Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 37: Soft

Jiang Lin opened her eyes. The snow-white ceiling was pressed down head-on, and a mechanical sound of beeping was noisily in her ears. In a daze, she shed angry tears.

The two young men were really unscrupulous. It wasn’t her fault that her companion died. She was also a victim in all this. The ship itself was the property of Elysium. In that situation, she was also part owner of the ship. There was no reason to escape without the owner, but those two boys didn’t give her any due respect.

She thought faintly that the people who came from the Walking Stones were rude. Her forehead was still hurting badly, like her mind was being squeezed by a snake. Jiang Lin fumbled in her pocket, but she didn’t touch the warm velvet bag in her memory.

They had lost their firefly.

As consciousness recovered, uncontrollable numbness and itching spread throughout her body. She needed a firefly. The fireflies can get her out of all this. It would help her clear away the pain and negative thoughts that kept surging. Like a firefly in the dark, it would continue to lead her to be a perfect person, a flawless mother.

Jiang Lin squeezed the quilt under her hand and breathed in pain. Suddenly, a warm hand covered the back of her hand.

The skin of that hand was rough and dry to the touch, clearly belonging to an old man. There weren’t many old people these days, and there were very few who could move freely in Elysium.

“Fan Lao…” Jiang Lin choked and said, “I—I brought the ship back.”

“The family needs a responsible person like you.” The old man smiled and moved closer.

“I want… I want to see Chengcheng, Fan Lao. Let me see Chengcheng. How is Chengcheng doing up there?”

“Mom!” As the old man waved his fingers, a light screen was projected in the air, and a little boy’s smiling face appeared from the middle of the light screen. “Mom, when will you come upstairs to see me?”

However, Jiang Lin bent over and grabbed the old man’s hand tightly. She turned her back, hid her face out of sight of the little boy, and tried to suppress her groan.

“Fan Lao, ship, people… are all contributions. Can you give me a firefly, just one… I only ate one today and didn’t violate the rules… I don’t want Chengcheng to see me like this…”

“Of course, of course.” The old man took a step back with a smile and asked the assistant next to him to step forward. The young assistant in a suit had a sluggish expression. He touched his pocket and didn’t take out the medicine Jiang Lin longed for. Instead, he took out a thin syringe full of emerald green liquid.

Jiang Lin rolled her eyes and expressed her doubts with what sanity she had left.

“This works better.” The smile on Fan Lao’s face was even more kind. “Don’t worry. We’re a family.”

Jiang Lin stretched out her arm and didn’t question it anymore.

“Move her upstairs.” Half a minute later, the smile on Fan Lao’s face faded a bit as he looked at the dying woman in front of him. Her mouth and eyes had started to grow grass buds. “She has no relatives or friends down there, right?”

“No.” The man covered the body with a white cloth. “Both of her teammates are dead.”

“I see.” Fan Lao nodded. “The simulation video of that little boy can be deleted. No need to process her video, just plant her.”

At the same time.

“Is this your pet?”

After agreeing to Tang Yibu’s request for “dinner” with a smile, Duan Lili let go of Tang Yibu’s arm, squatted down, and gently stroked the iron bead hiding behind Tang Yibu.

“I know this kind of mechanical life. We call it Grove R-660. It’s not common to raise it, but we can help you program it.”

“Program it?” Ruan Xian stopped turning around.

“Yes, there are eight professional engineers at Elysium. In order to make everyone’s life happier, we have prepared various programs.” She patted the iron bead and stood up gracefully. “Reprogramming can make it smarter and even thoroughly understand human language. If you want, you can also add a cat or dog personality to it.”

Ruan Xian frowned slowly.

“No.” This time Tang Yibu was the first to speak. He picked up the iron bead, and there was a little more doubt in his voice. “Then it can’t communicate with its kind.”

The smile on Duan Lili’s face froze for half a second: “Isn’t it your pet?”

“No, I lied to it.” Tang Yibu flicked the shell of the iron bead, causing it to rattle comfortably. “Strictly speaking, it never belonged to me, and I have no right to deprive it of the right to communicate with its kind.”

“I think you misunderstood.” After thinking about it, Duan Lili’s smile became a bit more cordial. “It’ll only become smarter. It won’t forget its original habits and it won’t lose its ability to communicate with its companions.”

“I’m not talking about ‘ability’.” Tang Yibu widened his eyes slightly. “I have collected similar information. If its intelligence far exceeds that of its kind, it will only suffer. Its kind will no longer understand its behavior, and it will be very… An accurate description by the records in data: It will be very lonely.”

Ruan Xian, who wanted to speak, closed his mouth and gave Tang Yibu a sideways glance.

Tang Yibu sounded seriously confusing. The android and Duan Lili were not on the same wavelength at all. At this moment, he should start another topic and end this small discussion that was unimportant so as to save Duan Lili from becoming suspicious.

But he wanted to listen.

Duan Lili bluntly expressed her astonishment. She seemed to be stunned by the young man in front of her. “In other words, you don’t want it to become smarter…” She tried to summarize.

“This is not something I have the final say. I’m just an unrelated stranger and I’m not qualified to judge.” Tang Yibu shook his head. “It has a certain limit of intelligence. If it wants, it can choose by itself.”

“Do you want to be smart?” After that, Tang Yibu asked the iron bead in his arms seriously.

“Gwah?” The iron bead took a bite of Tang Yibu’s coat and chewed on it happily.

“It doesn’t seem to need it for the time being,” Tang Yibu said sincerely.

Duan Lili took a deep breath and silently took a few steps back in Ruan Xian’s direction. She wisely decided to end the topic on her own. “Well, I’ll show you two to the guest room first. Dinner is about to start, and I think the two of you will want to take a shower, change clothes, or something.”

After leading them to the empty room, Duan Lili glanced at Ruan Xian’s holster and pursed her lips. A decent smile seemed to be engraved on her face. The deputy captain kept her steps graceful as she left, her high heels clacking on the ground firmly.

The room in front of him was incredibly clean and tidy.

Even when he first arrived at the refuge, he didn’t pay such attention to his residence. Scented candles and speakers were placed on the small wooden cabinet by the bed, the retro-shaped bedside lamp was on; and the entire room was filled with warm light. Ruan Xian plucked the tassel of the window curtain with his hand, drove the iron bead off the bed, and then turned to Tang Yibu…

The android was already gone, and there was a vague sound of water humming in the bathroom.

Just as the corners of Ruan Xian’s mouth tended to rise, they tightened rapidly in the next second.

This was a good opportunity.

He threw the iron bead on the sofa beside him, quickly checked the speakers by the bed, and then the projector not far away. He kept tapping on their shells, trying to judge the model of the parts inside by sound.

As long as he figured out the possible mechanism by which the earring attacked his brain, he could design a device that blocked the killing function of the earring and remove the invisible collar. It was imperative to make a test device to determine what kind of behavior was considered “harmful to Tang Yibu” and what kind of signal Tang Yibu wanted to send to the earring…

After neatly disassembling and assembling, Ruan Xian took a metal fountain pen from the pen holder and assembled the parts into the body of the fountain pen. Listening to the pleasant humming in the bathroom, he put his hand on the handle of the blood gun.

If he hadn’t shot at Tang Yibu’s vital point, would the android immediately kill him with this earring? Or would he stop the attack in time and impose a slight punishment? Maybe he could test it out, deliberately act frightened, and then…

The iron bead rolled to Ruan Xian’s feet and began to play with his pants.

Ruan Xian glanced down at it.

…Tang Yibu would suffer minor injuries at most, while he might die. Or he might be able to deceive Tang Yibu, successfully crack the attack mechanism of the earring, and wait for the opportunity to leave by himself. It was just that the android was sometimes too smart, and Ruan Xian wasn’t sure if he could lie about the past perfectly. There was only one thing he could be sure of—whether he succeeded or not, Tang Yibu would be more alert towards him.

Ruan Xian lowered his eyes and slowly stuffed the blood gun back into the holster.

He picked up the iron bead and watched the dirt on the iron shell rub against his white coat. The metal shell of the mechanical life was slightly cool to the touch, and it wasn’t comfortable holding it.

The timing was wrong, Ruan Xian told himself. Although it wasn’t very different from human emotional patterns, androids always possessed emotions. He wasn’t familiar with it yet, so now wasn’t the time.

Their cooperation was tentatively smooth, and creating testing equipment wasn’t difficult. He could… wait a bit, at least to gather more information.

Taking an inhale, Ruan Xian took out the modified parts and put them back into their original position.

“I’m done showering!” When Tang Yibu walked out of the bathroom, Ruan Xian had just put the parts of the speaker back in place. He turned his head and looked at Tang Yibu, almost choking on his own saliva. “Where are your clothes?”

“Let me tell you, they didn’t prepare any pajamas in the bathroom.” Tang Yibu stepped across the dirty clothes carelessly, opened the wardrobe opposite of the bathroom, seemingly unaware of his nakedness. “…The clothes here are inconvenient to move around. The quick-washing machine can still be used. Take off your clothes too, and we can wash them together since I’m going to run a load.”

Ruan Xian threw a stifled look over his blank face. “No.”

Tang Yibu pouted, wrapped his lower body with a thin blanket, and left the buzzing quick-washing machine that he had turned on. In the warm light, the android stretched out his limbs and lay on the bed in the room. The soft mattress was deeply sunken, and Tang Yibu was so shocked that his whole body stretched out.

He patted the bed twice in disbelief. “Mr. Ruan, this bed is very soft.”

Ruan Xian decided to roll his eyes openly, indicating that he didn’t have any willingness to talk. He put down the struggling iron bead in his arms, took off his dirty coat, and then picked a pair of linen pajamas from the closet at random, ready to move in the direction of the bathroom.

However, before Ruan Xian took two steps, he was pulled back from behind by a hand. His field of vision rotated, and his back hit something soft.

Tang Yibu pressed one of his arms with a serious expression. “Look, it’s really soft.”

Cool water droplets were left along Tang Yibu’s half-dried black hair and dripped onto Ruan Xian’s neck. Ruan Xian only felt the fluttering anger return to his chest. He took a deep breath and was just about to attack…

Tang Yibu leaned down; his lips were close to Ruan Xian’s ears, and his voice was so low that he could barely make out what was said. “Thank you.”

Ruan Xian instantly suppressed his anger. Tang Yibu’s expression couldn’t be clearly seen from this angle. He subconsciously shrank. “…For what?”

“Thank you for not attacking me with your blood gun,” Tang Yibu whispered with a smile.

For an instant, the blood in Ruan Xian’s body seemed to freeze. He turned his head sideways, just to meet Tang Yibu’s golden eyes.

“Also, although you didn’t feel anything, I’m not sure if anyone here is listening.” Tang Yibu bent his eyes. “Be careful with everything, my Mr. Ruan.”

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The author has something to say:

You can eat in the next chapter! Hold on Tangtang! （×

After all, he is the strongest AI, so he’s not really stupid√

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 36: Elysium

“Fan Lao, that ship is still active.” The young woman sitting at the table reported timidly.

“Hmm?” The old man who was fiddling with a record player straightened up. As the stylus was pressed down, the sweet and pleasant female voice spread in the air, like some kind of elegant high-end perfume.

It was Carol Young’s “I’m With You”. The old man closed his eyes and followed the beat of the song for a while, then slowly continued his next sentence. “That’s not possible. Lili, did you read it right?”

He didn’t sound flustered at all, but the girl who responded to him shivered and nodded quickly. “It’s moving in the direction of the ‘homeland’. Fan Lao, look…”

“Did they take fireflies beforehand?”

“Absolutely.” The girl lowered her waist and grabbed a flannel pouch from the drawer. “The rest is all here.”

“Even if they survive the drug addiction, they won’t be sober enough to be able to return.” The old man stroked his white beard. “The ship isn’t equipped with navigation and the route log wouldn’t record information of nearby areas. How did they find it? Interesting.”

“I will notify the guards and let them pay attention.” The girl stood up anxiously.

“Don’t worry, Lili, you’re just too young.” The old man walked forward, patted the girl on the waist, and wiped off the oil on his hand. Lili forcibly suppressed a shiver, and from an angle where the old man couldn’t see, her eyes became a little red.

“Yes, Fan Lao.” She bit her lip and smiled reluctantly.

“Being able to come back shows that they have some skills. If you have skills, then you’re useful. If Yu Le knows where we are, that lunatic will have sent a fleet… Whether it’s the enemy or that garbage, the ‘homeland’ has not been exposed yet.” The old man retracted his hand, indifferent to the girl’s reaction.

“They stopped three kilometers away.” Lili returned her gaze at the screen again and reported professionally.

“As expected, there must be someone on the ship with a good mind. Lili, strangers are coming. You know what to do.”

“…Yes.”

On the other side, the atmosphere on the small ship wasn’t so tense.

Jiang Lin kept pounding on the floor with her forehead, making a terrifying sound as saliva dripped down her half-opened mouth. Unfortunately, the two in the cabin weren’t normal. After making sure the force of impact wouldn’t really hurt her brain, Ruan Xian decided to ignore the dull thumping noise. At present, his attention was on Tang Yibu.

“Extremely happy?” The blood loss just now made Ruan Xian quite hungry. He took out a snickers bar from Tang Yibu’s backpack and took a big bite, causing his speech to become muffled.

Ruan Xian didn’t think he was the most unfortunate person in the world, but objectively speaking, his childhood was a bit far from the word “happiness”. This wasn’t some kind of dissatisfaction from the heart, nor was it hatred. It was simply a fact—after the death of his mother, even if he had been characterized as a potentially dangerous criminal, the public welfare organization still sent three top psychologists for free.

Just because the situation at the time was so bad, they were worried that he would collapse immediately.

“…Ruan Xian himself promoted it to the outside world like this.” Tang Yibu’s gaze stuck to the snickers, and then returned it to the console after a few seconds. “He was obsessed with research a few years ago, but after his physical condition stabilized, he devoted part of his energy to the front stage and to public welfare. He was once hailed as a ‘representative of a better society’ and was very famous.”

Ruan Xian frowned. The overpowering sweetness in his mouth failed to distract him.

He never talked about his childhood experience with outsiders. Even in the face of his adoptive mother, Meng Yunlai, Ruan Xian didn’t mention his biological parents. He played the role of a normal child wholeheartedly, locking all the blood and darkness into a box in his heart, together with a furious demon.

Until he “died”, no one in the institute knew about his past. Even when he was alone and most relaxed, he wouldn’t mention this to NUL-00.

They permeated all his nightmares, and they were still haunting him to this day.

If he had had such an experience that could be hailed as a “representative of a better society”, then mankind wasn’t far from destruction.

But having said that, the current situation of mankind was indeed almost the same as destruction. This thought amused Ruan Xian, and he laughed without hesitation.

Tang Yibu grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and blinked in confusion, looking quite innocent. Seeing that the ship was no longer bumpy, the iron bead climbed onto his head again. The three eyes exposed in the gap in the iron shell looked at Ruan Xian in the same confusion.

“It’s nothing, I just think it’s a bit funny.” Ruan Xian still had a smile in his eyes.

“If you care, you can listen to his speech. Many petri dishes keep a backup.” Tang Yibu saw that Ruan Xian didn’t mean to talk in depth and called up the route log of the ship. “Your voices are 90.65% similar, which is very interesting. If Ruan Xian hadn’t encrypted his genes, I would think he used some of his own genes when he made you.”

“I don’t find it interesting,” Ruan Xian responded simply.

At first, the disease caused his vocal cords to be congested all year round, and aging would also cause people’s voices to change. He originally didn’t include his voice in anything recorded. Seeing Tang Yibu’s reaction, another “Professor Ruan” probably began to speak in public not long after he was shot.

This may become a risk—the “Ruan Xian” in the wheelchair was regarded as MUL-01’s number one public enemy. Ruan Xian didn’t think that the Mainbrain would simply let go of his creation, which was highly similar to the enemy. Ruan Xian thought secretly that he had to change his pronunciation habits.

“Genetic encryption?” Ruan Xian opened the window and let more wind pour into the operation room.

“To prevent MUL-01 from using his genes to create an army of Ruan Xian loyal to the Mainbrain. After all, human memory can be edited. There are ready-made processors in the refuge—you have also seen the so-called ‘AI city’. If you use it to edit a person’s memory, the whole process will take less than ten seconds.”

Tang Yibu turned the steering wheel and bypassed a magnificent square that had collapsed in half.

“It is said that he modified the identity disruptor specifically to hide his DNA. Fan Linsong probably took something similar.”

“You are slowing down.” Ruan Xian deliberately changed the subject.

“The route log is over.” Tang Yibu was led away obediently in an instant. “The headquarters of Elysium won’t be stupid enough to expose themselves like this. We are less than two kilometers away from the starting point recorded by this ship. The data is missing further on.”

And their only clue was that she was still hitting her head on the ground deliriously, bruising her forehead.

