Chapter 212: The Writer Who Escaped

Horn sighed and said with admiration:

"Wen Xishu, you really have many tricks up your sleeve. It seems you have many trump cards; it is truly fortunate to have met you."

Wen Xishu said:

"Next, we should find someone to test."

The thirty-fifth floor of the office building was considered an abandoned floor, waiting to be repurposed; it was naturally a good place for an interrogation. Horn remained where he was, while Wen Xishu, under Horn's control, relied on his immense speed to dodge past one security camera after another, searching for prey.

For Wen Xishu, whose strength was comparable to a superman, kidnapping someone was truly an easy task.

Silently, under Horn's control, one could see Wen Xishu hauling a person in each hand; a man and a woman had been abducted by him, both appearing to be managers of no low status.

The woman was from the film and television department, responsible for a Saturday variety show, the content of which was called "Randomized Disaster."

The show described the dangers people might encounter in various uncoordinated and disorderly environments.

But it was said that the actors had to sign non-disclosure agreements. Although the actors would later say that the random environments and the random choices made by people inside were all arranged by the show...

Yet there were still individual artists who seemed like different people from then on.

People kept saying this show was toxic; many artists who went on the show became disgraced artists. Later, when people saw this artist again, there was already a scar on the artist's forehead.

That was the supreme scar, symbolizing the prefrontal lobotomy of the nobility.

And the other man was a novelist.

Because this profession was too high-risk, this novelist insisted on being steady and cautious, writing suspense and mystery types.

He told stories of the protagonist in various uniform worlds... solving cases by relying on various uncoordinated clues.

He was actually a very popular and, for the time being, relatively safe writer—at least safer than that person in charge of the film and television department.

Both were knocked unconscious by a hand-blade strike from Wen Xishu, but soon, both woke up under the influence of the "Code of Conduct Manual."

Because at this time and in this place, there was no function for deep sleep. In the state of unconsciousness, the words "Butterfly Effect Variable" appeared in their minds, and the two were immediately startled, waking up on the spot.

Horn had originally thought that Wen Xishu's mental probing method was some kind of hypnosis... but after they woke up, Wen Xishu instead said:

"It's good that you're awake; I happen to have something to ask you."

"Who... who exactly are you!" the woman said in surprise.

"You kidnapped us?" the man said.

Wen Xishu nodded, holding the Scorpion Blade against the woman's neck:

"I am a supercriminal whose Butterfly Effect Variable exceeds ten percent."

Upon hearing ten percent, the woman fainted directly from fear.

Wen Xishu frowned slightly.

It was very strange; just like that doctor, she actually fainted immediately.

Logically speaking, being able to be scared into fainting meant one had already reached a state of extreme emotion.

Wen Xishu looked at the man, and the man also immediately fainted.

Horn tentatively asked:

"Do you... have a result?"

Wen Xishu said:

"They seem to have some kind of protective mechanism on them that prevents their emotions from being in an overly agitated state."

"They fall directly into a faint. This causes my ability to be unable to unfold."

Horn and Wen Xishu fell into silence, but soon, both reached the answer almost simultaneously.

Horn said:

"It seems we have to cut open their arms and remove the implants."

Wen Xishu also understood:

"So that's it. They only feel one situation, and that is the immense pleasure under hormonal stimulation, just like a catheter or taking drugs."

"Long-term use of this leads to cerebellar atrophy, gradual addiction, and the loss of creativity."

"Except for this extreme pleasure, all other emotions are unable to accumulate under the influence of the implant."

As Wen Xishu spoke, he immediately cut open the woman's and the man's arms, cleanly and efficiently removing the implants inside.

Although this action was fast, it still jolted the man and woman awake from the pain.

The woman wanted to scream; she had never been so terrified, and her life had never been so out of control.

But inexplicably, there was a strange sense of pleasure.

Of course, this feeling was very, very small, and wrapped in immense fear, it was almost imperceptible.

Wen Xishu instantly covered her mouth.

"Be quiet first."

[Help! Help! Help!]

Finally, he saw the barrage.

Wen Xishu was in a great mood.

