Xia Nan knew she had to find the memory chip and get out of there before Will returned. After calming down, she quickly analyzed her situation and came to a conclusion. Her immediate challenge was the locked room she found herself in.
She pulled a hair tie from her bag, gathering her scattered long hair. Rubbing her cheeks hard, she tried to focus, knowing that being in the right frame of mind would aid her escape. She looked around the room, seeking the right tool to pry open the door lock. On a corner cabinet by the wall, there were several bottles, but none that seemed useful as a tool.
Then, a small steel bottle labeled "liquid nitrogen" caught her eye. As a chemist, Xia Nan was well aware of the properties of liquid nitrogen. Often used in medicine to quickly freeze biological tissues and prevent damage, she realized Will might have been conducting experiments at home.
With its extreme cold of nearly -200 degrees Celsius, liquid nitrogen might be the solution! The freezing temperature could make the iron lock brittle. Xia Nan grabbed the bottle and sprayed its contents on the door lock. It should work. After the bottle was empty, she struck the lock hard with it twice. The lock, now brittle from the rapid freezing, was quickly broken.
The house was a three-story villa, eerily empty. Will didn't even seem to have a maid, yet everything was immaculate. Perhaps he had regular cleaning help that she hadn't seen.
Its pure white minimalist style, with its high ceilings and clean lines, gave the space a boundless energy. Aside from the necessary furniture, there was no clutter. If not for the assortment of foreign liquors filling the wine cabinet, one might think no one lived there.
The main door was also locked! Xia Nan tried it briefly. The liquid nitrogen was gone, and this lock was sturdy. Breaking it would be futile. She looked around, thinking she might escape through a window. But a cruel realization dawned on her; the windows in this house were voice-controlled.
She needed to find the memory chip first. After she'd passed out the day before, Will had carried her to a guest room on the third floor. Perhaps during the move, the object slipped from her bag and fell somewhere unnoticed.
With bare feet on the cold white marble floor, she moved stealthily. Each muscle in her body tensed, an icy sensation rising from the floor, giving her chills. Taking several deep breaths, she tried to calm herself.
From the front door, through the corridor, up the staircase, and from room to room, Xia Nan examined every nook and cranny like a hunting dog. The minimalist decor made the search easier, but she came up empty-handed. She was certain she hadn't missed anything.
Opening the door to the last room on the third floor, Xia Nan found Will's study. Spanning about 100 square meters, the walls were lined with shelves full of neuroscience publications—a veritable library on the subject.
In the center stood a desk. Other than a wireless phone charger, there was just a single framed photograph. It clearly meant a lot to Will. In it, a shirtless Will seemed to be proudly showcasing a large grouper fish he'd caught, with water droplets dripping from his wet hair. Xia Nan noted a unique tattoo on his left arm—a half skull face.
The tattoo—upon seeing it, Xia Nan felt deeply unsettled. She'd seen it somewhere before but couldn't recall where. Closing her eyes, she tried to retrieve the memory. However, the more she tried, the more uncomfortable she felt, and her mind remained blank.
Suddenly, there was a sound from downstairs. Will was back. She heard him coming up, calling out for her with a hint of panic in his voice. Xia Nan stayed still, fearing any small movement would give her away. Her heavy breathing and thudding heartbeat echoed her mounting dread.
Strangely, Will didn't head to the room where he'd left her but went straight to his study. Hearing his footsteps approach, Xia Nan knew hiding was futile. Resigned, she called out, "I'm here!"
As Will entered, seeing him made Xia Nan's face stiffen with fear.
"What are you looking for?" Will asked, looking directly at her. He wasn't surprised to see her in his study. Through surveillance, he'd seen her break out of her room and search around the house.
"My phone's gone missing. I thought I might have dropped it somewhere." Xia Nan's nostrils flared slightly, her breathing heavy.
Will looked at the terrified Xia Nan, a pang of pity rising in his heart. He couldn't believe that the delicate woman in front of him could be the murderer of Albert.
"Your phone was in Professor Albert's lab. Tell me, what happened? Did you kill Professor Albert?" Will reached out, cupping Xia Nan's face in his hands, finding her skin cold to the touch.
"What are you talking about? I killed Professor Albert?" Xia Nan stared incredulously at Will, confusion evident in her eyes.
"Yes. Right outside this house, the police are searching citywide for a Chinese woman named Xia Nan! So please, be honest with me. I can help you," Will's voice was charged with emotion.
"I didn't kill him!" Xia Nan's eyes widened, her voice chillingly calm.
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"But you met with Albert! The police saw you visiting Professor Albert on the surveillance and they found your phone in his lab," Will persisted.
"That doesn't prove I killed him!" Xia Nan's voice grew weak. She took a step back, leaning dejectedly against the wall, her arms wrapped defensively around herself.
The secret she had so desperately tried to keep was now public knowledge. The whole world knew she had visited Albert, including Chen Chen. He must have guessed that she had gone to retrieve her lost memories. Would Chen Chen be angry? He had repeatedly warned her not to chase after those lost memories.
"I believe you! From now on, you better stay here and not go out!" Will's voice was almost commanding, but his gaze was filled with tenderness.
He bent down and gently kissed Xia Nan's trembling lips. They were cold, just like the rest of her. He felt an overwhelming responsibility to help her.
