Chapter 63

Chapter 63

"Bro 996?"

Shen Ju called out again.

Still, no response.

Strange.

Where did 996 go?

Noticing Shen Ju's troubled expression, Jian Yi couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nothing," Shen Ju shook his head. "It's just that Bro 996 has disappeared."

"Let's wait a bit."

In truth, 996 hadn't gone far.

It had been summoned by 007.

Earlier, when it agreed to investigate how to terminate the mission, it went straight to 007 for information.

Having been mentored by Senior 007 since its activation, and even named "996" because of 007, it was only natural that 996's first thought was to consult 007.

After confirming that 007 would privately assist with the inquiry, 996 even drafted an 800-word explanatory report and sent it over.

The Management Bureau, where 996 was employed, oversaw countless small worlds. To ensure their smooth operation, each small world typically had a set of programs. However, with so many worlds, some programs inevitably developed "bugs." In the small world 996 was currently serving, Shen Ju was that "bug." He was originally designed to be a malicious antagonist, mere cannon fodder.

But Shen Ju clearly deviated from this, so 996 was assigned to him, tasked with ensuring he fulfilled his role as the "malicious true young master."

Yet, through their interactions and observing Shen Ju's dealings with the Guan family and the protagonist, Guan Mulin, 996 gradually began to think differently.

This shouldn't be happening.

They were meant to be a loving family.

If not for the communication channel bug that allowed the Guan family and Pei Yan to eavesdrop, if they hadn't known about its private conversations with the host or the host's true personality, what would have become of the host? Perhaps the Guan family wouldn't have grown to despise him, but when the host was eventually "driven out" of the Guan family, there likely wouldn't have been much reluctance.

How unjust would that be for the host?

Even if the host had undertaken this mission with certain objectives, did he deserve such an outcome?

996 felt that the Management Bureau's regulations were inhumane and disrespectful of human rights.

So, it decided to first raise the issue with 007.

To see if such rules and requirements could be altered.

However, after submitting its proposal, there was no follow-up.

996 had assumed nothing would come of it.

But just now, 007 had summoned it.

007 was a large white sphere, and 996, a small blue sphere, floated before it, two sizes smaller.

Excited to see 007, 996 zipped around it, prompting 007 to extend a small appendage to gently hold 996 in place.

"Senior!"

"Hmm."

007's voice was distinctly electronic, with a cold, metallic quality.

"Senior, why did you call me? I didn't even have time to tell my host—I rushed right over! By the way, Senior, is there any news about my earlier inquiry? Or—"

007 shifted from holding 996 to covering its mouth.

"I haven't even asked you yet—what exactly did you submit?"

"Huh? Mmm mmm mmm?"

"..."

007 paused, then retracted its appendage.

It then transmitted a file to 996.

"Besides the explanatory report you submitted, there's another document that seems to have been accidentally included. The data is incomplete but contains biological information, which may be related to your host."

"Eh?"

996 quickly scanned the file upon receiving it and exclaimed, "What is this?!"

............

It was almost noon.

Shen Ju waited for 996 for a while and finally saw it return.

But before he could speak, 996 anxiously blurted out—

"Host! Do you remember pricking your finger on a cactus thorn in the Pei family's greenhouse?"

"Huh?"

Shen Ju was confused but still replied, "I remember. That's when I first met Brother Pei's father."

"What's wrong, Bro 996? Why are you bringing this up suddenly?"

996: "I told you before that I bound to you through your biological information, right? And many of my functions require connecting to and utilizing your biological information. One of the richest sources of biological information is blood. At that time, your blood must have dripped into that cactus pot. And since I was suspecting that Guan Mulin might be able to hear our conversations, my system was in a self-check phase. It seems I accidentally extracted something significant through your blood..."

"What..."

Before Shen Ju could finish his question, 996 directly displayed the extracted information in his mind.

"This is it."

"This is—"

Processing information mentally is incredibly fast, so Shen Ju finished reading what 996 showed him in mere seconds. He abruptly stood up.

—This looks like evidence of Pei Tai's crimes?!

"What's wrong?"

Jian Yi was startled and quickly grabbed Shen Ju's wrist. "What happened? Did 996 come back? Why did you suddenly stand up?"

Shen Ju's expression was a mix of shock and bewilderment, with an inexplicable sense of urgency.

So the elusive evidence was hidden in that cactus pot?!

"Bro! I need to go out right now!"

"Wait! Where are you going?! I'm coming with you—"

Jian Yi chased after Shen Ju, grabbing his arm as they ran, demanding an explanation. What was going on? What happened? Why was he in such a hurry to rush out?

