Chapter 54 Extraordinary Matters
Various pheromones mixed together, creating an indescribable and extremely unpleasant smell.
Along with the discarded tables and chairs scattered across the corridor; the dried dark red blood spots sprayed everywhere; and the unimportant people who had not yet been transferred and were randomly kept in a place - these people were still struggling and making all kinds of noise.
Taste, vision, hearing, all-round chaos made Huo Shizhen feel like he was walking in a garbage dump.
In fact, it's almost the same.
He came here to clean up the garbage.
The person who served as the head of the ABO Special Section in Roatan District turned out to be a senior undercover agent planted by Eden - perhaps he was tempted by some benefits and betrayed him halfway, that didn't matter.
In short, the rebellion rate is over 80%, and the mission is rated S-level, so Huo Shizhen will be in charge of it, collecting evidence, making plans, and catching the people red-handed. Then the mission will be completed, the team will be sent back, and finally the information will be sorted out and archived.
Things should have ended like this according to standard procedures, but this person - considering that he has rebelled against the control of the Central Military Academy and joined the call of Eden, it is more appropriate to call him by his code name "Gula" in Eden.
But Gula did not choose to wait for arrest at home, but fled frantically. Through various roundabout ways, he finally returned to Eden's important stronghold in Roatan District, intending to wait for support at the stronghold and then escape. As a result, the entire stronghold was completely surrounded and eliminated.
A stupid person who, in every sense, will only bring trouble to both Huo Shizhen and Eden.
Originally, Huo Shizhen came here just to clean out the internal pests, and the mission would be completed after capturing him and other affiliated personnel.
But Gula insisted on escaping and trying every possible means to escape to the stronghold, hoping to gain the mercy of a miracle and escape capture.
Unfortunately, Huo Shizhen would never let the mission fail.
In order to achieve the goal of arresting people, they have to use their authority, firearms or force to break through various defenses;
On the other hand, in order to complete the mission, Hexi also overcame various restrictions and forcibly took over the permissions of all public smart devices in the entire Danlu District in order to find all of Gula's escape routes.
As for the base where Gula finally hid, the surveillance equipment had been quietly stolen by Hexi long before he even arrived at the base, just waiting for his arrival to confirm that this was his final escape location.
All of his personal terminal devices have long been completely controlled - just like Huo Shizhen, Hexi is also bound by layers of rules and authorities. If it is completely open and free, there will be no more powerful intelligent system than Hexi in the entire empire.
In short, in the end, without any surprises, the entire stronghold was cleared out in a logical and orderly manner.
Although Huo Shizhen actually enjoyed the process of being able to act freely on a large scale, how should one put it? Tasks related to handling external organizations such as the Garden of Eden have always been the responsibility of the Executive Department. However, Huo Shizhen is now under the Discipline Department. How can this not be considered as asking Huo Shizhen to do more extra work and causing the Garden of Eden to suffer more unprovoked disasters?
This even made Huo Shizhen think a little too much about what the Garden of Eden's intention was in recruiting Gula and promoting him to a senior position. Could it be that they saw that he was a big eater and wanted him to bankrupt the military academy and the empire?
The reason for this speculation is that in the list of stolen goods seized from Gula, various items related to picky diets stood out. Of course, being too particular about food was not something that was not allowed. The key was the various unauthorized transactions behind these listed items.
But this did not prevent Huo Shizhen from having to waste unnecessary time arranging external clearance tasks that did not belong to the Discipline Department because of Gula's non-cooperation. So he took his anger out on others and evaluated this person's words and deeds from a contemptible perspective.
But Gula himself seemed to have not realized that the disaster against the Garden of Eden was caused by him. Instead, he mistakenly believed that Huo Shizhen deliberately let him escape in order to catch him in one fell swoop - what a treacherous plan!
After being caught, knowing that there was no possibility of escape, Gula strongly requested to see Huo Shizhen before being taken back for trial. Since he was rated as an S-level target task in the system, Huo Shizhen agreed to his request according to the procedure.
When Huo Shizhen arrived at the room where he was temporarily suppressed, Gula criticized him harshly about the shortcomings of the Central Military Academy and the Empire. Huo Shizhen did not listen to a word and only asked Hexi to record all his speeches as mission information. At the very end, Gula finally said something related to Huo Shizhen:
"Huo Shizhen, you don't have to be so proud! You only caught me, not Gula from the Garden of Eden. If I'm caught tonight, the next Gula will appear soon. Unless you can kill all the betas in the empire, your efforts will be in vain!"
——That’s impossible.
Neither killing all the betas in the empire nor causing Huo Shizhen to feel shocked, frightened, confused, or panicked by his words would ever happen.
