When Si Nuo heard Guan Xingchen declare that the starting bid for a single painting was 5 million, his entire system felt a bit unstable. Unfortunately, the expressions on the faces of the other three men were exceptionally solemn.
It was glaringly obvious that even if he tried to say something at this point, these people wouldn’t listen to a single word. When the bidding price broke past 5 million and climbed into the 6 million range, an intense sense of unreality still lingered in Si Nuo’s heart. But the absolute second it crossed the 8 million threshold, Si Nuo felt himself go entirely numb.
Whatever, let them do what they want.
The final closing price stopped at a staggering 13 million, successfully won by the Adjutant.
Guan Xingchen turned his gaze back to look at the youth beside him, his eyes carrying a trace of a warm smile. “In front of your paintings, genetic medication is genuinely not worth mentioning.”
Si Nuo: “……”
If we’re selling paintings this way, then it really is not worth mentioning QAQ.
The Adjutant was practically beside himself with joy. “Your Excellency Si Nuo, I will transfer the funds to your account immediately after this!”
The other three men stared longingly at the Adjutant, pleading, “Before you take this painting away, can you let us look at it just one more time?”
The Adjutant grinned, arching his eyebrows at the two of them with an exceptionally punchable, smug expression.
Guan Xingchen looked at the youth standing off to the side, who was smiling softly as he watched the three men bicker. He lowered his voice and murmured, “Let me walk you back. It’s getting late.”
Si Nuo was already eager to make his departure. Hearing this, he nodded, “Alright.”
Seeing that Si Nuo was preparing to leave, the three men tactfully refrained from speaking further. However, the moment Guan Xingchen and Si Nuo stepped out of the apartment complex, one of them couldn’t resist speaking up.
“Do you think we could commission a painting directly from Your Excellency Si Nuo?”
The Adjutant replied, “Why didn’t you ask just now?”
“His Highness was right there! I didn’t have the courage!”
“I feel like even if you had mentioned it then, His Highness wouldn’t have minded. Your Excellency Si Nuo is clearly strapped for cash right now, and His Highness wanted to give him money but found it awkward to say directly.”
“Does that mean I completely missed my chance?”
……
Stepping out of the apartment building, Si Nuo turned to the massive man beside him. “You don’t need to walk me back. The second I step outside, I’ll be right at the school.”
The coordinates where they lived were incredibly close; there was absolutely no logical requirement to constantly escort each other back and forth.
“I’ll escort you just to the perimeter of the campus. It happens to match my schedule for a casual stroll.”
Hearing this, Si Nuo dropped any further protests and followed Guan Xingchen toward the exit. As they neared the edge of the campus gates, Si Nuo ultimately couldn’t restrain himself from speaking up: “That painting… it really isn’t worth that much currency…”
Guan Xingchen turned his gaze back to look at the youth, who looked heavily like he was holding back further words. “It is worth it. Your artwork is not only worth this specific sum; it is capable of commanding far more. It is priceless. Therefore, Si Nuo, do not harbor any internal friction or feel guilty about accepting this fortune. This is all standard compensation earned by your own capabilities.”
Si Nuo lowered his eyes as he absorbed Guan Xingchen’s words. He was internally very aware that these military elites weren’t aggressively purchasing his work because of how flawless his artistic technique was. They were doing it exclusively because his paintings possessed the miraculous effect of healing mental mania and psychological disorder.
Though it felt slightly melancholic that his art wasn’t being appreciated for its pure aesthetic value, being able to deliver salvation to those suffering through the agony of mental mania was inherently a profound, beautiful thing.
“Thank you.”
Si Nuo lifted his gaze, flashing a soft smile to transmit his gratitude to Guan Xingchen. He computed it very clearly the sole reason Guan Xingchen had anchored the baseline bid at 5 million today was to explicitly demonstrate to him that premium assets like genetic medication were easily within his structural reach.
Suddenly, Guan Xingchen spoke: “Si Nuo.”
Si Nuo blinked, a trace of surprise flashing across his eyes. “Hmm?”
Guan Xingchen: “Can I have a hug?”
Si Nuo froze, completely blindsided by such a request from Guan Xingchen.
It was the type of demand that triggered a localized wave of sheer bashfulness, yet it simultaneously fell entirely outside the boundaries of something he could actively reject.
Nodding softly, he closed the physical distance by two steps toward Guan Xingchen. Fighting through his intense shyness, he opened his arms.
Guan Xingchen extended his massive arms, smoothly pulling the youth straight into his embrace. The boy’s physical frame was just as delicate and fragile as it appeared; the absolute second he settled into his chest, he felt so fragile that Guan Xingchen didn’t dare deploy even a fraction of his true physical force.
After being held for an extended duration, Si Nuo began to process that the localized atmosphere was shifting into something slightly intense. He could faintly sense that the guard units standing watch at the campus gates were actively locking their visual sensors straight onto their coordinates.
“Um… is it acceptable to release me now?” We’ve literally been hugging for an eternity.
Si Nuo whispered the reminder softly right against Guan Xingchen’s ear.
Processing the clear wave of unnatural bashfulness vibrating through the youth’s voice in his arms, a deep smile bloomed within Guan Xingchen’s eyes. Yet, he declined to execute an immediate release protocol, merely letting out a low murmur: “Mm.”
