Chapter 2: The Major Incident

The main body of the city still slumbered in darkness, letting the neon and streetlights adorn and paint it. The urban light-mist scattered across the sky, illuminating a cloud formation thick with ominous meaning.

The earthquake clouds had yet to dissipate. Thankfully, the crows still slept on the roadside trees, preserving the quiet that should belong to the early morning.

On a large tree near the high-rise apartments, Mo Shui (Ink), however, sensed something. It opened its eyes, watched Luo Nan run past below the tree, and then closed its eyes again to doze.

In a massive metropolis like Xia City, high-rises are connected by magnetic rails, skywalks, green corridors, and self-propelled conveyors, looping back and forth like a dense forest entangled by leafy branches and vines.

Luo Nan, like a tiny bug, was absorbing the morning dew, trekking forward step by step through the forest.

His lips and teeth parted and closed slightly; his throat, mouth, and nasal cavities vibrated fully, producing a sound that, at first hearing, resembled the buzzing of an insect’s wings.

In reality, Luo Nan was repeatedly reciting the sixteen characters: “My heart is a prison, my heart is a furnace; my heart is a mirror, my heart is a nation.” This strange sound was formed only because the syllables were continuously slurred and shortened, then blended with the rhythm of his breathing.

Occasionally, early morning joggers passed him, turned their heads to stare, misled by the sound. He, however, remained focused on his path, his speed and rhythm maintaining a relatively steady tempo.

After exercising continuously for an hour, Luo Nan turned onto a self-propelled conveyor belt to cross the wide space between two high-rises. This was a pre-arranged ‘rest stop’; exercise paused, but the recitation continued.

His breathing was relatively smooth. The prolonged resonant vocalisation caused a lack of oxygen, making his skull feel faintly swollen, but this was child’s play compared to the effects of the drug that were gradually accumulating and spreading.

The psychoactive compounds contained in the injection he took before leaving home were sequentially taking effect.

In fact, any normal person, including a longtime addict who intravenously injected such a high dose of pure psychoactive compound at once, would instantly have their nervous system thrown into disarray, killing them in the shortest amount of time.

However, after over five years and nearly two thousand gradually deepening and continually adjusted tolerance treatments, Luo Nan appeared no different from a normal person, but the structure of his internal nervous system had already undergone subtle and profound changes.

He was still alive, and he carefully perceived his body’s transformations.

More than twenty psychoactive components had broken through the barrier of the blood-brain barrier, acting like twenty-odd invisible scalpels, choosing different target neurons for repeated modification and sculpting.

This ‘sculpting’ was destined to be crude and violent.

The brain itself has no pain receptors, but under the influence of the drugs, the dozens or hundreds of neurotransmitters it secretes, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate, and neurotensin, released a flood of information. This information was conducted through neurons, acting on every patch of skin, every organ, every single corner of his body.

It was an indescribable feeling, and Luo Nan did not want to describe it. He could only say it was vastly better than the initial stage of limb spasms, incontinence, and even heart and lung failure.

To alter the basic structure of the human body, inherited over thousands of generations, in just a few short years, a price must inevitably be paid.

Luo Nan’s heart had long accepted this.

He closed his eyes, focusing even more intently on the recitation and his breathing.

Luo Nan’s recitation and breathing technique were inherited from his grandfather. Nominally, it was an aid to the drug’s sculpting, yet how could human will possibly control cellular and molecular-level changes?

Therefore, Luo Nan believed its primary function was to maintain mental concentration and vitalise his Qi and blood (qixue), in addition to the somewhat esoteric ‘visualisation’ aspect.

With his eyes closed, the regular tetrahedron figure corresponding to the “Sixteen-Character True Mantra,” along with its inscribed and circumscribed spheres, clearly presented themselves in his mind. They rotated layer upon layer around a central point, as if right before his eyes.

About ten seconds later, Luo Nan opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

The visualisation figure was running smoothly; everything was fine.

The self-propelled conveyor had only covered a small portion of its route. Luo Nan relaxed his mind and took in the morning cityscape. Not far away was one of Xia City’s nightclub districts.

Many people say that the life of Xia City truly opens up only at midnight, with the morning being merely the afterglow, and the daytime nothing more than a mechanical recharging phase. In this immense and crowded metropolis, every cluster of lights is a playground for people to release their pleasure, and this is especially true for the most bustling nightclub districts.

