shackles
Si Qi's fingers pinched Shao Wei's throat, controlling the force just right—creating the illusion of suffocation without actually hurting him. From an angle Wei Lin couldn't see, Si Qi's thumb gently stroked Shao Wei's carotid artery, a tiny soothing signal.
Shao Wei understood immediately. This was a performance. Si Qi hadn't lost control.
He cooperated by grabbing Si Qi's wrist and pretending to struggle, while observing the layout of the laboratory. The monitoring screen, the main console, the emergency exit... and Shao Lin, standing expressionless at the door, quietly made a "three" gesture with his right hand.
Three minutes. They need to delay for another three minutes.
"How ironic." Wei Lin walked over to the main console and pulled up a global map marked with dozens of red dots. "The Alpha you desperately tried to protect has now become my most loyal weapon."
Shao Wei struggled hard, his voice intermittent: "What... do you... want...?"
"Order!" Wei Lin suddenly raised his voice, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "A world ruled by elite Alphas, with no unnecessary democracy, no weak Omega rights." He pointed at the red dots. "The Alpha leaders of thirty-six countries will receive this 'gift' tonight—a control chip designed based on the genes of the three of you."
The screen switches to a video showing a production line of microchips, each finished product engraved with a unique serpentine pattern.
"Once implanted, they will link with my nerves through you—" Wei Lin pointed at Shao Wei, "and become an absolutely obedient army. And you, my dear Si Qi, will become the first demonstration unit."
Shao Wei's stomach twisted. This madman's ambitions were beyond imagination—not only did he want to control his experimental subjects, he wanted to reshape the world's power structure. And Siqi... Shao Wei looked into those pretendingly empty eyes, and a strong desire to protect them surged within him.
"Why... choose me..." Shao Wei continued to delay time, and at the same time noticed that Shao Lin was quietly approaching from behind Wei Lin.
Wei Lin laughed. "Because you're an accident, No. 8. That idiot Dr. Chen thought twin Alphas were the ultimate answer, but you proved that emotional bonds are stronger than blood bonds." He obsessively touched the data stream on the screen. "Look at these readings! When you thought Si Qi was going to kill you, your pheromones actually achieved perfect resonance. Fear, love, sacrifice... these 'contaminating variables' created a neurochemical miracle that can't be replicated in a lab."
Si Qi's fingers tightened slightly, reminding Shao Wei to stay focused. Shao Lin was now only two steps away from Wei Lin, his hand reaching for the tube of blue liquid in his pocket.
"It's a pity you won't have the chance to enjoy the fruits of your labor." Wei Lin suddenly turned to Shao Lin, "Number 9, get rid of him."
Shao Lin nodded expressionlessly, walked up to Shao Wei, and pulled out a micro syringe instead of a weapon. Before Wei Lin could react, he injected the liquid into the gland at the back of Shao Wei's neck.
"You--" Wei Lin's face changed drastically and he reached out to grab the control device.
It was too late. Shao Wei felt a chill spread from the injection site, followed by a volcanic eruption of pheromones. It wasn't simply the scent of cedar, but a new, complex blend of Siqi's sandalwood and Shao Lin's metallic odor. The scent instantly filled the entire laboratory, and even the ventilation system couldn't quickly clear it away.
Wei Lin stumbled back, as if struck by a physical force: "Impossible... Triple Fusion...?"
The most astonishing change happened to Si Qi. The darkness in his eyes faded, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. He pinched Shao Wei's hand and pulled him close, giving him a passionate kiss in full view of everyone.
"Nice acting, baby." Si Qi whispered, then turned to face Wei Lin, "Now, it's time to settle the score."
Wei Lin quickly regained his composure and pressed the red button on the control device: "Do you think this is the end? All the experimental subject chips are connected to my vital signs. If I die, they die together."
Si Qi continued walking. "Do you know how I resisted the chip's control?" He pointed to the wound on the back of his neck. "It hurts to insert glass into the gland, but it has an interesting side effect—the compound produced by the reaction between metal and blood temporarily blocks the signal."
He took a step forward with every word he spoke, while Wei Lin kept backing away until his back was against the wall.
"You're lying!" Wei Lin roared, "No test subject can survive physical destruction of the gland!"
"Unless," Shao Lin suddenly said, his voice as cold as ice, "his glandular tissue was pre-edited to allow for rapid regeneration." He looked at Shao Wei, "My mother's research. She secretly modified the genetic code of some of her test subjects, including Si Qi."
Wei Lin's face turned pale: "That bitch...she ruined the whole project..."
"She saved us." Shao Wei walked over to Si Qi, and the three of them formed a triangle encirclement. "And you killed her."
A hint of madness flashed in Wei Lin's eyes, and his finger moved to a hidden button on the control device: "Then let's die together. The Nirvana Protocol will be activated after my heart stops beating, and all chips in the world will enter ultimate mode."