“Bring up the route log, Tang Yibu.”

“Do you want to calculate it?” Tang Yibu enlarged the light screen that recorded the driving trajectory. “I only remembered the degrees of some dials, and the data may not be enough.”

“Do you remember the driving speed?”

“Every second.”

“Then there’s no problem.” Ruan Xian touched the dial with his fingers, and countless numbers flashed through his mind. “Except for when I was attacking the cockroaches, I have basically been looking at the degrees on these dials.”

He retracted his hand and pointed his finger at the light screen. “Tang Yibu, upload the speed data in units of one hundred meters.”

Tang Yibu pressed one hand on the console and stared at Ruan Xian. The light screen flashed for half a second, and countless speed messages densely cover the route. Ruan Xian’s fingers followed the light in the void all the way down, and finally stopped at a point outside the route map.

“Here, within a radius of one kilometer. Then we—”

“Keep a deviation of two kilometers. It’s best to be discovered by chance by the people from Elysium.” Tang Yibu raised the corner of his mouth and neatly erased the speed information. “Yes, my Mr. Ruan, you are very useful.”

“…Humans usually don’t think that the term ‘very useful’ is a compliment.”

“It’s nice you’re here*.” Tang Yibu reacted quickly, with a sincere expression on his face.

*The term he’s using here is (你真好) which is a bit tricky to translate, but it essentially means things are easier with you here/your help or it’s nice to have you here (because you could help), but it’s generally not used to compliment something like this, thus why Ruan Xian replied below.

“You’re better off just using ‘useful’.” Ruan Xian rubbed his forehead.

“What can be regarded as a suitable expression?” Tang Yibu’s attention completely shifted to this new issue. “…Well done? Good boy? You’re awesome?”

Ruan Xian took out the blood gun with a gloomy face and deliberately let it click so that Tang Yibu could see that it was meant to attack.

The android abruptly shut his mouth.

For a while, there was only the sound of Jiang Lin pounding the floor with her head. This physical strength could be considered abnormal. Ordinary people should have been too tired to move by now. However, the morbid persistence of drug addicts was manifested vividly by her.

Seeing that the atmosphere between Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu became tense, the iron bead instinctively jumped off Tang Yibu’s head and bounced on the floor adopting with the frequency of Jiang Lin banging her head. The thumping sound was uniform, and with the iron bead, the volume instantly doubled. The whole scene was quite eerily comical.

Ruan Xian shook his head and put away his gun. “Turn right 35° and advance 893 meters. I heard a team of more than five people.”

Then he scratched his hair neatly and pulled off Tang Yibu’s collar. After making their clothes into a mess, Ruan Xian picked up the iron bead that was bouncing happily and used it to rub a lot of dirt on their clothes.

“Help.” Tang Yibu cooperatively opened the ship’s notification signal. “Energy emergency, energy emergency—Requesting rescue from Elysium.”

It turned out that the people from Elysium were terribly cautious. The team they chose as their target came quickly, but there was no intention of bringing the ship back directly. They stayed where they were, waited for the three spacesuits to be thrown down to them, and then carefully stuffed themselves in.

The spacesuits were recovered extremely quickly, and they were even dragged around in circles for a long time, enough to make ordinary humans dizzy. Even the unconscious Jiang Lin enjoyed this treatment.

However, the moment Ruan Xian stepped into the Elysium settlement, he immediately understood the reason for the other party’s caution…

A brightly lit shopping mall appeared in front of him.

There was almost no collapse inside the mall, and it was perfectly preserved. There were no longer ordinary shops on each floor, and all the gorgeous storefronts had been transformed into living spaces. As far as Ruan Xian could see, this kind of transformation was quite elaborate, and it even considered design taste. The air in the entire space was well ventilated and he could smell fresh ambient perfume without the slightest smell of mold or excrement. Faint music came from several rooms with different tracks.

The people coming and going were neatly dressed, and all the lights that could be turned on were on. The transparent glass elevator was operating normally, just like when the civilized world was still there.

The pirates of Elysium didn’t cast too many glances at the two strangers. They hurried forward, and they didn’t even have time to look at the beautiful lights on both sides of the road.

“We have already sent Jiang Lin to the medical room.” A young girl walked up to them with a warm smile. “Thank you very much for sending her back.”

Ruan Xian looked at the young woman in front of him.

The girl standing two steps away was dressed in an elegant cheongsam, which complimented her particularly curvaceous figure, and her long black hair was pulled into a delicate bun. In this crazy environment, she even wore light makeup, and the designs of her earrings and necklace were eye-catching without being overwhelming. In terms of appearance, her face wasn’t so stunning, but her facial features were very delicate, and her smile had the pure temperament of the girl next door, which was very charming.

The premise was that the subject of her conversation was a normal person.

Ruan Xian stared at her reddish eye for a while, but nodded, obviously not planning to make any other expressions. The smile on the girl’s face was a little stiff.

“I am the deputy captain of Elysium, Duan Lili.” She raised her chest and stretched out her hand generously. “If you don’t dislike it, the two of you can stay here for a night as a thank you for bringing Lin Jie home.”

“Bringing her home?” Tang Yibu instantly grabbed the key words.

Duan Lili’s gaze swept across Tang Yibu’s golden eyes without any surprise concealment. “Yes…Yes, this is our home. Elysium is a big family.”

“You have a good environment,” Ruan Xian said, his eyes beginning to slip towards the place where the smell of medicine was emitted.

“Of course.” Duan Lili’s expression brightened a little. “I think after Lin Jie wakes up, she will definitely want to thank you both in person… You look very tired. Even if you don’t trust us, at least take a hot shower and change into clean clothes before leaving.”

Her outstretched hand hesitated in the air for a moment, and politely caught Tang Yibu’s arm. “Please be sure to let us express our gratitude, won’t you?”

Duan Lili’s voice was soft and clear, sounding a bit intentionally pitiful.

‘It about time for things to come to an end,’ Ruan Xian thought. They were originally here to stay, and since one was willing to fight and one was willing to suffer* it would seem unnatural to drag things on. This woman named Duan Lili seemed a little afraid of him, so he’ll just let Tang Yibu negotiate. Seeing Tang Yibu being held by the beauty’s arm while still maintaining a calm face, Ruan Xian couldn’t help but touch his earrings and tried to remind the other party to pay attention.

*This passage is from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It’s basically a metaphor for something that both sides are willing to do. || In this context, he’s basically saying their goal was to stay at Elysium and the other party is also offering, so there’s no need to put on an act and drag things out, which could seem unnatural.

However, he was one step late—Tang Yibu looked around, sniffed, and lowered his gaze.

“Are you making dinner?” He stared at Duan Lili seriously and asked in the same soft voice.

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The author has something to say:

Duan Lili: …Yes.

——

Actually, I don’t like Snickers; it’s too sweet_(:з”∠)_

Let’s pretend that Snickers was still there at that time! (……

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 35: Destination Change

The life in Ruan Xian’s memory was composed of countless rooms.

It started with the snow-white intensive care unit at an early age, and then there were airtight carriages and narrow and dirty cheap apartments. His mother spent most of her time running around trying to make money, and the windows were always locked. At first, she was able to ask relatives to help take care of him, but later he was the only one left in the increasingly dirty apartment.

After his mother died, his adoptive mother, Meng Yunlai, adopted him. His room was bigger, but it was still surrounded by four walls. Even after he grew up, he mostly looked at the sky in the courtyard. Not to mention that his body was too fragile for the outside world, for the end of research confidentiality, Ruan Xian couldn’t leave too far.

Powerful virtual reality technology once allowed him to experience the vast nature composed of numbers, but no matter how realistic it was, in the end, it was still fake.

Now, his blood seemed to be burning slowly now, looking at the ruins of civilization passing by from outside the window.

“Float up on the shallow layer,” Ruan Xian continued speaking to Tang Yibu. “The dial marked with the shuttle agent is almost bottoming out, so you have to save a little.”

His tone was no longer gentle, and there wasn’t any room for questions.

Whenever they passed through the thicker solid-state layer, the value of one of the dials would always drop significantly. The degree that symbolized energy was dropping rapidly, and that little drop wasn’t noticeable among all the weird readings on the wall, but Ruan Xian didn’t let this anomaly go.

Shuttle agent, the name marked on the dial was quite simple and easy to understand.

“Shallow layer?” Jiang Lin immediately opened her mouth. “If you don’t use the shuttle agent, the shallow layer will be full of obstacles!””

Ruan Xian glanced at her briefly and continued to study the complex dial in front of him.

“Listen to you, Captain Ruan.” Tang Yibu curved his eyes. He didn’t slow down at all and rushed directly to the top of the slope. The iron bead rolled upside down in the bumpy cabin like a bowling ball.

The small boat instantly sank into the sun. The strong afternoon light suddenly filled the operation room, and the broken walls and ruins in front of them all became deadly obstacles.

Tang Yibu dexterously manipulated the boat, passing through the tangled steel bars, iron frames, and skewed building spires like fallen leaves. They were like standing reefs sailing against the Sea of Ruins while being chased by two things…

“It seems that more friends have joined.” Ruan Xian breathed out.

The two ghostly men were still chasing after them. They kept biting at them like a shark that smelled blood. Their skin glowed an ominously dark green under the sunlight. The capillaries close to the epidermis became dark, and they looked like tiny cracks from a distance.

And behind the two human figures, more than a dozen ventral cockroaches whizzed after them. Their speed wasn’t fast, but they were more familiar with the terrain, and much more flexible than the boat that needed to be carefully steered lest it faced destruction.

“Who—who turned off the buzzer!” Jiang Lin crawled to the behemoth at the rear of the cabin, trying to find the switch.

Unfortunately, the small ship that almost turned into a fighter jet in Tang Yibu’s hands almost rolled a full 360° in the air. Jiang Lin’s face turned blue, and she staggered on the floor of the cabin with some scattered parts.

“Me.” Tang Yibu stretched out his long legs and stuck himself firmly in the driver’s seat. He steered around a half-collapsed tower, and his tone was full of pride. “It costs too much power.”

The Annihilation Point was right in front of them. At this distance, there was only bottomless darkness left in their field of vision. The sense of distance and realism were all lost. Even if there was a comparison of the ruins on the bottom of the ship, it was difficult to judge the true distance between them and the ship, but once their advancing speed slowed down, the army of monsters behind them could overwhelm them in an instant.

“How long will it take?” Thanks to the training in the refuge, Ruan Xian barely maintained his balance. He felt around the top of the boat, ignoring Jiang Lin, who was hugging the buzzer and sobbing loudly.

“There are still ten minutes and forty seconds before the collision.” After a violent jolt, Tang Yibu raised his voice among the screech of the iron bead’s warning.

“Good.” Ruan Xian snapped the button on the side of the top of the boat.

After a beep sounded that was almost covered up by the turbulence, the entire roof of the ship slowly slid away. Ruan Xian took out his blood gun, leaned his upper body out of the roof, and turned his back to the direction of the ship. “…Let me reduce the difficulty of judgement for you.”

The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was a clear blue. The wind whistled past his ears and everything in his field of vision was rapidly moving away. Only the ill-intentioned predators tried to approach, making unpleasant growls.

The blood burned more severely. There were no barriers in the vast world, and Ruan Xian only felt that he was breathing for the first time since he was born. He seemed to have ended an overly long hibernation, and every part of his body was slowly returning to life.

Since he popped out, Tang Yibu seemed to have consciously avoided passing through too many cave-like structures to ensure that he wouldn’t get hit by obstacles coming from behind his head. Ruan Xian bent the corner of his mouth and raised his blood gun.

In order to ensure the shooting speed, Ruan Xian didn’t plan to rely on stimulating the blood in his magazine this time. He ejected a blood-drawing mechanism to the bottom of the gun so that those blood-drawing tubes didn’t reach his wrist, and he drew as much blood as he could.

Even if he couldn’t take out the two green ghosts that were chasing them, it wasn’t a problem for these bullets to kill a ventral cockroach.

[Decelerate by 12%!] He conveyed simple commands through his earrings.

The ventral cockroaches got closer. Ruan Xian pulled the trigger, and the red bullets poured through the ugly creature who was waving its teeth and claws.

[Decelerate by 8%, turn left by 17° in a forward direction.]

Before the ventral cockroaches that were injured by Ruan Xian had time to stop the ship, it was smacked by a piece of protruding steel bar. The bloated abdomen ruptured instantly, and its internal organs exploded and wetted everywhere in the large area of the ruins. The other had its leg broken and was trapped in a tangle of barbed wire, unable to move.

[Decelerate by 5% and increase the speed by 20% after 10 seconds.]

The two green ghosts almost touched the barrel of his gun. Ruan Xian relied on the brutal suppression of firepower to repel the three ventral cockroaches again and escaped. The deceleration caused all the remaining cockroaches to rush out. Ruan Xian responded by leaning back, and the iron sheet on the collapsed billboard quickly passed by in front of him, directly cutting the three cockroaches that rushed towards him in half. Internal organs and mucus stained the tail of the ship.

‘It’s almost time,’ Ruan Xian thought. He maintained a posture of leaning back and looked steadily at the boundless sky.

[I’ll follow you, Tang Yibu.]

The ship was about to hit the Annihilation Point, and Jiang Lin’s screams of horror were mixed into the vague sound of the wind. He didn’t have time to give Tang Yibu any instructions, but the android most likely had his own plans.

For a few seconds, Ruan Xian even deliberately stopped himself from thinking.

Unlike when he was in the refuge, the sky was too expansive at the moment. Ruan Xian just stared quietly at it and emptied his emotions in an instant.

In the roar of the overwhelmed engine, Ruan Xian floated for a moment.

The gravitational force of the Annihilation Point on the ship was getting stronger. Tang Yibu was driving it at maximum speed. The crazy android rushed towards the sky against the Annihilation Point and then made a beautiful aerial flip. The ship drove up close to the dark Annihilation Point, drawing a smooth arc with its trajectory. It was now swinging in the air at this moment, and the bottom of the ship was facing the sky while the top was plunging into the Sea of Ruins.

After an instant of weightlessness, the unsuspecting Ruan Xian began to fall into the Sea of Ruins.

He only had time to put the scorching barrel of the gun to his lips, and his heart was calm.

The next moment, he hit something warm.

“Hi, Mr. Ruan.” Tang Yibu grabbed the steering wheel with one hand and pushed the jet speed lever tightly with the other. After the flip, the ship swayed neatly under Ruan Xian, and the open roof had caught him, who was falling from the sky. He slammed straight into the arms of the android.

“I caught you.” Tang Yibu showed a relaxed smile.

Followed by a huge collision.

The ship that fell to the ground got stuck between two huge ruins. Thanks to this, it wasn’t sucked in by the Annihilation Point. Ruan Xian was half sitting and half lying in Tang Yibu’s arms, unable to say how he was feeling at the moment.

The two green ghosts didn’t have the same quick reaction as Tang Yibu. They didn’t have time to slow down and were pulled by inertia and got sucked into the Annihilation Point. One of them had its entire upper body sucked in while the other had its head and right arm. As they touched the point, it made a sizzling sound like raw meat hitting a hot pan.

When the ghosts adjusted their direction again and tried to escape, the parts that had been sucked weren’t recovered.

Two mutilated people swayed towards the ship. The missing sections that should be spurting blood didn’t spill a single drop. Similar to the situation in the ruins of the hospital, countless green grass buds appeared on the cross-section and the movements of the two “people” became more sluggish.

They seemed to have lost the desire to attack. One lonely lower body snuck into the ruins, followed by another mutilated body. They didn’t know where those two ghosts had disappeared to. Ruan Xian could hear them moving away from the Annihilation Point and further away from the ship.

“There’s still 45% energy left!” Tang Yibu poked the dial with satisfaction. His warm breath brushed against Ruan Xian’s collarbone. “Mr. Ruan, now we…”

Ruan Xian moved his body uncomfortably and tried to stand up. As a result, he was hit by the iron bead that had jumped from some heavenly cover and caused a burst of dizziness and ringing in his ears.

He waited a long time this time before resisting the urge to pulverize the thing.

“Gwah!” The iron bread screamed anxiously as it trembled uncontrollably. It bit Tang Yibu’s hair with its big mouth and dragged him forcefully back to the cabin.

“…Let’s get out of here.” Tang Yibu petted the anxious iron bead with one hand and glanced at Ruan Xian, whose face was still green.

“The remaining energy is enough to drive back to the hospital.” Ruan Xian rubbed his battered head gloomily and stood up from Tang Yibu. “With this ship, we can load more—”

“No, no!” Jiang Lin, who was so scared that she couldn’t say a word, finally found her tongue. “I want to go back to the Elysium. I must return to Elysium.”

“That’s your business. We have already saved your life, but this doesn’t include delivering it to the front door.” Ruan Xian leaned his upper body out of the top of the boat again and looked at the dark Annihilation Point with fascination.

