Shi'an underground laboratory.
The black and gray "hole" hangs in the middle of the white room, and its edges gradually turn into pure black, constantly moving like a living thing. It is obvious that the black and gray texture in the center is consistent and there is no light or dark, but as long as you look at it, you always have the illusion of being sucked into the vortex. And this thing feels like a flat surface, but if you turn the angle, it still faces everyone who is looking at it.
Outside the room, a group of people were busy in front of the computer. Numbers and images jumped rapidly on the screen, and slight warning sounds came and went.
The data passed through the wires, rode the radio waves, reached Li Nian's computer upstairs, and finally shrank into a small window.
"The growth rate of homicides has not increased significantly, and the growth rate is acceptable. The pollution sources flowing externally are still being recovered, although new pollution sources are still flowing into the market, and overall they are within control."
Opposite Professor Li, Xiang Jiang reported dryly—rather than reporting, his posture was more like reading a paper report.
"... Overall, everything is good. That's pretty much it for the week."
He summed it up this way.
"Really?" Li Nian moved the mouse calmly and checked the data from the laboratory. "Do you really think that Sinking Society will use so many years of research efforts to entertain us?"
Xiang Jiang raised his eyes, his face numb: "The source of the pollutants is still under investigation. It will take a long time to verify. Everything is going according to regulations."
It was light and relaxing, like a novel experience of being separated from the body.
Xiang Jiang stopped moving the mouse.
"The public opinion situation related to Haigu is not optimistic."
He obviously has no interest in speculating.
[They are all crazy. ] The evil ghost murmured in a smiling voice, [They are all madmen.]
Professor Li took the initiative to speak out.
"Indiscriminate cases occur from time to time, and residents are under high pressure. Excluding murder cases, the frequency of extreme speech and behavior on the Internet has increased by 165.2%, and in real life, verbal fights and physical conflicts have increased by 347.7% year-on-year...",
Consumption of tobacco and alcohol has increased a lot, and some people seem to enjoy the atmosphere. Drunk hooligans can be seen on the streets from time to time. The smell of alcohol and vomit became stronger and stronger in the night.
Professor Li stared at the large and small windows that filled the screen, and his brows gradually wrinkled.
It can even be said that it was too smooth.
Xiang Jiang patted the dead twin brother on the shoulder. Xiang Hai twisted his neck, covered his mouth with his deformed palm, and whispered slowly in his ear -
This seemed to wake him up, Wei Huaqian opened his eyes suddenly, and his left hand emerged from the air in an instant.
Wei Huaqian, who was halfway to Charon, dismissed all his subordinates and stayed alone in the huge room.
"Of course I mind what happened back then, but that's not the reason for you to make a fuss about it."
He looked at the screen with a pair of old man's eyes, a dim light reflected in his eyes.
[The other side is a "network world" where the brains of countless creatures are used as "devices" and are interconnected. Yuanwu can be regarded as a unique life form on the other side. It is suspected of using biological emotions as its energy source. It can invade and control insane and brain-damaged creatures to a certain extent...]
"If Professor Li has a testable hypothesis, I will assist you in applying. If there is no evidence, the priority is to retain manpower - the police force is now overloaded, and the Emergency Management Department needs to retain manpower that can respond to emergencies."
After Xiang Jiang finished speaking word by word, he picked up the cup that he had not drunk much from, and took a glass of water as if he was holding the ground.
He stood up slowly, his dead eyes locked firmly on Li Nian. Behind him, Xiang Hai's neck tilted ninety degrees to one side, and his pale lips pulled into an exaggerated arc.
When Fu Xingchuan was still in the office, he would always put forward all kinds of outrageous hypotheses, and sometimes he would kill people first and then send people to investigate. At that time, Professor Li was playing the role of pulling the reins and was annoyed by the noise from his partner. For Xiang Jiang, who couldn't beat a fart with three sticks, the office was uncomfortably quiet, and the emptiness could freeze people's thoughts.
