Twin system

The icy stream carried Du Siling and Han Beimo downstream, rocks constantly slamming against their bodies, but the pain felt strangely distant.

Du Siling gripped Han Beimo's wrist tightly. Through the murky water, he saw Han Beimo's eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness, like two guiding lights.

The rushing current swept them into an underground cave, where the water level gradually decreased. The two struggled to climb onto a protruding rock, panting heavily.

Du Siling felt a sharp pain in her right leg—a deep, bone-revealing wound had been cut open by a sharp rock, and blood stained the surrounding water.

Han Beimo immediately tore off the hem of his shirt and tied it tightly above Du Siling's thigh to stop the bleeding. The moment his fingers touched the wound, that familiar blue pattern reappeared, but this time it was brighter, almost illuminating the dark cave.

Time is like an invisible hourglass, with grains of sand slipping away silently. We cannot stop its passage.

"Bear with it." Han Beimo's voice was unusually tense. "This injury is too severe, I might..."

His words came to an abrupt halt. Du Siling suddenly felt a strange warmth spreading from the point of contact, and the pain gradually subsided.

Even more strangely, he clearly "saw" the flow of energy within Han Beimo's body—like a glowing river gushing from Han Beimo's core and flowing through his fingers into his wound.

"You're... healing me?" Du Siling asked in surprise.

Han Beimo did not answer, his gaze fixed intently on the wound. His pupils dilated completely, turning a pure gold.

Du Siling watched as the edges of her wound began to slowly heal, the muscle fibers wriggling and connecting like living things.

But this miraculous treatment came at a price. Han Beimo's face grew paler and paler, sweat dripping from his chin. When the wound finally closed and stopped bleeding, he jerked his hand back as if he had been burned.

"We can't continue," Han Beimo said breathlessly. "The energy of the RH-0 gene is not unlimited."

Du Siling carefully moved her injured leg and found that she could barely stand. This defied common medical sense—such a severe wound had partially healed in just a few minutes.

"What did they design us to be?" Du Siling murmured.

Han Beimo leaned against the rock wall to rest, the golden light in his eyes gradually fading: "Weapons. Or tools. What's the difference?"

Indistinct voices and barking dogs could be heard outside the cave. The pursuers hadn't given up. Han Beimo struggled to his feet and helped Du Siling up: "Let's go further in. There should be another exit in the cave."

They moved deeper into the cave along the slippery rock face. Although Du Siling's leg injury had stopped bleeding, every step felt like walking on a knife's edge. Worse still, he began to feel the exhaustion emanating from Han Beimo—that feeling of utter depletion of energy flooding into his senses through some invisible connection.

The cave was winding and full of branching paths. But strangely, Du Siling could always "sense" the right path, as if she had an invisible map in her mind. Han Beimo seemed to have the same intuition, and the two could reach an agreement without speaking.

An hour later, they found a dry side cave and decided to rest for the time being. Du Siling leaned against the rock wall, examining her leg injury. The newly formed skin was an unnatural pink color and felt unusually sensitive to the touch.

"Will it leave a scar?" he asked, half-jokingly.

Han Beimo's expression suddenly turned strange: "It might be... but not because of your own injury."

He gestured for Du Siling to turn around. When Du Siling did so, Han Beimo gently lifted his shirt. Du Siling couldn't see his back, but he could feel Han Beimo's fingers touching certain raised lines.

"What?" Du Siling asked anxiously. "A scar." Han Beimo's voice was unusually low, "My scar... is now on you."

He took out a small mirror from his backpack and adjusted the angle so that Du Siling could see his back.

In the dim light, Du Siling was shocked to see several hideous scars appearing on her once smooth skin—whip marks, burns, and even a clear tooth mark, all in the same locations as the old wounds on Han Beimo's body.

"This is impossible..." Du Siling's fingers trembled as she touched the scars, "How did they..."

"Genetic resonance." Han Beimo put down the mirror. "Our connection is too deep. My past is becoming a part of yours."

