Yi Heye quickly focused his attention to look, and the little hoof waved at him.
Immediately afterwards, a cute little lamb popped out from under the screen.
Yi Heye breathed a barely audible sigh of relief—thankfully, his prey hadn't been stolen.
This time, SHEEP wore a little black dress and a proper top hat.
"Mr. 404." The little lamb gently removed her hat, bowed to him with impeccable manners, and said, "Long time no see!"
Upon seeing this guy again, Yi Heye's first reaction was annoyance.
He wanted to grab the guy and ask him what he was up to, but all the profanities that came out of his mouth were: "...Your horn is cracked."
Perhaps it had suffered some kind of injury, because a shallow crack appeared on the short, bamboo shoot-like horn on the lamb's head.
"I got beaten up by bad guys so I could come back to see you sooner." The little lamb lowered its head and touched its horns, then carefully put its hat back on. "But seeing how much you care about me, it was all worth it."
Yi Heye's face immediately darkened.
He actually wanted to ask how to crack it so he could try it himself next time.
Seeing the lamb lying down in front of him as always, Yi Heye's anxiety and irritability gradually subsided.
He then instantly reverted to his usual cold indifference: "Did you kill that person?"
Upon hearing this, the little lamb raised its head, its round eyes full of sincerity: "Do you think I killed it?"
Yi Heye remained silent—this was the first time he dared not rely on his intuition so readily, given the many suspicious points surrounding him.
Seeing that he was silent, the little lamb smiled helplessly, spun around, and disappeared from the screen.
Before Yi Heye could even process what was happening, the access control system suddenly rang out: "You have a new package!"
Yi Heye didn't order any packages; in fact, he didn't even have the permission to shop online anymore.
He frowned in confusion, thought for a moment, and then tucked the gun behind his waist.
Upon opening the door, an exquisitely packaged gift box was conspicuously placed across the hallway.
Upon seeing the box, Yi Heye's first reaction was to take a step back.
Sure enough, the next second, Jian Yunxian's voice came from the gift box: "Long time no see, Mr. 404."
Yi Heye looked at the gift box warily and took another step back—it had only been less than half a day, but Yi Heye didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said.
At this moment, the man's voice sounded somewhat tired, clearly not as composed as before:
"I'm sorry, I suddenly had some health issues and made you worry."
Ha, who's worried?
Perhaps because the person's voice was indeed unpleasant to hear, Yi Heye swallowed back the harsh words that were on the tip of his tongue.
So his gaze returned to the box in front of him—
"A small gift to express my apology," Jian Yunxian said.
Last time this guy said he would send him a gift, the cops broke into his house not long after. This time, Yi Heye couldn't help but suspect that this guy had packed a bomb and sent it home to him.
Seeing that the man was wary of her, Jian Yunxian simply took it upon herself to remotely open the gift box in front of her.
Yi Heye had already gripped his gun, ready to fire at any moment, but when the gift box was opened, what appeared to be an unopened game helmet was actually a gift box.
Yi Heye narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"The latest holographic helmet," Jian Yunxian said. "I saw your browsing history and thought I'd give it to you."
The thing Yi Heye couldn't buy online in the middle of the night was a holographic helmet.
The helmet in front of you is the latest holographic helmet from Mingsheng Intelligent, renowned for its ultra-high-definition image quality, extremely smooth user experience, and exceptionally high price.
Jian Yunxian bought the limited edition Obsidian series, which is cool yet has a touch of flamboyant wildness—just the one that Yi Heye was most interested in.
“I think this one would suit you very well,” Jian Yunxian said.
Yi Heye stared at the helmet and gradually loosened his grip on the gun.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Jian Yunxian said sincerely. "Really, I know you want it, so please accept it."
With such genuine emotion and pitiful appearance, Yi Heye would have been even more moved if it weren't for the fact that the "gift" almost landed him in jail last time.
Yi Heye's intuition also told him that there was indeed nothing wrong with this thing.
He glanced at Jian Yunxian's sincere face, then at the expensive helmet in front of him, and his eyes wavered.
“You can use it to do whatever you want. Play games, read books, watch movies, do mental therapy…” Jian Yunxian said, “Darling, don’t always be obsessed with work. It’s good to enrich your spiritual life occasionally.”
Jian Yunxian's voice always seemed to have a bewitching magic. Every time he whispered in his ear, Yi Heye felt that the guy was carrying a gentle electric current that numbed his entire brain.
"However, I still want to offer a word of advice," Jian Yunxian said sincerely, "You should try to minimize your exposure to adult-related games and videos. Judging from your current behavior, if you don't exercise restraint, the probability of becoming addicted is very high..."
"..."
Despite knowing that this man was unlikely to say anything substantial and that he wouldn't be able to say anything serious for more than three sentences, Yi Heye still couldn't help but experience a spike in blood pressure.
He abruptly turned off the screen, slammed the door shut, and stormed inside, angrily leaving the helmet and gift box outside.
Five seconds later, after calming down, Yi Heye suddenly thought of the price tag on the helmet, as well as the chaotic security environment and low quality of the residents in this area. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the door and took the helmet home.
But he threw the gift box, which smelled of mutton, directly into the building's garbage chute.
When he got home, he placed the helmet far away in the corner by the door, without touching or looking at it.