Moreover, even if an alpha's gland is removed, it cannot change the nature of the alpha, at least in Huo Shizhen's eyes. An alpha is captured and uses an irrelevant beta to threaten or provoke him. Doesn't he find it ridiculous?
Huo Shizhen sat with his knees crossed opposite Gula. While Gula was speaking, he remained silent as if listening attentively. His head was slightly lowered, and his long silver hair slid down, covering his face and making it difficult to see his expression - there was nothing good to see, because he had no expression at all.
After confirming that these were what Gula wanted to say, I felt even more tired and bored because I had heard similar words too many times.
Moreover, it seems that Gula has indeed been out of the control of the empire for too long. He is probably too guilty to even use the official website and system, so he seems to be unaware that Huo Shizhen has been transferred from the Executive Department - maybe he doesn't even know what department Huo Shizhen is in.
After all, Gula was an alumnus (now expelled) from many years ago, so it was normal for him not to know Huo Shizhen's specific affiliation and the current mission system of the military academy.
Otherwise, he would not use matters that fall within the scope of the Executive Department's tasks to threaten and provoke people from the Discipline Department.
What's more, there is someone like Huo Shizhen who perfectly abides by the system.
When he was in the Executive Department, he was only responsible for the Executive Department's affairs. He never got involved in matters that did not belong to the Executive Department, such as the internal review of the Central Military Academy. Occasionally, when joint missions were needed, he only provided personnel to cooperate.
If he were transferred to the Discipline Department, he would only be responsible for the Discipline Department's affairs. Even if he was fully aware of the various tasks of the Execution Department, he would never interfere with any task formulation or personnel allocation.
Lin Guantang was an accident, but not that unexpected.
After all, he only recommended Lin Guantang to participate in the executive department's mission, not forcing him to do so.
There was absolutely no possibility that Huo Shizhen would break the principles and interfere with the execution department's mission because of the "provocation" of the person in front of him.
All in all, these words were useless to Huo Shizhen. If he really wanted to manipulate someone's emotions, Huo Shizhen wouldn't mind helping to transfer the call to the executive department—or directly contacting Yin Zhiyou. With Yin Zhiyou's extraordinary language talent, he should be able to satisfy his desire for a strong reaction.
As for wanting to make Huo Shizhen emotional about these words, it can only be said that Gula's attacking ability needs to be strengthened. Compared with Huo Shizhen's usual sharp tongue, this level of accusation is really somewhat mediocre.
As the one being accused, Huo Shizhen was able to maintain a calm state of mind, but Gula seemed very dissatisfied with Huo Shizhen's perfunctory attitude.
In his eyes, Huo Shizhen was clearly sleeping the whole time and didn't hear what he was saying at all.
Was what he said so dull? It was clearly filled with all his emotions.
Put yourself in their shoes. You use up all your emotional energy to speak a bunch of heartfelt words, but the only designated listener is sleeping soundly. Who can tolerate this?!
At least Gula couldn't stand Huo Shizhen's overly perfunctory attitude, and his unwillingness to even pretend to listen carefully.
He was already prepared to sacrifice himself, and the words he said were full of dissatisfaction from the bottom of his heart. He thought they were eye-opening and worrying enough, but in the end, he didn't even have the effect of moving the other party.
How could anyone endure such contempt and disregard? No one could endure such indifference. Gula couldn't help but howl in anger:
"Huo Shizhen, this is your attitude, this is the attitude of the military academy. Look up at me, don't you have anything to say?!"
——This is the first time someone has made such a request.
The disciplinary team members who were supposedly supporting the suppression, but were actually just there for the sake of appearance, couldn't help but look at Gula with surprise, pity, and admiration.
I don't understand why this person, who is obviously very timid, greedy for pleasure and unwilling to endure hardship, would take the initiative to ask Huo Shizhen to speak. Isn't this just asking for trouble?
This is an S-level target suspect - if you cooperate with the operation, any requests will be met as much as possible.
Huo Shizhen thought about the task process and requirements again. As a perfect task executor, Huo Shizhen decided to meet his expectations again.
——If you really want to hear what I have to say about this.
Huo Shizhen finally raised his eyes to look at him, rolled his brown-red eyes, fixed his gaze on Gula, and then spoke lightly:
"Your title was easily replaced. It seems you are nothing more than a useless piece of trash in the Garden of Eden."
There seemed to be a moment of dead silence. Gula froze in place, looking at him in disbelief, probably because he didn't expect him to say such cruel words.
The assistants on both sides showed expressions of pity that they could not bear to watch, but at the same time they could not help but prick up their ears and continue to listen - although it was very painful to be scolded by the devil Huo, when it came to the audience, and the person being scolded was replaced by someone who had no vested interest in the matter, or even a hostile relationship, it was a different matter.
