Guo Yun: Plays Ye Shunguang, teammate Ye Shiyuan

Ling crossed the courtyard and went into the inner room.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the corridor, carrying the coolness unique to early autumn, causing the hem of her clothes to flutter slightly.

The door to the inner room was half-open.

A dim, yellow light shone through the crack in the door, a color reminiscent of an old-fashioned kerosene lamp—warm but not bright enough, casting an ambiguous halo around the edge of the door frame.

Ling stood in front of the door for a second, took a deep breath, and then reached out and pushed the door open.

She spotted Zhe on the bed immediately.

He lay there, breathing steadily, his chest rising and falling slightly with each breath.

The bed sheet was a plain gray, and the corner of the blanket was neatly folded up to the chest, revealing a pair of pale hands.

Ling's lips twitched involuntarily. She shifted her gaze from Zhe's face to the bedside.

Three people were sitting by the bed.

Ye Jianguo sat on a wooden chair on the left side of the bed, about forty centimeters from the edge of the bed, neither too close to make the patient feel pressured, nor too far away to be out of reach when needed.

He leaned forward slightly, his hands crossed on his knees, his fingers loosely clasped together, and his thumbs unconsciously drawing circles on the back of his hands.

His sitting posture looks very relaxed.

But Ling noticed that his shoulders were not resting on the back of the chair, and his feet were flat on the ground with his knees at a standard 90-degree angle.

This is a sitting posture that allows you to "stand up at any time." The relaxation is only superficial; the underlying tension is very high.

Chen Jianjun stood by the window.

The window was open, and the night breeze made the curtains sway gently. He stood in the gap between the curtains and the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his back against the wall, looking somewhat languid.

But his gaze slowly swept across the room, from left to right, and then from right to left, like a finely tuned radar.

Ling mentally assessed his position.

He stood by the window, his back against a solid wall, with no obstructions in front of him. From this position, he could see the person on the bed at a glance, and also keep an eye on both the door and the window entrances.

If someone rushes in from outside, he has at least 1.5 seconds to react; if someone tries to climb in through the window, he only needs to turn sideways to block the entire window area.

The location was chosen very carefully.

Zhou Liming sat on a low stool on the right side of the bed, holding a small notebook with a dark blue cover and worn edges, writing something with his head down.

All three of them heard the noise at the door and looked up at the same time.

Three pairs of eyes simultaneously fell on Ling.

Dawn was the first to speak.

"Rin? You're back?"

His tone carried a hint of surprise, but more so a sense of relief, as if "finally someone has come."

He closed his notebook, stood up hastily, the low stool scraping against the floor with a short thud. His gaze passed over Ling's shoulder and landed on Sid behind her.

Zhou Liming raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but Ling's movement interrupted him.

The bell did not waste any time.

She walked to the bedside, glanced down at Zhe's condition, then turned to face the three of them and began to quickly explain the situation.

She spoke faster than usual, explaining many things. For example, she talked about the situation on the other side of Void Zero, why it was necessary to connect to HDD, why they needed to go to Void Zero, and why Sid was here. Her gaze moved back and forth between the three people and Sid, making sure everyone was listening and that no one misunderstood.

Ye Jianguo listened to what she had to say.

There was a three-second silence.

In those three seconds, his gaze moved from Rin's face to Tetsu's face, then from Tetsu's face to the sky outside the window, and finally back to Rin.

His lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just pursed them tightly.

Then he nodded.

"Understood."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was very steady.

The way he said those three words was like a promise—I understand what you're saying, I support what you're going to do, and you're leaving things here to me.

"Go ahead. We'll keep watch over things here." Chen Jianjun nodded.

Zhou Liming took half a step forward.

His brow furrowed even more, a deep vertical line appearing between his eyebrows, as if someone had carved a mark there with a knife. He looked at Bell, then at Sid behind her.

"etc."

The bell stopped and looked at him.

"Are you going alone?" Zhou Liming asked.

“I’m not alone.” Bell pointed to Sid. “She’ll take me there. And I heard there are already people waiting over there.”

She didn't go into details because it would take time, and time was what she lacked most right now.

That's not what I meant.

Zhou Liming's expression was very serious.

That kind of seriousness wasn't the seriousness we usually show when discussing technical issues; it was a deeper kind of seriousness, tinged with a certain unease.

