Sensors (Part 1)

Ronan watched it all happen, utterly unable to stop it.

Perhaps because the long wire had pierced it, the lit-up wristband interface instantly glitched into chaos before the screen went dark.

Less than half a second later, however, the screen lit up again and returned to normal. It was still an incoming call, still vibrating to alert him, but Ronan noticed that the interface style had changed noticeably.

And somehow, it looked familiar.

He stared blankly at the wristband interface until Xue Lei came over and reminded him:

"Hey, phone call."

Ronan snapped out of it. Only then did he clearly make out the caller ID information. His eyelid twitched, and his first instinct was to block the guy.

In the moment it took to reconsider, the first round of vibrations ended, only for the second round to begin immediately after.

Ronan let out a breath and answered the call.

The next moment, a bright, friendly, highly magnetic voice came from the wristband. "Nan Di, it's me, Xie Junping."

I know who you are...

Ronan truly had no desire to deal with this man. The ordeal of the past thirty-odd hours, along with all the visible and invisible trouble to come, had originated from this guy's reckless nonsense.

If this bastard dared show up right now, Ronan would be more than happy to conduct some experiments on him that normally would not be convenient. He would not even blink.

Still, Xie Junping's shamelessness had clearly reached a certain level. Seeing that Ronan had fallen silent, he immediately began apologizing over and over.

"I'm really sorry, really sorry. Nan Di, yesterday's mess was entirely my responsibility. I should've contacted you last night, but I had some things to prepare and simply didn't have time to explain it properly... How about this? I'm heading to the school right away. Where are you, Nan Di? Let's meet up. I'll apologize to you in person."

Xie Junping called him Nan Di with such warmth that goosebumps rose all over Ronan's skin. The guy had probably spent quite a while pondering how to address him before coming up with that.

Ronan truly did not want any further entanglement with someone like this, so he replied coolly, "You don't need to be so polite, Senior. I have things to do too."

"What is it? Do you need help? I'm free today. I can lend a hand."

Ronan could only shake his head. Could you at least show some of that rich second-generation arrogance? Wagging your tail this hard makes it obvious to anyone that you're up to something!

Strangely enough, Xie Junping sounded nervous in every word he said. Was he still worried that little mess might be exposed? Whether it was the nightclub or True Fate, a whole day had passed since the related incidents. If he still could not handle it properly, Ronan would truly have to revise his opinion of just how low this man's bottom line was.

"It's nothing. I can handle it myself."

Ronan now completely believed what his cousin Mo Ya had said. Getting tangled up with these rich kids was destined to bring no good outcome.

Li Xuecheng was like that, and Xie Junping was much the same.

Yet Xie Junping was also first-rate when it came to pestering people. "Efficiency, efficiency. Why drag something out for an hour when we can finish it in ten minutes? Where are you? Share your location, and I'll come find you!"

Ronan frowned, but instinctively glanced at his wristband interface. The screen, which had dimmed during the call, lit up automatically and displayed a compact, exquisite interface.

It really was different now.

Previously, Ronan's wristband had used the classic automatically configured theme. Its colors were pale, clean, and bright, without much decoration. But now, the main color of the interface had turned space blue, speckled with fine stars. Even the Software icons had been replaced.

The problem was, it was still so familiar—aside from some slight differences in layout, this was clearly the interface theme from his Imitation Paper Soft Screen!

What the hell?

The wristband interface was truly bizarre. Ronan felt like his brain was not enough to process it, and he was even less willing to remain in the noisy office. He called out to Xue Lei and took the lead in walking out.

Without question, he was the first among the students to leave the office.

Xue Lei wanted to follow, but for some reason Li Mingde called him back. With a miserable expression, he had no choice but to retreat into the office.

After leaving, Ronan could not exactly abandon Xue Lei, so he stopped in the hallway outside to wait.

Xie Junping was still chattering away. "Hello, hello, Nan Di, can you hear me? Send me your location."

