Gu Ya's face showed no trace of emotion, as still as a lake unruffled by the wind.
Yet, his heart surged like tidal waves.
The girl, sharing the same name as his sister, walked ahead with light, cheerful steps. She turned, smiling, and said, "Big brother, you're so kind~ I wish you were my real brother."
Gu Ya smiled faintly, offering a perfunctory response. He raised his hand and touched the wall.
[Code Tamper]!
For just two seconds, on Gu Ya's system's holographic display, where code should have appeared, it was completely blank.
Just like during the battle with Xu Jie's black mech,
But after two seconds, green code reappeared and scrolled rapidly upwards.
Gu Ya paid no mind to this.
The reason he activated [Code Tamper] was that next to Gu Youran stood a sealed alloy gate.
Gu Ya walked closer, his hand already lightly touching the gate.
The code quickly flipped pages, adding new programs.
The alloy gate immediately opened. Gu Ya grabbed Gu Youran by the waist and pulled her swiftly inside.
The alloy gate immediately closed.
Gu Ya covered Gu Youran's mouth with one hand, summoned his crimson energy sword, and held it near her neck.
The heat from the blade stung like needles.
The room was pitch black,
The energy sword glowed vibrantly.
Using the light of the energy sword, Gu Ya narrowed his eyes, staring into Gu Youran's eyes, and asked in a low, rapid voice, "Who are your parents?"
Gu Youran seemed greatly startled, her large, bright eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at Gu Ya.
"Answer me, what are your parents' names?" Gu Ya pressed, his tone even carrying a hint of threat.
Gu Youran stammered a couple of times.
Gu Ya loosened his grip slightly.
Gu Youran then managed to catch her breath and said, "My parents... actually... I, I I don't have parents."
As she spoke these words, her tone gradually shifted to sadness and grievance, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Where did you learn this name? Who gave it to you!" Gu Ya asked relentlessly.
Gu Youran became even more wronged and said, "The uncles, aunties, brothers, and sisters in the laboratory gave it to me..."
Laboratory?
Gu Ya suddenly realized; she might be a clone.
"Since I was born, I've never met my parents," the girl continued.
"Every time I asked where my parents were, the uncles and aunties told me they were away on a long trip."
She spoke with increasing sadness, tears streaming down uncontrollably, splashing onto Gu Ya's hand.
Even Gu Ya began to doubt himself, wondering if he was being too cruel to her.
"Big brother, I won't cry anymore..." Gu Youran said, and indeed, she stopped crying.
Gu Ya hesitated, slowly moving his hand away.
As soon as he let go, Gu Youran immediately crouched down, cradled her head, and sobbed softly.
Gu Ya was truly at a loss now.
He could have asked nicely; why did he have to resort to force? What would he do if he upset her to the point of tears?
However, this girl was indeed very simple, laughing when happy, crying when sad.
Moreover, she likely didn't inherit Youyou's memories.
Gu Ya slowly crouched down, placing a hand on her shoulder, and said gently, "It's all my fault, I'm sorry. Can I treat you to a big meal later, okay?"
Hearing about food, Gu Youran immediately stopped crying and raised her swollen eyes to look at Gu Ya.
Seeing Gu Ya's apologetic and sincere expression, Gu Youran broke into a smile through her tears, letting out a big snot bubble!
"Oh my, quickly wipe it!" Gu Ya said, pulling out a pack of tissues from his system store and handing it to her.
"Hehe, big brother, you're so kind. I wish you were my real brother!"
Gu Ya looked at this incredibly simple Gu Youran and suddenly felt that if she was indeed Gu Youyou's clone, keeping her to raise wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Hehe, big brother, do you want a candy?"
Gu Youran smiled and took out two candies from her embrace, offering one to Gu Ya.
She peeled the wrapper of the candy in her hand, popped it into her mouth, and began to move it around with her tongue and cheeks.
"Don't you want it?" Gu Youran asked, a little taken aback.
Gu Ya stared at the candy, hesitating. He wondered if it was poisoned. Being in the unknown city of Zhuo Yuan, things were too strange.
The people above were actually trying to capture him, and he had been knocked unconscious three times.
He had to be cautious!
Gu Youran snatched the candy back from Gu Ya's hand.
At the same time, she took out the half-dissolved, saliva-coated candy from her own mouth and directly put it into Gu Ya's mouth.
"Hee hee hee..." Gu Youran gazed at Gu Ya, smiling proudly and foolishly.
Gu Ya, feeling disgusted, was about to spit it out.
