Chapter 100 Falling Flowers and Spring Gone 06

Rain poured down in sheets, blending with the blazing flames and smoke, creating a dense fog. The deserted harbor was flattened, devoid of any signs of life amidst the rubble.

From above, a voice crackled through the helicopter's communication system, "This is Unit One of the Police Task Force, come back if you hear us. Report your situation."

"Friendly status confirmed. Standby for landing, there may be a self-destruct mechanism in play. I'll check first," Fu Luoyin reconnected to the system, scanning for heat sources. He detected a human-like heat signature beneath a collapsed wall, with signs of life.

Activating his speaker, his deep voice echoed through the stormy sky, "You're surrounded, Chen Lang. Surrender all weapons, don't resist. The self-destruct won't save you. Each one of you that falls means one less enemy for us. But your information is already in our hands."

Opening the car door, his assistant reached out to stop him. Fu Luoyin shook his head, silencing the attempt. With his weapon drawn, he approached the shattered wall almost soundlessly.

All noises were drowned by the deluge, as if the cold winter rain could wash away every sin and stain.

Chen Lang lay face up on the ground, gasping for breath. Forty percent of his body was burnt, while the remaining areas were pierced by shrapnel and gravel, blood flowing freely.

Yet, he still breathed. He gazed at the sky with serene, wide eyes, his chest rising and falling gently.

Fu Luoyin stepped over the rain-soaked gravel, stopping beside Chen Lang and crouching down to assess his condition. In Chen Lang's palm, he found half a controller, the self-destruct system obliterated along with it.

"Chen Lang," he called his name, studying the severely burned figure. Gesturing upward, he signaled the helicopter to land.

Chen Lang was supposed to be an elite of society, refined and dignified. Even if he survived this, he would most likely end up disabled.

His gaze had been vacantly fixed on the sky above, but when Fu Luoyin leaned in to examine him, the ID card in his pocket slipped out along with it. The blue string suspending the card dangled downward, revealing three characters: Lin Shuicheng.

On the back was Lin Shuicheng's photograph.

Finally, a flicker of emotion appeared in Chen Lang's eyes as he fixated on the badge hanging from Fu Luoyin's neck, seemingly trying to discern something from its rotation. Noticing his gaze, Fu Luoyin slid the ID card back into Chen Lang's pocket.

This action seemed to amuse Chen Lang, who coughed weakly, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his grotesquely distorted face. "No wonder God favors you. You're a tough nut to crack..."

"Coldly, Fu Luoyin replied, "He has a name—it's Lin Shuicheng. He's my boyfriend. Thanks for your concern." As he spoke, he retrieved medical supplies from his gear and began dressing Chen Lang's wounds.

Another bout of violent coughing wracked Chen Lang's body, causing him to convulse in pain. Still, he maintained that twisted grin. "No need... I'm dying... My sister is in the house. She doesn't know, please... please..."

"Instead of entrusting her to us, you wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't joined the RANDOM organization," Fu Luoyin said sternly. "Who's the leader of your group? Apart from those you saw in your clinic?"

"Useless...," Chen Lang whispered. "Who would... refuse the chance to see fate? No one is born to... suffer so much. Job shouldn't have endured the trials destiny dealt him... But the god in that story was fake; we're real. Long ago, we could already see the choices fate presents."

"Hush, conserve your strength," Fu Luoyin murmured.

"I can't survive, it's useless," Chen Lang coughed violently, regaining some strength in his voice. He raised his unburnt hand toward Fu Luoyin, "I didn't have many years left to begin with."

At first glance, it wouldn't be noticeable, but upon closer inspection, one could see that Chen Lang's flesh seemed to be decaying from the joints, revealing the muscles and veins beneath. His skin was so thin that it appeared to be hanging on by a thread, a ghastly sight.

"Genetic optimization?" Fu Luoyin asked softly.

"Two... genetic nuclei, one optimized... The optimized nucleus gradually eliminates the original, like how the immune system clears antigens," Chen Lang smiled, "I used to be a poor student, with slight intellectual disabilities as a child. Later, with this," he pointed at his head, "I earned double degrees, even a Ph.D. That person said to change fate, to control the turning points of the world, and to change oneself—none can be omitted... In your scientific terms, it means altering both dependent and independent variables simultaneously."

Chen Lang asked with a smile, "It must be hard to understand, few outsiders do. But who would willingly be born into a family destined for contempt, who wants to grow up as a mentally challenged child... who wishes for a heart condition, blindness, and a life spent in a wheelchair? My only regret is that God gave me too little time, far too little..."

Pain gnawed at his reason, and he seemed like a patient who had finally found someone to confide in. Now, the roles were reversed, and he held onto Fu Luoyin, narrating his life in a trance-like state.

Fu Luoyin interrupted him sternly, "What's Lin Shuicheng's connection to you? Why do you call him God? Has he also undergone genetic modification?"

"God...," Chen Lang struggled to speak, "He was that person's perfect creation, the only hope to see all future destinies. But after so many years, he's only walked half the path we've already tread... That person is very disappointed in him."

"Who's that person?" In just a few minutes, Fu Luoyin noticed a drastic pallor in Chen Lang's face, sensing that something was gravely wrong. He hastened his pace, asking, "Who else is there with you?"

Chen Lang whispered, "AT RANDOM."

"..." Fu Luoyin paused, slightly stunned. "What do you mean by random? Chen Lang? Chen—"

"Take care of Chen Ai."

