The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 39 The Dilemma of Dopamine

Yu Qing's plan to leave Fuping the next day was quickly thwarted.

They had just packed their bags and were preparing to get some rest before setting off at dawn the next day when there was a rapid knocking on the door.

Eight tiger-head shaped robots arrived and said in a very mechanical voice: "Mr. Yu, since your harassment has violated the law of appeasement, we are ordered to arrest you and will pronounce your sentence at a later date."

Yu Qing was quite surprised and asked in confusion, "Who did I harass? Is there some misunderstanding here?"

"I'm sorry, we are just following orders and have no right to interpret them."

Chang'e and Yaodan were furious and raised their hands to start a massacre. But Yu Qing immediately signaled them to stop, after all, this was their territory, and they would definitely not gain any advantage if they really fought.

Yu Qing somewhat regretted lingering in Fuping. He roughly guessed that the so-called harassment probably involved mistaking those androgynous fake women for beautiful women and striking up conversations with them. But he was also very curious about what "arrest" really meant, and he actually wanted to experience it for himself.

So he said, "Alright, I'll do as you say. How do you plan to arrest me?"

"Please come with us."

Yao Dan hurriedly said, "Husband, no, this is too dangerous!"

Yu Qing said, "Don't worry about it, just stay in your room and wait for me to come back."

The eight tiger-shaped men carried Yu Qing to the top floor, shoved him into the car parked there, and drove off.

As the car flew through the air, Yu Qing began to panic. He didn't know where they were taking him, or what kind of situation he would face.

Furthermore, he had developed an inexplicable dependence on Chang'e and the others these past few days, and he was really not used to facing the crisis alone.

The tiger-shaped figure sitting next to him remained motionless, offering no answer what Yu Qing asked, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere.

Within minutes, he was led to a luxurious suite. The eight tiger-shaped men left silently, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the room, looking around at the place where he was being held captive.

In terms of furnishings, this place was probably more luxurious and larger than his hotel room. This puzzled him even more; the place where people were being held captive was better than his accommodations outside.

But he had no interest in appreciating anything here. He just wanted things to end quickly, to find out how the people who had appeased him intended to punish him. Even if he had unintentionally offended someone, it shouldn't be a capital offense, right?

Before being convicted, shouldn't one at least offer a few words of explanation? The entire population of Fuping is cut from the same mold; that's outrageous. How can an outsider possibly distinguish between them?

Moreover, if I knew they were all just pretty faces without any gender, I definitely wouldn't even want to look at them! But I had no choice but to bow my head under their roof, so I could only think these words in my heart and never say them out loud to anger them.

In reality, he could only dream about it; he was left alone in the room all night, with no one paying any attention to him. Perhaps this was one of their strategies—to wear down his pride first.

He felt he couldn't be fooled anymore, and he should act as if nothing had happened, eating, drinking, and sleeping as usual.

To be honest, the food and water in the room were quite good, and he ate and drank to his heart's content without any restraint. Then he let out a burp, collapsed onto the bed, and fell fast asleep. He was indeed extremely tired.

To his surprise, he slept until noon the next day. He still hadn't seen a single person. What were they trying to do, locking him up here? What was the point? How long would they keep him locked up?

He repeatedly told himself not to lose his composure. But boredom can indeed destroy a person's mind, so he had to find something to do or something to pass the time.

He thought the facilities here were probably similar to those in a hotel, and that it would be nice to quietly enjoy the scenery of Fuping. So he ordered, "Open the curtains."

But when the curtains were opened, Yu Qing was startled. Through the window, he didn't see the beautiful scenery, but five glass tubes, each over a meter tall, containing five still-developing human figures!
Yu Qing's heart pounded wildly, worried that he might also be shoved into those tubes. Being confined to this room next to what appeared to be a laboratory was a bad omen in itself.

Just then, a person who looked exactly like Gu She walked over, waved to him, and said with a smile, "You're really brave, you've finally woken up. I'll be right there."

He felt extremely nervous when the man walked into his room.

