Chapter 196: California – Study Abroad – A Sinister End

Chapter 196: California - Study Abroad - A Sinister End

-1-

The night wind whipped across his face, carrying the scent of moist soil.

"Based on the GPS signal, they’re right here." A tall bodyguard opened the door for He Zhiseng and looked at the vast crosses in the cemetery. He reminded, "This area offers a clear line of sight. Do we need to search and confirm the environment is safe first?"

"Not necessary."

He Zhiseng had already spotted the old couple curled up in the pavilion.

He had deliberately chosen this remote and quiet suburban cemetery, not wanting any noisy disturbances to disturb his deceased wife's peace.

They had only attended the burial once and never mentioned it again.

He Zhiseng had always been tormented by the fact that he hadn't persuaded his deceased wife to keep her distance from her old family.

In his heart, he was clearly aware that even if someone suffered abuse physically, it was extremely difficult for them to abandon their blood relatives under the discipline of traditional culture.

Every day and night, he wondered if Xiao Yin had distanced herself from these people earlier, would she still be alive and happy?

His leather shoes made no sound as they stepped on the fallen leaves, until the two sharp beams of light from the bodyguards hit the old woman's face, causing Xiao Mu to shiver and look up in panic.

"How dare you come to us?!" she angrily said, "He Zhiseng! Is this how you treat us?! If Xiao Yin were still alive, she would want to kill you!"

He Zhiseng nodded slightly, and a white bodyguard slapped her.

The burly bodyguard’s slap sent her reeling.

Xiao Fu was startled and jumped up, shouting, "Just because you're rich doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want! Do you even have a conscience?! Is there any justice?! Don’t you fear retribution?!"

He Zhiseng nodded again, and a black bodyguard slapped him.

"Slap!"

With two slaps from the black and white duo, tears of humiliation welled up in the eyes of the two elderly Xiao’s.

"You're crazy, you're crazy—" Xiao Mu tried to back away. "What do you want to do, kill us both here and have us accompany her?!"

"Shut up." He Zhiseng said indifferently, "Should I use tape to shut you up?"

"Don’t think just because you’re in America you can act above the law!" Xiao Fu roared, "If you kill someone in America, you'll still be executed! My son is one of the best lawyers in America!"

He Zhiseng raised his hand, and the well-trained bodyguards quickly taped their mouths and bound them before hauling them off.

"Mmmph!!"

They were tossed into the car like sacks of potatoes, with no chance to resist.

After confirming the restraints were secure, the bodyguards skillfully took out a bucket, cloth, and a large bouquet of blooming blue water lilies. Following their monthly ritual, they cleaned the gravestone and tidied up the surrounding area.

Fallen leaves, dirt, wild grass, cobwebs—nothing would ever defile this place, not even a hundred years after He Zhiseng's death.

The pure white marble gravestone felt cold and bone-chilling to the touch. He Zhiseng wiped it again and again, his eyes devoid of emotion during the mechanical activity.

He had watched the surveillance footage.

They had been dumped here in the afternoon and spent hours frantically seeking help or a way to escape.

Even though they were left just a step away from their daughter's grave, they refused to even glance at it.

……She must have endured unimaginable suffering during those twenty-some years of her life.

He Zhiseng rose slowly, and the bodyguard immediately took the cloth to clean it, following him back to the car.

He dialed the number with deliberate calm.

"Thank you."

Keding was still working on some problems and politely said, "Are you talking about what happened with Grandpa Xiao? I just happened to run into them."

He Zhiseng would never deeply question how Keding knew these two people or how he could coincidentally link so many things together. He simply restrained himself and said, "I want to move up the self-narrative session."

"Xiao Qin plans to bomb the hospital," Keding didn't hide it. "According to his plan, it's set for this Sunday."

"Then we'll set it for Saturday."

"Split the self-narrative into two parts. The first part this week, and the second part next month," He Zhiseng said. "We don’t want to kill his buzz."

