The most critical gambles often unfold in the blink of an eye, and the Ancient Capital was no exception; the upheaval came with staggering speed. By the next day, researchers returning from field assignments were informed that the Ancient Capital had entered a state of lockdown. All personnel were to undergo rigorous security screenings. Zhao Meiyou, the Director of the Ancient Capital Research Institute, had been stripped of his post and imprisoned on suspicion of violating the Metropolis Prohibitions.
Currently, there were only two Metropolis Prohibitions: first, the ban on space exploration; second, the ban on android technology. However, neither had a strict definition, leaving massive loopholes to be exploited.
When the Ancient Capital was first established, these loopholes served as a professional convenience for everyone. Now, they had become the very blade used to stab them in the back.
*The Prohibitions are like bricks—useful wherever you need to plug a hole,* Zhao Meiyou thought, a cigarette dangling from his lips. *They’re certainly handy. The government is clearly kicking me while I’m down.*
He was confined in a sealed chamber originally designed to contain high-risk experimental subjects. Ironically, he had designed the room himself. Aside from his terminal being confiscated, he hadn't been searched when he was brought in—a silent acknowledgment of the fact that no matter what he carried, escape was impossible.
Zhao Meiyou had nothing on him but his clothes and a pack of cigarettes. He still had his lighter, but it was useless; when he designed this room, he had set the monitoring sensitivity so high that the moment a flame flickered, the fire sprinklers would blast him against the wall.
After being soaked for half the night, Zhao Meiyou had cleared his head and tallied his situation. Madam Diao had arrived with aggressive intent, seemingly poised to swallow the entire Ancient Capital whole. Regardless of what she planned to do with the Institute, a maneuver of this scale could never have escaped the eyes of the Metropolis government.
The Diao family and the government must have reached an agreement.
*I’ve been sold out,* Zhao Meiyou concluded.
He wasn't particularly surprised. Madam Diao was, at her core, a businesswoman. When he first decided to cooperate with the Diao family, he had prepared himself for this. He had only one wish: to complete the experiment at hand.
Now that Qian Duoduo was nearly perfected—stuck at ninety percent with no further progress in sight—Madam Diao’s decision to "slaughter the donkey now that the millstone is finished" wasn't exactly unexpected, even if it was cold-blooded.
Zhao Meiyou had kept some data as a life-preserver and didn't fear death. His current concerns were the future of the Ancient Capital and the subsequent research on the Buddha Head.
And Qian Duoduo.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the door finally opened again. Madam Diao walked in. She was a woman with eyes full of lingering affection; at first glance, she could have passed for Diao Chan’s sister. She looked like an Eastern classical beauty, possessing the face of a Bodhisattva while a demon resided in her eyes.
"Director Zhao," Madam Diao said slowly, sitting down on the other side of the glass. "I apologize for this treatment. During the takeover of the Ancient Capital, we need to perform a clean sweep of all facilities. Space is limited, so I must ask you to endure this for now. Once we return to the Metropolis, the government has arranged a much more superior living environment for retirees."
In a few sentences, she laid out the entire situation. Zhao Meiyou didn't bother asking what kind of "retirement" a lawbreaker like him would actually enjoy. He was worried about something else. "Where is Diao Chan?"
It was unlikely Diao Chan had sold him out—under certain conditions, it wasn't impossible, but Zhao Meiyou was certain Diao Chan would never sell him to Madam Diao. The relationship between that mother and son was as twisted as a modern-day Hamlet overlaid with Oedipus.
Now that Madam Diao was taking over the Ancient Capital with such fanfare and Diao Chan hadn't sent a single word, coupled with the fact that both he and Liu Qijue were in Antarctica, Zhao Meiyou had to consider the worst-case scenario.
Madam Diao blinked her left eye. It was a difficult movement to describe; few people can close only one eye without twitching the muscles of the other, but she did it with surgical precision. It was like a system refresh, completing a massive amount of thought and information processing in an instant. Zhao Meiyou watched her facial movements, stunned for a moment, then heard her ask: "You wish to see Diao Chan?"
Zhao Meiyou couldn't help but sit up straight. "I wish to see my friend—or rather, your son."
Madam Diao studied him, giving a very gentle smile. "It’s truly rare to see Director Zhao play the emotional card."
"One has to try," Zhao Meiyou exhaled. "So, what happened to Diao Chan?"
Madam Diao’s question, "You wish to see Diao Chan," revealed many things. The most direct point was that Diao Chan must be constrained by some predicament. Otherwise, the woman wouldn't have needed to ask; Diao Chan would have found his own way to see him. He had plenty of methods, and Zhao Meiyou didn't doubt his friends would blow up the Metropolis government if necessary.
