Chapter 91 - 38: "Celestial Killer Lone Star

Chapter 91: Chapter 38: "Celestial Killer Lone Star

Yu Xian’s mouth fell open.

This was just... reckless.

’This Wen Xiao... did she really take two audio files from completely different sources and piece them together like building blocks?’

’Using the "engine" from the "Midnight Bus" file circulating on the Black Market to drive the official TDI "core"?’

’It’s like haphazardly shoving the engine of a Wuling Hongguang into the chassis of a Ferrari.’

"After modifying it like that, does it even still work?"

"It does. When I woke up, I had somehow memorized the entire TDI protocol, and..."

Wen Xiao hesitated for a moment, then straightened her fair neck as if preparing to face the executioner’s blade.

"And... I was also thinking, if I replaced the white room part of the original TDI with the scene from the Midnight Bus, maybe I could safely enter the ’bus’..."

Yu Xian froze. ’So, Wen Xiao didn’t just listen to the TDI login key, she’s listened to the "Midnight Bus" file too?’

He took a deep breath, forcing down the anger rising in his chest.

"You even went into the bus?"

"I did..."

Wen Xiao’s gaze shifted evasively, and that unnatural blush crept back onto her cheeks.

"Well... I was thinking, since the original TDI version doesn’t have that ’plug-in patch’ to suppress the MCH neurons, then theoretically, I should have forgotten the dream’s contents after waking up..."

"Should have? So, did you forget or not?" Yu Xian asked coldly.

"I... I forgot most of it."

Wen Xiao scratched her hair awkwardly, her eyes drifting toward the window.

"It’s like a normal dream. I can’t remember most of the details, only that... I think I was on a bus that was swaying back and forth..."

Yu Xian sighed. What was done was done; yelling at her wouldn’t help. He could only try to gather more information based on what had happened.

"What else do you remember? Any suggestive commands? Or anything compulsory?"

"No... no commands," Wen Xiao said, her head bowed.

"It was just... a bus. It was raining outside, but it was warm inside the bus... and then..."

"And then what?"

"And then... there were only two people on the bus," Wen Xiao said, hugging her legs as her head sank lower and lower.

"Who was the other person? Did you know them?" Yu Xian pressed.

"I don’t know them! Not at all! It was just... just some random person whose face I couldn’t see! Right! Just a random person."

Wen Xiao buried her entire face in her knees, her ears bright red. She refused to look up at Yu Xian.

"Ugh, just stop asking! Anyway, that scene definitely draws on some... messy thoughts from the subconscious."

Seeing Wen Xiao’s reaction, Yu Xian was puzzled. But he recalled what the seller had said about the Midnight Bus audio being strange. Wen Xiao had probably dreamt about something she shouldn’t have, or some scene that was too embarrassing to mention.

However, since she had used the original TDI audio as the base—without the third part that suppressed MCH neurons—the "safety lock" should have protected her. Even if she retained some impressions after waking, they would likely be just vague fragments and feelings. She wouldn’t be trapped in it like the others.

"Alright, I won’t ask anymore." Yu Xian stopped pressing her and steered the conversation back on track.

"Since you were able to disassemble and reassemble the audio, it proves our analysis of the file structure was correct. Now that we have this unencrypted ’MCH suppression audio’ source file, can you crack the patch in the third part of the ’Midnight Bus’ file?"

Wen Xiao took a few deep breaths. Although the blush on her ears hadn’t faded, her eyes were clear and focused again.

She took the USB drive, plugged it into the computer, and after Yu Xian gave her the password, her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"As long as I have a sample to compare it with, it should be relatively easy to crack. But it will still take some time. Are... are you going to stay here with me?"

Wen Xiao snuck a glance at Yu Xian, then shook her head, as if lost in thought.

Just as Yu Xian was about to speak, the heavy glass door to the lounge was suddenly thrown open.

"Ha! Caught you!"

A figure in dinosaur pajamas leaped into the room, two messy buns perched atop her head.

Shao Yiyi planted her hands on her hips, her gaze darting back and forth between Yu Xian and Wen Xiao. She had a gossipy, "I knew it" expression on her face.

"Brother Cos! What are you doing here! I was wondering why Xiaoxiao wouldn’t come back to the dorm and insisted on coming to the public lounge to ’study’!"

Shao Yiyi huffed.

"So you were hiding a beauty in a golden house... no, hiding a man! You two, having a secret date behind my back!"

The tension in the air instantly dissipated, replaced by an awkwardness that made Yu Xian’s skin crawl.

As if struck by lightning, Wen Xiao fumbled to lock her computer screen. Her face, which hadn’t even lost its blush, was now as red as a ripe tomato.

"Yi-Yiyi, don’t talk nonsense, we were just..."

"Just what? Discussing academics?"

Shao Yiyi pursed her lips, swaggered into the room, and plopped down on the sofa across from them.

"A lone man and a lone woman, together in one room, exploring academics in a dark little room during a storm like this? I’ve only seen that kind of plot in certain restricted-content novels, you know."

Yu Xian pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a profound sense of helplessness.

’Normally, I would’ve just made an excuse and left. But right now, a life-or-death decryption program is running on that computer, and Wen Xiao is still clutching that important USB drive. I can’t leave. If I overreact now and ask Shao Yiyi to leave, it’ll look like there really is something illicit going on between me and Wen Xiao. More importantly, it might arouse her suspicion. Given her interest in the occult, if she found out we were messing with "killer audio" and "dream code," there’s no telling what kind of earth-shattering trouble she might cause.’