Hearing his vocal confirmation, Si Nuo patiently waited for the man to open his arms. Instead, he sat through an extended buffer window where the man remained entirely stationary. Just as he was about to articulate, “Don’t just say ‘mm’ and do nothing, hurry up and let go,” the man finally uncoupled the embrace. “Go on. Let me watch you head inside.”
Si Nuo immediately scrambled back half a step to establish a safety buffer. “No need! I can navigate the remaining distance entirely on my own. It’s just a tiny stretch of path, there’s zero requirement for an escort. Bye-bye, I’m taking my leave first!”
Leaving zero window for Guan Xingchen to transmit a response, he bypassed his frame and launched into an immediate sprint.
However, the dark crimson flush completely saturating the skin of his ears entirely failed to evade Guan Xingchen’s tracking sensors.
The corners of the man’s mouth involuntarily arched upward. He truly behaves exactly like a startled, hyper-sensitive giant rabbit.
Throughout his transit back to the dorm, Si Nuo’s cardiac engine maintained an exceptionally high velocity. It wasn’t merely due to the kinetic exertion of sprinting, there was concurrently…
The absolute second Zhang Yu stepped inside from the corridor, he audited Si Nuo sitting rigidly on the edge of the mattress, tightly clamping a palm over his chest. “You’ve returned? What took your system so long to process that loop? What’s going on with your heart? Are you logging a physical discomfort spike?”
Hit with a rapid-fire sequence of diagnostic inquiries, Si Nuo lowered his palm. “The kinetic intensity of my sprint just now was likely slightly elevated, causing my heart rate to spike. It’s nothing.”
He was far too bashful to log the authentic data log stating that the excessive duration of the embrace had driven his system into absolute, pure panic!
Zhang Yu harbored zero suspicion regarding the explanation. After all, Si Nuo’s ultra-fragile, paper-thin physical chassis was notoriously incompatible with any athletic strain. “What specific objective did those elites have when they summoned you? You have zero idea the absolute second you evacuated today, the entire classroom started projecting data models that you were secretly executing some high-tier illegal operations!”
Reaching the end of his statement, Zhang Yu couldn’t resist rolling his eyes into the stratosphere.
Amused by his roommate’s dramatic facial expressions, Si Nuo softly mapped out the details of the Adjutant locating his sector earlier today.
The moment he finished absorbing Si Nuo’s data dump, Zhang Yu’s interest levels instantly surged to absolute maximum capacity. “So, your system has officially been flagged by the top tier of the government hierarchy?! What was the Prince’s baseline stance?”
“He stated that their research divisions would likely require a sequence of diagnostic studies on my profile, and hoped I would deploy maximum cooperation. Honestly, my own system is profoundly curious regarding the mechanics of my capability.” After all, his current database regarding his own power merely retained a highly generalized macro outline. As for the precise technical loop explaining why his psychological healing forces manifested explicitly through physical paint mediums, he had yet to decode the baseline source.
He genuinely required the intervention of specialized, elite professionals to provide structural clarity.
Furthermore, his internal status logs indicated that his capability had apparently just executed a massive system upgrade.
It had transitioned smoothly from its historical A-to-S boundary straight into absolute SS-grade. Why did this upgrade sequence trigger? What specific parameters must be fulfilled to authorize subsequent evolutions? Every single one of these complex queries required empirical research to yield clean answers.
If he attempted to map out these data fields entirely as a solitary unit, it would mathematically consume an astronomical amount of time.
“This is highly optimal. Now that they computed your absolute strategic value, they won’t dare downscale their respect metrics when interfacing with your profile.” Zhang Yu wore an expression that intensely broadcasted his constant anxiety over Si Nuo being pushed around. “The absolute millisecond your system achieves global fame, let’s see what pathetic text streams Ren Ju tries to broadcast then!”
Si Nuo sustained the dialogue with Zhang Yu for a brief duration until his internal emotional processors fully stabilized. He subsequently rose to execute his hygiene protocols and prepare for his sleep cycle.
Initially, he harbored a minor concern that the sheer volume of high-intensity anomalies manifesting today would block his system from entering a restful sleep state. Ultimately, the data proved the exact opposite not only did he successfully enter deep sleep, but his core concurrently initialized a vivid dream sequence.
In this specific iteration, the dream landscape no longer arrayed itself within the pristine architecture of the Royal Palace. Instead, it manifested as a pitch-black bedroom lit exclusively by a bleak stream of raw moonlight. The heavy window curtains were billowing and distorted by a violent wind current. The entity occupying the mattress was continuously twisting and writhing in violent, agonizing convulsions. It looked to be enduring an absolute apex tier of unadulterated physical torment, accompanied by the faint, muffled sounds of weeping and intense muscular spasms.
“Kill me.”
“I beg of you… deploy an immediate termination protocol against my life.”
Si Nuo finally managed to capture the precise audio signals discharging from the entity’s oral tract. Just as he was struggling to compute who these desperate pleas were being broadcasted to, the figure on the mattress suddenly snapped into a rigid, seated posture.
The face that had historically remained entirely submerged in the absolute void of darkness was instantly thrust into the stark radiation of the moonlight revealing a forehead completely mapping a horrific cross-hatch of pulsing, distended blue veins, right beneath which a pair of wildly bulging, hyper-dilated eyes stared monstrously wide into the empty room…