Dow and Carbon-Based Monkey Breeding Guidelines

Chapter 957 Yu Ge (Part )

A ghost stood on the other side, in the chaos where green meets blue. It was imagined by Luo Binhan through the swaying shadows of trees, but it had strange and rich details. Its hair was no longer loose, but tied up as Cai Ji had described many times; it was no longer wearing a school uniform, but a lavender sweater; the soles of its shoes still had mud from the courtyard after the rain, and its hands were still stained with paint from the dream of the garden - all of this made Luo Binhan realize that his impression of Zhou Yu always stayed in his school days. In fact, she had grown up with him and Zhou Yu. Even when she stopped growing old, she was already an adult, not the fairy who remained young forever in those myths.

If she grew up with them until she was thirty, she would not play around in the mountains and springs like a fairy, picking wild flowers to make a wreath, but would be busy doing her own things. She would continue to paint, contact exhibitions and buyers, and maybe even know how to charge people for lessons. So, when she has power in another sense, she will naturally form her team. The word "team" is a bit funny when applied to Zhou Yu, but he must accept this fact, because those disturbing and weird nurses, those who inquired about the news of Lihai City for her, and Cai Ji, they are clearly Zhou Yu's "team".

"It must be her," he said to Li Li, "there's no doubt about her appearance."

"We didn't hear many precise descriptions last night."

"No need to say so much useless stuff. I don't care if her nose is high or low, her mouth is big or small, her eyelids are double or single, these are all bullshit, as long as she is a person, it's almost the same. But when the shop owner said she looked like a bloodless female ghost, I knew it was her."

“There are people with similar temperaments in this world.”

"If you had met her, you would have known," Luo Binhan said, "and the things she said, that ungrateful face was indeed hers."

"Have you ever had this experience?"

"I'm better." Luo Binhan admitted, "She should at least pretend in front of Zhou Yu. But she can definitely say it."

"She is acting as the operator of a hospital. How do you explain this behavior?"

"She must think this title sounds better than warden," Luo Binhan said. "You should also be able to tell that the place is called a hospital, but it's actually used to lock them up. The one who talked to us last night was just because he had a good attitude towards reform. That's what I think. And... maybe she was thinking of Zhou Yu. She might think it's interesting to play Zhou Yu's role in her own territory."

Li Li did not respond, perhaps because he felt that this part was a bit too personal. And Luo Binhan's thoughts were already unfolding along this clue. This theory can explain many things, such as why Cai Ji knew Zhou Yu - his boss behind the scenes would certainly ask him to pay attention to Zhou Yu, or even protect Zhou Yu; and why Cai Ji always avoided him in the beginning, obviously Zhou Yu did not want to involve him in trouble; and then there was Anti-Pierre - didn't her weird behavior resemble the nurses that Cai Ji mentioned? Moreover, she killed Luo De. If Luo De and Cai Ji had similar backgrounds, it would prove that she could handle the patients in the hospital, and maybe she really worked there.

All the traces were closed. He had never been so close to the truth, and it was really a mixed feeling. In the end, many of the secrets lurking around him were related to a friend who had passed away. He told Li Li all his speculations, hoping that she could understand that feeling.

“This intelligence does raise interesting questions,” she said.

"Yes, what is death?" Robin Han asked, "Is it just hiding away from the living? Like leaving the world, but still being able to send a letter back from time to time? If that's all, why should we care about what happened when we were alive?"

"That's not what I meant, sir."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Who turned Lot into what you see? Judging from the time we know, this undoubtedly happened after 0206's death."

"Yes." Luo Binhan said absentmindedly. He was still thinking about the world after death. It took him a while to gradually understand what Li Li was talking about.

"You're right." He sat up from the clover. "How did he do it?"

“We should be asking, who did this?”

"Zhou Wenxing. He's the only one left who can do it."

"All I can say is that I doubt it."

"0206 won't share technology with him, right? I think so too. I won't say whether that thing understands the tricks played by the Wuyuan people, but they don't seem to be that good."

