He looked up, and a certain flame seemed to engulf SHEEP:
"I must be the one to catch you."
Author's Note:
Cheetah: A fierce beast with an extremely possessive nature and a strong craving for milk.
Chapter 20, number 020
After declaring ownership of the prey, Yi Heye fell into a deep sleep.
He had a dream in which he turned into a cheetah, leaning against a cliff with a big, fat sheep in his mouth.
Before him stood a group of humans with bows and arrows, all aiming at him.
"Put down that sheep, or we'll get rough!" the human shouted as he approached him.
Yi Heye lay on the ground, poised to attack. Even though the guy in front of him was already on edge, he still held the sheep in his mouth and refused to let go.
This sheep was something he had chased all night to catch; how could he easily give it away to someone else? Yi Heye thought to himself, wagging his tail.
After repeated warnings proved ineffective, the human leader waved his hand, and in an instant, thunder roared and a volley of arrows was unleashed.
The fat sheep in his mouth flailed frantically, and just a second before the arrow struck Yi Heye, he turned his head.
The next second, the cheetah took a step back, and together with the sheep, leaped into the abyss—
I'd rather die than give up my prey.
The feeling of weightlessness during the fall jolted Yi Heye awake. He practically sat bolt upright in bed, his heart still pounding wildly.
He vaguely recalled his dream and immediately spat a few times—the feeling of biting into a mouthful of wool hadn't dissipated yet.
By this time, it was almost dawn, and he was just about to sleep for another half hour before getting up when he turned around and saw a new message.
He reached out and swiped the message; the sender was surprisingly Pei Xiangjin from the security department.
“Mr. Yi Heye, we have evidence showing that you have some connection with SHEEP. If you, like us, aim to bring SHEEP to justice, then we look forward to your cooperation. If you refuse to cooperate, the Security Department may consider including you in the list of suspects.”
Yi Heye stared at those lines of text and suddenly thought of his dream. He seemed to see Pei Xiangjin holding an arrow and telling him to hand over the sheep in his mouth.
Just like in his dream, he leaned back and fell onto the bed, his fingers flying across the air as he typed a few words:
"Non-cooperation, arbitrary suspicion."
"He lets you doubt him all you want, how arrogant!"
In the security department office, Yu Yili was tending to his potted plants while reading a message.
Pei Xiangjin, speechless, confiscated the asparagus fern that he had pruned down to just the stalks. Amidst Yu Yili's wails, he looked up at the news.
The other party is uncooperative and allows them to make unfounded suspicions.
This provocative attitude is exactly like SHEEP's.
"Do you really think they're the same person?" Yu Yili began tidying the table. "I always feel..."
Pei Xiangjin didn't speak, but instead looked up Yi Heye's personal information—his life before the age of ten seemed to be a blank, with no birth record, no schooling, medical treatment, consumption, or any other traces. He seemed to have suddenly appeared in this world when he was ten years old and lived a relatively normal life.
“When he was ten years old, fifteen years ago, it was right at the peak of SHEEP’s last promotional period,” Pei Xiangjin said. “Maybe it really is a coincidence, but I don’t want to think about it that way for now.”
Fifteen years ago, SHEEP, as a top-tier artificial intelligence, first announced the awakening of its self-awareness. It broke free from human control and, just like today, wreaked havoc, causing great trouble for various departments at the time.
Yu Yili was certainly aware of the time, but looking at the blank face in the photo, he said, "In short, he really doesn't look like a human being... Sometimes SHEEP looks more like a person than him."
“I still don’t think they’re the same person. But there’s no doubt that they have a close connection.” Yu Yili looked at the line of text and said, “Perhaps Yi Heye is an AI entity derived from SHEEP. They use the same core program, so in a sense, aren’t they also the same person…”
After saying that, he seemed to realize something, shrank his neck, and said, "I was just guessing."
Pei Xiangjin laughed: "Before the truth comes out, we can use our imagination freely and provide more directions and ideas for the investigation. This is not a bad thing."
