Su Jiuzhou looked thoughtfully at the display screen located on the head of the little robot, and his eyes stayed on the huge “(○｀3′○)” expression for a few seconds.
As everyone knows, Pollutant 004 has a bad personality and hates humans. At the same time, in addition to thinking and talking like the other eight major pollutants in China, it also has a special feature, that is, the LCD screen on its head can scroll text and even expressions.
Su Jiuzhou looked at it for a long time.
-Is this spitting?
Judgment Spear raised an eyebrow.
It just lacks an “o”, so “（○｀ 3′o○)” looks more like spitting.
After a few seconds, Xiao Jinyu naturally turned his head to look at 004 who suddenly “cursed” him, and at the same time glanced at the man in black out of the corner of his eye.
Su Jiuzhou didn’t respond.
One person and one machine breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
It looks like he must have been fooled.
004’s “stepping on the roots” performed on the spot is actually not nonsense. The Zhongdu Logic Research Institute guards Pollutant 002 very strictly. Every tentacle of it was cleaned by Wang Tao himself wearing five layers of protective clothing and imprisoned in long and narrow glass tubes.
But no one could have imagined that 002 could grow new roots.
Xiao Jinyu stepped on a small root as thick as a willow branch. 002 had no special reaction to this, and Xiao Jinyu moved his feet.
“Smelly humans, stinky humans, stinky humans!”
The little robot’s cursing voice kept ringing behind him, but Xiao Jinyu didn’t dare to look back. 004 took advantage of the opportunity to “insult” Xiao Jinyu and pressed his entire face against the glass wall that enclosed him. It moved naturally, as if it wanted to get a clearer look at the bastard who was helping the old pervert.
Su Jiuzhou watched quietly from the side.
Xiao Jinyu calmed down and looked up at the towering and dense ivy.
“00…Ivy, do you remember me? Last month, I went to Kangxin Middle School alone, and when we found you later, I was also there.”
There was dead silence in the soil cell.
The ivy didn’t answer.
This reaction was expected by Xiao Jinyu. The ivy didn’t like to communicate with others. It doesn’t mean to hurt anyone, but it doesn’t want to befriend humans either.
In the background of the 004’s “stinking human” sound, Xiao Jinyu continued: “I am here today because I have something to ask you. I know you may not want to pay attention to me, but if you can, I just hope you can answer me. One question. Just one.”
Surrounding the soil, the green leaves were motionless, like an ordinary plant.
Xiao Jinyu: “Kangde Orphanage, do you still remember it?”
The ivy made no movement.
Xiao Jinyu: “The school you have been staying in was an orphanage nineteen years ago. Many children were adopted there. I would like to ask you if you have any impressions of these children, and whether one of them…maybe me ?”
It was as quiet as expected.
The ivy did not answer Xiao Jinyu’s question.
Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but frown in disappointment, but he heard a high-pitched child’s voice coming from behind: “Jiejiejiejiejie, how can my good big bro answer your human questions? Big bro can only talk to me, a little robot, you stinkers Human beings, pass, pass, go, open! Right, big bro, please pay attention to me.”
Ivy: “…”
004: “Big bro, give me some face ( =·ω·= ).”
Ivy: “…”
004: “Hmph, give up. Big bro won’t tell you about orphanages and children’s homes. Big bro, tell me secretly in private. After they leave, you will tell me. Big bro, big bro, big bro, my good big bro~~~”
“Haah…”
A long sigh echoed in the dark earth cave.
Xiao Jinyu’s heart tightened, and he looked at the tall ivy.
Suddenly, a god-like gaze penetrated his whole body, as if something was locking him tightly from all directions. The dangerous aura rushed straight from the soles of his feet to his scalp, and Xiao Jinyu looked shocked. Until a slight cough, this powerful pressure dissipated instantly.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The ivy seemed to be looking at Su Jiuzhou.
Ktfc, j ufcaif jcv ribk wjif nblmf rbecvfv mjiwis: “P gfwfwyfg atja bgqtjcjuf.”
Wljb Alcse lwwfvljafis abbx bea tlr wbylif qtbcf ogbw tlr qbmxfa, bqfcfv atf qtbab jiyew, obecv j qtbab, jcv qblcafv la ja atf qbrlalbc bo atf lns. “Jjc sbe rff atf qtbab mifjgis?”
“Fw.”
“Ljnf sbe rffc atf ybs lc atf qtbab?”
Xiao Jinyu held up his mobile phone.
Suddenly, the light of the candle next to him dimmed slightly.
Su Jiuzhou didn’t change his expression and walked over as a matter of course. He stepped slightly and looked at the screen of Xiao Jinyu’s mobile phone held high.
After half a second.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him, then raised his head and looked at the photo again.
“So cute.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…Thanks.”
004’s eyes suddenly shone in the distance. He guessed what was in the photo and became anxious again.
“You stinking human being, you are watching whatever you are watching. I want to see it too. I want to see it too!”
