Pris Xingchen’s height and build were similar to Bai Lixin’s.
The men’s restroom door could only accommodate one person at a time, and the two stood at opposite ends, facing each other.
Pris Xingchen took the initiative to step aside, making some room for Bai Lixin.
With space cleared, it felt awkward not to enter, so Bai Lixin had no choice but to step into the men’s restroom. As he glanced sideways, he noticed that Pris Xingchen wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, he was staring at him with a strange expression, pinching his chin.
Bai Lixin: “What are you looking at?”
He had only seen Pris Xingchen’s face on posters and projections before and thought he looked good. However, seeing him in person, he found Pris Xingchen even more handsome.
Xingchen appeared to be in his early twenties, with light brown, slightly curly shoulder-length hair, and beautiful eyes that seemed to sparkle like diamonds.
His fair skin, bright eyes, and overall aura exuded a sense of elegance.
Upon hearing Bai Lixin’s question, Xingchen withdrew his gaze, “Sorry, I just think your face is very handsome.”
S419M urged frantically: [Lord Host, go for it! Since you’re already chatting in the restroom, what’s there left to talk about? Just ask him about his ancestors, one more question won’t hurt! Come on, ask him, I’m begging you!]
Bai Lixin couldn’t stand S419M’s nagging and gave an embarrassed and polite smile at Xingchen, “You’re the handsome one, Mr. Xingchen. I don’t know why, but seeing you suddenly gave me a strange sense of familiarity, as if I were looking at a relative. I’m especially curious about your ancestors. Perhaps we belong to the same ancestral lineage?”
Xingchen’s expression suddenly became subtle, and his gaze towards Bai Lixin became somewhat strange.
It was a look of care, mixed with a hint of indulgence.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Care for mentally challenged children?
Fortunately, Bai Lixin’s embarrassment didn’t last long. The sound of hurried footsteps and knocking on the restroom door interrupted them, “Xingchen, are you done? The concert is about to start!”
Xingchen put away his strange gaze and replied with a different topic, “Are you here for the concert too? Did you hear the Sky Trilogy I just sang? What did you think?”
Of course, one wouldn’t criticize a song in front of its creator, especially when Xingchen’s songs were indeed good. Bai Lixin answered sincerely, “Very nice, heavenly music.”
As Xingchen walked out, he turned back to smile at Bai Lixin, “If you liked it, listen to more of my songs online. You can find my songs everywhere on the Star Network. You’ll surely find surprises. I wish you good luck and goodbye.”
As soon as the door opened, several staff members rushed in, surrounding Xingchen and escorting him away.
S419M exclaimed in his mind: [You didn’t get any results! He didn’t even mention who his ancestors are in the end. Ahhh, is he really your descendant?]
[…] Bai Lixin felt another headache coming on, [Thankfully, no one else can hear your voice. If someone else heard what you just said, they’d definitely think you’re insulting them.]
Greeting ancestors and questioning others’ ancestors were both ways to court trouble.
It was hard to tell which one was more insulting, greeting one’s ancestors or treating one’s ancestors as one’s ancestors.
…
Pris Xingchen’s concert lasted for four hours, from eight in the evening until midnight. By the time Bai Lixin returned home, it was already one in the morning.
The robot, Xiao Yi, stood at the door tirelessly and conscientiously, tidying up the room diligently like a snail girl, waiting for Bai Lixin’s return.
While Bai Lixin was washing up, he recalled what Pris Xingchen had said to him and asked Xiao Yi, “Xiao Yi, can you play some music?”
Xiao Yi was quietly waiting for Bai Lixin to wash up with a towel. Upon hearing the question, she promptly replied, “Yes, sir, you want to listen to music now? According to analysis, you just finished Pris Xingchen’s live concert. Perhaps you’re still eager to listen to more of his songs?”
Bai Lixin turned on the tap, letting the clear water gradually fill the sink. “Yes, I want to listen to his Sky Trilogy: ‘Mist,’ ‘Dome,’ and ‘Star.’ Can you find them and play them in a loop for me?”
Xiao Yi replied, “Certainly, sir. I will now play the Sky Trilogy by the singer Pris Xingchen in a loop for you.”