His eyes were wider than usual, and his pupils contracted slightly, as if he was trying to see something in the distance but couldn't make it out no matter what he did.

"What I mean is, why didn't you take us with you?"

He took a step forward, kicking the stool to the side, where it rolled half a circle on the floor before coming to a stop.

"We also have fighting capabilities... uh... at least Comrade Jianguo and Comrade Jianjun do, I can be a rope maker!"

He spoke in a hurried tone, twice as fast as usual, as if afraid that Ling would leave before he finished speaking.

He gestured with his right hand, first pointing to Ye Jianguo, then to Chen Jianjun, and finally to himself, emphasizing the word "I" as if to stress some kind of unwillingness.

The bell fell silent for a second.

She understood what Zhou Liming meant. He wanted to help, he genuinely wanted to help. The reasons didn't need further investigation, but the question was, what could he possibly do there?

Ling didn't say those words aloud. She phrased them differently.

"No need, I don't actually need to go there in my physical body."

She paused, organizing her thoughts.

"Like my brother, I have intelligent lenses in my eyes."

She pointed to her eyes, and a very faint blue light flashed deep in her pupils, almost invisible unless in a dimly lit environment.

"Because of it, we can communicate with the inside of the cavity using HDD from outside without physically entering it."

"Well..." Zhou Liming wanted to say something more, but Ye Jianguo had already stood up.

"Alright, since Comrade Ling insists, we won't go over there. Shall we stay here and keep watch?"

Ye Jianguo's voice was neither loud nor soft, and his speech was neither fast nor slow. He used the form of a question, but his tone left no room for negotiation.

Chen Jianjun echoed in agreement.

The agreement was very soft, just a short, nasal "hmm," almost inaudible unless in a quiet room. But the timing of that "hmm" was perfect—just after Ye Jianguo finished speaking and before Zhou Liming could retort, like a brick precisely inserted into a crack in a wall about to collapse.

Zhou Liming was stunned for a moment.

He looked at Ye Jianguo, then at Chen Jianjun, his lips moving a few times as if he were chewing over what they had just said. Then his expression changed from "wanting to argue" to "thinking," and then from "thinking" to "suddenly realizing."

"...That's so true!"

He slapped his thigh hard, the sound echoing in the quiet room and startling a moth perched on the windowsill, causing it to flutter its wings a few times.

"You guys are so insightful! Ring, we'll stay here and keep watch, so you can use the HDD without worry!"

His tone shifted from eagerness to near-excited certainty, a change so rapid it made one wonder if someone had flipped a switch in his brain.

"...Okay. Thank you."

Ling spoke in a softer voice.

Although she felt that with her fellow disciples guarding the temple, she didn't need to worry about safety, she ultimately didn't refuse their kindness.

She walked to the computer and opened HDD.

The monitor's blue light illuminated half of her face in the dim room. The keyboard clicked rapidly for a few seconds, then the system interface for EAS appeared on the screen, with various self-test data scrolling quickly.

Sid stood in the doorway, turned slightly to the side, and looked at the computer screen.

She took a step forward, wanting to follow and check.

Ye Jianguo blocked her way.

He stood on the path that everyone would have to pass to see the bell, his body slightly turned to the side, his left hand hanging naturally at his side, and his right hand raised, palm facing outward, making a "please stop" gesture.

"This... is a lady from the defense force."

Ye Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

Please respect other people's privacy, thank you.

Sid looked at the person in front of him.

She sensed something indescribable.

This person served in the military. This can be confirmed without any evidence; his posture, his gestures, and the way he looks at people all silently proclaim this.

But it's not just about having served in the military—he has an aura about him, an aura that makes people want to believe in him.

It's not deterrence, it's not oppression, but something more fundamental.

Like a lighthouse in a storm, like the first rays of the sun rising in the east after the apocalypse...

Sid was stunned for a moment.

The moment of surprise lasted less than a second. Then she nodded slightly, took half a step back, and stood back in the doorway. She didn't say "sorry" or "okay," she simply showed her choice through her actions.

Ye Jianguo withdrew his hand, turned around, and sat back down in his chair.

Everything returned to calm, as if the standoff of those few seconds had never happened.

Ling didn't look back.

