Huang Liang walked lightly along the narrow streets of Sea Cucumber Street, his boots crunching on the snow-covered pavement. The post-snow chill deterred those seeking pleasure; only a few girls stood listlessly in front of their doors in the alley. Hearing footsteps, they sprang to attention like Lion smelling antelope, adjusting their postures as if ready to pounce at any moment.
Everything was the same as when he first came, as if nothing had changed.
Huang Liang has been living in Amsterdam for almost a year. In that year, he has participated in their so-called " Elite Breeding Project " three times. Every time he sees those lewd scenes, he feels awkward and disgusted, but he knows that awkwardness and disgust are emotions unique to humans, and he must hide these emotions.
This was his fourth time here. He was very familiar with everything about this place, and no matter how the women in the alley tried to seduce him, nothing could stir his heart.
The door to No. 1307 Sea Cucumber Street was tightly closed.
Huang Liang raised his wrist to check his watch; there was still one minute left before the appointed time. He straightened his clothes and hat and paused at the door for a moment.
He is a very punctual person, which is a result of his professional habits. Every second on the operating table is a chance to snatch life back from the jaws of death, and punctuality and valuing time are the most basic qualities of an excellent surgeon.
Of course, back then he was called Zhao Pengcheng, not Huang Liang.
He hasn't been on the operating table in a long time, but his hands can still grip a scalpel steadily. He keeps several scalpels in his Amsterdam home—on the dining table, in the kitchen, and even in the bathroom. He likes to use the scalpel to Apple, cut steaks, and even shave. Except for the time he spent in prison, his life has never been without the scalpel.
Even while in prison, a scalpel remained in his dreams—his true reliance. Since receiving guidance from Qingmu, this scalpel in his dreams had become increasingly sharp, yet it was invisible and traceless when used. Even against mentally stronger opponents, he was now confident he could fight. However, fighting was not his goal. What he wanted to do was use this scalpel to cut through the dense web before him and uncover the long-buried truth.
Thinking of Qingmu, he unconsciously took out his phone and glanced at the GHOST file. Since arriving in Amsterdam, he hadn't received any messages from Qingmu. As agreed, he would transmit his whereabouts and information about the organization to Qingmu via GHOST, and Qingmu should have responded. But all his messages had gone unanswered. He didn't know if there was a problem with the GHOST file or with Qingmu.
Huang Liang stood there for about thirty seconds before reaching out to knock on the door. As he knocked, he thought of the old woman again.
He could barely remember what the old lady looked like. He hadn't seen her since he was hypnotized by her the first time he came. Every time he knocked on the door of 1307, he would feel inexplicably nervous, a little worried, and a little expectant. It was a very subtle emotion, so strange that even he himself didn't know why.
The door opened, and Howard was behind it.
"Oh, dear Huang, you're always so punctual!" Howard greeted.
Huang Liang smiled at Howard and followed him into the house. A damp, musty smell hit them, along with a faint stench of decay. Pink wall lamps shone on the walls, and lewd sounds could be faintly heard coming from the underground passageway inside the room.
They went to the basement, and because it was still early, there weren't many people there yet. Some people were already warming up, but most were just sitting and drinking and chatting.
Some people familiar with Huang Liang saw him arrive and raised their wine glasses in greeting. "Hey, Huang! Want to warm up a bit?"
A sexy blonde woman walked over and poured Huang Liang a glass of champagne, saying, "Oh, Huang, I love the feeling of making love with you. I want you to help me breed later. I believe our genes can definitely produce the most outstanding race!"
Huang Liang took the champagne with his left hand, put his right arm around the woman's waist, and pulled her into his embrace, saying, "It's my pleasure, Miss Carol!"
Howard smiled and said to Huang Liang, "Looks like you've fully adapted to life in the organization."
Huang Liang recalled the old woman's words and said expressionlessly, "Only humans need to adapt."
Howard laughed heartily, patted Huang Liang on the shoulder, and said, "Don't rush to enjoy yourself, I have something to discuss with you." He then said to the woman, " Carol, lend me your Huang for a while."
Carol smiled seductively, "Sure, but you're not allowed to hide away and do anything dirty. You know, it's against organizational discipline for same-sex couples to relieve their estrus cycles!"
Howard said, "Don't worry, I'll return him to you completely unharmed, not a single cell will be missing!"
Carol then released Huang Liang's hand, gave him a flirty wink, and walked away.
"What do you want to talk to me about, Howard?" Huang Liang asked.
"Come with me," Howard said.
Huang Liang found it strange. Why couldn't they say it here, or simply communicate through the Dream Corridor? But he didn't ask any further questions and followed Howard through the entire underground hall.
Howard moved a wine rack aside, revealing a hidden door. He pressed his fingerprint to open the door and went inside, which was a small room, like an office.
Howard sat down in his office chair and said, "In Amsterdam, only three people are allowed into this office." He gestured to the sofa and said, "Sit down."
Huang Liang sat down and realized that Howard's position in the organization might be even higher than he had imagined.
Amsterdam is the organization's most important base in Europe and the location of the Dream Society Europe Branch. The highest-ranking person here is, of course, the branch chairman, but that old man is very mysterious and never appears in such places; he doesn't even know his name yet. The second highest-ranking is the chairman of the Netherlands Branch. Although his position isn't high, he's the local tyrant of Amsterdam. The fact that the organization chose Amsterdam as the location of its Europe branch speaks volumes about his power. However, he's a typical overweight Scandinavian man, severely overworked, needing assistance to walk, and even during his heat cycle, he's practically useless.
If it is one of these two people, then Howard's position is at least somewhere between the chairman of the Netherlands Branch and the chairman of the Europe chapter. Given that he has mainly been active in the Asia region, he is likely to be a coordinator for Eurasia or something similar.
Huang Liang secretly wondered about the identities of the three people Howard had mentioned.
"Starting today, you're the fourth person allowed in this office," Howard said.
"Me?" Huang Liang was surprised. He was just an ordinary member of the Asia region, and his status and position in human society were not noble, but rather very lowly. He had only been imprisoned for working for the organization, and later escaped from prison, changed his identity, and came to Europe.
"Don't be surprised!" Howard said, "I developed you, so naturally I'll promote you."
Huang Liang found the word "promotion" strange. Logically speaking, organizational members should only make contributions, and there should be no such thing as promotion. This is a dreg of the human spirit, and it can only happen in extremely opaque ideologies and systems.
He said, "Thank you for your appreciation! But I don't understand why... you promoted me? And..." He wanted to ask how he had suddenly been promoted to the fourth person to be in this office, but he didn't say it. Howard could talk about this kind of hierarchical thinking, but he couldn't. He had to be careful.
Howard said, "You have a new assignment, so your position will naturally change."
"Finally, a mission?" Huang Liang wondered. He said, "Just give the order, and I guarantee the mission will be completed."
"No rush, take a look at this first."
Howard then took out a very exquisite helmet, somewhat like Iron Man's helmet, but the color was not as bright, instead being mainly gray and white with a metallic sheen, clearly a high-end product.