"Are you alright?" Director Li asked in surprise.
Yi Heye laughed: "Never."
Director Li looked at the guy with suspicion—he could clearly feel that Yi Heye's personality was becoming more and more cheerful and his emotions were becoming more and more vivid, which made him breathe a little easier, but he still didn't dare to tell him the latest news.
Yi Heye hadn't thought that far ahead. He had already poured himself some milk in no time. While happily slicing the half-cooked fried egg in front of him, he looked up and asked, "Director Li, has there been any progress on the case lately?"
“If we investigate this case any further, it will inevitably involve things inside Area A.” Director Li sighed. “We have already sent a letter to them requesting assistance, but we have not received a reply yet. It seems that the hope is very slim, and it will most likely be shelved.”
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye frowned, extremely displeased: "Why is Area A so arrogant? Can they be above the law?"
Director Li smiled wryly: "Actually, what you said is not wrong. Area A is a completely autonomous region, and it doesn't use the same legal system as us."
Yi Heye understood this principle, but he became angrier the more he thought about it. Perhaps it was because Area A and they had always kept to themselves, which gave him the illusion that the two sides would never interact. It wasn't until this cross-area case occurred that he realized that the huge wall in front of him only blocked outsiders from going in, but could not stop evil from seeping out from the inside.
Those within the "bullseye" can kill freely outside their own territory and then retreat back to their stronghold, using the high walls as an excuse to evade all sanctions and punishments.
—On what grounds?
As if seeing through Yi Heye's thoughts, Director Li explained, "After all, the other four districts are under the leadership of District A and are subject to the technology and culture brought by District A. From these perspectives, these so-called 'special privileges' are justifiable."
Yi Heye was still indignant when he heard Director Li continue speaking:
"The security department is mainly responsible for mediating with the victims' families. Since most of them have been confirmed dead but their bodies have not been found, some of the victims' families are very emotionally unstable. Some of them even tried to force their way into the restricted area, but they were all stopped by the security department. They were lucky to be stopped by our own people. If they had been caught by the security team in Area A, they would have gone to jail."
This topic left Yi Heye feeling utterly powerless, and his appetite was so bad that he couldn't even eat breakfast.
He quickly finished his glass of milk, got up to leave, but as soon as he turned around, he saw the display screen floating above the restaurant.
There, as usual, the president's good morning video was playing. He was dressed in a neat and formal suit, displaying a perfect, impeccable smile, and stood in front of the podium to greet the citizens.
Good morning, fellow citizens, it's another hopeful day...
Such good morning videos are broadcast every day without fail at 7 a.m. on major television stations across the country. It seems to have become a part of everyone's life, a good morning from an approachable president from the distant Area A.
Perhaps because he was emotional, Yi Heye felt an inexplicable strangeness when he looked at this dedicated president.
Director Li is right. Although a high wall has been erected between Area A and the outside world, the outside world is influenced by Area A in every way.
A president who safeguards peace and harmony for everyone; a renowned scientist who brings about major breakthroughs in technological change; an idol superstar who attracts countless young men and women; a literary and artistic master who continuously produces high-quality works...
Area A is the absolute pinnacle of this world, and therefore rightfully enjoys the awe and admiration of people outside the walls.
After the president said good morning, the television switched to an advertisement for a technology product endorsed by the most famous movie star. It is said that due to visa issues, this movie star never attends offline events outside of Zone A, but that does not prevent him from having superb acting skills and gaining a large number of loyal fans even through the screen.
In the restaurant, young girls turned to look at advertisements featuring their idols, while men who didn't care about entertainment stars used it as background noise for their daily breakfast.
Everyone got used to it all, so used to it that Yi Heye began to doubt his inexplicable intuition.
He glanced at Director Li, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. His old leader had already gotten up and started making a phone call. This feeling of being the only one who was clear-headed made him very uncomfortable.
"Fine," Yi Heye snorted through his nasal cavity, raising his wrist to swipe through the bounty website.
During this period, he was busy covering for this person and helping with that case, and Yi Heye almost forgot that he also had his job as a hunter.
It had been about half a year since he last racked up points. Thinking of this, Yi Heye suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, fearing that someone would snatch his first place.
But when he opened the rankings, he found that he was still firmly at the top. Although the second place was much closer to him, it seemed that he was still a long way from threatening his position.
He breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced at the second-place ID, feeling a momentary sense of unfamiliarity. But as he scrolled down a few more names and saw Moon, who had fallen to outside the top thirties, his finger suddenly stopped scrolling.
It turns out that Chen Mu had always been in second place, even though she used a cheating-like method, Yi Heye was already familiar with her name.
A long time has passed since Chen Mu was murdered, and Yi Heye doesn't know how far the investigation has progressed. He only knows that the murderer has not been found, and the truth is becoming more and more elusive.
Already overwhelmed by a whole host of terrible things, Yi Heye was extremely annoyed and called Pei Xiangjin as he walked out.