Du Siling suddenly remembered something and pulled up her trouser leg. On her right calf, a circular scar was forming—exactly the same as the scar on Han Beimo's leg caused by the chains.

"Will they disappear?" Du Siling asked, even though she already knew the answer in her heart.

Han Beimo shook his head: "Mine won't. Yours... probably won't either."

They silently shared their dry rations and water. Du Siling's thoughts drifted back to those suddenly resurrected fragments of memory—a winter in the orphanage, two little boys huddled together on a small bed for warmth. Did Han Beimo, no, Xiao Bei, already have these scars back then?

Night fell, and they took turns keeping watch. When Du Siling finally fell asleep, his dream immediately dragged him into a dark basement. In the dream, he was a thin boy, chained to a heating pipe. Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by the sound of a bottle shattering...

"No! No!" Du Siling screamed in his dream, and when he woke up, he found Han Beimo holding his shoulders tightly.

"It's my memory," Han Beimo's voice was hoarse, "and now it's yours too."

Du Siling was drenched in cold sweat and breathing rapidly. What was even more terrifying was that he could feel the pain from those dreams actually in his body—the pain of his wrists being chafed by iron chains, the stinging pain of broken ribs, and the burning sensation in his stomach from prolonged hunger.

"How do I stop it?" Du Siling asked through gritted teeth.

Han Beimo released his grip, his expression complex: "I don't know. We might be the first 'twins' with such a deep connection."

As dawn broke, they continued their search for an exit. Du Siling's leg injury had healed considerably, but the newly appeared old wounds were unusually sensitive, causing a sharp pain with every step. Through that strange connection, he could sense that Han Beimo was also enduring the lingering pain of his leg injury—the two were becoming vessels for each other's pain.

Around noon, light finally appeared in the cave. They climbed out of the cave and found themselves in a remote valley, with the outline of a road visible in the distance.

"We need transportation," Han Beimo said, his eyes scanning the surrounding terrain. "Which direction is the nearest town?"

Du Siling closed his eyes, letting that strange intuition guide him: "Southeast, about fifteen kilometers."

They didn't discuss where this supernatural sense of direction came from, but simply headed southeast in tacit agreement. Along the way, they passed a patch of wild azaleas, their bright red blossoms dazzlingly beautiful in the sunlight. Han Beimo unconsciously stopped and reached out to touch a petal.

"My mother loves azaleas," he said softly. "She says they bloom even in the harshest environments."

Du Siling suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu—he seemed to see two women standing in the flowerbed, arguing fiercely. One was clearly the young Ling Hua, and the other...

"My mother?" Du Siling blurted out.

The content of the argument between the two women is unclear, but their emotions are intense. Finally, Ling Hua hands a small red box to Du Siling's mother, who accepts it tearfully and leaves hastily.

"What did you see?" Han Beimo asked sharply.

Du Siling described the hallucination. Han Beimo's expression turned unusually serious: "It's not a hallucination. It's a memory. Memories sealed by the genetic lock are being released."

He pointed to a distant hillside: "There. There's something important there."

They changed direction and headed up the hillside. Du Siling's leg injury had mostly healed, but with each step she could still feel the exhaustion emanating from Han Beimo—that feeling of depletion after overexertion was growing stronger.

On the hillside stood a solitary old oak tree, its trunk bearing faded inscriptions. Han Beimo brushed away the soil, revealing a heart-shaped pattern and two letters: L & R.

"Ling Hua and..." Du Siling's finger touched the letter R, "...my mother's name, Ren Yuqing."

Han Beimo began digging into the soil beside the tree roots. A few minutes later, his fingers touched something hard—a rusty metal box, painted red, with faded azalea patterns painted on it.

"A time capsule," Han Beimo said softly, handing the box to Du Siling. "It belongs to you."

Du Siling took the box, his fingers trembling slightly. A small, rusty lock hung on it. He remembered the key with the "D" engraved on it he had found in the stream, and took it out of his pocket to try it.

