Chapter 164: Moths to the Flame (Part II)

Li Yao often went to visit him, and the old man was always very kind to her.

"I wasn't interested at first," Li Yao said to Diandian, "but you mentioned that someone in that signal was calling out 'yaOyaO,' and suddenly, I felt something I couldn't quite put into words."

Because her own name contained the word "Yao," and those around her were fond of calling her Yao-Yao.

Li Yao found herself daydreaming, "Could it be that decades ago, in this vast universe, in the Andromeda Galaxy where few dared to travel, there was once another Yao-Yao? And now, after all these years, I’ve heard the name of a girl who shares the same sound as my own. This feeling..."

Diandian finished her thought, "It’s simply magical!"

Li Yao smiled and said, "Yes, it is truly magical!"

They still had classes to attend, so Diandian excitedly plugged the USB drive into her smart panel. The analysis software installed automatically, but processing such a complex signal would take time.

Diandian decided to check the results after class, and she and Li Yao left the room, chatting as they walked.

On the holographic screen, the progress bar flickered continuously.

Restoration progress: 20%

On the streets of this planet, the giant screens suddenly glitched.

Restoration progress: 50%

Throughout the streets and alleys, the synthetic domestic androids that ran errands for humans suddenly paused, their movements becoming sluggish.

Restoration progress: 80%

The interstellar network began to experience widespread lag. It was like a virus attack, spreading first to one planet, then to the next... The speed of the contagion was so rapid that it soon blanketed the entire interstellar network.

Restoration progress: 90%

On Planet Blue-White, in the headquarters of the White Corporation.

A young teacher was leading a group of elementary school students to visit the most outstanding achievement since humanity entered the interstellar era.

The teacher introduced it with pride, "This is the Manipulator, the heart that keeps the entire interstellar system running. Our lives cannot do without it, and the future of humanity depends on its existence."

A girl with a ponytail pointed upward in surprise, "Teacher, it turned red!"

The teacher turned back.

The crystal polyhedron suspended in mid-air still emitted a faint, serene blue light; everything seemed perfectly normal.

The teacher smiled at the girl, "Yaya, you must have seen it wrong. The Manipulator cannot err; it is impossible for it to trigger an error warning."

The other children chimed in, agreeing.

Yaya pursed her lips, unhappy. She knew she hadn't seen it wrong!

The teacher led the group forward. Yaya, feeling disgruntled, slowly drifted to the back of the line.

She saw a young man with black hair.

He stood by the window, staring blankly up at the distant sky, looking like a fool.

Yaya trotted over on her short legs, "Big brother, are you lost?"

The youth lowered his head slowly, looking quietly at the six- or seven-year-old girl.

She asked curiously, "What are you looking at standing here?"

He replied, "I don't know either."

Yaya noticed the flower in his hand, "Big brother, what is that?"

He seemed unable to comprehend why he held a flower himself. After a moment, he said, "This is a moonstone."

Yaya smiled brightly, "How beautiful!"

The youth stared at the girl's smiling face. Slowly, a smile appeared on his own, the curve of his lips mirroring hers. His expression was equally radiant as he said, "I give it to you."

Yaya reached out, but she touched nothing. The flower passed right through her hand. At the moment of contact, the edges of the petals revealed the telltale shimmer of a holographic projection.

She looked at the young man again and reached out toward him, but again, felt nothing. She muttered, "Well, so it's fake after all."

Losing interest, Yaya turned and ran. If she didn't catch up now, the teacher would surely scold her for falling behind!

The youth held the flower in his hands, bewildered. Was he fake?

And if he was, were the inexplicable "sadness" and "emptiness" constructed from jumping lines of code also fake?

Restoration progress: 100%

The light in his eyes froze in that instant.

"Yao-Yao, I will protect you."

"Yao-Yao, I want to give you the whole world."

"Yao-Yao, I love you."

"Yao-Yao, Yao-Yao, Yao-Yao, Yao-Yao—"

The corporate building, built upon the foundation of the Manipulator, suddenly erupted with a powerful, dangerous red light. The screams of employees and students mingled together, and error alarms blared from every direction.

No.

No.

Still no!

She was not in the Solar System, not in the Andromeda Galaxy, and not in the Cygnus Galaxy.

She was not in this world.

Yaya looked toward that quiet corner.

The youth's figure slowly slumped. He curled up, hugging himself, his body trembling slightly.

But in the blink of an eye, the young man had vanished.

The next second, all the lights went out.

The darkness that swallowed the space felt like the cage of a trapped beast.

The little girl, who had been gathered with the group by her teacher, suddenly broke away and pointed at the air, exclaiming in shock, "I heard it crying!"

The teacher hurriedly pulled her back, "The Manipulator isn't human; it cannot cry."

Yaya frowned in dissatisfaction. She looked again at the crystal polyhedron now encased in a dark red glow.

It hung motionless in mid-air, as if it had lost its life.

Suddenly, it dropped from the air, crashing onto the floor that reflected the red, eerie light, producing a crisp, clear sound.

It was as if jade had shattered, or perhaps, like a moth darting into a flame.

Panic erupted among the people around them.

Yaya pursed her lips, unhappy.

She had heard it crying—why wouldn't anyone believe her?