Pei Xiangjin is usually meticulous and never speaks without certainty, but this time he unusually made a judgment in advance: "It should be."
According to surveillance footage, when Chen Mu returned to the underground, he was carrying some of Chen Sang's documents and belongings. However, after the police searched the scene, they found that all of these items had already been taken away.
Clearly, they were afraid that Chen Sang's things would fall into the hands of the police, and they were equally afraid that Chen Mu, who knew Chen Sang's secret, was still alive.
Pei Xiangjin was filled with deep self-blame because of this incident. In fact, he had arranged for guards to secretly follow Chen Mu that day, but he did not expect that the girl was so quick-witted. After she left him on the street in a few moves, she disappeared without a trace.
At this time, Chen Sang's body was still lying in the research room, disemboweled, awaiting further research, while her younger sister Chen Mu died even more tragically on the way to bury her sister.
The two sisters were all alone and destitute, and for a moment they couldn't even imagine that there was anyone in the world who could take their bodies.
Looking at the bag of bodies being loaded into the police car, Yi Heye thought of Chen Sang singing on this street, and then of Chen Mu wailing over the corpse at the research institute not long ago.
He suddenly felt incredibly sad again.
Yi Heye thought for a moment and said, "If no one claims their bodies after the announcement period, then give them to me."
He didn't know what he was trying to achieve by doing this. In the past, he would never have bothered with any human affairs, but at some point, he felt that he had become more lenient.
Unable to obtain any further information, Yi Heye returned home dejectedly with Xiao Yunduo.
It was already dark by then, and he habitually made himself a cup of milk, only to find that he had no appetite for milk at all today.
Looking at the empty house, Yi Heye sighed and once again hugged his knees and shut himself in.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Little Cloud spat out the leaf from her mouth and snuggled into his arms as if to comfort him.
Yi Heye rubbed Xiaoyunduo's soft fur, pinched its bouncy belly, rested his chin on its fluffy head, and smelled the fresh scent of its bath gel.
All the work he did today was ultimately worthwhile. Yi Heye felt a little comforted by Fatty's energy, but he still couldn't be happy.
This state reminded him of the many days he had spent in a daze since returning home, and he realized that his emotions had been too easily affected lately.
He imagined the gruesome sight of Chen Mu's corpse in his mind, and his wounds, which had almost healed, began to ache again.
Yi Heye quickly took a shower, applied the medicine, and then reluctantly lay back down on the bed.
He remembered that he had to go to the scene of the case alone the next morning, and his mood became sad again.
Just then, Little Cloud had somehow crept onto his bed and shamelessly snuggled into his arms. Yi Heye was too lazy to shoo it off, so he simply stretched out his right hand and hugged it, using it as a warm, large pillow.
Little Cloud was well-behaved in his arms, nestled quietly in Yi Heye's embrace.
In the pitch-black room, Yi Heye faintly heard Xiao Yunduo sigh deeply, and his nose also felt sore.
"Little Cloud," Yi Heye called softly.
Little Cloud wearily lifted her eyelids and replied, "...Meow?"
When is your dad coming back?
I think I'm starting to miss him.
Author's Note:
Little Cloud: As long as you give me food, you're my dear mommy!
Chapter 86, number 086
Yi Heye did not sleep well that night.
It wasn't because he was preoccupied with worries that he couldn't fall asleep, but rather because the little fat pig weighing several hundred pounds lying in his arms would make the bed creak and groan whenever it turned over even slightly.
Yi Heye was filled with anxiety. Every time he closed his eyes, he worried that his bed would collapse under its weight. He wanted to do something to save the precarious bed time and time again, but looking at the little cloud sleeping so soundly in his arms, and feeling so good holding it, he hesitated several times, and finally couldn't bear to wake it up.
Thanks to Xiaoyunduo, he barely slept all night, but also thanks to her, although he didn't sleep, he really didn't have the mind to think about those things that made him feel down.
The next morning, the bed board announced that it was barely clinging to life.
