Chapter 130: What Mr. “Yidis” Got Up To… Part 2

Without Xie Jianxun even showing his disappointment, the City Lord told him to rest well—he’d have people search for Idis’s whereabouts—and left.

After he departed, Xie Jianxun grabbed the Mechanical Arm and dangled it in the air.

“Yiwen? Yiwen?”

The Mechanical Arm curled up like a boiled octopus tentacle and said timidly, “Jianxun…”

Xie Jianxun breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, “So you were awake.”

The mechanical female voice replied, “Sorry, Jianxun…”

What was there to be sorry for? It wasn’t her fault. Xie Jianxun patted its “head” lightly in response.

“So where did Idis—or uh, Yidis—go? What were they up to?”

Yiwen: “I don’t know! Lord almighty, in that short time, when I came back down, there you were, lying there! Then the City Lord’s Mansion crew burst in with a huge racket, rummaging everywhere. I was afraid they’d overlook me, so I played dead and wrapped around you—got hauled out together.”

The Mechanical Arm wound anxiously around Xie Jianxun’s arm, then slipped under the blanket. Its length and girth resembled a non-venomous python, just not as heavy.

It murmured, “What does Idis want? He, he…”

Xie Jianxun keenly asked, “What happened to him afterward? Where’d he go?”

Yiwen: “I never even saw him—he just vanished! Jumped out a window? Feeling guilty? No way!”

“In all my years since activation, I’ve never seen him like this! Even an old workhorse changes temperament—world’s gone mad?!”

Xie Jianxun mused, “Looks like after he sedated me, he just disappeared on his own.”

The Mechanical Arm stared at him blankly, its crimson electronic eye unblinking.

Yiwen said blankly, “But the sedative was meant for him.”

Yeah, yeah—in the end, it ended up on Xie Jianxun instead. The Little Adventurer sighed.

Xie Jianxun rested half-reclined for a bit, then got up.

Dressed in comfortable loose loungewear, he sat in the downstairs dining room. An auntie served him a pot of freshly cooked porridge, warning it was a bit hot—blow on it before drinking.

Xie Jianxun thanked her and turned his head. Through the bright floor-to-ceiling windows, he saw City Lord’s Mansion staff coming and going.

They spotted him through the glass and waved friendly greetings.

A glance at the clock: 8:30 a.m.

Evidently, that “Yidis” needle had put the Little Adventurer to sleep for a full night.

Movement nearby—someone clomped downstairs and froze upon seeing Xie Jianxun at their dining table.

“You’re eating breakfast at my house today?”

You Liang rushed over, yanked out the chair beside him, and asked the auntie for a bowl of porridge too. The City Lord’s son yawned, squinting at him.

Xie Jianxun: “Mm… your family’s porridge is good.”

You Liang: “Damn right.”

The two slurped away. You Liang, sharp-eyed, noticed the Middle-Aged City Lord entering from outside and wondered, “Why do you two look so glum?”

The Middle-Aged City Lord said, “Eat your porridge. No sweet soy milk today?”

You Liang: “Who eats sweet soy milk with porridge? Not everything goes with it!”

The Middle-Aged City Lord ordered a bowl too and told Xie Jianxun, “No sign of him on surveillance.”

You Liang, baffled: “Who?”

“Idis.”

Xie Jianxun’s fingers tightened on his spoon. He furrowed his brow, dazed. “Not on surveillance…”

“We’ve checked everything—the surveillance at his doorstep, the street district, the entire timeframe last night including four hours before and after. Everyone double-checked repeatedly, and there simply wasn’t anyone suitable coming or going.”

Even the Middle-Aged City Lord found it unbelievable.

They had naturally moved to arrest the suspicious individual Idis and pulled up the surveillance footage.

Yet the omnipresent, unfailingly effective surveillance system in the Silver Watchtower had completely failed to capture this person’s appearance?!

You Liang interjected, “Impossible, right? Maybe he disguised himself as someone else and we didn’t recognize him?”

No, Xie Jianxun denied it in his heart. Neither Idis nor Yidis would transform themselves into a completely unfamiliar appearance.

The Middle-Aged City Lord said, “Although Idis has made many outstanding contributions to the Silver Watchtower, that doesn’t erase the fact that he assaulted young Master Xie.”

You Liang: “Could it have been someone else? I just don’t think Idis is that kind of person!”

Xie Jianxun listened quietly, lowering his head to sip his porridge.

After a moment, he suddenly said, “What if he erased the traces of his own appearance from the surveillance?”

“…Huh?”

“What?”

The Middle-Aged City Lord looked at him gravely. “Are you sure?”

Xie Jianxun: “What if he’s a bionic person.”

The Middle-Aged City Lord was thoroughly puzzled. “…What does that have to do with bionic people?”