She was already wearing the consciousness synchronization device, her eyes fixed on the data stream on the screen, her fingers rapidly typing the final command on the keyboard. Her voice came through the headset, carrying the slight distortion characteristic of electronic devices.

[Fairy: Welcome, Assistant 2. Assistant 2 is currently undertaking a rather dangerous mission and needs the great Fairy's help to hack Scott Outpost...]

Fairy's voice came from the speakers, with her signature tone that was somewhere between teasing and serious. The ellipsis was drawn out, as if she was keeping someone in suspense, or waiting for some kind of response.

"Fairy! Don't say these things now..."

"Alright, that's enough. I need to synchronize my consciousness now."

[Fairy: Okay, Eis is now powered on.]

Fairy's tone suddenly became more serious, and the "okay" was followed by an almost inaudible pause, as if he was hesitating whether to say something more, but in the end he only reported the system status.

Ling sat up straight in the chair.

The synchronization of consciousness is not some earth-shattering phenomenon—the kind of scene where "eyes shine and the whole body radiates energy" only exists in movies and TV shows.

The truth is: a flash of blue light appeared deep in Ling's pupils, the intensity of which was about the same as the indicator light on a mobile phone charger, lasting for less than half a second, and then her body stiffened slightly.

That stiffness was very brief, so brief that you wouldn't even notice it unless you were staring at it intently. It was like someone shifting their posture in a chair, their muscles tightening and then relaxing, the whole process taking less than two seconds.

Then everything returned to normal.

She remained seated, breathing steadily, her heartbeat normal, appearing no different from before. But if someone were to touch her at this moment, they would find that her muscles were in a peculiar state of tension—not completely stiff, nor completely relaxed, but a delicate balance of "the body is there, but the consciousness is not."

Ies's body simultaneously received the signal on the other side.

Bomb's short legs made rapid clattering sounds on the floor.

The sound was very faint, but it was amplified several times in the empty corridor, like a series of tiny drumbeats. The walls on both sides of the corridor rushed past in the field of vision, and the fire hydrants, emergency lights, and electrical boxes on the walls flashed by one by one, so fast that they could only be seen as blurry blocks of color.

The small white bomb moved its mechanical arm.

Hmm, haven't used it in a while, my brother has taken good care of it. Everything functions perfectly!

Then she pushed open the door and went out.

The outside light was a bit too bright.

Ies's visual system is different from Rin's own body, and Rin hasn't used Ies for so long that she is naturally not used to the light.

But before she could take a closer look at her surroundings, a shadow fell over her.

That shadow came too quickly.

One second, the sky above was a gray-blue color; the next second, a huge dark area covered Bangbu's entire field of vision.

The next second, her entire body was scooped up.

The fingers are long with distinct knuckles and thin calluses on the fingertips. The palms are very warm, and you can feel the heat even through the metal casing of the futon.

Ling only had time to utter a single "Eh."

The sound came from Bangbu's speaker, high-pitched and thin, with a sense of surprise, like the cry of a kitten that had been suddenly lifted up.

It was then placed inside the cockpit.

"Hold on tight."

Sid's voice came from above.

It was as calm as if it were saying, "The weather is nice today."

Ling blinked her round eyes.

Bomb's eyes are like LED displays, capable of showing various emoticons. At this moment, they are showing two large, slightly flashing circles, representing a mixture of "surprise" and "confusion."

It took Ling about half a second to confirm this fact, then another half a second to accept it, before she tried to speak: "Wait, wait a minute—!"

A strong feeling of being pushed back in your seat comes over you.

For someone as small as Bomb, that wasn't a push-back sensation; it was more like "the whole cloth being slapped onto a flat surface."

The acceleration was so sudden that Ling felt as if she had been shoved hard from behind, her whole body—her entire bangbu—was pressed against the metal surface, her round cheeks were deformed by the airflow, and her round ears were blown backward by the wind, like two small flags fluttering in the gale.

The wind howled past on both sides.

Ling instinctively stretched out her short, babby arm and gripped the heat dissipation grille inside the mecha tightly.

Behind her, Zhou Liming, who had run out of the room, witnessed this scene.

By the time he heard the noise, Bell had already followed Sid out the door. When he chased after her, he only caught a glimpse of her back at the end of the corridor, so he quickened his pace, almost rushing to the window at the end of the corridor.

