Chapter 26

Chapter 26

15:37 Cai Xuemin handcuffed a suspected fugitive.

15:40 Cai Xuemin met up with colleague Yu Xian.

15:52 Cai Xuemin and colleague Yu Xian escorted the fugitive back to the police station.

16:44 Lei Yue led the first squad of the Yuntang District Criminal Investigation Brigade to the Xingcangshan Police Station.

When Lei Yue arrived, Cai Xuemin was handing over to an acquaintance, Zhou Fei'ang, the captain of the third squad of Yuntang District.

Zhou Fei'ang had been in high spirits these past two days. Who would have thought that while sitting in the office, a suspect would just pop up on their own? His joy was so evident that his face lit up, the wrinkles easing. He greeted Lei Yue with a big smile, "Captain Lei, you're here too? Welcome, welcome."

Lei Yue smiled back, shook hands with Zhou Fei'ang, and exchanged a few pleasantries before turning to Cai Xuemin. "Officer Cai, we have a few questions we'd like to ask you. Is now a good time?"

Cai Xuemin was a bit puzzled about what Lei Yue wanted to ask. He observed Lei Yue's facial expression and then readily agreed. "Of course, Captain Lei. Let's talk in the meeting room."

They bid farewell to Zhou Fei'ang, and under his curious and slightly inquisitive gaze, the two of them soon disappeared down the long corridor.

Once seated in the meeting room, Lei Yue took a photo from Si Zhao's hand and handed it to Cai Xuemin. "Officer Cai, take a look. Is this the helpful citizen who assisted you in capturing the fugitive today?"

Cai Xuemin took the photo. It was clearly a still from a surveillance video. The person in the photo wore a hat and a mask, covering themselves tightly, but the eyes that were visible were sharp and piercing.

Cai Xuemin hesitated for a long moment before shaking his head. "I'm not sure. The outfit looks similar, but it was chaotic, and I was focused on catching the fugitive, so I didn't get a good look at her. By the time I realized what had happened and wanted to thank her, she had already disappeared."

Si Zhao's excitement waned. Lei Yue remained calm. He put the photo away and asked, "Then could you please go through the whole process, Officer Cai? Starting from when you came to work today, what did you do, who was around you, and did anything feel off or particularly noteworthy?"

Cai Xuemin was taken aback. "Starting from when I came to work? Are you saying someone was following me?"

Lei Yue nodded. "That's a real possibility. So we need you to recall carefully."

Cai Xuemin was stunned and incredulous. He was a police officer, after all. Who would be bold enough to follow a cop? But seeing the serious and grave expressions on Lei Yue, Si Zhao, and the other colleagues, he couldn't help but take it seriously. He thought hard and then recounted everything that had happened since he left home.

Police station work is messy and trivial. Cai Xuemin talked for over two hours, drinking several glasses of water, and still felt a bit hoarse when he finished.

Si Zhao looked even more disappointed. Lei Yue calmly summarized, "So you mean your day was just like any other, with nothing unusual and no one following you."

Cai Xuemin nodded confidently.

Lei Yue and the others had no reason to doubt. After all, as a police officer, Cai Xuemin had basic vigilance. The fact that he could spot a fugitive on the street at a glance showed he was very perceptive. If someone had been following him, he would have picked up on it.

However, this only raised more questions. In previous cases, they had found clues of the mysterious person in surveillance videos, indicating they followed the victims to the crime scene. But in this case, even the police officer, who was the potential victim, didn't notice being followed. This suggested the mysterious person had changed their methods, becoming more covert and harder to detect.

Si Zhao was especially puzzled. How did the mysterious organization manage it? Surveillance footage could explain some things, but the location where Cai Xuemin was rescued was a surveillance blind spot. How did they get there so quietly? Did they appear out of thin air?

The trip to the police station didn't provide any answers, only raised more questions. But despite the confusion, no one was discouraged. In fact, their expressions were relaxed. After all, all the actions of the mysterious person so far had been measured and controlled. Today, they saved one of their own, which at least showed they weren't hostile. There was a good chance they were neutral, if not friendly toward the police.

Back at the station, everyone as usual divided the work and began reviewing all the surveillance footage of Cai Xuemin from when he left home to after he was rescued.