According to Director Li, this guy has been having a lot of bad luck lately. One accident after another almost cost him his job, but his superiors are reluctant to let him lose his ability to work, so they can only put pressure on him to apologize and make amends. As a result, he has been so busy lately that he is almost ready to ascend to heaven.
At this moment, Pei Xiangjin, who answered his call, sounded exhausted. She didn't even have the energy to get angry at Yi Heye's arrogant attitude, clearly having stayed up all night without closing her eyes.
"Please speak," Pei Xiangjin said, looking haggard.
Yi Heye: "Nothing else, I just thought of asking if there has been any progress on Chen Mu's matter."
Pei Xiangjin sighed wearily, and it seemed that it took him a long time to come to his senses and remember which of the many major cases Chen Mu was handling.
This time, he had no energy left to play any tricks or beat around the bush with Yi Heye, and he answered obediently: "First of all, it can be basically determined that the murder was committed by a hired, unregistered robot, but the clues have gone cold and we cannot find out who was behind it."
Yi Heye was not surprised by this, or rather, when they initially guessed that the robot was the killer, this outcome was already within his expectations.
"Then, regarding the coin found inside her body, our investigators, by retrieving a large amount of video surveillance footage from before the sisters' deaths, can basically conclude that it belonged to his sister, Chen Sang—she had previously worn it as a pendant around her neck."
That coin was the goat-head coin that ISSAC later distributed to the "trainees," and Yi Heye was also given one.
Judging from their subsequent actions, this goat-head coin likely symbolized religious meaning, such as serving as a mark of being chosen as a "sacrifice".
Although, objectively speaking, Chen Sang's personal qualities are indeed far inferior to those of the company's model young people, this does not mean she is unqualified to be a "sacrifice"—
After all, from what Yi Heye had personally witnessed, the sacrificial offerings served a variety of purposes. In addition to the top-quality offerings like Yi Heye's, which were chosen from among thousands and used for "blood sacrifice" in front of the goat god statue, there were also offerings of the body, organs, and even emotions and thoughts.
Upon closer examination, Chen Sang was forced to undergo a consciousness transplant surgery before his death, and his life was spent in continuous repair. Perhaps such human experimentation was also a form of "sacrifice" they were committing.
"There's one last thing worth pondering," Pei Xiangjin said. "Remember that agent who dragged Chen Sang into drug use back then?"
This agent could be said to be the beginning of Chen Sang's tragic life. Yi Heye was stunned for a moment, and asked in a tense voice, "Have you found out who it is?"
“Yes,” Pei Xiangjin said. “His name is Awei.”
Yi Heye's eyes widened slowly: "Is it that...?"
“Yes, it’s the talent scout who discovered Ke Yu,” Pei Xiangjin said. “Only back then, this Awei was still a human being.”
Back then, he was still a human. Yi Heye finally understood; this was yet another half-human, half-AI who had undergone a consciousness transplant.
"After we finished our work, we collected some of the conversations between Ke Yu and Awei during the last period of Ke Yu's life," Pei Xiangjin said. "We can infer that Awei was transplanted into a new body with a relatively high degree of mechanization. So at first, Ke Yu did not treat him as a human being. Later, Awei also experienced rejection reactions similar to those of Chen Sang in the later stages of his life, and eventually died due to severe complications."
Therefore, Ke Yu, who witnessed all of this, said to his wife the words that they couldn't understand: "Awei is dead."
These cases demonstrate that consciousness transplantation surgery is still an extremely immature procedure. Whether it's like Chen Sang, who directly appropriates his own body, or like Awei, who starts from scratch, the final outcome will not be a good one.
“The Lost Lamb case is still unresolved,” Pei Xiangjin said. “Currently, all indications suggest that the two cases may be backed by the same group of people.”
It wasn't just these two cases. Yi Heye couldn't help but think that although Fang Chunyang's case at the beginning could be confirmed as an individual crime, he was the first consciousness transplant case they came into contact with.
Unlike the previous two cases, Fang Chunyang directly broke free from the constraints of the physical body, transforming his personal consciousness into a piece of data and hiding it in the game world he built in his previous life. It can be seen that although this technology is not mature, its diverse forms and wide coverage are somewhat chilling when you think about it.
Although Yi Heye was unwilling to think too much about it, Fang Chunyang's image in the game was also that of a sheep, which made it hard not to suspect that Fang Chunyang's seemingly subjective behavior was being guided by other forces.
“…Damn it.” Pei Xiangjin was clearly frustrated as well. “All the clues are clear, but I just can’t get anywhere with the investigation… Why can’t we get anywhere?! Just because of that wall?!”
Yi Heye fell silent—this was also a source of trouble for him.
If this case had occurred outside the wall, the Security Bureau could have solved it almost on the spot, given their investigative capabilities. But there's that damn wall in the way, leaving them standing there helplessly with the clues in hand.
Whether it was a joke or just an angry outburst, Pei Xiangjin sneered, "We'll blow that wall down sooner or later, and see what kind of demons and monsters are hiding inside."
"It's rare to find someone who agrees with Captain Pei," Yi Heye laughed. "If we really go to bombard the wall, don't forget to take me with you."
