003.

Mo Caiyong tries to laugh it off as he quickly switches to the middle lane, "I'm late, I'm sorry, it really couldn't be solved earlier. I hope the referee can understand…"

The voice laughs in anger and the man on the other end of the line interrupts the youth's excuse, "Even if May understands, do you think that Xia Yueli understands? And even if she does, do you think that motherfucker Gu Feihan, bless his heart, does? Who do you take me for?!"

"I'm sorry, Luo ge." The youth can only keep apologising as he struggles to pull up a virtual map of the district. At other times, it would be fine to just follow his instincts regarding finding a route, but today is clearly a special case where he has to find the fastest course as quickly as possible.

"Okay, okay. If there is nothing to do, then there is nothing to do. You…" The man takes a deep breath as he tries to calm himself, but before he can finish his sentence, he is unexpectedly interrupted by the cold voice of the system.

"After the 437 process no. 000001 has been interrupted, measure 48 is being implemented. Repeatedly, after the 437 process no. 000001 has been interrupted, measure 48 is being implemented. Countdown is starting now; twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…"

"Fuck!!" The man on the phone can only use one word to describe his feelings… Flabbergasted! "What the hell is that? Or… Caiyong, what the fuck are you up to?!"

Mo Caiyong isn't feeling any happier than him either. His grip on the steering wheel tightens unconsciously as he replies in a nonchalant manner, "It's a backup system I hadn't had the time to take care of. It has no ability to connect to any outer routers, so there is no harm in keeping it, other than, of course, the annoyance."

"You… What backup system? Where the… Where are you?!" Luo Qifeng is feeling an overwhelming urge to hold his head with both hands in case it decides to roll off, but in reality he is more afraid that Mo Caiyong will end the call, and can therefore do nothing but put off the first urge for a while longer.

"It's, well, I'll explain later, alright?" Mo Caiyong really doesn't have any time to waste on pointless explanations. "I'll be there soon, I promise, okay? A few more minutes."

This is the time the backup system chooses to go online again, stating, "…Two, one. The countdown has ended. Measure 48 has been implemented; the backup system is about to turn off. Please stand by while waiting for your personal assistant to finish the registration procedure. Goodbye."

Then, a new and girly voice like fresh spring water sounds, "Good evening, user 737847523495. I am your personal Hongmao assistant, at your service. Please elaborate on the problem you're experiencing."

"...….." Luo Qifeng has successfully suppressed the urge to hold onto his head, and only wants to cry now. His voice is strangely quiet, especially after the previous yelling, "Caiyong, you tell me, I remember right, you don't have a Hongmao, do you?"

Mo Caiyong is silent. He ignores the man's question directly, and replies only to the assistant, "There is no problem, thank you." Unfortunately, it seems that the situation can't be solved so easily.

"Sir, looking at the information passed to me by the backup system, there was a failed attempt at measure 437. To be able to take the next step, I'm going to need to know the exact reason for the failure."

Mo Caiyong feels somewhat conflicted as he listens. The assistant's speech is very human-like, and he almost feels bad for having to be the one to inform it, "Hm. The reason for failure is probably because the car's access to outer systems has been interrupted."

"......." The assistant feels the uncomfortably human urge to smack him on the temple, "…Why was it interrupted?" It already has a bad premonition, and the youth's answer isn't too helpful either.

"It is because I disconnected the COL-sensors, isn't it. On the same topic, it's interesting that TPQ still uses these obsolete designs, no? It's quite easy to get rid of this stuff." Not getting a reply, he coughs twice before speaking to the phone, "Luo ge, I'm going to end the call. I'll be there in a few minutes, wait for me, alright?"

Before Luo Qifeng even has the time to react, the call has already been disconnected, and he can only watch helplessly as the screen darkens.

His hand moves to scratch at his head, but the motion stops halfway as he turns to the car's window. Two knocks sound, and the other person doesn't even wait until the window is rolled down completely, leaning on it as if she really wants to climb inside but is restraining herself.

"Luo ge, the half an hour you asked for is about to be over. Where is the kid?"

Luo Qifeng smile is somewhat awkward, "I only need a few more minutes, he'll be here soon. Please bear with this for now."

Xia Yueli looks at him for a while, staying silent before standing back up. The long braids of hair fall over her shoulder from the shift in position, and she raises a hand in irritation to shove them back as she speaks. "The base of our brand is dependability. For the sake of our friendship, I've lost some of my credibility already."

She looks at the car's clock before making a decision, "This is the last concession I am willing to make for you. Please don't disappoint me."

Luo Qifeng nods, almost comically swiftly. He leans out through the window, raising his voice as Xia Yueli walks away, "You won't regret it!"

"I very fucking much hope so." The mutter is only heard by the woman herself. She makes her way over to a bright yellow sports car, habitually leaning through the window.

"The kid is late, we'll wait for another ten minutes."

"Fuck, even that can be done?!" The youngster reclining on the co-pilot's seat almost sits up in shock. "And what then?"

The person in the driver's seat echoes him, "Yeah, what if he doesn't come? You really are giving him too much face at this point!"

Xia Yueli smiles in dissatisfaction, "Even then, what can be done? The face is for Luo Qifeng anyway. If his skin is thick enough to accept it, I don't mind giving him some more."

Then, "But you're right, if he isn't in front of me in ten minutes, we'll just start the show without him. The loss with him here is greater than the gain without."