[Qin Family Lodging]

The next day.

By the seaside.

Ye Yun stood by the sea, letting the wind blow over him as he watched the tide ebb and flow. His gaze was distant, and on that sharply defined, cold face, there were patches of bruising and swelling.

Vroom, vroom, vroom.

The roar of an engine grew from distant to near.

Then came the screech of tires grinding against the asphalt.

The door of the Blue Supercar opened, and Feiran and Qiya hurriedly stepped out, rushing anxiously to Ye Yun's side. They looked him up and down. "Phew, you little brat, I, I thought you'd kicked it. Lucky to be alive."

"The injuries on your face—are you alright?" Feiran asked, looking at his wounds with concern.

"Nothing major. It's just that I couldn't avenge Old Hu, and I almost died at that guy's hands instead. Pretty shameful."

Ye Yun turned to look at his two older sisters and spread his hands.

"It's not shameful. It's not shameful at all. That was the most powerful Intelligent Being our father created based on our fantasies of God. The fact that you survived his hands is an incredible stroke of luck."

Qiya looked at her "same-age" little brother and smiled, trying to comfort him.

"What nonsense are you spouting here?"

Feiran shot Qiya a displeased look and said, "Dad is preparing for the cremation tomorrow. He'll be buried in the valley over there."

"Mm. That place is fine. The scenery's nice."

He gave a slight nod. He had no objections to where Old Hu was laid to rest.

"After tomorrow, come home with me."

Feiran gave him a deep look, then reached out and patted his shoulder.

Ye Yun nodded, following the two as they got into the car one after another. The vehicle shot off like an arrow, the tires screeching against the ground with an enormous noise.

Inside the car.

"News came last night. Professor Ye Zhen and Senior Sister Jian Jie's child was also killed by Jie Xing. Professor Ye Zhen's fate is unknown."

Silence filled the car.

Finally.

Feiran broke it.

"Intelligent Beings couldn't have easily broken through the independent logic locks that Dad and the others set up. Someone must have exploited a firewall vulnerability in the Source Code to give all the Intelligent Beings independent logic."

After she finished saying this, Qiya picked up with another point.

But Ye Yun didn't speak. He didn't know exactly what the situation was, so he didn't dare make any rash decisions.

"The number of scientists who could pull something like that is very small."

Seeing that he hadn't said anything, Feiran added, "And last night at Green Valley Dock, the only one who could have done all that is Professor Ye Zhen, whose fate is still unknown."

"We have reason to suspect that Ye Zhen used a firewall vulnerability to activate these out-of-control Intelligent Beings," Qiya said.

So.

The two of them had come prepared.

"I'm not the expert. You two are."

Ye Yun closed his eyes, letting his chaotic thoughts settle.

"Let's not talk about this now. Let's go eat first. I can tell you're hungry." Feiran crossed her arms and watched him quietly. "Right now, Qiya has been banned from accessing Linji Island. Tomorrow, only Little Brother and I will be going back."

Ye Yun opened his eyes and looked at her, as if waiting for her to give him an answer.

"Dad told us not to tell you about this. I'm sorry, Little Brother."

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Qiya exchanged a glance with Feiran, spread her hands, and said, "There are some things we don't tell you for everyone's good. Even I don't know the exact reason."

"I understand."

Ye Yun gave a slight nod, then closed his eyes again, no longer paying attention to the two in front of him.

Soon.

The car pulled up in front of a luxurious villa and stopped.

The three of them got out.

Ye Yun looked at the villa before him with curiosity, then turned a questioning gaze to Feiran, as if asking, What place is this?

"Our home on Intelligent Island was destroyed by Jie Xing. We're staying at Senior Brother Qin Hui's place for now."

Feiran glanced at Ye Yun, whose gaze was fixed on her, and explained.

Ding-dong.

After explaining to Ye Yun, Qiya, at her older sister's signal, went to ring the doorbell.

"Who is it?"

A young, girlish voice sounded from inside the villa. The door opened, and a head with a silver, short-haired schoolgirl hairstyle poked out. The little girl's face still held a childlike innocence, and she looked mischievous and clever, her lively eyes spinning as she examined the group at the door.

"We're looking for Qin Hui, Professor Qin."

Qiya looked at this clever and mischievous little girl as she spoke.

"You're looking for my dad? He's still at work. Come back in the afternoon."

Hearing they were here for her father, the girl in a black leather jacket, red skirt, and black leather pants refused them entry.

These three people didn't seem like bad guys, but did bad guys have "I'm a bad guy" written on their faces?

Especially that man—though he was better-looking than Brother Yang, he looked like he'd just been beaten up not long ago. And then there was that short-haired girl beside him, who looked like a thug; her first impression was terrible.

As for the women, the one who knocked wasn't good-looking, looking like a street punk. The elegant silver ponytail girl with a refined demeanor—she felt a bit jealous of her too, and her clothes were somewhat revealing, which she disliked.

"You!"

Anger surged in Qiya's eyes at the little girl's words, but seeing her age, fine, she wouldn't argue with her.

"Sis?"

She turned to look at her older sister, as if asking what to do next.

"Hold on."

Feiran tapped lightly on her smart watch, and Qin Hui's phone number appeared on it.

"Beep, beep, beep."

The ringtone sounded, and it was quickly answered.

Qin Yan watched the group curiously.

It seemed they really were calling her dad.

"Hey, Feiran, what's up?"

From the phone.

Came a voice Qin Yan recognized, and she couldn't help but give an awkward smile.

"It's like this, Professor Qin Hui. My younger brother and sister and I want to stay at your place for the night. Is that convenient? We were thinking of going to Professor Jian's house, but considering her two daughters' situation..."

Feiran explained her intent, hesitating when mentioning Professor Jian.

After all.

Professor Jian had already lost her daughter. Staying at Professor Jian's house would be very inappropriate.

"No problem, I'll call Xiao Yan right away. Feiran, I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything about what happened to the teacher. No one expected that situation. I'm truly very sorry."

Professor Qin Hui's voice came through the call, full of self-blame. He said, "I'll take leave and come back immediately."

"No need, no need. The smart mutation was something no one expected. We didn't expect Jie Xing to be so crazy either."

Feiran was moved when she heard Professor Qin Hui was planning to take leave to settle them in.

This was truly one of the three most valued disciples of her father.

After ending the call with Professor Qin Hui, "I'm sorry to trouble your family."

"No trouble at all."

Hearing her father's voice, a look of embarrassment appeared on her face. She said, "Please come in. I'll have someone arrange rooms for you."