CH 42

Chapter 42: I Hate Bugs 

When Bian Yi arrived at the laboratory, Kou Li didn’t look well. Kou Li hugged him when he saw him, leaned against him for a while, and then continued to sit in front of the computer without saying a word to Bian Yi. Bian Yi could only stand aside silently and watch him work. He couldn’t help much. Bian Yi felt a little regretful, although it was selfish of him. Perhaps Jiang Shi and Jian Yi could have held on for a few more days, and with those extra days, Kou Li might not have to work so hard. But this selfish regret was of no use, the deed was done, and he could only take care of the present.

Bian Yi spent the whole day in the laboratory with Kou Li. Although he didn’t understand it, he could see the system struggling in the holographic map at the center of the laboratory. Every time it moved, Bian Yi’s heart skipped a beat. It was indeed incredibly foul, in some aspects its weaknesses were similar to humans. But its abilities could hardly be considered weak to humans. If it were truly weak, Bian Yi wouldn’t have been trapped for sixteen years.

Bian Yi didn’t know how Kou Li did it, but every program setting must have been tried dozens or even hundreds of times, and it must have taken countless days and months of research to develop. Rome was not built in a day. Bian Yi had never dared to think deeply about how many nights there were like last night for Kou Li in his previous life and in the year he returned earlier than the others.

He didn’t dare to think deeply about how Kou Li died in his previous life either. But the answer was still easy to guess.

Bian Yi’s throat moved, and he turned his head away, avoiding eye contact with Kou Li on his back. He blinked several times, not letting any emotions show, so as not to affect Kou Li. However, when he looked at the half-elliptical machine that had not been turned on, his fingers still trembled uncontrollably.

Was Kou Li here in this laboratory…

Bian Yi raised his head and took a deep breath before leaving with light steps. The laboratory door closed quietly, its sound too small to be noticed.

Bian Yi leaned against the wall outside the laboratory to calm his emotions. “What are you doing out here?” Jian Yi was wearing a rare serious laboratory coat today. He also had a laboratory here and, of course, had access rights.

Upon hearing his voice, Bian Yi straightened up and said, “It’s nothing.”

Jian Yi looked at his face and saw that he didn’t talk back. He pointed to his watch and said, “It’s almost been 24 hours.”

Bian Yi looked silently at the hands of the clock. Yes, it had almost been 24 hours and Kou Li hadn’t succeeded yet.

AD

Half the time had already passed, and Bian Yi gazed at the closed door. His mind was becoming restless again.

In the quiet lab, Jian Yi could hear other sounds. Although he couldn’t conduct research on the bug at the moment, he could record all the data he could observe because of the hologram.

During lunchtime, Bian Yi had already ordered food. But when he returned to the lab, he saw Kou Li skillfully taking a nutritional drink from Jian Yi and drinking it.

Bian Yi seemed to see Kou Li from the previous life, where he worked tirelessly in the lab day after day and drank nutritional drinks when he got hungry. As this went on, his body began to have problems, and he had to rely on intravenous nutrition to sustain his life.

Bian Yi leaned against the workbench, breathing heavily. He didn’t know what was happening to him today. After they got married, Kou Li had also worked through the night on projects. However, because Kou Li had always insisted on exercising, staying up occasionally didn’t affect his health.

But now, seeing Kou Li, Bian Yi felt inexplicably anxious and felt that everything in the lab was related to Kou Li’s death in the previous life.

Actually, he could leave. He couldn’t do anything here except worry. But he also knew that he should be here, accompanying Kou Li, even if he couldn’t do anything.

At the afternoon, the bug became even more agitated. The atmosphere in the lab became even more tense. Kou Li’s brows were furrowed.

AD

Jian Yi finished recording the data and glanced at Kou Li’s face, reminding him, “You should take a break.”

Kou Li pushed his glasses and spoke in a hoarse voice, “No need.”

Jian Yi frowned disapprovingly, wanting to persuade him again, but he knew what trapping the bug forever meant to Kou Li.

At the moment, Bian Yi had gone to pick up Xiao Shu from school, leaving only the two of them in the lab.

In the end, Jian Yi didn’t persuade him again and instead let Kou Li take his medicine.

Under such heavy pressure, it was necessary to be vigilant about the state of his patient.

At that moment, Bian Yi was on his way and passed by a large screen displaying some news. A lot of people stopped to watch on the street and on the other side of the screen.

Bian Yi didn’t have the mental focus to pay attention to the news, but he unconsciously looked at the screen because of the crowd’s attention and discussion.

Xiao Shu climbed up and knelt on the seat curiously, peering out the window for a while.