The unique sense of relaxation in Umine City is disappearing quietly, but—
Li Nian dragged the experimental data window and placed it next to the recent Haigu City conflict report, and then called up the case of this pollution source spread.
The next moment, the fingertips of that hand gradually became translucent, and then disappeared into the air. Then came the palm, the wrist... There was a "pop" sound, and the valuable watch on his wrist hit the floor.
"Based on your situation, I thought you would know. That evil pollution will not change a person's personality, let alone induce innocent people to commit crimes - they are all man-made disasters in nature, and naturally they are not under our control. As for online conflicts, those Aren’t people always so lively? Now they are more open-minded.”
However, not long after the experiment started, Jiao Lian was able to sense changes on the other side. In just one day, Shi'an successfully created an extremely unstable communication port.
"You memorized the rules well." Li Nian hummed, "Now that it's all said and done, you and I can continue to do business."
"If no one is killed, it's not a big deal." Xiang Jiang said lightly, "We are not responsible for public opinion, nor are we responsible for the mental health of residents. You have to ask my opinion... Those are just additional effects of pollution, not worth mentioning."
"You still mind what happened back then."
For more than two decades, no one could reach the other shore except Charon, which withstood the high level of pollution. Shi'an has long studied artificial gaps. Even so, the most they can reach is a transitional space like an archive.
The abandoned building of the hospital is underground, and the Huihaigu branch is sunk.
Then came the actual records of the case investigated by Gengsheng Town.
Behind Xiang Jiang, Xiang Hai raised his head, opened his mouth like a rotting corpse, and spit out a fishy evil breath. It's a pity that Li Nian was as immobile as a mountain, and not even a strand of hair was brushed up by the ghost.
This is a transitional space, a place closer to the other shore. With a trace of rare anxiety, he closed his eyes tightly, stretched out the five fingers of his left hand, and concentrated his strength on his hand.
He thought for a while and then pulled out the hypothesis given by Yin Ren and Zhong Cheng not long ago.
In fact, the feeling is more obvious these days outside. Li Nian was just walking on the street, and the women and children around him would actively avoid him, an adult man with a "ferocious look". The number of pedestrians in the commercial street at night has visibly decreased, and the air is filled with tension and fear.
On the other side, seeing Xiang Jiang insisting on "minorizing the big deal", Li Nian stopped talking. He flipped through the research results given by the laboratory -
In the haze, he seemed to grasp something. But when I think about it carefully, that feeling is buried in the complicated clues, making it difficult to reproduce.
The pollution pattern on the wooden talisman was cracked, the missing conditions were reproduced based on the emotional data, and the research on connecting to the other side went very smoothly.
There is still an indescribable wonderful feeling on my fingertips.
"Not worth mentioning." Li Nian chewed these four words, "Given your situation, I thought you would care."
Only then did Xiang Jiang look away.
"The other side..." Wei Huaqian opened his lips slightly and murmured softly.
Boom, boom, boom!
There was an unceremonious knock on the door, and then the door lock clicked. The door creaked open, and a familiar face appeared in front of Wei Huaqian.
Shen Mo was as usual, he pushed the door open and entered without waiting for the owner of the house to respond.
This person spent most of his time on the other side investigating. Now that Shen Mo has been staying on "this side" for a long time, Wei Huaqian feels uncomfortable from head to toe. If it weren't for the fact that all the research on the other side relies on this only remaining "Charon", Wei Huaqian would have wished for a curse. Kill him neatly.
"Are you supplying a special pollution source to Umiya City Middle School? Why can't I find any plans?"
Shen Mo got straight to the point.
"I won't go out of my way to pollute the school." Wei Huaqian replied patiently, "The school is indeed a good place to pollute, but students' activities are limited and can easily be found out."
"I think so too. You are not that ridiculous. But there is some movement on the other side, and the pollution at the school seems to be very... concentrated."
Shen Mo rubbed his fingers with interest, and Wei Huaqian snorted indifferently.
"Since it's not the Sinking Society, then we all know who it is. At this juncture, it's better not to offend those - whatever they call it in Shi'an - don't offend those Yuan objects."