The ruins under their feet were slowly pouring into the void, and then disappearing cleanly. The whole process revealed a certain weird and desolate beauty.

“This—this ship belongs to us,” Jiang Lin stammered.

“That bone saw is also ours,” Tang Yibu responded very impartially.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. It just happened. I gave you a map, didn’t I?” Jiang Lin even sounded a bit aggrieved. “Besides, you didn’t save my companions. Those are my teammates! I’m still grieving right now.”

“Okay.” Ruan Xian didn’t bother to answer again. He could probably figure out the logic of this woman. Jiang Lin didn’t feel that she had done anything wrong. Before this, he was afraid that he would have to painstakingly try to persuade her.

Now, he didn’t want to say anything.

Surprisingly, Jiang Lin didn’t yell anymore. The neatly dressed woman slowly bent over, as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Her eyes were red with blood, her fundus was blue, tears, snot, and saliva flowed down together, and her mouth made an unpleasant sound.

“Withdrawal symptoms from a certain drug.” Tang Yibu calmly turned the bow.

“I… I can say good things for… for you in front of the captain. If you’re willing to come, I… but I did it for you…” Jiang Lin whimpered on the floor, shrinking tightly.

“Yes, we owe you such a great favor.” Seeing Tang Yibu preparing to leave, Ruan Xian got back from the top of the ship and straightened his white coat. He didn’t waver at all and didn’t even bother to hide the sarcasm in his tone.

“You can’t do this… You can’t do this. I’m going back…”

“Yu Le took that woman from the west and won’t have a hard time with this one. Take her back to the settlement at that time, and when she wakes up, let her find a way to go back herself.” Ruan Xian ignored the woman on the ground.

“But it depends on her status. There’s something to be said if she’s an important person in Elysium.” Tang Yibu patted the iron bead and drove the steering wheel leisurely. His golden eyes shone brightly in the sun.

“This ship belongs to us. Yu Le won’t let me go. He’s a shameless murderer…” Jiang Lin was still convulsing on the ground. She scratched the floor of the cabin in despair, leaving streaks of blood on the ground and almost tearing off a fingernail. “You… don’t know good people… Ah!”

Ruan Xian took out a needle tube that was retrieved from the hospital from her bag and quickly filled up a few tubes with blood from her neck, then put it in a storage box. “I saw a nice centrifugal machine in the hospital. If I bring this back, I might be able to find a chance to use the laboratory there. The effect of the fruit of the flickering grass is quite special.”

“I’m also very interested.” Tang Yibu was enthusiastic. “I have never seen this kind of thing in other petri dishes, and there’s no record of this kind of plant before the Great Rebellion of the 22^nd century.”

Finding that the two young men didn’t plan to buy into her words at all, Jiang Lin’s whimper became more desperate.

“Chengcheng, Chengcheng.” She stopped trying to scream and began to mutter. “Mom can’t go back, Chengcheng…”

Ruan Xian stopped sorting out the medical kit, and his dark pupils, which were almost the same as the Annihilation Point, turned around. “Do you have children?”

But Jiang Lin seemed to have lost most of her consciousness. She just mechanically hit the cabin floor with her head and caused her forehead to bruise. “Chengcheng, Chengcheng.”

Ruan Xian fell silent.

“Changed your mind?” Tang Yibu slowed down curiously. “This is probably just nonsense. You don’t seem like the type who would be soft for this kind of thing.”

‘He really wasn’t,’ Ruan Xian thought, but this scene made his chest feel tight.

“We still have three and a half days, so it’s not bad to explore Elysium.” Ruan Xian took out a water bottle, took a slow sip, and looked at the green ivy outside the ship’s window. “Of course, this is just my personal opinion.”

“I want to go to more human places than dig around ruins for three days.” Tang Yibu tilted his head. “But Mr. Ruan, your reaction is a bit strange. You look a little sad—Is there a tragedy about someone in your family in your memories?”

“Forget it.”

“It’s strange. I can’t understand Ruan Xian’s purpose for making you like this.” Tang Yibu turned his head and glanced at him. “After all, everyone knows that Ruan Xian’s childhood was impeccable and extremely ‘happy’.”

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The author has something to say:

Going to another camp (*/ω＼*)

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 34: Green Ghost

The three-wheeled truck raced through the air. Unable to traverse the rubble, its wheels bumped from time to time on the raised concrete slabs. They were heading towards the Annihilation Point at an extremely fast speed. The wind quickly blew across the skin. Ruan Xian shrank behind the driving Gang Zi to avoid the oncoming wind.

After he started to drive, Gang Zi stuffed his face into his safety helmet and talked a lot less.

From this perspective, the entire Sea of Ruins was vast and deserted. They seemed to be crossing a gray desert, and only the ivy bushes that partially covered the ruins of the building could still reveal some vitality. The mechanical life known as the iron bead was bumping into the cage, quacking like a goose.

Tang Yibu opened his ten fingers and let the wind pass through them while he hummed out of tune. It was a melody that was weird and inexplicably felt familiar. Ruan Xian tried for a long time to recall it but couldn’t find the right song from his memory.

“I gave you enough fresh water for two days, so if you run out, you have to find more on your own.” When he reached the destination, Gang Zi took off his helmet. “Don’t linger too long down there, and don’t run too far. The big rally will be in the morning four days later. If we don’t receive a signal before then, no one will come pick you up.”

The destination was a small villa standing on a gravel slab. Although the entire place was covered with dust and full of weeds and climbing vines, the structure looked quite intact. A few shirtless pirates came out and hastily responded, skillfully rushing the two indoors.

The furniture in the room was basically cleaned out, with only two rows of bulky spacesuits that were neatly hung on the iron. The room was filled with the smell of instant noodles. Sweeping his gaze across the corner, Ruan Xian found a garbage chute entrance that obviously didn’t belong to the villa.

Ruan Xian twitched the corners of his mouth to the familiar smell.

“What’s the name of this little brother again? Tang, Tang… Forget it, Xiao Tang, your brother Ruan has a gun. Would you like to have one too?” Gang Zi pointed to a long table where he had thrown a few weapons.

“I’ll just follow Mr. Ruan.” Tang Yibu picked up a dagger from the table. “I’m not very good at using guns.”

“Whatever you want.” Gang Zi’s enthusiasm was limited. “This time we won’t go through the garbage chute.”

Sure enough, this was used during their descent. Ruan Xian glanced at the cell originally used to imprison them in the basement of the villa.

This time they dived a lot slower than the last. Ten minutes later, the two returned to the familiar hospital hall again. The traces of sunlight completely disappeared, and the damp smell rushed into the nose again.

He didn’t know if the hole Tang Yibu made last time was still there. Ruan Xian thought indifferently and took out both guns.

This time, the cracked metal spacesuit dropped one more victim—the iron bead hit the ground together with the cage and bounced wildly around inside. Tang Yibu opened up the cage without hesitation, untied the chain, and pressed the spherical mechanical life wearing a leash with one hand.

A circle of blue light lit up along Tang Yibu’s palm, and the coconut-sized thing hesitated for a while before it stopped whining. Seeing the iron bead calm down, Tang Yibu untied its leash, and it took the opportunity to bounce and jump on top of him.

Ruan Xian: “……”

He looked at Tang Yibu, who looked like there were two heads stacked on top of each other; one being a metal ball with a big mouth.

“This thing has a very simple mind. I rewrote its thinking program, and it now thinks I am one of its kind.” Tang Yibu patted the iron bead on his head. “It’s too troublesome to control it by brute force, so this is easier.”

“You’re the leader, so you call the shots,” Ruan Xian responded weakly.

He took Tang Yibu directly to the pharmacy in the side hall and began to scour for medicines that hadn’t expired in various nooks and crannies. The Walking Stones gave them plenty of time—for ordinary people, it might take two or three days to fully explore an abandoned hospital. But for the S-Type Prototype, one afternoon was more than enough.

Ruan Xian hurriedly stuffed the medicines that hadn’t expired yet into his backpack and also picked up some well-preserved medical devices. Since they could keep things other than medicine and flickering grass, it was always good to have more.

Anyway, with Tang Yibu’s strange power, the load wouldn’t be a problem.

His initial plan was simple. Try to make as many points as possible, participate in the so-called big rally according to the rules, and then find a chance to chat with Tu Rui.

According to Gang Zi, Tu Rui only came to the Sea of Ruins in recent years. He was a self-proclaimed “ex-rebel”. At present, it seemed that this was the most suitable channel for inquiring regarding the whereabouts of “Professor Ruan”, but if this was a fishing method used by MUL-01, Ruan Xian didn’t want to foolishly rush up and bite the hook.

However, when the bottom of the other ship rubbed against the top of their heads, Ruan Xian’s heart was calm.

‘Plans never keep up with rapid changes,’ he thought numbly. This was the basic awareness of a researcher.

The iron bead that was originally lying on Tang Yibu’s head wittily moved and pasted itself on Tang Yibu’s face just in time to avoid the bottom of the ship and was pushed back deeply by the android.

Ruan Xian raised his head and saw the ship stopped on the fourth floor. Chaotic footsteps sounded, and people could be heard coming down the boat.

Three of them.

“Look, we’re not lying. Such a large area of grass was wiped out!” An excited female voice penetrated the darkness. “You remember the contributions Lao Hu and I made, right?”

It was the woman who they gave their bone saw to; a person from Elysium.

“Not bad, Jiang Lin.” A new voice sounded. “At the current rate, it’ll be at least two weeks before the Annihilation Point comes. This can be used as a new cultivation site, and another batch can be collected. Here. This is today’s firefly… huh?”

“Where are the fireflies? Logically, this piece of land is worth two weeks’ worth. You can’t—”

“I obviously put it here. No! I don’t have any of my own. Don’t make a ruckus. I’ll look for it again!” The new added male voice becomes a little impatient.

“You must’ve forgotten to bring it.” The woman’s companion, a man named Hu Jian, lowered his voice.

“If we don’t find it before noon, how do we go back?” Jiang Lin’s voice became sharper. “Without fireflies, can you sail in that state? God, how can you forget this kind of thing?”

“What’s your hurry. Isn’t there still the fruit of the flickering grass? Fireflies are just pills concentrated from the dried fruit. It’s not bad for us to just eat the fruit directly.”

“Fan Lao said it’s not good for people to eat the fruit…”

“Can you still say this when the reaction from the withdrawal of the medicine comes later? I just played the sound waves that disperse the ventral cockroaches. There will be no sudden attacks by them. Eat with peace of mind. After eating, make sure to pick them well. Hurry up and finish picking this way. This time, we’ll pick more and go back so we can lie comfortably at home for more than half a month.”

“But Fan Lao said—”

“Stupid girl, if you don’t eat it, I’ll eat it.” After a loud noise, the sound of berries being chewed was heard. Two people were chewing on the fruit while the remaining one was just gasping nervously.

Then the sound of groans was heard, though they couldn’t be sure whether it was from pleasure or pain.

It seemed that they were destined to be unable to explore the second and third floors with peace of mind. Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu looked at each other and made a simple gesture. He didn’t make a sound and simply sent a message to Tang Yibu through his earring.

[Towards one o’clock. Old place. Three people.]

With an iron bead on his head, Tang Yibu didn’t nod, but made a simple OK gesture with one hand. The two returned to the fourth floor they were familiar with and crept in to hide behind the ship.

Ruan Xian squatted on the edge of the sloping bow. Tang Yibu, who was slightly taller, leaned forward, resting his chin on Ruan Xian’s head. The iron beads on the top of the android’s head also learned from the movements of the two of them and stuck out a little bit from the edge of the bow.

Ruan Xian forcibly suppressed the urge to beat up the two mechanical lives behind him and continued to observe patiently.

The ship looked more like a small passenger boat, and the surface was wiped clean. It stopped quietly on the floor, and the top didn’t even touch the ceiling of the ruins. A continuous buzzing came from inside the ship, which was probably “the sound waves that drive away the ventral cockroaches” that the man was talking about.

Two men were floating in front of them.

Truly floating, like weightless astronauts. They floated in the air while their feet were chained to the boat to ensure they couldn’t unconsciously crash into the flickering grass. The two men opened their eyes wide without blinking. Their hands held gooseberry-like fruits as they slowly stuffed them into their mouths, staining the corners with a lot of green juice. The smell of excrement polluted the air, causing Ruan Xian to suppress an urge to retch.

The thin Jiang Lin huddled by the grass, farther away from the two men who were picking the fruits. She seemed to want to escape further, but her whole body twitched uncomfortably, as if she was tightly squeezed by a big invisible hand.

“It’s gone,” Hu Jian said in a daze, licking the green, fluorescent juice between his fingers. His chin and hands were covered with fluorescence, which looked a bit terrifying in the dark. “It’s gone. It’s gone.”

Ruan Xian could see clearly that the man’s eyes were rolling quickly and irregularly, and his pupils moved so fast they almost left afterimages.

Then they turned bright green, just like the fruits of the flickering grass.

Almost licking up all the juice between his fingers, Hu Jian’s breathing brought out some muddy sounds, and his entire body fell to the ground. He didn’t seem to know where he was or what species he belonged to. The man silently broke free of the chain that was tying his feet, twisted his limbs strangely, and rushed straight to Jiang Lin in front of him.

The latter let out a shrill scream and rolled over to escape, causing Hu Jian to slam half of his body into the corner of the wall, where it was submerged like a ghost and then stuck out.

It was just like the pirate ship they had first encountered.

“It’s gone!” He roared vaguely, grabbed Jiang Lin by the hair, and dragged her into the flickering grass. Jiang Lin pulled out a knife, decisively cut the tightly tugged hair, and fled in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately, her luck wasn’t good. The other man, who also ate the fruit, had eaten all the stock in his hand. His ankles passed through the iron chain like a phantom and joined the ranks of his hunting companions.

Ruan Xian sighed quietly. This strange scene in front of him made his scalp numb, and the top of his head was starting to hurt from Tang Yibu’s chin. Seeing Ruan Xian exhaling, Tang Yibu also tried to mimic the same. Unfortunately, his bad imitation was caught by the iron bead at the top of—

“Whew—” It inherited the fine tradition of the two and panted like a whistle.

The two people who were chasing Jiang Lin instantly shifted their targets, and their four green eyes turned suddenly.

“Can bullets deal with those two things?” Ruan Xian gritted his teeth at the two mechanical beings behind him. “I’ll give you two shots, so do what I say.”

“Theoretically, it won’t affect them,” Tang Yibu stated somberly. “Can I take credit first?”

“Help me!” Jiang Lin shouted sensibly. “Help me! They’re too far gone!”

“Then get over here!” Ruan Xian shouted back. He grabbed Tang Yibu’s collar, got into the ship without hesitation, and then pushed the other party into the driver’s seat. “Tell me you can drive.”

“I can drive” Tang Yibu nodded.

“Gwah!” The iron bead on Tang Yibu’s head also learned to nod, causing Ruan Xian to slap them away. Jiang Lin probably guessed their plans and rushed onto the ship screaming. Her whole body was shaking badly, and her thin face was full of tears.

“Hurry up! Hurry up and sail!” Her lips were trembling and her voice cracked.

Tang Yibu no longer talked nonsense this time. He skillfully manipulated the extremely complicated operation panel. Finally, he grabbed the steering wheel, put the speed to maximum, and crossed the layers of ruins, then rushed in a certain direction like an arrow.

However, the two newly born ghosts didn’t stop. They followed the boat closely while they chanted.

“It’s gone. It’s gone. Food. Food.”

Their movements were no longer like humans. Their limbs were twisted to the limit, looking more like two green spiders that were advancing against the ruins.

“You—where are you going?” Jiang Lin shrank tightly at the bow of the ship. “Why does this direction look like…”

“I guess it’s to the Annihilation Point.” Ruan Xian sat down on the table and was almost caught by a hand passing through the floor of the hull.

“That’s right,” Tang Yibu said, in high spirits.

“What are you doing?! Jiang Lin screamed. “There’s a dead end over there. Then we’ll be trapped with nowhere to go with them attacking the back!”

“Then do you know how long those two things can last? Under the premise of driving at the highest speed, the ship’s fuel can only last for one hour.” Ruan Xian knocked on the instrument wall of the cockpit. “Or do you want to lead them back to your base camp?”

“I don’t know, but—”

“This is the fastest way,” Ruan Xian said calmly, patting Tang Yibu on the shoulder casually.

“There must be another way! You… You’re crazy.” Jiang Lin’s voice was so shrill that it pierced their ears.

Ruan Xian was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled. “Yes, but I don’t think it’s bad.”

“…Let’s play something exciting, Tang Yibu.”

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The author has something to say:

Open boat racing in broad daylight (physical)

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 33: Annihilation Point

Ruan Xian hesitated for a moment and decided to show his indifference calmly. He didn’t look scared, he just stared at the brown pupils of the burly man with his eyes, indicating that he was listening, and he wasn’t disgusted with the topic.

