While pondering, Yi Heye's fingers were also busy. He casually clicked on another post that had gone viral at the time, which was about Pei Xiangjin holding a press conference to reveal the true situation on the other side of the wall.
Yi Heye then remembered their original intention. So much time had passed since they successfully scaled the wall, and he hadn't even thought to ask about it.
What's on the other side of the wall? What kind of outcome could be so convincing and completely quell public opinion in such a short time?
Yi Heye quickly glanced at the text, his brows gradually furrowing.
“Pei Xiangjin,” Yi Heye asked seriously, “what exactly is on the other side of the wall?”
After a long silence, Pei Xiangjin finally spoke: "It's just as I said at the press conference."
Yi Heye looked at the line of text, which was exactly the same as what Pei Xiangjin had repeated—
"It has been confirmed that the content shown in the SHEEP live stream is all real footage, which is what Area A really looks like."
Seemingly sensing Yi Heye's doubt, or perhaps even as he himself began to waver, Pei Xiangjin repeated it softly and somewhat hesitantly:
"Yes, that's it."
Author's Note:
Happy Qixi Festival! Don't be sad, all you single friends. I'm also single, just like you (x)
Chapter 162 (Number 162)
Yi Heye's intuition told him that even Pei Xiangjin was afraid of him, but just hearing him remain silent made the other side start to get nervous.
After a long silence, Yi Heye coldly uttered only three words: "You're lying."
"I didn't." Pei Xiangjin gasped awkwardly, but finally stubbornly insisted, "I didn't."
Yi Heye didn't want to talk to him anymore, so he hung up the phone directly, his mind a complete mess.
He took a shower and lay down on the bed to try to sleep, but as soon as he closed his eyes, the suffocating feeling that made him feel like he couldn't breathe surged up.
After tossing and turning for a long time, Yi Heye finally sighed and sat up in bed. The doctor had approved his use of sleeping pills, but he couldn't accept it. Just like he didn't like smoking, drinking, or taking drugs, he disliked anything that made him unclear-headed.
The feeling of not being able to sleep and having to sit on the bed to pass the time was extremely difficult. After thinking it over, Yi Heye simply put on his coat and went out.
When Xiaoming woke up, the little motorcycle was still half asleep, thinking it was already daylight: "Wild treasure... so early...?"
"I'm not asleep." Yi Heye uttered two dry words before climbing back onto the back of the bicycle.
In the dead of night, besides the dirty lights, the D district was filled with a bunch of drunken vagrants who were completely out of it. The low growl of motors weaved through them, splashing mud on the ground and eliciting a string of foul curses.
Out causing a ruckus in the middle of the night, Yi Heye felt his brain was already nearly foggy without needing any drugs. To make matters worse, a light rain started to fall, and the damp touch dripped onto his sensitive mechanical arm, causing a series of unbearable aches and pains.
He tried to grip the handlebars tightly, but found that he couldn't exert any force with his left hand, which was probably related to the damage to his brain-computer interface chip.
The car drove through the dimly lit neon streets and through the alleyway where he had twice encountered Jian Yunxian. Xiaoming still skillfully took shortcuts to flank and leap over, but the violent jolts and the soreness in his shoulders still made Yi Heye unable to stop the tears from welling up.
"...Wild Treasure?" Sensing that Yi Heye's mood was off, Xiao Ming whispered, "Want me to tell you a joke?"
Yi Heye held back, suppressing the surging bitterness in his chest. Only after the small tear dried in the wind did he say, "I'm fine."
Xiao Ming immediately replied, "Okay, okay."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Heye made a turn, bypassing the section of road where the traffic police were on duty. The moment he left the monitored area, Yi Heye twisted the accelerator and increased the horsepower to the maximum.
The dim night air rushed past his ears, the wind howled, and the darkness howled too. Xiao Ming had never driven such a powerful engine before; after five seconds of speeding forward, he started to panic: "Wild Treasure... slow down, something bad could happen..."
Yi Heye only let out a muffled "hmm" with a nasal tone, but his hand speed showed no sign of slowing down.
The excessive speed triggered Xiaoming's safety system, and he forcibly reduced his speed to a safe level. Seeing that Yi Heye did not react, he dared not speak to him anymore.
