The Last 299 Days of Humanity

As her aunt watched Yu Qing's departing figure, an inexplicable worry welled up in her heart. This surprised even herself.

As a "parallel human" who had long since abandoned her fragile physical body and existed in a special vessel as an ideology, she thought that her emotional modules had been highly optimized and rationalized, but she still retained far more human emotional remnants than she herself admitted.

This is completely different from those "Yu Zi" who merely retain self-awareness and almost completely abandon emotions, or those "humanoid Shu" whose emotional modules are relatively simple.

She still clearly remembers where she came from, the long river of blood that originated from Yu Yunshan, and some of her feelings as a "human being".

Although she no longer had a physical body, deep in her consciousness, she still regarded Yu Qing as a special and resilient vine that had grown from the same root.

She didn't want to see anyone, especially a cold-blooded figure like "Da Dian," easily sever ties with him. However, Yu Qing clearly underestimated "Da Dian's" true abilities and the undisguised cruelty in his actions.

If I were to stand idly by, this stubborn nephew would likely die a horrible death, his beloved Wengshan Mountain crushed into dust along with the remains of the era.

Intervening carries risks. It could not only bring unnecessary trouble to her, but also disrupt her long-maintained, relatively peaceful life, and even draw her into a vortex she has been intentionally avoiding.

The influence of "Dadian" is deeply entrenched, and its technological strength is even slightly superior to that of Tianqingcheng in some areas.

Their pioneering achievement of large-scale, sustainable exoplanetary migration and construction forced the decision-makers of Tianqing City to turn their attention to more distant star systems.

This is partly to seek new possibilities, and to some extent, it also stems from a deep-seated aversion to being neighbors with "Dadian" and a desire to stay away from them.

If she were to help Yu Qing now, it would undoubtedly break the delicate, largely tacit understanding between Tianqing City and "Dadian" that had existed for over a century. Therefore, the aid must be carried out covertly, and absolutely not openly.

However, it is almost impossible to completely cover up her actions, because Tianqing City is not a monolithic entity. A few people or forces have long been openly or secretly affiliated with "Dadian" and are even conducting experiments and research for them in the shadow of Tianqing City that are not tolerated by the mainstream.

After careful consideration, the aunt mobilized her resources. She quietly separated and activated ten dedicated "guardian" avatars. These avatars were specially treated to be completely invisible, not only against visible light but also against most conventional and unconventional detection methods.

To eliminate any potential clues that might emerge later, she completely erased the unique individual identification attributes and emotional simulation modules of these avatars, making them more like ten absolutely obedient and powerful invisible machines that could not be traced back to her original self.

Thus, without his knowledge, Yu Qing began a life of being "protected" from all angles by ten "invisible guards." This quickly led to a series of "minor accidents" that left him both confused and amused.

In fact, Yu Qing also had a hunch that there were always several pairs of eyes watching him. Once, he was thirsty and was about to call Dong Hao to get a pot of hot water to make tea, but as soon as he picked up the kettle, he found that the water in the kettle had inexplicably turned into the perfect temperature of 85 degrees Celsius for brewing.

He clearly remembered that the water had been brought over three hours ago and should have been cold by now. Puzzled, he turned to get the tea canister, and in the blink of an eye, a small pinch of tea leaves had been thoughtfully placed in the saucer beside the teapot, the amount as precise as if it had been weighed by a machine.

Even more amazingly, just as he turned around to see if Donghao or Yaodan had come in and gotten him the tea, and after confirming that no one had been around, he turned back to find a cup of perfectly warm water already placed steadily on his table.

This is truly unbelievable! Yu Qing quickly called Yao Dan over to stay by his side. He admitted that he was a little scared, but he absolutely did not believe that there were really ghosts.

However, strange things began to happen. Once, when Yu Qing went out to inspect the city's defenses, he accidentally stepped on a loose stone and instantly lost his balance. He knew he was in trouble and prepared to take the fall head-on.

However, the expected pain did not come. He felt as if he had fallen onto an invisible, slightly elastic "cushion," his body being gently supported and then straightened by a soft force.

The whole process was so fast it felt like an illusion, with only a faint, energy-disturbing hum remaining in the air.

