Tang Zhean was filled with dejection.
As he followed the five soldiers toward the base, he repeatedly reflected on everything that had happened. In the end, he could reach only one conclusion.
He had been too arrogant.
Just as he had been ten years ago.
Tang Zhean was an international student and a member of Z Country's Hope Plan.
It was a long-term program that Z Country had carried out ever since its founding. Every year, it selected children from schools across the country who possessed the right aptitude and intelligence, then gave them preferential access to educational resources, from elementary school to middle school, high school, and finally university. Children were eliminated from the program every year, and new ones joined. The very best, after their character and other qualities had been assessed, were sent abroad to study at the country's expense. Once they graduated and returned home, they became true top talents, contributing to the nation's development.
Tang Zhean was one of the genius children selected for the Hope Plan—and one of its finest.
He was exceptionally gifted, and he also worked hard. His genius had become apparent at an early age, and after he was sent to the USA as an international student, he repeatedly made headlines. His fame soared even higher when, at seventeen, he solved two famous mathematical problems. He was hailed as the greatest genius in history, with an IQ of 260.
During that period, Tang Zhean had grown rather carried away. He often imagined he would become a world-changing figure like Newton or Einstein, and that one day he would lead human civilization to new heights. After completing his studies abroad and returning to his homeland, he was sure he could make Z Country rise to prominence. The idea that technology would crush the rest of the world under his leadership seemed an absolute certainty.
Tang Zhean had held these thoughts, but reality had soon dealt him a harsh blow. After he died in a car accident, the US Government took him into a secret research team and kept him under house arrest for ten years. Although he had not been abused during that time, he knew that his fate might well have ended there. They would never let him go again; he would never be free for the rest of his life.
During those ten years under house arrest, Tang Zhean believed he had matured considerably. In particular, he had considered every angle in planning this escape. It was no impulsive, harebrained scheme.
He had begun planning his escape after learning that the Dark Matter World existed.
There was no way he could escape in the Material World. The US Government would never let him go; it would kill him before he even had a chance to flee. Tang Zhean even suspected that he had a tiny remote-controlled bomb inside him, one that would be triggered the moment they confirmed he was escaping, blowing him to pieces with a bang.
In the ten years since Tang Zhean had been imprisoned, he had seen far too many similar cases. Other international students like him, as well as geniuses from other countries, either accepted their fate and were imprisoned just like him, or refused to submit and disappeared without a trace. That was what it meant to be murdered and have it called suicide.
The only escape route he could think of was to descend into the Dark Matter World as one of its inhabitants. That was a weak point in the US Government's control. In particular, the disaster caused by the advance unit had made the US Government afraid to send another organized force into the Dark Matter World. That made the Dark Matter World his only way out.
Tang Zhean also had an extraordinary secret that no one else knew: he was one of the few survivors of the disappearance incident—and might even have been the only one. During that incident, he had been the first to realize something was wrong. In a matter of moments, he erased his own memories of what had happened, leaving himself only a few scraps of information gleaned by process of elimination. That was how he survived. He had also made contact with an entity in the Dark Matter World, which enabled him to devise his escape plan.
All of this had been part of Tang Zhean's plan. His ultimate goal was to break out of his cage, use his informational head start to gain an advantage, become extraordinary, and eventually become the spirit of human civilization. Once he reached that point, he could settle every score.
Alas, his plan had gone awry before it even began!
He had never imagined that the US Government would have an organized force stationed in the Dark Matter World. He had walked straight into their hands the moment he arrived.
As he made his way to the base, thoughts raced through Tang Zhean's mind. He needed to come up with an explanation, a way to stay alive, and a means of gaining the trust of the US Government's representative in the Dark Matter World without revealing the information he held in reserve.
(At least information can't flow between the two worlds. Aside from observing the Dark Matter World, the people above can't get enough information. That gives me a chance.)
The Dark Matter World was the realm of human souls after death. Human science knew absolutely nothing about it, so it was naturally impossible to develop communication devices or anything of the sort. When people died and went to the Dark Matter World, all information between them and the living was cut off. There was no way for them to contact each other.
If they wanted to send information from the Material World to the Dark Matter World, the only way was to send people in after they died and have them deliver the message. And so far, the only way to send information from the Dark Matter World to the Material World was through observation.
