[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-player-reboot":3,"chapter-player-reboot-player-reboot-chapter-31":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Player Reboot",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2271996,4438,"Chapter 31: Infant","player-reboot-chapter-31",31,"\u003Cp>The faucet gushed water with a rush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and noticed a sweet stickiness on his tongue; when he opened his mouth, blood seeped from both upper and lower gums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Side effects of the gene suppressant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng silently raised his cup and rinsed his mouth repeatedly until no more blood streaks remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped out of the bathroom; his uncle’s family had left early to order formal wear from a tailor recommended by someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cousin Xue Lingyu had recently received an offer from a prestigious Ivy League university abroad; the whole family was ecstatic and actively preparing for the interview in half a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tablecloth, wallpaper, and even lightbulbs in the living room had all been replaced; every certificate and trophy was displayed in the most prominent spots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of this had anything to do with Li Cheng; he rode his bike to school, handed in his homework, and let his gaze linger for a moment on the empty seat to the right—Shao Wangshu had taken a sick day and did not appear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of family requires their children to donate blood at regular intervals?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng had heard a urban legend: somewhere overseas, there was an orphanage built inside a castle, constantly receiving external donations and providing excellent living conditions and educational resources for over a hundred orphans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, these isolated orphans were all blood relatives— a super-rich man used in vitro fertilization and surrogacy to have them “raised” in the orphanage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should the billionaire or his legitimate children suffer an accident, all the orphans would serve as the most suitable organ donors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This urban legend had no clear beginning or end, and its truth was impossible to verify.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some netizens believed it was fake, because in bone marrow, liver, and kidney transplants, familial matching success rates aren’t high enough to justify it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the international black market for organs was rampant; keeping so many orphans was largely a waste of money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other netizens, however, thought the legend had some plausibility—even if the organ black market existed, the time required for matching, purchasing, transporting, and transplanting organs was still considerable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In comparison, “fetching” an orphan directly from the orphanage was far quicker, cleaner, and more reliable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the ultra-rich at the pinnacle of society, money was merely a number; they could easily spend the small cost of raising hundreds of orphans to gain a few days—or even hours—of speed in organ transplantation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shao Wangshu’s family probably wasn’t like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhan Xinyu!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miss Yang Hui’s voice interrupted Li Cheng’s thoughts; she stood with hands on hips and addressed Zhan Xinyu, seated in the front row next to the aisle: “Can’t you tidy up your books? You keep them under your desk and trip people over and over again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I already tidied them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhan Xinyu looked innocent, bent down, and moved the stack of books under the desk—comprising titles like *America in Collapse*, *The Collapse of the American Empire*, *The Decline of America*, and *Why America Failed*—to the other side, muttering, “They don’t even trip anyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehehe,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evans, seated across the aisle, grinned broadly at Zhan Xinyu’s scolding and added insult to injury: “Miss Yang told you to clean up—just do it. Why so much talk?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Evans, I didn’t say anything to you? Clean up your own desk too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miss Yang glared at Evans; his desk and floor were also piled high with books: *The End of History and the Last Man*, *Zhang Jiadun’s Collected Works*, *The Collapse of Chinese Society Has Begun!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could only say these two were truly exceptional talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you staring at? Did I tell you to stop morning reading?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing the classroom’s recitation growing quieter, Miss Yang’s eyebrows shot up and her voice rose; the other students immediately fixed their eyes on their books, lips moving louder to avoid trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong with Miss Yang?” Ye Jiaying, seated to Li Cheng’s left, whispered, holding up her textbook. “She’s angry first thing in the morning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know,” Li Cheng shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miss Yang was an excellent teacher, patient and diligent with students, but she had one flaw—her temper occasionally flared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her husband had died years ago saving a drowning child; she had never remarried and lived alone ever since; her personality shift was understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They didn’t dwell on the matter long; Ye Jiaying said, “By the way, I listened to the song snippet Shao Wangshu sent me—she sings really well. Now our band has a lead singer. We just need to pick a song.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not wait until Shao Wangshu feels better, then apply for an empty lecture hall to practice first? I think—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng fell silent; he frowned and sniffed the air. “Did you smell anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Jiaying sniffed the air and shook her head. “I didn’t smell anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe I’m imagining things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng hesitated, then shook his head; he had just smelled a faint, elusive stench of decay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could the gene suppressant’s effects be so strong they’ve impaired his sense of smell?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Decay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the third-floor office of the World Nuclear Peace House, Changsun Yao raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Miss Changsun, you must help me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across the desk sat a thirty-something man dressed in an elegant suit, wearing a luxury watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat stiffly, his expression complex, voice bitter: “It’s been nearly a month—my villa has been filled with a faint, lingering stench of decay. I hired three different cleaning companies and did four deep cleans. I even replaced the flooring, ceiling, and central air ducts. But the smell never went away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Changsun Yao nodded. “Did you seek help from the Special Affairs Bureau?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did. They ran a series of tests and said I’m mentally sound, not cursed. They sent people to inspect the villa too—no abnormal energy signatures detected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then maybe it’s an issue with the house itself? Toxic building materials, underground gas leaks, something like that,” Changsun Yao said casually. “Have you considered moving to another villa?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although official organizations—including the Special Affairs Bureau—generally tried to conceal the existence of killing fields from the public, exceptions existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man seated behind the desk was a prominent young entrepreneur in Yin City with a net worth of one billion. His social stratum naturally knew things ordinary people didn’t—like who to turn to when encountering the strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with his wealth, moving to another villa shouldn’t be difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve already moved out—I’m not living there anymore. But that’s not the problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entrepreneur’s expression grew extremely complex, his voice trembling: “The problem is—in the bedroom—there’s a brand-new baby crib! I’m certain I never bought it. I checked with the civil affairs bureau—I’ve never married, never adopted a child. So when, and by whom, was that crib placed there?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1136,"2026-06-19T22:31:22.154Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","09154bae510b2e89f025a1809244f0cafbb7df3ed2fa747254b05a0c3e543ca2","player-reboot-chapter-32","player-reboot-chapter-30",612,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fplayer-reboot-cover.jpg"]