Chapter 42
Law of Causality
The three of them sat in the dim underground, with a faint blue light behind them, emanating from the deadly meteorite bathed in rays.
Apart from that, only the dim flashlight covered this small circle, and the huge abandoned test site in the distance was completely engulfed in darkness.
“Anyway, we’re just passing time, aren’t we? The night is long.” Su Jiqiao seemed oblivious to the eerie silence, placing wine, dice, and an iron spoon on the ground between the three of them, eagerly saying, “And the rules are simple: whoever throws the highest number wins. The winner gets to spin the spoon, and whoever the handle points to is the traitor.”
He casually spun the spoon with his hand, and the handle rotated a few times: “The winner gets to decide whether the traitor answers a truth or takes a drink; simple, right?”
This game was indeed overly simple, appearing to be just an ordinary drinking game. Fu Chen frowned: “But according to the rules, drinking is not allowed during mission execution, and the interference desensitization hasn’t been completed yet…”
“We won’t drink much, just passing the time.” Su Jiqiao looked surprisedly at Fu Chen, “What’s wrong, Fu-ge? Are you really afraid to play?”
Fu Chen suddenly stopped talking.
“—Then, I’ll go first.” Su Jiqiao picked up the dice, raising his index finger and saying, “No using abilities, remember. Over there is the energy detector. Using abilities will be detected.”
Then he shook the dice in his hand and threw it on the ground, exclaiming in surprise, “Five!”
According to the seating arrangement, after Su Jiqiao, the next turn would be Shen Zhuo’s. Shen Zhuo picked up the dice and handed it over, smiling, “Professor Shen, your turn?”
“…,” Shen Zhuo glanced at Fu Chen, then turned back to Su Jiqiao’s smiling face, his deep eyes revealing no clues.
After a while, Bai Sheng saw him make a slight movement and unexpectedly reached out to take the dice, then threw it in front of him.
“Three! Not so lucky, Professor.” Su Jiqiao turned his head and smiled, “What about Fu-ge?”
Fu Chen remained silent, picking up the dice and casually throwing it, landing on four.
“I won!” Su Jiqiao seemed pleasantly surprised, clapping for himself, his hand hovering over the spoon, provocatively saying, “So, I’ll identify the traitor now.”
With a whoosh, the spoon handle began to spin, and for some reason, all three people’s gazes were fixed upon it. Even Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes in the void, until the spoon handle slowly came to a stop.
Following its direction, it pointed to Fu Chen.
In that instant, the expressions in the eyes of the three seemed to undergo different changes.
Immediately, Su Jiqiao burst into laughter.
“Fu-ge, truth or drink?” Su Jiqiao seemed purely amused, then waved his hand, “Oh well, the game rules say the winner decides, so I’ll go with the truth.”
“…”
Fu Chen remained calm. “What do you want to ask?”
Su Jiqiao grinned and asked, “Fu-ge, do you have someone you like?”
Fu Chen glanced at Shen Zhuo from the corner of his eye and said, “Yes.”
But Shen Zhuo only stared quietly at the spoon on the ground, seeming to be oblivious to everything around him, and remained silent.
Su Jiqiao’s eyes sparkled as he exclaimed, “Who is so lucky to be liked by someone like Fu-ge? I envy them so much! In the next round, I’ll ask for the name of that person from you!”
Fu Chen replied calmly, “Who knows who will win the next round.” He picked up the dice and threw it, also getting a five.
Su Jiqiao picked up the dice for the second throw. Perhaps too eager to retaliate for his earlier low roll, he only managed to roll a single point. He sighed as he handed the dice to Shen Zhuo, who, like the previous round, rolled a three.
Naturally, Fu Chen became the winner of the second round.
“Fu-ge, no using abilities when spinning the spoon,” Su Jiqiao half-jokingly warned again, pointing to the monitor, “Using abilities here will be detected by the monitoring device.”
Fu Chen made a sound of acknowledgement and used his index finger to spin the iron spoon on the ground. The four sets of eyes from different directions all stared fixedly at it. The handle spun neither fast nor slowly and soon came to a gentle stop.
It pointed toward Su Jiqiao.
“Oh? Is the retaliation coming so soon?” Su Jiqiao seemed unsurprised, covering his mouth with one hand as he chuckled. Then he looked up at Fu Chen, his gaze piercing, “Well, I’ll admit it too. I have someone I like!”
His eyes were not just open, but rather burning with boldness.
But Fu Chen’s response was cold, “Nobody wants to hear about that. I just want you to take a drink.”
“What, don’t want me to say it?” Su Jiqiao, half-jokingly and half-complainingly, took a sip from the bottle, dragging his words, “I don’t care. What I said just now was the truth, and you all heard it—right, Professor Shen?”
Shen Zhuo lowered his eyelashes slightly, resembling a statue in the ambiguous light and shadow, showing no reaction to the excellent performance unfolding before him.
Su Jiqiao opened his palm and offered the dice to Shen Zhuo, speaking softly, “Professor, it’s your turn.”
Without even looking, Shen Zhuo took the dice and casually threw it.
Two.
His luck was indeed average, but what followed was unexpected: Fu Chen only rolled a one. Su Jiqiao, seeing this, immediately felt confident about winning another round. However, when the dice stopped, it revealed just one point.
In the third round, the winner unexpectedly became Shen Zhuo.
Bai Sheng keenly sensed that the atmosphere was subtly changing.
Fu Chen stared intently at the iron spoon on the ground; even Su Jiqiao’s perfect smile faded imperceptibly due to nervousness. Shen Zhuo, under the scrutiny of these two gazes, casually spun the spoon. The handle rotated in the light and shadow, forming a perfect circle, as if even the slightest breeze could be heard clearly.
As if passing through a century-long moment, those few seconds finally came to an end, and the spoon stopped spinning.
