CH 155

Mang Ya was confined to an isolated wooden cabin, tightly bound with spirit silk. Even with all his abilities, there was no way for him to break free. The people from the Shui Jing Gong showed no mercy, and the spirit silk was set to a state where any attempt to struggle would cut through the skin. Mang Ya had no doubt that if he exerted too much force, it would even sever his bones.

The two Mang Yas were bound separately in two locations within the cabin. There was no one guarding inside, but there were guards at the door.

Mang Ya thought that the Shui Jing Gong people would come for him soon since they wanted the secrets he held. However, he waited until evening, and the door remained closed. There was not even anyone delivering food and water. Mang Ya couldn’t help but smile bitterly; it seemed that the intent to eliminate him was not mere talk. “Well, it looks like the mission failed.”

The other Mang Ya raised his head upon hearing this, but his face still carried the same casual expression, as if he didn’t care about anything. “What a pity. Haven’t had enough fun yet,” he said, licking his lips.

“I wonder about the strength of Shu Shuishui.”

These two seemingly unrelated individuals were discussing this in an eerie scene. The reason Shu Shuishui was targeted first was twofold: one was because Shu Shuishui was a fatal weakness for Gu Langu, and the other was out of curiosity about Shu Shuishui’s strength. Although they had not fought against either Gu Langu or Shu Shuishui, Gu Langu’s reputation was somewhat known. It was Shu Shuishui, on the other hand, who was completely unknown, which meant there could be more surprises.

Mang Ya was a madman who enjoyed challenging the unknown, seeking inexperienced thrills and pleasures. It seemed like his life was born for this purpose. Even now, in chains and facing death, his only regret was not experiencing more exciting things.

The sunlight outside the window gradually disappeared, and Mang Ya maintained a motion, behaving like a dormant robot. He anticipated the slight sound coming from the door, and it was indeed opened from the outside.

In the darkness, a smile appeared on Mang Ya’s face. He had already devised hundreds of methods to persuade and deceive the newcomers, but when the lights in the room were turned on, all his thoughts were instantly frozen.

Indeed, something had entered the room, but it wasn’t a person. It was two mutated gray rats, each carrying many small flags. They walked in and sniffed the two Mang Yas one by one as if trying to determine which one was the Mang Ya who had spent a long time at the base.

The Mang Ya who encountered mutated rats for the first time had his eyes brightened, clearly curious about the gray rats. His eyes were full of interest as he said, “Little rats?”

One of the gray rats, hearing the sound, twitched its ears and then walked over. It patted its chest and then raised its arm to make a strong gesture, followed by opening its arms wide in a large circle, expressing that it was big.

Mang Ya didn’t respond but continued to gaze at the mutated rat with interest.

On the other hand, the other Mang Ya, who had encountered these rats before, knew that these mutated rats were very intelligent and extremely professional. So, he couldn’t figure out why the gray rats had appeared here.

Fortunately, the gray rats were not the type to waste time. In their view, time should be spent on working and making money. One of the gray rats raised a small flag, and on it was written, “Humanized death, you deserve it.” On the back of the flag, it said, “Are you still struggling with death? Gray Rats Brand poison, truly painless, everyone who used it says it’s good.”

Mang Ya: “…”

Seeing that Mang Ya didn’t react, the gray rats turned over another small flag: “Gray Rats Brand hanging rope, leaves no marks when hanged, preserving your most beautiful image!”

Mang Ya remained silent for a moment but couldn’t help bursting into laughter, and his laughter gradually became unrestrained, making him almost double over.

One of the gray rats was irritated by this laughter and looked at each other before making squeaky sounds. Their laughter was even more eerie than a cat’s cry.

Despite their uneasy hearts, they remained highly professional. The gray rats continued to pull out small flags, offering every imaginable way of dying. Mang Ya laughed so hard that he was almost out of breath, prompting him to ask with a smile, “How much do I owe you for all this? Is this Shu Shuishui’s idea? It’s really interesting.”

The gray rats didn’t nod or shake their heads.

Mang Ya finally stopped laughing and sighed. “It’s a pity. I have no rewards to offer, so I’m afraid I can’t buy these.”

The gray rats joyfully raised another small flag. “Gray Rats Company, installment payment, considerate service.”

Mang Ya, with great interest, replied, “I’m already dead. How can I make installment payments?”

The gray rats tilted their little heads and then continued to raise their flags. “Other Mang Yas can pay on your behalf.”

Mang Ya was slightly stunned for a moment, then laughed again. “It’s really too interesting. No wonder you’ve been silent for so long. If I hadn’t shown up, you might have mistaken yourself for Qenxing.” This comment was clearly directed at the other Mang Ya.