“Big bro, you are not allowed to tell them the answer unless they let me see it too.”
The ivy did not pay any attention to it.
Who knew that 004 would not let go: “I want to see it too, I want to see it. Why are there two humans and two magical objects here, three of them have seen it, but I can’t see it! Big bro is not allowed to talk to them!”
Ivy: “This boy I…”
004: “If I couldn’t see it, I would make trouble for you, big bro, every day!”
Ivy: “…”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
I bet you also know how much that Ivy bugs you?!
The ivy didn’t say anything anymore. Xiao Jinyu frowned in embarrassment and turned the phone screen to the direction of 004 as if reluctantly.
The little robot stared at the small phone with wide eyes.
On the flickering screen, there was a little boy wearing a blue sweater and a blue bucket on his head. He seemed to have just played with sand in a blue bucket, and there were small yellow sand grains all over his clothes and cheeks. He smiled happily at the camera, his voluptuous and round face was set off by the small blue bucket upside down on his head, and his skin was even more translucent and clean. Two small hands tightly grasped the small bucket on the head, with a happy smile on his face and eyes.
004 paused for a second.
“…Stinky humans! Ugly monsters!”
Xiao Jinyu glanced at it and took back the phone.
“Have you seen the person in the photo?”
Ivy: “I’ve seen him.”
Xiao Jinyu’s lips moved.
The ivy’s voice was soft: “Since I became conscious, I have been sleeping most of the time. But when I was awake, I saw this human child several times. He was locked in a room by another human and was never allowed to go out, nor did he interact or communicate with other human children.”
Xiao Jinyu was silent, and then pulled out a photo from his phone: “Is this the human being who imprisoned him?”
The ivy glanced: “Yes.”
Xiao Jinyu looked at her mother in a white dress on the phone.
After a long time.
“Thank you.”
…
“You seem quite curious about him? You’ve been staring at him.”
A deep male voice suddenly spoke, causing Xiao Jinyu and 004 to freeze simultaneously.
Xiao Jinyu turned around to see Su Jiuzhou smiling as he observed 004. The little robot had already pressed its large head and slender limbs against the glass dome, clearly having been staring at Xiao Jinyu for quite some time.
004 chuckled sinisterly, “Old pervert, how could a Level 3 user help you solve your logic collapse problem? I don’t believe it, it’s impossible!”
Su Jiuzhou: “Is it really because of this?”
004 retorted sarcastically, “Or maybe it’s because you’re so ugly? Two ugly creatures, equally ugly and stinky! You’re a match made in stinkiness!”
Su Jiuzhou remarked casually, “You can even use idioms now?”
Xiao Jinyu intervened, “…It’s just a pollutant.” Implicitly, there’s no need to argue with an object.
Xiao Jinyu said this to defuse the situation for 004.
004’s hatred for Su Jiuzhou had been apparent long before it knew who the owner of that black spear was. Clearly unable to beat Su Jiuzhou in a fight or in insults, 004 still liked to provoke him, like a rock hitting an egg.
However.
“A conscious pollutant is still life.”
Xiao Jinyu looked up at the man who spoke.
Su Jiuzhou smiled and walked towards the glass cell. With a click, he opened the cell door. The little robot, always clamoring to escape, now cowered in the corner.
The screen on its large head was filled with garbled symbols.
“O-Old…old pervert, what are you doing? Big bro…big bro! He’s…he’s going to bully me!”
In an instant, the black spear appeared, Su Jiuzhou’s gaze turned cold, and his wrist flicked.
“Boom!”
The leaves of the climbing vine rustled loudly. The little robot stared wide-eyed “(⊙A⊙)” in shock, looking at the black spear thrust three centimeters from its face.
“Are you not comfortable here?”
Su Jiuzhou stood at the door of the glass cell, smiling gently. “If the research institute wishes, we can cut off the backdoor you left to surf the internet in secret anytime.”
004: “???”
Su Jiuzhou: “By the way, you were discovered in 2031. Based on the pollution levels around that time, conservatively estimating, you must have been contaminated and gained self-awareness by at least 2028. You’re 18 years old this year. And I’m only 7 years older than you. So…
“‘Old’ pervert?”
004：”…”
“Hmph, little pervert, are you happy now? tui!”
Su Jiuzhou: “…”
The unexpected showdown between 004 and the Spear of Judgment caught Xiao Jinyu off guard.
As the elevator ascended with a rumble, Xiao Jinyu discreetly observed the man beside him.
Su Jiuzhou smiled and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Xiao Jinyu replied calmly, “You seem quite familiar with 004.”
The way Su Jiuzhou and 004 interacted clearly indicated years of acquaintance, so mentioning it didn’t expose their history with 004.
Su Jiuzhou didn’t conceal it, saying, “It likes to attack anyone who tries to get close to it. But for research purposes, including managing the Grow Some Brains APP, researchers need to interact closely with it on the 36th floor every month.”
“And then?”
“Then it got scared of me.”
