Chapter 79 Before the Storm 06

Fu Luoyin meticulously crafted a medication schedule for Lin Shuicheng, in which one particular medication required a dosage adjustment after a week's consumption, while another necessitated its initiation only during the second week following the intake of various other medications. In essence, the regimen was marked by its considerable variability.

He entered the schedule for the completed tasks into his phone's memo, set to vibrate at regular intervals each day. When it did, he would remind Lin Shuicheng to take his medicine promptly.

Sometimes when Lin Shuicheng is asleep or still drowsy but it's indeed time for him to take his medication, Fu Luoyin goes to rouse him. In response, Shuicheng playfully bites him, not too hard nor too soft, before burying his head back under the covers and resuming his slumber, leaving Fu Luoyin with no choice but to resign himself to such endearing mischief.

In such a situation, Fu Luoyin found himself bereft of better alternatives. After some contemplation, however, he devised a plan: to instigate discord between the two cats, inciting them to create a commotion that would carry all the way to Lin Shuicheng's presence, thereby rousing him from his slumber.

Then, he would casually remind him to take his medicine, and everything would fall into place seamlessly.

It was almost time for another round of medication, so Fu Luoyin exited the conference call to retrieve the pills Lin Shuicheng needed and prepared a glass of warm water.

Lin Shuicheng was taking his afternoon nap.

The previous night had been restless for him, with several awakenings throughout the hours. Eventually, he had gone to the living room to smoke—Fu Luoyin's menthol cigarettes.

There he sat alone in the dimly lit space, the flickering ember of his cigarette casting a faint glow upon his detached profile.

Fu Luoyin noticed but remained silent. When Lin Shuicheng returned, carrying the scent of menthol, he simply drew him closer into his embrace. Throughout the night, as Lin Shuicheng slept and woke again, Fu Luoyin sensed that his partner had lain awake, unrested, all through the hours.

The Chief, adopting the demeanor of a noble lady, was sprawled across the windowsill, forming a milky-white breadstick through the narrow skylight.

This spot had become the Chief's territory these past few days – high enough for lounging and just wide enough to accommodate one cat, not two. The little gray cat attempted to jump up several times but was repeatedly chased away by the Chief, eventually settling into a dejected ball on the table, snoring and farting beside Fu Luoyin.

Fu Luoyin rose and went to the windowsill to lift the Chief – the cat had recently allowed him the privilege of petting it – then deposited it on Lin Shuicheng's bed.

The Chief's fur immediately stood on end, its eyes watchful.

Unperturbed, Fu Luoyin continued to pick up the little gray cat, who submitted obediently to being carried over.

Next, Fu Luoyin held up the gray cat's paw and gently tapped it on the Chief's head. In an extremely soft voice, almost coaxing, he said to the terrified Chief, "Look, it's hitting you."

The little gray cat shook off his finger, approaching to sniff at and groom the Chief. The Chief, attempting to flee with a clawed push, found itself pinned down instead, and the two cats promptly tumbled onto the bed in a playful wrestling match.

Lin Shuicheng stirred.

Fu Luoyin hurried out, returning moments later with a glass of water and pre-prepared medicine. As he looked up, Lin Shuicheng was sitting up in bed, rubbing his hair, his eyes revealing signs of weariness and fatigue.

He watched the kittens tussling on the bed.

Fu Luoyin hurried over and coaxed him, "Come, take your medicine before you sleep."

Lin Shuicheng took the medicine and handed him the cup, but then didn't move again, his entire being in a daze.

Sitting patiently by the bedside, Fu Luoyin asked, "Do you want to sleep a bit more? Should I put the two cats in timeout? Or should I accompany you for a nap?"

Lin Shuicheng didn't respond either way, so Fu Luoyin shut the cats out of the room and closed the door. 'Putting them in timeout' essentially meant just chasing them out of the bedroom.

Quickly climbing into bed, Fu Luoyin wrapped his arms around Lin Shuicheng through the blankets and couldn't help but comment, "These two little rascals are really too much."

This time, Lin Shuicheng couldn't be bothered to glance at him.