Under the neon, a group of men and women, clad in dishevelled clothing, stumbled out of a nightclub. Because one person slowed down a bit ahead, a following person crashed into them, and they all tumbled into a sprawling, messy heap, like wriggling fat worms unable to get up.

They weren’t angry; they just pushed each other and pulled each other up, giggling. It was clear they had been through a night of wild partying and had exhausted their strength. Only the excessively secreted dopamine was still transmitting between their neurons.

They were so unconstrained and reckless, as if saying: Look, this is how young people should live!

In the chaos, a luxury hovercar, driving itself, glided down the street and stopped nearby. Its classic butterfly doors opened stylishly.

Finally, one tall man struggled to climb up from the writhing pile of bodies. During this process, he practically kissed all the surrounding women before grabbing a long-legged girl nearby. He half-dragged, half-carried her toward the car amidst the jeers and laughter of his companions.

The neon lights of the nightclub street shone clearly on the man’s face, and Luo Nan happened to recognise him.

“It’s him… a good specimen, I suppose.”

Luo Nan’s heart stirred, and he observed the group of men and women more closely. Half a minute later, the loose-leaf notebook he always carried came into use. With an electronic pen, he quickly sketched the rough outline of that area on the soft screen (simulating a paper page). The self-propelled conveyor carried Luo Nan for 75 seconds; subtracting the time already consumed, in the remaining few dozen seconds, Luo Nan only managed a quickly scribbled, crisscrossing draft. He had no intention of continuing. When the conveyor reached its end, he put away the pen, quickly glanced below, and walked straight away.

As he turned his head, he saw that the man who had triggered the idea to sketch, for some reason, had noticed his presence and was staring blankly up at him.

Their lines of sight crossed in the empty air. Luo Nan paid it no mind, continuing his morning run while reciting the continuous syllables that created the insect-wing-like tremor.

Any miscellaneous noises from the distance were, naturally, filtered out.

….

Xie Junping felt like he was going crazy.

His throat-shredding shouts were useless. The figure on the self-propelled conveyor left without looking back.

His trashy friends and hookups at his feet were still giggling under the influence of the stimulants. The ‘long-legs’ girl, whom he’d just found incredibly pleasing, was hugging his waist and giggling, fumbling to undo his pants.

Xie Junping was truly going mad.

“Get lost!”

He forcibly pushed the long-legged girl away and plunged into the car, locking the door, ignoring the shouting of the useless lot outside. At this moment, the ‘Light Film’ invisible contact lens, a product of Quantum Co., performed a simple analysis of the newly collected data and mapped it onto his retina.

The ‘paparazzo’ on the skywalk appeared in the instantly captured photo, showing a blurred profile. However, the plum blossom and bamboo pattern school badge of the Zhihang Academy on his sportswear was circled in a red box.

A little later, the ‘Phantom’ car-mounted smart-computer also analysed the surrounding environmental data automatically recorded by the alert system, and the analysis results were transmitted sequentially.

These results were much clearer than the hastily snapped photo, yet offered no room for luck.

When Xie Junping saw that the hooded ‘paparazzo’ was also holding a notebook and scribbling, he slammed his fist onto the steering wheel.

The hovercar’s horn blared. A dimwit outside, who was knocking on the car window, was startled into falling backwards. Before his butt hit the ground, the hovercar instantly started and sped away with a roar.

He was seen! He was seen!

Xie Junping fiercely hammered his own head. If it were a different time and place, a rich young master who was good at socialising and had some private life issues would be nothing. But the current situation was different.

According to the Association’s arrangement, he was supposed to be in the satellite city of Mangzhong, overseeing a post-disaster charity donation event. He had indeed been in Mangzhong last night, but to attend the wild party, he left the team, snuck out, and drove hundreds of kilometres back to Xia City. He originally planned to return immediately after the party, but who would have thought he’d be caught red-handed by a student from his own school?

He was currently striving for the Veterans’ Medal of Honour Association and attempting to advance further in the student council, a critical stage for establishing his ‘circle status,’ equivalent to a major election.

If judged by the standards of a political figure, lying, betraying trust, and being two-faced are necessary qualities. But being exposed is absolutely fatal… fatally stupid!

Moreover, with Xia City having continuous earthquakes, people were panicky, and everyone’s psychological tolerance was dropping. Things that were not a big deal normally could become a big deal now; small matters could now become major incidents!

