Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 121 Misunderstanding
The bedroom was quiet, with only Yang Chen's even and deep breathing.

He was lying on his side, fast asleep, clearly having been quite exhausted last night.

Bai Yuekui had already woken up. She sat up very quietly and looked down at Yang Chen, who was fast asleep beside her.

She carefully lifted the covers, and barefoot, like a nimble cat, she walked out of the bedroom without making a sound.

In the living room, the fancy gift bag still lay conspicuously on the table.

Bai Yuekui walked to the table and his gaze fell on the box.

She stood silently for a few seconds, seemingly making a decision, before finally reaching out and picking up the box.

She opened the package, and inside was a head-mounted device with a slightly peculiar design.

She picked up the device, examined it for a moment, and then, as if she were about to conduct some rigorous scientific experiment, put it on her head with a blank expression.

The equipment starts up.

The scene before Bai Yuekui's eyes instantly changed, revealing a highly seductive virtual interface. A voluptuous, scantily clad virtual woman was striking alluring poses, accompanied by a series of blush-inducing menu options.

However, Bai Yuekui's expression did not change; she quickly glanced at the options and preview content.

About a minute later.

She decisively removed the device, pressed the power button, and acted without the slightest hesitation.

Then, she carefully put the device back into the box, and put the box back into the gift bag, restoring everything to its original state as if it had never been opened.

After doing all this, she let out a soft breath and turned to look towards the bedroom.

It's time to wake up that guy who's sleeping like a log.

She went back to the bedroom and walked to the bedside.

Yang Chen remained in the same position as before, fast asleep.

Bai Yuekui leaned down and gently nudged his shoulder.

"Orange, it's time to get up."

Her voice was slightly softer than usual.

Yang Chen mumbled a "hmm" in a daze, without even opening his eyes.

But with a precise reach, he wrapped his arm around Bai Yuekui's waist and, with a slight pull, caused her to fall onto the bed.

"It's still early... I'll sleep a little longer..." he mumbled indistinctly, habitually burying his face in her soft, warm neck, even rubbing against her to find a more comfortable position.

Her breathing became even again, and she seemed to be drifting off to sleep once more.

Bai Yuekui was held tightly in his arms, looking at the ceiling with a bit of helplessness, feeling the weight and warmth of the furry head on his chest.

She raised her hand and gently smoothed his slightly messy hair with her fingertips.

"Just ten more minutes of sleep," she conceded.

"Didn't you buy things for the children? You need to go and distribute them to them later."

The person in his arms gave a muffled response, which served as an answer.

The room fell silent again, with only the sound of their breathing mingling.

The sunlight shifted a few more degrees.

After a while, feeling that the person in his arms seemed to be more awake, Bai Yuekui moved again.

"It's really time to get up."

Yang Chen reluctantly let go of his arm, rubbed his eyes, sat up, yawned deeply, and his eyes were still a little blurry.

Bai Yuekui also sat up, looking at his sleepy appearance, and suddenly remembered something, asking casually, "By the way, last night... what were you trying to say later?"

She remembered that before he fell completely asleep, Yang Chen seemed to mumble something in a daze, as if he wanted to continue explaining about the game.

But before he could finish speaking, he was overcome by sleepiness.

Yang Chen was groping for the clothes by the bed when he heard this and paused, trying hard to recall his memories of last night.

"Oh...that..." He smiled a little embarrassedly.

"I just want to emphasize that the VR game I played was really the one in the mall where you fight monsters. It was super exciting, the kind where I almost fell off the mech simulator. It's nothing like what you're thinking of..."

He looked at Bai Yuekui with sincere eyes: "Yuekui, do you really believe me?"

Bai Yuekui's eyes flickered slightly as he watched him so eager to clarify.

"Hmm." She responded faintly, accepting the explanation, and got out of bed.

"Hurry up and get dressed, I'll go prepare breakfast."

Bai Yuekui ate quietly, his movements as swift and elegant as ever.

Yang Chen took a sip of porridge, and recalling the amusing events of yesterday, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"By the way, Yuekui, something really funny happened in Jiuchuan yesterday," he said, putting down his bowl and smiling.

Bai Yuekui looked up at him, gesturing with his eyes for him to continue.

“Your brother, we were just passing by his old school,” Yang Chen gestured.

“Back then, school had just let out, and your brother couldn’t resist taking a look at himself when he was a child.”

"Hmm?" Bai Yuekui raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had foreseen the outcome.

"He went over and, grinning, hadn't even said two words before Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud."

“When he was little, he seemed to think your brother was a weirdo, and he would kick your brother down with one foot.”

Bai Yuekui listened, expressionless, finished the last mouthful of porridge, put down his chopsticks, and then commented indifferently, "Childish."

