Leo thought for a long time and realized that being seen through by Han Yanyan wasn’t such a shame after all. In truth, he really wanted to take her to bed just to see what it would be like.
During Duke Klin's treatment, the attendant was strictly forbidden from spying on the private actions between the duke and Han Yanyan. Wasn’t that just a joke? He was the highest authority on the ship; who could stop him? Even if he pretended to look away due to the pressure, once he returned to his room, he could still access the system to view what was recorded.
In the three worlds he monitored, the one he liked best was the one with Yao Chen, where Han Yanyan was a female student. In that world, she portrayed herself as a top scholar, and even more fascinating, she was a bit reclusive, never interacting with her classmates, nor making any friends.
Leo himself was also a top scholar—superior even and quite solitary, with hardly any friends. Thus, whenever he watched female student Han Yanyan, a strange sense of familiarity arose within him. He regretted not having such a classmate during his own school days. If there had been one, a girl just like him, withdrawn and immersed in study... would it have led his life in a different direction?
The attendant was a strong warrior, but even he had his limits, especially since he insisted on using a flow imaging monitoring system, which wore heavily on his brain, proving too exhausting for someone like him.
When the attendant took a break, Leo would sneakily access what he wasn’t allowed to see. Even though white-clothed soldiers were monitoring him in the operation room, he set the cabin lid to opaque; who would know what he was doing inside?
He simply wanted to see how a top student would seduce a man in her bedroom. He always felt that such skills had nothing to do with being a "top scholar". Aren’t scholars supposed to be dull and stiff?
But Han Yanyan was anything but.
Her seduction wasn’t about stripping or showing skin, it lay in subtlety, being almost imperceptible. When Yao Chen was angry, she remained calm; when he was restless, she was gentle; when he was desperate, she was daring. She always left Leo dumbfounded.
Leo Parker watched Yao Chen gradually fall deeper. He repeatedly told himself that Han Yanyan was a great deceiver, a master at playing with emotions. He couldn’t let himself be tempted or be fooled by her!
As for his desires towards her, wasn’t it quite normal? Sometimes, after emerging from the operation room, even the attendant’s expression was somewhat subtle. After all, they were all men.
Having sorted his mind, Leo decided he would face this woman openly. But he ended up with nothing; the woman claimed she was unwell and did not show up for dinner, ordering food to be delivered to her bedroom instead.
Leo Parker sat alone at a table set with a floral cloth, feeling a bit lost. His gaze fell on the empty glass vase.
Han Yanyan had said she wanted to cut some flowers for the vase when she saw the plant cultivation room, but after circling around, she found there were no ornamental flowers. The plants he grew were either food or had precious purposes.
Looking at the empty vase, Leo chewed on the food made from the blender, feeling particularly nostalgic for the meal from earlier that day.
Later, he couldn't help but ask the system, “What is that woman doing now?”
The system replied, “She’s watching a soap opera.”
Having left the “world”, she was just another silly woman lost in her soap opera, just like most ordinary women. The "top scholar" was merely a persona she wore.
The real Han Yanyan wasn’t worth the affection of someone with his intelligence.
By the time he lay down to sleep, he couldn’t help but ask again, “What is she up to now?”
The system answered, “She’s been sleeping for three hours.”
Leo felt lost once more.
After a good night’s sleep, the weakness caused by the suppressants faded for Han Yanyan. She arrived in the dining room and saw fresh flowers submerged in water in the glass vase. She walked over, leaned down to sniff them, and the elegant scent proved they were real flowers, not fake ones. She asked, “Where did they come from?”
“Admin grew them overnight with the help of Ogen lighting,” the system answered honestly.
Han Yanyan smiled, “And him?”
“He’s still sleeping,” said the system, “the admin had a hormonal imbalance last night, which affected his sleep.”
Han Yanyan smiled, “Thank you.”
Leo had the highest authority and could access any conversation between her and the system at any time. Han Yanyan never asked the system much; her communication was normal and restrained. The necessary information revealed itself unintentionally, which was enough for her.
“Well then, please bring me some breakfast,” she said as she sat down at the dining table.
“What would you like to eat?” the system inquired.
“Anything will do,” Han Yanyan replied.
Han Yanyan was skilled in cooking. Half of it was because she lived alone and had to cook for herself, while the other half stemmed from her persona as a top scholar. In truth, if there were food served without her doing anything, she preferred to sit back and wait for the meal to arrive.
Cooking was a skill she possessed, but not an interest. Though it may have once been, it was no longer so.
She was not the same person she used to be.
Leo was awakened by the system’s alarm. Those who lived in disarray were most afraid of waking up in the mornings.
He covered his ears and painfully asked, “What now?”
“She’s lingering in the prohibited area and trying to open a door,” the system replied.
Han Yanyan showed no intention of hiding her desire to escape or to do something against him. Leo wasn’t surprised to hear she was attempting to peek into the restricted area. In fact, he thought she had probably been there for several days, and if she didn’t attempt to break through the boundaries he had set, he would truly wonder if she was plotting something big.
Now that she was so bold, Leo strangely felt relaxed.
Such thoughts as “this is what she would do” and “of course, she did this” made him feel that Han Yanyan was always in the palm of his hand.
