Chapter 114: The Sea of Wandering 7
The security on the floor where Zhao Kai’s hospital ward was located was tight. Besides the police, there were experts who had rushed in from all over the country. The corridor was filled with people moving back and forth in an orderly manner. Zhuang Ningyu and Yi Ke stood at the door of the ward, looking in through the narrow glass window above. Zhao Kai’s body was lying inside a protective chamber, with only his head outside. His hair had been shaved off, revealing a sallow, gaunt face.
He looked terminally ill, but only those who had seen him with their own eyes on the pedestrian street knew that this appearance was actually quite good. The swelling and blisters had all subsided, and his skin, originally tough like tanned leather, had returned to a thin layer. The curve on the monitor was rhythmic and smooth; Zhao Kai was indeed gradually “coming alive.”
“We conducted three rounds of physical examinations on him, using different chemical reagents each time. In every round, a similar concentration of Maxime E-06 was detected in the patient’s blood sample,” the assistant physician beside them introduced, holding a medical chart. “Previously, the illegal evolutionary agent in Tang Xiaoyuan’s body was Maxime E-05. 06 is its iterative version. Although this drug is new, it’s not its first appearance; it has appeared abroad before. It’s even rumored that the newer 07 is already on the way to successful research.”
“Only this was detected? No other drugs?” Yi Ke asked.
“Correct, only this,” the assistant physician said. “Just now, the experts and Dean Pei from Andao held a meeting. They also believe that the reason Zhao Kai could achieve a brief ‘successful evolution’ this time depended more on his own strong constitution. The drug factor might only account for twenty percent.”
Hearing this, Zhuang Ningyu breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had originally thought the scientific research level of some illegal institutions had surpassed the state. If it could be confirmed now that the evolutionary agent was only Maxime E-06, then the world shouldn’t see a massive influx of underground “force-matured” individuals swarming out in the extremely near future.
The assistant physician had to rush to a meeting and didn’t stay long. After thanking him, Yi Ke returned to the examination area with Zhuang Ningyu. Director Wang hadn’t come down from the operating table yet, so the two leaned against the window at the end of the corridor, looking together at the lush green therapeutic garden outside, thinking about the same thing.
Zhao Kai’s computer had been cracked by the technical team. From his browsing history, it could be seen that while searching for “how to make money quickly part-time,” he was guided step by step to “testing drugs for institutions.”
This was by no means an isolated case. Similar events were bound to be numerous globally. Through coaxing or kidnapping, countless originally vibrant and healthy lives were reduced to experimental subjects for those in power. Similarly, the endless “artificial Rule Zone experiments” inevitably used the weaker as sacrifices. Becoming the controller of Rule Zones and Evolvers was equivalent to letting ordinary people leap to become creators. No one could easily refuse “becoming a god.” And if human nature were allowed to cannibalize each other for profit, the world would eventually become a boundless ruin—regardless of whether countries were willing to admit it publicly, they couldn’t cover up the fact that the globe was slowly stepping into a massive chaos under this huge temptation. Or perhaps, this process wouldn’t even be slow.
From the first day the Rule Zones descended until now—over fifty years, more than twenty thousand days—it was enough for humanity to complete multiple probings and further conquests following those probings. The “Rock Plan” jointly signed by global governments to completely expel Rule Zones from Earth was one form of conquest. The replication of Rule Zones and “force-maturation” of Evolvers by thousands of illegal institutions was another. In these two distinctly different meanings of “conquest,” the former would eventually win, and must win.
Zhuang Ningyu always held to his view: Rule Zones must be destroyed. A crude “game product” was far from worthy of becoming the moral high judge governing the globe. While challenging the vast unknown of the universe was certainly terrifying, giving up the challenge due to fear would be a complete trampling on human dignity.
Yi Ke put his arm around his shoulder, shaking him out of his contemplation, and said gently, “Let’s go, it’s our turn. Examination first.”
The night gradually grew heavy.
After the examination, the two didn’t go home to rest but returned to the unit. The owners and property managers of Yuanbao Building, Ouyang Lei and his wife, were both in Shanghai when the case broke. To avoid new mishaps while bringing them back to Jincheng, the Jincheng Order Maintenance Department contacted colleagues in Shanghai to detain the couple immediately. Then, Jincheng would send staff to fly over and complete the preliminary questioning in Shanghai.
“District Head Sun has finished the interrogation. They refuse to say anything,” a colleague said. “This couple prepared long ago. Their elderly parents and children were sent abroad seven years ago. With no ties in the country, dead pigs aren’t afraid of boiling water.”
As for the tenant on the 31st floor of Yuanbao Building, it appeared on the surface to be a debt collection company. The sign was dilapidated, and the layout looked like a haunted Hong Kong movie set. Generally, no one was willing to go up there. Occasionally, someone who took a wrong turn and peeked would quickly scurry back into the elevator. Over time, all the merchants in the building knew about this, which made the frequent “Full” status of the elevator seem reasonable. After all, this kind of business was indeed special—it was normal for the company to be empty all year round or suddenly bustle with seventy or eighty big brothers and little brothers.
