Fu Tianhe, who had just invited Chen Ci to lunch and was sending him home, was holding a wrench and a screwdriver, dismantling a neural adapter that had been thrown in the garbage.

Hearing someone calling his name, Alpha turned around.

Chen Ci was wearing an ordinary grey sportswear, with his hat brim pulled down low, and a black mask covering most of his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.

But Fu Tianhe still recognized him at once.

Chen Ci's sudden appearance was completely beyond his expectations. Fu Tianhe was offline for two seconds, then quickly stood up with joy: "What a coincidence, we meet again."

Chen Ci didn't know what to say. He looked at the old sack at Fu Tianhe's feet. It was filled with waste, mostly metal parts.

Noticing Chen Ci's gaze, Fu Tianhe moved his body to block the sack. He put his hands holding the tools behind his back to hide the dirt left by the engine oil on his fingers.

The inorganic golden prosthetic eye on his right side was still bright, but there was a certain embarrassment written in his real black eyes.

Fortunately, one of Fu Tianhe's greatest strengths is that he is thick-skinned.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the nerve to invite Chen Ci to have lunch after Chen Ci had dealt with a group of thugs.

Fu Tianhe stood straight as if he was awaiting a trial, waiting for Chen Ci's next response.

He thought bitterly: Maybe the Omega will be surprised and say that he didn't expect you to be a rag picker, and he will have to say goodbye to being a big shot before he can even last a day.

But the expression in Chen Ci's amber eyes did not change, as calm as ever: "Do you need help?"

"Ah? What?" Fu Tianhe thought he had heard it wrong.

The boy's eyes that appeared between the brim of his hat and his mask were serious, without any trace of joking.

This was even more embarrassing than accusing him, so he waved his hands and said, "No, I'm almost done."

Chen Ci nodded. He stood aside and looked at Fu Tianhe silently. His clean and slim appearance was out of place in the garbage dump.

Fu Tianhe took a second to react and realized that Chen Ci was waiting for him.

He quickly squatted down again, grabbed the neural adapter, and used a screwdriver to remove the last of the usable parts and put them into the sack.

Fu Tianhe tied the sack skillfully and carried it on his shoulder. The sack was pushed into an angular shape by the raised parts and pressed against Alpha's shoulder.

"I have to drop off my stuff first. Do you want to come with me? It's not far."

"Okay." Chen Ci responded softly. He followed Fu Tianhe, and the two of them walked one in front and one behind, through the narrow ditch in the middle of the garbage mountain.

This is a man-made path, covered with various flattened plastic products.

Fu Tianhe kicked away something that might trip Chen Ci and warned him:

"Be careful."

A few minutes later, the two men walked out of the garbage dump. The sour smell had weakened a lot, and Chen Ci could finally breathe smoothly.

Fu Tianhe led Chen Ci around and around, and after going downhill they came to a depression with many low tents.

This used to be a cooling pool, but it was abandoned after Cinnabar's thirteenth transformation five years ago and quickly became a residence for the homeless.

Many scavengers live here, and it is common to see them coming in and out carrying large sacks.

Fu Tianhe turned into the corner and greeted the skinny old man who was sitting outside listening to the radio in a familiar manner.

Then he took a few steps forward, opened the heavy waterproof curtain, turned sideways and said to Chen Ci: "This is it."

Chen Ci lowered his head and slipped through the curtain that Fu Tianhe had opened.

A huge machine tool came into view, placed in the middle of the open space, with many scattered parts around it.

Several barrels of motor oil were placed in the corner, many electromechanical tools were placed on the shelves, and colorful electric wires were tied into a strip as thick as an arm, extending outside along the corner of the wall.

Fu Tianhe followed closely in. He put the sack against the wall, rubbed his hands awkwardly, and said, "It's a bit messy. Sorry for the embarrassment."

He quickly put the clothes on the sofa aside, made room, walked quickly into another room separated by a waterproof curtain, took out a clean cloth, and carefully spread it on the old sofa.

"Sit down and rest for a while."

The cloth was very clean. Chen Ci sat on the sofa, pulled down the mask, revealing his mouth and nose, and carefully observed Fu Tianhe's residence.

There were half-finished things on the machine tools, with chips and circuit boards exposed and a strong smell of engine oil.

In addition, there is a light amber wood scent.

Fu Tianhe quickly came out of the inner room again. He took the Alpha pheromone masking agent and sprayed every corner with it.