However, a small accident occurred. When Yu Qing sensed that something was amiss, his hands unconsciously reached out and grabbed at the air, accidentally grabbing an invisible nose!
Although these invisible figures were transparent, they weren't shapeless; they had the exact same body shape as her aunt. This startled Yu Qing, who screamed in terror.

When Donghao arrived after hearing Yuqing's shouts, she saw nothing. She looked at Yuqing questioningly, wanting to know what had happened. However, Yuqing could no longer feel the nose on his hand, so he could only wave his hand to indicate that nothing was wrong.

The anomaly was also evident in the fact that his room suddenly became excessively spotless, even though he hadn't arranged for anyone to clean it. His clothes would even disappear when he wasn't looking, only to reappear quietly in their original place in the closet after being washed, dried, and neatly folded.

Once, he deliberately spilled some tea on the floor to see what would happen. When he turned around, the floor was spotless, and even the teacups were polished to a shine, as if the tea had never existed.

These seemingly minor yet persistent events gradually turned Yu Qing from initial confusion into a somewhat neurotic state. He would often turn around abruptly or shout into an empty room, "Who's there?!"

Of course, he never received a response. He began to wonder if he was under too much pressure and was hallucinating.

Or perhaps, the mysterious "aunt" was "taking care" of him in some way he couldn't understand, but this way of taking care was maddeningly mechanical "consideration" and an omnipresent sense of control.

These ten invisible figures, devoid of personal emotions, were merely following orders from the lower levels. Their sole purpose was to ensure Yu Qing's absolute safety. They even wiped up a drop of tea from the floor because they believed it posed a risk of Yu Qing slipping and falling.

As for why Yu Qing's surroundings had to be spotless, it was only because they were worried that someone might spread harmful things like viruses to him through the dust, so they took this extreme measure.

They profoundly influenced Yu Qing's life in an almost comical way, allowing him to experience a unique sense of "security" in the perilous Qingtian City, tinged with a touch of dread and a great deal of helplessness.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of Wengshan and Changjin, "Dadian's" revenge against Yu Qing and his group had quietly begun. With Chang Sheng missing, the focus was now on Yu Qing in Wengshan. It was at this point that the Invisible Man's true role began to unfold.

The first attack occurred on Yu Qing's way to the hospital. He wanted to check on Chen Jiang's condition. "Da Dian" used its newly developed "Molecular Deconstruction Ray," a weapon capable of instantly disintegrating the molecular structure of a target. As a pale blue beam, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, shot towards Yu Qing from the opposite building, an invisible guard instantly moved in front of him, deploying an invisible energy barrier.

The rays created ripples on the barrier before being completely absorbed and transformed into harmless background energy. Yu Qing felt only a gentle breeze on his face, completely unaware of the deadly crisis that had just occurred.

The sniper point that emitted the ray was remotely paralyzed by another invisible guard with a precise energy backlash pulse the next second. The operator only saw the instrument overload and smoke for a moment, but had no idea why.

The second attack was more covert. "DaDian" smuggled nanoscale tracking and sabotage devices into the food at a restaurant Yu Qing frequented. These micro-robots, once inside the human body, would gradually gather in critical organs, mimicking natural diseases that cause organ failure.

However, while Yu Qing was dining, the invisible guards had already dispersed and deactivated all the nanobot clusters before the food even entered his mouth by releasing harmonics of a specific frequency.

Yu Qing felt that the food tasted a bit strange that day, as if it was "too clean," even losing the subtle flavors that food should have. He frowned, but simply assumed that the humanoid chef might have used different water that day.

The third time, "Dadian" dispatched an assassin disguised as the humanoid Shu who served Yu Qing. This assassin could perfectly mimic the humanoid Shu's behavior and had a high-energy pulse explosive hidden in its core, enough to destroy an entire street.

Just 0.3 seconds before the assassin, with the help of several humanoid maids, approached Yu Qing to a dangerous distance and was about to activate the detonation program within his body, two invisible guards instantly sandwiched him between them, forming a temporary sealed force field and simultaneously releasing a super-strong directional electromagnetic pulse.

The assassin's entire system instantly froze, overloaded, and melted, and the internal explosive devices were silently and permanently locked.

The whole process was as fast as lightning. Yu Qing only saw a humanoid girl suddenly stop, her expression freeze instantly, and then she slumped down like a puppet with its strings cut. She was quickly carried away by the "medical staff" (actually two other disguised invisible guards) who happened to be "passing by".