Yes, it was a major incident!

The car phone rang. It was from the group of trashy friends. Xie Junping had left too hastily and forgotten to arrange many things. He quickly answered, but before he could speak, Lian Yu’s slurred, indistinct cursing came through first:

“Xie Junping, you bastard!”

The background noise was the strange laughter of his friends.

Xie Junping closed his eyes. That’s right, he had forgotten… Lian Yu, the tramp who was just trying to undo his belt, was actually spoken for! Her official boyfriend was also a member of the Honour Association!

“F*ck!”

Xie Junping slammed the steering wheel again, with such force that the car’s smart computer had to issue a warning. But it was only after this outburst that he finally recovered some clarity from his hangover and panic.

Calm down. I have to calm down! As long as it wasn’t immediately posted online, there was a chance to salvage the situation.

He tried hard to keep his tone steady and whispered, “Lian Yu, go wash your face now. I have something to tell you…”

Lian Yu was still drunk and tipsy: “Xie Junping, you scu…”

“Go wash your face, now!” Xie Junping roared, wishing he could shatter the car phone.

The Son of Heaven’s fury may leave a million corpses; a scholar’s fury will draw blood five steps away!

However, the other side simply hung up the phone decisively. Xie Junping could only vent a ‘common man’s rage’ by banging his head against the wheel…

He slammed his head onto the steering wheel, forcing himself to calm down. He was quite self-aware, knowing he was more or less just a common man. His intelligence and ability were ordinary; he was propped up by his family background and connections, and perhaps a little socialising skill.

Yet, how had he managed to get this far in the Zhihang Academy, a place teeming with experts? It was nothing more than being a qualified boss: giving appropriate compensation and letting professionals handle professional matters… Crap, professional!

Xie Junping slapped the steering wheel again. Why bother getting entangled with a woman like Lian Yu? What professionalism had she demonstrated besides hooking up with men?

Once his thoughts cleared, he immediately tossed Lian Yu out of his mind and dialled another number. The waiting ringtone was an extremely gentle female voice:

“Hello, Azure Gloom Agency is at your service. Before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. on weekdays, and all rest days and holidays, all services will be calculated with overtime charges. This is to inform you. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Xie Junping rolled his eyes.

A moment later, a bright and lively voice, completely different from the recorded line, sounded: “Long time no see, hello, Sucker.”

Xie Junping was instantly defeated by the nickname. He wanted to argue but lacked the confidence, so he could only grit his teeth: “Yingying, right? Good morning. Is Boss Wu not around?”

“Oh, are you sure you want to see the boss?”

“…No, no, no, just you is fine, just you is fine!” Xie Junping slapped his forehead fiercely. He was truly drunk-stupid today, arguing with this crazy girl!

“Exactly. It’s all the same if you tell me. Anyway, no matter who it is, they’re going to fleece you, hehe!”

Xie Junping wanted to eat the car’s computer, but this was not the time to quibble. He went straight to the point: “I’ve run into a bit of trouble today, and I need your help to handle it.”

He described what had happened as quickly as possible and transmitted the captured photos and videos for further analysis.

Yingying quickly replied: “A paparazzi? Should I admire your imagination?”

“It’s not a paparazzi?”

“Standing on a self-propelled conveyor belt, waiting for you to come out of the nightclub, and then snapping pictures?”

“Uh…” Xie Junping was stuck.

Though sharp in her remarks, the professionalism of Azure Gloom was beyond doubt. About half a minute later, Yingying reported a location coordinate:

“Regardless, let’s do a verification first. Excluding complex factors, if that person was just passing by, they belong to the early morning jogger type. Since today isn’t a holiday, their destination is highly likely to be the Zhihang Academy. Go wait there and see.”

Xie Junping felt this made perfect sense. The hovercar immediately turned and cut into another magnetic rail, increasing speed again. About five minutes later, he drove to the location Yingying had specified. This was a pedestrian overpass located within the high-tech R&D zone. The environment was good, and it was one of the main nodes leading to the academy, a route a morning jogger would be hard-pressed to refuse.

The hovercar stopped at the north end of the overpass, and then came the wait. Xie Junping inevitably grew anxious. Just then, a formatted chart appeared on his retina, a personal profile grabbed from the Zhihang Academy database.

The electronic photo showed a boy who looked quiet and introverted. He was rather handsome, but there was no smile on his face.