Everything here is in perfect order. The hot water by the bedside has just boiled automatically to make him milk, and the wallpaper in the room has been changed to his favorite color—this place has a homey atmosphere that a bare-bones apartment lacks, just like a real home.
This is the only place that can give him a sense of "home" after he left "Mom". Yi Heye thought in a daze - this place may be more important than he imagined, and this job may be more important to him than he imagined.
After he was settled, Director Li knocked on the door again. Yi Heye subconsciously looked at his missing left arm, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Standing outside the door, Director Li carried two large bags of high-end milk powder for him. Although it wasn't as exquisite as the special milk powder for Zone A that Jian Yunxian had given him, it was still a brand that Yi Heye liked very much.
Yi Heye respectfully welcomed the bureau chief and the baby into the room. The bureau chief looked around the room and asked, "How is it? Is there anything you need? Is it alright for us to stay?"
“Yes,” Yi Heye said. “There’s nothing we’re lacking.”
He's lived alone in a bare-bones apartment for so many years, so why would he be so picky about his living conditions?
The director was relieved and pulled up a chair to sit down in front of him: "Our task now is to get back to health and quickly get your prosthetic leg installed so that we can smoothly carry out the subsequent tasks."
Director Li was different from Pei Xiangjin; he was truly concerned about his own child's health. Yi Heye knew that the old director was using the mission to motivate him to cooperate with the recovery, so he nodded, rarely showing such an obedient demeanor.
Director Li was also a little unaccustomed to it, and looked at Yi Heye with amazement: "You little rascal, you've learned your lesson after being taken advantage of."
Yi Heye laughed, pointed to his empty left arm and said, "Once this is done, I'll cause you more trouble."
Director Li also laughed and said, "Then you'd better hurry up, the way you are is making me uneasy."
The old man and the young man exchanged a few jokes, then huddled together in a united front to fiercely criticize Pei Xiangjin, and the atmosphere quickly lightened.
Seeing that Yi Heye's mood had improved, the old director was finally relieved. He gave him a few words of advice and then told him to rest.
After Director Li left, Yi Heye looked at the clean and bright room and couldn't help but take a few deep breaths. He quickly packed his luggage and then took a hot shower.
Just as Director Li said, his only task now is to take good care of his health. Once all his indicators return to normal, he can get a matching transplant and a prosthetic limb installed.
At this moment, Little Cloud was throwing a tantrum at its little nest. The person who prepared the nest had obviously underestimated its size. As long as it curled up and shrank into it, there would always be some part of its flesh that spilled out without any warning.
Yi Heye glanced at the small bed; it was indeed too small and uncomfortable to sleep in. So he looked at the large bed in the room and sat down to try it out—
Ultimately, it's a high-quality product, much sturdier than my own creaky wooden bed, and it's quite spacious with a very comfortable Simmons mattress.
Yi Heye simply patted the bed and said to Xiaoyunduo, "Wash yourself clean and sleep on the bed."
Overjoyed at being granted a bed pardon, Little Cloud dashed into the bathroom, humming the theme song from "Happy Sheep and Grey" as she turned on the shower and began to take a long, enthusiastic bath.
It even meticulously applied shower gel, then wiggled itself in front of the hairdryer for a long time before finally landing on the bed smelling wonderful.
At this moment, the exhausted Yi Heye had already fallen asleep on the bed. Seeing that he was asleep, Xiao Yunduo reached out her hoof to turn off the light and carefully stuffed her big body into Yi Heye's arms.
Yi Heye wasn't sound asleep. Sensing Xiaoyunduo's movement, he reached out and hugged the child with one arm.
The little lamb touched Yi Heye's nose with its black nose, and the two of them slept soundly and sweetly.
The next morning, Yi Heye got up in high spirits. He first had his blood drawn for a routine blood test, and then followed the doctor's advice to adjust his diet and resume exercise in moderation.
Intuition and intelligence told him that Jian Yunxian was not seriously injured, which was enough to dispel all negative emotions in his heart and allow him to focus on his recovery.
Soon, all his indicators improved at an astonishing rate, and he was about to meet the criteria for surgery.
Seeing his child full of energy and spirits once again, Director Li couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, if it weren't for that son of a bitch surnamed Pei, you would have been better long ago, instead of suffering so much!"
Yi Heye echoed, "It would have been fine at least a month ago."
While cursing, Director Li also helped Yi Heye contact a doctor.
During his recovery, Yi Heye had already coordinated with the designer to finalize the structural design of the new prosthesis. The prosthesis was already completed, and now all that was needed was to contact the doctor to perform the surgery.
“I know you don’t trust other doctors, so I went back to your old doctor.” Before the surgery, Director Li said, “Tell her directly if you need anything. You can’t be careless when it comes to your health.”
Yi Heye held his breath and cautiously glanced at the doctor's office—few people knew about his obsession with pain, but Dr. Lin was one of them.
He originally planned to have the surgery done by a different doctor and not mention adjusting the pain settings again, but now that he had run into an old acquaintance again, Yi Heye's already wavering heart was completely shaken.
