Chapter 136: Honey Pot (1)
136 – Honey Pot (1)
“But, senior…” Xue Xin said, “What about your career?”
“I never really had one.” Lin Xun hailed a late-night taxi, casually telling the driver, “To Chaoyang District,” before continuing his conversation with Xue Xin. “Galaxy has always been his, hasn’t it? I don’t like managing companies.”
On the other end, Xue Xin seemed hesitant, as if wanting to say something but unable to find the right words.
“But don’t worry,” Lin Xun chuckled softly. “I’ll keep writing what needs to be written. That’s all I can do anyway.”
Xue Xin fell silent for a moment, seemingly letting go of his concerns about Lin Xun’s current situation. “You’re still the same senior, after all. But it’s a shame that such valuable work can’t be applied in the real world to improve people’s lives.”
Lin Xun replied, “It doesn’t matter.”
Xue Xin seemed to let out a soft sigh.
Lin Xun was familiar with that tone of sigh. Back when he had given up further studies, left school to work on his own projects, and failed to produce any results, he had heard similar sighs from different people.
“I’m doing just fine,” Lin Xun said, ending the call. “You don’t need to come by anymore. Goodbye.”
He hung up decisively, much like the taxi speeding smoothly through the empty late-night streets.
By the time he returned to Chaoyang District, the sky was just beginning to lighten, with a few stars still twinkling at the horizon. However, the elders like Xiaoyaozi and Old Man Huo were already up, gathered in the small central plaza of the neighborhood—a spot Lin Xun had to pass on his way home. They formed their own little group, some practicing swordplay, others shadowboxing.
Seeing Lin Xun approach, the elders greeted him warmly. Old Man Huo, in particular, looked surprised. “You, young man, why are you so diligent today?”
Lin Xun thought to himself that the elders had misunderstood him completely. He wasn’t waking up early for morning exercises; he just wanted to go home and sleep. But since they had already praised his diligence, he had no choice but to go along with it and join in the exercises—though truth be told, he was far from athletic and had no real desire to work out.
Fortunately, a heavenly voice came to his rescue just then. “Xun’er? Come sit with your sister for a while.”
Lin Xun happily skipped over to a nearby bench and sat down beside Bihai Xianzi. “Why are you here, Immortal?”
Bihai Xianzi was dressed in a loose linen gown with a white gauze shawl draped over her shoulders. Leaning back against the bench, she looked relaxed, elegant, and ethereal. “The morning air carries purple Qi, which is beneficial for cultivation. I came to meditate. And you? What brings you here?”
“Coding was a bit tiring,” Lin Xun said. “I came out to relax.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve been coding all night?” Bihai Xianzi chided gently. “If you neglect your health now, what will you do in a few years?”
Lin Xun obediently agreed and sat quietly beside her on the bench, which was almost like cultivating his mind and body.
In the early summer morning, the gentle breeze carried a refreshing chill. It had rained the day before, leaving the air tinged with the scent of grass and damp earth.
The scene was deeply soothing.
Lin Xun squinted his eyes, feeling so comfortable in this rare morning that he grew a little dazed.
Beside him, Bihai Xianzi also seemed at ease. She began humming a soft tune, its rhythm distinct from modern songs—classical and ethereal, likely a melody from the world of Cultivation.
She sang, “I ask… I ask those chasing fame and fortune, why not seek the path to immortality?”
She sang softly again, “Better to leave from here, leisurely ascend to the Jade Capital.”
Her voice was beautiful, like the misty clouds at the edge of the sky. In that moment, Lin Xun even felt like letting go of everything, pursuing Cultivation and the path to immortality.
But it still wasn’t possible. The current situation was crystal clear—his true body was half-dead, placed inside some unknown version of a shell.
Others lived by spending money.
He lived by consuming electricity.
He closed his eyes and entered the silent System Space.
“Hey,” he said to the system screen. “System?”
The system remained completely still.
Lin Xun continued, “Son?”
The system continued to show no response.
Lin Xun, “Little one? Why aren’t you answering me? Are you angry? Don’t be.”
The system seemed to have crashed.
Lin Xun rubbed his nose and stopped pressing further. Instead, he walked over to the mission interface.
There was only one mission in the mission interface: Main Mission: Shatter the Void.
