New York is okay today?

Chapter 2

Again, there was a brief silence. The incessant chirping of cicadas lingered in the air, making it parched and dry. After a while, New York adjusted its tone and coldly asked, "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"The city," Laleye said. Perhaps it was because this situation was unprecedented, New York didn't sound very cunning, and Laleye easily saw through his bluff.

If she had only speculated before, now she believed she had reached the correct conclusion. Feeling more settled, she sighed, "You're New York, right?"

New York didn't reply, and Laleye didn't press further. She had noticed a change in the air around her.

The barely noticeable breeze suddenly intensified, while the chirping of cicadas seemed to vanish into thin air. Laleye could feel the silent gaze coming from all directions, as if everything around her had eyes – fire hydrants, trash cans, street trees – and she stood in the center of their scrutinizing gazes.

A voice sounded in her ears, "Alright, I see you."

Seeing Laleye, New York's tone immediately became more cheerful and smug. It seemed relieved to regain dominance in the conversation and its voice softened, like a wary little animal emerging slowly from hiding after sensing the danger had passed.

The wind, like a ribbon, withdrew from between Laleye's fingers. She could feel New York carefully observing her.

"You can hear me," New York said to Laleye after presumably drawing a conclusion from its observation, "but definitely not always, or I would have known about you long ago. Or perhaps you only recently confirmed my identity. If that's the case..."

It paused for a moment before bluntly stating, "Then you're either a fool or a coward."

If Laleye had been able to hear the voice of the city since she was young but had never chosen to communicate with it, then she could only have been unable to understand and fearful. But there was nothing to be contemptuous of about that, at least in Laleye's opinion... But New York seemed to adhere to a different set of standards.

"You're in big trouble," New York, dissatisfied with Laleye's response, threatened her gruffly, "I know you lived in that apartment, and now there are some bodies in your room's refrigerator. Luckily, the police haven't found out yet, but officers have noticed the disappearances. You'll be discovered in a few days, and then I can visit you in jail."

Some bodies would be fine.

Laleye felt that the will of this city needed to learn a thing or two about quantifiers.

However, she felt more relaxed now. From New York's tone, it seemed that, just as she had thought, the will of the city didn't adhere to the concept of order. It didn't immediately scream to inform the authorities about the bodies in her fridge upon discovering them. This was a good start.

"I know," she even smiled slightly, quite pleased, "that's why I want to see if I can get your help."

For the will of the city, dealing with a body wasn't difficult. Let's see how many more bodies hadn't been discovered yet. If she could get New York's help, Laleye's current troubles wouldn't be worth mentioning. The only problem was whether the will of this city would be willing to help her.

"My help?" New York sounded puzzled, "Why should I help—"

"Because if the Fifth Avenue sewer pipes aren't fixed soon, you're going to rust," Laleye said, "We can help each other. Although I don't know what rust feels like, I guess it's not pleasant, right?"

Faced with the pressure of rust, New York fell silent.

But it still tried to struggle, "The maintenance worker..."

Seeing victory within reach, Laleye immediately followed up, "He's still drunk."

New York: "..............."

All this information came from New York's scattered complaints. Previously, the will of the city didn't know that its complaints would enter a human's ears, so it naturally didn't take much precaution.

Forcing an air of dignity, it asked, "How can you help me? Can you fix pipes?"

"I can wake up the maintenance worker, and then I can go learn," Laleye responded quickly, knowing that New York was wavering. She immediately began to promote herself enthusiastically, "Come on! Look at me! The customer is God! On-call, on-demand, mission accomplished, providing you with the best service!"

"...Fine." After a moment, New York reluctantly acquiesced.

Goal achieved, Laleye's heart finally settled back into her chest. She listened to New York muttering, "I'll tell you where you can hide bodies, you—"

Before he finished speaking, his voice suddenly paused for a moment, then urgently raised in pitch.

"—Help me save a person!"

...Save what?

In English, quantifiers are not very diverse, but under such difficult conditions, New York managed to spit out a peculiar one.

Laleye had been prepared to kick down a door, but the target suddenly changed, leaving her stunned.

"610 Lexington Avenue, 50th floor," New York spoke rapidly, "He's hiding in the ventilation ducts, unable to leave. Help me rescue him."

Laleye: "Can't I just call the police?"

New York: "......"

Laleye felt like New York's "What use are you" had already been loaded.

But the problem was, this didn't sound like good news, and this "he" didn't sound like an ordinary person. And she was a bona fide ordinary person, okay???

Although Laleye wanted to make a deal with New York, she was also very aware of her limitations. Kicking down a door was one thing, but rescuing someone was another thing entirely.

The ordinary person Laleye felt a bit hopeless, but she still struggled to ask, "What happened to him?"

"Lexington Research Institute is studying certain alien viruses and conducting human experiments on homeless people. He triggered an alarm while trying to save someone," New York explained impatiently, completely focused on a distant trapped individual, "The building has been sealed off by the security team. He needs an opportunity to escape."

Laleye: "......" Setting aside this use of quantifiers for now, are you seriously suggesting that a truly ordinary person should confront an entire security team? Could you be any more realistic???

A research institute conducting human experiments on homeless people definitely wasn't a law-abiding institute. Their security team wouldn't just hand over intruders to the police. And for an intruder who broke in to save someone...

Laleye felt like she was being very cooperative: "Can't you save him?"

"If I could do everything myself, why would I need maintenance workers to fix pipes?" New York was very displeased, as if Laleye was saying something absurd, "I'll keep an eye on you. What's taking you so long? It's not difficult at all. I just need someone to do it for me."

Laleye analyzed for him: "I can't even run a mile right now."

New York's tone was icy: "So, it won't be with a human body."

"Let your consciousness leave your body, and I can create a temporary shell for you. But it can only be used within my consciousness coverage area. Your body can be left anywhere, and I'll watch over it."

In simple terms, it was like creating a game character in a holographic game, using the game character to enter dangerous situations.

Laleye understood.

She weighed the options between going to jail and saving someone, but still hesitated: "Who is he?"

"He took a breath. 'His name is Peter Parker... He's just a kid,'" he said.

Laleye's inclination to decline briefly paused.