Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 275

After the elderly man finished speaking, an electric tricycle drove against the flow of people towards the direction of the Hongjing Municipal Bureau.

Although it was late afternoon, the sunlight outside the building was still bright, and there was no shortage of police officers coming and going at the entrance of the Municipal Bureau.

“Lao Zhang, time to check the packages!”

The delivery guy from Shunshui Express stopped the tricycle, knocked on the window of the Hongjing Municipal Police Bureau’s gatehouse, and shouted.

“Take it easy,” the gatekeeper, Lao Zhang, said slowly as he flipped a newspaper.

The delivery guy immediately fell silent, nervously glancing into the courtyard of the Municipal Bureau, and started unloading the packages one by one from his tricycle. “This case is huge! Do you have any insider information, Uncle Zhang?”

Lao Zhang had been the gatekeeper of the Municipal Bureau for ten years and had rich counter-surveillance abilities. He wouldn’t disclose any insider information just because of a delivery guy’s inquiries.

He pushed his rattan chair, walked out of the gatehouse with his hands behind his back, and said as he walked, “That’s not true. There are big cases every day.”

He squatted down and checked each package for suspicious names and phone numbers, just like a king inspecting his soldiers. If he found any problematic items, he had the authority to call the person out or put the mail through an X-ray machine.

Especially at times like this critical moment, his inspections were even more meticulous.

The Shunshui Express delivery guy finally finished moving all the packages. The weather was still scorching hot. He wiped his sweat while humming a tune and returned to the black-painted electric tricycle. He took several letters from the package hanging on the front of the tricycle, used them as fans, and handed them to Lao Zhang with a leisurely sway.

The gatekeeper’s hand had thick calluses. If the Shunshui delivery guy observed carefully, he would notice that these calluses were caused by firearms, not any kind of manual labor. However, ordinary people wouldn’t have such keen perception.

When the letters were handed over, the cheerful expression on the gatekeeper’s face changed. Among the four printed letters, which were reminders from the Social Security Center and credit card repayments, there was one that looked different from the uniform machine-printed ones. The gatekeeper took out a handkerchief from his front pocket, placed it between his fingers, and slowly pulled out the letter.

The envelope was made of cowhide paper, and the back was sealed with a blood-red wax seal. In elegant calligraphy on the front, it was written, “To Xing Conglian, Hongjing Municipal Bureau.” Under the sunlight, some parts of the letter were reflecting light, making it blurry.

……

Xing Conglian didn’t receive the letter immediately. The reason wasn’t that he was in a meeting with senior officials, but rather that the situation hadn’t yet reached his area of control. What arrived before the letter was the first wave of public opinion frenzy.

In the network department area of the hall, things exploded without any regard for diplomacy.

The first person to jump up was Wang Chao.

Although he was still wearing a baseball cap indoors, he displayed an entirely mature level of control beyond his age in his area of expertise.

Chewing on lemon-flavored gum, he glanced at several screens around him, his eyes sweeping through the surging data streams. He didn’t even need to input any commands, yet he had already made a preliminary judgment on the situation.

Despite furrowing his brow, there was no sign of nervousness or anxiety in his eyes.

He patted the shoulder of the person beside him, indicating that they could temporarily take over his position, then he headed straight for the small glass room at the end of the hall.

“Boss, there’s movement online!” Wang Chao didn’t care how many provincial-level officials were in the glass room. He didn’t even knock; he just pushed the door open and reported directly to Xing Conglian. Xing Conglian hesitated for a moment, giving Minister Shen the opportunity to ask, “What’s going on?”

Wang Chao pursed his lips.

Xing Conglian nodded to him in agreement. With the instructions received, Wang Chao rushed to the computer in the corner of the glass room and opened his laptop, which was connected to the main screen.

Another screen embedded in the wall beside the glass panel lit up with an icy blue light, causing a moment of discomfort.

Unfazed by the others in the room, the teenager immersed himself completely in his cold and precise world of calculations. He gathered the data from the control room, and on the screen appeared several bar charts, which belonged to the government’s public opinion monitoring software—clumsy in appearance but easy to operate.

Wang Chao selected the section with “harmful words”, and in the next second, all the bar charts became colorful and continuously climbed, resembling the body of a snake.

“Thirty seconds ago, the combination of keywords ‘betting’ and ‘poisoning’ on the internet has exponentially increased.” Wang Chao explained as he quickly dragged the mouse to the next screen.

Instantly, a nebula-like scene appeared with countless bright white dots on a deep blue background.

Wang Chao clicked on the source data in the center of the nebula. It was a Weibo post, and the sender’s IP was located in a shopping mall in a certain city with a massive crowd, making it difficult to determine who actually sent the Weibo in a short period of time. The post contained only three images, without any text, indicating that the sender was well-versed in evading network monitoring.

The first image was a screenshot of the hidden result of the dark web vote, displaying the time in the lower right corner.

The second image showed the scene of a riot in Meicun’s clothing market from a peculiar angle, and in the lower left corner, a person raised their wrist to reveal a steel watch, with the focus of the entire photo on the watch’s time while the crowd surging into the clothing market in the background was entirely blurred.

The third image didn’t have any time information; it was a cold and programmed security inspection notice sent by higher authorities to various subway entrances in Meicun.