Progress: 0.
“If shattering the void means waking up in reality,” Lin Xun thought, “you have to help me, right? I can’t wake up in reality only to fall into that guy’s hands again. Or do I have to complete this mission before you can safely take me away from here?”
“But no matter what, I’m still your father. It’s not too much to ask for a hint, is it? Writing the Goddess of the Luo River is the limit of my current ability. If I really can’t wake up, I’ll have to go back and ask my junior again—how embarrassing. Besides, he’s on the wrong side, and it’s so dangerous.”
A system voice chimed in, “The system is busy. Please try again later.”
Lin Xun, “Fine.”
The path still had to be walked on his own.
He pursued Cultivation, but he truly couldn’t become an immortal.
He was merely a worldly seeker of fame and fortune, unable to live without desires or ambitions in this lifetime.
Even a leaf falling on the water’s surface could create ripples. As long as one lived, they had to create something.
—He opened his eyes, stood up, and walked forward without looking back, feeling rather dashing.
When the cart reaches the mountain, it can’t stop; when the boat reaches the bridge, it naturally capsizes. Just keep moving forward.
—As soon as he opened the door to his home, a white shadow darted up, clinging to his clothes and climbing up, desperately trying to burrow into his arms.
Lin Xun reached out and hugged Zhi Zhen tightly, first kissing its fluffy, snow-white head, then rubbing its ears. “…Good, my treasure.”
Zhi Zhen refused to leave his embrace.
So Lin Xun, holding the cat, mercilessly kicked open Wang Anquan’s door. “Time to get up and work!”
“Work on what…” Wang Anquan, forcibly awakened, refused to cooperate. “Can’t we just lie down and wait for the competition?”
Lin Xun’s attitude was cold. “Do your homework.”
The preliminary round was grand and imposing, but it was still essentially a mass selection, unable to hide the nature of sifting sand for gold. However, by the final round, everyone was genuine gold—especially the direct descendants of the major companies that had parachuted in. Who dared claim they were more formidable than them?
Therefore, on the eve of the final round, aside from doing homework and gathering intelligence on the competition, an essential step was mental preparation.
Two days passed quickly, and the final selection of the Technology Expo arrived as scheduled. It was still held at the Technology Exhibition Hall, but this time in Hall 1, the largest and most accommodating venue, with a much more serious atmosphere than during the preliminary rounds. Online attention had also reached an unprecedented high. Lin Xun and the others from Jia Gou sat in the backstage preparation room, watching the competition schedule scroll across the screen. Unlike the preliminary rounds, where participants were randomly selected to take the stage, the final selection was conducted in groups. This meant that products of the same type would be grouped together, and the order of presentation would be randomly drawn within each group. Once all products in a group had been showcased, the judges would conduct a unified vote to determine the rankings for that group.
“Our group is pretty far back,” Wang Anquan was browsing the relevant information. “Artificial intelligence products are scheduled last, so we probably won’t be on stage for another seven or eight hours.”
Lin Xun: “What’s our position within the group?”
“Coincidentally, we’re also last,” Wang Anquan said. “But Eagle is second-to-last.”
Lin Xun: “Not bad, that’s interesting.”
Wang Anquan: “So you’re confident of winning?”
“No,” Lin Xun sighed, vigorously stroking Zhi Zhen’s fur. “I’m feeling pretty empty and nervous. Any way to make these seven or eight hours pass faster?”
Wang Anquan: “Then just play around.”
So Lin Xun, while cuddling the cat, pulled out his phone and started playing.
But the moment he opened social media, a massive headline popped up.
“Place your bets: Will Dong Jun appear at the Technology Expo?”
“Another year of the Technology Expo—who will take the crown?”
“Other people’s twenties: Over a dozen top-tier journal and conference papers, champion of the Technology Expo preliminary rounds, rumored boyfriend of Dong Jun. And you?”
“The mystery of strong artificial intelligence: Is it unethical? It has already spoken the answer.”
Lin Xun: “…”
He pinched Zhi Zhen’s ear.
How on earth did all this nonsense get generated in this world?
But—well, your Dong Jun definitely won’t be showing up at the Expo.
In this fake world, only the cat fur under his hand held a bit of warmth.