IRCDM Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Intense (Revised) Live Well, Dammit!

Liang Huan got out of the car, the heavy door closing instantly behind him.

The familiar smell of smoke wafted over, and he turned to see Li Yao leaning against the car, smoking. Judging by the scattered cigarette butts at his feet, he had clearly arrived right after him.

Liang Huan walked over and reached out to take the cigarette from his mouth. “Your spirit power is too weak. The spirit power enhancer in the cigarette won’t have much effect.”

Li Yao asked, “Did he confess?”

“In the New Era, We do not condone the abuse of torture.” Liang Huan emphasized. “We can now basically confirm that the 50 billion was You Zhao Chen’s doing.”

Li Yao took the cigarette from his hand and put it out. “So You Zhao Chen used Liao Yuan’s account. He dispersed the 50 billion through the mercenaries’ private accounts. Chen Jia discovered the clues when checking the accounts. To avoid exposure, You Zhao Chen instructed Jing Si to kill Chen Jia in the chaos and destroy the evidence.”

“That’s right. Yue Hang and the others sent back Chen Jia’s chip. I doubt anyone thought you could recover the data inside. In desperation, You Zhao Chen took action in the administrative court, but it was too late. He wanted to frame Liao Yuan, but the coffee stain on his cuff exposed him instead.” Liang Huan analyzed with him. “But how did you suspect that You Zhao Chen might be a Heteromorph Mimic?”

Li Yao subconsciously reached for a cigarette, but seeing Liang Huan frown, he forced himself to stop. He looked at Jiang Chuxia, who was pacing outside the car not far away. “Heteromorphs can devour the genes and most of the memories of corpses. They can even perfectly imitate small habits that even the person themselves didn’t notice. It’s difficult for close people to detect it, and even if they do, humans are good at rationalizing it with excuses and reasons. Humans are, after all, emotional creatures and cannot be absolutely rational.”

Jiang Chuxia finally opened the car door, and Jiang Chudong, who was being held inside, flashed by.

“But someone will always notice some clues.” Li Yao tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Jiang Mufeng used to complain to me that since You Zhao Chen returned from the Outer District with serious injuries, he seemed to have developed many inexplicable compulsions. But Heteromorph Mimics are rare, and the sample data is even more scarce. Many people’s personalities change drastically after experiencing death. Even if there are suspicions, it’s impossible to find definitive evidence.”

Liang Huan squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”

Li Yao smiled. “What a mess. Just because of a bottle of water, I only discovered the clues that You Zhao Chen, that bastard, left ten years ago now.”

He had even suspected that You Zhao Chen had defected from humanity and the military, but he hadn’t truly suspected that You Zhao Chen might be a Heteromorph Mimic.

“The projection that appeared on the rooftop of the bar that day was likely the superior of ‘You Zhao Chen’, but we still don’t know the other party’s identity. If we want to recover those 50 billion, we must find a way to pry open his mouth.” Liang Huan changed the subject, forcefully linking to his violently fluctuating spirit power. “Your emotions can’t fluctuate too much right now.”

That was true. Driving the mecha earlier had consumed too much of Li Yao’s spirit power. Even when Liang Huan “rewarded” Li Yao in the car, Liang Huan had forcibly stabilized his spirit power at a gentle waveband. Even Li Yao couldn’t tell if it was a reward or torture, like a sweet candy rolling around in his mouth through the plastic wrapper without tasting anything, making him almost fight with Liang Huan in the car.

Li Yao’s memories were interrupted by him, heading straight down a path unsuitable for children. He wiped his face in frustration. “You Zhao Chen opened the account permissions for Jiang Mufeng a long time ago. Perhaps this Heteromorph doesn’t know, we can try.”

—

Inside the first car, Li Yao specially adjusted the proportional holographic projection, and Jiang Mufeng and his desk slowly appeared in front of him.

“…Do you have to bring this broken desk with you?” Li Yao was swallowed by the wide desk, only his upper body was visible.