Keding was about to politely end the call but thought better of it and said, "Sorry if I’m prying, but are you planning to make the old couple watch their son admit to his crimes?"

People like that probably wouldn’t see their son as guilty.

He Zhiseng caught the implication and, at that moment, seemed to relax a bit more.

"I just want to observe their reactions," he said. "Sometimes, their behavioral logic doesn’t quite seem human."

"As a thank-you, I’ve sent you an email with a separate live stream link."

The two bound captives were carried down to the basement by the bodyguards. When their blindfolds were removed, they were shocked to find themselves in complete darkness.

The tape on their hands, feet, and mouths was torn off. Just as they were about to panic and shout for help, they ran into steel bars in the dark.

The Black bodyguard muttered a curse and motioned for his partner to follow him out.

"Don’t go! Where are we? He Zhiseng! He Zhiseng! If you have something to say, talk to us directly! Don’t be so heartless!" Xiao's father kept reaching out, slapping the bars, his sense of despair rising.

Xiao's mother sobbed, completely collapsing into a state of breakdown.

On the third floor, after confirming the link, He Zhiseng pressed the control button in the central room.

The pitch-black basement was suddenly flooded with blinding white light, making Xiao’s parents recoil in shock. The image on the front wall gradually became clear, forming a distinct live broadcast.

Xiao's father looked around in the light and saw a prison-like environment. Concrete walls, a crude squat toilet, a water tap, and boxes of canned food—nothing else.

But Xiao’s mother clutched her husband’s sleeve, her voice trembling: "It’s—our son!"

In the chaotic scene that Xiao's father couldn’t make heads or tails of, Xiao's mother immediately spotted their son in the upper right corner of the screen, looking relaxed as a female companion tied off his arm for an injection.

A skeletal white woman was clumsily patting his veins, while a dreadlocked black man next to him was smoking a hookah.

Without any explanation, they could clearly see what their son was doing.

"No—no! Please, not this! Not this!" Xiao's mother screamed.

In the next moment, the needle entered his skin, and the IV injection proceeded slowly.

They could only watch as Xiao Qin rolled his eyes and began to twitch uncontrollably.

"Why are you hurting my son?! Why did you deceive him into taking drugs!!" Xiao's father shouted heartbrokenly at the camera, "He’s innocent! What did he ever do wrong?!"

"Come after me! Kill me! Take revenge on me! Why Xiao Qin!!"

"He’s just in his twenties; his whole life can’t be destroyed—" Xiao's mother wailed loudly, "He Zhiseng, you have a heart of steel, you are a devil!"

On the other side of the screen, Keding pressed the mute button.

"This noise is giving me a headache," he said, frustrated, "Do people like this really exist?"

It felt like some melodramatic, old-fashioned plot.

"Plenty," the system replied flatly, "You think I died for nothing last time?"

Keding was taken aback and couldn't respond for a moment.

He had never asked about her privacy, maintaining a respectful distance, but he had more or less heard about her hopes for the next life.

After some thought, he said, "Sis, if your next life isn’t good, I’ll burn the company down."

The system laughed uncontrollably, "You are definitely capable of that."

For three full days, Xiao’s parents were forced to watch a 24-hour livestream of their son.

They had no choice but to witness it—watch him engage with one indistinguishable person after another, watch him go to the law firm seemingly well-dressed during the day, only to fawn and flatter his superiors like a lapdog.

When Xiao Qin looked at the computer, they were forced to watch with him.

Watching him browse one dark website after another, enjoying vile videos that would never be seen in public.

The tap water was bitter and hard to swallow, the cold canned food gave them stomachaches, but nothing compared to the torment of watching this.

Keding had completely skipped the miserly old man's work week, occasionally checking in on the live stream while sightseeing.

"If only this were a mission," he mused, "I’d rig up an auto-speaker. Every time they crack, it’d ask, 'Still stubborn? Still stubborn? Still stubborn?'"

