[Little Bingbing, you've worked so hard.]
After typing those words, Nie Bing pressed Enter.
The screen instantly lit up with a soft blue glow, accompanied by a cheerful system notification sound, and a message popped up:
[Ding-dong~! Correct answer!]
[As expected of my beloved Little Bingbing~! (づ ̄ 3 ̄)づ You got it right on the first try!]
[Reward disbursement commencing—]
["Eye" has been unlocked.]
[The "little surprise" I left for the Pursuit Team is hidden beneath the pillow in your room. Go find it!]
The surveillance system's feed returned to normal, Nie Bing having finally cracked Cifera's technical lockdown.
But at that moment, no one could spare a thought for celebrating the system's restoration.
Everyone stared at Nie Bing, then back at the screen showing [Little Bingbing, you've worked so hard] and the cutesy kissy-face emoticon.
"Nie Bing... you... how did you know it was those words?" Lin Zhiyuan's voice was filled with disbelief.
How could Nie Bing have guessed such a subjective answer on the first try?
Wang Lei, Zhang Hong, Feng Chiyu, and even Liu Shanhe stared at Nie Bing with a mixture of shock and curiosity.
Under their gazes, Nie Bing's face flushed even redder.
She shot to her feet, avoiding the group's piercing stares, her voice strained with forced composure and a hint of exasperation:
"I... how would I know?! It was a wild guess! She never says anything nice! It's always mockery or... or... that kind of thing!"
Nie Bing seemed unable to find the right words to describe the ambiguously caring yet teasing phrase "Little Bingbing, you've worked so hard." Finally, in frustration, she slammed her palm against the wall:
"...Anyway, that's exactly what she said! My intuition is always spot-on!"
"Enough chatter! I'm going back to my room to find that 'little surprise'!"
Ignoring the others, Nie Bing dashed up to the third floor.
The moment Nie Bing's figure disappeared at the top of the stairs, the men on the second floor erupted into gossip.
"A wild guess?" Wang Lei was the first to speak, stroking his chin with a smirk that said, You think we're kids? He chuckled, "Heh, I don't believe a single punctuation mark Little Nie says."
Zhang Hong scratched his bristly, short hair, his brow furrowed into a knot:
"Whether it was a guess is beside the point, but 'Little Bingbing, you've worked so hard'... sounds perfectly normal, right? Cifera may be mischievous, but she's not malicious. After Nie Bing was knocked 'unconscious' for so long, it's only natural to show concern... But Nie Bing's reaction..."
He recalled Nie Bing's flushed face and her frustrated pounding on the wall, utterly baffled:
"Does a simple expression of concern warrant such a fiery reaction? Calling her a 'bastard'? What exactly happened between them that we don't know about?"
"Brother Zhang, you're so naive!" Feng Chiyu rolled his eyes, his expression conveying "hopeless case":
"The key lies in the phrasing and tone! 'My darling Little Bingbing'! Complete with a wavy line and a kissy emoji! Does that sound like ordinary concern between teammates or pursuit targets? This is clearly..."
Realizing they were still live on stream, Feng Chiyu quickly swallowed the word "flirting" and rephrased:
"It's Cifera's unique brand of 'concern'—the kind that drives people mad yet leaves them no room to retaliate! Nie Bing's reaction proves she's already fallen for it."
"Ah, I see now! Nie Bing's reaction... Cifera must have really pissed her off!" Zhang Hong's face lit up with sudden understanding. "Even her expressions of concern are infuriating—that's classic Cifera!"
Ah, I see, my ass! You understand nothing! Feng Chiyu mentally retorted, watching Zhang Hong's reaction with silent exasperation.
Deciding he'd wasted enough breath on Zhang Hong, Feng Chiyu turned to Lin Zhiyuan, who was sitting beside him, deep in thought, and his eyes brightened.
Brother Zhiyuan is so intelligent. He must understand what I'm getting at, right?
Thinking this, Feng Chiyu quickly asked, "Brother Zhiyuan, what's your take on this?"
Hearing Feng Chiyu's question, Lin Zhiyuan, who had been deep in thought with his head bowed, pushed up his glasses and said earnestly, "What you're saying isn't without merit, but it still doesn't explain how Nie Bing could instantly and accurately pinpoint 'Little Bingbing, you've worked hard' as the correct answer.
"I believe that to achieve such precision, Nie Bing must have a deep understanding of Cifera's thought patterns, and Cifera must also know exactly how Nie Bing would think... Between them..."
Lin Zhiyuan paused, lifting his head, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with the light of a newfound discovery.
Seeing Lin Zhiyuan's expression, Feng Chiyu finally felt at ease.
Exactly! Brother Zhiyuan is on the same wavelength as me. Only Brother Zhang, that clueless blockhead, wouldn't get it.
Come on, Brother Zhiyuan, spill the answer!
Under Feng Chiyu's expectant gaze, Lin Zhiyuan finally spoke:
"There must be some form of highly synchronized information transfer we're unaware of! This is extremely worthy of our investigation and crucial for the subsequent capture of Cifera!"
Yes, yes, that's it—wait, what the hell are you talking about?!
You boring tech nerd! ! !
Feng Chiyu was clearly imagining some juicy gossip about a blossoming romance, while Lin Zhiyuan remained completely absorbed in his tech-bro logic world.
Liu Shanhe watched his team members' varied reactions, especially Lin Zhiyuan still puzzling over the "information transmission method," and couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
He patted Lin Zhiyuan on the shoulder:
"Little Lin, sometimes the unspoken understanding between people, especially between girls, can't be fully explained by logic or algorithms, you know.
"What's certain is that Little Bingbing and Cifera became good friends after spending just a day together!
"And isn't it perfectly normal for close friends to guess each other's thoughts?"
Raising his voice, Liu Shanhe declared:
"Alright, enough dwelling on this! Let's all head up to the third floor to support Little Bingbing. We need to find out what Cifera left under her pillow. It might be some kind of prank prop."