Listen, the Sound of the Horn

In the various posts by current or former employees of "Shenxing Technology" on various platforms, Xiang Kun rarely saw Lu Cheng'an's name. Most of the posts mentioned the heads of the various branches and their two CEOs.

Judging from various comments, no one has mentioned that "Shenxing Technology" is pursuing or researching any Mutated Creature. In fact, judging from Shenxing Technology's business plan, they haven't invested much in biotechnology.

However, considering the conversation I overheard between the two men, which mentioned things like "signing a confidentiality agreement," it seems that not many people know the inside story, and they wouldn't speak carelessly. Even among those who do know the details, how much they actually know is questionable. At least judging from the conversation between those two people outside the town hotel, they didn't know the specific purpose of their actions.

Xiang Kun was very curious and wary of "Shenxing Technology" and Lu Cheng'an, but he certainly wouldn't expose himself for the sake of the investigation. He needed to plan carefully and slowly find clues.

For example, the carcass of the wild boar, and the ordeal of the three Host Xue, since "Shenxing Technology" has already noticed them and sent people to investigate, there is a high possibility that further discoveries will be made.

If they make any discoveries, they will surely organize more people to explore that area further. There is a certain chance that they will find the area where the mutated spider was active and the territory it controlled before it died. They might even find the mutated spider's lair in the cliff cave.

Although they were unlikely to find the mutated spider or its body parts, given their practice of smuggling out rotting wild boar carcasses and soil samples, if they could confirm it was the mutated spider's lair, many things inside would certainly be brought back as well.

In that case, the "methods" he had set up inside could then take effect.

In time, he will naturally know where those things were sent, without having to go through the trouble and risks of investigating now.

If they cannot find the habitat of the mutated spider, the cave on the cliff, or determine whether those places are related to the entity they are investigating, then it proves that "Shenxing Technology" and the organization behind it also have limited understanding of vampires and Mutated Creature, and their methods of identification and tracking are also very limited, thus reducing the threat level to Xiang Kun.

Last night, I checked the materials Alice had collected, including some follow-up news and online discussions about the three Host Xue and his two friends.

Some media outlets obtained some videos taken by Host Xue and others during their second entry into the Qinling Uninhabited Zone. However, these videos contained nothing unusual, nor did they show how they accidentally ate poisonous fruit or how they got lost in the forest.

The official detailed explanation mentioned the specific type of wild fruit the group ate, even including related pictures. It stated that eating this poisonous fruit could cause symptoms such as irregular heartbeat, vomiting, diarrhea, aphasia, hallucinations, and confusion, and in severe cases, it could even lead to death. As for why the wilderness survival expert who acted as their "guide" didn't recognize the poisonous fruit and even encouraged the three to eat it, the news report explained that they may have mistaken it for another edible fruit.

However, the three were not directly poisoned by the fruit. Instead, they were affected by it, stripped naked, abandoned all their equipment, and eventually got lost in the deep mountains, where they froze and starved to death.

However, through the memory fragments of the mutated spider he obtained, Xiang Kun knew that these people, like the leopard that was used as bait by the mutated spider, were all lured and mistakenly ate the fruit created by the "Reconstruction Branch". Their subsequent abnormal behavior and eating other poisonous fruits were all influenced by that fruit.

Moreover, the mutated spider did not feed on the blood of Host Xue and his companions; it simply let them freeze and starve to death, while observing them from the sidelines.

While one cannot directly read the thoughts of a mutated spider from its memory fragments, one can infer its intentions based on numerous fragments.

Xiang Kun believed that this mutated spider was indeed much more intelligent than he had initially thought. This creature was likely able to determine whether humans entering the mountains had discovered its presence or posed a threat to it.

The reason it killed Host Xue was not because it wanted to bleed them dry, but because it believed that Host Xue had approached its territory and might threaten its survival—a threat not posed by them themselves, but by the entire human race.

It likely has some understanding of human strength, as many of its memory fragments show it spying on human dwellings and towns from afar, and repeatedly hiding in the forest to "monitor" humans entering the mountains. After it gained the ability to add "Conversion Branch" and "Reconstruction Branch" to plants, these "observations" may far exceed the memory fragments Xiang Kun saw.

In fact, Xiang Kun felt that among the mutated spider memory fragments he obtained, there were likely many sensory information explored on the "Conversion Branch" and "Reconstruction Branch".