The familiar melody echoed in the room, awakening memories that Bai Lixin had not yet shaken off and momentarily pulling his consciousness back to the stage where he had just been immersed.
Bai Lixin listened quietly to the Sky Trilogy as the water in the sink gradually filled up, the rushing water causing ripples as it splashed into it.
After turning off the tap, Bai Lixin rolled up his sleeves and reached his hand into the basin. He extended his wrist from the surface to the bottom of the sink, plunging it deep into the water. His fingers hooked around the plug, allowing the excess water to flow into the drain.
Once the water reached a certain depth, Bai Lixin replaced the plug and prepared to wash up.
He reached his hand into the water again.
But the next moment, he withdrew it.
The young man stared at the clear, transparent surface of the water with a puzzled expression, then turned on the tap again.
Just when the water in the sink was almost level with the edge, the young man finally turned off the tap.
Then he once again moved his wrist into the bottom of the sink and removed the plug.
Something peculiar was happening in the bathroom.
It was as if the young man had entered some kind of time loop, he kept repeating the actions of filling the sink with water and then pulling the plug and draining it.
After several repetitions, the young man finally broke free from this cycle and began wash up up as usual.
His inexplicable behavior puzzled Xiao Yi beside him. “Sir, what were you doing just now? Why did you keep draining the water?”
“You were wasting water resources with your behavior. I hope you won’t do this again in the future.”
The young man had just finished washing his face, and his fair face still had a moist sheen. He looked at Xiao Yi with wet eyes and said, “Use your logic to analyze why I did that just now.”
Xiao Yi paused silently for a while before speaking uncertainly, “A sudden impulse to play?”
The young man’s brows suddenly relaxed, revealing a smirk. “Exactly, just for fun.”
Xiao Yi: O-O
…
Just before seven in the morning, Bai Lixin was awakened by a series of system prompts.
[Player death x100, players remaining currently: 9900.]
[“Dark Steel City” has great uncertainty. Players should be cautious during the game. The remaining game time is 58 days. I wish all players a pleasant gaming experience.]
After getting awakened by the death notification, Bai Lixin lost all his sleep and simply sat up in bed.
Xiao Yi, who had been in power-saving mode leaning against the wall, quickly activated. “Good morning, sir. You’ve woken up unusually early today. For humans, the healthiest sleep time should be around eight hours. You only slept for five hours last night, and now you’re awake at seven in the morning. Your rest time is severely insufficient.”
“If you feel mentally unwell, you can take the day off today. Your health is the foundation of everything, and ensuring your physical health comes first.”
Bai Lixin stretched lazily. “No, work makes me happy. I feel quite good mentally, so you can’t deprive me of my joy.”
Xiao Yi blinked. “Your judgment is highly subjective. If you insist on going to work, you need to pass my health check first. Only after passing the health check can you go to work. Otherwise, even if you want to go, for the sake of your health, I won’t let you engage in labor.”
The young man showed indifference. “Then scan me.”
A familiar red scanning light shot out from Xiao Yi’s hand.
“Normal body temperature, normal water content, normal adrenaline levels… All indicators are within normal range.”
“The examination results show that the sir’s current physical condition is very healthy.”
The eyes on Xiao Yi’s black screen blinked a few times. “Sir, according to the results, you can work. But if you feel uncomfortable during work, be sure to take a sick leave.”
“Sir, you seem to have changed. You didn’t like working before. According to records, the most days you worked in a year was only 99 days. It’s hard to imagine you saying ‘I love working’.”
Xiao Yi: “However, your behavior is understandable. Human thoughts bring uncertainty to human behavior. In the human world, there is a saying, ‘Yesterday I died, today I am a new me.’ Humans are changeable. From a certain perspective, although this sentence is illogical, it fits the characteristic of humans.”
Bai Lixin: “So, in your opinion, my recent change in behavior is because my thoughts have changed? Haven’t you ever thought that I might have really changed into a different person?”
Xiao Yi’s expression turned into a big smile. She tilted her head and looked up at Bai Lixin with her “eyes.” “How could that be? You haven’t changed at all. Your facial features, hair distribution, pupils, and fingerprints haven’t changed. You’re still you. ‘Like a different person’ is just a description of this person’s drastically changed personality, not that he has really changed into a different person. Sir, are you joking with me so early in the morning?”