It was a tedious and time-consuming task. By the time the moon was high in the sky and the clock quietly crept past midnight, they had found nothing.

Their eyes were strained from overuse. While applying eye drops, Si Zhao couldn't resist chatting with her colleagues.

Leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, she suddenly thought of something and asked Xiao Wenbo, "Brother Xiao, did you ever get results on that case you were investigating? The one where Liu Xingchang was almost strangled by a prisoner from the third squad in the police station yard?"

At the mention of this, Xiao Wenbo scratched his thinning hair in frustration. "We've interrogated him multiple times and investigated their social backgrounds again. The conclusion is still the same: no connection, they don't know each other. The prisoner from Captain Zhou's team insists he mistook Liu Xingchang. He claims it was dark, and somehow he mistook Liu Xingchang for a former partner who had betrayed him. In a fit of rage, he jumped on Liu Xingchang and choked him."

"That's really weird," Si Zhao said, opening her eyes and looking at Xiao Wenbo from behind her computer. "There are lights in our yard, and the lobby of the office building is also lit. How could he make such a mistake? Is he severely nearsighted?"

Xiao Wenbo replied, "He is nearsighted, but not severely—only about 100 to 200 degrees. Not so bad that he can't tell people apart from two meters away without glasses."

Si Zhao chuckled. "Then this is really weird. What did Captain Zhou say?"

Xiao Wenbo took a sip from his thermos and said, "Captain Zhou is also confused. The interrogation yielded nothing, and re-investigating the connection between the two also turned up nothing. In the end, they had to close the case according to procedure."

The two chatted quietly for a few more minutes before falling silent and returning to watching the surveillance footage.

A few minutes later, Si Zhao frowned. She had noticed something strange, but she wasn't sure. She replayed the video several times before calling out to Lei Yue, "Captain Lei, come take a look. I've noticed something strange."

Everyone in the office gathered around. Lei Yue walked over and asked, "What's strange?"

Si Zhao pointed to a corner of the screen. "Captain Lei, look at this cat. Does it look familiar?"

"Cat?" The others were confused, exchanging glances. Lei Yue, however, stared at the cat on the screen thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "What about footage from other times and locations? Is this cat in those too?"

"Yes," Si Zhao replied, and switched to another surveillance video. Although the cat was running and the image was a bit blurry, when paused, it seemed to be the same cat as in the previous video.

The others looked at the video, then at Si Zhao and Lei Yue, still puzzled. But Lei Yue furrowed his brow and said quietly, "What are the odds of the same cat appearing near two crime scenes by chance?"

Si Zhao rationally thought it couldn't be a coincidence, but her experience and intuition still found it too far-fetched. After thinking for a moment, she said, "It could also be a case of jumping to conclusions. Let me find the surveillance footage from the Liu Xingchang case and compare the two cats to see if they're the same."

Lei Yue nodded in agreement. Then, looking at the cat in the surveillance footage, he said meaningfully, "If it is the same cat… then maybe we've finally found the thread we've been looking for."

…

Late at night, Tang Qiu washed up and got into bed, ready to rest. As soon as she closed her eyes, the system interface that had disappeared after the intelligent module was installed suddenly popped up.

The black cursor flickered a few times, as before, and then rapidly formed words. But this time, the words were greeting her.

"Good evening, Host."

Seeing these words, even though she had prepared mentally, Tang Qiu was startled and sat bolt upright in bed. After calming down for a few seconds, she asked cautiously, "What are you?"

Tang Qiu had many questions she wanted answered, but her foremost concern was whether this inexplicably appearing system would have any negative impact on her. Was it a gift of life, or a honey-coated poison?

As if the system were thinking, it paused for a few seconds before answering on the interface.

"I am the embodiment of energy, a gift, and a final blessing."

"A gift? A blessing?" Tang Qiu pondered. She couldn't think of anyone in her past life who could give such a significant gift and blessing.

The black cursor flickered, giving an explanation that Tang Qiu found somewhat hard to understand.

"Yes, I am a gift—a gift to help you survive in this new world, and a blessing hoping you will thrive."

