Chapter 26 In the Name of Xiang Beichen (Part 1)
Xiang Zhiyan was born into the shady underground organization "Red Cliff." Back then, she had no name, only a codename: 19707.
On the surface, "Red Cliff" is a pharmaceutical company called "Skainlet", which is well-known overseas for its effective and low-priced drugs. However, it secretly sells all kinds of banned and terrible drugs to make money, and at the same time, it constantly conducts all kinds of bizarre human experiments - a complete hell on earth.
The entire organization operates under strict regulations and rules for unknown reasons, with only one ultimate goal - to create various baby girls through in vitro embryo culture, and to conduct a crucial test when they turn 5 years old - to test whether they are "qualified".
When Xiang Zhiyan and the other girls born in the same batch were undergoing the test, they saw an elderly woman holding out her hand. From her palm, a small black square slowly emerged. When the other girls approached the square, they experienced strange symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. Only she felt nothing—and so, while the others were "disqualified," she became "qualified," saving her life.
Then, the old woman said she was a "fake shell".
The so-called "pseudo-shell" naturally means a fake body - only people with a certain special physique can serve as a container for the small black cube to stay in their body.
And that small black square is the "Pandora's Box".
I learned from the old woman that Pandora's Box cannot function without the human body, so the container must be constantly changed - the "qualified person" - in order for it to continue to maintain its function.
Those who are "qualified" and who successfully contain Pandora's Box within their bodies are called "pseudo-shells".
Why are they called "fake" shells? Of course, even if they contain Pandora's Box, they are not the true owners of Pandora's Box. Instead, they are used as substitutes, and when the miko is not present, they take over the Pandora's Box.
The old woman was just such a substitute, and Xiang Zhiyan was told that she was a candidate for the witch.
──What is a shrine maiden?
It is a supreme being that is about to descend into another world, carry out the will of the true God, and eliminate all the sins of that world.
──What is the true God?
He is an absolute being with golden eyes who can destroy the world with a snap of his fingers. The witch is his messenger, responsible for conveying his wishes.
──What is the difference between a miko and a pseudo-shell?
Pandora's Box is only in a "survival" state inside the pseudo-shell, but it can "wake up" when it gets close to the witch.
──What does a shrine maiden need to do?
It is both destruction and rebirth, a sacred historical guide that marks the end of one era but opens the curtain for another.
──Why do you do this?
This is the will of the true God.
──Where did Pandora's Box come from and what is it?
It is a holy object brought by the true God. It can use the power given by the true God.
──What is the “Red Cliff”?
"Red Cliff" is the eyes and hands of the true God in this world, and all dedications are for the wishes of the true God.
──Why did the shrine maiden appear only now?
Because the true God said that there needs to be a buffer of 10,000 years between each change of era, and now the 10,000 years are almost here, so the true God gave us the witch among the many "seedling beds" we prepared.
──Is that me?
Yes.
What will you gain by believing in the true God?
Gain the right to go to the real "Paradise" and enjoy true peace and happiness.
So, Xiang Zhiyan, who was ignorant, accepted Pandora's Box. As she grew up and became more sensible, she had repeated conversations with the old woman and gradually understood the whole story.
At the age of 13, she learned that this underground organization, which possessed scientific and technological capabilities unimaginable to the outside world, was actually a religion.
She didn't know what the true God was. Although she was called the messenger of the true God, she had never seen the so-called true God. She only knew that one day in the future, she would be thrown into another world by the true God and then kill everyone in that world.
Xiang Zhiyan was very smart. As an experimental subject, her brain development was enhanced, and she could basically learn anything at once. She received the most professional and concentrated education in the organization, and quickly completed the basic courses from elementary school to university. After that, the teachers began to brainwash her and instill anti-human emotions in her. They brought out countless examples of crimes committed by humans, and guided her indirectly from various angles. Without any contact with the outside world, she, who had only a vague understanding of the human race, even felt that humans really needed to be purged, leaving only the good ones and killing all the bad ones.
The plan to create a ruthless historical beacon is progressing steadily, but the action of cultivating baby girls has not stopped - because no one can guarantee how long Xiang Zhiyan, the experimental subject, can live, and it is necessary to create several more replacements who can become witches.
