Chapter 101 Sparks in the Embers
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The study was dead silent, with only Huo Shen's heavy and suppressed breathing, like a trapped beast.
He leaned against the bookshelf, as if all his strength and support had been drained away, staring blankly into the void. There was no longer any sharpness in his eyes that controlled everything, only debris and ashes crushed by the truth.
Su Yan stood at the desk, the wound on his lip aching slightly, the taste of blood filling his mouth. He didn't leave, nor did he move forward. At this moment, Huo Shen was like a volcano ready to collapse at any moment, any slight touch could trigger a devastating eruption.
Time flows slowly in silence, the sky outside the window gradually changes from inky black to deep blue, and dawn is about to come.
Finally, Huo Shen moved. Slowly, with great difficulty, he stood up straight. He didn't look at Su Yan, his gaze fixed on the screen that still displayed the waveform of Xiao's final stream of consciousness. The curve representing Xiao's final agony was like a permanent scar, engraved on his retina.
He reached out his hand and turned off the screen with a somewhat stiff movement.
It seems that this can temporarily dispel the cruel scene from my eyes.
Then, he turned around and faced Su Yan. His face was still pale, and the bloodshot in his eyes had not yet faded, but the frenzy that had brought him to the brink of collapse had disappeared, replaced by a deep fatigue that could be seen on the bone, and a kind of silence that seemed to have aged him several years in an instant.
"You..." Huo Shen started, his voice very hoarse. He paused, as if gathering his strength and reorganizing his words, "...very well done."
The words were dry and difficult, but they were no longer a recognition of "value utilization". Instead, they were more like a clumsy acknowledgment of a companion who had crossed a terrible abyss together.
Su Yan was slightly stunned and looked at him.
Huo Shen avoided his gaze and walked towards the liquor cabinet. This time, instead of using a glass, he directly picked up the bottle of whiskey, which was still mostly empty, and took a few gulps. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, causing him to frown, but it also seemed to bring a hint of false warmth and calmness.
"There's more than one person behind Zhou Mingchen." Huo Shen put down the bottle, his voice low and chilling. "To conduct this level of consciousness experiment, the resources and connections required are far beyond his capabilities."
He began to think, forcibly stripping away his rationality from the extreme emotional ruins, and transforming himself back into the mastermind Huo Shen. However, this time, his eyes were filled with too much indelible pain and murderous intent.
"What Ah Xiao left behind is evidence, and also... clues pointing to the other participants." Huo Shen's gaze finally fell on Su Yan again. His eyes were complex and difficult to decipher, showing lingering pain, cold determination, and a hint of... a dependence on Su Yan that he himself hadn't even noticed. "We need to analyze it and find everyone involved."
He was talking about "we".
Su Yan heard the word clearly. It was no longer an order, but an invitation, a bondage.
"I know," Su Yan replied calmly. He walked over to the computer and re-opened the data interface, avoiding the most glaring record and calmly analyzing the metadata and related information of other consciousness fragments. "These consciousness records are marked with different environmental tags and experimental numbers. Tracing the source and permission chain of these numbers should lead to a breakthrough."
His voice was steady, his movements focused, as if the storm had never happened. Only the tiny wound on his lip betrayed the recent intensity.
Huo Shen looked at his silhouette as he quickly entered the working state, and looked at his pale but determined face. In the cold ruins in his heart, something seemed to move slightly.
This young man, no, this soul from another world. He had witnessed his most unbearable and embarrassing moments, endured his own anger and violence, yet he didn't flee, didn't mock him. Instead, at this moment, with an almost cold composure, he pulled him back to reality from the quagmire of emotions and stood shoulder to shoulder with him on this cruel battlefield.
He unknowingly became the only real piece of driftwood he could hold on to in this darkness and pain.
Huo Shen walked to Su Yan, not getting too close, just silently watching the data flow on the screen. He didn't say anything, but his presence itself was no longer just pressure, but more like a silent support.
The estrangement between the two people caused by fierce conflicts and shared secrets seemed to be quietly broken and reshaped in a more complex and indescribable emotion.
When the first rays of dawn shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows into the messy study, Su Yan finally found a key, encrypted access point to the permission log backtrace.
He raised his head and looked at Huo Shen who was standing at the intersection of light and shadow.
"We've found a clue that may point to internal abuse of authority and cross-departmental collaboration." Su Yan's voice was a little tired, but his eyes were clear. "We need to use the underlying security audit logs from three years ago for cross-verification."
Huo Shen met his gaze and nodded. The sunlight fell on him, but it seemed unable to reach his eyes, which were filled with so much darkness.
"I'll give you the authority. If you need anyone's cooperation, just tell Chen Mo directly." His voice was still hoarse, but he had regained his usual decisiveness. "After daybreak, I will deal with Zhou Ming's remaining forces and clear the way."
He paused, his gaze falling on the tiny wound on Su Yan's lip that had already solidified, and his eyes dimmed slightly.
"You..." He seemed to want to say something, but in the end he just changed the subject abruptly, "Go and rest for a few hours. You'll need a clear head for what's coming next."
This isn't care, it's more like maintenance of a valuable asset.
But Su Yan heard a hint of clumsy relaxation that was different from the past.
He didn't refute, nodded, saved his work progress, got up and left the study.
Huo Shen remained alone in his study, the sunlight gradually dispelling the darkness. He walked to the window and looked out at the city gradually waking up below. His gaze seemed to penetrate time and space, and he saw the glint in Ah Xiao's eyes as he smiled and discussed the concept of "Prometheus" with him on that same sunny morning three years ago.
The pain surged over him again like a tide, but this time, he didn't let himself wallow in it.
He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms.
Hatred and purpose, like cold armor, covered the softness and wounds in his heart.
And the young man who shared his deepest secrets and pain became the only warm and complex bond under this armor.
The embers have not yet cooled, but new sparks are quietly brewing in the ashes.
But no one knows whether this spark will eventually illuminate the path to salvation or ignite greater destruction.
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