Ten years ago, on that day, Mantis walked into the dark night, sneaking into the home of Lu Youqi amidst a heavy rainstorm. This was Mantis' first independent operation.

Ten years later, on this day, Mantis walked into the black night, pouring rain falling down. He felt as if he was walking in the light.

Mantis remembered that day ten years ago, the cold rain dripping straight down from his neck onto his body. His clothes were sticking together. It took Mantis quite a bit of effort to climb into Lu Youqi's room through the ventilation duct.

And now, Mantis was already familiar with the villa where Lu Youqi lived. Seven years ago, he used the "print" engine to model this house and countless times entered the basement, climbed up the emergency elevator to the living room in the VR environment.

Mantis had studied Lu Youqi's house and schedule multiple times, so when he entered the room, it felt strangely familiar. He walked around the room, cut off the main power switch, and let everything sink into darkness. Mantis sat down on a chair, knowing that Lu Youqi would be back in half an hour.

Mantis listened to the heavy rain outside the window, sinking into the chair.

Not long after, Lu Youqi pushed open the door of the house. Realizing the power outage, he calmly walked into the darkness of the living room, vaguely sensing Mantis sitting over there.

Mantis spoke, "You don't seem surprised? As a self-proclaimed genius in computer spectrum studies and intelligence analysis, can you deduce who I am and why I've come to find you?"

Lu Youqi pondered for a moment and said, "Firstly, as someone who has spent the first half of my life in games and school, I am well aware that I am a scholar. As a scholar, I have no power, no community behind me, and no resources to mobilize. I can only exist as a diplomatic figure, which is one of the reasons why you can come to find me. Secondly, I was promoted by Zhu Ban and have always been a loner, not making any connections. My position is basically inclined towards Zhu Ban. Thirdly, my greatest asset lies in the power of my moral role model and having a good public image. So, if you've come to find me, it means that first, you want to use me to achieve your goals; second, in this process, you believe it is in the interest of the Zhu Ban group; third, the things you want to do may be related to the public interest. Assuming the above analysis is correct, then you must have come to discuss the matter of the Artificial Intelligence Act with me."

Mantis chuckled lightly and said, "The Southern Hemisphere's number one talent, truly living up to your reputation. However, your speculation is wrong."

Upon hearing this, Lu Youqi sat down opposite Mantis.

Mantis spoke, "I have a piece of information for you. I heard that an exploration community has discovered two people in hibernation from the year 2020, and they have now been taken in by BAT Company's Department of Life Medicine. Without using a genius's brain to think, I also know that this will bring trouble in the future. The current technology is still far from being able to bring these two zombies back to life, but as long as BAT Company wants to hype this matter, they will eventually present these two people to the players. I think you should be prepared, as there are no shortage of ambitious people in this world. According to my knowledge, BAT Company's Department of Life Medicine has a Druze program, which aims to revive these two people in about ten years."

Lu Youqi nodded and smiled, "Indeed, reviving two people is not a big deal. It's suspicious that they would go to such great lengths to do it."

Mantis continued, "The information I obtained also shows that they have plans for corresponding game development. Before grandly unveiling these two people, I believe they will have the corresponding stage set."

Lu Youqi interjected, "It seems that the people at BAT think that if the Ramen Sect can rise within a hundred years, why can't they just create two people out of thin air?"

Mantis nodded and said, "AI is not allowed, and everyone is going crazy, constantly wanting to stand in the place of God. I have delivered the information, and I am ready to go back."

Lu Youqi looked at Mantis' figure and suddenly asked, "Mantis, what is your relationship with Li Geyu?"

Mantis was taken aback, then felt somewhat relieved. It was only a matter of time before Lu Youqi guessed his identity, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. Mantis then became suspicious and wondered, Li Geyu was Zhu Ban's secretary, and he had never had any contact with her.

Mantis hesitated for a moment and immediately replied, "I have nothing to say."

In Lu Youqi's memory, Mantis disappeared into the night, disappeared into the pouring rain of the night, like a drop of water submerged in ink. In the ink-colored sky, the memory of that night was faint.

Ten years later, Mantis became blind. The night grew darker, and under Mantis' sunglasses, it was even darker.

The two remained silent for a long time, the smell of rainwater lingering in the air.

Lu Youqi took the initiative to speak, "Why don't you consider treating your eyes? When I was in my twenties, I also had a car accident, you know, a car accident caused by a malfunctioning ABS system. At that time, I almost lost vision in my right eye. Although the treatment plan had huge risks, I thought it was worth a try. I gambled on my life, and I gambled that this medical treatment would gradually mature. And now, my eyes are still fine. With the current technology, it's much less risky to implant an artificial eye. Why not give it a try?"

Mantis nodded and asked, "Is it you who arranged Wan Yining to be by Zhang Bei's side?"

Lu Youqi smiled and said, "You never answer my questions but expect me to answer all of yours. I have completely cut off contact with her now, but I can say for sure that because her parents divorced a long time ago, she was very little influenced by her father, and they are completely different kinds of people. Did you even investigate this?"

Mantis looked up and said, "Jiao Huanqi is a conservative person. He can be divided and won over, but we must pay attention to Zhang Bei. That person is definitely a dangerous individual. I met him this afternoon."

Lu Youqi, slightly surprised, said, "You've already met him and made such a judgment? What evidence do you have? What risks can this person bring?"

Mantis said, "Zhang Bei may have worked for the intelligence department before. I could smell it around him, intelligence agency personnel generally have a lower moral bottom line, a temperament of doing whatever it takes to achieve their goals. When his goals align with those of humanity, we mistake him for a protector, but when our goals diverge, he becomes a disaster. Furthermore, Zhang Bei and Wade may have had a grudge a hundred years ago. I hope you can investigate it in an archaeological way."

Lu Youqi smiled and said, "I didn't expect that you've even read my future books on archaeology. Then tell me, Mantis, what is your intuition about Zhang Bei? I need a clear-minded ally with keen observation skills in order to trust my source."

Mantis impatiently waved his hand and said, "You don't have to trust me as a source, and I am not your ally. If you want me to evaluate Zhang Bei, I can only say that he is a coward. Powerful people admit their mistakes and betray themselves, while cowards have no beliefs and give up civilization. That's essentially it."

Lu Youqi nodded and smiled, "Everyone thinks that Wade and Zhang Bei were ancient warriors, and they either admire them or consider them dangerous warlords. But you think he is a coward."

Mantis looked at Lu Youqi and asked, "It's Wan Yining who admires them, right?"

Lu Youqi's gaze turned forward, he sat back and said, "Things are not that complicated, there's no need to investigate this. It has nothing to do with her, and I don't want to involve her."

Mantis listened and got up to leave. He walked resolutely and skillfully. For a moment, Lu Youqi even felt that the person in front of him was not blind. When Mantis reached the elevator in the darkness, he said, "Loving someone is only about oneself, it's about creating miracles regardless of the consequences. This is different from other calculations and considerations in life. By the way, please pull the emergency power switch, it'll be easier for me to leave through the elevator."

Lu Youqi helplessly looked at the figure dripping with water, and said, "Romanticists and terrorists are the same kind of people. I have already removed all the monitoring sensors in the ventilation duct. It'll be more convenient for you to come in from there next time."

Saying that, Lu Youqi went into the power distribution room to turn on the switch.

When he turned around, Mantis had already disappeared into the night, as if the ten years in between had never existed, leaving only a puddle of water on the floor.