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墨書 Inktalez
Who is without weaknesses? I do not know.
But I clearly heard two crisp "clicks" echoing in the underground pit. A beam of flashlight illuminated the center of the Log Raft, and the sound was that of bullets being chambered, perfectly highlighting the two guns in the middle.
The owners of the two guns were Wu Zui and Shi Huacheng. Each held a loaded pistol, and with a gentle pull of the trigger, both could meet their end. I never imagined things would escalate to this point.
This beam of light came from Guan Zengbin.
Wu Zui had gone through so much effort to get Shi Huacheng out of prison. Yet, after successfully bringing him here, which should have been a safe escape, why were they now pointing guns at each other? When had Shi Huacheng even gotten his gun?
Compared to these two, I felt that no matter how cautious I was, it would never be enough in front of them.
Suddenly, both men burst into laughter, as if they were like Yu Boya meeting Zhong Ziqi.
Shi Huacheng spoke first, sitting on the Log Raft: "Do you remember what I told you back then? To be without weaknesses, one must not have emotions. Once emotions come into play, it becomes difficult to act decisively. I shared this with two people: your sister Zhao Mingkun and you."
He shook his head: "However, only you understood this. Your sister did not. She is a person with weaknesses and will eventually perish because of them. But you are different; you have no weaknesses. You have learned all the flaws that society cannot tolerate from me, yet they are the most interesting strengths in my eyes."
"That is to say, you lack emotions." Shi Huacheng seemed quite pleased: "When you learned this, you dared to push your partner aside for your own benefit while also jumping down yourself to avoid suspicion. You must know that this is one of the hardest ways to verify a death, and you were brave enough to kill someone you despised at the cost of breaking your leg."
Wu Zui smiled politely and said, "So I must thank you, my father. You pushed me into an abyss, allowing me to discover that there are such fascinating things within it. If there were no evil in this world, then goodness would have no foundation; if there were no Satan, then God would be meaningless."
Wu Zui pointed at himself: "My existence is meant to highlight the richness of this world; otherwise, human evolution would slow down or even stagnate due to homogenization. Survival of the fittest is the law of nature, and humanity has become too weak."
"And I will guide humanity to become the first person without weaknesses." Wu Zui continued: "When a person's nearsightedness reaches a certain level, even if they are myopic later on, they will pass on those genes to their offspring. Similarly, when a person lacks emotions to a certain extent, their genes will also be passed down. What I aim to do is transmit this gene from generation to generation until it changes all of humanity."
Having been brainwashed by Shi Huacheng, Wu Zui's worldview had long since transformed into something unrecognizable. Coupled with his involvement in dark and bloody work from a young age, his tragic fate was sealed the moment he was taken in by Shi Huacheng. He stubbornly viewed the world through a dark lens, and in return, the world offered him nothing but endless darkness.
Darkness was Wu Zui's norm; while my life danced between black and white, Wu Zui's existence was a journey along a path devoid of light. Ultimately, he became an even darker entity.
Shi Huacheng couldn't help but applaud: "Well done, son! I am truly proud of you. Life is like this; you must understand that it always takes away the most important things from your life. Just when you think everything can continue happily and joyfully, life will slap you hard across the face."
Shi Huacheng slapped Wu Zui across the face. The impact was heavy, and the sound startled the insects in the darkness, plunging the surroundings into an eerie silence devoid of any chirping. Yet, the echo of the slap lingered in the air, as if it could not dissipate.
Wu Zui received the blow without any reaction. His gun remained aimed at Shi Huacheng, but his expression clearly indicated he was waiting for something from him.
Shi Huacheng continued, "Remember this resounding slap; this is life. However, you still have weaknesses. From now on, you understand that you must walk this path alone. Anyone in this world could suddenly betray you, leave you without reason, even without warning."
With that, Shi Huacheng unloaded his magazine and tossed it into the water. The handgun he held was still chambered with one bullet left; all it took was a pull of the trigger for that last bullet to be fired. Seeing this, Wu Zui mirrored his actions, and now both men had only one bullet left in their guns.
This single bullet determined the fate of both men.
Shi Huacheng spoke again, "In my life, I have two closest people: my wife and my daughter. I should have shared these words with both of you properly; you grew up alongside my daughter. Her name is Shitou, but you have never met her."
Listening to Shi Huacheng's recounting, I realized he was finally going to tell us the story that began seven years ago and even twenty years prior.
