Shuihe Luoyin River

"Someone fell in the water!" a woman screamed.

Chen Mengchuan, who had been standing on the bridge watching the sunset, was jolted awake by the scream. He turned around, realizing the sound was coming from the east, not far behind him.

Chen Mengchuan twisted his body, taking a few steps to the other side of the bridge. He leaned on the railing and looked down. About ten meters away, a child was flailing his arms in the middle of the water, clearly drowning.

A few people, alerted by the commotion, arrived at the riverbanks and stopped to watch.

"Quick, save him..."

"Someone go in there..."

"Someone save this child..."

"..."

Cries for help echoed all around, but no one jumped into the water.

"These people!" Chen Mengchuan stood on the bridge, watching the child struggle, a knot of anxiety tightening in his chest.

This river was called the Luoyin River, and several people drowned in it every year. Ever since he was a child, Chen Mengchuan had heard terrifying rumors about Luoyin Water Ghosts dragging people down to reincarnate.

Within a few breaths, the child's struggles weakened. Murmurs of "Luoyin Water Ghost... reincarnation" began to spread among the onlookers on the banks.

"I can't worry about that anymore!" Seeing that no one was coming to save the child, Chen Mengchuan flipped over the railing, took a deep breath, and with a powerful surge, like a fish, he plunged into the water.

The Luoyin River, at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, was quite chilly. After entering the water, Chen Mengchuan swam a few frog strokes underwater before surfacing. He quickly moved his arms, sending splashes leaping across the river's surface.

Seeing that only one of the child's hands was still visible above the water, Chen Mengchuan took a deep breath underwater, embraced the child from behind, and pulled with all his might.

With nothing to push off from underwater, Chen Mengchuan kicked his legs vigorously. The child's body was slowly lifted out of the water, and cheers erupted from both banks.

"Not good!!" As he strained to take another breath, Chen Mengchuan suddenly felt a sense of dread. In his exertion, he had lost some of his breath, and his strength failing, half a mouthful of Luoyin River water gushed into his throat. In agony, he found himself in grave danger.

Just then, someone on the bank grabbed a bamboo pole with a hook used for picking fruit. Chen Mengchuan forced himself to surface, only to feel something unseen firmly entangle his feet! He coughed violently, taking another large gulp of Luoyin River water.

His face drained of color in alarm, but his feet felt as if they were trapped by a boulder. He could only desperately grab the pole, intending to hook the child's clothes. But the hook was blunt, and with the person on the bank pulling, he failed to snag the clothes multiple times.

In the dim water, Chen Mengchuan, his feet still ensnared, resolutely reached underwater and bit down on the child's collar. With a final burst of strength, he tore the fabric, hooked the pole, and the person on the bank pulled it up. The child was lifted to the surface and eventually dragged ashore.

Cheers erupted again. The crowd looked towards the river, but Chen Mengchuan's figure was nowhere to be seen...

Time rewound to a few hours earlier.

Chen Mengchuan stood in front of his house, his expression complex as he knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The door was quickly opened by Chen Mengchuan's father.

Father Chen's expression faltered when he saw his son standing at the doorway. "Why are you back?"

Chen Mengchuan's gaze flickered, filled with a complicated emotion. He didn't speak, nor did he dare to meet his father's eyes.

"Come in first," Father Chen said, frowning slightly, opening the door wider to let his son inside.

After brewing a pot of tea, Father Chen picked up a small, delicate white porcelain cup, brought it to his nose to inhale the aroma, took a small sip, and then set the cup down. He asked slowly, "What happened? Coming back at this hour."

Chen Mengchuan's eyes dimmed. He still hadn't figured out how to explain.

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

Hearing his father's voice, Chen Mengchuan reached out, picked up the teacup, took a sip of the tea, and then slowly said, "I resigned."

Father Chen trembled slightly, his expression growing solemn.

At that moment, the sound of keys jingling was heard, and the door opened. Mother Chen walked in.

"Mom," Chen Mengchuan called out, turning around.

Seeing her son in the living room, Mother Chen's face broke into a smile. "Why are you back? You should have said something, I could have bought more groceries."

"What's wrong?" Mother Chen asked, noticing her husband's expression.

"I resigned, Mom," Chen Mengchuan sighed inwardly.

"Resigned?" Mother Chen's expression froze.

Putting down the bag in her hands, Mother Chen frowned slightly, looking at her son, a flicker of concern in her eyes. "If you resigned, you resigned. You can stay with your dad, I'll cook."

Father Chen snorted, "Resigned, resigned. You say it so lightly. The Xia Science Academy is the number one research institution in Huaxia. So many people would give anything to get in, and you just quit?"

