Love, death, and false man

Chapter 10. Nowhere to Hide
9/13—13:19
Fang Yan looked bewildered as he entered the office. The middle-aged man immediately closed the door, keeping the space sealed.

Fang Yan was the only one in the room. He noticed that the landline phone receiver on the desk was placed on the table.

"Hey."

Fang Yan picked up the microphone and spoke tentatively.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while.

Immediately following was a somewhat gloomy male voice, “██████”.

Fang Yan recalled the code the lieutenant had given him, "██████".

But after Fang Yan finished speaking, the other party hung up in just two or three seconds, leaving Fang Yan somewhat at a loss.

He looked around the office, glanced at the window, and realized he could slide down by grabbing onto the shear wall's protruding pillars, which were no more than ten centimeters wide, but if he made a mistake, he would fall from the tenth floor.

Should I trust myself, or trust the lieutenant?

A golden opportunity was right in front of him, and Sylvia Christie might just be a figment of his imagination.

He was extremely conflicted, biting his fingernails.

A dozen seconds later, he chose the latter, left the office, and returned to the door.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man said nothing, told the criminal police captain to watch Fang Yan wait outside, and then closed the office door after answering a phone call.

Three minutes later.

"This is a misunderstanding, Comrade Fang Yan. Thank you for cooperating with the police. Please understand that this is a necessary procedure and we hope it will not delay your studies."

The middle-aged man extended his hand, his tone calm.

"Won't……"

Fang Yan felt as if he were in a dream, holding hands with the middle-aged man, the intense light outside the glass curtain wall dazzling him.

"Then, Captain Ma, I'll trouble you to drive this comrade away."

The middle-aged man said this.

The criminal investigation captain wondered if he had misheard. With witnesses and physical evidence, the case was undeniable. What the hell was this misunderstanding?

"I can not understand."

"We have received the latest information. Before the summer vacation, Fang Yan had been suffering from a rare stress disorder that only occurred under certain circumstances. It did not affect his normal life, but he was not criminally responsible when it occurred."

"Even if we assume that such an incredibly stupid post-traumatic stress disorder really exists, and relevant materials have been provided, shouldn't we at least wait until after the public prosecution hearing?"

But the middle-aged man ignored him.

"Speaking of which, Comrade Fang Yan, you need to report to the designated community psychiatrist once a week for treatment. So... you are no longer involved in this case."

"Row."

Fang Yan himself also felt extremely unreal.

……

……

……

9/13—13:40
Even though the criminal police captain personally escorted Fang Yan, he still felt somewhat uneasy, unable to be sure of his safety until he got out of the car.

"As a high school student, your summer vacation has been quite legendary."

But the police captain spoke with a forced smile, opened the car window, and flicked the cigarette ash onto the road.

"I can't remember what happened back then."

Although Fang Yan could never forget those killings, especially the ship's passageway outside the freezer, the bone-chilling cold and the stench of blood that seeped into his lungs, it was as if hell itself was like that, but that was all he could say.

He felt very uncomfortable. The detective captain's immediate thinking was aggressive, and he kept subtly probing what his parents did for a living, trying to find the answer to the question in his heart.

"I'll just get off at the intersection ahead."

"it is good."

When they arrived at the intersection Fang Yan had mentioned, the criminal police captain took a deep drag on his cigarette.

Fang Yan didn't want to stay any longer and got out of the car without hesitation.

It seems to be due to interference from the satellite base station program, alteration of the Salvation Army's memories, or perhaps it's just a change in the detective captain's mind.

He rolled down the car window and added, "It seems that No. 6 Middle School is not only a key municipal high school, but also a key provincial high school. After graduation, I might consider going to a police academy to punish evil and uphold justice."

"Isn't a background check required?"

"Currently, it is limited to immediate family members only."

Although this guy did kill someone, to be honest, there are hardly any good guys on the whole ship. This high school student is so fierce that it's almost unbelievable.

Fang Yan was somewhat surprised; the detective captain's immediate thought process had undergone a startling shift. He suddenly realized that, like things transported from the future to the past, the most efficient way to alter the course of cosmic history was to transmit neural signals and electronic data.

The same applies to mind control. Perhaps it doesn't require deleting or altering specific memories. It only requires giving some kind of suggestion to plant a seed, which can then spread outwards and influence overall thinking. This is the most efficient method.