You Liang chimed in agreement, and Xie Jianxun said heavily, “I’ve seen it before—er, a special mechanical puppet that could directly invade electromagnetic signals, copy surveillance footage, without even needing a data port.”

He asked sincerely.

“Could a bionic person edit surveillance footage from the system and erase all traces of a person’s appearance?”

You Liang and the City Lord both drew sharp breaths. Xie Jianxun realized belatedly and looked up at the father and son.

You Liang: “First off, I’ve never heard of any bionic person that can do something like that.”

Middle-Aged City Lord: “The Silver Watchtower’s surveillance room is connected to the Star Net. Even if he could, he absolutely couldn’t bypass the Main Brain’s oversight.”

Unless the Main Brain permitted it.

This was already the who-knows-how-manyth time in the past few days that Xie Jianxun had encountered the term Main Brain.

The Main Brain—the Chief, king of the Virtual Nation, ruler of most munitions factories, the Federation’s fifth lord, the mechanically ascended intelligent lifeform “Emerald.”

Nowadays, the vast majority of Federation citizens’ activities were inseparable from the Star Net.

Any planet with a weak Star Net signal simply couldn’t keep up with the pace of development.

Every day, countless people conducted activities online. The Main Brain monitored everything, optimized every node, and managed the virtual world impeccably—for two hundred years now.

“Why is It called Emerald?”

“Who knows? Maybe the Main Brain likes that mineral.”

“I still think there’s something wrong with the surveillance.”

After pondering, Xie Jianxun continued, “He couldn’t have vanished into thin air. Even if a third party was involved, there should be some clues.”

You Liang: “Then let’s go straight to the Star Net and ask the Main Brain!”

Both of them looked at him. The City Lord’s son paused mid-sip of porridge. “…Do what?”

The Middle-Aged City Lord said, “Liangliang, your mom was right—your brain is occasionally useful.”

You Liang muttered, “Nonsense, when has my brain ever not been useful?”

Xie Jianxun had already opened his light brain, logged into the Star Net, and tapped into his personal interface, where there was a direct chat with the Main Brain.

Though most of the time it was an intelligent customer service bot under the Main Brain’s jurisdiction that responded, what if?

Xie Jianxun typed: “Hello, do bionic people produced by modern factories have the ability module to invade city surveillance systems?”

The customer service replied politely in seconds: “No.”

Not even a superfluous word.

Xie Jianxun: “Any similar abilities?”

Customer service: “Apologies, but bionic people from near-modern factories are mostly equivalent to normal humans in terms of muscle strength and cognitive computing power. No special abilities have appeared. Invading city surveillance might involve a hacker skill module, which is illegal post-production modification. We recommend reporting and capturing immediately.”

Xie Jianxun closed the interface. For the rest, the Middle-Aged City Lord would need to inquire directly with the Main Brain via the Silver Watchtower’s official account—personal accounts didn’t have that authority.

The City Lord stood up, deciding to check the surveillance himself.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Xie Jianxun standing as well and said in surprise, “Young Master Xie, keep eating. I can handle the rest.”

Xie Jianxun braced his hands on the table, hesitating. “City Lord…”

Finally, he mustered his courage. “I need to go outside and take a look.”

The Middle-Aged City Lord raised his brows high.

He said with a headache, “Master Xie, staying in the City Lord’s Mansion is the best choice right now.” In another four or five days, officials from the East Territory would arrive, and he wouldn’t have to shoulder this massive responsibility anymore.

Xie Jianxun met his gaze, his beautiful golden eyes utterly calm.

“I have some guesses in mind, and I might need to check them personally,” Xie Jianxun said. “Idis is my teacher, my friend, and the main party involved this time. From any angle, I should go myself.”

Middle-Aged City Lord: “Don’t be scared—let me say something harsh. What if someone attacks you again?”

Xie Jianxun said firmly, “I’ll state upfront that any accidents I encounter have nothing to do with the Silver Watchtower.”

They faced off for a moment until one side relented.

“Fine, I’ll get a guard team for you.”

“No need.” Xie Jianxun repeated, “Really, no need. I can protect myself.”

“If I said I believe you, no one would buy that nonsense.”

The Middle-Aged City Lord said, “You really don’t put my mind at ease. Alright then, I’ll get you a positioning bracelet. It’ll send signals to the City Lord’s Mansion at intervals—if it stops, we alert immediately.”

He looked at Xie Jianxun as if regarding a mischievous, troublemaking child.

Xie Jianxun gave a genuine smile. “Thank you.”

He went upstairs, scooped up Yiwen, draped her over his neck, and hurried out the door.

The mechanical arm raised its screen. “Xunxun?”

Xie Jianxun patted its head gently. “Let’s go find Teacher Idis.”