Clearly, these three images were put together to imply a message: before the tragedy in the Meicun clothing market occurred, the government’s higher-ups had already known about the impending attack, made various preparations, and even successfully avoided problems at the train station. However, they concealed this information from the public, leading to the tragic incident at the clothing market.

There was no denying that the sender of this Weibo post was a master of public opinion manipulation.

They directly aimed the blame at the government, implying that they were concealing information from the public. After all, what could generate more public interest than criticizing the government?

After completing everything, Wang Chao looked up with sharp eyes, and only asked three words, “What to do?”

“Do you still need to ask? Of course, it’s controlling the situation under guidance!”

“How to control?” he asked, as if he were challenging the public opinion experts of the higher authorities. He effortlessly pulled up several typical remarks.

——Damn, this is too insane.

——Isn’t this a terrorist attack? Damn, all they do is shit, and when something happens, they don’t dare to even fart.

——Are they crazy, these people!

——What’s the website? I’m voting to destroy Hongjing. I’ve been annoyed by those idiots in Hongjing for so long.

As Wang Chao adjusted the data, the nebula on the screen expanded even more.

The public opinion expert slammed the table. “Explain to the public that the government did indeed receive information in advance about the attack and had made preparations. In order to prevent social panic and aid the investigation, they did not inform the public of the overall situation. The relevant details are still under investigation. Please believe that the police have the ability to solve the case. Besides official announcements, do not believe any rumors… And…” He thought for a moment before continuing, “We also need to shut down this source and trace the individuals involved. Do I need to teach you how to handle this kind of situation?”

Wang Chao didn’t follow orders; his attitude was evident. In the entire glass room, he only listened to one person. Xing Conglian faced Minister Shen directly, and from the moment Wang Chao entered, the elderly man’s face had turned very unsightly.

“I know what you’re thinking, but making premature judgments without concrete evidence can be intimidating to the public and threaten social stability. What if the criminals take advantage of this?” The old man paused and said, “Xiao Liu’s plan is the most secure. You focus on solving the case…”

Before Xing Conglian could speak, Zhang Xiaolong became the second person to interrupt the meeting. The female officer held a bag of evidence, no longer as timid and shy as before. “Captain Xing, the gatekeeper received a letter addressed to you.” She picked up the envelope and continued, “We’ve checked it, and there’s no powder-like substance inside.”

Xing Conglian nodded calmly and accepted the bag of evidence. Meanwhile, on the embedded screen behind him, Wang Chao opened the last message:

——Po Master* gave me the method for online voting. Let’s all vote to destroy Yongchuan!

*It refers to people who publish posts, videos, audios, and pictures on the internet. Generally, referred to as the landlord or Weibo blogger on forums.

……

At the same time Xing Conglian received the letter, the same letter was also sent to Fengchun TV station.

The only difference was that the mail wasn’t delivered through traditional means of dispatch.

The letter appeared in the email inbox of every employee in the news editing department at Fengchun TV station, sent through a mass mailing list.

Some people treated it as junk mail and didn’t open it, but others were compelled by the subject and clicked to open the entire email, which was designed to look like an animated letter.

Like magic being instantly lifted, the sealing wax fell off, and the animated email popped up and then automatically opened itself. The black calligraphic letters landed on every pair of pitch-black pupils.

In the first two minutes, after many people were eager to open the letter, no one spoke. But the confusion and bewilderment after reading it were quickly engulfed by an icy and horrifying atmosphere.

The sound of chairs and tables being pushed open echoed in the open office, and those with quick reflexes had already taken screenshots and saved the email, and some even lifted their phones to take pictures.

The editor-in-chief rushed out of his private office and shouted loudly to the entire office, “What are you doing? Taking pictures and screenshots to upload to social media? Do you think the police won’t come knocking on your door?”

But in the next moment, the flashlights and camera shutters clicked, like the best mockery.

The editor-in-chief’s face turned pale. Seeing this, the editor, who couldn’t resist taking the photo, courageously raised his hand and said, “Boss, this is huge news. Even if we don’t report it, other media will. And it’s not the police who will give us bonuses…”

The editor-in-chief was taken aback. His face became gloomy, but it seemed like he couldn’t find the right words to refute at that moment.

Just then, a journalist in the corner, who had been refreshing Weibo, shouted, “BAS TV station has already sent out a ‘Breaking News’ post!”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 274

All was silent, as eternal as the dark night.

The cold and damp air from the central air conditioning blew down, carrying a strong scent of coarse-grained bloodiness.

If it weren’t for the footsteps and voices from outside, bringing a bit of vitality, the elderly people in the room would probably take a very long time to recover.

However, there was another advantage of being elderly—they were not easily swayed by others. The life experiences of the elderly made them stubborn and resistant to novel and radical ideas.

Xing Conglian thought that this was probably why that person wanted the elderly in society to die thoroughly.

“Nonsense.”

After listening to Xing Conglian’s long theoretical explanation, Minister Shen paused for a long time before raising his aged head and answered disdainfully.

“Yes, do they think they can decide the future of humanity with just a vote?” Another elderly person was also finally awakened and joined in. “I think the most likely outcome is that this matter will be forgotten in a few years. Why does he think he can change the future genetic direction of the entire human race? Is he crazy?”

