Chapter 201

Gao Yuxuan said, “You stopped me earlier when we were with Jiangbing, too. Did you know what I was going to say?”

Zhao Yi came back to himself. “I did. You wanted to give them money.”

Gao Yuxuan brightened. “Hey, you really do understand me.”

The older you got, the more you learned about human relationships and social conventions. Zhao Yi said, “Don’t give it to him in person. Once we’ve left, just transfer it to him.”

They had already exchanged contact information through their personal AIs. A citizen account was a full-service account that covered everything; they could simply transfer the money directly to it.

Gao Yuxuan agreed. “All right.”

He continued, “I was originally saving up to buy a new AI, but there’s no rush now. I can just work during the next break.”

“We’ll transfer the money together when the time comes,” Zhao Yi said.

Jiang Cheng pulled up the information on Zhou Wang.

During those 120 hours, Uncle Jiang had thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of everyone important.

Jiang Cheng frowned. “Beiyu-3 Mining Star?”

That was where Su Yu had suffered her radiation accident.

Jiang Cheng ran another search and found that Su Yu was far from the only one.

Of the forty thousand participants, nearly three thousand had ties to Beiyu-3 Mining Star.

“Zhou Wang” was the supervisor who had neglected his duty.

“Mr. Xu,” “Director Yu,” and all their employees were miners who had been running around trying to raise money for their fellow workers. Clearly, “Mr. Xu” and “Director Yu” were leaders who had risen from among ordinary people during a time of hardship.

The little children were the miners’ children.

Even “Little Huang” was a miner.

Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan had encountered “Little Huang.”

It was hard to believe, but “Little Huang” was actually a little older than Gao Yuxuan. He had dropped out of school at a very young age and was already working to earn money.

Speaking of the virtual world, he said, “You didn’t undergo memory suppression, and neither did I.”

He said, “It’s nice. That way, I still have a father and mother to remember.”

Old Huang and Huang’s mother in the “world” had been wonderful parents.

“Little Huang” was unwilling to forget them.

“I’m a natural-born human. My parents died in a mining accident when I was very young,” he said. “I don’t remember them. I grew up on the mining planet.”

When a natural-born child lost their parents, their situation was truly tragic; they became a genuine orphan.

This was especially true in remote areas like mining planets, where government welfare barely reached them.

That was unlike the prosperous star regions. If a genetically optimized child was abandoned by their guardians, the government would take over and raise them collectively. The standard of care was usually quite good. Exactly how good depended on the region’s financial resources.

In core areas such as the Capital Star Circle, foster institutions received extremely generous government funding. Children there could grow up healthy even without guardians.

You could see those children and praise the word “civilization” with deep, sincere admiration.

That was why people who lived in the Capital Star Circle or other prosperous star regions often failed to realize what life was like for the true underclass in the other regions beyond them.

They naively assumed that the entire country was just as “civilized.”

But “Little Huang” had grown up at the very bottom of society.

Like his counterpart in the “world,” he was a boy of few words and always wary of others.

His childhood trauma was so extensive that he did not even know it was trauma.

To him, it was simply life.

He also asked them, “Have you seen Uncle Zhou?”

“Little Huang” and “Zhou Wang” had been as close as father and son in the “world.”

Gao Yuxuan had already heard Zhao Yi explain what “Zhou Wang” had done. The high school student stared in shock. “How could he do that?”

He had thought Brother Zhou was a good person.

Now, hearing “Little Huang” ask about Zhou Wang, Zhao Yi hesitated. But Gao Yuxuan had already blurted out, “Are you looking for him? Do you want to acknowledge him?”

He wanted to advise “Little Huang” not to. If someone had not been a good person in the “world,” they probably were not a good person in reality either.

But “Little Huang” merely said, “No. I want to tell him to leave while he still can. A lot of people want to beat him up.”

Gao Yuxuan said, “Huh?”

“Little Huang” told him, “He was one of those responsible for the mining disaster. He neglected his duty, but all he received was a dismissal.”

The moment “Little Huang” woke up, he understood who Zhou Wang was.

But he and Zhou Wang had depended on each other in the “world,” and their bond ran deep. He wanted to give Zhou Wang a warning and tell him to leave before he got beaten up.

It was also a way of honoring the relationship they had shared.

“He already went to do it,” “Little Huang” said indifferently after learning that Zhou Wang had undergone memory suppression. “Good. Then I don’t need to do it anymore.”