Yi Heye groggily got up, looked at the misty morning light outside the window, and decided to go to the scene to finish the case first, and then buy a nest for Xiaoyunduo on the way back—the child is growing up and should learn to sleep in a separate bed from her parents.
At this moment, Little Cloud was in a great mood and had a big appetite because of her excellent sleep last night.
It very proactively and consciously prepared breakfast for itself, and was happily munching away.
Yi Heye ate some bread and milk, glanced at the time, and hurriedly got dressed to go out.
Just then, Little Cloud, who was engrossed in her work, saw Yi Heye about to leave. She immediately swallowed the grass in her mouth in a panic and sprinted to the door, blocking his way out.
"Meow!"
Yi Heye was startled and quickly lowered his head to explain, "You stay at home and be good. I have to go out to work now and will buy you a little nest when I get back."
Upon hearing that this person was indeed going to leave her at home, Little Cloud quickly stretched out her short hooves, which were submerged in her belly, and resolutely blocked the door with difficulty: "Baa!!"
Yi Heye understood: "You want to go out with me?"
Little Cloud's eyes lit up, and it immediately nodded like a puppy: "Baa!"
Yi Heye hesitated for a moment, then, considering that Jian Yunxian would indeed take it with him wherever he went, he could only reluctantly say, "Alright, then you have to be good."
Little Cloud immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Meow!"
Yi Heye could only bend down to help it tie the leash, and then reach out to smooth the wool sticking up on its head.
He felt he had changed; he had never been so patient with anyone before—he felt he was now radiating the kindness of an old father.
The kind-hearted Yi Heye helped Xiaoyunduo put on her sunglasses, led her onto her own little skateboard, and the two of them sped off towards the crime scene to the sound of Xiaoming's singing.
The person who reported the case was a woman named Gu Wenwen from District C. It is understood that her newlywed husband, Ke Yu, said two months ago that he had found a money-making opportunity and was going to go out to work, but he never came back home.
For the first two weeks, Ke Yu would make several video calls to her every day. Although he didn't talk to her about the details of making money, he confidently told her that his new business was booming and that he would soon make a fortune and come back to give her a good life.
About half a month later, Ke Yu switched from video calls to voice calls, and the frequency became less and less, and the content became less and less. Sometimes he might only contact her once a week.
Gu Wenwen's intuition told her that her husband must have encountered trouble outside, but no matter how she asked him on the phone, he would tell her that everything was fine and that she could rest assured.
Then, about two weeks ago, Gu Wenwen received her husband's last message. After that, he suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.
After failing to reach her repeatedly, she became extremely worried and finally decided to report the case to the police.
Yi Heye, lacking emotional intelligence, seemed oblivious to Gu Wenwen's sorrowful face and the tears welling up in her eyes. He instinctively voiced his speculation: "Uh... could it be... that your husband is having an affair, so he simply doesn't come home..."
The surrounding police officers cleared their throats awkwardly. Yi Heye couldn't figure out what he had asked wrong, but Gu Wenwen, perhaps having heard too many similar questions lately, didn't react excessively to such an offensive question.
"No, we haven't been married long." Gu Wenwen wiped away her tears. "My husband and I have a really good relationship."
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye took another look at the couple.
Like most residents of Zone C, this newlywed couple's financial situation was quite ordinary.
The two of them squeezed into a small apartment of just over 20 square meters. The living space was very cramped and the lighting was very poor. However, whether it was the brand-new furniture, the clean and tidy interior layout, or the cute and interesting little designs that could be seen everywhere, every inch of the air in this home seemed to be filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere.
This is a small family that is not well-off, but very happy.
Yi Heye stared at the sweet wedding photos on the wall for a long time before turning back to the young police officers who had led the way, his expression blank: "So, where exactly does this matter fall under the jurisdiction of our Artificial Intelligence Administration?"
The young police officers thought that since he had been staring at the wedding photo for so long, he might have some empathy, but they didn't expect that his first words would still freeze them in place.
