Chapter 14 On the Edge
Song Fanyu's hands were the ones Qi An knew best; they were covered in thick calluses, rough and large.
This made her feel quite at ease.
A routine purification would have taken her less than half a minute, but she lingered a little longer to search for memories related to Song Fanyu's work and Tan Fu.
Most of the days were monotonous, like the same old day, but occasionally there was one memorable event that Song Fanyu was quite proud of.
This matter involves a dog.
Tan Fu used to be able to go up to the surface for some fresh air every two weeks. One time when she went out for some fresh air, she saw a small black and white dog.
A half-grown stray dog, excessively clever, made eye contact with Tan Fu through the gap between the guard's legs, yet it wasn't afraid of her.
The man and the dog stared at each other for a minute. The dog lowered its wet, weathered black eyes and continued sniffing the ground for food.
It walked with a limp, a patch of large hair had fallen off its rump, and it was covered in horrifying sores.
Tan Fu stood up and spontaneously wanted to chase after him, but needless to say, he was stopped by the plainclothes guards.
"Don't go out onto the lawn, it's dangerous outside," Song Fanyu said.
The dog was about to leave, about to disappear from Tan Fu's sight. She became anxious and struggled in Song Fanyu's arms.
"I want to see it, I want to touch it! I...it's leaving!"
The dog was indeed gone, and no matter how much Tan Fu struggled, he could not break free from that iron-clad arm.
It was time for Tan Fu to "get some fresh air," and he was carried back underground.
The little girl seemed to have a knot in her heart and became obsessed with getting the dog. She even cried and made a scene, forcing the staff to use sedatives twice.
"Should we give it to her?" someone couldn't help but suggest.
"We can't give it to him! I've emphasized the principles of training Tan Fu ever since 'Star Base' was founded!"
First, we must not let her think that she can get what she wants by throwing a tantrum. If she wants something, she must obey!
Second, we must not encourage her desire for the outside world!
She could only dabble in all the good things in this wonderful world before being forced to part ways!
Her real world can only be as big as 'Star Fortress', and the only ones who can make her feel safe and dependable are us!
Lan Jiarou's words carried great weight, guiding everyone's words and actions in front of Tan Fu.
Based on this principle, Song Fanyu came up with a solution among the crowd who were at a loss.
He found the stray dog, locked it in a black cage, and starved it for three days and three nights until it reached its limit.
Then, as a surprise, the dog was given to Tan Fu, who was still depressed and irritable.
Tan Fu's clothes had been scented with meat beforehand.
The scent is subtle to humans, but incredibly clear and alluring to dogs!
The black cloth was lifted, the cage was opened, and a emaciated, distorted-faced vicious dog barked and pounced!
After that, Tan Fu never mentioned wanting a dog again.
Because of protecting Tan Fu, Supervisor Song was bitten on the arm by a dog, leaving it bloody and making the young girl feel guilty.
The matter was resolved smoothly, and afterwards, Supervisor Song enjoyed a hearty dog meat hot pot meal.
He was a practical person and didn't want to waste any good food.
Qi An silently withdrew his hand.
As usual, she was grabbed, and the stern-faced soldier looked at her with surprise and a burning gaze.
Qi An simply pulled his hand back forcefully, and after a long while, he went to purify Liu Ye.
This person's memories are mostly cheerful.
Liu Ye's biggest problem is working overtime. But he's good at entertaining himself; a delicious meal can bring him back to his happy state.
He didn't have much contact with Tan Fu in their daily lives.
There was only one thing in his memory that caught Qi An's attention.
The head of the cybersecurity department, a stern-looking old man, once mentioned the idea of an "implantable neural chip" to the key members of his department.
An integrated chip was implanted into Tan Fu's brain to facilitate long-term and close monitoring of her neural activity and to keep track of the number of clones she created in real time.
"...This would save us a lot of resources and energy spent on supervision."
She can create many clones. What if some of them, which we don't know about, act on their own and go into someone's terminal device... or even start communicating with the Fallen Insects!
That's pretty scary.
"This chip can be made, but..." Liu Ye asked cautiously.
"Will it have a self-destruct function? Like... the kind that blows someone's brain out?"
The old man glanced at him: "Otherwise what?"
Liu Ye lowered his head and said "Oh," then after a moment said, "I guess...it can be done too..."
Qi An withdrew his hand again.
The canteen gradually filled up, and the chaos of the previous period was once again resolved with a good solution, with everyone showing visible relief on their faces.
This workplace is quite humane; many acquaintances greet each other warmly.
The bustling atmosphere in the cafeteria is a testament to the bustling human spirit.
Liu Ye's happiness was heavenly; he was so happy that he couldn't come to his senses for a long time. When he did, he found that Qi An had already stood up to leave.
He instinctively stood up to stop him, and Song Fanyu also half-stood up.
However, there was no reason to stop him, because Tan Fu's afternoon nap was only half an hour, and Qi An really should go to work.
In the afternoon, it was the same room, the same "flower crown" ceiling, and the dimly glowing lights on the mainframe walls—nothing new.
Qi An watched quietly for an entire afternoon, purifying himself once in between.
During dinner, she found Lan Jiarou and asked to return to the ground.
"I came from another base, and I have comrades outside. I need to go back and let them know I'm safe." That was her reason.
Lan Jiarou has always been a person who doesn't make things difficult for others. She emphasized two things: keeping it a secret and returning as soon as possible, and then let them go.
Qi An returned to his apartment, let Lin Jia Ran, who was indeed very anxious and worried, know that he was safe, and retrieved his phone.
Cell phones are collected before entering "Star Base," as stated in the confidentiality agreement.
Her security detail was waiting downstairs. She had already been dawdling on Qi'an Road for almost an hour, and after another ten minutes or so, guessing that the evening shift had started, she finally typed on her phone:
[The fact that you and I had been in contact before, and that the people at "Star Fortress" were completely unaware of it?]
"Didn't you already guess that from the beginning?" came the reply from the other end.
The people of "Star Fortress" did not know that "Blue Star" and Qi An had known each other and been companions for a long time.
In Song Fanyu's memory, Lan Jiarou had been troubled countless times, and Tan Fu was becoming increasingly difficult to manage as he grew older.
Tan Fu, who is about to turn 16, is unpredictable and will definitely torment those around him after severing too many clones.
Therefore, Tan Fu cannot accept Qi An immediately, otherwise it will definitely arouse suspicion.
An'an, you're so smart! We're so in sync!
And your purification treatment really felt so good! I slept so well last night!
"Blue Star" seems to have turned back into that sweet and clingy "Blue Star".
Qi An's purification seemed to have a truly calming effect, making the little girl Tan Fu feel happy.
But in her memory, Qi An saw, or rather heard, a faint voice from the void:
Would you rather live your current life, rather rot in a cage, than change?
So loyal?
It seemed like a long time had passed before, and finally, from that vast data universe, a beautiful figure shimmering with blue light emerged:
What nonsense are you spouting?
Mutation means death, and I can't escape!
I don't want to die! Why should I die?!
The faint voice immediately became louder:
What if we could help you escape?
If we could smash your cage to pieces, would you dare come with us?
After a long while, a low reply came, like a dream:
[You dare...]
Perhaps Liu Ye has some kind of prophetic talent.
Tan Fu already has an unsupervised clone who can freely spy on someone's terminal device.
She has already started communicating with the Fallen Insects, and they are even conspiring together!
"Blue Star," what a complex "Blue Star" it is.
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