Chapter 105: A Wavering Sense of Self |
In the early hours of April eighteenth, Jing Zi parked the van near the back gate of Shi Rang's residential complex. He hid the vehicle behind a fence covered in climbing vines, concealing it in the shadows where the streetlights could not reach.
It was exactly the same as yesterday. Heart Fist had also parked the car right here.
"I will go up first. If it is safe, I will signal you from the window. Your skin color is too conspicuous; it will arouse suspicion."
Shi Rang prepared to step out of the vehicle as he spoke, but Jing Zi stopped him.
"You cannot act alone. I do not trust you."
"I have an Anomalous Effect too. If I surrender to the Alliance, wouldn't I just be courting death, just like you said? What reason do I have to betray you?"
This was a very convincing argument. Reluctantly, Jing Zi let go of Shi Rang. "If you do not give me a signal within five minutes, I will come up and find you. You absolutely cannot let anything happen to you."
Shi Rang left the Cardboard Boxes in the van for him and walked toward his home alone.
He was physically and mentally exhausted. He had only taken a few steps before he realized that although he had acquired a decent set of clothes at the Stronghold, his head and face were still stained with dark, dried blood. He could only pray that he arrived before Agent Angie did.
He was deeply conflicted and confused now, completely unsure of what perspective or stance he should take when viewing all of this.
He had initially contacted the Alliance for money, but he had also partly agreed with their Ideals.
Then what did the Ascension Society represent? Was he struggling so much simply because he did not know enough about these people?
Or was it because he himself was too weak, too overly sentimental?
Jing Zi was right downstairs. Should he report him to the Alliance?
However, could his information regarding his Anomalous Abilities already be in the hands of the Ascension Society...?
After much thought, Shi Rang realized that no matter what, he could not muster the same murderous intent toward Jing Zi as he had when dealing with Heart Fist.
To ruthlessly kill someone under uncertain circumstances just to ensure his own interests were not harmed—how would that make him any different from Ring Worm?
He did not want to become a piece of scum with utter disregard for human life.
Shi Rang originally planned to take the stairs, but his knees simply could not handle it. The corridor was filled with the smell of gunpowder, and it seemed like there was someone in the stairwell. Filled with unease, he hunched his shoulders and stepped into the elevator, staring at the constantly changing numbers as they climbed to "6".
With a soft ding, the elevator doors opened.
He and Agent Angie stepped into the dim corridor at the exact same time.
The emergency stairwell door and the elevator doors slid shut behind them.
The two of them, looking as if they had just fled a disaster zone, stood in complete silence.
A choking smell of gunpowder emanated from Agent Angie, filling the hallway. The faulty light bulb overhead flickered continuously, intermittently outlining their silhouettes.
Her clothes were covered in ash, and heavy, dark circles hung under her eyes. Although she had haphazardly wiped her face, several obvious black smudges remained. Shi Rang was not in much better shape. He had fallen to the ground while escaping the Stronghold; his clothes were completely muddy, not to mention his head.
If he did not have a Buzz Cut, he probably would have needed to shave his head completely bald just to clean himself up.
"'Going out to eat,' huh?" Agent Angie let out a weak, hollow laugh. "That was quite a long meal."
'Did you also participate in that bombing?'
Shi Rang knew that he was the root cause of the bombing, but he still could not help feeling a lingering surge of fear. Beating Agent Angie to the punch before she could start questioning him, he "confessed," "You were right. Blue Signal targeted me. But for now, I have probably... shaken them off."
"It is a massive miracle that you are still alive. I told you not to go running around outside. Did you listen?"
She always spoke like a nagging mother, but Shi Rang did not dislike this preachy tone. From childhood to adulthood, he had never received this kind of care.
Shi Rang shook his head weakly. "I saw Grey Dog in Pingyuan City earlier, but he said he had never seen Ying Shang. I think I might have to keep looking."
"Leave it to me. I will figure something out." Agent Angie rubbed her temples, her exhaustion draining her of her usual vitality. "My head is killing me. I need to hurry back and get some sleep."
"Me too."
"Seriously, you had better leave the Tenth District and go back to your hometown to lay low for a while. Blue Signal is incredibly powerful. Do not let the seemingly decent situation in Yunling City fool you; in reality, their people are in every street and alleyway. This is no joking matter."
As she spoke, she reached under her coat without any warning.
Shi Rang instantly tensed up, staring nervously at her arm. Thoughts of fleeing and launching a preemptive strike flashed alternately through his mind. While he was still hesitating over his choice, Agent Angie pulled her hand out, opened her Wallet, and drew out a few large bills to hand to him.
"Consider this a loan. Go see a doctor at the hospital tomorrow morning when it gets light out. Take the main roads, and do not be stingy with your money at a time like this. Regardless of when we finally find her, do not ruin yourself first. If she comes back one day and something has happened to you, she will definitely wash her face with tears every day... And if that happens, I will not let you off the hook, even if you are dead."
Stuffing the money into the hands of a stunned Shi Rang, who stood there like a Wooden Chicken, Agent Angie put away her Wallet. Falling into her habit of Constant Grumbling, she pushed open the emergency stairwell door with her shoulder.
"Think about my proposal, Shi Rang. Go to the Second District and lay low."
Her figure disappeared behind the door.
It was not until the heavy security door clattered shut that Shi Rang suddenly snapped back to his senses.
