. “It’s fine now, so it’s time to make trouble. Next, I think—”

“If I’m not mistaken, Qian Yigeng will ask He An first.” Ruan Xian swallowed the egg yolk in one bite and licked the tip of the chopsticks. “Let’s not talk about He An’s attitude. Qian Yigeng himself will definitely take action.”

“Well, I don’t think He An will help.” Lao Yu took one of the branch chopsticks and began to pick his teeth. “He doesn’t look like a he has a broken brain… Hey, forget it. Maybe we are the ones with the broken brains.”

“Let’s see what Miss Ji does in the morning.” Tang Yibu quickly finished the bowl of noodles. “After all, she has a certain amount of information in her hand, so it’s better to be safe.”

Ruan Xian glanced at him meaningfully. “Agreed.”

“Uh.” Yu Le knocked on the table with chopsticks and raised his eyebrows slightly. He was sitting facing the entrance, looking in the direction of the small door of the noodle shop. “Maybe we can get more information now.  Both of you, look back quietly.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t get to finish as the other party stepped forward first. His voice was smiling, gentle, and pleasant.

“Lao Li Tou, save me a bowl of noodles. I’ll come and get it later! The three of you. We meet again. It’s quite late for supper.” He An still had a warm smile on his face. “Hm, you have found a mechanic that could repair your car? And they even introduced you to Li Ji Noodle House. I have to say, the person here is an old fritter*. The noodles here are the best in the neighborhood.”

*(老油条) Metaphor referring to someone who is experienced and smooth. In the literal sense, it’s youtiao.

After that, he pulled out a stool and sat down. “…So, who did you find? Tell me, and I can help you see if they’re reliable.”

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 80: Basement

“I spent a lot of money on you City Defenders just to worry about the safety of my store in the middle of the night?” Qian Yigeng roared loudly into the communicator. “He An, you figure it out. If you—”

“Why, do you want to give me a price too?” He An’s voice in the communicator was particularly cold. “I’m not that girl Ji Xiaoman. For now, this is still a private matter between us. When A’Yu finds out about this, guess what he will do? Qian Yigeng, people have to learn to accept what they see. It’s been only a few years. Do you really think we’re a regular police force?”

Qian Yigeng swallowed the second half of the roar immediately. He gave the woman next to him a few fierce kicks and pulled his hair twice before adjusting his emotions. “I speak faster than I can think, so you can understand. Ji Xiaoman had just been taken away, and this happened at night. Someone is messing with me, He An. You know, personally, that my own business doesn’t conflict with the Underground City’s conventions. It’s not illegal to use machines to make money.”

After that, he shivered and poured himself a glass of wine. “This is the largest android business on the market. The women who have survived these days are all ruthless characters. How many potential dangers have I solved for the city? If my shop collapses, how many more things will happen on the streets?”

“The crime rate hasn’t really dropped much. Humans sometimes prefer to torment their own kind,” He An responded lightly. “Don’t talk nonsense if you have something to say.”

“When Ji Xiaoman comes up with a suitable cybernetic brain, I can use the excuse of an underground shop to sell fake humans. You will also have a share at that time.” Qian Yigeng wiped the sweat from his head.

“At that time, I’m afraid that most of them will genuinely be real humans,” He An sneered. “Come on, it’s just a person. They just burnt down one of your shops. It’s not that the end of the world—Oh, I forgot, your end had come a long time ago.”

“Is it good for you if I fall?” Qian Yigeng’s voice became sharp again. “Don’t look at the storefront. They are profitable! Q2 is our poster girl. She is…”

“It’s an old-fashioned cybernetic brain as good as mine.” Emotions couldn’t be heard in He An’s tone. “Are you sure you want to use her as an example? If it weren’t for my position being outside the shelf, she would be He An now, and I would be the unlucky ‘Tiantian’.”

“I’m not here to settle old accounts with you!”

“Listen, surname Qian.” He An’s voice became cold. “I’ll look into the store but don’t get paranoid here—there are fewer new people around and organizations are even less. At least we haven’t found anyone who wants to touch you.”

“So I deserve to eat the loss of the store myself?” Qian Yigeng pulled the robe on his body irritably. “This is no better than the old days. If something is burned, it really burns. I can’t find a second one. Their signature is marked all over the sky, yet you tell me this wasn’t premeditated—”

He An directly disconnected the call.

“Damn it, get out.” Qian Yigeng waved his hand wearily at the woman who was shrinking at the foot of the bed and drank the remaining wine in his cup. “The tops are completely useless. Laozi will find them himself.”

After He An interrupted contact, he stood alone outside the still burning store.

Because of his “human kindness”, Qian Yigeng’s shops enjoyed the highest priority security treatment. The fire had just subsided, and the smiley face in the sky hadn’t completely dissipated as the defenders rushed to the scene to maintain order as always.

The initial chaos didn’t last long. In order to ensure the basic safety of most people, many people routinely set up violent institutions to maintain the peace and keep the city barely operable. The selected City Defenders took up arms and began to act like quasi-Order Supervisors, and in return received some of the sources and benefits provided by the entire city.

People who were a little kind-hearted would try to join this organization, but in this period, kindness was always a scarce commodity. Young people prefer those crazy forces that form gangs. They were stronger, with a fearlessness that he didn’t know if it came from heroism or stupidity, and they were more inclined to plunder than protect. The turbulent waters between the forces lasted longer than the chaos, until finally a delicate balance was achieved…

The gangs were willing to succumb to the City Defenders who represented the majority of the population to a certain extent, and they also minimized market overlap with each other. Despite the friction, there have been many fewer major conflicts in recent years.

Qian Yigeng was one of those who managed to grab the erotic market. Although profits weren’t as good as those of inferior synthetic drugs and psychedelics, they were still regarded as among the best in terms of making money. From He An’s point of view, the other party was nothing like a hero. The height he had climbed to now was dependent entirely on the courage of a mouse that had almost no sense of morality.

This was what his memory told him. He An smiled mockingly. His human partner was looking for traces of prisoners near the shop. He wasn’t worried that the smile would be discovered by the other party.

The former human, He An, didn’t like to laugh like this. His smile should be more frivolous, or steadier, but not so sharp.

He An and Fu Yu had always been the best City Defenders of the city, and everyone who had lived here for some time knew it. The human He An didn’t die in the war, explosion, or intellectual attacks. After working as a City Defender for a long time, he died of a mediocre typhoid fever.

Fu Yu obviously couldn’t accept the death of his best friend. Unfortunately, the living were often forgotten. Now, except for MUL-01’s minions, no one could obtain memories from the brains of corpses. He had to piece together his memory and reprocess it, find the best doctor, and inject it into a cybernetic brain that he bought.

In a sense, this may be considered his own “birth”.

He An shook his head and changed his smile to greet his partner, who was walking towards him. “A’Yu, how’s it going?”

“It was ignited by chemicals. This was arson.” Fu Yu wiped the ash from his face and sighed. “The person who did this is very familiar with the layout of the store and has access to chemical resources. Is there no movement on Chang Yaqi’s side?”

“The slice of cake in the drug market in his hand is big enough. He won’t make a move on Qian Yigeng,” He An replied confidently, pulling the corners of his mouth. “Although Qian Yigeng also has some means of stealing some shares of the drug market, it’s considered that if “General Chang Sheng” wanted to make a move, he would pick a more suitable time. In addition, Chang Yaqi had no motivation to steal Ji Xiaoman. Everyone on the road knows that girl’s head is full of knowledge of cybernetic brains, not human brains.”

“I also think it’s weird.” Fu Yu pinched his brows, “Chang Yaqi’s signature has nothing to do with a smiley face, but I can’t think of it…”

“With emerging forces, let the big fish come out first. The one surnamed Chang is ruthless, while Qian Yigeng is a coward, more suitable to be targeted first. We haven’t heard anything, so it’s probably not a big issue. Maybe about 20 people max.” He An took out a cigarette from his bag. “I guess we won’t know until we go to the most chaotic place to investigate. It’s not peaceful here. You go back and rest. I’ll check it out.”

Fu Yu was taken aback, and his gaze moved to the rough homemade cigarette. “Do you smoke?”

He An paused then smiled brightly. “Well, I found it in the room… You see, I also have a lot of things I hide from you.”

“I’ll go with you.” Fu Yu opened his mouth and finally changed the subject.

“Come on. There’s a bunch of sick people in that place.” He An patted Fu Yu on the shoulder. “It’s enough for me to go alone. Why, can’t trust me?”

The other City Defender was silent.

He An smiled and retracted his hand. “I will bring your favorite noodles back. Don’t worry.”

While at this time, there were still three guests in a noodle restaurant that was open all night.

Yu Le frowned at the noodle soup bowl in front of him. “I see you eat very well. Aren’t you suspicious of it?”

“Why? I think it’s delicious,” Tang Yibu replied with a grin. Ruan Xian just conservatively ordered a few boiled eggs.

“I can’t eat.” Yu Le put down the branch chopsticks. “Young people are amazing. They just ate two bowls before and can still stuff more down now? That scene just now… Uh.”

Not so long ago, after Ji Xiaoman fell asleep, the two young men took him to the so-called prostitution hall.

“We went as guests. As a result, the people in the store mixed drugs into the champagne and took us to Qian Yigeng’s place.” Tang Yibu pointed to the seemingly harmless storefront in the dark.

At that time, there were a lot of people standing outside the small store, and the shop window that was supposed to display the “goods” was empty.

This should have been only a tentative first step. Do some damage; start with the shop that the opponent’s forces were most familiar with; and do it as soon as possible. This would keep the suspicion away from new visitors, buy them more preparation time, and observe Qian Yigeng’s reaction.

In terms of combat policy, Yu Le didn’t have the confidence to be thrown away. Regardless of Ji Xiaoman’s final decision, they would never make a mistake in their opening move. From misleading “bluffs” to step-by-step implementation, he didn’t have much opinion on the battle plans of the two lunatics—at least they seemed happy to participate in the fun game of “overturning Qian Yigeng”, instead of turning to him and forcing him to spit out the whereabouts of the old rebel site early and remove themselves from this muddy water as soon as possible.

Thus, he happily followed the two of them to bypass the guards, sneak into the store, and secretly release the young girls inside—even if he wasn’t sure whether those beautiful young people were humans. It was enough to test Qian Yigeng by burning a few random rooms. Besides, this was just an ordinary prostitution hall. Except for the slightly extravagant soft decoration, there was nothing special about it.

After seeing the scene under the shop, Yu Le completely changed his mind.

It was rare that he didn’t look at himself for the first time but turned towards the two people around him. Yu Le suspected that the scene was beyond his tolerance, and he had to find reference to his bottom line by looking at the two in order to quickly calm down.

However, Ruan Lijie had a rare serious expression, while Tang Yibu, who seemed indifferent to everything, also sank his face; the two were horribly silent. Bluntly put, the latter’s face was even uglier.

The huge basement was brightly lit. The pale light reflected caked blood. They couldn’t tell whether it was real or synthetic human bodies that were soaked in blood, swimming in a pool that was tightly packed like sardines. The imitation cybernetic brains and the old-fashioned cybernetic brains were neatly packaged on the shelf showing a stark contrast—the former was exactly the same as the one in Ji Xiaoman’s bag, which had a little bit of plastic, while the latter had a more metallic texture that wasn’t transparent, and its blue light was almost invisible.

This was like an extremely bloody butcher shop, if you ignored the gasoline metallic barrels.

The metal barrels were full of human brains, and there were no signs of organ preservation. They were more like waste to be treated.

Those brains weren’t intact and were roughly thrown into the bottom of the barrel, emitting a disgusting fishy smell. Everything had an almost plausible insanity to it and was so absurd in a theatrical sense. A large incinerator was burning at the far end of the room. None of them bothered to explore the contents. The bloodstains on the operating table in the room were enough to explain everything.

There was a multi-legged insect-like machine hanging on the operating table, and the tip was soaked in blood that hadn’t yet dried out. Yu Le wasn’t sure about its function, and he didn’t want to know.

The most comical thing was that there was no combination machine here. All of the machines retained their pre-apocalyptic characteristics with little modification. Even if Yu Le wasn’t an expert on machines, he could see that these machines belonged to the era before the end of the world.

“I have a question.” Ruan Lijie looked at the machines in the room without blinking. He didn’t get a response, so he continued.

Tang Yibu was holding his hand unconsciously, turning the boy surnamed Ruan’s hand white, but he didn’t intend to stop.

“…Anyone. Can anyone answer me, what were these things used for before the Great Rebellion?” Ruan Lijie’s cold black eyes were locked on the operating table, and his voice was extremely cold.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 79: Two Girls

Ji Xiaoman adjusted the prosthetic limbs of her arms and calves in front of the workbench.

This was her daily routine of going to bed every day. Whether it was a dull knife blade or a jammed bullet, it was easy for people to pay the price with their lives for a little negligence. On weekdays, she always patiently oiled every part, not letting go of any new scratches and freeing herself from the suffocating environment.

But she couldn’t return to that state of concentration today.

The three men returned to their armored off-roader and fell asleep in the car. She locked the door of the container tightly, thought for a moment, and then pulled a heavy parts box to block the door.

Her mother was as quiet as ever as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her sweater needle was throbbing in her hand. Ji Xiaoman stood up upset, threw the metal bowl with a little noodle soup left next to her mother into the bucket, and decided to change her mind.

The black eyes of the young man surnamed Ruan were nailed to her mind, like stubborn ink marks on a white wall.

‘She shouldn’t have hesitated,’ Ji Xiaoman thought to herself. Just follow the original plan. When those people successfully get the mind access needle and remove the device in her mother’s mind, she could use the savings of these years to change the face of her mother and herself and open a new store in some other corners. Yes, she could choose a relatively low-skilled job, which would still be enough to feed the stomachs of two people.

Taking a step back, even if they failed, she could still submit to Qian Yigeng and life would continue as usual. If that group of people really killed Qian Yigeng, it would really be free profit no matter how she looked at it.