“Sorry.” Jiang Mufeng got up and changed positions, placing the thick documents aside. “What’s the matter for suddenly looking for me?”

Li Yao hesitated.

Jiang Mufeng rarely saw him like this and calmly pushed up his glasses. “Did something happen to You Zhao Chen?”

Li Yao nodded, considering his words. “We now suspect that he is a Heteromorph Mimic. The time the Heteromorph has occupied his body is currently uncertain… What is certain is that he used his position to embezzle 50 billion from the Eastern Third District, and on the rooftop of the bar you frequent, there is an experimental base full of Chimeras, but it has not yet been determined what specific role he plays in it.”

“The reason he was exposed was because he temporarily used the money inside to buy you a bottle of water when you went to the bar with him on Wednesday.”

Jiang Mufeng fell silent, subconsciously touching the watch on his wrist. “Oh, he forgot to bring his chip then. I even asked him why he didn’t get sick and buy me water.”

At that time, You Zhao Chen was stunned for a moment and drove around for a long time before finding the brand he often drank.

“Jiang Mufeng, I know this is hard to accept.” Li Yao said.

“There’s nothing hard to accept.” Jiang Mufeng turned the watch on his wrist. “This watch was bought for me by You Zhao Chen when he sneaked out of the Outer District to do a mission before the end of our sophomore year. He said it was the first time he hadn’t spent his family’s money, and I was happy for a long time that day.”

“Li Yao, there’s actually something I’ve never told you.” Jiang Mufeng pushed up the glasses on his nose. “The night You Zhao Chen and Yi Heng Bai went out on a mission, he confessed to me.”

Li Yao was stunned. “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

Jiang Mufeng laughed at himself. “How could I say it? Heng Bai suffered such a serious spiritual source injury that he almost didn’t wake up. You wanted to tear down the military at the time. Although You Zhao Chen still interacted with me as before, I could feel his sudden indifference. I thought it was the Heng Bai thing that hit him too hard, thinking it would be better after a while, but he never mentioned it again. I thought I did something wrong.”

“Later, as time passed, this matter was revealed. Everyone is an adult, and it’s not bad to be friends again.” Jiang Mufeng seemed to be smiling, but it also seemed like a relieved sigh. He murmured, “So it wasn’t that he didn’t like me anymore…”

You Zhao Chen, who confessed to him enthusiastically and awkwardly on campus, had died in the deserted Outer District many years ago.

It was only now that he received the news of the other party’s death.

There was a dull silence in the car.

But it was still Jiang Mufeng who broke this silence. He said, “You Zhao Chen’s family is not short of money, and he would never do anything to embezzle public funds. Tell me, how can I help you?”

Li Yao met his calm gaze and opened his mouth almost cruelly. “Before You Zhao Chen went to the Outer District for a mission that year, he dragged me to the bank and asked me to find a way to open a family account for you. Of course, you didn’t receive any notification. He was originally a cautious person. At that time, you were living frugally while working and studying. He was afraid that no one would help you after something happened to him… In principle, this is not allowed, but he begged me for a long time. The money in the account has nothing to do with the You family. It’s all earned by him. If he is declared dead, you can legally inherit this inheritance.”

Jiang Mufeng was stunned.

“After the Heteromorph devours human genes, it also inherits most of the memories and some extremely strong emotions. He insisted on going to the bar with you every Wednesday and handing you that bottle of water, probably…” Li Yao paused. “Probably the strongest memory before You Zhao Chen died, but they can’t understand it, so in the end it evolved into such a stereotypical behavior. Although we have many understandings of this behavior, your joint account usage rights are still retained, and it is impossible to determine whether it is because the Heteromorph failed to inherit this part of the memory, or in You Zhao Chen’s way of thinking, this is a matter of course for him.”

Jiang Mufeng suddenly got up, the holographic projection blurred for a moment, and there was a noisy sound over there. After a while, Jiang Mufeng was sitting in front of the camera again.

