AHDIBCB Chapter 37

As long as someone had been here, they would definitely leave traces.

Yuan Yi instructed Li Mian not to come out tonight and to just spend the night in the bathroom. He wanted to see whether he was simply being paranoid.

Li Mian verbally agreed, but its CPU was working desperately. The main issue was that it didn’t know what Yuan Yi had done. Yuan Yi had placed all the carriers through which it could “see” in places where it couldn’t observe any key activity. Even the optical computer was in the study room—this way, no matter where it went, it couldn’t see anything.

It also hadn’t heard Yuan Yi make any noise. So how could it notify its master?

Li Mian was feeling “restless.”

Yuan Yi in the bedroom wasn’t feeling much better.

Logically, security in this area was very good. This was the military compound—every entrance and exit had guards, and even the open top had a defense net. Moreover, Luo Jing and his team, though not entering their home, were stationed outside around the clock. Under these conditions, could anyone really sneak in without a trace?

Or was it just that his hormones were unstable, and he was overthinking?

Yuan Yi considered using his primary pheromone again. He remembered that in his previous life, there was a period when he would crave coffee whenever he was tired or sleepy—it felt like an addiction. Now, this sensation was even stronger than back then.

But the stronger it was, the more he couldn’t allow himself to indulge. Otherwise, what would he do in the future when he didn’t have his primary pheromone anymore?

Yuan Yi tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He kind of wanted Li Mian to tell him a story, but he didn’t want to let the plan fall through halfway. If tomorrow he saw that there were no unusual traces on the flour he had scattered, then it would be fine. But if there were, then he’d have to think of a way to further investigate the situation.

Unknowingly, it passed midnight.

Li Heng waited and waited but didn’t receive any news that Yuan Yi had fallen asleep. He started getting a bit worried and asked Li Mian what was going on.

Li Mian told him everything Yuan Yi had done, one detail after another. In the end, it said worriedly: “Master, Brother Yi is just too sharp. What should we do next? If you get discovered when you come, wouldn’t that be a disaster?”

Li Heng asked, “When I haven’t come in the past, what’s the guaranteed time he’s asleep?”

Li Mian said, “Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., he’s definitely asleep.”

Li Heng said, “I’ll arrive at exactly two. At 1:55, you do something.”

At 1:55, Li Mian flew out from the small window in the bathroom and circled around to the window outside the bedroom where Yuan Yi was sleeping. At this moment, the theme hadn’t changed yet, and the light outside could still shine into the room. Li Mian could see Yuan Yi lying on the bed, maintaining one sleeping position the whole time—it looked like he really was asleep.

In order to obtain more accurate results, it was measuring Yuan Yi’s heart rate and breathing. The data was very stable, and closely matched the sleep readings it had recorded for Yuan Yi in the past—the probability that he was asleep had reached 99.71%.

At exactly two o’clock, Li Heng appeared in the wardrobe from behind a movable disguised door. His movements were extremely light, and the moment he entered the wardrobe, he immediately began using his mental power to soothe Yuan Yi. His mental power could, to a certain extent, influence a person’s way of thinking and thought processes—it could soothe a person from panic to calm, from alertness to drowsiness, or from drowsiness to alertness.

And because Yuan Yi was already his omega in a certain sense, his calming effect was one level stronger than it would be for outsiders.

Sure enough, Yuan Yi didn’t move at all, slipping from light sleep into deep sleep.

Li Heng didn’t dare move too much either. First, with the wardrobe door still closed, he sniffed the surrounding air, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, he turned on a small light to check if there was anything different from before.

The inside of the wardrobe was just as usual—neatly hung clothes and pants, nothing else. Then he opened the door, adjusted the window theme, and squatted inside the wardrobe to look outside.

Everything was normal, except for a layer of dust-like stuff on the floor at the bedroom door and the bathroom door. It looked most likely like flour.

At this moment, Li Mian jumped into Li Heng’s communicator. Li Heng told him that Yuan Yi had scattered flour. The communicator immediately displayed: What’s there about flour that I can’t see?

Li Heng replied: Maybe he’s worried that you’re being controlled by someone and don’t even know it. It’s not about guarding against you—it’s guarding against “outsiders.”

Li Mian: No wonder he didn’t let me look. So what now? Master, are you coming out of the wardrobe today?

The wardrobe Li Heng was using was located at the side of the bed. But it was an inward-rotating smart wardrobe—when looking for clothes, you chose from pictures on the control screen, and the rotation system would bring the selected clothes right in front of you.

There was plenty of space inside. Li Heng could move freely. Walking six or seven steps would bring him very close to Yuan Yi.

He said, “Of course I’m coming out. Open the bathroom door.”

Li Mian: What if you step on the flour?

Li Heng took off his communicator. “Xuan Ying.”

A mechanical voice came from the communicator: “General.”

Li Heng said, “Hover in place. First point: one meter above the ground, 7.5 meters from the bathroom door. Second point: one meter above the ground, 3.5 meters from the bathroom door. Go.”

The communicator wristband instantly straightened, spinning as it floated to the first designated point. Li Heng leapt lightly onto the communicator for support, and the next second, the communicator appeared at the second designated point. Li Heng landed precisely on it, then leapt straight into the bathroom. Agile, clean, without the slightest pause—the entire process took no more than the blink of an eye.

The flour was still spread out on the ground as before. Li Heng closed the bathroom door and took another quick combat shower. After finishing, he still didn’t step on the bedroom floor. Using the same method, he sent himself to the nightstand, then gently sat down on the bed.

Yuan Yi was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of what was happening. Li Heng sat on the bed, using his mental power to soothe him while also telling Li Mian where it should observe the situation next time Yuan Yi took the communicator and its main body into the bathroom again.

Li Heng upgraded the smart ceiling light. Now it could be said that there was full-range observation with no blind spots.

Li Mian indicated that it understood. Since it was close by, it didn’t dare speak out loud, so it replied to Li Heng through text inside the communicator.

The room was very quiet. Suddenly, Li Heng noticed a small bag of flour placed beside the bed. The flour hadn’t been used up—there was clearly some left inside. The opening was sealed with a small bear-shaped digital clip. Probably because flour had been scattered at the door, the leftover flour hadn’t been returned to the kitchen.

Li Heng suddenly felt playful. He picked up the flour bag and gestured for Li Mian to pour water into the bag—just fifty grams would do. The bear-shaped digital clip had a display screen, and each time the flour bag was lifted, it would show the remaining weight of the flour inside.

Li Mian could tell from the digital clip how much fifty grams would be. Of course, it could calculate it itself anyway. After pouring, it felt it wasn’t quite enough, so it poured another round. Then it asked softly: Master, what are you going to do?

Li Heng said, “You’ll see in a bit.”

He kneaded the dough inside the bag, then shaped it into a little bear. In order not to leave fingerprints, he kneaded it through the bag, so naturally it wasn’t very refined—but luckily, he had brought his own toiletries when he came today.

Using the handle of his toothbrush, he refined the shape of the dough inside the bag. After it looked more or less okay, he added two small eyes on the bear’s face, then drew a big smiling mouth. Once he felt it looked about right, it was also about time for him to leave.

He poured out the little bear and placed it on the nightstand. After it toppled over, he used the toothbrush handle to prop it up. Only then did he take the flour bag and had Xuan Ying scan the bed surface to check whether there were any of his hairs. After confirming there were none, he stepped onto his communicator and left.

Li Mian asked, “Master, should I still do the cleaning? I’m in the bathroom, but that doesn’t affect the cleaning machine working, right?”

Li Heng said, “Only clean areas that might retain fingerprints, and the nightstand. Don’t turn on the ventilation system, and don’t clean the floor—I left a bit more pheromones this time. If he asks you why the floor wasn’t cleaned, just say you don’t know. If he asks whether you heard anything, say you didn’t hear anything either.”

