"Professor!"
"Professor!!"
"No, don't go..."
Three people suddenly rushed in from outside, kneeling before the holographic screen, tears streaming down their faces.
Gu Youran lowered her head, tears flowing as she smiled with relief,
"Dad, you can finally rest in peace..."
...
All the noise subsided,
The dust settled,
Dust to dust, earth to earth.
Gu Ya, who had accepted reality, stood up from the ground again,
Facing the now-darkened holographic image, he sighed silently.
"If this is a dream, it must be the most unbelievable dream I've ever had." Gu Ya said with relief.
He turned around and walked towards the exit.
"Young Master."
A man called from behind.
"Young Master!" another woman called.
"Young Master!" the third man called.
Following them, eight more people walked in from outside.
Eleven people, their eyes filled with sorrow yet determination, looked at Gu Ya.
"We are all followers of Professor Gu Hui. For many years, we have followed and helped the Professor complete his great cause."
"Now, we will continue to follow you."
The first man who spoke stepped forward and knelt on one knee before Gu Ya.
Gu Ya pulled him up,
He slowly looked around at them and asked softly, "Are you all researchers in the field of consciousness uploading?"
"Yes! Professor Gu Hui imparted his knowledge to us. Among us are also genetics experts, mecha repair experts, physicians, and computer specialists."
"But compared to Professor Gu Hui, our abilities are very limited."
Gu Ya lowered his head, speaking sadly, "You are all outstanding individuals in your respective fields. I don't have much ability to lead you."
"I'm just a..."
Gu Ya's nose suddenly stung.
He suddenly thought that he wanted everything, wanted to hold onto everything, but achieved nothing.
Ye Ying was like this, and so was his father.
Just a complete...
"...failure."
"No!" the man said, "Young Master, we, the followers of the Consciousness Cult, will do our best to assist you, research your abilities as soon as possible, and complete Professor Gu Hui's great cause!"
"Young Master, please rest assured, even if you are useless, we will still follow you!"
"That's right!"
"Young Master, please cheer up."
"Young Master, we can sponsor you and help you achieve what you want to do!"
The crowd spoke in low, hurried tones.
"Sponsor?" Gu Ya looked up at them, a wry smile on his face, and said, "The combined net worth of all of you isn't even as much as one of my companies, Herc City Corporation."
"However," Gu Ya reassessed the group, "Since you have chosen to follow me."
"I do have a good place for you. I wonder if you are willing to abandon everything you have and follow me back to Wuhe City?"
As soon as Gu Ya finished speaking,
Everyone became excited, nodding repeatedly, and whispering, "Whatever the Young Master says, even if it means going through mountains of knives and seas of fire, even if it means being poor and suffering for a lifetime, we are willing to do it!"
"Suffering is not an issue. I will ensure that you and your families will never worry about food or clothing for your entire lives, as long as you work wholeheartedly for me."
"Of course, to be upfront, I will also keep a close watch on each of you."
"Hahaha..."
"The Young Master is indeed Professor Gu Hui's son, he speaks his mind directly."
"From the first moment I met him, I knew our Young Master was someone who could achieve great things!"
"More than that, just being able to escape Special Nine Division twice shows that the Young Master is also a very capable person."
Gu Ya stopped their flattery and said, "You go back and prepare. I will inform you when I am ready to depart."
The eleven people quickly fell silent and bowed their heads, then turned and left the room with great synchronicity.
Soon, only Gu Ya and Gu Youran remained in the room.
Gu Youran had been standing behind Gu Ya, silently observing the brother who had only existed in her father's words before.
When she saw Gu Ya emerge from his grief so quickly and command a group of followers, she showed a faint smile.
"Brother, to be honest," Gu Youran walked up from behind and said with a smile, "You have a powerful charm."
"Except for one thing, you are too easily deceived, hehe."
Gu Ya smiled faintly and lowered his head.
A great sense of loneliness and emptiness seemed to hollow out his heart.
He wished so much that all of this was just a dream,
That when he woke up, everything would return to how it was before.
"I didn't even have time to have a proper chat with him."
"Just sitting there, like a normal father and son, just chatting."
"Talking about hobbies, life, studies, family, and girls we like..."
Gu Ya said in a low voice.
Gu Youran pursed her lips, her eyes moist, and hugged Gu Ya.
The siblings hugged each other in silence,
After a long time, Youran slowly said, "Brother, ever since I was born and first learned of your existence from Father, I thought that one day I would be able to throw myself into your arms and act spoiled."
"Do you know? I hated you. Father always looked forward to meeting you, but your appearance was his death sentence."
"I also looked forward to meeting you, not just for myself, but for Father to be free sooner."
"Can you understand that kind of torment where you can't express joy or sorrow?"
