Chapter 376: Chapter 376: What is the actual reason?
It was late at night, around ten oâclock. Shilingâs Mom tiptoed to Shilingâs room, pressing her ear against the door, listening to her daughterâs voice inside.
After listening for a while, she knew her daughter was using QQ video to ask someone about her drawing problem. As for whom she was consulting, Shilingâs Mom had asked her before. She said it was a âpretty sisterâ found by âUncle Baldâ to teach her.
Not only that, but Xiang Kun also sent Shiling a lot of online videos teaching children how to draw, all of which she could view and learn directly on the iPad.
Shilingâs Mom watched those videos and found them to be of high quality. Apart from not being able to provide hands-on instruction, the quality of the drawing teaching should not be worse than that of paid classes or hired teachers.
Recently, her daughter often chatted with people via QQ on her iPad. She knew it was with Xiang Kun, and a girl called âgrilled chicken wing sisterâ by her daughter. From yesterday, she started to learn drawing from another girl called âpretty sisterâ.
She had secretly checked part of her daughterâs voice chat records. She admired the patience of Xiang Kun and âgrilled chicken wing sisterâ. It was incredible how seriously they answered her daughterâs absurd and childish questions, engaged in such imaginative and irrelevant topic discussions, and even managed to steer her interest towards studying and scientific knowledge through these topics!
Shilingâs Mom felt that even normal kindergarten teachers, let alone she herself, would inevitably want to pull her daughter back to reality after humoring her descriptions of various kinds of magic and control for a while.
Shilingâs Mom heartily appreciated Xiang Kun and found it amazing that birds of a feather do indeed flock together â Xiang Kunâs friends were as patient as he was, treating Shiling so well.
Before long, Shiling finished her drawing study and video call, left her room to wash up and prepared to go to bed.
Shilingâs Mom then entered her daughterâs room and looked at her drawings.
Looking at the little duck with several pairs of wings and a cluster of eyes on its belly, Shilingâs Mom couldnât help but chuckle. Luckily Xiang Kunâs friend was the one teaching and not a teacher from an outside art class, otherwise, they would probably be driven mad by this drawing.
She also checked the revised picture sent via the iPad and discovered, to her surprise, that it harmonized the multiple wings of the little duck and made the eyes on its belly even more realistic.
Clearly, rather than forcing Shiling to âcorrectâ her drawing, the girl so-called âpretty sisterâ chose to guide according to Shilingâs unique âstyleâ, presumably to avoid discouraging her enthusiasm.
Shilingâs Mom was touched and felt it necessary to add this âpretty sisterâ on QQ to thank her.
She again looked through Shilingâs thick stack of practice âdrawingsâ. Most of them were simple animals drawn based on the videos sent by Xiang Kun and the sample pictures sent by âpretty sisterâ, although there were plenty of âmodifiedâ versions.
However, some drawings were much more complex and imaginative. These were obviously Shilingâs own âcreationsâ.
Among these, the most frequently drawn was a giant with eight arms and eight eyes, clad in rudimentary armor, with each hand holding utensils such as forks, spatulas, and so on.
There was also a large cat with several pairs of wings, numerous pairs of eyes, and even a butt full of eyes.
From the catâs orange fur, Shilingâs Mom guessed it was depicting âCustard Pieâ, but she wasnât sure what the eight-armed, eight-eyed human was meant to be. Judging from the various items in its hands, was it some sort of chef deity? Was it a âmodifiedâ version of Xiang Kun?
She didnât connect this eight-armed eight-eyed figure with the shadow that someone had photographed in their community early in the morning, because the visual differences were simply too stark.
âMom, why are you sneaking a peek at my drawings?â Shiling, who had just finished washing up, suddenly approached and looked up at the drawing in her momâs hands.