The handle of the spoon pointed toward Shen Zhuo himself.
“…”
For a moment, the surroundings fell quiet. Shen Zhuo was about to say that this round didn’t count, but Su Jiqiao suddenly reacted swiftly, politely offering the wine bottle to Shen Zhuo, “If it’s pointing at yourself, it means you’ll be punished by three cups, Professor.”
Shen Zhuo pushed aside the wine bottle and said, “I choose the truth.”
—Shen Zhuo’s truth…
Shen Zhuo’s truth was undoubtedly sharp, and the other two present were obviously not fools. Fu Chen immediately raised his head and casually said, “Why not have a drink to warm up? It’s so cold here, and it’s almost ten.”
Shen Zhuo took a sip and pushed himself up with one hand on the ground, “I’m tired; I’m going to bed.”
Su Jiqiao stood up immediately, reaching out to stop Shen Zhuo as he passed by, smiling, “Professor, we rarely have the opportunity to go on a field mission together. Don’t go to bed so early. Besides, you can’t back down from a bet. Since it’s pointing at yourself, how can you not take the punishment of three cups?”
Shen Zhuo’s steps were halted by Su Jiqiao, “How can newly made-up rules be considered rules?”
Su Jiqiao innocently responded, “But there really is such a rule. If you don’t believe me, ask Fu-ge.”
Fu Chen’s gaze was deep, and he remained silent.
Shen Zhuo was getting a little impatient, “Step aside. Call me after the desensitization of the evolutionary source interference is completed next door.”
Before he could push Su Jiqiao away, the latter grabbed his left wrist. Although Su Jiqiao’s tone was still gentle and pleading, the strength in his grip was completely different, “Professor, you’ve never honored us by going out for drinks together. We may not have the opportunity to go on a field mission together again in the future. What if today is the last chance?”
Being pressured to drink was probably an experience Shen Zhuo had never encountered before in his life, and he felt a bit absurd, “You…”
“We agreed to accept the consequences of losing. Yet when you lose, you want to leave,” Su Jiqiao spoke softly, but his gaze was fixed on Shen Zhuo, “Isn’t that unreasonable? What do you say?”
Shen Zhuo exerted force but couldn’t free his wrist from Su Jiqiao’s grasp. In the chaos, he took a step back, leaning against the hard limestone wall. The mouth of the bottle Su Jiqiao held was almost touching his lips, “Are you really unwilling to give me even one chance, Professor?”
If anyone else were to witness this scene, it would undoubtedly be an absurd sight.
At this moment, that outsider was Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng couldn’t understand why Su Jiqiao suddenly acted out, nor did he know how Shen Zhuo managed to handle this situation before the explosion occurred. However, he couldn’t just stand by and watch Shen Zhuo relive the forced scene in his dreams.
In the void, Bai Sheng’s palm blade crackled with sharp electric currents, already hovering just half an inch from Su Jiqiao’s throat.
As long as Su Jiqiao moved half an inch closer, he would instantly lose his life, disappearing from the dream completely.
The air seemed to carry an invisible tension, poised to erupt at any moment. Despite the brief standoff lasting only a few seconds, it felt suffocatingly long.
Shen Zhuo’s eyes betrayed a mix of disdain and impatience. He suddenly turned his head, half-smiling, and tilted his lips in a somewhat mocking gesture, his gaze flickering briefly toward Fu Chen behind Su Jiqiao.
Then he withdrew his gaze, his smile carrying a hint of provocation yet still graceful, “Of course, I’ll accept the bet. I choose the truth.”
“I also have someone I like, and soon I’ll like them very much. Is that not allowed?”
Even Su Jiqiao was taken aback.
No one expected Shen Zhuo’s truth to be this statement. For a moment, silence pervaded the abandoned test site.
“…”
After a moment, Fu Chen seemed to realize what was happening. He stood up, clearing his throat. This time, his gentle persuasion was directed at Su Jiqiao, “Alright, alright. Choosing the truth also complies with the rules of the game, doesn’t it? It’s all about accepting the consequences of losing.”
With a firm push, Shen Zhuo shoved the stunned Su Jiqiao back half a step.
“I’m going to bed,” he said nonchalantly.
Seemingly oblivious to the eerie atmosphere behind him, Shen Zhuo brushed past Su Jiqiao and headed toward a passageway leading out of the test site.
“…”
Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, withdrawing the electrical currents from his palm. He quickened his pace to catch up with Shen Zhuo, casting a glance back at the two behind him—
Fu Chen’s eyes flickered, saying nothing. He just stood there, watching Shen Zhuo walk away without blinking.
Meanwhile, Su Jiqiao stood in the shadows, his gaze locked onto Shen Zhuo’s departing figure with a glint of unsettling light shimmering in his eyes.
***
Inside the base, there were many empty rooms. Shen Zhuo carried a flashlight as he traversed the corridors, casually choosing a dormitory that appeared to have less dust. He brushed off the sand accumulated over the years from the steel-wire bed and laid down his sleeping bag.
The door lock still worked, but the safety chain had rusted. Shen Zhuo tested the door several times to ensure the iron chain wouldn’t easily break before lying down in the sleeping bag.
After all, he was human. Venturing deep into the desert had already tired him out. Initially, when he lay down, he kept his eyes open, pondering various matters. However, soon fatigue overwhelmed him. He struggled to stay awake but gradually succumbed, slowly closing his eyelids.
Bai Sheng knelt on one knee by the bed, silently watching him, recalling the scenes that had just unfolded.
Su Jiqiao couldn’t have suddenly gone insane without reason. Why did he say, “What if today is the last chance?” Did he have a premonition of the disaster that was about to happen before the explosion?
It was just past 10 o’clock now. Shen Zhuo claimed during the hearing that he was sleeping during the last half hour before the explosion. For three years, everyone believed he was lying. However, the current situation seemed to confirm his statement as true. So, what really happened in the next 30 minutes?