"Dad... I'm sorry." Chen Mengchuan felt a tightness in his chest. The Xia Science Academy, as Huaxia's top scientific research institute, was certainly not a place one could enter on merit alone.

His own foundation was solid, with considerable skill in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). But more importantly, it was due to his father's decades of connections at the Xia Science Academy that he had been able to get in.

"Resigned, resigned. Tell me, what exactly happened?" Father Chen picked up his teacup, finished the tea, and refilled the two empty cups on the coffee table.

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

Father Chen's brow furrowed. "Is your AI project nearing completion?"

Chen Mengchuan nodded.

"Did the project pass all the tests?" Father Chen picked up his teacup again. He knew a lot about his son's project.

"It passed the fourth round of testing." A surge of anger burned in Chen Mengchuan's gut. This AI project was almost his entire life's work.

Father Chen's eyes showed a hint of confusion. "The fourth round, and Guo Zhidong comes to pick the fruit?"

"During the fifth round of testing, five leaders from the Supreme Court and the ministry arranged a visit. The academy asked me to prepare the materials, but Guo Siming gave the presentation, and my name was removed from the final announcement." Anger flashed in Chen Mengchuan's eyes again.

"Did you have a confrontation with Guo Zhidong?" Father Chen's gaze sharpened, and his face darkened.

"No, I didn't argue with anyone. After I submitted my resignation, Guo Zhidong gave a few insincere words of persuasion."

"What are your plans then?" Father Chen sighed, realizing that the old conflicts between him and Guo Zhidong had ultimately affected his son.

Thinking back, perhaps Guo Zhidong hadn't had good intentions when he helped his son get into the Xia Science Academy.

"I... I don't know." Chen Mengchuan's eyes dimmed. He was 28 years old, with a doctorate, but he had no idea what he could do besides research.

While this incident filled him with resentment, it also gave him a sense of social anxiety.

Two years of graduate study, three years of doctoral research. He entered the Xia Science Academy before even finishing his doctorate. This AI project... from graduate school until now, he had dedicated six full years of research work...

His social circle was limited to a few colleagues around him. He hadn't even experienced what it was like to be with a woman; he was as naive as could be.

Father Chen glanced at his son and sighed inwardly.

The family of three ate their dinner in a rather somber mood.

"I'm going for a walk," Chen Mengchuan said and left the house.

The twilight in the small town was exceptionally tranquil, with sparse crowds on the streets. Chen Mengchuan couldn't remember the last time he had felt such peace.

He walked onto a curved water bridge, gazing at the western sky, where the fiery sunset burned intensely.

The lights of countless homes gradually flickered on. The sun finally reached the end of the mountains and began to set, turning the sky into a searing, dazzling expanse of red.

Standing on the bridge, looking at the endless red, Chen Mengchuan was reminded of the leaves in Xiangshan, Xiajing. The beauty of the pervasive red leaves in the forest was dreamlike.

Convulsing violently, Chen Mengchuan felt something terrifying beneath his feet drag him fiercely into the water. As he sank deeper, his consciousness gradually faded.

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

In this dream, he had escaped Su City and met Ayase Sonoko, a woman from the Island Nation who had come to Huaxia to teach. After they met, he defied his parents' objections and prohibitions, resolutely marrying her.

Later, Ayase Sonoko was deported back to the Island Nation. Six months after breaking ties with all his relatives, he went to this small island nation that had caused him so much pain. He then joined the Yokohama National Science and Innovation Institute, settling in Yokohama thereafter, and began the next dozen or so years of his life, which were not happy.

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 dissatisfaction and endless arguments, they finally divorced, and Zhihui stayed with him.

Becoming a single father, Chen Mengchuan, in the fourteenth year of his arrival in the Island Nation, along with a group of researchers from Huaxia, America, Europe, and the Island Nation, was the first to complete a truly independent thinking artificial intelligence. He named it Chisako.

Chisako's power surpassed everyone's expectations! With Chisako's assistance, numerous research projects at the Science and Innovation Institute were completed, and the technological advancement of the Island Nation experienced an unimaginable, terrifying leap!

Six years after the technological explosion, just as Chen Mengchuan was collecting and organizing a large amount of experimental data and planning to take his daughter Zhihui back to Huaxia!

Six enormous, nameless spacecraft descended upon Earth, shattering the atmosphere with their immense presence! Countless alien mechanical lifeforms were projected onto the surface!

Nine hours!

There was no communication between the two civilizations!

All of humanity on Earth was slaughtered!

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

Four chapters updated daily, rest assured to collect. My previous book has over a million words and is completed, I will absolutely not drop this one!