In this silence, Huo Shizhen paused, a smile on his lips—a smile he thought represented pity. After all, he was about to follow the procedure and say something like, "You were originally on the right path, why did you go astray?" But in Gula's eyes, and even in the eyes of the bystanders, it was full of ridicule:
"Why bother? If you hadn't rebelled, even if you died unexpectedly, at least your name would still be associated with your posthumous portrait and wouldn't be replaced by someone else. But when you enter the Garden of Eden, you use a title to replace your real name. Once you abandon it, the title will be immediately reclaimed, entering the cycle again and being taken by someone else. As for you—no one will remember how many generations of Gula you are. You're just one of countless people who have been marked as waste."
"Thinking about it this way, you're actually right. No one in this world is irreplaceable. But that's no different from nonsense like everyone is mortal. You're trying to use this universal truth as a weapon of immense destructive power. I really don't know if Eden doesn't mind the cultural level of its members, or if they need further training in eloquence."
Gula's teeth were chattering with anger, his face flushed red and white, his mind full of curses at the venomous silver-haired devil in front of him - he actually said such vicious and contemptible words, who was the devil that made people angry!
But if the curse of nothingness could take effect, Huo Shizhen would have died long ago and would not be alive today.
After confirming that Gula had nothing more to say to him, Huo Shizhen got up and left, walking through layers of chaotic corridors again, reaching the hall, and then walking out the door.
It was already dark and it was raining outside.
The heavy rain washed away all the blood stains on the ground. When the rain ended, countless dead branches and leaves would pile up on the ground, and it might be more chaotic and dirty than before the rain. But after cleaning, it would become clean and tidy again, whether it was the accumulated water and fallen leaves brought by the heavy rain, or the blood stains and garbage before the rain, all would disappear.
At that time, no one would complain about the mess and dirt caused by the garbage piled on the ground.
But that was after the rainstorm.
And now, Huo Shizhen still had to tell people such boring nonsense as "Anyone in the world can be replaced..." - it was still dusk when he entered the door, and it was completely dark when he came out. It turned out that a lot of time in life is wasted in talking nonsense.
Huo Shizhen glanced at the voice request sent on the terminal and slightly corrected the words above -
Perhaps there are still some people who are unique and irreplaceable.
Huo Shizhen casually picked up a black long-handled umbrella from the side, opened it, and walked into the dark rain, like a silver devil walking into the dark world that welcomed his return.
***
Lin Guantang handed over the task, took off his disguise, and returned to the dormitory at dusk.
By the time he finished washing up, it was already completely dark.
He changed into sky blue pajamas and sat quietly in the dormitory. It was hard to say whether he was enjoying the rare moment of silence or making some mental preparations. In any case, after sitting in a daze for more than ten minutes, he picked up the terminal and sent a voice request to Huo Shizhen for the first time.
I originally wanted to video chat directly, but then I thought about myself wearing pajamas and my hair was wet, and I didn’t look that good, so I just made a voice call.
After the call was connected, he heard the sound of rain coming from the terminal, crackling and seemingly very loud.
Is it raining?
Lin Guantang stood up, walked to the window, opened all the windows, lay on the windowsill, stretched out his hand, and felt carefully to confirm that there was only the whistling night wind blowing outside the window, bringing bursts of coolness.
There will be no rain in the imperial capital tonight.
The terminal retrieved the real-time weather statistics for the entire empire. It was raining in nine areas, with light rain in six areas and heavy rain in three areas.
Thinking about the previous conversation in the group, it seemed that someone said that Huo Shizhen went to the north this time. Among the three areas with heavy rain, only one was in the north of the imperial capital.
It seemed very clear where Huo Shizhen was now.
Lin Guantang briefly explained his guessing process and finally stated the answer:
"So, Senior, you are somewhere in the Roatan area now, right?"
Then he heard a familiar, low, careless voice coming from the terminal, accompanied by the sound of continuous rain, with a cold breath:
"Are you contacting me late at night just to show off your talent for deduction? Or are you planning to apply for another puzzle-solving class to help you pass the time?"
Listening to Huo Shizhen's voice from the terminal gave me a particularly strange feeling.
Lin Guantang said "hmm" in a somewhat elongated tone, but he was very good at taking advantage of the situation:
"That's not impossible, but that's certainly not what I want to say!"
Lin Guantang briefly recounted everything that happened at the racetrack, and finally asked:
"So what exactly did Appamau mean by the eternal world he mentioned at the end?"
Huo Shizhen said casually: "Go to Sikong Tan to get information."
Lin Guantang sighed, "Senior Sikong is just trying to give me the cold shoulder. He must have thought that was information I shouldn't know, so he didn't tell me."
