323
Yang Guang seemed to seize every opportunity to mock Ella Zero, but by the time T022 arrived, he had already returned to normal.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. A209 said it might take a while. Shall I take you to the lounge to sit down?"
Ella took a half step forward, but Gu Yan gently pulled her back from behind.
"Why don't we take a look around? My younger brother has never been here before, and I'd like to show him around."
Yang Guang's eyes twitched slightly when he heard Gu Yan's excuse.
"this……"
T022 didn't hesitate much and tilted its head slightly to the left.
Does that mean you're refusing?
“We paid in full; this is a business premises, isn’t it?”
T022 stopped, seemingly verifying the three people's eligibility to enter.
"Your passes only go up to the twentieth floor. Please keep them with you so that A209 can notify you in time."
Yang Guang waved the three cards in his hand, winked at T022, and pretended to put them all into his pocket.
T022 remained silent, his gaze fixed on the hand holding the ticket.
Yang Guang was curious about what would happen next, but unfortunately, he received a glare from Gu Yan and reluctantly shoved the other two people's passes into his hands.
"Your pass will heat up when you call. Just stay put and do nothing. Our people will come to pick you up. Hope you have a great time."
T022 smiled gently, then swayed her alluring waist and disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
Yang Guang let out a long breath. Ella noticed his reaction and asked, "Any other plans?"
"What's the plan? Sightseeing, I guess." Yang Guang loosened his collar in an annoyed tone.
Gu Yan said coolly, "You're going sightseeing and you're not going to buy a full-price ticket?"
Yang Guang grinned foolishly: "Every little bit helps, and we've achieved our main goal, haven't we?"
"Then teach me how to get to the top floor?"
"Well..."
Ella looked at Gu Yan, knowing what she was going to ask, and Gu Yan spoke first.
"The nobles in the central area all go to the top floor."
"This is the territory of the elite," Yang Guang said sarcastically.
Then, Gu Yan caught Ella Ling's extremely subtle eyebrow raise, and he stared intently at her eyes and brows.
"The guests there must know about the doctor's current situation. I think you must be very worried too. This is only natural for humans."
"Perhaps, but you've heard the message my mother left me. She wants me to stay out of the public eye."
Gu Yan shrugged: "Okay, you can not care, but don't forget that I came to find you at the doctor's request. My loss of contact with her means that I cannot confirm the next step."
Ella looked up and stared directly into Gu Yan's eyes. For some reason, bathed in this gaze that was clearly devoid of any emotion, he felt as if she were peeling away his outer layers, examining his inner self.
She was certainly not an android; he had already gotten the answer from her silence. But was she human?
He had speculated that he was the subject of some kind of human experimentation conducted by Dr. Lowry.
But at this moment, he felt that Ella Zero was more like a judge.
He is a sinner.
——————
The second floor, where they were talking to A209, served as the lobby and meeting room of the neon cocoon. Although it was a lower floor, its interior was extremely well-hidden and winding, which actually improved security. The higher you went, the more the decor changed from the hastily painted gray metal walls reflecting the neon lights to the exquisite angel statue placed at the elevator entrance on the 20th floor.
Yang Guang fumbled around for a while but couldn't find any new buttons. He spat out, "So you really only go up to the 20th floor if you say so?"
Gu Yan stepped out of the elevator, his leather boots landing on the soft, thick carpet. The sound of his footsteps was completely absorbed, as if the world had covered him with thick earmuffs.
This floor is more like a private room. There are long corridors on both sides of the elevator that seem to have no end, and on both sides of the corridors are heavy doors that look like coffins.
It looks like wood to the naked eye, but it makes people instinctively resist touching it to confirm its true nature.
Yang Guang whistled: "I noticed that one of the doors is a little different."
Gu Yan glanced at the winding corridor stretching into the distance: "You don't actually think there are safe passages here like in the old civilization, do you?"
"They have red-light districts just like in the old civilization, so why is it impossible?"
Behind the two, Ella Zero said quietly, "The Neon Cocoon has no tiered structure."
Yang Guang jumped up, as if he had been waiting for this question: "How did you know? Didn't you say you weren't here?"
"On the north side of the basement floor of the Federal Royal Library, on shelf number X-15, the third book from the left on the bottom shelf. The book is titled 'The Symbolic City: A Tour of Federal Royal Architecture,' and you can find a detailed introduction to the Neon Cocoon on pages 890 to 892."
The sound of Yang Guang and Gu Yan's breathing seemed to be absorbed by this tranquil space.
"What, are you only interested in books from the old civilization?"
Yang Guang turned the back of his head toward her and snorted heavily, "I have no objection if you want to continue wasting your time here."
Gu Yan said, "Since none of you have a better solution, then listen to me."
...
"I wish I hadn't listened to you," Yang Guang said, looking at the two unconscious humans lying on the ground.
Judging from their clothing, they must be of noble birth, and the crest on their collar is likely a family coat of arms.
"The hourglass of time, this pattern is from the Faron family in the central district, I think this is too risky."
A thin line seems to unconsciously outline a shape resembling an infinity symbol, with the faint shadow of an hourglass.
"Just return them before they wake up. As for yours, give them back." Yang Guang beckoned to the two of them nonchalantly.
With the three passes in hand, Yang Guang waved them over and said, "I'm going to see if there's a Krista I can get along with. Maybe if I hit it off, I'll come here often."
"Do you know the way?"
Yang Guang's face fell: "You underestimated me, brother."
——————
The neon cocoon no longer requires any other personal biometric information for verification besides a pass.
