After receiving the money, Lin Weiwei contacted the seller and arranged to complete the transaction at 3 p.m. The next morning, she flew to Hasr, an island nation where people make a living by fishing and engage in cross-border and cross-regional trade. They live in cities on the water, where the wind blows and waves crash against the walls of their houses.
She stood in the Modern Square in H City. The rising sun cast its glow on the eaves. Several pigeons foraged for food in the square. An old man played the violin and performed for money. There were many people coming and going, but she couldn't see any traders with a white rose tucked into their breasts.
That's true, it's not trading time yet, so let's have a hot soup in the coffee shop to warm our stomachs.
"That old scoundrel Dabulu keeps raising drug prices every day, making it impossible for any of us in the industry to survive."
"There's nothing we can do about it. Only he can develop the drug that causes Golmud's disease. He has many enemies and he'll be killed sooner or later. Don't worry."
"Yeah, that guy always makes things difficult for buyers anyway."
Lin Weiwei remained silent, carrying two large black suitcases containing fifty million yuan in cash, with another ten million yuan kept in her bank account as a precaution. It seemed this seller had no integrity and frequently attracted dangerous situations; no wonder she was so secretive, and it took real audacity to conduct a transaction in broad daylight. Lin Weiwei took a sip of the black, hot soup and immediately spat it out.
"Whose soup is so bitter?"
The people at the next table laughed at her, calling her a country bumpkin. Seeing this, the manager walked over to Lin Weiwei, picked up her teacup, and sniffed the rim. "What else would a coffee shop sell if not bitter coffee? If you want soup, go to the restaurant."
There aren't any restaurants around here; it's mostly pizza shops, clothing stores, and this one hot drink shop, which is extremely bitter and has terrible service. Lin Weiwei got up, put a white rose tucked into the brim of her hat on the table, and carried her suitcase towards the door. She accidentally bumped into a little boy, who was also holding a white rose. He gave her an innocent smile and offered her the rose.
"Sister, you have lots of white roses at home. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
Lin Weiwei looked around, but among the passing people, she couldn't find the seller with the white rose tucked in his breast. Could the seller be this little boy? After hesitating for a moment, she checked the time—it was one o'clock. The seller might have arrived two hours earlier, so she accepted the boy's invitation and followed him. They passed through alleys of varying sizes, the alleys becoming narrower with each step, until finally they saw a dilapidated church. The little boy knocked, and the door opened automatically. The moment the door opened, a pungent smell of dead fish and rotten shrimp filled the air. Inside, she saw many workers busily feeding materials into machinery and packaging materials. No one paid her any attention. Before the statue stood an old man with a cane, a white rose tucked in his breast.
"Hello, Miss. Li Yao specifically instructed me to treat you well. Please come with me."
It turned out that Li Yao knew she would arrive early. He knew her too well; she never procrastinated and always acted decisively, so he notified the seller to come and pick her up well in advance.
Entering a packaging room, he sat in a rocking chair, a pipe dangling from his lips. "Just give me three million. We're only producing semi-finished products right now; we're lacking a crucial ingredient."
As expected, they broke their promise. Who sells medicine as a half-finished product? It's not like selling pork. You can bargain for just a portion. Just lead her to find the medicine you need.
"One price. I'll find whatever ingredients you need; I want the finished product."
The old man looked at the cool girl in front of him, a smile playing on his lips, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes crinkling on his face. This medicinal ingredient wasn't easy to find, but everyone had it; it just depended on whether that person was willing to do it. As soon as the manual opened, an incandescent light shone on her entire body, the blinding light making it hard for her to open her eyes. Blue lasers scanned her entire body from beneath her feet, and a camera-like machine was pointed at her head.
"This active ingredient is dopamine. You know what dopamine is, right? Since you provided the raw materials, I'll charge five million for the finished product."
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical substance that helps cells transmit impulses. This brain hormone is related to human emotions and feelings, transmitting messages of excitement and happiness.
So how can a large amount of dopamine be produced?
Love is actually the result of the brain producing a large amount of dopamine due to the people and things involved.
The old man narrowed his eyes. The dopamine produced by the girl's brain was the purest form of secretion. He looked at Lin Weiwei with expectant eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had been willing to donate. The process was extremely painful. Once the radiofrequency was activated, the secretion was accelerated and extracted from the brain. During this time, the mind went blank, and the old man had to constantly recall the sweetest moments between the two of them. Many people couldn't withstand the radiofrequency and either fainted or became mentally impaired.
Lin Weiwei saw a steel helmet on the camera device, picked it up and put it on her head. "Deal!"
At that moment, soft music started playing in her ears, and then her brain felt as if it had been invaded by a virus, causing her excruciating pain that made her lips turn white.
"Take a moment to recall; the happiest thing for you must be related to love."
Love? She came to this earth and became entangled in a series of emotional conflicts with only two people. One was Xiao Se, and the other was Li Yao. But the thought of Xiao Se made her angry, so she began to recall her first meeting with Li Yao, and the blush-inducing scene during their car chase. Damn it... why is this music making her think in that direction?
"Not enough! There's absolutely no love involved."
...
The first kiss, the first time holding hands, the first time she took the initiative to approach him at his villa—no matter how she recalled it, the old man said there was no love involved.
"My God, is this girl a creature without feelings?" The old man was sweating bullets for her, his pipe falling to the ground before he could even pick it up, watching as the computer displayed a consistently zero composition value.
Lin Weiwei tensed up as time passed, the electric current from the radio waves making her legs numb; she could barely stand. Just then, a strange memory flashed into her mind: a man breaking into her school hospital room late at night, pulling a tie over her eyes, and doing something shameful. That day, she felt a mix of emotions—forced yet also excited.
When the old man saw that the number on the computer had reached MAX, he immediately turned off the main power switch. This memory was so powerful that it produced so much dopamine.
"Congratulations, Ms. Lin Weiwei, the finished product in Stockholm has been successfully produced. Please make payment."
The child handed her a bill and a bottle of medicine. Lin Weiwei's palms and the backs of her hands were sweaty, and her little clothes were soaked. She opened the black box, took out two-thirds of the cash, and gave it to them.
She flew from Hasir State to Mangshi. After returning, she kept thinking that when she recalled Li Yao, she had no dopamine levels at all. But what did that night matter?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