The other Mang Ya’s casually smiling face stiffened for a moment but quickly disappeared. “How could that be? Only killing truly captivates my heart.”

Mang Ya chuckled lightly, no longer continuing this topic. He simply asked the gray rats, “How much for the painless rat poison?”

The gray rats raised their paws and counted, then showed three fingers. However, they remembered that this person was not from the base and might not be familiar with the currency used in their transactions. So, they resorted to using the flags again, saying, “Three red sweet potatoes.”

Mang Ya grinned, showing his white teeth. “Alright, I’ll buy it. Even if we’re all going to die, we should leave some mementos for others.”

The gray rat nodded in satisfaction, expressing their agreement. Meanwhile, the other gray rat also promoted its hanging rope.

The two Mang Yas naively thought that the transaction would end there. However, the gray rats unfurled their small flags once more. “Pinewood coffin board, made of pure wood, warm in winter, cool in summer, insect-proof and moisture-resistant.”

Mang Ya: “…”

These rats made him feel like he was dealing with Shu Shuishui – caught off guard and unable to defend against their sales pitch.

The two gray rats seemed determined to sell everything, including the kitchen sink. After promoting a pile of bizarre products, they finally calmly rolled up their small flags, apparently ready to leave.

But before they could exit the room, the door made a slight sound and someone else entered.

This time, it was finally a person, and it was none other than Shu Shuishui, whom Mang Ya had been waiting for.

Shu Shuishui was somewhat surprised to see the two gray rats. “What are you doing here?”

The gray rats responded with their usual squeaky sounds, seemingly untroubled.

Shu Shuishui seemed to understand. “Gray Rat Company is indeed very considerate, even inquiring about the prisoner’s preferences for a free dinner. It seems that we rodents are all this lovable.”

The gray rats nodded seriously and then made a series of squeaky sounds before waving their paws and leaving the room.

With a pile of debts looming over him, Mang Ya: “…”

After the gray rats left, Shu Shuishui closed the door.

Mang Ya lifted his eyes, leaned back against the wall, and had a smile on his face, not at all like a prisoner. “You’re later than I expected.”

Shu Shuishui shrugged helplessly. “Sorry, Gu Gu is too clingy. You wouldn’t understand, being a single dog.”

Veins throbbed on Mang Ya’s forehead, but he managed to maintain his usual expression. “Do you think I’ll tell you the answer?”

Shu Shuishui responded bluntly, “You can do as you please because even if you answer, you’re still going to die.”

Mang Ya: “…”

Facing Shu Shuishui, it seemed that Mang Ya hadn’t won once using conventional tactics.

Shu Shuishui raised a finger. “First question, what’s the relationship between Qing Mengxing and your group?”

Mang Ya’s eyes flickered for a while as if contemplating some deceitful plan. “Qing Mengxing, he looks so much like us. Can you guess what his relationship is with us?”

Shu Shuishui raised a second finger. “How did you fool Xiao Feng Feng’s lie detector? Xiao Feng Feng’s lie detector can’t make mistakes, and back then, everything you said was true.”

Unable to lead the conversation in his favor, Mang Ya, who had a good temper, decided to answer honestly. “Because I’m an honest good kid.” After saying that, he burst into laughter.

Shu Shuishui raised a third finger. “The last question, during the daytime today, was what you said to me true?”

Mang Ya’s eyes lit up immediately. “Yes.” The seductive voice repeated, “We are all the same kind of people, living in our own woven dreams, thinking we are still alive. Do you know? When people dream, they never think it’s fake. If you are already in a dream, then what is real and what is fake?”

Shu Shuishui put his hand down, having asked all the questions he wanted. He turned to leave but, as he was about to exit, Mang Ya’s voice spoke softly behind him. “Let’s make a deal.”

Shu Shuishui didn’t turn around and continued to walk away.

Mang Ya’s voice, calm and unhurried, continued, “Do you want to see the truth?”

Shu Shuishui’s footsteps finally paused.

Mang Ya smiled sinisterly and provocatively. “Your truth, and Gu Gu’s truth.”

Shu Shuishui’s footsteps halted completely. Mang Ya knew he had succeeded.

Next, the two of them had a fifteen-minute conversation, and they reached certain agreements with each other.

Not long after Shu Shuishui left, Nan Ge also came. What they talked about, no one knew. However, the next day, Mang Ya’s body was placed in a coffin, prepared to be transported out, and handed over to Zone A and Zone S outside.

On this day, Cheng Que continued to be immersed in his experiments. He hadn’t witnessed the battle from yesterday, but he had heard about it afterward. He was shocked that he hadn’t noticed Mang Ya’s flaws for such a long time, and he couldn’t help but recall the days when Mang Ya used to watch his experiments.