Huo Shizhen listened to his tone with a hint of complaint - it was soft, and it sounded more like he was talking about something aggrieved than complaining. But what was aggrieved about it? It was not within the scope of his task, and his curiosity was too strong.
So Huo Shizhen also said slowly: "Since you have guessed that it is information you cannot know, then why ask more? Do you think I will tell you if you ask me?"
Lin Guantang's eyes lit up - if that's the case, then what Apashou said was not just a case of suffering from a second-year syndrome!
Thinking of this, his next words became more urgent:
"But I want to know. Apashou's condition is so strange. His eyes are so determined to yearn for the so-called immortal world, as if it really exists. He definitely doesn't look like someone addicted to games. And it's life-threatening. I can't help but worry. Senior, please, even if you can only give me one or two relevant clues, it shouldn't matter."
I'm afraid that after I say a sentence or two, they'll ask more related questions or come up with more ideas.
Huo Shizhen walked aimlessly along the cobblestone road and said insincerely:
"You're not very good at guessing and deducing, didn't you guess anything?"
Lin Guantang had already leaned his entire upper body on the windowsill, looking at the night outside the window, holding his chin and said helplessly:
"What can I speculate? I don't have a clue at all. I just feel that his condition is very wrong. I think it's related to the drugs he's taking. If it's related to the drugs, then it's also related to the gland transplant. But I really can't understand how gland transplant can be connected to the world of immortality. These two things should be completely unrelated. You can't transfer one person's lifespan to another through gland transplantation. That's too ridiculous. If you say transferring an organ like the heart, maybe there is some connection, but it definitely doesn't mean immortality."
"But just because I think something is impossible doesn't mean it won't happen. So, we'll have to wait for the results of Apashou's tests to find out."
"Furthermore, prolonging life through medicine doesn't seem to align with Apashou's devout yearning, which is like believing in some kind of religion. But perhaps there is a possibility, a way to connect these contradictory things. However, that requires a comprehensive understanding of Apashou's life, especially all of his recent interpersonal relationships, including the information about Dr. Liu. If I could read all of it, perhaps I could find the answer."
Huo Shizhen remained silent throughout the entire conversation. After listening to everything he said, he hummed and concluded in a calm tone:
"So your purpose isn't to ask what his so-called world of eternal life is, but to get comprehensive information."
Discovered.
Lin Guantang felt a little guilty for a moment, then decided to ask - but he also knew that this seemed to be against the rules of the military academy, so he subconsciously softened his voice, trying to achieve his goal by being cute:
"May I?"
Huo Shizhen did not answer his question immediately. In the silence, only the sound of rain hitting everything came from the opposite side.
Lin Guantang and the others were getting restless, unable to help but distract themselves by trying to guess where he was going - the crackling sound just now was the sound of rain hitting some fabric and plants, as well as the sound of footsteps stepping on puddles, so Huo Shizhen was actually walking in the woods, but now there was no sound of rain hitting the umbrella.
The sound of rain hitting the leaves seemed to become a little softer.
That should mean going into the house or some other place to shelter from the rain.
Then Huo Shizhen's silence was because he wanted to refuse, so he was thinking about how to respond to him, or maybe he wanted to find a place to hide from the rain first and then give a proper answer.
The sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella disappeared for only a minute or two before Huo Shizhen's voice rang out again - it seemed to be the latter reason.
Before Lin Guantang could even jump for joy, a bewildered expression appeared on his face, because Huo Shizhen seemed to be talking about something irrelevant, trying to cover up the issue:
"Curiosity and the desire to explore are gifts from the gods for human evolution, but they are also the keys to unlocking the box of disaster. You've already used them to achieve unprecedented evolution. Are you sure you still want to use them to unlock a box that will bring disaster to you and those around you?"
Why are you suddenly saying something so... philosophical—
After a brief moment of confusion, Lin Guantang's heart was beating like a drum.
There was a feeling in his heart - the feeling of standing in front of a huge, hidden, never-before-seen painting. He only needed to say the right command, and the person guarding the painting would lift all the covering curtains and then completely display the huge painting in front of him.
So I answered almost without thinking:
"If there really is a disaster, and it's already near me, but I'm unaware of its existence, wouldn't that be even more terrifying?"
After a brief silence, Huo Shizhen asked him another somewhat baffling question:
"Ever count how many times you blink in a minute?"
Lin Guantang said "Huh?" and subconsciously blinked twice - or three times?
The question was asked too suddenly and I blinked too frequently, so I didn't have time to count.
If I were to count from now on, I would feel my eyes sore and my eyelids tired in less than a minute, and if I was distracted for a moment, I would blink countless times.
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