He looked at the man and woman and said:

"The Code of Conduct Manual on your bodies has already been pulled out by me. Next, you had better think seriously about my questions in the midst of this fear."

"All your shows and works are hymns to order; I want to know, what is the most out-of-control thing in this world?"

Such a taboo topic pushed fear to its peak.

Wen Xishu didn't even need to use violence; just asking this question made people feel his abnormality, or rather, his own lack of control.

But some things, even if not said out loud, will be thought about in the heart.

The mental barrage still allowed Wen Xishu to see the answer.

Interestingly, the two people's answers were the same.

[He is aiming for that incident! This damn lunatic! To think there is still someone who dares to investigate that matter!]

Horn could not see the barrage, but he saw Wen Xishu extend his hand, reaching toward the space above their heads.

Under the effect of "All Feelings Intertwined," a large amount of memory began to emerge in the form of images.

Soon, Wen Xishu obtained all this information.

Horn could see a hint of astonishment in Wen Xishu's expression. But soon, Wen Xishu's expression became normal.

The whole process was very short, less than ten seconds, and Wen Xishu nodded at Horn:

"Horn, I've already handled it; it really is very heavy-duty intelligence."

The man and woman had thought they were going to be tortured, but they didn't expect the other party to suddenly let them go.

Horn naturally trusted Wen Xishu:

"Let's go. We have to leave here."

Wen Xishu began to take Horn away.

This time, the two of them openly began to evacuate from the elevator.

"We must first find a safe place. In the process of looking for this place, I will tell you about a loophole in this world..."

"Speaking of which, that is also an old friend of mine."

Horn showed curiosity.

Wen Xishu said:

"I didn't expect that everything was connected."

Horn said:

"I hope you, like me, will skip this part of selling suspense and dangling appetites, and just get straight to the point."

Pushing the wheelchair, Wen Xishu said softly:

"There are many ability users on the Ark, and the time the Ark boarded happened after an old friend of mine left..."

"Hmm, let me think, how I should organize my language."

Horn was moved by the complexity of Wen Xishu's connections, but was also curious about what had happened.

"Let's talk about this place first; someone has actually been here before, but this person is already dead."

"There was once a forbidden book here, written by an outsider like you and me. This person's book described a person who did not follow order, acting entirely according to their own desires. In this city that follows order, if a person does not follow order, then this person can certainly live very well. Provided they are strong enough."

"The protagonist in this forbidden book predicted several cases, and as it turned out, these cases all happened in reality."

"This book promoted ideas that were extremely reactionary relative to this city."

"And that is... do whatever you want to do, don't believe in the Code of Conduct Manual, don't believe in the supreme system."

"I must first talk about the marriage system; the protagonist predicted four things."

"The fourth one has not yet been realized, but the first three have all been realized."

"The first thing: for the sake of convenience in management, the partners here are all assigned according to the system."

"Every person is born with it decided who they will form a family with and who they will have children with."

"But one day, the protagonist pulled out the implant on a woman's arm, which is the Code of Conduct Manual. He forced this woman to say a sentence that all women... no, even all men in such forced family unions, dared to think but dared not say—"

"I want to have an affair; I don't love my other half."

Horn was silent.

Wen Xishu smiled:

"This part also happened in reality. That writer, truly like in his own novel, went and did this thing. He fell in love with a woman."

"Then this woman said something with the same meaning as in the novel; she longed to choose the person she loved according to her own preferences, and she did not love her current husband and children."

"This incident caused a great sensation, but the law enforcers did not find that writer and that woman who had the affair."

Horn said:

"And the second thing?"

Wen Xishu said:

"The second thing has to do with a child."

"In a school in District 11, a child was assigned to be a computer operator. But that child didn't like that kind of life, and at the age of fifteen, the most rebellious age, he met the protagonist."

"Under the protagonist's incitement, he pulled out the implant that brought him great pleasure and numbed his own will."

"Without the behavioral manual, the child said he wanted to become a painter."

"So the protagonist began to take this child with him to pursue his dream."

Huo En said:

"It looks like it happened in reality, too?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"This is the most vicious runaway incident in this city; that child said this sentence on camera: I want to choose my dream according to my own thoughts."