Bai Lixin: “Robots can change from one mechanical body to another by changing chips. Don’t you believe that a human soul can also change from one body to another?”
Xiao Yi continued to smile. “Human thoughts come from the brain. If you change from one body to another, you need to undergo brain transplantation surgery. This surgery is no longer a technical problem now, and many people have undergone brain transplantation surgery for survival. But none of your organs have changed, including your brain. I believe that with human technology, it is possible to transfer the soul, that is, the brain from one body to another, but not with the current you.”
“Do you really believe in your scan results?” The young man suddenly walked up to the robot, his body almost touching its cold mechanical body.
He looked down at the robot, “What if your program has been meaningless from the beginning?”
Xiao Yi subconsciously tried to step back, but the young man grabbed her wrist, controlling her body. Xiao Yi tried to pull away but found that the young man’s strength was surprisingly strong. As a robot, she couldn’t pull her wrist out of the young man’s hand no matter how hard she tried.
A shocked expression appeared on the robot’s black screen. “Let go!”
Bai Lixin complied and released his grip.
Xiao Yi was still using all her strength to pull back. She didn’t anticipate that Bai Lixin would suddenly let go. Her body stumbled backwards uncontrollably due to inertia. By chance, there was a chair behind her. The robot stumbled, staggered unsteadily and fell heavily to the ground with a loud “crash.”
The black screen of the robot flickered a few times, and the humanoid expression on it turned into a mosaic square that jumpes around on the black screen for a few times. Finally, it emitted a crackling sound of electric current, the mosaic blinked into a bright light, then the screen turned completely black.
Bai Lixin looked down at the robot’s cold mechanical body and slowly pulled the chair up from the ground, placing it aside. “The chair wasn’t in the right place. Poor Xiao Yi, you’ve been wronged.”
S419M: […]
‘I saw you put the chair there earlier!
I won’t say if it was intentional or not!’
Pris Xingchen’s height and build were similar to Bai Lixin’s.
The men’s restroom door could only accommodate one person at a time, and the two stood at opposite ends, facing each other.
Pris Xingchen took the initiative to step aside, making some room for Bai Lixin.
With space cleared, it felt awkward not to enter, so Bai Lixin had no choice but to step into the men’s restroom. As he glanced sideways, he noticed that Pris Xingchen wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, he was staring at him with a strange expression, pinching his chin.
Bai Lixin: “What are you looking at?”
He had only seen Pris Xingchen’s face on posters and projections before and thought he looked good. However, seeing him in person, he found Pris Xingchen even more handsome.
Xingchen appeared to be in his early twenties, with light brown, slightly curly shoulder-length hair, and beautiful eyes that seemed to sparkle like diamonds.
His fair skin, bright eyes, and overall aura exuded a sense of elegance.
Upon hearing Bai Lixin’s question, Xingchen withdrew his gaze, “Sorry, I just think your face is very handsome.”
S419M urged frantically: [Lord Host, go for it! Since you’re already chatting in the restroom, what’s there left to talk about? Just ask him about his ancestors, one more question won’t hurt! Come on, ask him, I’m begging you!]
Bai Lixin couldn’t stand S419M’s nagging and gave an embarrassed and polite smile at Xingchen, “You’re the handsome one, Mr. Xingchen. I don’t know why, but seeing you suddenly gave me a strange sense of familiarity, as if I were looking at a relative. I’m especially curious about your ancestors. Perhaps we belong to the same ancestral lineage?”
Xingchen’s expression suddenly became subtle, and his gaze towards Bai Lixin became somewhat strange.
It was a look of care, mixed with a hint of indulgence.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Care for mentally challenged children?
Fortunately, Bai Lixin’s embarrassment didn’t last long. The sound of hurried footsteps and knocking on the restroom door interrupted them, “Xingchen, are you done? The concert is about to start!”
Xingchen put away his strange gaze and replied with a different topic, “Are you here for the concert too? Did you hear the Sky Trilogy I just sang? What did you think?”