At this stalemate, the door to the laboratory suddenly slid open. Li Wei rushed in, holding a strange device in his hand, which looked like a modified router.
"Signal jammer!" she yelled. "Now!"
Shao Lin was the fastest, snatching the device and flipping the switch. Wei Lin pressed the button almost at the same time—but nothing happened.
"Do you think I've only been planning escapes these years?" Li Wei sneered, showing the screen on his phone. "All the data has been uploaded to Interpol. Your 'Ouroboros' is being hunted down globally."
Wei Lin's mask finally shattered. He let out an inhuman howl and lunged at the console. Si Qi stepped forward to stop him, but was slashed on the arm by a snake-shaped dagger—the same weapon that had killed Si Qi's mother.
The sight of blood ignited Shao Wei's Alpha instincts. He charged forward and punched Wei Lin in the jaw. The sound of bones cracking accompanied the old man's fall, but even more surprising was Shao Lin's reaction—he simultaneously covered his jaw, as if feeling the impact of the punch himself.
"The link... is too deep..." Shao Lin knelt on the ground, sweat dripping from his face. "Quick... destroy the console... the data..."
Si Qi and Li Wei immediately took action, smashing all the equipment in the laboratory with the fire axe. Shao Wei helped Shao Lin up and was shocked to find that his temperature was frighteningly high.
"You've overused your linking abilities." Shao Wei realized the problem. "We need a doctor."
Shao Lin shook his head weakly and took out a micro hard drive from his pocket: "Mother... the real research... is with me..." His pupils began to dilate, "The control hub... has never been me... nor you..."
"What is that?" Shao Wei asked anxiously.
"Emotion... connection..." Shao Lin's voice grew weaker. "Love... is the only... variable... that cannot be designed..." He suddenly grabbed Shao Wei's collar and said with his last bit of strength, "Be careful... the Nirvana Protocol... has more than one... starting point..."
Then his body went limp and he fell into a coma. As Shao Wei held this brother, a blood relative yet a complete stranger to him, he felt a surge of unprecedented complex emotions.
Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the facility. Li Wei checked the surveillance screens: "The self-destruct sequence has been activated! We must leave immediately!"
Si Qi quickly carried the unconscious Shao Lin on his back, while Shao Wei collected several sample chips from the main console. The four of them rushed to the emergency exit, and behind them they heard the roar of equipment exploding.
When they rushed out of the building, the entire industrial park was already engulfed in flames. Sirens blared in the distance, and Li Wei guided them to the vehicles they had hidden in advance.
"Where are you going?" Si Qi put Shao Lin in the back seat and checked his pulse - still stable but weak.
"Safe house." Li Wei started the car. "Then contact Interpol. Although most of the data has been transmitted, we need to testify in person."
Shao Wei sat in the passenger seat, looking back at the receding flames. In just a few hours, their world had been turned upside down again. Wei Lin was dead, but his threat seemed lingering. What exactly was this so-called "Nirvana Agreement"? Why had Shao Lin warned them of more than one launch point?
Even more disturbing, as the firelight shone on Shao Lin's pale face, Shao Wei felt that strange connection again—not a one-way transmission of information, but a deeper, almost symbiotic connection. It was like they were not only brothers, but also part of a larger puzzle.
The car drove off into the night. Si Qi's hand reached out from the back seat and grasped Shao Wei's shoulder. Shao Wei knew what he was thinking without needing words—this was far from over.
The safe house was a modest farmhouse in the suburbs. Li Wei deftly disabled the alarm system and led them into the basement. To their surprise, it had been transformed into a fully equipped medical station and command center.
"I've been preparing for five years," Li Wei explained briefly, beginning to connect Shao Lin to a monitor. "His brain waves are unusually active, as if he's experiencing some kind of information overload."
Shao Wei sat by the bed and unconsciously took Shao Lin's hand. The moment they touched, he saw fragmented images again - a dark room, countless flashing screens, and... five indicator lights of different colors?
"He's trying to communicate." Si Qi observed the fluctuations on the monitor. "Look, every time Shao Wei touches him, his brain waves change in a regular pattern."
Li Wei seemed to be lost in thought. "Just like in the hospital. The fusion of your three pheromones created some kind of neural connection." She pulled up a set of data. "According to Siqi's mother's research, the emotional connection between Alphas can break through the limitations of genetic programming. In theory, strong enough shared emotions can even override the chip instructions."
"Love triumphs over science?" Si Qi raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like a fairy tale."
"No, it's neurochemistry," Li Wei corrected. "Certain emotional states release unique combinations of neurotransmitters, substances that happen to interfere with the control signals designed by Wei Lin." She pointed at Shao Lin. "And he, as the hub connecting the three of you, bears the greatest load."