The most dangerous and bizarre attack occurred late at night.

"Dadian" utilizes the "Dream Invader" system, which is still in the experimental stage. This device can emit a specific spectrum that resonates with human brainwaves, directly affecting the sleeping brain, weaving extremely realistic and terrifying dreams, and causing cardiac arrest or brain death due to extreme fear.

When the invisible waves of consciousness swept toward the sleeping Yu Qing, ten invisible guards activated simultaneously, forming a complex reverse waveform energy network around Yu Qing's bed.

This not only completely neutralized the invading nightmare wave, but also, according to the instructions, injected a soothing dream about the aunt's beautiful childhood memories.

The next day, Yu Qing woke up feeling more refreshed than ever before, still savoring the long-lost peace from his dream. Meanwhile, in a building across the street, the entire team of "Dream Weavers" operators at "Dadian" had fallen into permanent hibernation due to the overload impact from the instruments.

After a series of failures, "Dadian" adjusted their strategy. They attempted to use information-level attacks, hiring top hackers to try and infiltrate Yu Qing's personal terminal, tamper with his navigation information, guide him into a pre-set death trap, or directly release nerve gas.

However, all data streams are intercepted, parsed, and traced in reverse by the "digital firewall" built by the Invisible Guardian before entering the Yuqing terminal.

As a result, Yu Qing discovered that his map application would occasionally "lag" and then the incorrect markings would be automatically corrected. He even received several inexplicable "thank you letters for fixing system vulnerabilities".

As for the poison gas, it was swept away by the micro-convective field generated by the guards the moment it was released, and diluted in the upper atmosphere.

"Dadian" even tried biological methods, releasing a batch of genetically edited mechanical mosquitoes that carried highly toxic substances and could accurately identify biological information from Yuqing.

As these mosquitoes approached Yu Qing's residence, they were blocked and shattered by an invisible infrasound barrier, falling to the ground like a miniature rain of metal. The next day, Dong Hao, who was cleaning the corridor, found some strange metal fragments and initially thought they were from Xiao Ya's broken toys.

These seemingly foolproof safeguards sometimes bring new "interference" to Yuqing.

On one occasion, he instructed Yaodan to purchase some Yadu weapons through the black market to strengthen the defenses of Wengshan. During the transaction, as soon as the other party took out a storage chip, the chip vanished from his hand with a "whoosh" and reappeared on the ground a few steps away, physically destroyed by some force.

The seller was terrified, thinking he had encountered a double agent or a superhuman from the Yadu Enforcement Team, and fled in a panic, leaving Yu Qing dumbfounded at the chip fragments on the ground, his anger having nowhere to go.

He was almost certain that the owner of the "invisible nose" was behind it all!
Furthermore, as Da Dian's attacks were repeatedly thwarted without a sound, the people of Da Dian were finally enraged. They no longer regarded Yu Qing as a simple local power leader and began to suspect whether other factions in Tianqing City, or even some forces among the "parallel humans," were behind him.

They activated the "Sky Eye" system, hidden deep within the energy core of Qingtian City. This is a large-scale quantum fluctuation scanner that can theoretically detect any form of energy anomaly and invisible units.

The aunt immediately sensed the activation fluctuations of "Sky Eye." She realized that simple invisibility and interception were no longer sufficient. She had to instruct the guards to adopt a more proactive and dangerous strategy—information deception and tactical misdirection.

She remotely loaded more complex response protocols onto her ten avatars, ordering them to proactively create some "accidents" to mislead "Dadian's" judgment and divert their attention in the wrong direction, while protecting Yu Qing.

Thus, in the shadows of Qingtian City, an even more complex and thrilling "shadow war" escalated. Yu Qing remained at the heart of this war, yet he was also the one who knew the least about the truth.

He could only grope his way forward through a series of bizarre "lucky" moments and maddening "inconveniences," relying on his increasingly strong intuition.

He knew that "Dadian" would never let him go easily, and what was the purpose of that mysterious "aunt" and the "invisible helpers" she sent? Was it protection, or another form of control?

He had to find the answer quickly, otherwise, he might not die at the hands of the enemy, but would be driven mad by this ubiquitous "concern." (End of Chapter)