| PN | Plan | 176
Qi Yang had thought about changing his Light Brain ID or hacking into Qi Feng’s Light Brain to alter the chat history between Qi Feng and his brother.
But the Light Brain he was using had been bought by his brother, so changing the ID now was clearly unrealistic. Moreover, he wasn’t even sure if his brother had actually seen his Light Brain ID. If he had, then altering the records now would already be too late.
Looking at it this way, no matter what he did, it would be wrong.
Qi Yang regretted adding the Light Brain IDs of those two brats. If he hadn’t secretly wanted to spy on their social circles to catch glimpses of their daily interactions with his brother, how could he have ended up in this predicament?
If he had known it would come to this, he would have gotten a separate Light Brain ID as a burner account from the start. Then he wouldn’t have fallen into this mess.
Qi Yang nearly crushed his Light Brain in frustration.
The system in his mind, watching this scene unfold, couldn’t decide whether to sympathize or laugh. The only person who could keep someone as unruly as Qi Yang in check was Qi Chao.
Come to think of it, the system had never seen Qi Yang act so foolishly before. Qi Yang might enjoy pretending to be a pitiful little thing, but he was sharp at every moment, often planning his hundredth step while still on the first.
But perhaps it was because Qi Chao was present.
That’s why Qi Yang became clumsy, the system thought. It wasn’t just Qi Yang—even the villains and those puppets seemed to act the same way in Qi Chao's presence.
Qi Yang had no idea what his little baby was secretly thinking about him. He walked down the stairs and slumped on the sofa, trying to come up with a good strategy to restore his image in his brother’s eyes.
Nearby, including Agu among them, a few puppets exchanged silent glances. Their eyes shifted from the world consciousness to Qi Yang.
It was obvious that the puppets were worried Qi Yang might really go and complain.
However, they quickly reassured themselves. Dad had known from the beginning that they didn’t get along with the world consciousness, so perhaps there was no need to be so anxious after all.
Agu and Lan Luo exchanged another glance, then simultaneously turned their heads toward the world consciousness, continuing their taunting:
“Even if you stand right next to Moss, it won’t do you any good. Moss is our big brother. He’s on our side—got it?”
The world consciousness’s face flushed red again, but it still clung tightly to Moss’s sleeve, unwilling to let go.
Moss glanced at the world consciousness. Initially, he wanted to pull his clothes away from its grasp, but remembering that Dad had instructed him to be polite, he hesitated. Instead of actively breaking free, he simply stood in place and patted the plush doll on the head.
This non-rejecting attitude, in Xing Yu’s view, was a sign that Moss was willing to team up with him. The world consciousness instantly became smug, no longer afraid that Agu might really hit him. He retorted directly, “So what? Your relationships aren’t that great either, are they?”
This time, it was Agu’s turn for his smile to stiffen.
The puppets started another noisy quarrel, bickering chaotically. But Qi Yang had no interest in dealing with them right now; his mind was preoccupied with how to explain things to his brother when he returned.
The villa descended into utter chaos for a while.
This commotion only began to subside when Moss prepared to go pick up Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi.
It was as if they had an unspoken agreement not to argue in front of Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi.
Of course, the world consciousness didn’t actually care about the opinions of those two humans. It simply stopped provoking the puppets because they had settled down first. Without anyone else stirring up trouble, it didn’t feel the need to continue the squabble.
When Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi returned from the trial grounds, the house was as quiet as when they had left.
The only difference was that Qi Yang had come out of his room, his head lowered as he stared at his Light Brain. Meanwhile, the children in the house were sitting on the sofa, watching a projection from a Light Brain. Everything seemed peaceful and idyllic.
Qi Chao didn’t notice anything unusual.
Shen Yuxi, however, cast a meaningful glance at Qi Yang.
He had the distinct feeling that Qi Yang was plotting something.
Perhaps it was because the two of them were somewhat alike, but Shen Yuxi and Qi Yang didn’t harbor much goodwill toward each other.
Yet this time, after returning to the villa, Shen Yuxi thought Qi Yang seemed a bit guilty.
At first, Shen Yuxi couldn’t quite understand what Qi Yang might feel guilty about, assuming it was just his imagination.