Yet she was still hesitating.

Ji Xiaoman wiped her hands irritably with a towel, crossed the fragmented parts box on the ground, sat next to the female android, and hugged her carefully. Smelling the familiar smell of her mother, her eyes turned sour for a moment.

“Mom,” Ji Xiaoman muttered in a low voice.

Her mother, who would not grow old, picked up the corner of her mouth and patted her head.

“Mom, what should I do?” She buried her face in the other person’s shoulders. “I know what’s the safest… But if they fail, I will have to work for Qian Yigeng sooner or later. They are not familiar with life here, and my assistance can definitely improve their success rate…”

Ji Xiaoman whispered intermittently, brushing her fingers across the shapeless red fabric and murmuring, “What should I do?”

The female android smiled softly and slowly stroked her hair with her hands.

The young girl tightened her arms, and her body finally shook slightly. Ji Xiaoman hated herself for being shaken. The most logically reasonable choice was right in front of her, but she couldn’t feel at ease, as if there was a cluster of poisonous fire roasting near her heart.

“I’m scared,” she whispered in a low voice, and leaned back into the woman’s arms again.

“Good girl, don’t be afraid.” The female android’s voice was soft and soothing. “What are you afraid of?”

“I don’t know.” Ji Xiaoman only felt tired, and the smell of her mother made her drowsy. ‘It must be because she was too tired,’ she thought. She couldn’t figure out what she was afraid of—the failure of those people, the dangerous elements themselves, or herself, who was still hesitant.

“It’s okay. Go to sleep,” the woman said softly, putting down the sweater needles in her hand. “The closet is closed, and I have looked under the bed. Mom is here. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Ji Xiaoman tried her best to smile but failed. She slid into the bed’s side, hung her cold and painful prosthetic limbs outside the blanket, and tossed around in a daze for a long time before falling asleep.

Just like a night with a fever, she had a lot of dreams when she didn’t usually have any. They were like fragments glued together by memories, mixed with a lot of blood, making it difficult for her to breathe.

When the Great Rebellion broke out in the 22^nd century, she was just in her early teens.

Artificial intelligence targeted major cities as economic and technological hubs and focused on “taking care” of important buildings such as major scientific research institutions, universities, and government agencies. The dilapidated orphanages on the edge of the city were obviously not among them.

In her memory, she had never had intact arms. She didn’t know if it was caused by an accident or a natural deformity. Bionic prostheses weren’t cheap these days, but they weren’t incredibly expensive, but her parents still decided to give up on her.

When she first became sensible, Ji Xiaoman thought about countless possibilities—did their relationship break down? Was there a problem financially? Or did she have a more unfortunate sibling, and they had to choose one?

However, as the year passed, the children in the orphanage came and went, and she gradually didn’t want anything anymore.

Until the world she knew was gone.

The outbreak of chaos caused the rapid collapse of order. The management staff disappeared without a trace, and the children fled blindly. She subconsciously fled into the nearest garbage disposal pile and squatted in the rubble tremblingly. At first, a lot of food could be found in the garbage, but later only insects, mice, and moss could be eaten.

Such a muddled life lasted for a year? Two years? One day, the junkyard suddenly collapsed, and she fell into the dark underground, almost pierced by a construction machine.

If she hadn’t had a mother, she would have died in the Underground City that was quickly built. People did everything they could to build a space for themselves to rest, but after they got a place to live, their hearts gradually collapsed. Before the emergence of the organization of the City Defenders, people could step on improvised bombs on the streets at any time or be stopped in a dark alley and shot.

She thought she didn’t remember the sight of the explosion, but it was extremely clear in her dream.

She saw her calf fly out with her own eyes, and her only intact arm was also blown to bits, leaving only a little flesh that was still connected. The blood continued to spread on the ground, and even the lights reflected a little shadow of things on the street.

For a while, it seemed that only her own heavy and rapid breathing, as well as the increasing severe pain, were left between heaven and earth.

It wasn’t that no one had passed by. It was just that no one had stopped. At that time, her clothes could only cover her body and her hair was tangled into a foul-smelling mess. She was just a dying child, and in this city, the status of a child wasn’t much different than that of a white mouse—rare and useless.

People had reached a point where it was more important to live day by day and no one bothered to care about the future.

Ji Xiaoman still remembered the first time she saw her mother.

The figure of the woman stopped in front of her, and Ji Xiaoman could only smell a warm fragrance. It smelled like diluted butter and the smell of good burning wood from a fireplace. Excessive blood loss blurred her vision and filled her nose so that she could barely smell anything.

“Don’t go,” she cried in a low voice, tears streaming across her scorched, blackened and dusty face. “Help me, don’t go.”

The woman squatted down and stroked her cheek with her hand. “Xiaoman?”

Then she picked her up carefully. Not knowing if it was because she was suffering from hypothermia at that time, but she felt it was probably the warmest embrace she had ever felt in her life.

She simply bandaged her, but she didn’t know where she got the blood for the transplant and the anti-inflammatory drugs. Thinking about it now, that pitiful dose was definitely not enough, but Ji Xiaoman survived.

During that time, the woman suffered a lot of burns and became a lot paler. Ji Xiaoman could probably guess the source of the medicine. The kind and beautiful woman didn’t take her back to her residence but instead made a clean place in the corner of some ruins. She occasionally brought drinking water, food, and blankets, just like she was feeding a sick kitten. It didn’t take long for Ji Xiaoman to notice the strangeness.

Her savior’s brain didn’t seem to be working either—she always had only a smile on her face, could only say simple words, and couldn’t remember her name.

The woman stubbornly called her “Ji Xiaoman”, and Ji Xiaoman quickly accepted the name. Even if the woman hadn’t expressed any identity relationship with the name, she naturally changed her address and began to call the other person “mother”.

The other party also accepted the name with a smile.

However, when she discovered the situation of her new mother, Ji Xiaoman’s insignificant family fantasy was completely shattered. Qian Yigeng had officially become her nightmare and the only motivation for her struggling to become a mechanic.

The next dream that followed started to become bitter. Countless bloody fragments swirled in her mind. Ji Xiaoman would go to Qian Yigeng’s shop to visit her mother secretly at first, but then she didn’t even have the courage to visit. Her mother would also slip away when she was allowed some “fresh air”, giving her a hug with a smile on her face and scars on her body.

Some androids were required to maintain their external appearance. As a price, their life span was shorter than that of ordinary androids and their physique more fragile. Qian Yigeng’s rough brain modification obviously left a lot of problems. Her mother spoke less, and her reaction became dull. This was obviously not good for “business”. Time and time again, the injuries to her mother’s body were getting worse.

That was when she decided to start fighting the mechanical beings and find a way to raise resources to buy out her mother.

However, she didn’t know whether she was lucky or unfortunate—medical resources were limited after all. Qian Yigeng deceptively sold her mother to guests and got a lot of weapons in return, then no longer cared about the life and death of the product. Ji Xiaoman knew that he would not easily give up an old-fashioned cybernetic brain that still had hope of repair. This was an opportunity.

She could quietly try to repair it herself and persuade Qian Yigeng to remove the device at a lower cost. At first, this plan seemed to have some effect, and Qian Yigeng was very happy that someone would deliver the supplies to his door.

However, he accepted the resources of the former little girl and only promised to reset the time when the device would take effect.

“Don’t blame me, I can only do this.” He pretended to show a regretful expression. “The technology is limited. This consumes resources, and most of the things she used to support you are stolen from me—Summer Street is the only place where there is good medicine, and I’m also half your benefactor. Little girl, we must pay attention to the ‘righteousness’ in life so we can cooperate for a long time.”

With the passage of time, she gained the combat power and knowledge she once craved, but she was still as powerless as she was when she was a child.

The fragments of the past were gone, and only darkness was left in the dream. She finally opened her eyes and looked at the dark car roof. Hatred, desire, and fear were mixed together, and her heartbeat had never been faster.

At the same time.

Another young girl was stumbling forward in the ruins. She was wearing a gas mask that was a bit too big on her face, wearing a dirty torn coat and a skirt that was dyed red. Her bare feet were covered with blood, and many showed signs of scabs.

After being helped by those two strange and handsome men, the little girl named “Tiantian-Q2” didn’t escape too far. In fact, she circled around the ruins in confusion—Behind her was the known hell, and ahead was the unknown abyss. She began to regret it. Maybe she should have drunk more water or gotten some food from the cupboard in the room.

The owner of “Flower Spot” went to deliver goods but hadn’t come back. People came and went near the shop, and no one even noticed that she was no longer in the room. The little girl who had been wandering for hours licked her lips and leaned down into the ruins. Through the hole in the window, she could imagine the iron bucket of champagne, which was once filled with ice, and now there should be cool water…

But before her imagination was over, the roar swept across the night sky.

First, a few familiar figures who were almost exactly the same as herself ran out and fled in all directions. The guards that were chasing them fell one by one. Next, the small store rose up with thick smoke, spewing high flames into the sky.

The flame was an abnormally bright red color, emitting fireworks-like spots of light into the sky. They circled and rose in the air, and finally formed a crooked smiley face.

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The author has something to say:

Xiaoman’s mother is not a transformation, nor is it a copy of her real mother XD

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 78: Two Bowls of Noodles

‘Ji Xiaoman was indeed wise to choose this place,’ Ruan Xian thought.

The street where the noodle shop was located looked more chaotic than Summer Street. There were still airtight walls and buildings above them, but compared to the dilapidated Summer Street, the buildings in this area weren’t completed at all. Cracked concrete slabs fell on the side of the street, and the broken steel bars stuck out in sharp fractures, like the ruins of an old city that had been bombed, or a dry and moldy honeycomb.

If Summer Street in lower town was an old man suffering from serious illness and dying, this area was more like a highly decomposed corpse.

Ji Xiaoman walked through the maze of architectural structures and parked the truck deep in the reinforced steel jungle. She meticulously put on the camouflage net around the truck and nailed alarms in almost every corner.

“Mom, stay here. Don’t go anywhere.” She half kneeled in front of the female android, holding the other’s hand with both her hands. “I’m just going to have dinner. It won’t take more than half an hour. Contact me directly if anything happens.”

“Xiaoman.” The beautiful android smiled softly and touched her head. That smile was a bit like Tang Yibu’s original disguise, bright but empty, so standard that it was uncomfortable.

After locking the car doors, Ji Xiaoman touched the alarms one by one, as if she had obsessive-compulsive disorder, and then led the group out of the small dust-filled collapse pit.

“For your safety, please do not move around after the curfew.”

Drilling out of the terrible ruins, the voice of the city became a lot clearer. The pitch-shifting electronic sound penetrates the fog and through the crowd, repeating its message over and over again.

“The City Defenders have the absolute right to deal with the defectors. Those who cherish their lives, listen to me. For your safety…”

The crowd was still surging at night, as if those harsh words were just background noise. Ji Xiaoman parked the truck very close to the noodle shop as they almost bumped into the signboard of Li Ji Noodle House head-on.

A thin old man squatted in front of the restaurant, smoking a strangely shaped pipe through a gas mask—He even left a special hole for that pipe in his mask. The old man spewed smoke rings into the poisonous fog, and the goggles of the mask reflected a little light. They couldn’t see the old man’s eyes clearly, let alone the other party’s line of sight.

The decoration of Li Ji Noodle House was very “retro”.

With the further development of virtual reality technology, fewer companies will need to work together in reality. People were beginning to work remotely, nesting in places they were familiar with. Except for remote areas with underdeveloped economies, under the influence of the over-developed drone delivery business, the ancient form of shops had gradually disappeared—since most of the daily needs could be met without leaving home, a considerable number of people wouldn’t even leave their door, find a small shop, and eat a bowl of noodles slowly.

In densely populated central cities, land was expensive. Except for big brands that needed to maintain storefronts in the business district, private small shops were becoming a rarity. This was still the case in the catering industry from Ruan Xian’s memory, not to mention that technology had become more advanced a few years after.

Ruan Xian exhaled slowly through the sultry gas mask.

The Li Ji Noodle House in front of him was more like a kind of shop depicted in the works of time. In a corner supported by steel bars, were neon lights. The flesh-red plastic cloth signboard was slightly faded, and the white font was extremely simple, without the slightest sense of design. There was a greasy thick curtain in front of the door, and the menu was written on a whiteboard with a fluorescent marker, and it was randomly placed at the front door.

Tang Yibu looked at everything in front of him with interest. The iron bead on his shoulder tilted its head just like him. Ji Xiaoman got him a pair of color-filtered glasses from the corner. Under the dim light, those golden eyes looked more like ordinary light brown.

[Half noodles with meat, meatballs cut with a knife, and vegetarian noodle soup. Toppings are extra. Barter exchange is supported.] The description on the whiteboard was mixed with a few typos, but the size of the words themselves was about the same.

An air filter was placed in the store, and there was no poisonous smoke, but there was a choking oil fume. The tables, chairs, and stools seemed to have been picked up from different ruins as they didn’t match one bit. It was difficult to even find two that were of similar styles.

Ji Xiaoman was the first to rush into the store. She covered her prosthetic limbs with gloves and an ill-fitting coat. She went straight to the dimmest corner and then nestled in a position close to it. After the remaining three sat down, the girl’s slender figure was almost completely covered.

There was no service staff that came to greet them. A blurred light screen appeared next to the table, which was constantly flickering due to quality reasons, and the resolution was quite poor. There was loud music playing in the store, and it was almost impossible to hear what was being said at the next table if it were just ordinary people. There weren’t that many people inside the restaurant. The majority of them huddled together, muttering, with various guns protruding from their waists. They were obviously not very interested in the people around them.

“Choose whatever you want.” Ji Xiaoman ordered a bowl of vegetarian noodle soup for herself and pointed to the light screen. “I have brought enough parts.”

“I understand meat, but what kind of meat is this meatball?” Yu Le touched his chin.