Shen Zhuo’s breathing gradually deepened, his sleeping face calm and serene.
From his appearance alone, one couldn’t tell that he was so adept at manipulating people’s emotions. With just a few words, he could captivate one’s soul, making them eager to come forward and help him out—perhaps Fu Chen next door was still racking his brains, repeatedly pondering over Shen Zhuo’s final words:
—”I also have someone I like, and soon I’ll like them very much. Is that not allowed?”
“Making empty promises everywhere,” Bai Sheng couldn’t help but feel a bit itchy. He leaned closer to Shen Zhuo, his teeth clenched, “When will you give me an empty promise to soothe me?”
Shen Zhuo murmured something indistinct, then turned over in his sleep.
He furrowed his brow slightly, showing a hint of fatigue, burying his face in his own shoulder.
The surging tide of male instinctive jealousy receded. Bai Sheng reached out to smooth the furrowed brow, but his fingertips merely passed through the void.
At this moment, Shen Zhuo stood at the peak, isolated and vulnerable, with his delicate features and snow-like cheeks. He had been hated and schemed against by countless people, facing threats from all sides, even assassination attempts.
He had no allies, and no one was powerful enough to truly support him. Besides relying on his own understanding of human nature amidst treacherous circumstances, he had few options.
Bai Sheng gazed at the sleeping figure in front of him, realizing that Shen Zhuo’s life was about to reach a turning point in less than half an hour.
After the explosion, Shen Zhuo lay unconscious for half a month, enduring intense interrogation and public scrutiny. He even faced torture, his life hanging by a thread. The HRG project he had dedicated so much effort to was forced to halt.
The horrific events must never be allowed to happen again.
How can one completely shatter Shen Zhuo’s dreams without harming him?
Bai Sheng remained half-kneeling by the bedside, his mind racing as he repeatedly pondered over the explosion’s every detail. His thoughts abruptly stopped when he thought of Fu Chen.
A wild, desperate idea sprouted in his mind.
Click.
At that moment, a faint sound came from behind, and Bai Sheng turned his head.
Through the crack in the door, a figure appeared—it was Su Jiqiao.
What was he doing here?
Bai Sheng stood up warily, his suspicions rising. He watched as Su Jiqiao inserted two fingers through the door crack, grasped the safety chain, and with a sudden force, the rusty chain snapped silently.
Then, Su Jiqiao pushed open the door, quietly entering the room. His movements were almost soundless as he knelt beside the dusty steel-wire bed, his gaze filled with interest as he observed Shen Zhuo.
This scene was surreal. In the darkness, Su Jiqiao’s eyes flickered. After a while, he slowly lowered his head, his lips curving into a smile as they almost touched Shen Zhuo’s ear. In a whisper-like tone, he asked each word one by one:
“The person you mentioned, is it Fu Chen?”
“…”
Bai Sheng stared intently at Su Jiqiao, his pupils slightly contracting.
Shen Zhuo breathed evenly, his eyes tightly closed, showing no signs of waking up. Su Jiqiao didn’t expect him to awaken and provide an answer. After a moment of pause, he spoke softly, as if talking to himself:
“Why? I hate you so much, Shen Zhuo.”
The room fell silent, the sound of breathing echoing clearly.
He repeated again: “I really hate you.”
Bai Sheng watched helplessly as Su Jiqiao raised his hand, mischievously using his index finger to lightly scratch Shen Zhuo’s nose.
“I just want to disgust you, and make you remember it forever.” Every word he uttered sounded affectionate and sweet, yet it was filled with complex hatred and malice. “This is my punishment for you.”
For several seconds, Bai Sheng didn’t know what Su Jiqiao was up to. However, suddenly, his S-class keen senses were triggered. He felt the residual energy emanating from Su Jiqiao’s index finger—a mental energy fluctuation.
His first reaction was: Daydream? Could it be that Shen Zhuo had daydreamed on the night of the May 11th Qinghai Explosion?!
But he quickly calmed down and realized it was impossible because the daydream wouldn’t leave behind residual energy in reality. The slight energy fluctuation just now was very distinct, indicating it was some other type of mental attack.
A psychic evolutionist might have several different attack methods. Su Jiqiao’s strongest ability was the daydream, but that didn’t mean he only had that ability. It’s possible that his other mental attack methods were weaker and couldn’t cause much harm, so they were seldom used.
But what exactly did he release on Shen Zhuo just now?
Su Jiqiao stood up, his smile becoming extremely peculiar, with a hint of excitement, eagerness, and twisted anticipation. He stared at Shen Zhuo, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, without blinking, gradually backing out of the room. He didn’t even care about leaving footprints on the dusty floor, silently closing the door behind him and disappearing into the darkness.
Bai Sheng suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Zhuo. Unexpectedly, the figure in the sleeping bag was still lying on its side, eyes tightly closed, breathing steadily, without any change.
One minute, two minutes, and ten minutes passed.
Shen Zhuo turned slightly in the sleeping bag, lying on his back now, one hand resting near his ear. His body rose and fell rhythmically with long breaths, sleeping deeply.
—If Bai Sheng hadn’t witnessed the scene just now with his own eyes, he would have doubted his memory. Could it be that Su Jiqiao sneaked in to deliver some harsh words to Shen Zhuo, and then hypnotized him?
What was he trying to do? Improve his professor’s sleep quality?
Bai Sheng subconsciously checked the time. It was 10:25 PM, only five minutes left before the explosion—Shen Zhuo hadn’t lied; he really slept until the last moment!
Could it be that the May 11th Qinghai Experiment Site Explosion was indeed caused by a mistake made by Fu Chen? Without any doubt, the truth had already been completely revealed to the world?!
Just as Bai Sheng was in doubt and hesitation, Shen Zhuo’s eyelashes twitched slightly, seemingly an unconscious movement.