Shi Huacheng slowly began to speak as if narrating a tale from long ago: "The story begins over twenty years ago when I had a daughter, a very lovely daughter. Our family of three lived happily together. At that time, I was still an upright police officer until not long after when doctors diagnosed my daughter with a rare form of leukemia. This type of cancer would spread with age, and she could only live up to ten years at most; there was no solution anywhere in the world."
"At that moment, I felt everything collapse around me, yet I remained optimistic and strong, believing that perhaps by the time my daughter grew a bit older, some institution would have developed a treatment within those ten years. But the doctors told me it would be difficult; breakthroughs in medicine take a long time to apply to humans. Moreover, there was currently no way to treat this disease."
"So you can imagine that with each passing day, she drew closer to death, and that distance was alarmingly short. Ten years—what can one accomplish in such a brief span? It was then that I began engaging in deliberate criminal activities to earn money in case a treatment emerged but I lacked funds; at the same time, I sought out people to research this matter."
"You see, many fervent doctors are willing to conduct such experiments; it's just that public opinion and ethics do not permit them. In the following years, I established an organization dedicated to capturing individuals for research on treatment methods. Ten years ago, I faked my own death and began committing crimes. However, Shao Shilin was too obsessed with uncovering the truth behind every case. No matter what case it was, he had to find out the truth. He repeatedly caught onto my trail until finally someone led him right into my plans."
The name Zhao Mingkun popped into my mind.
"To prevent Shao Shilin from ruining my plans, I had no choice but to order Zhao Mingkun to capture my most prized disciple at that time. However, Zhao Mingkun opposed this course of action vehemently; knowing full well there were tracking devices involved, he still brought Shao Shilin along. At that moment, I realized I had been betrayed by Zhao Mingkun."
Shi Huacheng chuckled coldly: "And it was then that I truly understood what weakness meant. In fact, I had been aware of it long before but had refused to acknowledge it. This realization struck me when my daughter was three years old while I was busy solving cases and establishing this organization based on criminal data when an incident occurred."
Shi Huacheng looked at us both: "It was winter; I was in uniform on my way home when suddenly two people rushed out and blocked my path—a man and a woman—each holding a baby."
"These two babies, are they me and Wu Zui?" I asked.
Shi Huacheng nodded. "That's right. This boy and girl are your parents. Perhaps they saw me in my police uniform, or perhaps they had no other choice. In their most desperate moment, they revealed their identities to me. It turns out they were two undercover agents planted within the Drug Trafficking Group, but by that time, they had already been exposed and had no way to escape."
"They shoved me into the sewer while they bravely faced their deaths," Shi Huacheng continued. "You two have no genetic predisposition to mental illness; it was just that at that moment, to prevent you from crying and revealing my location, I tightly covered your mouths. The lack of oxygen caused some changes in your brains."
"Actually, I should have known back then that Zhao Mingkun would eventually betray me. I was just too soft-hearted at the time and kept her around for ten years," Shi Huacheng said. "She knew what following me would lead to; perhaps death seemed better than this life. So she took one baby and left, later returning to tell me to dispose of the baby, claiming it was just for fun. Later, I learned that she had left the other baby at the entrance of Qingcheng Prison. Perhaps Zhao Mingkun thought you would live a normal life."
Listening to Shi Huacheng's words, I finally understood why Zhao Mingkun always had a complicated feeling towards me. It turned out she was the one who left me at the gates of Qingcheng Prison all those years ago. No wonder I always felt she was hiding something from me, yet she refused to speak.
I also realized why she would look at my backside; it was because I had a birthmark there.
She recognized me when we were in the Linfen Underground Maze and urged me not to get involved in these matters, all so I could live like a normal person. But as fate would have it, everything led us to this point. Perhaps this is destiny; we were born to be different from others.
"She didn't betray you; you betrayed her. When she adopted you, she wanted to become an upright police officer like you. But who knew you would turn out like this? Yet she also knew that her life was given by you, so at twenty years old, she killed for you and committed countless wrongdoings in return for your kindness. By the time you were caught, she had long repaid her debt to you. She should have had her own life—a new life."
I roared in anger.
Shi Huacheng laughed heartily. "So you're utterly defenseless before us."
He turned to Wu Zui. "Wu Zui, you are my favorite child and also my greatest enemy. If I kill you with my own hands, I will have no more weaknesses."
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