Soul Patch

Chapter 323 Meteorite
Wenjie hesitated slightly, then calmly looked around at the old man in front of him and the old room behind him.

This is a red brick house with a peeling green wooden door that is ajar. Thick layers of dust cover the door frames and window frames, and a damp, musty smell wafts out of the room.

The old man looked over with a smile, his snow-white hair and beard contrasting with his beaming face. His eyes were slightly swollen, and his sharp gaze seemed unable to conceal the sorrow in his heart.

There seemed to be no hostility... Wenjie made a rough judgment in his mind.

However, judging from the glint in the old man's eyes, this did not seem like the behavior of someone who was mentally unstable.

Having dispelled his concerns, Wenjie stepped forward and firmly grasped the hand the old man offered.

A warm feeling came from the palm of his hand, and Wenjie subconsciously tightened his grip, saying in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, I was just ambushed. Someone shot my...girlfriend, so..."

The old man withdrew his hand and waved it casually: "It's alright, let's get down to business. I've been waiting for you here because I need your help."

Wenjie's gaze swept across the old man's face. Recalling the rumors he had heard about the old man's son jumping off a building, he pondered for a moment and slowly asked, "Was it to save your son?"

"Haha, yes!"

The old man laughed heartily and nodded approvingly.

Wenjie turned around and briefly explained the situation to Andy and Awen. The two looked saddened after hearing it, shook hands with the old man, and exchanged a few polite words.

"Uncle Li," Andy called out crisply.

The old man was slightly taken aback, then looked at Andy with a gentle and kind gaze.

“We’re trapped too… now. How can we save your son?” Andy originally wanted to talk about the system, but he felt it was inappropriate to bring it up with a stranger so abruptly, so he swallowed the word “system” back.

“Yes, sir,” Ah Wen chimed in, “Actually, we don’t even know if we’ll make it out alive.”

"Uncle Li, what do you need us to do? If we do our best to save your son, will you help us deal with James and save Yang Shanshan?"

Wenjie spoke a string of words at an extremely fast pace.

Andy and Awen nodded repeatedly, "Yes...that's exactly what they meant."

The old man picked up the teacup and pointed to the lid.

Wenjie and the other two then noticed that there was a character "方" (fang) engraved on the lid of the cup.

What, this old man's surname isn't Li?

Wenjie tentatively called out, "Master Fang?"

“The young man is indeed clever. My surname is Fang, and my son's name is Fang Yi. He suddenly jumped off a building a few days ago. Although there were signs before he jumped—he wasn't in good mental health—I feel there must have been a reason for him to jump…”

Andy raised an eyebrow, as if asking Fang Ye why he was so certain about this.

Master Fang's smile faded, his eyes darkening, as if filled with endless resentment and hatred. His breathing became heavy, and his voice trembled slightly.
"After he jumped, the police took some of his son's necessities from his home, saying it was to close the case and copy the files. They seemed very secretive. Later I found out they even... even..."

Upon hearing this, Wenjie's body stiffened abruptly.

He was struck dumb, his eyes fixed on Master Fang, and he cried out as if seeking confirmation: "Was it medicine? Did you take the pale yellow pills?"

His face flushed, his voice rapid, and he leaned closer to Master Fang as he spoke, the latter clearly seeing the movement of his Adam's apple.

But the other person wasn't as impatient as him. He simply regained some composure and nodded emphatically: "Yes, that's why I'm here. Give it to me..."

As he spoke, Master Fang opened his hand towards Wenjie. His broad, calloused palm slowly opened in front of Wenjie, who stared at it intently.

He exchanged a silent glance with Arvind and Andy, and finally, with a determined heart, pulled the gray-black meteorite from his pocket.

In an instant, the meteorite attracted the attention of everyone present.

The meteorite emitted a faint glow, which appeared as veins enveloping its surface. Each ray of light flowed in a regular cycle, and the connection of all the rays made the meteorite seem to be filled with a mysterious power.

Wenjie was shocked; even when he found the meteorite years ago, he had never seen such a sight.

"Ah! This thing is alive!" Andy screamed. "Wenjie, this thing is controlling the system, isn't it!"

Hearing Andy's words, Awen was very excited. He was the technical expert of the Anti-System Alliance. Back then, he was willing to follow Old Man Luo not only because he wanted to get rid of the system's constraints and to pursue Old Man Luo's granddaughter Andy, but also because he was fascinated by the system.

As a computer enthusiast, he was captivated by everything about the system—its capabilities, its operating principles, and so on.

His voice trembled as he asked, "Wenjie, could you let me take a look at this meteorite?"

Wenjie paid no attention to Andy and Awen's reactions. After a brief pause, his mind became active again. After quickly analyzing the situation, he said decisively, "Master Fang... Master Fang, your son also has a meteorite. You have activated this meteorite now?"

Master Fang gazed at him gently and slowly shook his head.

What... you guessed wrong?
Before Wenjie could even ask, Master Fang spoke up on his own:

"You activated it!"

As he spoke, he pulled a small cloth bag from his inner pocket, and several pairs of eyes immediately stared at it.

As Master Fang peeled back the layers of the small cloth bag, a small stone gleaming with a faint light appeared before his eyes.

This meteorite was a bit smaller and its luster was also dimmer... Wenjie and Master Fang made eye contact briefly, and with the other party's permission, he carefully picked up the small meteorite.

He wanted to put the two meteorites together to see what would happen.

The moment his fingertips touched the meteorite, the small, exquisite meteorite seemed to be drawn by some force and flew up on its own.

"Ah!" Andy exclaimed.

“I’m going…” Awen.

"That's interesting," said Mr. Fang.

Drawn by an external force, the small meteorite slowly approached the meteorite in Wenjie's palm. The moment the light covering their surfaces intersected, something seemed to change. The brilliance suddenly intensified, and a sharp beam of light shot out, causing everyone present to instinctively shield their eyes.

The two halos began to merge at their point of contact, and the small meteorite broke through the barrier of the halos, finally colliding with each other.

"Crackling and popping"

After a faint knocking sound, the melting phenomenon actually occurred.

Two identical substances joined together at a speed visible to the naked eye and rotated at a constant speed. The smaller meteorite slowly sank into the interior of the larger meteorite, and then the two meteorites merged into one, slowly rotating on their own. The wispy dust generated during the impact gradually rose and enveloped the surface of the meteorite.

The light grew even brighter, swirling like starlight.

(End of this chapter)