Thirty minutes later, Lin Shuicheng woke up again, feeling weak all over.

He rolled over, reached under his pillow for his phone, unlocked it, and continued reading.

His phone screen hadn't changed these past few days; it was still the Ninth Bureau information he'd copied from his computer. Whenever he thought of it while awake, he would take a look.

None of the accidents held the scene he wanted to see, but Lin Shuicheng still continued reading through them these past two days.

The case he was currently engrossed in was eerily similar to his own experience on the mountain road, with an incredibly lengthy chain of causality leading to the disaster.

It happened three years ago when the Alliance was holding a torch relay race across its various branches. The planned route had to be altered due to a conflict with the construction site of a private hospital that had already begun. This change was promptly uploaded to the Alliance's route planning system, and there wouldn't have been any issues if AI were controlling the progression.

However, on that particular day, the lead vehicle, a giant banner car, was being manually driven instead of AI-controlled. In response to the major event, human drivers were in charge of leading the convoy.

It was pouring heavily that day, and halfway through their journey, the driver received an urgent notification about the route change. They then turned back, causing a two-minute delay in the overall schedule. That two-minute time difference led to a delay for the vehicles following, and as a result, the last giant banner car missed its designated entry time. When it finally entered the venue, the driver took a turn, crashing into the blind spot and obliterating the entire torch bearer formation!

The car proceeded along its original planned route. Upon detecting a large crowd at the turn, the driver immediately applied the brakes from high speed, but the momentum still caused twenty-four injuries, with five fatalities.

None of the torch bearers had anticipated death lurking behind them. The scene instantly collapsed into chaos, a horrific sight to behold.

This incident became famously known as the "Torch Tragedy" two years ago. The term "Ghost Car" emerged in countless discussions, attracting paranormal enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists. Unable to withstand the public pressure, the driver committed suicide as an apology.

But the story didn't end there. Due to its societal impact, the Alliance demanded a ban on human-AI collaboration in large events, advocating full AI route planning. This regulation extended across all industries, leading to increased unemployment. Despite the generous unemployment benefits provided by the Alliance, many people struggled through a significant lifestyle adjustment for quite some time.

This environment fueled radicalism, and at one point, a coalition was formed to protest against the government, urging the Alliance to prioritize citizens' self-worth. After failed negotiations, numerous self-founded religious organizations and anti-government gatherings emerged overnight, posing a severe challenge to the Alliance. In the process of dealing with lawbreakers, there were even casualties among law enforcement officers.

Among the groups that had emerged in the past was one that had gone by the name RANDOM.

It only appeared for a day, lost amidst a sea of slogans. To this day, the only trace of its existence is an untraceable and location-undisclosed post on a social platform.

That day, an anonymous account with the username "unpredictable" posted a cryptic message: "we are at random."

This record was precisely why the incident was classified as a case of "uncertainty" by Department Nine. Despite the organization's silent disappearance and the fading memories of protests from years ago, anyone aware of the matter couldn't help but associate it with the current RANDOM group.

"Falling asleep? What are you looking at?" Fu Luoyin wrapped his arms around Lin Shuicheng from behind, asking casually.

He assumed Lin Shuicheng was reading ordinary academic materials, but upon glancing over, he saw something akin to conspiracy theories and gossip. A chill ran down his spine—Lin Shuicheng's mental state was already unstable, and he reacted strongly to topics like chain reactions, the butterfly effect, and accidents. Exposing him to such negative information now could only spell trouble.

Just as he was about to take Lin Shuicheng's phone away and coax him into playing poker, Lin Shuicheng spoke softly.

He asked, "What exactly is this RANDOM organization?"

Fu Luoyin recalled that Lin Shuicheng had crossed paths with the R Organization during the famous painting case. Although he narrowly avoided involvement in the Luo Song incident due to coincidence, the experience still left a lingering sense of unease. It was natural for curiosity to arise.

He pondered for a moment. "It's not easy to provide specifics. I haven't had much exposure to this organization's information either. The Seventh Bureau isn't directly involved. All we currently know is that the other side possesses high-tech capabilities that are difficult to replicate. As for how advanced, our Seventh Bureau hasn't received any relevant documents. That's all I can share; it's classified information."