Shilingâs Mom jumped with fright. However, she quickly regained her composure and said, âItâs natural for a mom to look at her daughterâs drawings. How can it be called sneaking a peek? Shiling, what is this youâve drawn?â
Shiling thought for a while, considering that it wouldnât violate her âconfidentiality agreementâ with Uncle Bald, before saying, âItâs a âBarbie Warriorâ.â
âOh, is the âBarbie Warriorâ the Great Demon King? The opposite of a âBarbie Dollâ? If you defeat it, will it drop a lot of delicious food?â Shilingâs mom teased.
âNo, itâs a friend, a helper, just like the âCustard Pieâ!â Liu Shiling earnestly said.
âIs that so?â Shilingâs Mom nodded and added, âI should still enroll you in a painting class. You can learn the basics from the instructor there, and then let the âbeautiful sistersâ guide you. Itâs not good to bother them too much by monopolizing their time.â After realizing her daughter really wanted to learn to paint, she was determined to spend money on a interest class, even though they were currently facing some economic issues.
Liu Shiling shook her head: âNo need, Mom. Uncle Bald said he would help arrange a study plan for me. I just need to follow his plan.â
âIs that soâŠâ Shilingâs Mom didnât say much else. She knew that in her daughterâs eyes, Xiang Kunâs words carried a lot of weight. She also believed that the plan Xiang Kun would make must be good.
After tucking her daughter into bed and saying goodnight, Shilingâs Mom looked at âCustard Pieâ snoozing on the corner sofa cushion. She attempted to pick it up to stroke it while watching TV in the living room; however, âCustard Pieâ wriggled out of her arms and escaped.
Shilingâs Mom didnât get angry; she knew âCustard Pieâsâ style too well. Aside from her daughter, it was very difficult for others to hold or stroke it.
She depended on her daughterâs popularity to make âCustard Pieâ behave obediently in âspecific moments.â
Shilingâs Mom took out a piece of salmon jerky from the living room and squatted in front of âCustard Pieâ with jerky in her right hand and reaching out with her left hand to the cat.
âCustard Pieâ glanced at the jerky and obediently snuggled into Shilingâs Momâs bosom, letting her hold it. The so-called âspecific momentsâ were when she had something tasty to offer.
However, when other people came to the house, like Xiao Mei and her mother, even if they brought tasty treats, âCustard Pieâ would completely ignore them.
Xiao Meiâs mom didnât find this surprising at all. Back when âCustard Pieâ was a stray, many people âcovetedâ this beautiful cat and tried to âlureâ it home with food, but it never cared.
Until it voluntarily ran to Liu Shilingâs house, everyone thought it was a cat that was afraid of humans.
Earlier, when Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, Yang Zhenâer, and Little Fatty Girl were having their painting teaching session via video call, Mr. Feng was also video-calling his daughter and son-in-law.
âDad, youâve met that friend Nana introduced, right?â The person asking was Tang Baonaâs mother.
She and her husband had heard from their eldest daughter a while ago that their youngest daughter was set up by Wang Hanâs husband, who introduced his university roommate to her for a blind date in July.
Both of them naturally questioned their eldest daughter privately about it, but Baoting initially said there was no chance, later claimed the progression seemed fine, but never specified how it was going.
Though they were both very laissez-faire about their daughtersâ marriages, and respected their daughtersâ choices, now that they knew there was a potential suitor, and that it seems to be going well, they naturally couldnât help but be interested and concerned.
Especially Mrs. Tang, since their eldest daughter was already engaged; her life was practically settled. Naturally, she couldnât help but start thinking about her youngest daughterâs love life.
However, the parents knew their daughterâs personality well and never directly questioned her, choosing to inquire secretly through Baoting instead.
Knowing that her father was going to have dinner with Xiang Kun today, Mrs. Tang also wanted to go. However, with persuasion from Mr. Tang and Baoting, she didnât. After knowing that the children had already left, she couldnât help but video call her father to see what he thought of Xiang Kun.
Mr. Feng chuckled, âHeâs quite a good boy; heâs tall, spiritual, and a sturdy lad. Other than being bald, thereâs really nothing to pick at, haha.â
âWhat about his character? How is his personality?â Mrs. Tang further questioned.
