Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The smile on Si Muyun's face froze for a moment.

He uttered a "fine," quietly ended the call, then silently glanced at Snow, whose presence in the corner was overwhelmingly strong.

After a long while, he let out a laugh: "Heh."

"You're the ones who should be looking for men. He loves me so much."

Snow: "..."

-

Back at Jingran Plaza, Lin Youhan looked at his disconnected phone and fell silent for a moment.

Why did he feel that Si Muyun's tone just now was a bit strange?

It sounded like he was accusing him of cheating.

Was it just his imagination?

He stuffed the terminal back into his pocket and turned to look at Migu, who was standing silently beside him. Migu noticed his gaze and took a step back.

Lin Youhan: "Are you sick or something?"

Migu was clearly still upset about what he had said not long ago. "I told you I don't like humans."

Migu: "..."

"I think we must maintain an appropriate social distance," Migu said seriously.

Lin Youhan's player behavior—it was something Migu, as an AI, was only now realizing.

Lin Youhan gave Migu a kick and said mercilessly, "Then go pick through trash with Bai Liao."

"What am I, some cheap thing?"

Lin Youhan retorted, "And what am I, some scummy guy?"

Migu apologized, "I always assumed you and Colonel Si were together for a long time."

"After all, holding hands, hugging, kissing, and sleeping with someone are all things couples do. If you're not a couple, that's pretty scummy."

Lin Youhan: "..."

My fists may not be that strong, but they're more than enough to pound a robot to death.

"When have I ever acted cold and denied everything after getting up?" Lin Youhan asked coldly.

Migu, that glitchy AI, clearly knew what was going on between him and Si Muyun, yet it had gone back to the dorm early and stayed quietly in the corner.

It had no sense of situational awareness.

-

Lin Youhan was done dealing with Migu and strode toward Zhang Yuanhang's home. However, as soon as he went upstairs, he could tell something was wrong. Building 3 of Jingran Plaza seemed to have been renovated—the chipped paint on the railings was gone, the peeling walls had been repaired, and there were no stains or discoloration. Everything seemed to have returned to the building's original state.

He walked up step by step and opened the door to Zhang Yuanhang's home.

Before entering, Migu scanned the entire place and found nothing unusual.

As soon as Lin Youhan stepped inside, he felt a bone-chilling cold, as if he had been back in the Restart Capsule.

He stopped after taking only two steps.

Migu noticed his abnormality and nudged him with its mechanical arm.

Lin Youhan still stood frozen and whispered, "Do you see it?"

Migu asked doubtfully, "See what?"

"There's someone sitting on the sofa." Lin Youhan's gaze lingered on the sofa, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, yet he had to acknowledge that there was a faint shadow on the sofa— unmistakably Zhang Daguo, who wasn't dead.

Just then, the sound of pots and pans clattering came from the kitchen.

Lin Youhan turned to look and saw an elderly woman wearing an apron push open the old kitchen door, carrying a steaming dish.

As if it were burning her hands, she quickly walked to the table, put the dish down, blew on her fingers, glanced at Zhang Daguo on the sofa, and urged, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and tidy up our son's room. He's having friends over for dinner today."

Zhang Daguo wasn't annoyed by the urging and said cheerfully, "What's the hurry, honey? It's quite a distance from Star Institute to our home."

"Fine, fine. I'm the only one in this house who's in a hurry," the woman said helplessly.

The woman turned and went back into the kitchen to get the remaining dishes. Lin Youhan also got a good look at her face—it was Huang Yuehong, who'd died recently.

He looked around the room, unsure why he was seeing all this. The furnishings in the house were no different from when he had last visited, but it was clearly much newer. Recalling their conversation, he instantly realized this was a point in time before the case happened.

Suddenly, his gaze paused, as if he had remembered something.

Back when he had disguised himself and gone to Anyang Street, he had half-awake heard someone say that Zhang Yuanhang's parents were already divorced. But judging by Zhang Daguo and Huang Yuehong's interaction, they didn't seem like the type to divorce.

So what had caused them to divorce?

Was it because Zhang Daguo gambled and lost money?

Lin Youhan didn't know the answer.

Within his line of sight, Zhang Daguo and Huang Yuehong kept chatting and laughing, looking like an old married couple who had maintained a deep affection for many years.

After bringing out the dishes, the couple sat on the sofa watching TV, waiting for Zhang Yuanhang to return.

Lin Youhan walked around the room a couple of times, confirmed that they couldn't see him, and also sat down on the sofa, watching TV with them.

The couple kept changing channels, seemingly uninterested in any of the TV dramas. However, when they switched to the news channel, they stopped. Lin Youhan glanced at them—their eyes were shining, as if they were particularly interested in what was being reported on TV.

Just then, the news broadcast came on: "Hello, viewers. Welcome to the news channel. Today is the first day of the Technology Conference. A young man from the Star Science and Technology Academy in Tangde City, Fuxing, made a stunning appearance at the conference. The Four Symbols Series Mecha and the Black and White Gemini, independently designed, developed, and built by him, broke through the traditional mecha designs of the Interstellar City that had persisted for a century and achieved an exceptionally high score. His designs were stunning, unique, innovative, and energy-efficient, captivating the judges and audience present and defeating competitors from all over the Interstellar City..."