He frowned as he considered the matter and threw the remaining rubble of the pier into the lake. The water surface was rippled and a few dragonflies quickly flew away.

"Helper," he said. "Another Wuyuan?"

"We need to clarify one thing first. Do all Wuyuan people know how to use shadow blood?"

This was not a question they could answer conclusively, but Luo Binhan had a feeling: 0206 must have some abilities that other Wuyuan people did not have, not only the Wuyuan people who stayed in the base, but even the Death Order faction did not have them. What he mastered was far superior to his fellow party members, and that was why 0305 viewed him that way.

"Someone who's on that side," he said, but he couldn't make it any clearer. "You know what I mean. And it's going to be a technical guy, not a spellcaster."

"Let's not talk about that for now."

"Why? You think that's a dwarf? Someone like... someone like Asabamu?"

"I'm just saying that people who use technology don't need to be tech-savvy. You've seen magical creatures use household appliances."

"He also broke a lot of home appliances." Luo Binhan said, "I wonder if he did the same thing in Wuyuan Base?"

"We'd better not use him as a general standard."

"Then I don't know," Robinson asked. "Did you find any traces? Anyone you thought was suspicious? Did someone pay the guy in my company?"

"I think the chances of that happening are slim."

"But he must have spent money before he got here, right? For food, clothes, a ride, a book. Where did the money in his account come from? Can you trace the flow of money?"

"From what I could tell, he initially dealt in cash."

"So there's no point in stealing his bank account?"

"Yes."

"We should have abolished cash long ago," Robinson said viciously. "All evil comes from physical currency."

"He may still hold some virtual currency. It's an anonymous transaction. Unless there is enough reference information, I can't lock it to his account."

Luo Binhan could only snort. "Let's keep looking. Maybe when he's about to die, that good helper will show up."

He was not sure. A partner in a crime could be a friend, but it could also be a colleague, and the two were worlds apart. Was Zhou Wenxing also present when 0206 died? Everyone who might have known the answer did not tell him this.

But at least three people must have been present, that is, 0206, Jing Huang, and the person who actually killed 0206. And how did that third person, who he had always thought he didn't know, get involved in this murder? In the past, for some reason, he always subconsciously thought that the man killed 0206 for Jing Huang. He must be Jing Huang's friend, or at least a friend of Jing Huang's friend, otherwise why would he be willing to help him do such a thing? But this is wrong, he doesn't have to be Jing Huang's friend, as long as he is 0206's enemy.

There is no more popular reason for murder than revenge. Jing Huang wanted revenge, and the other person also wanted revenge - but revenge for herself. In this way, the mysterious sword fairy who lived in seclusion on the earth finally revealed her true colors. Maybe the sword fairy thing is all nonsense, after all, all the details of 0206's death were told to him by Fake. If Zhou Yu asked to conceal it, then the dead bald man might not stand on his side.

Now, there is only one last technical question left, which is how a dead person can avenge herself. Did she cross the boundary between life and death and take away her murderer like a ghost visiting the living world? Or perhaps, the location of the murder was deliberately blurred, and 0206 had somehow landed in the kingdom of the dead and met his two fateful enemies there.

He was so lost in these thoughts that he didn't even know how much time had passed as Li Li called him repeatedly.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just about 0206 and that place only dead people can go."

“Not all dead people can go.”

"Yes, I know." Luo Binhan agreed. He didn't know why Li Li suddenly said this, "That place sounds like a tree in the middle of a cliff."

“That’s a weird metaphor.”

"Isn't it obvious that some people get caught in the tree when they fall, and some don't," Robinson said. "That place is like a kind of ... intermediate stage of falling? Anyway, it's not the same place as what we usually think of as death, unless the person hanging on the tree continues to fall."

"I don't want you to think that."

"why?"

"You're implying that the people in the tree haven't actually crossed the line, and that they could potentially get back on the cliff."