She had previously seen photos of Xiang Kun from Baoting. Compared to appearance, she was more interested in his inner character.
âAlthough it was only one night and a meal, she knew that her father was quite discerning when it came to judging people. It was enough for him to get a general impression of someone.
Mr. Feng continued on with his thoughts, âFrom my contact with him tonight, he seemed to be a very down-to-earth young man. Heâs not the kind of person who tends to exaggerate or boasts, to the point of being overly modest. When chatting with me about woodcarving, his knowledge of various techniques, history, and classification are all very clear. Some things that I donât remember very well, he could talk about them in great detail. This is not something one can achieve without having a long immersion in this field and investing great energy. Adding to this, the woodcarvings he makes indicate that he invested a lot of effort in mastering his carving skills, which is something that not every young person is patient enough to achieve. Most importantly, when he was talking about these things with me, he didnât seem proud or showy at all. Instead, he could accurately point out the problems and deficiencies. This is really rare to see.â
Mr. Tang grew curious, âAccording to Tingting, isnât this Mr. Xiang a programmer? And they are currently developing a game, arenât they? He actually has the time to do woodcarving and is also very skilled?â
Mr. Feng continued to praise, âThe rare thing is that, seemingly insignificant, we can infer that Xiang Kun is a determined and focused individual. Whatâs more, he is also great at cooking. I tasted the braised rabbit he made himself tonight, it was indeed delicious, quite impressive, tasty. It was not exaggerated when the girl from the Yang family said that he was at âchefâ level.â
Mrs. Tang also nodded, âCooking is indeed a good skill, being able to cook is a good thing. Although Nana is quite industrious, she really has no talent for cooking.â
Mr. Feng said: âAll in all, I think heâs quite good. From the way he talks and works, I see him as someone who can get things done and live a good life.â
Mrs. Tang said: âIâll have Nana invite Xiang Kun home for a visit when she gets a chance. We can tell him that her dad and I also want to have a taste of Xiang Kunâs cooking skills.â
Mr. Tang chuckled, âIndeed, based on dadâs description, I am also quite interested in that rabbit meat.â
When Xiang Kun left Tang Baonaâs home, it was already past 11 oâclock, so he did not ask Yang Zhen Er to drive him home, instead, he called a cab himself.
On his way home, he tried to contact Old Xia via WeChat, but receiving no reply, he knew Old Xia was already asleep. freÄwÄbηovel.cà«Šm
He didnât wish to wake Old Xia, so he began to contemplate the information he had obtained from Mr. Feng tonight.
Since his mutation, Xiang Kun had been pondering a question: why arenât there any âmutantsâ or âreal vampiresâ information online?
At first, he thought it was because there were too few âvampiresâ, or perhaps he was the âonlyâ âvampireâ and the first mutated human, so there was no real related information.
But as he later came into contact with various âmutantsâ, discovered âDivine Technologyâ, and learned about what Mijoe, Fang Pingfang, and others were doing, he realized that it was âDivine Technologyâ that was deliberately blocking and downplaying information related to âvampiresâ and âmutantsâ on the internet.
However, there is another issue: in principle, âDivine Technologyâ simply canât completely block everything.
Even with official help, and official inspiration and permission, âDivine Technologyâ canât accomplish it.
Because this mutation did not only happen in one country or one species, it bloomed fully and the timing and location of its emergence are hard to determine.
Theoretically, someone somewhere in the world should have discovered a âmutantâ by now and spread the news on the Internet before getting âcontrolledâ. By now, it should have been well-known and shocked the world.
Not to mention a single âDivine Technologyâ, even the official from a single country or collaboration from many countries would find it hard to completely control this news.
Furthermore, whatâs the purpose of controlling this news?
Does it want to monopolize the technological advancement and research achievements that the âmutantâ might bring?
But what puzzles him is that the secret department of âDivine Technologyâ, people like Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui who are directly instructed to investigate âmutantsâ, and even directly found âmutantsâ, and saw âmutantâ related video materials, the âmutantâ related information they have is still very little. It seems that the people behind âDivine Technologyâ deliberately left them â groping in the darkâ?