Bian Yi didn’t know if he understood or not, but when the child sat back down, he rubbed his head.

AD

Then he heard Xiao Shu ask him, “Daddy, why hasn’t Daddy (Kou Li) come home?”

Bian Yi smiled at Xiao Shu, “He’s busy with work. When he’s done, let’s go out and play together, okay?”

Xiao Shu nodded heavily, “Okay!”

Since they had Xiao Shu, Bian Yi and Kou Li hadn’t prepared for him to distinguish between their names. They both tacitly let Xiao Shu call them “Daddy.”

Before Xiao Shu grew up, Bian Yi had a fantasy that when Xiao Shu called out “Daddy,” he and Kou Li would answer together, and maybe they would laugh together.

That was Bian Yi’s definition of “happiness.”

Later, Xiao Shu grew taller and learned to speak. The scene that Bian Yi had once imagined actually happened, and just as he had imagined, every time he and Kou Li responded together, they would laugh.

However, if something happened, they could easily tell from the tone of Xiao Shu’s voice to whom he was calling or asking.

That little guy was always very smart.

The car drove past the intersection, and the screen gradually disappeared in the rearview mirror.

The news on TV reported the arrest and imprisonment of the celebrity Xu Rui for killing and dismembering people.

Things and people unrelated to Bian Yi had finally returned to where they should be.

Just passing by.

Kou Li still wouldn’t be coming home tonight.

Bian Yi sat at the dinner table in a daze, occasionally waking up to pick up a chopstick and give some food to Xiao Shu, then going back to his daze.

AD

He seemed to not know what he was doing.

Xiao Shu blinked and when Bian Yi was about to give him more food, his little hand covered his bowl and said, “Daddy, if you give me more, I won’t be able to finish it.”

Bian Yi was startled by Xiao Shu’s voice and almost dropped his chopsticks.

“Sorry, Xiao Shu.” Bian Yi regretfully put the food back in his own bowl.

But not a single grain of rice in his own bowl was touched.

“Daddy, are you not coming back tonight?” The little tree asked him.

“Um.” Bian Yi lowered his head and continued to eat.

The little tree said again, “Can Xiao Shu go play with Daddy? I’ll be very good.”

“When daddy (Kou Li) was busy before, I used to sleep in the eggshell. Take me with you, Daddy!”

The overall structure of the laboratory is somewhat like an opened eggshell.

Kou Li had given everyone in the laboratory a break for these few days.

Each laboratory requires the permission card of the laboratory director to open.

There is also a rest area over there, and dangerous items are stored in special places. The corridors are all very spacious.

Bringing Xiao Shu over really seemed to be no problem.

Bian Yi did not hesitate for long. He really could not rest assured of Kou Li, and he could not be irresponsible and let Xiao Shu go to sleep with the nanny. He had promised Xiao Shu before that he would not leave him alone.

As Bian Yi held Xiao Shu and got into the car, a thought came to him:

Does Kou Li really often bring Xiao Shu to the laboratory?

Something didn’t feel quite right to Bian Yi, but then he thought that when Guan Xi was still around, if Kou Li was really busy, he wouldn’t have let Xiao Shu stay at home. It was very likely that he took him to his place.

By the time they arrived at the laboratory, it was already completely dark.

Winter nights come early, and the temperature had also dropped a bit.

Bian Yi put a hat on Xiao Shu and carried him out of the car. He took out his card and opened the laboratory door.

Along the way, Bian Yi also paid attention to Xiao Shu. The child seemed to be somewhat familiar with the surroundings, taking only a few glances before withdrawing his gaze.

The door of Kou Li’s laboratory opened, but when Bian Yi saw Kou Li’s appearance, his heart tightened.

“Stop, Kou Li!” There were obvious marks of being beaten on Jian Yi’s face. “Don’t force me to inject you – Kou Li, your wife and child are here, look at them and sober up!”

Kou Li, sitting in his seat with an obviously wrong expression, heard the words “wife and child” and looked towards the door.

But he only looked once, quickly turned back, and his fingers kept tapping on the keyboard. He repeated, “Can’t stop, can’t stop, I can’t fail, I will figure it out, I will definitely figure it out, I won’t fail.”

Bian Yi finally knew what he was worried about.

Kou Li was not yet okay.

For a moment, Bian Yi felt that even breathing was difficult.

He hugged Xiao Shu tightly, but perhaps he held him too tightly. Xiao Shu felt uncomfortable and struggled a bit in his arms.

He quickly put Xiao Shu down and looked at Kou Li’s appearance. His voice trembled, “What’s wrong with him?”