“Professor Zheng is right. The worst-case scenario is that he will eventually prove that everyone is selfish, and people will start killing each other for their own interests again. But in the end, society will return to stability because the number of psychopaths is too small to make a significant impact.”

“2%,” Xing Conglian said.

“What did you say?”

“In the Hale Psychopathy Checklist, the most extreme psychopaths account for 2% of the total population, and this figure remains constant across various racial and ethnic groups.”

“Exactly, it’s only 2%. How much impact can they make?”

“You’re wrong.”

“Are you trying to argue with me, Xing Conglian?”

“The extreme tendencies in psychological scales are based on statistical significance. But what if the mental state of the population has already deviated?”

“Regardless of any deviation, society needs to develop through cooperation and dedication. When individuals in a population are always ready to sacrifice themselves for the collective interest, that population becomes more competitive. In a society where people kill each other, human populations will gradually perish and cannot achieve victory. Nature has never been a blind arbitrator…”

“It’s the majority oppressing the minority. Those psychopaths affecting population stability are the ones being abandoned by nature!”

The elderly people were arguing back and forth, but Xing Conglian interrupted them.

“You lost.” He looked down at these “elderly” people condescendingly.

At this moment, Xing Conglian seemed possessed by Lin Chen—sharp, cold, and ruthless. Of course, he was also standing here on behalf of Lin Chen.

The elderly people were taken aback by his sharp remarks, and some of them even started coughing.

“When you start considering the practicality and likelihood of his ideas and try to find reasons to criticize him, you have already fallen into his trap,” Xing Conglian said. “What he wanted was discussion. With discussion, there would be different opinions, and he would gain more and more supporters because of this incident—the supporters you thought didn’t exist but actually do.”

The director of the Provincial Public Security Department had been patient with Xing Conglian until now, but even he couldn’t help saying, “So, what do you suggest? Block the news and ban discussions?”

“Blocking the news is the worst way to handle a crisis.”

“Then shut down the internet and ban the voting website.”

“In the long term, we can thoroughly study the TERN isomer, but in the short term, it’s impossible. So, the hostages in his hands represent the safety of all citizens. If he really makes demands on us and forces the voting website to go online, do you dare to prevent that page from displaying?” Xing Conglian asked.

“Xing Conglian, you’re really wicked.” The expert from the Network Department suddenly remembered something and slapped the table. “From the very beginning, it was you who led us into this predicament! Even if the Dark Web is currently a blind spot for our monitoring, once this voting game dares to go online, we have a thousand ways to monitor it, track the criminals’ IP addresses, and even manipulate the results. All of that can be done!”

“Yes, even if he wants people from every city in three provinces to vote, why should we do as he says? We can make plans in advance and direct the results to what we find acceptable, right?”

“Public opinion on the internet can also be manipulated. It’s not that difficult,” said the public opinion expert.

“So what? Which city are you ready to sacrifice?” Xing Conglian asked.

A cold shower poured down again, and the enthusiastic discussion in the command room stagnated and solidified. Unwilling sacrifice and strategic analysis after voluntary dedication were completely different concepts.

Even if they could seamlessly execute this plan, they were still stepping into a pre-arranged trap. That person had a way to expose the ugly core beneath all the beautiful decorations.

“It’s not feasible here, and it’s not feasible there. Can you provide a solution then?”

……

Lin Chen turned on the TV.

Before this, he had been busy in the interrogation room, and the young officer responsible for installing the TV belonged to the prison’s technical department.

The boy hadn’t experienced any truly cruel events, but after hearing the terrifying information casually mentioned by Lin Chen, his face turned pale. It was a state of “I’m about to throw up, but I can’t.”

After Lin Chen nodded at him, he was finally allowed to leave the small gray room.

Shen Lian raised the corners of her mouth again, looking contemptuously at the closed door.

Lin Chen picked up the remote control and turned towards the TV, asking her very gentlemanly, “Do you need any special proof to confirm that this news is indeed from a live broadcast and not edited to deceive you?”

The woman shook her head, appearing to trust him.

He then increased the volume a bit and put down the remote control.

Finally, there was a bit of modern civilization in the room. The news program had progressed to the next stage, and the female anchor was summarizing all the events that had occurred in the past few days. From Nordren to Tan Kang, from the nursing home to Zhourui Pharmaceutical, the news summarized the sequence of events from beginning to end, and Shen Lian was finally allowed to leave proudly.

The previous attack incidents were terrifying enough, and the news only dared to mention “ongoing intensive research” regarding the TERN isomer.

Probably, because the director also thought that they couldn’t continue to scare people like this, the next phase of the news finally became somewhat reassuring.

“The police have made a breakthrough in the case investigation. It is reported that the number one suspect named Shen Lian was apprehended by the police yesterday evening,” the female anchor said with composure and paused for a moment before continuing, “The police spokesperson stated that the interrogation against Shen Lian has been swiftly and orderly underway, and they believe a breakthrough will be achieved soon. Now, let us follow the footage to review the situation at that time…”

The scene faded in, and the background music started playing first. It was a fast-paced tune often used in movies during the final counterattack of the righteous side. With the breaking news reported by the news anchor, all the city’s police officers were mobilized, and the red and green lights flickered as police cars weaved through the streets.