Then, Shen Zhuo began to feel restless.
This unease might be better described as agitation. In less than half a minute, his cheeks turned very red, his breath became hot and moist, and his eyelashes fluttered continuously, as if he were trying to struggle awake but was powerless.
One of his hands groped toward his neck in his sleep. At first, Bai Sheng thought Su Jiqiao was trying to harm him, so he immediately used his abilities to create airflow to forcibly hold his hand. But then Shen Zhuo’s expression became very painful, and his other hand reached out from the sleeping bag to grab his collar. Bai Sheng was astonished to realize that Shen Zhuo was actually trying to protect his clothes!
He wasn’t trying to harm himself at all; someone in his dream was trying to undress him, and he was struggling to resist!
In the next moment, Shen Zhuo’s eyes flew open, and he sat up abruptly.
His cheeks were as red as blood, and his slender neck looked as if it had been washed with water. He gasped heavily, one hand pressed against his forehead, gritting his teeth: “…You disgraceful exhibitionist, Su Jiqiao—”
Bai Sheng would rather believe that Su Jiqiao was mentally retarded, coming in to deliver his harsh words and then helping Shen Zhuo improve his sleep, than face the absurdity of the current situation, which was enough to reshape one’s worldview.
Su Jiqiao’s mental attack made Shen Zhuo experience a two-minute erotic dream.
And in the dream, he even personally seduced Shen Zhuo!
… From a certain perspective, Su Jiqiao’s words weren’t entirely false. He did make Shen Zhuo feel disgusted, to the extent that he would feel nauseous for quite some time.
But when all these pieces were put together, Su Jiqiao’s actions created a particularly absurd and inexplicable sense of amusement that outsiders couldn’t comprehend.
Shen Zhuo’s mind was foggy, his whole body trembling. One hand plunged deeply into his disheveled black hair, while the other groped at the bedside, retrieving his gun from under the sleeping bag. He then got up unsteadily and staggered towards the door, completely ignoring the fact that the door, which he had locked before going to sleep, was now only slightly ajar.
“Su Jiqiao?!” he bellowed.
“Come out, Su Jiqiao!”
In the room, Bai Sheng’s gaze fell on the timer: 10:28 PM.
He suddenly realized something unusual: Shen Zhuo hadn’t completely shaken off the mental assault yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so out of character, storming out with his gun to chase after Su Jiqiao with such murderous intent—his actions and senses were still being influenced!
Without hesitation, Bai Sheng rushed out of the room.
In the corridor, Shen Zhuo staggered, one hand tightly gripping the gun as he turned around. It seemed like he could smell something stimulating in the air, perhaps rust or blood. This scent undoubtedly intensified his rage and desire to kill. With a click, he loaded a bullet into the chamber:
“Su Jiqiao! Come out!!”
Suddenly, he halted in his tracks. At the end of the dark corridor was a door, a faint light seeping through its cracks.
It was the abandoned test site.
At this moment, with only a few seconds left until the explosion, Bai Sheng vaguely guessed what would happen next. Sure enough, the next moment, Shen Zhuo decisively took a step forward and, with Bai Sheng closely following behind, crossed the corridor and pushed open the partially closed door:
“Su Jiqiao, you…”
His voice abruptly stopped.
“…Fu Chen?”
Bai Sheng stood behind him, equally stunned.
The meteorite emitted a faint glow under the rays. In front of the experimental equipment, Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao were locked in an embrace.
It was actually just a momentary scene, perhaps lasting less than a tenth of a second, because as the sound erupted, Fu Chen abruptly pushed away Su Jiqiao, turning his head to see Shen Zhuo at the door. Fu Chen’s expression in the midst of chaos was indescribable, a mixture of shock, confusion, and emptiness:
“No, I didn’t…”
Beyond Fu Chen, Su Jiqiao faced the door directly, wearing an unabashed smile as he silently mouthed the words to Shen Zhan:
“He doesn’t like you.”
Under the rays, the meteorite’s glow rapidly intensified, shifting from a serene blue to a blazing white light, while the radiation readings on the monitoring device spiked sharply.
Shen Zhan wasn’t looking at Fu Chen, nor was he concerned about Su Jiqiao. His contracted pupils only reflected the meteorite behind the two men: “What’s happening with it?!”
Fu Chen turned and strode toward the door: “Shen Zhan, let me explain—”
“Shut up! Stay calm!” Shen Zhan’s voice was stern: “Calm down! Don’t stimulate the evolution source!”
Fu Chen was shaking violently, his voice trembling with agitation: “I didn’t, it’s a misunderstanding, that wasn’t even—”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter! Calm down first, you—”
Shen Zhan’s voice was drowned out by a blinding white light.
The radiation had surpassed the critical threshold.
The Evolution Source was about to explode.
If that moment froze, one would notice Su Jiqiao smiling.
Bathed in the fatal blaze of white light, he gazed at Shen Zhan with tender eyes, full of sweetness, like a glorious and grand farewell.
But no one paid attention to him—not even Bai Sheng—because the only opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Everything unfolded as it had happened before. Without hesitation, Fu Chen summoned a vacuum shield to cover Shen Zhan entirely.
Then, his palm opened abruptly, revealing a black inverted cross.
The S-class ability, the Reversal Cross, bore the brunt of the entire impact alone, bearing all harm on itself, while the vacuum shield neutralized any harm to Shen Zhan.
This was the moment Bai Sheng had been waiting for.
With his right hand, he pulled Shen Zhan into his embrace, while his left hand, with two fingers joined, emitted a dazzling light from his slender fingertips, illuminating his clear and cold eyes—
if I don’t allow it, it doesn’t exist.
In an instant, the clear light of causality, destroying heaven and earth, engulfed the entire field of vision.
