Ch 25: Xu Jiayin’s Conjecture

Retrieving his thoughts, Li Fan immediately entered the Other Space and saw Ranlin had redecorated the Control Room. There was a sofa, carpet, hanging basket, and snacks scattered all over the floor.

She was lying on a lazy sofa, watching a TV series on a panoramic projection.

She had also changed out of her mismatched combat suit. She was wearing a form-fitting shirt, a bodycon floral dress, and chopsticks legs with flats; she was simply breathtaking.

Li Fan looked at the opened snacks and asked in surprise:

“Can you eat?”

“No, but I can collect odor molecules through the sensory system, then form data and transmit it into my brain. It’s no different from eating.”

“That’s clever. By the way, can that fragment energy activate other laboratories?”

After hearing this, Ranlin withdrew her gaze from the television, gave Li Fan a big eye roll, and said:

“With just such a small piece, you want to open a laboratory? In your words—you’re dreaming.”

Li Fan was speechless, and said with a wry smile:

“Where did you learn that catchphrase?”

“Douyin. After synchronization, I can directly browse any of your software. Even if your internet goes down, I can create my own network system. After all, I have stored all your network data here.”

Li Fan was once again slightly shocked.

However, he was more concerned about what help that fragment could provide, and asked:

“Is the energy of that fragment useless?”

Ranlin called up a panoramic view of the Materials Laboratory from the main control panel, pointed to two factory-like buildings the size of two basketball courts on either side, and said:

“Of course it’s useful. You can choose to activate one of these two auxiliary functions next to the Materials Laboratory.”

“What are the functions of these two?”

“One is a recycling center, as the name suggests, it refines waste materials. For example, scrap cars, glass, rubber, graphite—in short, all kinds of elemental waste materials will be decomposed into different materials and supplied to the Materials Laboratory for refinement and evolution.

The other is an ore refinery, which is specifically for extracting rare elements from ore. Which one do you want to open?”

Li Fan smiled slightly at Ranlin and said:

“Haven’t you already chosen for me?”

After hearing this, Ranlin’s eyes flickered, and she said with a pout:

“You can see through my little thoughts. I’m just afraid you’ll choose wrong, and we don’t know when we’ll find the next crystal. Under the current circumstances, the recycling center is the optimal solution. You don’t have mineral resources, so it’s not very useful at the moment.”

“Okay, I understand. In the future, for this kind of choice, just give me the answer, don’t give me options. I trust you.”

Ranlin stared at Li Fan for a long time, then pouted and said:

“Even when I’m practically right next to you, you can still pretend to be asleep. It shows that you are a very suspicious person, and I don’t want to be suspected in our future interactions.”

Li Fan shook his head helplessly. Having a peeping tom in his head really meant he had no privacy.

“Don’t worry, I have a rough idea of where the next crystal is.”

Ranlin sat up straight and asked anxiously:

“Where?”

“Bashu. This crystal fragment came from Bashu, so there must be a complete one there.”

“Then let’s go find it quickly. Once we find it, I can unlock part of my memory, and I can find out where my father went and who I really am.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not time yet. We’ll go to Bashu after the virus outbreak. I also need to save someone.”

“Save someone? Who?”

Li Fan showed a look of reminiscence, smiled knowingly, and said:

“A headstrong little girl.”

Ranlin said with a look of disdain:

“Tch, another silly girl, huh?”

After saying that, she ignored Li Fan and focused on watching the TV series while activating the recycling center’s charging.

Li Fan, who was originally going to go to sleep, slapped his forehead and said:

“I almost forgot, can this space store liquids directly?”

“Yes, this space is shapeable. Put everything you want to store in here, and I’ll arrange it neatly for you.”

Li Fan looked at Ranlin, who was engrossed in the TV series, shook his head helplessly, and said:

“Watch less mindless Korean dramas. I’m going to bed. Good night.”

“Good night.”

After his consciousness returned, Li Fan fell asleep soon after.

