Mr. Si
The lifeboat, like a leaf torn by a raging wind, struggled through Antarctica's extreme cyclone. Kestrel pulled the joystick to its limit, his green eyes fixed on the white navigation screen ahead, cursing the inclement weather and overloaded engines.
Si Qi had no time to consider the danger outside; his complete attention was focused on Shao Wei in his arms. Shao Wei's nosebleed had temporarily stopped, but his temperature was alarmingly low, his pulse was weak and rapid, and his consciousness had fallen into a deep coma. He didn't respond to Si Qi's calls or pats. The backlash from forcibly attacking the IGEC database core was far more severe than he had let on.
"How is he?" Kestrel shouted without turning his head, his voice drowned out by the roar of the engine and the howling of the wind and snow.
"This is bad! I need immediate nerve repair!" Si Qi roared, his fingers probing the side of Shao Wei's neck, feeling for a pulse that threatened to break at any moment. His heart felt like it was being submerged in ice water. He thought of Dr. Chen and the well-equipped medical center in Iceland, but could he ever return there?
"Where is the nearest reliable medical center?" Si Qi asked Hong Shun.
Kestrel spat, "Trust? Talking about trust in this damn place? There's a black clinic in 'Skua Bazaar'. The doctor is a jerk who only cares about money, but his skills are okay and he's very tight-lipped!"
"Just go there!"
The lifeboat, trailing black smoke, made a precarious landing on an abandoned landing pad half-covered by ice and snow outside the "Skua Market." Falcon made contact with someone familiar with the area, and soon, several tightly wrapped, alert-eyed strong men arrived in a modified snowmobile and took them deeper into the market.
The black clinic was hidden behind a freezer that looked ready to collapse, with no sign on the entrance. The environment inside was frighteningly spartan, the air thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant and blood. The so-called doctor was a one-eyed man, smoking a cigarette and wearing a white coat stained with unidentified stains. Upon seeing Shao Wei being carried in by Si Qi, a shrewd glint flashed in his only remaining eye.
"Pay first, then see the doctor." He stretched out his dirty hand.
Si Qi slammed the remaining half of the sapphire onto the table. "Save him."
The one-eyed doctor weighed the gem and put it in his pocket with satisfaction. He then gestured to Si Qi to place Shao Wei on the rusty operating table. He took out some rather old-looking instruments and connected them to Shao Wei. The data on the screen jumped so fast that it was frightening.
"Extensive burns to the nerve bundles, the pheromone circuits are on the verge of collapse, and there's slight bleeding in the pituitary gland..." The doctor looked at the data and clicked his tongue. "Are you trying to provoke the IGEC? He's lucky to be back alive."
"Can it be cured?" Si Qi's voice was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.
"Cure?" The doctor sneered. "I can save his life and wake him up. But permanent damage to his nerves and glands... Unless we can find the tears of the 'Thread of Life', otherwise..." He shrugged, the meaning self-evident.
"'Thread of Life'? What is that?" Si Qi frowned.
"It's a legend," Red Falcon said, leaning against the doorframe. "It's said that there's an energy creature that only occasionally appears in the space-time turbulence near the South Pole. Its 'tears' are the top neural repair medium in the known universe. But no one has actually seen one, and those who have gone looking for it rarely return."
Another glimmer of hope. Si Qi's heart sank. He looked at Shao Wei's lifeless face, and a feeling of despair began to gnaw at his sanity.
At this moment, Siqi's communicator, which had been using encrypted monitoring, issued a sharp alarm! It wasn't a tracking signal from IGEC or "Watcher", but rather the early warnings he had set up in several secret accounts and intelligence nodes had been triggered!
He quickly retrieved the information, his pupils suddenly contracting—
Shao Qing took action!
It wasn't directed at them, but at the "Twin Project" data they had disseminated! The old general used drastic measures, mobilizing all remaining political and military resources to launch an unprecedentedly powerful global public opinion counterattack and information cleansing campaign!
News headlines and internal briefings scrolled across the screen:
"A shocking hoax! The so-called 'genetic experiment scandal' was fabricated by foreign forces in an effort to undermine my country's stability!"
"The military spokesperson strongly condemned the data falsification and has identified the culprit behind it!"
"Former 'Northern Lights' terrorist group leader White Fox (confirmed dead) is accused of being the main planner!"
"General Shao Qing issued a statement expressing his deep indignation at the use of his late daughter's name to spread rumors!"
Shao Qing not only completely denied all accusations, but also blamed everything on the deceased White Fox and so-called "foreign forces," even exploiting Shao Wen's death to gain sympathy! Even more terrifying, he employed technical means to massively pollute and erase raw data from the internet. At the same time, he arrested or detained several marginalized individuals who may have had knowledge of or contact with Shao Wen and Gu Zhixing, alleging they were "endangering national security"!