Chapter 42
Law of Causality
The three of them sat in the dim underground, with a faint blue light behind them, emanating from the deadly meteorite bathed in rays.
Apart from that, only the dim flashlight covered this small circle, and the huge abandoned test site in the distance was completely engulfed in darkness.
“Anyway, we’re just passing time, aren’t we? The night is long.” Su Jiqiao seemed oblivious to the eerie silence, placing wine, dice, and an iron spoon on the ground between the three of them, eagerly saying, “And the rules are simple: whoever throws the highest number wins. The winner gets to spin the spoon, and whoever the handle points to is the traitor.”
He casually spun the spoon with his hand, and the handle rotated a few times: “The winner gets to decide whether the traitor answers a truth or takes a drink; simple, right?”
This game was indeed overly simple, appearing to be just an ordinary drinking game. Fu Chen frowned: “But according to the rules, drinking is not allowed during mission execution, and the interference desensitization hasn’t been completed yet…”
“We won’t drink much, just passing the time.” Su Jiqiao looked surprisedly at Fu Chen, “What’s wrong, Fu-ge? Are you really afraid to play?”
Fu Chen suddenly stopped talking.
“—Then, I’ll go first.” Su Jiqiao picked up the dice, raising his index finger and saying, “No using abilities, remember. Over there is the energy detector. Using abilities will be detected.”
Then he shook the dice in his hand and threw it on the ground, exclaiming in surprise, “Five!”
According to the seating arrangement, after Su Jiqiao, the next turn would be Shen Zhuo’s. Shen Zhuo picked up the dice and handed it over, smiling, “Professor Shen, your turn?”
“…,” Shen Zhuo glanced at Fu Chen, then turned back to Su Jiqiao’s smiling face, his deep eyes revealing no clues.
After a while, Bai Sheng saw him make a slight movement and unexpectedly reached out to take the dice, then threw it in front of him.
“Three! Not so lucky, Professor.” Su Jiqiao turned his head and smiled, “What about Fu-ge?”
Fu Chen remained silent, picking up the dice and casually throwing it, landing on four.
“I won!” Su Jiqiao seemed pleasantly surprised, clapping for himself, his hand hovering over the spoon, provocatively saying, “So, I’ll identify the traitor now.”
With a whoosh, the spoon handle began to spin, and for some reason, all three people’s gazes were fixed upon it. Even Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes in the void, until the spoon handle slowly came to a stop.
Following its direction, it pointed to Fu Chen.
In that instant, the expressions in the eyes of the three seemed to undergo different changes.
Immediately, Su Jiqiao burst into laughter.
“Fu-ge, truth or drink?” Su Jiqiao seemed purely amused, then waved his hand, “Oh well, the game rules say the winner decides, so I’ll go with the truth.”
“…”
Fu Chen remained calm. “What do you want to ask?”
Su Jiqiao grinned and asked, “Fu-ge, do you have someone you like?”
Fu Chen glanced at Shen Zhuo from the corner of his eye and said, “Yes.”
But Shen Zhuo only stared quietly at the spoon on the ground, seeming to be oblivious to everything around him, and remained silent.
Su Jiqiao’s eyes sparkled as he exclaimed, “Who is so lucky to be liked by someone like Fu-ge? I envy them so much! In the next round, I’ll ask for the name of that person from you!”
Fu Chen replied calmly, “Who knows who will win the next round.” He picked up the dice and threw it, also getting a five.
Su Jiqiao picked up the dice for the second throw. Perhaps too eager to retaliate for his earlier low roll, he only managed to roll a single point. He sighed as he handed the dice to Shen Zhuo, who, like the previous round, rolled a three.
Naturally, Fu Chen became the winner of the second round.
“Fu-ge, no using abilities when spinning the spoon,” Su Jiqiao half-jokingly warned again, pointing to the monitor, “Using abilities here will be detected by the monitoring device.”
Fu Chen made a sound of acknowledgement and used his index finger to spin the iron spoon on the ground. The four sets of eyes from different directions all stared fixedly at it. The handle spun neither fast nor slowly and soon came to a gentle stop.
It pointed toward Su Jiqiao.
“Oh? Is the retaliation coming so soon?” Su Jiqiao seemed unsurprised, covering his mouth with one hand as he chuckled. Then he looked up at Fu Chen, his gaze piercing, “Well, I’ll admit it too. I have someone I like!”
His eyes were not just open, but rather burning with boldness.
But Fu Chen’s response was cold, “Nobody wants to hear about that. I just want you to take a drink.”
“What, don’t want me to say it?” Su Jiqiao, half-jokingly and half-complainingly, took a sip from the bottle, dragging his words, “I don’t care. What I said just now was the truth, and you all heard it—right, Professor Shen?”
Shen Zhuo lowered his eyelashes slightly, resembling a statue in the ambiguous light and shadow, showing no reaction to the excellent performance unfolding before him.
Su Jiqiao opened his palm and offered the dice to Shen Zhuo, speaking softly, “Professor, it’s your turn.”
Without even looking, Shen Zhuo took the dice and casually threw it.
Two.
His luck was indeed average, but what followed was unexpected: Fu Chen only rolled a one. Su Jiqiao, seeing this, immediately felt confident about winning another round. However, when the dice stopped, it revealed just one point.
In the third round, the winner unexpectedly became Shen Zhuo.
Bai Sheng keenly sensed that the atmosphere was subtly changing.
Fu Chen stared intently at the iron spoon on the ground; even Su Jiqiao’s perfect smile faded imperceptibly due to nervousness. Shen Zhuo, under the scrutiny of these two gazes, casually spun the spoon. The handle rotated in the light and shadow, forming a perfect circle, as if even the slightest breeze could be heard clearly.
As if passing through a century-long moment, those few seconds finally came to an end, and the spoon stopped spinning.
