The moment the first call reached her, Pei Yuan’s reflexes kicked in as she stood up and started walking toward the stairs.
She had barely taken half a step before it hit her just how obedient she was being, causing her to freeze mid-stride.
Standing in place for two full seconds, Pei Yuan mentally cursed herself fiercely: You spineless wretch!
Cursing aside, Pei Yuan clenched her fists and pumped herself up:
If being a puppy is what it takes, then I’ll be a puppy. As long as I can steal the Eye of Order, enduring humiliation and playing the puppy for a pretty lady every now and then is a small price to pay!
Clattering up the stairs, she hurried to the second floor.
Cen Zhixu was sitting on the edge of the bed, having changed into a loose turtleneck sweater. Her long hair, still carrying a hint of lingering moisture, draped over her shoulders.
“Officer, what are your orders?”
Pei Yuan asked eagerly.
“Get the wheelchair out first,” Cen Zhixu said. “And then, carry me downstairs.”
Pausing for a moment, she massaged her temple. “Wait, my memory is a bit fuzzy. Where did the little assistant put the wheelchair again…”
Pei Yuan immediately offered: “I’ll go look for it.”
Cen Zhixu shook her head and made a shh gesture, pressing a finger against her lips so that the soft flesh indented slightly.
“Keep it down,” she said softly.
The room fell quiet for a moment, save for the wind blowing past the half-open window, rustling the sheer curtains with a soft, gentle whisper of tranquility.
Cen Zhixu spoke up shortly after: “Under the stairs, in the storage compartment on the left.”
She added as an afterthought: “Remember to place it by the door. Don’t crush my carpet.”
Pei Yuan went downstairs obediently.
She dragged the wheelchair out, parked it neatly by the doorway, and hurried back upstairs.
Bending down to scoop Cen Zhixu up, she was preempted when the other woman raised a hand and hooked it around her neck.
Fingertips grazed the back of her neck before looping over.
Scalding hot.
She pulled her in with a loose grip, narrowing the already negligible distance between them even further.
Pei Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, but her hands moved without hesitation as she supported the woman and lifted her off the edge of the bed.
Her newly bathed body was still warm. Through the sweater, her body heat radiated across Pei Yuan’s forearms, and damp water vapor brushed past her jaw.
Cen Zhixu smelled wonderful.
Warm water, soap, and her natural scent blended together into something clean and soft.
Carrying her downstairs, Pei Yuan couldn’t help asking quietly halfway through: “Officer, your legs… is it because of the temporary mark?”
“No.”
Cen Zhixu rested against her chest, her voice lazy: “I’m tired. I don’t feel like walking.”
Pei Yuan: “…………”
Pei Yuan strongly suspected that Cen Zhixu didn’t need a wheelchair at all.
The main reason she kept making Pei Yuan carry her around wasn’t because she was frail, but simply because she was lazy.
The elevator descended, stopping at the sixty-first floor.
The White Tower’s medical floor.
The little assistant was already waiting outside. The moment she spotted Pei Yuan pushing Cen Zhixu out of the elevator, she puffed up like an angry blowfish on the spot.
Dashing forward in a single stride, she snatched the wheelchair handles away and even raised her foot in a mock kick toward Pei Yuan.
Pei Yuan maintained an honest smile, struck a surrender pose, and sidestepped out of the way with lightning speed.
“Sister Zhixu!” the assistant gnashed her teeth. “Did this bad person bully you? Did she touch you anywhere weird?”
Having been called a mess-maker by Cen Zhixu earlier and now branded a bad person by the assistant, Pei Yuan felt genuinely aggrieved.
She protested her innocence: “How could I bully her? I didn’t even dare speak loudly. The one bullying me the whole time was your Officer!”
The assistant scoffed: “If the Officer were bullying you, would you still be standing here in one piece? You’d have been dragged off to solitary confinement long ago!”
“Alright.” Cen Zhixu gave a light cough, cutting off the bickering pair.
