Shuihe Luoyin River

"Someone fell into the water!" a woman screamed in horror!

Chen Mengchuan, who had been standing on the bridge watching the sunset, was jolted awake by the scream. He turned around and saw that it had come from the east, not far behind him.

Chen Mengchuan spun around and crossed to the other side of the bridge in a few strides. Leaning over the railing, he saw a half-grown boy ten meters below, flailing desperately in the middle of the river. He was clearly drowning.

A few people had rushed over upon hearing the news and stopped along both banks.

"Someone save him..."

"Who can go down there..."

"Somebody save that child..."

"..."

Cries for help rang out everywhere, yet not a single person went into the water.

"These people!" Standing on the bridge and watching the child struggle without stop, Chen Mengchuan could not help growing anxious...

This little river was called the Luoyin River. Every year, several people drowned in it. Since childhood, Chen Mengchuan had heard countless terrifying rumors about Luoyin Water Ghosts dragging people away to reincarnate.

Within a few breaths, the child's struggles gradually weakened. People on both banks began whispering things like, "Luoyin Water Ghosts... reincarnation..."

"I can't worry about that now!" Seeing that no one was willing to enter the water to save the child, Chen Mengchuan climbed over the railing, took a deep breath, and dove into the river like a fish.

The Luoyin River in the transition from late summer to autumn carried a distinct chill. After entering the water, Chen Mengchuan swam several breaststrokes underwater before surfacing and rapidly pumping his arms, splashing water across the river.

Seeing that only one of the child's hands remained above the surface, Chen Mengchuan turned sideways to take a long breath, then wrapped his arms around the child from below and heaved upward.

There was nothing to brace against in the water. Chen Mengchuan kept kicking beneath the surface, lifting the child's body bit by bit out of the water. Cheers broke out from both banks.

"Not good!!" Just as he raised his head to take another breath, Chen Mengchuan suddenly sensed something was wrong. After all that exertion, he had let out his breath, and with his strength failing, half a mouthful of Luoyin River water rushed into his throat. The pain was excruciating, and he was immediately thrown into danger.

At that moment, someone on shore brought over a hooked bamboo pole used for pulling down fruit. Chen Mengchuan forced himself to the surface, only to feel as though some unknown thing had viciously wrapped around his feet! After coughing violently twice, he swallowed another huge mouthful of Luoyin River water.

His face drained of color. It felt as though his feet had been trapped beneath a massive stone. He could only desperately grab the pole and try to hook it onto the child's clothes. But the hooked pole was blunt, and with the person on shore pulling on it, it failed to catch the clothes several times.

On the dark surface of the water, Chen Mengchuan, whose feet were trapped below, resolutely plunged underwater. He bit down on the child's collar, tore the cloth apart with all his strength, and hooked the pole onto it. The person on shore lifted the pole, pulling the child onto the surface and finally dragging him to the bank.

Cheers erupted again. When everyone looked into the river, Chen Mengchuan was nowhere to be seen...

Time rewound to several hours earlier.

Chen Mengchuan stood outside his home, his expression complicated as he knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

The door was quickly pulled open. It was Chen Mengchuan's father.

Seeing his son standing in the doorway, Father Chen froze for a moment. "Why are you back?"

Chen Mengchuan's gaze shifted uneasily, his expression complicated. He said nothing and did not dare meet his father's eyes.

"Come in first." Father Chen's brows furrowed slightly as he opened the door wider and led his son inside.

After brewing a pot of tea, Father Chen lifted a small white porcelain teacup and briefly held it beneath his nose. He took a small sip, set the cup down, and slowly asked, "What happened? Why are you back at a time like this?"

Chen Mengchuan's eyes dimmed. He still had not figured out how to say it.

"Drink some tea first." Father Chen glanced at him and instructed him.

Hearing his father's voice, Chen Mengchuan reached out, picked up the teacup, and took a sip from the small porcelain cup before slowly saying, "I resigned."

Father Chen trembled slightly, his expression turning more solemn.

Just then, keys jingled, and the door opened as Mother Chen walked in.

"Mom," Chen Mengchuan called, turning his head.

Seeing her son in the living room, Mother Chen's face broke into a smile. "Why are you back? You should've told me first so I could've bought more groceries."

"What happened?" Mother Chen asked when she noticed her husband's expression.

"I resigned, Mom." Chen Mengchuan sighed softly inside.

"Resigned?" Mother Chen froze.

Setting down the bags in her hands, Mother Chen frowned slightly as she looked at her son. A trace of heartache flashed through her eyes. "So you resigned. Keep your father company while I make dinner."

Father Chen snorted coldly. "So you resigned? You make it sound so easy. The Xia Science Academy is Huaxia's top research institute. Countless people would break their heads trying to get in, yet you just quit!"

"Dad... I'm sorry." Chen Mengchuan felt stifled inside. As Huaxia's foremost science and technology research institute, the Xia Science Academy was naturally not somewhere one could enter through ability alone.

