SOTOPIA: Artificial Pseudo-God

Watching Moskevich share the pleasant process of brainstorming and miscalculation distress with himself, Steven couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of relief—just as Moskevich persisted in making trouble for himself, he was already in the middle of nowhere. I fell in love with this unique feeling unconsciously.

I don't know whether the focus and the key is this happy feeling, or the person who brings this feeling.

"I don't care, let them come." Steven simply closed the laptop, and slammed himself on the bed like a tired office worker after working overtime overnight, with Moskevich lying on his side Almost got bounced. "I'll think about these things tomorrow. Whether it's to ask the moving company for verification, to ask Higgins for a progress report, or to ask Elias for a positive report, I don't care tonight."

Moskevich raised his elbows and propped his chin and jokingly asked Steven: "You are 32 years old, can you be less childish, Mr. Krebs?"

Steven turned his head and smiled, "Mr. 27-year-old virgin, I'm afraid it's not your turn to question whether I'm immature or not?" He kept lying down and pointed to the pile of manuscripts at the end of the bed, and said, "You Still so arrogant — the content is good, but not compelling enough to focus. Not everyone can read that stuff.”

Even though the eye level is now a few inches higher than Steven's, Moskevich still raised his head a few degrees arrogantly: "Do you understand the arrogance of those theorists: the readers did not choose them, but They choose the reader."

——I just like your spicy look, just like I hated your hypocrisy at first.

Of course, Steven didn't say that.Partly because the words were too flirtatious, and partly because Moskevich had already taken bolder steps.

Similar to the surprise attack in the Los Angeles hospital ward, Moskevich rolled over and straddled Steven directly.He put his hands on Steven's side and looked down at him.But different from that time, Moskevich's movements at this time are almost lazy and gentle, and his expression no longer has the threat of tit-for-tat and sword tension, but more like an arrogant temptation.

"Don't make a fuss about inexperience, Steven." Moskevich said with a smile. "Speaks like everyone puts so much importance on going to bed."

Faced with such a situation, Steven was not nervous, but rather confident.He was not in a hurry to get the provocative Moskevich off the bed. Instead, he grabbed the opponent's wrist, and he could feel the rhythmic beating of the young man's pulse in the palm of his hand: "You understand that the current situation is difficult for others to see. What's the matter?"

Moskevich raised his eyebrows, his haughty eyes did not change at all: "I know very well."

"Did you see something strange?"

"When was the last time you slept with someone? Months ago, or years ago?" Moskevich asked back, speaking sharply and directly, even a little aggressively.Had it not been for a firm grip on his wrist, Steven wondered if he would have put his hand somewhere awkward.

Steven, who was pressed on the bed, looked very calm: "What is this, suddenly pursuing self-liberation? Want to solve each other's physical needs with me?"

After a couple of polite smiles, Moskevich bent down.The flexible and warm body of the mysterious young man approached Steven further, and a few strands of soft white hair fell directly on Steven's face. Just like himself, he seemed to be a soul that existed outside the world and had insight into everything.

Moskevich didn't continue to stare into the other person's eyes, but leaned close to Steven's ear and lowered his voice, sounding a bit complacent, and his breath directly blew Steven's short dark brown hair when he spoke: " You fucked in the bathroom. The air freshener smell is stronger than usual, I can smell it."

Steven couldn't help laughing: "You're plotting against me." But what he did didn't match the innocence implied by his words—his one hand went directly around Moskevich's waist, and with a little force, he Can force the youth who made the first risky move to get closer to them.

Moskevich had to bend his elbows to support himself on the bed to avoid embarrassing himself due to being too close, although their current posture is already ambiguous enough.But he still underestimated Steven's determination and ability to take control—the former FBI agent didn't care about the symbolic resistance of the former Sotopia insight, but directly grabbed the other's neck and pulled him into his arms.

"You dangerous guy, you really need some practical lessons." Steven hugged Moskevich, whose soft hair still smelled of mint shampoo, which was very suitable for his image.

"Without me, you would still be a national civil servant in front of the FBI." The voice muffled between the bed and the crook of the neck was no longer as rational and self-contained as usual.

"Without me, I'm afraid you would be homeless." Steven tightened his arms, turned his face and kissed the top of Moskevich's hair.

Some boundaries need to be maintained, and some boundaries are looking forward to the moment of breaking.

