My Clones Can Travel the Multiverse

Redeployment

Now that Li Yu had reached E+ level, he no longer needed Noisy lurking outside every day. If Fatty Three caught sight of the robot, it would ruin everything.

"What are you packing all those guns for?" Mo Duo asked, puzzled by Li Yu's busy hands.

"To sell them, of course—back to Little Fat."

It took Mo Duo a beat to realize Little Fat meant Fatty Three.

"But…" He hesitated. Wasn't that a bit too brazen? After all, those mercenaries had been lured here by Fatty Three himself.

He didn't finish. After Li Yu had single-handedly wiped out the Ghost Squad, his reputation alone would make Fatty Three think twice before crossing him again.

The Widow didn't come along this time—she had no desire to draw Fatty Three's ire.

As evening fell, Fatty Three was still waiting for the delivery of the "sniper rifle" he'd paid for. Instead, the door creaked open, and in walked Li Yu—carrying bags full of gear.

Alive? The Hunter blinked. What was all that equipment? And the white armor stuffed into that duffel…

No way.A thought struck him—one that made his scalp prickle.

"My brother," Fatty Three said with false concern, "the gunfire and explosions over there scared me half to death today. You're all right?"

He looked Li Yu over with a worried face, pretending ignorance.

Li Yu grinned, unruffled. "I got lucky. Was napping when a big bag of guns fell from the sky. No idea who dropped it."

"Really?" Fatty Three widened his eyes. "Brother's luck is something else. Mind if I take a look?"

He rummaged through the bags. The more he saw, the more his gut tightened. Vulture Squad—annihilated?

That squad was elite—each member specialized. Even he found them troublesome to deal with. How could Li Yu, with one rifle, have taken them out?

His thoughts spun, but his smile didn't falter. "You can't use this stuff anyway, brother. Why not let me take it off your hands?"

I'll take the goods, call it square. Forget today ever happened. We're still brothers.

Li Yu chuckled. "That's what I came for, old brother—but no cutting the price."

"No problem."

He had to overpay. The Widow had given Li Yu a rough appraisal before leaving, and the number he quoted left Fatty Three no profit at all—but with the Ghost Squad gone and Li Yu alive, he had no choice but to swallow the loss.

Thirty thousand starcoins.If most of the armor hadn't been shredded beyond resale, the haul could've fetched triple that.

Li Yu stared at the heavy crate of cash. He had no ID—only hard currency. Carrying it around was a pain.

"Hey…" He suddenly noticed the Hunter standing to the side. "So you're not dead after all."

The Hunter forced a smile. Their roles had reversed entirely—he was no longer on Li Yu's level.

Fatty Three's heart bled as he packed up the weapons and armor. Until he found a buyer, the haul was just a loss.

Useless Ghost Squad, he cursed inwardly.

Li Yu, meanwhile, stood looking around like he'd lost something. Fatty Three frowned. "Brother, anything else?"

"Just looking for somewhere to sleep." Li Yu was completely serious.

"To… sleep?"

"Sure. Tomorrow's the underground market trip. If you forget to take me, that'd be a shame."

Fatty Three smirked to himself but forced a genial tone. "Forget you? Never, brother."

He lived in a metal prefab apartment—his entire fortune in steel and circuits. As long as Li Yu kept an eye on that place, Fatty Three couldn't slip away.

That night, a small fire flickered outside. Three people and one machine sat around it. Firelight danced in Mo Duo's green eyes, distant and unreadable.

Li Yu glanced at him but said nothing. The strange deaths of Units Six and Seven still nagged at him, but he let it go. Everyone had secrets.

"You ever think," Mo Duo murmured, "this whole universe is just people who'll sell anything for profit?"

Silence. Only Noisy replied, mechanical voice cutting through: "Are you talking to Noisy?"

Mo Duo pressed his lips together and turned to Li Yu.

Li Yu blinked. "You're talking to me?"

The Hunter sighed quietly. Love unrecognized by the world always came with pain.

Mo Duo nodded, eyes full of an odd anticipation.

Li Yu thought a moment, then said, "Can you call me Dad first?"

Mo Duo: "???"

Li Yu spread his hands, looking helpless. "If you won't even call me Dad, why should I answer?"

He shrugged and sank into his system interface again, focusing on the cooling countdown of his clone module.

Mo Duo watched him drift away into that digital trance, bit his lip, and finally asked, "Where's that big g*n of yours?"

Earlier that day, Li Yu had gone into the tin house with the sniper rifle—and come out without it.

Li Yu instinctively straightened his waist, realized who was asking, and awkwardly sat back down.

Mo Duo frowned, confused.

"If you're that bored," Li Yu said dryly, "go watch Fatty Three and his woman at it. He seems to enjoy an audience."

Mo Duo glared, sprang up, and kicked the tire beside him in frustration. The Hunter just sighed again.

"Don't go too far. Five-meter radius. Remember," Li Yu called after him.

Mo Duo spat out a stream of words in a language Li Yu didn't recognize.

Li Yu eyed him warily. "What was that?"

"Nothing." Mo Duo shook his head, oddly calmer now, and sat back down.

Li Yu suspected he'd been cursing him, but his attention was already elsewhere. The clone cooldown was finished. Without hesitation, he hit Deploy.

Deploying clone…Analyzing data…Locating Matrix universe coordinates…Breaching dimensional wall…Connection established.

Select clone parameters:The clone inherits full host strength. One title and one talent may be equipped. Performance will affect overall evaluation.

This time, his list was richer—many new titles and traits. Each clone could carry only one of each.

The Plot Wrecker was out; paired with his random-action quirk, it would trigger pure chaos.

The useful talent The Infected stayed equipped, even though the Matrix world had no viral enhancers.

"Would be a shame not to wear a title…" Li Yu muttered, then grinned and chose the white tag: Villainy Never Dies.

Clone alignment: ally with the protagonist, neutral, or hostile?Of course—ally with the protagonist. Stick close to Neo and you'll probably survive. His friends rarely died.

And there were always rewards to leech from bosses. Resident Evil had proven that much.

Deploying…Deployment complete.Awaiting system log refresh.(Note: The Matrix universe has dual layers. Real world time ratio = 1:1. Matrix simulation ratio = 1:10.)