For a moment, Luo Binhan was speechless. Of course, that's what he thought.

"It's just a metaphor." "You've also heard about 0305."

"Yes what's the matter?"

"When the Wishing Machine environment was lifted, the residents of Infinite City did not join our universe. They left."

"It's two different things. That was a wishing machine, which is... I don't know what it is, but it was a covenant, right? Basically, it's magic. It's two different things."

"We can't say there's no connection."

"And," Robinham continued, "the inhabitants of the Infinite City are fictional. I mean, they never existed in our world, and they didn't die and go to that city. They were born there, so they went with it."

"Or," Li Li said, "it's just a matter of data prototype selection."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You know. When you talked about heaven just now, this is what you were really thinking about - the uniqueness and reality of the soul. If there is indeed a concept of soul above the brain consciousness, and it can exist completely independently of the physical system, we have to admit that the original body and the clone are two different souls, or that one soul can use two consciousnesses at the same time - it and consciousness are like the relationship between the underlying system and the operating system. And once data life is taken into consideration - is the consciousness of data life also controlled by the soul? Can they enter that city?"

"We're getting off topic. Let's not talk about magic so much for now—"

"Do I have a soul?" Li Li asked, and Luo Binhan had to keep silent. "If I lose the support of a physical entity, how can you distinguish me from the dead prototype? Do you admit that I am her resurrection?"

Luo Binhan just wanted to let the question slip, but Li Li pressed him repeatedly and forcefully. In the end, he had no choice but to say, "I don't think so."

"So, I am an independent life, if you admit that I am a life. Even if I have all her data for a certain period of time, I don't have her material information. The continuity of building the consciousness system has been interrupted. Even if we have the same thoughts at a certain point in time, you don't think this means the transfer of the soul?"

"No, you just look alike."

"To outsiders we are exactly the same. Take anyone who knows her and talk to me, and they won't notice the difference."

She was advancing her position step by step. By this time, Robin had already known which target she would eventually aim at. He could still get away with it, but he had to say in the end: "It's still different. No matter if others can tell the difference or not. If your prototype is still alive, she will know the difference."

"I'm not sure she really thinks that. But if you think so, then we have to talk about the residents of that city from the same standpoint."

"They're captured spirits. I mean, you have to admit that spirits exist for this matter."

"Or, they are another form of data life. Clones of conscious minds."

"It's a very novel idea," Robin Han said dryly. "Tell those people who chant spells."

"If I now have a visible body - with the same structure and appearance as my prototype, but with a replaced thinking center - would you recognize this as her resurrection?"

"You can't do it. You are much more capable than she is, and you can't fit into a bag of flesh and blood like us."

"So, even if you bring a resident of that city to our land, and use your spells and other mysterious materials of unknown efficacy - let's just say, lotus and lotus root - to give this person a body that carries consciousness, can you assert that this is resurrection? Or is this a puppet you made for yourself to soothe your soul?"

Luo Binhan was a little angry. "Do you have to say this now?" He asked in a low voice, "Do you have to say this now?"

“I think now is the best time.”

"You talk as if I could cast a resurrection spell right now!"

"It will be too late by then. Once you have such a spell, anything I say will be like a mosquito passing by your ear."

"You're thinking too far ahead," Robinson said. "And am I overthinking? Your opposition to this matter is not very objective. I think you just don't like things related to resurrection."

"Yes. I don't. I'm afraid I'm not objective on the subject."

"Because you don't want to see your original resurrected?"

"Because my prototype had the same idea."

Robin Han paused. Before he could think about this, Li Li said, "I won't reveal the details, sir. That incident is over. I can only say that this is a very dangerous idea."

"What? She messed up?"

"Almost. If she hadn't given up halfway, I think the consequences would have been horrific."

Luo Binhan stared at the lake silently, his pent-up anger gradually subsiding. "Let's talk about this later," he compromised, but couldn't help but add, "But this is different from what 0305 did. You also saw the shop owner."