He stared at the money in silence for a moment, then forcefully slapped himself across the face.
Before he could even fully recognize this crazy world and find a way to fight against it, he had almost been assimilated by it.
Nursing his stinging, burning cheek, he approached his front door. He habitually reached for his keys, only for his hand to slip straight through a tear in his pocket.
Fortunately, Ring Worm and Heart Fist had not locked the door when they kidnapped him. The front door opened with a single pull—it was a true miracle that a Thief had not broken in.
Estimating that Agent Angie had already left the residential complex, he waved a nightlight by the window to give the signal. Then, before Jing Zi could come up, he hurriedly stuffed the deadly Espionage Materials from the table under his mattress.
Regardless, he needed to placate Jing Zi first.
"I saw that woman. She got into an Alliance vehicle. Does that mean it is handled?" After entering, Jing Zi casually locked the door behind him and stood on the doormat without moving.
"Just step right in."
Shi Rang took the Cardboard Boxes from Jing Zi's hands.
He stepped directly into the house with his shoes on. There were shoe prints all over the floor, and his bed had already been soiled during the previous fight; a little more dirt would not make a difference.
Entering the room, Shi Rang placed the cardboard boxes next to Minimen Town and opened the shoeboxes, watching a group of Mini-Humans swarm toward the town like moving ants. Leader Jack wanted to talk to him, but now was not the time. He asked the boy to lead the new companions in adapting to the town, then walked out to the living room.
Jing Zi was still standing at the entrance, appearing as though he would never relax, which made it difficult for Shi Rang to go and rest.
Until he cleared his head, he could not make any decisions for the time being.
The two of them stood by the door, seemingly replicating the scene of his encounter with Agent Angie not long ago. Finally, ignoring the tense atmosphere, Shi Rang collapsed onto the Sofa first. Jing Zi hesitated for a moment before sitting down some distance away.
After lying there for a good while, Shi Rang finally recovered some energy. He wanted nothing more than to fall straight asleep, but he could not do that right now.
He did not want to wake up and find himself tied up by someone again.
Leader Qin was already dead, so no one was going to dig into his brain, but would Jing Zi do something similar?
The silence continued, and Shi Rang's awareness of his role as the host gradually crept into his mind. Forcing himself to stay alert, he stood up and poured a glass of water for both his guest and himself.
He slumped back into his seat and downed his drink in one gulp. Jing Zi, however, held the hot water in a daze, only lightly wetting his lips with the rim of the cup, seemingly unaccustomed to warm water.
After setting down the barely touched cup, Jing Zi continued to stare vigilantly at Ying Shang's bedroom. "Will your family be coming back?"
"I only joined the organization because I was looking for her. The Management Authority took her away, but she had absolutely no Anomaly." After pouring out this story to others time and time again, Shi Rang had grown somewhat numb to it. "What about you? Why did you join the Ascension Society?"
"Revenge."
To some extent, the two physically and mentally exhausted men reached a tacit understanding and began to converse.
"Against the Alliance?"
"...Against the Management Authority. At least you still have a wife to search for. You are very lucky." For the first time, a clear emotion appeared on Jing Zi's statue-like face—it was deep, profound hatred. "I used to live in the Eleventh District. Later, I was captured by the Management Authority... It was the Ascension Society that raided the facility and rescued me."
This certainly explained why Jing Zi was taking such massive risks to work for the Ascension Society.
The Management Authority contained Anomalies; if the entity exhibiting an Anomalous Effect was human, they would forcibly take that person away.
Many of the Records Shi Rang had seen on the Terminal Station described similar situations.
The Management Authority's clean-up methods were exceedingly ruthless—erasing the contained subject's Social Identity and the memories from their relatives' minds, forging disappearances and hospitalizations... These methods did indeed conceal the existence of Anomalies, but the Management Authority cared little for anything beyond that. They were busy, preoccupied with containing the terrifying number of Anomalies scattered across the globe, occupied with locking them all in Prison Cells to protect humanity.
They had used a similar method to take Ying Shang away.
'Why is every faction shouting the exact same slogans...?'
Shi Rang did not press Jing Zi on why he had not gone back to find his family. The other man's expression provided the answer, and discussing the details any further would merely be rubbing salt in the wound.
They remained silent for a moment. Suppressing his headache, Shi Rang continued to probe.
He needed to get an answer that would allow him to rest with peace of mind.
"What do we do next?"
"The Deacon of the Second District—the one in charge of the 'Eye of God' operation—came to the Tenth District with me. We were originally supposed to receive that Doctor, but I am guessing that person is probably dead by now. Once the lockdown ends, we will rendezvous with the Deacon and figure out a way to smuggle ourselves into the Second District."
"Why do you need this intelligence? 'Eye of God' is a terrible wishing machine. If you wish for the destruction of the Management Authority and the Alliance, the consequences will be severe." Seeing Jing Zi merely nod in agreement, Shi Rang guessed that the Ascension Society's goal lay elsewhere, so he continued to coax him. "I have already joined the group, and I have memorized the data. Is there still a need to keep secrets from me?"
Jing Zi thought for a moment and felt that his words made sense.
Jing Zi was probably tired as well, no longer wanting to engage in a battle of wordplay with him.
"It is not that we need it; it is that we must know where it is. Someone wants to hijack it, and one day, this thing will fall into those people's hands.
"If they succeed, the world will be destroyed."