CH 44

“Do the police have any news about Assistant Jin?” Pei Zhaozhou asked with a furrowed brow.

Assistant Lin, shook his head. “Not yet. This information has been temporarily withheld to prevent public panic.”

Si Huaixi had a favorable impression of Assistant Jin, whom he had met a few times. If something happened to him, Brother Pei would undoubtedly feel upset. 

Si Huaixi tried hard to recall the plot of ‘Interstellar Heartthrob,’ which not only involved the protagonist Bai Huaiyu meeting the Star Pirate King, Ke Yan but also mentioned Bai Huaiyu’s escape route when the mysterious person appeared.

He didn’t know where Assistant Jin was on the spaceship. After all, in the story, the protagonist was taken to the cabin by the Star Pirate King, and the escape pod he used to escape was located in the E336 cabin near the end of the cabin section.

Accidents on spaceships were rare, and few people used escape pods. Typically, small escape pods could accommodate a small family and provide about 15 days of energy reserves and food. If the rescue team couldn’t find the escape pod within 20 days, it would mean a failed rescue.

Si Huaixi asked, “Brother Pei, is there a chance to contact Assistant Jin? And where would they usually place the escape pods on this type of civilian passenger spaceship, in case there are too many star pirates and we need to abandon ship?”

Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The structural diagram of this civilian spaceship is not classified. I can obtain the permission to access the blueprint. However, I tried to contact Assistant Jin earlier, but the signal was blocked.”

Assistant Jin’s spaceship had undergone several interstellar jumps and was now thousands of light-years away from the main star. The signal was already extremely weak, and it was further isolated by special means employed by the star pirates.

If it was an ordinary signal isolation method, Pei Zhaozhou could have had the smart brain, Silver Arc crack it. However, the tool used to block the signal this time didn’t seem like something an ordinary star pirate could acquire. 

The smart brain, Silver Arc could only receive signals from a small nearby planet based on the approximate location of Assistant Jin’s spaceship. To contact Assistant Jin within the shielded signal, the distance couldn’t exceed a hundred kilometers at least.

But the probability of finding something within a hundred kilometers in the vast universe was extremely slim. Pei Zhaozhou had to rely on the smart brain, Silver Arc, to continuously attempt signal reception, constantly monitoring any messages sent by Assistant Jin, while he himself searched for a solution to crack the signal as soon as possible.

Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes flickered with a tinge of sadness. “The distance is too far. I will send a private spaceship to search the area where Assistant Jin lost contact, but I can only try to crack the signal shield… Those signal jammers used by the star pirates not only block civilian-level signal waves but even UY-level military-grade signal waves. Unless there is a new type of sound wave that the star pirates cannot shield, it will be impossible to contact Assistant Jin. I haven’t found a solution to crack it yet. Give me some time.”

A new type of signal wave?

Si Huaixi’s eyes deepened as he pondered some thoughts. Then, he spoke with doubt and hesitation, “What if such a thing really exists?”

Inside the spaceship, Assistant Jin, hiding in a compartment, dared not move, afraid of making any sound that might attract the attention of the star pirates. He felt both hungry and thirsty with no food or water around. 

The usually sophisticated Assistant Jin couldn’t help but feel utterly helpless. He had deleted all the CEO novels he had collected, forgetting to keep at least one or two for his own amusement. Now, he wished he had them to pass the time.

Staring at the charged phone, its battery capable of still lasting a month without recharging, Assistant Jin couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. It seemed like the device would outlive him. This thought choked him up, and regretful tears welled up in his eyes.

Since he had already prepared his farewell letter and had nothing left to explain, the last bit of vitality in him desired to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. He wanted to leave behind a classic and legendary CEO-themed novel, not letting down the readers who had accompanied him for a decade on the Green River. He had even come up with a title for it: 

‘The Overbearing CEO: Don’t Even Think of Escaping!’

With great excitement, Assistant Jin struck the keys and wrote the first line.

“That night, the young master of the Pei family caught a glimpse of a drunken starlet in the vast sea of people. Their faces bore a striking resemblance, sharing about sixty percent similarity with his beloved White Moonlight.”

Approaching the intoxicated starlet, the arrogant young master Pei firmly grasped him and asked in a deep, intense voice, “What’s your name? Who sent you?”

Before Assistant Jin could even write about how the starlet managed to escape from the clutches of the young master Pei while drunk, or the subsequent information the young master Pei found about the starlet, he learned that the starlet’s surname was Si. The young master Pei, cold and ruthless, promptly made Si, the starlet, sign a sponsorship contract lasting nine months.

As for why it was a nine-month contract, that was because White Moonlight would return to the country after completing her studies in nine months. And this starlet, whom the young master Pei considered to be gold-digging and pretentious, signed the contract without hesitation.

The real reason why Si, the starlet, ended up owing a sponsorship contract was…

On the day Si, the starlet, got drunk, it marked the fifth anniversary of the death of his unrequited childhood sweetheart. Consumed by pain and despair, Si indulged in heavy drinking, hoping to forget the heartbreak that was driving him to the brink of collapse. Unexpectedly, he encountered someone who resembled his deceased childhood sweetheart by ninety percent.

He felt a mix of surprise, fear, and guilt, prompting him to escape.

On the day the young master Pei found him, Si gazed longingly at his face and signed the sponsorship contract.

Indeed, this was a melodramatic tale of dual identity!

As Assistant Jin was joyfully writing, the screen suddenly displayed words he had not typed before.

“…Hello.”

Assistant Jin’s fingers trembled.

A trace of awkwardness unexpectedly permeated his overbearing CEO story.

“I’m the person Mr. Pei sent to contact you. My name is Irin… Your hobbies are quite unique.”

