After realizing that the stalker was real, Xu Qian’s originally relaxed emotions tensed up again. That afternoon, she received a surprise from her boyfriend. He bought her a sports car that cost 600,000 credits. The dealership sent the car to her apartment, and the sales representative handed her the keys and flowers. Compared with those gifts, however, Xu Qian actually hoped that her boyfriend was by her side.
However, the latter was still busy having business meetings on earth at the moment, and he would only be back by next week at the earliest. Initially, Xu Qian hired a bodyguard to help her sleep better at night, but she was now grateful that she hired one for protection.
After the two returned from the mall, Zhang Heng did not go out again. Xu Qian had already started her stream in her studio room, and according to the agreement, Zhang Heng was allowed to leave the apartment. However, he chose to stay in the living room to make her feel safe.
In the meantime, Zhang Heng did some investigation.
He was lucky that G7Z Security Company was the largest security company in New Shanghai 0297. It had a wide range of business. In addition to providing high-end services such as private bodyguards, it also provided general security for public places such as shopping malls and theaters. The two had gone there in the morning, where the G7Z security company did the security work of that large shopping mall.
Without having to sneak into the monitoring room, Zhang Heng could acquire the surveillance footage by filling up an internal application form. After filling out an application form online, and an hour’s wait, the surveillance footage was sent to his personal terminal. Zhang Heng then connected his bracelet to the projection equipment in the living room to play those videos.
It was easy to find the stalker in the crowd. Paying extra attention to the stalker’s behavior, he saw that he did not have verbal or physical contact with other people in the mall. The surveillance footage now showed Zhang Heng and Xu Qian hiding behind the corner shop.
At this time, the stalker lowered his head to click on something on his bracelet. However, he used an external monitor connected to his bracelet and the crowd as his cover. Hence, Zhang Heng could not see what he was doing on the external monitor. Soon after that, he kept away the external screen and started to run as fast as he could. After a few seconds, Zhang Heng realized something wrong, and he jumped out from behind the store before pursuing the stalker. However, Zhang Heng was worried about Xu Qian, so he stopped going after him, and the stalker eventually managed to escape.
A Hacker?
After Zhang Heng watched the video, he touched his chin. This would explain why there were no visitor records when the stalker invaded and why the alarm did not go off as well.
…
Xu Qian followed Zhang Heng’s advice. She said nothing about her brush with the stalker during her livestream. However, this incident could arouse the protective desire and compassion of her male fans, and if they sympathized with her, she might just be able to coax out some gifts from her fans. Since she was thinking of quitting soon and had just received the small gift that cost 600,000 credits from her boyfriend in the afternoon, Xu Qian did not care much about the money.
After she got off from her stream, she walked out of the room. To her surprise, she found out that Zhang Heng had also just exited her livestream.
“Were you just watching my livestream?” Xu Qian asked with raised eyebrows.
“Well, I didn’t expect that you could dance,” Zhang Heng said.
“Hmm. There is a dance studio next to the place where I lived when I was young. My mother knew the teacher there, and I learned dancing there for a while. However, it requires too much hard work, and I couldn’t last that long. So when I become a streamer, I have to pick up dancing again. It’s useless to look only pretty these days. You have to be talented too.”
After the livestream, Xu Qian was not as irritable as before. It was probably because of what happened in the morning. Seeing Zhang Heng gave her a sense of security. Opening the refrigerator door, she took out two cans of beer this time and tossed one to Zhang Heng.
“You dance very well.” Zhang Heng complimented after he took the beer.
“Thank you. I know that you are just nice. However, I am far from being a professional dancer, and the people who watch my livestream weren’t admiring my dancing skills. They are only paying attention to my body,” Xu Qian said.
“At least, this shows that you are in good shape,” Zhang Heng said calmly.
“I accept the compliment.”
Xu Qian sat down on the sofa next to Zhang Heng, took a long sigh of relief, and opened the beer in her hand, “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to watch my livestream.”
“Why do you say that? Who usually watches your stream then?” Zhang Heng asked rhetorically and opened his beer.
“All kinds of people, but most of them are lonely people who can’t get any satisfaction from the real world. You don’t look like that kind of person,” Xu Qian said. “I heard there was once a country worried about its rapid population growth. About 50 or 60 years ago, the federal population entered a negative growth stage, and everyone seemed to prefer to live alone.”
“Well, in primitive societies, our ancestors all lived in large tribes, hunting, foraging, and raising children together. If the individual leaves the tribe, it would be impossible for the person to survive. When overproduction happened and living conditions improved, they started to leave the tribe and form their families.
“Then we have come to an era of unprecedented convenience. All of your basic needs can be fulfilled through the telephone and the Internet. We no longer have the need to connect to society. And so, we have more time to pursue personal freedom and self-actualization. During this process, the position of the family in society is also being challenged.
In fact, this trend got more and more popular in the world we live in, especially in the neighboring countries, where the fertility rate kept getting lower. Many single men and women preferred to be alone because they didn’t want to tolerate another person. Without children, they would have a better quality of life. This phenomenon has gotten worse in 2077.
“This is why becoming a streamer seems so popular in this era. There are different types of streamers, from gaming, telling jokes, chatting to talent showcasing. Some of the streamers would even act cute to gain more views. They are there to meet all the reasonable and unreasonable requirements of their fans.
“Well, it makes sense. I still have to find myself a long-term job to feed myself,” Xu Qian sighed, “Especially when I am young and beautiful. You can grab a man on the road and ask him what kind of woman he likes. They will tell you all kinds of answers like virtuous, gentle, and blah, blah, blah. All those are nonsense. There is only one truth. Men are very dedicated animals, from eight to eighty years old, they all like young and beautiful girls. If your goal is to look for someone to marry, no matter how much you improve yourself, as you grow older, you will not have the advantage when you are young. I will not make such a mistake. I marry myself to someone while I am still valuable.”
Xu Qian then finished the beer in the can.
