Chapter 37: Kill Without Mercy

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“Any luck?”

“No. The national library database has no record of this book, and we cannot find any related terms online either. Your judgment was wrong.”

“That’s impossible. Judging from his psychological profile and the way he spoke, he was absolutely certain we could find the book. It shouldn’t have been difficult.”

“Could the information he gave us have been wrong? A psychological profile isn’t infallible…”

“Don’t belittle my field. If you don’t trust me, just say so!”

“Enough. Report to Captain Chu and tell him the book lead is a dead end.”

“Fine…”

Captain Chu learned of the news soon afterward. He looked at Elder Ge’s student without expression, showing not the slightest surprise.

“How is your teacher’s research progressing?”

“Not well. By examining the records and information from the instruments our teacher previously accessed, we can only determine, in broad terms, that he seemed to be verifying something related to high-energy physics and thermodynamics. We have no way of knowing what he was actually trying to verify.”

“Continue. Tell me what support you need. I can help you contact the Chinese Academy of Engineering and your teacher’s colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.”

“Yes, Captain! There are indeed some questions I would like to ask them about.”

“Good. Write them down, and I’ll make the arrangements.”

Captain Chu took the note and glanced over it, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He stared blankly for a while before looking at it again. Written on the paper was the name of Academician Tang, a high-energy physicist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

To be honest, Academician Tang was not someone he could normally summon at will. But strange incidents had been occurring with inexplicable frequency lately, alarming quite a few leading figures in the scientific community. Combined with the importance the higher-ups attached to the matter, all it usually took was a single notification for these distinguished experts to come and see what was going on, if only out of curiosity.

Thus, after making a single phone call to report the matter, he had the arrangements completed directly.

Once everything was in place, Captain Chu drove back to his own office and hurried toward the five-person think tank he had assembled.

“You’re back? How are things with Elder Ge’s student?”

“No news. The situation isn’t promising.” Captain Chu gritted his teeth. “If necessary, I’ll apply for more experts from above.”

“That won’t do,” one of them interrupted. “You may not know this, but after conducting some tests, we discovered that what Xu Chen said was true. The words he used concerning that being really do possess a mysterious power.”

Another person continued, “We have all learned things we should never have known, and some of the signs have already appeared.”

Captain Chu looked at him in confusion. “What signs?”

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The man shook his head. “I cannot tell you. What I can say is that this information is not as simple as it appears. If we must put it into words, I fear it serves the same function as the name of the being Xu Chen mentioned.

“It is the information plague spread by that entity.”

Captain Chu’s expression changed dramatically. “Damn it. Xu Chen is still outside. He…”

“Xu Chen will not spread it. He knows more than we do. He knows the consequences.”

Only then did Captain Chu relax slightly. “But are you truly unable to tell me what the symptoms are? Nothing seems wrong these past few days.”

“That’s not exactly it… I simply cannot be certain.”

“What is it?”

“Have you noticed that you have been losing focus more and more easily lately?”

Captain Chu looked at the man, thought for a moment, then nodded faintly. “There have been a lot of matters to deal with lately, and the pressure has been heavy. I have been feeling mentally exhausted.”

“Then have you noticed that you have also become somewhat indifferent lately?”

Captain Chu replied stiffly, astonished, “Indifferent? Have I really become that indifferent?”

The other four nodded in agreement.

“I conducted psychological evaluations on the other four and found that all of us are suffering from some degree of emotional dulling. Then I assessed you. You are the most severe case. You have also been exposed to the greatest amount of the most original information. My prediction is that, in the later stages, you may even become an entirely different person.”

Captain Chu’s expression finally changed. He stared at the expert in horror.

“How could that happen? You mean a change in personality?”

“Not merely a change in personality.” The psychologist shook his head. “You must understand that personality is shaped after birth and is closely tied to a person’s experiences. First, we considered whether a physiological disorder had caused the change in temperament, but our examinations found nothing abnormal. Second, it could be a change in temperament caused by some kind of experience.”

“That doesn’t make sense. I haven’t done anything unusual lately. I’ve only been working as normal.”

“That is precisely the problem.” The psychologist spoke patiently. “After discovering that the personalities of the five of us had changed, I hypnotized everyone. We seemed to have acquired an additional memory.”

“What memory?”

“Something resembling a creature performing a ritual, along with the image of the supernatural being Xu Chen described. But it is like trying to recall a dream you had yourself—unclear and indistinct. I feel that it will become more serious later, though I cannot be certain.”

“What will happen later?”

“Judging from the abilities of this supernatural being, it may be capable of killing us without anyone noticing. Replacing one of us with another person might not be difficult for it, either.”

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Captain Chu sprang to his feet, seized a sheet of paper, and began writing.

“Captain, what are you writing?”

“An application.”

“What kind of application?”

“An order. If I die, Xu Chen is to be dealt with as well. He is too dangerous. The slightest mistake on our part could condemn us all beyond redemption.”

The five experts exchanged glances, unable to think of anything to say.

Xu Chen naturally had no idea that Captain Chu had turned around and placed a set of shackles on him that did not yet exist. Even if he had known, there was probably nothing he could have done.

In any case, the order would most likely come to nothing. Captain Chu was not truly issuing it in order to target Xu Chen, and he knew perfectly well that such an absurd order would almost certainly not be approved.

He was merely ensuring that, should he die or suffer some unexpected mishap, the people investigating the matter would turn their attention to Xu Chen and take him into custody.

After finishing the application, Captain Chu once again fell into a daze. This time, he genuinely did not know what to do. He could only follow the logic of the application.

He had been rushing about for more than a month, still jumping around like a ridiculous clown. And now, despite having inexplicably fallen victim to the enemy, he had not even seen what the supernatural being looked like.

He did not even know its name.

“We have made no progress at all, and instead managed to get ourselves into trouble. Tell me—have I actually been accomplishing nothing this whole time? That supernatural being must be feeling rather pleased with itself now, shouldn’t it?”

“Captain, what nonsense are you thinking? Have you forgotten your duty?”

“Never!” Captain Chu retorted instinctively. “I’m merely a little worried.”

“Hmph. You are a soldier. You always want to achieve your objectives through honorable means, to settle everything quickly and decisively. But how many things in this world ever go exactly as one wishes?

“I’m a criminal investigator. I have seen all kinds of things, and caught more than a few criminals who operated in the shadows. Something that hides its head and shows only its face—what kind of storm can it possibly raise?

“Besides, if it refuses to show itself, isn’t it because it is afraid we will catch it and learn its location? No matter how powerful that thing is, if we drop a missile on it, can it really keep bouncing around alive like some athletic student?”

Much of the worry faded from Captain Chu’s expression. “Missiles aren’t that easy to requisition.”

Then he fell silent, pondering whether, if he encountered that supernatural being, it would be necessary to request a missile strike from the Second Artillery Corps.

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