Chapter 192: The Final Form of the Spacetime Virus

Zhao Jianguo stared at the pen vanishing into his pocket, his finger still resting on the groove of the exam ruler. He neither moved nor spoke, simply slid the ruler back onto the stand and turned to nod at Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu instantly understood and, without a hint of emotion, slipped toward the gray‑jacket man. Zhao Jianguo withdrew to a corner, opened the Terminal interface, and saw the Signal Source still pulsing but its frequency altered, as if something were blocking it.

He shut the device and hurried out of the hall.

The car crawled along, yet he said nothing the entire ride. He Yushui sat in the passenger seat, gave him two looks, and asked nothing. She knew that Zhao Jianguo's expression meant trouble.

Back at the Siheyuan, night had already fallen. Zhao Jianguo hurried to the Main Hall, where the Shuang Baotai were perched on a small stool assembling a wooden house and, upon seeing him, cried together, "Dad!"

"Mm," he answered, squatting down to watch their little hands manipulating the parts. His fingertips were cool, his pulse quickening.

He brushed the foreheads of the two kids, then scrutinized the faint birthmarks at their brows. The system raised no alert, but a stone pressed in his heart.

"Are you sleepy today?" he asked.

"Not sleepy!" the older brother looked up, grinning, "We memorized three poems, and Mom praised us!"

The younger brother nodded along, his eyes shining.

Zhao Jianguo smiled, rose, switched off all the lights in the house and even unplugged the radio. He then went to the Kitchen, pulled the old circuit breaker down, and the entire home fell silent instantly.

"What are you doing?" He Yushui stuck her head out from the inner room.

"Don't turn on any appliances," he said. "Tonight no one should use anything that's powered."

She frowned, yet did as he instructed.

Zhao Jianguo cradled the Shuang Baotai into the Bedroom, laid them down, and sat on the bedside. He switched the Terminal to silent mode, tucked it under the pillow with the Screen facing upward.

Time ticked by slowly.

At 2:17 am, the Terminal gave a slight vibration.

He opened his eyes, sat upright, and stared at the Screen— the brain‑wave monitor displayed irregular fluctuations. The children's breathing was steady, yet their alpha waves were being tugged by a patterned signal, like a gentle pull forward.

Zhao Jianguo reached out and brushed the older brother's cheek; it was ice‑cold.

"Wake up," he whispered.

The child's eyelids fluttered, he kept his eyes shut, yet a voice emerged, "Dad… we're so sleepy…"

The little sister murmured in the same tone, her voice identical.

Zhao Jianguo sprang up, strode to the table, and bit his right index finger open.

He didn't hesitate, etching a short horizontal line onto the twins' brow birthmarks, then a vertical stroke from left to right, and finally a looping circle to seal it. The motion was rapid; the blood mark darkened and seeped into the skin, disappearing instantly.

The air suddenly stirred.

It wasn't a sound, nor wind, but that… sensation of someone breathing right next to your ear.

From the corner, a few blue glimmers rose, winding like roots toward the bed. They wrapped around the Shuang Baotai's heads, tightening ever more.

Zhao Jianguo gathered the children into his arms, opened his mouth, and began a story.

"Once upon a time there was a mountain." His voice was soft yet each word clear, "In the mountain stood a courtyard. A family lived there—dad could repair machines, mom could cook, and the two kids loved reading."

The blue light flickered.

"One day a stranger arrived, trying to lure the kids away." He went on, "The kids said, 'I don't know you, I won't follow you.' The stranger replied, 'I'm your uncle.' The kids answered, 'My uncle wouldn't mess up the opening of a story.'"

The blue light began to warp.

"They remembered the story dad told," Zhao Jianguo repeated, "Once upon a time there was a mountain, and in the mountain there was a courtyard…"

As his words faded, the golden bracelets on the twins' wrists suddenly glowed.

It was an old trinket left by Chen Jianguo, ordinarily unremarkable, now emitting concentric rings of golden light that rippled against the blue markings like water.

Bang! The blue light burst, scattering into tiny points of light before disappearing.

The house fell silent again.

The two kids exhaled together, their eyelids flickered, and they opened their eyes.

"Dad?" the older brother blinked. "I was dreaming."

"I dreamed someone called our names," the sister added, "but we didn't agree."

Zhao Jianguo let out a sigh of relief, his hand still shaking. He patted their heads, remaining silent.

The Terminal then displayed a line of red text: 【Second‑Generation Time‑Traveler's Will Awakening Detected!】

Below it a smaller line read: 【Bloodline Resonance Activation, Defense Mechanism Activated】

He stared at it for a long time before stowing the device away.

