Le Zhile’s attention toward Zhou Meng wasn’t conspicuous, but his partner noticed it with ease.
【You seem to have something on your mind?】
While he sat on the stairwell pondering his next move, his phone auto-composed these words.
It was J1. The partner who had always communicated with Le Zhile solely through electronic devices.
Without any operation, the phone had popped up a notes interface and typed out text on its own… The sensation was like watching an electronic ghost.
【Did something happen?】
“Hm? Is it that obvious?” Le Zhile stared at the phone screen, lowering his head in thought. “…It’s my classmate.”
He maintained trust in J1, and there was nothing unanswerable about this kind of question.
“A girl who doesn’t talk much normally… now that I’ve actually interacted with her, she seems different from what I expected.”
【What kind of person do you think she is, Eve?】
Le Zhile’s code name was “Eve.” Generally speaking, this should be a female name… but it was his designation as a Phantom Thief.
After entering The Foundation and becoming a member, he had been given this code name.
It was his operational alias.
Everyone at The Foundation addressed him by this code name rather than his real name—a form of protection for his true identity.
Le Zhile had already accepted this, and being called by it never drew an unnatural expression from him. His eyes beneath brown hair were half-lidded with drooping lashes, lending him a delicate, handsome air.
Perhaps he was suited for it after all… this feminine designation didn’t feel jarring when used for him; instead, it carried an indescribable charm of contrast.
“…Mm…”
Le Zhile sat on the stairs, pondering at his phone for two seconds before speaking gently:
“‘Very clean’—that’s about the feeling, I suppose?”
Clean.
There was nothing conspicuous about Zhou Meng—no accessories, no distinctive walking posture, no identifiable shampoo brand, no particular speech habits or subconscious micro-expressions… no information-rich traces, and she didn’t talk much either… At first glance she seemed to simply lack presence, but to put it another way—
“There’s not a single opening to exploit.”
Le Zhile murmured.
He’d managed to strike up a conversation today.
There was a faint trace of disinfectant on her, but that wasn’t what bothered Le Zhile.
Zhou Meng had been… somewhat unusual lately.
It was hard to describe the feeling.
When she spoke, her black eyes would drift as if lost in thought, yet they shimmered with a certain brilliance.
Even though her body was clearly exhausted, something inside her seemed to keep burning… as if she were immersed in an indescribable world.
He lingered in that thought for a few seconds, then snapped back and spoke apologetically to the phone’s camera: “Sorry, I suppose my curiosity got the better of me. Let’s get back to the main topic…”
【No problem.】
J1 replied.
【Youth is precious. I’m glad you’re sharing these kinds of worries with me.】
His tone carried a gentle, teasing quality.
“Huh…? No, that’s not what I meant…” Le Zhile froze, instinctively trying to refute, only to be cut off by the 【^_^】 smiley face his Electronic Partner sent.
A rare flush of embarrassment crept across his refined features. “So you can joke too. How unexpected.”
【I never expected you to make that kind of expression over a girl, Eve.】
“Though it’s not what you’re implying… well, I do admit I don’t dislike that girl.”
Le Zhile regained his composure, speaking with an unruffled air.
【Then, are you going to ask her out?】
“If all this is over.” Le Zhile picked up his phone with a gentle smile. “Maybe I could introduce J1 to her.”
【You want to introduce me? Perhaps she’ll like me more than you.】
Eve smiled.
“Mm…”
In the empty corridor, the soft features beneath Le Zhile’s brown hair were now veiled in a hazy, ambiguous shadow. No longer bothering to conceal himself, his eyes curved slightly with a provocative glint, carrying a subtle, bewitching allure.
“You can try.”
…………
“…Hiss.”
Zhou Meng rubbed the back of her neck.
[Hm?] The Light Orb drifted closer: [What’s wrong?]
“I feel like I just sensed a subtle chill.” Zhou Meng touched the back of her neck with her fingertip and felt a faint layer of goosebumps. “Maybe someone’s plotting something?”
The Light Orb: […No, your expression looks more like you’re the one plotting something.]
“Do I?”
Zhou Meng pressed her hand against her neck, grabbed the doorknob, and turned it open.
Because she’d worked overtime last night, she could rest for a few days starting today—no work needed.
The room, unoccupied for one night, was exactly as she’d left it yesterday morning.
She casually kicked off her shoes and suit jacket:
“I just thought of something.”
The Light Orb: [What?]
Zhou Meng walked to the computer, opened the surveillance feed, and looked down at the monitor from above.
On screen was the doorway of her neighbor’s apartment. The corridor was empty now, with nothing noteworthy to see.