“A bit of everything. You don’t want to know.” Ji Xiaoman responded in a low voice as she stared at a piece of dirt on the table. “But it tastes good.”

“…Then noodles with meat.” The former pirate leader became cautious.

Seeing Tang Yibu’s solemn expression facing the doomsday question, Ruan Xian couldn’t help but want to laugh. This may be the few moments when Tang Yibu puts aside his interest in observing humans and fully focuses his attention on something else.

In just a few weeks, he had naturally laughed more times than in the first two decades of his life, so much so that his facial muscles even felt a little uncomfortable and stiff. After realizing this, Ruan Xian narrowed his smile and patted Tang Yibu on the back very naturally, with the illusion of comforting a large animal. “Choose the one you don’t like the most.”

“Vegetarian noodle soup.” Tang Yibu wrinkled his nose, sounding a little heartbroken.

Ji Xiaoman’s bowl of vegetarian noodle soup had been served to the table by a half-human-tall mechanical robot. The noodles were gray and yellow, and the soup was a bit cloudy. Ruan Xian recognized the chopped cabbage and mushrooms. He shook his head and checked the remaining two items on the light screen.

Yu Le’s noodles with meat came at the same time as their additional order.

The smell of the two bowls of noodles didn’t smell too bad. The square-shaped artificial meat was laid on top of brown noodles, mixed with a little scallion oil and chopped shallots. The store owner apparently didn’t intend to provide chopsticks as two pairs of peeled hard branches were stuck in the noodles. The meatball cut with a knife seemed relatively normal, although Ruan Xian smelled at least four types of animals in it.

“You won’t die eating it. Don’t worry.” Ji Xiaoman slurped her noodles. “At least the chopsticks are… Well, they’re discounted now. This shop has been open here for a long time.”

Tang Yibu solemnly picked up the half-eaten meat, tore it into small pieces, and dipped a little bit into the amber-colored noodle soup little by little, as if performing some kind of sacred ceremony. Then he picked up his chopsticks and sipped happily, as if he was tasting top-notch food.

It seemed that he wasn’t used to the glasses on the bridge of his nose. Tang Yibu was smoked by the hot noodle soup, and his two lenses fogged up. He held the branch chopstick in one hand and the iron bead in his other arm as he quickly tried to wipe away the condensation.

Ruan Xian wanted to laugh again.

“Why are you so persistent?” He pushed Tang Yibu’s bowl of noodles aside and hugged the iron bead that was almost asleep on his knees, with no intention of eating.

“Thank you very much.” Tang Yibu was busy with the noodles. The android puffed out his cheeks and thanked him inarticulately, and then tried his best to express his doubts with a single word. “……Huh?”

“Food.” After reading the other party’s thoughts without hindrance, Ruan Xian casually picked off the onion shavings from Tang Yibu’s mouth. Warm fingertips swept across his cheeks as Tang Yibu blinked.

“There are no two dishes that are exactly the same in this world.” The android swallowed the noodles in his mouth, licked the corner where Ruan Xian had just brushed, and leaned into Ruan Xian’s ear. “Even if it’s made by the same person or machine, there will be differences in materials, environment, or state— Every bite of food is unique in the world. Isn’t that a great thing?”

“Maybe they’re unpalatable in their own ways.” Ruan Xian tapped the table with his fingertips in a relaxed manner.

“…But there’s no standard for this kind of thing.” Tang Yibu took another breath, carefully placed the two bowls in front of him, and took a sip from each one. “Before I try it myself, I can’t tell if it’s unpalatable. Mr. Ruan, have you ever eaten piney raspberry?”

“No.” Ruan Xian hadn’t even heard of it.

“I can tell you—it tastes soft and waxy, a bit like a combination of pomegranate and peach, with medium sweetness, and the soft seeds in its pulp can be eaten. I can tell you its color, shape, size, smell, and even list the nutrients in a table and write the details in a book.” Tang Yibu picked up a noodle with his rough branches. “But you still won’t know the taste, because you haven’t smelled it, haven’t tasted it, thus you can only imagine.”

Ruan Xian’s stopped tapping on the table.

“Everyone can only try limited things in a limited time. It’s good to make sure it’s not harmful to your health, but you will miss a lot if you deny it rudely.” Tang Yibu took a bite of the meat, thought for a few seconds, and broke off half and held it in his branch chopsticks. “I agree with Miss Ji. It tastes really good. Do you want to try?”

“…You can eat it.” Ruan Xian’s voice fell flat.

“Also, emotions can also affect people’s judgments on the taste of food.” Tang Yibu pushed up his glasses unskillfully. “For example, if you gave me this bowl, I would find it more delicious.”

After that, he raised the corner of his mouth and tried to show a somewhat jerky smile. Ruan Xian exhaled softly and looked away a little uncomfortably.

Ji Xiaoman put down the bowl gently. The bottom of her bowl made a soft sound. The girl had been eating hard, quietly stuffing the large bowl of noodles into her stomach, while there was still a third of it left in Yu Le’s bowl.

“Whisper.” Her metal fingers were wrapped in gloves, which made them oddly shaped. “…I want to talk about the deal.”

“Please.” Ruan Xian immediately found a great goal for himself to divert his attention, even if he could guess what Ji Xiaoman wanted to say.

“I don’t want to make things too extreme.” Sure enough, after hesitating for a few seconds, she chose an opening statement for herself. “This was originally just an ordinary transaction. You get the mind access needle; I fix your car. Now I also… want to keep it to this extent. I mean…”

She raised her eyes to Ruan Xian, who responded to her gaze in silence, while Tang Yibu lowered the sound of him eating noodles.

“Well, I don’t know you at all. Eliminate Qian Yigeng? It doesn’t matter if you succeed, but if you fail, let’s not talk about what to do with the device in my mother’s brain. We would have to hide while trying to make a living under Qian Yigeng’s eyes, or leave this area completely.”

Ji Xiaoman cleared her throat and raised the volume a little. She rubbed the edge of the bowl nervously. “The Underground City is big. Qian Yigeng is just a small role. Abandoning contacts here and hastily moving to an unfamiliar place is no different from suicide… I would be fine, but my mother would definitely not be able to bear it. As a newcomer, all you have to do is get out of here and find someone with good skills to repair your car.”

She began to bite her lips again.

“The price difference is too big, isn’t it?” Yu Le struggled to finish the noodles as he coughed twice.

“As long as you stay here, Qian Yigeng will always force you to make high-quality imitation brains. You know this.” Tang Yibu’s tone didn’t reveal any tendency.

“As I said, I’m not a good person. If I had to choose between my mother and those cybernetic brains, I’ll choose my mother.” Ji Xiaoman shivered a little. This time, she didn’t look anyone in the eyes. “I’m at this level. I can’t be noble. How can I last long if I was?”

Ruan Xian still didn’t say a word. He just continued to stare at her.

“Everyone knows they are suffering. No one cares, you know? I can’t even save myself.” Ji Xiaoman took a deep breath and finally raised her head. She seemed to be trying to convince someone, but unsure of who it was. “Either maintain the original condition, or there will be no transaction. Anyway, one day I have to make peace with Qian Yigeng. He An is on his side, which means the City Defenders are on his side—There’s no hope.”

The young girl grabbed the heavy fabric on her pants, her shoulders shaking a little, as if she was under extreme pressure. She gripped her hands very hard, and the sharp metal fingertips pierced her gloves, passing through her overalls and stabbing her thighs.

The dark red blood gradually seeped out onto the dark pants, and a faint smell of blood permeated.

She was in fear, and Ruan Xian was familiar with this emotion. The girl in front of him was at most in her early twenties, with excellent skills, a smart brain, and a calm personality compared to her peers. If this was a one-on-one fight, Qian Yigeng wouldn’t have stood a chance.

But this wasn’t.

A fine net was cast down in the poisonous mist, and Ji Xiaoman was at best a sturdy fish, but in the end, she could only slowly suffocate in the mesh. When a person faced an unknown number of hostile people, they would always instinctively panic. In the case of a despicable opponent, this panic would expand endlessly.

She was still too young; it would wear her down and eventually crush her. Ruan Xian knew very well, but he didn’t want to be anyone’s spiritual mentor. He knew how oppressive it was to be alone with an established network of “order”. Beautiful words couldn’t solve the problem, and comfort wouldn’t change anything.

Just as you couldn’t tell a person with a knife in their back to “Cheer up and live an active life and it won’t hurt anymore.”

“I understand your concern, but I misjudged the degree of your hatred for Qian Yigeng,” he responded neatly. “In that case, you decide for yourself.”

Ji Xiaoman looked at him in surprise, half expecting, half disappointed.

“If you want us to steal the needle and quickly leave, then struggle for about ten and a half days by yourself and then listen to Qian Yigeng when you can’t stand it. I have no opinion.” Ruan Xian petted the iron bead in his arms. “We don’t have to cooperate with you.”

Tang Yibu just shrugged: “When will you do it? Mr. Ruan, it will take a while to repair the car anyway—”

Ji Xiaoman turned her gaze to Yu Le. She seemed to be trying to get something easier to understand or more relaxed feedback from the other party. Yu Le’s expression became serious. He crossed his arms, and the teasing and indifference in his eyes disappeared without a trace.

“You may have misunderstood something, little miss.” Yu Le didn’t smile. “We didn’t piss off Qian Yigeng, so we can make a deal with you. It was because we want to take action against him, so we want to make a deal with you. Aren’t you supposed to be an adult? Adults make their own decisions.”

He stopped talking, raised his eyebrows, and the unorthodox aura returned. “Of course, it’s good for you to find a nice little corner and wait to see where the wind blows*.”

*(见风使舵) Metaphor referring to find out or come to understand a particular state of affairs especially before taking any decisive or definite action.

“But you have no reason…” Ji Xiaoman looked a little confused.

“I don’t think Qian Yigeng is pleasing to the eye,” Yu Le replied. “I rarely really dislike a person, but as long as I don’t like them, I don’t mind gambling my life to create trouble for others.”

“Because it’s very interesting.” Tang Yibu answered sincerely.

The young girl looked at Ruan Xian. The young man on the opposite side had an elegant and handsome appearance and looked the least aggressive.

‘Maybe the other party would reveal a little bit of their true motivation,’ she thought. Otherwise, such an approach was tantamount to suicide, and it was even absurd—these people had no intention of carrying any banner of justice but were closer to another group of villains.

“Do I need a reason?” However, he gave such an answer.

Ji Xiaoman looked into the other’s dark eyes.

The man’s expression was calm, causing her to suffocate for a moment before she realized it was due to fear. It was like seeing an unknown venomous snake or a huge spider with its feet open.

He was serious.

---

The author has something to say:

In fact, there is still a reason why Ruan’s not very happy (?

——

In the previous chapter, someone mentioned why Ruan didn’t fix Xiaoman’s mother. Here is the answer XD

In fact, in theory, both Ruan and Tang have the ability to repair. However, currently they have insufficient information and, even with sufficient information, the technology may not be in place (Otherwise, he would borrow a lathe to repair the car himself), and Tang will not take action easily.

Once they really make their move, Xiaoman would immediately notice their strength. Not to mention, they’re not familiar with Xiaoman, they aren’t particularly the self-sacrificing types. _(:””∠)_

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 77: Blood Red Smiley Faces

Ji Xiaoman didn’t have the slightest expression similar to fear. She just looked a little troubled. Ruan Xian didn’t persuade her anymore. She wouldn’t have a bad mind if she was a famous mechanic who was targeted by the local snake.

Now that she was half buried in this mess that she couldn’t get rid of, the choices she could make were truly limited.

Like other warriors who killed their enemies simply and decisively, Ji Xiaoman didn’t hesitate for long. She carried the large backpack on her back, fixed it firmly behind her back with a nylon strap, and nodded to Ruan Xian.

“I remember someone saying that there is only one way out of here.” Yu Le poked the safety of his gun, took off his white coat, and tied it around his waist. “Just kill or what?”

“This is a laboratory, and everything we need is here.” Ruan Xian had already walked to the shelf full of chemicals and clicked on the label familiarly. “Wear your gas mask, friends.”

Ruan Xian quickly selected the materials without even taking a closer look at the label on them, as if he had eyes that were invisible to others. Tang Yibu’s gaze swept over the yellowed labels on the bottles and cans. He walked to the other end of the shelf and began to select matching materials and parts. Ruan Xian caught a glimpse of the other party’s movements, and the smile at the corner of his mouth became a little stronger.

They cooperated tacitly, without the slightest verbal communication. Ruan Xian just stirred the mixture from the beaker, and Tang Yibu on the other side had already handed over a plastic container.

They turned gracefully to the space in front of the table. Tang Yibu began to heat the mixture, carefully poured it into a container to cool, and quietly waited for it to solidify to just the right extent. Ruan Xian then took a few bottles of reagents from the table and began a brand-new manufacturing process.

Yu Le didn’t see smoke, but there was a lot of salty smell unique to chemicals in the air, which smelled a bit like the sea in summer.

Five minutes later, Tang Yibu completed the first batch of manufactured products, as Ruan Xian began to shake the light blue liquid in the test tube. Ji Xiaoman glanced at the square plastic bags and took a few steps forward—she ran to the display of mechanical parts, grabbed a handful of the plastic packets and stuffed them into her coat pockets like those precision parts were some kind of cheap condiment.

The young girl found herself a clean spot and sat down on the tiles and started working.

There were a lot of structures similar to screwdrivers embedded in her metal fingertips, so Ji Xiaoman didn’t need to search for too many tools. Yu Le stuck a finger into his ear and dug in it, beginning to wonder if he had intermittent deafness that he just so happened to miss the tactical meeting between the three of them.

However, as soon as Ji Xiaoman’s first work took shape, he quickly deduced their plans.

What Ji Xiaoman made was a typical explosive control device, which Yu Le was extremely familiar with. He then realized what those palm-sized cubic plastic boxes that Tang Yibu was making were.

