Miss Mouse
That conversation didn't continue; asking too many questions might arouse Ella's suspicion.
But this question had already taken root in Gu Yan's heart. This woman was full of mystery, and he couldn't help but linger his gaze on her.
The two set off as soon as they turned on the lights. The Arabian wolf was lying in the jungle outside the cave. When it saw them emerge from the cave, it stood up and stretched.
It glanced at Ella Zero, clearly noticing that her wounds had been properly treated, flicked its tail, and left without looking back.
"Your new friend?"
Seeing Ella Zero silently watching the lone wolf leave, Gu Yan couldn't help but ask.
"Your question makes me think that you and David have discussed my affairs."
"indeed."
"I won't become friends with someone after just one day."
"Alright."
Observing Ella Zero's behavior patterns is a very interesting thing. It's hard to say for sure, but Gu Yan thinks it's more likely due to the continuous repetitive work she's done every day for the past six months.
Yang Guang breathed a sigh of relief upon finally reconnecting to the call: "I thought you'd been attacked! Don't keep disappearing! When Yingdu suddenly appeared outside the base, I thought it was the legacy you left me after your sacrifice..."
"There's been a problem. Get the modifications done on Shadow Crossing as soon as possible. I'll be staying with you for a few days."
Yang Guang asked alertly, "What do you mean? You were really ambushed? Are you hurt?"
Noticing that Ella Zero was staring intently at his back, Gu Yan loosely clenched his left hand and coughed, "Hmm."
"Huh? What does 'huh' mean?"
"Let's talk when we meet."
Yang Guang stared dumbfounded at the interface where the communication had been interrupted: "You son of a bitch, still so rude?!"
Gu Yan turned around, and Ella Ling stopped to wait for him to continue.
The man silently took out Ella Zero's dagger from his bag and handed it to her.
“Yang Guang is very smart; he won’t miss a wound that’s too fresh. You have to act now.”
Ella Zero understood what he meant: "I thought you would do it yourself."
"Don't underestimate my friend. He can tell the difference between self-inflicted injury and injury in a second."
——————
Yang Guang waited impatiently outside the base, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, occasionally kicking the exposed steel pipes around him that he didn't like.
"This idiot, could he possibly not be able to get through the mine maze I made?"
Just as he was muttering that, he heard footsteps overhead. There were two people.
Yang Guang bit down hard on the cigarette butt, the bitter taste lingering on his tongue. He was tense, waiting for something.
The footsteps stopped, there was a moment of silence, and then a knocking sound came from above.
Long and short, short and long, short and long, long and short, long and short.
The cigarette butt burned out at that moment, almost scalding his mouth. He spat it onto the ground and stomped it out. With a burst of energy, he pulled open the gate above his head.
"My ancestor, you've finally arrived. Why did it take you so long to type in a password?"
"Ask yourself, it wasn't me who set it. Couldn't you use a shorter word?" It was Gu Yan's voice, and there was nothing unusual about it, nor was there any whispering.
"No way, what if I'm taking a dump when you come over?" Yang Guang said casually, but his eyes kept darting towards the gate.
"Who did you come with?" He looked up, a strong smell of blood overpowering the nicotine and tar, making it hard for him to breathe. "Damn, are you that badly injured? This smell means you bled to death!"
He stared wide-eyed as Gu Yan, covered in blood, descended the rope ladder.
Just as he was about to continue shouting, another agile figure leaped nimbly from outside the gate to the ground, also covered in blood.
"Damn it, are you guys trying to get yourself killed?! Don't make a mess of my place! Hurry up and apply the medicine, what are you doing?"
He didn't even have time to take a good look at Ella Zero; he only made a look of disbelief when Gu Yan leaned weakly on Ella Zero's shoulder.
"What happened?"
"I got dragged into this by her, what else can I do?" Gu Yan groaned through his nose, too pained to speak.
Yang Guang glanced at the expressionless Ella Zero beside him and said, "You really dare to say that, bro."
"Um—this one—"
"Ella." Ella glanced at him subtly and gave her name as a self-introduction.
"Miss Ella, could you please go down to the storage room on the next floor and get me that large bucket of disinfectant alcohol?"
Ella nodded and left, but Yang Guang didn't forget to call out to her, "Go down the stairs and turn right to the innermost room."
"A bit too aggressive," Gu Yan commented.
Yang Guang pretended to hit hard, and said sarcastically, "Looks like you're quite happy to be beaten."
Gu Yan raised an eyebrow.
Yang Guang pointed with his chin to the marks on his neck.
Oh, so that's what you meant.
“Since we’re not the same kind of people, it will naturally take some effort to persuade her.”
"Her." Yang Guang clicked his tongue and repeated the key point to him, "Alright, don't move. How many people are chasing you? They're so ruthless."
Gu Yan recalled for a moment: "Seven people, including humans and androids."
"Oh, that makes sense. If there were too few people, I would have thought she deliberately didn't save you."
Gu Yan didn't respond; he knew Yang Guang was still observing him.
