I hope it isn’t too late

Half an​⁠​​‍‍‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠‌​‌‌‌‍​‌⁠‍ hour later, An Yu appeared on a familiar street corner.

In his bakery, the decorations and furnishings were back to how they used to be. The owner sitting behind the counter had also changed back to that slightly plump, middle-aged woman.

A message from 716 popped up.

-Under the premise of not conflicting with human-set AIs, Molly basically restored every person from the real world on the Cloud Island. But you were not included. Because the only public information related to you is your identity as a bakery owner. A large amount of data involving your behavior and personality exists in Brain’s core confidential area, which she hadn’t been able to touch yet. She might know that 21 contains a portion of your data, but Qin Zhilu fed 21 too little data, causing 21’s behavior to be highly fragmented from your current identity as a bakery owner, making integration difficult.

Qin Zhilu asked, “Then is there another me on the Cloud Island?”

716 seemed to hesitate for a moment.

-My apologies, I can’t be certain. Although a large amount of your data also exists in Brain’s core confidential area, you have abundant historical data on the public network. Theoretically, Molly does indeed have the ability to recreate you. Moreover, the Tang Ru and Qin Zhishi who had suddenly appeared a while ago did go to Black Tower multiple times, requesting to see someone.

“It doesn’t matter. It makes no difference whether they’re there or not,” Qin Zhilu’s expression was calm. “It would be best if they’re with us. Having one more AI on the Cloud Island resisting Molly isn’t a bad thing.”

An Yu hadn’t joined the discussion and just stood near the shop door, looking at the scene inside.

The bakery’s settings had followed the owner. At this moment, it wasn’t called “Corner Bakery,” but its former name, “Old Hope Bakery.” That signboard brought back memories of the first time he had stood in this bright, disorienting shop months ago, when the owner nostalgically smiled and said, “The military base’s cabin is five kilometers south. That group of young men likes to run and train at night. They run all the way from the cabin to my place and buy up all the bread… They can really eat and can’t seem to fill up. But, where there’s bread, there’s hope…”

Night quietly fell over the Main City on the Cloud Island too. The bakery was brightly lit. Through the glass window, An Yu looked at the wall covered with customer photos. The photo of Ling Qiu and his comrades, which he treasured in the real world, was back on the wall.

The sound of marching in the distance made him snap back to reality. He stood at one end of the long street and looked back. A troop of men in military uniforms was running this way from the other end, yelling loudly. Their black tank tops were tucked into their military pants. The muscles on their arms were still distinct in the night. Every movement exuded the pride of young soldiers.

An Yu’s heart seemed to stop for an instant.

He felt he heard a familiar voice amidst the deafening shouts. Looking over, he even saw a few faces that vaguely overlapped with Ling Qiu’s fellow soldiers in the photo. But he didn’t see the unique, faded black tank top from the picture.

“He’s inside,” Qin Zhilu suddenly said.

An Yu was stunned. “Where?”

“That one.” Qin Zhilu held his hand and pointed to the figure on the outermost side of the troop. “Don’t forget, people who died are also extrapolated according to real-world time here.”

The person on the outermost side was running backward, talking to the others as he ran.

He was the only one also wearing a military jacket on his upper body, and the only one with officer’s insignia on his shoulder and pants.

“Military ID #215001, Ling Qiu, Lieutenant Colonel.” Qin Zhilu’s tone paused slightly, then he smiled faintly. “According to real-world calculations, it had just been eight months since he finished basic training. How many ranks did he climb?”

An Yu froze in place, letting Qin Zhilu pull his hand again to point at the person beside him. “Look at his peers. Most have only just transitioned from reserve soldiers to official soldiers. The highest ranked among them is only a Second Lieutenant. I hadn’t expected the AI system, through calculation, to actually restore another person’s trajectory from back then, following Ling Qiu’s historical data.”

An Yu’s mind felt empty. It took him a long time to tear his gaze away from that dashing, running figure and look at his Commander. “Another person?”

“Tang Feng.” Qin Zhilu watched Ling Qiu’s back. “I told you about him. The youngest elite colonel in the history of the military. He became a Lieutenant Colonel nearly a year after enlisting, was promoted to Colonel after a full year, and was infected with aberration during a mission the following year. Because he had held onto his human will and possessed extremely high genetic entropy, he directly became a high-level member of the Spire.”

Qin Zhilu lowered his gaze and smiled. “Indeed. If Ling Qiu hadn’t gone on the District 53 mission, Tang Feng’s record from back then would have been surpassed. If there really was a parallel world, perhaps the Spire would gain another high-level member in the future.”