“Xiao Yan, let’s go,” Cen Zhixu said. “There are a lot of examinations to get through. Don’t keep the doctor waiting.”
Snorting in dissatisfaction, the assistant wheeled Cen Zhixu into the exclusive medical zone like a protective mother bird shielding its chick.
Watching the two of them recede into the distance, Pei Yuan turned around and strolled back to her work floor.
She requested a half-day leave from her supervisor and calculated her arrival to sneak back into her workstation right on schedule.
Casting a glance around to confirm everyone was engrossed in their tasks, Pei Yuan dutifully pulled up her working interface.
She maximized the main window to the most prominent spot, then opened a palm-sized browser tucked away behind a tab in the corner to quietly slack off.
Considering the White Tower’s network monitoring, Pei Yuan tossed in a few harmless, silly questions first:
Which positions in the White Tower have the best future? Where can I buy good oranges? Will slacking off at work be detected by the Eye of Order resulting in a pay cut?
Pei Yuan stared at the screen, tapping her fingers against the desk as she sorted through the situation in her mind.
Her current position as a data annotator sat at the absolute fringes of the White Tower, granting zero access to any classified intelligence.
If she wanted to get closer to the Eye of Order, she currently had two options.
First, climb the ladder.
Transfer or get promoted to a more core position, ideally sneaking into the White Tower Research Institute since that was where the Eye of Order truly resided.
Just thinking about that path gave Pei Yuan a headache.
After all, Mole hadn’t spared any complaints about her being a complete and utter computer illiterate.
Whenever technical support was required, Mole had to coax her through communication channels like teaching a toddler how to do homework, step by step:
“Boss, listen to me, don’t rush. Take it slow, click only once at a time.”
“Come on, look at the left side first. See that blue icon? No, the one below it. A little lower. Yes, yes, that’s the one, click it…”
By the time the instructions finished, Mole’s voice was practically hoarse, yet Pei Yuan would still have the nerve to ask calmly: “So should I single-click or double-click?”
Mole: “…”
I’m going to commit murder, I swear I’ll fight you to the death!
Thus, if Pei Yuan actually transferred to a research role, she feared she would just click randomly until the Eye of Order politely invited her over for tea.
That left the second option.
Second, join the White Tower Security Guard Unit.
Pondering this, Pei Yuan typed a few new queries into the search bar:
White Tower transfer procedures, Guard Unit recruitment requirements, transferring from data to field ops, Guard Unit benefits and compensation.
The accidental fall into the mirror lake stunt back then had been an attempt to test the Eye of Order’s response speed and its connection to the security forces.
Observation had confirmed that upon identifying an anomaly, the Eye of Order pushed information to nearby guard unit members through specific channels.
If she could infiltrate the guard unit, even as a bottom-rung field operative, she would definitely gain more opportunities to observe and approach the Eye of Order.
No matter how she looked at it, that beat sitting here day after day drawing boxes around street signs.
However—
Pei Yuan stared at the White Tower Guard Unit’s sprawling list of recruitment requirements numbering at least several hundred clauses, and fell silent.
The guard unit was far harder to enter than she had anticipated.
Basic hand-to-hand combat and physical fitness evaluations were relatively simple, but the real nuisance was the long string of cold-blooded restrictions following them:
Must possess a good social credit record, pass a background check, and submit proof of continuous residence and employment spanning several years.
Restricted to native residents of the White Tower exclusively. Outsiders and temporary pass holders are strictly barred from entering the security apparatus.
Pei Yuan stared at the browser results and heaved a very melancholy sigh.
Sigh, so difficult.
She tapped her desk listlessly, her knuckles producing a faint rhythm: tap, tap, tap.
It was precisely then that Pei Yuan suddenly noticed her surroundings had grown unusually quiet.
…Strange.
The system hadn’t jumped out to mock her, and come to think of it, it seemed like it had been awfully quiet for a long while.