The system laughed uncontrollably.

"See what kind of son you’ve raised? Do you think Professor He made him this way?" Keding lamented the missed opportunities for breaking them down, "Not only would I ask if they're still being defiant, I’d also ask, 'Is this really your precious son? Your good-for-nothing heir? The great offspring to carry on the Xiao family name?'"

System: "We can try that in the next mission. I'll get you a loudspeaker."

"…? Deal!"

At 5 PM on Saturday, the bodyguard tossed in a disposable flip phone, its outdated design making one wonder about the era.

Xiao's father immediately called his son, watching as the person being licked in the live stream picked up the phone.

"Who?"

"It's me, your father!" Xiao's father said sternly. "Come and save us, your mother is on the verge of death!"

"Here we go again," Xiao Qin drawled lazily. "I have an exam tomorrow, don't bother me."

"He Zhisheng has kidnapped us and taken our passports and ID cards!" Xiao's father pleaded desperately while watching the person on screen who was still in a dazed state. "Your mother is at death's door! Call the police immediately!"

Xiao Qin finally opened his eyes just as a live stream countdown message popped up on his phone.

...There was still a live commentary segment in two hours.

He felt both annoyed and amused.

"Dad, knowing He Zhisheng’s cowardice, do you really think he’d dare to hurt you?"

"If he really wanted to harm you, would he still provide food and drink?"

"Listen, after I finish more important things, I'll come and get you out. That coward is just putting on a show. You guys should eat and sleep as usual, no need to wait long."

If the house was burned down, he’d only have the guts to call the cops. Kidnapping his parents was probably just to demand an explanation.

Xiao Qin could only sneer.

After handling more important matters, he would make He Zhisheng kneel and apologize.

-2-

At 7 PM, the live stream room started as scheduled.

The host appeared as a hamster avatar and used a voice modulator to explain the new rules.

"We have introduced a medical containment mechanism."

"The specific rules are that eliminated contestants, as well as those who withdraw, will be placed in the pool of outstanding contributions to human medical civilization."

"In every ten-draw session, lucky audience members can draw lots. Whoever is drawn will be taken away by a dedicated medical vehicle. Both parties will contribute to groundbreaking research in human pharmacology and behavioral studies."

"Moreover, contestants of Platinum rank and above can exchange for corresponding draw chances. Drawing the same contestant will unlock special badges!"

While the audience in the chat eagerly anticipated the new rules, many contestants scrambled to exit the stream, frantically searching for ways to save themselves.

They never should’ve exposed themselves on the dark web!

Should not have answered! Should not have answered! Should never have answered!

Since the start of the first event, the cycle of violence between the strong and the weak has spiraled out of control. Crime rates in the U.S. have plummeted alarmingly.

Robbers were extorting thieves, murderers were looting robbers, and perverts were collecting undocumented people to make into specimens.

Economic offenders were sitting ducks—prime targets for anyone looking to make a move. Some, seeing the situation was bad, turned themselves in, preferring to sit in jail for eighty years rather than be dismembered.

Xiao Qin hid behind Arnos’ connections, relieved that no major players had set their sights on him yet.

He knew he would eventually be put on the chopping block but remained enthusiastic.

He was going to the prize draw pool, to pick one lucky contestant after another, watching them be medically contained, becoming pitiful wrecks.

And as for him?

After blowing up the hospital, his strength would be undisputed, and there would be nothing to fear.

When the livestream mic opened, Xiao Qin's processed voice sounded somewhat nervous.

He gave his fake name to the audience and began to talk about his criminal history from a young age.

The people before him were all talking big, so he felt pressured to embellish his story.

"Gotta make it sound impressive," he told himself. "Everyone's boasting, so what's the big deal?"

"When I was eight years old, I killed my first person."

"My family thought my second uncle died of illness, but that wasn't the case."

