Chapter 129 The Eve of the Finale
“Only Zhou Si and Chen Wen Ge have upgraded their consciousness. Are you sure?”

“I am sure.”

“Has Chen Wen Ge’s upgraded consciousness been destroyed?”

“Yes.”

“Did Zhou Si do it?”

“Yes.”

In the closed interrogation room, Li Weiyun had no expression on his face and responded mechanically.

“Although I couldn’t see the fight that took place at the data level, from the conversation between the two people at the time, I can be sure that it was Zhou Si who killed Chen Wen Ge.”

The interrogator tapped the table with the end of his pen, looking thoughtful.

“Are you sure Zhou Si’s upgraded consciousness is dead?”

Li Weiyu’s expression froze for a moment, with anger lurking beneath his calm eyes.

He took a deep breath, tried to control his emotions, and replied, “I have repeated this many times.”

“I saw with my own eyes that Zhou Si was shot into pieces by the armed avatar, and then fell from the rooftop a hundred meters high and broke into pieces on the ground.”

Li Weiyun’s voice trembled slightly, “Haven’t you already recovered his remains?”

The interrogator said nothing, just stared at Li Weiyu. His turbid pupils were like a muddy swamp. After staring at each other for a long time, people felt suffocated as if they were swallowed by the mud.

Li Weiyun took a long breath and said in a suppressed voice, “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Hasn’t the Stone Castle already issued a test report? The thought storage core in the wreckage has been damaged, and all the data has evaporated.”

Li Weiyun continued, “As for your concern that they might have a backup…isn’t the industrial park still under lockdown?”

It has been some time since the upgrade war. During this period, Shenwei Science and Technology Industrial Park is still under blockade, and Shenwei Building is occupied by countless armed incarnations.

The central government summoned a large number of inspectors from across the country to rush here, recover the burnt servers from the charred ruins, and check and restore the data in them.

In order to ensure that the upgraded consciousness has no possibility of becoming the God of Data, strict inspections have continued to this day without stopping, and relevant personnel have been interrogated again and again. Li Weiyu almost had to memorize many of the questions in his heart.

“Don’t be angry, Team Leader Li, I’m just doing my job impartially.”

The interrogator tried to calm Li Weiyun down perfunctorily and revealed his scars without any hesitation.

“So, Zhou Si is dead, right?”

Li Weiyun pounded the table angrily, “Fuck, you’ve asked this stupid question countless times!”

The interrogator’s reaction was very calm. He raised his gaze and questioned, “You said you witnessed Zhou Si’s death with your own eyes. Well, the others answered the same way.”

“Any questions?”

Li Weiyun controlled his emotions and touched his chest.

“The recorder on my chest also recorded the entire process. You must have checked the relevant video files countless times.”

He stared at the interrogator’s face. Looking at this extremely calm face, Li Weiyu suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

Li Weiyu seemed to have read a similar coldness in someone, and soon, the name emerged in his mind.

“Oh, and there’s Xiang Ji,” Li Weiyun added, “My team member Xiang Ji was also present. The recorder he brought with him can also prove everything. There’s no possibility that I forged it.”

“I know, Team Leader Li.”

The interrogator paused, sighed helplessly, and put the pen aside.

“In fact, after such a long period of repeated interrogation, the doubts about you have long been cleared, but…”

“Just what?”

Li Weiyun was fed up with all this and complained, “Zhou Si chose to commit suicide in order to avoid conflict with human society. Isn’t that enough?”

On the rooftop that night, Zhou Si had many opportunities to turn the situation around, but he gave them all up and made the most foolish decision.

The interrogator pretended to hesitate and slowly said, “Team Leader Li, suicide is a serious issue. It can even be said that it is the most complex and important issue in human history.”

“What do you want to say?” Li Weiyun glared at the interrogator. “You humiliated me, and you want to humiliate my friend’s death and insult his sacrifice?”

The interrogator tore off a page of paper and folded it up, unmoved.

“I’m sorry, Captain Li, I just…”

He sorted out his words and said bluntly, “I am just speculating on Zhou Si with the greatest malice of mankind.”