Beneath the secret New York base lay a mass of Dark Matter. By magnifying their vision, humans could observe New York City in the Dark Matter World from above. When the US Government sent its five hundred thousand people into the Dark Matter World, they used the most basic method imaginable to get information to the people in the Material World: they arranged stones into words in an open area and let them look. That was also how the people in the Material World learned that the exploration team had returned.
But after the disappearance incident, observing the Dark Matter World became strictly forbidden. Simply knowing about it could cause one's existence to be erased. This unknowable mystery, which defied all logic, had terrified everyone in the Material World. From then on, the US Government never sent anyone down again, nor did it directly observe the Dark Matter World.
Tang Zhean settled on his story. If anyone asked, he would say he had died by accident, killed by a curse or a monster. Since no one could verify his account, the US representative in the Dark Matter World would not be able to kill him outright. Most likely, they would recruit him as a researcher again. That would give him an opportunity, and after that he could adapt to the situation.
When Tang Zhean arrived at the base—a ramshackle defensive perimeter built around the Melon Bank building—he had expected to be locked up or taken straight to meet the base commander. Instead, the American soldiers simply handed him over to a few foreign monks.
"Name, age, sex, former occupation, sexual orientation, and whether you're willing to farm..."
One of the foreign monks handed him a form and told him to fill it out. Tang Zhean was baffled, but he took the form and read it carefully. The more he read, the stranger his expression became.
"May I ask, this foreign... No, this priest, isn't this a US Government base?" Tang Zhean set the form down and asked at once.
The man was a monk. He smiled at Tang Zhean and replied, "First of all, I'm not a priest yet. Second, this doesn't belong to the US Government. It belongs to the Heaven on Earth Afterlife Team."
"Uh, Heaven on Earth... Are you kidding me?" Tang Zhean looked as if to say, Are you messing with me?
The monk replied with complete seriousness, "No one would joke with you about this. Now, allow me to solemnly describe our Savior to you. He is the Messiah of the apocalypse, and the only Savior of humanity..."
After listening to everything, Tang Zhean filled out the form quickly and without expression. He was then assigned a shabby tent as his temporary residence. He was also told that for the first ten days after joining the organization, he would receive free daily food and fresh water. During that time, he could take on the organization's many tasks to earn work points: clearing rubble, scavenging, building the base, and, most lucrative of all, farming. After ten days, he would have to exchange work points for food and fresh water. He could also use them as currency to obtain better accommodations, household goods, and other necessities.
After the monk left, Tang Zhean still found the whole thing unbelievable. What astonished him most was the monk's claim that the leader of the cult he worshipped had actually produced crops that could be grown.
Impossible! It must be nothing but cult brainwashing. They're probably relying entirely on supplies they've scavenged. Once those run out, this organization will inevitably descend into infighting. But that's fine. At least I've escaped my cage. I'll stay with this organization for now and figure out what's happening in the Dark Matter World. Then I'll look for Xu and find a way to protect myself. That's what I need to do next. Thank goodness this isn't a US Government base, and no one here knows who I am. I've really lucked out, hahaha...
Tang Zhean sat at the entrance to his tent. As he thought this over, he couldn't help chuckling softly. Suddenly, a voice called from nearby.
"Dr. Tang? Dr. Tang Zhean?"
Tang Zhean's whole body stiffened. He turned around with difficulty and saw Alfred Austen, a high-ranking official in the US Government's cabinet.
Alfred was overjoyed. He hurried toward Tang Zhean, while Tang Zhean gave him a pained smile, looking as if to say, Are you messing with me? Then, resigned, he lowered his head and said, "All right, I give up. Take me to the base and the research lab."
"Stop trying to fool me with these disguises!"
Alfred had just reached Tang Zhean when he heard the Chinese-American genius say those words in a resigned tone. For a moment, he had no idea what Tang Zhean meant, but that didn't stop Alfred from expressing his delight.
"Wonderful, Dr. Tang! I was just wondering when you'd die. This is great! By the way, are you the only one? Did the other research teams die with you?"
Alfred looked around, but Tang Zhean was the only one there. He was a little disappointed, but quickly said, "That's all right. Dr. Tang alone is worth an entire research team. I'll arrange for someone to take you to the inner base right away."
Tang Zhean secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, a wave of sadness washed over him.
Listen to that. What kind of thing was that to say?
Clearly, the US Government had wanted to kill him to keep him quiet for a long time. Now they were just using this as an excuse.
Fine. He still had a chance!
Tang Zhean made up his mind to lie low for now and keep looking for a way to escape!
He would never give up!
Before you continue