"...You don't care about the source of pollution?"
"I don't care." Wei Huaqian responded coldly, "Who knows what they are thinking, I am only responsible for preparing for the descending of gods. You too, it is better to focus on assisting the descending of gods."
Shen Mo chuckled and sat down on the leather sofa in Wei Huaqian's room. His eyes wandered around the luxurious chandelier a few times before looking at Wei Huaqian.
"Okay, I understand. Since you don't care, I'll ask someone to follow you."
"… etc."
When Shen Molin went out, Wei Huaqian stopped him.
"Are you thinking that the short-sighted people named Wei are afraid that they might be tempted by Yuan Wu?" Wei Huaqian slowly clenched his left hand into a fist, "I only know one thing - their intention is not to kill everyone, but to me. Say, that’s enough.”
"Neither I nor you have any chance of winning against them. And for them, people who don't care about humans are better than people who care about their fellow humans... In this way, you and I will always be safe. But I want to remind you, if you know too much, you may lose your life."
"I see. Xiao Wei, after so many years, you are still so conservative."
Shen Mo didn't look back.
"Don't worry, the Sinking Society will not be implicated. Shi'an has already sent someone to intervene, and I don't need to intervene personally."
"Need to be annoying."
In physics class, Zhong Chengshuo fell into deep thought. The young man Yin Ren was half floating and half lying on top of him, with undisguised anticipation in his eyes...or, in other words, eagerness to watch the excitement.
"You need to be annoying." Zhong Cheng muttered and repeated.
He was indeed very well-behaved in junior high school. Strictly speaking, Zhong Cheng said that he hardly communicates with anyone. On weekdays, apart from reading books and answering questions, he reads and studies, literally wandering in the ocean of human knowledge.
Maybe human cubs can't concentrate, but for Da Yuanwu who has been idle for countless years like a dead creature, those new knowledge are fatally attractive.
I study hard on weekdays and get a bunch of perfect scores in the exams. During the holidays, he was investigating the disappearance of his sister. Zhong Cheng said that his junior high school life was extremely fulfilling. As for his classmates, they were mostly faceless carrots and cabbages in his memory, and he never paid any attention to them.
Whether those classmates liked him or hated him, he never cared.
In theory, beating everyone up one by one or destroying their favorite objects can indeed quickly gain the dislike of classmates. But in this way, even if they knew what to do, the school would not want such a violent student.
Zhong Cheng said quietly taking out the school rules from the desk and checking them carefully one by one.
The smile of Yin Ren who was watching gradually solidified, and there was a vague worry in his eyes - now, Lord Ghost King seriously doubted that the "moral concepts" mentioned by Zhong Cheng were just the words and deeds of his police parents. If nothing else, this person may not really care whether the target is an adult or a minor. After all, there is an unknown age difference there. Nine or ninety years old are considered a certain stage of "short-lived animals" for him.
Yin Ren's thoughts were spinning wildly, and the hand on Zhong Cheng's neck tightened, for fear that this man would have some not-so-good ideas.
"... We still have to rely on words to communicate."
Fortunately, after studying all the school rules carefully, Zhong Cheng said in conclusion.
"Other approaches can easily cause unnecessary disputes."
"Yeah, yeah." Yin Ren nodded encouragingly.
"But I don't know how to curse. Can you check it for me?"
"... That's terrible. You lack the emotion to curse." Yin Ren shook his head melancholy.
No need to check, it's definitely useless. With Zhong Cheng's temperament, he could only recite swear words in a regular manner, and he would definitely not be able to scold a junior high school student. Just imagining that scene made Yin Ren feel a little suffocated.
"Well..." Zhong Cheng said and continued to think.
I don't know if it was Yin Ren's illusion, but no matter how difficult the battle was before, this man had never been so distressed. Under the cover of Huang Liang's illusion, young Zhong Cheng said his brows were furrowed and his slightly long hair hung down his neck. The distress on his face was magnified tenfold by his slightly childish eyebrows.