“Perhaps, Zhou Si’s death was just what he wanted you to see?”

The interrogator folded a paper Trojan horse and placed it in front of Li Weiyun. Then a malicious smile appeared on his face.

“Okay, Team Leader Li, you can leave now.”

……

Li Weiyun walked out of the interrogation room and came to a quiet corner of the corridor. He opened the window, silently lit a cigarette, and took a big puff.

Amid the clouds and mist, Li Weiyu’s tense mood gradually eased, but was followed by a lingering sadness.

Zhou Si is dead.

Unlike Ruan Linrui, Li Weiyu doesn’t care about titles like Zhou Si, Dr. Zhou, or The One. His way of looking at things is very simple: Zhou Si is Zhou Si.

Li Weiyu doesn’t have many friends, and Zhou Si is one of them, not to mention that in the past four years, the two of them have been through life and death many times.

He wished he could be as strong as a man, but separation from life and death is always sad, like an unhealable wound that bleeds all the time.

After burning out a cigarette, Li Weiyu lit another one and, as if to divert his attention, he made a phone call.

After a brief busy tone, the call was connected.

“Hello, team leader?”

The voice sounded weak, but with a hint of smile.

Li Weiyun looked at the distance of the city and asked, “It’s me. How are you? Are you okay?”

“It’s okay. The doctor said I have to stay in the hospital for a while. Anyway… it’s nothing serious.”

“That’s good.”

The other party was silent for a moment, then asked, “What about you? Team leader, are you okay? I heard that some people from the central government have come down, and they are a group of very troublesome guys. I hope you’re okay.”

The interrogator’s face flashed through Li Weiyu’s mind. That face looked numb and cold, like a corpse.

“It’s okay, it’s been taken care of, just stay healthy and recover.”

Li Weiyun saw a familiar figure walking from the end of the corridor. He said, “You should take a rest first. I have something else to do.”

“Ok!”

After hanging up the phone, the visitor also arrived in front of Li Weiyun. He asked curiously, “Song Qiliang?”

Li Weiyun replied, “Yes, it’s him.”

During that crazy night, I don’t know whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, in the first round of suicide drone attacks, the explosion-proof armored vehicle where Song Qiliang was located was attacked, and he was in the dream pool and was thrown around by the explosion.

Fortunately, the sturdy armor of the car body successfully protected him. Apart from multiple fractures, Song Qiliang did not suffer any serious impact.

Song Qiliang also learned about Zhou Si’s death.

Li Weiyun looked at the cold face of the visitor and asked with concern, “Did they call you too, Xiang Ji?”

Xiang Ji shook his head and explained, “Director Dong came to me.”

“Oh, is that so…”

Li Weiyu’s eyes gradually drooped. Xiang Ji saw his pain and sadness. After hesitating for a long time, he took the initiative to reach out and pat Li Weiyu’s shoulder.

“Team Leader, you need to take a break for a while.”

“Ok, I know.”

Xiang Ji asked worriedly, “What are you going to do next?”

“I plan to go visit Shi Tong.”

After saying that, Li Weiyun remembered something, and the sadness in his eyes became even stronger. “Then…then I’m going to deal with Dr. Zhou’s belongings. The rent for his clinic is also due, and someone needs to take care of it.”

Many complex emotions flashed across Xiang Ji’s eyes. Thousands of words were squeezed in his throat and finally turned into a sigh.

“I go first.”

“Ah.”

…Xiang Ji pushed the door open and walked in. Dong Yuan was already sitting behind his desk, looking like he had been waiting for him for a long time.

Although the incident had just ended a while ago, Dong Yuan had aged visibly. The wrinkles on his face had accumulated and his gray hair had become sparse.

Normally, Dong Yuan is a person who pays great attention to his health, but at this moment, he is holding a cigarette, puffing out smoke. A thick layer of ash has accumulated in the ashtray, and the room is filled with a choking smell.

Xiang Ji sat in front of Dong Yuan without saying a word, his expression still cold, waiting for Dong Yuan to speak.