Fortunately, they arrived at their destination safely. Yi Heye got out of the car in silence and looked at the towering wall in the dark night—he had returned to the city gate of Area A.
There were no human guards outside the city gate of Area A. The security was handled by layers of robotic patrol officers stationed inside Area A, as well as layers of electronic checkpoints. Over time, those machines that patrolled regularly have become a sight to behold on the border.
But this time, the situation is clearly different—
Those border checkpoints had been replaced by soldiers' posts at some point, and guarding the gates were not only robotic patrol officers marked "Area A," but also squads of security guards in uniform.
Upon closer inspection, a row of tanks and armored vehicles was lined up near the border—a sight never seen anywhere else before.
Looking at the row of shadows, Yi Heye belatedly realized that this wall was no longer being guarded by Area A on its own initiative.
All government agencies outside the wall got involved.
Not long after they stood in front of the wall, Yi Heye and Xiaoming's appearance attracted the attention of the stationed soldiers.
The soldier at the front gripped his gun tightly and walked toward Yi Heye with great vigilance.
"What is it?" he asked very seriously, then, by the light of the lamp, he could see Yi Heye's face clearly. He quickly said, "Mr. Cheetah? I'm sorry for the intrusion! What brings you here so late?"
Yi Heye was used to working behind the scenes and had not yet adapted to the fact that he had entered the public eye, especially the respectful attitude of others made him feel somewhat apprehensive.
He choked for a moment, and after a long while, he said, "It's nothing. I was just discharged from the hospital, so I... came to visit."
The soldier said, "You've worked hard. Leave things here to us. Please focus on recovering."
Yi Heye touched the back of his neck, finally managing to accept the polite language being used by others, before saying, "I don't quite understand, why now...?"
The soldier knew what he meant and explained, "Because Captain Pei Xiangjin went in and confirmed that Area A does indeed have strong military and technological value. The existence of this wall is beneficial to the common development of our five areas, so we chose to take the initiative to come and assist in protecting the region's security together."
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye looked up at the wall.
In the orange glow of the guard post, that patch of darkness stood tall between heaven and earth, as if a giant black hole had been carved out of the orange-red night, threatening to crush the world and swallow it all.
Protect. Yi Heye looked at the layers upon layers of security, and only these two words swirled in his mind.
The guards' words, the press release, and Pei Xiangjin's oral account all corroborated each other, but Yi Heye knew in his heart that these were all their own opinions. After all, only Pei Xiangjin had seen the truth, and he could only let everyone see what he wanted them to see.
Perhaps it was from overthinking, or perhaps it was from being out in the night wind for too long, but Yi Heye felt a throbbing pain in his head.
He greeted the soldier politely, then rode Xiaoming away from the gaze of the black wall.
At that moment, his throbbing head was not suited for thinking about anything, so he magnanimously forgave Pei Xiangjin for concealing the truth.
Now, what does the truth about Area A have to do with him? His original intention was simply to prove Jian Yunxian's innocence, but now that there's nowhere to prove it, the so-called truth has no meaning for him anymore.
He didn't want to dwell on anything that bothered him anymore.
"Go back, and never come back again," Yi Heye murmured.
When Yi Heye returned to District D, he found himself inexplicably drawn to Phoenix Alley. At three in the morning, the glamorous ladies and gigolos were still diligently standing on the street in the dimly lit alley, heavily made up.
Pink Love Trend was shut down after the LostLamb incident, but that well-hidden erotic milk tea shop is still thriving.
As soon as Yi Heye entered, he almost tripped over two people who were having sex on the floor. Yi Heye stepped over them expressionlessly and walked straight to the counter.
"Hello, what would you like to order?" The brightly dressed waitress propped her chin on her hand and looked at him, but Yi Heye's gaze did not linger on her for even a moment.
He glanced at the string of vulgar words, then hurriedly skipped over the "First Kiss" drink that Jian Yunxian had ordered, finally pausing on a name: "Twin Flowers".
Only after he finished reciting the name did he belatedly notice the following line of small print: Twin flowers, which bloom two flowers on a main branch. The two flowers compete for nutrients until they wither and die together, living and dying together, loving and killing each other. The phrase is "missed love".