Then he saw the black mech.

The mech is about 2.5 meters tall, with a sharply defined body, short limbs, and adjustable thrusters on its back...

The paint job was mostly gray. The mecha made a slight adjustment in attitude in mid-air and then accelerated.

The tail flame changed from pale blue to bright blue, and then to an almost blinding white-blue.

In the blink of an eye, the mecha became a tiny dot on the horizon, and a few seconds later, that dot disappeared, leaving only a fading streak of light in the night sky.

Zhou Liming stood by the window, motionless.

The night wind tousled his hair, making his bangs look messy, but he didn't raise his hand to fix them. His eyes were fixed on the disappearing dot on the horizon, his pupils slightly dilated, and his lips slightly parted.

"...A beautiful girl piloting a mecha?"

He muttered to himself, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper.

"What EVA?!"

……

After a long while, Zhou Liming finally stopped standing there thinking—if only he had the chance to examine the structure and power system of that mecha. Even just a glance, a touch, or a scan of the outer shell would allow him to glean countless pieces of information.

Just thinking about it makes me incredibly excited.

Unfortunately, now is not the time.

Zhou Liming withdrew his gaze.

He turned and walked back, his pace much slower than when he came, his boots making a dull thud on the corridor floor.

His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders were slightly slumped, and his back looked somewhat lonely, but more than that, it conveyed a sense of helplessness at being "forced to put his beloved toy back on the shelf."

He pushed open the door to the inner room and went inside.

Ye Jianguo and Chen Jianjun were talking in hushed tones inside.

Both of their voices were very soft, so soft that they were almost inaudible unless one was deliberately listening. When Zhou Liming entered, their conversation paused for a moment. They glanced at him, confirmed it was him, and then continued.

The pause was very short, but Zhou Liming noticed it—it meant that their conversation was not something that could be overheard by just anyone, or that they would instinctively pause whenever any outsider entered the room.

This is a habit.

Zhou Liming paid no attention to what they were saying, nor did he try to eavesdrop. He walked to the wall, leaned against it, put his hands in his pockets, and looked out at the night sky.

Ye Jianguo raised his eyelids and glanced at him.

"Gone?"

"I'm gone."

Zhou Liming's tone was calm, but Ye Jianguo noticed that his fingers curled slightly in his pocket—a habitual gesture when he was suppressing some kind of impulse.

"That girl Ling was taken away by the mecha, it looked like a rush. Something must have happened at the Zero Hole."

As Zhou Liming spoke, his gaze shifted from the window to Ye Jianguo's face. Ye Jianguo's expression had returned to normal, but the embers of excitement in his eyes still shone faintly.

Chen Jianjun frowned, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

The tapping was slow, about once per second, and very light, but it sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet room. Tap. Tap. Tap. It was like some kind of countdown.

"Look at the map provided by the National Fortune System, is Ye Shunguang over there too?" Chen Jianjun's voice wasn't loud; viewers in the live stream probably wouldn't be able to hear him. He spoke very quickly, and even Zhou Liming almost didn't understand.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Ye Jianguo and Chen Jianjun exchanged a glance.

The eye contact was brief, lasting only a fraction of a second, but in those few seconds, both of them read something unspoken in each other's eyes. Then they both looked away simultaneously, as if nothing had happened from that glance.

Some things are better left unsaid.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make.

Especially at times like this, they're being watched by thousands of spectators... who knows if any messages are being sent out?

"Alright."

Ye Jianguo spoke first.

His voice was steady, like a ballast stone.

He cleared his throat, stood up from his chair, put his hands behind his back, and scanned the room—from Zhe's bed to Zhou Liming to Chen Jianjun to the window, and finally returned to the table in the center of the room.

"Let's stay here and guard Rin's body." As he said this, he glanced at Rin in front of the HDD.

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts or confirming whether what he was about to say was appropriate.

"Although we don't need to worry about the people who are practicing meditation guarding the temple, we can't just sit idly by."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Liming suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Comrade Ji Liming!"

"Here!" Zhou Liming was startled when Ye Jianguo suddenly called his full name, so he stood up. Of course, if you don't have a picture in your mind, you can imagine Chen Qianyu's famous scene.

"Tell us what you know about rope making now," Ye Jianguo said before Zhou Liming could react.

"what?"

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