Chapter 109
Si Chen still remembered what he’d heard in that car a long time ago.
Shen Yanxing had said that he was his favorite junior.
However, for some reason, upon hearing this, Shen Yanxing’s took on a strange expression.
Although his ‘good junior’ acting skills were a bit rusty, having not used them for so long due to lack of strategic Gege candidates, there should be nothing wrong with his face.
Si Chen wasn’t expecting for Shen Yanxing to rebel from just being called ‘gege’.
He just hoped that he’d have relative freedom from Song Bai’s control.
Although Song Bai said that after his death, his inheritance will be Si Chen’s,
Si Chen felt that instead of expecting this rich old man who had lived for 191 years to die suddenly, it would be better to rely on his own abilities to reach the Eighth or Ninth Step as soon as possible. That way, there’d be no need to live in fear every day; he might wake up one day to find that a couple of bites had been taken out of him.
Si Chen didn’t even want to think about the fear he’d felt when his waist had been grabbed and his blood had been sucked.
It could be seen how much foresight Song Bai had by not letting Shen Yanxing reveal his identity.
With Si Chen’s inconsistent character, if he knew that Shen Yanxing was Si Zhou, who knows how wild Si Chen might go?
Shen Yanxing’s mood was very complicated.
One trivial incident came to mind.
In the past, at school, he’d been feeding a stray cat in the dormitory. No matter how he fed it, it was always skinny. He originally planned to take it home after graduation, when he had a steady income. But then, he found his beautiful little wild cat was being ridden by some male cat. .
In the end, of course, he had to take her home. She gave birth to a litter of six kittens. Shen Yanxing was so aggrieved that he had all the male cats in the school neutered.
Shen Yanxing took a deep breath. “I think your focus now should be on studying.”
“””Although I’ve heard that Ji Sicheng is of quite good character, so his son should be quite good as well, But Ji Chuyao may not be suitable for you. What’s more, he is taking the path of Mechanical Evolution. His future is limited. I’m afraid it will be difficult for him to surpass his father. You are sir’s student. There are absolutely better choices.”
”
“…Like?”
Shen Yanxing thought for a long time and unexpectedly, he couldn’t find anyone with better overall conditions than Ji Chuyao among his peers.
Si Chen took off his prosthetic eye, cut off the power supply and replaced it with the other prosthetic eye he carried with him. “He helped me a lot in the past.”
Shen Yanxing frowned slightly. Si Chen couldn’t tell what could be going on in Shen Yanxing’s mind. “Before, your identities were naturally unequal. What you think of as timely help is but the lifting of a finger for him. You can thank him but don’t be beholden to him. And most definitely do not agree to any sort of indentured service.”
Si Chen thought about it for a while. His previous poor and pitiful persona must have been too convincing that until now Shen Yanxing thought him a little too sweet and naive.
He whispered back, “Okay.”
Shen Yanxing thought for a moment and finally drove to the address given by Si Chen.
He looked at the time. “I’ll pick you up at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Si Chen opened the car door: “Okay.”
It was still some distance from the gate of the community to Ji Chuyao’s home. The entrance was built like a transportation station, with robots as the service staff.
For visitors other than the owners, the property arranges special self-driving cars to pick up and drop off guests.
The single-seater sports car stopped in front of Ji Chuyao’s house.
To Si Chen’s surprise, the lights were on in the house. Warm yellow light shone through the curtains. It was like someone was home.
He swiped his ID card and the door opened automatically.
Si Chen walked into the house.
The robot butlers were standing guard by the door, looking like they had been waiting for a long time.
“Guest,” Butler No. 1’s voice was crisp, “You’re here.”
Butler No. 2: “Would you like to rest? We have prepared hot water and food for you. The bed has also been made.”
The last time he came to Ji Chuyao’s house, he had seen these two cylindrical robots.
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.
Si Chen did not change out of his shoes. He stood directly at the door and asked, “Where is the key Ji Chuyao left for me?”
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Ktfgf kjr jc jvvgfrr kglaafc bc atf qjqfg, cba ojg ogbw Aljcumtejc yea ralii j atgff- bg obeg-vjs vglnf jkjs.
Si Chen searched this address on the real-time map provided on the official website.
The two hundred-mile radius of that area was covered in a Space Fold. On the map, it was marked in red.
He tapped on the screen to display the basic information about this Space Fold.