Assistant Jin’s expression froze suddenly, and years of being an elite were instantly shattered.

Trembling fingers continued to type, “How did Mr. Pei send you? Wasn’t the signal blocked here?”

“Well, it’s not enough to block me. I’m like a ghost.”

Assistant Jin: “?”

Am I encountering a supernatural event?!

Meanwhile, at Blue Air Mech Company, Pei Zhaozhou found it hard to believe what Si Huaixi had just told him. He clenched his lips tightly and asked, “Are you saying there’s a ghost in the Star River Battlefield game developed by my company? Not an NPC character?”

Si Huaixi nodded, saying, “Yes, although it’s incredibly unbelievable, it’s true. She isn’t exactly a ghost but in a soul state. Her name is Irin… Her body has been locked away in some mysterious research facility. She’s still alive, and she has a brother. I’ve been helping her find her imprisoned body.”

Pei Zhaozhou rubbed his forehead, realizing that his worldview had been completely reshaped. He had always been skeptical about the existence of souls and ghosts. However, his immediate concern was rescuing Assistant Jin. If Assistant Jin lost his life due to being involved in the conspiracy against him, Pei Zhaozhou would never be able to forgive himself.

“So, how do you plan to use this ghost girl, Irin, to find Assistant Jin?”

Si Huaixi still had some doubts about his own speculation, but at this critical moment, he suddenly thought about the special nature of Irin’s soul state. Perhaps it could be of some help.

Si Huaixi proceeded to explain the origin of Irin and how they could utilize this method to contact Assistant Jin.

“Irin is a rare S-class Omega. Her psychic abilities are particularly outstanding. Due to an accident, her soul entered the game world and became trapped within it. Since she can enter the game through this method, it’s also possible for her to enter the communication network… She might serve as a new type of signal wave that can’t be blocked.”

Pei Zhaozhou found it somewhat absurd, but inexplicably, he had some trust in Si Huaixi’s viewpoint. He instructed the AI system, Silver Arc, to check if this ghost girl truly existed. Silver Arc was the surveillance system that monitored the entire game world, leaving nothing beyond its sight.

Following its owner’s command, Silver Arc checked, but as an intelligent system capable of thinking, it scoffed at the idea put forward by its owner.

How could there be a ghost?

It controlled that world and knew everything happening within it. Moreover, ghosts were nonexistent, mere fabrications to deceive children. After calculating the probability of encountering a ghost (0.00000001%), which was virtually zero, it couldn’t understand why it should believe in such unscientific notions!

And then…

With unwavering confidence, Silver Arc spotted an enigmatic humanoid creature in the gaming territory that defied conventional data estimations.

“Oh no! The database has been corrupted! Hurry, format it!” Silver Arc exclaimed.

“Wuwuwu, the ghost is so terrifying!”

Silver Arc’s data spiraled into chaos, causing the game world to freeze. Many players were perplexed by the sudden stillness of the bosses.

Regaining composure, Silver Arc, teary-eyed, timidly looked at the quietly waiting ghostly girl, Irin, and fearfully asked, “Will the ghost consume this intelligence brain?”

Irin, the ghost girl, gazed at a cluster of data spheres descending from the lonely sky, her eyes gleaming faintly. She smiled gently and replied, “I won’t.”

Back in the real world…

“Master, that’s how it is. There really is a ghostly girl named Irin. She’s not an NPC generated by the data. Although Silver Arc doesn’t fully understand who she is, it’s clear she’s a good person. We made an agreement that she won’t harm me. Also, I have granted her unrestricted access. Irin, the ghostly girl, can freely traverse the virtual world. Your spouse’s words do hold some truth…” Silver Arc spoke in rapid succession, conveying a lot of information.

After careful consideration, Pei Zhaozhou instructed Si Huaixi to give it a try and have the ghostly girl, Irin, contact Assistant Jin.

Guided by the smart brain, Silver Arc, Irin finally departed from the game world. Like a flowing stream, she traversed the realm of data, arriving at the planet closest to the hijacked starship’s location. She successfully possessed the phone of Assistant Jin.

Thus, the scene that had just unfolded occurred.

Assistant Jin’s face turned pale as he stared at the words appearing on the blank page incessantly.

“You must be Assistant Jin, right? Fortunately, you’re still alive. Mr. Pei asked me to provide you with an internal structure diagram of the spacecraft. Since I’m in a soul state, I can’t transmit data. However, I’ve roughly sketched a similar diagram in the phone’s drawing software. I’ve circled the location of the escape pod.”

“Oh, by the way, Silver Arc also gave me an infected data file. Once you connect the phone to the ship’s cockpit, this infected data will redirect the ship to the nearest planet… Although considering that you may not be able to withstand the space pirates along the way, Silver Arc suggests activating your heavily armed robotic assistant immediately and formulating a plan…”

Assistant Jin realized he had a chance of being saved and felt elated, but…

“Miss Irin, thank you for your help. However, I have a request. What I wrote just now was merely a joke to pass the time. Could you please keep it a secret and not tell President Pei and the others?”

Irin tactfully responded, “It seems a little late for that. Mr. Pei came to ask me about your current situation earlier, and I told him you were writing a novel.”

At that moment, President Pei, Si Huaixi, and Assistant Lin fell into silence.

They couldn’t help but think that Assistant Jin had this unexpected hobby.

Deep in his thoughts, Pei Zhaozhou inwardly mocked himself for not remembering Assistant Jin’s talent for writing. Once Assistant Jin returned safely, he could entrust him with future publicity work.

Assistant Jin: “…!!!”

A scene of utter disbelief unfolded before them.

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