His expression turned serious as he casually asked Lin Shuicheng, "Why are you suddenly interested in this?"

"From a case I saw," Lin Shuicheng recited what he had read on his phone. Then he added, "I find the concept of the butterfly effect fascinating."

Fearful that Lin Shuicheng might get trapped in another inexplicable academic loop, Fu Luoyin quickly cleared his throat. "In my opinion, it has nothing to do with the butterfly effect at all."

Lin Shuicheng looked up at him.

Taking the opportunity, Fu Luoyin pulled Lin Shuicheng closer into his embrace. "Let me explain it to you. The butterfly effect, as they call it, refers to the mutual influence between events, which is a natural phenomenon following the law of cause and effect—cause and effect being the most direct and natural relationship between things. If you were to understand the butterfly effect, you'd essentially have a grasp on the law of cause and effect as a weapon."

Lin Shuicheng remained silent.

Fu Luoyin continued to engage him in playful banter. In a low voice, he said, "Do you know who the last person to wield the weapon of the law of cause and effect was?"

Lin Shuicheng looked up at him.

Fu Luoyin replied, "It was our esteemed leader. They have an unbreakable causal link."

Lin Shuicheng: "..."

Fu Luoyin said, "We already know that when the Chief is thrown onto the bed, he lands on all fours. See, isn't it magical? When you toss a buttered slice of bread into the air, the buttered side always hits the ground first. If we stick an unbuttered slice to the Chief's back and throw them both up in the air simultaneously, our Chief will spin in mid-air... An eternal motion machine has been created!"

Lin Shuicheng murmured, "That's too much of a pun. And it's quite outdated."

Fu Luoyin replied, "So, as you can see, there's no such thing as a causality weapon. Murphy's Law says that if anything can go wrong, it will, but that's just a probabilistic statement, not a genuine cause-and-effect relationship." He continued, "The misfortune we encounter might not be a direct result of one specific event but rather a combination of everything happening at every moment. In the case you read to me, some might think that a single detour caused such dire consequences. But what's the real cause? It's the recent shift in the labor market in the Alliance, including the organic chemistry industry, where AI has replaced many jobs, leaving many people unemployed. Their sense of self-worth vanished abruptly... That's definitely an instability factor, bound to erupt sooner or later."

"You're not a deity, Teacher Little Lin. Being a god would be exhausting, wouldn't it, with so many things to arrange and endless overtime?"

Teasing him, Fu Luoyin gently stroked Lin Shuicheng's cheek.

Cool and soft.

Lin Shuicheng muttered, "But someone acted like a deity. Someone calculated it. Nine—Someone told me that RANDOM...RANDOM seems to have figured it out."

"That's all fake, a pseudo-god that might deceive for a while but will eventually expose its flaws," Fu Luoyin said, his voice steady and resolute. "Who solved the case of the two famous paintings, Teacher Little Lin?"

Lin Shuicheng stared at him, dazed.

"Two paintings that current technology fails to distinguish – they were essentially placing themselves on a pedestal. Unfortunately, they didn't get to enjoy it for long before you knocked them down," Fu Luoyin encouraged him. "If you could do it once, you can do it again. Isn't it just the butterfly effect? Although theoretically, I also believe it's unexplainable, if you're interested in pursuing this, go ahead, Lin Shuicheng. Is there anything you can't do?"

Lin Shuicheng fell silent.

Fu Luoyin also remained quiet, giving him some time to ponder.

He knew that Lin Shuicheng tended to dwell on things, and at times like these, he needed to figure things out on his own.

After a while, Lin Shuicheng spoke up.

"There are still things I can't do," Lin Shuicheng said.

Fu Luoyin pricked up his ears, looking at Lin Shuicheng with a touch of nervous anticipation.

Lin Shuicheng continued, "I can't stick a buttered bread to the leader's body. It doesn't like anything sticky on it, and I can't catch it."

"..." Fu Luoyin watched as Lin Shuicheng delivered this statement without any expression, genuinely realizing...

This joke was indeed too cold.