Chapter 21: Spectator Mode

Chapter 21: Spectator Mode

"Why are you crying? Coming out here to the middle of nowhere at night—could it be... that man bullied you?" Yu Ren caught Roland wiping away tears and said indignantly, "People nowadays really lack decency. How old are you? Honestly, you’re probably about the same age as his child, right? And he dares to lay a hand on you?"

Seeing Roland silent, he continued, "I really don’t understand what girls your age are thinking. Always feeling that boys your age are immature, so you prefer older men. Now look where that’s gotten you—only now do you start to cry."

"Can you just shut up..." Roland wiped her tears with a tissue, leaned back in the seat, and gently closed her eyes. "I’m very tired."

"Alright, get some rest. I drive steadily." After about ten seconds of silence, Yu Ren couldn’t help but go on. "Actually, I originally wanted to be a racecar driver, but then I realized I liked photography more. So I traveled the world, initially capturing all sorts of wonders—active volcanoes, great rifts, glaciers, waterfalls, you name it. But later I found that the most fascinating thing in the world isn’t those natural spectacles, but photographing all kinds of people… Do you know? The light reflected in each person’s eyes is different."

Roland kept her eyes closed, turning sideways to face the right car window, away from him. She then took out the now silent earphones and placed one on her left ear.

"For example, take you. Though you’re young, I see a kind of maturity and sophistication in your eyes, indicating your emotional age is much higher than your actual age. It’s no wonder you like older men. By the way, do you believe in souls? They say some old souls have lived many lifetimes, so even when they’re children, their intuitive answers to many questions—though they seem like childish nonsense—actually make sense if you think about it. Isn’t that interesting?"

Yu Ren spoke with great interest for a long while, but Roland never responded. When he glanced over, he found her resting against the passenger seat, asleep. At some point, she had turned back unconsciously to lie on her side facing him, asleep.

In her dream, Roland was a child again, holding her parents’ hands on an endless grassland, gazing at a rainbow in the blue sky, while a Labrador joyfully ran and jumped around them...

Yu Ren didn’t notice the faint smile on her lips. He didn’t linger to study the adorable look of her sleeping face. Instead, he turned off the jazz music playing on loop in the car, continued driving steadily, and said no more.

As the car neared the city, it slowly pulled over to the roadside. Yu Ren didn’t know where Roland lived and had thought to wake her, but his stomach still ached faintly, so he didn’t have the heart to disturb her—mainly because he was afraid to.

He carefully stretched, then leaned back and closed his eyes, planning to rest for a while.

Meanwhile, in the Canglan International Complex, Li Mengling curled up in the corner of the lobby by Building 5, Unit 3, sneezing. "Can you at least turn up the air conditioning a bit?"

The AI bearing Fang Xiaoling’s likeness looked at her, smiling, but Li Mengling felt there was something sinister about that smile. "Sorry, you don’t have permission to adjust the lobby temperature."

"Ah... I just came over on impulse, and now this old lady robot won’t even let me in. Achoo!" Li Mengling wiped her nose with her sleeve. "Now I can’t even go back. There aren’t any taxis around here."

"Sorry, you don’t have permission to use the exclusive taxi feature."

"Who asked you?" Li Mengling crossed her arms. It had been half the night, and there wasn’t a single person in sight in the whole complex. Do none of the residents ever go out?

"Sorry, you don’t have permission to communicate with me."

"This is outrageous..." Li Mengling was almost in tears with frustration. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Just wait, Roland. I... achoo! I’ll never forgive you!"

Suppressed by the relentless cold, Li Mengling gradually stopped thinking about her initial plan for revenge. She even forgot about the bone-cleaving knife lying not far from her. She changed corners again—this was the fourth time—because it seemed each corner was a little warmer than the last. But in the end, she simply returned to the very first corner where she had initially settled and finally calmed down. Although Li Hai’s death was still recent, at this moment, Li Mengling cared less about revenge and more about a warm, soft bed with a neatly made quilt.

"At least I have Fang Xiaoling to suffer with me..." Li Mengling murmured. This was the only comfort she had right now.

At this moment, Fang Xiaoling was reclining on a comfortable sofa, enjoying the warmth of a fireplace. The world where her soul resided was no longer a vast, empty white void; now it had transformed into a grand mansion, complete with a dining room, swimming pool, cinema, and even servants—everything Fang Xiaoling could imagine.

Nearby, a projection showed a third-person view of Li Mengling curled up in the corner. Fang Xiaoling stretched lazily and said, "Why didn’t I discover this spectator mode earlier? It’s so much better than that immersive experience. Adam, get me a bag of chips."

The man standing beside her, dressed sharply in a suit, respectfully handed her the chips. "Your chips, my lady."

"Don’t call me that—it sounds awkward. From now on, just call me ‘Master.’"

"My honored Master, you created me. Whatever you wish me to call you, I will."

"Good boy." Fang Xiaoling munched on the chips while watching the girl sneezing repeatedly on the projection. "That Li Mengling is just a kid—no plan at all. And yet she dares to think she can outmatch Roland? What a fantasy. Boring... Adam, I think we should put a movie screen next to the projection. That way, when I’m bored, I can watch movies anytime. It’s more convenient than switching the scene to the theater."

Before she finished speaking, it happened exactly as she wished.

Witnessing this miracle, Adam knelt and worshiped, "Master, you truly are omnipotent. I will serve you forever."

Adam’s appearance was identical to Shen Yi—not a single feature differed.

Fang Xiaoling stroked the hair at the back of Adam’s head, the sensation like petting a dog’s head. "Good boy~ You’re the ideal servant."

Due to the limits of imagination, the screen could only play movies Fang Xiaoling had already seen—especially those she knew so well she could recite by heart. If a scene came up that she didn’t remember, it would be skipped. So often, before the next scene even appeared, she could already predict what would happen.

Gradually, Fang Xiaoling found this dull and asked Adam, "I want to watch movies I’ve never seen before, but my imagination limits me. What should I do?"

"Master, I do not possess your wisdom. I do not know how to achieve this."

His answer troubled Fang Xiaoling deeply.

She didn’t know how much time passed before her desire to watch new movies suddenly transformed in the space into a black cobra. The snake spoke to her: "Divine one, perhaps you can share some of your wisdom with Adam, so he might offer you counsel."

If I were a god, I wouldn’t create Adam and Eve—I’d create Remium.

(End of chapter)