"Every time I looked at his peaceful face, I really wanted to cry."
"But what has passed can no longer be changed, brother."
"We all have to look forward."
Gu Ya listened silently.
This new sister was completely different from Youyou. She possessed an innate optimism, as if she saw everything clearly.
Gu Youran released Gu Ya, wiped the tears from her face, and smiled, blowing a large snot bubble!
"Oh my! You're this old and still acting like a little kid!" Gu Ya said gently, wiping her snot with his sleeve.
"Didn't you hear Father say! I'm only five years old, five years old!" Gu Youran pouted.
Gu Ya smiled with relief and said, "I really don't know what Youyou will think when she sees you, haha! A sister who is more mature than her."
As soon as Gu Youran heard Youyou's name, her expression instantly froze, and she lowered her head, smiling faintly with bitterness.
"What? Jealous?" Gu Ya asked.
Gu Youran said softly, "Let's not mention her."
"Why? I want to take you back to keep Youyou company, to have you both by my side."
"Brother!" Gu Youran interrupted, "Not everyone is as open-minded as you. Youyou enjoys your love exclusively, she is very happy. My appearance will only trouble her."
Gu Ya comforted, "It won't. Youyou is a very cute little girl, although sometimes, well, she's a bit disobedient."
Gu Youran said in a low voice, "I won't go back with you."
"I've been here since birth, I've never been out. Now that Father is gone, the only person I wanted to protect is gone."
"I want to see the world, to travel outside, to be a traveler."
"Absolutely not!" Gu Ya stopped her. "You are still too young. When you have learned knowledge and survival skills, it won't be too late for you to leave me."
"Ah~~" Gu Youran frowned, displeased.
"It's no use saying anything. Stay obediently by my side and with Youyou. Besides, Wuhe City is very fun! I said no, and that's final!"
Gu Youran was initially unhappy, but after carefully considering Gu Ya's words, she suddenly smiled mischievously and said, "I never expected my brother to be a sister-complex! Hehe!"
Gu Ya was instantly speechless, "Who, who said that, I..."
"Hehe, got it, sister-complex brother. Then, please take care of me for the rest of my life!"
Gu Youran tilted her head, showing Gu Ya a sweet and gentle smile.
Gu Ya pouted, feeling a shiver run down his spine, and said, "Don't talk like we're lovers. Your big brother has a girl he likes."
"What does sister-in-law look like! Hehe."
"I'll show you when there's time."
"No, show me now, just one look!"
"Go, go!"
"What does Youyou look like? I'm so looking forward to it!"
"You'll see when we get back."
...
With no lingering attachment to Zhuo Yuan City,
Only anticipation for the future school remained.
Gu Ya truly wanted to see the level of mecha repair expertise here.
There was less than a year left, so he didn't need to consider it for now.
Gu Ya was confident he would pass the mid-term exams and become a mecha mechanic to study here.
For now, Gu Ya had important things to do.
Youyin flew out of Zhuo Yuan City slowly, followed by six transport mechas.
Inside those mechas were the eleven followers, their families, and their luggage.
Gu Ya glanced back at Zhuo Yuan City one last time, deeply memorizing this city with its hard-science fiction style.
"I'll be back in a year."
Youyin's engines roared, and it led the six mechas towards the south.
A communication came through,
It was Liu Feng. He should have been at school by now. Perhaps he had another embarrassing story to share? Gu Ya thought with a smile.
"Gu Ya!" Liu Feng's expression was very awkward, as if he had something unspeakable.
Gu Ya looked at the room behind Liu Feng. It wasn't a dormitory, but a hotel room.
"You... you didn't make a mistake, did you?" Gu Ya asked tentatively.
"Make what mistake? Ah! It's not what you're thinking!" Liu Feng said with a frown, "We're stuck in Xianxia City and can't go back."
"Ah?" Gu Ya couldn't believe it, stuck? In Xianxia City, what happened?
He asked, "What do you mean?"
Liu Feng said in a low voice, "On our way back, we ran into bandits. The four of us couldn't fight them, so we returned to Xianxia City."
"Zeng Lang isn't in a hurry, he has two girls accompanying him."
"But I'm in a hurry! My dad's birthday is next month..."
Heh, Liu Feng is lying. He's definitely jealous that Zeng Lang has girls with him while he's all alone.
"So you came to find me." Gu Ya's face grew serious and he said, "Alright, I'll head to Xianxia City now and help you take down the bandit organization."
"Huh? Gu Ya, you seem to have changed, but I can't quite pinpoint how. Are you really Gu Ya? It feels like you're more... indescribable."
"Stop joking. I'll talk to you guys when I get back. See you in Xianxia City!"