Where had this guy gone? Without it chattering in her ear, it felt rather boring and unaccustomed.
Leaning back in her chair, Pei Yuan mentally called out twice: “System, System?”
The mechanical voice chimed in promptly:
“Host, do you wish to exit Dormant State? If confirmed, please reply with the complete four-character command Exit Dormancy.”
Wait, dormant state?
Pei Yuan wracked her brain for a moment before finally recalling that back when she and Cen Zhixu were getting all clingy and cuddly, a notification chime had indeed sounded in her ear.
Something like Intimate behavior detected, automatically entering dormancy.
Advanced technology was truly something else.
Pei Yuan sighed internally and replied: “Confirmed, exit dormancy.”
“Dormant state has ended.”
The familiar mechanical female voice returned. The system stated: “Host, good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon, System,” Pei Yuan said. “Long time no see, I missed you so much. Did you miss me?”
The system fell silent for a moment.
It replied: “Host, ‘missing someone’ is a subjective psychological activity generated based on emotional attachment, and I do not possess such modules.”
Pei Yuan shrugged: “That’s fine, System, I understand. It’s already great that you’re running normally. Love you.”
“……?”
Pei Yuan stretched lazily at her workstation, stood up to stretch her legs, and strolled over toward the office pantry.
The pantry maintained the White Tower’s consistent aesthetic: clean, bright, and orderly.
Coffee machines, water dispensers, and ice makers lined the walls neatly, while the snack section held individually packaged small cookies, nut bars, potato chips, and the like.
Further inside was an entire wall of nutrient solutions categorized by flavor and effect, looking very much like a pharmacy.
Pei Yuan still couldn’t wrap her head around the White Tower residents’ bizarre eating habits.
On one hand, they complained that eating wasted time; on the other hand, they couldn’t bear to truly abandon the act of eating itself.
For efficiency, they relied on nutrient solutions for their three meals; for comfort, they rewarded themselves with a mini cake or a milk tea outside of work hours.
Humans really were strange creatures.
Pouring herself a glass of ice water, Pei Yuan leaned against the edge of the table, rocking the ice cubes in her cup and listening to them clatter together.
“System, can I ask you a question?”
“Please go ahead.”
“While you were dormant, aren’t you even a tiny bit curious about what happened outside?”
Pei Yuan swirled her ice water. “For instance, what Ms. Cen and I talked about or did. Wouldn’t you want to know?”
The system answered: “No.”
“Host, I do not possess ‘curiosity’. I am a program, and I only operate according to established rules, instructions, and functions.”
“Really?” Pei Yuan leaned closer to the rim of the cup. “You like Cen Zhixu so much. What if one day I put you into dormancy and took advantage of the chance to bully her like this and that? Aren’t you worried?”
The system stated: “Host, that is an invalid hypothesis. I only perform requested tasks and access authorized data.”
“Humans believe a cat can be simultaneously ‘dead’ and ‘alive’, but to me, unobserved events, such as everything that occurs during dormancy, are equivalent to non-existent.”
Pei Yuan clicked her tongue twice: “In human terms, that’s called self-deception.”
“……”
Leaning backward, Pei Yuan rummaged through the snack basket before disdainfully pulling out a chocolate-flavored meal replacement bar, tearing open the wrapper, and shoving it into her mouth.
“So you’re not curious.”
Pei Yuan chewed away. “Then why do you analyze my behavior over and over again?”
“Like complaining when I sleep at work, refusing to cohabit with Ms. Cen, and going to the bar in the middle of the night?”
The system explained: “My ‘curiosity’ differs from that of humans. It is not an emotion, but an artificially designed exploration mechanism that guides me to continuously correct models and refine judgments.”
Pei Yuan shrugged: “Oh, so you stare at me all day not because you’re madly in love with me, but because I’m mysterious and hard to understand?”