Xiang Zhiyan was gradually brainwashed and became more and more ruthless. However, one day, her outlook on life was completely shattered by the outside world.
The underground experimental base was attacked, and the attackers turned out to be a group of local mafia members.
Because the experimental base was located in a secret place, no one thought that anyone would attack it. So although there were armed defense forces, they were far less aggressive than the other side, which had everything from real guns and bullets to iron rods and machetes. A group of literary researchers encountered desperate gangsters, and the decisive difference in momentum allowed the other side to win all the way and even kill their way to the innermost part.
Thus, Xiang Zhiyan, the most important witch who was closely protected by the base, and Zhao Yuan, the local gang boss, met each other.
Xiang Zhiyan scoffed at this group of people wandering on the fringes of society, but Zhao Yuan snorted coldly and retorted, "Pharmaceutical companies have given the government astronomical sums of money, and no one can touch them through legitimate means, so let them rob each other." Even the underworld, at its worst, only preys on the self-depraved. Meanwhile, the psychedelic stimulants, memory-controlling drugs, and hypnotic drugs secretly produced by pharmaceutical companies have also affected innocent people. It's precisely because several of their fellow gang members have been harmed by these drugs that they've become so frustrated that they're coming here to vent their anger.
So Xiang Zhiyan brought out her anti-human remarks and pressed the issue, but was rebuked one by one by the short-sighted warrior in her eyes.
Smart people are unlikely to be too stubborn because they are used to doubting.
After being refuted several times, Xiang Zhiyan became confused and began to use a questioning tone, asking Zhao Yuan a lot of questions - but the other party became annoyed and shut her up with a sentence "If you want to know so much, why don't you go out and see for yourself?"
It was at this time that the follow-up armed forces of the base arrived. The thugs, who had caused enough damage, decided to stop and withdrew with Zhao Yuan. However, Zhao Yuan's words, like seeds, were deeply planted in Xiang Zhiyan's heart.
She began to bypass the base's surveillance, log on to the Internet through a proxy program she compiled, and observe the world with her own eyes - then she discovered that what she had seen before was only a tiny fraction of this world.
Human beings have committed countless heinous crimes, but they have also done many touching good deeds. They will fight openly and secretly with others to make more money and get hurt, they will also give up their lives to protect their children, they will drag a group of innocent people to commit suicide when they are dissatisfied with the environment, and they will also spend a lot of money to save teenagers with terminal illnesses. Among them are hunters who kill endangered animals with no expression on their faces, and there are philanthropists who selflessly use their own money to shelter stray animals.
This is an extremely complex race that absolutely cannot be summarized with simple words - how can we simply eradicate them with the word "purge"?
Interesting, really interesting.
Individual differences are so huge, the data are so surprisingly different, and everyone has different ideas in their heads, but they are still organized and arranged according to certain rules in the huge social system and various moral and cultural baselines, and carry out their own life activities, forming various groups in an orderly manner.
Not to mention that you can figure out anything in a day or two, perhaps even if you study it for a lifetime, you won’t be able to make any absolute identification.
Disgust gradually turned into a surge of curiosity. From then on, the brainwashing in the base became ridiculous and empty in Xiang Zhiyan's eyes, and could no longer stand up to scrutiny. However, she did not show it. Instead, she quietly prepared for her escape day after day in the dead of night.
At the age of twenty, she succeeded.
She embedded a complex layer of Trojans into the base's defense system and set the time for it to start automatically. Then, at a certain moment, all the defenses of the entire base - infrared, magnetic field scanning, electronic doors - failed one after another. In the end, even the power supply was cut off. In such chaos, Xiang Zhiyan successfully escaped to the outside world with Pandora's Box and blended into the crowd.
After coming out into the world, she did not rush to start enjoying real life. Instead, she took the large sum of money she earned from working online and went to the largest hospital in the city to have herself sterilized.
──Yes, in all her years of secret research, she discovered that if a part of the human body's organs began to lose their effectiveness, Pandora's Box would not be able to function properly, causing the body's organs to fail. Sterilization was a more harmless method, and it was also a better method for her as a test subject.
