Chapter 118: Artificial Soul 45
“… What do you think?”
“What can I think? Clearly something is off.”
A woman in a white protective suit crouched on the railway, carefully taking samples.
The red liquid flowing on the tracks had dried out partially, but there were still remnants on the surface. She cautiously picked up the red fragments with tweezers and placed them into a glass tube, then used a cotton swab to take some samples, also storing them properly in a container.
After securely placing the samples in a metal box she carried with her, she sighed and stood up.
The railway had been completely sealed off, with many individuals in black combat suits heavily armed surrounding the area, creating a tight perimeter.
“This doesn’t look like blood; blood doesn’t oxidize to such a bright red color… After so many years as a forensic expert, I still have this level of discernment,” the woman in the protective suit said.
“So what is this stuff?” her colleague, also in a protective suit, expressed skepticism. “The higher-ups said someone died, but there’s no body and just this huge amount of red substance that looks like blood…”
This blood-red liquid was almost all over the stretch of railway, extending from the train tunnel far into the distance. She could imagine the horrific scene… the train collided with something, and that something was shattered under the train’s crushing force.
She had dealt with many corpses; the most horrifying situation was when a truck driver hit someone on a public road, resulting in the victim’s body getting stuck under the vehicle, dragged for dozens of kilometers. When the truck was stopped, the entire underside of the vehicle and the road were covered in mangled flesh and blood.
But she had never encountered a situation like this before.
The blood-red liquid was everywhere, but there was not a single corpse or any flesh; she couldn’t even be sure that this red liquid was blood.
They patrolled along the railway’s perimeter towards a further location, with police dogs sniffing around. For some reason, the dogs seemed especially agitated; usually obedient to their handlers, they now showed signs of losing control, nearly dragging their handlers along. One calmer police dog trembled in fear, sticking close to its human companion, as if encountering a natural enemy.
With every finding of blood-red liquid, the police dogs howled frantically, and their cries were different from their usual alert barking.
When they reached the train tunnel, the police dogs found torn black clothing, shredded by the train’s wheels and scattered in various places. Strangely, although the clothing was soaked in the red liquid, there was still no sign of a body.
Blood, clothing of the deceased, but no body.
“Could it have dissolved? That blood-red liquid…”
“Possibly. We should take it back to the lab for testing.”
“This is not normal; it’s like something out of a horror novel. What exactly did the train encounter on this stretch?”
“The train has stopped at the station; they will check the train cars there, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Just then, a police dog that had been sniffing around suddenly went berserk. It broke free from its collar, barking and biting its fellow canine, which instantly went wild too. The three police dogs patrolling the tracks unexpectedly began a life-and-death struggle, blood spilling and staining their fur.
As people tried to separate the dogs, they turned their attack towards humans, baring their sharp teeth and launching indiscriminate assaults.
Despite their attempts to stop them, they were forced to shoot the dogs.
Three sharp gunshots echoed through the forest, sending a chill down the spines of those responsible for securing the scene.
“What’s going on!” The woman who had just taken samples crouched to inspect the body of the dog.
“It touched that red liquid with its nose, then licked it, and suddenly went insane…” the handler, who had just controlled the dog, explained stiffly.
It seemed things were indeed developing in the direction of a horror story.
…
He Kangshi carried his small suitcase, looking at the unfamiliar city as he messaged Black Snake: “I have a feeling… I’m being targeted.”
He Kangshi spoke absently: “A portion of the passengers on the train were taken to give statements about what happened. Some were questioned for three minutes before coming out, while I was questioned for twenty minutes… When we got off the train, we had to have our faces scanned one by one by a machine for verification before being released… When I left, I looked back and saw that the train station seemed to be sealed off, with a lot of people going in with disinfection equipment…”
Black Snake: “That’s normal.”
He Kangshi: “What’s normal about this? The setup is too big!”
“With such a commotion, it’s normal for the relevant departments to take notice. Not attracting attention would be abnormal, especially with your identity being so thoroughly exposed. You are definitely a focus of scrutiny.”
He Kangshi said in horror: “Am I going to be treated like a little white mouse?”
“You will be observed, but it’s uncertain what measures will be taken against you.”
“I’m scared. Am I going to be taken away in the middle of the night while I sleep?”
Black Snake seemed somewhat helpless and paused before replying: “You are a law-abiding citizen. If they were going to take you, they would have done so already.”
He Kangshi thought about it and felt a little more at ease. “That’s true… I’m calm now. If… I mean, if someone really wants to take me away, what would you do, big shot?”
Black Snake: “If the other side is friendly, I would let you choose for yourself.”
He Kangshi fell silent for a long time before softly saying: “I have this urge to call you dad or mom.”