The ambery woody scent is gone, replaced by the cool, minty scent of the concealer.

After confirming that the smell of his pheromones had disappeared, Fu Tianhe poured a glass of water and sat next to Chen Ci: "The cup has just been washed."

Chen Ci took it, holding the badly peeling thermos cup in both hands. He lowered his eyes to stare at the water surface and sniffed it gently, smelling a scent of disinfectant.

It must be a problem with the water quality in the underground city. The water flowing out of Chen Nian's pipe also has a taste, but he has a specially purchased water purifier and filters it before drinking.

It is obvious that Fu Tianhe is not rich.

Chen Ci thought that since this person treated him to a meal and paid for his return trip, he should have some savings.

But when I got here, I realized that Fu Tianhe's financial situation was even worse than Chen Nian's.

I don't have much money, why should I treat him to a meal?

Chen Ci said directly: "Are you a scavenger?"

"No, I work as a mechanic in the South District during the day, and after get off work I go out to pick up parts so I can make things myself." Fu Tianhe scratched his head and said, "I am a serious worker, and picking up waste is a hobby, a hobby."

Chen Ci said "oh" softly and said no more.

Fu Tianhe asked him, "Why are you here?"

Chen Ci: "I have nothing to do, so I go out for a walk."

"This is not a good place for shopping." Fu Tianhe certainly wouldn't be so conceited as to think that Chen Ci was looking for him, but the unexpected meeting between the two made him happy. It seemed that they were destined to meet each other.

Fu Tianhe took out the terminal: "I vaguely remember that you seemed to have promised me something at noon."

Chen Ci: …………

At that time, Fu Tianhe wanted his number, but Chen Ci did not want to establish too many relationships while pretending to be Chen Nian, otherwise it would cause trouble in the future, so he did not agree to him directly.

Instead, it means that if the two people can meet again, they will exchange contact information.

Chen Ci thought that the dungeon was so big and he would only stay here for five days, so the chance of meeting him again was very small.

Unexpectedly, he would encounter such a low-probability event.

Chen Ci kept silent, this was his usual trick. When he was young, he would use silence to deal with everything he didn't want to do, and others would understand that this was called rejection.

"Want to regret it?" Fu Tianhe tilted his head to observe Chen Ci's expression. After meeting the Omega's eyes, he smiled again and reminded Chen Ci, "You came here on your own."

Chen Ci raised the thermos and pretended to drink water to hide his expression.

Yes, he was the one who saw Fu Tianhe first and took the initiative to go over.

"Okay." Chen Ci finally agreed. He used his fingerprint to unlock Chen Nian's terminal and exchanged contact information with Fu Tianhe.

Of course, he used Chen Nian's number.

Fu Tianhe happily changed the note to "September" and came over to see Chen Ci enter the three words "Fu Tianhe" in the note column.

After making sure that he had been saved in the address book, Fu Tianhe stood up and said, "I'll go make some food."

"Haven't you eaten yet?"

"No." Fu Tianhe took off his coat and opened the waterproof cloth, and his voice came from a distance, "Do you want to eat something together?"

"No thanks." Chen Ci followed Fu Tianhe into the kitchen, which was actually a stove built with cement bricks, and various seasonings were placed in the bottoms of cut plastic bottles.

The refrigerator is in the corner and may be bigger than he is.

Seeing Fu Tianhe skillfully taking out the ingredients from the refrigerator, Chen Ci said, "I've received my salary. Let's take you out for dinner."

It's also a good opportunity to repay Fu Tianhe's favor for treating me to lunch at noon.

"No need." Fu Tianhe refused directly, "It's better to save some money if you can do it at home."

After a while, Fu Tianhe finished washing and cutting the vegetables. He skillfully put the vegetables into the wok and signaled Chen Ci to go out: "It's too late here, go wait outside."

The kitchen only had the simplest ventilation vents, which was really smelly. Chen Ci returned to the living room. He listened to the sound of food being frying in the frying pan in the kitchen and walked to the machine tool.

The welded shelves are embedded in the wall, and on them are many small gadgets made of electronic parts, with very delicate craftsmanship.

Fu Tianhe quickly prepared dinner and brought out the plate. Chen Ci took a look and saw that it was all vegetables without a single piece of meat.

Is this all a strong and healthy Alpha eats?

Fu Tianhe cleared a small space on the machine tool, pulled over a chair and sat down.

Chen Ci watched him wolf down his food and asked out of the blue, "Did you really eat lunch?"

