Chapter 15: Overflow (1)

15 - Overflow (1)

The neighbor seemed not to hear.

In that case, Lin Xun couldn't be blamed for acting in self-defense.

He pressed F11.

Program running!

A worm virus is a type of mainstream virus. It spreads through the internet, hiding in web pages, files, full-screen ads, and any other possible locations. Once infected, it executes malicious actions in the background, damaging the computer or stealing information.

Lin Xun didn't know what consequences the virus would cause after attacking the target, so he didn't use an overly aggressive one.

—But it was already enough.

At first, the neighbor's eyes were wide open, veins bulging, as he slashed and stabbed at the invisible wall with his knife again and again. However, a minute later, his movements suddenly weakened. His thick right arm trembled slightly, and the hand holding the knife shook.

After another half minute, the ferocity in his eyes faded, replaced by utter confusion. The knife in his hand clattered to the ground!

But the momentum of his slashing motion remained, causing him to stumble forward. He barely steadied himself, staggering several steps like someone dead drunk in the middle of the night.

Lin Xun quietly watched him sway with every step, stumbling every few paces, performing erratic movements in the open space in front of the building. He thought, "He really does look like a lagging computer."

The sun gradually rose, and more people began moving around the neighborhood. Lin Xun thought it was dangerous for this person to wander around here. Even if he had lost his senses, he was still an eyesore. What if a child from the building ran out and got attacked by him—that would be even worse.

After some thought, for the sake of the neighborhood's safety, he decided to approach.

The neighbor looked at him blankly.

Lin Xun grabbed his keyboard and gave the neighbor a whack on the head.

—Then he picked up his phone: "Master, I've been attacked again."

"I'm the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner from upstairs, Old Huo. You suddenly had an epileptic seizure just now. Luckily, young Lin from across the hall noticed and called me down to check your pulse." Old Man Huo, exuding an ethereal aura, stood in the morning sunlight at eight o'clock, looking even more benevolent than the day before.

The neighbor, still confused, rubbed his throbbing head. Having just regained consciousness, his expression carried a hint of innocence that didn't match his burly build: "...And then I bumped into something myself?"

Old Man Huo stroked his beard: "Exactly. But you're fine now. Just take the 'Ultimate Epilepsy Pills' I prescribed for you and rest well."

And so, Old Man Huo earned another "Thank you, doctor."

After the neighbor left, Old Man Huo turned to him: "Even though you cannot sense spiritual Qi, you've managed to subdue two people carrying demon seeds in a row. It seems I underestimated you."

"You flatter me, Master," Lin Xun hugged his Cherry keyboard. "It's just that my keyboard is quite useful."

"That thing is flashy but impractical!" Old Man Huo said: "Since you use this method to fight, why not just carry a brick?"

Lin Xun thought for a moment: "A brick might not pass security checks."

Old Man Huo fell silent for a long while.

Just as Lin Xun thought he had said something wrong, he suddenly saw Old Man Huo as if enlightened, clapping his hands and laughing heartily: "Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! Good disciple! You have the legacy of your master's younger days!"

Well, whatever the master says goes.

After praising him, Old Man Huo added: "However, what exactly is so special about you? Two demon seeds have targeted you in succession."

Lin Xun shook his head.

Could it be related to the system within him?

That's not right either... Old Man Huo is a cultivator with considerable achievements, yet even he couldn't detect anything unusual about him. Those demon seeds whose cultivation levels are clearly lower than the old man's would have even less chance of knowing.

Is there something else special about him?

After a fruitless discussion, they followed their original plan and boarded a flight to Chengdu. After landing, they transferred to a car and arrived at the foot of Mount Qingcheng by evening.

The scenic area was closed, ticket sales had stopped, and there was no sign of human activity at the base of the mountain—only a few distant bird calls broke the silence.

Night had already fallen, and the rolling green mountains were shrouded in a thin layer of mist, flowing gently like smoke. Even though Lin Xun's aesthetic sense was rather impoverished, he still found the scenery serene and ethereal, truly resembling a place where immortals might dwell.

Old Man Huo led him up a secluded mountain path, ascending step by step. As they walked, he said, "Mount Qingcheng has grown powerful in recent years... it's the leader among the Immortal Sects. They even got it rated as some kind of scenic area, charging for visits and taking commissions—they're rolling in money! That old man Xiaoyaozi is standing taller and prouder by the day."

"Master," Lin Xun asked, "have cultivators always existed in the world?"

Old Man Huo replied, "Our sects have been passed down for millennia. Cultivation has naturally existed since ancient times."

Lin Xun fell silent, and for a while, no words were exchanged as they continued their ascent. After walking for who knows how long, as dusk approached, they suddenly heard a crisp, youthful voice ahead: "Senior Huo?"

Following the voice, a figure leaped out from the mountain's vegetation—a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth wearing a blue Daoist robe, with a wicker basket strapped to his back.

"Well, well," Old Man Huo said, "Little Yuanxiao, are you on break today?"

The young boy replied, "I took leave. Master said the Dao Discussion Assembly is important."

So this was Yuanxiao—the same Yuanxiao from the group chat who, despite his innocent appearance, used memes as his WeChat profile picture!

As Lin Xun was thinking this, his master pulled him forward. "Come, this is your senior brother Lin Suan from the group!"

"Fellow Daoist Lin!" Yuanxiao stood before him.

The child had delicate features, a baby face with a hint of chubbiness, and was quite endearing.