[Location: Hongyao District, coordinates (17 , 243)]
[Civilization: Unknown]
[Danger level: 4A]
The main reference for a Space Fold’s danger level is the highest energy fluctuation of the high-dimensional organisms within.
Theoretically, the upper limit of A-level is Third Step. After that, for every additional A, the upper limit will increase by one Step.
For a Level 4A, the upper limit of this Space Fold’s high-dimensional creatures is the Sixth Step.
The evolution curve rises exponentially. The farther up you go, the bigger the gap between each level.
Si Chen was currently at the Fifth Step, specifically at 5.0 flat. Lin Jiali was at also on the Fifth Step but at 5.3. It might not seem like much of a difference, but Lin Jiali’s Klein Blue with its unlimited battery life could exhaust him.
Si Chen put the chip in his pocket, turned around and made to leave. As he was about to do so, a robot butler grabbed his arm.
“Guest, it must have been hard to get here. Please rest for a while before you leave.” The butler said, “This is the Young Master’s wish.”
The robot butlers obviously couldn’t tell the difference between Ji Chuyao and Turing. In their eyes, the message had been sent by the same person.
Si Chen looked at the robot hand on his arm: “What else did your Young Master say?”
Butler: “He also said that this Space Fold belongs to the Carolian civilization and that, in fact, he is able to resolve it himself. You don’t have to go.”
Si Chen frowned slightly.
After calming down, he instinctively sensed something was wrong.
Turing’s attitude was a bit strange.
Most people won’t ask for help from those who are weaker than themselves since someone weaker wouldn’t be of much left. Unless there was some evil motive behind it.
Human traffickers often ask naive little girls, inexperienced in the way of the world, for help as part of a ploy to abduct them.
But Si Chen was willing to believe in Turing’s character.
His original guess was that Turing’s request for help was related to the chip he had eaten in the Space Fold last time.
Those chips were Zeus’ creations, a masterpiece of technology and biology, and they might be useful in mechanical civilizations.
But now, Turing told him through this robot butler not to come.
But the robot butler also gave the key to the Space Fold and this was obviously also by Turing’s command.
Turing seemed to be giving conflicting signals.
I want you to come but I don’t want you to come.
Therefore, he was leaving the choice to Si Chen.
While Si Chen was thinking, the butler robot had already pushed him farther into the house.
Butler No. 2 brought iced watermelon juice. “Guest, the Young Master said you like to drink this. We have also prepared orange juice, peach juice, and grape juice. If there is anything you need, please instruct us.”
No. 1 added, “The Young Master said that the weapons and medical storehouses are open to you as well. You may go to the storehouse to get anything you need.”
Si Chen’s original plan had been to head Space Fold after obtaining the key but instead, before he knew it, he had half-deliberately rested for the night.
For the past several nights, he had been sleeping in a car. Although had been able to sleep, it hadn’t been very restful.
It was seven o’clock in the morning when he woke up, feeling very energetic.
Because he couldn’t think it completely through, Si Chen directly opened his chat with Ji Chuyao.
-Do you want me to come?
The person on the end of the line responded quickly.
[Come or don’t, either is fine.]
-Can you handle this yourself?
[I can.]
Turing can handle it = it’s the same with or without him = this Space Fold seems like a good place to gain experience points.
Si Chen closed the dialog box, then clicked on Shen Yanxing’s avatar and entered: I’m planning to enter a Space Fold within the next two days.
After he washed up and had breakfast, he got a reply from the other party.
-I’ll go with you.
-No, I’ll go by myself.
-With Ji Chuyao?
Si Chen: En.
-I need to report this to sir.
Si Chen entered in the dialog box: “He is my teacher, not my father.”
But before he sent it, he felt that this statement might come off a bit too strong. He I deleted it and replaced it with a different message.
Si Chen: Teacher doesn’t like me getting too close to the members of the Great Families. [sticker]
The sticker was of a cute cat with the words: Please, Gege.
Shen Yanxing was silent for a moment: …This won’t happen again.
**
Hongyao District.
Si Chen walked out of the station and took a taxi straight to the Space Fold.
Perhaps he should be grateful that Shen Yanxing wasn’t supervising him so strictly. He hadn’t even asked him to which Space Fold he was going to.
If he knew that he was going to an 4A Level Space Fold, Shen Yanxing might not have been so open to persuasion.
This Space Fold covered a wide area, occupying almost a third of Hongyao District.
The black barrier was like the lid of a pot, shielding the simmering contents inside.
