As Yi Heye descended floor by floor, he returned to the second floor, which was also the last floor where the robots were concentrated.
Here is a forest, a lush green expanse, where the afternoon sun shines through the dense woods, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
A small river flowed past Yi Heye's feet. Looking along the river, at the end of the corridor, melodious piano music drifted from FOUR's room.
He paused in his action of attaching the bomb, and at that moment, a hand gently put its arm around his shoulder.
“River Flows In You, that’s the song she performed today.” Jian Yunxian led the sheep, smiling as she looked at him. “It seems she really liked it.”
Do robots really understand what liking is? Yi Heye glanced at the bomb in his hand, then got up and left as she played the piano.
The next second after leaving the building, a huge roar came from behind. When I turned around, the top floor of the building was already engulfed in flames.
Little Cloud glanced back, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to rush back.
Jian Yunxian scooped it up and hugged it to his arms. Then, with a "boom," the layer below also burst into dazzling flames.
"Meow!" Little Cloud struggled violently, and Little Bean's eyes seemed to be filled with tears.
"Shh... They're too tired, they need to go back and sleep." Jian Yunxian rubbed his chin against its forehead to comfort it. "Little Cloud carries a part of their memories, so it should be able to understand their feelings better."
At this moment, upstairs behind us, besides the deafening explosions, there were also passionate recitations, performances, songs, and piano music.
Little Cloud looked at Jian Yunxian with teary eyes, nuzzling the horns of the sheep transferring data with its hoof, seemingly calmed down a little.
As the flames encroached layer by layer, Yi Heye, who had remained silent, sighed, reached out and covered Xiaoyunduo's eyes, turning its listless sheep head aside.
At that moment, the sound of sirens rang out in the distance, and Yi Heye's silhouette was stained crimson by the firelight.
"Let's go." Yi Heye patted Jian Yunxian on the shoulder and walked towards the door. "It's over."
Finally, he remembered the hundred-odd pieces of data that had been saved, and he chuckled softly—
It's over, but it's just beginning.
Author's Note:
Little Cloud is sad; it takes ten potted plants to cheer her up.
———
That concludes the first chapter! The next story is just beginning! I'll continue updating daily without fail! Mwah!
Chapter 41, number 041
The piano music behind me disappeared with a final, loud bang, and the frantic sirens seemed to engulf the entire world.
Red and blue lights enveloped the dazzling flames, burning the sky into a chaotic, pitch-black expanse.
The two people climbed into the car against the light, leaving all the noise behind, as if all the commotion had nothing to do with them.
The final loud bang startled Little Cloud so much that she burst into tears, sobbing and rolling down her cheeks, the tears bigger than her eyeballs.
Jian Yunxian sighed, first placing it in the back seat of the car, then fastening the seatbelt with a "click," and then watching the poor little chubby boy trembling in the back, all wrinkled up.
Jian Yun, having nothing better to do than drive, could only glance helplessly at Yi Heye. The latter understood his meaning, reluctantly clicked his tongue, and pulled the sad, chubby man into his arms before getting into the passenger seat together.
This time, although Xiaoyun still disliked Yi Heye, the loud explosions behind her were too frightening. After a struggle in her heart, she decided to compromise and reluctantly put her head into Yi Heye's arms.
Yi Heye glanced coldly at the large 200-pound clump of cotton in his arms, and while it was focused on its sorrow, he carefully ruffled the wool off its back.
Damn, Yi Heye was greatly shocked—his touch was getting better and better.
The little cloud, still nestled in his arms after being molested, suddenly flicked out a small foot, trying to kick Yi Heye.
As a result, someone grabbed her little hoof and said, "Behave yourself. You're in the passenger seat now. If something happens, you'll be the airbag."
The frightened little cloud gently withdrew its hoof and obediently buried its head, remaining silent.
The vehicle's wings unfolded, and it took off.
