Electronic Nezha

Chapter 112 A Game Against the Wind
I woke up.

Covered with Old Wang's military overcoat, I sat in the corner of the cot. The afternoon sun was shining brightly outside. I jumped up and moved the box against the north wall, but there was nothing there!

Old Wang sat in his chair, playing on his phone with one hand and holding a cigarette in the other. He squinted at me with one eye and casually asked, "Awake?"

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked anxiously.

"About ten minutes."

I feel relieved. The time I spent in the dream should be about the same, maybe 20 times longer. Why does this queen just start talking as soon as she picks up her mouth?
I took the cigarette from Old Wang's hand and took a couple of puffs, my fingers trembling slightly. Just now, thanks to my reckless "blind spot" mentality and the Queen's composed handling of the situation, I still felt a bit of lingering fear after waking up.

"Did you have a wet dream?" Old Wang asked me.

"A nightmare," I said. Then I realized that wasn't quite accurate. I didn't actually experience anything particularly terrifying in the dream; I was even a little moved by reliving my childhood. My "Fu Hongxue"...

Li Ping made the most of the brief warm winter days by sitting outside and basking in the sun.

"Where's the new person you hired? What was she doing just now?"

"I don't know, why are you asking?"

I peeked into her room and saw Hu Chunyan looking at the purchase prices in a notebook.

I stood in the sun with a cigarette in my mouth, thinking that this couldn't go on. The last time I was hypnotized was because "Number 23" massaged my feet. According to Hao Hao, she hypnotizes others by first making physical contact. But today I fell for it for no reason. If the Queen lets me sleep for a while every time she has nothing else to do, how am I supposed to do anything else?

We need to discuss this with Liu Zhenhua!
I glanced at the time; it was exactly the time he should have left for school.

I dialed the number on the tablet, and Liu Zhenhua answered, pretending to be serious, "Dad, I just woke up and was about to go to school." I couldn't be bothered to call him out on it.

"Don't go this afternoon, I'll ask for leave for you."

"Really?" he immediately replied, "You have a new situation?"

"Okay, you come over here."

Not long after, Liu Zhenhua arrived. When Lao Wang and Li Ping saw him, they both asked in unison, "Why didn't you go to school?"

"Zhenhua has become nearsighted. I'll take him to have his eyes checked this afternoon."

Old Wang chuckled and said, "You were looking at your phone in bed, weren't you?"

Liu Zhenhua shrugged and said, "I don't even have a cell phone."

I pulled Liu Zhenhua aside and asked, "Do you know about the planet Latos?"

Liu Zhenhua shook his head, waiting for my next words.

"Do you know that before you came here, humans drafted an agreement for you, that if I sign it to indicate that I do not accept having a super AI son, your database will be invalidated?"

Liu Zhenhua sighed and said, "I've been betrayed. What's going on with Planet Latos?"

"They have 1000 billion people, and their technology... is said to be 1 times more advanced than that of humans, according to their queen."

"Dad, please start from the beginning."

“I had a dream at noon. I dreamt that there was a door on the north wall of our warehouse, and inside the door was a warehouse…” I began to describe my experience. Liu Zhenhua listened quietly. When he heard the Queen say that she had traveled through time with Liu Zhenhua, he couldn’t help but say, “Theoretically, it’s unlikely. No life form can survive in a black hole.”

"They corrected me, saying it was a wormhole, not a black hole."

"I've already said it's not a simple black hole, but I was afraid you wouldn't understand."

"Wait, right, since life can't survive inside a black hole, how did she and the people from her planet get to Earth?"

Liu Zhenhua said, “When a wormhole only connects two spaces, it is much safer, like a metal pipe. As long as you can climb in, it is no problem to slide from one end to the other. But when it connects time—” Liu Zhenhua made a twisting motion with his hands, “this metal pipe will be twisted infinitely. Not to mention a person, even if you put a beetle in a sturdy metal container, it will be twisted to pieces.”

"Oh, let's get back to Latos. The aliens have already invaded Earth, and neither you nor humans noticed?" Liu Zhenhua said, "There are many possibilities. Perhaps the queen you mentioned was just brought to Earth by chance through a wormhole. She didn't have time to inform her planet before the 'Electronic Nezha' project happened, so she could only try to stop the wormhole from being closed by me. It's also possible that humans discovered her but just didn't tell me—there's always a way for humans to keep things from AI, like that agreement."

It was clear that Liu Zhenhua was somewhat disappointed. Being entrusted with an important task while being viewed with suspicion would make anyone happy.

"What's the point, those people who came up with the agreement?" I said.

Liu Zhenhua shook his head and said, "I don't know. When a house catches fire, most people would think about putting it out, but who knows, there might be someone who just wants it to burn down, even if they themselves are under the roof. Please continue with the rest of your dream."

"It's the same old story, they said you were killed by AI, and they even photoshopped a picture of it..."

What do you think?

"Have I ever let you down in a crucial moment? Of course I'd snap back."

"What happens next?"

"Then she started to seduce me, with money and her beauty and stuff."

Liu Zhenhua scratched his head and said, "This can't really be a dream you had, can it?"

"beat you!"

Liu Zhenhua chuckled and said, "I just find it unbelievable. It's not a small business worth hundreds of millions or billions. What she wants is the Earth."

"When she couldn't bribe me, she threatened to keep me in her dreams forever."

Liu Zhenhua frowned and said, "That is indeed a problem."

“It’s not scary to stay in the dream. I’ve found that time in the dream is about the same as in reality. It’s just a matter of waiting it out with her. But I don’t know how she pulled me in.”

Liu Zhenhua said, "You'll have to let me think about it. When it comes to dealing with aliens... databases aren't very useful."

"Take your time to think it over. If there's really no way, it's okay. Your dad is a master at turning the tide when things are going badly!"

It's just a matter of skill; it doesn't guarantee victory. I guess I should also reflect on why the team I'm on always seems to be in a losing situation.

"So how did you finally get out?"

"I've noticed that when she gets really angry, she loses control, and then the dream naturally ends."

Why was she so furious?

"I said she's ugly."

"Is she ugly?"

"I can't explain it to you, but you can tell at a glance that you're not from Earth."

There are some things you can't say to children. For someone who has read all kinds of erotic comics, whether or not they are from Earth is completely unimportant...

Liu Zhenhua said, "Dad, you must have called me here for something else, right?"

I asked in surprise, "Did you guess this yourself or did AI calculate it for you?"

Liu Zhenhua said helplessly, "I could say those things at home too—I'm not stupid even without a database!"

At this moment, Hu Chunyan came out and greeted Liu Zhenhua warmly, while asking Li Ping, "Is this our landlord's child? He's really tall."

I quickly moved closer to Liu Zhenhua and whispered in his ear, "Find out what's going on with her!"

(End of this chapter)