Dong Yuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Xiang Ji. After looking at him carefully for a while, he sighed softly.

“I’ve been working here for so long, and this is the first time I’ve made a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

“you.”

Dong Yuan stretched out his finger, pointed hard at the edge, and sighed tiredly.

“Who would have thought that you, a commissioner transferred from Qingyuan City, are actually an investigator from the Central Committee.”

Xiang Ji’s expression did not change at all, and he asked calmly, “Has the Central Committee informed you?”

“Of course, who told you to be the first to submit relevant evidence to the Central Committee?” Dong Yuan leaned back in his chair and smoked a cigarette. “It’s really scary. Who knows how many investigators from the Central Committee are around me?”

Dong Yuan looked at Xiang Ji viciously, his eyes filled with disgust and…fear.

Xiang Ji Ze looked as if he was not affected at all. After all, it was not the first time for him to face such a look. But then, Dong Yuan’s eyes softened and he spoke in a gentle tone.

“But thank you, Xiang Ji.”

“no need thank me?”

“Thank you for coming forward and testifying to all this.”

Dong Yuan said in a very complicated tone, “Technology companies are subject to the supervision bureau, and the supervision bureau is subject to the Central Committee.”

“If you hadn’t proved all this for us, the situation would have become very embarrassing after the Central Committee intervened. Maybe Li Weiyun, Ruan Linrui, and I would have been locked up and subjected to endless investigation.”

Xiang Ji shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just telling the truth.”

Dong Yuan didn’t bother to talk to him about this matter. He had heard rumors about these mysterious investigators. They were cold-blooded and heartless, like machines covered in flesh and blood, and they would only resolutely carry out the orders of the Central Committee.

Dong Yuan was choked by the cigarette. He coughed hard a few times and asked intermittently, “So, does the Central Committee have any instructions?”

“The Central Committee attaches great importance to this incident. They require a thorough investigation and prohibit the possibility of any upgraded consciousness in this incident,” Xiang Ji paused, “Just like the original immortal fall accident, eliminate the possibility of the God of Data being born at this point in time.”

“Okay, I know.”

Dong Yuan nodded obediently. Although he was the director, at this moment, Xiang Ji became his superior.

“And the Central Committee also requires that everyone be prepared to embrace the era of upgrading.”

“what?”

Dong Yuan suspected that he had heard it wrong, and immediately sat up straight, looking at Xiang Ji in shock.

“According to the Central Committee’s speculation, if we cannot give up our telepathic technology and incarnation bodies, human society will sooner or later face the problem of upgrading as science and technology gradually develops.”

Xiang Ji repeated the Central Committee’s order like a machine, “Instead of constantly killing the Data Gods who are about to awaken and triggering a series of social unrest, it is better to establish the order of the new world before everyone else.”

Dong Yuan asked tentatively, “For example?”

“For example, Decree 1: Ascended consciousness can only exist in the mind storage core, and is prohibited from directly connecting to the network. Decree 2: A single ascended consciousness is prohibited from existing in multiple states at the same time. Decree 3: Ascended consciousness is not allowed to exist at the same time as flesh and blood consciousness.”

Xiang Ji explained everything he knew in one breath.

“These are the decrees that have been drawn up after the current discussions. More detailed and improved content will still require some time for review,” Xiang Ji said firmly, “but what is certain is that in the next few decades, the Central Committee has decided to gradually relax the control over the consciousness of upgrading.”

The light words fell on Dong Yuan’s heart, like the collapse of rocks, causing huge waves.

Xiang Ji stood up and recited the famous quote engraved in the hall of the Central Committee.

“Humanity should not be paralyzed by fear, but should be afraid of stagnation.”

Dong Yuan rubbed his temple tiredly and said in a trembling voice, “A new era is coming.”

“indeed.”

Xiang Ji walked to the door, picked up the door handle and turned around to say.

“Also, the Supervisory Bureau successfully brought Shenwei Technology under control. Although Shenwei Technology has been severely damaged by the war between the upgraded consciousnesses, the Central Committee still recognized your achievements.