He suddenly felt a soreness in his throat and wanted to ask for another drink, but found that the clerk had already turned around and gone into the store.
...Never mind. Yi Heye sighed and sat back down in his seat dejectedly.
"Withering and decaying together" is not an exaggeration. During this period, Yi Heye often felt that he was already dead—the person receiving treatment in the hospital was just an empty shell, while all his hope and vitality were on the other side of the wall, vanished into thin air with a gunshot along with Jian Yunxian.
The doctor prescribed him antidepressants, but they didn't seem to have any effect. Yi Heye felt the reason was simple: medicine can cure patients, but it can't bring the dead back to life.
When Yi Heye took a sip of the "Twin Flowers" drink, he frowned. He looked up at the menu again and noticed a small line of text after the name of the drink: "Alcoholic Beverage".
He paused, glancing hesitantly at the drink—his tongue, spoiled by milk, couldn't get used to the fiery taste, and besides, he'd never drunk alcohol before; it was a matter of personal habit.
As I put down the cup, the burning sensation subsided, and a lingering sweetness began to spread across my tongue, accompanied by a hint of fruitiness.
Yi Heye smacked his lips again, neither liking nor disliking it.
He stared at the drink in his glass for a long time, his eyelids drooping, before shaking his head and continuing to drink. This stuff made him feel unwell, yet it was also somewhat addictive, which was why he dared not touch it.
He is easily addicted to anything, so rather than getting trapped and unable to escape, he chooses to stay away from it from the beginning.
Yi Heye didn't know the alcohol content of this so-called "alcoholic beverage," but as he drank, his vision became blurry. He stared intently at the spot furthest from him, where Jian Yunxian had once sat, ordered an overly sweet milk tea, and asked him if his first love was sweet.
Yi Heye is probably the first person in the entire D district to get drunk from drinking beverages at a bubble tea shop.
He felt as if his soul had floated to the heavens, and he couldn't control himself, sobbing uncontrollably as he lay on the table.
Drinking is really unpleasant. My stomach is churning and I feel like vomiting. My head is throbbing with pain. I don't know why anyone would like to drink. Yi Heye thought to himself, tears streaming down his face.
With his last shred of rationality, Yi Heye felt it was incredibly shameful to cry like this in someone else's shop. He stood up unsteadily, but his legs gave way and he stumbled again.
As he braced himself against the table, he seemed to vaguely see a white figure outside the glass window. The white figure was exactly the same as Jian Yunxian's suit. His mind didn't register it, but his body dazedly tried to walk towards the window.
But at that moment he had no sense of balance at all. As soon as he took a step, he tripped and fell forward.
The moment he fell to the ground, the wind chimes in the store jingled, a crisp breeze swept by, and the figure in white ran towards him.
Yi Heye felt his heart tighten and subconsciously reached out to hug that white figure. The next second, he fell straight into the other person's arms.
Warm, soft, with a faint sandalwood scent.
The familiar feeling startled Yi Heye, and he sobered up considerably. As if afraid that the other person would disappear again, he hurriedly pulled that scent into his arms.
It wasn't until I saw a familiar little dark face that I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head, and I started trembling and gasping for breath.
In his arms, the little cloud, covered in dirt, looked up in alarm and used the wool on its head to wipe away Yi Heye's tears, which flowed like a spring, as if trying to comfort him.
But seeing its reaction made Yi Heye feel even worse. He sobbed quietly for a long time until he couldn't hold back anymore and simply buried his face in the fluffy wool, crying in self-reproach.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Little Cloud..." Yi Heye kept apologizing, "I mistook you for him..."
Author's Note:
Little Cloud: Duck Head, it's me. Not satisfied?
Chapter 163 (Number 163)
Yi Heye didn't know how Xiaoyunduo got him home. He only remembered that in his daze, the little guy kept gently licking the tears on his face and supporting him so that he wouldn't fall.
When I woke up the next morning, I was lying on my own bed, looking disheveled. I peeked out and saw Little Cloud lying on the floor like a dirty rag, exhausted with her limbs spread out in a starfish shape, still covered in mud.
Yi Heye quickly got up, but the sudden movement caused a sharp pain in his head.
He gritted his teeth and cursed, then shook his head, rolled off the bed, and gently patted Little Cloud's bottom.