Chen Nian leaned against the car window, a seat away from Shavri Vitaljevich. He wasn’t particularly interested in the crown prince whom he hadn’t seen in a week. Guessing that Shavri probably couldn’t see his terminal screen from this angle, Chen Nian eagerly opened the journal, curious to see what Chen Ci had recorded and how he had been doing these past days.

When he opened the journal index, Chen Nian noticed entries marked as “modified” that he had written previously.

Modified?

Curious, Chen Nian clicked into the entries and immediately noticed annotations in red ink, different from the usual black text. Chen Ci had written notes for him. Chen Nian’s interest peaked—typical of his brother, so thorough! Why hadn’t he thought of doing that?

Starting with the entry from the first day of their swap, Chen Nian skimmed through a lengthy ramble to revisit his own detailed reasoning about “someone outside Shavri’s.” Beside it was a big red question mark.

Chen Nian paused.

Following the question mark was a lengthy handwritten note. Chen Ci’s writing was clean and slender, a pleasure to read. Yet, the content was distracting enough to keep Chen Nian from appreciating the beautiful handwriting.

—I’ve known Shavri for many years, and he wouldn’t have intimate private dealings with any unknown Omega. If you see him preoccupied and often staring down at his terminal, he is likely managing something related to the game.

—He also invited me to play Electric Fantasy Kingdom a few years ago, but I declined for personal reasons.

Chen Nian: …

What? That little demon troubling Shavri was a game?!

No… it can’t be!

After a moment of stunned silence, waves of realization crashed over Chen Nian. No wonder Gui Zhiqi couldn’t find anything—it was because there was no other Omega!

This was embarrassingly awkward. All his effort collecting clues and analyzing so thoroughly! How humiliating, his assumptions were wrong from the start, and Chen Ci would probably laugh at him for it.

Biting his lip, even with his thick skin, the idea of Chen Ci circling his speculations and adding question marks made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Chen Nian, who had long prided himself on understanding Alpha psychology and dominated the romantic scene, had made his first misstep with Shavri, whose mind was occupied with nothing but gaming.

He took a deep breath and quickly regained his composure.

Damn it! Does a game really overshadow his brother’s charm for Shavri?

Shavri glanced at Chen Nian, who had been subtly observing the Omega’s slight expressions since getting in the car. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” Chen Nian quickly tightened his lips, pretending nothing was amiss, feeling a tiny bit guilty about his misconceptions about Shavri. —Sorry, game nerd, I won’t call you a playboy anymore.

Chen Nian continued through the journal, where Chen Ci had added his thoughts alongside the records. It was as if they were communicating across time and space.

Chen Ci mentioned meeting Gui Zhiqi a few times and liking this new friend. He even told her about his “dual personality,” conveniently explaining their distinct differences that could have led to exposure.

Antonio and Shavri had invited Chen Ci to the coastal base, which Chen Ci declined. Shavri had also given him a bullet casing as a gift he had previously requested.

…Had he asked Shavri for a bullet casing?

Confused, Chen Nian circled the entry with a blue pen, noting: “I didn’t ask for this, could he have remembered wrong?”

Later, Ji Yifeng gave him a pot of green rose tea as a gift among various other things.

Seeing that Chen Ci hadn’t commented on his actions from the past week, Chen Nian breathed a sigh of relief. He really couldn’t fully act like his brother, being icy all day long wasn’t for him—it would be easier to stab him.

Fortunately, Chen Ci didn’t mind.

The car soon arrived at the White Tower. Chen Nian said goodbye to Shavri and took the elevator to Chen Ci’s bedroom.

Sitting on the bed, back in the tidy bedroom, the ecosystem at the wall side, the ant nest waiting for the eggs to hatch, and Jin Jili still thriving beside the water ring. He opened his chat with Gui Zhiqi, sending a message, “Are you free today? Want to come over?”

Gui Zhiqi quickly replied: “Sure.”

Chen Nian closed the terminal and walked to the window, hands on the sill, looking out at the distant view. To Chen Ci, this White Tower was a cage that had trapped him for eighteen years.

But to Chen Nian, it could hardly confine him at all.

From Chen Ci’s journal, it seemed his brother was also slowly changing, learning how to interact with friends.

Chen Nian was slowly freeing himself from the mire, while Chen Ci was stepping down from the high tower. They were each finding the best arrangements in each other’s lives.

Gui Zhiqi arrived at the White Tower after her lunch break. Chen Nian was waiting in the rec room, lounging on the couch in a relaxed pose that stopped Gui Zhiqi in her tracks.

She approached Chen Nian tentatively, calling out, “Chen Ci?”

“It’s me.” Chen Nian blinked. “To be precise, it’s me from a week ago.”

If Gui Zhiqi had her doubts before, seeing Chen Ci revert to a lively and cheerful demeanor convinced her completely.

…Really cool!

Chen Nian shifted to make space on the couch with a pillow. “I usually can’t leave here easily, so I had to invite you over. Is it too much trouble?”

“Not at all, I don’t have much going on right now.”

They chatted pleasantly, and suddenly Chen Nian asked, “Hey, Qi Qi, do you have money in your account?”

“Sure.” As the daughter of a noble family, Gui Zhiqi was not short on pocket money. Moreover, she earned her own through architectural designs, making her quite wealthy.

Chen Nian: “Can you transfer some money to another account for me first, then I’ll transfer it back to you from my terminal?”

Gui Zhiqi: “Another account?”

Chen Nian: “Yes, it’s also mine, but no one else knows about it.”

Gui Zhiqi realized: “I see, you’re saving up some private funds, right?”

“Shush.” Chen Nian put a finger to his lips, signaling her to keep it down. Gui Zhiqi quickly covered her mouth.

