Chapter 9: Mysterious Origin
As Xiao Xiao pondered all of this, lying numbly on his bed, Yang Jia, who had just returned home, sat silently on the sofa, her expression weighed down by persistent gravity.
After much hesitation, she finally dialed a phone number.
The signal traveled in a lightning-fast manner, rushing swiftly to the very center of the city, where stood the tallest building in the entire metropolis—over a hundred stories high, yet bearing no advertisements or decorations whatsoever.
On the top floor, it was silent and empty, with not a single person present, only precise instruments and a dizzying array of wiring, all delicately connected to a glass tank in the center.
Inside the glass tank, suspended in deep green liquid, was a brain—a human brain, completely unprotected, with numerous wires connected to its surface.
Yang Jia’s phone was answered by an instrument outside the glass tank, her voice echoing in a room that contained only cold machinery, complex circuits, and a brain:
“I made contact with that newcomer today, and I also helped him see the truth of this world…”
“……”
The cold electronic voice unexpectedly carried a hint of gentleness: “I’m not sure whether to celebrate that we have one more companion, or to sympathize with another person falling into a nightmare!”
“This newcomer is very strange.”
Yang Jia slowly massaged her temples and said softly: “He is calm, decisive, possesses strong analytical abilities and the courage to resist malice, yet hasn’t reached the point of being cold and heartless.”
“I can say that in all my years in this foreign land, this is the first time I’ve encountered someone with such potential.”
“But equally, there are things about him that I cannot see through.”
“……”
She paused for a moment, then spoke softly: “Everything he does, when you look back on it, is perfectly reasonable, yet it always manages to surprise people.”
“So, I hope you can investigate him.”
“……”
The gentle electronic voice fell silent for a moment before responding: “I’ll try.”
Yang Jia said softly, “Thank you.”
Then she said nothing more, simply waiting patiently.
In a room filled with machinery and complex circuits, a brain that existed in silence seemed to tremble slightly on its surface, with thin wisps of electrical sparks coiling around it. These faint electrical sparks triggered intense reactions among the surrounding machinery, and even some cables writhed like pythons. Countless screens were flooded with garbled code, and the massive servers operated in an overloaded state, running frantically.
It seemed as though some kind of microwave was beginning to stimulate this city.
The vast and magnificent city foundation trembled in a way imperceptible to ordinary people, emanating strange signals that intertwined into a chaotic network.
Yang Jia could also sense this vibration. She held the phone motionless, waiting patiently.
After a long while, the vibration ceased, and a gentle electronic voice sounded from the other end of the phone:
“I’ve accessed all his information in this city. It went smoothly, and there are no traces of it being blocked or tampered with.”
“Based on this information, he shouldn’t have had any intersection with this world as a stranger yet, nor does it seem like he’s been remotely replaced or controlled by some kind of will.”
“So, my answer is, at least on the surface, he is simply a newly awakened person.”
“However…”
The voice paused for a moment, and the machine emitted a faint rumbling of high-speed operation before saying: “Four years ago, he once went to the hospital for a check-up because he was troubled by severe mental illness.”
“Four years ago?”
Yang Jia furrowed her brow and asked, “What symptoms?”
“According to his own description: dizziness, headaches, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, sensory dysfunction, intense despondency and overwhelming depression…”
“……But the final examination results showed that everything was normal.”
“……”
Yang Jia’s expression suddenly became serious, and he sat up straight: “This looks like a daze caused by mysterious sources.”
“Yes.”
The electronic voice answered without tonal inflection: “Those mysterious sources peering at the city would indeed, for certain reasons, seize the individual wills of some people in this city through spatial influence.”
“But he is different, and we both understand that no individual can maintain the integrity and rationality of their self-form while under the influence of a mysterious source.”
“……”
Yang Jia, tense, furrowed her brow even more tightly, but the muscles that had been clenched were slowly relaxing: “Yes…”
“If he was truly affected by the mysterious source, a person who has been continuously affected for four years…”
Saying this, she couldn’t help but give a bitter smile and said: “Never mind whether mutations or anything like that would occur, the painful substances in his body could probably flood an entire city, right?”
“……”
“This kind of situation is impossible to happen.”
“So, I believe he is a clean individual.”
“His degree of isolation and staying indoors, when viewed against the young population existing in this city, is not an isolated case—in fact, there are quite a few.”
