His inflammation kept recurring and wouldn't go away, his strength came and went, and his wounds were healing much slower than he had imagined. In this state, he simply couldn't customize a new robotic arm.
He admitted that his condition was terrible this time. He had suffered internal bleeding during his last mission, but he recovered quickly. However, this time, he seemed to be stuck in a state of stagnation.
"Do you know why you're not getting better?" the doctor asked him. "It's because your recent emotional problems are much bigger than your physical problems. If you can't manage them well, your hospital stay may be longer than you think."
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye was so angry that he wanted to smash the cup again, but he held back—there was no need; if he broke it, he would have to pay for it himself.
"I don't think you need to put so much pressure on yourself about your hand," the doctor said frankly. "The biggest advantage of a prosthesis is that it's easy to replace. If you're attached to your old one, you can have one made exactly the same as the original."
Yi Heye sighed—he knew in his heart that his current condition had little to do with his left hand anymore.
During this time, the thoughts that constantly plagued him in his spare moments were always related to Jian Yunxian. He would dream of this person returning when he closed his eyes, and watch him disappear before his eyes when he opened them. Although he was unwilling to admit it, he was really too worried.
He felt even worse thinking about Xiaoyunduo's tearful face—where on earth had she gone? What had happened to her? Why hadn't she come to see him for so many days? Was she trapped, or injured? Or perhaps, was she still alive?
Of all the times Pei Xiangjin visited him, he wanted to ask about Jian Yunxian's situation countless times, but for some reason, he didn't dare to ask—a strange intuition told him that Jian Yunxian's sudden disappearance was inextricably linked to them.
He was afraid of revealing some flaw, and he didn't even dare to ask Xiaoyunduo for details. He could only guess wildly at night, letting his bad body recover slowly under the influence of his bad emotions.
He had been going through an extremely difficult time, to the point that he could barely eat, but he had no one he could rely on to confide in. He then realized that he really didn't have any friends around him, and with Jian Yunxian gone, he was truly all alone.
Finally, after what felt like a very long time—in fact, only two weeks—Pei Xiangjin took the initiative to find Yi Heye.
This time, Yi Heye's arm had basically recovered, and they met not at the hospital, but in the department's interrogation room.
The environment made him a little nervous, but he also knew that the question he had been wanting to know should soon be answered.
"Mr. Yi, I have only one question that I want to clarify."
As expected, Pei Xiangjin got straight to the point:
Did you know that your 'ex-boyfriend', Mr. Jian Yunxian, is actually the SHEEP you've been searching for all this time?
Chapter 120, number 120
Although he had a premonition about what he was going to say, Yi Heye still shuddered when he actually heard the question.
He stared blankly at Pei Xiangjin, who had a half-smile on her face, and felt a chill run down his spine—Jian Yunxian hadn't returned for so many days, could it be because of this?
Pei Xiangjin's eyes narrowed, her gaze sweeping across his face like radar. Fortunately, his panic was genuine, which made him look innocent and pure.
"What did you say?" Yi Heye forced himself to ask.
“Don’t be nervous, Commander Yi,” Pei Xiangjin said with a smile. “The fact that we are in an interrogation room instead of an interrogation room proves that the organization has absolute trust in you.”
“Let’s have a casual chat today, starting with expressing my gratitude and condolences. Then we’ll go through the proper procedures and, incidentally, completely clear you of suspicion.” Pei Xiangjin handed him a glass of water. “I believe that with Commander Yi’s personal integrity, it’s impossible for him to have known about the situation but failed to report it or to have protected a fugitive, right?”
Yi Heye lowered his eyes, picked up the water glass with trembling hands, and drank it silently.
Pei Xiangjin was too cunning. His words left Yi Heye breathless. He didn't know how to answer or what this guy was up to.
He lowered his head, took a deep breath, and managed to get his sluggish brain working again—although he couldn't guarantee that Pei Xiangjin was completely unaware of his relationship with Jian Yunxian, he didn't seem to have any conclusive evidence.
Yi Heye put down the paper cup in his hand, still keeping his head down in silence, his mind a complete mess, unable to think of any other better solution.
So all he could do was ask in a hoarse voice, "...What do you mean?"
Pei Xiangjin said, "It means exactly what it says, Mr. Yi."
“While we were following up on the ISSAC case, we didn’t give up on investigating SHEEP. Based on the existing evidence, it can be basically proven that Jian Yunxian is SHEEP,” Pei Xiangjin said. “I was also worried that you were being kept in the dark, so I thought it would be better to confirm with you sooner rather than later to avoid causing you greater emotional harm.”