She glanced around, knowing the entire White Tower was likely under surveillance by the intelligent housekeeper. Leaning close to Chen Nian, she whispered, “My father does that too.”

Chen Nian grinned, and without further ado, Gui Zhiqi unlocked her terminal and logged into the banking system. “Give me the account number, how much do you need?”

“Thirty thousand Oji, is that okay?”

Chen Ci still owed Fu Tianhe ten thousand Oji for a pass, and he needed to take Jiang Dai for medical treatment and buy inhibitors for himself. With significant expenses and no more nightclub job, relying on Jiang Dai’s translation work wouldn’t stretch far.

It wasn’t really enough, but for the first transaction like this, Chen Nian wanted to test the waters.

“Of course it’s okay.” Gui Zhiqi transferred the money readily. It wasn’t a loan from her perspective since Chen Nian would repay it using a monitored terminal, so the amount didn’t matter.

Besides, even as a loan, thirty thousand Oji was perhaps the cost of a dress for Gui Zhiqi.

Chen Nian then transferred thirty thousand back to Gui Zhiqi using Chen Ci’s terminal, planning to say that it was repayment for an expensive gift Gui Zhiqi had bought for him which he felt too guilty to accept.

Hopefully, the intelligent housekeeper wouldn’t notice.

Meanwhile, in Chensha, 13th Information Processing Zone.

Chen Ci had arrived at the commercial street, wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled low and a black mask covering most of his face, revealing only his calm amber eyes.

Following his memory, Chen Ci found the tattoo parlor Fu Tianhe had marked. The narrow shop squeezed between two jewelry stores was hardly recognizable as one of the black market entrances.

Just as Chen Ci was about to enter, his terminal vibrated. A bank message popped up, showing a transaction of thirty thousand Oji.

Chen Nian’s salary? Unlikely, as it had only been a day since he first arrived in the Underground City, and Chen Nian had only been paid once in that half-month.

Then this money… Chen Ci had a guess.

He glanced at the tattoo shop, then slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling the velvet jewelry box. Inside was the amethyst, a gift for his sixteenth birthday.

His terminal was always monitored; he couldn’t even transfer money to Chen Nian, let alone contact him directly. Chen Ci had planned to sell something on the black market to repay Fu Tianhe, as one thousand Oji was no small sum. Chen Ci disliked owing favors and didn’t want to enjoy the benefits from Fu Tianhe without giving something in return.

But now, it seemed he wouldn’t need to sell anything.

Chen Ci withdrew his hand and turned to leave.

He arrived at a familiar neighborhood, unlocked three door locks, and returned to Chen Nian’s home.

Jiang Dai was doing chores. Seeing Chen Ci enter, he said, “You’re back.”

Chen Ci hummed a response, reaching to take the mop from Jiang Dai: “Let me do it, you rest.”

“No need,” Jiang Dai dodged, insisting, “Mopping isn’t that tiring, I can do it.”

Chen Ci didn’t press further, silently watching Jiang Dai slowly mop the floor. Jiang Dai’s legs weren’t great, but he didn’t seem too strained by the chores.

Chen Ci had never done household work in the White Tower.

Perhaps the moment he took the mop and started mopping, his awkward posture and unfamiliar movements would give him away.

It looked like he needed to learn quickly; otherwise, his stay at Chen Nian’s home for three weeks would soon be exposed.

Chen Ci wasn’t sure he could keep the deception for long, given the vast differences between him and Chen Nian, and with Jiang Dai having raised Chen Nian.

He still hadn’t figured out how to face Jiang Dai. What role had Jiang Dai played in the accident years ago? Having raised Chen Nian in hiding in the Underground City for eighteen years without ever contacting the upper layers, what was his mindset?

Chen Ci returned to the bedroom, closed the door, and began reading the journal entries Chen Nian had left for the week.

Most of the significant events Chen Nian had already discussed with him in the bathroom, but Chen Ci still slowed his reading when he came to the part about Chen Nian being confronted by Drake in the nightclub alley and Fu Tianhe leaping to his aid.

It was Chen Nian’s first attempt at using mental power to interfere with Drake’s actions, assisting Fu Tianhe, after which he fell into the common headache that plagued beginners.

Chen Ci wasn’t surprised his brother also possessed mental power; they were mirror twins, meant to share the same talents.

Chen Ci opened a new document, recalling his own early experiences, and slowly wrote down methods for training mental power.

Talent, no matter how strong, should be developed progressively, starting with basic exercises. Otherwise, blindly overusing power would only lead to depletion in the future.

After noting down all the training methods he could think of, Chen Ci continued reading the remaining entries.

Chen Nian had quit his job at the nightclub, narrowly escaping difficulty thanks to his mental power.

He hadn’t planned to meet with Fu Tianhe; instead, he used the few days he was homebound to test Fu Tianhe thoroughly.

The methods Chen Nian devised to test Fu Tianhe captured human weaknesses and psychological vulnerabilities with a precision that bordered on frightening.

Chen Nian was no stranger to manipulating the numerous Alphas he mingled with; it was how he made his living.

Chen Ci quickly opened the chat with Fu Tianhe, unsurprised to see their messages were like exchanged emails.

Chen Nian was doing it on purpose; every time Fu Tianhe said something, Chen Nian would wait at least six hours before replying.

The replies were neither warm nor cold.

For those few brief messages, Fu Tianhe had to endure endless waiting, not knowing when it would end.

Yet even so, until the last day, Fu Tianhe showed no signs of displeasure.

He remained enthusiastic, caring, eager to invite Jiu Yue out during his off hours, and shared interesting little things from his daily life.

If judged by the standards Chen Nian set for the test, Fu Tianhe truly seemed… a person worth trusting.