She is an experimental subject obtained through genetic mutation, and the genetic factors of an ordinary human male are mixed together. The resulting child is likely to be a monster.
Becoming an "incomplete" human, Pandora's Box's activity within her gradually faded, eventually falling into a quiet dormant state. Xiang Zhiyan knew this symbolized her transformation from a "witch" to a "false shell." From now on, even if she wanted to destroy it, Pandora's Box would probably ignore her.
That’s great—Xiang Zhiyan sneered in her heart—you have kept me in captivity for twenty years in order to make me a tool to satisfy your religious wishes, but you didn’t expect that the tool would bite you back, did you?
She didn't want to lead history at all. Even if a hundred great men joined together, they might not be able to do it best. Why should it be thrown to her alone?
So in the end, she threw aside the mission she had been carrying without hesitation.
"I see."
Seeing this, Xiang Ying sighed.
"No wonder the time of the Great Disaster is different from the rumors—perhaps because the selection of the priestess was delayed. So, it seems the most accurate statement is that this Great Disaster was delayed by over sixty years compared to the one ten thousand years ago."
Zephyr and Yagad nodded silently and turned their attention back to the screen.
'Afterwards, Xiang Zhiyan met Zhao Yuan again by chance.
Because she had no identity or household registration and had to constantly avoid being hunted by "Red Cliff", she finally chose to take root in the underground streets where illegal forces were entrenched and work in a hacker group. One time, she received a big order, and the client happened to be Zhao Yuan.
When they met again, Zhao Yuan was surprised to see that Xiang Zhiyan had changed so much and asked her the reason.
The two immediately engaged in a long conversation, becoming increasingly familiar with each other. Xiang Zhiyan was grateful to Zhao Yuan for transforming her, while Zhao Yuan admired her courage and intelligence. From then on, Xiang Zhiyan became Zhao Yuan's exclusive hacker, contributing significantly to his intelligence war against rival organizations.
During the days that the two people were in contact, their feelings for each other gradually grew stronger through little things, and finally they fell in love.
But as a gangster, Zhao Yuan could not give Xiang Zhiyan a normal family, and as an experimental subject, Xiang Zhiyan could not give birth to a normal child for him, so the two of them just maintained an ambiguous relationship, living together but never mentioning marriage - because they both had no future.
The days that followed were peaceful and happy. Aside from the need to frequently relocate to avoid Red Cliff's searches and the constant risk of Zhao Yuan falling into perilous situations from which he could never return, Xiang Zhiyan lived a fulfilling and comfortable life. Despite being trapped in the shadowy underworld, she genuinely fell in love with this complex, dangerous, and filthy—but also, for that very reason, fascinating—world.
Therefore, she was thankful more than once that she had given up her duties as a miko.
And she had always believed this. When she was 25, a man came to her residence. Upon seeing him, Xiang Zhiyan was surprised and called him "True God"──
"Damn it! Why is that person's face blurred?!"
Xifeng clicked his tongue loudly in anger - on the screen, all other images were clear, but the man's upper body was blurred out because he seemed to have black hair and was wearing black clothes. It was not even clear whether his hair was long or short.
"But, since Ms. Xiang Zhiyan calls him the 'True God'... according to the description within the 'Red Cliff' organization, he has golden eyes, right? Then he should be a Star Vein Seed, right?" Xiang Ying murmured.
"It's a black-haired male Star Vein."
Yagad added a sentence - and then the three men immediately fell silent. They all thought of Xiaxue at the same time.
The images on the screen continued to play, but it was obvious that the person who invaded Chita's database and erased part of the truth was very cautious. Not only the man's face, but also his voice was processed.
"That person told Xiang Zhiyan that he was the founder of "Red Cliff". Although a few of his confidants would come to check on the management regularly, he himself only visited once every few decades, which led to some deviations in the organization's operation and a slight distortion of its purpose. He also apologized to Xiang Zhiyan.