As this was a Disaster Zone, it wasn’t uncommon for Space Folds to occur. The local safety management bureau had implemented the standard handling measures.
As Si Chen approached the Space Fold, a voice came from a hovering drone. “Space Fold ahead. High-dimensional invasion in progress. Please stay away.”
Although people from outside wouldn’t be able to enter, the closer to a Space Fold, the stronger the energy radiation. That level of radiation is likely to cause some mutation to a biological body or a malfunction in a mechanical one.
Si Chen took out his work ID. “I am an employee of the Serpent Staff Gene Production Department and I am here to investigate.”
The economic pillar of Hongyao District is a subsidiary company of Serpent Staff Gene.
After inspecting Si Chen’s ID, the drone slowly left.
This was actually against the rules but rules have always only restricted ordinary people.
Si Chen quickly reached the edge of the barrier.
He took out the key, the microchip given by Turing, from his pocket.
Si Chen didn’t quite know how to use the key to open the barrier.
He held the chip in his hand and soon felt a suction coming from the barrier in front of him.
Si Chen still held the tool box in his hand. There was an inexplicable sense of nervousness in his heart.
He took a step forward and quickly merged into the barrier.
Inside, it wasn’t at all what Si Chen imagined.
Inside the Space Fold, all the buildings seemed to have retained their original appearance. There wasn’t even a single robot shooting a gun.
His eyes rose to the sky overhead.
There was a translucent screen there of what looked like an ordinary computer desktop. There was also a simple prompt box in the center: “System error. Retry?”
There were only two options below: Confirm or Cancel.
Si Chen withdrew his gaze and looked around.
It was daytime now but it was eerily quiet here.
He grasped tightly the short knife White King gave him. He also powered up the prosthetic eye.
There were many people lying on the side of the road. According to the detection of the prosthetic eye, they were ordinary people and most of them were still alive. They were just motionless and looked to be asleep.
Si Chen had collected information before coming. It was originally estimated that this Space Fold would only have a radius of fifty kilometers but it turned out to be surprisingly vast. As a result, many ordinary people had been implicated.
Si Chen carefully squatted down and checked the people on the roadside.
“There are no energy fluctuations… They’re indeed ordinary people, only that their conditions seem a little weak.” Si Chen murmured.
He turned one passerby over and suddenly stopped.
There was a thin metal wire, hard to detect, attached to the back of the man’s head. This wire was very long and continued straight ahead, leading to who knows where.
Si Chen checked a few more people and found that they were all in the same state. There was a thin thread connected to the backs of their heads and they simply wouldn’t wake.
Not all were still alive.
Some people had died quietly even though they were connected to the line. It was quiet, without a single sound.
He couldn’t find Ji Chuyao among these many, many people.
Si Chen pondered for a moment and walked forward, following these metal wires.
The farther he went, the more thin metal lines lay on the road. Like hyphae growing out of the wet ground, intertwined in a strange manner.
If there was a person at the end of every thin line, then this number was staggering enough to be frightening.
Si Chen walked for a long time and finally came to the end of the road.
After seeing clearly where all the thin lines ended, his expression turned strange.
There was an old desktop computer, of a model from many many years ago. It had no power cord but was turned on nonetheless.
All those long tendrils came from the computer case.
The image displayed on the computer screen was exactly the same as the projection in the sky.
Si Chen walked to the computer and bent down slightly.
The peripherals of this computer were engraved with the Machine Core trademark.
The computer didn’t come with a mouse. But next to the monitor, there was a very advanced chip reader.
It looked to have been specially prepared for him.
Si Chen thought for a moment and inserted the chip.
The next second, there was a slight tingling sensation in his brain and his vision suddenly went dark.
The Eternal Life Abyss also did not expect this sudden change. “Squeak!——”
Si Chen lost consciousness, his knees weakened and he slowly fell to the ground.
A thin wire also extended out from the inside of the case. Unlike the other wires, this thin wire was blue in color.
What it connected to was not the back of Si Chen’s head but to his prosthetic eye.
In the sky, a line of words appeared on the huge, translucent screen:
[The world is loading…]
I get creeped out on a different level when it comes to evil technology, because it seems so
much more likely to happen than seeing ghosts and demons. Thanks for the update!
thanks for the chapter! <3 i’m so excited for this space fold 😀
That section about Shen Yanxing and the cats had me cackling, wtf was that 🤣 he really sat, surrounded by cute kittens, planning what he did next
Using kitty sticker…pfft. Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🐱
Gege, you’re so kind
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