The fact that Madam Diao asked meant Zhao Meiyou wouldn't see his old friend so easily.
At best, it would require an exchange.
At worst, it was the woman’s sick sense of amusement.
The outcome was already decided; she was merely enjoying the struggle of a trapped beast.
During their brief exchange, they didn't share much useful information. For the most part, the woman spoke in a rambling manner while Zhao Meiyou listened. Before leaving, she left him with one final sentence: "If we are lucky, we will not meet again, Director Zhao."
It was only much later that Zhao Meiyou understood the meaning of those words.
He was likely transferred to the Metropolis for a period. Zhao Meiyou couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard the automated broadcasts from the 330th floor. He never left his room. The Ancient Capital might have had the entire building moved wholesale to the Metropolis. High-level government officials sent specialists to conduct the review process, seemingly unsure of what crime to charge him with. Eventually, the simple meals delivered daily were replaced by various pills he was forced to take. Zhao Meiyou couldn't be sure what effect those drugs were having on his body. His sleep grew longer and longer, yet he never dreamed. He began to suspect the drugs were meant to solidify his brain matter; perhaps after he died, his brain would be sliced into countless frozen sections, enough to fill an entire library.
Finally, upon waking one day, Zhao Meiyou saw light again. It wasn't the mercury lamps of the confinement cell, but genuine sunlight. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was still dreaming.
He was back in the Ancient Capital.
Zhao Meiyou didn't know when he had returned. He was sitting in a large conference room—the place where monthly reports for Experimental Site No. 2 used to be held. He looked around; the tiered seating was filled with people. He was surrounded in the center like an experimental specimen awaiting observation.
He noticed he was hooked up to an IV bag.
Seeing him awake, a pale, frail man in the stands spoke. "Zhao Meiyou."
Zhao Meiyou thought for a moment and realized this man was a senior researcher from the Antarctica faction he had met during previous coordination meetings.
So he replied, "Aren't you that... what's-his-name? It's been years. Did you get a promotion?"
The researcher ignored his flippant remark. The research culture in Antarctica was diametrically opposed to that of the Ancient Capital. The Capital leaned toward the academic, while Antarctica practiced militarized management. They loathed the lax style under Zhao Meiyou’s leadership. The man looked at Zhao Meiyou as if he were a rare virus. "After deliberation by the Metropolis government, it has been decided to give you an opportunity to atone for your crimes."
Without waiting for Zhao Meiyou to respond, he continued, "The Antarctica faction is conducting a large-scale experiment and has encountered certain technical obstacles." He paused, adding with a hint of humiliation, "If you can provide effective assistance, the government will consider reducing your sentence."
This pitch was so full of holes that Zhao Meiyou didn't even know where to start. Finally, he simply asked, "What experiment?"
"The Fusion Experiment."
Zhao Meiyou was handed a brief on the experimental procedures. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed.
"You people really are at your wits' end, aren't you?"
How desperate did they have to be to dare show him a document like this?
The Fusion Experiment—converting human consciousness into data and attempting to merge it with existing programs. The underlying logic was similar to how Zhao Meiyou had restored the Buddha: using Program A to offset Program B, achieving a fusion where one plus one was greater than two.
The report showed that this experiment had been running for a long time. But unlike Zhao Meiyou’s creation of Qian Duoduo, the Fusion Experiment led by Antarctica used living human subjects.
And the program they were trying to merge with human consciousness was none other than Qian Duoduo.
Zhao Meiyou’s mind went blank for a moment. He looked at the long list of experimental subjects in the report—Experiment No. 173, Subject: Liu Qijue.
"...The personality program you created has remained stagnant at the ninety percent stage. Therefore, Antarctica decided to take more aggressive measures, attempting to merge the program into living human brains via electrodes to perfect it. However, the resistance is too strong, and the results achieved so far are extremely limited..." The researcher stopped halfway through his explanation. "Zhao Meiyou?"
"I'm listening." Zhao Meiyou flipped a page of the report. "Antarctica should know my stance on human experimentation."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," the researcher said, well-prepared. "And all subjects signed informed consent forms beforehand."
He didn't get the outburst he expected. Zhao Meiyou finished the report and tossed the stack of papers onto the table. "To kill so many people just to get the last bit of core data from the Buddha Head... have the government accountants lost their minds?"
"The cutting-edge technology of the 22nd century is beyond our imagination," the researcher said. "If we rely solely on internal development within the Metropolis, it might take several generations to reach the peak of civilization from that era. Sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many is not a loss from a statistical standpoint."