But later that evening, when Qi Chao added the Light Brain ID of the person who had been arguing with his younger brother, Shen Yuxi finally realized Qi Yang had slipped up.
How amusing.
Shen Yuxi watched with a faint smile in his eyes as Qi Chao left the room, heading off to settle accounts with his younger brother.
To be honest, Qi Chao hadn’t expected his twenty-five- or twenty-six-year-old brother to act so immaturely. Qi Feng and Qi Ye weren’t even twenty yet, and Qi Yang had actually gone online to argue with them directly.
Putting himself in Qi Yang’s shoes, Qi Chao could understand his brother’s dissatisfaction with the addition of two younger brothers. However, that didn’t stop Qi Chao from giving Qi Yang a good scolding.
That said, Qi Chao didn’t hit him too hard. He just gave Qi Yang’s head a few heavy pats and said sternly, “Those two brothers have great tempers. Stop picking fights with them. You’re an adult now; don’t act like such a child.”
Qi Chao’s tone was somewhat severe, but since he saw the matter as nothing more than sibling squabbles, he didn’t take it too seriously and wasn’t genuinely angry.
Hearing this, Qi Yang let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Fortunately, it seemed this incident hadn’t crossed one of his brother’s bottom lines. Otherwise, Qi Chao’s reaction wouldn’t have been this mild.
Qi Yang adjusted his stance and reassured him:
“I understand, big brother. It was just a moment of poor judgment. Don’t worry, I won’t do it again.”
Qi Yang’s expression was extremely earnest, almost as if he were ready to swear an oath to the heavens.
Seeing this, Qi Chao didn’t say much more. He simply remarked, “As long as you’ve thought it through. Just remember, no matter what, you’ll always be my brother. That’s something that will never change, so stop worrying so much.”
“I understand,” Qi Yang replied.
Hearing this, Qi Yang felt a bit more at ease.
Qi Chao, seeing that his younger brother’s mood had returned to normal, didn’t linger. He simply told Qi Yang to start packing his things ahead of time, as they’d be moving either tomorrow or the day after.
“So soon?”
Qi Yang had known his brother was planning to leave Ganfen District but hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly.
“Mm. The longer we drag this out, the more unfavorable it becomes.”
Qi Chao was thinking about the S-class puppets in the Association, so he wasn’t planning to linger for long.
The deformed puppets at the trial grounds had already been repaired. With nothing else tying him to the area, Qi Chao decided to leave without delay.
The next morning, after confirming that all the children in the house had packed their things, he gathered everyone and traveled through a spatial vortex to the villa in Linjing District.
When he left last time, Qi Chao had only informed a few close people. But this time, he had a new plan in mind.
The villa, though unoccupied for a long time, wasn’t particularly dirty. The housekeeping robots had been cleaning the furniture regularly, and everything looked exactly as it had when they left.
With the household now expanded by a few members, Qi Chao arranged rooms for his younger brother and Xing Yu before returning to his own room. There, he leaned against Shen Yuxi’s shoulder.
“Tired?”
Shen Yuxi gently stroked his cheek, his voice soft as he asked, “Didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to contact You Zhao and the others?”
Qi Chao shook his head. “Not tired.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “I’ve already contacted them. I told them to meet me at the studio this afternoon at three.”
You Zhao, Li Lang, and Guo Li were the three apprentices Qi Chao had taken in before leaving Linjing District. Nearly a year had passed since then, and the three of them had long shed the title of “tail-end puppet masters,” advancing to become Special-Class Puppet Masters.
All three had diligent and grateful personalities. Over the past year, they frequently sent Qi Chao messages to update him on their lives.
Due to his busy schedule, Qi Chao often found it difficult to respond promptly. However, whenever he saw their messages, he would reply with care and occasionally offer remote guidance.
The relationship between master and apprentices hadn’t faded with time.
Upon returning to Linjing District, Qi Chao immediately sent them a message about his return.
Of course, his intention wasn’t just to reminisce. After all, they had been in touch fairly regularly, so there was no need for special efforts to maintain their bond.
This meeting was primarily about matters concerning the Association.