Mang Ya even mentioned that they had a brief encounter before coming to Cang Zhan Star. Cheng Que had thought about it for a long time without success. However, on this clear morning, the moment he heard the news of Mang Ya’s death, a very short image suddenly flashed in his mind.

Cheng Que rushed out of the laboratory quickly to confirm his memory. When he saw Mang Ya’s body, he finally remembered the brief encounter that Mang Ya had mentioned.

Others looked slightly surprised at Cheng Que’s expression, and Xie Feng asked, “What’s wrong with you? This isn’t Qing Mengxing; it’s an impostor.” Apparently, everyone thought Cheng Que’s reaction was due to the emotional connection they had formed with Mang Ya during their time together.

Cheng Que remained silent for a long time, so long that everyone thought he wouldn’t say anything. Then he spoke up, “Before the reconstruction plan for Gu Langu, the Galactic Alliance had another major experiment, codenamed ‘Yan.'”

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at Cheng Que. Yan? Spelled backward, wasn’t that Mang Ya?

Cheng Que organized his thoughts and began to recall.

It was before he took over the Gu Langu reconstruction plan, that a mysterious project leader from the Galactic Alliance had approached him secretly and took him to attend a seminar. The seminar took place in a secret underground base, and the theme of the discussion was eternal life.

Of course, that was the euphemistic way of describing it. After understanding the details, Cheng Que realized that this project involved genetic engineering and cloning, both of which were strictly prohibited by the Galactic Alliance. The so-called eternal life was essentially unrestricted cloning. As long as the cloning process didn’t stop, it would naturally result in eternal life.

Furthermore, this experiment aimed to achieve thought-sharing among cloned individuals, where all the clones could possess each other’s memories and consciousness. Each cloned individual resembled a sprouting seed, differentiating and growing, which led to the experiment being given a hopeful and rejuvenating name: “Yan”1芽 in Chinese, which means “bud” or “sprout”.

The subject of the experiment was a person born with mutated eyes, and the specifics of this mutation were not disclosed by the project leader.

On the operating table, the person who was about to be dissected still had faint breath, but it was clear that this was a frail, emaciated body, so thin that it was almost impossible to recognize their original appearance. They appeared so fragile that it seemed they could shatter with a single touch.

The young man was frighteningly skinny, which made his eyes appear exceptionally large and bright. His eyes even emitted a faint light, indicating that this person was still alive.

Cheng Que, despite not considering himself a saint, couldn’t bring himself to participate in such an experiment. Moreover, the research direction of this experiment didn’t pique his interest. While others were enthusiastic and excited about interpreting eternal life, Cheng Que couldn’t care less. He straightforwardly criticized them for daydreaming and then left.

Yes, he did not save the person on the operating table. Being well-versed in psychology, he could easily determine through connected instruments that the young man on the table was already a dying person. Even without this experiment, he probably wouldn’t have survived to see the next day.

However, just before leaving, that emaciated and unrecognizable young man, with those eyes emitting a faint light, gazed at him. His eyes were calm, devoid of life or death, casual yet seemingly filled with a different kind of radiance. However, upon closer inspection, they held nothing at all.

Cheng Que didn’t know what that person was thinking, and he didn’t care to ponder it. After a brief hesitation, he turned and left. Behind him, machines emitted sharp cries, and with the young man’s death, a group of researchers scrambled to prepare for the experiment.

“Later, I heard that the experiment failed. It was said that the defects in the endlessly cloned test subjects became increasingly obvious, and they were all disposed of. Now it seems that the test subjects were not disposed of, but rather, they were manipulated by someone with ill intentions and trained into assassins. No wonder they had a one hundred percent success rate because, with ‘Yan,’ they could be used endlessly,” Cheng Que confessed, relieved to get his initial indifference off his chest, especially after not seeing the expected reproachful looks from the others.

Mang Ya’s identity had finally become somewhat clearer, but it was still just the tip of the iceberg. They couldn’t know the specifics of what happened back then, not even someone as talented as Cheng Que.

Why did the Galactic Alliance choose Mang Ya as the subject of the experiment, and why did Mang Ya become the subject? Through cloning and mind sharing, did they truly continue the consciousness, thoughts, and life of the deceased Mang Ya, creating another form of immortality?

“We are all of the same kind, living in the dreams we weave, thinking we are still alive.”

These words from Mang Ya echoed in everyone’s minds, leaving them with complex emotions.

Translator’s corner:

Damn, these rats got me rollin’ HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA xD

The way the things were advertised HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHA