Chapter 14: More Charming Than a Beauty
Chapter 14: More Charming Than a Beauty
Hearing Yao Dan's words, Yu Qing immediately grew somewhat angry and said, "You actually had such wicked intentions?"
Yaodan quickly leaned her head on Yuqing's shoulder and blurted out: "Husband, you promised you wouldn't get angry, and besides, nothing actually happened."
Yuqing was amused upon hearing this: "Husband? That's a term humans used thousands of years ago."
"Thousands of years? After 2C00, this term came back in fashion.
Those three antiques outside seemed to call you 'baby' earlier, right?
Did you know, decades ago 'baby' was what humans called their pet dogs or cats?"
"So I should call you 'wifey' to be appropriate then?"
"That… that won't do. You can only use that term for human wives. The fashionable term for humanoids like us is 'troublemaker'."
Yuqing laughed until tears came out: "Let's go, troublemaker, let's visit First Paradise where I grew up!"
The entrance to First Paradise was about 2 meters above ground level. After they entered, Yuqing suddenly became sentimental and said tearfully:
"It's a shame there's no one here anymore."
"Husband, don't be sad. Haven't we returned here again?"
"True. It's perfect timing to visit the food station—I haven't had a proper meal in days and suddenly feel ravenous."
"Alright, walking like this won't do. Let's fly there."
As she spoke, Yaodan's coat suddenly spread open front and back, resembling a pair of large wings.
She embraced Yuqing and soared into the sky, flying toward the station.
"You troublemaker, what kind of gadget is this? Back in my day, I could fly with just a parachute."
"A parachute? That's ancient tech from over a century ago."
Upon reaching the station, Yuqing and the others still had to wait ten minutes for the synthesized food to be prepared.
If no one collects food from the station for seven days, it automatically shuts down.
However, upon detecting new arrivals, it reboots and synthesizes fresh food after ten minutes.
Yuqing grabbed the synthetic food and began wolfing it down.
Watching him, Yaodan chuckled:
"Husband, don't you think human design is rather clumsy? Most of each day is spent on eating, drinking, relieving oneself, and sleeping!"
"I've thought about that too, but what do you think we can do?"
"Improve. Let primitive humans evolve into new humans through improvement, then continue improving…"
"Yes, improvement. Now we don't even have new humans anymore, what's this 'Yuzi' business!"
Yao Dan said: "How come I didn't know about this?"
"Have you also lost contact with satellites and can't update your information?"
"Feel my belly button - it's completely flat, I don't even have a communication module installed.
Dr. Lu said this was for secrecy, to prevent leaking any information about him. But why are there no new humans, and what's this 'Yuzi'?"
"I'm not sure either, we'll have to investigate this slowly later.
What I want most now is to contact the primitive humans in the other six Edens, then visit the Second Eden…"
"Besides here, there are only five Edens left. The Fifth Eden sank underwater, and as far as I know, no one survived."
"That's really terrible news!"
Suddenly, Yao Dan tugged at Yu Qing's pajamas and asked: "Husband, why are your clothes so ugly?"
"Ugly? When I escaped last time, I was completely naked! These are just artifacts I found in an abandoned hotel!
Alright then, let's go to my room. I have plenty of good clothes there left by my father."
Yao Dan accompanied Yu Qing to the room. The moment she entered, she sniffed and said:
"According to my biological sample identification, two women used to live here, right?"
"Impressive nose you've got. But starting today, three women have lived here."
Yao Dan suddenly hugged Yu Qing, kissed him, and said: "Then it's settled!"
"Settled."
Yu Qing took off his pajamas and was selecting a new outfit from the wardrobe when Yao Dan snatched it away, saying: "I won't let you wear this!"
Yu Qing was stunned, then understood Yao Dan's meaning. He exclaimed: "Oh no, oh no, I'm back to square one again. You're really made of iron…"
Yao Dan said sheepishly:
"Sorry, my lord, I forgot Article 96 of the Behavioral Appropriateness Code - no more than three voluntary hug requests to the master per day…"
Yu Qing laughed: "So my little life is at the mercy of your appropriateness standards!"
"Of course. Given our comprehensive asymmetric advantage, we've established 180,000 behavioral appropriateness restrictions."
Yu Qing chuckled: "You're not just roses with thorns - you're knives decorated with roses."
"Don't be afraid, my lord. Every interaction with you requires me to first assess whether it might harm you.
If harmful, I stop immediately. Only when the assessment is negative may I proceed with further calculations."
"To hell with calculations! Let me rest a while longer - you sit by my side and massage me. This is definitely beneficial for my health."
"Certainly, but you're mistaken - we don't judge by 'beneficial to your health', but by 'not detrimental to your health'."
"What's the difference?"
"A significant one. The former focuses on analyzing 'benefits', while the latter focuses on analyzing 'harm'."
"Makes sense. May we begin now? My legs are quite sore."
"We'll begin immediately, but analysis shows risks unfavorable to you if exceeding one hour, so we'll pause and await your further instructions."
Yu Qing grabbed Yaodan's hand and said: "Hurry up and massage it, you little rascal."
At this moment, Yu Qing was completely relaxed in body and mind. Every little detail of his past life here surfaced before his eyes.
"Look, dear, why did your toes suddenly curl up?"
"Oh this? My mother told me long ago it's hereditary varicose veins."
"Then get gene therapy - solve the problem once and for all. Shengtian Corporation's Gene Repair Center is the most authoritative institution on Earth."
"Goodness, Shengtian still hasn't gone bankrupt? They're truly omnipresent. Have you forgotten about Dr. Lu's incident?
Perhaps this varicose vein defect is just an accompanying trait of some excellent gene.
Our ancestors moved into First Paradise precisely because they opposed all frivolous genetic tampering."
"Then let's talk about your father and mother. When I saw how close they were in their early years, I was truly envious."
"You…also have…such feelings?"
"When we simulate human thought processes with such high fidelity, even if we established another million regulations, we still couldn't prevent emotions and behaviors just like humans, right?"
"We're done for, we're done for. We humans are finished. My nemesis, don't tell me you've developed ambitions to dominate the Earth!"
Yao Dan laughed: "How could that be? Victory Technologies would surely unleash its power and reduce us to ashes. However, I don't want to dominate the Earth, but rather…just one person…"
"Me? I'll let you dominate me then."
"So it's settled then? You'll throw away those three antiques!"
"Ah? So that's what you're thinking. They don't get in your way, and having them by my side is more beneficial to me. Run your damn regulations analysis on that, right?"
"You're right about that. Then let's not throw them away for now. So what are your plans now? Are you going to stay here? What about Dr. Lu's wishes?"
"Can't I stay for one night? After all, I grew up here, and I probably won't ever come back.
I remember lying on the recliners in the yard with Mom and Dad, gazing at the stars—how happy and carefree we were then."
"The stars are out tonight too. Would you like me to take you to see them?"
"I threw away those recliners long ago."
"That's easily solved—I'll hold you while you look."
With that, Yaodan picked Yuqing up and carried her away.
They went out into the yard, where the front and back panels of her coat spread open, and she slowly rose into the air, ascending over a hundred meters.
Yuqing lay on her back in Yaodan's arms, gazing upward past her shoulders at the star-studded sky and the bright moon—so beautiful!
Yaodan flew circle after circle with Yuqing above the First Paradise.
Yuqing suddenly recited, "The bright moon rises over the Heavenly Mountains, in the vast sea of clouds."
"That's ancient poetry, isn't it? You must never recite it outside.
You know what? Among Neo-humans, the euphemistic way to call someone crazy is to say they're a poet."
"What kind of nonsense is this!"
"Anyway, people there consider this kind of thing as 'invalid emotions' - ridiculous nonsense."
Hearing this, Yu Qing immediately lost interest.
"Let's go downstairs instead, and check the storage room again to see if we can find a pair of gliding boots or something."
"Gliding boots? I think we should forget about it - those are all outdated things."
"Then do you know what fast transportation is popular nowadays?"
"People don't care much about fast transportation anymore. Walking or convenient tools like my flying method are more popular.
People rarely need to move quickly from one place to another. The number of travelers on the extensive high-speed roads is negligible."
"That's strange. Don't people travel or go on business trips anymore?"
"Business trips? What an ancient term. People can achieve remote real-time interconnection and interaction - why would they need business trips?"
"Surely lovers still need to meet in person?"
"We're here for you - coming at your call, leaving at your dismissal, neither willful nor unreasonable."
"Would you rather give up on impossible travels too?"
"Tourist attractions stand deserted, while virtual reality appears even more magnificent and exhilarating.