Tang Qiu frowned in confusion. Taking it literally, the system was saying that without it, she wouldn't be able to survive in this world. But this world seemed like a normal, lawful society. Even though her original body had hidden enemies, it wasn't something she couldn't handle. She had survived thirteen years of apocalypse in her world, fighting endless enemies that were hard to distinguish, even turning her comrades into enemies. She had struggled to survive for thirteen years. Why couldn't she survive in this world?

Tang Qiu didn't want to speculate. She asked directly, "Who gave you to me as a gift? Where is the danger in this world? Why can't I survive without you?"

The system interface quickly displayed text.

"I am the gift your world gave you when you departed, and also the blessing your world gave you. Because different worlds have different souls. Even hidden under the skin of this world, cunning and cruel enemies can smell your scent."

The system's words were vague and profound. Tang Qiu couldn't help but get goosebumps. If she understood correctly, the system was implying that her world was alive?

Rubbing her arms, Tang Qiu instinctively pulled the blanket tighter and continued, "My world? Are you saying it's alive? What about this world? Is it alive too? And who are these enemies you're referring to? Why are they hostile to me? Are they hunting people like me? Are there others in this world in a similar situation to mine?"

Tang Qiu was already holding back a lot, but she still couldn't help asking one question after another.

Although the system had an intelligent module installed, it still answered mechanically, without personality, like a rigid program that only responds when triggered, just like the stereotypical robots she remembered.

"By your human standards of being alive, it is not alive, but to me, it is alive. I am its creation, the embodiment of its energy and will. It is my master."

"As for this world, you see them as different, but to me, they share many similarities. The biggest difference is like the distinction between human souls, and the essence that sustains their operation."

"As for the enemy, haven't you already encountered them? Prey is sometimes prey, but at other times, it can also be the hunter."

Tang Qiu didn't like using her head much; in her world, survival relied more on force. But now, she had to rack her brains, analyzing and processing every answer from the system.

Some things she understood, like the enemy, but others she still couldn't figure out even after thinking, such as the fundamental nature of how it works or the different standards of being alive.

Tang Qiu was used to being straightforward and didn't like the system's way of speaking, which gave answers but hid countless riddles. Since it was already her system, she decided to try to change it.

Before making changes, Tang Qiu asked a question, "After we bind, under what circumstances would we unbind? Your existence is to help me survive in this world, so will you accompany me until I die?"

This time, the system answered her directly.

"Of course. Once bound, you and I are one. You live, I exist; you die, I vanish. As I said before, I am merely the embodiment of energy. Without you, the host, as a carrier, I would revert to a mass of energy, and naturally, there would be no system or self."

Tang Qiu kept her heart rate steady but breathed a quiet sigh of relief inwardly. She was satisfied. Since she was the dominant party in their relationship, her desire to change the system's way of speaking would be carried out without any obstacles.

So Tang Qiu decisively made a request, "Do you have the ability to learn? I want you to learn from me, to answer directly and straight-up like I do, without hiding anything or being vague."

Although the system had only an interface and no physical form, Tang Qiu still noticed its silence. After a few minutes, the black cursor flickered and displayed text.

"Alright. Whatever you want to know, I can answer in the way you prefer."

The rest of the conversation was much easier and more straightforward.

Tang Qiu adjusted to a more comfortable position, leaning against the headboard, and asked, "First, answer my questions about the world. By human standards, what state is my world in? How is it similar to and different from this world? And what is the fundamental nature of how it works you mentioned?"

The system quickly responded.

"My master, your world, is actually a derivative or mirror of a true world. Similarly, this world is the same. They are both created. In human terms, it's like a book turning into a world, or a fusion of countless books with common traits into a world. As for the essence of operation, you already know the answer. The disaster your world faced was an apocalypse caused by aliens, while the disaster in this world is criminals."

Tang Qiu was stunned. She never expected the system to give such a bewildering, unacceptable, and almost terrifying answer.

Tang Qiu couldn't believe it. Her world was a book? How was that possible? She had complete memories from age three up to her death at twenty-seven. She had traveled, ridden high-speed trains and planes, met all kinds of different people. Her parents' love was real, the comrades she fought with were real, the pain and terror of her death were real. How could her world be a book?