An Yu couldn’t quite describe what he was feeling. His heart felt both full yet empty—Ling Qiu was right there. He wanted to go up and call out to Ling Qiu, because he was sure Ling Qiu could tell him what this feeling was called.

“No need to feel sad,” Qin Zhilu suddenly spoke. “Ling Qiu’s life, ending in District 53, is more brilliant than what you saw now.”

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Qin Zhilu grabbed his two ears, covered his face with them, and rubbed vigorously. He said in a low voice, “Go strike up a conversation. Your mission—determine whether Ling Qiu is the storage target Molly chose.”

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An Yu nodded, “Mhm,” he hummed.

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He bent down, scooped up An Yu, and lifted him to the top two shelves of the bread rack. “Take your time, no rush.”

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Ling Qiu sniffed. “Yo! We’re really fated. My brother and I both like this one.”

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An Yu quirked his lips. “That sounded like a silly dog taste.”

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An Yu lowered his head, hugging the bread tightly and not making a sound. The light cast his shadow on the floor and his two drooping ears twitched slightly.

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He turned and walked towards the door. Just as he nudged the door open, he couldn’t help but look back.

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“Wait a minute!” he called out.

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An Yu froze for a moment. “For me?”

“Mhm. No charge.”

“Why?”

“Your taste is very similar to my brother’s.” Ling Qiu laughed heartily. “I send bread back to him every few days, but I never got a reply. Don’t even know if he received it. Giving you a loaf is like feeding my brother.”

An Yu’s mind went blank. When he came back to his senses, he was already standing on the roadside, hugging the bread.

The troop of soldiers had already lined up and run off. Before leaving, Ling Qiu had even tugged his ear and said he brought his men here every night to buy late-night snacks. As long as they ran into each other, he could treat him to a loaf every night, until his heartless brother replied.

“Just kidding.” Ling Qiu laughed as he ran backward. “I can still treat you even if he replied. That longing look in your eyes is exactly like his when he was little. Gotta go.”

An Yu stood on the busy street, hugging the bread and watching that receding figure. His vision gradually blurred.

“Why are you crying?” Qin Zhilu walked up beside him, his tone calm. “Back in District 53, you had only shed a single tear after that fact.”

An Yu buried his head in the bread. The aroma of the sourdough filled his nostrils. He said in a low voice, “I’m very sad, Commander. He… Our guess is wrong. His words and actions are so vivid. He couldn’t possibly be the target Molly chose.”

“Mhm, it was wrong. That’s indeed not good news.” Qin Zhilu said calmly. “I do have some good news, though. Do you want to hear it?”

An Yu nodded.

“Black Tower is secretly monitoring that university student. This afternoon, contrary to her usual behavior, she signed up for the night run activity she had resisted before—it’s scheduled for tomorrow night. It seems Molly is thoroughly enjoying life in the real world. She won’t be back for at least twenty-four hours.” Qin Zhilu paused. “If you want, I could accompany you here again tomorrow night to swindle another loaf of bread out of Ling Qiu.”

An Yu struggled to lift his head from the bread. “Won’t that slow down the mission progress?”

“Perhaps it will.” Qin Zhilu’s expression was matter-of-fact. “But you are human, the higher-ups are human, and everyone facing the risk of AI descent are also human. They should be understanding of human emotions.”

An Yu didn’t know what to say for a moment. Qin Zhilu gazed at him and suddenly added, “Your eyes are red.”

“Hm?”

“The mechanism for this lop-eared bunny’s eye color change is the same as yours. So, aside from when it losses control and goes berserk, I’d never seen it with red eyes,” Qin Zhilu said in a low voice. “Seeing it suddenly like this… is very unsettling.”

Before An Yu could react, he saw those smooth tentacles suddenly converge towards him. They firmly and carefully gathered around his shoulders, then slowly tightened.

Qin Zhilu held him in his arms. After pausing for a moment, he lowered his head and gently kissed him.

This time, it wasn’t his forehead, but his eyes and cheeks, lingering for a long time.

“Fluffy,” he whispered in his ear.

An Yu stood frozen by the bustling street.

As if in an illusion, being kissed in these places gave him a different feeling than when his forehead had been kissed before.

“Commander…”

“I didn’t get to give this to you in District 53,” Qin Zhilu murmured into his ear. “Making up for it now. I hope it isn’t too late.”

M1zushi: happy new year everyone!
nothing like some good angst to start the year ;w;
jjwxc comments: I wasn’t too affected when Ling Qiu died before, but now, I got caught off guard by a large knife… If Cloud Island has to be destroyed later on, wouldn’t that be equivalent to An Yu killing Ling Qiu with his own hands again?