"Leo." The internal communicator buzzed with Han Yanyan's voice.
"What now?" Leo replied, his heart still racing from whatever had just startled him.
"I want a swimsuit," Han Yanyan said.
It wasn't a "need," it was a "want." Of course, Leo, with his social awkwardness, wouldn't be able to grasp the subtlety of that difference.
He opened a holographic screen and was about to begin his search when Han Yanyan added, "Make sure it’s tasteful, nothing sleazy."
Leo: "……"
His finger hesitated and moved just a centimeter before he chose another style.
"Hey, is this… one that you already had on the ship? Or did you just buy it?" The swimsuit had already transported to Han Yanyan's side, causing her great surprise. She had been pondering after waking up, seeing the dress on the bedside and shoes on the floor, how Leo's ship had women's clothing.
Scoffing, Leo replied, "Country bumpkin, look into the atomic synthesizer."
"Synthesized?" Han Yanyan was a bit startled. The technology in the mecha world far surpassed that of her hometown, but clearly, the real world around Leo was on an even higher level.
This sort of ignorance from the countryside greatly amused Leo.
"Leo…"
"Yes?"
"If you refuse to indulge in sleazy things…"
"Huh?"
"Then don’t peek at me while I change."
"……!!!" Panicking, he closed the holographic screen, "You're just talking nonsense."
"Ha…"
Your lewdness has long been recorded in "The Legend of Leo" through all your daily ramblings to the system.
Han Yanyan had kept a long-standing habit of swimming back in her hometown. In the pool, she had tracked her times and distances and compared those with her memories.
Although her newly gene-modified body couldn't match that of a martial artist like the female leader, it was definitely several times stronger than her old data, though she couldn't recall the specifics of those numbers now.
And this was just her first day waking up; her body was only just beginning to awaken its functions. If she could train intensely like the apocalypse Han Yanyan or the female leader Han Yanyan…
Wrapping a large towel around her head to dry her hair, Han Yanyan suddenly froze.
Now, when she thought back to "before," what filled her mind most were the memories of her life as the female leader Han Yanyan. Before that, she had vivid memories of her struggles against Yao Chen in the underground world, which were quite intense as well. And before that…
It had only been a bit over half a month since Leo had kidnapped her.
But what about her own memories?
Han Yanyan strained to recall, only to find her memories of "herself" too vague. They were even less clear than the memories of herself in the apocalypse. After all, killing zombies and being used as a shield were experiences hard to forget.
Compared to those thrilling and deep, tumultuous life experiences, her previous life of making money, paying for a house, dating, breaking up, and dating again was far too bland, rendering it particularly fuzzy.
Especially since it had been fifty years.
Did those deranged builders remember who they were before they lost their minds?
No madness, Han Yanyan decided, she wouldn’t lose her mind, no matter who else did.
After a large workout, Han Yanyan had dinner with Leo. With her energy spent, she ate significantly more than last time, even more than Leo, a big man.
In fact, Leo had eaten more than usual this time. He didn't have regular meal times; he ate only when hungry. Sometimes he’d work on calculations or experiments and wouldn’t eat even when starved.
Normally, he would just eat enough to no longer feel "hungry" or to feel "full."
But this meal, he found the food quite fragrant. Unconsciously, he ended up eating much more than usual, to the point of feeling a little stuffed when he realized it.
And Han Yanyan… she ordered ten different desserts!
Leo wasn’t fond of sweets, and looking at so many desserts made him feel a bit sick. He couldn't help but grumble a few words.
Han Yanyan lifted her spoon and glanced at him with sultry eyes: "I don’t know when you’ll toss me back into the cryo pod, so I want to try several different things. Is that a problem?"
Leo was momentarily speechless.
Han Yanyan savored each of the ten desserts, feeling quite satisfied, and asked Leo, "What time is it here? Is it day or night?"
In space, there’s no real concept of day and night. However, for the crew's and passengers' physical and mental well-being, spaceships set specific times to indicate whether it was day or night. Passengers could then adjust their biological clocks and balance hormones according to a unified schedule.
Leo did have a schedule but had stopped using it many years ago. He had lived these years whimsically, doing as he pleased. Essentially, it boiled down to eating when hungry and sleeping when tired.
Leo brought up the time chart he hadn't looked at in years and said, "It’s night now, nine PM in the twenty-hour system. In the thirty-hour system, it's five PM."
Han Yanyan requested, "Switch to the twenty-four-hour system…" She was about to end with a casual "okay," but swallowed that last syllable.
"Request" turned into "requirement." But Leo didn't notice and switched it as she said; he wasn't concerned about the time chart at all.
In truth, he was one who easily accepted suggestions and was easily manipulated.