“Usually, people simply regard this kind of behavior as rather degenerate.”
“At most…”
At this point, even the extremely rational and steady electronic voice actually hesitated slightly, choosing a phrase with a distinctly humanized quality:
“Feeling a bit unwell?”
“……”
Yang Jia nodded, her expression appearing somewhat melancholic in the misty water vapor. After a long while, she spoke softly: “Regardless, the potential he has demonstrated is enormous, and we have no other choice…”
“I only hope that when he learns the truth in the future, he won’t blame me…”
“……”
The next day, Xiao Xiao woke up very early.
He didn’t know why either, but he had slept surprisingly soundly last night.
Over the past four years, his headaches had been frequent, his entire mind as if constantly immersed in pain and fear, and yesterday, he learned the truth about this world, and his fear reached its limit.
But in such circumstances, he suddenly found himself calm, as if he had gained the courage to face things with composure.
By this time, his mother had also gotten up and was making breakfast in the kitchen with clattering sounds.
Xiao Xiao was unwilling to see her, so even though he was awake, he simply sat on the bed, waiting for the sounds from the living room to fade away.
Around eight thirty, the sound of the courtyard gate opening and closing came from outside. Mom had already left for work, and only then did Xiao Xiao come out of his room.
But unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the living room, he saw the meal left on the table, along with a note and some cash pressed down by a carton of milk.
“You brat, I’ve gone to work.”
“Dating doesn’t come without spending money. Since you’re with such a pretty girl, don’t be too stingy.”
“……”
Xiao Xiao was momentarily stunned.
She had misunderstood the relationship between herself and Yang Jia, and considering that she had never gone to work and had no money on hand, she was giving her pocket money?
A strange feeling rose from the depths of her heart.
What was this?
After signing a contract with the city, did this city, and the people living in it, begin to show kindness toward her?
Or was it the emotions that mother herself had revealed?
Just moments ago, he felt that there would be nothing more worth being surprised about, yet this note and the two bills gave him a complex feeling.
After a long silence, he sat down, finished his breakfast, and put away the note and the pocket money.
After breakfast, I simply sat quietly at home. Now I found myself prepared to face everything, yet unexpectedly discovered that there seemed to be nothing urgent that required me to face.
Yang Jia didn’t say much yesterday, she simply showed me the truth of this city.
She said there would be someone specifically responsible for guiding me, but who exactly is this person, and what should I do?
Just as I was thinking about this question, the phone rang at just the right moment.
“How did you sleep last night?”
Yang Jia’s voice still sounded so calm, with a hint of laziness, as if she didn’t quite fit into this world.
Xiao Xiao answered honestly: “Very well, very soundly.”
“Very well?”
Yang Jia was somewhat surprised. When newcomers in the past realized the truth of this world, they lived in constant fear and anxiety—some called themselves all night long, and some even committed suicide that very night.
Xiao Xiao’s answer was actually “very well”?
“Yes.”
Xiao Xiao answered softly, “Didn’t you tell me? In a city full of monsters like this, what else can we do besides finding peace of mind?”
Yang Jia didn’t know what to say, and after a while, she smiled and said, “You’re really someone who listens to advice.”
Faced with these words, Xiao Xiao didn’t know how to respond.
It was Yang Jia who picked up on his silence and smiled, saying: “Since you’ve prepared yourself to face all of this, then it’s time to move to the next step.”
Xiao Xiao was slightly moved and asked: “What exactly do you mean by the next step?”
“We’re too weak, so of course we need to find something to protect ourselves.”
Yang Jia’s voice sounded somewhat mysterious as he said: “This is a very complicated matter, but don’t worry, I’ve found an experienced designer to help you.”
“Be nice to her. She’s a very well-behaved and quiet girl.”
“……”
“Okay.”
Xiao Xiao agreed, and thinking about the person Yang Jia was about to introduce, he felt a faint sense of anticipation.
After waiting for a while, he heard a notification sound from his phone. Yang Jia had indeed sent over a contact, but the moment Xiao Xiao saw it, he was taken aback. The avatar was an adorable girl dressed in a maid outfit.
The nickname is: [Old Auntie Eighteen Sitting on the Ground Sucking Dirt]
“This quiet girl’s nickname is quite wild, isn’t it?”