Twilight Knows Not

"Xiaoqing!"

Lin Xiaoyou put her hands on her hips, her small round face turning stern as she pointed toward the empty corner of the living area!

"Go kneel over there right now!"

"You don't get up until I say so!"

Xiaoqing was still leaning against the wall. Hearing this, her eyes widened in shock!

"I..."

Her expression froze completely!

"B-but Master...!"

She subconsciously glanced at Fang Qi.

"...these two are still here!"

Xiaoqing suddenly raised her hand and pointed at him and Liguang, her tone full of dissatisfaction and vigilance.

"I have to protect you, Master! Who knows if they might...!"

"Xiaoqing."

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head, her voice becoming subtly sweeter by several degrees as she looked at Xiaoqing with a beaming smile.

"Do you think that I, your master..."

She took a step forward, bent down slightly, and leaned close to Xiaoqing's face, which was written all over with reluctance.

"...don't mean what I say?"

Xiaoqing's lips immediately pressed tightly together.

Then she fiercely glared at Fang Qi and Liguang again! That look seemed as if she wanted to eat them alive!

Fang Qi was speechless.

Glaring at me again?

Whatever, I'm used to it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the silver-haired girl beside him.

Liguang was tilting her small head, her crimson eyes flickering slightly.

She seemed to be enjoying the "master-servant confrontation" unfolding before her, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Hmm.

My wife isn't angry either; she's just watching the show.

Thump, thump, thump!

Heavy footsteps.

Xiaoqing walked step by step toward that corner, every step filled with spiteful force!

Reaching the corner, she abruptly bent her knees—

Thud!

Her knees smashed hard against the ground!

Hiss...

Fang Qi's eye twitched slightly.

The sound was so loud that he felt the pain for her...

Xiaoqing knelt straight up in the corner, her back to everyone, the hood of her light gray sweatshirt hanging behind her head.

Her hands were clenched into fists, clearly sulking!

Fang Qi touched his nose.

Being punished to kneel by her own master in front of "outsiders" was a blow to her pride, but she didn't dare disobey the order...

Xiaoyou, this way of changing the subject...

Isn't it a bit disrespectful to your Xiaoqing?

He looked at Lin Xiaoyou, wanting to say some polite words to ease the awkwardness...

But he paused slightly.

Because Lin Xiaoyou was currently looking at Xiaoqing's kneeling figure in the corner.

Her almond eyes were a bit unfocused, and the smile on her face had faded significantly.

She even took a half-step toward Xiaoqing.

...Huh?

What's going on?

Feeling sorry for her right after punishing her?

"Lin Xiaoyou?"

He called out tentatively.

Lin Xiaoyou's eyelashes fluttered violently!

Then she quickly turned her head back, her signature bright smile hanging on her small round face once again!

Her almond eyes curved into crescents, the corners of her mouth turned up high!

"Ah, ah~ It's nothing, it's nothing!"

She waved her hand, her tone returning to that brisk and playful tune.

"Let's go! I'll take you on a tour of this floor!"

She waved her hand behind her, then put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and lifted her chin at Fang Qi and Liguang.

"Let's ignore her and just let her kneel there! Who told her to be disobedient just now~"

The speed at which she changed her expression left him slightly stunned.

However...

Fang Qi's heart stirred slightly.

It seemed like she wasn't very willing to punish Xiaoqing either?

So...

Could she be trying to send Xiaoqing away?

To show her sincerity?

Or was it for...

"Let's go, let's go!"

Lin Xiaoyou had already skipped a few steps forward, turning her head to wave at the two, her ponytail swaying behind her head.

"Don't dawdle, I'll show you my secret base!"

Fang Qi took one last glance at the light gray figure kneeling sulkily in the corner.

Then he nodded. "Okay."

Since Lin Xiaoyou was going to lead the way and give them a tour...

Then it would be impolite for him to refuse.

He stepped forward and followed.

The silver-haired girl beside him also followed.

She seemed a lot more well-behaved.

At this moment, she quietly followed half a step behind him, her hands folded in front of her lower abdomen.

Her footsteps were light, and her expression was docile, like a gentle and obedient little maid.

In her amber eyes...

That familiar faint blue light was faintly visible!

...Oh?

Is she...

"This way is the material storage area!"

Lin Xiaoyou walked in front, pointing things out.

She pushed open a half-open metal door.

A somewhat empty room, with metal shelves lined up against the wall, but the shelves were completely empty, with nothing on them.

"Uh..."

Lin Xiaoyou scratched the back of her head, a trace of embarrassment flashing across her small round face.

"This is basically all empty. Actually, when we first got here, there were some pretty valuable things on them, but..."

She reached out and patted an empty shelf, smiling playfully:

"I sold them all, hehe! Anyway, they were of no use to me and Xiaoqing!"

Fang Qi was speechless.

Hmm, it seems you are truly poor.

"Go, go, go, there's nothing to see here!"

Lin Xiaoyou led them around another corner and pushed open another door.

"And over here is the basic laboratory!"

This room wasn't as empty.

Seven or eight long lab benches were arranged side by side.

Several old terminal computers sat quietly in the corners of the lab benches.

The monitors were still the thick, old-fashioned type, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the computer cases. It looked like no one had touched them in a long time.

"...Are these computers still usable?"

Fang Qi couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, yes!"

