Dow and Carbon-Based Monkey Breeding Guidelines

Chapter 1001: No Return (Part )
Luo Binhan squatted down, so that his eyes were level with the child named Yuan Xiaoxian. Seeing him suddenly approaching, she hesitated and her eyes drifted to the door. Luo Binhan put both his hands on his knees so that she could see clearly at any time.

"Xiao Xian," he slowed down his tone and looked directly into her eyes, "you really know a lot about the stars, and what you said is very interesting. I would like to ask you a few more questions."

She was a little surprised, then she couldn't hide her pride, and pretended to be calm and said, "Sure."

"Before that, I'd like to use your bathroom, is that ok?"

"But my house has a dirt toilet..."

"No problem," Luo Binhan said. Yuan Xiaoxian led him to a small single room not far behind the townhouse. Luo Binhan went in alone and saw that the environment inside was very bad, but it was not worse than the garbage mountain that Li Li had placed on Dongzhuo Island. He found a few tissues from his backpack, wrapped his mobile phone, hid it behind the iron bucket in the corner for sundries, and walked out quickly.

"I suddenly don't want to use it anymore." He said to the surprised child, "Let's go on looking at the stars."

They left the secret eavesdroppers in their phones behind and returned to the small room where the star map was. Luo Binhan pretended to be impatient and rushed into the room a few steps ahead. He saw that the tablet computer that Yuan Xiaoxian was holding was placed on the table, so he quickly walked over to turn it off, tightly closed the front cover of the protective case, and then walked to the picture of the autumn night sky.

At this time, the owner of the house just pushed the door open. He gently stroked the neck of Cetus with his finger - in fact, the original name of this constellation does not refer to whales, but sea monsters - and the star called Kamasutra passed under his fingernails.

"The name of this star is very interesting." He smiled at Yuan Xiaoxian, squatted down and whispered, "You marked it specially, you must have studied it?"

"It's a variable star."

"What are variable stars?"

“It’s a star whose brightness is constantly changing.”

“Is this special?”

"It is the first star that was discovered to change brightness." She listed them one by one. "When it is the darkest, it is completely invisible to humans. When it is the brightest, it becomes the most conspicuous star in the sky. People here didn't know about it before, and it was not included in the names of star officials. Later, after reading foreign astronomy books, it was added. So, it is a miraculous star."

Robin nodded. "Interesting. Can you tell me why it flickers like that?"

Yuan Xiaoxian's eyes showed some doubt. "It's going to die." She frowned slightly, but she didn't notice it yet. "It's a red giant. All Artemisia argyi variables are red giants. It's the sun at the end of its life. The heat pulse will turn the energy inside to the surface; then it will shine, the outer shell will collapse, and the core will be exposed..."

"Who taught you these?" asked Luo Binhan.

He asked this question without excitement, and his tone was gentle. But he didn't know what was wrong, and the little devil still smelled the problem. She suddenly pursed her lips alertly and leaned back slightly towards the wall - she was not experienced enough after all, and after returning from the dry toilet, she asked Luo Binhan to stand closer to the door.

"I'm just curious," he said. "The handwriting of the star is different from the others. It's like an adult's handwriting. Look carefully at these four characters: regardless of the density, the characters are all the same size, and the outlines are very square, without any tilting habits; the horizontal and vertical strokes are short and powerful, but the long hooks, left strokes and right strokes are very smooth and beautiful; each character, when viewed individually, is connected very smoothly, but the characters are disconnected, and the person has to pause after writing each character; finally, I think the most regrettable thing is that he writes very hard, making it look like carving on paper. Your handwriting is not like this. You like to write with round and thick strokes, which are very clear, easy to recognize, and cute. You are probably very relaxed when writing, but the person who marked you "Chu Hao Zeng Er" is different. His handwriting is like he is weighed down by something. Xiao Xian, I think he is probably in trouble. If you see this person often, you should be able to notice this. He really needs help from others."

She couldn't tell whether his words were true or false, and he could see her thoughts struggling in the depths of her bright eyes. This convinced him that the girl knew the person who wrote the words, even though the handwriting was several months old. They must have a friendly relationship to allow a stranger to enter the room, stop in front of the owner's favorite star map, mark and explain the special star; or they were closer than he thought - where did the girl's interest in astronomy come from? Was it spontaneous when she looked up at the starry night? Or was it inspired by outsiders?

He felt his chest swelling violently, and could only hold his breath to suppress his frantic thoughts. What kind of person do you want to be? He asked himself, how far will you go before you stop?

"Amaranth," he asked again, "are you familiar with this man?"

This time the girl answered quickly. "Not familiar."

"He wrote on your star map."

"He was a customer who was buying something. I didn't know him. He came in and saw it and wrote it down."

She spoke very quickly and her eyes were tense. Although she knew how to be vigilant, her lying skills were too immature. Luo Binhan continued to ask, "Does he come here often?"

"Only once."

"You're definitely not here to buy knickknacks, are you?"

“To buy furniture.”

"Did it happen in the last few days?"

"Half a year ago."

"He walked here alone? He didn't drive?"

"Ah."

"Does he live nearby?"

"I don't know, I've never seen it."