He told her that the creation of "Red Cliff" was actually over a thousand years old. This organization had been operating since the heyday of the Northern Song Dynasty. Generation after generation of "pseudo-shells" were constantly being sought out and trained in order to keep Pandora's Box alive and functioning properly.
He also told her that the technology within the organization was far superior to that of the outside world because he brought better technology from other worlds, but he only wanted to protect Pandora's Box safely, rather than using this technology to change the world - so now he came forward and ended the existence of this organization on his own - from then on, she no longer had to worry about being hunted down.
Pandora's Box was not called that name at first. Its real name was the Red Box.
It was he who changed the name to Pandora's Box after learning about the myths and legends of this world. The meaning implied by this name was exactly why he came to her at this moment.
The box contains the source of all disasters and misfortunes, but at the very bottom, it also holds the last glimmer of hope.
He said that with the presence of the Red Moon Priestess, at least a small number of people in the other world would be able to survive and enter a new era. But if there were no Priestess, then the end that awaited that world would be complete destruction.
──Xiang Zhiyan’s escaping behavior will become the culprit for destroying a world.
Then the man left behind a strange long knife and left.
According to the man, in the other world, the shrine maiden will become an invincible strongman, and this sword is a weapon that can suppress the shrine maiden's power or even kill her. If you are afraid that the shrine maiden's power will get out of control and exceed the scope of her mission, you can use this weapon to restrain her. If you feel too painful to live afterwards, you can also use it to end your life - but what must be done cannot be avoided.
From then on, Xiang Zhiyan had a new mission - to select the next candidate for the shrine maiden from among millions of living beings, and train her to become a girl who can shoulder the mission of the shrine maiden, send Pandora's Box into her body, and then let her fulfill the duty that Xiang Zhiyan escaped - to destroy an era.
The man left, and Xiang Zhiyan fell into struggle and regret, holding the long knife left by the man.
If she had known in the past that an innocent girl would complete her mission in her place, would she still have given up the mission without hesitation?
Yes, she escaped, and she could be spared the guilt of slaughtering hundreds of millions of people, but because of this, a girl had to take her place and become a killer with blood on her hands.
She could no longer deceive herself and take it for granted that she was this fake shell.
Just when Xiang Zhiyan suffered such a severe blow, Zhao Yuan's situation became increasingly worse.
Forced by life, Zhao Yuan gradually entered the underworld, a quagmire that's difficult to escape. Brave and ruthless, yet also loyal and righteous, his thugs, marginalized individuals discarded by the rest of society and looked down upon, found their purpose in him and were willing to risk their lives for him.
They live in a dark and bloody world that ordinary people cannot imagine. They will engage in large-scale armed fights in deserted alleys, smuggle guns and manufacture banned weapons in order to compete for territory and power distribution. They run chess and card halls and nightclubs, and use them as bases to expand their power. They even deal with government officials through the powerful socialites they have cultivated, and snatch the construction contracting rights of a piece of land to make money.
But they will never persuade young people who become interested in the underworld because of rebelliousness to join. In their eyes, those are just children who have temporarily gone astray in the fog of life and are seeking excitement. There is a bright and correct path waiting for them in the future. If those children step into this dark territory on their own, they will definitely regret it ten years later.
They also won't attack the family members of core members of opposing factions, much less call the police to weaken their power—for they consider this an "evil path," a self-humiliation that denies their own abilities. Furthermore, they rarely interfere with the normal lives of ordinary people. Molesting women, robbery, extortion, fraud, and other such hooligan behaviors are unavoidable within the gang's ranks, but as a leader, Zhao Yuan absolutely cannot tolerate such corrupting and infuriating behavior, and will punish them severely if discovered.
──The underworld decades ago had a bloodiness and morality that today's underworld people cannot imagine.
But no matter how hard Zhao Yuan tried to maintain his bottom line and principles in this dark world, a quagmire is still a quagmire and will always attract mosquitoes and flies.
The princelings, composed of children of high-ranking officials, had only heard of Zhao Yuan's legendary black figure who could call the shots, but could not imagine the helplessness and bitterness behind it. Young and ignorant, they pursued excitement, violence and showed off their abilities. With a lot of money and spoiled by their arrogance, they squeezed into Zhao Yuan's camp - because most of their parents held the title of powerful officials, Zhao Yuan could not refuse them for the safety of his brothers. Although they did get a lot of money, some good businesses and some good rented land, they could only watch their own organization sow the seeds of disaster.
