No Going Back

Earlier.

It was a little after 6 p. m. on Lunar New Year's Eve.

On a main road in Peng City, a black GMC RV was driving smoothly.

The interior of the RV has been extensively modified, with only one seat remaining, and it is clearly custom-made, unlike the original one, and is much larger.

The other spaces are equipped with various devices. There are two screens side by side on the partition in front, and below the screens are many controllable buttons and joysticks.

In the space behind, there is more equipment, with rows of miniature and small drones placed in fixed positions.

The person covered in spiderweb-like, golden-lustered "skin," sitting in the only seat and looking at some data on a screen, was none other than Mr. Liang.

After reviewing the data, Mr. Liang pressed the intercom button in the driver's seat. "Lao Xie, after you drop me off, I'll give you a day off."

After hearing the unpleasant, hoarse voice, the driver remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Mr. Liang, I don't need a holiday. If I did have a holiday... I wouldn't know what to do."

Mr. Liang said, "I can give you two more days off to visit your family."

The driver replied, "No need, Mr. Liang. In my current state, they wouldn't recognize me. Since we can't recognize each other, there's no point in me showing up. Zhengyi School see them through the surveillance videos you arranged, and I'm content to know they're doing well."

Mr. Liang tilted his head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Lao Xie, how long have you been following me?"

"Including today, it's two thousand and ninety-three days," Lao Xie replied without any hesitation.

"It's been over five years, aren't you getting tired?" Mr. Liang asked.

Lao Xie remained silent for a while before speaking, "You gave me a new life. Without you, I'd probably still be bedridden, needing others to take care of my every need, like a living dead, a burden on my family. You helped me stand up again and took care of my family. The only meaning of my life for the rest of my days is to do things for you."

Mr. Liang released the call button, but instead opened a small window on the partition connecting to the driver's cab. He leaned back in the large, comfortable seat, and a metallic scraping sound came through the window, "Don't you wonder why I've become like this, and what I'm doing?"

This time, Lao Xie didn't hesitate at all and immediately replied, "I haven't read many books and I'm not very cultured. I don't understand any profound principles, but so many PhDs, graduate students, and even professors are helping you. I think what you're doing must be something important. Since I don't understand, I'll just do as you say."

Mr. Liang laughed silently, his mouth stretching all the way to his ears.

Not long after, the black RV drove into the underground parking lot of a building. The vehicle went directly to the lowest level, a separate and enclosed parking lot that belonged exclusively to Mr. Liang.

However, there was no one guarding the entrance to the parking lot on this floor. It was an automatic gate. After the camera in front of the gate scanned the license plate, Lao Xie rolled down the car window and let a scanner with a metal arm reach out and scan his face. A second later, the scanner retracted and the heavy gate rose steadily.

At first glance, the parking lot on the lowest level appears much smaller than the upper levels, filled with various modified vehicles, drones, and other equipment, along with a few workers maintaining drones. However, the surrounding structure reveals that this level also contains a large number of partitioned, enclosed spaces.

The RV stopped in front of the private elevator. Lao Xie got out, opened the double doors of the RV, and carried a suitcase to the elevator to wait.

Lao Xie was a middle-aged man with a large face, broad body, and thick back. Just looking at his face covered with worm-like scars, one could feel his fierce aura. However, the way he walked looked strangely uncoordinated.

A moment later, the elevator next to Lao Xie beeped, the elevator doors opened, and very light footsteps were heard.

Lao Xie put the box in the elevator, then came out and bowed slightly in front of the elevator door.

The elevator doors slowly closed and began to descend—it turned out this wasn't the bottom floor of the building after all.

From beginning to end, Lao Xie did not see Mr. Liang get out of the car, but he knew very well that Mr. Liang had already entered the elevator—an elevator that only Mr. Liang could enter.

Moreover, he also knew that, in most cases, Mr. Liang was "invisible".

After the elevator descended, Lao Xie got into his car, tidied himself up, and then went to a room in the basement—one of his private rooms. In the past, when Mr. Liang came here, he would usually wait in this room.