Black Snake was speechless: “… Don’t be so cheeky.”
“Find a place to stay. You can stay anywhere in this city,” Black Snake said.
Upon seeing this sentence, the delayed joy wrapped around He Kangshi completely; he was so happy that he felt like his heart would fly out of his chest.
“Am I safe now?!”
“Why not?”
“Do you have any recommendations? I don’t have much savings left; I gave most of my money to my parents.”
“No, if you’re looking for something cheap, don’t stay in the city center.”
As is well known, houses in the old city are the cheapest, while the closer you get to the city center, the more expensive the rent becomes. He Kangshi thought Black Snake made a valid point, pulled his suitcase, and took the subway to the old city. After wandering back and forth through several streets, he quickly found a rental agency.
Using his years of rental experience, He Kangshi swiftly chose a one-bedroom apartment, reviewed the contract, confirmed it was fine, and moved in with his suitcase.
He didn’t dare to sign a long-term lease and only signed for a short-term one due to the uncertainty of the future; he might need to change residences frequently.
By the time He Kangshi settled down, it was already evening.
18:01.
The orange-red skyline presented a mirage on cue.
He Kangshi stood on the balcony of his new apartment, looked up at the sky, and couldn’t help but whisper: “So this is how the mirage in this city looks…”
Meanwhile, Kui Xin also stood by the window recording the mirage.
The mirage lasted unusually long, and she held up her phone for several minutes, her arm growing sore, until the illusory image gradually faded away, disappearing entirely.
Kui Xin replayed the video, counted the seconds, and her expression darkened: “11 minutes and 58 seconds.”
Yesterday it appeared for 10 minutes and 30 seconds, and the day before it was 9 minutes and 26 seconds. Aside from time increasing, there seemed to be no particular pattern.
The last time it returned, the longest duration of the illusion was less than a minute, probably just over fifty seconds.
After the second return, the appearance time of the mirage had increased dramatically.
This was not a good sign.
In the near future, would those phantoms remain in the sky forever? More frighteningly, could they materialize and descend into this world?
Kui Xin stepped back a few steps and lay down on her bed, feeling an unprecedented weariness in her brain.
After several days of intense data manipulation, her mind felt like it was about to explode. However, the results were promising; her proficiency in data manipulation had skyrocketed, evolving from awkward attempts to skillfully infiltrating devices from various ports to intercept and alter data streams.
But the frailties of the human body were evident; while computers could run 24/7 without downtime, human brains could not. Computers can handle multiple commands simultaneously, while humans find it exceedingly challenging to multitask at that level.
While battling, Kui Xin used data manipulation to evade monitoring, greatly affecting her performance. Also, to perform data manipulation, bypassing firewalls from various ports was necessary—some firewalls were easy to bypass, while others proved more troublesome.
For instance, breaching a home computer’s firewall was akin to opening a drawer, whereas infiltrating the Pentagon’s firewall felt like opening a vault door at a bank.
Vault doors can be opened, but it takes time.
Data manipulation is not all-powerful; the limitations of the human brain become particularly evident when using this ability.
Kui Xin had watched some sci-fi movies, and although some of the fantasies depicted were unrealistic, they inspired her.
She thought, could she construct an external mechanical brain for herself?
Using a mobile phone and computer as data transfer stations was too inefficient; data was not processed quickly or conveniently enough. While phones and computers served as transfer stations, an external brain could act as a second organ.
In the second world, people used mechanical prosthetics to assist their lives; she could also get a mechanical brain, connecting it to her consciousness so it could replace her human brain in receiving and processing data. The pathways and formulas of the human brain are not suited for processing data information, but no worries—mechanical brains can! With a mechanical brain, her data manipulation abilities could be fully unleashed.
But the only issue is that such mechanical brain technology might only be realized in the second world.
Many unexpected situations occurred during the process of escorting He Kangshi.
When the train was nearing the station, Kui Xin directly used shadow transition to jump off, erasing all travel information, and she had also handled the surveillance cameras. The only loophole was the satellites overhead.
However, Kui Xin checked afterward, and the satellite passing overhead at that moment was just a regular one with a resolution of only 0.6 meters, a significant difference from the latest reconnaissance satellites with a resolution of 0.1 meters. Satellites cannot record video; they can only take photos, so it’s likely that in the photographs taken, both she and the black-clad individuals would just appear as blurred color blocks, with features and clothing indistinct.
They knew the train had been attacked and that someone had intervened to stop the assault, but they had no idea who the assailants were, nor did they know who had prevented the attack.
Kui Xin remained safe.
She must stay hidden in the shadows, watching everyone, and gradually expand her influence.
He Kangshi was the first to join her, but he was just the first; many more would follow.