*The experiment must be stopped,* Zhao Meiyou thought coldly. *And then I need to find a way to take all these bastards down with me.*
*And then I’ll have to pay for it with my life.*
The researcher continued talking, trying to get Zhao Meiyou to join the Fusion Experiment. Zhao Meiyou had been the Director of the Ancient Capital Research Institute for years, but most of the bureaucratic dealings had been handled by Diao Chan. Since the Director couldn't leave the Ancient Capital, the current Antarctica faction—and even the Metropolis government—didn't truly understand what kind of person Zhao Meiyou was.
Madam Diao likely understood. But Zhao Meiyou had just seen her name in the report.
Experimental Subject No. 0045.
Zhao Meiyou knew he was caught in a massive trap. Given the Diao family’s power and Madam Diao’s shrewdness, the possibility of the government forcing her to be a subject was essentially zero.
That woman was a high-stakes gambler. If she was willing to put herself on the line as a stake, what exactly was she hoping to gain?
What other secrets was this "Fusion Experiment" hiding?
How much of a chance did Liu Qijue have of being alive?
Zhao Meiyou remained silent for a long time before making his first request.
"I want to see Diao Chan."
During his confinement, all of Zhao Meiyou’s requests had been rejected. Recalling what Madam Diao had said to him, it was easy to imagine that Diao Chan’s situation was far from easy. The moment he saw the report, Zhao Meiyou almost thought the guy was dead. However, since Madam Diao had become a subject, according to a merchant's habit of having a backup plan, Diao Chan should be the one left behind.
The result was exactly as he thought.
When they met again, Diao Chan had lost a lot of weight. The dark circles under his eyes were bruised and heavy. From several paces away, Zhao Meiyou could smell the thick scent of coffee on him, along with a familiar hint of mint. "You're smoking?"
"Zhao Mode." Diao Chan came forward and hugged him directly, his voice weary yet relieved. "...You're still alive."
This was two weeks after Zhao Meiyou’s return to the Ancient Capital. He had been taken from his monitored ward and brought to a hover-car. Before getting in, he saw the emblem engraved on the vehicle—the Diao family crest.
"We don't have much time." Diao Chan tossed him a pack of cigarettes; in this situation, no one cared about health anymore. "Wake yourself up. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say."
The hover-car ascended to a high altitude, and a shielding magnetic field was activated. Diao Chan’s voice rose and fell amidst the static interference of the magnetic waves. Liu Qijue wasn't dead, but the situation wasn't optimistic. After the Ancient Capital was fully taken over, the Little Teacher and Xiao Yao were both placed under control. Zhao Meiyou had been taken away so suddenly that Diao Chan had spent a great deal of energy sorting through the various legacies his mother had left behind, barely stabilizing the family internally. Only then did he manage to pull strings with the government to get Zhao Meiyou back to the Ancient Capital.
"The most important thing is the Fusion Experiment," Diao Chan said. "This experiment cannot continue. You’re the only one who can stop it."
Zhao Meiyou understood instantly. "You're talking about Qian Duoduo’s command authority."
"Exactly. The government holds a portion of Qian Duoduo’s code, which is why Antarctica can use it for experiments. But Qian Duoduo’s intelligence is already very high. At first, it kept refusing commands, so Antarctica forcibly formatted it..."
Zhao Meiyou bolted upright, then slumped back down from weakness. "Formatted?!"
Diao Chan hurried to support him. "Calm down. The government only has the surface code. When I filed the reports back then, I had to give them some real substance... Never mind that. In short, Antarctica hasn't been able to breach Qian Duoduo’s operational core. Ever since you were taken from the Ancient Capital, its core area automatically shut down. It can't be woken up. Any attempt to force a start-up just fries a mainframe."
"Antarctica’s cooperation with you this time is ostensibly to have you help with the live experiments, but in reality, they want to get the master command authority for Qian Duoduo from you."
Zhao Meiyou laughed. "Didn't you tell them they're dreaming?"
"Be serious." Diao Chan sighed. Talking to Zhao Meiyou was always like this; even if it were the end of the world, the conversation would turn absurd. "Zhao Meiyou, the Antarctica research teams are currently moving to the Ancient Capital in droves. This is the contract my mother left before she went under. I’ve tried everything and I can't stop it, but there’s definitely something wrong here."
The amount of information in Diao Chan’s words was immense, but Zhao Meiyou could process it rapidly. The Ancient Capital’s reliance on Diao family funding meant that aside from the core areas Zhao personally managed, many places had been infiltrated by the Diaos. From equipment procurement to surveillance, many source codes were in the Diao family’s hands. If Madam Diao had an agreement with the government, it wouldn't be hard for Antarctica to take over the Ancient Capital. They could easily obtain all the detailed data of the Institute.