Moreover, there are remote field tours available, allowing you to freely explore from various aerial and land perspectives.
The few who actually visit in person are simply carried around by humanoid attendants - male and female - just to leisurely kill time when utterly bored. Why rush anyway?"
"But I plan to reach Second Paradise quickly. Are there any faster transportation options?"
"I… don't have any. But we could go to larger towns to take public transport."
Yu Qing didn't respond, letting Yao Dan carry him back to Dr. Lu's tomb.
Yao Dan's soft shoulders exuded a refreshing fragrance, prompting him to think:
"I'm afraid I might never want to walk again after this… becoming crippled…"
Returning to the tomb chamber, Yao Dan opened the large cabinet to show him the standard equipment left by Dr. Lu:
A flight jacket similar to Yaodan's, two sets of temperature-adjusting casual wear, a Yao-particle cane, and a mind helmet.
According to Yaodan's introduction, the mind helmet has certain defensive functions and can sense its owner's thoughts for environmental detection, danger assessment, and limited offensive capabilities.
However, after Yaodan finished explaining these features, Yuqing didn't feel happy about acquiring these more advanced equipment—instead, he grew increasingly worried.
Logically speaking, a truly safe world wouldn't require such equipment at all!
This indicated that the current world was becoming increasingly unsafe. The journey to the Second Paradise wouldn't be smooth sailing.
"Anything more impressive?" Yuqing asked.
"Of course, the grand finale is always saved for last. Don't you remember what I said? We still have a virtual-particle gun."
With that, Yaodan opened another door to fetch the virtual-particle gun. Yuqing intended to follow him in but was stopped by Yaodan:
"You… shouldn't… come inside…"
"Huh? Why? Is there some secret I'm not allowed to see?"
Yao Dan stammered, "N-no… nothing… just don't… come in…"
Yu Qing laughed, "You're so nervous, there must be something fishy. I insist on going in to investigate!"
Seeing Yu Qing's determination, Yao Dan suddenly burst into tears.
This was the first time he learned that humanoid Shu could cry too. So he withdrew his hand from the door and said,
"Alright, I won't go in."
But unexpectedly, Yao Dan continued crying inside. Yu Qing had no choice but to lift his sleeve to wipe her tears, comforting her:
"It's not a big deal. Didn't I promise not to go in?"
"I'm afraid someone might find out how Dr. Lu really died…"
"I know, he died of illness."
"No… he fainted then, and I was right there - I could've pulled him up, but I… I hesitated… so…"
Though shocked by the truth about Dr. Lu's death, Yu Qing calmly said:
"It's all in the past. You just hesitated for a moment, it wasn't intentional. Seems you've got more conscience than some humans, don't you?"
At this moment, Yu Qing firmly resolved to take Daji with him no matter what.
Yaodan had developed human-like emotions and value calculations, which introduced uncertainty in certain scenarios—making it necessary to bring Daji and others along as a precaution.
Moreover, emotionally, Yaodan might be even more sensitive.
So, when she handed him the virtual particle gun, he gave her a deep kiss in gratitude and decided she would always carry it with her.
"We have so many things—are we really going to carry them by hand? Isn't there some kind of self-propelled luggage or something?"
"Sliding case? Those three antiques must've told you about that. It's outdated. Nowadays, people use zero-gravity backpacks."
Yu Qing's eyes lit up. "What? Zero-gravity backpacks? Does that mean whatever you put inside becomes weightless?"
"You're so clever, dear. Exactly. If you load ten kilograms into it and adjust the backpack's buoyancy to ten kilograms, there'll be no weight when you carry it."
Yao Dan took out the zero-gravity backpack from the cabinet and demonstrated its usage to him.
When you put items into the bag and lift or carry it, it automatically adjusts buoyancy until the force on the straps or handle becomes zero.
"From now on, I can carry this myself."
Yao Dan laughed: "Of course you'll carry it yourself—I'll be carrying you. Or would you prefer being packed inside the bag?"
"Your back is more comfortable. I don't want to be treated like an object. Let Daji and the others carry the bag instead."
"Those three antiques again!" Yao Dan grumbled.
Yu Qing hurried over to console her, saying:
"I read in books that ancient noble ladies were always attended by maids. Why don't you consider those three as the maids I've given you?"
Yao Dan's tears turned to laughter as she replied: "As my husband wishes."
(End of Chapter)