“You’re going to blow up this place.” Yu Le was better at maneuvering with giant machinery. At that moment, while the other three were busy with their embroidery, he was happy to be lazy.

“Blow up an exit. There’s only one road here, and the other side shouldn’t be specially reinforced.” Ruan Xian didn’t stop his hand movements.

“What about mind access needle? Just leave it here? What if Qian Yigeng hides it somewhere else. All our work will be in vain.” Lao Yu wiped the stains on his gun with the sleeve of his white coat.

Ruan Xian finally stopped the work in his hands. This time he twisted the things he made into a small package the size of an egg with a plastic sheet and threw it to Tang Yibu, who caught it firmly.

“A great pirate shouldn’t be asking this. If you steal something, you need to determine the target location…” Ruan Xian moved his wrist. “No need to steal it yet.”

Less than ten minutes later, the research office shook.

The flame spread from the laboratory. The expensive large-scale machines were emitting thick smoke into the fire, and the mess of reagents dyed the neighboring flames other colors. After all, the researchers Qian Yigeng raised weren’t regular scholars. No one thought about putting out the fire, and instead people quickly ran out the door screaming. Qian Yigeng’s thugs rushed in from the opposite direction—They carried freezers on their backs and rushed into the fire one after another. The flames quickly retreated under the invasion of the low temperature.

“Find Ji Xiaoman!” The leader roared behind the gas mask. The smoke and dust from the flames were quickly dispersed by the air filter and it became clearer to the naked eye. “Boss Qian said he wants to see her if she’s alive and her corpse if she’s dead! Fuck, that’s—”

A huge hole was blown in the deepest part of the corridor of the research office.

The saboteurs calculated the amount of explosion very well, as there weren’t many traces of sputtering damage. The poisonous fog from the junkyard was pouring into the corridor from the hole, looking like a waterfall composed of fog from a distance.

The high temperature destroyed most of the cameras near the ignition point, but a few by the door survived. At the moment when the poisonous fog came, they were activated at the same time, casting countless blood-red smiley faces into the turbid air.

[Ji Xiaoman belongs to us.]

The domineering scarlet manifesto floated among smiley faces. Many cameras that were still on captured the dazzling scene, projecting it one after another, creating a scene comparable to a nightmare.

The leading thug slammed the gun against the wall and cursed loudly.

A mile away.

Yu Le stepped forward onto the garbage dump, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Tang Yibu simply carried Ruan Xian on his back, walking like a fly, while Ji Xiaoman, who was carrying a heavy backpack, was equally as light-footed. Within half a minute, the three of them had almost completely lost sight of Captain Yu.

The gas mask wasn’t comfortable and became hot and stuffy after a while. It could block most of the harmful substances in the poisonous mist, but it couldn’t stop the smell of the rottenness in the garbage dump. Yu Le secretly cursed and took a few deep breaths after he was sure the soles of his feet had run over some sticky insects.

From this angle, the mountains of garbage piled up in the poisonous fog looked like some kind of monster lurking in the dark. Not far away, lights of various colors penetrated the fog, which didn’t give people the beautiful imagination of stars, but more like the reflection of eyes from a monster.

Yu Le actually knew the reason why the other two people were reluctant to go to midtown. It was impossible for such a huge settlement to have only one Order Supervisor. Everything in midtown and upper town was heavily surveilled, and none of them were ordinary people who could be content with living under surveillance. Lower town was their battlefield.

A chaotic city-state that was buried by a sea of smog, full of the stench of blood. This was indeed the best place for him, but…

Yu Le rubbed his soles of his shoes on the rags beside his feet in disgust and began to sincerely miss the time he spent in the Sea of Ruins. Fortunately, this damn city junkyard wasn’t too big. Just when he was about to run a short distance to protest the speed of the vanguard, the four finally reached the edge of the junkyard.

“I have to take my mother away first. Qian Yigeng’s people will definitely go to the store as soon as possible.”

Ji Xiaoman skillfully pried open the floating three-wheeled hoverbike closest to her. Even if the owner of the hoverbike had put four locks on it, she easily broke them off, then anxiously started it and patted the hoverbike’s body, “Come one!”

“Are you old enough to drive?” Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian squatted into the body of the car without hesitation, while Yu Le seemed to be quite worried.

“Then you stay here.” Ji Xiaoman lowered her head. “Three, two—”

Yu Le clicked his tongue loudly and squeezed into the narrow body of the car.

Facts proved that the former captain, Yu Le’s concern was still necessary. Ji Xiaoman drove the motorcycle that was incredibly dilapidated, as if she was steering a glider as she passed through the cobweb-like shabby alleys. Ruan Xian firmly grabbed Tang Yibu’s shoulder to avoid the fate of being thrown out by the sharp turns. Her driving speed was so crazy that he couldn’t even spit.

In what seemed like a few centuries, Ji Xiaoman finally stopped the car on Summer Street.

Yu Le jumped out of the car first, took a few steps forward like a drunk, and fell to the ground with a bang.

“Fantastic. I got motion sickness for the first time in my life.” He maintained a lying posture and patted the ground weakly. “Little girl, did you belong to the circus before?”

Seeing Yu Le’s tragic situation, Ruan Xian decided to stay in the body of the car with Tang Yibu and suppress his churning stomach. Ji Xiaoman didn’t care about the life and death of the three of them. She jumped out of the car anxiously and rushed straight into the store with a gun. “Mom, mom—!”

It turned out her crazy driving was extremely effective. It seemed that Qian Yigeng’s men hadn’t arrived yet. Ji Xiaoman rushed out again not long after, dragging Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu into the store and ignoring Yu Le who was still lying on the ground.

“Pack up, hurry up,” she muttered. “This, this, and that shelf, take as much as you can.”

“If you want to escape as soon as possible, it’s not a good idea to bring too many things.” Ruan Xian patiently reminded him as he suppressed the urge to retch. “Our car can hold some of it, but you also know the problem with it…”

Ji Xiaoman glanced at Ruan Xian, grabbed his front lapel with her hands, and pulled him in the direction of the back door. The strength was so terrifying that Ruan Xian staggered twice before he could stand still. Tang Yibu poured the parts into the box he was carrying and quickly followed.

The next second he opened the back door, Ruan Xian immediately figured out Ji Xiaoman’s plan.

The back door wasn’t connected to a room, but to a freight container of a medium-sized truck. The container was simply transformed into a living space, with a welded double bed close to the corner and a small table full of daily necessities next to it. An induction stove was isolated on the other side of the bed by a thin iron sheet, and there was a sour smell of yeast in the steamer.

In addition, the walls of the compartment were densely covered with maintenance tools, and the rest of the space was also filled with workstations and small lathes filled with various parts.

A female android with a beautiful face was sitting on the lower bunk of the bed, patiently knitting the things in her hands.

“Xiaoman.” She smiled at them. “Xiaoman, Ji Xiaoman.”

Ji Xiaoman came in response. She carried two boxes full of parts into the car while panting, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and staining her delicate face with putty. “Mom, sit down. We’re leaving here.”

“Leave.” The woman smiled softly and spoke with a kind tone, but the sentences she uttered were just simple repetitions.

“Drive your car over. We have to stay away from Qian Yigeng’s core area of influence. ” Ji Xiaoman crawled out of the processing door of the freight container and got into the cab*. She reluctantly drove the car into the alley after the loud engine sounded. “Quick!”

*Clarity: Cab/Cabin refers to the driver’s compartment of a truck or tractor.

Before she finished speaking, Yu Le had driven the armored off-roader to them. “This movement is absolutely amazing. Little miss, if you plan to drive your car like how you did just now, my car can—Wait, what are you doing?!”

Two robotic arms stretched out from above the truck and grabbed tightly onto the back of the armored off-roader. A flash of optical camouflage flashed, and the appearance of the majestic off-roader became distorted. It looked like a second carriage to the truck, with a faded rubber duck painted on it.

“Come up!” Ji Xiaoman stuck her head out of the car window and shouted.

Yu Le rolled his eyes. He put his arm around the iron bead that was still dancing, grabbed a handful of food with his other hand, and climbed down the car door and got into the carriage of the truck.

“Why did you bring food?” Tang Yibu sat on a wooden box full of parts, took a piece of jerky from Yu Le’s arms, and happily stuffed a piece into his mouth. After hesitating for a few seconds, he stuffed a piece into Ruan Xian’s mouth.

“Your little pet has eaten all the packaging, and they can’t be put it away,” Yu Le said quietly. “If it weren’t for us coming back early, I wouldn’t be able to keep the car mats in the back seat. You have to take care of this thing—ah, hey—”

When the iron bead saw Tang Yibu, it rapidly barked, stretched out its short thin legs, climbed up along Tang Yibu’s trousers, and plunged into the arms of the android. Ruan Xian, who was sitting next to Tang Yibu, patted its shell. He was about to ask Yu Le to get something to eat when Ji Xiaoman slammed on the brakes.

Yu Le, who hadn’t found a place to sit, almost plunged his head into a pot.

“If you can’t drive, don’t! Let laozi do it!” This time there was more anger in his roar.

“What did you bring into my car?!” Ji Xiaoman roared back. “A Grove-Style R-660! To it, this truck is like a buffet—!”

She jumped out of the car, desperate to get back into the freight container, looking like a cat that was hissing with all its fur standing up.

“Hong Se can drive, right? You drive then.” Ji Xiaoman stared vigilantly at the iron bead that was spread out in Tang Yibu’s arms. “I have marked the destination. The faster you go, the better. I have to keep watch here.”

Yu Le felt like this was a great pardon. He grabbed a handful of food, patted the iron bead with relief, and didn’t even have time to correct Ji Xiaoman’s misnomer*. “Well done.”

*Clarity: In the previous paragraph, Ji Xiaoman calls Yu Le (余乐), Hong Se (红色).

Ji Xiaoman gave him a blank look and continued to stare at the iron bead. The latter finally had enough fun in Tang Yibu’s arms and was attracted by the sound of Yu Le getting off the car and beginning to look at the environment around it.

Its three small eyes scanned the metal parts all over the wall, and then it made a few meaningful rattles.

“Wait.” Yu Le sat down in the cab beaming, and before a few seconds had passed, he threw back a question. “This destination…”

“Li Ji Noodle House, that’s right.” Ji Xiaoman began to grab the gun. “Just go to it.”

“Wha—What kind of secret base is it?” It was obvious there were communication modifications between the cab and container, as Yu Le’s voice came in particularly clear.

“That place is nothing special, completely irrelevant.” Ji Xiaoman’s gaze moved with the iron bead that was sniffing everywhere. “…And the noodles are delicious.”

“A wise choice.” Tang Yibu affirmed solemnly.

Ji Xiaoman finally moved her gaze away from the iron bead and looked at Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian. “The noodles are on me, so please make your plans clear when the time comes.”

She pursed her lips and frowned slightly.

“After all, now that I’ve escaped, I still haven’t said whether I will accept your deal or not.”

---

The author has something to say:

Starting to leave a mark XD

…Although it’s Tangtang’s signature mark√ Previously used in the refuge~

Tang: There are noodles.

Iron bead harvested a buffet (……

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 76: New Transaction

“Ah.” Tang Yibu arched his chin on Ruan Xian’s shoulders. There was a hint of enlightenment in his tone. “No wonder.”

“What do you mean?” Ruan Xian felt the hot temperature behind him and pretended not to hear Yu Le’s gradually louder huffing.

“I understand why Miss Ji wants to get the mind access needle.”

Tang Yibu targeted it at Ji Xiaoman, his tone determined.

“As long as it’s an old-fashioned cybernetic brain, regardless of whether it’s good or bad, she can use the mind access needle for nerve stimulation to determine whether the memory module is functioning normally—just like a dangerous liquid delivery pipeline. Before formal use, a harmless mixture will be used to simulate the delivery to see if there is any abnormal pressure or leakage.”

“And Qian Yigeng won’t have the sophisticated technical means to make the newly added device seamless,” Ruan Xian continued smoothly. “In other words, as long as you get the mind access needle, there is a way to find the abnormal interference of the memory module in the old-fashioned cybernetic brain.”

He touched Tang Yibu’s head on his shoulder and continued, “I think as long as the abnormal location is determined, our Miss Mechanic can dismantle the threat by herself. When Qian Yigeng has no leverage, she will have a chance to be free.”

“Yes.” Ji Xiaoman nodded bluntly and admitted in a low voice. “I can’t cut and dissect my mother’s brain as a whole for examination. There are many fine parts, and it’s difficult to determine by scanning. This is the safest way.”

“What foreign language are you speaking?” Yu Le came to a sincere summary.

Tang Yibu slowly turned his head and released the arm around Ruan Xian’s neck. “Get the needle and check the cybernetic brain circuit. Remove the foreign device and get rid of Qian Yigeng.”

He spoke slowly with lively gestures and looked as if he was explaining something to a child in kindergarten. Yu Le took in a deep breath. It seemed that it took him a lot of effort to hold back the urge to shoot Tang Yibu.

“Fuck you, Tang Yibu—”

“Stop it.” Ruan Xian raised a hand and motioned for the two to be quiet. He could see that Ji Xiaoman wasn’t lying about her motives. “Where’s He An? You seem to be in touch with him too.”

“I only recently came into contact with him. He An is my work monitor.” Ji Xiaoman moved her metal fingers silently. “He’s an android equipped with an old-fashioned cybernetic brain, a rare intact model. He An has been working for Qian Yigeng for a long time, collecting debts, supervising and so on. I think he is probably the same as me, using his work to pay the ransom for his memory… Maybe there are other factors.”

“More than that.” Yu Le finally got the opportunity to speak. “Didn’t he give you something to fix?”

Ji Xiaoman raised his head and glanced at Yu Le. Her slightly gray eyes flashed. “The customer’s entrustment is private.”

“It’s private when it comes to me. Fine.” Lao Yu gathered the back of his pants and leaned against the wall. “What are we going to do now? Just leave her here? Don’t tell me you two have no plans.”

