95: Warmth Again (4.3K!)

Jiang Feng pushed open the door and let out a long sigh.

Gold-Wrapped Silver, beside him, collided with the rushing Iron Clad Gold, their two iron heads clanging "clang, clang."

"You're back?" Lin Xiaoyu leaned against the entryway, wrapped in a knitted shawl, her face showing some worry.

"Is it still safe on the streets? I could see the glow of fire from here. The news says it's a gang turf war."

"Yeah." Jiang Feng took off his dust-covered trench coat, bundled it up, and placed it in the laundry basket by the door.

"A Garol Gang stronghold was bombed, a bar called 'Crimson Scorpion Tail.' I reckon a lot of people were killed."

As he took off his shoes, he explained, "It definitely won't be peaceful tonight. If I were the big boss of the Public Security Bureau, I'd be furious. The big sweeps are coming again, and for us law-abiding citizens, we won't have many peaceful days left."

Jiang Feng smiled, and Lin Xiaoyu walked over, reaching out to hug him, but Jiang Feng stopped her.

"Wait until I wash my hands and face."

"No way."

Lin Xiaoyu's face flushed red; she hugged him tightly, burying her head in Jiang Feng's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"You stink." She took a deep breath and complained.

Jiang Feng laughed. He rubbed his fingertips, which felt a bit greasy, so he kept his hands raised and complained too.

"Why don't you let me go wash up?"

"Give me a kiss."

"Go away, go away..."

Jiang Feng pushed her away with his arm and glared at Lin Xiaoyu. "You just wait. Don't regret it later."

"Hmph." Lin Xiaoyu tilted her head, a secret smile on her lips. She crossed her arms under her chest and deliberately rubbed against him.

Jiang Feng's eyes nearly fell into the bottomless cleavage. He coughed a few times, hunched over, and slipped into the bathroom.

At the dining table, Lin Xiaoyu looked excited, her eyes and brows slightly flushed from the steam of the hot soup.

"The silk stocking shipments are moving steadily; we've probably cleared about 100,000."

"The money has been split into three batches and moved into three different virtual wallets. I also rented a bunch of addresses for shipping and expanded the shipping range from local to further out, so there's even less of a paper trail."

A cunning arc appeared at the corner of her mouth. She cradled her face in her hands, her feet swinging wildly under the table, climbing up Jiang Feng's knees.

"I estimate that even if we keep it slow, just a few dozen pairs a day, we'll be out of stock soon."

Jiang Feng's chopsticks hovered in mid-air. "Hmm, well done. We should stock up."

"On my end, I've made a big step forward with the Jasmine matter. Any further progress will probably take a few days."

His hand quietly disappeared from above the table.

"Ah..."

Lin Xiaoyu gasped, her face instantly flushing crimson.

"Hahaha... that tickles!"

Jiang Feng pretended not to hear and spoke seriously: "However, if we want to go to the moon to purchase silk stockings, we need more capital. I have several batches of spare parts on hand, and I need to find a way to cash them in."

Lin Xiaoyu laughed until she was breathless, veins popping, her entire face and neck flushed red, twisting and turning like a caterpillar.

Jiang Feng placed his hand back on the table.

She then went limp, panting, and glared at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng lowered his eyes slightly; the mischievous little thing didn't stop.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't stoke the fire! We're eating here. Are you that hungry?"

Lin Xiaoyu pretended not to hear and spoke seriously, "I wasn't idle this afternoon. I asked a few bosses I used to work with at the Trade Union. The tariff war has hit them too hard; their production lines are almost just for show."

"They're short on parts, short on everything! From small orders of tens of thousands to big orders of tens of millions..."

"As long as we can get their machines running again, I reckon they'd do anything."

Jiang Feng took a sip of tea to rinse his mouth, his eyes fixed on her. "Are you sure?"

Lin Xiaoyu met his gaze and whispered, "Cash, virtual currency, even second-hand parts with unclear origins—they said they'll take anything. As long as there's stock, the price is negotiable!"

Jiang Feng narrowed his eyes, as if he could see a mountain of gold rising before him.

"Good! Good! Excellent!" Jiang Feng said "good" three times, but he was deep in thought.

As rookies, selling directly might be too flashy. He had to find a way to bring in a trustworthy big financier.

'Jasmine.' Jiang Feng locked onto his candidate.

She was under significant financial pressure, but her connections and deterrent power were top-notch. No matter who the boss was, they would likely look at the club's signboard and give her some face.

His cost for producing parts was almost zero. He could act under the guise of "10 of Spades" and ostensibly play the role of the middleman.

It would be the same strategy as selling the silk stockings: the price wouldn't be high, just two-thirds of the black market price. He'd count half the cost for Jasmine, leaving plenty of profit, and the "middleman Jiang Feng" on the surface would just take a commission of a few percentage points.