One person forgot. The other let go.

The feelings and bond they had shared in the “world” ended there.

After looking over the search results, Jiang Cheng asked, “Why are there so many people from Beiyu-3 Mining Star?”

Most of the little children and middle school students were orphans. Or their parents were in a state like Su Yu’s, clinging to life by a thread.

Worse still, all the children on the mining planet were natural-born humans, and the government provided no welfare for natural-born humans.

The class divisions in this country had become unimaginably entrenched. The lower classes and the middle and upper classes were physically separated from one another.

People in the Capital Star Circle and the prosperous star regions could go their entire lives without ever seeing the poverty of the lower classes. The children on the mining planets could spend their entire lives without saving enough money for a single ticket to the Capital Star Circle.

Uncle Jiang answered, “First, Beiyu-3 is close to here. And second, the miners still haven’t received their compensation. They need money.”

They had not received compensation, and the mining planet had also ceased production.

The dead received no compensation for their families, while the living had no way to make a living.

“Mr. Xu” and “Director Yu” led their brothers from place to place, fighting for justice on one hand and raising money to support the orphans of their fellow miners on the other.

Jiang Cheng sneered.

Just another thing capitalists often did.

Cold-blooded, greedy, and dripping with blood.

In the past, she had looked down from on high and judged whether such methods were skillful or clumsy.

Now, she stood at an entirely different angle and looked up.

All she saw were fangs and blood.

The first shuttle was about to depart.

The pharmaceutical company provided free shuttles to the nearest spaceport, where they could transfer to public spacecraft bound for anywhere.

Li Jiangbing said goodbye to Song Jingshuo. “I’m not leaving. Su Yu has a room here, so I’m going to stay with her.”

Song Jingshuo nodded and prepared to leave. “All right, then I’ll—”

Several people in formal suits appeared in the waiting lounge, striding toward them with resonant footsteps.

Their dress shoes struck the floor with unnerving force, and the air of superiority they radiated was so strong that everyone instinctively moved aside to let them pass.

Song Jingshuo and Li Jiangbing could not help looking over, and their conversation was interrupted.

Song Jingshuo recognized them at a glance. “Lawyers.”

Capital’s lapdogs.

Li Jiangbing sighed. “Did someone die?”

Being a test subject came with the risk of death.

Whenever someone died, these sharply dressed lawyers would make their appearance. They would use every means at their disposal—pressure, intimidation, and deception—to force people to sign, doing everything possible to minimize their employers’ losses. Ideally, they would absolve their employers of all responsibility.

Song Jingshuo had trusted lawyers far too much. That was why he had suffered such a devastating loss.

His lawyer told him there would be no problem and told him to sign. He did.

It turned out that lawyer had long since been bought off by financial capital.

So now, whenever he saw a lawyer, he was extremely wary.

They were all watching the few people who looked like lawyers. Unexpectedly, those people walked straight toward them.

They called out Song Jingshuo’s real name with precision and said, “Please come with us.”

Song Jingshuo exchanged a glance with Li Jiangbing. Li Jiangbing looked a little nervous.

Song Jingshuo told him, “I’ll contact you later,” then stood up and followed the lawyers away.

After walking a few steps, he sensed that something was wrong and looked back.

Only half of them were following him. The others had remained behind and were talking to Li Jiangbing and Su Yu.

Song Jingshuo’s heart stirred.

The spaceship departures had been divided into several trips, and the people had been split into several groups.

Not everyone was leaving, either. Some had signed up for other medical experiments and still needed to keep earning money.

Gao Yuxuan stayed by the passage leading to the spaceship with Zhao Yi, determined not to let Zhang Lesi slip past them.

Zhao Yi’s agitation grew more and more obvious. Even a child like Gao Yuxuan could tell how anxious he was.

He comforted him. “Don’t be scared. If she hits you, I’ll block her.”

After all, Zhang Lesi often hit him in the World.

Zhao Yi had no way to explain to Gao Yuxuan exactly what he was afraid of.

All he could do was nod reluctantly.

His eyes stayed fixed on every woman who passed by—young women, older women, even girls younger than Zhang Lesi.

He firmly believed that the moment Zhang Lesi appeared, he would recognize her.

Gao Yuxuan saw quite a few familiar faces.

Some of them still remembered him and greeted him.

Zhao Yi looked so distracted that it was obvious he was searching for Zhang Lesi. Everyone tactfully left him alone.