“Are you planning to tell them about the Association and the Ability users?” Shen Yuxi tilted his head slightly, making it easier for Qi Chao to lean against his shoulder.
He enjoyed Qi Chao relying on him like this; it gave him a satisfying sense that Qi Chao couldn’t do without him.
This was precisely what Qi Chao had been hesitating over.
But he quickly made up his mind.
“Yes, I’m going to tell them.”
Qi Chao knew that those three puppet masters genuinely loved puppets. What the Association and the Royal Family were doing wasn’t something he could change on his own. If he wanted to deal with them, he would need the help of other puppet masters.
Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes fluttered faintly. His fingers, which were gently stroking Qi Chao hands , paused momentarily before he said, “Is that so?”
He wasn’t surprised by this outcome. When Qi Chao shared his thoughts with him earlier, Shen Yuxi had already anticipated his next move.
According to Qi Chao’s plan, he would pretend to join the Association, then gather the latest intelligence about the Ability users.
In reality, if it was just about gathering intelligence, Agu could easily handle that. But what Qi Chao intended to do was not only gather information—he also planned to destroy the Ability base and sever the Association and Royal Family’s ambitions.
This idea was a bit naive.
When Shen Yuxi heard about this plan, he immediately wanted to veto it.
Setting aside how he would destroy the Ability base, just the thought of Qi Chao being in dangerous places was enough for Shen Yuxi to reject all of his choices.
In the end, however, Shen Yuxi couldn’t stop Qi Chao’s plan.
“I want to go with you,” Shen Yuxi said, pressing his lips together.
“Don’t be silly, Brother Shen. Don’t you have a bad relationship with the Association?” Qi Chao chuckled. “Besides, didn’t you forget? The Association won’t be coming to find me today. I’m just going to meet with my three apprentices.”
“I want to go with you.”
Shen Yuxi repeated his words once more.
Qi Chao pulled away from Shen Yuxi’s shoulder and, seeing his calm expression, immediately understood that his partner was worried about him. Qi Chao sighed and didn’t argue anymore. “Alright, you can come with me.”
Before they left, the children at home were behaving fairly well. Qi Yang was even sitting on the sofa, throwing his Light Brain aside, looking like he had decided never to use it again.
Qi Chao nodded in satisfaction and gently patted Qi Yang on the head. “Good job. When we come back, I’ll take you to see Qi Feng and Qi Ye. If you behave well, you’ll be rewarded, got it?”
Qi Yang desperately wanted to refuse, but in front of his older brother, he couldn’t bring himself to say no and resignedly nodded.
On the other side, the three apprentices had been excitedly preparing for the afternoon meeting ever since they received the notification in the morning.
You Zhao was so thrilled that he decorated his home in a flashy, colorful style and took pictures of the scene, posting them with the caption: 【This is amazing! Welcoming Master back from his trip!】
As soon as the post was sent, a lot of people quickly commented under it.
【!!! What do you mean? My big brother Qi is finally coming home?!】
【Oh my god! Who knows how long I’ve waited for this? Ugh, that jerk just knows how to mess around outside!】
【Is this for real?】
【What I’m most curious about is how many puppets Qi Chao has made in the past year.】
Since Qi Chao hadn’t posted anything for nearly a year, and given the fact that he was a master-level puppet master who had helped his three apprentices—originally tail-end puppet master—advance so quickly, even producing high-level puppets, this had created quite a stir back then.
Now, when the news of Qi Chao’s return appeared, the fans immediately switched into promotional mode.
What was initially just a regular nine-grid post quickly became a trending topic.
Meanwhile, Guo Li had placed a cake on the table. When she saw You Zhao posting, she immediately became a bit anxious. She rushed over to You Zhao and scolded him, “You Zhao, why did you post this?! Master doesn’t want to reveal his personal informtaion. If he finds out, he’ll be angry!”
You Zhao's Light Brain was snatched away.
He quickly tried to grab it back. "Give it back to me! Of course I know. This is what Master asked me to post."
"Master asked you to post this?"
Guo Li paused for a moment, then glanced at the post. It only mentioned the simple fact that Qi Chao had returned.
So, was Master trying to let a specific group of people know that he had come back?
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