Seeing his son talk so casually made Xiao Qin's father feel like a rough hand was choking him, making his eyes bulge with red veins.

Xiao Qin's mother had almost cried herself out over the past three days, her appearance now haggard and gaunt.

Keding was also watching.

"He really dares to brag, huh..."

The system really wanted some sunflower seeds. "Typical edgelord behavior."

"Just think about the way he poured gasoline and burned the lawn back then. The harm was secondary; he mainly wanted to show off."

In the ten-minute story, Xiao Qin talked about killing homeless people and even his own sister, all while answering questions from the live stream comments.

He wasn't lying, and he didn't feel guilty at all.

"I knew my sister loved gardening, where the soil would touch her skin, making it easy for me to act."

"Every time I went to see her, I would secretly bring something along."

"As she was dying, she was tightly holding my hand."

"She was even comforting me, telling me not to be afraid."

They turned on all the lights in the basement.

The projector kept the colors sharp.

Xiao Qin had no idea that the camera on his computer was still recording as he pressed his temples to recall more details.

He Zhiseng walked in with a blank expression.

Xiao Qin's father's dry, cracked lips were stained with blood, his eyes now filled with rage.

"This is our family matter," he said bitterly. "What would an outsider know?"

Xiao Qin's mother was curled up in the corner, like an old cat with brittle bones.

He Zhiseng silently looked at them, merely unlocking the door, turning on the light, and then leaving.

Xiao Qin's live stream performance was quite good.

Although some people were mocking his accent and questioning the truth of his story, his votes were in the middle range, and he currently had no risk of elimination.

Once he blew up the hospital, the next live stream would be even more exciting.

Xiao Qin even began to study the story patterns of the high-vote participants, preparing to fabricate a few more similar ones.

He took a moment to think about his parents and dialed the number.

The first call went unanswered, but it wasn’t that the line was busy.

Xiao Qin called again, and after a long pause, Xiao’s father finally answered.

"Is He Zhiseng still keeping you locked up?"

"No."

"I knew it," Xiao Qin said casually, "He must have scared you. That guy is seriously messed up."

"Should I come pick you up later? Where are you?"

"At his house, in the apartment Xiao Yin used to live in."

"He’s gone?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you afraid of?" Xiao Qin didn’t feel like moving, "You’re used to living there. If you’re scared tonight, just find a hotel to chill out."

"I’ll come to get you after my exam tomorrow."

Xiao Father didn’t respond for a long time.

"Don’t overthink it, Dad. He’s just being nuts. Are you and Mom okay?" Xiao Qin said half-jokingly, "If anything’s really wrong, I’ll come right away."

The call disconnected.

Xiao Qin scoffed and continued watching the livestream.

On Sunday, the hospital was overwhelmed with people.

After the board meeting, a junior assistant came to inform Anos.

"Keding is back at work now, at the nurses' station."

The old professor had been feeling pent up for three days, and now he was ready to kill someone.

"Tell him to come see me."

The assistant quickly called back, sounding a bit flustered, "Sir, Keding was just there, but now he’s disappeared."

"When he shows up again, tell him to come see me directly."

Three hours passed. Anos was getting impatient and could easily guess that this smart-ass intern was dodging him.

He logged into the surveillance system using his admin access, did a quick search, and found Keding’s location.

In the basement, heading toward the server room.

Anos frowned.

...Why would an intern be down there? Who was he meeting?

Arnos no longer called for his subordinates, transferring the surveillance feed to his phone before quickly leaving.

He had to see with his own eyes what this person was trying to do.

The side of the basement level wasn't accessible to patients and housed dense backend server rooms and power supply systems.

Arnos reached the previous location and followed the footsteps along the way.

The route became more secluded.

To get there, one had to go through a semi-hidden side door into the staff-only area, then walk down a corridor where orderlies took quick breaks, leading to a narrow pipe junction.

Arnos' expression grew grim.