This was undoubtedly much simpler than what he had done before. He didn’t need to weave false fears and put on an invulnerable soft attitude to reassure the other party. There were countless multiple-choice questions floating around him, so he could calculate the most appropriate response based on the countless moral clauses in his heart. Now those options were gradually blurred and were thrown out of sight from the corner of his eyes.

Caught by those dark eyes, the burly man shrank subconsciously. The young man in front of him wasn’t intimidated by his words, while his golden-eyed companion was turning his head and looking at the people around him with interest.

This frustrated Gang Zi a little, so he decided to continue. “Do you know how these three rules came from?”

“Please tell,” Ruan Xian responded very shamelessly. He could ask the captain or deputy captain, but it might seem too purposeful, so he decided to just let nature run its course.

“The captain has a sister with unique skills. He was parentless, so he could only rely on his sister to raise him.” Gang Zi sighed and looked at Ruan Xian. “Perhaps it was because he was good at sailing that the captain often spent most of his time offshore on a drilling site. As a result, because he was always working outside, his sister was caught up with a boy who was a drug addict… Did many immoral things. Ruin himself and took the girl down with him.”

“That bastard had a big family background though. Using his family’s connections, he was only sentenced to a few years in the end. Guess what the captain did? He didn’t say anything. He caught the kid, then cut off his head and turned himself in.”

Ruan Xian froze.

“I’m not making this up. I’ve been with the captain for many years, and I haven’t seen anyone who broke the rules here.”

Seeing that Ruan Xian finally had a reaction, Gang Zi hit the iron while it was hot.

“As far as you two are concerned, with your faces, there wouldn’t be a shortage of women. The point is, as far as drugs are concerned, there are a lot of hallucinogenic mushrooms underground, as well as the fruit of the flickering grass. Don’t touch it, don’t hide it. Even if someone offers a big price on it, don’t sell it.”

“We won’t touch it.” Ruan Xian ate all the stew in the bowl and put the spoon away. “Tang Yibu?”

“Yes, won’t touch it. I don’t need psychedelics to maintain my mental state.” Tang Yibu continued to turn his head to look at the injured girl, then cast a curious look at Gang Zi. “However, that woman has the characteristics of long-term use of psychedelics.”

“People from the west,” Gang Zi said casually. His enthusiasm for talking decreased a little. “I guess it’s because she couldn’t survive there, so she came here. Don’t look at her. Her physique won’t last long. Speaking of which, did you meet anyone when you were deep diving?”

“We met a few people from Elysium. They were collecting the fruit of the flickering grass.” Ruan Xian didn’t intend to hide this.

Gang Zi sneered. “Those animals are crazy. To throw their own people into that place. They invited you, right?”

“Yes.”

“If you need something in order to keep holding on and taking drugs until you die, then you can go there. We won’t stop you.” Gang Zi pressed his tongue against his cheeks. “I’ll just say this—if they take the initiative to offer you food and drink, be careful.”

There was not much to say about the next itinerary. Gang Zi looked like a tour guy who was owed four months of salary as he led them around in a very insincere manner.

Ruan Xian paid special attention and didn’t see any machinery similar to a ship. What they could see was the periphery of the pirate activity area, and the core part wasn’t exposed.

Leaving the surface of the Sea of Ruins, it was difficult to distinguish between day and night in the ruins.

Most of the places where people were active were lit with unpleasant-smelling oil lamps. The underground garage was turned into a flea market, and many people squatted in front of plastic sheeting to trade rare daily necessities plucked out of the ruins. The crumpled containers were covered with ripped sheets and cheap lantern strings as scantily clad men and women leaned against the containers, yawned, and made provocatively lewd gestures at passersby from time to time as their faces were blurred by the dim light. Laughter and yelling came from the small room a few meters away, mixed with curses of disappointment, and the word “gambling” was sprayed on the door.

A few young people put up firewood and started a bonfire between the sculptures of the ruins of a certain square. They dug up an old mobile phone from nowhere, with an external battery and speaker, and were playing old music with horrid sound quality at max volume. They danced indiscriminately to the music as their swords and guns gleamed around their waists.

There were also people who kept going around in the dark spaces. They hung strips of cloth around their necks and held up the metal tray to their chests. Inside were small animals that were roasted black, and the seasoning smell was so strong it was almost choking.

A few thin wild cats walked through the cracks of the ruins; their eyes glowed green in the shadows.

However, Ruan Xian didn’t see many traces of her old life. This settlement was filled with a human aura that had existed for no more than half a year. The smell of the ruins was still mixed with the desertedness, the moss and mold hadn’t completely peeled off, and the spray paint on many rooms was still new. The pirates must’ve moved here recently.

There were many people living in the settlement, creating mixed footsteps. Ruan Xian tested his hearing, then frowned slightly.

Someone was following them.

Listening to the footsteps, it was a tall man. He probably weighed more than 120 kilograms, and his height was conservatively around 1.9 meters. Ruan Xian grabbed Tang Yibu’s wrist and walked through the rich smell, through lights and shadows, following Gang Zi, who was advancing lightly ahead.

However, before he had taken a few steps, a strong smell was attached from the rear left. A man with a ponytail swayed over and blocked the way of the two with a clear intention of stopping them. Gang Zi, who was walking in front, turned his head and crossed his arms without any intention of interfering.

“Gang Zi, how cruel, bud. With such two top-notch goods, you didn’t even tell brother.” The man grinned. Rancid breath emitted from his mouth.

“They just arrived last night. Isn’t it just morning now?” Gang Zi responded indifferently.

“Rookies? That’s good. Do you two want to follow this brother?”

The man was almost two meters tall and was built like a wall standing in front of them. His arms were thick enough to match Ruan Xian’s thighs. Ruan Xian was barely 1.8 meters tall, so he didn’t look all that superior compared to him. Tang Yibu was a little taller, but he was still at least half a head shorter than the man.

He patted Ruan Xian on the shoulder with one hand and moved it dishonestly as he went down his white coat. “You don’t have to worry about eating and drinking, and you don’t need to work. You can do whatever you want. You just need to take the time to accompany this brother.”

Ruan Xian was stunned for a fraction of a second because this was the first time in his life that he had been sexually harassed, and then he pushed the ill-intentioned hand away. “No need. I don’t think my friend needs it either. Tang…”

He turned his head, wanting the android to also express his opinion so that they could leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible. As a result, when he turned around, the hapless android was squatting down on the side of the road full of ruins, trying to poke a napping wild cat. He listened intently to the sound of the cat purring, obviously not taking the situation in front of him seriously.

“Ah, brother, this is for the good of the two of you. You’ll know when the next Order Supervisor comes to ‘disinfect’. The boarding fee is not easy to make up. Gang Zi, didn’t you tell them that I, Lei Ge, am the most reliable in this area? I wouldn’t take the initiative before, but these two little brothers are just too appetizing for me. If they were to die on a mission like this… Oh, what a waste.”

“We really don’t need it. Thank you.” Ruan Xian maintained a polite tone, then frowned as the unruly hand stuck up again and slid towards his waist like a leech.

Gang Zhi, who stood a few steps away, watched calmly, obviously accustomed to it.

This was a test.

Ruan Xian didn’t push away the hand this time. He smiled as his right hand leaned into his thin white coat.

Three shots rang out, causing Lei Ge to gasp. Before his hand could move away from Ruan Xian’s waist, there were a few blood marks on his body.

A bullet grazed his temple and flew over his ear, causing blood to trickle down his cheek. The other two left two red marks on his neck. The intersection of the two red marks happened to be the location of his carotid artery.

And he didn’t even see the movements of the beautiful young man clearly.

As soon as the man who claimed to be Lei Ge raised his fist, the muzzle of the gun was already pointed at his heart.

“You and Gang Ge have a good relationship, and you seem to be of great character. If you were to die here like this… How do you say it? It would also be quite wasteful.” Ruan Xian smiled politely again, but with the cold muzzle pointing, the smile completely had a different change of feeling. “By the way, the one behind me belongs to me. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Tang Yibu was still squatting behind him, leisurely raising the half-asleep cat with both hands. The cat hissed with dissatisfaction as all its fur stood up.

“Refusing a toast to only drink a forfeit*?” Lei Ge’s face darkened and spat at Ruan Xian’s feet with thick phlegm. “There will come a time when you cry and beg for mercy in the future.”

*(敬酒不吃吃罚酒) Metaphor referring to being constrained to do what one at first declined. || Basically, he’s saying you’ll be sorry for refusing me this time and you’ll come around later after you regret it.

“Good morning to you too.” Ruan Xian smiled as the muzzle remained motionless.

The indifference on Gang Zi’s face vanished. When he was sure the Lei Ge had disappeared into the corner of the ruins, he looked at Ruan Xian with complicated eyes.

“I guess Yu Le didn’t like the gentleman just now very much.” Ruan Xian put away his gun, let the cat go from Tang Yibu’s hand, and then pulled up the android who wanted engraved “soft and harmless” on his face.

“Well, as the captain said, there is a price to pay for killing people,” Gang Zi replied ambiguously.

Ruan Xian smiled briefly.

If the two of them were greedy for comfort, they wouldn’t lose face with the potential “backer” just now, and everyone would still be at peace. They were “somewhat capable”, no matter how big or small, there would always be a bit of conflict. There wouldn’t be too many good, law-abiding citizens around here. Lei Ge, the guy who was used as a “test” was undoubtedly worried about his life. Perhaps he could use his life and add some foreign debt to the two of them so that Yu Le could sit back and enjoy the fruits of other’s work.

However, Ruan Xian was in a good mood, and this test undoubtedly gave him a chance. An opportunity to naturally reveal his strength.

MUL-01 wouldn’t be stupid enough to insert spies into the bottom layer that had no access to core information. Most likely, the people who were on the Mainbrain’s side were at the middle and high levels, and his target, Tu Rui, was undoubtedly also a high-level person.

It was necessary for him to reach him.

Seeing Ruan Xian no longer speaking, Gang Zi turned around again. “This way, please.”

This time, the burly man’s tone sounded much more polite.

Their destination was a well-preserved warehouse. There were a lot of round spherical machines raised in it. They bumped around on the fence, biting at the metal fragments on the edge. Gang Zi tightened the chain, pulled one out of the fence, and stuffed it with a half-round bit.

Putting the coconut-sized spherical machine into the iron cage, he waved at the two of them and led them up the spiral staircase.

“According to the rules, I have to explain the situation to you two at this time.”

When he reached the surface of the Sea of Ruins, Gang Zi looked solemn in the sun. He got a modified three-wheeled truck, hurriedly threw the cage with a spherical machine into the body of the truck, and then pointed far away.

“You don’t need to gamble with your life this time. The Walking Stones will give you support. I’ll take you two to the deep diving wharf later, or at the same place as last time. It was the hospital, right? It’s enough to figure out which building. Well, you only need to bring medicine and flickering grass, and the rest is yours.”

Ruan Xian’s expression became serious. He didn’t look at Gang Zi but stared straight at where Gang Zi was pointing.

“Oh, you saw it.” Gang Zi grinned. “That’s the Annihilation Point.”

There was a pitch-black round hole in the direction Gang Zi was pointing.

It just hung in the air, sucking in all the light, and it was so black that it made people’s hearts throb. They were still far from the end of the Sea of Ruins, but the unknown sense of oppression still felt suffocating. The Sea of Ruins was rumbling forward towards the hollow, like a giant python that was slowly sinking into a cave.

“The Mainbrain did it, but I don’t know why. Anyway, it can only absorb inanimate objects.”

Gang Zi patted the iron cage containing the mechanical life.

“Now the place where you are diving is only about six kilometers away from the Annihilation Point, so you have to bring this with you. We call it an iron bead. If the annihilation point is too close, it will scream loudly. Then you need to quickly send a signal and we’ll throw the diving suit over.”

“It can only attract lifeless ruins, so what happens when a living body comes into contact with it?” Ruan Xian asked quietly. He stared at the round void that made people’s hair stand up and already had a faint answer in his heart.

“What do you think? They’ll just be crushed. There were some people who weren’t afraid of death, so we had to drag back half their corpses. It’s really half their bodies. From the head to the brain, everything was separated in the middle.” Gang Zi gestured with his two big hands. “If it weren’t for the flickering grass that likes to grow around there, who would want to run over there. No offense guys, but as rookies, you have to do the dirty work.”

“Understood.” Ruan Xian stepped into the body of the car.

Tang Yibu leaned against the frame of the car. He stared at the dark Annihilation Point in the distance for a while, then turned his face to the side. The contour of his side face was soft and curved, making it easy for people to feel good about his appearance.

He blinked at Gang Zi and spoke in a worried tone. “How long will we have to work? When can we do some indoor work?”

Ruan Xian thought with a sullen face. This guy probably just wants to start his observation plan early.

Unsurprisingly, Gang Zi was deceived. “We don’t pay much attention to it. Let’s explore for a week. We should have gathered enough by then. After that, it depends on what you two want to do.”

After that, he looked at Ruan Xian. “Your strength is pretty good, and I’m not just flattering you. Keep the valuable goods and don’t exchange them out too early. If you can come back alive, you’ll be eligible to participate in the rally. I’m stupid, so I can’t explain it well. Lao Tu will make it clear to you then.”

“Make what clear?”

The burly man smiled, and his smile lined up perfectly against the sunshine and the void behind him, which made for a rather weird sight.

“What else can it be?” Gang Zhi bared his yellowish teeth. “Make it clear how to take two more breaths under the watchful eyes of the Order Supervisors. If it weren’t for survival, who would navigate an entire ship these days?”

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The author has something to say:

Ruan in the eyes of the pirates: super fierce.

Tang in the eyes of the pirates: super soft.

Expose your strength and pay attention to Tian Ji horse racing* (×

*Tian Ji was a famous general of the Qi state during the Warring States period. There’s a story about him regarding horse racing strategy, which is based on Game Theory. You can follow the link to learn more about it or read my Kinky Thoughts.

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Kinky Thoughts:

For those who didn’t click on the link to learn about the game theory of Tian Ji horse racing, the TLDR is this:

Tian Ji and the King of Qi often have horse races, with the rules being that each brings 3 horses and whoever wins 2/3 wins. Each of the 3 horses are ranked as, shit, good, best. Being the King of Qi his horses are often a little better than Tian Ji’s horses, thus Tian Ji keeps losing because he had always matched the horse’s ranks to the King of Qi’s horses when they race, until one day Sun Bin learns about it and ask Tian Ji to bring him with him when he horseraces next time. Sun Bin then proposes to Tian Ji to race like this:

1. Use his shit horse to race against the King of Qi’s best horse.
2. Use the best horse to race against the King of Qi’s good horse.
3. Use the good horse to race against the King of Qi’s shit horse.

In this way, Tian Ji finally beats the King of Qi.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 32: The Origin of the Name

“I haven’t played or heard of it.” Tang Yibu’s warm and humid breath brushed the side of his neck causing Ruan Xian to shrink uncomfortably.

“You seem to interact with humans a lot. I thought you…”

“That’s a human social game, right? I won’t be that close to humans.” Tang Yibu must have pursed his lips as there was a soft moist sound.

“Because you were abandoned by humans?” Ruan Xian closed the light screen in front of him and tentatively asked carefully.

“No.” Seeing the light screen turned off, Tang Yibu retracted his chin and stretched out. “From the perspective of viewing them as subjects to study, if humans see me as one of them because of my excessive intervention, they could change their behavior pattern. This won’t be conducive to my objective in observing them.”

Then he shook the soda can. “From a safety point of view, after being regarded as a human without authorization, humans will use their own set of rules to demand things from me. This can easily produce unnecessary contradictions. You’re infused with human memories, so you may not feel too deeply about this… Do you want to drink some soda? There’s another can here.”

Ruan Xian shook his head politely. “But you can act like a human very well.”

He could cover up the abnormality and show just the right smile to others, just like himself.

Perhaps sensing his emotions, Tang Yibu put the soda away and patted him on the back soothingly. “I understand human mentality. Yes, I can act well, but I have no reason to do that.”

“Even if you have the appearance of a human?”

“It’s just similar in appearance. I prefer to call this body an ‘energy supply device’. I completed it myself, and I had other options at the time, but this shape was more convenient for me to complete my project.”

Tang Yibu climbed to the opposite side of Ruan Xian, sat cross-legged, and held a large, soft quilt in his arms.

“Just like if you implant a monkey’s brain into a human body, I don’t think most people would think that the composition is their own kind. Not to mention that this body isn’t entirely composed of human tissue. I have no similar kind, so naturally I don’t need to abide by the so-called group rules.”

“…I thought I was your kind.” Ruan Xian selected his words carefully.

“Strictly speaking, no.” Tang Yibu shook his head. “I know very well that I have no similar kind. I am just a test product.”

Ruan Xian suddenly laughed. For a few seconds, he thought everything was funny.