"Forget it, some villains can only be dealt with by ordinary people."

Fang Yan made a farewell gesture with great nonchalance, without even turning his head.

The criminal investigation captain stubbed out his cigarette, thinking to himself, "This kid is such a damn show-off."

Until the criminal investigation captain drove away and disappeared.

In the eastern district of Binhai City, the commercial plaza, CBD office buildings and shopping malls are lined up, and people come and go even at midday.

Fang Yan finally relaxed completely.

I felt weak and limp all over, as if all my burdens had been lifted, and I felt like I had lost tens of kilograms. I felt light and airy as I walked.

It was as if only at this moment could they truly escape from that hellish oil tanker, their souls flying out of their bodies and being reborn.

Thinking about it carefully, I also got some free medical care, which felt pretty good. The stitches on my wounds were very professional, and they were all treated with medicine and bandaged. I really need to rest for a while. I really got a great deal.

wrong……

It seems like I've overlooked something.

Everything in my pocket was still there; the police had returned it to me: my grandfather's ID card, bus pass, and 210 yuan.

Today is Thursday, but there are no afternoon classes.

Let's just go to an internet cafe.

He randomly picked a so-called e-sports arena, and the young female internet cafe manager in a bodycon skirt caught Fang Yan's eye a few times, but now was not the time to think about such things.

He got a temporary card, found a corner spot, and immediately started using the computer. The internet cafes now offer so-called "follow-up service," which made Fang Yan extremely uncomfortable. The female manager helped him turn on the computer, put on his headphone covers, and then asked him if he wanted a drink.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Fang Yan spent fifteen yuan on a cup of fruit tea with an incredibly long name. After the female internet cafe manager left, his heart was bleeding. Damn it, the tech-mixed drinks in the internet cafe were expensive and tasted awful. He might as well have bought one from outside.

However, after being interrogated for so long today, and being forced to drink water in front of him, he is now extremely thirsty, so such extravagance is pointless.

I opened a news website and browsed the live news, looking for the report from the day before yesterday about the underground parking lot in the South District Software Park business district. I spent twenty minutes but still couldn't find Dongni.

I only saw a local news report in an inconspicuous place: a female company employee died after accidentally touching a leaky lightbox advertising sign in that underground parking lot.

Remembering what the lieutenant had said, only events affecting more than 1024 people could be classified as historical events, but there were hardly any witnesses that day, and the location was remote.

Can the Salvation Army's satellite base stations easily overwrite and delete these things? No, they can delete anything, it just depends on whether they can do it and whether the cost is proportional to the gain.

So to say……

Fang Yan covered his eyes. The data that was jumping around was all genuine, generated by electronic targets from future technology, and transmitted to his eyes through various base station signal towers.

And one's actions will, to some extent, alter the course of the universe.

[You have signed the military supply liaison agreement numbered 20304469. Your military supplies and pay for this month have been deposited at the designated location. Please check your mail as soon as possible.]

seem……

The nightmare was not over.

Even in a larger prison, he still had nowhere to hide.

Who was on the other end of the satellite phone that day?

He still didn't know whether what Dongni said was true or false, or whether the fake person was also a tragic creature who had been monitored and brain-controlled to the point of madness.

In extreme circumstances, would I sacrifice myself for the greatest cause in the entire history of the universe: the liberation of all mankind?

Fang Yan looked up, scanned everyone around him, and read the language information from Broca's frontal lobe.

Lord of Souls.

This unparalleled threat comes from outer space, and whether it originates from humanity itself, the past or the future, or from supernatural forces, remains unknown.

Humans are products of language, deeply rooted in a vast system of cold symbols.

All individual, unique, and supposedly unique experiences are merely superficial glimpses within this vast structure.

There is nowhere to escape.

Perhaps I have stepped into an even more terrifying abyss.

But it doesn't matter. For Fang Yan, it's like a computer program. No matter how many strange things are added, as long as it can run and keep his mind stable, that's enough.

[Hunter Channel]
It has been confirmed to be true.

I will fight until I break free from mind control and am completely free.

Since things have come to this, let's cancel the temporary card first and go see what kind of junk the lieutenant gave us.

(End of this chapter)