The handle of the spoon pointed toward Shen Zhuo himself.
“…”
For a moment, the surroundings fell quiet. Shen Zhuo was about to say that this round didn’t count, but Su Jiqiao suddenly reacted swiftly, politely offering the wine bottle to Shen Zhuo, “If it’s pointing at yourself, it means you’ll be punished by three cups, Professor.”
Shen Zhuo pushed aside the wine bottle and said, “I choose the truth.”
—Shen Zhuo’s truth…
Shen Zhuo’s truth was undoubtedly sharp, and the other two present were obviously not fools. Fu Chen immediately raised his head and casually said, “Why not have a drink to warm up? It’s so cold here, and it’s almost ten.”
Shen Zhuo took a sip and pushed himself up with one hand on the ground, “I’m tired; I’m going to bed.”
Su Jiqiao stood up immediately, reaching out to stop Shen Zhuo as he passed by, smiling, “Professor, we rarely have the opportunity to go on a field mission together. Don’t go to bed so early. Besides, you can’t back down from a bet. Since it’s pointing at yourself, how can you not take the punishment of three cups?”
Shen Zhuo’s steps were halted by Su Jiqiao, “How can newly made-up rules be considered rules?”
Su Jiqiao innocently responded, “But there really is such a rule. If you don’t believe me, ask Fu-ge.”
Fu Chen’s gaze was deep, and he remained silent.
Shen Zhuo was getting a little impatient, “Step aside. Call me after the desensitization of the evolutionary source interference is completed next door.”
Before he could push Su Jiqiao away, the latter grabbed his left wrist. Although Su Jiqiao’s tone was still gentle and pleading, the strength in his grip was completely different, “Professor, you’ve never honored us by going out for drinks together. We may not have the opportunity to go on a field mission together again in the future. What if today is the last chance?”
Being pressured to drink was probably an experience Shen Zhuo had never encountered before in his life, and he felt a bit absurd, “You…”
“We agreed to accept the consequences of losing. Yet when you lose, you want to leave,” Su Jiqiao spoke softly, but his gaze was fixed on Shen Zhuo, “Isn’t that unreasonable? What do you say?”
Shen Zhuo exerted force but couldn’t free his wrist from Su Jiqiao’s grasp. In the chaos, he took a step back, leaning against the hard limestone wall. The mouth of the bottle Su Jiqiao held was almost touching his lips, “Are you really unwilling to give me even one chance, Professor?”
If anyone else were to witness this scene, it would undoubtedly be an absurd sight.
At this moment, that outsider was Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng couldn’t understand why Su Jiqiao suddenly acted out, nor did he know how Shen Zhuo managed to handle this situation before the explosion occurred. However, he couldn’t just stand by and watch Shen Zhuo relive the forced scene in his dreams.
In the void, Bai Sheng’s palm blade crackled with sharp electric currents, already hovering just half an inch from Su Jiqiao’s throat.
As long as Su Jiqiao moved half an inch closer, he would instantly lose his life, disappearing from the dream completely.
The air seemed to carry an invisible tension, poised to erupt at any moment. Despite the brief standoff lasting only a few seconds, it felt suffocatingly long.
Shen Zhuo’s eyes betrayed a mix of disdain and impatience. He suddenly turned his head, half-smiling, and tilted his lips in a somewhat mocking gesture, his gaze flickering briefly toward Fu Chen behind Su Jiqiao.
Then he withdrew his gaze, his smile carrying a hint of provocation yet still graceful, “Of course, I’ll accept the bet. I choose the truth.”
“I also have someone I like, and soon I’ll like them very much. Is that not allowed?”
Even Su Jiqiao was taken aback.
No one expected Shen Zhuo’s truth to be this statement. For a moment, silence pervaded the abandoned test site.
“…”
After a moment, Fu Chen seemed to realize what was happening. He stood up, clearing his throat. This time, his gentle persuasion was directed at Su Jiqiao, “Alright, alright. Choosing the truth also complies with the rules of the game, doesn’t it? It’s all about accepting the consequences of losing.”
With a firm push, Shen Zhuo shoved the stunned Su Jiqiao back half a step.
“I’m going to bed,” he said nonchalantly.
Seemingly oblivious to the eerie atmosphere behind him, Shen Zhuo brushed past Su Jiqiao and headed toward a passageway leading out of the test site.
“…”
Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, withdrawing the electrical currents from his palm. He quickened his pace to catch up with Shen Zhuo, casting a glance back at the two behind him—
Fu Chen’s eyes flickered, saying nothing. He just stood there, watching Shen Zhuo walk away without blinking.
Meanwhile, Su Jiqiao stood in the shadows, his gaze locked onto Shen Zhuo’s departing figure with a glint of unsettling light shimmering in his eyes.
***
Inside the base, there were many empty rooms. Shen Zhuo carried a flashlight as he traversed the corridors, casually choosing a dormitory that appeared to have less dust. He brushed off the sand accumulated over the years from the steel-wire bed and laid down his sleeping bag.
The door lock still worked, but the safety chain had rusted. Shen Zhuo tested the door several times to ensure the iron chain wouldn’t easily break before lying down in the sleeping bag.
After all, he was human. Venturing deep into the desert had already tired him out. Initially, when he lay down, he kept his eyes open, pondering various matters. However, soon fatigue overwhelmed him. He struggled to stay awake but gradually succumbed, slowly closing his eyelids.
Bai Sheng knelt on one knee by the bed, silently watching him, recalling the scenes that had just unfolded.
Su Jiqiao couldn’t have suddenly gone insane without reason. Why did he say, “What if today is the last chance?” Did he have a premonition of the disaster that was about to happen before the explosion?
It was just past 10 o’clock now. Shen Zhuo claimed during the hearing that he was sleeping during the last half hour before the explosion. For three years, everyone believed he was lying. However, the current situation seemed to confirm his statement as true. So, what really happened in the next 30 minutes?