If you dare to make this request, the nobles will immediately behead you.
When Gu Yan swiped his card for the third time, he remembered Lee Ferren's face.
He looked at Ella Zero's delicate profile; she was looking up at the floor display on an old-fashioned electronic screen.
"You know anyone from the Feren family?"
She didn't move the two Feren's bodies just now, and didn't seem interested in their identities.
"I don't know what your definition of 'knowing' is. I will study all the information about royalty and nobility and memorize all their faces."
Gu Yan nodded: "Cool. But your answer doesn't sound like a human answer."
"Humans are creatures that progress, and so will I."
Gu Yan pondered those words and chuckled softly: "So you can be equated with humans?"
Ella Zero suddenly turned her head: "Since we are teammates now, you don't need to test me like this."
Did I anger you?
After a long silence, Ella Zero finally said, "I should say yes."
Indeed, anger is a normal emotion for humans in this situation.
The electronic display stopped working after the 25th floor, flickering an eerie red light and causing Gu Yan to experience tinnitus. The roaring sound ceased only when the elevator came to a complete stop, and the display showed the letter R.
"Which floor is this?" Gu Yan asked, somewhat surprised.
"According to my calculations, it's the 323rd floor. Due to the shielding effect, you'll most likely lose contact with your brother."
Gu Yan took out the encrypted communication device, which, as expected, became a completely unresponsive brick.
"But the good news is that it has almost no effect on the human body."
The elevator doors slowly opened, and the two stepped into another unknown world.
But a few seconds later, Gu Yan realized that this was just an ordinary space, just like the aristocratic parties he had infiltrated before. The sanctimonious nobles and the Kristas huddled around them were either dancing or engaging in lewd behavior. They reveled in their own way, and this place was a breeding ground for unbridled behavior.
There were no neon lights inside, only warm, yellowish lighting and soothing old-fashioned background music.
Everything about the old civilization was just something they did for their leisure time. Gu Yan clenched his fist and winked at Ella Zero.
Ella received the signal and naturally took his arm.
They walked toward the center of the dance floor.
A nobleman, accompanied by a dance partner who didn't resemble Christa, passed by them and whistled: "Fellow human, you also agree that this is quite enjoyable, don't you?"
His dance partner chuckled, "Sean, don't tease this poor man. It wasn't easy for him to come all this way."
Admittedly, Gu Yan's mercenary-style work clothes seemed somewhat out of place here.
The nobleman came to her rescue, saying, "Buddy, don't mind her wild words. She's only ever known how to spend money and hasn't had much education."
Gu Yan returned a polite smile: "It's obvious."
A commotion arose not far away, drawing the attention of the four people who were facing each other.
"You ungrateful wretch!"
A woman was knocked to the ground. She was dressed in the same clothes as the Kristas, which accentuated her beautiful figure. But when she covered her face and looked up, she had a face that Gu Yan had never seen before.
——————
After dealing with the two young masters, Yang Guang was completely unaware that he had lost contact with the other two. The 20th floor was a perfect spot; a guest helped him pinpoint his target.
Calling him a guest isn't entirely accurate, because he was recently removed from the list of Japanese celebrities.
The man, dressed in tattered work clothes, was dragged and thrown into the corridor by two David-type androids.
"Get lost! I paid! I paid!" He looked up, and the sunlight revealed his bruised and swollen face. "Those adults can do anything, so why can't I? I've given you all my salary for this month!"
The parts of his face that were still intact turned red, along with his tangled beard, as if someone had plucked all the hair from his cheeks.
The Davids continued to drag him along, his cursing echoing through the corridor. Before the heavy door closed, Yang Guang stealthily approached through the intelligent barrier. One of the Davids stopped and turned back. Yang Guang reluctantly removed the barrier, gave them an awkward smile, and showed them his pass: "I just wanted to test if you guys were the legendary top-tier security androids. I tried, and you're fantastic, top-notch." He gave a thumbs up.
Then, they brazenly slapped their pass on the sensor and swaggered into that wonderful place.
That was a mistake; this time we didn't need to sneak around.
If you ask what a good place is, it's definitely a place where Yang Guang can fully display his talents.
If he had been to the top floor, he would have found this to be a downgraded version of the top floor.
The neon lights were too bright.
He adored books about the old civilization, and the guests present were probably the "rednecks" mentioned in those books.
He looked around for a while, and only after passing through the group of burly, rude men could he see the bar and the graceful kilos that had been blocked by the wall of people.
A Krista sat at the bar, surrounded by several others, her voice as clear and melodious as a wind chime.
"This is terrifying, but thankfully we're on the 20th floor, protected by six Davids."
Yang Guang raised an eyebrow and glanced around discreetly.
"Don't worry, L030, that lecherous guy won't be let into the Neon Cocoon again!"
A chorus of identical voices echoed each other.
"Have you decided what you'd like to drink, sir?" A slightly mechanical voice sounded beside him. Yang Guang turned his head; the person was speaking to him.
"White wine, please." Yang Guang's mind wasn't on that at all.
Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc?
"What?" Yang Guang couldn't believe his ears.
The figure hidden in the darkness continued speaking to itself, "If you order Bai Shinan, we happen to have a matching signature seafood dish. The set meal with alcohol is the most affordable on the 20th floor..."
"Thank you, Aaron. I think this gentleman likes Chardonnay, a single item."
Yang Guang caught a whiff of perfume, and by turning his head slightly, he could see Christa's neckline completely exposed.
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