Reality Programming Association

Chapter 106: Chapter 44: ”Who the Fish Head Points To” and ”Who Is Under the Car

The phone vibrated as if it were about to fall apart.

Shi Zuozhou was jumping up and down in the ”Noah’s Ark Ticket Grabbing Group,” sending a barrage of drooling emojis.

”@Everyone! Old Yu, Brother Yi, surviving a great disaster means great fortune awaits. Shouldn’t we treat ourselves to a good meal tonight to celebrate?

”It’s a choice between the old copper pot hotpot and barbecue! I asked around, and they’re both open! Which one do you want?

”Old Yu? Brother Yi? Don’t play dead! Haven’t you heard the saying, ’A wise man submits to his appetite’?”

Yu Xian looked at the ”Gala gives Mu Gaoshou” on the screen and smiled helplessly; this guy was truly energetic. But... Senior Sister Yang Yiyi couldn’t go.

The hidden danger of that login log was still a ticking time bomb. Professor Mo Du’s reaction remained an unknown variable, and it was uncertain whether he would discover it. Once discovered, the mysterious industrial fund and the forces behind TDI might make a move. At this time, it was best for Senior Sister to cut off all physical contact with the university and wait to see what happened. As for whether to tell Shi Zuozhou, that depended on Senior Sister’s own thoughts; it wasn’t appropriate for him to actively interfere.

He switched to his private chat with Yang Yiyi and reminded her, ”Senior Sister, the situation isn’t clear right now. It’s best if you don’t return to campus for now. We should wait until that log is overwritten and everything is safe.”

Yang Yiyi instantly replied with an ”Okay.”

Right after, Yang Yiyi’s message popped up in the group chat: ”You guys go eat. I have some things to deal with these next few days, so I won’t be able to return to campus for the time being.”

Shi Zuozhou sent a crying banana cat emoji, followed by a red-nosed clown emoji with the caption: ”I don’t dare open my eyes. I hope this is just a hallucination.”

However, the resilience of someone like Shi Zuozhou was clearly astonishing. After being sad for less than three seconds, he immediately found a new target.

A new group chat appeared in Yu Xian’s message list: ”Shi Zuozhou has invited you, ’Uncertainty Robot’, and ’AAA Divine Calculation Immortal (Darkened)’ to join the group chat.”

The group name was quickly changed to ”Crazy Week.” There were four people in the group—so, to be precise, the current group name was ”Crazy Week (4).”

Yu Xian’s eye twitched. Shi Zuozhou’s nature as an outrageous extrovert was completely exposed at this moment.

”Two junior sisters, as fellow anime lovers at JCU, shouldn’t we have a get-together?”

Wen Xiao replied almost instantly: ”Sure, sure! But for veteran anime fans like us, besides that... Kitty Restaurant from last time, are there any other spots to eat?”

”With all the rain these past few days, I feel like I’m turning into a fish... I want to eat stone pot fish!” Shao Yiyi sent a drooling emoji.

”Seconded!” Wen Xiao chimed in, following up with an emoji of a kitten eating a fish.

In just a few words, the group finalized the dining spot without even asking for Yu Xian’s opinion. Looking at the situation, it seemed he had no choice but to attend this meal. But this worked out too. He needed to exchange information with Wen Xiao anyway, so this would save him a trip to the North Campus dormitories.

”Alright, let’s head out now. See you at the South Gate.”

After packing his things, Yu Xian slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the residential complex.

The rain had lessened significantly, returning to the level it was before the severe rainstorm warning. However, the city clearly hadn’t recovered from the catastrophe. It looked like a patient who had just overcome a serious illness, still hooked up to an IV drip, weak and battered.

The accumulated water in that massive construction pit had mostly been pumped out. Raindrops created layers of ripples on the dark brown water, while a few blue corrugated iron barriers stood planted in the mud like sculptures.

The scene on the streets was even messier than he had imagined. The road, now drained of floodwater, resembled a swamp right after low tide. The surface was caked in a thick, sticky layer of sludge. Occasionally, military-green pickup trucks drove by, splashing muddy water half a person high. Passing pedestrians had no choice but to hold up their umbrellas and carefully look for places to step.

Several yellow municipal emergency vehicles were parked by the roadside, their warning lights flashing through the misty rain. Thick black rubber pipes slithered across the ground like giant pythons, connected to water pumps that sucked the accumulated sewage from the drains into nearby tanker trucks with a loud RUMBLE. A few sanitation workers in orange raincoats were using high-pressure water guns to wash away the mud from the roads and the bases of the walls. Dark brown muddy water flowed along the curbs and emptied into the freshly cleared storm drains.

Most of the shops lining the street had opened their doors, but they lacked their former bustling energy. The shopkeepers, wearing ponchos and rainboots, were busy clearing out the water-damaged furniture and goods from their stores.

In front of a clothing store, a small mountain of clothes was still dripping with murky water. The proprietress was using a hose to wash the mud-splattered glass door, wiping away tears as she sprayed. A faint water level mark remained on the wall, about half a meter high, splitting the white plaster into two sections.

What a mess. This was the hardship of reality—a real, heavy, and foul-smelling hardship. In the end, it still fell upon these ordinary people to bend their backs for their livelihoods, scrubbing it all clean—one shovel and one bit at a time.

Taking the subway, Yu Xian arrived at the commercial street outside JCU South Gate, where the situation was slightly better. After all, this was a gathering place for young people, and their ability to recover was astonishingly strong.

Although it was still raining, many shops had already lit up their signs again, and the barbecue stalls had pitched their rainproof tents. Delivery riders in raincoats weaved through the crowd on their electric scooters. Most of the faces passing by beamed with the excitement of finally returning to work. That long-lost bustling vitality was rising up vigorously and stubbornly against the falling rain.