Of course, one wouldn’t criticize a song in front of its creator, especially when Xingchen’s songs were indeed good. Bai Lixin answered sincerely, “Very nice, heavenly music.”
As Xingchen walked out, he turned back to smile at Bai Lixin, “If you liked it, listen to more of my songs online. You can find my songs everywhere on the Star Network. You’ll surely find surprises. I wish you good luck and goodbye.”
As soon as the door opened, several staff members rushed in, surrounding Xingchen and escorting him away.
S419M exclaimed in his mind: [You didn’t get any results! He didn’t even mention who his ancestors are in the end. Ahhh, is he really your descendant?]
[…] Bai Lixin felt another headache coming on, [Thankfully, no one else can hear your voice. If someone else heard what you just said, they’d definitely think you’re insulting them.]
Greeting ancestors and questioning others’ ancestors were both ways to court trouble.
It was hard to tell which one was more insulting, greeting one’s ancestors or treating one’s ancestors as one’s ancestors.
…
Pris Xingchen’s concert lasted for four hours, from eight in the evening until midnight. By the time Bai Lixin returned home, it was already one in the morning.
The robot, Xiao Yi, stood at the door tirelessly and conscientiously, tidying up the room diligently like a snail girl, waiting for Bai Lixin’s return.
While Bai Lixin was washing up, he recalled what Pris Xingchen had said to him and asked Xiao Yi, “Xiao Yi, can you play some music?”
Xiao Yi was quietly waiting for Bai Lixin to wash up with a towel. Upon hearing the question, she promptly replied, “Yes, sir, you want to listen to music now? According to analysis, you just finished Pris Xingchen’s live concert. Perhaps you’re still eager to listen to more of his songs?”
Bai Lixin turned on the tap, letting the clear water gradually fill the sink. “Yes, I want to listen to his Sky Trilogy: ‘Mist,’ ‘Dome,’ and ‘Star.’ Can you find them and play them in a loop for me?”
Xiao Yi replied, “Certainly, sir. I will now play the Sky Trilogy by the singer Pris Xingchen in a loop for you.”
The familiar melody echoed in the room, awakening memories that Bai Lixin had not yet shaken off and momentarily pulling his consciousness back to the stage where he had just been immersed.
Bai Lixin listened quietly to the Sky Trilogy as the water in the sink gradually filled up, the rushing water causing ripples as it splashed into it.
After turning off the tap, Bai Lixin rolled up his sleeves and reached his hand into the basin. He extended his wrist from the surface to the bottom of the sink, plunging it deep into the water. His fingers hooked around the plug, allowing the excess water to flow into the drain.
Once the water reached a certain depth, Bai Lixin replaced the plug and prepared to wash up.
He reached his hand into the water again.
But the next moment, he withdrew it.
The young man stared at the clear, transparent surface of the water with a puzzled expression, then turned on the tap again.
Just when the water in the sink was almost level with the edge, the young man finally turned off the tap.
Then he once again moved his wrist into the bottom of the sink and removed the plug.
Something peculiar was happening in the bathroom.
It was as if the young man had entered some kind of time loop, he kept repeating the actions of filling the sink with water and then pulling the plug and draining it.
After several repetitions, the young man finally broke free from this cycle and began wash up up as usual.
His inexplicable behavior puzzled Xiao Yi beside him. “Sir, what were you doing just now? Why did you keep draining the water?”
“You were wasting water resources with your behavior. I hope you won’t do this again in the future.”
The young man had just finished washing his face, and his fair face still had a moist sheen. He looked at Xiao Yi with wet eyes and said, “Use your logic to analyze why I did that just now.”
Xiao Yi paused silently for a while before speaking uncertainly, “A sudden impulse to play?”
The young man’s brows suddenly relaxed, revealing a smirk. “Exactly, just for fun.”
Xiao Yi: O-O
…
Just before seven in the morning, Bai Lixin was awakened by a series of system prompts.
[Player death x100, players remaining currently: 9900.]
[“Dark Steel City” has great uncertainty. Players should be cautious during the game. The remaining game time is 58 days. I wish all players a pleasant gaming experience.]
