After exchanging greetings with the two "old acquaintances," "Cifer" clapped her hands with a beaming smile.
"Alright~ With my power and your physiques, you'll likely 'wake up' in about an hour.
"Keep track of the time yourselves~ And remember to act convincingly! The whole nation is watching!"
She specifically addressed Lin Zhiyuan on the sofa:
"Little Lin, if you're confused, just ask Little Bingbing! She's an experienced 'veteran actress' after all!"
Hearing this mocking remark, Lin Zhiyuan's eyes darted wildly beneath his closed eyelids as he mentally raged:
FCK OFF! My acting is way better than Nie Bing's! Who the hell asks questions while unconscious? Do you think I'm an idiot, or that the audience is full of them?!*
Determined not to be the Pursuit Team's worst actor, Lin Zhiyuan was even more meticulous than Nie Bing.
Meanwhile, Nie Bing was so furious her teeth itched. She wanted nothing more than to open her eyes and bite the attacker.
The phrase "veteran actress" was clearly a sarcastic jab at Nie Bing's unfortunate tendency to get knocked unconscious.
As a result, Lin Zhiyuan, having been thoroughly humiliated repeatedly, and Nie Bing, having been knocked unconscious and controlled for the second time, could only be described as "utterly dejected."
Ignoring their gloomy moods, Cifera grabbed a chair, plopped it down at the main seat of the Technical Booth, and nonchalantly took her place. Her fingers danced across the keyboard with lightning speed and effortless grace.
Hearing that familiar, ethereal sound, Nie Bing, though still seething with anger, found herself irresistibly opening her eyes, as if confronting her natural predator. Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to Cifera's expert manipulations at the console.
It was clear Cifera was completing the remaining debugging tasks for her.
Though her appearance had changed, those fingers dancing across the keyboard, the rapidly scrolling lines of complex code, the constantly shifting screens...
That absolute mastery over the Technical Booth, that godlike sense of control—it was undeniably Cifera!
Even "Cifer," who Nie Bing had previously considered unremarkable, now seemed breathtakingly charismatic.
Gradually, the anger in Nie Bing's heart subsided. She once again entered the state she had been in yesterday, reverently worshipping Cifera while desperately trying to absorb every bit of knowledge.
She even forgot she was supposed to be unconscious, subconsciously moving her chair closer to Cifera to get a clearer view of her actions.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhiyuan lay on the sofa, pretending to be unconscious, but his ears were perked up like radar dishes.
The crisp clatter of keyboard strokes pierced his ears like a magical incantation, each tap stirring his knowledge-hungry soul.
He could vividly imagine the spectacular sight of code cascading down the screen like a waterfall, and he could picture Cifera's fingertips dancing across the keyboard like butterflies, a dazzling display of skill.
Click-clack... tap-tap-tap...
That was the sound of Cifera pushing Nie Bing's equipment to its limits! A symphony of knowledge! The temple of technology beckoning him!
The distinct creak of Nie Bing moving her chair had reverberated clearly in his ears moments ago. Even without seeing it, he knew exactly what that "fanatical computer techie" was up to!
And what about me? All I can do is lie here like a dead fish, playing the part of a convincing "coma patient"?
On the sofa, Lin Zhiyuan's inner turmoil raged with the intensity of his world-class puzzle-solving on the show The Brain:
That Nie Bing... she's thrown her dignity to the wind just to learn those skills!
With her abysmal acting skills, she's undoubtedly the worst performer on the Pursuit Team! The live stream audience must have seen it too—I've won! Ha ha ha... but this victory tastes so bitter!
I... I freaking want to learn those skills from Cifera too!
Why am I stuck here pretending to be dead while Nie Bing gets to go openly?
This is blatant favoritism! It's completely unfair!
Just because she's slacking off? Then I... I can slack off too! Does acting put food on the table? Can it unravel Cifera's trickery? Can it protect the Starry Light?
Obviously not!