He followed all the rules that belonged to humans, moving forward and backward, carefully testing Tang Yibu’s emotions. In the end, he did a monstrous stupid thing—like judging a cat by the behavior of a dog or entertaining a cactus in an algae habitat.

In the end, in the eyes of the other party, whether it was a normal person or oneself, they were just aliens.

Ruan Xian looked at those beautiful golden eyes and couldn’t help but think of the dog raised by his previous assistant. It was a smart little thing, and the young assistant used to love it very much. He stroked it, hugged it, and said it relieved him of countless worries. Maybe he really loved it.

But on a certain day, the assistant no longer mentioned its name.

[I didn’t want it for a long time.] When he asked about it, the assistant replied helplessly. [No way. It had a very troublesome illness and would cost a lot of money. I don’t make very much. Perhaps a shelter can find another good family for it, or… Well, I am sad about it.]

Now he was standing in the position of “that dog”. Tang Yibu’s closeness couldn’t be judge by human standards. The smiles, skin contact, or his caring may be no different from the assistant’s short embrace of his pet.

At the moment, he was useful to Tang Yibu and nothing more. The other party didn’t treat him as a human from the start, but he didn’t treat him as a “similar kind” either.

Ruan Xian completely lost the scale of disguise. He was no longer familiar with today’s humans, and he couldn’t let the only “Tang Yibu” in the world get close to him as a kindred spirit. He was completely thrown into the pitch-black sea, and there was no trace of land in any directions.

But he was free.

Without normal comparison, the “abnormal” would cease to exist. Perhaps in this dim room, he no longer needed the mask that made him painful.

Tang Yibu looked suspiciously at the young man sitting opposite him. The android’s face, which had been infused with human memory, was no longer blank, and his smile was getting bigger. The beautiful eyes that were originally dark and dull narrowed slightly, and there seemed to be a fire burning in those pupils. In the dim light, the gray-black earring stud in his left ear gleamed faintly.

“Yes, you don’t have to act human all the time,” he said, with some rare joy in his tone. “Give me a can of cherry soda. In addition, we also need to do tactile exercises. One more time, as a bedtime game.”

The other party’s usual softness and gentleness faded, and his words became a bit more aggressive, cold and sharp.

Tang Yibu enthusiastically remembered these changes in his mind, picked up the can he had just put down, and opened it skillfully. In the sound of bubbles fizzing, he tilted the can, wiped out a little spilled soda from the opposite side of the opening, and then handed the can over.

His new partner took the soda and poured it down his throat happily.

After waiting for the other party to breathe a sigh of relief, he threw the can into the pile of furniture. Tang Yibu thought for a moment and turned off the lantern hanging on the sharp corner of the bookcase. The other party had integrated with S-type Prototype seamlessly, and he had strengthened his visual ability so a little darkness wouldn’t have any effect.

He gently stroked his palm with his soda-stained fingers, then stretched out his hand, trying to grab the other person’s hand again…

Then his wrists were caught by two hands, guiding him to press on the other’s cold cheek.

As if affected by the temperature of his palm, “Mr. Ruan” sighed slightly. Under the scattered bangs, those bottomless black eyes stared straight at him like two ice picks.

“You wrote ‘good night’.” He could feel the muscle contractions caused by the raised corners of his mouth.

“Yes.” Tang Yibu nodded happily. “You’re doing well.”

“It’s indeed time to say good night,” his partner said softly. “What did you write for the first time?”

“’Nice to meet you’,” Tang Yibu replied honestly.

“Me too.” The other party gently let go of his hand. “…Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask you something.”

“Hmm?”

“Since you chose this body yourself, did you name yourself too?” the other person’s voice was no longer tense, and sounded quite relaxed.

“Yes.”

“Why did you choose this?”

“No comment.” Tang Yibu pulled the quilt again and wrapped himself and the other person tightly together. He stretched out his hand and let the other party’s soft black hair flow between his fingers. “Good night, Mr. Ruan.”

In fact, there was no mystery behind his name. He was accustomed to hugging the person opposite him in his arms and letting that body temperature dispel the chill of the night in the wilderness. Tang Yibu narrowed his eyes comfortably and relaxed his body.

It was simply because his true identity symbolized danger itself.

His creator, Ruan Xian, also participated in the production of MUL-01, and probably used a similar electronic brain composition technology. Although he was just a failed product that had been abandoned, in theory, humans could use him to find a way to deal with MUL-01.

MUL-01 must never know that… NUL-00, the predecessor to the Mainbrain, still existed in the world. Otherwise, it would try to destroy him at all costs.

Therefore, he couldn’t divulge anything that was reminiscent of the institute, such as his name.

The reason for it was actually pretty simple.

His maker had been ill for a long time, and as the years passed, he gradually weakened before his eyes. Ruan Xian could only eat liquid food specially prepared by the institute, but he secretly hid a bag of homemade gummy candy in his computer room and ate it while he was communicating with him.

[Those sugars are harmful to your body.] At that time, he had already acquired the ability to speak electronically and could even spell out sentences and words.

[I know.] Ruan Xian replied calmly. [It doesn’t matter. I don’t have many years left to live anyways.]

[……]

[What? Do you feel sorry for me?]

[What is sadness?]

[Forget it. It’s too difficult for you now.] The mechanical wheelchair took Ruan Xian forward. With the gummy in his mouth, he stuffed the rest back into the gap of the metal cabinet. [As usual, send today’s topic report to my computer, but this time it may be a bit difficult. We can talk about it first…]

Ruan Xian’s words were interrupted by a ringing bell, and his maker lowered his head and looked at the call light screen.

[Professor Ruan, your α-092-30 experimental sample has abnormal changes. Please come to Laboratory 7 as soon as possible.]

[I see.] Ruan Xian replied succinctly. [NUL-00, sorry, we can only talk up to here today, but this doesn’t mean you can be lazy. Remember to send me the subject report on time, and we will continue tomorrow.]

Having said that, he hurriedly ordered the wheelchair to leave the room, apparently intending to give up the afternoon lunch break.

The computer room that belonged to him calmed down again. Without the other party’s voice, the lunch break music outside slowly seeped into the room. A very soothing song, Carol Young’s “Step by Step”.

For five years, Ruan Xian would show up every afternoon at three and chat with him for two hours or more.

However, that was the last time he saw Ruan Xian.

Tang Yibu took a long breath and tightened his arms. The young man in his arms was already asleep. He curled his limbs quietly, in a very insecure sleeping position. Tang Yibu tilted his head and thought for a while, then shared some of the quilt.

The night was calm.

A few hours later, the sun floated from the other side of the horizon, and the air became brighter. Noisy human voices gradually filled the corridors of the ruins of the residential building, and the pirates yelled at each other as they ran through the corridors outside.

Ruan Xian was wrapped in a tight-fitting quilt. He had slept so peacefully last night that he almost forgot where he was. After another burst of laughter outside the door, he finally reached out and rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. After yawning a few times, Ruan Xian took some water from the corner bucket and walked to the half-collapsed bathroom to wash.

Tang Yibu woke up early in the morning and was busy stacking butter cookies and wafers, trying to create some kind of construction.

“Breakfast,” he greeted Ruan Xian happily. He didn’t know where the android had found a few black hairpins, but they were pinned on him and held up his long black hair. “We eat a lot more than ordinary humans, so it’s better to eat some in advance.”

This meant that he had to go out for a meal. Ruan Xian laughed. He grabbed a wafer and held it in his mouth, and put the two blood guns into the holster, feeling inexplicably comfortable.

“Stop creating, great artist. I heard Gang Zi’s voice. He’s coming here so you have to move the refrigerator at the door.” Swallowing the food in his mouth, Ruan Xian put on his coat, making the corner of his white coat float across the air.

Tang Yibu’s expression was cold. He quickly stuffed his mouth full of cookies and then swallowed them painfully. Ruan Xian shook his head and handed over a glass of water.

Within half a minute, Gang Zi knocked on their door.

“Taking you two to have breakfast, and then around the neighborhood.” The burly man’s expression wasn’t very good, showing obvious dissatisfaction with his errand. “When you’re almost familiar, go to the place where you were yesterday and dive again… Bring more equipment. This time, you have to record a detailed map. If there’s still flickering grass, remember to mark the location.”

Ruan Xian didn’t show a gentle expression of cooperation anymore, but just nodded and motioned. “I see.”

The burly man glanced at him quite unexpectedly but didn’t say much.

The canteen here was built on a basketball court that had mostly collapsed. The basketball court seemed to have been broken into pieces, with part of it pitifully open, and it was buried at the edge of the Sea of Ruins. Fortunately, the lighting was good, and the ventilation was first-class. The air was dry and clean, which was more suitable for storing food than the inside of a damp polymer.

A few iron pots were swirling with brown soup, and the aroma of stewed meat hit his face.

“The captain got a meat incubator.” Gang Zi scratched his hair and brought over two bowls of stew. The light brown pieces of meat were wrapped in stewed potatoes and didn’t match the main course. “That thing can grow a lot of meat, but it’s all the same taste. Eat more while you’re not tired of the taste.”

No one bothered to arrange tables and chairs in the basketball hall. Everyone squatted or sat on the ground, chewing their food.

“Thank you.” Ruan Xian nodded and sat down on the spot. “But in terms of electricity…”

“The captain likes to eat meat, so what else can we do? You have to savior it.” Gang Zi raised his neck like he was drinking porridge and poured his share down in about three minutes. “There are a lot of mice and snakes in the ruins, all of which are in the information. Remember to get them when you see them. There are some people who are willing to eat them, as everyone wants to change their tastes.”

This time, Tang Yibu didn’t focus on the food. He didn’t turn his head and was staring at a woman who was limping for food in the distance. Her left arm was wrapped in splints and bandages, and her nose was swollen and tall, with a creepy lilac color.

“Oh, you two definitely remember what happened yesterday.” Gang Zi put the bowl down with a bang. “Three rules, the captain told you, right? Remember, it’s fine to talk to Lao Tu, but the captain kills if he wants to kill, no matter how good your friendship with him is.”

Right now, Ruan Xian wasn’t very interested in the topic of rules. He glanced around and didn’t find Yu Le or Tu Rui, so he turned his gaze back. “Remember. Speaking of which, what do the two captains do?”

“Lao Tu is engaged in geology. A few years ago, he followed the rebels, but he only recently came here. The captain was here from the beginning. I’ve been following him, but he made a living out of this Sea of Ruins.”

Gang Zi wiped his mouth, pointed to a spire not far away, and lowered his voice mysteriously. “See that? It’s a prison.”

Ruan Xian raised his eyebrows.

“…I’m not bullshitting you. The captain turns out to be a death row prisoner.”

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The author has something to say:

Ruan: Starting to happily let himself go (×

The origin of the name Tang is very simple and crude√

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Kinky Thoughts:

The origin of how Tang Yibu named himself is because Tang = sugar/sweet/candy (reflecting the candy that Ruan Xian was eating), and Yibu = step by step (reflecting the song “Step by Step” by Carol Young, which they were listening to in the laboratory).

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 31: Three Rules

The surrounding building structure was weird and complicated, and the lighting was barely bright. The pirates obviously didn’t intend to pay attention to ostentation, but the safety-related facilities were very complete. Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu were huddled in an observation room that was transformed from a subway lounge, with an entire piece of thick glass in front of them.

This used to be an above-ground subway station. A subway train was still parked on one of the tracks with all the doors wide open, and rag curtains were hung on the windows. It seemed to be divided into many single rooms with rude laughter and cursing that came from behind the windows from time to time.

There were also many people outside the car. The electric lamps used for lighting account for a small number, as most were oil lamps that gave off a strange smell. The ruins pirates surrounded the light source like moths, leaning on wooden boxes full of supplies in twos and threes while chatting with each other. The sour smell of sweat and mixed odors that were common in crowds filled the air and pried into the glass cracks in the observation room and made Ruan Xian sneeze hard.

Yu Le, the captain of the Walking Stone, was still standing in front of them.

The middle-aged man wrapped in a dirty windbreaker looked at Ruan Xian’s face with interest, and then made a noise with his mouth. However, that frivolous look failed to deceive Ruan Xian­. The other party’s eyes were heavy with sobriety and vigilance, and there was no sign of relaxation.

Yu Le leaned against the glass, making his entire body look like a sharp blade that was wrapped in a rag. Ruan Xian looked at him in silence, with no plans to respond for the time being. He was still glancing at the subway hall in front of him, trying to carve every detail into his mind.

“Send the flickering grass to storage room No. 3 for processing and destroy all the fruits on them.” This time it wasn’t a virtual image but Tu Rui himself that was directing not far away.

Two men in tawny T-shirts replied “yes” loudly and began to churn through the packages brought back by Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu. Tang Yibu put his face on the glass and stared at the movements of the two pirates without blinking, with a trace of melancholy between his brows.

Seeing that neither of the two newcomers said a word, Yu Le patted the glass with his palm again, looking a lot less interested. “It’s boring. Let’s go. I’m now—”

“Captain!” A scream broke the calm in the hall. The buzzing whispers floating from all corners stopped abruptly, and dozens of pairs of eyes shot from all directions. Yu Le also stopped talking and looked at the source of the scream.

A man was crawling towards Yu Le. His long hair and beard were tangled in a ball, and there was still a fresh smell of blood on his body and some kind of…

Ruan Xian frowned.

“Captain, captain! I was really just confused for a while, captain, I… I’ve been with you for three years, and you have a lot of people!” The man shook like a sieve. “That bitch originally sold, and I can make up for her now. Just a few cans, Boss Yan. How can I say this—”

“Lao Yan?” Yu Le stuffed some dried jerky into his mouth and his tone became fleeting. He raised his chin towards the tall man who was chasing after that man.

“The woman who came from the west yesterday, Biao Zi* made her stronger. The woman suffered a fracture of her left arm and the bridge of her nose and also had a slight concussion.” The tall man was expressionless, and his tone of voice didn’t fluctuate. “I was going to follow the rules, but he ran away. He wanted to see you.”

*Note: Again, this is not his first name but just the way they address people affectionately, but in a joking manner.

“Oh, you have seen me.” Yu Le chewed on his jerky and said casually, “Biao Zi, now that you have seen me, what do you want to do?”

“She seduced me first, and she slept with Lao Li yesterday! I didn’t bring any goods with me today, so she refused. I just wanted to get things done first… Captain, we’ve been friends for several years. Look, I’ll pay her five times, no, no, ten time—” The bearded man collapsed on the ground, raised his head that was shaking like a sparrow in the cold wind.

“Oh, Biao Zi, I don’t usually see you in such a hurry.” Yu Le gave a smirk. “You said that you didn’t drink too much. After following me for all these years, haven’t you figured out my rules? Why are you acting so dumb?”

The man with tears on his face twisted his expression and smiled reluctantly.

Yu Le laughed, but his expression remained blank. He neatly took out the gun from his waist and shot it at the man’s crotch. After a scream enough to pierce the eardrums, Yu Le moved the muzzle up again. The next moment, a black and red bullet hole was imprinted on the center between the man’s eyebrows, and he fell softly like a sack as translucent blood stained the glass of the lounge.

“Lao Yan, drag this thing to the bait room. You don’t have to save me face.” Yu Le swallowed the jerky in his mouth and kicked the corpse to the ground. “Let that woman go to the warehouse to pick up something to eat, and then ask Old Man He to look at her injuries.”

“Yes, captain.”

There was still silence. The market pirates looked at the scene carefully, and Ruan Xian could feel the fear floating in the air.

“Lao Yu!” Tu Rui approached, a little dissatisfied on his face.

“What? Do you want to choke laozi* again?” Yu Le made a grimace. “The rules have been set a long time ago, so you can’t blame me.”

*(老子) Reference to Laozi but when used like this is referring to calling yourself “I, your father” in anger or out of contempt or referring to yourself in an arrogant way (like “I, this great one”).

“The vote is just half a month away, so you should restrain yourself. The newcomers are still here. You…”

“There’s no such word as ‘consideration’ in laozi’s dictionary. Don’t make trouble.” Yu Le waved his hand indifferently. “It’s like a fucking election and I don’t plan to be an official. If they really want to kill me, it’s their own ignorance.”

Tu Rui pushed up his glasses and sighed for a long time, hating that iron isn’t made of steel*.

*(恨铁不成钢) Idiom referring to being dissatisfied with a person for not living up to your expectations and eagerly hoping he would get better. From Cao Xueqin’s “A Dream of Red Mansions”.

“Okay, where did we leave off?” The soles of the boots rubbed the fresh blood marks on the ground, and Yu Le bared his teeth at Ruan Xian again. “Scared, eh?”

Ruan Xian looked at him quietly and shook his head slowly.

“Oh, it’s a pity that these eyes are on a man’s body. I like this cold style.” Yu Le rubbed the stubble on his chin. “You two bumped into me, so let’s consider this fate. You can bring back flickering grass with just a single deep dive, which means your strength and eyesight aren’t bad.”