Leo looked up and caught Han Yanyan with her chin resting on her hand, smiling.
It reminded him of when he monitored the treatment of Duke Klin from afar; her smile was just like when she tricked Yao Chen, sending a chill down his spine.
"What are you smiling at?" he asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.
"I'm laughing at you," she chuckled, a smirk forming, "obviously just a techie."
"Huh?" Leo was taken aback.
"What good is being good-looking?" Han Yanyan flicked his bangs. "Your hair hasn’t been taken care of in ages, and your face is practically disappearing."
She’s a fraud! She’s a fraud! She really knows how to manipulate Yao Chen!
Logically, Leo understood this, but Han Yanyan's words strangely brought him joy. His rational mind fought against this sudden delight, trying to decide how to respond, which resulted in a twisted expression.
Han Yanyan smoothly switched topics to distract him: "What else can I do before sleeping?"
"Huh?" Leo's attention shifted as she'd intended. Truth be told, he wanted to escape the internal struggle he'd faced just moments ago. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to go to the surface." Han Yanyan sniffed, gazing at him with hopeful eyes.
Leo, derailing completely, replied without thinking, "Not a chance."
Han Yanyan looked disappointed: "Is that not allowed?"
Her expression shifted from hopeful to dejected, a clear contrast. Leo felt uncomfortable for a moment, shifting his body, "I personally haven’t set foot on a planet's surface in over ten years."
Han Yanyan looked surprised. Leo explained, "Habitable planets usually have their owners already claimed. They’ve long been divided among various political powers. As for me, many factions see me as a significant threat—they’re all afraid of me, keeping a tight watch."
Using "significant threat" to describe a "criminal" certainly sounds enticing and particularly magnetic.
Han Yanyan pretended to believe him and switched gears: "Then find me a few books to read, to pass the time."
A true con artist! She wants to gather information about the world while pretending to make small talk! Seeing through her, Leo remarked, "Sure, I'll find you a couple."
As he said this, he pulled up another holographic screen. This type of screen was formed by glowing lines in the air, drawn out of nothingness.
Han Yanyan had a similar holographic interface on her wrist in the mecha world, but it required a central unit. Leo had none of that; Han Yanyan had seen him draw holographic screens from thin air several times already.
He swiped the screen and slid it in front of Han Yanyan.
"This book is pretty good; you can take a look." He pointed out.
Han Yanyan glanced at it: "The Radiant Empire? What's this…"
"The founding history of the Yami Kin Empire. Out of the versions I've collected, this one has the best writing." Leo informed her.
"……" Han Yanyan forced a smile and said, "Sounds great."
Humph, not smiling anymore, huh? I’ve seen through you.
Leo felt a little smug inside, and when Han Yanyan asked, "How do I use this holographic screen?" he graciously included her as a system user. She too could then draw a screen from thin air just like Leo.
Leo further offered, "I'll grant you permissions; start with this one, and after you're done, check if anything else interests you."
Suddenly, Han Yanyan noticed something.
"Leo, are you deliberately using my language and writing, or are we just coincidentally using the same language?" she asked, noticing that "The Radiant Empire" was written in her native characters.
"Of course, I’m using the same language as you, across this vast universe, have you finally started using your brain? Where's your IQ?" Leo rolled his eyes. "Your native language was extracted from your brain’s information on the first day and added to my database. My cerebral cortex is implanted with a translation chip that directly acts on the language central nervous system. By the time thoughts convert to speech, they’re already translated."
This technology was indeed far beyond that of the mecha world. Tang Ke had once pointed out how backward the tech was there, speaking with evident disdain.
Han Yanyan planned to dive deeper into "The Radiant Empire" after returning to her room. Leo had been overly generous and proactive, so the material she could access within the provided permissions was likely only this authentic history of the Yami Kin Empire. The rest—who knew how much tampering and misinformation lay within?
Rather than get misled by falsehoods, it was better not to look at all, to avoid confusion.
But, of course, she still wanted to express her astonishment with a casual "wow~" at Leo's seemingly effortless technology.
"You country bumpkins have seen nothing; stop making a fuss," Leo disdained.
Then why’s your mouth curling upwards? Han Yanyan thought.
Author's Note: Two things:
1. Regarding the male lead, I hope you take a quick glance at the roles listed in the synopsis. In fact, since I started writing online, the question of "who is the male lead" has constantly puzzled me.
2. For those who have read Shao Tang's story, don’t get caught up in Earth or dimensions. Even in this Yami Kin dimension, there are also backward planets like Wen Tingsheng's home planet that can’t escape the solar system due to lack of space travel technology. Just to clarify, I have never said that Han Yanyan comes from Earth. shrugs