I don't know if they're talking about Bai Yuetian when he was a kid, who didn't know his own strength, or about his brother who's now reaping what he sowed.

After breakfast, the two tidied up quickly and prepared to go out.

As Bai Yuekui reached the door, he paused, his gaze sweeping over the hot gift bag on the table. He then gestured with his chin towards Yang Chen.

“Take it,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Go to my brother's place later and throw it at him. Let him deal with it himself."

Yang Chen readily agreed and immediately picked up the bag: "Understood!"

As the two pushed open the door, the cool morning air rushed in, accompanied by rhythmic music coming from afar.

In the square, Belenkov was energetically leading a group of villagers in square dancing, their movements synchronized and full of vibrant life.

Upon seeing Bai Yuekui and Yang Chen, Belenkov greeted them loudly while maintaining his pose.

"Boss Bai! Boss Yang! Good morning! I haven't seen you come to stretch your muscles for the past few days, Boss Bai!"

Bai Yuekui has indeed been getting up later these past few days and has missed his morning exercise.

She nodded slightly to Belenkov in response: "I've been busy these past few days."

Bai Yuekui turned his gaze away from the lively square dancing and said to Yang Chen, "Go to my brother's place and return the things to him."

"Have all the gifts for the children been categorized?" she then asked.

Yang Chen nodded immediately and pointed towards the warehouse: "It's sorted. The toys and snacks for Mai Duo and the other kids are all in those boxes on the left, and they're labeled."

"Hmm." Bai Yuekui nodded.

"I'll go check out the warehouse first and tell the kids to come pick it up later. You can come over when you're done there."

"Okay." Yang Chen agreed, picked up the bag containing the special gift, and turned to walk towards the White Moon Sky Cottage.

Bai Yuekui then turned and walked towards the warehouse.

The village paths were quiet in the early morning. Occasionally, early-rising villagers would greet her with smiles, and she would respond with a slight nod.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, she opened the door and saw several boxes neatly stacked on the left, each with a simple label that read "Children".

She opened one of the boxes and looked inside. Inside were brand new toys, brightly colored books, and some cutely packaged candies and snacks.

She closed the box, walked out of the warehouse, and headed towards the children's usual play area.

By now, the little ones should already be playing outside.

Not far away, we saw Xia Dou chasing and playing with several children of similar age in an open space. Her little face was rosy and full of energy.

"Mai Duo," Bai Yue Kui called out.

Upon hearing the sound, Mai Duo immediately stopped and skipped over like a cheerful little deer, her big eyes sparkling as she looked at Bai Yuekui. "Good morning, boss!"

The other children also curiously gathered around.

"Good morning." Bai Yuekui's expression softened a little. "Yang Chen brought back some gifts for you, they're in the warehouse. Go and call the others, take whatever you like."

"Really? That's great!" Maido cheered with delight, and the other children chattered excitedly as well.

What is the gift?

"Shall we go now?"

Bai Yuekui nodded as he watched the children jump for joy. "Okay, go call them. They'll come to the warehouse later."

"Yay!" the children cheered and immediately took off running.

Bai Yuekui stood there, watching the children's joyful figures disappear into the distance.

Then he turned around and walked slowly toward the warehouse, waiting for Yang Chen to come.

Meanwhile, Yang Chen had already arrived outside Bai Yuetian's hut.

He heard no sound coming from inside, so he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Yang Chen knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked a few more times, increasing the pressure, and called out loudly, "Bai Yuetian! Brother-in-law? Are you there?"

It remained completely silent inside.

"Haven't they gotten up yet?" Yang Chen muttered, just as he was about to call out again.

The door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.

Bai Yuetian appeared at the door looking energetic, even with a hint of excitement on his face.

Most importantly, he was wearing that oddly shaped VR device on his head, clearly indicating that he had just been immersed in "learning".

He saw Yang Chen outside the door, paused for a moment, then pushed the equipment up to reveal his eyes.

Her tone carried a hint of annoyance and confusion at being disturbed: "Orange? What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

Looking at him like this, Yang Chen asked, "You didn't get up this early just to play games, did you?"

Bai Yuetian shook his head: "Of course not, I've been playing since last night."

Yang Chen was speechless. He simply lifted the gift bag in his hand and held it up to Bai Yuetian's face, waving it around.

“You forgot your things with me, and Yue Kui asked me to return them to their rightful owner.” He emphasized the last four words.

"Here you go, my mission is complete."

After saying that, Yang Chen stuffed the bag into Bai Yuetian's hand, turned around and left without any hesitation, as if afraid of being bothered by this guy again.