Shen Zhuo’s breathing gradually deepened, his sleeping face calm and serene.
From his appearance alone, one couldn’t tell that he was so adept at manipulating people’s emotions. With just a few words, he could captivate one’s soul, making them eager to come forward and help him out—perhaps Fu Chen next door was still racking his brains, repeatedly pondering over Shen Zhuo’s final words:
—”I also have someone I like, and soon I’ll like them very much. Is that not allowed?”
“Making empty promises everywhere,” Bai Sheng couldn’t help but feel a bit itchy. He leaned closer to Shen Zhuo, his teeth clenched, “When will you give me an empty promise to soothe me?”
Shen Zhuo murmured something indistinct, then turned over in his sleep.
He furrowed his brow slightly, showing a hint of fatigue, burying his face in his own shoulder.
The surging tide of male instinctive jealousy receded. Bai Sheng reached out to smooth the furrowed brow, but his fingertips merely passed through the void.
At this moment, Shen Zhuo stood at the peak, isolated and vulnerable, with his delicate features and snow-like cheeks. He had been hated and schemed against by countless people, facing threats from all sides, even assassination attempts.
He had no allies, and no one was powerful enough to truly support him. Besides relying on his own understanding of human nature amidst treacherous circumstances, he had few options.
Bai Sheng gazed at the sleeping figure in front of him, realizing that Shen Zhuo’s life was about to reach a turning point in less than half an hour.
After the explosion, Shen Zhuo lay unconscious for half a month, enduring intense interrogation and public scrutiny. He even faced torture, his life hanging by a thread. The HRG project he had dedicated so much effort to was forced to halt.
The horrific events must never be allowed to happen again.
How can one completely shatter Shen Zhuo’s dreams without harming him?
Bai Sheng remained half-kneeling by the bedside, his mind racing as he repeatedly pondered over the explosion’s every detail. His thoughts abruptly stopped when he thought of Fu Chen.
A wild, desperate idea sprouted in his mind.
Click.
At that moment, a faint sound came from behind, and Bai Sheng turned his head.
Through the crack in the door, a figure appeared—it was Su Jiqiao.
What was he doing here?
Bai Sheng stood up warily, his suspicions rising. He watched as Su Jiqiao inserted two fingers through the door crack, grasped the safety chain, and with a sudden force, the rusty chain snapped silently.
Then, Su Jiqiao pushed open the door, quietly entering the room. His movements were almost soundless as he knelt beside the dusty steel-wire bed, his gaze filled with interest as he observed Shen Zhuo.
This scene was surreal. In the darkness, Su Jiqiao’s eyes flickered. After a while, he slowly lowered his head, his lips curving into a smile as they almost touched Shen Zhuo’s ear. In a whisper-like tone, he asked each word one by one:
“The person you mentioned, is it Fu Chen?”
“…”
Bai Sheng stared intently at Su Jiqiao, his pupils slightly contracting.
Shen Zhuo breathed evenly, his eyes tightly closed, showing no signs of waking up. Su Jiqiao didn’t expect him to awaken and provide an answer. After a moment of pause, he spoke softly, as if talking to himself:
“Why? I hate you so much, Shen Zhuo.”
The room fell silent, the sound of breathing echoing clearly.
He repeated again: “I really hate you.”
Bai Sheng watched helplessly as Su Jiqiao raised his hand, mischievously using his index finger to lightly scratch Shen Zhuo’s nose.
“I just want to disgust you, and make you remember it forever.” Every word he uttered sounded affectionate and sweet, yet it was filled with complex hatred and malice. “This is my punishment for you.”
For several seconds, Bai Sheng didn’t know what Su Jiqiao was up to. However, suddenly, his S-class keen senses were triggered. He felt the residual energy emanating from Su Jiqiao’s index finger—a mental energy fluctuation.
His first reaction was: Daydream? Could it be that Shen Zhuo had daydreamed on the night of the May 11th Qinghai Explosion?!
But he quickly calmed down and realized it was impossible because the daydream wouldn’t leave behind residual energy in reality. The slight energy fluctuation just now was very distinct, indicating it was some other type of mental attack.
A psychic evolutionist might have several different attack methods. Su Jiqiao’s strongest ability was the daydream, but that didn’t mean he only had that ability. It’s possible that his other mental attack methods were weaker and couldn’t cause much harm, so they were seldom used.
But what exactly did he release on Shen Zhuo just now?
Su Jiqiao stood up, his smile becoming extremely peculiar, with a hint of excitement, eagerness, and twisted anticipation. He stared at Shen Zhuo, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, without blinking, gradually backing out of the room. He didn’t even care about leaving footprints on the dusty floor, silently closing the door behind him and disappearing into the darkness.
Bai Sheng suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Zhuo. Unexpectedly, the figure in the sleeping bag was still lying on its side, eyes tightly closed, breathing steadily, without any change.
One minute, two minutes, and ten minutes passed.
Shen Zhuo turned slightly in the sleeping bag, lying on his back now, one hand resting near his ear. His body rose and fell rhythmically with long breaths, sleeping deeply.
—If Bai Sheng hadn’t witnessed the scene just now with his own eyes, he would have doubted his memory. Could it be that Su Jiqiao sneaked in to deliver some harsh words to Shen Zhuo, and then hypnotized him?
What was he trying to do? Improve his professor’s sleep quality?
Bai Sheng subconsciously checked the time. It was 10:25 PM, only five minutes left before the explosion—Shen Zhuo hadn’t lied; he really slept until the last moment!
Could it be that the May 11th Qinghai Experiment Site Explosion was indeed caused by a mistake made by Fu Chen? Without any doubt, the truth had already been completely revealed to the world?!
Just as Bai Sheng was in doubt and hesitation, Shen Zhuo’s eyelashes twitched slightly, seemingly an unconscious movement.