The system replied: “That is one way to interpret it. Your behavioral patterns fluctuate wildly, deviate from norms, and are difficult to predict, giving you high research value.”
Biting down on her meal replacement bar, Pei Yuan spoke in a heavy tone: “……Thanks, I feel deeply honored.”
“You’re welcome.”
Finishing her meal replacement bar, Pei Yuan tossed the wrapper into the trash can and was rummaging around for something else to eat when her supervisor’s voice rang out from outside:
“Pei Yuan, Pei Yuan!”
Pei Yuan’s heart clenched: Crap, how did the supervisor radar sweep over me during the exact moment I was grabbing a snack? Why not earlier or later, but right when I’m slacking off?
Discarding her search, she grabbed a handful of snacks to stuff into her pocket and pushed open the pantry door.
“Supervisor, Supervisor, I’m right here!”
Pei Yuan plastered on her signature dopey smile. “I was just grabbing a cup of coffee to bring back to my desk. Is there something you need me for?”
The supervisor let out a breath of relief before her expression darkened. “Don’t you even check messages on your communication ring?”
Pei Yuan blinked, only then remembering that she found the beep notification sound annoying and had casually muted it.
She hurried to open her messaging interface, only to find a notification from the Pheromone Testing Center waiting at the top:
Respected Ms. Pei, hello.
During routine verification, we discovered an error in your previous pheromone report, suspected to have suffered sample contamination during collection.
Please proceed to Testing Room 7 within the day for a secondary sample collection so we can refine our data.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Wishing you a pleasant day.
“Xiao Pei,” the supervisor slammed a hand onto her shoulder. “How many times do I have to tell you? Keep your communication ring accessible at all times.”
“When I was your age, my communication ring stayed attached to my body twenty-four hours a day. When leadership messaged at midnight, I replied within five seconds without fail.”
“Supervisor, your criticism is entirely justified,” Pei Yuan accepted the guidance with feigned humility. “I’ll turn the volume up to maximum right now and set triple alerts for vibration, flashing light, and alarm to guarantee timely replies.”
Extremely satisfied, the supervisor’s expression softened somewhat as she placed her hands behind her back.
“Our position may seem inconspicuous, but it is the foundation of the entire White Tower! Future transfers, promotions, and entry into the research institute hold limitless potential!”
She patted Pei Yuan’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you.”
Pei Yuan stood at attention: “Supervisor, I will definitely not live up to your expectations! I’ll work hard to contribute bricks and tiles and shine brightly for the White Tower!”
Even more pleased, the supervisor offered a few more reminders about how “young people need to be down-to-earth” before strolling away leisurely.
Pei Yuan stood in place, watching her depart as the smile gradually faded from her face.
She sighed inwardly:
Supervisor, that pie you drew for me is truly massive and round, golden-yellow and dripping with oil.
Too bad I won’t be around to taste it in this lifetime.
On her way downstairs, Pei Yuan’s heart remained suspended as she rapidly reviewed everyone she had seen, places she had walked, and actions she had taken recently.
She had undergone testing not long ago; why suddenly demand a re-examination? Had the suppressants started wearing off?
Was it a machine malfunction, sample contamination, or had someone noticed her abnormalities?
Hopefully not the latter.
The elevator stopped smoothly, and the testing room lay at the end of the corridor. The door was ajar, looking abnormally quiet.
Pushing the door open, Pei Yuan spotted the same tester who had been munching on potato chips earlier, currently staring intently at her screen while periodically faking busy keystrokes.
Wait.
That tester’s posture was an exact replica of Pei Yuan pretending to work whenever the supervisor walked past a certain employee surnamed Pei.
Stepping inside, Pei Yuan followed the tester’s evasive gaze toward the other side of the room.
Sure enough.
Cen Zhixu was in there too.
She had a thick stack of paper reports spread across her knees, with a floating light screen suspended off her left hand scrolling through dense columns of data.