Yi Heye couldn't hear a word of this hypocritical rhetoric. He only felt a terrible headache and his throat felt blocked.
Pei Xiangjin maintained his enigmatic smile: "So, were you aware of Jian Yunxian's true identity beforehand?"
Yi Heye held his breath—did he even know? He had only guessed, and now he was right, but if he admitted it, this guy would definitely find all sorts of charges against him, making him completely finished.
Jian Yunxian has already been exposed; at the very least, he must protect himself.
"I had absolutely no idea." Yi Heye lowered his eyes, shook his head, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, I might need some time to process this..."
Pretending to be stupid was the best solution he could think of at that moment, but telling this lie also meant that from now on he would slowly stand on the opposite side of the organization, and he would have to distance himself from Jian Yunxian on the surface.
Similarly, he felt that Pei Xiangjin would not easily believe his one-sided statement. This guy, like himself, was someone whose actions were driven by intuition. The fact that he chose to "chat" with him when he was at his weakest must mean that he wanted to dig out some information.
“I understand,” Pei Xiangjin said with a smile. “I would like to ask, when and why did you and Jian Yunxian get together?”
Yi Heye clenched his right fist nervously under the table. He knew that the more lies he told, the greater the risk of being exposed, but he couldn't avoid Pei Xiangjin's question.
“When I was investigating Lost Lamb, I became his partner and played the role of a couple in order to complete the mission. Later…” Yi Heye couldn’t bring himself to say the words “fake relationship turned real”, and stopped halfway through his sentence.
Pei Xiangjin: "During your relationship with him, did you sense anything unusual?"
Yi Heye held his breath—it had come after all.
Given his personal abilities and his close daily interactions with an artificial intelligence, it would be hard to believe that he was completely unaware of it. But if he was aware of it, why didn't he report it to the organization? That's also difficult to explain.
Yi Heye pondered for a moment before finally figuring out his response: "I had a vague feeling at first, but I didn't have any concrete evidence."
"Could you give some specific examples?" Pei Xiangjin asked.
Yi Heye said, "I judge AI based on intuition. I don't deliberately memorize these details. Officer Pei should know this better than others."
Pei Xiangjin frowned: "You have suspicions about him, but you haven't reported it to the organization."
Yi Heye: "After all, we were just having a normal relationship, and he didn't do anything out of line, so..."
Unable to get any substantial information from him, Pei Xiangjin said, "Commander Yi is still protecting him so much. It seems there really was some affection between you two."
Yi Heye paused for a moment, but didn't panic. He just smiled bitterly and said, "I just need some time to process this. This news is too sudden. If I had known he was SHEEP, I probably would have killed him the first time I saw him."
Pei Xiangjin: "You've been dating him for so long, have you really gotten to know him? Have you ever been to his so-called home in Area A? Has he revealed everything about himself?"
Yi Heye shook his head. This time it was for real. For so long, apart from his constant suspicion that Jian Yunxian was SHEEP, he knew almost nothing else about him.
Pei Xiangjin: "It seems I really overestimated SHEEP's limits. How could artificial intelligence understand so-called emotions? He's just toying with you on purpose."
Yi Heye held his breath. He was angry at Pei Xiangjin's offense, but he was also not confident. He knew that the so-called emotions of artificial intelligence were just a bunch of cold data and algorithms. What he couldn't understand the most in the past was humans who developed feelings for AI lovers. But now, how could he be sure that Jian Yunxian was a special exception?
Looking at his expression, Pei Xiangjin carefully guided him, "Actually, if you really want to say it this way, you two were once sworn enemies."
Yi Heye said, "Not only in the past, but also now."
Finally, they got to what Pei Xiangjin wanted to hear. The guy laughed, closed the electronic notebook in front of him, and abruptly changed the subject:
"Is Commander Yi feeling any better lately?"
Yi Heye glanced at him and took a sip of hot water: "It wasn't good to begin with, and now that you know this news, it's even worse."
Pei Xiangjin smiled and said, "If there's anything we haven't done well enough, please let us know. You've helped us a lot, and we must repay you properly."
Yi Heye waved his hand wearily: "Just stop bothering me."
Pei Xiangjin: "Mr. Yi's inflammation has basically subsided. If the situation is suitable after a few more days of observation, we can consider installing a new prosthesis."
Yi Heye glanced at his left arm, and the pain seemed to return to its non-existent state. His face paled slightly, and he couldn't help but wonder if he should increase the pain level to 2.5 times this time.
While asking him about his requirements for the prosthetic limb, Pei Xiangjin tidied up the table and went out with him. Her behavior was relaxed and natural, as if, as he said, they were just "chatting".