Bai Yuetian caught the bag, looked down, and saw that it was the treasure he had forgotten to take.

Last night, after I got home, I didn't dare to go and get it again, so I took back the gift I had given to Nanjixing.

"Now I have two games to play."

Bai Yuetian took the package out of the bag and was stunned when he saw the obvious signs that it had been opened.

"You, Yang Chen, you said you weren't interested, but you're secretly playing around, aren't you?"

Yang Chen walked quickly back to the warehouse and could hear the children's excited chatter from afar.

Upon closer inspection, several little ones were gathered around Bai Yuekui and Qiu Shi.

Qiu Shi also arrived, smiling as he helped several younger children retrieve toys from the box that they couldn't reach.

Bai Yuekui stood to the side.

Although her expression was calm, her eyes were gentle as she watched the children's joyful expressions, occasionally reminding them, "Slow down, don't push."

When the children saw Yang Chen approaching, they became even more excited, shouting all at once:

"Teacher Yang!"

"Thank you for the gift, Teacher Yang!"

"This robot is so cool!"

Yang Chen smiled and replied, "I'm glad you like it."

His gaze swept across the crowd, and he noticed that standing slightly to the outside was Ulan Haisang.

Seeing Yang Chen looking over, Wulan Haisang straightened up a bit and called out somewhat awkwardly, "Boss Yang."

Yang Chen was slightly taken aback when he heard this address.

Ever since Hai Sang returned from that mission a few months ago, the boy has stopped calling him "Brother Yang" so affectionately.

He always addressed him respectfully as "Boss Yang".

He was a little puzzled, but didn't pay much attention, just assuming it was because his child had grown up.

He smiled and nodded: "Why is Hai Sang here too? Do you still like toys and snacks?"

Hai Sang chuckled and scratched his bald head: "I got it for Mai Duo; she went to call the other kids."

"This class monitor is so responsible."

Jiuchuan City.

Bai Jingyu sat behind his large desk, his brows furrowed.

On the terminal screen in front of him, his private account transaction details were displayed, with a striking balance number followed by several zeros, enough to leave ordinary people speechless.

There's a lot of money, a huge amount.

Having started in the gaming industry, he has accumulated considerable wealth.

But the problem isn't the amount of money, but... he seems to have inexplicably lost a sum of money.

The amount wasn't particularly large, just a drop in the ocean compared to his total assets, but it was enough to catch the attention of someone as sensitive to numbers as him.

He tried to recall if his son had asked him for such a large sum of money recently, nor had he seen any new things being bought for the house.

Theresa is even less likely to do so; her mind is entirely on the laboratory, and she has no interest in shopping. Recently, apart from buying a few new science picture books for Xiaoyuekui, she hasn't made any major expenditures.

Neither I nor Theresa bought anything, and neither did the two children, Yue Tian and Yue Kui, see anything new. So where did the money go?

This discrepancy made him very uncomfortable, like a tiny insect gently gnawing at his heart. A strange sense of unease lingered around him.

This wasn't the first thing to make him feel uneasy recently.

He recalled that a few days ago, his son came home from school and said that he had encountered a "strange person who looked respectable but had a particularly lewd smile" on the way.

The man insisted on coming closer to talk to him, but he mistook him for a bad guy and kicked him over.

At the time, Bai Jingyu thought his son was just being naughty and causing trouble outside, and scolded him for being impolite.

Even earlier, her daughter Yuekui had mentioned that it felt like a strange man with magic had suddenly appeared in the house, but then he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Theresa examined Moonbeam's body and found nothing seriously wrong, ultimately attributing it to the child's overactive imagination or spending too much time in the laboratory.

He might not normally pay much attention to these trivial, seemingly unrelated little things.

But at this moment, an indescribable sense of unease gradually became clear.

The whereabouts of the money are unknown; even ASH cannot trace it, and there are still questions that the former CEO, Dongmu, asked me.
“ASH,” Bai Jingyu called softly.

Ash's phantom immediately appeared in front of him: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Do you think there is any super artificial intelligence in the world with better technology than you?

“Perhaps it exists.” Ash then asked, “Is it because of the executive officer’s problem?”

Bai Jingyu shook his head: "More than that, I always feel something is off. Xiao Kui and Xiao Tian have both encountered 'weird people,' and the executive officer has also asked if there is any artificial intelligence more powerful than you."

"Although these things seem unrelated, I always feel that something is amiss."

ASH: "."

Bai Jingyu saw that ASH was not speaking and knew that she couldn't understand.

"Once the Internet of Everything project is implemented, you will be able to iterate even faster, and managing the entire Jiuchuan area will be no problem at that time."

ASH lowered his head: "I understand."

(End of this chapter)