The signboard of the nursing home appeared next, but it only received a symbolic shot. The scene then transitioned to the map of Hongjing, with traffic cleverly diverted. This depicted the situation when Lin Chen set a trap to catch Shen Lian.

Finally, numerous police cars stopped in front of the Zhourui building.

The camera kept moving up, reaching the top floor, and suddenly stopped.

The background music also came to an abrupt halt.

There was no more background music, nor were there fast-paced editing shots. The corridor was pristine, and the atmosphere was unusually calm.

At this moment, the figures of Lin Chen and Shen Lian appeared on the TV screen.

The news footage switched to the surveillance video from yesterday afternoon, which would not have been obtained by ordinary media if the police hadn’t released it.

The evening sunlight was gentle, and the police consultant in the video was talking to the number one suspect.

They each held a vial and lightly tapped the bottle caps, as if they were old friends.

……

The high-level officials in the Municipal Police Bureau command room also saw this news at the same time.

The news narration was, “At that time, the suspect Shen Lian attempted suicide. In order to stop her, the police negotiator finally agreed to administer a high-dose drug to save her life and create an opportunity for further negotiations.”

After this segment ended, the screen switched back to the broadcasting center. The female anchor looked to her side and said, “Next, we will invite special guest commentator Editor-in-Chief Zhang to analyze the intentions behind the police’s actions.”

The camera shifted, and a man in a polo shirt appeared next to the female anchor. After pondering for a moment, he pretended to be considering the question and said, “Honestly, I currently cannot fathom the intentions behind the police’s behavior. But I’m afraid that for the public, the police’s compromise with the criminals isn’t good news.”

“We need your specific analysis,” the female anchor requested.

Editor-in-Chief Zhang pushed his glasses up. “I suspect that the police made their judgment based on certain intelligence. They believe that Shen Lian herself is of great importance, so in order to gain her cooperation, the police consultant had to risk his life.”

“In other words, the police don’t have an exact way to counteract the drug used by the criminals?” the female anchor asked.

“That’s right. Unless internal core personnel reveal relevant data, it’s impossible to thoroughly research a compound in a short time, let alone find an immediate treatment method.”

“But can the negotiator’s act of exchanging his own safety for the chance of the suspect surviving be compared to capitulating to terrorists? This behavior seems like self-sacrifice, but in reality, it might boost the criminals’ morale. Is it truly an effective strategy?”

While the Editor-in-Chief Zhang was still explaining, the people in the small glass room had already reacted.

The “elderly” naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to think that Lin Chen’s appearance in the news was an attempt to “take credit”.

“Are you all crazy?” The head of the provincial department was the first to slam the table with his fist.

“Who allowed you to act on your own without approval?”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to!”

Xing Conglian was the first to be criticized. “This was something Lin Chen had promised Shen Lian a long time ago,” he said.

“Don’t think I don’t know Lin Chen’s personality. The conditions he agreed to at that time and what he’s doing now are completely different in nature!” The head of the department was furious. “You could have simply fabricated fake news to deceive Shen Lian, but instead, you released it openly. Isn’t it just to stir up social discussion?”

Xing Conglian shrugged, remaining non-committal.

“Since you’ve already speculated on the sinister intentions of the criminals, shouldn’t you be more cautious in controlling public opinion? Now you dare to pour oil on the fire, afraid that the current panic isn’t enough?”

Another person chimed in, “Ha, they’re just telling the criminals: we know what you want to do, and we’re not afraid of your tricks!”

“But if it really triggers a large-scale social discussion, wouldn’t that fulfill the intentions of these anti-social individuals even more?”

“It’s also possible that their motives aren’t that profound at all; they just want to kill people… just like…”

The public opinion expert was about to say more when Minister Shen raised his eyes, interrupted him, and said to Xing Conglian, “In the end, your speculations about the future development of the case are just guesses.”

Xing Conglian nodded. “Indeed, they are speculations.”

The elderly man interrupted him. “In other words, there’s also a possibility that the second round of city voting may not happen at all, right?”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 273

Inside the Hongjing Detention Center, the police officers were installing a television.

Lin Chen had agreed to something with Shen Lian, and from the very beginning, he had no intention of avoiding it.

Shen Lian sat with her legs crossed, looking like a lovely little girl, eagerly anticipating the black screen to light up.

“Where was I…?” Lin Chen got a little distracted by turning his head, so he asked suddenly.

Shen Lian raised her handcuffed hands, pinched her thumb and index finger together, pretending to pull out a long thread, but she didn’t say anything.

Lin Chen nodded. “In the beginning, after facing a true moral dilemma, I was lost. To fill my state of ignorance, I read many books discussing the origin of morality and human psychological evolution. But the more I read, the more bewildered I became. The things I firmly believed in, such as fairness, justice, freedom, reason, kindness, and goodness… were they truly existing, or just constructs invented by people to maintain human society?”

He spoke eloquently and didn’t shy away from this experience. In fact, at that time, he believed that in order to defeat the opponent, he must unravel the answers. However, everyone knew that no one could unlock the real answers.