But seeing her innocent, pure, and harmless expression, he suddenly couldn't bear to hurt her.
Hardening his heart, he held it in his mouth.
"Hee hee!" Gu Youyou giggled happily, unwrapping the candy in her hand and putting it into her mouth.
"Is big brother still going to the Gene Department?" Gu Youran asked.
Gu Ya stood up and said, "Let's go."
The alloy gate opened. Gu Ya poked his head out, glanced around, and pulled Gu Youran along as they quickly exited the room.
The two walked towards their target destination again.
Along the way, Gu Youran seemed almost to be floating with joy, recounting amusing stories from the laboratory.
But in Gu Ya's eyes, her stories were as childish as those told by an eight-year-old.
She must have been created not too long ago.
After turning the last corner,
A large transparent glass door appeared five meters ahead.
"Alright, big brother!" Gu Youran said with a smile. "We're here."
With that, Gu Youran took two steps back.
"Thank you. Where are you going? Is your home nearby?" Gu Ya asked, turning his head.
"Home?" Gu Youran said calmly. "Heh, this entire mech is my home."
Gu Ya looked at Gu Youran in surprise.
Because her expression was no longer that of innocent naivete.
On her face now was a truly adult expression, the kind only someone who had experienced certain things would wear.
And no matter how much an adult pretended, they couldn't replicate a child's innocent expression.
The most crucial indicator was in the eyes.
Yet, she had perfectly deceived Gu Ya's gaze.
"You!" Gu Ya felt a sense of foreboding and frowned.
At this moment, his brain began to throb.
"It was that candy..."
"That's right," Gu Youran said lightly. "Both candies were, they only work on you."
"You! All of you!"
Gu Ya felt his brain being violently twisted by dozens of hands.
Nausea, dizziness, sickness, his vision flickering between light and dark, all the unpleasant sensations surged at once.
Gu Ya gradually fell to his knees, his eyes rolling back, a suffocating feeling taking hold, his mouth muttering unconsciously.
Simultaneously, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Scenes he had never seen before flickered and vanished instantly,
Fragmented images, like pixel blocks, gradually pieced together.
This process was like his brain being cut into millions of pieces,
Then reassembled, piece by piece.
Gu Youran slowly walked over, bent her knees, and squatted down, staring at Gu Ya.
Gu Ya clutched his neck tightly, trying to clear his airway.
Veins bulged on his neck, his muscles tensed, his face turning red.
But strangely, even [Pain Immunity] had failed.
Gu Ya endured the nausea, looked up, wishing he could kill this girl, but he had no strength whatsoever.
Gu Youran said lightly, "It seems to be very painful."
"But the pain is worth it."
Gu Youran slowly stood up and said quietly, "Come on, carry him inside."
...
...
"Sister... Sister!"
"What do you want me for!"
"Dad~"
"Ah! Hahaha..."
"Lingling, you need to learn to smile. Smile, haha! Look how cute your brother is!"
"Hehehe... Is this considered smiling?"
"Xiao Ya, call me sister again, and I'll play with you..."
"Sister, sister..."
...
"Dad, are we really moving? Can I bring my friends along?"
...
"Dad, what is this device for? Why do I have to wear it on my head?"
...
"Where did Mom go?"
"Up in the sky..."
"Will she come back?"
...
"Son, listen to me, listen to me, it's very important."
"Eat this, eat it with your sister."
...
"I'm sorry, Xiao Ya, take good care of your sister..."
...
"For Xian Xia, I must..."
[Ding...]
Who is speaking?
Someone is speaking in my mind.
[System has detected Host has recovered memories]
[Conditions for unlocking Elite Mech Mechanic talent have been met]
[Unlock successful]
[Host has been promoted to Elite Mech Mechanic]
[All skill effects have been correspondingly enhanced]
[Intermediate System Store has been upgraded to Advanced System Store, unlocking more items]
[Rare item drop rate list now includes future technological products]
"This is the result you wanted."
"He's awake..."
"You've waited so long, and finally succeeded."
"Eight years..."
...
Gu Ya gasped for air, his body arching like a bow, his stomach heaving upwards, then crashing down heavily.
After a long while, he exhaled a long breath.
Being able to breathe again felt like a rebirth... 138 Reading Network
Gu Ya squinted his eyes, adjusting to the dim light.
"You're awake."
"Let's talk, son."
Gu Ya's eyes widened, he sat up, and looked back.
His pupils instantly contracted.
"Don't be afraid. To see you again, I had to become this... unbelievable form."