His phone rang inconveniently from his pocket. Ulysses on the other end wanted him to immediately visit the Norphi Building. After comforting Xia Nan and advising her to rest, Will hastily left the villa.
After he left, Xia Nan collapsed weakly into the study chair. Even if she could escape from the villa, the moment she stepped out into the streets, the police would arrest her. She was innocent; she could explain it to them. But would they believe her?
She remembered in horror touching the knife that had been plunged into Professor Albert's chest. Had she left her fingerprints on it? That would only further incriminate her.
What should she do? Why was she suspected of killing Professor Albert? Her worst fears had come to pass. Her life was already a mess, and everything seemed to be spiraling out of control.
Voices echoed chaotically in her mind: "You brought this upon yourself", "Why live when life is this cruel?", "I'm innocent, I didn't kill Albert"... Stumbling over to the liquor cabinet, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey, hoping the alcohol would numb her pain.
After downing three glasses, her body felt warm, her head dizzy, and her stomach churned with nausea. But at least her brain had ceased its relentless thinking. She took a few more gulps, the room spinning around her, and eventually, she collapsed onto the sofa.
"Let me go! Please!" From a narrow alley came the desperate screams of a girl. As Xia Nan approached, she saw a sturdy teenager in a blue vest assaulting a young girl, who was wearing a pale yellow dress and appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen. The girl was struggling beneath him.
Xia Nan hid, not daring to move closer. In the dim light, she recognized the girl's face and was taken aback. It was her younger self. The yellow dress was a 13th birthday gift from her mother.
Panicking, she rushed forward, trying to pull the assailant off. But she couldn't. The assaulter's arm bore a tattoo of a half-faced skull, which seemed to grin at her.
The skull grew larger, seeming to consume her, and she ran desperately. Suddenly, the scene shifted. She saw herself on a pristine bed with Will. They were making love, passionately.
She fought to wake up from the dream, mortified. She was aware this was just a dream, but it felt so real and so shameful. Finally, she woke up, drenched in sweat, the alcohol's effect having worn off. The clock showed 3 AM, and the oppressive darkness of the night seemed to swallow her whole.
Her body ached with a tearing pain. She recalled the psychology courses she had taken, realizing that dreams were mirrors to one's subconscious desires. Deep inside her lurked the desire for Will, even if it was something so shamefully coercive.
She was torn between rage and despair, thinking, "Why plunge into such a dangerous game, falling into an abyss? Is the truth that important?" As her world seemed to sway, another voice challenged, "Isn't it?"
The word 'child' echoed in her mind. "He's your child! Is he still alive? Where is he now? Can you pretend nothing ever happened?"
------
In the Nofi Building on the 100th floor. Only two people can enter here, one is Ulysses, and the other is Will.
"Where have you been these past few days? You didn't even attend the award ceremony!" Ulysses asked with a stern face when he saw the tardy Will.
"Just some personal matters." Will shrugged, speaking nonchalantly, "Since you decided to give the Nofi Award to Chen Chen, anything related to the Nofi Award is no longer my concern."
"Ha! Will, you sound a bit sour." Ulysses laughed heartily, patting Will on the shoulder, "Why care about a mere Nofi Award? Once the New World Paradise is built, you will be the scientist who changed human history. Besides, I gave the Nofi Award to Chen Chen for the sake of our New World Paradise project."
"How are the two related?" Will looked puzzled. He didn't really care about the Nofi Award, but losing to Chen Chen was slightly unsettling.
"When the time is right, I'll tell you." Ulysses said, walking deeper into the room. He then suddenly turned back and asked, "Has there been any malfunction with the 5.0 Neural Dust so far?"
"No." Will replied with immense pride, his momentary discontent vanished. "Everything is going smoothly. All tests have been very successful. The 5.0 Neural Dust can be deployed!"
They stopped in front of a crystal model resembling a human brain. This model, about 20 times the size of a human brain and filled with indistinguishable intertwined neuron-like structures, was the central system for the New World Paradise project.
This "Crystal Brain" was divided into seven different colored regions: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, cyan, and purple. Each region connected to a super brain, responsible for data computation and command transmission.
Will lightly tapped a red section with his index finger. A map of the Americas appeared on the curved glass screen in front of them, dense red dots indicating the progress of the New World project. The data was constantly changing, with the infection rate advancing at a speed of a hundred people per second.
"Everything is proceeding as planned, and we will soon accelerate!" Will said, focusing intently on the data displayed.
"Excellent!" Ulysses, looking at the red dots on the map, couldn't hide his sense of triumph.
"We can start from San Francisco, where the Nofi Medical Center is located, making our operations more convenient." Will began to outline his plan, something he'd just thought of on his way there. It was the only solution he could think of to save Xia Nan, by keeping all the police preoccupied, ensuring they wouldn't have time to search the entire city for her.
"Increase the infection rate, raise the mortality rate, intimidate the government, and expedite the market launch for Antamine." Ulysses rubbed his hands together, excitement evident on his face, "Faced with death or survival, humans will choose to take risks!"
Human nature, as Ulysses had learned in his 65 years of life, was something deeply profound. In this vast, diverse world, one unbroken rule remained — the human desire to survive was insatiable.
"Has the World Health Organization set a meeting date?"
"Those old-fashioned old men just informed me that they need a sample of Antamine!"
"Don't worry about it, we're already prepared!"