“The benefits for you two are very simple. We don’t lack a safe place to sleep, and my buddy also has medicine and equipment that can’t be obtained by one person. With strong work and complete technical skills, you won’t be hungry if you have your hands. In addition, with the name of the Walking Stones behind you, others won’t easily act against you.”

Ruan Xian glanced obliquely at the blood stains on the lower right corner of the glass. Yu Le raised his brows, obviously understanding what Ruan Xian meant.

“Of course, there are rules. Not much, not much. Just three.”

Yu Le stretched out three fingers and shook, glancing at Tang Yibu behind Ruan Xian. The golden-eyed young man was still staring at the backpack full of loot outside the observation room.

After making sure that Tang Yibu also looked over, Yu Le continued his conversation.

“First, don’t touch psychedelics, or you’ll kill everyone you see. Second, you can kill people, but it’s all extra labor, so take it easy. Unless you’re good enough to make laozi turn a blind eye, don’t get cocky. Oh, children are out of the question. I don’t keep beasts.”

Ruan Xian nodded and motioned to the other party to continue.

“Third, I don’t care about stealing and fighting. I don’t care about whoring or selling, but regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman, you’re not allowed to use force. You just saw what happened. “

Yu Le pulled the corner of his mouth and knocked on the glass twice. “Remember?”

“Remember,” Ruan Xian replied calmly.

“Someone will tell you about other trivial things. Gang Zi, did you find these two people? Send Buddha to the west, and you’ll take them with you in the next two days. I’m tired, so that’s all for today.” Yu Le picked up the wine bottle that he had been holding in his hand and yawned.

“Yes, captain.” The muscular man who sent them deep diving before took a step forward.

As if receiving some kind of signal, the air relaxed again. The whispers and laughter sounded again, as if someone had finally remembered to turn up the volume of the background noise.

After Yu Le left the subway hall, Gang Zi released the two people in the observation room. He carried the two backpacks that had been basically emptied in front of the two of them. “Flickering grass is worth a lot of points, so it’s considered you have exceeded the required task. You can take this food back. Going out from exit E is a residential building, so find a place to sleep by yourself. Drinking water can be collected at the exit. We have our people patrolling nearby, so cockroaches can’t get in.”

“Gang Ge, I have a lot of things to ask.” Ruan Xian opened the bag and glanced around, adjusting his gentle smile that he was best at. “Here…”

“It’s too late now. Let’s talk about it during the day,” the burly man replied in a low voice. “Take the locator. I’ll find you two at dawn.”

“Well, just one question.” Ruan Xian picked up the bag in his hand after glancing at Tang Yibu, who looked a little dejected. “Can the orange soda in here be replaced with cherry? I saw them put a few bottles in the box over there.”

“Okay.” Gang Zi went straight over and opened the lid of the box, counted out a few bottles, and replaced the bright yellow cans in the backpack with black and red ones.

Tang Yibu suddenly became more energetic.

After changing the drinks, the burly man walked directly towards the carriage full of laughter without any intention of guiding them anymore. Ruan Xian followed the remaining signs in the subway to find exit E and quickly found the residential building that Gang Zi mentioned.

It was attached to the subway exit at an angle, making the entire building tilt at a forty-five-degree angle. The doors of many rooms weren’t tightly closed, and the lights of oil lamps spilled out from the cracks in the doors. When passing by a few of them, Ruan Xian was pretty sure he heard rapid gasps and ambiguous moans.

He resolutely put away his senses.

There was only one empty room left on the most convenient escape route. Due to the tilt of the room, all the furniture inside was piled up on one side of the room. The original owner of the place seemed to have a special preference for paper books, as all kinds of books were scattered all over the place, and the air was filled with the smell of damp paper.

Tang Yibu closed the door and easily lifted the refrigerator to the top. Ruan Xian took out a lantern he had obtained from the ruins of the hospital, turned it on, and hung it on the sharp corner of the bookshelf.

The entire space was instantly filled with light.

Tang Yibu didn’t care about the dusty bed. He opened the closet, dragged out a few quilts in moisture-proof bags, and spread them neatly on the big bed against the wall. Then the android picked up two cans of cherry soda, leaned against the corner, and patted the empty spot next to him.

Ruan Xian put the plastic bucket full of clear water against the corner. He pinched his brows, then took off his shoes and sat down.

To be honest, Ruan Xian was a little unsure of what kind of emotions he should show at this moment. The society in his memory operated in a disciplined manner, and the terms and conditions of morality and law were detailed and clear. It was easy for him to infer what to do and what not to do and what kind of expression to use depending on the occasion.

Now the order was completely loosened, and everything was in chaos. The blood red that smeared the glass was still stuck to his retina and it refused to dissipate for a long time. This wasn’t the society he was familiar with, and the feedback mechanism he used to pretend to be normal began to slowly collapse, so Ruan Xian could only put on a blank look.

Instead, the expression of the android became more agile. Tang Yibu pulled up the best-preserved quilt, covered the legs of the two, and let out a comfortable sigh.

“This is the map that Elysium gave me.” Ruan Xian kept his face blank until Tang Yibu put his chin on his shoulder.

“Nn.” Tang Yibu sounded very relaxed.

That map was very simple. It roughly marked the condition of the Sea of Ruins and the surrounding geography.

The entire wilderness of the Sea of Ruins faced the sea in the west, while the east and north were marked with “Petri Dish No. 1024”, while the south was “Petri Dish No. 1036”. The long strip of ruins ran from east to west across the wasteland, and a large circle was drawn at the end of the east side, clearly marking the words “Annihilation Point”.

This description was too vague, so Ruan Xian decided to skip it for the time being.

“Both you and the pirates mentioned Petri Dish No. 1036.” Ruan Xian tapped the side of the ruins with his fingers, trying his best to ignore the body temperature that was covering his back. “It’s also marked here, just in the forest area where the refuge was located. Is that the title given to it by MUL-01?”

“Yes.” Tang Yibu nodded to the east side of the Sea of Ruins. “Before, I bypassed the Sea of Ruins and ran from Petri Dish No. 1024 to No. 1036. There are more insiders on No. 1024, so I got a piece of information whose accuracy has yet to be determined. Under the supervision of the Mainbrain, there are probably less than two thousand existing petri dishes, and the survivors… or ‘samples’ are about 30 million.”

“What’s the situation on No. 1024?” Ruan Xian was silent for a while, and when he spoke, his voice was still calm.

“The cultivation conditions are different. No. 1024 is a cold zone. A blizzard killed almost all the survivors when I left. It’s estimated that MUL-01 will restart it within a few years.”

“…It sets different conditions to observe the survival of survivors?”

“That’s why it’s called a petri dish.” Tang Yibu tugged at the quilt. “According to my observation, the Sea of Ruins should be the part that MUL-01 removed after finishing the landscape. It chose to gather them into a pile and deal with them uniformly, just like…”

“Like sweeping garbage into a dustpan.” Ruan Xian zoomed in on the part of the Sea of Ruins on the light screen. “No wonder surveillance here is looser and humans aren’t as harsh to the cockroaches in the junkyard.”

After the Sea of Ruins was enlarged, the 3D model was densely marked with boundaries, and the divided space was filled with yellow and gray colors. The yellow one was marked with Elysium, and the gray one was marked with Walking Stones. A schematic diagram that showed a standard sphere of influence.

“But I have a question,” Ruan Xian murmured. “This is also a special environment, and even you can’t wait to run towards. If the Mainbrain wanted to collect survivor data, it wouldn’t just let go of this place.”

“I haven’t heard of its number. It’s just called the Sea of Ruins.” Tang Yibu opened another bottle of cherry soda. “But I agree with you.”

“Before, it relied on black boxes to obtain detailed data, but there seems to be no habit or condition for injecting auxiliary chips here.” Ruan Xian shrank into the quilt and stared at the flashing light screen in front of him. “…I guess we’re on the same page.”

“Yes.” Tang Yibu drank half a can of soda, then put his chin back on Ruan Xian’s shoulder, bringing back a little bit of the sweet and sour smell of cherries. “If MUL-01 wants to obtain data, its people are here among the pirates. If you want to inquire about Ruan Xian’s whereabouts, you won’t let him be killed by MUL-01 first—”

“Have you ever played a ghost catching game*, Tang Yibu?”

*There are different versions of it, but the basic premise is that it’s a party game where two groups are divided into humans and ghosts, and the humans try to vote out those among the players who are ghosts. You can read my Kinky Thoughts for a summary of the rules.

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The author has something to say:

Lao Yu is a real jerk√

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Kinky Thoughts:

Basic summary rules of ghost catching game:

Players are divided into 2 groups, humans and ghosts, with one judge.

This is an example of a 9-player game. Game flow:

1. The judge will write something down, like “apple”, on 6 pieces of paper, and a descriptor of the word on the other 3, like food = 5 letters. He then passes the paper out to all the players and the game starts.
2. The judge will randomly assign the pieces of paper to all the players.
3. Positioning:
   1. The judge then announces all players to close their owns.
   1. Then he will ask for the ghosts to open their eyes (they are the ones with the pieces of paper that only has the descriptor).
   1. Judge then asks the ghost to specify which player will speak first. At this time, the ghost needs to unanimously vote and point out a player (can be human or ghost) to speak first after dawn. (Note: the entire game will take turns speaking counterclockwise).
   1. The judge will then ask the ghosts to close their eyes.
   1. Dawn arrives and the judge asks everyone to open their eyes.
   1. The player who was voted on by the ghost starts to speak.
4. The first player to speak starts to describe the word in his hand. There are no restrictions on the way of the descriptions, but it must be information that is common knowledge (you can’t say something that only you and a few people are privy to, like inside jokes not known to all players). Or instead, you can say “pass”.
5. After all players have spoken, the judge announces a vote starting with the person who spoke first and going around the entire table. Each player can only vote once, and players can choose not to vote. The player with the highest vote is voted out and can no longer participate. (There are other rules to this part, but I won’t mention them since it’s too long.)
6. The ghost wins if the number of humans is tied to the number of ghosts. If the ghosts are all voted out, then they have one last chance to guess what the word is to win.

This is the game summarized. The other versions are built off of this version, but the above is the basic outline. Those who are more familiar with this game can chime in but do note that I did not include full details on the rules.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 30: Firefly

After a vague scream, there was only a rumbling collapse from a distance in the darkness.

Ruan Xian didn’t immediately put on his backpack. The wreckage of a certain lounge was lying under his feet, and the metal wardrobe was crushed and deformed. He bent down and pulled a white coat from the inside and put it on his body without buttoning it.

The vague white made him feel at ease, and the wide white gown perfectly hid the holster under his armpit. Ruan Xian believed that it could make him look more harmless.

Then he put on his backpack and led Tang Yibu into the thicker darkness. The smell of blood and the special fishy stench of fresh meat came from the air, and a torrent of aromas poured down from diagonally above. Those three people should be on the third or fourth floor, somewhere southeast of them.

Tang Yibu followed him lightly. The beverage bottles bumped against each other but were all wrapped in waste cloths or towels, so they didn’t make a sound. With an elegant gait, he silently ran over the broken glass and decayed wood chips, sticking behind Ruan Xian like a shadow.

There was no elevator in the stairwell two meters away, and the dark doorway was wide open. Tang Yibu swept over with the light, showing a densely covered net of some kind of creature, as compact as a loofah. Ruan Xian followed and glanced around, quite sure that there was a sticky climbing sound from the depths of the elevator shaft. He tended to shoot unnecessary curiosity and stayed as far away from them as possible.

Taking a few steps back, Ruan Xian led Tang Yibu to the dark stairwell.

The emergency exit sign was tilted to one side, still emitting fluorescence conscientiously. Intermittent crying and conversation came from upstairs, but no footsteps sounded. The three strangers were still there.

“The smell of corpses, but it’s not human. I smell the stench of ventral cockroaches.” After opening the decayed door of the stairwell, Ruan Xian suddenly stopped. “Are there ventral cockroaches here too?”

“There are ventral cockroaches everywhere. They eat everything,” Tang Yibu said in a low voice. “They will even gnaw on the corpses of mechanical life, even if the artificial tissue has no nutritional value for it.”

“I think it’s them that were eaten this time.” Ruan Xian lowered his voice even lower.

The faint sound of sucking and chewing came from the stairwell. The sound was small and light, like a lady enjoying foie gras in little bites. Tang Yibu extinguished the light, walked in front of Ruan Xian, and the two moved forward cautiously.

Ruan Xian saw something in the dark one step ahead. Unlike what he had imagined, there were no monsters blocking the stairwell.

Seeing them approaching, the corpse of a ventral cockroach slid down the wall.

The original smooth and flat wall was now as uneven as the surface of the moon, with a black hole the size of a washbasin embedded in the middle and fine fangs embedded in the edges. Centered on the giant mouth, strands of blue light flickered on the wall, which flowed towards the mouth along the radial track, creating a beautiful but deadly invitation.

However, neither of them was stupid enough to accept it.

“This is the Sea of Ruins. Can this thing be counted as a deep-sea animal?” Ruan Xian gave a huff. “A new species or…?”

“Mechanical life,” Tang Yibu said, carefully stepping across the abdomen that fell to his feet. “It is ingesting artificial tissue in the stomach of the cockroach.”

Seeing that the two of them were not fooled, the weird mouth opened and closed twice, and the blue light dimmed. It tried to stretch its mouth and sucked up the corpse shell of the ventral cockroach again.

The stairwell was empty and quiet, and the rest of the way was unobstructed. Ruan Xian didn’t go to the second or third floors, which were full of medicinal smells, and led Tang Yibu directly to the fourth floor of the ruined hospital.

The sobbing and whispering were less than ten meters away.

He didn’t know if it was because the drugs leaked, but the fourth floor was overgrown with plants. As soon as he opened the stairwell, Ruan Xian almost slipped on sticky moss. Translucent mushrooms exuded a faint milky white fluorescence in the dark, and everything in front of them was like a dream.

Ruan Xian nodded to Tang Yibu, who turned on the light knowingly.

As the lights lit up, the whispers and sobs not far away stopped instantly, and the click of metal friction sounded. The other party must have taken out a gun.

Ruan Xian held the blood gun tightly in his hand and leaned against the corner. “Don’t be nervous. We’re just here to find something.”

“People from the east.” The person not far away lowered his voice. “What should I do? Lu Ming couldn’t leave in this situation. We can’t fight them.”

“They could have just overtaken us without a greeting. Maybe they’re not malicious,” the female voice replied. “Either way, let’s try to talk first. The people in the east won’t send important people to such a dangerous place.”

The other person just grunted in pain.

Ruan Xian pursed his lips and stood out of the corner first. He raised his hands high. “We just arrived at the Sea of Ruins, and were thrown down by the people of the Stone Walkers to find something… I originally thought there was no one but us here, but I didn’t expect to hear screams halfway, so I came to take a look quietly.”

Tang Yibu immediately followed suit. He only held the locator for light in his hand. His whole person had a gentle and harmless appearance, lending credibility to Ruan Xian’s statement.

Although they tried hard to cover it up, the people on the opposite side still relaxed visibly to the naked eye.

There was a large area of long grass that resembled reeds between them. The tip of the grass had clusters of green fruits the size of gooseberries, and they emitted a bright green light. One of the people on the opposite side had inserted his left leg into the grass and was sitting at the edge of the grass, moaning in pain.

“This is…” Tang Yibu tried to prompt.

“I know.” Ruan Xian interrupted him. He had seen these things in the illustrated book of “treasures” given by the pirates. The pirates called it flickering grass, which was almost as valuable as medicine. The reason for its value wasn’t detailed, as it only mentioned that its stems and leaves could be used as raw materials for various props after treatment.

After the description, a blood-red warning was attached: “Extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution.”

The purpose of the group of people on the opposite side was obviously not in the stems and leaves. A cloth bag that was opened next to the injured person was filled with the fruits of the bright grass, and the fresh green shimmer illuminated the folds of the bag.

“They keep doing this, throwing innocent people down casually.” The woman stood up. She looked between twenty to thirty years old, her cheeks were badly sunken, and her whole body looked a little listless. “They didn’t give you a map, did they?”

“No.” Ruan Xian looked at her expression carefully.

“Since you are also looking for things in the hospital, did you find hemostatic spray and a bone saw?” The woman wiped the sweat from her face. “We don’t have enough hemostatic spray. Listen, we can give you a basic electronic map in exchange. Do you… Do you have it on you? 3 bottles of spray are enough, and the bone saw will be returned when we finish using it.”

There was indeed a bone saw in the backpack, and he had also caught a glimpse of Tang Yibu putting five or six bottles of hemostatic spray into the backpack.

“Do you mind?” Ruan Xian turned his head and looked at Tang Yibu.

“I’ll listen to you.” Tang Yibu had obviously entered observation mode.