“No problem, I can help you try.” Jiang Mufeng didn’t know when he took off his glasses. He clenched the watch in his palm. “Is there anything else?”

Li Yao shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Do you want to see him?”

“Forget it.” Jiang Mufeng’s voice was unusually calm. “The time I’ve known a Heteromorph pretending to be him is actually longer than the time I’ve actually spent with him. If I see him again, I won’t know who I’m mourning for.”

Those flaws hidden in the clues were covered by the surging and lonely love, and in the end, it was more like self-deception in despair.

“You only knew each other for two years at the time. It’s normal not to notice anything unusual.” Li Yao comforted.

Jiang Mufeng looked at him blankly. “Thank you for your comfort.”

Li Yao: “…”

The holographic projection was closed, and Li Yao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Liang Huan was making plans for the next route outside, and he saw Li Yao jump out of the car and stare at him for a long time. Liang Huan couldn’t help but say, “Did the conversation not go well?”

“Very smoothly.” Li Yao poked his cheek. “We’ve only known each other for less than a year. If one day I’m swallowed by a Heteromorph, can you recognize me?”

Liang Huan turned the map, his face unchanged. “We have known each other for seven years, not to mention with Me, there is no such hypothesis.”

Li Yao raised his eyebrows. “Where did seven years come from?”

“Calculated from the Chuanwu Underground Laboratory on March 2, 130.” Liang Huan grabbed his hand. “Where did you calculate a year from?”

Li Yao intuitively felt that this was a dangerous topic, and with a change of pace, he turned and left. “I suddenly remembered that the holding equipment hasn’t been checked yet.”

Liang Huan said, “It’s already been checked. You go back to the car and rest.”

Li Yao turned to look at him. “Is my spirit power fluctuating a lot?”

“It can already bungee jump.” Liang Huan looked at him. “Li Yao, the life and death of people have their own destiny and cannot be forced. The greatest comfort to the deceased is for the people you care about to live well.”

Li Yao smiled. “Got it.”

His spirit power was not only poor these two days because of driving the mecha. Liang Huan didn’t say much, but he had been trying his best to help him maintain stability, which was very considerate.

He went back and sat next to Liang Huan, saying to himself, “I understand why Jiang Mufeng didn’t see him. Before, you just had a spiritual disorder and forgot me, and I couldn’t stand it. I’m not going to interrogate him—that Heteromorph, I’m afraid I’ll just kill him if I lose my temper.”

Liang Huan turned to look at him.

“I don’t plan to take the two Heteromorphs pretending to be You Zhao Chen and Jiang Chudong back to the military.” Li Yao rubbed his face irritably. “Any process is not as happy as shooting him to death—if you die, I will definitely burn you to ashes, why do you want to die?”

This topic jumped too much, and Liang Huan was stunned for a moment. “What?”

“There is your euthanasia application in Black Emperor.” Li Yao took out a stack of crumpled paper from his pocket and threw it on Liang Huan. He frowned and stared at Liang Huan, his expression very unhappy.

It could be seen that he had been holding back for a long time, but unfortunately, the side effects of spirit power depletion were too great. Even with Liang Huan helping him maintain it, he was already on the verge of being disordered under the stimulation of You Zhao Chen’s Heteromorph Mimic. Any answer could make him completely explode.

Liang Huan picked up the stack of applications, smoothed out the wrinkles on it, and explained unhurriedly, “This is just a solution that was envisioned at the beginning. At that time, I couldn’t even achieve the most basic spiritual balance, not–”

Before he could finish his words, Li Yao suddenly cupped his face.

The midday sun was strong, and the surroundings were piles of corpses and muddy blood. The mercenary with a fierce expression looked down at him, as if through the gentle and bright skin, he saw the violent and struggling, incomplete soul inside. He frowned, with a few serious irritations. “Live well, damn it, do you hear me?”

The emperor who had lived two lives raised his head slightly, a little overwhelmed by the intense heat in the other party’s eyes. His hands hanging by his side curled up unnaturally, and he smiled a little blankly.

“Okay.”