"Hmm?" Fu Tianhe bit his steamed bun, "Of course, I ate it in the company cafeteria."

Chen Ci heaved a sigh of relief. Fu Tianhe only bought him lunch at noon, but he didn't eat it himself. Chen Ci was afraid that Fu Tianhe lied to him that he had eaten in order to save money.

Fu Tianhe only took five minutes to finish dinner. He put the dishes in the kitchen, washed them, and said, "Come on, I'll take you around."

Chen Ci looked at the time. He had been out for nearly four hours. If he came back too late, Jiang Dai might get worried. "I have to go home."

"Now? It's really getting late." Fu Tianhe didn't force you to stay. "How about I take you to some other places to play tomorrow?"

Chen Ci: "Don't you have to go to work?"

"What a coincidence! I have a day off tomorrow." Alpha smiled proudly. "It's settled then. I'll wait for you at the station near your house?"

The other party was really too enthusiastic. No matter what his intentions were, Chen Ci could feel that Fu Tianhe had no intention of harming him.

Having a guide to lead the way is much more efficient than wandering around aimlessly on your own.

Besides, he didn't dislike Fu Tianhe. It was the first time he met such an enthusiastic person, which was quite novel.

Chen Ci agreed, paused, and added: "Take me to the most interesting place here."

"Then I have to do my homework tonight." Fu Tianhe was about to pat Chen Ci on the shoulder, but he quickly realized that Chen Ci didn't seem to like others touching him, so he stopped in mid-air.

"Let's go, I'll take you back."

Fu Tianhe sent Chen Ci to a nearby station and watched him get on the bus.

The bus started, Chen Ci looked out the window, and Fu Tianhe stood on the side of the road, waving at him.

Alpha is tall and always has a cheerful smile on his face. Even his invisible fake eye seems to be filled with happiness.

Chen Ci nodded slightly.

Fu Tianhe's figure quickly disappeared into the night. Chen Ci leaned back in his chair and pulled down the brim of his hat to cover his face together with the mask.

——If Fu Tianhe had not lied to him and was a worker with a decent job, why was he so poor?

Forty minutes later, Chen Ci returned home and closed the door quietly.

Before he turned on the light, he heard Jiang Dai's voice in the darkness: "You're back."

"Well, I met a friend and came back a little late." Chen Ci turned on the light in the entrance hall. Jiang Dai had been leaning on the sofa waiting for him and was almost falling asleep.

"Get ready to rest." Jiang Dai didn't say anything. He got up from the sofa and walked slowly towards the bedroom, dragging his inconvenient legs.

Jiang Dai has become accustomed to Chen Nian coming home late from time to time. No matter what time it is, he will make sure that Chen Nian is home before going to bed.

If it were Chen Nian, what would he say or do now?

Chen Ci didn't know that Jiang Dai had raised Chen Nian for eighteen years, but to him, she was a stranger he had just met today.

The concept of family has never appeared in Chen Ci's life.

Jiang Dai fell asleep, and Chen Ci didn't want to waste any more time. He took off his coat and prepared to take a shower.

The anti-bite collar was taken off, and a faint scent of tuberose wafted out, as hazy as the night.

Chen Ci dried his hair in the bathroom before returning to the bedroom and closing the door.

Normally at this time, he would have fallen asleep in the silent White Tower, but in the dungeon, the busiest night had just begun.

In other words, the night belonging to this city has never left.

Chen Ci made sure the windows were locked, lay down, and closed his eyes.

He adjusted his breathing and emptied himself into the darkness, just as he had done countless nights before.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Ci turned over, and unable to bear it any longer, he covered his head with the quilt, and then put his hands on it to press it down.

The "patter patter" sound of dripping water was reduced a lot by the layers of barriers, but it could still be heard.

Water seeping from the cracks in the aging pipes continuously falls onto the plastic roof, making a loud noise, but the residents of the underground city have long been accustomed to it.

But Chen Ci couldn't stand it. He couldn't have any sound or light when he was resting, otherwise he couldn't fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, Chen Ci opened his eyes helplessly.

He leaned against the head of the bed, ready to go to sleep when he could no longer bear the sleepiness.

He and Fu Tianhe made an appointment to go out early tomorrow morning.

But I'm still young, and I should be able to hold on even if I have to stay up all night.

Chen Ci opened the memo on the terminal and began to write the diary of the first day after the identity exchange.