The leader cleared his throat and said, "We retrieved her chat history with her husband during this period and found that her husband repeatedly mentioned a friend named Awei. According to our understanding, this Awei is the one who took her husband to 'get rich'..."
Yi Heye raised an eyebrow and said, "So? You discovered that this Awei is an AI?"
“Yes, that’s right.” The young policeman nodded and said, “Ke Yu was chatting with his wife once and said that Awei had a problem and needed to be repaired. Only then did Gu Wenwen realize that her husband’s friend was actually an AI.”
Yi Heye frowned and asked Gu Wenwen, "Has he never mentioned this to you before?"
Gu Wenwen shook her head: "He probably didn't know at first, and I don't really care about him as a friend, so I didn't ask any more questions when he said that. I just hoped he would be safe..."
Yi Heye pondered for a moment, put his left hand into his pocket, and turned to ask the young policeman, "Have you looked for this Awei?"
Young policeman: "Awei? Awei is dead!"
Yi Heye blinked, not even realizing whether he was joking or serious. After all, few people would use the word "dead" to describe AI; "scrapped" is a more accurate description of the end of an AI's lifespan.
The young policeman replied earnestly, "Really, those are his exact words."
The young policeman quickly brought up a floating screen, which displayed Ke Yu's last text message to Gu Wenwen: "Wenwen, Awei is dead."
After seeing this, it's clear why Gu Wenwen was in such a hurry to call the police—this seemingly random statement would frighten anyone who heard it.
This time, he finally considered Gu Wenwen's feelings to some extent and avoided asking the young policeman, "But Awei is dead, so who do you want me to arrest?"
The young policeman looked up, bewildered: "Ah... but..."
Yi Heye's face turned cold, and he cursed in a low voice, "I'm here to arrest people, not to help you find them."
Are these people out of their minds? He's clearly good at playing cat and mouse, but they always want him to do some kind of spy game.
Seeing him turn to leave, the junior policeman had no choice but to reach out and stop him from leaving, and then urgently made a phone call to his boss.
Yi Heye listened speechlessly as Pei Xiangjin cursed on the other end of the phone. Just as he was about to snatch the phone from the young policeman and start cursing back, the call ended with a "bang."
As expected, he received a call from Zhou Wenkai about thirty seconds later.
He didn't want to answer at all, staring coldly at his constantly ringing call screen for a long time without making a move.
The little cloud that had been quietly lying at his feet looked up at the call screen, then at Yi Heye, its black bean eyes darting around.
Then it slowly straightened up, struggling to maintain its balance with its two hind hooves, and painstakingly pressed the button with the tip of its nose.
With a "beep," the call connected. Yi Heye was about to scold Xiaoyunduo, but seeing its pitiful state of shrinking into a ball in fear, he could only swallow his anger and irritably answered the phone: "Hello?"
"Hello? Xiao Yi?"
Yi Heye was prepared for him to criticize himself, but to his surprise, this man asked very seriously:
"What's wrong with you lately? Is something on your mind? You seem less enthusiastic about work."
Yi Heye was stunned for a moment, and suddenly couldn't say anything.
Indeed, in the past, he would have been willing to do any job that was even remotely related to AI. He used to be a workaholic with no life, and his greatest pleasure every day was chasing after AI all over the world.
But now, when he faces such a case alone, his first reaction is, can he really handle it by himself?
He knew he had become somewhat reliant on Jian Yunxian—the strongest gold medal hunter shouldn't be like this.
He took a deep breath and said, "No."
“That’s good.” Zhou Wenkai’s voice relaxed. “You know, everyone in the company has been on edge lately because of SHEEP. We’re worried he might cause even bigger trouble, so we have to be careful in these kinds of situations.”
Upon hearing this name, Yi Heye fell silent once again.
It seems that whenever AI-related crimes are involved, the first reaction is to suspect SHEEP, and this time is no exception.