After entering the underworld, those princelings immediately felt that they were black characters wandering on the fringe, as if they were afraid that others would not know that they were members of Zhao Yuan's faction. They were contrary to the usual low-key and cautious behavior of gang members, and caused trouble wherever they went. They even went to the territory of the enemy faction and shouted childish remarks like "Zhao Yuan has us surnamed X to protect you, so just wash your necks and wait for death". Not only did they cause a large-scale street fight by smashing several bars of the enemy, but they also killed people because of their excessive excitement, which put Zhao Yuan in a dilemma.
The hostile organization asked him to hand over the people in exchange for their lives, but the troublemakers were too powerful to be handed over just like that. In the end, Zhao Yuan took out a large sum of money and used both soft and hard tactics to settle the matter.
What Zhao Yuan didn't know was that Xiang Zhiyan contributed to the successful settlement of this matter.
Xiang Zhiyan possessed the strange long sword left to her by the "True God." This sword couldn't injure anyone, but it could destroy their will. The wielder could even interfere with the consciousness of the person struck. So, she infiltrated a nightclub belonging to a hostile faction and used the sword to interfere with the consciousness of a high-ranking official. She engaged him in a spiritual conversation, successfully persuading him to reluctantly withdraw his investigation.
The incident was resolved, but the pent-up resentment still lingered. As an underground gang, the most intolerable thing was to see their brothers killed and the perpetrators still at large.
Seeing that Zhao Yuan still protected them even though someone had died, those princelings became even more lawless and used the underworld as a cover to do all their evil deeds. Gradually, even Zhao Yuan could not discipline them, and their domineering style gradually made the atmosphere in the underworld a mess.
When one person does something that others didn't dare to do before, a second person will be unable to suppress his inner desire and learn to do it, taking "XX did it anyway" as psychological comfort. Then there will be a third and a fourth person - slowly, many people forget what principles are, what righteousness is, and where the bottom line is. Infected by this increasingly chaotic environment, they become the kind of people they used to despise the most - hooligans with no sense of right and wrong.
There were more and more minor frictions, the relations between the gangs became more and more chaotic, and the dividing lines of power became more and more blurred. Zhao Yuan was willing but unable to do anything. He was busy all day trying to protect the brothers who were guarding the gang with their blood - and the other side's calls for dealing with those princelings were getting louder and louder.
Finally, when Xiang Zhiyan was nearly 40 years old, the conflict finally broke out on a large scale.
The children of high-ranking officials weren't just those under Zhao Yuan's command; there were also some in the enemy organization. Unfortunately, they were luckier than Zhao Yuan, and they were much more low-key than those here. Since someone was so arrogant and domineering, there would be others who couldn't stand it and would stand up to enforce discipline and maintain the reputation of those in the circle.
The story was simple. One of the sons of a high-ranking official in the opposing organization—he was incredibly tough, concealing his identity and mixing with the underworld. He was actually laying the foundation for his own connections in both the black and white worlds. So, he had been holding back during this chaotic situation, not jumping out to challenge the other side. But in the end, he was still a young man after all, and the passion hidden in his bones finally made him unable to endure it.
As the son of the deputy mayor, he just went back and cried to his father:
"One of my best brothers was killed by Zhao Yuan's people."
So in a private meeting with high-level officials, the deputy mayor also complained with a sad face, saying that the underworld has been going a bit too far recently and that if it continues, it will become increasingly difficult for us to do our job and so on... Finally, a document was issued, severely punishing the underground gang organization headed by Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan did not escape after hearing the news.
But he transferred all the funds to his brothers' accounts and arranged for Xiang Zhiyan to live elsewhere.
The last time Xiang Zhiyan met him was in his new residence. Before leaving, he gave Xiang Zhiyan a swaddle containing a baby girl. In the swaddle was a piece of paper with the baby girl's birth date written on it.
