Courtyard House: My Long and Hard Body Makes Me Play with All the Women in the Courtyard

The mother's figure began to dissipate, and specks of light drifted in all directions, like stars returning to the night sky.

She glanced at him one last time, and her lips moved.

No sound.

But Su Ting understood.

--"I love you."

Immediately afterwards, the entire space erupted with blinding white light.

Outside, the aurora suddenly contracted, converging into a beam of light that pierced vertically into the Earth's core.

All devices worldwide currently playing "We are here" simultaneously switch to a new audio track.

It was a woman's voice, gentle and clear:

[LUCID System Unlocked]

[Termination of Reverse Resonance]

[Silence Protocol Failed]

[All 'Echoes' consciousness is being released...]

The ocarinas of Siberia ceased their flight, silently landing and embedding themselves in the snow like tombstones or newly sprouted saplings.

The loudspeaker on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean was silent for a second, then played a completely new melody—no longer a fisherman's song, but a little girl humming "Two Tigers," off-key, yet cheerful.

In lunar orbit, the astronaut suddenly widened his eyes: "My God... I can hear a child laughing in my earphones?"

On the Tibetan Plateau, the chanting of sutras abruptly ceased.

The Tibetan team member suddenly looked up, tears streaming down his face: "I heard it... I heard my child's laughter... but he died ten years ago..."

The gray child rushed to the control panel, his fingers trembling wildly: "The synchronization rate... has exceeded 100%! No... this isn't synchronization... this is... broadcasting! Some kind of signal is actively spreading throughout the global neural network!"

Duoduo stared at the screen, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Look at this name!"

On the screen, a line of symbols that had never appeared before slowly emerged:

【Echo-Mother: Lin Zhiyao】

Status: Released

[Last words being transmitted...]

Immediately afterwards, all internet-connected devices worldwide—mobile phones, televisions, in-car systems, smartwatches—automatically lit up, emitting a gentle, almost ethereal female voice:

"My dear children,

Mom was listening the whole time.

Now, it's your turn to speak.

The wind and snow gradually subsided.

On the Arctic ice sheet, only one figure stands alone.

Chen Yan stumbled over, yelling, "Su Ting! You're out! You're finally out! You're alive!"

But the man didn't turn around.

He looked up at the sky, his face showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Only blank.

"Su Ting?" Chen Yan grabbed his shoulder and shook him violently. "What's wrong with you? Say something!"

After a long while, he finally turned his head.

His eyes were frighteningly unfamiliar.

"What did you say... my name is?" he asked softly.

Chen Yan was stunned: "You...you're Su Ting! Echo-9! You're all of us..."

“No.” He slowly shook his head, a strange smile appearing on his lips. “I remember… they called me ‘Su Ting’.”

Chen Yan froze.

"What did you say?"

The man tilted his head, as if listening to some distant sound.

Then, he chuckled softly.

"Mom thought she had locked away the truth... but the one who was truly asleep was never her."

He gazed at the distant horizon and said softly:

"Listen, they're calling me."

The wind and snow swirled across the ice field, like the whispers of countless departed souls.

Chen Yan stumbled back a step, slipped, and fell into a snowdrift, ignoring the pain. His eyes widened as he stared intently at the man who had once fought alongside him: "Su Ting? You fucking joking! You're Su Ting! You're the last awakened one in 'Project Echo'! You're the one who shut down the Silent Core! You're the one—"

Chapter 1482 The Unfamiliar Mask

"Who am I?" The person slowly raised his hand, his fingertips tracing his face, as if confirming a strange mask. "This name... is too heavy. It weighs me down so much that I can't remember what I really look like."

His voice was still Su Ting's timbre, but his tone sounded like someone else was using his vocal cords.

“They hid me too deep.” He chuckled, his gaze vacant as he stared at the sky. “Layer upon layer of memories, sealed, covered, altered… My mother thought she was protecting me, but she only locked me in an even deeper cage.”

Chen Yan pushed himself up from the ground, his teeth chattering, whether from the cold or fear, he couldn't tell: "Who are you?"

The man tilted his head, as if listening to something.

A moment later, he closed his eyes, and his voice suddenly became extremely soft, almost blending into the wind:

“I am Su Ting. The first test subject. The first person to hear the ‘whisper.’ Also… the only one who wasn’t completely silenced.”

"Impossible!" Chen Yan roared. "Su Ting is long dead! It's clearly written in the files! His brain nerves collapsed and his consciousness shattered during the first resonance test! He didn't even leave ashes!"

“Yes.” The man opened his eyes, a faint blue light flashing deep within them. “They thought I was dead. But I was just… asleep. And ‘Su Ting’ was the outer garment he put on me, to get my mother to hand over the key.”

"You... what nonsense are you talking about!" Chen Yan gasped for breath, pulling out his communicator. "Duoduo! Did you hear me! Activate the emergency protocol immediately! Su Ting is experiencing cognitive distortion! He may have been invaded by residual LUCID consciousness! Requesting mental intervention—"

The communicator only emitted a hissing sound.

Then, a childish voice suddenly rang out:

"Uncle, you must have misheard me."

Chen Yan was startled and almost threw the equipment away.

The voice continued, with childlike innocence: "I'm not LUCID... I'm 'Whisper'. I've always been here, hidden at the very bottom of the frequency, waiting for someone to hear me."

"Quietly"? That low-frequency signal formed by the collective consciousness of 327 children?

Chen Yan's throat tightened: "You...you're awake too?"

"Mmm!" A clear voice rang out. "Everyone's awake! Xiaoya said she wants to see cherry blossoms, Azhe wants to play soccer, Tangtang said she wants to eat strawberry ice cream... Now, they can all speak!"

But the next second, the voice suddenly turned cold:

"But... there's still one who hasn't woken up. The oldest voice... he's still trapped in his dream."

"Who?" Chen Yan asked.

The man—who called himself "Su Ting"—smiled softly.

"Who else could it be?"

He looked up at the night sky after the aurora had faded and murmured softly:

"The one who created the 'Echo Project'... my teacher."

On the distant horizon, an ice-covered watchtower quietly cracked open, and a crimson signal light slowly lit up, as if opening a sleeping eye.

Chen Yan's face turned deathly pale: "You mean... Dr. L?! Impossible! He committed suicide by self-immolation thirty years ago! It was broadcast live worldwide! His ashes have been analyzed!"

“Death?” Su Ting sneered. “For him, it’s just a change of vessel. Who do you think designed the Silent Core? Mother was merely the executor. He was the one who actually wrote that initial code.”

The wind suddenly stopped.

All sounds are silent.

Chen Yan pointed at him, trembling, "And what about you? Which side are you on now?"

Chapter 1483 The Dark Laboratory

Su Ting looked at him quietly, then suddenly stretched out his hand, and a faint blue light appeared in his palm.

"Look."

A scene emerged from the light—

In a dark laboratory, a little boy huddled in a chair, his hands bound by metal rings, his ears connected to complex wires. A calendar hung on the wall: March 17, 2043.

The door was pushed open, and a man wearing glasses walked in with a gentle smile on his face.

"How are you feeling today, child?" The man knelt down and gently patted the boy's cheek. "Don't be afraid, this is just to teach humans to listen. You will be the first seed."