Gao Yuxuan helped ask around. “Have you seen Lesi?”

Everyone said they hadn’t.

Some people had undergone memory blocking. When they walked past Gao Yuxuan, not even the slightest emotion crossed their faces, despite how close they had once been.

Gao Yuxuan had even opened his mouth to greet them, but then realized that they no longer had those memories. Crestfallen, he closed his mouth again.

Young children had not yet developed much of an ability to accept partings.

Especially when he saw several little tykes he knew.

He had assumed they were virtual data, because the World obviously couldn’t consist entirely of real people. Some data had to be used to fill in the gaps.

He had never expected those little tykes to be real people. He was completely bewildered.

The people accompanying them were very familiar to him: Mr. Xu and Director Yu.

Director Yu was an electric-type user like him, so they were even closer.

But the little tykes no longer remembered their big brother.

“We had their memories blocked,” Mr. Xu explained. “They’re still young, after all. We were afraid they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

Director Yu added, “We’re not using them to make money. They’re the children of our fellow workers. They’re orphans now, and they need food and a way to survive.”

Mr. Xu was a burly man.

Director Yu, on the other hand, was thin—the sort of thin that made him look as though life had treated him harshly.

He looked completely different from the prosperous figure in the World, who had seemed as if he were tired of eating delicacies every day. In reality, it was obvious that he had spent his life worrying and laboring, and he looked much older.

Both of them looked considerably older than they had in the World.

Gao Yuxuan remembered hearing about the mining accident on North Fish Three a long time ago. The media had barely reported it, merely passing over it with a dismissive headline.

He had only happened to hear about it once, when he met someone who said they were from North Fish Three.

The child hadn’t paid much attention at the time.

Only now did he understand how difficult life was for the people on the mining planet.

Everyone on the mining planets was a natural human. In theory, their civil rights were greater than those of demi-humans, but in reality, they were not much better off.

Government benefits always favored those with genetically superior traits, and they never fully reached the natural humans.

Gao Yuxuan was a natural human himself, so he could empathize with them deeply.

He said goodbye, ruffling each of the little tykes’ hair before heading back.

From a distance, he saw Zhao Yi’s back as he craned his neck and looked around. He seemed both pitiful and amusing.

The experiment participants came in every age and variety—men and women, old and young.

Gao Yuxuan saw an elderly white-haired woman hobbling past Zhao Yi with the help of a cane.

She turned her head while he craned his neck. Neither of them looked at the other as they passed, like people from parallel worlds.

Gao Yuxuan walked toward Zhao Yi.

The old woman drew level with him, then suddenly turned and glanced at him.

Gao Yuxuan instinctively looked at her too, then continued walking.

One step.

Two steps.

Gao Yuxuan whirled around in shock!

When the old woman saw him turn back, she smiled at him.

Gao Yuxuan looked at Zhao Yi’s back, then at the old woman, and opened his mouth wide.

The old woman playfully winked at him and raised one finger to her lips.

Shh—

Don’t tell him.

The old woman hummed a little tune as she turned and boarded the departing ship.

Gao Yuxuan was left standing there, utterly at a loss.

After a long while, he went over to Zhao Yi and stammered, “Maybe you should stop looking for her. She might not be very pretty, so she’s too embarrassed to come find you.”

“Impossible.” Zhao Yi shook his head. “Everyone’s using their real faces. Look at Uncle Jingshuo.”

Song Jingshuo only looked mature, but his good looks had not diminished at all.

Gao Yuxuan tried his best to convince him. “Look at Brother Yu. Brother Yu wasn’t nearly as handsome in the virtual world.”

“He’s just too thin,” Zhao Yi said. “Life’s been too hard on him. He’s not bad-looking.”

Gao Yuxuan scratched his head, then came up with another excuse. “Maybe she’s a player. Reality is different from the virtual world, after all. That was ancient Earth. People in the real world aren’t so conservative.”

Marriage was not mandatory in this era, and reproduction had been separated from both sex and marriage. Unless two people explicitly agreed to be exclusive, relationships were assumed to be non-exclusive by default.

So that was certainly possible.

But Zhao Yi could not forget Zhang Lesi throwing herself off the edge.

“She wouldn’t,” he said. “She told me I’d never escape her grasp.”

“She said she’d find me even at the ends of the earth.”

Zhao Yi’s eyes shone, and a smile curved his lips.

“Even if I can’t find her, she’ll definitely find me.”