"Now you should know that we Fuping people look almost identical. But let me tell you a simple trick to tell us who we are. Look at my earrings; they are unique even in Fuping. I am the Gushe you have seen before."

"Gushe? Who knows if it is or not? It's no wonder I'm locked up here."

"You think this is detaining you, is that right? It's true that someone reported you in Fuping, and they wanted to detain you for a few days, but I bailed you out and put you in my room. What, you're still not satisfied?"

Hearing what Gu She said, Yu Qing felt much more at ease. Although he now knew that Gu She, despite her stunning beauty, was not a woman, he still couldn't help but feel a little distracted.

He asked, puzzled, "Since you've bailed me out, why don't you just let me go back to the hotel?"

"I'd like to ask you for a small favor..."

"Me? How can I help you?"

"I want to do a study..."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing became very nervous and hurriedly said, "Please don't do anything reckless. I don't have a single superfluous organ, and I don't care about living to be a hundred years old. I don't want to..."

"Look how nervous you are. I don't need any of your organs for research. I just want you to secrete more dopamine for me, so I can study the transmission mechanisms that promote pleasure..."

Yu Qing said, "I can't secrete anything! Is that something I can secrete whenever I want? I have no passion left, but I can squeeze out a few tears."

Gu She said with a smile, "Don't rush, take your time. I'm not forcing you. Or, I'll take you to visit our delivery room."

Yu Qing was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "How could I possibly visit a place where babies are born..."

Gu She laughed and said, "We don't have anything to do with having children. I mean, we're talking about a place for cloning the next generation."

Yu Qing kept shaking his head.

Clearly, Gu She wanted to create a relaxed atmosphere. She gently took Yu Qing's hand and asked, "So, what would make you happier?"

"It's simple, just become a real woman."

"We can't do it your way. There's another reason we're doing this: to ensure that our superior genes don't decline generation after generation, understand?"

"I don't understand. I'd rather be a flawed person than a perfect shell."

What is the significance of that person in your mind who is full of emotions and desires, and who lives only a day?

"What's the point of having a stone that's been around for ages?"

The two argued for a long time, neither able to convince the other. At this moment, Gu She suddenly began to cry softly, murmuring to herself, "Actually, I didn't want it to be like this, but I was cloned just like this."

When Yu Qing saw her crying, her face streaked with tears, she looked so pitiful. At that moment, Gu She gently hugged Yu Qing from behind and said, "Take me away. I've heard there's a wonderful hospital in Changlin that can make me a whole person again..."

Yu Qing hurriedly asked, "Really? That's great! Let's go now!"

Gu She gratefully said "Mmm" while repeatedly kissing Yu Qing's cheeks. Yu Qing's blood rushed to his head, and he held Gu She's head as if it were a precious treasure, kissing her incessantly.

Just as Yu Qing's hand began to weaken, Gu She gently wiped his nose with her hand, and he slumped down like a cotton swab, unaware of what was happening.

Gu She immediately took action, carrying him to the next room to begin extracting blood from Yu Qing's body to separate the dopamine she needed. After everything was completed, she carried Yu Qing back to the room and woke him up.

Yu Qing was still immersed in pleasure. Although he was exhausted, he still held onto Gu She's hand and refused to let go. Gu She once again induced him to have more fantasies until he fainted. Then she carried him over to extract dopamine.

After all that commotion for most of the night, Gu She was afraid that Yu Qing would wake up again and continue to cause trouble, so she simply sent him back to the hotel to avoid him causing her any more trouble.

Chang'e and the others were initially restless at the inn, but were overjoyed to see Yu Qing returned unharmed. However, they soon noticed that something was wrong with Yu Qing; his body seemed limp and boneless.

"What did they do to my husband?" Yao Dan asked anxiously.

"Your Excellency appears listless; it is likely due to overwork."

Yao Dan said angrily, "We were so worried. He's having such a good time out there. It must be so hard on him."

"I don't think the problem is that simple. Look, he has several large needle marks on his hands!"

