บท 15: Chapter 15: Kidnapping a Young Girl - How Many Years' Sentence?
The next day.
Honoring their agreement, Zeke bought Kiana pastries from the most renowned bakery in town and then led her to a place typically off-limits for minors—a forbidden realm, according to common knowledge...
I'm referring to an internet café.
Kiana, holding an empty cake box—its contents mysteriously vanished—casually tossed it into the bin near the café entrance.
She asked, "An internet café? Why are we here? Do you want to go online?"
Zeke handed her a tissue. "Yes, and please wipe your mouth."
Following his advice, Kiana cleaned the cream from her lips as she watched Zeke pay for two computer terminals. Together, they followed the owner's directions and entered the café.
"The internet is a virtual world that seamlessly integrates information from the real world, bringing everything within reach. It stores data equivalent to the entirety of the physical realm and possesses energy capable of influencing reality," Zeke explained to Kiana while walking inside.
It's currently 2012. Aside from organizations like Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, the technological advancement level of this world closely matches Zeke's original timeline. While internet usage is widespread, it isn't as advanced as he initially presumed.
Nevertheless, the capabilities offered by the network are vast and numerous.
Kiana looked bewildered.
Though her apparent age is 12, she has genuinely interacted with this world for only about three years. Understanding the basic concepts of computers and the internet was impressive enough; comprehending their true power was beyond her reach.
"Do you know how to use a computer?"
"Uh-huh, I've seen them, but never used one."
"And can you read Cyrillic script?"
"A little bit, just some words." Kiana smiled sheepishly, gesturing with her fingers to indicate "a little bit."
With Kiana's show-off personality and lack of modesty, her gesture definitely did not imply any hidden depth or mastery. When she said "a little bit," she truly meant just that—a genuine "little bit," rather than an exaggerated "quite a lot." In fact, her "little bit" might even be less than what most people would consider minimal knowledge.
"That's fine, take your time exploring."
Zeke simply needed her occupied nearby, not expecting her assistance anyway.
Zeke sat down at the computer, its desktop adorned with Bear language phrases he had familiarized himself with over the past few days.
Grasping the mouse, his first step was to learn the input method, followed by understanding the operating system's underlying logic and functionality.
After about an hour...
Within that time, Zeke refreshed his knowledge and fully comprehended the system's fundamentals, mastering nearly all available features, including some rarely encountered by most users throughout their lifetime.
He leaned back, stretching his waist.
Although not challenging to grasp, it required intense focus, leaving him somewhat weary.
Zeke glanced sideways, noticing a chat window open on Kia's desktop.
"Not bad!" he thought privately.
The presence of a chat platform indicated its widespread popularity already.
Kiana lightly bit her lower lip, clumsily tapping the keyboard with her pudgy fingers. Her typing was slow but determined.
Unwilling to disturb her, Zeke got up and purchased two beverages from the front desk—a bottle of mineral water for himself and a bottle of soda for Kiana.
"Ah! It's cola! Thank you, Zeke!"
Kiana's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, she twisted open the bottle, tilted her head back, and gulped down nearly half of it.
Then, with a sweet, cola-scented burp, she comfortably closed her eyes, resembling a content little kitten.
Meanwhile, Zeke leaned over to glance at her screen.
It was a real-time chat room discussing cakes. Hmm, judging by the latest messages, Kiana had just posted a query about Siegfried's whereabouts.
'Not bad. Despite her love for food, she hasn't forgotten about searching for her father.'
Zeke felt somewhat relieved.
While this method might not yield results, it showed that Kiana was genuinely committed to finding him.
Pleased, Zeke gently patted Kiana's small head as a reward before returning to his own work.
Having mastered the operating system's logic, the next step involved understanding the underlying code structure and crawling through vast amounts of network data for analysis.
Zeke remained engrossed in this task until midday.
Checking the time, he realized it was almost lunchtime.
"Kiana, we should go grab someth—huh? What are you watching?"
Upon closer inspection, Zeke noticed the webpage on the screen filled with explicit adult ads. In the center, a video player displayed an inappropriate clip.
"The Daughter of Aki Moon Family"
"Father's Love - A Catastrophic Tale," a classic masterpiece. Surprisingly, it exists in this world too; I should find time to revisit it someday... Wait! Kiana, what the hell are you doing?!
Zeke glanced at Kiana again—she was wearing headphones, crouched on her chair, and had both hands covering her eyes with significant gaps between her fingers, shamelessly enjoying content not suitable for her age.
He swiftly pulled off her headphones, closed the webpage, and felt relieved that the internet café's computers required headphones for audio playback; otherwise, this situation would have been even more embarrassing.
Kiana snapped back to reality, lowered her hands, and looked up, meeting Zeke's exceptionally grim expression.
"I-I-I just wanted to ask about my smelly dad. They started chatting, mentioning me as his daughter, then suddenly sent me a bunch of blue links. When I clicked one, it... It's not my fault!"
With a hint of distress, Kiana weakly explained herself, her cheeks flushed with a suspicious redness.
Zeke narrowed his eyes and said, "Go sit over there and wait for me."
Approaching Kiana's computer station, Zeke took a deep breath. His hands blurred into motion, typing swiftly and fluidly across the keyboard like lightning amidst flowing clouds.
Zeke infiltrated the chat room server, traced the network to locate the otaku's computer that shared the link... and unleashed a full-scale digital onslaught!
Thirty minutes later, Zeke and Kiana were seated at a nearby restaurant, awaiting their server to bring their dishes.
Kiana clutched her knife and fork with both hands, her gaze shifting nervously, afraid to meet Zeke's stern expression.
"Finding that kind of video is one thing—I understand you didn't seek it out intentionally—but why didn't you immediately shut it down or tell me right away? Was it something appropriate for you to watch?"
"I... well... I was just curious..." Kiana stammered, casting pleading glances at Zeke.
Zeke took a deep breath, suppressing his anger completely.
"In terms of education on this subject... I'll find some proper materials for you. Don't let curiosity lead you astray!"
"But... what does it feel like in those situations? Is it really that pleasurable?" Kiana blinked innocently, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Zeke felt his face turning green.
Any parent confronted by their twelve- or thirteen-year-old daughter asking such questions would likely turn the same shade, wouldn't they? Especially since Zeke knew that, in reality, Kiana's true age was merely three or four years old!
"Just wait until I find suitable educational resources; then you can learn from them."
"Oh..." Kiana seemed finally resigned.
Yet Zeke sighed deeply.
That's enough for today.
Although it had been only half a day, he felt utterly drained emotionally.
Also, never taking Kiana to internet cafes again!
Never!
Eating out, strolling around town, buying a computer...and searching for textbooks.
These were the main activities Zeke and Kiana engaged in during the afternoon.
Kiana, thoroughly enjoying herself, polished off three ice creams, two glasses of juice, and various other desserts.
Zeke didn't dwell on her appetite; rather, he couldn't comprehend why anyone would crave ice cream in such cold weather.
Despite this, later that evening while Zeke was taking a shower, the ever-hungry Kiana planned to sneak out for more food.
"Take your gun with you. Be back soon."
As Kiana stealthily opened the door, Zeke's reminder echoed from the bathroom.
She shrank slightly, stuck out her tongue, and responded, "Okay!"
After finishing his shower, Zeke sat on the sofa and brewed a pot of red tea.
Life demands occasional moments of relaxation and indulgence!
However, barely ten minutes later, the motel room door was violently kicked open.
Zeke turned to look.
Kiana rushed in, breathless, carrying an animated young girl over her shoulder.
The girl had beautiful golden hair, fair skin, and an adorable appearance. But none of that mattered; what stood out was that her hands and feet were bound with rope, her hair and clothes disheveled, and her mouth covered with tape. Trembling fearfully and teary-eyed, Kiana brought her inside and placed her on the sofa.
"Crash!"
Zeke's teacup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
Just as Kiana reached towards the trembling girl, Zeke intervened, his expression filled with mixed emotions and profound concern: "Did watching just one short video awaken your Kaslana bloodline so soon? Kiana, I won't judge your orientation, but... you've strayed down the wrong path! It's not too late to turn back."
As he advised her, Zeke picked up the landline phone on the table, murmuring:
"What's the emergency number here again? Also, I wonder what the sentence is for kidnapping underage girls?"
"Wait! Zeke, let me explain—ahhh!"
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