Chapter Sixty-Three: An Unexpected Encounter

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Just received notice: there will be a power outage tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.! So the update will come after 2 p.m.!

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Sun Xuelin dragged A’xiu in a hurry toward the commotion.

Ye Chong frowned. He thoroughly disliked such occasions; the environment was too noisy, the crowd too dense—unintentionally restricting his range of movement and making it much harder to keep track of his surroundings.

Still, despite his frown, Ye Chong squeezed in after the two girls.

In the middle of the gathering, an old man had been knocked to the ground, his belongings scattered everywhere. A middle-aged man was cursing him loudly, “You old fool, are you blind? My suit is worth five gold diamonds! How are you going to pay for it if it’s ruined? Look, now it's all wrinkled—just the maintenance alone will cost me hundreds of diamonds!” He shot a scornful glance at the old man on the ground, “Look at you, with your shabby appearance—clearly you can't afford it. Hmph, guess I’m just unlucky today. What a useless old coot!” His manner was arrogant and overbearing.

Sun Xuelin couldn’t hold back. She immediately jumped out, pointing angrily at the man, “You’ve gone too far, knocking down an elderly man and still spouting such nonsense! It’s infuriating! If you keep talking like that, watch out or I’ll beat you up! Hmph!” She rolled up her sleeves, looking ready for a fight.

A’xiu hurried to the old man, struggling to help him up. She gently dusted off his clothes and asked softly, “Grandpa, are you alright?” The old man replied gratefully, “I’m fine, little girl, thank you!” A’xiu gave a gentle smile.

“Oh, so a little brat like you dares to lecture me? Didn’t your family teach you any manners? Hmph, you must be no good! Let me tell you—” The man snapped.

Sun Xuelin was so angry that veins stood out on her forehead, her fists clenching tighter and tighter. A’xiu quickly stepped forward to restrain her before she lost control—getting into a fight and ending up at the police station would be a whole different matter.

The middle-aged man, seeing Sun Xuelin hesitate, grew even more pleased with himself, “Heh heh… little girl, let me tell you—”

Their standoff did not draw Ye Chong’s attention in the slightest; his focus was wholly absorbed by a small object on the ground—a miniature holographic projection cube.

Calling it a cube might be misleading, as it was merely five centimeters on each side, delicate and compact. Its pale violet surface bore two interwoven spiral spindle patterns, with two slightly concave faces. At the very top was a tiny aperture, from which colored beams of light projected, converging into a semi-transparent human figure—clothing and expression vivid and lifelike—a miniature version of the elderly man who had just been knocked over. Holographic cubes were typically used to record certain scenes, a bit pricier than chips, generally kept as souvenirs.

Yet what truly captured Ye Chong’s attention was not the cube itself but the report being delivered by the miniature old man.

“For the engine design of the mecha, I use the method of combining the Fairfa ring structure with short-pulse photonic circuitry. Here, I must mention a young friend I met in the virtual net—it was his suggestion that inspired me…”

This was clearly an academic presentation at a professional conference.

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Combining the Fairfa ring with short-pulse photonic circuitry—wasn’t this the very method that Grandpa Xu from ‘Aurora’ had been researching? He had once explained it to Ye Chong in minute detail. Could this be Grandpa Xu? Ye Chong couldn’t help but scrutinize the old man before him; upon closer inspection, he indeed noticed a resemblance.

Ye Chong walked over and probed, “Grandpa Xu?”

The old man was clearly startled, “And you are?” Most people who knew him called him Professor Xu or Old Xu. Only relatives or the grandchildren of old friends ever addressed him as Grandpa Xu. Yet this young man was a stranger… Could he be the grandson of a friend?

Ye Chong saw the old man’s expression and knew his guess was correct—he couldn’t help but grow excited. “Grandpa Xu, it’s me, little Y, yc—do you remember? Little Y from ‘Aurora’!”

yc! He was yc! Sun Xuelin, who had been furious a moment ago, fell instantly silent; A’xiu covered her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief. The two of them froze, exchanging a glance, barely able to contain their delight. All their attention was on Grandpa Xu, so Ye Chong didn’t notice their reaction. But even if he had, he would never have imagined it had anything to do with him.

Grandpa Xu was also stunned, then grabbed Ye Chong’s hand in excitement. “Little Y? Are you little Y? Wonderful! Wonderful!” He was so moved he could hardly speak coherently. Ye Chong gave a shy smile. Seeing that familiar expression, Grandpa Xu was now certain beyond any doubt.

Meanwhile, Sun Xuelin and A’xiu looked as though they had seen a ghost. They could never have imagined seeing such an expression on Ye Chong’s face. The looks on their faces outstripped even Ye Chong’s.

The middle-aged man, noticing their familiarity with the old man, rolled his eyes and adopted a ruffian’s tone. “Hey, old man, you dirtied my suit—that’s high-end stuff worth five gold diamonds. Pay up!”

Ye Chong ignored him completely and supported Grandpa Xu. “Grandpa Xu, let’s go!” Grandpa Xu nodded. “Yes, let’s go.” Sun Xuelin and A’xiu helped him from the other side.

The man, seeing they wanted to leave, reached for Ye Chong. “No, you can’t just walk away. Pay me first! I’ll have you know, I’m an important man—”

The moment his hand touched Ye Chong, Ye Chong moved.

With a slight shift of his body, Ye Chong smoothly locked the man’s neck in a chokehold. He was just about to strike when Mu’s urgent voice sounded in his mind, “No! Ye!”

Ye Chong paused. Fortunately, his control over his strength had reached a precise level—otherwise, this man would have been dead.

Ye Chong asked, puzzled, “Mu, what is it?”

Mu replied, “According to available data, killing someone in public violates local law and would result in extremely severe pursuit.”

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“Oh, law? What’s that?”

“Rules that humans have made for their own society.”

“Oh, but what does that have to do with me? I still don’t really get it.”

“That’s a complicated question, but now isn’t the time for that discussion!”

“Alright, we’ll talk about it later. What should I do now?”

“According to available data, intimidation is an effective option. Based on popular psychology, your opponent is clearly frightened. A certain degree of intimidation offers over a 92% chance of resolving this matter.”

“Intimidation, is it? Let’s give it a try!”

Those around them saw only a blur as Ye Chong’s right hand locked onto the man’s throat. The man gasped, mouth open, struggling desperately, while the crowd let out a collective cry of alarm.

Ye Chong whispered calmly into the man’s ear, “If you keep harassing us, I’ll kill you.” His tone was utterly flat, as if stating a simple fact.

With a steady expression, Ye Chong released him and returned to Grandpa Xu’s side.

Clutching his throat, the man coughed violently, his face contorted in pain, unable to utter a word. Terror filled his eyes. That sentence had swept over him like a winter wind, leaving him shivering as though naked in the cold.

Suddenly, the crowd stirred. Someone shouted, “The police are here!” “Thank goodness, the police have finally arrived!”