The moment he pushed open the door, he saw a woman in a white lab coat, with an outstanding demeanor, sitting at her desk. Her long hair was tied up high, and she looked gentle yet poised.
Upon seeing him, Dr. Lin got straight to the point: "I originally expected you to come back for a change every five years, but I didn't expect you to have persisted until now. It seems you are very careful about protecting yourself."
Yi Heye said somewhat awkwardly, "After all, the cost of surgery is quite high."
Dr. Lin smiled and pointed to the prosthetic limb soaking in the petri dish behind him: "This is your new partner."
Yi Heye glanced at the jar, then lowered his gaze again—this so-called new partner was almost identical to his recently lost prosthetic limb. He was a sentimental person, and apart from the necessary system upgrades, he hadn't changed any of the design or details.
"We'll go sign the agreement in a bit and confirm the surgical details. If there are no complications, we'll be ready to begin," Dr. Lin said as he got up. "Do we need to increase the pain level again this time? I feel like this setting isn't very convenient for you."
When asked this question, Yi Heye was so nervous that his tongue got tied.
Although reason told him he had to make changes to avoid unnecessary trouble at work, the thought of those moments that were both painful and irresistible made him say, "Yeah, I still want 2.5 times."
After he finished speaking, he fell silent—deep down, he still hadn't given up this strange habit, this shady hobby that had brought him countless hidden dangers but also a lot of pleasure.
Dr. Lin didn't seem surprised, and simply said, "It seems you still haven't resolved your inner conflict."
Yi Heye dared not speak. He did not know where his so-called problem lay. He only knew that if he were to reveal his hobby, he would be utterly ashamed.
Fortunately, Dr. Lin was well-informed and not at all surprised by this little quirk. She simply had Yi Heye sign the agreement and then told him to get ready for the surgery.
While limb transplantation surgery may appear to involve only one arm, it actually requires very delicate procedures such as vascularization and nerve connection. The surgery is highly complex, and because it involves brain connection and perception, the risks are higher than most people imagine.
Yi Heye lay on the surgical trolley, slightly nervous. As he passed through the corridor, he saw Director Li conducting a holographic projection docking operation, the atmosphere of which was very tense and serious.
Intuition told Yi Heye that something was amiss. He slightly rose, leaned closer to listen, and in the instant he brushed past Director Li, he heard the person on the other side of the projection say:
"Director Li, that guy SHEEP has shown up again!"
Author's Note:
How heartless of you! You finally know how to come back!
Chapter 123 (Number 123)
Yi Heye thought that he had calmed down and focused during this period of time, and had become able to let go of Jian Yunxian's matter.
But when he heard those words while lying on the operating trolley, he realized that he had underestimated how much he cared about him.
"Director Li?" Yi Heye hurriedly sat up from the operating table, as if he didn't even want to perform the surgery anymore. "There's news?!"
"Lie down! Perform the surgery properly!" Seeing his demeanor, Director Li immediately raised his hand, angrily pointing it at his nose. "This matter has nothing to do with you now. If you dare to act recklessly, you're not allowed to participate in any cases involving him in the future!"
Yi Heye wanted to speak again, but he was frightened by Director Li. He reluctantly lay back down, and began to feel anxious and restless.
The doctor didn't slow down the operation cart at all because of the conversation. Yi Heye watched helplessly as Director Li turned and went downstairs with the message about SHEEP, and watched helplessly as he was wheeled into the operating room. His last shred of hope was extinguished.
He stared at the bright operating light overhead, which resembled a blazing, scorching sun, burning dark holes into his retina. He closed his eyes, his mind filled with thoughts of Jian Yunxian—he felt the intense heat and was drenched in sweat.
"Don't be nervous," Dr. Lin's voice rang in his ears. "Close your eyes and then open them again, and the surgery will be done."
Now that the surgery is done, can I go find Jian Yunxian?
Yi Heye frowned as the nurse opened an intravenous line for him, administering anesthesia amidst the alluring stinging pain.
"Hurry up and finish," Yi Heye thought groggily before losing consciousness.
At this moment, Director Li rushed downstairs in a flurry of activity. Despite his limping gait, the man nearing retirement managed to run like he was sprinting a hundred meters.
Downstairs, Zhou Wenkai was already waiting in his car at the gate of the courtyard.
The elite subordinate sat nervously in the car. His usually impeccably dressed suit was now buttoned up incorrectly, and the hair gel that had been glued to his head was undone. A few strands of hair were drooping on his head, blown about by the wind. Clearly, he had been suddenly called up to work while resting.
"What's wrong, Xiao Zhou?" Director Li was extremely nervous. "Didn't the cybersecurity department say they recently added a firewall? If he dares to come out..."
Zhou Wenkai shook his head anxiously and said, "This situation is quite special. SHEEP went straight to the Security Department headquarters. There is a risk of leakage of all the classified information in the entire database. The situation is very complicated now, and the Security Department may not be able to handle it."