Seeming a bit chilly, she draped a light gray cashmere shawl over her shoulders, her long hair loosely swept to one side with the curled ends resting near her collarbone.
Cen Zhixu stared at the data, casting a light shadow over her cheeks with her long eyelashes. Her brow was slightly furrowed, and her teeth were biting down on her lip.
The soft flesh of her lips was naturally thin and pale, repeatedly pressed and chewed by her teeth until it flushed a shallow red.
It left one inexplicably feeling that if those lips were truly taken between teeth, they would definitely be soft and warm.
Softer still, they would leave a faint reddish bite mark, and heavier pressure would release sweet, sticky juices.
Hearing the commotion at the door, Cen Zhixu raised her head and tapped the edge of the light screen, causing the flowing data streams to instantly dim.
The scent of white iris drifted over a half-step ahead, coolly wrapping around her. Cen Zhixu curled her index finger slightly and beckoned to her:
“Come here.”
Her voice carried a raspy edge from lingering illness, spoken very softly yet possessing a strange allure.
Pei Yuan walked over obediently, flashing a false smile: “Oh, what a coincidence. I’m so happy. Officer, why are you here?”
Cen Zhixu said: “Because that re-examination notice is something I had them sent to you.”
Pei Yuan: “…”
Crap.
Being suspected was already terrifying enough, but what was far more terrifying was that the person suspecting her was Cen Zhixu.
She had no idea what the White Tower City’s financial situation was like; would Cen Zhixu see dollar signs and sell her head off in exchange for thirty million star coins?
While Pei Yuan was rapidly brainstorming how to keep her head attached to her shoulders, Cen Zhixu pointed at the wheelchair handles: “Push me.”
“To the secondary testing room inside,” Cen Zhixu said flatly. “The equipment is better.”
“Yes, Officer.”
Wearing a smile on her face while wailing internally, Pei Yuan resignedly gripped the wheelchair handles and pushed her inward.
The secondary testing room required walking down an entire corridor and felt several degrees colder than the outer area.
The automatic doors slid open to reveal testing instruments standing in place, surrounded by semi-transparent monitoring screens where pale blue data streams flowed from top to bottom.
“Push me over there,” Cen Zhixu lifted her chin, gesturing toward one side of the testing table.
Pei Yuan pushed the wheelchair over as instructed.
Cen Zhixu leaned forward slightly, retrieved an alcohol wipe from the counter, and sterilized her fingertips.
Connecting a testing patch to the instrument, she turned her finger bones to secure it firmly and tapped the testing chair beside her: “Sit.”
Pei Yuan sat down with trepidation.
The testing chair was meticulously designed to position the back of the neck at the most convenient angle for operation.
“Head down.”
Cen Zhixu leaned in close, applying the testing patch to her neck.
The stroke against her gland felt soft as a cool velvet cloth, leaving behind a trace of coolness so light it felt almost like a kiss.
Pei Yuan’s shoulders and back went rigid as she felt every single nerve snagged by her touch, sending a wave of burning numbness rushing through her.
“There,” Cen Zhixu withdrew her hand. “Be a good girl, sit still and don’t move. It’ll be quick.”
The instruments booted up, humming softly.
A moment later, Cen Zhixu peeled off the patch, dropped it into the analyzer, and waited for the results.
Pretending unconcern, Pei Yuan opened her mouth: “Didn’t they say the margin of error is very low? Why do we need a re-examination?”
“I requested it,” Cen Zhixu said. “Your pheromone report wasn’t entirely accurate. Aside from citrus, there should be something else.”
The wheelchair glided closer.
Cen Zhixu leaned in.
Placing a hand on Pei Yuan’s shoulder, she brushed aside her curls, bringing her nose close to the back of her neck to inhale.
Her breath was warm, laden with moisture, drilling thinly straight into her bones.
Leaning against her shoulder, Cen Zhixu poked at her gland with her fingertip back and forth, playing with her like a little cat.
She murmured softly: “Is it… alcohol?”