He recorded in detail everything that happened after arriving in the underground city, telling the story in a straightforward manner without any personal emotion.

When I exchange them with Chen Nian, these will be very important information.

After writing that he and Fu Tianhe had made an appointment to go out together the next day, Chen Ci stopped typing.

This is the Alpha he met by chance. He has a golden artificial eye and is said to be a mechanic at a large manufacturing plant in the south of Information Processing Unit 13. He lives in the poorest area and dismantles scrap metal parts at the garbage dump after get off work. He also makes small gadgets at home using machine tools.

The residence made of low straw and bricks was filled with the scent of Fu Tianhe's pheromones, a very calm amber wood scent that seemed to be at odds with the Alpha's enthusiasm.

——is a strange person.

Chen Ci wrote this at the end of his diary.

I don’t know what time it was before Chen Ci fell into a deep sleep, drowsiness that could not be blocked by the noise.

A dreamless night.

The alarm bell rang and Chen Ci opened his eyes sleepily. He didn't have the habit of staying in bed all the time, so he got up, washed his face, and felt a little more energetic.

Jiang Dai wasn't awake yet, so Chen Ci put on his hat and mask and went out.

The two agreed to meet at the station where Fu Tianhe sent him back yesterday. Chen Ci arrived ten minutes early and had breakfast at the same time.

Soon Fu Tianhe came over. He took a bus from the West District and walked for a while after getting off the bus. He saw Chen Ci from a distance and waved at him excitedly.

Fu Tianhe was still full of energy. His simple shirt and jacket made him no different from other dungeon dwellers. If it weren't for his artificial eye, he would look like an ordinary Alpha.

"Sorry for the wait."

Chen Ci shook his head: "I just got here too."

"I picked out a few suitable places yesterday." Fu Tianhe gave Chen Ci a brief introduction. Chen Ci knew almost nothing about the dungeon and listened to his description quietly.

The south side is the area where Fu Tianhe works. He is very familiar with that area. The workers assist Chensha in processing huge amounts of information, repairing and maintaining countless parts, while ensuring the normal operation of the numerous lines that pass through.

After Fu Tianhe finished speaking, the car arrived. The two of them got on, one after the other. Fu Tianhe finally said, "The entire information processing area is developing industry, and there are few natural landscapes. I can only take you to those places."

"It doesn't matter." Chen Ci can see the natural scenery that everyone dreams of from the window every day, but it is these features of the underground city that attract him more.

Two people sat side by side. The plastic seats of the bus were relatively narrow, and their shoulders would hit each other if there was a slight bump.

As they got closer, Chen Ci could smell the coolness of the pheromone masking agent on Fu Tianhe's body.

After walking down the street yesterday, Chen Ci had a general understanding of the situation in the underground city.

Alphas never hesitate to release pheromones in public places because Betas can't smell them anyway. They are like birds in courtship, showing themselves wantonly, putting pressure on their peers while hoping to attract Omegas.

It was a rare civilized behavior of Fu Tianhe to think of covering up the smell in front of him.

The journey took more than forty minutes. Just like yesterday, Chen Ci looked outside quietly after getting on the car.

Fu Tianhe secretly glanced at Chen Ci several times, then tried his best to control himself and look straight ahead.

Until now, he still has a sense of unreality.

Just yesterday, thanks to his incredibly thick skin, he met an Omega named "September", and they met again within just twelve hours, and successfully got the other party's contact information.

Not only did Jiuyue not despise him for being so poor, she even made an appointment with him to go out together.

Fu Tianhe really didn't expect that Jiu Yue would actually be willing to come out with him. To be honest, there was nothing worth strolling around in the entire information processing area, but since Jiu Yue wanted to, of course he had to accompany her.

Is this a date? Does it count?

Fu Tianhe had lived for twenty-one years, and for the first time he felt that he was lucky.

He had a lot to say to Chen Ci. Fu Tianhe knew that the boy next to him had given him a fake name and only the contact information was real.

The more this happened, the more he wanted to know more.

Fu Tianhe brazenly prepared himself mentally, took a deep breath, and was about to speak.

He turned his head and saw Chen Ci leaning against the car window with his head slightly lowered, having fallen asleep.

The boy has thick eyelashes, and in the bright light from the window, a small shadow is cast on his cheek. A few strands of black hair are exposed from the brim of his hat and swept between his eyebrows. The black mask covers most of his face, making him look calmer.

