Indeed, aside from the hidden danger of the Midnight Bus’s "source memory obfuscation," this was also a war for control over infrastructure. It was a zero-sum game.
There were only four doors leading to the Dream Net. If you didn’t guard them, they would naturally be seized by others.
If they could secure more resources and an extra trump card, they might gain a greater chance of survival in the impending deluge.
"Yiyi is also a friend you can trust," Yang Yiyi added. "She’s well-informed and experienced, so we can ask for her opinion."
Listening to Yang Yiyi’s analysis, the anxiety in Yu Xian’s heart gradually faded. Since she had already weighed the pros and cons so clearly and possessed such courage, there was no need for him to overthink it.
"Alright," Yu Xian nodded. "Wen Xiao, when you get back, talk to Shao Yiyi first and see what she thinks."
"Okay, I’ll go talk to her," Wen Xiao said over the phone. "If she thinks it’s fine, we’ll gather at the apartment tomorrow to figure out our subsequent plans and strategies."
"The sooner the better!" Shi Zuozhou sounded unusually serious. "If she agrees, let’s meet up tomorrow morning. I won’t feel at ease until this is resolved. Xiaoxiao, do you girls have classes tomorrow morning?"
"I don’t," Wen Xiao replied. "Yiyi seems to have a major-specific class at ten-thirty, so we can head over early."
"Perfect. Old Yu and I have an eight AM *Situation and Policy* class tomorrow, but we’ll skip it and come find you at the apartment." Shi Zuozhou made the decision on Yu Xian’s behalf.
"Then we’ll see you at the apartment at eight-thirty tomorrow morning." Yu Xian glanced at the time on his phone. "It’s getting late. Old Shi, you and Wen Xiao should head back to campus quickly. We have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Got it, got it. We’re just about to leave."
The call ended. Yu Xian shoved his phone back into his pocket and stood in the corridor by the balcony for a moment. The dim, yellow light of the hallway reflected off the glass of the fire extinguisher cabinet, casting a blurry, indistinct silhouette of his figure.
Leaning against the wall, he began thinking through their next steps and the unavoidable details of each phase.
Even if Shao Yiyi provided financial support and they actually managed to hire twenty people to work in shifts, the problem remained of where these people would sleep. They couldn’t just stay in their own homes. If they were scattered across their respective residences, confidentiality and security measures would be completely uncontrollable, and the risk of the source audio files being leaked would be far too high.
Given that, they would have to find a private "collective dormitory" to gather everyone in one place. They needed a fixed location—somewhere quiet, enclosed, and capable of accommodating at least twenty people sleeping at the same time.
But if they cooped up twenty living, breathing people in one spot, how would they handle their basic daily needs? They would have to provide three meals a day, and someone would have to monitor the schedule—waking up the previous shift and supervising the next shift as they went to sleep.
Then there was equipment charging, ensuring a stable internet connection, preparing contingency plans for emergencies...
Yu Xian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. The practical execution of this operation was far more complex than he had imagined. He could only wait until they met up tomorrow morning to brainstorm with the others.
Grabbing his washbasin, he headed to the communal washroom and splashed his face with cold water, forcibly suppressing the chaotic tangle of thoughts in his head.
Not long after he finished washing up and returned to the dorm, Zhang Yang and their other roommate had already fallen asleep. A burst of hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway—Shi Zuozhou was back.
"You dropped her off?" Yu Xian asked casually, draping his towel over the back of his chair.
"Dropped off and safely delivered." Shi Zuozhou hung up his umbrella, turned around, and dragged a plastic basin from under his bed. He tossed in a few pieces of dirty laundry he had accumulated over the past few days.
Lifting the basin, he jutted his chin at Yu Xian. "Come on. Got any clothes to wash? Let’s go together."
"Let’s go." Yu Xian glanced under his own wardrobe, grabbed a basin, loaded it with his laundry, and followed Shi Zuozhou out the door.
The boys’ dormitory laundry room was on the second floor, taking up a large, separated open space. Inside, over a dozen front-loading washing machines were stacked side-by-side against the wall, with a few dedicated dryers placed next to them.
At this hour, the laundry room was mostly empty. Yu Xian found an available machine, stuffed his clothes inside, and poured in some detergent. He closed the drum door, took out his phone to scan the QR code on the machine’s panel, and selected the fifteen-minute quick wash mode.
The sound of water filling the machine could be heard as the drum began to rotate slowly. Once the wash was done, a notification would pop up in his phone’s Mini Program.
"Old Yu," Shi Zuozhou said out of nowhere, having just finished loading his own clothes. "Wen Xiao has taken quite an interest in you."
Yu Xian, who was checking the wash time on the Mini Program, paused.
"What do you mean?"
Shi Zuozhou couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He stood up straight, leaned in a little closer, and looked at Yu Xian as if he were an idiot. "You can’t tell?"
His lips twitched into a smirk. "The girl likes you."
Seeing Yu Xian freeze up, Shi Zuozhou sighed. He leaned back against the washing machine counter and continued, "I’m being serious. On the way back to the North Campus just now, she kept beating around the bush, asking about your past."
"Asking what?"
"Asking everything. The moment she opened her mouth, every other sentence was about you. She asked about your past at school, what you usually like to do in your free time, things like that," Shi Zuozhou said. He paused, his expression growing somewhat complicated. "Moreover, she also asked me what the deal was with your ’disappearing best friend.’ She asked if I had ever met her."