Chapter 122
Chapter 122
The Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique my grandfather obtained did indeed save my life.
However, both Old Zhao Seven and Du Ruhai said that my grandfather’s Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique was flawed-meaning that I, as I am now, am flawed.
But they wouldn’t tell me exactly what that flaw was.
Another thing I couldn’t figure out was that Du Ruhai was actually Lv Zhengxian, who had achieved Soul Seizure to become Du Ruhai. My situation was different; I had survived through ‘life extension.’
In other words, compared to the complete version of the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange, both my version and Du Ruhai’s were incomplete, leading to two different outcomes.
Those different outcomes didn’t mean the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange had failed; it just meant the manifestation was different.
Even the complete version of the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange evolved from Soul Reincarnation in Corpse. Therefore, we couldn’t deny that Soul Reincarnation in Corpse was a form of the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange; it was simply the technique’s most primitive manifestation.
But I still didn’t understand. Since the complete version of the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange had already been developed, why would The Organization researching this thing allow Erroneous Versions and Incomplete Versions to circulate?
Was it because they shared the same conviction as Du Ruhai? Were they just perverts who enjoyed harming people for no reason?
“Unless the so-called complete version is just the best version they have for now-the one with the fewest flaws-but not the absolute best version possible.”
Song Xiaotian analyzed, “Their act of spreading Erroneous Versions and Incomplete Versions is like scientists conducting research. A great discovery isn’t achieved in one go; it requires countless experiments and demonstrations. They might even head in the wrong direction during the research process, but those mistakes are necessary to calculate the correct answer.”
“And even after a result is achieved, researchers might update or upgrade it in the future.”
Science was a rigorous attitude, not a synonym for truth.
Science was a process of constant refutation and verification, presenting answers to the world in the most comprehensive and multi-angled way possible.
That organization was putting that process into practice.
Old Zhao Seven nodded, agreeing completely with Song Xiaotian’s analysis. “You have a point. Young people really do have flexible minds. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and couldn’t figure it out.”
I also marveled at Song Xiaotian’s wisdom.
It was one thing for him to be physically capable, but his mind was clearly no simple matter either.
I said, “If that’s the case, then the Fortune-Teller who taught my grandfather the Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique might also be one of their people. They’re using me as a test subject to advance the iterations of the technique, all to reach its perfect form…”
Old Zhao Seven sighed. “From the looks of it, that’s very likely. The current security environment is much better than it used to be. They don’t dare to be too flagrant, so they can only exploit human nature to research the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange in a different way.”
“And your grandfather, in order to plot against Du Ruhai, took a version that was already incomplete and turned it into an Erroneous Version before passing it to him. Coincidentally, Du Ruhai successfully put this Erroneous Version into practice, giving birth to yet another variant.”
“He has ties to The Organization. Most likely, they sought him out specifically to observe him and collect data on his version.”
I now understood why that Body Double was so loyal to Du Ruhai.
“That Body Double is an Observer. He isn’t loyal to Du Ruhai; he’s loyal to The Organization…”
“If Du Ruhai dies, The Organization can no longer continue observing him.”
I felt a wave of nausea.
How could there be so many people in this world who utterly disregarded human life?
Every single version created came at the cost of seven human lives.
And these people were actually using this for their experiments.
What disgusted me the most was that I was actually one of their experimental specimens.
“Why have I been a cop for so many years and never noticed any of this…” Song Xiaotian’s brow was furrowed tight.
A man as righteous as him harbored an even deeper, more visceral hatred for such things.
“Times change. Everything evolves and updates, including ‘evil.’ It just manifests in different forms now.”
Old Zhao Seven said, “After Lv Zhengxian performed a Soul Seizure on Du Ruhai, he was just a commoner from the bottom of society who had never achieved anything in his life. Yet, he didn’t squander Du Ruhai’s family fortune; in fact, he even expanded the Weihai Group. Do you think that’s possible?”
Meng Yifan chimed in for once. “It shouldn’t be possible, but he actually did it.”
I shook my head. “He didn’t do it. Someone was helping him. I suspect people from The Organization were handling the operations for him. A tycoon like him, busy with his business empire every day, shouldn’t have time for anything else. Yet, he has the time and energy to tangle with small fries like us.”
“If he were really running the company himself, he would have run it into the ground long ago.”
Song Xiaotian added, “That Club is where he builds his connections. He’s desperate to develop his own network, likely to prevent The Organization from turning him into a mere figurehead. The man has some skill; we can’t underestimate him.”
“The network he’s built is what we should really fear.”
“My dismissal this time was probably his doing too.”
Meng Yifan lamented, “To summarize, we’re screwed. Each of us is worse off than the last. My shop was ruined, Brother Tian was fired, and now Chen Mo’s family…”
Song Xiaotian looked indifferent. “What else can we do? To be honest, we simply can’t beat a bastard like Du Ruhai. There’s no way we can win. So what then? We could admit defeat, but even that won’t work because they’ve already locked onto us. You tell me what to do.”
“Since things are already this bad, what is there to be afraid of? A man with nothing to lose has nothing to fear.”
“At worst, we’ll just have to apologize to our mothers in the afterlife for wasting their efforts in raising us.”
Du Ruhai was a pure psychopath who had clearly decided to make our lives a living hell.
Besides, there had to be an accounting for Fang Man’s death.
The funeral for my father and grandfather was to last three days. This was the first night, and I didn’t sleep a wink.
I managed to sleep for a short while during the day, but I was soon jolted awake by a nightmare.
The moment I woke up and realized my father and grandfather were dead, my body couldn’t stop shaking.
Fortunately, with Song Xiaotian and the others accompanying me, I was gradually beginning to accept the reality of their passing.
On the second night, shortly after dark, I was keeping watch in the mourning hall while Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan rested inside.
At this hour, people usually didn’t come to pay their respects; most visitors came during the day.
However, a woman arrived tonight. She wore a mask and a hat, concealing her face.
After she presented flowers to my father and grandfather, I bowed to her in return as a member of the bereaved family.
Though I couldn’t see her face, I froze for a moment when our eyes met. I felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Judging by the wrinkles on her forehead, she seemed to be a middle-aged woman. Just as I was trying to recall who she was, she had already left.
About thirty seconds after she walked away, my eyes widened. I had realized who she was.
I chased after her like a madman, shouting as I ran.
“Mom!”