He zipped up his sportswear to the top, with the collar raised to cover the anti-bite collar around his neck, and his body was swaying slightly as the bus moved.

Fu Tianhe was stunned, and all words stopped at this moment.

Fu Tianhe and Chen Ci had known each other for a very short time, but he could tell from Chen Ci's various behaviors that he was very vigilant.

The boy got off at a station some distance from his home to hide his real address, refused to drink the water he was given, used a fake name, and was even unwilling to give him his contact information.

That's September, now asleep next to him.

Does this mean that I am gradually gaining September's trust?

No matter what the real situation was, Fu Tianhe became excited all of a sudden.

Fu Tianhe took a deep breath, turned his head and continued to look straight ahead.

——Is it really okay to sleep like this? It would hurt if your head hits the glass.

Soon he turned around again and leaned towards Chen Ci, hoping that Chen Ci could lean on his shoulder, at least without the risk of hurting his head.

Fu Tianhe tried hard for more than ten minutes, but before he could succeed, the bus passed the speed bump and woke Chen Ci up.

Chen Ci didn't expect that he actually fell asleep in the car. He raised his hand to rub his eyes, changed his sitting position, and stopped dozing off.

Fu Tianhe immediately sat up straight, pretending nothing had happened, but his face couldn't help but get hot.

Chen Ci:?

Chen Ci looked at him steadily for a few seconds, and when Fu Tianhe's face became redder and redder, he looked away.

"Didn't you get enough rest?" Fu Tianhe asked in a concealed manner.

"Yeah." Chen Ci said casually, "The water pipe outside the bedroom is aging and leaking, which is a bit noisy."

Fu Tianhe said "oh", he looked at the prompt on the display screen and said, "We are almost at the station, get ready to get off."

The two got off the car in the South District. Chen Ci raised his head and finally saw the true unprocessed appearance of the information processing area.

The colors of metal rust or new plating are everywhere. The top is hundreds of meters high, and pipes crisscross. The huge enclosed space makes people feel even smaller than the wilderness.

Countless scaffolding was built along the metal frame, the roar of the machines running kept ringing, and the unit of the cinnabar core processor was hidden somewhere under layers of protection.

Fu Tianhe waited patiently while Chen Ci looked around. He didn't know what to see. Strictly speaking, this was a very normal scene in the dungeon.

Fu Tianhe asked casually: "Are you from another place?"

Chen Ci glanced at him, and after a few seconds, he replied, "I have always lived in another area."

I see. Fu Tianhe understood. Maybe before September, he lived in the condensation tower or the power room. Although they both belonged to the category of dungeons, the functions were different, and the landscapes of different areas of the beacon were also very different.

"Let's go. There's a minecart project nearby that renovates abandoned tracks. Let's go play with that first."

Chen Ci followed Fu Tianhe and listened to him introduce what the surrounding buildings were used for.

The entire south side is the main industrial part of Information Processing Zone 13, with many departments built in it. The one they are passing by is the Transportation Department.

Transport Department... Chen Ci looked at the half-open door a few more times.

I seem to have heard it somewhere before.

Drake was chatting with his colleagues when he suddenly stopped talking.

He stared at the figure that flashed past the door, and immediately stood up straight from leaning against the container.

"What's wrong?" The colleague looked in the direction he was looking.

Another colleague pushed Drake's shoulder and said, "You seem to be distracted day by day. Hey, didn't you say that something good was going to happen the night before last?"

Derek waved his hands irritably. "Don't mention it."

"Oh, they don't want to?" The colleagues suddenly became excited.

"Everything was arranged well, and I took him there, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye. After I came back, I sent him a message, and he said he was busy and didn't have time to meet."

"Maybe someone from a higher class kidnapped her." His colleagues laughed at him deliberately. "Hey, seeing how excited you were before, I thought you could get her."

Chen Nian is known to everyone in their circle. The Omega who works in the nightclub never avoids contact with Alphas.

Everyone knew that Chen Nian had ambiguous relationships with many people at the same time, but no one dared to blame him.

The Alphas are only racking their brains to think about one thing - how to defeat other competitors in front of Chen Nian.

Many Alphas use their success in getting Chen Nian as a way to brag to their brothers, and work as hard as they can towards their goal.

The more Drake thought about it, the more upset he felt.

Could it be that Chen Nian was really kidnapped on the upper floor? But he seemed to have seen a figure that looked very similar to him.

"I'm going to go out for a while." Drake said nothing more and walked towards the door of the Transportation Department.