The Trolley Problem

Li Xiangqian had Ding San stay at the police station for a while longer, the two of them buried under piles of paperwork, sifting through case files and pulling up surveillance footage from various locations.

After wolfing down breakfast in the cafeteria that morning, he drove the police car to drop Ding San off on his way.

On the road, Li Xiangqian couldn't help but bring up the Mirage again.

"In ancient texts, the Mirage is rumored to be a fourth-realm martial artist who suffered from qi deviation in the ancient pictographic martial arts..."

Ding San waved her hand dismissively. "Give it a rest. Fourth realm? You can't even find a handful of third-realm martial artists in the entire Red Star now. The emergence of augmented humans has long since squeezed the living space for martial arts to nothing."

"Yet the frequency of Mirage sightings and Mirage-related incidents is climbing year by year, both domestically and abroad. Are these all corpses of fourth-realm martial artists? That's impossible."

Li Xiangqian shifted gears, the police car accelerating onto the intercity highway as he chimed in, "So, that thing is more likely to be what you all call... the dead husk of a Nightmare Walker?"

Ding San nodded. "That's a fair bet."

"The process of a nightmare patient struggling to survive is also the process of them becoming increasingly intertwined with their nightmare... Their physical bodies and spirits gradually twist, becoming a bridge between the nightmare and reality."

"That is why the dead husks of those missing walkers exhibit traits that are difficult to explain with conventional logic."

At this point, Ding San's voice faltered. "Anything more, and we'd be touching upon classified regulations."

"In short, you only need to understand one thing."

"That thing is extremely dangerous! Expanding the nightmare? That's just an unverified hypothesis. The most direct disaster caused by a Mirage... is killing the poor wretches who inadvertently trigger their killing rules."

Li Xiangqian's throat bobbed, and he shivered instinctively. "Killing rules? What are those?"

Ding San's phone suddenly vibrated. She answered the call while saying, "Who knows? Every Mirage has different rules."

"In all likelihood, it's related to the nightmares they had while they were alive..."

Ding San swiped the screen; the call was from Ye Zi.

"Sister San, she is a 'Reality Nightmare'."

Reality Nightmare?

Ding San's expression turned extremely ugly in an instant.

"I understand."

The call was cut off abruptly.

Ding San hung up, her eyes flickering as if she were making a difficult choice.

The police car sped along the highway, and a fork in the road appeared ahead.

Continue straight... or signal, enter the ramp, and exit the highway.

"Xiangqian, have you heard of the trolley problem?"

Ding San spoke suddenly.

Li Xiangqian instinctively slowed the car, frowning.

Of course he knew it.

A runaway trolley is about to hit five people on the tracks.

You have a lever at your side; if you pull it, the trolley will switch to another track, but there is one person tied to that track as well.

If you pull it, you actively kill one person to save five.

If you don't pull it, you watch five people die to preserve the one innocent person.

No matter how you choose, your hands are stained with blood.

"I know it. Why?"

"What would you choose?"

Li Xiangqian didn't even think, blurting out, "I'd lean toward pulling it. Even though that person is innocent, it's still better than five people dying."

"But if I were really forced to choose," Li Xiangqian laughed at himself, "I wouldn't. Once I take off this uniform, I'm nothing. I have no right to decide who lives and who dies."

"I'm curious, though, Sister San, what would you choose?"

Upon hearing this, Ding San shook her head, not answering directly.

She simply turned her head to look at the guardrails flashing past outside the window, her voice flat.

"It's time to get off the highway."

"Got it."

The police car turned on its signal, merged smoothly into the left lane, slowed down, and pulled onto the ramp.

"Xiao Kai, why are you suddenly interested in these flowers and plants?"

Lu Yan looked at Zhou Kai's bulging pockets and asked curiously, "Come to think of it, your sister used to really like these too."

"When she lived with me before, the living room was filled with potted plants... Now that she's been snatched away by that wicked woman, I'm the one who has to take care of all those flowers and plants."

"It's such a pain."

Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had found a savior to take the burden off her hands. "How about you come help me? I'll pay you!"

Zhou Kai let out an "mm," pretending to be in deep thought.

A moment later, he nodded: "That works, forget about the salary."

It was perfect; it saved him from having to haul flowerpots and nutrient soil back to his own crummy little rental, and he could just use the ready-made supplies at Lu Yan's Home.

The nursery environment in the basement lacked light, and even with the current dim lighting, conditions remained harsh.

Zhou Kai had specifically selected several types of plants that could thrive in such an environment.

One type of orchid and two types of ferns.

These were all varieties publicly sold at the botanical garden, available for paid harvesting.

I just don't know if planting these will bring me any buffs... I'll find out when I go back tonight.

Soon, Zhou Kai followed Lu Yan to her Home.

He moved the flowerpots into the bathroom, and only after confirming the environment was sufficiently damp and humid did he carefully plant the three specimens.

Once the plants were settled, Zhou Kai turned and left, his movements crisp and decisive.

As for the lace underwear Lu Yan had casually draped over the bathroom door handle, Zhou Kai's gaze swept over it, lingering for no more than a tenth of a second.

"Sis, I'm heading out."

He called out to Lu Yan, who was watching television in the living room, before pushing the door open and leaving.

It was nearly three in the afternoon, and there wasn't much time left before his appointment with Ma Yifan.

Heading over now would be just right.

Ma Yifan came from a well-off family, and the place he had chosen to meet Zhou Kai was his family's suburban villa, nestled between mountains and water.

This villa was a full three stories tall and came with two large yards, front and back... who could handle such luxury?

"Truly hiding his true colors."

Zhou Kai shook his head, entered the passcode Ma Yifan had sent him, and pushed open the heavy wrought-iron gate.

When it came to major matters that could resolve his financial crisis, Zhou Kai's attitude was always serious.

Before leaving today, he had specifically layered another training uniform from the gym underneath his jacket.

Now, he took off his jacket to reveal the loose training gear underneath, and a proper martial artist's image was established.

There was a woman responsible for cleaning and cooking in the villa who had likely been instructed by Ma Yifan beforehand, as her attitude toward Zhou Kai was excessively polite.

"Mr. Zhou, have you had lunch? The young master will be here in a little while."

Zhou Kai shook his head: "No need."

If the others arrived while he was busy shoveling food into his mouth, the scene would be anything but professional.

Better to avoid unnecessary trouble; keep everything simple.

"You're... the Zhou Kai that Ma Yifan mentioned?"

It didn't take long before Ma Yifan walked in, leading a group of people.

At the head of the group, or rather, the one being surrounded in the center, was a foreign girl with features as delicate as a doll.

But in stark contrast to her beautiful face was the arrogance that seeped from her very bones.

She scrutinized Zhou Kai with her chin held high, as if inspecting a piece of merchandise: "Are you reliable? Have you fought in matches? What are your results?"

Zhou Kai exchanged a glance with Ma Yifan, whose face betrayed an uncontrollable panic; clearly, he hadn't expected such a stiff opening.

"No matches, no results," Zhou Kai narrowed his eyes, neither humble nor pushy.

The blonde girl's brows furrowed: "With nothing to your name, what makes you think you can teach us?"

"Relying on a bit of petty cleverness won't get you into a circle that doesn't belong to you."

She spoke bluntly, without the slightest reservation.

The other two young men also crossed their arms and shook their heads, their expressions filled with disappointment.