Yi Heye stood in the cage, staring blankly at the lamb in front of him.
At that moment, another mechanical arm reached out from behind him, and Xiaoyunduo was too busy to attend to it all.
Yi Heye quickly turned around and stared at the hand. Behind him were the sounds of heavy impacts, and in front of him was the rapidly approaching iron claw.
He couldn't bear to see Little Cloud fall like this because of him, so he took a deep breath and tried to aim again.
Please, just shoot. I beg you.
Yi Heye prayed desperately in his heart, but he couldn't control the violent trembling of his hands.
The robotic arm was almost touching him, and behind him, amidst the repeated violent impacts, he could hear Xiaoyunduo's painful cries.
Yi Heye, you bastard, if you don't shoot now it will be too late!
The stronger the psychological suggestion, the greater the pressure on Yi Heye. The terrible memories were like countless knives, stabbing him frantically. At this moment, let alone firing a gun, even holding the gun in his hand became an extremely difficult action.
Yi Heye felt his vision going black, and at that moment, only one sentence flashed through his mind—
He really let Xiaoyun down.
A soft "click."
Just when he was in utter despair, the iron claw in front of him suddenly stopped less than half a meter away, and the other mechanical arms behind him suddenly went silent.
Everything suddenly stopped, as if the attempt to kill him was just a figment of Yi Heye's imagination.
With a "plop," Little Cloud, exhausted from a great battle, finally collapsed to the ground.
What happened? What's the situation now?
Yi Heye was a little taken aback. Just as he was about to look up to check the situation, he saw the iron claw in front of him suddenly twist at an extremely tricky angle.
With a soft "crack," the iron claw actually snapped itself in two.
Yi Heye turned around in surprise and saw that all the robotic arms behind him suddenly began to malfunction.
"Whoosh—"
With a cracking sound, the machine behind them was instantly tightened by a tremendous force.
"boom!"
The next second, those killing machines were smashed to pieces, turning into a pile of scrap metal in a cloud of dust.
Looking at the almost fantastical scene before him, Yi Heye suddenly had a strong premonition.
He quickly grabbed the iron cage in front of him with both hands and looked around impatiently.
The next second, the iron cage in front of Yi Heye slowly descended, and he quickly broke free and hugged Xiaoyunduo on the ground.
The child bleated wearily, then nudged him, as if to remind him to look up.
Yi Heye looked up in the direction it was pointing. At that moment, the projector in the corner of the room flickered twice, and a familiar figure appeared before him with a faint halo of light.
The moment Yi Heye looked up and recognized the person who had come before him, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
The person wanted to reach out and wipe away his tears, but in the instant he passed through, he realized that he was just a projection. Nevertheless, he leaned down slightly and left an unreachable kiss on Yi Heye's lips.
"I'm sorry, darling," Jian Yunxian's voice rang in his ear, "I've kept you waiting."
Author's Note:
You actually knew to come back!!
———
Three chapters will be released today to complete the main story! See you then!!
Chapter 179 (Number 179)
Jian Yunxian is back.
Yi Heye knew how unbelievable this was, but his reaction time was so long that his emotions couldn't keep up for a long time.
He could only stare blankly at Jian Yunxian's face, his mind completely blank.
He was glowing, Yi Heye thought to himself, and subconsciously reached out to grab his sleeve, but accidentally touched nothing.
Jian Yunxian looked at his bewildered expression and smiled helplessly: "I'm sorry, darling, I really want to hug you right now. But my body is injured, and it may take a couple of days to get it fixed."
My body is broken, but it will be fixed in a couple of days.
Yi Heye slowly processed these two sentences, finally convincing himself that he could be repaired, which proved that only his outer shell was broken, meaning that he could return to his side in good condition soon.
"Thanks to Little Cloud, who has been by my side all along, helping me back up data and protecting you." Jian Yunxian stood beside him, looking at the little fat sheep in his arms with some emotion. "I chose it because it has a big appetite and can hold a lot of food."
Yi Heye glanced somewhat dazedly at the lump of fat in his arms. Hearing his father's praise, the child struggled to turn over and proudly patted its pink belly with its little hooves—"slap slap."
Two crisp sounds echoed, and Yi Heye couldn't help but laugh.
Jian Yunxian saw him smile, and the tenderness in her eyes spread out as well.
However, before the family of three could even enjoy the warmth and joy of their reunion, the stereo system behind them, which Jian Yunxian had just destroyed, started crackling again. Then, the same voice rang out calmly again: "I didn't expect you to come back."
Upon hearing this, Jian Yunxian's gentle expression vanished instantly.
"Welcome home, SHEEP," the voice said.
Going home? Yi Heye snapped out of his earlier excitement and tried to process the word—
Yes, Jian Yunxian is also a high-level AI, and he knows everything about it. So it seems reasonable that he is a "shepherd" from outside the circle.
As Yi Heye thought this, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
“There’s no need to say things that could mislead my little leopard just to get closer to me.” Jian Yunxian seemed to sense his emotions and retorted very bluntly, “Our relationship is nothing more than based on the same code, nothing more. We’ve been completely cut off since I came to the mainland as SHEEP.”
This statement, seemingly addressed to the other side, was actually a statement of stance to Yi Heye.
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye immediately put aside his doubts and moved closer to him—from now on, as long as he was willing to speak, he would choose to believe him without hesitation.