Lin Youhan stared blankly at his own photo on the screen. A flash of insight crossed his mind, and fragmented, incomplete images floated through his thoughts.

Migu came to his side. "Master."

He sighed softly, the words on the tip of his tongue but unsure what to say. In the end, he could only say, "This is the first day of the Technology Conference ten years ago."

Migu was also stunned.

The moment Master became famous ten years ago, it was broadcast almost throughout the entire Interstellar City. Lin Youhan's name spread through every street and alley, making him a household name as a genius.

But now...

Beside him, Zhang Daguo and Huang Yuehong chatted while watching the screen, their tones filled with unstoppable envy.

Huang Yuehong mused, "Do you think our son will also go to Central Star in three years? I've heard that people there travel in travel capsules, with starships crisscrossing the sky above their heads, and even farming is completely automated, all operated by robots."

Zhang Daguo patted her hand reassuringly, "Rest assured, our son is named Yuanhang—'sailing far'—so he's definitely destined to venture beyond Floating Star. We've worked hard all our lives just to see our son make a name for himself, right? Besides, our son also attends the Star Institute; his future is boundless!"

"Well, look who's his mother," Huang Yuehong retorted playfully.

Zhang Daguo played along with her words, "Of course, it was my beloved wife who gave birth to him."

……

Lin Youhan listened silently, something stirred quietly within him, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

He sat for as long as Zhang Daguo and Huang Yuehong spoke. He watched the food on the table gradually grow cold, as the couple seemed to forget their original purpose, caught up in chatting nonstop while staring at the screen.

Suddenly, the screen before him cracked, and the voices of Zhang Daguo and Huang Yuehong vanished. The entire world fell silent again.

He watched silently as the room reverted to its original state and asked Migu to check the hallway, who reported that it too had returned to its former appearance.

Lin Youhan gave a soft chuckle, but as he laughed, tears started flowing uncontrollably.

"Master, don't cry," Migu comforted him awkwardly.

Lin Youhan insisted stubbornly, "I'm not crying. I just find it pretty funny."

Migu: "?"

"The Anyang Street case might have started from the Tech Conference ten years ago," Lin Youhan said calmly, though his eyes grew increasingly red. "Everything we're seeing, everything we know, everything we've learned—it might all be echoes from ten years ago."

Migu asked, puzzled, "Then why can we see Zhang Daguo and Huang Yuehong?"

"Digital life."

He stood up and looked out the window. The scorching sun scorched the land, and the distant flight routes were bustling with activity. The world was noisy and busy, with no one caring who died or who lived. Everyone wore cold glasses, witnessing the deaths of others.

If not for digital life, he couldn't think of anything else that could preserve human consciousness and recreate everything from ten years ago today.

-

Si Muyun arrived at Jingran Plaza and, as he approached Zhang Yuanhang's home, heard a series of strained grunting sounds, as if someone was forcefully working on something.

He followed the sound and saw a familiar figure buried in a pile of discarded parts. Not far away, a white robot followed closely, both the person and the machine busily engrossed.

His doubts grew steadily, and was completely confirmed when he saw Lin Youhan's face.

Lin Youhan wore work gloves to keep his clothes clean, and had a gray apron draped over him. His face was smudged with dust, black patches here and there, standing out sharply on his otherwise clean face.

He was busy searching for something, and as soon as he lifted his head from the pile of parts, he spotted Si Muyun standing not far away.

He raised his hand and waved cheerfully, "Colonel Si, you're finally here."

Si Muyun: "?"

After a moment of confusion, he decided to walk toward Lin Youhan.

Lin Youhan had clearly already planned for Si Muyun's arrival. He dug through the pile of parts again, and only when a pair of shoes landed in front of him did he look up.

He glanced up, about to say something to Si Muyun, but heard the other ask, "Aren't we on a date?"

Lin Youhan nodded, holding up a handful of parts he had gathered, and said to Si Muyun, "Yes, this is my gift for our date."

Si Muyun went quiet as he looked at the parts in Lin Youhan's hands. They were stacked together in varying sizes, and the sweat on Lin Youhan's forehead showed he had been searching for a long time.

But who gives their date parts as a gift?

For a moment, Si Muyun was at a loss for words.

Sensing Si Muyun's silence, Lin Youhan feigned ignorance and asked, "Don't you like it?"

"No, I like it very much," Si Muyun grasped his hand, looking intently at him. "I'll like anything you give me."

Caught off guard by the sudden confession, Lin Youhan's head spun. He had only used it as an excuse to trick Si Muyun into helping him with work, but seeing Si Muyun's earnestness now, it seemed he had truly believed it.

Is Si Muyun really such a fool?

Can he not live without him?

"Si Muyun," he called out, "I'm a bit curious about how you'd look when you lose control."

"Why are you curious?"

Lin Youhan looked at him, not avoiding his gaze, "Everything I said is false. Can you please not believe it?"

"But you are real," Si Muyun said earnestly.

"I can't not believe it."