Chapter 99 The Prototype of Dependence
——＜A compact dividing line＞
After the new rules were established, life seemed to be fast-forwarded.
Su Yan officially joined the core data analysis team of the "Dawn Project" and obtained a restricted but highly authorized account. His main workplace was still the study in the apartment, but through the Internet, he established connections with Huo Shen's top technical team.
Chen Mo became his veritable "supervisor" and "assistant," practically inseparable from him. The difference was that Chen Mo began to bring him additional information the team needed, and even mobilized resources to help him search for peripheral information when he was stuck in a thinking dilemma.
Su Yan immersed himself completely in a sea of data and code. He reviewed every scrap of data and logs he could get his hands on regarding the old Prometheus and Echo architectures, even records of failed experiments from those years. He listened to Ah Xiao's recording over and over again, trying to capture overlooked clues in every breath and pause.
The work intensity is extremely high. He often sits in the study for more than ten hours. He needs Chen Mo to remind him of his three meals and even have them brought to him.
Huo Shen seemed to be busier, but no matter how late he came back, he would always go to the study to take a look. Sometimes he would just stand at the door, silently watching Su Yan's profile as he stared at the screen in deep thought; sometimes he would walk closer to ask about the progress.
Their communication became extremely efficient and...pure.
"A hidden parameter verification was found in the call stack of Legacy_Verify, pointing to biometrics, which is not in the existing documentation."
"Give me access to the biometric database."
"There was an abnormal interruption in the backend logs of the seventh batch of the East District server three years ago, close to the period of data backup that Xiao mentioned."
"Send me the log path and I'll have the security department trace it."
There were no unnecessary small talk, no emotional exchange, only the exchange of information and the coordination of goals. Su Yan displayed his analytical ability and unique perspective that transcended this world, while Huo Shen provided the vast resources and decisiveness at his disposal.
In this high-intensity, goal-oriented collaboration, a strange, cold "tacit understanding" grew between the two.
That morning, Su Yan, frustrated by a long struggle to break through a crucial logical node, rubbed his swollen temples, his face weary. Chen Mo silently replaced his third cup of espresso.
Huo Shen walked in at some point. Instead of asking about the progress directly as usual, he walked to Su Yan and his eyes fell on the dense codes on the screen and the abnormal data streams he had marked.
He looked at it for a while, then suddenly reached out and pointed his finger at a place on the screen.
"Here," Huo Shen's voice sounded particularly clear in the silence of the night, "redundant verification of the energy cycle. Xiao had an early habit of burying trigger conditions in this way. Try to bypass the standard verification and use abnormal signals to simulate the impact on this node."
Su Yan was stunned for a moment, then followed his instructions. A few minutes later, a hidden comment about environment variable dependencies was successfully triggered and displayed!
"Success!" Su Yan blurted out, with a rare excitement in recent days. He turned his head, his eyes bright with excitement and fatigue, and looked at Huo Shen.
At that moment, he forgot his fear, the barriers, and the complicated relationship between them. All that was left was the pure joy of overcoming the problem, and... an unconscious reliance on the accurate judgment of the man beside him.
Huo Shen looked at his shining eyes and slightly flushed cheeks. His eyes were deep, and the coldness in them seemed to melt for a moment. He said nothing, but raised his hand and very naturally brushed away a strand of hair stuck to Su Yan's forehead due to sweat.
The fingertips accidentally touched the skin, bringing a slightly cool temperature.
Su Yan's body suddenly stiffened, instantly awakened from that brief, pure resonance. He subconsciously turned his head away, avoiding the touch, and the eyes that had just lit up were quickly covered with familiar vigilance and alienation.
Huo Shen's hand paused in mid-air, then he withdrew it expressionlessly and put it into his trouser pocket. The subtle atmosphere just now disappeared, leaving only the familiar coldness.
"Go on." He threw down these two words, turned around and left the study.
Su Yan looked at his back, his heart skipping a beat uncontrollably. At that moment, Huo Shen's eyes... weren't just about control; there seemed to be something else, something he didn't dare to think about.
Huo Shen walked out of the study, leaned against the cold wall, closed his eyes, and replayed Su Yan's shining eyes with unconscious dependence in his mind.
He found himself getting used to it, and even...looking forward to seeing those eyes light up because of his guidance.
This emotion, which went beyond the scope of pure "exploitation", made him feel a dangerous sense of loss of control.
He knew clearly that Su Yan was like a carefully prepared, highly toxic drug. Intellectually, he wanted to completely control its properties and use them for his own benefit, but emotionally, he had begun to crave the unprecedented stimulation and... comfort it brought him.
The embryonic form of dependence was not only planted in Su Yan's heart, but also quietly took root deep in Huo Shen's heart without him even noticing.
The storm is brewing in the silence, and the emotional dam is being eroded inch by inch by tiny ripples.
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