Chapter 183: Installing the Antimatter Battery
Chapter 183 – Installing the Antimatter Battery
Thud.
The old man dropped his bag as he stared at Chen Yu, his face filled with disbelief.
“Um, old man, let me explain.”
Chen Yu slowly removed himself from Xing Biqi’s body. He then spread out his arms and attempted to explain, “Do you see the textbooks on the table? We really are studying. Only, your granddaughter-”
“A-Animal!”
The old man’s breathing gradually hastened, his body shivering from anger as he ran to the kitchen and returned with a knife. And with a roar, he immediately charged at Chen Yu.
“Hah… You’ve lived so long, yet you’re still not civilized.”
Sighing, Chen Yu pulled out the Amnesia Bat from his pocket and started inflating it. After dodging the old man’s attempt at stabbing him, he struck the back of the old man’s head with the bat.
Thump!
Thud.
The old man promptly lost consciousness and limply collapsed to the ground.
“Little Qiqi, we’re…”
At this time, an old woman also entered the bedroom. Upon seeing the scene in front of her, she immediately fell into shock.
Chen Yu knew that it would be pointless for him to explain himself. Immediately, he raised the Amnesia Bat and smacked the old lady in the head as well.
“Demacia!”
Thump!
Thud.
After knocking out the old couple, Chen Yu picked them up and settled them in the master bedroom. He then returned to Xing Biqi’s room.
Click.
After shutting the door, Chen Yu sat beside the unconscious girl and shook her body. “Hey, wake up.”
“Huh?” Xing Biqi opened her eyes in a daze. “Chen… Chen Yu…”
Thud!
Before she could fully regain her consciousness, an eggplant-like bat smacked her head and rendered her unconsciousness once more.
“Her memories of before should be gone with this.”
After storing away the lightsaber and Amnesia Bat, Chen Yu put on his jacket and tidied up the study materials he brought. He then sat by the bedside and pushed the slumbering girl once more. “Hey, wake up.”
“Uu…” Waking up in a daze, Xing Biqi looked at Chen Yu before looking at her own clothes. “I… What happened to me?”
“You were stuck at a physics question just now. After struggling with the question for some time, you suddenly fainted,” Chen Yu said, too lazy to make up a proper excuse.
“I f-fainted?”
“That’s right. You fainted. Don’t struggle too hard if you encounter a difficult problem next time. It’s important to take care of your body.”
“I…”
“Let’s not talk about anything else for now,” Chen Yu said, suppressing his voice. He then moved closer to Xing Biqi’s ear and continued, “Your grandparents are home. I need to go.”
“What?” Startled, Xing Biqi hurriedly jumped off the bed. “Impossible!”
“Shh! Softer!” Chen Yu covered Xing Biqi’s mouth. “Why can’t it be possible? If I didn’t lock the door after hearing them enter the house, your grandfather would have entered the room and discovered me.”
“You locked the door?” Frowning, Xing Biqi revealed, “My bedroom’s lock is broken. it ”
Chen Yu: “…”
“See.” Approaching the door, Xing Biqi personally did a demonstration.
Sure enough, the lock was indeed broken.
“I-In that case, your grandfather was polite. He left after knocking on the door and not receiving a reply.”
“My grandfather doesn’t knock.”
“Right.” Holding back his embarra.s.sment, Chen Yu continued blabbering nonsense, “Your grandfather didn’t knock. He simply stood before the door and listened. After deeming that you were asleep, he didn’t enter.”
“My grandparents know I always study until midnight.”
Chen Yu: “…”
“Also, the lights are still on. If they came back, they’d definitely enter my bedroom,” Xing Biqi said as she pointed toward the lights. “Chen Yu, don’t try to trick me. You can’t leave.”
“Facts speak louder than words.” Realizing he couldn’t make up any more excuses, Chen Yu dragged Xing Biqi to the master bedroom. Pointing at the elderly couple sleeping on the bed, he lowered his voice and said, “See? They’re back, right? Maybe it’s because they’re too tired, so they didn’t enter your room and went straight to bed.”
“They’re really back!” Xing Biqi was startled. The next moment, however, she suspiciously tilted her head and said, “But why do they still have their jackets on?”
“…”
“Their shoes are still on as well.”
“…”
“There’s even dirt on their bodies.”
“…”
“What’s going on?”
“…You know too much.”
Now that he had been thoroughly exposed, Chen Yu silently pulled out the Amnesia Bat, inflated it, and smacked the girl on the back of her head.
Thump.
Thud.
After returning the unconscious girl to her bedroom, Chen Yu tossed her on the bed, removed her jacket, and covered her with the blanket. Not wanting to make any further explanations, he picked up his bag and promptly left.