Yin Ren swallowed what he wanted to discuss.
He doesn't have any suitable ideas now, and Zhong Cheng like this is quite rare, which really makes him want to see more of him.
From this angle, the man looked like his neighbor at the table. They were like two real students, sitting in class worrying about the future... Yin Ren inexplicably liked this feeling. He calmly changed positions, then went to Zhong Cheng's table and stretched out.
Zhong Cheng said that by meditating like this, he went from meditating in class to after class.
When the big break comes, the classroom is extremely lively. Yin Ren wiped the signs of drowsiness on his face, while Zhong Chengshuo stood up with a book, staring deeply at one of the pages, obviously still thinking hard about the "stimulus plan."
"Bang!"
The boy who had fallen down and squatted before class rushed over and kicked Zhong Cheng's desk directly. "Idiot, kneel down and apologize!"
This is because he was embarrassed before and came to save face. Coming just in time, Yin Ren changed his posture, looked at Zhong Cheng and said, ready to make a trip to the rescue at any time.
The child kicked the table. This little impact is much lighter than fighting against an evil thing. Zhong Cheng said that it would automatically filter out this little shake and he continued to think hard without moving the fingers that grabbed the book.
"What about you, Zhang San, do you have cerebral palsy? Are you deaf?" the boy shouted loudly, and kicked the desk a few times.
Zhong Cheng finally raised his head. He glanced at this person faintly, then stood up and arranged the table in order.
"This is the public property of the school. If you break it if you kick it, you will have to pay for it." Zhong Cheng reminded him matter-of-factly.
He finally put away the physics textbook, and carefully took out the biology textbook for the next class. He arranged the stationery on the table very neatly. After clearing the table, Zhong Cheng straightened the pen and paper and continued thinking.
The troublemaking boy: "..."
His face slowly turned red again: "Are your parents dead? Didn't they teach you to listen to others?"
Zhong Cheng said calmly: "Yes, they are all dead. They never taught me to listen to others."
The most urgent task now is to come up with a plan to anger the child, and be fully prepared to implement it strictly. As for the provocateur, just coax him back. Zhong Cheng said he was planning carefully in his mind.
His biological parents, Wei Huaxian and Kong Miao, had indeed died long ago, and strictly speaking, the person who taught him to "listen to others" was Yin Ren. His answer was very friendly, it must be no problem.
Zhong Cheng said "all are dead" and choked the young man into silence for more than ten seconds. Amid the laughter around him, the boy's face became increasingly red.
"As expected of a thing without a father and a mother, I just want to teach you a lesson today for this nosy idiot."
"I didn't hit you just now, and I didn't make you fall." Zhong Cheng explained seriously and patiently, "I understand that you are unhappy about losing face, but this matter has nothing to do with me. You didn't teach me a lesson. There is a good reason, this will only make you look unreasonable.”
"In addition, if you are very concerned about your image in the class, it is best to deal with your nose early. If you continue to leave it alone, it will soon swell and turn purple, making you look even more unseemly."
Afraid of being entangled by the young man, Zhong Cheng explained the facts carefully and reasoned.
The surrounding students cheered as if they were just watching the excitement.
"It's not decent, Angkor, it's not decent." "Our Mr. Wu is a decent man." "Why don't we hurry up and show dignity—"
The students sitting nearby formed a circle and laughed.
The young man's face turned red and his neck was thick with anger. He yelled and grabbed Zhong Cheng's collar. Zhong Cheng said he cooperated and let him catch him, maintaining a perfect balance with his body and not forgetting to hold down the brand new biology textbook with his hands, lest he accidentally drop it.
After making sure that the objects on the table were in order, Zhong Cheng turned to look at the young man, his dark eyes looking peaceful.
Yin Ren, who was floating aside, was stunned.
Thank God, Mr. Zhong Cheng said he was very well-behaved in junior high school. Otherwise, with his innate eloquence, his combat ability will be exposed prematurely.