Yi Heye held the sheep, gazing aimlessly at the night view outside the window—Turing Sanatorium was located in the worst part of the C district, in a desolate area. There were no dazzling neon lights of crowded cities, only rows of rumbling factories that quietly emitted black smoke that obscured the clouds and moon at night.
The air quality here is just as bad as in Zone D, making it the perfect place to "support" these vases that have no real value.
Yi Heye looked up at the obscured moon and thought of Fang Chunyang's "ideal land" and Jian Yunxian's private garden.
So he secretly glanced at Jian Yunxian, who was driving, and looking at the man's almost perfect profile, he secretly began to look forward to going to the A district where Jian Yunxian lived.
After a brief moment of distraction, Yi Heye saw the sanatorium, now a small red dot in the sky behind him, and belatedly pinched the bridge of his nose: "Damn it, this time I'm really a fugitive."
“What’s this?” Jian Yun chuckled. “You’re doing a good deed to save all living beings.”
Yi Heye: "When I'm in jail, remember to send me some milk powder. That's what you owe me."
Jian Yunxian reassured him casually, as if just trying to comfort him, "Don't worry, they won't be able to find you."
Fortunately, Yi Heye was rather detached from emotions, and he forgot about the prison meal being on its way as soon as he turned around. With his eyes lowered, he suddenly felt sleepy in the calm night breeze, so he fell asleep with the little lamb in his arms as his pillow.
When Jian Yunxian woke up, he had already driven his car to the bottom of his building. He gently turned off the engine, and he and Xiaoyunduo opened their eyes sleepily.
"We're home." Jian Yunxian's voice rang out, gentle and not at all noisy.
Yi Heye rubbed his face against the little cloud's fur, stretched, and then returned the big fat sheep to Jian Yunxian, even with a hint of reluctance.
Heaven knows that when Yi Heye first met Xiaoyunduo, he was a staunch hater of fluffy things, but now he has been completely captivated by its softness.
Little Cloud lay on Jian Yunxian in a daze, and when she came to her senses, she started bleating again.
Jian Yunxian patted its bottom and comforted it, "Don't cry, don't cry, we'll be home soon after watching some cartoons."
Upon hearing the cartoon, Little Cloud stopped crying: "...Huh?"
“Really.” Jian Yunxian put it in the back seat, fastened the seat belt, and swiped open the floating screen in front of him to play a large-scale sheep-themed educational film, “Shaun the Sheep.”
On the screen, a group of little lambs with black faces and white fur, just like Little Cloud, appeared. Little Cloud immediately wiped away her tears and wiggled her little hooves to watch intently.
Yi Heye was amused by this inexplicable scene of fatherly love and filial piety, until Xiao Yunduo felt his gaze, turned cold and rolled her eyes at him. Yi Heye immediately pointed at her nose angrily: "Even a dog wouldn't be so ungrateful."
Jian Yun chuckled and waved at him while holding Xiao Yunduo's hoof: "Goodbye, Commander Yi."
Little Cloud stared intently at Shaun the Sheep while letting out a snorting "humph" from her nose.
Yi Heye cursed and turned to go upstairs.
When he got home, Yi Heye felt extremely tired. The first thing he did was disconnect from the internet, not wanting to have any contact with online media. He drank a glass of milk, took a shower, and then crawled into bed to sleep.
In the middle of the night, he felt an emptiness in his arms, so he reached for the "MOMMY" sheep plush toy with one hand, but it felt so different from the little cloud plush toy.
Aside from that, this was a rare peaceful sleep for Yi Heye, because there was no internet, and he avoided the terrifying story of waking up to find himself face-to-face with SHEEP.
There was a slight sense of regret amidst the relaxed atmosphere.
What a load of rubbish.
Yi Heye straightened up with a "snap," put on his prosthetic leg, stretched a refreshing yawn, and after washing up, slowly connected the internet cable while drinking milk and eating toast.
The moment the connection was established, a barrage of missed calls came in, but Yi Heye didn't even glance at them before reaching for the internet.