"If you keep a time bomb next to you, you'll lose your life sooner or later."
“That’s not a bomb.” Gu Yan rummaged through the first-aid kit and applied medicine to the bruise on his neck. Unable to see the exact location of the bruise, he simply rubbed his entire neck haphazardly. “She is a knife. A good knife is certainly difficult to deal with when it’s pointed at you; but if it’s used by me, it’s an invincible weapon.”
Yang Guang glanced at him for a moment, smiled, and stood up.
"Then I'll go check if your prepared tools are lost. You've been carrying a barrel of alcohol for so long."
Ella Zero stood quietly in the center of the storage room with her back to the door.
"Is it really that hard to find something? I've heard that mice are the best at searching. Maybe your model is wrong?"
Yang Guang's voice was malicious. Ella Zero didn't turn around; he squeezed in and stood in front of her with an irritating smile.
"I thought you two were going to talk for a long time. Did you mean for me to stand back and not eavesdrop on your conversation? Did I misunderstand?"
“No, not at all.” He suddenly leaned close to Ella Zero’s face, his breath brushing against her skin, carrying the scent of tobacco. “I’ve heard that rats have very sharp ears, so it shouldn’t be difficult for them to hear the conversations up here.”
Her words were full of hostility, but Ella Zero, with her eyes half-closed, showed no reaction.
"No good. Here." He took a spare first-aid kit from the shelf next to him.
"I'm not used to seeing women naked. You can apply the medicine yourself. That kid Gu Yan thinks he can fool me. He doesn't even know who I am."
Ella looked down at the medical kit that had been stuffed into her arms, but did not reach out to take it.
"What are you doing? Do you really want me to help you apply the medicine? Or do you think that bandage is some kind of miracle cure? It's for emergencies. I'm already impressed that it can even cover your wound. Hurry up and change to a proper bandage. Do you have more blood than a mutant cow?"
Seeing that she finally raised her hand slightly, Yang Guang turned and left.
I had only taken a few steps when I heard a soft sound behind me.
"Thanks."
Yang Guang picked at his ears, thinking he was hallucinating. He turned around and found that Ella Zero was also looking back at him.
What did you say to me??
Ella tilted her head, somewhat puzzled: "Isn't that what humans always say in these situations?"
Yang Guang was speechless, then gritted his teeth and took three steps at a time to climb the stairs.
What kind of person is she? An android is just an android. He used such a vulgar word as "rat," and she didn't show any emotion at all.
Yes, it's an android. Even if it bleeds... it's still just an android that bleeds!
——————
Gu Yan was more seriously injured than expected and was unable to leave Yangguang's base for the time being.
Ella Zero did not express much opinion on this, nor did she show any obvious concern.
Yang Guang shook his head inwardly.
That's ridiculous.
The information Gu Yan had previously collected was almost entirely about the Ella series, excluding Ella Zero. For quite some time, because the Ella models had not been put into mass production, they all agreed that the direction of their investigation was correct.
"I knew it didn't make sense no matter how I looked at it. With the same model being iterated over, it's always the newer model that gets phased out, but Zero has been preserved until now. Apart from Dr. Lowry, no one else has access to the specific data. That old fox Lowry is too good at hiding things. The key is that she's also very shrewd. Are all humans stupid like parasites? Only knowing how to reproduce and not using their brains? Of course, some people will suspect her, but she has the ability to silence all the doubts."
Yang Guang sent Gu Yan encrypted messages. The two of them kept their heads down, exchanging messages back and forth, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the main character of their conversation was sitting directly opposite them, elegantly sipping coffee.
No, at least Gu Yan did not overlook it.
This was a rare opportunity for him to directly observe Ella Zero. He watched as she gripped the cup handle with three fingers, her ring and little fingers relaxed naturally, her left hand supporting the saucer gently against her knee. Her knees were together and slightly to the left, below which were her straight calves…
He looked away.
At this moment, Ella Zero resembled a group of noble ladies gathered in the garden atop the central tower, sipping fragrant afternoon tea.
This sense of unease lingered in Gu Yan's mind for a long time.
"Is there something wrong with my posture, Mr. Gu?"
"No way, we roughnecks don't understand such elegant aristocratic activities. Your Excellency, Miss Mouse, please continue." Yang Guang sat there without any decorum. When he saw Gu Yan giving him a disapproving look, he rolled his eyes with a sense of smug satisfaction.
“Okay,” Gu Yan continued texting him, “You always cause trouble when you’re bored, so I’ll give you something to do.”
Yang Guang was the kind of person who couldn't sit still, and he got excited as soon as he heard him say that: "Just name it, there's nothing I can't handle."
When will my Shadow Crossing be fixed?
"Well... it's a little short, but don't worry, I'll definitely finish the mission before you recover from your injuries."
"Then I'll get my car replaced with a matte finish."
Yang Guang almost jumped up, suppressing his anger as he sent a message: "Tell me why, and I'll think about it some more."
"The colors of neon lights always make me feel nauseous."
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