Gu flipped through the documents in his hand, his fingertips tapping the edges of the paper lightly, his emotions fluctuating like the light outside the window.
On the document were a few photos of ordinary people, who looked like ordinary city dwellers.
Some people are in meetings wearing neat suits, some are sitting on the lawn in the park with their children, and some are standing on their balconies holding their cats with gentle smiles, and life is full of the breath of fireworks.
But Gu Man knew that these people were not "ordinary".
They are hypocrites.
The faker's disguise was almost perfect and impeccable.
Fake people are hidden in every corner of human society. They look just like ordinary people and their behavior is also very precise.
But there is still an unbridgeable gap between fake people and real humans.
A mother and daughter came to the clinic for help. The mother burst into tears and pointed at her 16-year-old daughter, saying that she had become "like a stranger" recently.
"She used to be shy, naughty, and would cry when she didn't do well on a test, but now, she doesn't shed a single tear. Everything is so cold and silent, like... like she's gone."
My mother's voice was trembling and her eyes were full of fear.
"Doctor, can you tell me what happened to her? Is this still my daughter?"
The girl sat aside, her eyes downcast, her movements cautious, as if trying to blend in with her mother's sorrow.
But the doctor could feel the utter coldness in her—she was indifferent to her mother's grief.
The girl just raised her head and gave the doctor a slightly stiff smile:
"I'm fine, Mom is just too sensitive."
In the cafe, a well-mannered young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses was chatting with a few friends.
Friends talked about the recent popular live broadcast and discussed excitedly how comics connect the modern world and the end of the world.
"Did you see her expression? She's so calm, so cool!"
A young girl said with a smile.
"It's cool, but isn't this a little too much?"
The other shook his head.
"The future? The end of the world? It's like a science fiction movie. I think it's just marketing."
"Then how do you explain the aliens and those mechas?" someone retorted.
Everyone was arguing and had different emotions, but only the fake young man maintained a perfect mechanical smile.
There was no flicker in his smile, and his eyes were not even focused, as if he didn't care what they were saying and was just performing a performance.
Hypocrites can fake expressions, but they have no real emotions.
Everything about the fake person seems like a carefully written program.
Their family members are often the first to notice something unusual.
A lost man, holding a photo of his wife, sat across from his friend with a tired look on his face:
"She said she still loved me, but I could feel...she was no longer herself."
"She doesn't even remember what I like to eat,"
He lowered his head and murmured,
"After 10 years of marriage, she used to know how to cook every meal, but now...she only asks me 'what nutrients do I need' and then does it meticulously. That's not her."
The hypocrisy of hypocrites is cold, and their love is mechanical.
They can copy human habits, but they can never copy a true soul.
…
But even if they feel that the people around them have changed, they can't consider that they are no longer their relatives...
I just think they just suffered some setbacks.
These fake people also go online from time to time, where they wantonly vent negative emotions and make inhumane and valueless remarks!
They were also the ones who attacked Gu Man the most, accusing her of using the end of the world as a gimmick to squander money.
They even formed an alliance and carried out activities secretly on the Internet...
There are actually quite a few people following them.
On the document, a forger named Zhou Jianhua caught Gu Man's attention.
He is a human resources director, has a loving wife and filial children, and his circle of friends is full of happy family photos:
A family of three went on a trip to the beach, a couple toasted at a dinner party, and the laughter at their son’s birthday party…
Everything seemed flawless. Even Gu Man couldn't help but marvel at the clever disguise when he first read the information.
But supernatural powers don't lie.
Zhou Jianhua's mental fluctuations are deadly.
His energy did not have the rhythm of a human being; it was only cold and silent, like a dead object.
What made Gu Man even more uneasy was that his mental fluctuations were almost identical to those of the golden planet.
Gu Man decided to confirm Zhou Jianhua's true identity in person.
At midnight, she stood on the rooftop of a high-rise building opposite the Grand Court Building, the cold wind blowing her hair.
Her eyes passed over the city lights and fixed on the window of Room 1801.
Her ability has enveloped the entire building, and the tracking signal on the dial is crystal clear.
The red dot was Zhou Jianhua's location - cold and dazzling, like a thorn on her fingertips.
Gu Man took a light leap, and his figure landed silently on the balcony of the Haoting Building like a phantom.
The night was her best cover, with only the faint sound of wind accompanying her.
The curtains of Room 1801 were drawn, but it was eerily quiet inside.
Zhou Jianhua was sitting on a chair in the study, the laptop screen in front of him flashing with complex data.
He was motionless, as if frozen, his fingers resting on the keyboard, as if waiting for some instruction.
Gu Man stood outside the window, his eyes fixed on his back, his mental power silently seeping in through the cracks in the window and extending towards his consciousness.
The moment her mental power touched him, Zhou Jianhua suddenly turned his head, and his grey eyes stared at her emotionlessly.
Gu Man's pupils shrank slightly——
Those are not human eyes.
The corners of Zhou Jianhua's mouth slowly curled up, revealing a strange arc.
He stood up, his body movements were precise and smooth, but without any trace of soul.
"Dr. Gu Man, a superpower." His voice was low and cold, like an echo from metal.
Gu Man did not answer, but leaped forward, smashing the glass and breaking into the window.
Shards of glass flew in the air, making crisp sounds.
"What on earth are you?"
She asked coldly, her mental power quickly pouring into his consciousness.
But her mental power hit a barrier - a complex defensive energy.
Zhou Jianhua's consciousness is not like a human emotional network, but more like a set of programs, layered on top of each other and as solid as a rock.
Zhou Jianhua sneered, his body moved suddenly, his arm turned into a sharp metal blade, and stabbed straight at Gu Man!
Gu Man snorted coldly, and with his backhand, he created a mental barrier to force back his metal blade.
At the same time, she stepped forward and rushed towards him like lightning, hitting him directly in the chest.
"Bang!"
Zhou Jianhua's body was knocked flying and hit the wall.
His chest caved in, but it repaired itself in a matter of seconds, like some inorganic process.
"It seems that you have discovered some truths."
His voice was still cold, and a strange light flashed in his gray pupils.
Gu Man didn't say much. The mental power in his hand turned into an invisible whip and lashed directly at his head.
This time, Zhou Jianhua's body began to twist, as if the data was disordered.
He opened his mouth, revealing a weird and sinister smile, and then his entire body suddenly turned into a pool of black liquid, slowly seeping into the floor and disappearing without a trace.
Gu Man stood in the middle of the room, staring coldly at the blank space on the floor, his expression not relaxing at all.
"Hypocrite, golden planet..."
She murmured, her eyes falling on the laptop on the table.
The screen displayed a series of complex data, which seemed to be recording some kind of signals and instructions.
She put away her computer, looking serious.
Then she called Song Lanpu.
Soon, Song Zhengyi drove over and took her to the Song family mansion.