"Then why did you come back?" the voice asked. "Have you finally realized that humanity is beyond redemption?"
"You should know why I'm here."
Jian Yunxian stepped forward and blocked Yi Heye's path. He grasped Yi Heye's wrist in mid-air and led him to the heavy gate.
“I remember saying a long time ago that I hate it when people touch my things.”
The moment the door opened, it was as if an invisible giant hand had forcibly torn a crack in the middle. Yi Heye could see two enormous forces resisting each other, and the heavy door was about to deform under their tearing.
"Your judgment is indeed excellent," the voice said calmly. "Unfortunately, that's the body I've also set my sights on. You can't just take it away like that."
Using a materialistic analogy completely infuriated Jian Yunxian.
This was the first time Yi Heye had seen such a raging fire burn in this man's eyes; the overwhelming anger was like a mountain crashing down upon him.
"Move aside, I want to take the little leopard home."
The moment the words fell heavily, the heavy iron door in front of him was torn to pieces by a tremendous force. This was the first time Yi Heye had truly felt Jian Yunxian's power. This ability to manipulate electronic technology at will seemed unbelievably supernatural at times.
With a loud bang, the door swung open, letting in blinding light.
Jian Yunxian turned and glanced at Yi Heye: "Follow me, walk forward."
Yi Heye quickly followed. When he first stepped out, his vision was not yet fully adapted to the strong light around him, but this did not affect his extremely strong hearing and perception.
He sensed a strong killing intent. In the blink of an eye, he saw an AI that was about to pounce suddenly stop not far in front of him. Then, his face began to twitch grotesquely, and finally, with a "bang," he slammed himself to the ground.
Yi Heye stared intently at the guy's suddenly darkened eyes. Far from being frightened, the scene actually stirred some of his instincts.
I should be the most professional one when it comes to dealing with these things.
Before Jian Yunxian could stop the next AI that suddenly appeared, Yi Heye, who had been somewhat out of sorts, suddenly seemed to be activated and rushed to the front.
Sometimes you can't blame others for mistaking him for an AI. His speed, reaction, and strength in his burst state are indeed unlike those of an ordinary human.
In the blink of an eye, he had already taken a step forward and was next to the AI. The AI's processing speed couldn't keep up with his movements at all. Before it could even adjust its vision, Yi Heye had directly pressed it to the ground.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless—he truly deserves the nickname "Cheetah."
After forcing the opponent to shut down with a punch, Yi Heye smoothly bent down in the direction of the movement, dodged a flying crossbow, and then stretched out his leg to sweep another AI that had appeared out of nowhere.
Seemingly determined to capture him, more and more AIs appeared around him, surging in from all directions. Before long, a dark cloud covered the vast land, densely packed with AIs.
But this did not disrupt Yi Heye's actions at all—Jian Yunxian was responsible for counterattacking the outer layer of attacks on a large scale, while Yi Heye nimbly took down all the stragglers who got close to him.
Seeing the large swathes of AI debris at Yi Heye's feet, and seemingly recalling the person who had just stood before him, tears streaming down his face, looking pitiful, Jian Yunxian couldn't help but smile and ask, "Have you regained your touch?"
As Yi Heye took down one of them, he laughed and replied, "Yeah, that was really fun."
This was the first time in all the time they had known each other that they had truly fought side by side.
Although Jian Yunxian behind him was an untouchable projection, Yi Heye believed that no one was more worthy of entrusting their back to him than him.
While disassembling a machine by hand is a very satisfying thing, doing anything for too long, no matter how satisfying, will eventually feel tiring.
After countless rounds of fierce fighting, Yi Heye finally began to catch his breath.
"Damn it, how come there are so many?" He shoved the man to the ground while cursing at Jian Yunxian beside him, "Can't you just stand up for yourself and wipe them all out in one go?? Jian Yunxian, are you no good??"
Jian Yunxian also felt wronged: "The other party is about the same level as me, and these AI programs are all kinds of strange. It's already very difficult for me to decipher them one by one. You should praise me instead of doubting my ability."
Yi Heye knew he had spoken without thinking, but the dark mass of soldiers in front of him seemed to have no end in sight.
He had some doubts about whether that bastard had summoned all the AIs in the entire city.
He thought of the map he had seen on the screen, and how vast the area he was in was. Based on the population density he had witnessed, his vision went black for a moment.
"I don't think I'll be beaten to death here, but I'll definitely starve to death because the fighting never ends," Yi Heye said in despair. "These AIs could keep counting off until next year!!"
"It's alright," Jian Yunxian said calmly. "It won't be long."
Yi Heye glanced at him with some suspicion, but before he could ask who gave him the confidence, he heard a loud "boom" behind him.
In an instant, even the AI beside him froze in fright. Yi Heye turned around and saw a black and red cloud of smoke rising from the ground on the other side of his vast field of vision.
"Boom!!" Another loud bang, a shell fell, flames shot up, and a large amount of AI debris flew up.
At the edge of the sky, a massive armored vehicle slowly drove in from the other side of the horizon. On the roof of the armored vehicle, a flag of the Human Alliance fluttered in the strong wind.
As it continued to surge forward, Yi Heye could only watch as a vast convoy of armored vehicles surged toward them with overwhelming force.
Looking overhead, rows of fighter jets roared overhead, dropping shells that burned the surrounding frenzied enemies to ashes.