The body temperature was transmitted through two thin layers of clothing, and they could almost clearly feel the slight increase in each other's heart rate.

Just when Steven thought that all the fog of sex and impulse had been dispelled by the simple and crude temptation, and was about to take further action, Moskevich broke away from him.Only at this moment, Moskevich's eyes were different from usual.

"Speaking of which, I don't have your choice, and I don't have to do this with you."

"I know."

"Even if I sleep with you, it's not to repay what you have done for me, let alone to pay the rent."

"I know."

"Caroline's still out there—"

"Obviously you climbed on me to provoke me first, but now you pretend to be forced by me. I really don't know what's going on with your mental activities." Steven laughed.He looked at Moskevich, who was hiding his embarrassment with words, and said patiently: "Otherwise, what are you going to do? We can try to date first—whether it's going to a museum, watching a movie, or even being together." Doing the dangerous stuff that Higgins set up is like a rite of passage before home plate."

After speaking, Steven carefully observed Moskevich's reaction.He even began to reflect on whether he had gone too far - although the other party was not too young and his mind was already terribly mature, due to various special reasons, his emotional experience was still close to zero.

Yet Moskevich agreed.The way to say yes is to kiss Steven on the lips, in a way that's so fast it's not hard to see his lack of confidence.

"It really surprises me that you know you should close your eyes for a kiss."

"Shut up, old man."

"Ah, you came just in time. I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to investigate any more."

As soon as Steven pushed open the door of Higgins' office, he heard the owner's relaxed and happy voice.He looked suspiciously at the young lawyer who was drinking tea on the sofa, and another person who turned his head in front of him surprised him even more.

"... Elias Blowy?" Steven subconsciously touched the gun hidden behind his waist.

Elias is thinner than he looks in the photo, but it gives people a completely different feeling-if Elias on the certificate is just like his profile stated, like a well-behaved IT youth, then the reality "Elias" is more like a decadent and gloomy artist.

Los Angeles is very hot this season.Elias is wearing a dark gray T-shirt printed with postmodernist patterns. In addition to his clean and pale face, he is surrounded by dense and complex tattoos from the neck down to his wrists, like a white snake wrapped in a paradoxical totem.Steven guessed that the same thing happened where he was covered by clothes.

Higgins stood up, took the initiative to walk to Steven, and introduced Elias' real identity to him: "He is a hacker--in fact, I just found out. After clarifying the progress of your investigation, he took the initiative to Confess the truth to me."

Elias nodded, speaking in a very young voice, but it sounded a bit dull: "The intention of doing that is to confirm whether someone is investigating me."

Steven looked at the withdrawn young hacker, and asked Higgins beside him, "Are you going to take him in?"

Higgins spread his hands, with a confident expression on his face: "I've confirmed that nothing will happen to him. Maybe staying here can help you in the future."

"His real name is probably not Elias, and his identity is not legal."

The hacker admitted this: "Those things were forged by me invading the official system, but they didn't find out, and what I did was harmless to others."

Higgins, who made the entrustment first, also said: "Look, isn't his business ability in this area still passable?"

Feeling helpless about this, Steven had no choice but to complain with reservations: "Are you a double standard?"

Higgins smiled: "I'm just being very pragmatic." After that, he returned to his desk, took out an envelope full of cash, and handed it to Steven. "Although the result is like this, the reward will still be given. I wish us a happy cooperation in the future."

Steven weighed the weight in the envelope and sighed at the turn of events.Of course, he didn't intend to stop there: "Call me next time you have a job, as long as it's not so dangerous, I'll do it."

"Employer" Higgins asked with great interest: "Do you have other jobs?"

"That's it."

When he got home, Steven first saw Moskevich reading a book with his legs crossed in the living room.Caroline was sitting on the floor, playing the XBOX concentratingly with the sound turned on. The beagle Lehman was jumping around in front of the screen, more like a cat chasing a ball of wool than a dog.

Steven froze for a moment: "Caroline, don't you have to go to school?"

Moskevich shot him a sharp look: "It's the weekend, you idiot."

Steven smiled helplessly: "Are you targeting me so leisurely?" He walked to sit next to Moskevich, who moved an inch or two away for him calmly.

While Caroline and Lehman weren't looking, they stalked and shared a brief kiss.