Lin Xiaoyou immediately leaned over and reached out to press the power button of that computer with a "click".

No response.

She pressed it again.

Still no response.

"...Uh."

A trace of awkwardness flashed across her small round face.

"Wait a minute!"

Then she bent down and got under the lab bench, fiddled around for a bit, then came back out and pressed the power button again.

"Beep—"

The computer finally let out a low beep, and the screen lit up, displaying an old system interface.

"See, it works!"

Lin Xiaoyou proudly patted the monitor, almost knocking it off the lab bench, and quickly reached out to steady it.

Fang Qi was speechless.

This place really has been abandoned for a long time.

However...

There's actually still electricity?

Liguang had been following behind him, surprisingly well-behaved, just quietly watching everything in front of her.

The moment he looked over, a faint blue light seemed to flash again in her amber eyes.

She blinked at him.

Fang Qi gently squeezed her hand.

Even though her emotions weren't that agitated... her true core, the "restriction", had loosened again.

He didn't quite understand why, but...

It was a good thing after all!

It meant this place was very important!

"Let's go, let's go! There's nothing more to see here!"

Lin Xiaoyou clapped the dust off her hands and skipped toward the outside of the lab again.

"I'll take you to see a truly interesting place!"

She walked to the door, turned her head back, and blinked at Fang Qi.

"What we're going to see next is much more awesome than these broken computers~"

Fang Qi nodded slightly and followed.

Liguang continued to quietly follow behind him.

The three of them walked through the living area, through the empty material room and the old basic laboratory.

All the way toward the deepest part of this floor.

...

"We're here!"

Lin Xiaoyou stood with her hands on her hips, her chin tilted up as she looked ahead.

Fang Qi saw it too.

At the end of the corridor...

Was another door?

The silver-gray metal surface gleamed with a cold light.

This door looked even more heavily secured than the one at the entrance.

However...

On the side of the door, several metal panels had been pried off, revealing a dense tangle of wiring inside.

Red, blue, yellow, and green wires of all colors were twisted together, connecting to a...

Fang Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.

A bright yellow laptop?

The laptop was quite compact, with a thirteen or fourteen-inch screen, and its casing was covered in various cartoon stickers.

Fang Qi immediately spotted a familiar sticker.

A cat rolling its eyes.

Its expression was just as punchable as Lin Xiaoyou's!

The laptop screen was still on, displaying lines of code that Fang Qi couldn't understand.

"It's been brute-forced."

The silver-haired girl behind him explained softly at just the right moment.

"And the bypass was successful."

Oh...?

Fang Qi turned to look at Lin Xiaoyou.

Lin Xiaoyou lifted her chin.

"As for this door..."

She reached out and knocked on the heavy alloy door, producing a dull thud.

"It's the entrance to level B2!"

"You can't get in just by swiping a card. It requires both a keycard and biometric identification, dual verification."

As she spoke, she pulled the white keycard bearing the name Lin Zhouyuan from her pocket and inserted it into the only intact card slot.

Beep.

A short electronic chime sounded.

The small screens on the panel lit up, displaying several lines of parameters that Fang Qi couldn't decipher.

"But don't worry!"

Lin Xiaoyou looked back with a smile. "I've already cracked it!"

She crouched down, pulled the bright yellow laptop toward her, and started clacking away at the keys.

Her fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard, and her playful expression faded into something more serious.

Fang Qi pursed his lips.

When Lin Xiaoyou got serious, she actually wasn't quite so punchable.

"Let me tell you guys..."

She explained to Fang Qi and Liguang without looking up, still typing away.

"The biometric lock on this door took Xiaoqing and me a really, really long time to brute-force!"

"Just taking the casing off took us two days, and the wiring inside is insanely complicated!"

She sounded like she was complaining, but there was a faint hint of pride in her voice.

Two days to take off a casing...?

Why did that feel a bit off?

Fang Qi furrowed his brows slightly as he watched her crouching figure.

Oh, right...

"Wouldn't Twilight help you?"

He voiced his confusion.

Twilight had so many advanced smart machines; taking apart a door should be a piece of cake, right?

Lin Xiaoyou's fingers paused for a fraction of a second...

Then she resumed typing.

Even faster than before!

"Nope!"

She turned around, flashed Fang Qi a smile, and then looked back at the screen, continuing to type.

"I told you, this is Xiaoqing's and my secret base~"

"Twilight doesn't know about it!"

Fang Qi was slightly taken aback.

Huh?

Lin Xiaoyou's voice remained cheerful.

"Before, only Xiaoqing and I knew about this place."

"But now..."

She looked back with another smile.

"You guys know too, so now there are four of us!"

Saying that, she winked at Fang Qi.

"How about that? I'm showing plenty of sincerity, aren't I!"

Fang Qi watched as she turned back around and kept typing.

His bewilderment deepened.

Wait...

Twilight actually didn't know about this place?

Lin Xiaoyou had been hiding the existence of this underground research facility from Twilight?

Huh?

"Done!"

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly cheered, interrupting Fang Qi's train of thought as she slammed her finger down on the Enter key!

Smack!

Beep—Verification successful.

Hiss—

After a low pneumatic hiss...

The heavy alloy door slowly slid open to both sides.

She put down the laptop, jumped to her feet, and turned around with a grin:

"Welcome to level B2!"

"This is the real core area!"