Han Yanyan dismantled the switch panel, fiddling with the wires, feeling a bit of a headache. She had learned many things in the mech world, but she had never paid much attention to electronics. Holding a small pair of pliers, she hesitated over which wire she should cut. Finally, steeling herself, she decided to cut the one that was the most displeasing to her eyes.
“Stop right there!” Leo’s impatient voice rang out.
“Oh, good morning,” said Han Yanyan, casually putting her hands behind her back, smiling gracefully.
Leo rolled his eyes and ordered, “Confiscate the tools in her hands.” Drones threatened her from above, while robots approached.
“What do you want now?” Leo asked, suddenly realizing that his most-used remark to Han Yanyan was likely this very question.
“I heard… this room contains the simulation world system?” Han Yanyan said slowly. “I will probably be locked in there until I go crazy. While I’m still clear-headed, I wanted to see what this thing that’s imprisoning me looks like.”
“Forget it, I was just trying it out anyway,” Han Yanyan said with a smile, handing the pliers to the robots without resistance. After saying that, she turned to leave.
“Hey…” Leo suddenly called her to a stop.
Han Yanyan paused and turned to look back at him. Her posture was truly graceful— was she a tycoon’s daughter? A college student who had once been affluent? A woman of forty who ran a household? All these personas were now a part of her.
She looked quietly at Leo, her eyes revealing no expectation.
Leo, momentarily impulsive for calling her back, felt a slight regret. But the calm gaze of Han Yanyan stirred within him the desire to break her certainty that he wouldn’t generously show her the simulation system.
The idea of breaking that certainty made his regret vanish.
“What’s so special about the simulation system,” he said with a proud smile, “follow me.”
Though her expression remained unchanged, Han Yanyan's eyes suddenly sparkled. This brightness ignited joy within Leo.
He walked to the cabin door, which opened as he approached. Stealing a glance at Han Yanyan, he entered. The first step she took was steady, the second, still composed, but by the third and fourth steps, she was clearly losing her rhythm, catching up to him with hurried steps.
Leo smirked.
Upon entering the operation room of the simulation world, Han Yanyan saw vast, complex machinery. The flickering indicator lights were dazzling.
Many cables, as thick as a man’s arm, converged into a single thick wire feeding into the base of the operation pod.
“What’s this?” Han Yanyan asked, brushing her fingers against a peculiar chair. There were two such chairs in the room.
“Operation pod,” Leo explained. “This one is my regular one; the other is a spare.”
“So you just sit inside and monitor my actions in the world?” Han Yanyan queried.
“Exactly,” Leo confirmed.
Han Yanyan didn’t press further but glanced up at Leo. Unlike her earlier calm and indifferent demeanor, this look bore expectation, yet she uttered not a word.
Just a glance was enough, for her eyes spoke volumes.
For Leo Parker, whose past was filled with darkness and had always blended into the background in the eyes of others, encountering a woman who looked at him this way was enough to bring him to a high.
He shivered, suppressing a wave of feeling inside, slightly lifting his chin, he asked, “Do you want to see how I monitor you?”
Han Yanyan held her breath. “Can I?”
Her expression was calm, but her hands trembled slightly—Han Yanyan had always been one for detail.
Leo reveled in the feeling of control and generosity, stating, “Of course, come—”
Subconsciously, he reached for Han Yanyan’s hand. Without hesitation, she grasped his hand. By the time Leo realized what was happening, Han Yanyan had already used his hand to sit down in the operation pod, releasing his grip.
Leo felt his shoulder go numb.
He helped her close the cabin lid, hurriedly jumping into the other operation pod.
“Now that I don’t have a constructor and there isn’t a world in progress, I’ll show you a playback of your past. Hmm... Let’s see.”
As Leo operated, Han Yanyan lay in the pod, and countless screens appeared in front of her. Each screen depicted scenes from Yao Chen’s world, featuring female student Han Yanyan, Jiang Ye, Xiao Yang, San Hu, even the leader of Jin Hao, the princess, and the classmates from Han Yanyan’s school, along with Yao Chen’s underlings.
Though simulated, it was a complete world. Each individual had their own causal logic, and the interconnections and interactions among these causal logics formed a dense web, making up the world.
“Is that it?” Han Yanyan observed the screens.
Hundreds of displays flashed rapidly, akin to her flipping through a book or watching her soap operas with multiple screens. Although the information was vast, her brain could still grasp it.
Considering the fast pace in relation to the “world” and real-time, it was akin to watching a video in fast forward.
“This is the regular browsing method. Normally I would use flow imaging,” Leo’s voice came through, “Would you like to try it?”
“Definitely,” Han Yanyan answered.
As soon as she spoke, the screens transformed into streams of light rushing into her eyes. The light streamed rapidly along her visual nerves, reaching her brain instantaneously, where it was processed.
In a blink, Han Yanyan “entered” the world.
“Tell me, whose child is this?” Yao Chen’s voice was gentle.
Han Yanyan recalled the scene and the voice. At that moment, she stood very close to Yao Chen, close enough to see the distortion in his facial muscles from gritting his teeth.
He was filled with such hatred.
And love.