Choose a partner according to one's own thoughts.

Choose a dream according to one's own thoughts.

That answer was already very obvious.

Huo En and Wen Xishu looked at each other, seemingly realizing that concept.

But neither of them said that sentence.

"What is the third thing?" Huo En asked.

Wen Xishu said:

"It is mourning."

Huo En frowned slightly:

"What does that mean?"

Wen Xishu explained:

"In this city, everything must be faced with a smile; humans cannot easily be sad, angry, or afraid."

"You have also seen that even when facing robbers like us, with a blade at their throats, they might be afraid, but once it exceeds a certain threshold... they will fall into a coma."

"People are only allowed to be happy. The massive implanted pleasure has also stripped them of their true happiness."

"Once they are detached from that massive pleasure-inducing substance, can they really still be happy?"

"Here, after people die, they are worshipped. But for the sake of unified management and the convenient, orderly operation of the city, even the worship of the dead, the expression on one's face, how many times to kowtow, and when worship is allowed... are all strictly restricted."

"The protagonist took a teenager to worship his grandfather; the teenager was afraid at first, but after the protagonist pulled out his behavioral manual... under the protagonist's incitement, the teenager began to slowly recall every little detail about his grandfather."

"He was unwilling to accept that his grandfather was so good yet could only live such a destitute life, because in this city, you are born with everything already arranged for you. Any thought of resistance you have, the pleasure-inducing substance will make you give up that resistance."

"But when that thing was removed, the teenager finally had the right to grieve wantonly."

"He also said to the camera, 'I want to miss the past according to my own will.'"

Huo En said:

"This protagonist... to be shaped like this, he is truly heinous."

Wen Xishu said:

"Yes, the author of the novel is actually an ability user. I don't know his specific ability, but I do recognize him."

Huo En thought about it, but he didn't know of such a person on the Ark.

But this was also normal; there were many ability users on the Ark, and it wasn't certain that he could recognize every one of them, nor that every one of them had been assimilated by the Captain.

Wen Xishu continued:

"In reality, this incident also happened. Honestly, I didn't expect him to be able to do it to this extent."

Huo En said:

"Then what about the fourth thing?"

Wen Xishu shook his head:

"The fourth thing, which is the fourth prophecy, failed."

"After the first three prophecies succeeded, many people's hearts began to look forward to what the fourth thing was. What the fourth prophecy was."

"But not long after, this author was killed by the enforcers."

"To be precise, it was when the Sin Sea Behemoths began to appear."

Huo En understood:

"In other words... at this time, the Captain began to intervene?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"I don't know exactly what happened, but I suspect that Sirius was likely in a state of being imprisoned from the very beginning. Or to put it another way, Sirius was actually very weak from the start and was imprisoned by the Captain."

"But at that time, the Captain could not control Sirius, and the Captain had also been trying to conquer Sirius's inner world."

"In order to save itself, Sirius contacted this author, letting this author leave four prophecies in the most critical spiritual world... which is this city."

"But unfortunately, he was killed after fulfilling only the third prophecy."

"The fourth prophecy was only released, but it had not yet been realized."

Huo En said:

"To love according to one's own will, to decide the future according to one's own will, to cherish the past according to one's own will."

"It looks like if the fourth prophecy is realized... some kind of shackle will be broken?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Yes."

Huo En said:

"This is like a ritual; after it proceeds to the fourth one, the ritual is completed, and the blockade on people's hearts can be lifted."

"I think so too. So, without any clues, we might be able to try to realize this fourth prophecy," Wen Xishu said.

Huo En became interested:

"What is your friend's name?"

Wen Xishu said:

"His pen name is San Tian Liang Huo Jiao Pei Jia. His real name is Yin Junchi. I once saved him; I didn't expect that he would actually choose to leave that city and head to the Ark. I even less expected that he would have such an exaggerated experience."

Huo En said:

"Your experiences are very rich."

Wen Xishu said:

"If there is a chance, if you can go to the place where I am, your experiences will also be very rich."

Huo En smiled and did not take up the topic; he longed to stay on the Ark:

"Tell me, what is the fourth prophecy? Let's go realize it!"

(End of chapter)