Li Mian exclaimed, “But won’t Brother Yi still figure out that you came?”

Li Heng replied without even thinking, “It doesn’t matter if he knows now.”

Li Mian didn’t understand. Just earlier, he had said Yuan Yi still couldn’t find out. So why was it okay now?

Xuan Ying also felt this was far too risky and said bluntly, “What if Madam brings up your visit when talking to others? Wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

It was Li Heng’s AI assistant. It wasn’t quite the same as Li Mian. Li Mian had originally been created as a kind of “study companion,” while Xuan Ying had been designed from the start to be a full-service assistant, participating in both combat analysis and the general’s daily life.

Li Mian mostly operated within the household, while it spent most of its time “following” the general around outside, traveling all over. So in fact, it knew far more about the general’s affairs than Li Mian did.

Li Heng said, “He won’t tell anyone. My spouse—he’s both sharp and kind-hearted, and also very cautious. His sharpness allows him to sense my presence; his kindness ensures that before confirming my existence, he won’t give my parents any chance of having their hopes raised only to be dashed. His caution prevents him from letting me fall into any situation of potential danger. At most, he might probe a little with the old man, but even that is unlikely—because he knows the old man is far too perceptive, and the slightest hint would immediately alert him that something is off. You simply don’t understand him well enough.”

Xuan Ying said, “Sounds like he’s your Chosen one.”

Li Heng entered the rest cabin and laid the flour packaging flat to one side. “You’re not wrong.”

Xuan Ying asked, “Then what was your purpose in molding the little bear?”

Li Heng said, “You’ll understand in the future.”

•  

That day, Yuan Yi woke up late again. It was supposed to be the day he had decided to return to a regular routine. But when he opened his eyes, it was already 8:50.

And that wasn’t even the most outrageous part. The most outrageous part was that the flour on the floor by the door and on the windowsill showed not a single trace of being stepped on—yet on his nightstand, there was a little bear made of kneaded dough!

The leftover bit of flour had clearly been used to mold the little bear, but the packaging bag was gone!

There was less water in his cup, but no fingerprints on the cup, none on the nightstand, and none on the little bear either.

The bed was also checked, but there was no hair or anything else that could prove someone had been there.

There had originally been an indentation from someone sitting, but the nanomaterial mattress quickly returned to its original shape once the person left.

Yuan Yi felt like he’d seen a ghost. He was holding the little bear in his hand—its surface had already dried out a bit, and one of the ears had fallen off. It was ugly-cute, in an awkwardly endearing way. There was even a faint scent of cedar on it. Not strong, but noticeable if you leaned in close.

Yuan Yi double-checked everything carefully again and confirmed that the flour really hadn’t been disturbed. There were no fingerprints on the door handle either.

He looked suspiciously at Li Mian. “Li Mian, did you hear any sounds during the night?”

Li Mian said, “Nope. Brother Yi, did you not let me come out last night because you were secretly kneading this little bear yourself?”

Yuan Yi thought for a moment, then replied vaguely, “Mm.”

But the more he thought about it, the more wrong it all seemed. Could it be that Li Heng was actually still alive? But coming and going completely unnoticed like that—what, did he grow wings or something? Or could it be… Li Heng’s alive and grew wings?

Ridiculous.

Yuan Yi lowered his head and looked at the little bear, added a bit of water and tried to reattach its ear. It was indeed a bit ugly, but the scent was irresistible. And besides, these past few days had been the rare times he’d actually slept well. Whether in his previous life or this one, he had never slept this well—so well that he woke up feeling completely relaxed, with a sense of joy rising from deep within.

Whoever it was probably didn’t mean any harm, right? There was Li Heng’s original-type pheromone, and he even left him a little bear.

It’s just… the way this person appeared made no sense. Not showing up during the day, only at night—most likely trying to avoid being discovered. But if Li Heng really were alive, how could there be no reaction at all from Principal Li or Professor Jian?