“…Yes, but you have to pass the map first.” Ruan Xian cleared his throat.

“Then you guys throw over the bone saw first.” The thin woman bit her lip. She didn’t wear an electronic wristband. She just picked up the pendant hanging on her chest. A blurred light screen appeared in front of her. “After receiving the bone saw, I’ll immediately pass the map.”

Ruan Xian took out the bone saw from his backpack and threw it neatly to the other side, and the metal landed with a crisp sound. In almost the next second, his wristband that received the data vibrated.

“Quick, quick!” The woman immediately turned her attention to the map. “Lao Hu, you hold him down. We have to cut off his leg.”

“No anesthesia!”

“Prepare the blood supplement tablets first, and then talk about anesthesia!”

With a bite of the woman’s teeth, the saw that had been sterilized by the potion directly broke the flesh. The creaking sound made people’s skin numb, and the man whose legs were being sawed let out a whine that wasn’t human.

“Lao Hu, hold him down! If you move around, something will happen!”

“If you want… Why don’t we give him a firefly. I still have one left today.”

“No, Fan Lao said, at most three fireflies a day. Lu Ming has already eaten three today.”

“His screaming will attract the ventral cockroaches!” the man said anxiously. “Aren’t we desperate?! After getting so many materials back this time, Fan Lao wouldn’t care if we consumed an extra one. There are those two boys watching from the side. The sooner this happens, the better!”

“But…”

Ruan Xian listened quietly to the conversation between the two. Since he threw the bone saw over, the man still looked nervously from time to time, and the woman had completely focused on her injured companion.

It was strange that there were no traces of animals around, and there were no fallen beams. If he fell into an ordinary trap, they didn’t need to use such an extreme method like amputation as soon as it came up. Ruan Xian couldn’t think of the reason for the other party’s injury.

Just as he was puzzled, the bright grass in front of him flickered.

It felt very strange. The grass that was still real just now was like a broken projection. After twisting for a while, it disappeared in place, and then flashed back in half a second. In just half a second, Ruan Xian saw the man’s leg clearly.

He took a step back and slammed his back into Tang Yibu’s chest.

That leg was bulging, and it was three times as thick as the other one. Compared with ordinary congestion and swelling, it was more like the legs of a scarecrow stuffed with too much grass. Countless grass leaves drilled out of the cracks in his skin, covered with blood, verdant, and still growing. The woman was trying to saw off the injured person’s thigh on the rapidly changing leg.

As the whole piece of grass flashed back, the wounded let out even more heartbreaking cries. The man next to the injured man moved quickly, and he took out a pea-sized pill from his pocket.

It rolled slightly in his palm, exuding a dazzling green halo, which was really a bit like a firefly. Ruan Xian could smell a sweet and creamy aroma from above. For some reason, he instinctively hated the smell.

The man exhaled, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally stuffed the pill into the injured man’s mouth.

“Hu Jian!” The woman holding the bone saw screamed.

The wounded man immediately calmed down. Through the gap in the grass, Ruan Xian even saw the intoxicated expression on the man’s face.

However, the intoxication was very short-lived.

In less than half a minute, the man who was still screaming opened his mouth wide, and grass leaves emerged from his mouth and nose at a speed visible to the naked eye, immediately filling his eyes and ear holes. The section of the wound that the woman was about to finish sawing also gave birth to grass, followed by the torso, arms, and the injured person’s whole body swelled softly.

The woman was still kneeling on the ground, holding a bloody bone saw, her face in a daze. “Lu—Lu Ming…”

As if hearing the call, the wounded man stood up by himself. His posture was weird and soft as he waded through his own blood. But instead of walking towards his companion, he rushed into the grass behind him.

The sound of landing was almost negligible, and soon the grass became thicker again.

“He—He’s infected. Linlin, he’s infected. We were too slow,” the man known as “Hu Jian” murmured. “If I knew, I would have brought Lao Pan down with me. Damn it, at a critical time, I couldn’t find anyone…”

The bone saw slipped from the woman’s hand, she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking badly.

“I’m sorry,” Ruan Xian said softly. “Do you still need hemostatic spray?”

“…No need.” The woman stood up shivering and sniffled hard. She picked up the blood-stained cloth bag full of fruit at her feet and held it tightly in her arms. “You—You see… This is such a dangerous place. Newcomers shouldn’t be allowed to come down at all. If it weren’t for our limited equipment this time, I could take you away.”

“Thank you, but we have collected enough things.” Ruan Xian smiled soothingly. He could guess what she wanted to hear.

Sure enough, the woman’s expression eased a little, and her eyes were still flushed. “You are a nice person. Not suitable for the pirate nest in the east.”

“If you and your friends are having a bad time over there, there is information on the map. You two can defect to Elysium,” she added, after operating the equipment that seemed to be a position device in her hand. “The captain of the Walking Stones is a bastard who doesn’t treat humans like humans. You will know it when you see it. The living conditions on our side are much better, and you’re welcome to come over at any time.”

Two sets of metal spacesuits hung from the ceiling. After stuffing the loot and bone saw into the backpack, the only pair of men and women left stepped into the metal clothes and quickly sank into the ceiling with the cable.

“Elysium.” Ruan Xian turned his attention back to the grass in front of him, muttering in a low voice.

“Interesting, she shows no signs of lying.” Tang Yibu took out a knife from his backpack and aimed it at the roots of the grass.

“That’s because she believes what she said is true,” Ruan Xian snorted. “Humans do this occasionally.”

According to the man, the party was supposed to be a four-person team, but there were only two sets of metal spacesuits that had just been sent down. The person who answered above could adjust the number of metal spacesuits according to the content of the communication as there was no claim that the equipment was limited. Her tone was sincere and truthful, and she was unambiguous when she took the bone saw away. Her whole person is full of contradictions.

He didn’t have a good impression of the two of them just now.

Seeing Tang Yibu eager to try on the pile of grass, Ruan Xian also took out the knife in his backpack and decided to put the woman’s proposal on hold for the time being. “Tang Yibu, I just observed it. Before these grass flickers…”

“It will shake three times.” Tang Yibu shrugged, cutting the grass with a click. “I also noticed it too. From the situation just now, that kind of flicker may be the way they prey on animals—flashing into the body tissue, and then taking root and growing.”

Ruan Xian was slightly surprised. “Its fruit…”

“It has a slightly creamy flavor and a psychedelic component. It looks like it is not yet mature, and there are remnants of petals at the bottom of the fruit, but since they can bear fruit in this kind of place, we have to be careful about pollinating things.” Tang Yibu tied the grass as he spoke. “You wanted to say this?”

Ruan Xian put away his momentary surprise, and when he realized it again, a smile had already hung on the corner of his mouth without authorization.

Tang Yibu stopped pressing the straw bales into his backpack. “…This is the first time I have seen you smiling like this, Mr. Ruan. Is there any problem with what I just said?”

“No, let’s go.” It seemed that he didn’t need to slow down for someone else this time. This feeling wasn’t so bad.

But after returning to the territory of the market pirates, Ruan Xian’s subtle good mood quickly disappeared without a trace.

“Yo, Lao Tu is right, they are really two little white faces*. How rare.”

*[Xiao bai lan] (小白脸) Specific term used derogatorily to describe good looking men who rely on women for financial support. It can also be used to describe men who are handsome and fair-skinned, as opposed to rough and muscular men.

Across the glass curtain of the small room, a muscular middle-aged man was slumped on a chair not far away. He straightened his head. His beard was rough, and his facial features were tough and rigid. Combined with the slickness and ruffian-like expression; what little bit of possible righteousness disappeared without a trace.

The man stretched out, picked up the wine bottle on the table, and walked crookedly towards them. Then he lowered his head, and his frivolous gaze passed through the thick bulletproof glass and swept across the faces of the two of them. After observing, he blew a whistle and even knocked on the glass in front of Ruan Xian a few times with his knuckles.

“This is the first time I have regretted that I don’t like men. Oh, what a waste.”

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The author has something to say:

Ruanruan is actually super suitable for the pirate’s den (×

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 29: Starry Sky

The white shelf in front of him had accumulated a thick layer of dust, which swept into the air with one’s breath. Bags of food and candy were scattered everywhere, all over the slightly sloping smooth floor, dressed in dust like some kind of fungus.

Ruan Xian removed a bag of chocolate stuck under his shoe, afraid that it would make noise, shrank his body in again, and listened intently to the conversation from the people outside. Unfortunately, after a few minutes of light conversation, the two men and woman fell silent, and only dull footsteps and breathing could be heard outside.

The three of them didn’t find the small convenience store hidden around the corner, half-covered by the ruins. They trampled on the broken glass on the floor and moved away in the direction of the entrance to the main building of the hospital. At the same time, a loud noise of friction and collapse between the walls sounded not far from the right side of the hospital, causing the ground to shake slightly and debris to fall with a patter from the cracks in the ceiling.

The hospital seemed to be on the edge of the Sea of Ruins, and the building that had just been blocked on its right had peeled off and moved to a new position. The air outside poured in along the gap, causing the space to no longer feel humid and stuffy. After confirming that the three unidentified people had walked away, Ruan Xian stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go another way.” He took apart a towel and began to wipe the dust from the package. “There’s a strong smell of medicine in the side hall, so the pharmacy is probably in that location.”

Now that he knew that Tu Rui was a member of the rebel army, his goal was clear. The three people who had just passed by seemed to have a clear destination. Ruan Xian didn’t plan to wade into this muddy water until he found out the details of the other party.

Tang Yibu opened the door of the storage room and stretched most of his body into a huge box freezer, turning over the cans inside. Ruan Xian got a muffled “Nn” through the rattling of jars.

Then he watched as Tang Yibu went too far and fell with a loud bang. The smoke that came from the impact was like the smoke from a flame.

Ruan Xian began to have a headache. Until now, he couldn’t figure out whether the android was harmful or harmless in general. Tang Yibu lived like a drunk cat. He could never guess what the other party wanted to do next.

The android turned to the drink he wanted and stepped out of the cabinet contentedly.

“We have limited time.” Ruan Xian ground his teeth and roughly wiped the packaging off a cookie box.

“But you’re hungry.” Tang Yibu shook his slightly long black hair, and another wave of dust swept up.

“I didn’t—” Before Ruan could finish, his stomach made an indefatigable growling sound. “…How did you know?”

“In the early morning of yesterday, you were ‘killed’ by Major Ding. You lost a lot of blood. After that, you only hate half a piece of salt bean cake. Since the initial power of a Prototype is stronger, it also consumes a lot of energy as well. If you can’t guarantee the calorie supply, there’ll be problems with your abilities.”

Tang Yibu pulled open the backpack and stuffed the cans neatly inside. “When we hand over the things, the food we can get may not be better. It’s best to eat some first… Personally, I suggest choosing the one with the highest calories.”

The entire space was dark and depressing, covered with dust and mold. Ruan Xian moved a few steps, and he could feel the softness of the dust on the ground through the soles of his boots. From any point of view, this wasn’t a suitable dining environment. “It’s not ventilated here. I don’t have much appetite. Let’s talk about it somewhere else.”

Tang Yibu’s golden eyes could be said to be the only light source in this dark space. Those beautiful eyes blinked in front of Ruan Xian, and then followed their owner to turn around and return to the storage room behind the small door.

Bang. Bang. Creak.

Now Ruan Xian could distinguish these sounds. They represented the bending of steel bars, the depression and peeling of the walls, and finally the cracking. Then came the sound of wind pouring into the room. Fresh air from the outside quickly squeezed in, and a little light overflowed from the storage room that was as dark as a cellar.

“Come,” Tang Yibu said.

Ruan Xian hesitated for a moment and stepped into the brightened space.

There were two door-sized cracks in the wall. Tang Yibu removed the large freezer and stuck it in the gravel-covered breach. The android was sitting on the edge of the breach, facing the oncoming moonlight and evening breeze. He patted the flat freezer fragments beside him with his hands.

Ruan Xian scratched his temple fiercely with his knuckles and walked over helplessly.

The unpleasant smell of dampness was blown away by the wind. Ruan Xian put his backpack containing half of the food between the two of them and sat down carefully as he looked at the scene in front of him.

‘It’s crazy,’ he thought.

They were on the edge of the Sea of Ruins, somewhere above the sky. It was like they were sitting on the edge of the roof of a high-rise building. He looked down at the entire wasteland that was vast and desolated, with a blurred horizon that connected the boundless starry sky. Looking down, there were still many irregularly piled buildings under his feet. The entire Sea of Ruins was rumbling forward, like an ominous and slow giant train.

“It’s well ventilated here,” Tang Yibu said in a low voice, reaching out and digging in his backpack. In the next second, Ruan Xian’s face felt the feeling of a cold can sticking to his face, which made him subconsciously grab it.

The android nodded solemnly and began to pull the backpack that Ruan Xian had put down.

Ruan Xian lowered his head and looked at the jar that was clearly illuminated by the moonlight. A black and red packaging of a bottle of cherry soda. He had never drunk this thing before because of his constitution.

“We can leave the chocolate and butter cookies.” Tang Yibu confirmed the calorie description on the package. “According to your information, pirates prefer heavy-flavored foods with a lot of additives to high-calorie foods.”

As he spoke, he tore open a pack of cookies neatly, causing the rich aroma of butter to instantly rush into Ruan Xian’s nose.

Ruan Xian quietly accepted the cookie and ate it in small bites. The strange, heavy smell almost paralyzed his tongue.

“You were angry again just now, right?” Tang Yibu’s way of eating was much rougher. Each bite he took would cause his delicate face to bulge up and his voice to become muffled. “I mean when I was in the cell.”

“…Yes.” Ruan Xian opened the can of soda that had been sealed for many years, making a small puff.

“Why didn’t you say it?”

“I do wish you would discuss things with me in advance, but time obviously didn’t allow for such a thing in that situation.” Ruan Xian took a sip of his soda and was so shocked by the bubbles pouring into his mouth that he almost dropped the can.

“But I still cause you unhappiness.”

“I don’t need your apology. We can skip this topic.”

“I’m just curious—we all know that my approach is ‘reasonable in terms of results’, but you still act like you’re hurt.” Tang Yibu raised his chin to allow the wind to blow more freely on his face while he kept on his muttering. “It’s amazing.”

“I am also very curious. Since you know that I am not a human being, why do you continue this kind of observation?” Ruan Xian put down the cookie box in his hand and turned his gaze to the sky.

“You are infused with human personality information. The human body is also a kind of machine in nature. Memory is data, thinking habits are algorithms, and the two influence each other.”

Tang Yibu crunched the cookies, put down his drink, stretched out his hands, and gestured slowly at Ruan Xian.

“As long as the memory data is not erased, this kind of observation is meaningful before your thinking algorithm makes a huge change. Just as we all know that tadpoles are destined to become frogs, tadpoles themselves also have observational value.”

Ruan Xian retracted his gaze. “Listen to what you said, you—”

“Yes, I have not been infused with any personality information, so I’m not very familiar with human thinking habits.” Tang Yibu’s legs swayed slightly on the edge of the hole, looking very comfortable. “I still want to apologize. I’m sorry I made you feel unhappy. I will try my best to discuss with you in advance matters related to you in the future, Mr. Ruan.”

Ruan Xian kept quiet. His fingers touched the smooth packaging of the cookie box before he folded it. The night breeze wrapped him firmly like a river. After a few seconds of silence, Ruan Xian turned his head and looked at the handsome face of the android beside him.

There wasn’t much expression on that face, but it was more vivid than all the human faces he had ever seen.

There was no compliment, caution, pity, or fear on the android’s face, nor appreciation or awe. Tang Yibu just stared at him like that, his gaze pure and direct, with cookie crumbs sticking to the corner of his mouth.

“…But in exchange, I hope you don’t suppress your emotions in front of me in the future.” Tang Yibu wiped the cookie crumbs from the corner of his mouth and moved his face closer. His tone was very solemn, and the tip of his nose almost touched the tip of Ruan Xian’s nose. “If you refuse to express how you feel, I can’t get accurate information.”

“I won’t be a good sample.” Ruan Xian’s voice was a little dry. He raised his head and looked at the starry sky again.

Tang Yibu didn’t understand.

“How do they make you feel?” Ruan Xian pointed to the clear and bright Milky Way on the top of his head. The clean and clear night sky was decorated with broken diamonds.

The android drank the last sip of soda carefully and painfully pressed down a burp, still puzzled.

“Normal humans will tell you that it’s beautiful and worthy of praise in poetry. The grandeur and beauty of nature are shocking, and so on.” Ruan Xian looked at the twinkling stars.

“Indeed,” Tang Yibu agreed.

“But I can only see the broken time. They are mixed with light from different distances. It’s just a huge… phenomenon. I can’t appreciate its ‘beauty’.” Ruan Xian slowly exhaled. “You should find a more normal sample.”