The key fit perfectly. The sound of the spring snapping open was exceptionally clear in the silent valley.

Inside the box were only a letter and two photos. The letter was yellowed and stained with tears. Du Siling carefully unfolded it and recognized her mother's handwriting:

Dear Linghua:

I can't go on like this. Watching my two children being used as guinea pigs, injected with those drugs every day... Si Ling had a fever again last night; the doctor said it's a genetic rejection reaction. They're going to transfer Xiao Bei to another facility, saying it will 'test the connection limits.' This is too cruel.

I decided to take the evidence to Du Zhiyuan.

He's the only policeman who could possibly help us. If you see this letter, it means I've failed. Please protect our children. Remember our promise.

Yuqing, forever filled with guilt

One of the two photos shows two babies holding hands in an incubator, while the other shows young Ling Hua and Ren Yuqing holding their respective sons, with the hillside and oak trees in the background.

Du Siling felt as if a boulder was pressing on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. Her mother hadn't participated in this experiment willingly. Like Ling Hua, she had been forced to become an accomplice.

"An agreement..." Han Beimo picked up the photo and examined it carefully. "What did they plan?"

Du Siling turned the envelope over and found a line of small print on the back: "If the worst happens, go to the place where we first met. The key is in the stream."

"The key in the stream..." Du Siling murmured, "The one we found. This means..."

"There's another time capsule." Han Beimo stood up. "Or something else."

They decided to risk traveling to the nearest town for supplies. As evening fell, the two, disguised, blended into a small town. Han Beimo bought food, water, and basic medicine with cash, and also "borrowed" a cell phone and a motorcycle.

"We can't stay here tonight," he whispered to Du Siling. "Yang Zhiming's men are definitely searching all the surrounding towns."

They rode their motorcycles deeper into the mountains. Du Siling sat on the back, his arms wrapped around Han Beimo's waist. Even through their clothes, he could feel the warmth of the other's skin and the tension in his muscles. That genetic connection made the simple touch incredibly intimate, as if their nervous systems had partially merged.

As night fell, they found an abandoned mine to take shelter. Han Beimo started a small fire, the firelight casting flickering shadows on his sharply defined face. Du Siling noticed the dark circles under his eyes and his slightly trembling fingers—the symptoms of energy depletion were becoming increasingly apparent.

"You need to rest," Du Siling said. "I'll keep watch."

Han Beimo shook his head: "None of us are safe. Yang Zhiming isn't an ordinary pursuer. He is..."

What is it?

"Experimental subjects just like us," Han Beimo's voice was barely audible, "only an earlier version."

Du Siling stared at him in shock: "How did you know?"

"When he grabbed my wrist... I felt the same connection. It was faint, but there it was." Han Beimo raised his hand, pointing to his lower back. "He had a mark here. Similar to mine, but more indistinct, like... a failed experiment."

This information stirred up Du Siling's thoughts. If Yang Zhiming was also an experiment subject, why was he hunting them down? Was it voluntary or forced?

Night deepened, and the two took turns resting. Du Siling was once again overwhelmed by Han Beimo's memories—this time, scenes from his younger days. A blurry woman (Ling Hua?) pushed a little boy into a wardrobe, whispering, "No matter what you hear, don't come out," followed by a man's roar and the sound of smashing things...

When he woke up, he found Han Beimo leaning over him, his golden eyes flashing with pain.

"I'm sorry," Han Beimo apologized, a rare occurrence for him. "I couldn't control these memories from overflowing."

Du Siling shook her head: "It's not your fault. We need to find a way to control this connection, otherwise..."

His words were interrupted by the sound of a distant engine. The two quickly extinguished the campfire and listened alertly. The sound of a motorcycle approached from afar and then stopped outside the mine.

"At least three," Han Beimo whispered. "Prepare for battle."

Du Siling gripped his pistol, sensing Han Beimo's tactical formation through that strange connection—he was responsible for the left flank, and Han Beimo for the right, using the narrow passages of the mine to create crossfire.