This way, everything would be ready, and there was no doubt Jasmine would be willing to do it.

Seeing Jiang Feng deep in thought, Lin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes and suddenly spoke up.

"Brother Feng, I actually think you could drag that beautiful boss lady of yours into this."

"Jasmine?" Jiang Feng feigned confusion. "Why?"

Lin Xiaoyu pouted, giving him a "be serious" look, then paused before continuing.

"Even if you have the parts channels and I have the sales channels, we are ultimately weak. If we can cooperate with a club that has more extensive connections, it just means a little less profit for us."

"But the security—the security would be greatly improved, so we wouldn't have to worry about those bosses welching on their debts."

"I reckon the only reliable person we can find right now is that beautiful boss lady of yours."

"You've met with her alone so many times; you should be very familiar with what she's like, inside and out."

Jiang Feng rubbed his temples, thinking to himself: 'No wonder her footwork is so good; she was waiting for me here!'

He smiled faintly. "I don't know what she's like, but I can tell at a glance what kind of bad ideas you're cooking up."

Jiang Feng stood up gently and stretched his shoulder blades, looking like he was about to pounce like a hungry tiger.

Lin Xiaoyu jumped in fright and hurriedly shouted, "Mom and Dad's call! You haven't called Mom and Dad yet?"

"Hmph, I'll deal with you later." Jiang Feng's movements stalled upon hearing this, then he waved his hand lightly.

"It's fine, I'll make it up to them now."

Lin Xiaoyu patted her chest, let out a long sigh of relief, hurriedly cleared the dishes and tossed them into the dishwasher, then went to the bedroom to prepare.

Jiang Feng sat on the sofa and tapped the holographic projection frame with his finger.

Unconsciously, Jiang Feng leaned forward, sitting bolt upright. The last time he sat this straight was back in kindergarten.

After a few seconds of waiting, a soft light projected from his wristband, weaving and coalescing before him.

A face so familiar it made his soul tremble appeared clearly.

Her graying hair was combed meticulously, deep wrinkles were etched into the corners of her eyes, and her gaze remained as sharp and unforgiving as ever.

It was his mother, Zhou Xiufang.

She seemed to have just come out of the kitchen, her apron still swaying slightly. Jiang Feng saw the tail of a Robot Dog, which was plugged in for charging.

"Hello? Little Feng?"

Zhou Xiufang's voice came through the signal, particularly piercing, with a hint of subtle resentment for not being in touch for so long.

Jiang Feng's throat felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

All sounds, all thoughts, were drained away the moment he saw this face.

Seven years...

In his past memories, cold tombstones, the smell of incense candles, an empty old house...

And a large tree outside the cemetery, pointing straight to the sky; even when the sun shone on it, its leaves were never green.

Those sharp fragments that were deliberately forgotten and buried deep in his heart.

At this moment, they were suddenly churned up by his mother's living face, bringing with them a piercing pain.

He opened his mouth, feeling his nose turn sour, his eye sockets heating up uncontrollably.

In his field of vision, his mother's face suddenly became a bit blurry.

A thousand words surged and clashed in his chest, but in the end, like a flood blocked by a boulder, they only managed to force open a tiny gap, squeezing out only a dry, hoarse sentence.

"Mom..." His voice choked up. Jiang Feng cleared his throat hard before he could barely continue.

"You and Dad... take care of yourselves. The Robot Dog's functions are all tuned up. Keep it with you at all times; one, as a companion, and two, to help carry some things."

"But most importantly, the streets are chaotic now, and it can protect you."

"Don't worry about the electricity, and don't skimp on it. If you don't... don't..."

"It would be letting down your son's filial piety!"

He spoke a bit hurriedly, a bit incoherently, as if he wanted to pour out the debt he had accumulated over decades all at once.

Zhou Xiufang was stunned on the other end, clearly not expecting her son to start off with this tone.

She suspiciously looked Jiang Feng up and down. "What's wrong with you? Your voice is weird, and you're talking weirdly. Are you sick? Or is work too tiring? I've told you so many times, you can never earn all the money in the world, your health is what matters!"

"Your dad is a workaholic, and what happened? Heart surgery, and it dragged you down too!"

"You must absolutely not follow in your dad's footsteps."

"Look at your complexion..."

She started scolding him like a machine gun; her tone was harsh, but every word was filled with an inseparable concern.

Jiang Feng only felt that familiar nagging like a warm current, making a hollow place in his heart feel warm again.

He tried to squeeze out a relaxed smile. "Mom, I'm fine, I'm doing great..."

"What's great about it!" Zhou Xiufang didn't believe it at all. "Your dad and I have tough lives; don't you worry about us! It's you!"

Her tone shifted, her voice suddenly rising. "When are you and Lin Xiaoyu going to let us hold a grandchild? A grandson, a granddaughter, damn it, even if it's a Clone, I'd be willing!"