His foundations were solid, and he possessed exceptional skill in the field of Artificial Intelligence, but it was even more because of the connections his father had built over decades at the Xia Science Academy that he had been able to enter it.

"So you resigned. Tell me, what exactly happened?" Father Chen picked up his teacup, drained it, then refilled the two empty cups on the coffee table.

"Guo Zhidong placed his nephew, Guo Siming, into my AI team, and I was put under Guo Siming." Chen Mengchuan said.

Father Chen's brows drew together. "Your AI project is in its final stage?"

Chen Mengchuan nodded.

"Did it pass all the project evaluations?" Father Chen lifted his teacup again. He knew quite a bit about his son's project.

"It passed the fourth round of testing." Anger flared once more in Chen Mengchuan's gut. This AI project was practically everything he had.

Confusion appeared in Father Chen's eyes. "After the fourth round, Guo Zhidong came to steal the credit?"

"During the fifth round of testing, five leaders from the Supreme Academy and the ministry arranged a visit. The institute had me prepare the speech, but Guo Siming gave the presentation. Then they removed my name from the final announcement." Anger flashed through Chen Mengchuan's eyes once more.

"Did you make a scene with Guo Zhidong?" Father Chen's expression hardened, and his face darkened.

"No. After I submitted my resignation letter, Guo Zhidong hypocritically tried to persuade me to stay for a few words."

"What are you planning to do next?" Father Chen sighed. The conflicts between himself and Guo Zhidong's generation had ultimately implicated his own son.

Thinking about it now, perhaps Guo Zhidong had never had good intentions when he helped his son enter the Xia Science Academy so smoothly.

"I... don't know." Chen Mengchuan's gaze dimmed. He was already twenty-eight, with nothing but a doctoral degree, yet he had no idea what else he could do besides research.

This incident had left him furious, but it had also made him somewhat fearful of socializing.

Two years of graduate school, three years for his doctorate, then he entered the Xia Science Academy before even graduating. From graduate school until now, he had devoted a full six years of wholehearted work to this AI team project...

His social circle was limited to a handful of nearby colleagues. He had never even experienced what a woman was like. He was as green as they came.

Father Chen looked at his son and sighed inwardly.

The family of three ate dinner in a somewhat oppressive silence.

"I'm going out for a walk." Chen Mengchuan said before leaving the house.

Dusk in the small town was exceptionally tranquil. The streets were sparsely populated, and Chen Mengchuan could not remember how long it had been since he had felt this peaceful.

He walked onto a curved bridge over the water and looked toward the western sky, where the blazing red sun burned fiercely.

Lights gradually came on in countless homes. The sun finally reached the edge of the mountains and began to sink, setting the sky ablaze in an eye-searing crimson.

Standing on the bridge and looking at the red stretching across the sky, Chen Mengchuan was reminded of the leaves at Xiangshan, Xiajing. The crimson maple leaves blanketing the forest were as beautiful as a dream.

Convulsing violently, Chen Mengchuan felt some terrifying thing beneath his feet drag him ruthlessly into the water. As he sank deeper and deeper, his consciousness gradually faded away.

In his descent, Chen Mengchuan fell into a distant, hazy dream.

In that dream, after fleeing Su City, he met Ayase Sonoko, a woman from the Island Nation who had come to teach in the Huaxia Mountains. After they got to know each other, he defied his parents' objections and resistance and resolutely married her.

Later, Ayase Sonoko was repatriated to the Island Nation. Half a year after severing ties with all his relatives, he traveled to that tiny Island Nation that had caused him so much pain. He then joined the Yokohama National Science and Innovation Institute, settled in Yokohama, and began more than a decade of unhappy life.

More than two years after arriving in the Island Nation, Ayase Sonoko gave birth to a daughter. Chen Mengchuan named her Zhihui. Seven years later, after prolonged frustration and endless arguments, the two finally divorced, and Zhihui stayed with him.

After becoming a single father, in his fourteenth year in the Island Nation, Chen Mengchuan and a group of researchers from Huaxia, America and Europe, and the Island Nation were the first to create a true strong Artificial Intelligence capable of independent thought. He named it Chisako.

Chisako's power overturned everyone's expectations! With Chisako's assistance, vast numbers of research projects at the institute were completed one after another. The Island Nation's technology underwent an unimaginably terrifying leap forward because of it alone!

In the sixth year after the Big Bang in technology, just as Chen Mengchuan had gathered and organized a vast amount of experimental data and begun planning to return to Huaxia with his daughter Zhihui!

Six enormous unidentified spacecraft descended upon Earth, shattering the atmosphere with their colossal alien hulls! Countless alien mechanical lifeforms were projected onto the surface!

Nine hours!

There was no communication whatsoever between the two civilizations!

Humanity across the entire Earth was slaughtered to extinction!

Even after hiding in an underground shelter, Chen Mengchuan was ultimately annihilated by a beam of light!

Four updates every day, so feel free to bookmark it. My previous novel was completed at over a million words, so this one definitely will not be abandoned!