Shen Lian, on the other hand, sat with her arms crossed, her contempt evident in her gaze. Being someone with such strong beliefs, she naturally looked down on the indecisive Lin Chen.

“Some philosophers might choose suicide, probably for the same reason, as the purposeless chaotic state can easily make people feel lost.” Lin Chen placed his hands on the table and casually continued, “In principle, I should have committed suicide too. But one day, I suddenly realized, why do I have to find definite answers?”

He looked at Shen Lian and smiled. “You see, this is where he and I fundamentally differ.”

“Social contract, natural law, collective subconscious, selfish genes… I can recognize and understand many viewpoints, and I also understand the criticisms against these views. Therefore, I am confused, as I cannot find something absolutely correct. But he is different. He is obsessed. He surveys the history of human evolution, finds something he approves of, takes it as a life-saving straw, as the ultimate truth, and instills it in all of you. He desperately needs the recognition of those he considers as his kind, and he even needs the society he rebels against to accept his views. Faced with such a madman, all I, an ignorant and powerless person, can do…” Lin Chen paused and looked at Shen Lian, saying, “All I can do is figure out what he believes in, what he is thinking, and what he is planning in my area of expertise, and then… defeat him.”

The interrogation room was really small, with gray-white walls, and his voice dissipated completely upon hitting the walls. Outside the iron window, the flowing clouds seemed to freeze, and there was not a single sound in the silence.

“Pfft.”

Shen Lian laughed.

The woman looked at him as if watching a pitiful insect. Lin Chen thought it was normal for her to do so.

“He used the isomer of TERN to prove the physiological inevitability of so-called criminal behavior. He used the trolley problem presented to everyone to demonstrate the widespread selfishness among humans. He wants to prove that the morals held by most people in this society regarding matters of personal interest are false and fragile. That’s an obvious motive, but… then what?” Lin Chen lightly tapped his fingertip on the broken tabletop between him and Shen Lian and said, “Even if he proves it, so what? The stable social contract established among people in this society won’t shatter into pieces because of a madman’s game. So until I saw the term ‘balancing game on a tightrope’, I couldn’t understand what he really wanted.” Lin Chen paused, and his expression suddenly froze. “In fact, he is even crazier than I imagined.”

……

Hongjing Municipal Police Bureau, Command Room.

Xing Conglian wasn’t very good at doing this kind of thing, but at this moment, Lin Chen was struggling to break Shen Lian’s spiritual belief. Therefore, he had to take on some other tasks.

He tapped the glass panel and said, “The original meaning of this term is a hypothesis that specifically refers to subtle moments in the evolution of human morality. Let’s take an example. Forget all the concepts about modern society—no skyscrapers, no luxurious living. Let’s go back to Africa 45,000 years ago when anatomically modern humans existed.” He paused and continued, “Yes, that’s right, modern humans just like us.”

Xing Conglian pointed at everyone in the room and said, “We were all together, but at that time, we didn’t have any moral or legal concepts like we do now. We were no different from chimpanzees. If you encroached on my territory or took my woman, I would kill you without any problem. Some theories suggest that it was the selfishness of genes that led to our selfish behavior. Each one of us was a born ‘egoist’ back then. But as time went on, more and more people lived in tribes, and mistakes started to appear.”

“I’m physically strong and capable of arbitrarily killing others, posing a serious threat to your safety. I also have supporters behind me, leading to a confrontation. At this point, the highly respected Minister Shen stepped forward and said that I should be killed. As other members of the tribe, you couldn’t tolerate me any longer, so you united and killed or expelled me and my followers. Those who responded to Minister Shen’s call to confront me were warriors with qualities like loyalty, bravery, and empathy; they are ‘altruists’.”

“Waves of extremists were eliminated, and the tribe gradually stabilized. Stability made the tribe more competitive, which allowed for better reproduction and growth. This is the result of natural selection. The definition of morals gradually solidified through the reproduction of altruists, and rules, laws, and social contracts emerged. This is the group selection theory* of the origin of morality.” Xing Conglian looked at everyone present and said solemnly, “But, is all of this truly the inevitable result of natural selection?”

*Proposed mechanism of evolution in which natural selection acts at the level of the group, instead of the level of individual or gene.

He didn’t give everyone time to ponder. He asked directly and decisively, “Did a dangerous moment exist during the process of human evolution when the forces of ‘egoists’ like me and the forces of ‘altruists’ like you reached a delicate balance? It was a life-or-death moment. Once either side gained the upper hand, society would take on two completely different forms. If you won, society would become what you desired. But if I succeeded, the descendants carrying my genes would lead the entire human society into the abyss I expect.”

With his hands in his pockets, Xing Conglian spoke extremely coldly. “This is the balance on the tightrope—a truly great moment that will determine the future form of human society.”

……

A remote control was placed in front of Lin Chen.

Lin Chen picked up the remote control, nodded to the police officer in thanks, and asked Shen Lian, “So, what is his real purpose?”

He asked and then answered, “I think his purpose is not to immediately create this moment. He has a much deeper plan; he wants to plant a seed of selfishness in everyone’s hearts.”

“This seed is planted in the hearts of the choosers, the abstainers, and even the observers. Through generations of human reproduction, the seed grows and gives extreme egoists like you, who are not accepted by society, a possibility in the future.”