"What's so important that you had to run out? What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Evidence!"

Shen Ju's eyes lit up as he looked at Jian Yi. "I know where the evidence is hidden!"

"I wonder if Brother Pei has finished yet. I want to ask him to take me to the Pei estate to look for that cactus pot. Or maybe I should send him a message first?"

As he spoke, Shen Ju took out his phone.

"Wait—"

Jian Yi frowned and held Shen Ju back. "Even if you ask him to take you to the Pei estate later to look for that cactus pot, isn't that strange? Even if Pei Yan and the others succeeded, Pei Tai has only lost his authority—he can still do other things, can't he? And Pei Yan doesn't live in the Pei estate. If he takes you there so abruptly to search for something, wouldn't that tip them off?"

"Besides, there's no guarantee the thing is still there. The pot might have been moved, or the evidence might have been taken out already."

Jian Yi poked Shen Ju's forehead. "So why did you run out like that? You're really not thinking straight."

Shen Ju rubbed his forehead. "Ah, you're right, bro..."

He had been too excited.

Once he got excited, he couldn't sit still and ran out...

"Then I—"

Shen Ju suddenly paused, remembering something. "The class monitor! The class monitor goes to the Pei family to work on weekends..."

............

Tang Yuexin was surprised when she received Shen Ju's call.

Especially when she heard Shen Ju ask her to check if there was a cactus pot in a certain spot in the greenhouse, she was even more confused.

"Why?"

Shen Ju hemmed and hawed a bit. "Class monitor, just check for me first. If it's there, let me know immediately."

"Then don't stay there too long..."

"Why?"

Tang Yuexin asked again.

For some reason, her heart started pounding.

She sensed something was off.

"Shen Ju, do you know something?"

Tang Yuexin suddenly lowered her voice.

She thought about Shen Ju's relationship with Pei Yan and how Pei Yan was also looking for evidence. Could it be... Could it be that Shen Ju actually knew something?!

"So, if you really know something, you have to tell me."

"There's no one else in the Pei family right now. If you want me to do something..."

Tang Yuexin whispered, "Now is a good opportunity."

"Don't worry, I can leave here at noon. After all, I'm just a temp worker at the Pei family."

Shen Ju was left speechless by Tang Yuexin's barrage of questions and had no choice but to tell her what he had discovered.

He then carefully described the location and appearance of the cactus pot to Tang Yuexin.

Finally, he couldn't help adding, "Class monitor, if you don't find anything in the greenhouse, don't stay long. Leave quickly, understand?"

"Also, I'm heading to the Pei family now. Whether you find anything or not, come out, and we'll talk in detail later."

Tang Yuexin contained her excitement. "Okay, I understand."

"Whether I find anything or not, I'll come out and meet you. Don't worry."

After hanging up, Tang Yuexin took several deep breaths.

Finally, a lead!

Tang Yuexin didn't dare waste any time. She finished her current tasks, excused herself to go to the restroom, and headed toward the greenhouse as Shen Ju had instructed.

Although she only worked here as a temp helper on weekends, Tang Yuexin had taken the opportunity to scope out the place a bit. After all, the Pei family's estate was large, and while many people were employed there, they were spread out, so she rarely ran into anyone. She was grateful that the Pei family often hired temp workers for tasks like outside cleaning work. Otherwise, she would have had to figure out where the greenhouse was on the spot.

She wondered how Shen Ju had found out.

Tang Yuexin thought to herself that she hadn't even had the chance to ask the regular servants at the Pei family for information or dig deeper, and yet she had stumbled upon news of the evidence!

So lucky.

Her sister must be watching over her.

Shen Ju was her lucky charm too.

Tang Yuexin couldn't quite describe how she felt.

The "break" came out of nowhere. She wished she could rush to the greenhouse immediately.

But hurrying as fast as she could, the greenhouse was finally right there in front of her.

Tang Yuexin scanned the area and, seeing no one around, quickly entered.

Following Shen Ju's instructions, she carefully pinpointed the location and the style of the cactus pot.

To be honest, Shen Ju didn't remember much about what the cactus looked like.

He only had a vague memory of where he had been standing at the time, so the information he provided to Tang Yuexin was limited, requiring her to search carefully.

But even with limited details, at least it was a starting point.

A round cactus in a black flowerpot sat on a shelf at eye level...

Tang Yuexin focused on a few potted cacti, she picked up a tool from nearby, and was about to reach out to examine them—

"What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.