After getting awakened by the death notification, Bai Lixin lost all his sleep and simply sat up in bed.
Xiao Yi, who had been in power-saving mode leaning against the wall, quickly activated. “Good morning, sir. You’ve woken up unusually early today. For humans, the healthiest sleep time should be around eight hours. You only slept for five hours last night, and now you’re awake at seven in the morning. Your rest time is severely insufficient.”
“If you feel mentally unwell, you can take the day off today. Your health is the foundation of everything, and ensuring your physical health comes first.”
Bai Lixin stretched lazily. “No, work makes me happy. I feel quite good mentally, so you can’t deprive me of my joy.”
Xiao Yi blinked. “Your judgment is highly subjective. If you insist on going to work, you need to pass my health check first. Only after passing the health check can you go to work. Otherwise, even if you want to go, for the sake of your health, I won’t let you engage in labor.”
The young man showed indifference. “Then scan me.”
A familiar red scanning light shot out from Xiao Yi’s hand.
“Normal body temperature, normal water content, normal adrenaline levels… All indicators are within normal range.”
“The examination results show that the sir’s current physical condition is very healthy.”
The eyes on Xiao Yi’s black screen blinked a few times. “Sir, according to the results, you can work. But if you feel uncomfortable during work, be sure to take a sick leave.”
“Sir, you seem to have changed. You didn’t like working before. According to records, the most days you worked in a year was only 99 days. It’s hard to imagine you saying ‘I love working’.”
Xiao Yi: “However, your behavior is understandable. Human thoughts bring uncertainty to human behavior. In the human world, there is a saying, ‘Yesterday I died, today I am a new me.’ Humans are changeable. From a certain perspective, although this sentence is illogical, it fits the characteristic of humans.”
Bai Lixin: “So, in your opinion, my recent change in behavior is because my thoughts have changed? Haven’t you ever thought that I might have really changed into a different person?”
Xiao Yi’s expression turned into a big smile. She tilted her head and looked up at Bai Lixin with her “eyes.” “How could that be? You haven’t changed at all. Your facial features, hair distribution, pupils, and fingerprints haven’t changed. You’re still you. ‘Like a different person’ is just a description of this person’s drastically changed personality, not that he has really changed into a different person. Sir, are you joking with me so early in the morning?”
Bai Lixin: “Robots can change from one mechanical body to another by changing chips. Don’t you believe that a human soul can also change from one body to another?”
Xiao Yi continued to smile. “Human thoughts come from the brain. If you change from one body to another, you need to undergo brain transplantation surgery. This surgery is no longer a technical problem now, and many people have undergone brain transplantation surgery for survival. But none of your organs have changed, including your brain. I believe that with human technology, it is possible to transfer the soul, that is, the brain from one body to another, but not with the current you.”
“Do you really believe in your scan results?” The young man suddenly walked up to the robot, his body almost touching its cold mechanical body.
He looked down at the robot, “What if your program has been meaningless from the beginning?”
Xiao Yi subconsciously tried to step back, but the young man grabbed her wrist, controlling her body. Xiao Yi tried to pull away but found that the young man’s strength was surprisingly strong. As a robot, she couldn’t pull her wrist out of the young man’s hand no matter how hard she tried.
A shocked expression appeared on the robot’s black screen. “Let go!”
Bai Lixin complied and released his grip.
Xiao Yi was still using all her strength to pull back. She didn’t anticipate that Bai Lixin would suddenly let go. Her body stumbled backwards uncontrollably due to inertia. By chance, there was a chair behind her. The robot stumbled, staggered unsteadily and fell heavily to the ground with a loud “crash.”
The black screen of the robot flickered a few times, and the humanoid expression on it turned into a mosaic square that jumpes around on the black screen for a few times. Finally, it emitted a crackling sound of electric current, the mosaic blinked into a bright light, then the screen turned completely black.
Bai Lixin looked down at the robot’s cold mechanical body and slowly pulled the chair up from the ground, placing it aside. “The chair wasn’t in the right place. Poor Xiao Yi, you’ve been wronged.”
S419M: […]
‘I saw you put the chair there earlier!
I won’t say if it was intentional or not!’