A tinge of bitterness crept into Chen Lang's smile, and then his expression finally settled into calmness. In that moment, it was as if he had laid down a heavy burden, redirecting his gaze back to the sky. Gradually, his eyes lost their luster.

In just a few seconds, memories of his life flashed before him like a carousel.

He saw himself being sent out of the classroom on a winter night for failing to grasp addition and subtraction within fifty. He saw the infant girl, purple and alien-like, nestled in his parents' arms. He heard the reason behind his parents' decision to have this girl: "Chen Lang said he wanted a little sister. He's a bit slow, but otherwise fine. It should be okay to have another child."

He saw himself being wheeled into surgery, aware that his life would forever be altered. He saw Chen Ai in her wheelchair, growing quieter, then smiling again because of his "precognitive" ability.

She asked him about the weather at night, when the jasmine-selling old lady would pass by their balcony, just as she did when they faced their ugly, sinful, and taboo-filled home. She asked him, "Brother, when will things get better for us?"

It was a summer night when he first noticed his palms thinning. The power went out at home, so they lit candles for light. Moths and insects flew in through the window, burning to ashes with a sizzling sound.

Chen Ai listened attentively and said, "Brother, are those moths flying into the fire?"

He replied, "No, they're butterflies."

He had brought her into existence; he was her butterfly. But she would never know.

Within a single day, the Alliance mobilized all available police and military forces to comb through every psychological clinic and counseling department, directly identifying nearly three hundred members of the RANDOM organization. More than half of them chose self-destruction after fleeing, while the other half actively defended and counterattacked. Thanks to Fu Luoyin's timely decision, most of the RANDOM members were caught off guard.

The previously elusive RANDOM organization had its first veil torn away that day, and more of its members were surfacing.

"In addition to the high-energy radiation fog, heavy laser weapons, and rocket launchers that Deputy Director Fu initially encountered, today's search and capture operation also faced microwave weapons, Tasers, and particle beam weapons. None of the captured RANDOM members have been cooperative so far. Judging from the equipment they possess, it seems they're using homemade devices with technology surpassing our current level. If there are more such devices and personnel, the situation we'll face could be even more severe."

In the conference room, the atmosphere was exceptionally tense.

A Defense Agency staff member presented in front of a projector, "But there is some good news: Mr. Lin Shuicheng's model has proven effective. We've recovered the wreckage of Vehicles 2 to 7 from the RANDOM Port Alley incident at the coordinates he calculated. Meanwhile, we're using Mr. Lin's model to screen the captured individuals and others suspected to be related, narrowing down the search to nearly a thousand people. This system works very quickly, and we should be able to identify all suspicious individuals within five days."

He Muya nodded and took over the discussion, "We'll adopt Mr. Lin Shuicheng's point that correlation does not imply causality. Given the wartime circumstances, we'll detain all highly correlated suspects for further investigation."

"Besides this matter, we'll analyze the intelligence Deputy Director Fu sent from the frontlines: examining the profile of the RANDOM leader and deciphering what Chen Lang meant by 'AT RANDOM.' Today was a significant breakthrough; we've at least assessed the enemy's strength and purpose, enabling us to identify suspicious individuals. Let's stay vigilant and work together to overcome this crisis!"

The entire room responded in unison, "Yes!"

"Mr. Lin, your genetic test results are ready."

On the ninth floor, the workroom door was wide open. A nurse from the medical bay entered with a stack of reports in hand.

The room was packed with people. The analysts and comparators were struggling to grasp Lin Shuicheng's developed system, let alone understand how to monitor its parameters. Lin Shuicheng was busy modeling each piece of information he received from the frontlines.

He looked up at the nurse with a smile. "Thank you. I'll take them."

Rising from his seat, he accepted the reports and then addressed the group of personnel surrounding him. "I need more data and information to verify correlations. To enhance efficiency, it would be best to run multiple devices in parallel. Quantum computers are out of the question, so the more equipment I have access to, the better."

One of the Ninth Bureau members promptly replied, "We'll arrange that for you right away. The second floor is the data layer, and an entire floor of equipment will be at your disposal. Should we move there now?"

Lin Shuicheng nodded. "Yes, but give me a moment to collect my thoughts."

The workroom fell silent.

Lin Shuicheng sat back down with the documents, reaching out to touch his chest where he gently pulled out his ID badge. On the photo, Fu Luoyin was gazing at him intently, his eyes concealing endless rebelliousness and sharpness.

Their morning communication had been cut short, leaving Lin Shuicheng no time to speak to Fu Luoyin.

Given the urgency of the situation, Fu Luoyin had been on the frontline, and they hadn't had any chance to talk. The last time Lin Shuicheng saw Fu Luoyin was outside the elevator, standing beside him as he tilted his head and asked, "Does it hurt?"

In those depths lay a galaxy of stars, reflecting the contours of his eyes.

Despite having heard from others that "Lin Shuicheng is RANDOM's most perfect creation," Lin Shuicheng no longer felt that palpitation in his chest. It was as if a gentle breeze had swept away the only hidden unease he had concealed within him.

For they were fighting side by side. Because in this world, there was still someone he loved who had spoken to him directly: he was not any kind of predicament; Lin Shuicheng was simply Lin Shuicheng.

Reaching out, Lin Shuicheng flipped open the diagnostic report:

Before his eyes appeared several lines of text:

"Lin Shuicheng's Molecular Genetic Examination Report - Observation Period: Seven Days"

"Genetic Nucleus Type: Single"

"Unique Abnormality: Slightly elevated lithium levels in the body, indicative of antidepressant substances"

"Conclusion: No signs of genetic modification detected."