"Fuck you!" The young man roared angrily and punched Zhong Chengshuo in the face. As expected, the latter dodged easily, his eyes still calm.
The cheers from the surrounding students became even louder.
Yin Ren barely suppressed his laughter and tried to feel it.
Sure enough, that sense of distant gaze reappeared. The young man's state at this moment was closer to shame than anger. The sense of voyeurism appeared as usual, vague and misty, as if separated by a layer of mist.
It seems that it’s not just anger that triggers staring, but it’s worth trying more.
Half a step away, the tall young man was still pestering Zhong Cheng. But no matter how he hit him, Zhong Cheng said he was like a loach and could easily dodge every time. This person just didn't fight back, and the insult reached a whole new level.
Finally, Zhong Cheng gently opened the fingers holding his collar and pushed the hand back to the young man's chest.
"It would be unfair for me to do anything to you. Why don't we stop here and remember to check your nose."
"You fucking wait! Just wait for me!" The young man pointed at Zhong Cheng and cursed, spitting. He touched his nose with a sad face and walked out of the classroom quickly.
In the front row, Luo Chunlei turned her head and looked at this little conflict with an expressionless face. Seeing Zhong Cheng sitting back in his seat unharmed, she turned her face and started chatting and laughing with the other girls as if nothing had happened.
"Brother Zhang is so awesome. Where did you practice?" "Can you teach me?" "Master, master, I'm your disciple!" Several male students came closer with a smile.
Zhong Cheng said that he was full of plans on "how to be annoying", and he still followed the sincere route of answering questions -
"If you really want to learn a skill, you can sign up for a class and practice. If you want to use it every day, even if you practice it to the limit, an adult can subdue you with his weight, so it's not of much use."
All the students, you look at me, I look at you.
"If you don't want to teach, don't teach. Why are you pretending?" One of them muttered, and everyone dispersed.
Although I don’t understand why these people are upset, the surroundings are quiet at least. Zhong Cheng said he was relieved. He sat back in his chair, holding the pen holder and thinking hard.
Yin Ren stretched out his hands mischievously and covered Zhong Cheng's eyes: "Brother Zhong, do you want me to teach you some 'annoying' skills?"
"But I don't think you are annoying at all. Do you really have skills?" Zhong Cheng said, covering his eyes with his Yin blade, and changed the person he was communicating with. This person's communication skills suddenly improved again.
"Yes, but it only applies to you." The Millennium Ghost King retracted his paws and rubbed his face.
Zhong Cheng said that he immediately picked up a pen and paper and acted like he was all ears.
"Our parents must have taught you a lot, right? Just remember those words, don't think about anything, just treat your classmates positively."
Zhong Cheng said: "..."
The young man Zhong Cheng turned his round eyes to Yin Ren, his eyes a little more confused: "When I treat others positively, will I be very annoying?"
"How could I hate you? I don't think everyone in Group 9 would think that way."
Yin Ren slapped his chest directly.
"But these eleven or twelve-year-old kids... that's not a sure thing."
Zhong Cheng said nothing, his face was sullen, the pen was spinning back and forth between his fingers, and the afterimage almost looked like a flower.
"Okay, I understand." When he spoke again, Zhong Cheng said with complete trust in his tone, "If this is this kind of plan, I also have something to ask you."
"Um?"
"I need a list of the bad behavior of my classmates."
"The big-breasted woman in Class 4 always goes out to rent a room with an old man. The news spread throughout her class. I saw her get into the man's car with my own eyes."
"Oh, I've also heard that people in Class 4 say she's special, and everyone knows..."
"I have to ask, brother is so handsome, maybe he can get her -"
During the break, a bunch of boys gathered together and quietly took out pornographic books, laughing and gossiping. But before I turned the page of the magazine, there was another face in the small space.
"Before the facts are determined, it is best not to spread such insulting remarks, which will cause trouble to the parties involved."
Zhong Cheng said seriously.
"When you are in junior high school, you are more likely to be picked up and dropped off by your father or other elders. Having a relationship with a woman under the age of fourteen is a crime, not a light joke."