“One day, the egoist population will eventually grow to a terrifying scale, and at that moment, humanity will once again face the balancing game on the tightrope, getting another chance to make a fateful choice.”

“That is what he truly aims to achieve.”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 272

Hongjing Municipal Bureau, Command Center.

The sound of ringing phones echoed throughout the room as nearly thirty police officers sat in rows, answering the latest news from various sources.

“Understood, is it on the main road in Meicun?”

“Connecting you to hotline three.”

“I’m sorry, this information is currently classified. We will inform you of any updates in a timely manner.”

They were like weavers sitting on a dense web of information, gathering and refining countless pieces of information, condensing them into concise and useful reports, and submitting them upward once again.

The hall was filled with bustling voices as the officers weaved and shuttled around. So much so that when the Provincial Bureau Chief accompanied by others arrived, no one paid excessive attention to him either.

The visitor was dressed in the simplest iron-gray overalls, with the cuffs and collar washed to a pale white. Paired with gray hair and the most ordinary gold-rimmed reading glasses, he looked no different from an old man taking care of his grandchildren on the street.

The only difference was that the old man looked weary, with traces of exhaustion around his eyes and brows. Yet, even so, you could still sense the authority characteristic of someone in a higher position from the gaze hidden behind the reading glasses.

In fact, if there were no special circumstances, the officers present would only be able to see this level of leadership on television throughout their entire lives.

Behind the old man were police experts, emergency response department specialists, medical department professors, and even Mr. Zhang’s dream mentor, Academician Zhang, following closely behind.

In the entire hall, the first to notice the situation was Comrade Zhang Xiaolong, the deputy head of Xing Conglian. A female officer stood up from her seat and saluted. She was about to inform the Chief of the situation when the old man waved to them, saying, “Please sit, do whatever you need to do,” before leading the massive entourage across the entire hall and arriving at the entrance to the command room on the innermost side.

A floor-to-ceiling glass partition separated the hall from the command room, like two separate worlds.

The noise from outside and the quietness inside formed a sharp contrast. In the spacious room, there was only Xing Conglian, sitting quietly in front of the TV, smoking and watching the news about the impending attack on Meicun.

The Provincial Bureau Chief thought of knocking on the door, but the old man stopped him. The group of people stared at the screen through the glass, as if watching a silent film.

The TV screen showed the tragic scenes from the Meicun clothing market. The incident happened during the peak period of shipping in the afternoon. The escalators were crowded with workers carrying large and small packages. Due to many blind spots in the surveillance, it was impossible to determine the exact location of the incident. Someone rushed to the escalator and madly rushed downward. As a result, the crowd pushed and fell off the escalator, resulting in trampling and crushing. The uninformed crowd desperately tried to escape but never made it out.

The camera panned across a brown blood stain from top to bottom, and children’s sandals were left on the railing.

There were no casualties in the footage, and the scene had already been cleared. Under the hazy white incandescent light, there were only large patches of disarrayed, colorful clothing, like soulless shells, drifting gently in the air.

The news footage ended, and only then did the old man push open the door.

On the LCD screen, the TV had already switched to the hospital. The host was reporting on the list of casualties and missing persons, and each name sounded extremely heavy.

Xing Conglian stood up to inquire, but when he turned around to see the old man, there was no surprise or shock in his gaze. He furrowed his brows, and his eyes were as deep as a pond.

“Minister Shen,” he calmly saluted the old man and then put his hand down. This attitude surprised many people around.

“Don’t waste time. We have already seen the latest briefings on our way here. Can you catch the criminals within 24 hours?”

Unexpectedly, the Minister was straightforward. He sat down with his entourage of experts around the circular table in the command room and spoke to Xing Conglian in such a manner.

“It’s difficult.” Xing Conglian only replied with two words.

“What do you mean?” The old man suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze sharp. “Facing so many victims, you’re telling me it’s difficult? If you can’t do it, get out of this position, and I’ll replace you with someone else!” The old man slammed the table, scolding him angrily.

Xing Conglian stood in front of the glass curtain wall covered with densely packed strategies and didn’t become fearful because of the old man’s anger.

The news was now interviewing eyewitnesses at the clothing market. A middle-aged woman covered in blood looked traumatized as she said, “I told them not to push, not to push, but nobody listened; everyone went crazy.”

Xing Conglian raised the remote control and lowered the volume.

“This isn’t a simple attack case,” Xing Conglian said.

The old man was impatient and asked, “I don’t need to hear the difficulty. When can we get Shen Lian’s confession?”

“Shen Lian’s confession may not be as simple as catching a criminal,” Xing Conglian said, showing no respect for the senior leader in front of so many people.

“Xing Conglian!” Minister Shen didn’t raise his voice, but real anger finally appeared in his eyes.

The chief secretary hurriedly signaled to the police captain in front of the glass panel.

However, Xing Conglian didn’t accept it. “There is no point in getting angry with me here.” He paused and said very clearly, “The criminals are just creating a time gap between us fully researching the drug and the huge social impact it causes.”

“Isn’t the current social impact bad enough?” Minister Shen said coldly.