Then, Shen Zhuo began to feel restless.
This unease might be better described as agitation. In less than half a minute, his cheeks turned very red, his breath became hot and moist, and his eyelashes fluttered continuously, as if he were trying to struggle awake but was powerless.
One of his hands groped toward his neck in his sleep. At first, Bai Sheng thought Su Jiqiao was trying to harm him, so he immediately used his abilities to create airflow to forcibly hold his hand. But then Shen Zhuo’s expression became very painful, and his other hand reached out from the sleeping bag to grab his collar. Bai Sheng was astonished to realize that Shen Zhuo was actually trying to protect his clothes!
He wasn’t trying to harm himself at all; someone in his dream was trying to undress him, and he was struggling to resist!
In the next moment, Shen Zhuo’s eyes flew open, and he sat up abruptly.
His cheeks were as red as blood, and his slender neck looked as if it had been washed with water. He gasped heavily, one hand pressed against his forehead, gritting his teeth: “…You disgraceful exhibitionist, Su Jiqiao—”
Bai Sheng would rather believe that Su Jiqiao was mentally retarded, coming in to deliver his harsh words and then helping Shen Zhuo improve his sleep, than face the absurdity of the current situation, which was enough to reshape one’s worldview.
Su Jiqiao’s mental attack made Shen Zhuo experience a two-minute erotic dream.
And in the dream, he even personally seduced Shen Zhuo!
… From a certain perspective, Su Jiqiao’s words weren’t entirely false. He did make Shen Zhuo feel disgusted, to the extent that he would feel nauseous for quite some time.
But when all these pieces were put together, Su Jiqiao’s actions created a particularly absurd and inexplicable sense of amusement that outsiders couldn’t comprehend.
Shen Zhuo’s mind was foggy, his whole body trembling. One hand plunged deeply into his disheveled black hair, while the other groped at the bedside, retrieving his gun from under the sleeping bag. He then got up unsteadily and staggered towards the door, completely ignoring the fact that the door, which he had locked before going to sleep, was now only slightly ajar.
“Su Jiqiao?!” he bellowed.
“Come out, Su Jiqiao!”
In the room, Bai Sheng’s gaze fell on the timer: 10:28 PM.
He suddenly realized something unusual: Shen Zhuo hadn’t completely shaken off the mental assault yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so out of character, storming out with his gun to chase after Su Jiqiao with such murderous intent—his actions and senses were still being influenced!
Without hesitation, Bai Sheng rushed out of the room.
In the corridor, Shen Zhuo staggered, one hand tightly gripping the gun as he turned around. It seemed like he could smell something stimulating in the air, perhaps rust or blood. This scent undoubtedly intensified his rage and desire to kill. With a click, he loaded a bullet into the chamber:
“Su Jiqiao! Come out!!”
Suddenly, he halted in his tracks. At the end of the dark corridor was a door, a faint light seeping through its cracks.
It was the abandoned test site.
At this moment, with only a few seconds left until the explosion, Bai Sheng vaguely guessed what would happen next. Sure enough, the next moment, Shen Zhuo decisively took a step forward and, with Bai Sheng closely following behind, crossed the corridor and pushed open the partially closed door:
“Su Jiqiao, you…”
His voice abruptly stopped.
“…Fu Chen?”
Bai Sheng stood behind him, equally stunned.
The meteorite emitted a faint glow under the rays. In front of the experimental equipment, Fu Chen and Su Jiqiao were locked in an embrace.
It was actually just a momentary scene, perhaps lasting less than a tenth of a second, because as the sound erupted, Fu Chen abruptly pushed away Su Jiqiao, turning his head to see Shen Zhuo at the door. Fu Chen’s expression in the midst of chaos was indescribable, a mixture of shock, confusion, and emptiness:
“No, I didn’t…”
Beyond Fu Chen, Su Jiqiao faced the door directly, wearing an unabashed smile as he silently mouthed the words to Shen Zhan:
“He doesn’t like you.”
Under the rays, the meteorite’s glow rapidly intensified, shifting from a serene blue to a blazing white light, while the radiation readings on the monitoring device spiked sharply.
Shen Zhan wasn’t looking at Fu Chen, nor was he concerned about Su Jiqiao. His contracted pupils only reflected the meteorite behind the two men: “What’s happening with it?!”
Fu Chen turned and strode toward the door: “Shen Zhan, let me explain—”
“Shut up! Stay calm!” Shen Zhan’s voice was stern: “Calm down! Don’t stimulate the evolution source!”
Fu Chen was shaking violently, his voice trembling with agitation: “I didn’t, it’s a misunderstanding, that wasn’t even—”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter! Calm down first, you—”
Shen Zhan’s voice was drowned out by a blinding white light.
The radiation had surpassed the critical threshold.
The Evolution Source was about to explode.
If that moment froze, one would notice Su Jiqiao smiling.
Bathed in the fatal blaze of white light, he gazed at Shen Zhan with tender eyes, full of sweetness, like a glorious and grand farewell.
But no one paid attention to him—not even Bai Sheng—because the only opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Everything unfolded as it had happened before. Without hesitation, Fu Chen summoned a vacuum shield to cover Shen Zhan entirely.
Then, his palm opened abruptly, revealing a black inverted cross.
The S-class ability, the Reversal Cross, bore the brunt of the entire impact alone, bearing all harm on itself, while the vacuum shield neutralized any harm to Shen Zhan.
This was the moment Bai Sheng had been waiting for.
With his right hand, he pulled Shen Zhan into his embrace, while his left hand, with two fingers joined, emitted a dazzling light from his slender fingertips, illuminating his clear and cold eyes—
if I don’t allow it, it doesn’t exist.
In an instant, the clear light of causality, destroying heaven and earth, engulfed the entire field of vision.