The memory fragments formed by these pieces of information, when Xiang Kun first woke up, were perceived as a "nothingness." This "nothingness" was somewhat similar to the feeling in Little Apple's dream, but it was a "nothingness" in all aspects, from hearing and smell to sight.

It's like a folder titled "Mutant Spider Memory Fragments" containing a bunch of video files. Clicking on them reveals individual memory fragments, but there's also a small group of files that have no file extensions and can't be opened by any software, yet they undeniably exist there.

Xiang Kun initially thought that something went wrong when he tried to obtain the mutated spider's memories from the blood, so these memory fragments were damaged and not fully obtained.

However, after the most recent blood-drinking experience, Xiang Kun's unique comprehensive cognitive pattern was further strengthened. On a whim, he built a cognitive model for those "empty" memory fragments, only to suddenly discover that these "empty" memory fragments were not incompletely acquired memories, but rather likely information obtained by the mutated spider through grafting "branches." However, Xiang Kun was not that mutated spider and lacked certain functions to decode the information transmitted by "transferring branches" and "Reconstruction Branch," making it impossible for him to "read" these memory fragments in the correct way.

It's like opening files without file extensions with Notepad and finding a bunch of gibberish. You know they do have "content" and contain "information," but you're just opening them the wrong way.

Xiang Kun knew before that the mutated spider could probe for information through those "branches," but he was never quite sure what form the information it probed was in. It shouldn't be simple visual information, or even sound or smell, but rather another mode of perceiving information.

Could it be electromagnetic waves?

Xiang Kun felt that once he was able to interpret and perceive these "fragments of nihilistic memory," his cognitive abilities would likely be further enhanced, and he might even be able to obtain more feedback from objects that had been "Super-Sensory Link" or "Emotional Injection."

What were originally considered "junk files" may turn into "treasure troves".

After arriving at the station, Xiang Kun took a taxi to the address Little Apple had given him on WeChat.

Although today is Christmas in the West, it is not a national holiday in China, so Professor Li Yang still has to teach. The person who opened the door for Xiang Kun at home was a middle-aged woman whom Little Apple called "Aunt Yang".

Little Apple's house is quite large, with a three-bedroom, two-living room layout. However, it's similar to Xiang Kun's house, with very little furniture and a simple decor. It looks spacious and uncluttered, with no extra stools or chairs. All the items are placed in their designated spots, and almost all the furniture, such as tables and cabinets, has edges wrapped.

Little Apple was naturally very happy about Xiang Kun's arrival, and after nearly half a month, seeing Xiang Kun's "Gold Glitter" again made it equally "jubilant". As soon as Little Apple opened the cage, it flew directly to Xiang Kun's arm and started chirping.

"Uncle Xiang, 'Gold Glitter' is so cunning! It actually pretended to be dead! It scared me to death before, I thought it was sick, I even cried! And it's picky about food! Extremely picky!"

As Little Apple invited Xiang Kun to sit down, she began to recount a series of amusing incidents involving "Gold Glitter" during this period. In fact, she had already told Xiang Kun about these incidents on WeChat before, but now that she had "met" Xiang Kun, she couldn't help but start talking about them again.

Aunt Yang, who had been polite but somewhat wary when welcoming Xiang Kun in, softened her expression considerably upon seeing Little Apple's unusual excitement and joy. She poured Xiang Kun a cup of hot tea and then lovingly tidied Little Apple Pingguo's slightly messy bangs.

Although it was their first meeting, and they had only been in the house for a short time, with only two sentences exchanged, Xiang Kun could still make a judgment based on his cognitive model of this "Aunt Yang"—she genuinely cared about Little Apple, and her affection for the blind girl was clearly not solely out of a sense of responsibility towards her employer.

After chatting for a while, Little Apple asked a bunch of computer-related questions. To Xiang Kun's surprise, it was clear from her questions that her computer knowledge had improved considerably recently, indicating that she had been self-studying related materials.

Although he has now finished making "Alice," Little Apple is interested in computer knowledge, and he is happy to continue teaching her.

Little Apple is blind, but she is very intelligent. She has a strong memory, comprehension, and abstract thinking ability. She can learn most things very quickly. As her teacher, I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Having experienced Little Apple's dreams multiple times, Xiang Kun was very clear about her unusual cognitive patterns and ways of thinking, and could often describe them in a way that was easy for her to understand.

For example, it focuses more on describing the tactile sensation rather than the visual sensation, and describes things that she can touch rather than things that she can "see".