Location my ass!

The thought had barely formed when the wristband interface changed. It displayed the satellite positioning settings, with the option to share his coordinates appearing right before his eyes.

It was as if an invisible hand had completed the operation in an instant, skipping every intermediate step.

Ronan was somewhat stunned. Voice control could currently achieve this kind of effect on smart devices, but Ronan was absolutely certain that he had not uttered so much as a single syllable.

What had truly worked was his thought.

With the mindset of testing it out, Ronan formed another thought. Share.

The relevant option indeed lit up. On the other end of the call, Xie Junping was overjoyed. He hurriedly said, "I'll be right there," then cut the connection.

Ronan, however, simply stared blankly at the wristband interface.

He had actually set up some data sharing between the wristband and the Imitation Paper Soft Screen. It was one thing for their interfaces to get mixed up, but what was this thought-controlled operation about?

Thought control was nothing new, but Ronan had not brought any sensing equipment with him, and the wristband itself did not possess such a function.

Of course, Ronan clearly remembered that before these strange changes occurred, a "long wire" had appeared inside the wristband.

At that moment, Ronan suddenly recalled something someone had said at the Precision Electronics Interest Club: "Processor, storage module, signal transceiver module, sensors—there isn't a fucking one of them. Do you normally use this board as a mirror or something?"

The Imitation Paper Soft Screen was obviously not a mirror. Ronan had been using it just fine.

For that fact to hold true, did it not mean that the long needle also possessed the complex functions of a processor, storage module, signal transceiver module, sensors, and more?

Leaving aside anything else, when it came to storage and sensors, reality was already impatiently verifying it for him.

While Ronan stood there in a daze, students gradually began filing out of the office. Some walked briskly, while others let out long breaths of relief, but Xue Lei remained nowhere to be seen.

At last, the door opened again. Li Mingde came out first, his expression not looking very good. Xue Lei followed behind him. When he saw Ronan, he grinned at him.

Li Mingde saw Ronan as well. He still remembered this student who had declined his "kindness" and had been the first to leave the office. His face darkened further as he took the initiative to speak.

"Your name is Ronan, right?"

Ronan paused slightly and said, "Advisor Li."

"Have you chosen a club yet?"

"...Not yet."

"Then you need to hurry up. Don't drag your feet."

Li Mingde's tone was stiff. Ronan did not know why he was in such a bad mood, nor did he care. He merely nodded to show that he understood.

But Li Mingde became irritated at his indifferent attitude, swiftly transforming from a grade advisor into a disciplinarian.

"Also, you skipped class all day yesterday. The nature of that is very serious. You must write an explanation stating your reason for missing class. You can treat it as a self-criticism if you like. The facts must be clear, and you need to provide reasons that can convince your instructors. Otherwise, with the three major courses and two supplementary courses involved, it will be difficult for you to receive good evaluations at the end of the term, and the pressure on your credits will only grow greater."

Ronan said nothing. He merely inclined his head slightly to show that he understood.

Li Mingde found Ronan's silence especially irritating, but it was not appropriate for him to say more. With a dark face, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked away. Only when he reached the elevator did he shake his head and snort.

"Hopeless!"

Ronan and Xue Lei exchanged a look, both helpless.

"What did he call you over for just now?"

"Seems some fighting club wanted to recruit me and asked Advisor Li to sound me out. I turned them down."

That meant he had run into two rejections in a row. No wonder he had cursed.

The man was already seventy. He had the privilege of acting his age. Ronan and Xue Lei did not care about it and prepared to leave by another way. Then the elevator doors at the other end of the hallway opened, and Xie Junping hurried out. His clothes fluttered in his wake as he strode straight ahead, passing Li Mingde without even looking at him.

Li Mingde froze for a moment and was about to call out, but Xie Junping spotted Ronan at once and burst into laughter.

"Nan Di, Nan Di, you were hard to find!"