The glow of the screen fell upon her face. As she looked down from above, her eyes slightly cast downward, her pale and expressionless features were shrouded in a faint, cold light due to this unusual angle.
“…”
Zhou Meng leaned down, drawing closer to the screen.
“…………”
The surveillance footage could be reviewed.
During the time she had been away, the neighbor next door seemed to have continued living a life of odd jobs.
Every moment of the neighbor passing by her door had been recorded by the software.
The System floated quietly nearby, letting her watch the playback, until Zhou Meng pressed the mouse and closed the surveillance feed.
The screen flickered, returning to the normal desktop interface.
[Keeping me in suspense?] the System asked.
Zhou Meng sat down, her tone light: “No, not at all.”
[What are you thinking about?]
“I’ll tell you once I have a result.”
Zhou Meng said.
She had a small inkling.
The System never spoke to her when there were other people around, or when someone was watching her.
Back at the convenience store, with Sun Zhen, it was also because the Light Orb had been startled that it had forcibly popped out.
Maybe it was a coincidence… but every time she actively checked the surveillance footage, the System had never made a sound.
Even just now.
Was someone paying attention to how she used the surveillance?
Who? From where?
Was it Eden?
Would Mikhail do something like that?
Zhou Meng was a bit puzzled.
From what she knew of her boss, he didn’t seem like the type to pay attention to such things.
Her boss had a formidable intellect, but he wasn’t a suspicious person by nature.
…Well, it didn’t matter.
She used the camera with restraint, only as a door monitor, never crossing any lines.
Zhou Meng clicked the mouse: “I’m going to play games now.”
She had previously agreed to play games with YUYU. But then, she’d been dragged off by a certain cat posing as a convenience store clerk to do a quest, completely forgetting about it…
Now she was already a full day late.
The game screen of the Waste Capital flashed, and her Vampire appeared in a cold research institute, still wearing the white patient’s garb as before, toying with a silver knife in her hand, her long golden hair cascading behind her, her red eyes strikingly beautiful.
…The black-haired Cyborg stood right beside her.
YUYU’s eyes, composed of pixels, silently gazed at the screen on this end.
Last time, this person had been like this too—the moment she logged on, she could see him. It was as if he never logged off.
Zhou Meng’s thoughts wandered aimlessly as she lightly typed a few characters on the keyboard.
[zozo: Youyou]
[zozo: Were you waiting for me?]
Before he could reply, Zhou Meng manipulated her character, making the golden-haired, red-eyed Vampire suddenly lunge forward and grab YUYU.
[You attacked YUYU.]
[Will you feed?]
[Drain blood / Drain blood fiercely / Let him go]
A slight smile curved at the corner of Zhou Meng’s mouth as she chose [Drain blood fiercely].
The Vampire sank her fangs into YUYU’s neck and began to drink. The Cyborg’s face turned pale, and the black-haired youth trembled within her tight embrace.
[YUYU: Yes.]
At that moment, YUYU’s reply finally popped up, a beat too slow.
The trembling Cyborg, with a calm dialogue bubble floating above his head, created an indescribable sense of dissonance.
[YUYU: You logged on quite late]
Huh.
A loner.
YUYU had that vibe of a dark, brooding character.
Although the other party had no intention of being offensive and expressed himself with restraint, Zhou Meng could already faintly sense that subtle gaze—like circuits turning into nerves—transmitting through the screen.
[zozo: Yeah, I went to work]
[zozo: Sorry I’m late]
The Vampire zozo, now sated with blood, had relaxed her grip, but YUYU, having been subjected to [Drain blood fiercely], was still trembling, slowly sinking to his knees beside her leg.
[YUYU: Mm]
The Cyborg on screen went still for a few seconds, his green bean-shaped eyes flickering from the trembling, seemingly gazing at her.
[YUYU: You can keep working in the game.]
“…Uh.”
Zhou Meng’s fingers froze instantly, and she let out a faint gasp.
He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he?
In the Waste Capital, items players obtained from defeating monsters ultimately had to be taken to the doctor to exchange for identification papers… that way, one could go from being a stray child to a resident of the Waste Capital.
So in YUYU’s eyes, “playing games” = “working during the day, and working in the game at night”?
He was practically an evil villain enslaving players… Doesn’t saying something like that violate labor laws?!
[zozo: So scary]
[zozo: Youyou is the real Vampire, aren’t you?]
The terrifying Cyborg quietly watched the screen, an ellipsis indicating typing appearing above his head, before finally popping out:
[YUYU: You don’t like it?]
…Ah.
Zhou Meng’s expression remained composed, but her cheeks began to flush with warmth.