After leaving the residential district, Chen Yu quietly walked on a desolate street. As he looked up at the starry sky above him, his heart gave birth to an inexplicable sense of loneliness and melancholy that only a literary teenager could have.
He didn’t know how to write poems, nor did he memorize any poems. After holding back for a while, he chose to sing a song to express his feelings.
“Like sunlight pa.s.sing through the night. Dawn quietly crossed the horizon.”
“Whose shadow travels through reincarnation
“The road to the future is under your feet. Don’t be sad, don’t be afraid.”
“Full of faith and looking forward to tomorrow…”
“A new storm has appeared! How can I stand still…”[1]
…
After walking for nearly an hour, Chen Yu finally arrived back home.
As he opened the security door, he could hear the sound of Chen Erke’s snoring coming from the quiet living room.
Removing his shoes, Chen Yu tiptoed up to his bedroom door, pulled out his key, and unlocked the door. As soon as he opened the door, Little Peach immediately threw herself on him and hugged him tightly.
“Mr. Chen, you’re finally back!”
“Shh! Quiet!” Pushing away the robot clinging to him, Chen Yu gently shut the door. He then laid on his bed and took a deep breath, saying, “I’m tired. Don’t cling to me. I’m going to bed.”
“Mr. Chen, did you drink?” Little Peach said as she sidled up to Chen Yu’s side and sniffed him. “I also smell cheating.”
Chen Yu: “…”
“Mr. Chen.” Her eyes reddening, Little Peach said, “Have you forgotten the pledge of love we made to each other?”
“…Bulls.h.i.t! Since when has there been love between us?!”
“You men are ruthless!”
Chen Yu: “…”
Wiping away her tears, Little Peach pouted and asked, “Can you tell me who she is? At least let me know who I lost to.”
Lowering his head, Chen Yu glanced at Little Peach’s clenched fists making “cracking” noises. His complexion darkening, he said, “More like you’re trying to kill the other person, right?!”
“I am a romance robot. I have the right to protect my love!”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Chen Yu stood up and calmly said, “Firstly, the only thing that exists between us is friendship. I have always treated you like a brother.”
“There’s romance between brothers as well.”
“Can you let me finish?”
“Please continue.”
“Secondly, love isn’t something you can win over by using violence.”
“Impossible!” Little Peach denied Chen Yu’s words without hesitation. “Since ancient times, it has been completely reasonable for one to s.n.a.t.c.h partners and kill compet.i.tors.”
“…Are all you future intelligent beings lunatics?” Chen Yu raised his hand and smacked Little Peach’s head. “I’ve wanted to educate you for a long time now, but considering your mental age is still that of a child, I’ve been holding back all this time. However, I won’t drag things on any longer. I have to put some sense into you.”
Pausing slightly, Chen Yu adjusted his tone and continued, “Since you’ve come to the year 2020, you must abide by the rules of modern society. It is illegal to injure others. As for love, it is my freedom to decide who I love and how many people I love.”
Staring at Chen Yu in a daze, Little Peach said, “So, Mr. Chen…it turns out that you’re a sc.u.mbag.”
“…No.”
“You’re already trying to start a harem, yet you deny it?”
“I’m only expressing my opinion,” Chen Yu said as he suppressed his urge to flip a table. “If you wish to obtain my love, you need to compete for it using your heart. Make it so that I can’t do without you. However, you cannot injure other people.”
“Oh. Making it so that you can’t live without me…” Little Peach thoughtfully lowered her head and stared at Chen Yu’s legs.
Hurriedly retracting his legs, Chen Yu said, “c.r.a.p! Not the crippled kind!”
…
Snowflakes were like the tears of angels, and they covered the loveless heaven.
However, the Chen family’s abode was full of love, so snowflakes didn’t cover it.
It had been two weeks since Chen Yu’s night visit to Xing Biqi’s home.
After learning that Xing Biqi was not a government agent, Chen Yu immediately changed his att.i.tude toward her. The relationship between the two had also transformed into a delicate one.
However, Chen Yu himself didn’t pay too much attention to this matter.
The sixth official livestream would begin soon, and after the livestream would come the second quarterly evaluation. Whether he received a promotion would depend on the upcoming livestream. Hence, he had placed all of his attention on this matter.
“Which piece should I remove? It should be this piece, right?”
Inside the bedroom, Little Peach was holding onto an instruction manual while pointing at the Interstellar Portal’s bottom plate. “The energy module should be behind this plate.”
“Should be?” Chen Yu frowned.
“I’m sure of it!” Little Peach corrected herself. “It’s here.”
“Don’t make a mistake. If it explodes, the whole Earth will be doomed.”