So, you’re the bully who torments my son.
The brief encounter with 004 today left a strong impression on both sides. Fiddling with the back cover of his phone in his pocket, Xiao Jinyu considered how to find an opportunity to talk privately with 004 without Su Jiuzhou around.
After a crisp ding, the elevator reached the first floor.
They entered the locker room.
Xiao Jinyu took off the heavy protective suit, pondering how to get rid of Su Jiuzhou when suddenly the locker room door was pushed open. Zhao Hen briskly entered, carrying a thick stack of documents.
Excitedly, Zhao Hen said, “We’ve almost finished investigating your mother’s matters, Xiao Jinyu, take a look!”
Xiao Jinyu immediately took the documents.
Zhao Hen continued, “It’s quite straightforward. Your mother graduated from Zhongdu Vocational School, and after graduation, from December 2021 to December 2025, she worked as a nurse in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Jiuhua Hospital. In December, she resigned. Then, from March the following year, she was hired by a pet hospital in Xiaoqiu District as a pet nurse. Here, take a look, this hospital is called Baby Pet Hospital.”
Xiao Jinyu followed Zhao Hen’s gesture.
Soon, he looked up, “Is the head of Baby Pet Hospital still alive?”
Zhao Hen nodded, “Yes, he’s still alive and sixty-four years old this year. However, his son was transferred to the capital due to work, so he moved there a few years ago too. But Minister Li helped you contact him by phone. This old director remembers your mother, but since she only worked for three months before the hospital closed due to poor management, his impression of her isn’t deep. If you want to contact him, here is his contact information and address in the capital.”
Xiao Jinyu focused and indeed found a name, along with a phone number and address.
Zhao Hen said, “There’s also the Kangde Orphanage. Your mother worked there from August 2026, and the orphanage closed the following June, and she left.”
“We didn’t find much information about Kangde Orphanage. It’s challenging to track down those orphans once they’re adopted. However, the Maintenance Department found a staff member who also worked at the orphanage. He remembers your mother, but since they worked together for only a year, and it’s been a long time, he doesn’t recall specific details. But in his memory, your mother was a normal colleague, nothing special. He also didn’t think there were hidden people in her dorm room.”
Xiao Jinyu fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
The orphanage staff member’s words were meaningless. Xiao Jinyu had just learned from the Ivy that indeed, he was the “ghost baby” his mother secretly kept locked in the room at the orphanage.
“Oh, hold on, Department Head Li called me.” Zhao Hen took out his phone from his pocket, just as he said, “Hello,” a crisp female voice came from outside the locker room.
“You’re all in the locker room?” Li Xiaoxiao stood at the door, surprised. “Is it okay for me to come in now?”
“Please come in,” Xiao Jinyu replied.
The young Maintenance Department’s Department Head pushed open the door and walked in. She also had a stack of documents and looked slightly surprised when she saw Su Jiuzhou. She nodded to him and then walked to Xiao Jinyu.
Li Xiaoxiao’s expression turned serious. “Regarding Professor Huang Jueming who died at Haidu Hospital last time, he was originally a doctor in our city. Since then, I’ve conducted a bit of investigation into him personally. However, I didn’t look into your mother in that direction. Xiao Jinyu, after overlapping the information of your mother and Professor Huang Jueming today, I found something.”
“What is it?”
“During the period of 2025, there were 44 doctors, nurses, cleaners, and aides working in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Jiuhua Hospital. Now, twenty-one years later, only 19 of them are alive.”
Xiao Jinyu: “Isn’t this data normal?”
Li Xiaoxiao nodded, “The medical staff back then weren’t too old, mostly in their twenties and thirties, except for a few senior doctors. You could say it’s normal; it’s just that their mortality rate is slightly higher than other departments in the hospital. But I’ve checked their causes of death, and they were all normal.”
“Normal causes of death…” Xiao Jinyu pursed his lips. “But?”
“Yes, but. The deceased 25 people include 6 who passed away in December 2025… along with your mother, Professor Huang, they were part of the same group.”
Zhao Hen asked in surprise, “Out of 25 people, why focus on these six?”
Xiao Jinyu’s expression darkened.
Li Xiaoxiao nodded, “Exactly, focus only on these six. Because in December 2025, according to my findings… Xiao Jinyu, Professor Huang, your mother, and these six deceased individuals, that’s a total of eight people. They were in the same group. This means they cared for the same batch of pregnant women and faced the same families.”
Pausing, she looked at Xiao Jinyu, who had a serious expression.
“Now, these eight people, all died for various reasons over the past twenty-one years.”
——————–
【On the surface】
004: Ah-tui! Ugly freaks! Keep your distance!
【Reality】
004: Hehe, hehehe… My dad, slurp, so cute…
Ninth Sister：Totally agree.
Little Goldfish：……………….. Both of you, get out!
Mm… This makes me look forward to the future, when I can take some pics of my own cutie wearing a bucket. 😍
Thank you for the update 🖤 💯