He Yushui, at some point, stood in the doorway, clutching a blanket, her complexion pale. "I heard you speaking, but there's another voice in the house… not yours, not the kids'."

"It's all right now," he said. "From now on, don't leave the kids alone at night. If they mutter 'follow me' in their sleep, call me at once."

She nodded, covered the children with the blanket, and brushed their faces. "Who was it? Why cling to the two little ones?"

"It's not a person," Zhao Jianguo whispered. "It's a Virus that has learned to pose as a human."

He rose, walked to the window. Outside, night was thick; the courtyard was empty, not even a cat prowling.

Yet he knew the thing remained.

The Terminal displayed Signal Residue within five hundred meters, and several points approaching from the East City Direction, their frequency matching the earlier one.

He retrieved a palm‑sized iron box from the drawer, its surface soldered with a few copper wires and a glass pane set in the middle. It was the Spacetime Stabilizer he had crafted earlier, originally a toy for the Shuang Baotai.

He now flipped the switch, placing it beneath the children's pillow. The green light flickered repeatedly, as if answering something.

"You sleep first," he told He Yushui. "I'll stand guard for a while."

She seemed about to speak, but only gave a soft "Hmm," and lay down on the neighboring bed.

Zhao Jianguo sat on the Chair, staring at the two children's faces.

They slept soundly, the corners of their mouths slightly upturned, as if they'd had pleasant dreams.

He lowered his gaze to his finger; the bitten spot hadn't scabbed over. Though the blood‑drawn sigil was invisible, he could feel something lingered in the house, as if a lock had been set on the door.

He opened the system interface and located the Cross‑Time‑Space Broadcaster option.

The device was originally meant for remote teaching linkage, capable of transmitting sound and images to specific coordinates. Now he intended to adjust its parameters, converting the signal into a directed interference wave.

As long as those things dare to come close again, we can trace them back along the frequency and catch them off guard.

He adjusted the settings while thinking, the enemy this time didn't use a physical Carrier, indicating a tech upgrade. It can bypass electronic devices, drill directly into consciousness, and even mimic a relative's tone to coax a child; ordinary programs can't do that.

It's a living Virus.

It no longer needs a USB drive, a fountain pen, or a Metal Sheet; it itself is information, able to hop between signals and root itself in memory.

But it made a mistake.

It thought the Shuang Baotai were just targets.

In fact, they are the key.

Zhao Jianguo finished entering the last set of data and pressed the Save key.

A prompt popped up on the Screen: 【Default channel locked, awaiting trigger command】

He closed his eyes and leaned against the chair back.

Outside, the wind was light and the branches gently tapped the window. Inside, only the stabilizer's tick‑tock sounded, regular as a heartbeat.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes.

The Shuang Baotai turned over at the same time.

The older brother lifted his hand, made a grab in the air, and muttered, "Don't touch that button…".

The younger sister immediately added, "The red one must not be pressed."

Zhao Jianguo sat up straight at once.

He didn't move or speak, just stared at their faces.

Two seconds later, the older brother opened his eyes.

His gaze was clear, not like someone just woken.

He looked at Zhao Jianguo and said, "It's come many times, each time changing its form. Once it pretended to be Nainai, saying it would give us candy."

The younger sister also opened her eyes and continued, "We ignored it. We know the real Nainai never wears black shoes."

Zhao Jianguo's throat tightened. "You… have always known?"

"We only realized later," the older brother said, "At first we really thought it was a dream. Until it said dad was dead and told us to find him."

"We didn't believe it," the younger sister shook her head, "Dad once said, if the story's beginning is wrong, the person isn't real."

Zhao Jianguo felt a sour sting in his nose.

He reached out and embraced them tightly.

"You won't be afraid anymore," he said, "I'm here."

The two children nodded and closed their eyes again.

Zhao Jianguo didn't let go, waiting until their breathing steadied.

He gently laid them down, covered them with a blanket, then stepped outside, stood in the Courtyard and looked up at the sky.

There were few stars; the cloud layer was thick.

He pulled out the Terminal, located the positions of the signal points in East City, and marked three red circles.

His finger hovered over the "Activate" button for a few seconds, then withdrew.

It's not the time yet.

He must wait, wait for the other side to come a bit closer, wait for them to think they're safe and let their guard down.

When the moment comes, he will not only sever their link but also trace back along the signal chain to strike back, to see who behind is issuing the orders.

He turned and went back inside, gently closing the door.

Just as he sat down, the Terminal trembled again.

New message: 【Detected High-Dimensional Consciousness Residual Wave, source direction—Northeast Corner of Courtyard Wall】

Zhao Jianguo slowly stood up, clutching tightly in his hand that Gaokao Ruler.