Lin Mo didn’t know what was happening to him.
It was as if he had lost control of his body, and his consciousness instantly fell into boundless darkness, completely unaware of the outside world.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
In the haze, he could feel the discomfort caused by illness in his body, and his head felt as heavy as lead.
Not only could he not move, he couldn’t even think simple thoughts.
In the endless darkness, he seemed to have a dream.
He dreamed that he had become a child and saw his deceased mother.
In the cold rainy night, she held him, motionless and unwilling to let go, letting the cold raindrops beat against her.
He wanted to raise his hand more than once, to call out “Mother,” or even let out a simple grunt to prove his existence, but he couldn’t do any of that.
Yes… he couldn’t do anything.
In this cold world, the rain kept falling.
After a long time, he began to wonder whether it was rainwater or tears.
He stopped resisting and struggling, just letting his mother hold him, silently crying.
Perhaps at times like this, he could truly become that cowardly self…
Lin Mo stopped thinking, letting his consciousness fall into chaos, silently enduring the pain brought by the illness.
In the darkness, he seemed to hear someone talking to themselves urgently.
“You’ll get better… Lin Mo… you’ll get better.”
Before he could distinguish the voice, he felt a cool, delicate touch on his forehead, but it didn’t last long before being replaced by an even sharper chill.
“What else should I do… what else…”
The urgent muttering sounded again in his ears, but this time Lin Mo didn’t have the energy to pay attention.
The cold on his forehead temporarily suppressed some of the illness.
He seemed to feel some relief, and his body felt lighter.
In his drowsiness, sleepiness began to overwhelm him.
Not long after, he completely lost consciousness and fell asleep…
—
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
When Lin Mo’s consciousness returned again, it felt like he had endured an entire century.
Before he could open his eyes, an unbearable sharp pain and dryness in his throat surged up.
He almost instinctively turned his body, trying to find a possible source of water.
But he found nothing.
Just then, the figure who had been lying by the bed noticed the movement and instantly woke up from a dazed state.
“Ah, you’re awake, Lin Mo. Do you feel any better?”
As soon as Lin Mo’s eyes opened a crack, the girl’s big face rushed up, completely filling his vision.
He instinctively shrank back, as if startled, or as if subconsciously avoiding the too-close distance.
But Su Yu, who was extremely anxious, couldn’t notice that.
Regardless, she directly reached out and placed her hand on his forehead.
…
The cool, delicate touch was real.
Lin Mo felt his brain instantly shut down, stopping its operation.
“Good, good… It’s not that hot anymore. I was so worried.”
Feeling the much-lowered temperature, Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
When she looked back at Lin Mo, she noticed a strange faint redness on his cheeks.
“You…”
Su Yu found it strange but assumed it was just a symptom of his illness, nothing unusual.
“What do you want to say?”
Looking at the girl’s concerned eyes, Lin Mo temporarily suppressed the strange flutter that had risen in his heart.
He simply pointed at his throat, hoping she would understand.
“You want water? Sorry, sorry… I talked too much. I’ll go now…”
“Oh…”
The girl understood immediately, but in her rush to run out, she almost tripped.
But it was fine; she regained her balance and continued running.
“Here, here. Just fetched. The temperature should be just right.”
She carefully handed the cup to him, holding it in midair.
Just as she hesitated whether it was necessary to feed him directly, Lin Mo had already reached out with difficulty.
Gulp, gulp…
The temperature was indeed just right, Lin Mo thought, and he drank the water in one go.
“Uh…”
He felt like he had come back to life.
“How long did I sleep?”
These were the first words Lin Mo spoke after waking up.
His voice was still very hoarse.
Su Yu sat down on the edge of the bed, took out her phone to check the time, and then replied:
“It’s been over a day… To be honest, you slept so long without waking up, I didn’t know what to do.”
As she spoke, she let out a heavy sigh, which seemed more like an unconscious release of tension.
After worrying for so long, her efforts had finally paid off…
“Do you feel better now?”
Lin Mo didn’t answer immediately.
He just looked at the girl’s reddened eyes from staying up all night, and a complex mix of emotions surged in his heart.
“I slept that long…”
He rubbed his temples regretfully, using his strength to force himself to sit up, but suddenly losing strength, he fell back down again.
“You’d better not move for now. You haven’t eaten all day, so you’re definitely weak. Let’s get some food first.”
Seeing him in a state of exhaustion, Su Yu reassured him not to move, then trotted out again.
When she returned, she was holding a bowl of cooked oatmeal porridge.
“I couldn’t find any ingredients in the kitchen, so I could only cook this for you. Don’t complain. Eat first.”
“I won’t complain…”
Lin Mo nodded gently and reached out to take the bowl.
The steaming hot aroma wafted up.
Although he had no appetite, he forced himself to eat for the sake of his health.
“It has no taste…”
“No kidding. What taste could oatmeal have? Actually, I could add some sugar, but I don’t know if you can eat sweets right now.”
“Better not eat sweets when you have a fever. You’re right.”
Lin Mo took another big spoonful as he spoke.
Although it was tasteless, he felt an inexplicable satisfaction.
“By the way, where did you get this? I don’t think I had this in my storage.”
He had indeed stocked a lot of ingredients in his storage, but since the base had just been activated, the variety wasn’t very rich.
There shouldn’t be something he hadn’t eaten before.
Su Yu’s expression turned awkward.
She scratched her head and looked away.
“I brought this myself. I thought I could eat a little if I got hungry at night. Now it seems unnecessary.”
Because she always slept very late, she was used to eating something at midnight, so she prepared some instant snacks.
But worried that Lin Mo might mind, she didn’t bring instant noodles and just brought some healthy oatmeal.
“You actually packed this in your luggage…”
Lin Mo never expected that her already limited luggage contained such things.
This peculiar girl seemed different from anyone he had met before.
“You really didn’t need to. The kitchen is available anytime. If you’re hungry, just have the robot cook for you. You don’t need to eat these instant foods.”
Upon hearing this, Su Yu’s expression became even more awkward.
“I… I don’t know how to use them… and they don’t listen to me.”
Lin Mo paused.
Then he remembered that Su Yu’s ID card still had the previous Level 1 authority.
He had forgotten to upgrade it.
“It must be because of your identity info. I forgot to upgrade your permissions… Sorry, I’ve been too busy these past few days. The moment I turned around, I forgot about it.”
“I see…”
Su Yu’s face showed sudden realization.
So that was why the robots had been giving her the cold shoulder—it was because she simply didn’t have the authority…
She started to feel a bit upset.
Because Lin Mo forgot to give her permission, she had to argue and negotiate with that AI butler, and after a long time, it was only by using Lin Mo’s life as a reason that she barely convinced it to open the warehouse door.
Lin Mo just said he forgot.
She felt that all the effort she had put in was redundant.
After all, she had always thought she had convinced the AI with her eloquence, but it turned out it was just a matter of system permissions…
She was unhappy.
She pursed her lips and then turned to leave.
“Hmph, take your time eating. I’m going to the bathroom first.”
After saying that, she left the bedroom, and the door closed with noticeable force.
“What’s wrong with her…”
Although his mind was still sluggish, Lin Mo could see some hints, but he couldn’t figure out which words he had said wrong.
“How could this happen?”