95: Chapter 94 Lin Yi: Never Before Has There Been Such a Wonderful Start

"Hehe, 6."

This was the last stubborn, helpless retort Lin Yi uttered before his consciousness was completely drowned by shame, exhaustion, and the aftereffects of intense pain, right after hearing Europa say, "I'll be waiting."

Afterward, his head lolled to the side, and he promptly fell into a deep coma—or, to be more precise, he entered an extremely sudden and uncontrollable "baby-like sleep."

Being young is great; you can just drop your head and fall asleep anywhere.

Time slipped away silently during his slumber.

When Lin Yi's eyelids fluttered with difficulty and finally opened again, the sky outside was already bright, and soft morning light streamed through the studio window, casting clear spots of light on the floor.

Good grief, he'd slept straight through on the floor until the next morning!

"Damn it…" He tried to move, immediately letting out a series of pained groans.

Every muscle and bone in his body was protesting vehemently; the pervasive soreness and dull pain felt as if he had been stuffed into a sack and beaten all night long.

"Hiss… This feeling… It's worse than the three hundred rounds I fought with Lily…"

Grimacing, he pushed himself up from the cold floor, moving with extreme slowness. He felt like a rusted robot, every joint creaking in a mournful protest.

Yet, amidst the lingering discomfort, an unprecedented and strange "sense of clarity" welled up like an undercurrent.

He subconsciously looked inward (not literally seeing, but sensing) and discovered that his connection to the "Bai Ze" behind his neck had disappeared; instead, the connection had become much tighter, much more… integrated? It was as if "Bai Ze" was no longer an external piece of equipment but had truly become an extension of his body, like an extra invisible organ. Through his arms, he could almost see the original "red core" flowing within it.

What shocked him even more was that his range of conscious perception seemed to have been greatly expanded. Even without actively connecting to the network, he could faintly "hear" the subtle data signals flowing through the surrounding environment—the morning news playing in the apartment next door, the beeps of items being scanned at the convenience store downstairs, and even the weak electromagnetic fluctuations generated when the traffic lights in the distance changed…

Of course, this was controllable. Like a child, Lin Yi amplified his perception for a moment to eavesdrop on Yorinobu playing cards with a new sex doll in the Arasaka villa. Then, he shifted his attention to El Coyote Cojo to see Jackie getting lectured by Mrs. Welles.

This feeling of having suddenly opened the door to a new world and gained some kind of "divine power" instantly went to his head.

He, who had just been listless, jumped up from the floor (though the action made him grimace in pain again), put his hands on his hips, looked up at the sky, and let out a villainous laugh: "Hahahaha—!!! I'm finally invincible! Damn it! In a few days, I'll find a chance to wipe out Kang Tao's lair! I can't leave this threat hanging! Ahahahahaha—!!!"

He was immersed in his own fantasy of being "invincible" and about to sweep everything away, laughing wildly and self-indulgently.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," a female voice with a clear mocking tone suddenly rang out in the quiet studio, interrupting his wild laughter. "This kid, he looks so young; why has he suddenly gone crazy?"

This voice… it was too familiar!

Lin Yi, like a duck whose neck had been grabbed, stopped laughing abruptly and whipped his head around.

He saw a familiar figure had materialized in the holographic projection area next to the workbench—indigo short hair, delicate features; it was exactly V's appearance.

No! Lin Yi looked closer and realized that while this "V" looked similar, her expression and attire were completely different.

She wore a playful smile, one that V would never show, with a hint of detachment and mischief. She wasn't wearing V's usual street clothes either, but a set of minimalist, shimmering white virtual garments.

There is only one truth!

"Europa?!" Lin Yi's deadpan eyes nearly rolled back to his ceiling. "Wait, no? Why did you come to my house? When did you get here?!" He felt like he was about to break down. Why was this AI so persistent?

"I've been here since you started complaining about your 'three hundred rounds' of heroic exploits with Valerie." Europa, wearing V's face, smiled innocently and even deliberately blinked.

Lin Yi instantly felt blood rush to his head, his face turning bright red (a boy's blush is more telling than any explanation), the result of extreme shame and the anger of having his privacy invaded intertwined.

"That means you were there from the very beginning!!!" He was practically roaring, his voice trembling.

Europa completely ignored his embarrassment and anger, as if it were just unimportant background noise. She switched to "explanation mode" on her own, her tone returning to that inhuman calmness: "You have now successfully completed the initial access to the [Guixu] main body and finished the most critical verification binding. Next, it's up to time and yourself. In your current state, you should only be able to call upon a small portion of its computing power and permissions, but…"

She paused and "looked" Lin Yi up and down. Although it was just a virtual image, the gaze seemed to carry a substantive, evaluative weight: "…It should theoretically be enough to deal with the trouble you're facing now, such as that Kang Tao you were just shouting about wiping out. Of course, how much you can actually utilize depends on your 'adaptation' progress."

Listening to her explanation, Lin Yi's face went through a cycle of pale and flushed. Finally, he took a deep breath, seemingly having made a decision. He pointed his finger unceremoniously toward the closed studio door and squeezed three words through his teeth: "Get out!" (Go out!)

Europa's virtual image was clearly stunned for a moment; the V-like features on her face even made an extremely anthropomorphic expression, a mix of shock and disbelief.

She didn't seem to expect Lin Yi to "drive her away" so directly.

She was silent for a full two seconds before she seemed to finally react. The chest of her virtual image rose and fell slightly (even though she didn't need to breathe), and she said in a tone that sounded a bit pouty: "Fine, fine, fine! I'll go, I'll go! I can go wherever I want! None of your business!"

Her image began to flicker, as if the signal was poor, but before disappearing completely, she left one more remark: "You brat! Don't expect me to help you next time Akira gives you a hard time! Hmph!"

As her voice faded, her virtual image vanished into thin air like smoke blown away by the wind, leaving only silence in the studio.

Confirming that Europa had really left, Lin Yi finally let out a long, deep sigh of relief, leaning against the workbench as if drained of all strength. He raised his hand to wipe away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and muttered with lingering fear: "These people… why are they all so difficult to deal with? Could it be that Europa, besides looking like Lily, also shares her nasty personality?"

This thought made him shiver.

However, there were more important things at hand.

He glanced at the time and estimated V's schedule.

"About time… Lily should be back soon, right?" he muttered, his brows knitting slightly.

The urgent priority was that as soon as V returned, he had to immediately confirm whether the most dangerous "Blackwall" had taken effect on her.

If it had taken effect, to what extent?

This concerned her safety and could even lead to even more terrifying consequences.

All his plans would have to be disrupted and rearranged.

The joy of the power brought by merging with "Guixu" was instantly diluted by this heavy worry.

He had to prepare himself mentally to welcome the returning V, and the… unknown outcome that might follow.