“According to the floor plan, there is no other exit from the research office,” Tang Yibu added thoughtfully. “There’s only one way in and out.”

“This is a good thing if people are blocked—”

“This means they won’t rummage through here the first time around.” Ruan Xian turned on the electronic wristband and began to operate quickly. His gaze swept across the fast-forward images. “Tang Yibu, open the door lock.”

Yu Le touched the handle of the gun with his right hand, while Ji Xiaoman picked up her heavy backpack. The two of them were like enemies. Tang Yibu moved over leisurely and opened the lock neatly.

“Let’s hide here for a while.” After some operations, Ruan Xian turned off the light screen in front of him. “The camera outside is temporarily controlled by me, and I will take you to the storage room. Except for Ji Xiaoman, we need to change clothes as quickly as possible, especially you, Yu Le.”

“…No need to emphasize.” Yu Le grimaced.

The special structure of the research office, coupled with the eagerness to find invading thieves, made the defenses weaker in other places. Ruan Xian changed into a familiar white coat and led the other three of them forward, and soon discovered another reason for the weak defense…

This place was more like a combination of a workshop and a chemical laboratory. There were no valuable things stored here, though there was a lot of rare equipment, but unfortunately, unless you drive a truck and crash it underground, the size of this equipment wasn’t suitable to be even taken out of the room.

The product was also easy to guess. The smell of cheap drugs wafted in the air, and the barely clean shelves were filled with various parts.

Ruan Xian picked the room with the most complete equipment. There were many people in dirty aprons and white coats carefully operating the seemingly expensive large-scale machinery. Seeing strangers coming to the door, people stopped their work and looked at them curiously. Many people seemed to have a little impression of Ji Xiaoman and cast eager eyes on the backpack behind her.

“Qian Yigeng should have introduced me to you all. I am the new ‘scientist’ who came here today.” Ruan Xian’s impatient expression was especially real. “You can call me Professor Tang. The two behind me are my assistants. I have already received Ji Xiaoman and my team will be solely responsible for the next step.”

Tang Yibu, who had been robbed of his surname, moved forward, squinting with his eyes in an effort to narrow them as he glared at Ruan Xian beside him.

At the moment, Ruan Xian was deliberately restraining his aura. He put on a disguise like when he first entered the shelter. Unfortunately, the impatience in his tone neutralized the gentleness of the scholar in him, which made his entire person a bit off-putting but was very much in line with his current disguise. After speaking, his Mr. Ruan didn’t show the slightest expression of lying, and his gestures were extremely natural.

An extremely good liar.

“But…” A somewhat bald man pushed the glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

“No, buts,” Ruan Xian interrupted him indifferently. “Our information has been logged into the system. If you have any doubts, check it yourself. A waste of time is just watching people enter information. Qian Yigeng spent money on me to come and inspect your work efficiency. Leave now.”

There were more than a dozen people in this laboratory, and most went out when they heard his words. There were still a few who stubbornly remained. “Our work isn’t over yet. You have no right—”

“You are synthesizing quick release methylphenidate*.” Ruan Xian glanced at the tool in front of the balding man’s hand and sniffed the smell in the air. “I can help you complete the rest of the process. Terminating the purification early will only ruin the finished product. Now I need quiet. I repeat, leave now.”

*Central nervous system stimulant medication that is used to treat ADHD and, to a lesser extent, narcolepsy.

Yu Le forcibly turned his laughter into a cough. The pants covered by his large white coat ripped a bit more.

The bald man glanced at Ruan Xian’s face, curled his mouth unconvincingly, scooted his butt and walked out, not having time to focus on the sound of clothes ripping. Soon, the small laboratory was completely empty. Tang Yibu turned around, humming a minor tune, and immediately locked the door.

“Amazing Xiao Ruan.” Yu Le grinned. “Those who work in tech are truly different.”

“You didn’t change your pants just now?” Ruan Xian’s focus was more realistic.

“Everyone here seems like they don’t have a fucking ass and no muscles at all. You two can still make do with your large size, but where can I find an extra-large size? Don’t you think I would fix it if I could?” Yu Le rolled his eyes. “There’s a camera in the corner…”

“We got together just now,” Ruan Xian said, directly kicking the rumbling purification machine and destroying all the addictive drugs in it. “They gave Ji Xiaoman a day. I guess that they’ll reduce the search after a day, so we’ll stay here until then.”

“I won’t fix it,” Ji Xiaoman whispered. She lowered her head deeply, causing the tips of her neatly trimmed black hair to slide across her pale face.

“What?” Yu Le adjusted the back of his white coat.

“I won’t fix it!” Ji Xiaoman raised her voice.

“Seriously, little girl, what kind of emotion simulation circuit did you deliberately break? I saw you insert pins into those cybernetic brains.”

Ji Xiaoman clenched her lips and stared viciously at Yu Le. Tang Yibu’s movements paused, and he turned to look at Ji Xiaoman with a little more interest in his eyes.

“Yes.” After a while, she said hoarsely, “Am I supposed to watch them get activated and suffer until they die?”

“This little girl is being pretentious. It’s just a simulated emotional reaction. If you were to change me, make it an eight or ten—”

Ji Xiaoman moved.

She had always spoken in a low voice, and her demeanor in front of people was a bit dull that Yu Le almost forgot the fighting skills she showed in the junkyard. Now those skills were used on him—Ji Xiaoman took off her backpack, jumped flexibly, squatted on the man’s shoulders like she was a ghost, and two long blades from her arms stretched out from behind Yu Le’s head while a gold cross flashed in front of his throat.

The little girl’s eyes widened slightly. She ambushed Yu Le’s shoulder like a poisonous spider, exuding an unquestionable killing intent. At the moment when the killing intent gushed out, Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian moved almost simultaneously, aiming their guns at Ji Xiaoman’s head.

“Enough brothers.” Yu Le swallowed.

That skinny little girl carried a desperate ruthlessness. He felt this kind of aura in Ruan Lijie and had experienced it himself. If the desperation of that kid surnamed Ruan was an unfathomable well, he and the girl were more like a stagnant ditch without a source or place to go, rotting visibly to the naked eye.

Yu Le didn’t let the stalemate last too long.

He grinned, grabbed one of the blades, and took advantage of Ji Xiaoman’s stunned moment to fall on his back, throwing the thin girl on his shoulders to the ground. Yu Le’s palm was cut deeply by the blade, and blood gushed out instantly.

“You haven’t seen it.” Ji Xiaoman didn’t seem to feel any pain. She got up quickly from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, as if she couldn’t see the muzzle of their guns. “You haven’t seen them.”

Yu Le casually tore a corner of his clothes to bandage the wound, making a slightly ugly face.

“If you just want to do it, there’s no need to find Qian Yigeng.”

She hissed, spitting out vulgar words without hesitation.

“Anyone who hangs out after curfew knows what the deal is. The rules here are clear—if you want to hurt and kill people, you have to put your own life on the line, but some don’t want to take the risk. Qian Yigeng’s customers don’t want sex at all. The pleasure that comes from complete domination sells the best.”

Ji Xiaoman seemed to be panting. This was the first time that she had spoken so much. Sharp metal fingertips scratched across the floor, making a harsh noise. “I’m not a good person and I don’t know much about it, but I think the emotional simulation circuit doesn’t just simulate feelings. It creates feelings, especially fear. In order to show the ideal effect, Qian Yigeng showed me the scene. They…”

Her face began to turn livid.

“They just want to hear those commodities scream for mercy or watch them slowly collapse. If the physical body is broken, change it. If there’s emotional overload in the cybernetic brain, reset it or destroy it depending on the situation.”

Ji Xiaoman stammered for half a day without divulging many details, but rather just a rough summary.

“Mom was eliminated by Qing Yigeng. Although her cybernetic brain is old-fashioned, it was completely broken and too docile. Do you get it? They don’t want goods that are too obedient—Qing Yigeng sold her to ignorant guests and soon she was abandoned.”

Yu Le was silent. He seemed to have thought of something, and his face became uglier.

“According to you, it’s not easier to put a real person.” He laughed dryly.

“Qian Yigeng’s only rule is that goods can be slaughtered, but the head and shell cannot be broken.” Ji Xiaoman looked at him blankly. “Do you think there are no real people here?”

“The human body is disposable, and the mind is more likely to collapse under excessive injury,” Tang Yibu added very quietly. Ji Xiaoman twitched the corners of her mouth.

“…So real people are more expensive, just like ‘games’ in the past. Even if the City Defenders come and check, Qian Yigeng would just say it’s the most well-made android,” she continued in a low voice. Every word was soaked in disgust. “He also told me that if I could make their emotional response the same as a real person, he would pay double—”

“Okay, stop talking.” Yu Le waved his hand. His facial muscles trembled a bit. “I’m getting a little sick.”

Ruan Xian looked at Yu Le quietly. He knew what the other party might be thinking. He stumbled upon the Sea of Ruins as a result of what happened to his sister, which was why Yu Le was extremely disgusted with forced behavior.

It was just that a few minutes ago, the former captain of the Walking Stones didn’t put on much empathy for androids, and now Qian Yigeng had completely offended one of them.

“So I won’t activate the emotional simulation. I’ll only give them something that kills the program.” Ji Xiaoman tied the mouth of her backpack tighter while remaining expressionless.

“Do you want to make a deal?” Ruan Xian suddenly asked.

Ji Xiaoman turned her head for a long time before she was sure that the other party was talking to her.

“We’ll help you erase Qian Yigeng in the Underground City.” Ruan Xian made a neat gesture. “You agree to all our repair requirements and tell us all the information you know. Well?”

“Do you know how many shops he has?” Ji Xiaoman didn’t show the slightest excitement but frowned. “Keep dreaming.”

“Oh, I support it.” Yu Le’s reaction was equally calm, but the direction of calm was different from Ji Xiaoman’s.

“If Mr. Ruan wants to do this, I have no opinion.” Tang Yibu sounded neutral at first glance, but his expression was a bit eager to try.

“…You guys are crazy.” Ji Xiaoman took a step back.

“You found out a little late.” Ruan Xian buttoned his white coat and smiled slightly.

“Change of plans, friends. We need to get out of here immediately.”

---

The author has something to say:

Ruan: I just want to buy and sell.jpg

Tang: Doing things will make it wonderful to observe clearly √

Lao Yu is the most honest one (.

Iron bead π offline: Lonely _(;з”π)_

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 75: Leverage*

*Handle (把柄) Metaphor referring to something that one holds leverage over in order to use and coerce others.

Ji Xiaoman had entered this room countless times.

Even if it wasn’t a big reception room, it was completely different from the ship she built herself. The surrounding walls were strong, and while the decorations weren’t luxurious, the room was clean. The air filter in the corner rumbled and buzzed, and the air smelled of smoke that pretended to be like sandalwood but only had the stench of garbage.

The wall on her left was full of various clocks, covered with varying degrees of gray, and the sound of the ticking second hand was mixed irregularly, almost driving people crazy.

Ji Xiaoman glanced coldly at the group of people at the table, then numbly put down her backpack; the blade on her prosthetic was ready to go at any moment. The big backpack was almost half the size of the little girl. It lay there by her feet, but no one dared step forward.

The men in suits stood quietly without taking off their gas masks. Ji Xiaoman knew the reason—the purpose of the so-called air filter wasn’t simple. As long as Qian Yigeng thought about it, it could turn this place into a gas chamber at any moment.

Qian Yigeng would not let the lackeys waste their time on the boring matter of taking off their gas masks and then putting them back on. He was happier to collect the masks of his guests.

Just as she was secretly grumbling, three more men entered the room and stood against the wall like the other thugs. However, because the three new arrivals were a bit prominent in height, the heads of the thugs standing in rows against the wall became more and more uneven, and the visual effect became quite poor.

‘Fakers.’ She said it in her heart and quickly retracted her gaze.

The gas mask was taken away when she entered the door. After putting the backpack away, Ji Xiaoman took off her coat. The skin was thoroughly damped by sweat, glowing with a bit of dirty water that caused the black vest to become darker in color. The mutilated arm muscles were obviously exposed, and the protruding ribs could clearly be seen on the exposed skin of her front chest. It was difficult to say whether the person was too thin or simply malnourished.

She bit her lower lip and stood in the center of the room, like a thin iron nail that couldn’t hit the ground.

“Xiaoman is here.” A fat man walked into the room through the back door. His face was firmly covered with a mask. He seemed to want to imitate the gang characters in films and television shows as he wore a formal black suit. Unfortunately, whether it was the narrow shoulders or the protruding beer belly, he looked more like a nouveau riche and didn’t give off any fierce vibe.

The fat man put his arms around a beautiful girl with a delicate face. She didn’t have her mask on, and her movements were stiff from fear.

“What are you doing standing. Sit down.” Qian Yigeng moved onto the sofa and instructed the woman next to him to pour him wine. “Xiaoman is a good name. After you join, I have more and more talents. Not to mention anything else, just today, a scientist wanted to join us.”

He shook the wine in his glass, didn’t take off the gas mask, but handed it back to the woman next to him. “Drink it.”

The girl smiled with difficulty, picked up the glass and drank it, almost choking on it. Ji Xiaoman didn’t say a word and had no intention of leaving the backpack to sit down.

“That’s a scientist, a great scientist. In the past, I’m afraid that those type wouldn’t even take one glance at people like me. You are still young and don’t understand this aspect. Uncle Qian taught you that it’s very important to see the situation clearly.”

Ji Xiaoman moved the backpack.

Qian Yigeng gestured to the man closest to him, and the man quickly stepped forward, opened Ji Xiaoman’s backpack, and took out a box. Ji Xiaoman menacingly popped out the blade of her prosthetic limb, a bit like a feline sticking out its own claws.

Qian Yigeng was dismissive of this. When the big box was presented to him, he opened it at will and took out the cybernetic brain that was blinking blue light. The artificial object with some gelatinous features spread out slightly in his palm, and the flickering suddenly brightened.