When he turned on his computer again, he was greeted with a notification about the complete outage of the four-dimensional network, and a pale yet angry lawyer's letter addressed to "Mr. SHEEP"—
SHEEP single-handedly destroyed the core server of Siwei Network, causing nearly 100 million yuan in losses in just a few hours, and even causing Siwei's stock price to plummet.
But at the same time, the prevailing opinion online was that SHEEP was involved in the player's death. Looking at the helmet in his hand, Yi Heye felt that it was more like an invitation from SHEEP to him.
“My dear, I want you to uncover the truth about me yourself.”
Yi Heye still decided to check out the game, but accepting such an expensive gift from Jian Yunxian was a bit beneath his dignity.
He suddenly got angry when he thought of the shopping website that had shut him out—his current miserable state was like that of a rebellious teenager who had his allowance taken away, having to beg his parents for a lollipop.
Yi Heye angrily closed the page and went to get the milk powder can.
The thought that he had asked Jian Yunxian to buy this can of milk powder for him made him even angrier, and he drank two cups of it in one go.
After downing two cups of soothing milk, Yi Heye's mood calmed down considerably. He paced back and forth around the house twice, but ultimately couldn't help glancing at the helmet.
The next second, Yi Heye found Jian Yunxian's contact information and quickly transferred 50,000 star coins—luckily, there were no restrictions on transferring money to a guardian, otherwise he would have been humiliated by Jian Yunxian's "kept man".
“I told you it was a gift for you,” Jian Yunxian replied instantly. “Besides, you gave too much; the original price was only 40,000.”
He insisted on paying 50,000 instead of the original price of 40,000, determined to save face in this regard.
"I'll use the rest to buy milk powder, and I want the most expensive one," Yi Heye replied coldly before blocking Jian Yunxian.
After transferring the money, Yi Heye started fiddling with the helmet—
Perhaps due to an innate aversion to smart technology, Yi Heye has always had difficulty adapting to such electronic devices.
Yi Heye, who didn't like playing games, was completely confused. He read the rules again before picking up the data cable.
This thing is the plug that has electrocuted several people. Soon it will be inserted into the brain-computer interface behind his ear, invading his brain, deceiving his ears and eyes, and taking him into another virtual world.
Yi Heye was very averse to his brain being controlled by anything, but the intense physiological reaction he experienced when connecting his prosthetic limbs made him feel a little nervous, yet also secretly expectant.
He got up, drew the curtains, and covered up any possible security cameras in the house before brushing aside a tuft of hair behind his ear and gently opening the dust cover.
The sensation of the dust cover rubbing against the back of his ear was strange; Yi Heye got goosebumps. He looked in the mirror and glanced at the implanted interface.
He received a basic, universal brain-computer interface, with a slot at the bottom where the chip connecting his prosthesis is inserted, and a universal interface at the top, which he has never used since the implantation.
He rubbed the plug back and forth a few times with his index finger, mentally preparing himself, and took a deep breath.
The moment the cold metal connector touched the groove, Yi Heye shuddered slightly.
Just like when he set the pain level to 2.5 times, he specifically asked the doctor to retain the tactile sensation of the groove.
As a result, the sensation of the connector slowly entering his body seemed to be magnified countless times, creeping up his spine from behind his ear. This strange and wonderful experience made his breathing slightly rapid.
He gripped the edge of the table tightly until his fingertips turned white, then slowly relaxed.
Even with such difficulties, he was unwilling to lower his sensitivity to touch, and could even feel his cells quietly and pleasantly expanding.
At that moment, Jian Yunxian's words rang in his ears again: "...If you don't restrain yourself, the probability of becoming addicted will be very high."
The sound jolted Yi Heye awake.
--Oh shit.
Author's Note:
I'll be making some revisions to the previous text during this period, making Ye Bao more powerful and giving it a more tangible feel. Thank you!
Chapter 16, number 016
Yi Heye felt that his body temperature was rising abnormally more and more often in the past two days.
He gripped the edge of the table and stood there for a long time before finally getting into the game.
In an instant, a bright white light flashed across his vision, and Yi Heye felt a sharp pain.
The helmet's anti-dizziness feature outputs a mild, safe electrical current to briefly numb the vestibular system, reducing the sudden onset of dizziness.
However, Yi Heye's pain sensitivity was too high, and he felt that the root of his tongue was somewhat numb.
This wasn't the kind of pain that brought him pleasure, and he tapped his temples in frustration.
The white light faded, and Yi Heye stood in a blank hall. A metallic "LIFE" sign slowly rose from the ground.
Each choice leads to a different story development. Yi Heye is not good at challenging new things, so he chose a profession he was familiar with—a hunter.
After confirming his profession, a mirror appeared in front of him, in which he saw himself transformed into a chibi-style figure.
His facial features and attire were a replica of his own—silver-white hair, red eyes, two round leopard ears, and a furry tail.
This should be his initial appearance, which is the appearance that players use when interacting with friends in the game lobby.
He was quite satisfied with the appearance and tried wagging his tail. He could actually feel the soft, fluffy texture of the breeze.
How strange. Yi Heye reached out and gently stroked it again, and a strange feeling, like an electric shock, ran down his back—hiss.