“The instructions say that the portal wouldn’t explode. There are safety devices set in place to prevent that.” Handing out the instruction manual, Little Peach said, “You can take a look at it if you don’t believe me.”
“If I’m a professional at English, would I even need you to read it in the first place? This G.o.dd.a.m.ned manual has various languages for the operation method, yet the disa.s.sembly instructions are written only in English. Is this thing bullying me for being uncultured?” Stretching his hand toward the plate Little Peach pointed at, Chen Yu asked one last time, “I’m removing it. Are you sure it’s this one?”
“Mhm!”
After receiving an answer, Chen Yu no longer hesitated. Immediately, he pushed the plate leftward with both hands.
Creak— Clack!
The plate that was originally integrated with the door actually separated, revealing a small round b.u.t.ton inside.
“This is a safety b.u.t.ton,” Little Peach said excitedly. “Pressing it will separate the energy module. Well? I wasn’t mistaken, right? You should trust me.”
“Heh.”
Reaching out, Chen Yu pressed the b.u.t.ton. Accompanied by the release of cold air, the plate popped out of the portal, revealing an antimatter battery immersed in a special liquid.
There were also three empty slots beside the battery. This showed that the Interstellar Portal could have up to four batteries loaded at a time.
“Bring the battery over.”
“Okay.”
After receiving the brand new antimatter battery from Little Peach, Chen Yu put on a pair of gloves and removed the battery’s packaging. He then carefully inserted it into one of the empty slots.
Hiss!
The instant the battery and liquid came into contact, a strange chemical reaction occurred on the battery’s surface.
“Is it disinfecting the battery?”
Chen Yu didn’t even understand the basic principles behind such a level of technology, so he naturally wouldn’t put too much thought into the matter. After installing the battery, he promptly resealed the battery module with the metal plate.
“It’s a product from the 39th century, yet replacing its battery is more inconvenient than replacing a mobile phone’s battery.” After muttering a complaint, Chen Yu stood up and stretched his body. “Ah, it’s finally done.”
“Mr. Chen, you don’t need to be so careful.” Pointing at the manual, Little Peach said, “The manual already states that all technological products with the possibility of explosion must go through 26 safety inspections before it can be released from the factory.”
“What if it still explodes after it leaves the factory?”
Flipping to the last page, Little Peach answered, “The Transcendence Group and General Security Administration will pay huge compensation to you.”
Chen Yu: “…”
“Wow, so many zeroes. That’s a lot of money.” Storing the manual away, Little Peach earnestly said, “So, you don’t have to worry at all.”
“I’m even more worried now.”
Following this, Chen Yu called up the Interstellar Portal’s console and looked at the energy display. Nodding, he said, “The battery is recharged. The installation was successful. I’ll head to the toilet first. Make an announcement before the live broadcast. Also, make sure to store the portal’s manual in a safe location. We’ll still need it in the future.”
“Okay.”
Patting the dust off his b.u.t.t, Chen Yu walked out of his bedroom.
Currently, Chen Erke was the only one in the living room, and she was drawing with her crayons.
“Second Eldest, where are your sisters?”
“They went shopping together with mom. They said something about stocking up on New Year’s goods and candies,” Chen Erke said without lifting her head.
“Why didn’t you go together?”
“It’s so cold outside. Also, isn’t it better to enjoy the work of others?”
“…Reasonable.”
“I need to help carry things and squeeze through crowds as well if I follow.” Shrugging, Chen Erke concluded, “Only a fool would go.”
“Where’s the dog?” Chen Yu asked after scanning the living room. “Did the dog follow them as well?”
“Don’t know. I haven’t seen it for quite some time.” Brandishing the crayon she held, Chen Erke irritably said, “Brother, stop disturbing me from drawing!”
After raising a middle finger at Chen Erke, Chen Yu clicked his tongue and walked to the bathroom. When he opened the toilet lid and was about to urinate, he suddenly smelled a hint of cigarette smoke.
“Huh?”
Squinting his eyes, he sniffed around and verified that his nose wasn’t playing tricks on him. “There’s indeed the smell of smoke.”
After urinating and flushing the toilet, Chen Yu faintly guessed what was going on. Closing the sliding door, he started tracing the smell of smoke to its source.
“This is…”
Bending down, he found some scattered cigarette ash on the ground. He then stared at a corner of the bathroom.
“Hu…”
He heard the sound of someone puffing smoke.
“…”
After remaining silent for some time, Chen Yu reached out with his trembling hand. To his surprise, his hand actually came into contact with something solid in mid-air…
“What the?!”
Chen Yu grabbed onto the invisible object and pulled. And as he pulled the Invisibility Cloak, he also exposed the husky’s figure. Currently, the husky was holding onto a cigarette while staring at him in a daze.
Chen Yu: “…”
The husky: “…”