“No matter how many times you look at it, this thing is more beautiful than real brains,” Qian Yigeng said with emotion, carefully putting the cybernetic brain back in the box.

“It’s just that I recently heard some interesting feedback. As a creator, it doesn’t hurt to listen to it. Xiaoman, these things you make are so good… How can I put this? I have carefully selected a lot of personalities here, but as soon as this data is copied, while the personality performance isn’t an issue, but… Haa, the reaction is too machine-like.”

Ji Xiaoman rolled her eyes and looked at him.

“You know how we make money, right? I have collected old-fashioned cybernetic brains for so many years. As the boss of the Underground United City, I have searched for old-fashioned cybernetic brains for many years and uncovered only a dozen or so of them. Nowadays, it’s either a top brand or it’s sold out. The maintenance fee is enough to feed most of my people, but there are still a few chickens that will lay golden eggs.”

He paused deliberately for a while.

“That’s why I cherish talents like yours so much. If the brain performance isn’t good, the emotional intensity wouldn’t be real. People who come to me to play, you know what effect they want, but if they don’t have a sense of realism, they will be disappointed.”

“I know,” Ji Xiaoman muttered in a low voice. “A group of bastards who want to step on others but don’t want to feel guilty.”

“Isn’t everyone like this?” Qian Yigeng clapped his hands. “Let me just say it—Your goods have very good performance and have a longer life span than the ones I ordered before. That’s why their emotional expression is very stiff. I asked an expert to take a look. There are signs of internal damage to the emotional simulation circuit… Be careful when you make it. There shouldn’t be such a problem again, right?”

“Is there such a thing?” Ji Xiaoman’s tone didn’t fluctuate. “The technology is limited. I’m at this level.”

“Then I can only change back to the original channel. The quality of the imitation brains of the lame family is poor, but the emotional setting is intense, so the guest will like it more.” Qian Yigeng said lightly, pinching the woman beside him, causing her to instantly tremble.

Ji Xiaoman’s back tightened abruptly.

“As for your side… Your mother, I remember, has an old-fashioned cybernetic brain. As for the maintenance fee, you can charge the precious metal according to the previous amount, but the market isn’t good. Let me think about it. The price should increase by 50%.”

He pointed to a clock embedded in the wall, not standing out from among the crowd of other clocks. The color of the clock frame was a dark red that was a bit faded, and the plastic shell that wrapped the dial was covered with dust. Its hour hand was a small heart-shaped, the second hand moved extremely slowly, and the time didn’t match with the current real time.

Ji Xiaoman still stared at Qian Yigeng, not even sparing a glance at the clock that seemed to be covered by age.

“Round it to half past six, look at it. If I don’t accept this product today, you still have five and a half days to raise the funds.” Qian Yigeng’s voice showed some pride.

“That’s not a problem that needs to be repaired, and you have already increased the price once before.”

Ji Xiaoman’s chest heaved violently, and her blade made a rattling sound. The thugs closest to her raised their guns and aimed at the girl’s flesh.

“She’s obviously bad, and you took more than He An who’s in better condition. If you hadn’t added something to her mind…” She swallowed the second half of the sentence, her eyes full of resentment.

“Okay, then call it a protection fee if it makes you feel better? …So can the problem of your batch of goods be solved or not?” Qian Yigeng still looked indifferent.

“Yes.” Ji Xiaoman gritted her teeth.

“It’s good if you can. Take back this batch first. Can it be fix by tomorrow and brought back?” The fat man seemed to enjoy the other party’s anger as he was unable to hold back the smile in his voice. “This time, I got two beauties. It’s up to you.”

Ji Xiaoman silently pulled up her backpack. The metal fingertips brushed the rough cloth, making a slightly harsh sound. A man in a suit hurriedly rushed in from the door, ran to Qian Yigeng, bowed his waist and whispered something.

“What?” Qian Yigeng’s voice became angrier this time. “When?”

“Just now, Loach and Piebald wristbands were used, and the new people they got are gone. They didn’t decipher the equipment, and they just grabbed the wristbands and opened the door indiscriminately. They are probably thieves who came to steal things.”

“Did anyone catch them?”

“No.”

“What are you still talking nonsense for? Go find them! Seal all the exits!” Qian Yigeng raised his voice. “Take this little girl to the research office—everything should be there for you, Ji Xiaoman. You can fix a few imitation brains, right? In short, before I find these people, no one can leave!”

“He An is still here…”

“Whatever. He got what he should have got. It’s up to him to explain that to Lao Fu. It’s more important to catch the thieves. It’s time to release the poisonous gas. Damn, if I lose something—”

“Let’s go catch them now!”

“Also, why are you standing there in a daze? Didn’t I tell you to take this little girl to the research office?”

Qian Yigeng stood up, ignoring the shivering girl who served him his drink on the sofa, and walked straight to the back door. The thugs rushed out in a mess, and one of them walked towards Ji Xiaoman, holding his gun steadily. Ji Xiaoman carried her backpack with extremely slow movements. Her eyes were red with anger.

As a result, not only one but three more came.

“We’ll go with you.” One of the big men had a low voice that sounded inexplicably familiar. The other two followed him closely, as if they were stuck behind him. “In case the thief who came here wants to intercept this batch of goods, we can’t leave you to handle this alone.”

The gunman glanced at the positions of the three of them, and then pondered the other party’s proposal for a few seconds, finding that it was reasonable.

“Alright,” he said. “Hurry up and go. Boss Qian is in a bad mood now, and he may vent his anger if we’re late.”

The gunman expressed his anxiety physically, walking like a fly. Ji Xiaoman carried her heavy backpack and reluctantly followed. The remaining three still stayed in their weird standing position as they advanced, intercepting her, but didn’t poke her spine with their guns. After about half an hour, they finally bypassed the goose-intestine-like corridor and rushed into a dimly lit area. The people here all wore hair covers and masks and looked like doctors in an operating room. Unfortunately, their gestures revealed the temperament of a canteen employee.

“Before Boss Qian gives instructions, you should wait here honestly.” The gunman carefully closed the door of the empty room, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and made a few gestures at Ji Xiaoman unceremoniously. “When the noise outside is over, someone will come to pick you up. Brothers, hurry up. It’s very tight here and she couldn’t run away even if she tried.”

“We’re here to watch her.”

“Then I have to lock the three of you here too. Listen to me, it’s very boring to be locked in here. It’s not worth it.”

“Lock it, lock it. Don’t be afraid of 10,000 but be afraid of the what if*,” the big guy said. “You know Boss Qian’s temper. There must be something wrong with this batch of goods—”

*(不怕一万，就怕万一) Proverb that means not to be afraid of the unexpected 10,000 occurrence but to be afraid of the unexpected occurrence that can happen once. It’s to warn people not to take things lightly to prevent accidents.

The gunman swallowed his spit, and quickly flashed out. Not long after, there was a click of the lock outside the door.

“There are no cameras here.” One of the guys stuck behind the big guy moved away.

“So what if there isn’t? If you dare touch me with a single finger, or say something I don’t want to hear, I’ll destroy this batch immediately.” Ji Xiaoman showed her blade and glared at them fiercely.

“…No.” The man took off his gas mask and revealed a handsome, gentle face. He no longer squinted, and his eyes were gleaming with the familiar golden color. “I mean, Yu Le can put his red underpants—”

“Shut the fuck up.” The big guy also untied his mask, with a painful tone of voice.

Ji Xiaoman didn’t react for a while. She stood still, instinctively protecting the big backpack behind her.

“There is no movement on Qian Yigeng’s side for the time being. It seems that he’s not anxious enough.” The last person to take off their mask was Ruan Xian. He breathed a sigh of relief, and a little sweat appeared on his forehead. “Yes, Miss Ji. The intruders are us.”

Ji Xiaoman didn’t show any sign of relaxation. She still stared at them vigilantly. Tang Yibu had already pasted himself to the locked door and was fiddling around with it with a metal wire.

“I need an explanation before we can help you get the mind access needle.” Ruan Xian wiped the sweat from his sleeve. “After all, whether it’s voluntarily or not, the fact is that you and Qian Yigeng are cooperating. The muddy water depends on the situation. We don’t want to be used as guns and then sold.”

The thin girl bit her lower lip, like a hedgehog with hard thorns all over her body.

“You didn’t know what we’re capable of yet, seeing a new face, you put forward such a proposal.”

Ruan Xian didn’t soften his tone because the other party was a little girl. He looked straight into the other party’s dark eyes and pressed on step by step.

“Now that you know how capable we are, there are two choices. Give us the information, and we’ll officially cooperate; keep our little secret, and whether you wanted to use us before or sincerely cooperate, we’ll leave now— and you’ll fix our car. It’s just a few extra days, rather than potentially losing our lives.”

Ji Xiaoman’s metal fingers clicked softly.

“…Cooperate.” She tried to squeeze the word out of her mouth.

“Then let’s talk about your mother and He An first.” Ruan Xian took another step closer. “It sounds like the old-fashioned cybernetic brain needs special treatment.”

Tang Yibu seemed to have figured out the door lock. He came over with interest and wrapped his arms around Ruan Xian’s neck affectionately, causing Yu Le to snort bitterly.

“Yes.” The girl didn’t react to their intimate posture in any way. “Whether it’s a guest who comes… or the owner who bought the android, they have to face this problem. Qian Yigeng doesn’t tell them in advance. He asked someone to add devices to all old-fashioned cybernetic brains.”

Her voice was hoarse, and her anger became more obvious.

“Once the time is up, it will empty all the data.”

“So those clocks—” Ruan Xian frowned and reacted quickly.

“Yes, if you want to keep your memory, you must pay for maintenance and let him reset the countdown… Those clocks are used as countdown timers.”

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The author has something to say:

Boss Qian still doesn’t know what’s about to happen to him.jpg

Sister Xiaoman is also a ruthless person. Only the iron bead is innocent and cute (×

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 74: Red Underpants

Tang Yibu stared at the wheelchair without blinking, his eyes blank. After a brief moment, he lowered his gaze, as if they had just found an extremely ordinary clue. In contrast, Ruan Xian was stunned for a longer time.

When he was still in the shelter, he saw the other Ruan Xian’s speech from the “Introduction Manual to Shade Shelter”. According to the situation at that time, this wheelchair couldn’t be replaced even if one wanted to—it was designed delicately, both on a technical and software level. It was equipped with a set of very high thresholds for replacement, not to mention that this was after the end of the world, where resources and technology were scarce. Taking a step back, not to mention the other “Ruan Xian” who was living twelve years later, when Ruan Xian himself was still living normally, his wheelchair was equivalent to some kind of unique advanced prosthetic limb created only for him, so it was useless for others to steal it.

Was the other “Ruan Xian” killed?

This was his first thought. According to the information provided by Tu Rui, Professor Ruan and Fan Linsong left the headquarters spontaneously after its collapse. It was still possible if it happened to be picked up by a local snake* like Qing Yigeng.

*Term used to describe the local gangster/mob boss in a community.

But Ruan Xian always felt that something was wrong.

If Qian Yigeng really killed Professor Ruan and didn’t want it revealed so as not to provoke the rebels from retaliating, he wouldn’t have hidden the wheelchair in such a conspicuous place. If he was Qing Yigeng, the first thing he would do was to dismantle the wheelchair and hide it in a pile of mechanical objects. Right now, that wheelchair was sitting nicely in a storage room, looking more like a parochial show.

“Has Ruan Xian’s illness improved?” Countless possibilities passed through Ruan Xian’s mind, and he chose the most likely one.

The illness in his body was completely banished, and it wasn’t in the realm of fantasy that the other Ruan Xian had found a way to cure himself in these past twelve years.

“I haven’t heard of it. If there is, it’s impossible for the rebels not to make a sound.” Tang Yibu pressed his hands on the console, staring at the mechanical wheelchair on the light screen as if he wanted to swallow it with his eyes. “They advertised once a few years ago, saying that Ruan Xian’s condition has been safely controlled and will not worsen—they didn’t mention a word about recovery.”

After taking a deep breath, Tang Yibu slowly shook his fists with both hands. “Do you know his illness?”

“I’ve heard a little bit. It seems to be a rare genetic type…”

“Yes, this kind of disease is best discovered in the fetal period and could be fixed with gene therapy if intervened in time. But when the technology was developed, he had already grown up and missed the best period for treatment. In theory, there’s no other way but to repair the cells of the whole body one by one, but if that’s done, his cells needed to be completely separated so that the nanobots could fully intervene. Not to mention that there’s a great risk it won’t be restored to its original state, even if it was successful…”

“The cells of the whole body including the brain cells, would be combined with a mechanical component. It would be difficult to classify him as a human,” Ruan Xian added quietly. “This would be a fatal blow to the rebels.”

“Yes, humans will not recognize a leader who has been transformed into a mechanical life.” Tang Yibu nodded, finally turning his gaze around. Ruan Xian could see the vague sorrow in it.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to work for the rebels anymore.” Ruan Xian began to look through other light screens again. “And he found a way to heal himself, then changed his identity and disappeared.”

This guess made him feel uncomfortable. The timing wasn’t wrong. If there was no so-called “another Ruan Xian” from the beginning…

“I have thought about this possibility.” Tang Yibu stopped moving and slowly took off the gas mask, revealing a somewhat pale face. “But he won’t do that.”

“Reason?” Ruan Xian also took off his mask and looked directly at the other party with his stomach churning for a while.

“Ruan Xian’s view of mechanical life wasn’t falsified. He’s a lofty man and won’t choose to become something he once spurned… According to Ruan Xian’s theory, if he transformed himself into a mechanical life, the newly produced thing wouldn’t be him. It would be no different from death.”

‘Too extreme,’ Ruan Xian thought. Then suddenly, he wanted to laugh a bit—he had always been an extreme person and there was nothing wrong with it.