This wasn't a place someone of Keding's status should be visiting.

What exactly was he trying to do?

The deeper Arnos went, the closer he got to the intricate network of pipes.

Then he saw a figure he was all too familiar with.

"Xiao," the elder said, "Do you think this model of explosive can blow open the oxygen supply channel?"

The man looked up in panic; it was too late to hide anything now.

Arnos' gaze was icy.

"I can completely guess what you're doing."

"A young man, finding both career and love dull, introduced by friends into darker entertainment venues, desperately trying to prove something."

"You chose to tamper with my assets? Xiao?"

"Did you really think you could escape my eyes?"

Xiao Qin pushed his lying abilities to the limit, not daring to make a sound for half a minute.

He stared at Arnos, suddenly understanding that the game was up.

He had been caught.

"Do you really think all of this was so simple?"

Arnos approached him as the security guards, whom he had summoned via his phone, arrived.

"You bypassed the security system, used black-market blueprints to find this place, thinking you'd become an instant celebrity?"

"Please," Xiao Qin looked devastated, "It's not what you think—"

"The surveillance footage recorded everything, and these pieces of evidence are enough for a conviction." Arnos showed a look of pity, "A lawyer's license isn't easy to obtain, but your life is truly worthless."

He whispered a few instructions, and the security guards promptly complied, taking Xiao Qin away immediately.

The elderly couple waited anxiously, but the next day brought no news about their son.

Before heading back home, they wanted to see him one last time, despite feeling utterly defeated and filled with disgust and pain.

He Zhiseng never returned to this home again, but the driver stayed, saying he could go anywhere.

The law firm was empty, and so was their home.

With no other options left, Xiao's father decided to visit the medical center.

They found the front desk and asked about Dr. He Zhisen's location, only to be told that Mr. He was not on duty today.

Just as they were becoming worried, a seemingly modest white-haired elderly man came over to ask what was wrong.

A young nurse quickly came over to help translate and explained to the higher-ups that this elderly couple was the parents-in-law of Mr. He, and they had come specifically to see him today.

"What a coincidence! I’m heading there now. You can join me in my car."

Xiao's father, looking pained, thanked him and agreed.

Annos took the elderly couple away, bringing them to the same place where Xiao had just arrived.

—Another one of Annos' hidden residences: the third basement level, the Human Sociology Experiment Center.

There were many humans being kept there, though their water and food supplies were continuously being reduced.

Just two days ago, two malnourished experimental subjects had died, and they had just been replaced.

Keding looked at each string of wires perfectly matching and felt a little regretful about the twisted league.

"I was kind of hoping to see everyone catch Xiao Qin like they catch Pokémon. How come Annos just took him away?"

The system said, "How long do you plan to wait before calling the police? I conservatively calculated they could last about half a month."

It’s not exactly a pretty sight when a father and son fight over food.

"A week should do," Keding said, "It just so happens to be the last two stages of the league. I see that once the activity list opens, Annos really has caught quite a few black-market individuals... The old man's amateur life is quite extravagant."

Seven days later.

As usual, Annos woke up early, worked out, showered, had breakfast, and then took the elevator down to check the experiment results on each floor.

Until the butler called the intercom, nervously reporting that the police were at the door.

Annos was unconcerned, slightly annoyed at being interrupted in his work. He returned to the surface, hid all the secret switches, and went to open the door.

The moment he opened the door, a face that was all too familiar appeared in front of him.

"Sorry to bother you so early," Keding said with a smile to the police. "The elevator button is the eye of the pheasant statue. There are eighty-seven hostages on the third level. His safe is under the living room carpet, and the mechanism is behind the couch. If there's anything else you don't recognize, feel free to ask me."

Annos stood there frozen, like he’d been struck by lightning, watching the police pour in.

"You..."

"Take a break," Keding said generously. "You’ve been working nonstop. Why don’t you take a trip to Disneyland?"