At this moment, only ten seconds remained. After experiencing shock, confusion, and helplessness, everyone was left with only deep despair.
"Five! Fourth!"
Amidst the deafening countdown, even Jian Yunxian, who had maintained a composed expression, frowned.
"Three! Two!!" Some team members had already thrown away their headphones in despair.
"one!"
Amidst a deafening roar of cheers, the large screen behind them displayed that the purchase channel had officially opened. Some people held up speed-up coupons, while others had activated cheat codes and were waiting patiently.
Inside the command center, some young children couldn't help but sob and cry, weeping for the failure of this meticulously prepared mission and for the darkness that awaited humanity's future.
However, just as everyone was feeling discouraged, the live stream suddenly froze for about five seconds, then went black, leaving only a chorus of complaints and questions.
They heard someone in the live stream ask, "What's going on? Are they all sold out?"
Someone else started cursing, saying that the internet speed was so slow it was like shit, and that the 5999 yuan speed-up card was wasted.
The next second, the dimly lit stage lit up, and amidst gasps of surprise, people discovered that two identical little sheep were standing on the stage.
The one on the left is repeating the same actions and expressions as before, looking stiff like a video recording. In contrast, the one on the right appears lively and dynamic, making it clear at a glance that this is the real thing.
The people in the live stream were stunned by the scene before them, forgetting to question why they couldn't buy the goods, forgetting to continue their crazy antics, and even forgetting to breathe.
"Oh dear~ I heard someone has been using my name to swindle people?" The little sheep on the right suddenly laughed.
Another gasp of surprise came from the live stream chat. This was the first time in a long time that they had heard SHEEP speak in the live stream.
Everyone finally realized—this is the real SHEEP!!
Just then, the genuine lamb on the right walked up to the counterfeit lamb with a smile, stretched out its little hoof and slapped it on the forehead. In an instant, the counterfeit lamb turned into a mosaic and completely disappeared from sight.
Another murmur rippled through the crowd, but no one dared to speak. At that moment, the team members off-screen were also listening intently.
They didn't know why SHEEP had suddenly appeared here, but they were more concerned about where those 10,000 documents had gone at this moment.
At this moment, Little Sheep leisurely flew around the live stream room with his hands behind his back, as if he had graced everyone with his presence, and landed steadily amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd: "I heard that many of you like me very much?"
At that moment, someone in the crowd couldn't hold back their tears and softly called his name: "SHEEP...this is really SHEEP..."
Hearing this, the little lamb landed back in the center of the stage with satisfaction: "Then I'll take all of these behind me as gifts from everyone~"
With a "whoosh," a line of text brightly unfolded on the screen, like a pair of glowing wings, bringing SHEEP to the center of the world—
"Congratulations to user 'SHEEP' for purchasing 10,000 copies of 'Lost Lamb Online Version'."
Author's Note:
It's a pity my wife didn't see such a handsome scene.jpg
———
Another update tonight, coming soon!!
Chapter 80, number 080
Everything that followed seemed like a dream to everyone – bizarre, thrilling, and unreal.
After SHEEP appeared in the live stream, he vanished without a trace, taking with him the 10,000 high-risk documents, leaving behind a bewildered audience in the live stream and panicked team members outside.
Three minutes later, a group of holographic police officers rushed into the live broadcast room, issued online arrest warrants for those suspected of illegal and criminal activities, and sealed off the trading platform in the live broadcast room on-site.
Pei Xiangjin's mission was also a great success; the source files were completely blocked without any unexpected incidents. The only unsettling thing was that, from beginning to end, they were unable to contact the mastermind behind the case.
The battlefield near the illegal clinic was extremely fierce, resulting in the deaths of two experienced police officers. They had been at the forefront of the battle, only to fall victim to enemy fire at the last moment.
In contrast, Yi Heye and Chen Sang seemed to be blessed with good luck, constantly losing health and fighting dangerously along the way. In the end, they were picked up by the team that came to their aid at a street corner and taken back together.
Now, they had to take the dying Chen Sang to the research institute—the girl's condition wouldn't last more than two hours, so they had to skip the rescue process and go straight to making some necessary "medical contributions."
Throughout the process, Chen Mu was completely unable to cooperate. She almost collapsed and tried to snatch Chen Sang back, but was firmly held in place by the researcher on the side.
"Your sister can't be saved." The researcher repeatedly told Chen Mu this cruel reality, making her cry her heart out, exhausting her last bit of strength, and leaving her unable to put up any more resistance.
The researchers wanted to send a car to take Yi Heye to the hospital, but Yi Heye resisted the mere mention of those two words.
He said, "Please help me handle this properly, I'll wait here..."
—Wait for Jian Yunxian to take him back.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Yi Heye felt a little ashamed and a little sad, but the next second, as if in response, he received a call from Jian Yunxian: "Hello? Xiaoye? How are you?"
Yi Heye clutched his aching abdomen and couldn't help but laugh: "Very good."
Upon hearing this, the person on the other end seemed relieved and said, "Everything is going very smoothly on my end too—where are you? I'll come pick you up."
The slight unease in his heart dissipated, Yi Heye told him the address, hung up the phone, and looked up.
A pale orange hue filled the window; dawn came exceptionally early today—the sky was slowly awakening.
The sky outside the window had brightened, but for Chen Mu, the sky had already fallen.
She watched helplessly as Chen Sang's body was wheeled into the research lab, and could only kneel on the ground, crying and muttering sentences she couldn't even understand herself.
She waited there for over an hour until she saw the researcher hurriedly push open the door and come out, then she stumbled and rushed in.
At this moment, as if experiencing a final burst of energy before death, Chen Sang slowly opened his eyes, and in his dazed state, only managed to utter one sentence:
"Ah... my dear great-aunt... I even stayed up all night writing a song... but I haven't had a chance to sing it yet..."