Upon opening the webpage, the normally colorful browser window turned black, and the headline was a lament about the fire at the Turing Sanatorium.
"This is a huge loss to history."
"Today the sky has turned gray for the passing of 576 witnesses."
"We mourn the passing of the heroes and feel boundless anger at the murderer's evil deeds."
...
Overnight, those once marginalized propaganda tools became fallen stars that attracted worldwide attention, while the arsonist who burned the "witnesses of history" to death became the target of public condemnation.
Yi Heye, who was described as "ruthless and vicious," raised an eyebrow, showing no remorse whatsoever. The only problem was that if the case continued to trace back to him, he might not be able to afford the milk powder he bought for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, Jian Yunxian had already taken care of the access records and surveillance footage before this operation, so it shouldn't be a problem...
Just when Yi Heye hadn't even finished thinking about what he was saying, his boss Zhou Wenkai, who had been out of the public eye for a long time, called him.
Damn it. Yi Heye remembered that the last time that person called him, he lost his financial freedom. This time, this Rakshasa was probably here on orders to reap his personal freedom.
He frowned, and in the brief few seconds between reaching out and answering the phone, he steadfastly chose the latter over the former—leniency for confession and severity for resistance.
He had already planned it out. As soon as Zhou Wenkai mentioned the arson case, he would curse him out on the phone to satisfy his anger, then hang up and immediately flee with Xiaoming and several boxes of milk powder from home.
The call connected, and Zhou Wenkai's voice came through: "Xiao Yi..."
Yi Heye had already prepared his swear words, and they were about to come out.
Zhou Wenkai: "It's like this, about the case..."
Yi Heye uttered the first word of a curse: "I..."
Zhou Wenkai: "Because you have been cleared of suspicion, all previous coercive measures have been lifted."
"Damn..." Yi Heye cursed halfway through, then realized his mistake and stopped himself. "...Huh?? Ah?"
Zhou Wenkai said, "We have always firmly believed that you are innocent."
"..." Yi Heye pursed his lips and didn't dare to say a word. It took him a long time to realize that the case he was talking about must be the case involving Fang Chunyang.
Zhou Wenkai: "The security department said that you provided great help in solving the case, and the organization is very happy. They not only unsealed you, but also gave you a bonus. You can check it."
Yi Heye's slow thought process started working again with difficulty, and it took him a long time to ask, "What about the guardianship relationship?"
“It’s off the hook,” Zhou Wenkai said. “You’re completely free now, and you’re no longer under Jian Yunxian’s surveillance and control.”
"How about it? Are you happy now?" Zhou Wenkai asked.
Yi Heye blinked but did not answer the question.
The termination of guardianship meant that he would no longer have to live a life of dependence on others and have to be mindful of their opinions, nor would he be stopped from going anywhere and have to rely on Jian Yunxian to pick him up and drop him off. Most importantly, he could now afford to buy his own baby formula.
This was truly a joyous occasion, the dream he had been longing for recently, but unfortunately, Yi Heye was not happy at all.
He sorted out the reasons for his unhappiness, which were quite simple: he was still investigating and collecting evidence that Jian Yunxian was a robot, and now that he suddenly had no legitimate reason to keep an eye on him, he was naturally unhappy.
Yes, that must be it.
Because he was in a bad mood, Yi Heye started looking for an opportunity to hang up on Zhou Wenkai at any time—he was too lazy to listen to any kind or bad words, and Zhou was very long-winded.
Just a second before his patience ran out, he heard Zhou Wenkai say, "Hey, it seems like the security department is really prejudiced against you now. Yesterday, that sanatorium burned down, and they even called to ask about your whereabouts, suspecting you were the one who set it on fire..."
Upon hearing about the arson case, Yi Heye lowered his hand, which was about to hang up, and allowed him to say a few more words.
“If the case hadn’t been solved today, they probably would have taken you away for questioning again,” Zhou Wenkai said. “Did you offend their captain? That guy doesn’t look like someone to mess with…”