Yao Dan hurriedly grabbed Yu Qing's hand and looked at it, then cursed, "The people of Fuping are so insidious! They all look as beautiful as flowers, but they all have ugly faces."

After saying that, she was about to go out and cause a scene. Chang'e quickly stopped her and said, "Calm down. Your husband is still lying here. We can't cause him any more trouble, right?"

Yao Dan pondered for a moment and said, "What you said is right. Daji and the others must be bored staying in the carriage. You stay here and watch over my husband, I'll go down and talk to them."

Before leaving, she casually wiped Yu Qing's constantly gesturing mouth.

Upon reaching the carriage, Daji hurriedly asked, "Why did you get off at this time? Are you getting ready to leave, my dear?"

Yao Dan asked, "Where are Fu Rong and the others, and Er Lang?"

"They are all dormant. Should we wake them?"

"Just wake Erlang, I need to go get something for my husband. Why don't you come with me?"

"Great. I'm so bored staying here."

After Erlang was awakened, Yaodan stroked its head, let it smell his hand, and said, "Take us to that place."

The streets were deserted. Erlang led the way, followed by Yaodan and Daji, hurrying away like thieves. Soon they arrived at a place, and Erlang circled the door several times.

Yao Dan patted Erlang's head, telling it to sit there and not move.

Daji asked softly, "What are we going to do? Where is my darling's thing?"

"To tell you the truth, the people inside have made my husband weak and powerless. We're here to teach her a lesson..."

"Are you crazy? We do not allow attacks on or harm to humans."

"It doesn't mean we can't mess around with bad people, does it?"

"I definitely didn't say that."

Yao Dan discovered that the doors and windows were completely sealed, making it impossible to peek inside. So she whispered something in Daji's ear, and Daji nodded, then walked back and forth in front of the door with Erlang, cursing and swearing.

A moment later, the door opened, and Gu She stood at the door holding a small bottle, shouting, "This is truly bizarre! We've been in Fuping for decades and have never seen anything so outrageous. Making such a racket in front of someone's door in the middle of the night!"

Daji retorted irritably, "It's none of your business if I want to."

Gu She exclaimed "Hey!", put down what she was holding, and stepped out of the door, saying, "I'd like to see who's so presumptuous..."

When she discovered it was just a humanoid creature, she exclaimed in surprise, "Now even something like this can talk to humans like that? Get lost, or I'll teach you a lesson!"

Taking advantage of her departure, Yao Dan slipped into the house from behind her.

Yao Dan thought that this small bottle might be something very important to her, so she picked it up and looked at it, then poured the liquid inside into one of the five large glass tubes.

Then, Yao Dan casually poured some unknown liquid from the table back into the small bottle, put it back in its original place, and left without a word.

Yao Dan quietly slipped behind Daji and said, "It's all done, let's get out of here."

They quickly returned to the car. Daji said, "I also want to go into the room to see what's wrong with my darling."

Yao Dan shook his head and said, "This place is strange. You and Erlang are better off not going in."

"Why? Can't we go in?"

"That should be the case, because you haven't entered the registration system yet."

Daji said unhappily, "Fine, if you don't want to go in, then don't."

Yao Dan returned to her room triumphantly. Chang'e, seeing her so happy, asked, "Your husband is still fast asleep, what makes you so happy?"

Yao Dan laughed and told Chang'e what had just happened, hoping that she would also have a good laugh like him. But Chang'e listened with a serious expression and said, "Yao Dan, we might have gotten into big trouble again. You're too willful!"

Yao Dan suddenly realized that this might cause trouble for her husband, and hurriedly said, "Anyway, it's already like this, what do you suggest we do?"

"I think we should leave Fuping immediately with the gentleman. I'm afraid that staying even a minute longer will bring unexpected trouble."

Actually, they had already packed their luggage. Yao Dan carried Yu Qing on her back, and Chang'e carried the luggage, and they went straight up the stairs to the parking area.

(End of this chapter)