“This company wasn’t found in the business registration. They probably just hung a sign to create a scene. Furthermore, neither the elevators nor the 31st floor of Yuanbao Building have cameras installed. They truly have a strong sense of counter-reconnaissance.”
But no matter how good their counter-reconnaissance was, it couldn’t withstand the coordinated crushing force of multiple departments of the state machinery. Later, news came from the investigation team confirming that the air raid shelter under Yuanbao Building had four entrances and exits when it was first built. Currently, all four exits were 100% unusable—two were directly covered by highway surfaces, one was in a park, and another led straight to the gate of the provincial government. The possibility of digging a separate hole was also slim because Yuanbao Building itself was located in a bustling downtown area with a lake to the east; digging through would cause water backflow. The other three sides were crisscrossed with subway lines. These people shouldn’t have the ability to bypass complex municipal construction to dig a new path for themselves. So, the Yuanbao Building elevator was most likely the only entrance and exit.
Zhuang Ningyu also leaned toward this judgment. Otherwise, the suspects could have entered from somewhere else; there was no need to choose the Yuanbao Building, where there were many people and prying eyes.
Thinking of using an old air raid shelter as an experimental site, burying sins deep underground where light couldn’t reach, was much cleverer than Xinyin Biology or the illegal institution found in the wilderness of a neighboring city a while ago—saving money and ensuring safety. Yi Ke asked, “What’s the next plan?”
The colleague answered, “According to normal procedure, we should interrogate that elevator maintenance worker from Wenhengda. But once we contact him, it shows we’ve already discovered problems with the elevator, and the other party will definitely run. So Director Huo’s intention is to just go for it directly.”
Zhuang Ningyu nodded. Good, then let’s just go for it directly.
That night, Yuanbao Building was the same as usual, full of decadent yet colorful vitality. Electronic sound waves vibrated eardrums until they felt hot. Colorful disco balls dyed the dry ice in various hues. Alcohol, cigars, slender menthol cigarettes. Glitter hung on a young girl’s curled eyelashes. Stumbling out of the perfume-soaked dance floor, she was about to go out for a breath of air when she was startled by fully armed police in the corridor. She sobered up instantly. The next moment, a loud bang rang in her ears! It shook the building slightly!
“Ahhh!” Screams rose everywhere.
“Quiet! Don’t move!” the police roared. With just one shout, they nailed the commotion of the trendy crowd firmly to the ground.
Accompanying that loud bang, the action team members had successfully arrived in the world below B3! The elevator doors were forcibly pried open. A gust of wind mixed with a strong smell of disinfectant roared toward them. Under bright lights, a staff member in a white coat froze for a second, then collapsed to the ground, face pale.
“Don’t move! Hands on your head! Squat down!”
The dark, cold muzzles effectively deterred all disturbances.
Zhuang Ningyu and Yi Ke followed inside.
If the horror of the Xinyin Biology Rule Zone lay in monsters, then the horror of the fourth basement level of Yuanbao Building lay in reality. All experiments being conducted here were real. Death and blood intertwined. At the entrance, a thin, frail woman curled up like an infant on an experimental table, tubes inserted all over her body. Under her rolled-up sleeves were grayish-black blood vessels. Body after body was carried out. Infusion stands lay scattered on the ground. Liquids of unknown composition washed over like streams. The further in, the more horrific the victims’ conditions became—some might have lost their value for “whole-body repair,” so the experimenters adopted a brutal method of excising discarded parts to facilitate the continued use of those residual, still-fresh flesh and blood.
Outside Yuanbao Building, the night wind carried fine rain, cool against the skin. If one looked carefully, they would find many curious faces pressed against the dark windows of surrounding residential buildings—with such a big commotion, even sleeping aunties would get up to watch the drama. Police cars and ambulances drove in one after another and drove away one after another. After the police cars left, the ambulances were still working. Red and blue lights flashed into a river, making one feel as if all the ambulances in Jincheng had been mobilized tonight.
It wasn’t until 4 AM that the area returned to silence.
Zhuang Ningyu drove Yi Ke home. He observed the person in the passenger seat carefully along the way. Noticing this, Yi Ke wanted to reach out and ruffle his hair but remembered he had just handcuffed two people, so he withdrew his arm and only said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
After training with Xinyin Biology, his psychological quality had strengthened significantly. He wouldn’t be easily stimulated by various anti-human scenes anymore. Moreover, tonight, what was bloodier and more glaring than those illegal experiments was the slogan arrogantly posted on the wall by the criminals—a complete trampling on judicial dignity: “Evolution Is the Edict of Pardon.”