“Compared to what they want to achieve, what we have now is just an appetizer.”

Xing Conglian’s voice had a metallic and deep quality, and he didn’t deliberately make the statement eerie, but it still sent a shiver down the spines of many present.

“What exactly are the criminals demanding? So far, no organization or individual has claimed responsibility for this matter.” Fearing that the old man might get a heart attack from Xing Conglian’s fearlessness, the head of the provincial department intervened.

“Demands?” Xing Conglian’s gaze turned cold. He turned around and wiped off a large area of useless water-based pen marks on the glass panel behind him, then wrote down the words in red.

The edges of the writing looked blurred, and the old man squinted.

Xing Conglian stopped and looked down at all the experts in the office. He said in an unprecedentedly cold tone, “Killing—what’s so remarkable about killing? His goal is to destroy people’s hearts.”

Many experts who were well-prepared with disciplinary knowledge were shocked by his words, but they quickly understood.

“The blind arbitrator talks about the purposelessness of natural selection…” Academician Zhang looked at the glass panel and said, “And… human evolution… morality, and genes?”

“Yes, genes.”

Xing Conglian calmly recounted Lin Chen’s views to them, saying, “More and more research has shown that antisocial personalities or some criminals may be born with criminal genes. For example, the warrior gene codenamed MAOA affects people’s brain neurotransmitters, making them emotionally abnormal, irritable, and difficult to control; or the mutant gene that produces a large amount of 5-H2TA receptors weakens the prefrontal cortex function, causing emotional disorders and impulsive behavior.”

Xing Conglian hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted.

“Genetic determinism is the most powerful argument for exculpating criminal behavior. How can a police officer like you endorse this view?” an irritable medical expert said.

“I don’t endorse it, but it is a view accepted by the criminal. Therefore, we believe that the mastermind behind all these events represents the criminal group and conveys two perspectives. First, all human behaviors defined as crimes are influenced by the brain, and the criminals do not need to take responsibility for their actions. And this is why he wants to develop and spread this drug that deprives people of their humanity.”

It was as if Xing Conglian was speaking on behalf of Lin Chen, who should have been the one to explain all this.

Emergency room footage appeared on the TV.

Even though the TV volume was already lowered to the minimum by Xing Conglian, the inhuman roar still seemed to permeate the screen and reach beyond the curtain.

“If the TERN isomer affects the human brain and causes people to commit crimes, can they avoid responsibility for their criminal behavior?” Xing Conglian asked, but he didn’t give anyone time to answer. “The answer is yes because we now classify all drug-influenced individuals as victims.”

He continued, “Furthermore, if a criminal takes the TERN isomer again and commits a crime, would they be exempt from punishment? The answer is very likely, as we cannot discern the details of how everyone is affected by the drug.”

“And if you think this is already a malicious intent, then the hidden problem of the criminals is even more deadly. In the mass panic incidents, a third scenario inevitably arises: many individuals not affected by any drug commit violations against others simply to protect themselves. Should they be held responsible for this?” Xing Conglian pointed to the TV screen and asked the most thought-provoking question. “If our answer is that we cannot determine or convict, then the criminals will ask this world—why should they be held accountable for their criminal actions?”

Xing Conglian’s presence was imposing, and his eyes revealed a cold and cruel gaze.

Someone immediately retorted, “The premise is flawed. The TERN isomer causes a specific situation, but under normal circumstances, people can control their behavior.”

“They believe they can’t; they are inherently psychopaths.”

“That’s sophistry. The law constrains human behavior, regardless of individual will. Whether you can control yourself or not has nothing to do with whether the law can constrain you!”

“Why should the law constrain me?” Xing Conglian questioned.

“Natural law, social contract…”

“I don’t care about society. I am an independent individual!”

“The essence of a person lies in their social nature!” an expert who argued with Xing Conglian shouted.

At this moment, Xing Conglian suddenly stopped.

He withdrew his previous aggressive momentum, lowered his raised finger, and looked into the distance as if peering through the long history. Calmly, he asked, “Then, what if social morality itself… is wrong?”

No one answered this question.

The room fell into a silence as dark as night, reminiscent of his mood when Lin Chen asked him this question.

Xing Conglian knew bringing up Lin Chen at this time was inappropriate, but it was also reasonable.

At that time, Lin Chen sat in the library with a calm gaze, explaining to him the terrifying thoughts behind all these events.

Lin Chen asked him, since people always like to dig deep and ask about the ultimate answer to the question of “why someone becomes a criminal”, what exactly is the ultimate answer?

Xing Conglian couldn’t answer, and he didn’t even want to hear Lin Chen’s response to this question.

Because Lin Chen’s contemplation on this question clearly pervaded the three long and gloomy years after Huang Weiwei’s death. It was the question that the mastermind raised and tormented his soul day and night.

What is morality?

Why are laws based on morality formed?

Why do people become criminals when they violate legal rules?

“If this were just an ordinary criminal, when he proves that we lack an objective standard for defining criminal behavior, he has already achieved his purpose,” Xing Conglian said. “But obviously, the criminals we are facing this time are ambitious. They are anti-society, not against the social system but against the moral principles that each of us relies on for survival.”