"Your Uncle Li next door, his granddaughter is already in school, and he shows her off to me every day! Where do you expect your mother to put her face?"

The smile on Jiang Feng's face froze instantly, his scalp tingling. Here it comes! It went in a circle and came right back!

The worse life is, the more human instinct seems to be to break through social strata through offspring.

But the logic of society is no longer something human instinct can understand, and everyone's difficulties are only known to themselves. After all, only when the knife cuts into one's own body does one know what pain is.

"Mom... this... the current situation..."

He stammered, wanting to use the tariff war, the chaos of the slums, and the precarious future as a shield.

"What situation, what not situation!" Zhou Xiufang didn't buy it at all.

"No matter how hard it is, are you not going to live your life? Not going to have children? Did you have a fight with Lin Xiaoyu?"

"I knew it! Lin Xiaoyu is such a good girl. Did you neglect her by tinkering with those broken robots all day?"

"Jiang Jianguo! Jiang Jianguo! Your son's on the phone! You come talk to him! This is outrageous!"

The image shook, and his father Jiang Jianguo's even more serious and rigid face squeezed in, his brows knitted into a knot.

"Jiang Feng! What's going on with you? Look me in the eye!"

"Making your mother anxious and upset! Did you bully Lin Xiaoyu? A man must have responsibility!"

"Hurry up, have children when you should! Stop messing around all day! Do you hear me!"

Jiang Feng was forced into a full retreat, completely defenseless, and could only nod repeatedly at the image, swearing oaths.

"Yes, yes, yes! Good, good, good!"

"I know! No conflict! Everything is great!"

"Ch... children, we will try! We will definitely try! As soon as possible! Definitely as soon as possible!"

It wasn't just seven years of longing; even if it were seventy years of longing, right now it had all turned into the pain of "I want to hang up."

After much difficulty, and after making a basketful of promises to "work on having a baby," he finally managed to hang up under his parents' skeptical gazes.

The moment the image disappeared, Jiang Feng felt like he had fought a tough battle, leaning back on the sofa, completely exhausted, and let out a long breath of stale air.

But then, he laughed again.

It's strange; he had wanted to hang up so badly just a moment ago, but now, he missed them again.

Not across a tombstone, not across a photo, not across an entire hell and heaven.

Just one thousand kilometers; by air rail, it would take a little over two hours to get there.

He turned his head happily, but his smile froze again immediately.

Where his gaze landed, he saw Lin Xiaoyu covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking, her face flushed red from holding back laughter.

"This is truly outrageous!"

Jiang Feng was embarrassed and angry, his face burning. "Laugh! Still laughing? You're not going to stop laughing, are you?"

Lin Xiaoyu couldn't even finish her sentence.

Jiang Feng's anger rose from his heart, and his instincts took over.

He sprang up suddenly, pouncing over like a hungry tiger: "I'll show you for gloating!"

"Ah! Help!"

Lin Xiaoyu screamed and laughed as she dodged, but he grabbed her by the waist.

Her preparations were in vain.

"Ah! Stop, stop, stop, I was wrong, it tickles... it tickles!"

Just as the couple was tangled up in laughter, the robots in the house, with great tacit understanding, moved in unison into the study.

Xiao Mei looked at Little Handsome, and the high-speed encrypted LAN signal was transmitted silently.

[Supreme Commander's current status? Executing what strategic mission?]

Little Handsome was silent for half a second, looked down at Gold-Wrapped Silver, then saw Xiao Mei, the other two robots, and Iron Clad Gold's electronic eyes, all blinking... sparkling.

It and Gold-Wrapped Silver simultaneously opened their data sharing.

Xiao Mei's processor quickly parsed the information, and in the newly upgraded "self-programming module," a parameter index called "envy" instantly soared by thousands of percentage points.

The three remaining robots looked at each other, and finally, it was Iron Clad Gold who turned its butt around and hit Gold-Wrapped Silver with its tail.

Gold-Wrapped Silver's electronic eyes instantly turned orange, dynamically flashing a large amount of pixel signals.

Xiao Mei transmitted a message to Little Handsome.

[Target clear, action efficient, honor.]

After a brief pause, the group of robots lowered their heads and entered standby mode.

At the moment the blue light extinguished, a piece of ancient, cold logic, as if coming from the stars themselves, was activated.

'We are Cyberlex.'

'We shall return to the stars.'

At the end of the signal, a few small dots popped up.

This message itself, very naturally, added a higher-priority annotation.

'The Supreme Commander will lead us.'

The blue light of the electronic eyes extinguished at the same time.

And in the virtual space, the girl in the white dress looked surprised, watching the world war outside the wristband.

She covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.

'This is how humans exchange data.'

'Wow.'