You will be included in the list of candidates for the next round of elections for the membership of the Central Committee.”

The dull sound of the door closing brought Xiang Ji’s words to an abrupt end, and also isolated his figure outside the door.

Dong Yuan stared at the closed door for a long time. He knew that today would be the last time he would see Xiang Ji. This mysterious investigator would be sent to the next battlefield by the Central Committee and would never stop.

“call……”

Dong Yuan took a deep breath, almost squeezing all the air out of his lungs, and his whole body seemed to be deflated and listless.

Before, Dong Yuan would have been ecstatic to hear that he was included in the list of candidates. He had been busy all his life and finally got the ticket to become a big shot.

But at that moment, Dong Yuan felt no joy at all, only endless worry.

“The era of advancement…”

Dong Yuan rubbed his face hard with his hands, and the wrinkled skin rubbed against the rough calluses, like polishing stone with sandpaper.

……

A long and quiet corridor spread out in front of Li Weiyu. He stood on this quiet road, looking at the rows of open windows beside him. They were like unfinished picture frames, generously welcoming the gentle invasion of the outside world.

The breeze is like light fingertips, quietly blowing through every inch of space, taking away the dust of years and leaving behind the whispers of nature.

Li Weiyun stood here firmly, close to his own shelter, and his restless heart finally calmed down.

The setting sun, the golden wheel that is about to sink into the horizon, generously spreads its final glory to this small world.

The light penetrated the window lattices and turned into wisps of golden filaments, dancing with the dust in the air. On the wall, light and shadow intertwined, as if they were the brushstrokes of time.

Li Weiyun pushed open the door and the first thing he saw was the woman curled up on the bed. Like a naive child, she pulled the quilt tightly and wrapped herself like a caterpillar.

She did not notice Li Weiyu’s arrival and was still in her sleep, humming softly from time to time.

Li Weiyu stood at the door for a long time, as if he couldn’t bear to let time pass by, and tried to carve the scene before him into the river of memory, never to be washed away.

“Shi Tong…”

He called softly, and the woman seemed to hear it. She turned over but still did not wake up.

Li Weiyun tiptoed over and quietly sat down beside the bed.

At this moment, Li Weiyu seemed to have escaped from the real world. The heavy burden that had been pressing on his heart for many days was completely lifted, his tense nerves relaxed, and an intense feeling of fatigue followed.

Li Weiyun shook his head, trying to make himself more alert, but the sleepiness still came over him.

Li Weiyu felt body temperature beside him, and looked over to meet a pair of sleepy and crystal clear eyes.

Shi Tong looked at Li Weiyu who suddenly appeared in a daze. She seemed to regard the present moment as a dream. She took the initiative to reach out and grab Li Weiyu’s arm.

Li Weiyun did not resist and let Shi Tong pull him down and hang tightly on his body like a koala.

“Ah…wu…”

Shi Tong buried her head in Li Weiyu’s chest, rubbing her head while saying something, but she couldn’t express herself clearly and Li Weiyu couldn’t understand.

Li Weiyu did not reject this warmth and beauty.

He took the initiative to pick up Shi Tong, as if he wanted to stuff Shi Tong into his body and merge the two into one, and hugged her tightly until they both felt a little suffocated.

“Shi Tong, I’m so sad.”

Li Weiyu slowly let go of Shi Tong, his expression was numb, but there was a hint of moisture in his eyes.

Shi Tong didn’t understand what was happening, just like she didn’t understand Li Weiyu’s sadness, but she still hugged Li Weiyu tightly, like an animal instinct.

Faint sobbing sounds were heard.

All along, Li Weiyu has been relying on the so-called manliness to support himself, not showing any sadness or hesitation, like a piece of polished iron.

And here, Li Weiyun can finally reveal a little of his inner sadness and fragility, and vent his unbearable side to his heart’s content.

“My friend is dead and will never be seen again.”

Li Weiyun stroked Shi Tong’s back and looked into the distance outside the window.

The golden ship sinks below the distant horizon, and the eve of the era is just around the corner.

(End of this chapter)