Know your enemy—if I master Cifera's techniques, I'll finally be able to catch her next time!
"Exactly! Technology reigns supreme!
"If having terrible acting skills gives me a legitimate excuse to master technology, then... I, Lin Zhiyuan, will proudly claim the title of 'Worst Actor in the Pursuit Team'!"
Almost the instant this epiphany struck him, Lin Zhiyuan felt something inside him snap with a distinct pop.
Between mastering world-class computer technology and becoming a passable actor, he unequivocally chose the former.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Zhiyuan sat up stiffly from the sofa, his movements slightly robotic, as if he were a corpse suddenly resurrected.
The abrupt movement didn't go unnoticed.
At the technical booth, Cifera and Nie Bing paused slightly in their focused work.
"Cifer" didn't even turn her head, her lips curving into an amused smirk as her fingers continued flying across the keyboard without slowing.
Nie Bing, however, glanced sideways, giving Lin Zhiyuan a fleeting look from the corner of her eye.
Her gaze was remarkably complex, a mix of:
A hint of knowing—"You finally can't keep up the act in the face of technology." A touch of reproach—"You're not even pretending anymore?" * A subtle acknowledgment of shared complicity—"You've joined us in the mire."
More than anything, it was the impatience of someone whose "pilgrimage" had been interrupted—as if to say:
If you want to come watch, just come. Stop making a fuss and interrupting my studies!
When Lin Zhiyuan finally sat up, his heart was still pounding, and two awkward blushes inevitably rose on his cheeks.
He even subconsciously reached up to adjust his glasses, as if that could somehow conceal his embarrassment.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain himself—to say something like, According to the rules, I was indeed unconscious, but I don't want to lie down. Could you help me to the Technical Booth so I can sit there?
However, when he saw Cifera and Nie Bing's reactions—
One completely ignored him, while the other cast a disdainful glance before quickly turning away, as if he were nothing more than an insignificant background prop.
In that instant, the embarrassment vanished, replaced by a peculiar sense of relief.
They... don't seem to care at all whether I'm faking being unconscious? But they were just telling me to make my act more convincing...
If they don't care... then... what am I even afraid of?!
Lin Zhiyuan abandoned any further attempts at explanation. He stood up abruptly, his movements indistinguishable from those of a normal person.
Only his eagerness made him appear clumsy, nearly tripping over the sofa.
He strode to the Technical Booth, his destination clear: the empty stool next to Nie Bing.
Sensing someone approaching, Nie Bing's brow furrowed imperceptibly, and she instinctively shifted closer to Cifera.
Lin Zhiyuan ignored her entirely, brazenly plopping down on the stool.
"..." Nie Bing recoiled, inching even closer to Cifera until she was practically pressed against her.
Cifera finally reacted, tilting her head slightly and offering a wry smile to the encroaching Nie Bing and the stubbornly wedging Lin Zhiyuan.
Her gaze seemed to say, "Oh, the two 'unconscious' experts woke up right on cue? Limited seating, so you'll have to squeeze in?"
Nie Bing didn't even glance at Cifera's expression, completely absorbed in the technical operations once again.
Lin Zhiyuan's cheeks, however, felt slightly flushed under Cifera's gaze, but his thirst for knowledge overwhelmed everything else.
Mimicking Nie Bing, he also ignored Cifera's expression, adopting an air of intense concentration and quickly becoming engrossed in the work.
The three huddled around the Technical Booth: a "most wanted fugitive" disguised as a security guard, a "fainted" cold-faced female police officer with a passion for technology, and a "fainted" "The Brain" who had abandoned his "idol image."
Yet, at that moment, they resembled nothing more than a small study group, creating an oddly harmonious scene.
Before long, after "Cifer" finished adjusting the Technical Booth, "he" used the computer to simulate Nie Bing's phone communication channel. Adjusting his voice to match Nie Bing's crisp, yet subtly excited tone, he contacted Liu Shanhe on the rooftop:
"Master! We've made a discovery in the surveillance room!"