"... Fuck! What are you doing!" Several students turned blue and hurriedly stuffed pornographic magazines.
Zhong Cheng's gaze remained calm as he spoke, and his tone was still very sincere: "Physical development during adolescence and interest in the opposite sex are normal phenomena and are not shameful. You may consider more formal sex education columns."
Strictly speaking, Zhong Cheng's tone was not top-down criticism or righteous accusation. But the tone of stating the facts, coupled with the immature face, is really creepy.
"Are you sick!!!" He got a series of screams.
Zhong Cheng walked away calmly. He took out his notebook and crossed out a line: "The experiment continues."
Yin Ren kissed the top of his lover's hair: "Good job, next one."
"You've gone too far!"
A sharp-looking girl slapped the table where Zhong Cheng was talking, her eyes firmly following the pen in his hand.
"This is a limited edition peripheral. Do you know how precious it is? You are not a fan of the ○○ family at all. I can tell at a glance! You are not using it correctly. It is too rough. You don't even buy the pen case and pen stickers. The pen that comes with it The core is also cheap! … If you use it like this next time, I’ll break it and throw it away!”
Zhong Cheng said calmly turning the gel pen with a character printed on it.
"We are not familiar with each other, and you have set your own rules. I have never understood them, and I have no interest in understanding them."
Zhong Cheng said objective narrative.
"I paid for it, and it is my private property. As long as I use it for proper purposes, I am free to use it how I want. Classmate, it is just a pen."
"... It doesn't make sense to you! You don't understand anything!" The girl's face turned red with anger, "Just tell me, do you still need it?"
"Use it and will always carry it."
When the girl ran away angrily, Zhong Cheng used the pen to cross out another name in the notebook.
"Children today are amazing. They are indeed more complicated than I was back then." Yin Ren put his arms on top of Zhong Chengshuo's head and mumbled with emotion, "Back then, I gave them a bite of food, and they were so happy..."
"Peeping feeling?" Zhong Cheng said, touching the long hair hanging down to his cheeks.
"Yes." As a diligent back-up spirit, Yin Ren hugged Zhong Chengshuo's neck tightly.
"These are the shoes my cousin bought for me. He stopped studying after graduating from junior high school. Now he is doing business and earns several million a year!"
"I also think that outsiders say that college students can't find jobs. We are studying for nothing, so we might as well go out and make money early."
"That's right..."
"The probability of achieving a prosperous life after graduating from junior high school is 5%, and the probability of achieving a prosperous life after getting a good diploma is 50%. Even if it is just such an improvement, I personally think it is very valuable."
Zhong Cheng stopped at the table and leisurely joined the discussion.
During the evening self-study test, a certain "top student" raised his hand and threw notes between the tables.
Someone was carrying paper like the wind, and after a while, all the paper balls were bounced to every corner by Zhong Cheng.
"Cheating is wrong." He gestured and shook his head seriously.
One day passed, and more than twenty names had been crossed out in the book Zhong Cheng mentioned. Most of the people in the class were offended by him, and Lord Ghost King was in awe of this terrible efficiency.
"Not everyone will have a sense of voyeurism... Now I can only say that the greater the reaction of those people after being stimulated by you, the more obvious the sense of voyeurism." Yin Ren played with the ends of his hair, "And the indoor pollution sources have not increased significantly. It is not like Is there any self-replicating spell?”
"We can take another look tomorrow. The more samples we have, the more accurate the results will be."
Zhong Cheng said packing his schoolbag in an orderly manner with a confident tone. He seemed very pleased with today's "stimulus package."
"Zhang San."
Just as Yin Ren was about to say something, a crisp female voice came from the front row.
Luo Chunlei was carrying a schoolbag and had a sweet smile on her face, with a dimple forming at the corner of her mouth. She was standing beside Zhang Hejun's table, her hands naturally supporting the table, looking innocent and cute.
"Do you have time? I have a few words to say to you."
(End of chapter)