Lin Xun greeted him, "Junior Brother Yuanxiao."

Yuanxiao responded with a grin, saying, "I just finished gathering herbs and was about to head back anyway."

They continued walking together, but before they had taken more than a few steps, Old Man Huo asked, "Yuanxiao, how did your exams go this time?"

Yuanxiao's smile gradually faded, his expression stiffened, and his voice grew weak. "If I hadn't forgotten to fill in the answer sheet... then... then... it would have been okay..."

Old Man Huo said, "You must work harder!"

Yuanxiao: "...Okay."

Lin Xun then saw the younger boy glance at him. "Senior Brother Lin, are you in university now? What score did you get back then? I'm so nervous right now, what should I do?"

Lin Xun: "I didn't take the—"

Before he could finish, Old Man Huo interrupted, "Your Senior Brother Lin didn't go to school properly—you mustn't follow his example! He'll end up fixing computers in the future!"

Lin Xun: "...I was admitted through recommendation."

Old Man Huo: "...Ahem."

Suddenly, the atmosphere fell silent.

A faint sense of awkwardness and stillness hung in the air.

Yuanxiao broke the awkwardness: "Wow!"

Lin Xun, filled with goodwill toward the flowers of the motherland, said, "If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me—math, physics, chemistry, biology, even English."

"But..." Yuanxiao looked up at him. "Senior Brother, I'm a humanities student. I chose politics, history, and geography."

Lin Xun's goodwill instantly turned into sincere admiration. "My apologies."

Old Man Huo said, "This master suddenly remembered that I must visit an old friend at the Celestial Master Cave. I'll take my leave now."

With that, without waiting for a response, he slipped away like oil underfoot. His figure flashed through the woods and vanished.

Was the master feeling awkward?

Lin Xun watched the direction his master had left in, thinking the old man was rather endearing.

Now only he and Yuanxiao remained. Finally, they had a common topic, and as they chatted while walking, about forty minutes later, the mountain path curved, and amidst the lush greenery, the gate of the Daoist temple stood gracefully alone.

Yuanxiao exclaimed, "We're here!"

However, faint sounds of noisy arguments drifted from the temple gate.

Yuanxiao tugged at Lin Xun's sleeve and said, "It's those people again!"

Lin Xun: "Hmm?"

In the darkness, he vaguely saw a group of people dressed in Daoist robes gathered at the mountain gate, arguing with the two gatekeepers.

The leader said, "No duels accepted these days? Are you afraid of us? Today, we're going to fight our way up Mount Qingcheng, return to the Shangqing Palace, and reclaim justice!"

Lin Xun asked, "Who are they?"

Yuanxiao replied, "A bunch of stinky sword cultivators who took up unorthodox paths. All they know is fighting and internal strife. A few years ago, my master expelled them from the mountain, and they went off to establish their own sect."

At this point, Yuanxiao wrinkled his nose. "But our Mount Qingcheng is the leader of the immortal path, with a rare treasure guarding the sect. They covet that treasure, claiming they are the true orthodox lineage of Qingcheng. They often come to provoke us, saying they want to drive out the heretical sect and return to the Shangqing Palace. Senior Brother, you weren't in the group before—they used to badmouth Qingcheng in the group... until my master kicked them all out a month ago."

"But..." Yuanxiao scratched his head, his voice lowering. "They really are good fighters. Our Qingcheng can't beat them..."

"Who's there!" the leader suddenly turned and looked in their direction.

"Well, well," he raised an eyebrow. "Junior Brother Yuanxiao?"

The man looked ordinary, and in the dark, no further details were visible, but his tone was unmistakably frivolous and provocative. "Little junior brother, care to spar with your senior brother?"

Yuanxiao trembled and shrank behind Lin Xun.

"And who's this?" The man walked over, sizing up Lin Xun. "Xiaoyao's new disciple? Or Danyang's? That old man only collects pretty faces!"

Yuanxiao retorted, "You..."

"Me?" The man casually wiped his sword. "Take Senior Brother Qi up the mountain."

Yuanxiao said, "In your dreams."

The man's gaze sharpened, and with a flash of sword light, the tip of his blade pointed directly at Yuanxiao. "Not listening to your senior brother now?"

Yuanxiao tightened his grip on Lin Xun's sleeve. The child was clearly frightened, his voice trembling slightly. "You... you're not my senior brother."

The man surnamed Qi let out a mocking laugh.

Yuanxiao trembled again and whispered to Lin Xun, "Lin... Senior Brother Lin, I can't beat him."

Lin Xun patted the back of his hand to reassure him. "Step back a bit."

Yuanxiao said, "Qi Yun used to be the head disciple of Qingcheng. He's very powerful. We need to find a way to escape."

Lin Xun didn't respond. He gently detached the trembling Yuanxiao from himself and locked eyes with the man called Qi Yun.

Qi Yun looked at him but still addressed Yuanxiao. "Oh, so the junior brother has found a protector? Determined not to take your senior brother up the mountain today?"

As he spoke, he raised his sword slightly, pointing it at Lin Xun's face, clearly preparing to attack.

Lin Xun looked at Qi Yun and at the sword in his hand.

He unzipped his backpack, took out the cherry, and handed the bag to Yuanxiao to hold.

Qi Yun laughed heartily, twirled his sword with a flourish, and said, "Brother, isn't this magical artifact of yours a bit laughable?"

"Senior Brother," Lin Xun stood facing him, unmoving, and replied calmly, "Carrying controlled knives is illegal."