This was the daughter of his most trusted brother, Xiang Qingxiao, who had been sentenced to prison the previous year for severely injuring more than a dozen people in a melee and then accidentally died in prison due to a frame-up. His pregnant wife, weakened by depression and overwork, passed away unwillingly shortly after giving birth to the baby girl, before she could even name her.
Zhao Yuan said that he felt most sorry for this family of three, so he wanted to protect his brother's daughter who was still alive at all costs.
Xiang Zhiyan was stunned when she took the swaddling clothes - she clearly felt that Pandora's Box was slowly becoming active inside her body.
She had been searching for more than ten years but had not found any qualified candidates. There was only one woman who could become a shrine maiden, but she was older than Xiang Zhiyan and probably could not shoulder the burden of being a shrine maiden, so Xiang Zhiyan had not chosen the next shrine maiden - but unexpectedly, this time, the shrine maiden candidate actually came to her on her own initiative.
Is it really something that is destined?
This baby girl, whose father was covered in blood and died unjustly in prison, has to become the murderer of thousands of lives?
"Xiao Qi," Zhao Yuan called Xiang Zhiyan by her nickname (derived from the last digit of her code name). "I used the last of my connections to get you an ID. You should thank me very much. Now you are Xiang Qingxiao's younger sister, Xiang Zhiyan. From now on, stay out of the way of things from 'over there.' Just be a normal woman and raise this little monkey."
Xiang Zhiyan nodded silently.
"I'm sorry, I've wasted more than ten years of your life, but I won't regret it. When I was alive, I naturally held on to the woman I loved. Now I'm going to die, so you don't have to be so stubborn anymore. Find a down-to-earth man to marry. With your assets, even if you can't have children, there will be good people who want you."
"Are you my father? Why do you care so much?"
Xiang Zhiyan just replied quietly.
"Don't seek revenge, be happy."
“…”
The two looked at each other quietly for a while. Finally, Zhao Yuan coughed awkwardly and leaned forward to kiss Xiang Zhiyan on the forehead. He has always been the straightforward type who wants to throw people directly onto the bed. Asking him to do some disgusting actions and say some disgusting words is really too difficult for him.
Finally, the man, who was nearly fifty years old, took a few steps back and smiled.
"Actually, I don't like you at all, so take this little bastard and get away from me. The farther the better, understand?"
"Yeah...actually I hate you the most."
The man straightened his back and walked towards the door. Xiang Zhiyan held the baby girl who was sleeping quietly in her arms and watched him leave without saying a word. When he reached the door, the man looked back for the last time.
"What's this little thing's name? Can you tell me the name while I still have a little time?"
“…”
Xiang Zhiyan looked at the child in her arms, pondered for dozens of seconds, and finally looked up and spoke with a faint smile.
"Her name is...Xiang Beichen."
"Xiang Beichen...Xiang Beichen. Yeah, not bad, it reads smoothly."
Zhao Yuan, who didn't quite understand the literal meaning, nodded in satisfaction, then closed the door and left as if he was going out to buy groceries.
It was not until the door was locked that the tears swirling in Xiang Zhiyan's eyes broke free from her control and slid down her face.
A month later, Zhao Yuan was executed. Xiang Zhiyan retrieved his ashes through various connections and buried him in a cemetery.
She held Xiang Beichen, who was nearly two months old and waving his hands excitedly in her arms, and stood in front of Zhao Yuan. She bent down and placed a cosmos flower.
Then she sighed softly and looked at the young life in her arms.
This child was one of the things that the man she loved most was most worried about before he left, so if possible, she didn't want her to become a witch.
She would continue to search through the vast sea of people for other women who could hold Pandora's Box. Since she had encountered one before, there would surely be more in the future. She would keep searching until her death.
"Your name is Xiang Beichen."
She spoke in a gentle voice.
Beichen, Beichen, may your body escape the filthy mire and shake off your father's regrets. May your heart shine brightly and steadfastly like the North Star, guiding us even in the pitch-black night sky. May you soar freely in the sky, mastering your own destiny no matter what malice or perilous predicament you encounter.
Even if you are the only citizen, you must become a free and happy king.
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