Back home, Zhuang Ningyu held Yi Ke’s face to observe him. Only after confirming his emotions were normal did he let him into the bathroom to shower. Suppressing physiological reactions with professional conviction was considered a step in growth. After quickly showering, Zhuang Ningyu threw their clothes into the washing machine, adding some floral-scented strong disinfectant. The drum hummed as it turned, finally adding a bit of homey sound to the dawn silence. When Yi Ke came out of the bathroom drying his hair, Zhuang Ningyu was already in the kitchen watching a small pot, preparing to cook red bean soup. It was a pre-made item they had cooked and frozen on the weekend; when they wanted to eat, they just needed to take it out and heat it up.
Yi Ke hugged him lazily from behind, resting his chin habitually on his lover’s shoulder. Both of their hair was damp, not dried thoroughly, sticking to each other’s faces, wet and cool. Zhuang Ningyu tilted his head to dodge slightly, looking back at him with a smile. Yi Ke smiled too, leaning in to rub nose tips intimately. Ten minutes later, the red bean soup melted warmly in the pot. Zhuang Ningyu scooped a spoonful to taste, finding it good, and fed a spoonful to Yi Ke. The kitchen lights were dimmed. Not knowing what they were thinking—perhaps too lazy to move, or perhaps feeling this was also very nice—they leaned against the stove, one on each side, sharing a spoon, quietly finishing a small pot of red bean soup.
If Zhuang Ningyu’s voice were fine, he might have chatted with him about “anger is the first step to understanding the nature of evil” or discussed how to counteract dissatisfaction with action rather than emotion, summarizing the growth in work. But now he couldn’t speak and didn’t want to type a long lecture to his lover. So after brushing his teeth, wearing soft pajamas, he burrowed into the duvet and used a kiss—one couldn’t tell if it was good morning or good night—to pull his chaotic thoughts back to his side.
Yi Ke said, “Be good, sleep.”
Zhuang Ningyu wasn’t sleepy. He knew Yi Ke wasn’t sleepy either. So holding his phone, he shrank into Yi Ke’s arms, planning to scroll through short videos together for an emotional massage.
The phone was Yi Ke’s. Big data accurately displayed what the owner usually watched: besides kittens and puppies, it was wifey’s New Year greetings. Zhuang Ningyu had zero interest in his own collection of auspicious sayings and wanted to blacklist them immediately. This met with strong opposition from Yi Ke: No, this is the super-perfect algorithm I worked so hard to cultivate!
Yi Ke: “Or look at your phone.”
Zhuang Ningyu rarely watched short videos. Even if he did, he would precisely search for Yi Ke’s name, check on U-Shield who had been taken back to a wealthy family in his following list, or glance at department news. The algorithm only contained a successful man’s love, life, and work. So he generously tossed his phone to Yi Ke and got out of bed to pour water in the kitchen. When he returned with a cup, a powerful revenge song was playing in the bedroom—
“Five years ago, a check severed the marriage bond…”
“In a past life, a love between mismatched social statuses…”
“He has an affair, an illegitimate child, and wants to divide my family property…”
Yi Ke scrolled quickly, but just hearing the first sentence was explosive enough. Zhuang Ningyu climbed onto the bed bafflingly, snatched the phone to check, and even looked at the logged-in account—it was indeed his phone number. Yi Ke asked puzzledly, “What’s wrong?”
You tell me what’s wrong? Zhuang Ningyu pointed at the screen, head full of question marks.
Yi Ke looked at him with equally blank eyes: “Ah, what do you mean?”
No, why did my big data become like this! Zhuang Ningyu’s first reaction was, could it be because he once used the same IP internal network as Qing Gang? He sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the phone and examining it over and over. It was fine two days ago. Yi Ke beside him was serious at first, but later, when Zhuang Ningyu held the phone up to the light and started verifying the phone like verifying counterfeit bills, he really couldn’t hold it back. Leaning back, arm over his face, he burst into wild laughter. Only after laughing enough did he take the phone from his wife’s hand, open “Interests,” and delete the “Revenge Drama” tag he had just added to the recommendations.
Zhuang Ningyu: “…”
Yi Ke: “Hahahahahaha.”
Zhuang Ningyu: On how bored humans can be.
The primary victim of this incident was undoubtedly Qing Gang. In faraway Europe, with his not-so-small 2.1-meter frame, he bore the heavy crime of “polluting the entire unit’s network.” Sitting on the beach with a pained expression, he sneezed frantically more than ten times in a row. It took him a long while to regain his senses, nudging Zhong Mu with his elbow: “Hey, do you think we’ll lose contact with the outside world after going in tomorrow?”
“Who knows.” Zhong Mu tossed the seashell in her hand into the sea, chin resting on her knee. “Best if there’s a signal. If not, we can test the research group’s new machine.”
White foam washed up, quickly swallowing that bit of fragmented nacreous light.