Author's Note:
Pei Xiangjin: You unlucky bastard, don't come any closer!
Chapter 129 (Number 129)
When the topic came up, the two of them laughed in agreement, which was rare for them. Then, the cunning Pei Xiangjin quickly realized that he had misspoke and hurriedly took back his words: "I just said it casually, don't you dare to report it to the authorities."
Yi Heye shrugged: "I already said, what good would it do me to stab him?"
This explanation brought Pei Xiangjin some psychological comfort, but he still dared not let himself continue talking and ended their conversation very promptly.
As it turns out, empty talk without action is just a passing fad. After the two had their fill of banter, they acted as if the conversation had never happened and went back to their busy work.
Yi Heye went to training early in the morning. He was in excellent physical condition. He ran to the parking lot in a few steps and jumped on his little motorcycle.
"Yohoo!" Xiao Ming was also infected by his enthusiasm and honked his horn to welcome him warmly, "Good morning, Wild Baby! Where are we going today?"
Yi Heye casually swiped the map and snapped his fingers: "Wanxiangli, Zone C, first reconstruction order, let's make it big."
Xiao Ming planned out the route and excitedly looked up: "Alright, let's go!"
The engine roared, and the familiar strong wind blew against his face, blowing the hair in front of Yi Heye's forehead back, revealing his entire face without reservation.
It has to be said that Yi Heye's features are indeed very handsome, even somewhat beautiful. This youthful appearance had previously brought him all sorts of trouble and inconvenience in his work. But this time, he relied on this natural, unadorned face to break into ISSAC and successfully make it to the end. Suddenly, he no longer disliked his face so much.
He glanced at himself discreetly in the rearview mirror; the wind blew his hair behind his ears, revealing a striking patch of black hair amidst the silvery-white tuft.
His first thought was that he should dye it, but he quickly remembered that night when Jian Yunxian held him in his arms and gently buried his nose in his hair. He told Yi Heye not to dye it, saying that he thought it looked good as it was.
Yi Heye was momentarily stunned, then realized—he told him not to dye it, so he wouldn't? Who did he think he was?! Mind his own business?!
Yi Heye glanced angrily at the black figure again, then let out a cold snort—
It does look quite good. It has nothing to do with what nonsense he said to Jian Yunxian. He simply thought that a touch of black would look good, which is why he decided not to dye it.
However, this awkwardness stirred up his rebellious spirit. He thought for a moment and said, "When we're done, come with me to get another nail installed. It's been a long time since I've done that."
He himself felt it was a bit perverted, as if he would feel uncomfortable if he didn't abuse himself every now and then.
Xiao Ming seemed to think about it seriously for a moment and said, "Baby, you have five piercings in your ears now..."
Xiao Ming's reminder made Yi Heye realize that his ears really couldn't fit the pins anymore—his left ear had three pins, and his right ear, being close to the brain-computer interface, could only barely fit two, all of which were in the auricle, leaving no room for them.
But he was really itching to get it going today, and it seemed like he couldn't just leave without getting a hole in his body. So, as he sped along on his motorcycle, he started brainstorming, keeping pace with the rapid winds—
Nose rings have always been outside his aesthetic appreciation range, and he has never considered them. He's always been afraid that lip rings and tongue piercings might leak when he drinks water, and he can't get over that psychological hurdle. Someone once posted a photo of someone getting an ergometer, which Yi Heye found very novel, but the thought of getting one himself made him feel ashamed and he stopped himself from moving forward.
Along the way, Yi Heye pondered various possibilities, but before he could come up with an answer, he had already arrived near the target area.
According to intelligence reports, regulatory authorities recently detected abnormal AI data fluctuations in a shopping mall seven kilometers away. However, the target was not an inanimate object; it was moving as the nearby AI hunters were en route.
Monitoring data can only provide coordinates for a short period of time; by the time most people arrive at the scene, the target object has already left.
Yi Heye's strength lies in this area. He has his own formula for predicting the target's intentions and path. He can always deduce the most likely movement route with great accuracy, and then take the form of encirclement to directly intercept the target.
Whether it's analysis, prediction, or identification of disguises, Yi Heye's skills have surpassed the level of normal people. In the past, some people within the company would make a fuss about this, openly mocking Yi Heye as an AI pretending to be a human. Later, Yi Heye publicly beat them up, and such rumors never dared to reach his ears again.
Upon arriving at the designated location, Yi Heye brazenly parked his car right in the middle of the intersection, looking arrogant as if he was afraid others wouldn't see him.
However, he was indeed absolutely confident. He was willing to stake his career on it: if the other party appeared in his sight, even if they were a whole street away, he would be 100% able to apprehend them immediately.
Yi Heye waited in place for a few seconds, and even felt that he was not arrogant enough, so he simply took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth without lighting it, and put it there. In the past, he licked that little bit of bitter tobacco to relieve boredom and sorrow, but this time it was purely to show off.
Perhaps because his actions were too arrogant, his peers seemed to have caught a whiff of his presence and came over. Before long, the street was packed with AI hunters.