So, in Little Apple's opinion, listening to Xiang Kun explain the problems was also very enjoyable, and she felt it was even more efficient than when her father taught her some knowledge or gave her lessons.

She had a strange feeling, as if Xiang Kun had also been blind, and could understand her thoughts very well.

So Xiang Kun, who originally came to pick up "Gold Glitter," unknowingly ended up giving Little Apple a computer lesson for more than an hour at her home.

However, while "Aunt Yang" was preparing to cook, Xiang Kun had an idea. He told Little Apple to play with "Gold Glitter" first, and then went to the kitchen himself.

"Hello, are you making stir-fried eggplant? Little Apple visited my house before and really liked my cooking, so I wanted to make her some for lunch," Xiang Kun said politely.

Aunt Yang naturally witnessed Xiang Kun patiently "teaching" Little Apple, and her impression of the bald young man improved even more. However, when she heard that he was going to cook for Little Apple, her expression still showed some doubt, and she said tactfully:

"You're a guest, why don't you go chat with Little Apple? I'll take care of lunch. If you do it, Professor Li will scold me when he gets back. To be honest, I've been cooking for over twenty years. I used to run a small restaurant near Professor Li's school. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the taste."

This is a subtle way of telling Xiang Kun that my skills are definitely better than his.

Xiang Kun stepped into the kitchen, he could tell that "Aunt Yang" was indeed an expert cook. However, he was quite certain that the dishes he was going to make would suit Little Apple's taste. After all, Little Apple and Professor Li had visited twice before and eaten his cooking at the same table, which allowed him to understand and adjust the father and daughter's tastes. So he still insisted, "Let me give it a try. How about you stand by and supervise me?"

Xiang Kun had already said so, "Aunt Yang" naturally couldn't refuse anymore, so she stepped aside and watched Xiang Kun do it.

An expert's skill is immediately apparent. Just by looking at Xiang Kun's deft movements as he handled the ingredients, "Aunt Yang" knew that Xiang Kun was indeed a seasoned cook, and she felt much more at ease.

When "Aunt Yang" came out of the kitchen, Little Apple was already standing by the kitchen. She obviously knew it was "Aunt Yang" from the smell and footsteps. She chuckled and said, "Aunt Yang, Uncle Xiang is also a great cook, especially when it comes to rabbit. Last time my dad and I visited his house, he made several different dishes with rabbit, and they were all delicious. Uncle Xiang said he wants to open a rabbit restaurant in the future."

When Li Yang returned, Xiang Kun came out of the kitchen. He had only said he would make one dish, but he ended up making four.

Even without tasting it, just looking at the finished product, "Aunt Yang" praised Xiang Kun's cooking skills.

Professor Li, however, felt a little embarrassed when he got home. After taking his daughter to Xiang Kun's house twice and having two meals there, he had originally planned to find an opportunity to invite Xiang Kun to visit and treat him well.

Unexpectedly, even when Xiang Kun came to his home, he was still the one who cooked.

But it must be said that Xiang Kun's cooking is indeed delicious. Even though it's just home-style cooking with very ordinary ingredients and seasonings that he already has at home, the taste is still quite satisfying.

After dinner, Professor Li originally planned to take Little Apple and Xiang Kun to visit some of the tourist attractions in their city.

But Xiang Kun suggested that they go and take a look at the park outside their residential area.

After arriving at the park with the Gold Glitter birdcage, Xiang Kun had Professor Li help Little Apple sit on a long wooden bench, and then he sat down next to the father and daughter.

"Xiang Kun, would you be interested in visiting our school?" Professor Li Yang said with a smile. Sitting in the park listening to birdsong, surrounded by various sounds, and smelling the fragrance of flowers and grass was Little Apple's favorite thing to do. In his opinion, Xiang Kun must have come here to accommodate Little Apple. As for Xiang Kun himself, sitting like this for so long would probably be boring.

Xiang Kun smiled at him across Little Apple and said, "Professor Li, if you have classes this afternoon, you should go to school first. I'll stay here and chat with Little Apple for a while. Later, I'll take her home and hand her over to 'Aunt Yang'."

"It's nothing, I don't have class this afternoon. I was just worried you'd be bored here..."

Xiang Kun suddenly said, "Professor Li, did you hear those two short blasts from the horn just now?"

Li Yang was taken aback. After recalling for a few seconds, he shook his head, somewhat bewildered and puzzled, and said, "What horn sound? There wasn't one." As he spoke, he subconsciously looked around. They were still some distance from the road.