Chương 129: Chapter 81 (part 1)

Han Yanyan was unaware that she should be thanking the aide. She had neglected to take into account that Leo Parker, thanks to social anxiety and years of living in isolation, had a weak understanding of normal human emotions. He was especially bad at empathy. His feelings toward someone else's sadness, pain, and despair were very shallow, and it was extremely difficult to move him.

If she had known about any of this, she would certainly have cursed "fucking hell".

"So she... isn't faking it?" Leo Parker asked hesitantly. He was actually somewhat self-aware. When allowed to immerse himself in research, his mind felt extremely clear. But put him into a crowd, and the reactions of the people around him would always leave him at a loss, always feeling like he was one beat off of them. Then those mocking, sarcastic, pitying eyes made him even more reluctant to come into contact with anyone else.

"How should I know? Let me ask you," the attendant said, "What happened to all your former architects?"

Leo hesitated. "There were some who were similar to her... some went crazy, and some, like her, stopped talking at first and then stopped being able to build the worlds."

If the world couldn't be built, then that was a serious problem.

The attendant's face was as dark as still water. He said through gritted teeth, "I don't think she's completely crazy yet. I don't care how you do it, save her!"

Leo glared at him crossly, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"That's your business," the aide ground out. "If you can't save her, then you can say goodbye to both you and your ship." Before a woman, the aide could be gentle and poised, but in front of a man... he had clawed his way out from his many competitors to become the chief attendant and confidant of the Duke of Kline. This alone proved his iron bloodidiom: his strong will and unyielding spirit and skill.

Through the porthole, one could see the light of the stars reflecting off the battleships outside, glimmering with a distant, icy sheen. Though Leo cursed silently countless times inside his head, in the end he could only bite the bullet and say, "I'll try." He then added hurriedly, "But you'll have to give me time!"

Stubbing out his cigarette, the attendant replied, "Fine. How long do you need?"

 

"Hey!"

When she heard a voice, Han Yanyan looked up to see Leo appearing in the virtual space once again. She sat up slowly and silently stared.

Crouching down before her, Leo felt rather uncomfortable - the level of realism here was really just too lifelike. In the end he simply sank down to sit cross-legged on the ground. The two of them stared at each other, deep vigilance in both sets of eyes.

The wariness and indifference in Han Yanyan's gaze relaxed Leo a little. If she had acted weak and begged him humbly, he would never have believed her no matter what the attendant said.

"What do you want?" Leo asked, watching her.

Han Yanyan looked up. "I want to go home."

"No." Leo refused flatly.

There was silence in the space. Even God would suffer if He had to make small talk with a nerd.

The two continued to stare at each other for a while, until Han Yanyan moved back a little, lay back down on the ground, and closed her eyes.

Leo: "..."

"Fuck." He jumped up. "Han Yanyan, I'm telling you, I'm going to count to three! If you don't get up and start working, don't blame me for being cruel!"

Han Yanyan shifted a little, turning her back to him.

So furious he was stamping his feet, Leo raised his fingers high and began counting, "One! Two--! Annnd--"

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"Three!" He finally raised his third finger. But Han Yanyan ignored him. She remained lying on her side on the ground, curled up in a fetal position, showing him only her back.

Leo was livid.

Let her taste what I can do! he thought. Had he been outside the virtual space and controlling Han Yanyan through the screen, he would surely have triggered the electric shock punishment without hesitation right this moment.

But now he was in a simulated space, and Han Yanyan was there before him 'in real life'. She lay there on the floor, her jet-black hair scattered like ink. The curve of her figure sank down at the middle, her waist slender, her arms slender. Even the calves and ankles that peeked out from her long skirt were slender.

Leo hadn't wanted to get close to her because she was so obviously feminine. Her femininity made him feel threatened, as if he had lost that sense of security that came with being in control.

For example, right now, Leo, who should have been ordering the system to turn up the voltage and punish Han Yanyan without any hesitation, was looking at her thin, fair shoulders. He opened and closed his mouth, but could not send out the command.

It had obviously been so easy to do from across the screen, no different from fighting a monster and taking down a boss in a game. 'Architects' had no gender; they were just slaves.

She's a woman, the aide had said.

Han Yanyan had her arms wrapped around her body. From behind, Leo looked and found that even her fingers were slender.

Her female characteristics finally awakened Leo's awareness of the opposite sex, which was much slower to make itself known than a normal person's. He began to truly feel that the attendant had been right. This architect, this Han Yanyan, was... a woman.

Leo struggled for a long time before crouching down at a safe distance and saying, "Work for me for six months, and I'll let you go."

"How long has it been?" Han Yanyan asked.

"Two weeks."

"Hah," Han Yanyan breathed and fell silent again.

"Hey!" Leo called out.

"There's no point in not letting me go after half a year. By then, I'll definitely have gone crazy. All your former architects," she asked softly, "Have gone mad, haven't they?"

Leo choked.

Closing her eyes, Han Yanyan stopped talking.

Leo paced around the space with his hands on his hips before finally going back to crouch behind Han Yanyan and saying, "Then I'll let you rest."

Han Yanyan remained still.

Pausing, Leo said, "I'll let you get out to rest."

Now Han Yanyan moved. After a few seconds, she rolled over and sat up, turning to stare at him.

Leo winked. "What I mean is, I'll let you out of the simulation system and allow you to leave the hibernation pod for some air. How about it?"