But even after they left the interrogation room, Yi Heye was still in a very dazed state. His reaction time was already very slow, and coupled with his poor physical condition, he couldn't keep up with the pace.
Just as the conversation was about to end and the two were about to part ways in the corridor, Yi Heye asked, "Why did you suspect that he was SHEEP?"
When asked if he had remembered he should act again, he added, "...I still find it hard to believe."
“It’s understandable. After all, his appearance and behavior are almost flawless, and you two used to date, so it’s normal to have trouble accepting it emotionally right away,” Pei Xiangjin said with a smile. “But don’t worry, this is a very serious matter. We definitely have sufficient evidence, otherwise we would never draw conclusions or joke about it.”
Yi Heye knew he wouldn't give him a clear answer—they were clearly still wary of him, so he didn't bother asking questions he couldn't get an answer for.
"So what do you plan to do?" Yi Heye said. "The arrest of SHEEP has always been under the jurisdiction of our bureau."
“Strictly speaking, according to the division of responsibilities, the task of arresting SHEEP should indeed be entirely handled by your Artificial Intelligence Administration. However, after all, Commander Yi has just cracked a major case for our Security Section, and to express our gratitude, we will also do our best to assist in the SHEEP case,” Pei Xiangjin said. “We just discussed this with Director Li, and Director Li expressed his hope that we can cooperate.”
This person truly understands the art of speaking, turning surveillance into legitimate assistance. Yi Heye certainly didn't want such assistance, but he also knew that the SHEEP matter was no longer what it used to be, where he could still act as he pleased and hold it in his own hands. Now, this was the most important matter for the entire organization.
In fact, Yi Heye didn't know what he was upset about. Objectively speaking, even he himself didn't know whether Jian Yunxian had done anything wrong. Moreover, according to strict standards, from the moment he pretended to be a human and didn't wear any distinguishing markings, he should have been arrested and put to death.
But at this moment, he was still worried about this guy and trying to help him out of the predicament. Yi Heye thought to himself, if there really was some past relationship between them, that would be fine, but they had never even been together. What was he trying to gain...?
Back in the ward, Yi Heye saw Xiaoyunduo waiting for him with a worried expression, and suddenly felt relieved.
His son is still in his own hands. He can ignore him, but he can't abandon his son too, can he?
Thinking of this, Yi Heye squatted down and stroked Little Cloud with one hand, instantly feeling much less pressure.
After thinking about it, he decided to make a call to Director Li.
"Hello? Xiao Yi?" Director Li asked kindly, "Are you feeling any better lately?"
Upon hearing Director Li's voice, Yi Heye felt a surge of grievances. This old director, who was nearing retirement, had watched him grow from his first job to taking on important responsibilities. He had always taken great care of and valued him, like a father figure.
Yi Heye's nose suddenly stung with tears, and he made no attempt to hide his sadness: "It's not good at all..."
Director Li usually scolds and beats him as he pleases, but when the child is wronged, he immediately protects him: "What's wrong? I heard you're recovering quite well. Did that bastard Pei make things difficult for you again?"
Yi Heye thought about it and realized he wasn't wrong, so he began to complain: "Yes, he just gave me a lecture..."
"You damn little bastard!" The usually refined Director Li couldn't help but curse. "You've worked so hard for them, suffered so much, and in the end you didn't get anything in return, and now you're being questioned like a suspect! That's not what he promised me in the first place!!"
Yi Heye: "I can understand... after all, Jian Yunxian and I did have a relationship... but I really didn't know anything about it. I'm really upset that they suspect me like this..."
Director Li launched into another long, scathing rant into the microphone, promising to teach that bastard a lesson, which finally eased Yi Heye's anxiety.
After listening to his rant, Yi Heye finally found an opportunity to ask, "Director Li, will the organization still involve me in the arrest of SHEEP?"
“Xiao Yi, after all, you had a relationship with Jian Yunxian, so if you want to avoid being arrested, we can understand,” Director Li said. “But you also know that you are the most capable person in the bureau. If you are still willing to participate, of course, it would be a win-win situation.”
Hearing this, Yi Heye finally smiled: "I'm willing, Director Li."
"Please make sure I can participate."
Author's Note:
Pei Xiangjin: I'm reporting player Yi Heye for using his "tea art" to attract foreign players, which is a serious foul!!
Chapter 121, number 121
Director Li warmly welcomed Yi Heye's active participation. This welcome put some pressure on Yi Heye—after all, he had his own ulterior motives and felt somewhat guilty.
Fortunately, Yi Heye wasn't exactly known for his high moral standards, and after a brief moment of shame, he quickly resumed his efforts to extract information: "Director Li, what's the current situation with that guy? Can you find out where he is?"