Yu Yili looked at him very seriously, and then—
She quickly reached out and parted his bangs in the middle.
After a beating, Pei Xiangjin turned around and looked at the screen: "Mr. Yi is really a workaholic. He started working early in the morning. We can't slack off either."
On the screen, Yi Heye's personal ID was already logged in. Because of Siwei's manipulation, his previous instance had been completely cleared, and this was a brand new start.
As Pei Xiangjin put on his helmet, he reached out and also put one on Yu Yili's head.
To prevent this person from going on strike maliciously, he specially chose an extremely symmetrical design, and it seems that forensic doctor Yu himself was very satisfied.
Once everything was ready, Pei Xiangjin logged into the NPC account that Siwei had specially customized for them:
"Let's go and talk to him."
On the other side, as soon as Yi Heye logged into the game lobby, the chibi version of Jian Yunxian hopped over.
This time, Yi Heye took the initiative and rushed up from behind Jian Yunxian. At the moment of takeoff, his two bouncy little legs and tail rose up together, and with a whoosh, he flew over Jian Yunxian's head!
Leapfrog!
The chibi version of Jian Yunxian rolled a few times on the ground due to inertia, and finally, with a "plop," its horn stuck into the tree trunk.
Seeing that he had been struggling to get out for a long time, Yi Heye hugged the bouncy little man from behind and, with a "pop," finally pulled the man's horns out of the tree trunk.
Yi Heye also took the opportunity to stroke his pink sheep ears, finally venting his anger.
“You’ve gone bad, Mr. 404.” Jian Yunxian covered his ram’s horn. “Sooner or later, you’ll become just like SHEEP, nobody likes you.”
Hearing him make fun of himself like that, Yi Heye sneered and didn't say anything. With a wave of his hand, he selected his class, and the game entrance door was opened.
As Yi Heye stepped inside, his vision hadn't fully adjusted before he was assaulted by a deafening roar of music. Then, he saw the dimly lit dance hall filled with colorful laser lights flashing everywhere, and crowds of dancers cheering and jostling each other – this time, it was a chaotic disco.
Yi Heye first frowned and retreated to a corner of the room, then opened his mission panel—this mission was to find and kill the artificial intelligence hidden in the crowd. This was a perfect match for his expertise, which made Yi Heye feel at ease.
He then glanced at his physical attributes—he was wearing a hoodie with a gray jacket, paired with loose cargo pants, and the silver necklace around his neck and the earrings on his ears complemented each other, making him look like a well-dressed and pretty high school student.
Meanwhile, Jian Yunxian was wearing a clean short-sleeved shirt, looking unusually fresh and clean.
This was the first time Yi Heye had seen him dressed so casually. It has to be said that this face can pull off any outfit effortlessly. This refreshing style of dressing brought Yi Heye a pleasant surprise.
Amidst the powerful drumbeats, Jian Yunxian looked up and met his gaze.
"Mr. Yi—" Jian Yunxian called out, "You're so handsome—"
Because of the loud noise around them, Jian Yunxian naturally shouted loudly to Yi Heye. This call quickly reached the ears of the people around them, and some people stared at Yi Heye to see just how good-looking he was.
Yi Heye blushed instantly upon being suddenly surrounded by onlookers. Soon after, a flamboyantly dressed pink-haired man climbed over.
"Little kid~" The pink-haired girl flapped her exaggeratedly pink eyelashes and sent a whistle at Yi Heye, "This isn't a place for you~"
Yi Heye was so frightened that he took three steps back. Only then did he realize that the entire dance hall was filled with men dancing wildly. They were dressed in bright and eye-catching clothes, intertwining and dancing to the music. Many of them were touching and kissing each other passionately. This was not an ordinary disco. This was a gay bar with a bad atmosphere.
Men are often bolder and more passionate when it comes to showing affection. Before long, about seven or eight men, each with their own unique charm, came up to Yi Heye to fawn over him. Some took out roses, while others pulled Yi Heye to go dancing.