"And you heard him say himself that the dead cannot come back to the world - he himself was a special case."

Luo Binhan closed his eyes without saying a word. The clover under his arm had been crushed, and the juice seeped into his shirt sleeves, making him feel a little cool, just like the feeling he had last night when he sat in a secluded house surrounded by paper flowers. As the shopkeeper revealed the secret bit by bit, the breath of the Rain City emanated from the four walls. Sometimes he even felt that he was in that city, in a small shop in that city. As long as he pushed open the door and walked out, what he saw was no longer the familiar street. So he really asked this question, he asked Cai Ji if he could go to that city. Of course, he meant the kind of round trip.

Absolutely not. The other party told him so immediately, and answered so quickly without thinking. This made Luo Binhan feel that he had been warned in advance, that someone had told Cai Ji what questions he might be asked and how he should answer. He tried to lead the topic in this direction several times. This man was really clumsy in speech and slow in reaction - but damn alert. This guy was guarding against him like a cat lying beside a pigeon cage, as if he had stolen money from that unfortunate repair shop. He told Luo Binhan bluntly that there was no way to get there. The place they called Rain City or Yindu was sold out not only for round trips, but also for one-way tickets. Those spooky rituals? They have all been abolished. If you have the ability to learn one of them, you can do it. God knows where you will be sent.

He had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and asked Cai Ji if he could meet his boss. But the boss just looked at him strangely. "Where do you want to meet?" he said to Luo Binhan, "You can't get in there."

"She can come," Robin Han said, "like you?"

"No."

"why not?"

"No, it just won't work."

"But you can do it. What's the logic?"

“…I have never died.”

Luo Binhan looked at him curiously, and saw that his face turned red. Finally, he said with great effort: "I am not really dead... My body is still here, so I can come back here. This is a very special situation... Don't ask anymore!"

He had no choice but to stop asking. Actually, there was nothing else to ask. Although he knew nothing about the occult, this was what the strange stories said. A person can only come back to life if he still breathes after death. Has he been dead for many years? He must have taken the Dingyan Pill first, or slept in a Feng Shui tomb where the body cannot be dissolved. Even the body is gone? He must have used some trick to create one, using mud, lotus, or simply using someone else's body.

That terrifying question approached quietly again. There was a burning coal in his throat, and he recalled the time when Luo Jiaotian went to his hometown in the countryside when he was a child. He remembered that they walked to the edge of the field and found a bloody rooster head in the bushes. The chopped end was stuck on a branch in a disgusting way, staring at them with wide eyes. Luo Jiaotian was so scared that he cried, and he couldn't see the whole chicken on the table for a long time.

Where would that horrible thing, the most undisguised proof of death—the body? He began to think about it again, forcing himself not to think about the specific meaning of the word. It had been so long, the body could not be well preserved. The empty house of flesh and blood had collapsed, and would never allow anyone else to live in it. But the soul—if everything in this world is just a reflection of a perfect world, then what about the soul? For each living, troubled and flawed person, is the soul its perfect form? Can the two be seen as one?

"I still have to go find that man." He opened his eyes and said, "Not for resurrection or anything like that. You know, he's a rare commodity, and he'll be very useful in dealing with that wolf."

"He advised you to go away."

"I can go over and ask him to persuade her again." Luo Binhan said immediately. He thought he might have heard a sigh, but it might just be an illusion caused by the wind.

"I also have a piece of advice," Li Li said. "From your current perspective, it may be difficult for you to agree with it at the moment, but if you are willing to look ahead to the future, this is the best consideration I can make for you from all standpoints."

"I know. You're going to say something I don't like."

"Yes, are you ready to listen?"

Robinson could have sworn that he was prepared to listen. It was not like he had never heard people say unpleasant things before. But then he sat up straight and stared at the opposite side.

"Let's talk about what I don't want to hear later." He grabbed his phone and stood up the camera. "Look across first."

(End of this chapter)