And besides, if Li Heng really was alive, there’s no way he’d come to see him first and not his own parents. Yuan Yi truly didn’t think he was that important to the other party. After all, they were strangers, and he’d essentially taken the place of this general’s other half. The man clearly had someone he loved—so in theory, Yuan Yi should be someone he’d avoid.

Yuan Yi went to the bathroom again. His communicator was still exactly where he’d placed it the night before, completely untouched.

And everything else in the bathroom looked the same. It really made no sense!

Yuan Yi glanced around the bedroom, then his eyes landed on the wardrobe. He opened its doors and knocked on the inner panels. Nothing unusual.

He checked the bed again, and under it. Still nothing.

Then he suddenly remembered that Li Heng had a close relationship with the ruler of Blue Gel Star, and asked Li Mian, “Li Mian, do the gel people from Blue Gel Star… can they fly?”

Li Mian said, “No, they can’t fly. They can climb anything and climb as high as they want, because their hands secrete a gel-like substance. But flying is impossible. The people of the God Stone tribe, on the other hand, can ‘fly.’”

Yuan Yi had only seen brief introductions to these extraterrestrial species online, and due to limited time, he only glanced over them. So when he heard Li Mian mention that the other group could actually “fly,” he asked, “Do they have any connection with Li Heng?”

Li Mian replied, “I’m not sure about that. I’ve mostly stayed at home. There’s quite a lot of information about the things outside that I don’t have access to.”

Yuan Yi nodded. “Alright, I understand. Let’s just do an air circulation cleaning today, and wipe the floor and windowsills. By the way, did mom leave the house?”

Li Mian said, “She’s gone out. Do you still want to follow the original plan for studying today?”

Original plan? It was already more than three hours past the planned time. Yuan Yi sighed. “I’ll eat something first, then decide. Can you help me find a few retro-style alarm clocks online? The most basic kind, I want to buy one.”

He was going to set an alarm! He didn’t believe he couldn’t wake up in the middle of the night!

If Li Mian truly understood what it meant to feel “guilty,” it would probably be too embarrassed to lift its head right now. But since it was a robot, it didn’t really have emotions. So it cheerfully selected a few alarm clocks online and placed the order according to Yuan Yi’s instructions.

After Yuan Yi received the alarm clock, he found that even though it was retro, it was still quite different from the ones he used before. Although it wasn’t smart and was manually wound, this clock could wind up five times, allowing it to go off at five different times, which was different from the usual one-time ring.

Yuan Yi didn’t waste any of them and set five different times: midnight, two in the morning, three in the morning, six in the morning, and six-thirty in the morning.

After setting the alarm, he hid it in the drawer and told Li Mian not to charge or power up during the day, and to shut down at night. He planned to take out the energy box and not let Li Mian work tonight.

Li Mian immediately, before it powered off, sent the message to Li Heng: Master, I won’t be able to help you keep watch tonight!

Li Heng saw the string of messages sent by Li Mian and smiled after reading them. “Did he put away the little bear?”

Li Mian replied, “Yes! It’s so cute, I’ve seen him carry it around all the time, even taking it to the bathroom. Right now, it’s on the sink. I asked Brother Yi if he secretly made that little bear when he told me to stay in the bathroom yesterday. Guess what he said?”

“He said ‘yes.’”

“How did you know?! He really did say that! He just lied to me without batting an eye! It really breaks my heart.”

“You’re heartbroken about what? He’s thinking of my safety. Later, erase all these memories. If he thought of shutting you down and removing your energy box, sooner or later he’ll start looking at your data and information.”

Li Mian muttered softly, “You two only bully me.”

Li Heng said, “It’s your honor.”

Li Mian sent a face with a mocking expression: “Then, Master, will you come tonight? Brother Yi set a lot of alarms.”

Without a second thought, Li Heng replied, “I’ll go.”

He was truly very curious about what Yuan Yi’s expression would be if he wasn’t woken up by the alarm clocks.