Gu Zhixing looked at his name on the screen, labeled "Dangerous Fugitive," and his face paled. "He...he's blocked all avenues! The data we're disseminating is being rapidly cleansed. Anyone who trusts us will be considered a lunatic or an accomplice!"
Si Qi stared at the screen intently. He had underestimated Shao Qing's ruthlessness and power. The old general was cutting off their roots! He was making them lose all public support and potential allies, completely isolating them, even making them public enemies!
Even though they held temporary administrator privileges at IGEC, even though they had temporarily escaped the threat of the "Purge," they had become pariahs in human society. Shao Qing was going to drive them to the brink of civilization!
"Damn it!" Hong Shun also saw the news and cursed, "That old guy is so cruel! At this rate, even if IGEC doesn't bother you, you're pretty much doomed on Earth."
The communicator vibrated again, and this time, it was Shao Qing's direct communication request.
Si Qi answered with cold eyes.
Shao Qing appeared on the small screen, his study in the background, looking unhurried. He even picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"It seems you had a lot of fun in Antarctica." Shao Qing put down his teacup and glanced at Si Qi on the screen and Shao Wei on the operating table behind him without any fluctuation in his expression. "The change in the logic of the IGEC core database... really surprised me. I have to admit, you are more... valuable than I thought."
His tone was condescending, as if he were evaluating two tools that had just proven their worth.
"Unfortunately, you've chosen the wrong path," Shao Qing continued, his voice turning cold. "Now, the game is over. The data purge has begun. Within 24 hours, no real information about the 'Twin Project' will be available online. You will either die on the Antarctic ice sheets, or... hide in the shadows forever like a stray dog."
He paused, then extended a final olive branch: "Or, turn back now. Hand over all the permissions and database modification records you've obtained from IGEC, and come back to me. I can guarantee that Shao Wei receives the best possible treatment, and I can also allow you... to live a respectable life with a new identity."
Threats and inducements again. But this time, Si Qi felt no anger, only a cold, dead silence. He stared at the old man on the screen who had controlled the first half of their lives, at his eyes that seemed to see through everything, yet lacked any warmth.
"Treatment?" Si Qi spoke slowly, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper. "Can you heal the nerve damage caused by the backlash of the IGEC core? Can you find the tears of the Thread of Life?"
Shao Qing's brow furrowed slightly, evidently unaware of Shao Wei's serious injuries, and unfamiliar with the term "Threads of Life." But he quickly regained his composure, "With the Shao family's resources, there might be an alternative."
"No need." Si Qi interrupted him, his eyes as cold as the Antarctic ice that has not melted for ten thousand years, "Shao Qing, listen carefully."
He spoke slowly and clearly, word by word:
"From the moment you decided to create us as experimental subjects, from the moment you ignored Shao Wei's pain and even intended to eliminate him as a 'defective product', there was no turning back between us."
"You can clean the data and manipulate public opinion. But you can't erase the facts we already know, nor can you sever the connection between us."
"I will heal Shao Wei's injuries, even if it means searching the ends of the earth or diving into the depths of hell."
"As for you...wash your neck and wait. Wait until we get back."
"By then, it won't be just a game of statistics and public opinion. I will personally pull you down from that lofty position and let you experience... the backlash of your own 'works'."
After saying that, without waiting for Shao Qing's response, Si Qi directly cut off the communication and smashed the communicator against the wall, sending fragments flying everywhere.
The clinic was completely silent. The one-eyed doctor, cigarette in hand, watched him with interest. Hong Kusanagi whistled. Gu Zhixing was stunned.
Si Qi gasped, his chest heaving violently. He walked to the operating table, looked at Shao Wei's pale and quiet face, reached out his hand, and carefully brushed away the hair soaked with cold sweat from his forehead.
He didn't know where he'd found the courage to say those words. Perhaps it was a reaction to his extreme despair, or perhaps it was the madness that had erupted from seeing Shao Wei dying.
But he knew that from this moment on, they really had no way out.
The road ahead is a wasteland full of thorns, a search that is risky at any time, and a lonely war against the whole world.
He held Shao Wei's cold hand and lowered his head.
"You hear me?" he whispered, so that only the two of them could hear. "I mean what I say."
No matter whether the "Threads of Life" is a legend or reality, no matter when the IGEC inspection comes, no matter what kind of trap Shao Qing has laid.
He will keep going.
With his dormant ally, his perverse half, his belated... undefinable emotions.
Towards the unknown future that is destined to be filled with blood and fire.
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