"What?!" Director Li exclaimed in surprise, "We've been hacked before, but the situation wasn't this serious!"
Zhou Wenkai: "Team Leader Song said that it's because the Security Department has not been using the unified security system developed by the Cyber Security Department as required by the higher authorities, so this time it's difficult to handle."
“Captain Pei is inherently suspicious and doesn’t trust things developed by outsiders. His security systems were all secretly developed by his own engineers without his knowledge.” Zhou Wenkai sighed heavily. “Logically, the quality is acceptable, but it’s definitely far from adequate for SHEEP. This wouldn’t be a big deal under normal circumstances, but it’s a problem at this critical juncture. Captain Pei is in real trouble!”
Director Li didn't care whether Pei Xiangjin was in trouble; he only knew that the matter of arresting SHEEP was inextricably linked to their AI Management Bureau.
"First, we need to assign someone to keep a close eye on our own security system. Although the things we use are secure, we can't afford to be negligent at this time," Director Li said. "As you said, SHEEP shouldn't have revealed its true form yet, so we'll mainly follow the instructions of the cyber security team and cooperate with their work."
While nodding, Zhou Wenkai frantically made phone calls to various departments. For the three departments involved, the Artificial Intelligence Administration was the least affected at the moment, but fundamentally, SHEEP was an artificial intelligence, so the ultimate jurisdiction still lay with them.
“Although Xiao Pei is not a very ethical person, we still have to help him get through this,” Director Li said. “Such a huge database could be a capital offense if it is leaked.”
At this moment, the person who was even more nervous than Director Li was Pei Xiangjin himself. He sat in front of the computer, looking at the smiling cartoon sheep on the screen, his face as pale as paper.
"Looks like Officer Pei isn't very welcoming of me," Little Sheep said, bouncing around on the screen. Then, with a sly smile, she asked, "And all that trouble I went through to find you—I'm really going to be disappointed!"
When this sheep said these words, it was clearly different from when it flirted and made suggestive remarks to Yi Heye. Besides the suffocating threat, its words contained only a cold and malicious indifference that seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.
Pei Xiangjin didn't speak, she just stared intently at him, her eyes bloodshot.
At this point, SHEEP had already infiltrated the innermost layer of the classified database, and even a small action by it could trigger a massive information disaster.
But it seemed as if the little sheep was deliberately trying to break his spirit. It kept lingering in front of the last lock. Whenever Pei Xiangjin breathed a sigh of relief, it would deliberately make a noise. When Pei Xiangjin was so nervous that he was about to despair, it would come back with a grin.
"Oh, I have a question for Officer Pei~" Little Sheep suddenly held up a photo, "Do you recognize this person?"
Pei Xiangjin recognized the person in the photo immediately as Lao Qin from ISSAC Company. He instantly realized what this guy was up to, ignoring even the little sheep on the screen, and rushed out of the office: "Quickly arrange for people to protect Lao Qin, and strengthen the security at the detention center! Report any unusual situations to me immediately!!"
Before he could finish speaking, someone rushed over: "It's terrible, Captain Pei! Old Qin just bit his tongue and attempted suicide in the detention center. He's being resuscitated right now!"
"Suicide?!" Pei Xiangjin panicked. "What was the reason?! Was it SHEEP who did it?!"
"I don't know. The prison guard said he was already mentally unstable, and he suddenly went crazy just now, muttering something about a sheep god or something about apologizing..."
Pei Xiangjin was suffocating. The security system incident had already brought him a lot of bad luck, and now that a prisoner had gotten into trouble under his command, it was like a double blessing.
His intuition told him that Lao Qin's suicide was definitely related to SHEEP, but he had no evidence. He couldn't tell his superiors that the man's delirium was evidence, nor could he say that SHEEP had hacked into the prison system to cause the trouble. For Pei Xiangjin, this was just a self-surrender to admit his poor performance.
This SHEEP is far too cunning!
In the following agonizing half-day, one "accident" after another struck—the ISSAC headquarters, which had been completely sealed off by the security department, was broken into by someone who wrote a huge and ugly curse on the pristine floor; the robots that had been detained in the slaughterhouse went berserk and began fighting each other, leaving the warehouse in a mess...
Pei Xiangjin knew that all of this was SHEEP's way of retaliating, but he had no evidence. He could only watch helplessly as his men tore open one large hole after another, holes that could never be filled.
When I got back to the office, almost a day had passed. The cybersecurity team was helpless against the intrusion, and the security department was like a fish on a chopping board, completely at their mercy.
Pei Xiangjin returned to his computer, and the little lamb even leisurely lay down on his desktop, crossed its legs, and stared at him leisurely. It even rolled over and turned itself into a small blanket before closing its eyes beautifully.
Seeing a string of "z"s flying out of his sheep nose, Pei Xiangjin's mentality completely collapsed.
"Damn it! We have to find his real body!" He paced back and forth in the office, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion and emotional agitation.
Finally, he suddenly stopped and grabbed a programmer who was coding, asking, "Is Yi Heye's surgery over? Is he awake yet?"