Tang Qiu was lost in shock. When she came to, she noticed a long additional passage on the system interface.

"Worlds like my master originate from a book, but once they evolve from a book into a small world, they go beyond being just a book. The world evolves on its own, gradually shifting from illusion to reality. Every life within it gains a unique soul. Apart from the temporarily inescapable shackles imposed on it, it's no different from a real world. It is precisely because they want to break free from these shackles that these worlds give gifts and blessings to every unique soul leaving for another world."

Reading this, Tang Qiu's racing heart gradually calmed, but then an uncontrollable surge of anger rose from within. Through the words "shackles" and "imposed," she quickly connected the dots.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, especially after her parents died, she often felt dazed, angry, and resentful. Why did her world suddenly face an apocalypse? Why, when everyone was living well, did those alien creatures descend from the sky, destroying her life, her world, and taking everything from her?

She wanted an answer, a reason. She traveled far and wide, met many people, even found scientists, but no one could explain it. The most common answer she heard was that the universe was too vast, their world too small. Since there were intelligent races like humans, there must be other intelligent races with different forms. The universe was like a dark forest, with no light, where every intelligent race felt its way forward. Encountering another intelligent race and starting a war was a matter of minimal probability, but unfortunately, they had encountered it. The apocalypse had come, and the only thing they could do was survive, fight, and do whatever it takes to survive.

Tang Qiu accepted this answer in despair, and it became the sole theme of her life. Those alien creatures wanted her to submit, but she refused. They wanted her dead, so she was determined to live.

But now, the system told her that it wasn't that her world was just unlucky, but that from its birth, it had been shackled with this fate. Why?

Tang Qiu was furious to the extreme, her mind was in a haze. Everything around her felt unreal and illusory.

For a moment, Tang Qiu even doubted whether she was alive or if coming to this world had just been a dream. This world was fake, the system in her head was fake. She was still in the apocalypse world, severely injured, not dead, just unconscious, having this chaotic, bizarre dream.

Tang Qiu looked at her hand, then at the warm yellow ceiling light in the bedroom, then at the light green quilt and the light blue slippers by the bed. Illusion and reality were pulling at her.

Her unfocused gaze swept around and finally landed on the cup of warm water on the bedside table. Pausing, Tang Qiu suddenly threw the cup hard onto the ground, shattering it, then pressed her finger against a shard of glass. The sharp pain finally gave her a sense of reality. She was alive. She wasn't dreaming.

The survival instinct awakened by the pain jolted Tang Qiu back to her senses. She looked at the scattered glass fragments on the floor, silent for two seconds, then grabbed a tissue to press against the wound on her finger to stop the bleeding, slowly sitting back on the bed.

Watching the white tissue stain red with blood, Tang Qiu's sense of this world being real grew. She forced herself to calm down and continued seeking answers from the system.

"The shackle of my world is the apocalypse, and the shackle of this world is criminals," Tang Qiu thought for a moment and said, "I died in the apocalypse, and my counterpart in this world died at the hands of a criminal. So I came into this world's body. What about my counterpart? Did she go to another world like I did?"

The system answered.

"There is a certain probability. Because these worlds evolved from books, their world barriers are naturally thinner than those of true worlds. When they brush past each other in endless time and space, it's easier to cause vibrations in the world barriers, forming irregular, tiny channels that allow souls as tiny as specks of dust to pass through. You came to this world, and she might have gone to another, but at least I am certain she did not go to your world."

Tang Qiu didn't ask why the system was so sure. She just asked the question she most wanted to ask now.

With a hint of hope, Tang Qiu asked, "You said earlier that my world has always wanted to break free from its shackles. Does that mean the end of the apocalypse? Is it really possible for it to end?"

The system quickly displayed an answer on the interface.

"Although the hope is slim, no world has ever given up. That's why they give gifts and blessings to the souls leaving their worlds. These gifts are not only to help the bound host survive better but also to turn the host into a spark of new hope. You brought the gift from your world to this one, and someone else will bring a gift from their world to yours. With more sparks of hope, they will gradually become a blazing fire. I believe that one day, my master, your world, will break free from its shackles and usher in a new life."

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Author's note:

Fixed a typo. Love you all.