Footsteps approached, and the beam of a flashlight swept across the cave wall. Du Siling held his breath, his finger on the trigger. When the first dark figure appeared around the corner, he almost fired, but stopped at the last moment—it wasn't Yang Zhiming's man, but...

"Lin Yue?" Du Siling exclaimed in disbelief.

His former colleague, Lin Yue from the narcotics squad, stood at the cave entrance, raising her hands to indicate no harm: "Du Siling? Thank goodness you're still alive!"

Du Siling remained vigilant: "How did you find this place?"

"I hacked Yang Zhiming's communications channel." Lin Yue carefully walked forward. "The entire operation was irregular, and there's no official record. Chen Yan reported to the entire headquarters that you had defected to the '□' (organization/organization), but I don't believe it."

Han Beimo emerged from the shadows, his gun still pointed at Lin Yue: "Prove your identity."

Lin Yue pulled Du Siling's police badge from her pocket—the one she'd deliberately left at the safe house that day: "You said that if anything happened to you one day, there would be clues on the back of the badge. I found the chip, but I haven't had time to crack it yet."

Du Siling relaxed slightly. This was indeed a secret agreement between him and Lin Yue.

"What's the situation outside?" he asked.

"A nationwide warrant." Lin Yue's expression turned serious. "Not just you, but Han Beimo too. Chen Yan issued a kill order, but specifically emphasized capturing Han Beimo alive." She hesitated for a moment. "There are rumors... he has something the military urgently needs on him."

Han Beimo and Du Siling exchanged a glance. The RH-0 gene, or more accurately, a living sample of a carrier of the original gene.

"You shouldn't have come," Du Siling said. "It will drag you down with it."

Lin Yue shook her head: "Your father was kind to me. And..." She took a folder from her backpack, "I checked Yang Zhiming's background. The official records are false. He did participate in Project Azalea, but his designation was Gamma, ten years earlier than yours."

The photos in the document show a young Yang Zhiming standing among a group of people in white coats, with a mark faintly visible on his lower back: Γ-8903.

"A third-generation experimental subject," Han Beimo said in a low voice, "which is why his connectivity has deteriorated so much."

Lin Yue also brought food, clean clothes, and an encrypted phone: "That's all I can help with. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourselves."

Before leaving, she gave Du Siling a USB drive: "The contents of the chip. Be careful, some parts... are very strange."

After the motorcycle noise faded into the distance, Du Siling and Han Beimo immediately checked the contents of the USB drive. Besides the known experimental data, there was also an encrypted video. After entering the password "Azalea," the screen displayed meeting minutes of Chen Yan and a group of military personnel:

"Project Azalea Phase Two must continue," Chen Yan said to the camera. "The Alpha and Beta have reached their expected age, and their peak gene activity is approaching. If the in vivo isolation experiment is successful, we will obtain an unlimited supply of super-soldier serum..."

The video was dated three months ago—long before Du Siling began her undercover mission.

"So the entire undercover operation..." Du Siling's voice choked.

"It's all a ruse," Han Beimo sneered. "They need us to get close, activate your genes, and then... isolate you for research."

This truth struck Du Siling like a heavy blow to the chest. He was not only an experimental subject, but also a specimen destined to be dissected.

Night deepened, and rain began to fall outside the mine. Du Siling and Han Beimo sat against the wall, sharing the blanket Lin Yue had brought. Through that increasingly strong connection, Du Siling could sense Han Beimo's emotional fluctuations—anger, pain, and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

"If we were really designed as a 'twin system'..." Du Siling asked softly, "What would happen if we separated?"

Han Beimo remained silent for a long time before finally answering, "I don't know. But in nature, true twins... separation usually means death."

The sound of rain grew louder, masking their heavy breathing. In the dark mine, their hands unconsciously searched for each other, like two children huddled together in a storm.

The moment their fingertips touched, the blue patterns reappeared, illuminating their tired yet determined faces.

If I can be your light, I'd be willing to be a moth drawn to a flame.