Since Xing Conglian had been confrontational, Minister Shen remained silent until now. The old man raised his head and slowly spoke. “If… social moral principles… are not trustworthy?”

“Yes, since everything is the result of random choices, there is actually no morality, no justice, no goodness, and no moral standards that we have constructed. Human nature is inherently selfish, and we can do whatever it takes for our self-preservation, so actions that align with our nature cannot be considered wrong and should not be punished.”

Though this idea was grand and terrifying, it also appeared ludicrous due to its grandiosity.

One of the strategy research experts sitting down couldn’t help but chuckle. “A fool’s dream, like ants trying to shake a tree. How can he prove human nature is selfish by spreading chaos and poisoning everywhere?” The middle-aged man pursed his lips and pointed at the TV. “The more he does, the more people stand up to prove he’s wrong.”

The news had moved on to the next stage, no longer reporting the chaos at the Meicun clothing market, but instead, it began to narrate the act of heroism that occurred at Meicun Train Station.

A young train station intern named Lu Xiaotian prevented a poisoning incident at the train station. However, due to ingesting too much of the drug, Lu Xiaotian suffered acute brain failure and was in critical condition.

The news report used extremely touching language, and in the corridor outside the hospital room, the reporter almost used all the honorable and righteous words to describe this young person who was only 22 years old.

While many in the command center showed pity in their eyes, Xing Conglian didn’t turn to look. He coldly interrupted the moment, saying, “You’re so stupid,” to someone.

A strategy expert slammed the table and stood up. His level was higher than Xing Conglian’s, so he confidently scolded, “Xing Conglian, who do you think you are? Until now, you haven’t explained anything logically. You’re just talking nonsense, and no wonder you can’t catch the criminals or extract confessions!”

With one hand in his pocket, Xing Conglian looked down at the strategy expert who questioned him not far away.

Actually, how could the culprit be without reason? With just a few words of verbal infringement, they managed to divide people who should have been united. Then, when it comes to life-and-death interests, who can guarantee that the moral values held by this society will not be shaken?

Xing Conglian said, “I call you stupid because you have seen the briefing, and you should know about the voting incident that happened on the Dark Web. So, do you think the culprit is just inciting chaos everywhere merely to satisfy the desires of some internet perverts who want to see violent and bloody events?”

“You!” The strategy expert was rendered speechless by the question. He then retorted, “And you also said he wanted to prove that people don’t need to be responsible for their criminal actions. But this kind of proof is meaningless in reality. The force of law is not determined by him. Even if he’s dissatisfied, he has to accept it!”

“I said this was just an appetizer.” Xing Conglian turned around and drew a map of the three provinces on the glass panel with a bright red water-based pen. “The appetizer proves his ability to threaten our social security. After widespread coverage in the news media and causing a sense of insecurity in all the masses, he can move on to the second stage.”

Throwing away the pen, Xing Conglian pointed to the map on the glass panel and asked, “Suppose this voting didn’t occur on the Dark Web. Suppose that in the real world, everyone has the right to vote. Each resident of the three provinces has the power to select the next target for the attack. What do you think would happen then?”

It was like a gale blowing or a thunderbolt striking.

This was Xing Conglian’s mood when he heard Lin Chen’s question. And now, in this simple command room, in front of the scrolling TV news, everyone finally understood his feelings at that time.

Shock, followed by being at a loss.

But Lin Chen’s questioning didn’t end there. He asked Xing Conglian, “Xing Conglian, have you ever thought that the problem I faced back then was just a tiny human nature experiment with no great social significance? But what if now, he wants every person to face the same human nature experiment? If every resident in the three provinces has the power to choose the next attack location on a city-based level, do you think this really won’t shake the moral principles that our society relies on?”

Lin Chen’s voice was calm and slow. Now, Xing Conglian also repeated Lin Chen’s words to the people at the highest level of this country.

However, just like back then, Xing Conglian was at a loss, and the weathered old man in front of him also began to panic.

Xing Conglian thought, yes, each of them always claimed to believe in human nature. But deep down in an area that was hard to speak of, they didn’t believe that justice could overcome evil, that goodness could defeat ugliness, or that some people could eventually triumph over others…

In fact, they didn’t even believe in human nature itself.

“This is a balancing game on a tightrope,” Lin Chen said.

Kinky Thoughts:

There are a lot of philosophical ideas here. The question of whether morality is inherent or learned is one of the main points, and such a question has been debated and theorized by countless philosophers and social scientists.

Personally, I think morality is simply a social construct. We have law and order only because there’s an inherent system already set up to satisfy the basic needs of human nature (food and shelter, which ultimately means survivability). Stability for these things supersedes everything else, so we can easily accept laws established through morality (in order to maintain the stability of our survival).

That is not to say that some people aren’t more “moral” than others. Chemicals in the brain and personality play a huge factor as well. Due to chemical imbalances, they can affect how people see morality and their actions.

Thus, the question is, can these people be held accountable for their actions if what they are doing is inherently because of their genes. In a moral and civilized society, yes, since they pose an inherent risk to others and, by extension, the stability of our survivability. The bigger question now is, due to criminal actions, innocent people are now driven to act irrationally, which is outside their control. Can they still be held accountable when they commit crimes during such acts? Such is the gray area…

But I digress…

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