Xiang Kun started to analyze some of the real ârumorsâ he knew, such as the âfishing answerâ Guo Tianxiang let Mijoe post on Zhihu; the âhorned wolfâ that his old classmate Xie Jun encountered while testing a car in the forest; the video of the abnormal wild boar corpse posted by the host who was killed in the Qinling Uninhabited Area; the relevant news and messages on the Internet when the âmutated big birdâ and âmutated antâ in the Wushu Mountain Scenic Area collided with tourists causing a cliff fall accident.â
Some of this information would seem fake to the average person, while some would seem a bit peculiar but not beyond comprehension.
Divine Technologyâs approach to dealing with this information was to either try to erase it directly or to mislead people, muddying the waters to create doubt about its authenticity.
There were just far too many unreliable rumors on the internet; without solid evidence or further visual materials to prove it, itâs impossible to get too many people to pay further attention, let alone create a hot topic.
Just like when he had earlier learned from Little Fatty Girl that someone had captured a photo of the eight-armed monster she had constructed out of fine particles, after which Alice had searched the internet for related information. She discovered that this âMr. Liâ from Little Fatty Girlâs residential community had used a blurred image as a selling point and then vigorously promoted the idea that it was some sort of monster or entity from another dimension appearing outside their community.
Though it did attract some attention, the majority of internet users were merely curious bystanders not taking it seriously. In fact, many thought the image had been tampered with.
Alice even found related âscientific threadsâ on Douban, Zhihu, and Weibo, offering various seemingly scientific and logical analyses of that blurred photo, proving that the many-tentacled grey shadow was actually just dirt on the lens.
If Xiang Kun hadnât known that it was indeed the âeight-armed monsterâ constructed by Little Fatty Girl, he would have thought the image was fake as well.
That âMr. Liâsâ live-stream, relying solely on that blurry image, naturally couldnât maintain its hype for very long. When he actually started faking in his live-streams by hiring people to put on supernatural performances in their community, it only led to even harsher backlash.
So Xiang Kun had not asked Alice to do anything at all, because, as things were going, either âMr. Liâ would be ridiculed into ending his broadcast by netizens, or he would be shut down by the authorities and asked for a talk.
No one would ever know what the object in the photo truly was, much less make any connection to Little Fatty Girl.
The source of this cđšntent is freŃnovelkiss.com.
Perhaps just like these examples, there were indeed pieces of information about âmutantsâ or other strange phenomena on the internet, but had been distorted intentionally or unintentionally by all sorts of other information?
If a âVampireâ like himself were to make a self-exposure video, or if others who had captured âmutantsâ put a video of a âmutantâ on the internet.
Then, according to his inference, âDivine Technologyâ would first try to control him, erase his video while releasing more fabricated videos and information â all in a bid to confuse the public and lead them to believe that the videos and information are fake.
However, this was only Xiang Kunâs speculation. Perhaps he could have Alice search the internet again using broader criteria to see if there were any âreal gemsâ buried among the numerous âdust cloudsâ.
But there remained one big question Xiang Kun couldnât quite understand. This kind of information control was not something a single company, a single nation, or even several nations could achieve.
It was very difficult to completely block this sort of news across the entire world, across all living organisms.
If it was only for the sake of scientific research confidentiality, each country, institution, or company would only keep the âmutantsâ they control and grasp confidential. There is no reason to keep it confidential for other countries, and they might even deliberately reveal âmutantsâ from other countries or other regions.
There had to be some reason that all countries had come to an implicit agreement and understanding.
Perhaps it was that very reason why officials silently approved Divine Technologyâs investigation into information on âmutantsâ and allowed âDivine Technologyâ to control at least four âmutantsâ.
What could that reason be?
Could it be related to the research findings they obtained from the âmutantsâ?
After returning home, Xiang Kun shared all the known information with Alice and then had her simulate and infer based on this known information.
To establish a model to see what preconditions might lead to the present results.