The room was simply furnished with only a bed, a table, a chair, and a cabinet, but everything looked high-quality. The table was electrically adjustable and could be raised and lowered at multiple angles, and the chair was ergonomic. Thanks to the excellent ventilation system, the air quality in the room was also good.

He sat in his chair, woke up his dormant computer, opened a software program on the desktop, and saw a nine-grid page that looked like a monitoring control screen.

He clicked on one of the screens, which showed two teenagers playing Xbox on a TV. Judging from their conversation, they were probably brothers. The interior of their room was quite luxurious, with high-end furnishings and appliances, suggesting they lived a comfortable life.

Lao Xie watched the two teenagers playing games, then watched as a middle-aged woman called them to the dining table to eat. The scene shifted to another angle, revealing three elderly people sitting at the table—the children's grandfather and maternal grandparents.

Watching the whole family eating their reunion dinner and New Year's Eve dinner together, Lao Xie unconsciously smiled, and the fierce look on his face was instantly dispelled.

After taking the private elevator to the bottom floor, Mr. Liang's figure reappeared as the elevator doors opened.

Compared to the previous parking lot, this place is much more spacious now. The whole area is about half the size of a football field. The ceiling is covered with white light grids that look like huge square bricks. With all the lights on, various devices are on display, which looks very high-tech, like a superhero's base in a movie.

However, apart from Mr. Liang, there was no one else here, giving it a cold and lonely feel.

Mr. Liang carried the box, walked to the central workbench, sat down, opened the box, took out the "scarred" Rabbit Woodcarving, and placed it on the side of the platform like an ornament.

At the same time, several screens descended from the ceiling, displaying images transmitted by drones operating in different parts of the country or surveillance footage from inside the building.

The footage shows the specific situations of various teams still working, including Fang Pingfang's team who spent New Year's Eve at a villa near Wushu Mountain. However, the footage transmitted back was from a drone above the villa, not footage of the interior of the building.

However, by switching to infrared thermal imaging mode, the location of people near the window during their activities can be seen.

He could even have turned on the microphones on the devices worn by the team members inside to listen to the sounds directly, but he didn't do that.

The surveillance footage on one of the screens suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a video request. This was his internal communication system. People like Fang Pingfang, Mi Qiao, and other heads and key R&D personnel of the secret research team of "Shenxing Technology" all used this system to contact him, which required dedicated hardware.

However, the person who applied for the video now is not any of his subordinates in the secret department, but the big boss of "Shenxing Technology" - Lu Cheng'an.

Mr. Liang hesitated for a moment, but still answered the video call.

Of course, just like when he communicated with Fang Pingfang, he could see the other party's image, but the other party could not see him.

On the screen, an elderly man with dyed black hair, neatly combed, and an air of authority appeared. He frowned slightly as he looked at the camera. "Ah Liang, turn on your video too."

Mr. Liang's unpleasant voice rang out. "No need, you should know what I look like now."

On screen, the founder of "Shenxing Technology" paused for a moment, then said, "Ah Liang, tonight is New Year's Eve."

"I know," Mr. Liang said.

Silence fell between the two sides once again.

Half a minute later, Lu Cheng'an sighed, "A Liang, come back and live with us."

Mr. Liang's gaze shifted from Lu Cheng'an's video to a black screen devoid of any image. The screen, reflecting his current appearance due to the dim light, made his voice lower and sound even more unpleasant.

"It's too late, I can't go back."

Lu Cheng'an's expression became somewhat complicated, and after a moment he said, "Occasionally... I'll come back and visit your mother together."

"I have her picture," Mr. Liang said.

"You know what I mean..."

"The ashes and the photo are just objects to remember her; there's not much difference." Mr. Liang's figure in the chair suddenly disappeared, becoming invisible. Although he didn't turn on the camera facing him, Lu Cheng'an couldn't see him.

Lu Cheng'an frowned slightly and asked, "A Liang, you're not still thinking... about bringing her back to life, are you?"

"I know the dead cannot be brought back to life. Even if a person is recreated using gene cloning technology, she will no longer be herself." Mr. Liang paused slightly, then continued, "I just want to control my own destiny."