“Why?” Tang Yibu sounded a little confused. “Perhaps most humans will think this scene is beautiful, but will the aesthetic issue be about whether it’s normal or not? I remember this is a more personal attribute, and it doesn’t involve whether it ‘should’ feel beautiful.”

“Then I will explain another way. About the memory I was infused with—When I was young, I was shown a lot of pictures of corpses.”

Ruan Xian looked at the dark wasteland and plucked out the memories that lingered in his heart. He remembered everything since he was conscious, and naturally, he also remembered the personality test that the medical institution had conducted on him.

“Although I was a little uncomfortable, I didn’t feel any fear or anxiety.”

He was four years old at that time, and a miserable 3D image flashed in front of him. From minor injuries to serious injuries, decay, from partial to whole, from adults to children; he just watched quietly, unmoved, without a trace of expression. The machine next to him honestly recorded his heartbeat and brain waves.

He was very confused at the time, and he couldn’t figure out why they wanted to show him this kind of thing. Did they want him to help? Were they confused?

Why were the expressions of those people getting more and more serious?

Maybe helping them would keep them from frowning. These adults were very stupid, and they must not have figured things out.

[The man in the 74^th picture was killed by a chain saw, leaving very obvious traces on the bones. According to the condition of the wound, the height of the murderer was about 1.78 to 1.8 meters, and his dominant hand was his left. He worked hard to change his attack method, but the final few strokes are still obvious.]

He pulled the miserable dead corpse and made it clear.

[Change the size of the chainsaw, fix it on the lower arm, and wear heightening shoes of more than four centimeters. Finally, using acid, it can destroy the traces on the bones and eliminate most of the evidence. However, the murderer’s technique was too rough, and so it couldn’t hide all the deliberate details.]

Unfortunately, this was only a small part of the personality test, and those with frowning brows didn’t want his help.

“…They just wanted to see me scared because normal people are scared, but I wasn’t.”

“Oh, you want to say that you ‘should’ be scared.” Tang Yibu touched his chin. “Then in your memory, have you ever killed anyone?”

“No.”

“Criminal act?”

“None.”

“Then you’re just being infused with the memory of a dull human being. Plain and not a criminal.” Tang Yibu judged unceremoniously. “Most humans wouldn’t collapse at the thought of meat in a slaughterhouse or a butcher shop. They cut off genitals of plants and put them on their bedside until they rot and wither. You’re just a little duller on this basis. Strictly speaking, the ‘you’ in your memory is much more common than the felons in prison.”

Ruan Xian almost laughed with anger. He really wanted to pull on the other party’s collar and let the android experience what abnormality was, but inexplicably he couldn’t find a word to refute it, so his fist made of anger could only punch cotton.

And behind that anger, a faint sourness gradually spread.

“Whatever you say.” Ruan Xian suddenly felt a little tired.

“Do you want to be ‘abnormal’?” Tang Yibu started the interview with great interest.

“Of course not.”

“If you care about this kind of thing, you are still full of human thinking.” Tang Yibu squeezed the drink can into a small ball, showing a faint smile. “Anyways, for me, dead flowers, dismembered livestock, and rotting humans are no different—they are all the corpses of creatures, aren’t they?”

“……”

The android threw the metal ball into the ruins below, and the curvature of the corners of his mouth became larger. “In my opinion, humans are a relatively strong race, but they are limited to this.”

“I thought you wanted to understand human emotions.” Ruan Xian narrowed his eyes.

“Humans also want to understand the way other species express emotions, but they still live in a human way. It’s just understanding and learning,” Tang Yibu said. “Well, let’s put it another way that is convenient for you to understand. You can think of me as a zoologist who studies humans.”

After that, he stretched out his hand. “I want to pinch your face. Can I pinch it?”

Ruan Xian wiped his face, and out of some complicated emotion, he laughed. The other party didn’t care about humans more than he thought. Perhaps he could take off his mask for a while and breathe indulgently?

“No,” he said, pushing Tang Yibu’s hand back to his side. “I’m full. Let’s go.”

Tang Yibu withdrew his hand with regret. “Then we—”

A sharp scream came from the depths of the ruins of the hospital, and the two quickly glanced at each other.

“Go and have a look?” Tang Yibu jumped up quickly, hurriedly carrying his bag on his back.

“Go and have a look.” Ruan Xian nodded. “Maybe we can exchange a few favors and ask for information.”

This time he spoke his thoughts smoothly.

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The author has something to say:

Guess who will be tempted first? (×

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Kinky Thoughts:

My bet is on Ruan Xian.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 28: Dive into the Dark

The originally dark space was suddenly illuminated by lights, and the colors in their field of vision suddenly increased. Ruan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at the person in front of him.

The darkness just now could be a problem for normal humans, but it wasn’t a problem for a body fused with the S-type Prototype. Tu Rui didn’t come from the entrance. He watched the other party appear in thin air. Now he could see the rise and fall of the other person’s chest caused by his breathing, and he could also hear the sound of hissing, but he couldn’t feel any air flow from that direction.

It was a virtual image.

Ruan Xian took a few steps back in silence; the two blood guns still in the holster hurt his ribs.

“The lights here are still working.” Tang Yibu, who was lying next to him, was quite surprised. The expression on his face resembled that of a shocked human.

“…Hello.” He watched as the android started acting. The corners of Ruan Xian’s mouth twitched. He put on his usual gentle smile and decided to officially start the conversation. After all, their capturers wouldn’t show them a virtual image just for fun.

The man looked at Tang Yibu for a while, then turned his gaze back to Ruan Xian. “Who are you two?”

“Escaped from the petri dish No. 1036.” Tang Yibu grabbed the conversation and showed a proper smile. That smile was natural and sincere, with no hypocrisy in it. “You know Petri Dish No. 1036, right? You understand what’s going on inside. Who could stay there? The two of us plan to go to the Sea of Ruins to have a meal together.”

With a bean-like call, Tu Rui’s attention was smoothly pulled over. “The color of your eyes is quite special.”

“Like an android. I know. It’s just my boyfriend’s kink. It’s not difficult to change the color of one’s iris these days.”

Ruan Xian felt a chill down his spine as he glared at Tang Yibu vigilantly, trying to signal warnings with his eyes.

“Then this is…?” Tu Rui didn’t show an expression of surprise or disgust and turned his head in the direction of Ruan Xian.

“My boyfriend, Ruan Lijie.” Tang Yibu’s tone was firm.

The gentle smile on his face had a tendency to falter as Ruan Xian could feel the blood vessels in his forehead beating wildly. Ever since this hapless android had appeared, he had challenged his bottom line in every sense. This anger wasn’t as dark and vicious as it used to be, but it was more like annoying smoke that blasted directly into his heart…

“Yes.” However, that was all he could answer. Ruan Xian could probably guess Tang Yibu’s thoughts. This bastard had no plans to expose himself at all. In the event of a crisis in the future, their “kiss” would be a good trump card.

But this didn’t prevent him from being frustrated.

“Whatever, as long as you can work.” Tu Rui pushed his glasses. “The two of you can cross the dead wall, which means you have a bit of skill.”

“It’s still hard work, plus a little luck. The refuge just happened to get caught up in a leader change.” Tang Yibu wriggled and sat up.

“Oh? How did the two of you get out?” The man who claimed to be the “deputy captain of the Walking Stones” took two steps closer. “As far as I know, the dead wall will block all electronic equipment close to it. If you want to rely on aircraft or inertia to cross over it, you will also be directly bombarded by missiles. In addition, there will be a pressure-sensitive transmission alarm every five minutes.”

“We stole a few vacuum plungers and tied them to our hands and feet and stuck them on. You see, it’s just the two of us, so the Mainbrain has no intention of pursuing us to the end,” Tang Yibu answered eloquently. “As soon as we ran out…”

Ruan Xian simply closed his eyes and leaned against the wall blankly, listening to the android’s bullshit.

“Ability?” Tu Rui interrupted Tang Yibu’s rigid story, obviously not very interested in the details of their escape.

“I only have a little strength.” Tang Yibu spoke confidently. “I didn’t even bring a weapon.”

“Well, I can see that, boy. This one here is wearing two guns.” Tu Rui turned to Ruan Xian, who was silent. “One whose name is Ruan, what about you? What can you do?”

Ruan Xian opened his eyes suspiciously. “Primary perception is strengthened, marksmanship is okay, and a little bit of mechanical knowledge.”

Tu Rui huffed. “Passable. I can give you two a bite to eat. It’s not too late yet, so go to the sea and get something valuable, then hand it in. I’ll take you to the captain later.”

After that, he clapped his hands. “Bring in the things!”

There was a sound of metal rubbing against the stone surface outside, then two sets of bloated metal spacesuits were dragged into the room. They even had old-fashioned wraps on their backs with long thin metal tubes that were attached to a machine to pull them in. The large-scale machine looked dilapidated, covered with patches of rust all over, and almost got stuck to the half-decayed door.

A burly man with bulging muscles kicked it twice in the back before it stumbled into the room.

“We just escaped, and we don’t have enough physical strength.” Ruan Xian tried to buy time. “I am also a little uncomfortable. If you are willing to provide a little mechanical support, I want to make sure first—”

“No ability, no discussion.” Tu Rui gave an order to the muscular man who had just come in. “Gang Zi, send them down.”

After that, he yawned and pretended to walk out the door.

“Don’t try to run away,” seeing Ruan Xian curled up nervously, the burly man said sullenly, first pulling away the restraint belt on Tang Yibu’s body. “The isolation in this room is very good, and it’s useless for you two to kill me. Listen to the deputy captain and get something.”

“Sorry, we don’t know the situation.” Seeing Tang Yibu’s eyes staring at the metal clothes a few steps away, Ruan Xian retracted his only expectation.

“I’ll tell you about it later. As long as… Ah, like I said, it’s not necessary.” Gang Zi sighed helplessly.

At the moment when the burly man tore open Ruan Xian’s restraint belt, the muzzle of a gun was aimed right at his heart. Ruan Xian calmly held the blood gun and said, “Take us out of here.”

Tang Yibu turned his head and raised his eyebrows.

The burly man raised his hands, not looking nervous at all. He walked in front with a sigh and flashed out the door. “You can see for yourself.”

Ruan Xian went out cautiously. Though he was mentally prepared, he couldn’t help but inhale deeply.

This dilapidated apartment cell was surrounded by huge bottomless cracks and dark ruins squeezed into buildings. The houses were stacked together like broken building blocks—all kinds of signs and broken steel bars were sandwiched in the concrete, and the painted walls of different colors looked like Skittles covered in dust, piled up in a mess. The boundary couldn’t be seen whether he looked up or down, left or right.

They were more than ten meters away from the nearest platform. As long as Tang Yibu didn’t want to expose them, he didn’t have any tools to leap over.

“Even if you can really go there, you will die sooner or later.” The burly man shrugged, as if he had seen through Ruan Xian’s mind. “The Sea of Ruins is a maze. It’s absolutely impossible to traverse without a map and guide.”

Ruan Xian retracted his gun. “…One has to try it.”

The burly man had the expression of “I’m used to hearing that” on his face. He pointed to the two sets of metal clothes in the distance. “Can your wristband still be used? I’ll pass you the information and data. If you find enough things worth 2,000 points, you can hand them in. I’ll contact you two when you’re done.”

Ruan Xian didn’t speak again. He obediently received the information, put on a metal spacesuit, and stood next to Tang Yibu, who had wrapped himself in his metal spacesuit a long time ago.

“Since Mr. Ruan has a weapon, we will no longer provide one.” The burly man muttered, knocking hard on the old machine. “There is no map under here. Please help us explore the way. Let’s go.”

As soon as his voice fell, the ground under Ruan Xian disappeared.

The long metal tubes on their spacesuit whizzed and stretched. At the speed at which they fell, it was close to free fall. Their bodies were slightly hot, and the cross-sections of countless buildings and debris passed in front of them. They were diving into countless ruins, passing through cement and bricks like ghosts.

He didn’t know how long they were falling until they finally slowed down, then they stopped in the air and hung in a dark hall quietly for more than ten seconds. As soon as Ruan Xian wanted to make a tentative sound, the spacesuit completely tore open on both sides, and the two of them fell down.

Fortunately, they weren’t far from the ground enough to really become injured from the fall.

In the next second, the metal spacesuit gradually rose and disappeared from the decayed ceiling, leaving a few circles of ripples like water waves.

“Are you sure you want to deal with these people?” Ruan Xian coughed a few times among the ashes.

The other party’s intention was obvious. In the absence of a map, the only way out for ordinary people was to float up using those metal spacesuits. In this way, they were thrown into the depths of the ruins that their own people had not reclaimed, and this was a test of their abilities. If they were to return, the pirates would undoubtedly have a double harvest, both of materials and intelligence. If they were unfortunately killed, Ruan Xian didn’t think Mr. Tu would really feel bad about it.

This was the attitude of pirates.

“If it’s just observation, it’s the same anywhere.”

Tang Yibu unscrewed the lighting device on the communicator and wandered towards Ruan Xian. The communicator looked like a flashlight for exploration, and it was thoughtfully equipped with a rope at the end. “Don’t worry, they didn’t bug this thing. It only has simple lighting, positioning, and image identification functions.”

“Whatever you want,” Ruan Xian responded flatly. It didn’t make much difference to him. After all, people didn’t write “I know Ruan Xian’s whereabouts” on their foreheads. If they inquired for news about him, it was better that the other party was strong.

“But why did you do such an ineffective resistance just now?” Tang Yibu moved his wrist and carried the backpack used to hold loot. He scanned the corners of the hall with the light, and his face returned to blankness.

“That person was too relaxed. I wanted to know whether his backup was nearby or if he was confident in his strength.” Ruan Xian sniffed, making sure he smelled the faint aroma of medicine. “It would be weird not to resist. After all, my guns were still on me and we just ‘crossed the dead wall’ and was full of resistance enthusiasm.”

“Is that what your indoctrinated human mind told you?”

“Nn.”

“Very informative. Thank you, Mr. Ruan.” Tang Yi took two steps forward, avoiding a few drops of water dripping from the ceiling. “It seems that my thinking angle is still a bit biased.”

Ruan Xian turned his head, didn’t speak again, and focused on the environment in front of him.

He didn’t need lighting to see the slightly tilted hall in front of him clearly. They were standing in the middle of the abandoned hospital hall. The consultation table was covered with black mold, there was glass broken into small pieces, and the infusion poles were lying in the corner. A metal cart, which was crushed and deformed by the rubble, was lying on the ground, holding a dirty little bear doll.

After temporarily stuffing the blood gun used for treatment back into the holster, Ruan Xian carefully pulled out the dirty doll. The filling inside had rotted and exuded a thick, moist smell. The doll had lost an eye and was staring at him with only one button left. There was a red thread that hadn’t been pulled clean and was attached to the back of the button.

Ruan Xian raised his head and looked out through the glass window of the hall. The other room was tightly squeezed out of the glass window of the hospital hall—a child’s bedroom, and several plush toys were stuck in the window connected to the hospital hall, pierced by broken glass.

There were no human corpses.

The entire space was empty, like a rotten insect shell. Ruan Xian pursed his lips and put the doll back in place. After half a minute of silence, he turned on the electronic wristband and quickly scanned the “treasure” information thrown by the thieves.

“The most valuable are medicines, tools, and processed food, followed by waste parts and clothes.” Ruan Xian filled his head with all the information. “Follow me. I can’t tell the difference between medicine, but at least I smell the food.”

Tang Yibu pulled out a few unopened syringes from the dust and threw them into his backpack. When his backpack was opened again, canned drinks were thrown in.

“Affiliated convenience store.” Tang Yibu rubbed the dust on the metal bottle with his sleeve. “Yes, these things are still within the shelf life. Would you like a can?”

Ruan Xian stopped throwing biscuits into the backpack. He slipped across the shelf like a cat and pressed Tang Yibu’s head. “Someone.”

Tang Yibu was still holding the bottle of canned soda. He was short and honestly hid himself behind the shelf.

“The pirates in the east sank Chen Ge’s ship,” a somewhat sharp male voice said. “Fuck, I hope that the next time they ‘disinfect’, the Order Supervisor can send Yu Le’s things to the west.”

“He can’t run away,” a female voice replied to him. “Look, it’s just his virtue. Fan Lao* just doesn’t care about him because of us. This kind of scumbag will sooner or later kill himself.”

*When Lao is used after a name, it signifies respect to that person when addressing them (usually for someone who’s older). Translated would be like Elder Fan.

“It’s a pity that Tu Rui couldn’t be pulled to our side. That guy has a shrewd look and stands in line like an idiot.” A new voice joined in, which sounded a bit slick.

“Pity indeed! Have you heard that Tu Rui turned out to be from the rebel army? If he wants to come to our side, that would be a real disaster.”

“Hey… There’s more to this matter. Didn’t Ruan Xian’s rebel army die a long time ago? Why is there still one alive?”

“Who knows?”

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