“There is insufficient information. Random speculations are meaningless. With the wheelchair here, Qian Yigeng must know something.” Ruan Xian closed the topic. “Anyways, there are three possibilities: it was stolen from Ruan Xian, Ruan Xian found a way to regain his ability to walk, or Ruan Xian has been unfortunately killed.”

Tang Yibu still had his hands on the operation board and didn’t turn off the light screen.

“Yibu?” Ruan Xian scanned the light screen in front of him and spoke up, while Tang Yibu was still in a daze. The android stared at the wheelchair on the light screen, as if expecting it to grow its own mouth to explain.

“…What is the relationship between you and Ruan Xian?” Ruan Xian’s throat was a bit dry.

“If Ruan Xian dies,” Tang Yibu said mindlessly, in the same dry tone. “…Well, if he dies, it will only be a matter of time before MUL-01’s complete domination. Without observation samples, I’m afraid I’ll never be able to complete my project. What should I do then?”

Ruan Xian instinctively caught something unnatural from the other person’s expression, but he didn’t have time to distinguish its content. Tang Yibu’s next sentence completely attracted all his attention…

“Mr. Ruan, can you hug me?” The android turned his head with a blank expression. “I like the feeling of hugging you. It makes me feel better. I feel a little bad now.”

Tang Yibu showed a confused expression, as if he had experienced indigestion for the first time.

Ruan Xian stopped the hand operating the light screen and almost stepped on the person who had fainted on the ground. He looked at Tang Yibu, and the other party opened his arms in a very serious posture.

It was a great opportunity now to draw a clear line. He just needed to tell the android to focus on his work and use reason to stop the relationship that was deepening at an abnormal rate. The chain given by the other party was still nailed to his earlobe but…

A lunatic always obeyed their inner desires.

He smiled and walked forward, hugging Tang Yibu, who was slightly taller than him. The other party bent down, buried his nose in his shoulder, inhaled a little aggrieved, and his back trembled slightly.

“This is ‘anxiety’, I know,” the android muttered. “According to various signs, I am experiencing anxiety. I hate this emotion.”

“Shh, shh.” Ruan Xian smoothed Tang Yibu’s back. “He’s not dead. That’s just a possibility.”

“Ruan Xian” wouldn’t die. No matter if the other Ruan Xian had really died, he was still alive. Until now, the curiosity of knowing the truth had long overshadowed the desire for self-awareness. Now, Ruan Xian found that he could be many things, and the “Scientist Ruan Xian” wasn’t the most attractive option…

That was just the mask he chose to survive in society at the beginning, and now the concept of “society” was already crumbling.

Ruan Xian tightened his arms. There was someone who needed him right now more than anyone else. This knowledge made his hair stand upright, giving birth to some comfort and satisfaction that couldn’t be said to be dark or legitimate. In these short ten seconds, he suddenly became a lot richer, in a way he had never experienced before.

Without the collar locked by the other party, all this would be almost perfect.

Tang Yibu retracted the tip of his nose while quietly hugging Ruan Xian and sniffing for a while. He put his forehead against Ruan Xian’s forehead, rubbed contentedly, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m better. Thank you for your hug.” The android’s pure gaze was a bit more comfortable, and his voice softened, with a vague hint of coquettishness. “Guess what I’m thinking?”

“You are thinking, ‘I must not let this person run away’.” Ruan Xian touched his earlobe and unconsciously raised the corner of his mouth.

“Yes.” Tang Yibu’s golden eyes were dim in the shadows, and his answer was light and cruel. “But that’s only half of it.”

“Hmm?” Ruan Xian completely put away all the light screens and began to combine circuit diagrams in his brain.

“I’m still thinking, I may not be able to tie you down, Mr. Ruan.” The android’s voice was very soft. “You are more dangerous than I thought.”

They looked at each other and laughed. Ruan Xian didn’t know what he was laughing at. He took two steps forward and saw burning possessiveness, vigilance, and a trace of natural killing intent in the eyes of the other party.

‘It was like a mirror that completely reflected his own emotions,’ Ruan Xian thought, and it only made his smile grow stronger.

Perhaps the gap between the other Ruan Xian and himself wasn’t that big. He could be crueler than anyone else. Ruan Xian stretched out his arm and pushed the back of Tang Yibu’s neck forward. His lips met those eyes that exuded infinite attraction.

“We’re the same.” He moved his lips silently.

Then he released his hand and his expression returned as usual. “I have cleared up the route. If you don’t find anything else on your side, then it’s time to meet with Qian Yigeng.”

Having said that, Ruan Xian put on the gas mask again.

Yu Le was in a bad mood.

After following Ji Xiaoman for three blocks, he began to feel like a pervert, or something even more wretched. The little girl shuttled through the increasingly explicit and ambiguous projections and slogans, with a heavy backpack hanging behind her, almost perfectly integrated into the crowd of people picking up waste products everywhere. In the boundless fog of light and shadow, the thin back revealed some indescribable pity.

He glued his gaze firmly to the backpack and navigated the crowded neighborhood as flexible as possible. However, his physique was too burly, and his head was too tall, which attracted the attention of a few people. When they found out that his target was a thin little girl, their eyes behind the gas mask showed varying degrees of contempt.

Fuck. All Yu Le’s thoughts turned into this word.

The former captain of the Walking Stones sighed for a while, and finally continued his tracking plan. Ji Xiaoman bowed her waist and tucked her shoulders, making her already slender physique seem to be even more nonexistent. She did a circle in the thick fog, passed through the rotten-smelling food market, slipped over a pile of garbage, and disappeared into the depths of the garbage mountain.

It was chaotic and dirty, and the fog was so thick that there weren’t many scavengers.

However, having survived in the Sea of Ruins, Yu Le had a natural instinct to hide. He walked around the garbage mountain halfway and kicked on the rusty iron door hidden in the corner. The metal plate made a hollow sound, and he shook his head. He propped the rusty board apart and jumped down carefully.

He leapt into an almost semi-abandoned corridor. Lots of rotting garbage was leaked through the iron gate. Slimy moss and ferns grew in the corners, covering the floor so much that it couldn’t be seen. Yu Le clenched the handle on his gun, continued to track the noise around the corner, and turned on the silencer function of his pistol.

In the beginning, Ji Xiaoman would turn her head every few steps while Yu Le followed her like a shadow, completely melding with her target’s rhythm. Finally, the young girl let down her guard and began to focus on moving forward.

Yu Le quickly discovered the reason for the other party’s peace of mind.

Other people began to appear in the corridor, but most of them were old men in suits. Several of them had a brief conversation with Ji Xiaoman for a while, guiding her to move on. The remaining two were heavily armed and began to move in his direction.

Fucking hell.

The surrounding doors were all welded tight with metal plates. Unless he turned his head and ran away now, it was impossible for him to escape the investigation of these two people. Unfortunately, escape had never been Captain Yu’s style. He hid the gun in his backhand and walked out with a grin.

“Hi, guys, where is this?” He said fleetingly. “I just watched a little girl get in, thinking there was something valuable. I have offended you, so I’ll just leave now. Sorry.”

If this was a serious place, and he wasn’t too far deep in, he would probably get a few warnings. If he rushed to make a move and this was the territory of the rebel army, a lot more issues could happen. However, seeing Ji Xiaoman’s reluctant appearance and the visitor wearing a silly suit, rather than the rebels, it was more like a pretentious gangster.

As a prisoner who had been around all kinds of scum and garbage for a long time, Yu Le chose to trust his intuition and tighten his every nerve.

The two people wearing gas masks confirmed his suspicion—they ignored Yu Le’s words and shot him directly. Yu Le barely dodged and almost landed on the ground with his ass.

“Alright, alright. Looks like it’s either fight or die. I’ll follow your rules.”

He spat, twisted up, and made an appearance like he was going to attack the two of them. As soon as the two of them turned their attention away and were about to maintain their balance, Yu Le quickly took out the hidden gun in his hand and, with two soft whizzes, the two men slowly slid to the ground. The bullet pierced their gas mask and hit them straight in their heads, killing them with a single blow.

Yu Le turned the gun in his hand, skillfully stripped off the clothes of one of them, and then moved the two corpses to the entrance of the tunnel. Enduring the nausea. He dumped the garbage nearby to bury them.

“Piece of cake, motherfuckers.” Yu Le wiped his hands vigorously on the other person’s clothes, pushed the gas mask back on his face, and put on the suit he stole.

An unpleasant sound of silk tightening sounded from behind him. Yu Le gasped, relaxed his body, and sucked in his stomach—Even though he took the biggest suit, that man was still shorter, and this suit size was one size smaller than his usual clothes.

Making sure that the back of his clothes hadn’t split open, he cleared his throat, pulled the gun and electronic wristband from the corpse’s hand, and followed in small steps. From the corner of his eyes, Yu Le kept careful watch of the cameras and avoided the small number of people in the corridor, walking against the wall in their blind spots, relying on his electronic wristband to open several doors along the way.

…Until he reached a perfectly sealed door that required biometric key verification.

Ji Xiaoman obviously had something to do with the local snake here.

If the local snake is Qian Yigeng, her commission could be regarded as eating inside and out*, and this could be used as a great bargaining chip. If the girl did it as a last resort, he could act depending on the situation and possibly earn some goodwill.

*(吃里扒外) Metaphor referring to living off one person while secretly helping another.

But if it wasn’t Qian Yigeng on the other side of the door, he might offend not only Ji Xiaoman but another powerful local snake here.

He was just a step away from the door. Yu Le stood straight outside, making it look like he was standing guard and patrolling while he quickly calculated in his heart.

He would watch the situation and act from there. The people here were like stuffed gourds*, so he could only try to pry it deeply once. Accustomed to the blood-soaked life, Yu Le weighed the gun in his hand and began to consider the total number of people he could take down with his weapon.

*(闷葫芦) Metaphor referring to something that can’t be guessed and is confusing and puzzling or people who don’t like to talk || In this context, it’s referring to the latter.

He once commanded the Walking Stones, and he knew better than anyone else. For a scattered gang like this, it was thousands of miles away from well-trained soldiers. At most, people would patrol, but they rarely stuck to their hours and things were rarely strictly enforced. Most wouldn’t meddle in other people’s businesses. He could just wait for someone to pass through and then sneakily follow them. As long as he made up a good reason, perhaps he could save some bullets.

And at that moment, two unlucky guys were walking this way. From their movements, it looked like they were going to enter the door.

When the two guys in suits saw him, they stopped slightly, as if they were suspicious. Yu Le hurriedly strolled over, lowered his voice, and nodded at the two of them. “New arrivals are waiting for you to enter. Please take care of them.”

The two froze suspiciously. Yu Le let out a chuckle, glanced at the camera that was turned away and was about to take action…

“Yu Le?” Tang Yibu’s voice came from behind one of the gas masks. “What are you doing here?”

“…” Yu Le wanted to wipe his face. He slowly hid the gun but couldn’t help wiping the gas mask instead. “I’m going to find someone to extort and sell favors. That little girl is shipping imitation cybernetic brains here.”

The shorter one nodded. “We know.”

“Awesome, did you go to the prostitute hall for a lap and play around, and now you have a full understanding?” Yu Le sighed in a low voice.

“What message did you ask π to send?” Ruan Xian couldn’t help laughing for a while. Through the gas mask, he could feel the signature innocence of Tang Yibu’s face. “…Never mind.”

“Anyway, that’s the news I have. Do you have any plans you want to share?” Yu Le turned around and raised his chin towards the door in front of him. “My suggestion is to go in—”

“Go in and get some information, create some chaos, and then hide,” Ruan Xian whispered quickly. “If someone is invading and robbing this place, Qian Yigeng will check and transfer his most valuable things. If he really has the mind access needle like Ji Xiaoman said, we can determine its location.”

“Wow, heroes, we see eye to eye.” While the camera was turned away, Yu Le shook his head. “We can’t be exposed now, Xiao Ruan. I’m not good at this high-tech shit. Do you have a quiet way of opening this door? Hey, Tang Yibu, what’s the matter with you? Why are you standing behind me? I’m sick and tired of having men standing behind my ass.”

Ruan Xian didn’t hold back this time and tried to rub his temples through the mask. He looked away and said nothing.

“Now is not the time to be exposed,” Tang Yibu responded solemnly.

“Didn’t I just fucking say it?”

“The back of your pants is split open,” Tang Yibu continued to say solemnly. “Your red underpants are too conspicuous. I have to block it.”

“…Can I kill you two now?”

“Can’t.”

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The author has something to say:

Lao Yu: I’m better off just shooting the both of you.

An unhappy meeting with their teacher (???

Ruan and Tang are too crazy now (…), They are going to collide with each other XD

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 73: The Mechanical Hunter

Yu Le’s interest abruptly rose. He arched his waist, hid behind a large crab-like mechanical life corpse, carefully pushed away an oily metal leg with his hand, and looked silently not far away.

The infrared scanner embedded in the lens of the gas mask worked dutifully, and the shadows of the two human shapes were exceptionally clear. Ji Xiaoman looked barely over 1.6 meters; about a head shorter than He An. The infrared scan couldn’t scan her expression, so Yu Le could only see that she wasn’t looking up.

“I haven’t done anything shady. Why can’t I follow you?” He An’s tone was brisk. “It’s my obligation to ensure that you deliver on time. You know why.”

“Does your partner know?” Ji Xiaoman pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the tissue fluid of the mechanical life on her hand.

He An’s figure stiffened, and his voice became cold. “Don’t mention A’Yu in front of me.”

“I also said not to follow.” Ji Xiaoman’s tone was colder than ever before. “You see, everyone has the right to privacy.”

“Delivery’s at 8. It’s half past 6 now. You used to need at least half an hour to get there. You still have one hour to prepared.” He An’s smile completely disappeared. “If I were you, I would go back and prepare the goods instead of hunting in the junkyard. Even if you’re the best mechanical hunter, Qian Yigeng will not let you go easily.”

“I know.”

“Just know, if you die now, it will be very troublesome on my side.” He An sounds like an emotionless android. “How is my stuff?”