This meant that the place Zhao Meiyou had poured his life’s work into would soon become a slaughterhouse for the living.
"How much do you know about this 'Fusion Experiment'?" Zhao Meiyou asked.
"Not much more than you. The bits of news I have were dug out from my mother." Diao Chan smoked one cigarette after another. "When I went to Antarctica to find Liu, I was detained the moment I stepped off the transport. All news was blocked. Even the private channel the three of us used on our terminals couldn't get through. I knew then that things had gone south. Only the highest-level lockdown field can block our channel; a standard military type wouldn't cut it. It had to be war-grade."
Whatever Antarctica was doing, if it involved such a high level of secrecy, it certainly wasn't something that could be covered up by saying a few people went mad or died in an experimental accident.
"Later, I was picked up by the butler. My mother left the entire estate to me, except for two things—one was the transfer agreement for the Ancient Capital she signed with the Metropolis government, and the other was her becoming a subject for the Fusion Experiment."
As the head of the Diao family, Madam Diao was decisive and ruthless. Such a person wouldn't have some noble resolve to sacrifice herself for science, nor could one expect her to have some tragic secret. It could only be that there was a massive benefit hidden behind the "Fusion Experiment," something that even a person like her would find irresistible.
"I have a guess," Zhao Meiyou said. "If it involves the data conversion of human consciousness, could it be related to lifespan?"
"I’ve thought of that." Diao Chan clearly realized it too. "Theoretically, if full conversion can be achieved, it could even mean immortality—but that’s just theory. It might only have been possible at the peak of 22nd-century technology. Otherwise, you wouldn't have struggled so much researching Qian Duoduo."
Zhao Meiyou thought for a moment. "I remember the government took some key data before, related to quantum technology."
Quantum technology, consciousness conversion, the Fusion Experiment.
What was the connection between the three?
Diao Chan wasn't a heavy smoker like Zhao Meiyou. After smoking too much, he began to cough, clearly finding it harsh. "If you're not used to it, don't smoke." Zhao Meiyou took the cigarette from his hand. "If you must, change brands. Marlboros are too strong."
Marlboros used raw tobacco. The specific type Zhao Meiyou usually smoked also had menthol added. Years ago, when they pulled all-nighters in the lab, the smell of his smoke mixed with Diao Chan’s coffee could knock out a room full of interns.
"Mind your own business." Diao Chan swatted his hand away. "This is all the intel I have. If we can't figure out what the Fusion Experiment is really up to in a short time, we’ll have to find another way. Within a month, the Antarctica expedition will fully move into the Ancient Capital."
One month. Zhao Meiyou considered the chips they had left. Suddenly, he said, "If you absolutely must smoke Marlboros, you can keep a piece of candy in your mouth. Peach flavor is best."
"Are you trying to trick me? How could that taste good?" Diao Chan instinctively thought the man was digging a hole for him again. "Wait, what are you thinking about now?"
"I'm not lying. Menthol and peach mixed together really isn't bad," Zhao Meiyou said. "Don't you remember? That's what I used to do back in school."
Diao Chan froze.
Zhao Meiyou studied his expression. "You don't remember?"
"No, but..." Diao Chan recalled the situation back then and suddenly looked at Zhao Meiyou. "How can you—"
"I don't have any other choice." Zhao Meiyou bit down on the cigarette filter. "Forget about me. Think about Liu Qijue, Diao Chan."
Diao Chan looked like he was about to lung forward and hit him, but he stopped dead at those words.
"To put it selfishly, I’m a bachelor with nothing to lose. Liu Qijue still has the Little Teacher and Xiao Yao. To put it broadly, can you stand to watch the Ancient Capital fall into the hands of those people from Antarctica?" Zhao Meiyou’s voice was lost in a cloud of smoke, his tone sharp as a blade.
"Human experimentation... they really have some nerve."
"I’ll handle the Ancient Capital," Zhao Meiyou said. "As for how the Metropolis government deals with us afterward, that’ll depend on your hard work."
Diao Chan stood there, looking unexpectedly lost. After a long while, he asked, "How do I help you?"
"A migration this large has to follow government procedures. Antarctica will likely move in two batches: the first will be equipment, the second will be the subjects and researchers." Zhao Meiyou said, "I need to know the time gap between the two. I also need time to act alone."
"How long?"
"Not long." Zhao Meiyou smiled. "One hour will be enough."
"One hour. The Ancient Capital is practically a fortress now, and you want me to get you an hour." Diao Chan wiped his face. "Zhao Mode, you really know how to ask for the impossible."
"Of course." Zhao Meiyou regained his lazy tone, sounding like the high-spirited youth of the past who would skip class to roam the black market. "I have to make it worth my while."
***
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