Chen Mu, who had been sobbing and lying beside her, almost burst out laughing when he heard this cursing remark.
Her older sister is a complete idiot who hasn't even had much schooling, yet she can write songs.
What kind of songs can she write? Kindergarten-level nursery rhymes? Or some mindless pop songs?
It's all her fault for saying something before she died, which made me incredibly curious.
Thinking of this, Chen Mu's tears streamed down her face again. Her sister was still alive, but she could only helplessly watch her life slowly fade away.
She slumped against her sister's arm, silently shedding tears, until she looked up and saw a medical holographic helmet next to the operating table.
Chen Mu paused for two seconds, then suddenly stood up as if remembering something. She almost stumbled over to the researcher and begged, "Excuse me, could my sister wear that helmet...?"
The researcher was startled and said, "Okay, but your sister only has a little over five minutes left..."
Chen Mu forced himself to only listen to the first two words, bowed to him, and immediately rushed into the room.
She hurriedly put the helmet on Chen Sang, and after about ten seconds, Chen Sang's brainwave signals barely appeared on the projector.
When Chen Sang opened her eyes in the holographic world, she was still a little lost. She had been unconscious for a long time and had no idea why she was there or what she was supposed to do.
But someone had already entered the room number for her live stream. When she looked inside, it was the familiar live stream room where people were using drugs together.
At this moment, the place was still bustling with people who hadn't had time to leave, which made her a little nervous and excited, because she glanced at the center of the dance floor, which was completely empty except for a vertical microphone.
Actually, she had been eyeing this stage for a long time, but she never had the money to buy a holographic helmet. She had always used a non-holographic account that could only type and send voice messages. Time and time again, she watched everyone singing and dancing in the dance floor, and time and time again, she dreamed that she could stand on it and sing.
At this point, she confirmed that no one was on stage, so she mustered her courage and took a step forward—
Before stepping onto the stage, she spent half a minute choosing a red dress with a floral print from the holographic wardrobe.
She hadn't worn a skirt in a long time, especially a brightly colored one like this.
She always felt that such formal clothes should be reserved for the stage, but since she never had a stage, she never wore them.
She regretted not having done her makeup properly, but she still couldn't wait to stand off the stage.
She gazed at the empty stage, which, though only slightly elevated above the ground, was bathed in the brightest lights, drawing everyone's attention.
She felt her calves begin to tremble, and her heart was about to jump out of her chest—she realized that going on stage was such a nerve-wracking experience, but this nervousness also made her very excited.
She took a deep breath and finally mustered the courage to step onto the stage.
The altitude had only increased slightly, but when she walked barefoot step by step to the center of the stage and to the microphone, she realized that she could indeed see the entire crowd from there.
Only then did she realize that a lot of police officers had suddenly flooded into the live stream room and were dragging people out one by one.
The appearance of the police made her a little nervous, but then she thought, she's just here to sing a song, singing isn't illegal, so she cleared her throat, grabbed the microphone, and began to speak in a strained voice:
"Ahem, hello everyone, I'm Chen Sang."
In an instant, all eyes in the audience turned to her, and murmurs of discussion spread like ink.
This felt so different from singing in the audience. Chen Sang was both nervous and excited. She stammered for a long time while holding the microphone, but eventually closed her eyes quietly.
"Today I'm bringing you one of my original songs—'Awakening'."
After saying that, she quietly swiped on the floating screen—her brain-computer interface contained nothing but the instrumental track of this song.
This was the first time she had ever spent money to create accompaniment for herself, and she felt the pinch for almost half a month.
As the intro to the accompaniment began, Chen Sang's wildly beating heart finally calmed down, and the music drowned out the discussions below the stage.
As the rhythm began, that familiar feeling gradually restored her confidence, and her tense vocal cords relaxed.
This was her first time writing a song. She reluctantly agreed that it was a rap song. Usually, she paid more attention to the melody of her songs, but this time, she tried her best to use her clumsy writing skills to create a song of her own in the lyrics.
"I am a seed that drifts with the wind, making my home in the world. Every street and alley is where my roots have taken root and sprouted."
Chen Sang was born in the most notorious slum in District D. When she was five years old, her mother died in childbirth after giving birth to Chen Mu. From then on, the young Chen Sang and her younger sister would wander around eating and drinking for free, and miraculously survived.
"I sing day after day, hoping that I can bloom and imagine bearing fruit to illuminate the dark eaves."
Chen Sang loved singing from a very young age. Unlike her younger sister, she was not smart or capable and was a complete idiot who couldn't even do addition and subtraction.
But everyone loved listening to her sing, and whenever someone applauded her performance, she felt that this fool had finally found her purpose.
"I once dreamed of singing melodies all over the world, hoping that passersby would stop their hurried steps because of me. I want to ride a Pegasus to chase after the ticking of time, and plant beautiful fairy tales in the lyric book."
Thinking back, that age when he lived in a dream must have been the brightest days of Chen Sang's short life.
Back then, she was naive and arrogant, always thinking that she could become a dazzling superstar like those on TV. Her dreams at that time had nothing to do with money or vanity; she just felt that being able to travel the world with her singing was the most wonderful thing.
"A moon, a sea of stars. Winter departs in a glance, spring arrives in a thought."
Chen Sang held the microphone and hummed softly. The lights above her head swept across her eyes, bringing patches of light, as if taking away the years.
"It wasn't until I stood in the wind and waited for the final answer that I realized I was a grain of sand that could never bloom."
"Those days I once hated, loved, struggled, cried, felt wronged, and sang are just a tiny joke in the world I've lived through."
For some children, growing up is a deeply unforgettable tragedy.