“Still repairing. If you don’t bother me to collect parts, I can fix it faster. Now… I don’t know when it will be fixed.” Ji Xiaoman seemed to want to play an indifferent game with He An.

He An snorted, turned his head and left. Yu Le sucked in a helpless breath and continued observing. Ji Xiaoman stayed in place for a few seconds and slashed the nearest mechanical life corpse next to her. She didn’t cry, but her chest fluctuated sharply, and then she continued to dismember the slimy corpses.

Yu Le played his role dutifully as the leader of the pirates and followed her all the way back to the store and only slipped in lightly 8 minutes after she entered the door.

There was a large basin on the counter, and the warm water was steaming a little. The parts she just got were soaked in the basin, with big drops of oil floating in the water. Ji Xiaoman had her back to the door and was cleaning them carefully with her awl-like fingertips. She had five small wooden boxes in her hand.

One of them was wide open, revealing its contents…

The slightly transparent hemispherical device was lying on a soft cloth. Ji Xiaoman didn’t even need tweezers. With a gentle pinch of her fingertips, the tiny pieces sank into the soft gel and returned to their place obediently. Then she used a spoon-like tool to hold the squirming glue, revealing the dazzling structure inside the device. The metal fingertips of the other hand began to turn red. The red-hot sharp metal was attached to the internal parts, making a sizzling melting sound.

After doing all this, she breathed a sigh of relief, pulled back her fingertips, and waited for the glue wrapped around the internal parts to spit out. Not long after, the interior of the completed device began to flicker slightly. The blue light filaments continued to disappear in the glue, like some kind of undiscovered deep-sea jellyfish.

There was no satisfaction on her face in completing the work, only deep sorrow. After hesitating for a few seconds, she picked up a needle and pierced it without mercy. The hemispherical device the size of a human brain was full of blue light, and then it slowly went out.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That’s all I can do… I’m sorry.”

“Let me guess, this is an imitation cybernetic brain?” Yu Le leaned against the wall and spoke lazily. Ji Xiaoman froze on the spot and only remembered to turn around after a long while. It’s just that when she turned her head back, a few bullets also rushed straight at Yu Le.

After Yu Le made a sound, he changed his position with foresight, and the bullets only left a few dark holes in the wall.

Seeing that the other party dodged the bullet, it wasn’t clear whether Ji Xiaoman’s expression was relieved or worried.

“It seems so. Don’t be nervous, I don’t plan to rob you.” Yu Xuan raised his hands and made a gesture of surrender. “If I wanted to rob you, I would have given you two shots from behind. It doesn’t look like you want my life. Anyways, since we’re idle, let’s talk about it.”

“No time.” Ji Xiaoman held a gun in one hand and quickly packed the wooden box in the other. She stuffed them into a huge backpack and carried them neatly. “Raise your hands high and put your back to the wall. Don’t move.”

“Oh, if you weren’t such an uptight little miss, this would sound even more exciting… Hey, don’t shoot. Don’t shoot. I’ll just lie down!” Yu Le took in a breath towards the bullet hole that was just added to the wall by the side of his face.

Ji Xiaoman stretched her face, quickly bypassed the scattered debris and furnishings in the store and slipped out flexibly like a snake. Almost in the next second, the sound of something being locked came from outside the door. Yu Le patted the dust on the wall and snorted.

“In the end, she’s just a little girl. Too soft.”

The door was locked tightly, and the glass couldn’t be broken. Yu Le folded a few metal wires from the shop, dragged over a generator, and broke the lock with a few electrical pulses. He casually threw away his insulated gloves and rushed out of the store. Ji Xiaoman’s figure happened to disappear at the end of the road.

Yu Le kicked on the door of the store, and the click of the electronic lock took effect again, then he followed her. It was just that this time, the slender figure of the little girl had been completely engulfed by the fog.

Yu Le wasn’t bothered by this. He raised his hand and grabbed the young man smoking on the street by the metal ring on his lips and threatened him. “Where did that little girl go just now?”

The young man with colorful dyed hair glanced up and down at Yu Le’s physique, succumbed to the other party’s sturdy arms and pirate aura, and shivered, then pointed in a direction. Even if the fog was pervasive, Yu Le could clearly see the bright neon lights behind the fog.

“Hey, things are getting more and more fun.” Yu Le let go of the young man and snatched the other party’s cigarette. He tore off the cigarette butt in disgust and took in a breath. “It’s just a little girl. Don’t think laozi can’t handle you.”

On the side of a building not far away.

The car finally came to a halt, and the air circulated again. Their iron boxes seemed to be placed on the inside of the car as they could hear people outside moving things out one by one. They should be in a corner of a warehouse right now. Ruan Xian could smell rusty metal, mold, and a little bit of spoiled gasoline.

“What about those two inside? Don’t let them freeze.” The flower peacock sounded worried about the quality of the goods. “It’s good to have fresh cells. We all know that it will be more valuable…”

“They’re two big men. It’ll be fine. It just for a while. Have you finished the scan? Send the photos and scan results to Boss Qian first. Anyway, it’s going to be closed for a day and night to frustrate their spirits. Just send them to a warmer place later.”

As he spoke, he knocked on the box. “Do you hear me? A day and night. If you want to suffer less, be honest! Come on, don’t worry. The heartbeat displayed is normal and their entire body scan has come out. I’ll pass it on to you later. First…”

Ruan Xian didn’t respond, and Tang Yibu obediently pretended to be dead.

“It has been sent to Boss Qian, but I have to take another look…” Flower peacock walked over by himself. “Yes, these two are really strong, and their body temperature is safe. Let’s just—”

[There are only two of them nearby.] Ruan Xian sent the message through the earring.

“The power system of the car has also been shut down, and there should be no surveillance on the car.” Tang Yibu responded softly. “Do it?”

[Do it.]

“There is someone whispering inside… What are you whispering about? Speak louder and let laozi listen, yeah?” Flower peacock was just about to beat the iron box when a hand directly broke through the metal wall like it was made of paper-machete and grabbed his wrist.

“Fuck—” Before he could finish, he was knocked out on the spot by the person who jumped out of the box. The other didn’t even draw his gun and instead turned around and tried to run, but Ruan Xian, who had followed Tang Yibu out, kicked his knees and slashed the back of his neck with a knife.

The whole process took no more than three seconds.

Flower peacock and the other man were both dressed in suits like dogs, but they obviously didn’t fit well, and there were many creases and wrinkles. Tang Yibu compared the figures of the two of them, happily removed their coats and gas masks, and stuffed the two unlucky bastards with only their underwear into the metal box.

The electronic wristbands of the two were also specially taken off, and he handed Ruan Xian the one that flower peacock wore.

“It smells like smoke.” Ruan Xian wrinkled his nose in disgust, twisting flower peacock’s suit with his two fingers. The air in the warehouse was still muggy, but the metallic sour stench was slightly lighter than outside, so it wasn’t suitable for breathing.

“The bathrobe is too easy to expose.” Tang Yibu quickly put on his suit, and the clothes that looked baggy on the other person were completely propped up, with a bit more elegant taste. It was a pity that with a gas mask that came with this terrifying atmosphere, the matching effect was instantly subdued.

“I know.” Ruan Xian kicked off his bathrobe and put on his shirt and suit in spite of his nausea. He plugged the mouth of the two comatose men with their bathrobes and then took the gas mask off flower peacock. “I’ll leave the rest to you, Yibu.”

“…It seems that our cooperative relationship has deepened.” Knowing that there were no outsiders this time, and the other party didn’t need to act, Tang Yibu digested how he was addressed for a few seconds*. “But this isn’t fair. Ruan Lijie is definitely not your real name. What should I call you? Xiao Ruan? Or Ruanruan?”

*Clarity: In Chinese and some Asian culture, calling someone by just their first name is very intimate. Since they were acting like a couple, Ruan Xian calls Tang Yibu by just his first name showing off their closeness. Now, with no one around, there’s no need to act, but Ruan Xian calls him Yibu anyways, showing that Ruan Xian regards him as someone close to him.

Ruan Xian shivered. “Mr. Ruan is fine.”

“Mr. Ruan.” Tang Yibu sounded a little dejected. He made sure that the mouths of the two people in the box were gagged and their hands tied tightly by the bathrobe belt, he squeezed the metal box like squeezing playdough and sealed it tightly. He tried his best to flatten the breach, but unfortunately, with no welding device, the gap was still stubbornly cracked. Tang Yibu took some scraps from the metal box and carefully filled it in.

“Almost done?” Ruan Xian straightened the collar of his suit. “We’re not staying here.”

Only then did Tang Yibu stop his obsessive-compulsive behavior, and he turned his attention to the bulging handbag next to the box. Ruan Xian also picked up one. They exuded the smell of fresh blood that made him very concerned.

He hesitated for a while, opened the zipper, and almost dropped the bag—not from fear, but from complete shock.

The bag was stuffed with preservative agents and a human head.

The head belongs to a young man with an honest and innocent face, almost cowardly and not handsome at all. His expression was frozen in fear and pleading, and there were tears on his face.

Ruan Xian slowly pulled back the zipper and sighed. “Now we know where that personality data came from.”

“The personality data that constructs artificial intelligence can be reused, and the body can be copied. Only the cybernetic brain hardware is left.” Tang Yibu grabbed the two bags. “We have to move them out first, so as not to make people suspicious…”

Before Tang Yibu’s voice fell, a man approached the car. Even if there was a mask buttoned on his face, Ruan Xian turned his face toward the shadow subconsciously. Tang Yibu squatted down, hid his physique, and pretended he was handling his handbag.

“Loach, Piebald? Boss Qian is very satisfied with the new products, Piebald. You don’t need to do this anymore. Just wait outside the door. He said that he will see you two first thing after he finishes receiving the goods.”

“Got it.” Tang Yibu responded. His voice was exactly the same as the man who was talking to flower peacock. “Didn’t you say 8? It’s only half past 7. There’s still half an hour left.”

“Boss Qian wants you to wait, so wait. Don’t speak nonsense. Why don’t you two go outside for a drink. Are you that eager to want to work so much?”

“Let’s go now.” Tang Yibu turned his back, hooked Ruan Xian’s neck, and pressed down on the blood gun in the other party’s hand. This time he used the voice of the peacock “Piebald”.

Having said that, they slipped out of the car along the blind corner of the man’s vision. In a dignified manner, he passed by the man who began to bend his waist and organize the head in the bag, and then lowered his head to pass by another group of people who came to help.

Outside the warehouse was a maze-like corridor. It could be seen that other buildings have been temporarily remodeled, and many rooms were firmly welded tightly by metal plates. Cameras rotated in all corners. Ruan Xian recalled flower peacock’s floating steps and imitated them as best he could. He reluctantly followed the instructions of what was said and tried his best not to show any hesitation.

There were scattered people passing by them on the road. They were also wearing ill-fitted suits and their faces were covered by gas masks. Several people still had dark, suspicious stains on their clothes. Ruan Xian was happy that everyone ignored them as no one came to greet them.

There were only stairs leading underground.

As the two of them descended step by step, there were fewer abandoned doors that were sealed and more prison doors that smelled of blood and rot behind them. The decoration of the corridors was also getting more elaborate. They flowed through a river of whimpers and cries for help until they walked into more gorgeous lights.

The floor under their feet had changed from a cracked cement to ceramic tiles and velvet fleece. The spray paint patterns full of dirty characters around them had become reproductions of oil paintings. The air began to become fresh, and the rancid smell and calls for help gradually faded behind them. However, in the end, Qian Yigeng wasn’t a researcher. Ruan Xian used his peripheral vision to scan the surrounding environment. The style of the cameras hadn’t changed from beginning to end. Their placement was scattered and left a lot of blind spots.

The first few isolated doors could be entered by simply swiping their wristband, while the last one had more thought and was changed to iris scans in addition to fingerprint recognition. This obstacle obviously couldn’t stop Tang Yibu. He was about to press his palm upwards…

Ruan Xian grabbed his wrist.

“There are not many voices inside, and there’s nothing special in there,” he whispered. “Go over there first. I heard something else.”

Tang Yibu stopped obediently and dragged Ruan Xian to the other corner of the corridor maze. After unknowingly passing through several similar doors, Tang Yibu repeated his old tricks and had to manually crack the electronic lock in front of him. Ruan Xian smiled and shook his head and opened the door with the electronic wristband he took from flower peacock.

“This will leave traces.” Tang Yibu raised his eyebrows.

“What I want is to leave a trace.” Ruan Xian winked before walking in. “There’s a person inside, very close to the door. Get ready.”

The door creaked softly, and as soon as the man sitting in the chair was about to turn his head, he was directly hit on the back of the head by the wristband thrown by Tang Yibu and fainted softly to the ground.

 “I get it.” The android raised his head and looked at the countless light screens floating in front of him…

This was the surveillance room.

“I prefer to spend time here rather than waiting.” Ruan Xian jumped on the console and sat down without any scruples. Tang Yibu supported his waist and operated the surveillance program skillfully.

“I like it more here too.” The android sounded extremely happy, as if he had gotten a new toy. “Let me clear out a few retreat routes first.”

“Help me see if there is a research room or data room.”

Ruan Xian slowly raised the other party’s arm and jumped back to the ground from the side gap. He casually pulled up dozens of light screen groups and looked at them one by one.

“I’m going to see if there’s anything in the cells just now… Yibu?”

Tang Yibu’s movements stopped abruptly, and he suddenly stiffened. In the dense light screens, one of them stopped moving in front of Tang Yibu. There was no one there, and it looked ordinary.

After Ruan Xian got closer, he discovered the source of the other party’s stiffness…

A mechanical wheelchair was parked in the corner of the room that looked a lot like a collection room, with fine details and looked very familiar.

…That was the wheelchair of his “other self”.

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The author has something to say:

Ruan: Yibu.

Tang: Mr. Ruan.

Tang: Xiao Ruan.

Tang: Ruanruan.

Tang: Dad (×

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