This… this guy, could he possibly be the aggressive type…?
Zhou Meng hunched her shoulders slightly, then manipulated her character to pounce on him again and take a couple more bites.
Did YUYU not realize the implication of his own words, or did he realize it and simply not care?
Judging from the tone of the conversation, Youyou wasn’t the type to be slow on the uptake—if anything, he had an almost unsettling degree of sharpness.
[zozo: Are you teasing me?]
[YUYU: Yes.]
He admitted it.
This guy was a sadist, huh.
The evening sun filtered through the sheer curtains and fell across her cheek. Zhou Meng instinctively looked away, glancing out the window. In the neighbor’s room, the sheer curtains were half-drawn, and she could just make out the faint glow of an electronic screen.
In the room, aside from the game’s lighthearted BGM, all she could hear was the low hum of the computer running.
Zhou Meng typed slowly:
[zozo: I’ll suck your blood, you know.]
Youyou replied just as slowly.
[YUYU: That’s fine…]
[YUYU: After all, Zhouzhou is a Vampire.]
So now she was the Vampire, was she.
Even though these were just a few meaningless words, Zhou Meng felt a light, floating sense of happiness.
[zozo: ^^]
[zozo: Want to play the game together?]
[YUYU: Want to try the new map?]
[zozo: Let’s go]
Having an online friend felt really nice…
Zhou Meng happily teamed up with him, letting the Vampire and the Cyborg head off toward the new map together.
Ever since they’d first played together, Youyou had been building and refining the game at an astonishing pace.
Even though Zhou Meng only had a vague understanding of programming, she could tell that Youyou was no ordinary person.
He was like a Cyber-Ghost living among electronic symbols.
[zozo: Youyou]
[YUYU: ?]
[zozo: I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow too ^^]
“…………”
The young man quietly watched the message from zozo on his screen, his eyes curving slightly beneath his black hair.
He took a screenshot.
[YUYU: Oh]
[YUYU: Sure.]
The chat room exploded.
【??? Is this something that’s allowed among hackers??】
【Not me. I’m a NEET.】
【Not me. I’m a shut-in.】
【Not me. I’m trash.】
【YU, the chat room is waiting for you too】
【I’m watching their chat right now, and I want to ■■■■■—is that abnormal?】
【Perfectly normal.】
【Perfectly normal.】
【Everyone in the chat room, please stop him from finding happiness】
【Hey you, are you betraying your fellow otaku just like that?!】
【I want to play with zozo too. Can YUYU give her to me?】
(This user has been purged)
The chat room stuttered for a moment, then suddenly went dark.
A code name made of letters appeared abruptly on the screen.
[YUYU: No.]
He didn’t type particularly fast, and his tone was calm, but there was an indescribable pressure to it.
[YUYU: You’re so frivolous. No manners. I don’t like it.]
[YUYU: Besides, I want her to stay here.]
Zhang Yunyu sent the message, then noticed his System flagging an abnormal operation.
【So stingy】
(This user has been purged)
Someone was hacking in.
It was the person who’d just been purged.
“…………”
The young man’s pale, cold face was half-lit by the glow of the computer screen, while the other half sank into shadow, casting a faint darkness. His black eyes stared at the computer through the gaps in his hair, perfectly calm—no anger, no trace of displeasure.
For Zhang Yunyu, this kind of thing was far simpler than replying to Zhou Meng’s messages.
He rested one hand on the keyboard, his fingers tapping the keys, a rapid series of barely distinguishable clicks sounding out before the little game was quickly brought to an end.
…A bit boring.
Zhang Yunyu closed the chat room and the game, then noticed an unread message on his social app.
“…………”
He paused briefly, then opened the message. Sure enough, it was zozo.
His online friend.
And his neighbor.
They’d exchanged contact info in the game earlier.
Having your neighbor as an online friend sounded a little strange, but Zhang Yunyu thought it was just fine.
[Ten minutes ago]
[zozo: This is zozo]
[zozo: Good night, Youyou]
Zhang Yunyu instinctively glanced at the time.
22:29.
The time zozo had sent the message was 22:20.
She rested around ten-something at night… working a part-time job while also attending classes.
Zhang Yunyu’s active hours usually stretched well past midnight, and he slept very little, but he knew that for most people, resting at ten was already fairly late.
A part-time job, huh…
That sounded tough.
He wondered where she worked.
YU·Emperor of Part-Time Jobs·YU pondered the timing, never once considering why he bothered to remember such trivial details, and quietly replied on the social app.
[YUYU: This is Youyou.]
[YUYU: Good night.]
…
[YUYU: Transfer to you: 100,000 yuan]