Jian Yi pressed the red mark on his face, “hissing” in pain, and answered, “That bug is about to break through the defense line, take a look.”

Bian Yi went to see the holographic map and his mood sank even lower.

The system arrogantly marked a display image next to it, which showed:

[97% remaining to escape]

It saw Bian Yi coming, and provocatively typed out a line of words: “Useless humans, trying to trap me? Wishful thinking.”

Bian Yi clenched his fists, trembling all over with anger and sorrow.

Half of him was furious, and the other half was heartbroken.

“I want you dead! Don’t even think about running away!” Kou Li’s expression had become very strange.

“No, “Jian Yi took out a syringe from his pocket as if he carried it with him, “He’s too dangerous like this. You calm him down.”

“…Okay.” Bian Yi’s voice trembled even more, and he walked two steps towards Kou Li, but then he thought of Xiao Shu and turned back to remind him, “Xiao Shu, Dad is sick, don’t come near him, okay?”

Xiao Shu’s eyes were round, and he nodded obediently, taking a few steps back on his own, indicating that he would stay away.

But Bian Yi’s attention was all on Kou Li and he did not notice that Xiao Shu looked at Kou Li with not even a trace of fear in his eyes.

Bian Yi’s fingers rested on Kou Li’s shoulder, but Kou Li controlled his wrist, ready to strike him with the other hand, but then he heard him shout, “Brother Li, it’s me.”

Kou Li’s hand, clenched into a fist, stopped one centimeter away from Bian Yi’s belly.

“Ah Yi?” He called out uncertainly, looked at him, and then identified him after a moment, “Ah Yi, I’m so useless, I couldn’t save you, and now I can’t even trap it and avenge you, I’m so useless.”

“No, no,” Bian Yi hugged Kou Li’s head, “You did save me, I’m right here. As for it, it doesn’t matter, we still have time, no rush. We can take it slowly…”

“There’s no time left, it’s about to…” Kou Li wanted to break free from Bian Yi’s embrace, but Jian Yi took the opportunity to inject him with the medicine.

Kou Li lost his strength, but his struggling face with closed eyes still showed his resistance.

Bian Yi felt even more suffocated, took several deep breaths, and together with Jian Yi, helped Kou Li up from his seat.

They passed by the holographic image, and heard the bug laughing wildly, “Hahaha! Who’s the loser now? I’m about to leave this cursed place! What can you do to me?”

Bian Yi’s lower lip was almost bitten until it bled. He supported Kou Li to the entrance of the laboratory and shouted towards the back, “Xiao Shu, come here.”

“Coming, Dad.” Kou Sen responded in the direction of Bian Yi’s voice. He ran a few steps and stopped at the entrance of the laboratory. Before the door of the laboratory automatically closed, he returned to Kou Li’s laboratory.

He took off the hat on his head and took out a chip from it.

Then, he ran and started the elliptical mechanical device in the laboratory.

In the moment the machine successfully started, the laughter of the system stopped abruptly.

“Laugh, why aren’t you laughing anymore?” There was mockery on the immature little face that did not belong to his age.

If the system could make expressions, it would definitely perform a “go to hell” expression for Kou Sen at this moment.

In a flash, it suddenly remembered something.

The device that could break through its space was completed by Kou Li and his son together.

“N1101, connect to the mainframe.”

“Okay, master.”

Kou Sen’s body was too small now, and the laboratory was too big for him. He had to run to move around, which was cute and funny.

But the system couldn’t laugh.

It watched as the little guy inserted the chip into the device Kou Li used to shut it down, and then watched him laboriously climb onto the chair Kou Li had just sat on. It watched as he deftly typed a string of code with his ten fingers on the keyboard.

It saw the icon it used to show off how long it had to escape paused at 99%, and then in a very short period of time, the number started to count down. When it reached 0%, it finally became a few bright red characters:

[Unable to Break Through!]

The whole process of the system was dull.

It was not Kou Li who caused the world to upgrade, but him?!

How could this be possible? How could it be possible that it was defeated by such a little brat?!

“Do you know what I hated the most when I was a kid, N1101?” Kou Sen’s little hand left the keyboard and began to chat leisurely with his AI.

“Master, please call me Revenge, that’s the name you gave me,” the golden sphere in the lab shimmered.

“…,” Kou Sen’s expression was somewhat embarrassed. He couldn’t possibly call it such a cringy name. “Ahem, I hate bugs the most.”

“Why?” N1101 was responsible for giving his master a laugh.

Kou Sen got up from his seat and stood in front of the holographic image: “I was scared and cried by bugs when I was a kid. They’re too ugly. But now that I’ve grown up, I’m not afraid anymore because I have the ability to crush them.”