Shao Wei recalled what Shao Lin said before he fell into a coma: "He said that the control hub is neither him nor me... What does that mean?"
Li Wei pulled up a file from the hard drive. "Look at this. Si Qi's mother discovered that the true control hub isn't an individual, but the emotional connection between two or more Alphas. Wei Lin got it wrong. He thought he needed to control specific people, but what he actually needed to control was... relationships."
This realization was like a flash of lightning. Shao Wei looked at Si Qi, who was looking back at him with the same understanding in his eyes. Their emotions—the factor that Wei Lin considered a "contaminating variable"—were the true force that undermined the control system.
The monitor suddenly sounded a sharp alarm. Shao Lin's body convulsed violently, his pupils dilated, as if he had seen something horrific.
"He's having a seizure!" Li Wei prepared a sedative.
But Shao Wei stopped her: "Wait." He put his forehead against Shao Lin's, just like he had done in the hospital, "Let me try."
Closing his eyes, Shao Wei actively sought that sense of connection. At first, there was only darkness and noise, then gradually clarity came—Shao Lin's mind was like an overloaded computer, processing a flood of information. Five images stood out: landmarks in Tokyo, Berlin, Cape Town, Washington, and Moscow, each flashing red alert.
"Nirvana Protocol has been activated," a robotic female voice repeated. "T-minus 45 minutes."
Shao Wei's eyes snapped open. "Five cities! The Nirvana Protocol isn't a self-destruct program; it's the activation of pre-implanted chips worldwide!"
"What?" Si Qi and Li Wei exclaimed at the same time.
"Shao Lin saw through the link - Tokyo, Berlin, Cape Town, Washington, Moscow. In 45 minutes, something in those places will be activated!"
Li Wei immediately pulled up a map on her computer. "These are all the locations of Ouroboros' known branches." She quickly typed in the command, "I'll contact Interpol to raid these locations. But the problem is..." She hesitated, "What if these places are also controlled by people like Wei Lin..."
"We need a stronger jamming signal." Si Qi looked at Shao Wei. "A three-person link can only cover a region, but to affect the entire world..."
Before he could finish his words, Shao Lin suddenly opened his eyes. His blue eyes were no longer cold, but filled with childlike fear and pain. He grabbed Shao Wei's hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother... help me..."
Then his pupils dilated again, but this time the monitor showed his brain waves stabilizing. Even stranger, Shao Wei felt a new "space" opening up within his consciousness—like a shared thinking platform, with part of Shao Lin's consciousness temporarily transferred to him.
"He gave me access," Shao Wei said in shock. "I can feel... those signals... five activation points..."
Li Wei and Si Qi exchanged a look: "Can you interfere with them?"
"I don't know. We need a stronger link." Shao Wei looked at Si Qi, no need to say more.
Si Qi immediately stepped forward, and the three of them once again formed the familiar triangle. But this time, there was no pheromone burst, but rather a deeper, almost spiritual fusion. Shao Wei felt himself existing in multiple places simultaneously—in the safe house, in Shao Lin's consciousness, and even vaguely sensed the energy fluctuations of the five distant cities.
"45 minutes..." Li Wei looked at the countdown, "Is it in time?"
No one answered. The three of them had entered a state of synergy beyond words. The brainwaves on the monitors gradually synchronized, eventually reaching a perfect resonance. In some invisible dimension, an invisible wave spread out from them, penetrating walls, crossing borders, and even oceans...
Far away in a Tokyo skyscraper, a man wearing the same snake-shaped cufflinks as Wei Lin suddenly clutched the back of his neck and collapsed in agony. The devices around him began to malfunction one after another, and finally, after a few flickers, the screen displayed a single line of text:
"Protocol interrupted. Emotional variables exceeded threshold."
The same thing happened simultaneously at the other four locations. Once again, a force older than technology—the unpredictable, beautiful chaos of human emotion—triumphed over the most carefully designed controls.
When the three of them recovered from their connection, it was already dawn. Li Wei excitedly showed the confirmation message from Interpol: all five bases had been raided, and the Nirvana Protocol had been successfully prevented.
Shao Lin is still in a coma, but his vital signs are stable. Doctors, through remote consultation, believe that his brain is repairing itself and it is only a matter of time before he wakes up.
Si Qi hugged the exhausted Shao Wei and kissed the top of his head: "We did it."
Shao Wei leaned on his shoulder, looking at Shao Lin lying on the hospital bed. They had paid a heavy price, but they had won a temporary victory. However, a question lingered in his mind - did Wei Lin really only have these five starting points? What did Shao Lin mean by "more than one"?
More importantly, when Shao Lin wakes up, how will this brother with whom he has a complicated blood relationship integrate into their already closely connected lives?
Outside the window, the first rays of sunlight penetrate the clouds. A new day begins, bringing with it countless unknowns and possibilities.
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