The next morning, Xu Jiayin returned to the villa and found that only the maid was making breakfast on the first floor. His daughter was not there, so he was about to go upstairs to check on her when he saw Xu Siyu, wearing pajamas and rubbing her eyes, walking down.

Seeing that his daughter had returned to her original appearance, he couldn’t help but laugh happily:

“Hahaha, this is what a girl should look like! Did you have fun yesterday?”

Xu Siyu patted her sore waist and casually said:

“It was fun, but Brother Li Fan tossed and turned me quite a bit last night.”

Xu Jiayin’s smile slowly froze on his face. His brain kept echoing:

Tossed and turned quite a bit last night.

Xu Siyu didn’t notice her father’s expression and said to the maid:

“Aunt Liu, please make some more porridge. Brother Li Fan drank too much last night, some porridge will be good for his stomach.”

Xu Jiayin wailed in despair:

“It’s over, I was unwittingly cuckolded by that little rascal.”

Although Xu Jiayin liked Li Fan very much and was considering letting the two of them try to develop a relationship.

But as a father, suddenly hearing that the two of them spent the night together, he felt a mix of emotions.

Xu Siyu saw her father’s liver-colored expression and knew he had misunderstood, so she pouted and said:

“What are you thinking? Last night, Brother Li Fan accompanied me to a classmate reunion, and he drank too much, so I took him home, and we slept separately.”

Xu Jiayin saw his daughter’s unfriendly expression and chuckled:

“Phew, thankfully, the last line of defense is still there. Hehe, Dad doesn’t object to you dating Li Fan, but girls need to know their limits.”

Xu Siyu blushed and said angrily:

“Don’t talk nonsense, Brother Li Fan and I are not dating.”

As a father, Xu Jiayin could see his daughter’s little thoughts, but he didn’t point it out.

“You are my only daughter, as long as you’re happy, nothing else matters. Even if he has nothing.”

“Oh, you’re so annoying.”

Xu Siyu didn’t want to continue discussing this topic with her father. Suddenly remembering something Li Fan had asked her to do yesterday, she said to Xu Jiayin:

“By the way, Dad, Brother Li Fan specifically told me yesterday to stock up on supplies, especially water sources. He also told us to stay home starting the day after tomorrow. He also said that if we can’t hold on in the end, we should go to his base and look for him.”

After hearing this, Xu Jiayin frowned and a serious expression appeared on his face.

In fact, during this period of time, he had a premonition that something big was going to happen. First, there was the crimson sky, followed by a rapid drop in temperature, and then a rapid rise in temperature in less than two days.

Today is October 3rd. Normally, it should be autumn, and Chang’an Prefecture is located in the north, so the temperature should be around 10 degrees Celsius.

But today, the temperature has reached 31℃. And from the looks of it, the temperature will continue to rise.

“Didn’t Li Fan tell you why?”

“He didn’t say, he just told us to stock up on supplies and not go out.”

Xu Jiayin, being an old hand in the martial world, had a very sharp mind. He had investigated Li Fan’s media base, and combined with the supplies he purchased from several suppliers, he was skeptical about the online sales claim.

Considering Li Fan’s affiliation with Xi’an University of Technology, that school is backed by the State, and they definitely have access to more confidential information than someone in business like himself.

He then said to Xu Siyu:

“Then Dad will accompany you to collect supplies today, it’s better to be prepared. I guess Li Fan must have heard something, but it’s inconvenient to reveal it.”

“Dad, you also believe Brother Li Fan’s words?”

Xu Jiayin nodded and said:

“I have a premonition that something might really happen. If there’s another city lockdown like a few years ago, it will be troublesome. Let’s prepare more supplies, just in case.”

Xu Siyu happily put her arm around Xu Jiayin’s arm and said coquettishly:

“You’re finally willing to put down your work and spend time with me.”

Xu Jiayin smiled and patted his daughter’s head, looking towards the second-floor guest room, his eyes full of worry.