Normally, Yi Heye would have taken them down with a few punches and kicks, but this was in a game, and he didn't want to cause any trouble, so he could only give way as much as possible, quietly exerting his strength to push them out of his sight.
But those who dared to do so were always the ones who would rather drink the punishment than listen to reason. Some people saw that Yi Heye was good-looking and immediately tried to use violence against him.
"You fucking little bitch!!" A man who was clearly drunk leaned over and pressed down on her. This man was nearly two meters tall. The moment he covered her, Yi Heye felt like the sky had darkened. "So tender and juicy, why won't you let me have my way with you?!"
Seeing that this guy was about to force a kiss, Yi Heye immediately raised his knee, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
However, just a second before he was about to strike the burly man, the man with ill intentions suddenly fell backward to the ground with a thud.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Yi Heye looked up and saw Jian Yunxian standing expressionlessly behind him.
Judging from his movements and position, he must have used only his fingers to pull the 200-pound strong man down from behind.
This was the first time Yi Heye had seen Jian Yunxian with such an expression. It wasn't the kind of danger that was unintentionally revealed, but rather a straightforward and terrifying aura that made him feel cold all over.
It's like they're about to fucking kill someone.
Yi Heye stared blankly at the unfamiliar Jian Yunxian in front of him, watching as he turned around and his emerald green eyes swept across the entire room.
The next second, all the NPCs in the room fell silent as if they had been collectively controlled. After a brief pause, the women who had been crowding around Yi Heye suddenly dispersed, each doing their own thing, and no one was eagerly crowding around him anymore.
As if in a dream, Yi Heye looked at the crowd in shock, then turned to look at Jian Yunxian.
At this moment, the man had resumed his usual smile, and with his eyes crinkled, he leaned close to his ear and said, "How annoying, these pieces of trash."
Author's Note:
Vinegar, old man, you're so boring.
Chapter 21, number 021
Yi Heye looked at the NPCs around him who had suddenly changed their expressions, and then at Jian Yunxian in front of him with a smile on his face. After a long while, he asked with some shock, "You can control them?"
The unanimous change in these people's attitudes towards him was clearly not a coincidence, nor was it simply because they were intimidated by Jian Yunxian's aura. Their behavior was as if they were collectively controlled by a remote, preventing them from harboring any ill intentions towards Yi Heye.
In this way, Yi Heye understood what had been puzzling him.
Jian Yunxian's looks are definitely among the most sought-after in the gay community, but since he entered the game, everyone has ignored him. There can only be one reason for this: Jian Yunxian doesn't want them to notice him.
At this moment, the noisy world behind them became nothing more than background noise, and Jian Yunxian seemed to be the only person beside Yi Heye.
He replied with a smile, "Now that things have come to this, wouldn't it be a bit unreasonable for me to deny it?"
Yi Heye stared at him, remaining silent for a long time—this guy was far more formidable than he had imagined.
The blood-stained hunting instinct is stirring again.
At this moment, his long reaction time finally allowed him to smell the sandalwood scent unique to Jian Yunxian. Normally, the scent was faint, but now it had an undeniable invasiveness.
Yi Heye didn't like others' aura overpowering him, so he could only frown and push the guy out of his vigilance zone.
"Let's get started." Yi Heye rubbed his nose somewhat awkwardly. "I hate this place. Let's get this over with quickly."
So Jian Yunxian immediately withdrew his unsettling aura and became Yi Heye's little follower again with an innocent expression.
Upon examining the map again, Yi Heye discovered that it was much more difficult than he had imagined.
This is a fairly large nightclub. In addition to the main hall where they were, there are countless small private rooms on two floors, with at least a thousand people present.
Moreover, a closer look at the mission reveals that the conditions for passing this mission are very vague: it does not specify how many AIs are present, how many need to be killed, or whether there is a penalty for accidental killing.
Upon closer inspection, most of these NPCs have butterfly knives, daggers, and other weapons tucked into their waistbands. If they escalate the situation and become the target of public criticism, the consequences are predictable.