Lu Cheng'an sighed deeply, and after a long while, asked, "A-Liang... are you still my son?"

After waiting for a long time without a reply, Lu Cheng'an finally ended the communication in disappointment.

Mr. Liang's figure slowly appeared on the chair, and all the images on the screens disappeared at the same time. The screens rose up and shrank back into the ceiling.

Then he looked toward the center of the empty room, where a naked-eye 3D holographic projection made from old video footage appeared.

It was a video a young couple filmed while celebrating their toddler son's birthday. The little boy looked lively and adorable, and although the young couple weren't particularly handsome or beautiful, they both seemed quite elegant and very affectionate as they lovingly played with their son.

As he watched these images, Mr. Liang's unpleasant voice, sharp and metallic, rang out:

"I will always be your son."

Star City, Liu Shiling's home.

After having a New Year's Eve dinner with her daughter, which was just the two of them, Shiling's Mother couldn't help but wipe away tears while washing the dishes, and kept telling herself that she couldn't cry.

She argued with Shiling's father on the phone again today. She felt that it was enough for the three of them to stay together now. They had already sold their previous house, and could easily buy another one in Star City. Compared to their previous city, the housing prices in Star City were more reasonable.

Once we have a house, everything else will be easier. After Liu Shiling starts elementary school, she can also start working and earn money together.

However, Shiling's father still had some lingering feelings for his previous company and wanted to "fight" a little harder to continue his previous career, so much so that he couldn't come back to spend New Year's Eve with his family of three.

They've argued about this more than once, and once even scared their daughter so much that she "ran away from home."

Fortunately, my daughter is much more sensible now. After asking once at night, "Isn't Daddy coming back?" without answering, she hasn't brought it up again.

After washing the dishes and tidying up the kitchen, Shiling's Mother returned to the living room and was taken aback. She saw a small stool in the middle of the living room, with a can of sunflower seeds and a bottle of cola next to it, and her daughter was leaning against the shoe cabinet.

"Liu Shiling, what are you doing lying on the ground?" Shiling's Mother asked quickly.

Liu Shiling pointed to the small stool in the middle of the living room. "Mom, that's your seat, the one closest to the wall! I'm going to perform a show for you before the Spring Festival Gala starts, so sit down! Have some sunflower seeds and a Coke!"

Shiling's Mother sat down blankly on the small stool that her daughter usually sat on. Because the stool was so low, she almost fell when she sat down and had to use her hands to support herself to maintain her balance.

"Mom, are you seated? I'm about to start!" Liu Shiling asked loudly as she crawled behind the shoe cabinet.

"Alright, alright, what are you going to perform?" Shiling's Mother asked, completely bewildered.

"I'm going to perform magic... um... a magic paper doll battle! Mom, you're the first one to see that!" Liu Shiling said with a hint of pride and smugness.

Shiling's Mother smiled, feeling a warmth in her heart. She knew that her daughter knew she was in a bad mood and was deliberately trying to cheer her up.

Regardless of how well her daughter performed, she was happy that she had the intention.

"I'm starting!"

As Liu Shiling spoke, her chubby little hand picked up a paper crane and placed it on the shoe cabinet. Then she let go of it and said in a very serious tone:

"A long, long time ago, there was a lovely and beautiful crane named Wangzai. She lived happily in Happy Valley!"

That paper crane looked a little different from the usual way of folding paper cranes; it was rather plump, and one joint of each of its wings rested on the shoe cabinet for support.

As Liu Shiling explained, the paper crane on the shoe cabinet began to move its two wings from side to side, slowly moving along the shoe cabinet.

"Huh?! Oh dear..." Shiling's Mother was startled and instinctively tried to stand up, but because the stool was too low, she couldn't stand up and almost fell again.

"Mom, I'm performing, so you need to sit still and watch carefully!" Liu Shiling's somewhat disgruntled voice rang out from behind the shoe cabinet.

"Okay, okay, I'll look carefully." Shiling's Mother had no choice but to sit up again, then stared wide-eyed at the fat paper crane on the shoe cabinet, her attitude shifting from tolerance towards her daughter to curiosity.