Every time he asked a question, the girl would answer quickly and briefly, and this cooperation must be due to fear of his expression at the moment. She had no time to compose a complete lie that could withstand interrogation, and even so she tried not to reveal unnecessary information to him. Luo Binhan looked down at the mechanical watch on his wrist. It had been several minutes since he put down his phone, and it was urgent to take action. He left the frightened child behind and went to the dry toilet to retrieve the phone.

There was a small open space behind the dry toilet. There were sparse grass and trees, and various discarded sundries were piled up. There was a crippled and cracked pinewood chair lying across it, which had been tanned yellow by the sun. He walked over to pick it up, and sat on it shakily, leaning forward and backward, relying on his feet to maintain balance. While he was thinking, he watched the butterflies in the wild fluttering in the sun. Not far away was the street leading to Yuan Xiaoxian's home. She had not escaped from home yet, probably because she thought he had left.

The phone rang in his pocket. Robin took it out and placed it on his lap, the camera still wrapped in a tissue. Before he could say hello, the person on the phone seemed to think she had done her part and ended the voice call herself.

"Sir, what just happened?"

"Nothing happened." Luo Binhan said. He put his backpack on the grass and searched for what he needed.

"You were not near the equipment just now."

"Oh, I just went to the bathroom and didn't want you to hear me."

He knew that Li Li would not believe such an answer. Even if the timing of him throwing away his phone was not suspicious enough, the tablet computer used by Yuan Xiaoxian would not be turned off for no reason. And even if the power was turned off, he did not dare to guarantee that Li Li could not use its radio equipment through some backdoor at that time. She still had the possibility of hearing everything that happened just now. But it didn't matter. She didn't know more than him now.

"Are you planning on leaving here?" she asked calmly.

"Almost done." Luo Binhan said, "Li Li, how is Shi Qi now?"

"She is looking up some information about her post-operative recovery. If you decide to contact her right away, I think it would be a good time."

"Not now. She's still mad at me—and speaking of which, you must have peeked into her diary to find out exactly what I did to piss her off?"

"She didn't write it very clearly in her diary, but just said in general terms that what happened the day before yesterday gave her a deeper understanding of you."

"Isn't her original text 'I finally saw his true face'?"

"I can tell you it's a little milder than that."

Luo Binhan paused, then continued his movements. The sunlight gathered heat on his exposed skin, making the muscles and blood in those parts more active. He played with the small box in his hand, looking up at the huge fireball in the sky, the source of life in their small world. Now it was about to emit its last power before the change of seasons. "Li Li," he asked, "Why didn't you tell Zhou Yu about our actions? It would be easy for you to contact him."

"I can't always contact Mr. Zhou Yu. He sleeps most of the time."

"More than a whole month? He must have been awake at some point, right? I've seen his schedule for this month, it's impossible that he never went online. And your shooting coach - the one called Radumos - was placed next to Zhou Yu by your prototype. Is it that difficult for him to pass on a message to Zhou Yu on your behalf?"

“It was my mistake.”

"That's true." Luo Binhan said, "but it's not that you forgot to inform Zhou Yu. You can't have made such a mistake. For some reason, you, like Cai Ji, wanted to solve the problem without Zhou Yu. I'm not surprised that the boy has wild thoughts, but you always like to prepare thoroughly. You are willing to do this with me without telling Zhou Yu, which means that killing Zhou Wenxing is also very tempting to you, and it is a benefit that will no longer exist after Zhou Yu knows about it. Cai Ji thinks that he is helping his benefactor avoid danger. What about you? You don't think this is for Zhou Yu, right?"

“Because I need verification.”

"verify?"

"That curse, sir. Anyone who tries to kill Freeze is doomed to fail and will meet with an unexpected disaster - but you may be an exception to this rule, haven't you ever thought about it? According to the conditions proposed by Mr. Zhou Yu, the power related to the Lord of Dreams cannot endanger your life. This is not limited to its subordinates, but should also include its own will."

"Do you think the curse is included in this? It can't kill me, even if I want to kill Zhou Wenxing?"

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

"What does this mean to you?"

"This is the work I have to do... I can't explain this to you yet, but figuring out how to break a desire that's already been established is important for all of us. I have to take any opportunity to try."

Luo Binhan had no idea about this explanation itself, but was a little surprised by her sudden confession. He only knew a little about her original form, not to mention the desires of the current thing in the box. But now she told him that she had a major goal to pursue (maybe this is what she wanted to say to him last night?). It seems that they and Zhou Yu are indeed doing their own things.

"We all failed." He pointed out calmly, "I'm not the curse - I don't even think it should be called a curse, you know? It's only a curse for unlucky people like us, but it's a blessing for Zhou Wenxing - no matter what, I'm not an exception. It easily solved the paradox you expected. Although it can't kill me directly, it can still take revenge on me. What do you think of this result?"

"I can't say I'm terribly surprised."

"But you still have to try. I understand. I guess with all unknown areas, there's no other way but to keep trying and failing."

"Sir, this is not my only—"

"The night before last," Robinson continued, "while I was still lying in the field, I couldn't help thinking about this, Li Li. We all say not to worry about sunk costs, because you can't put back spilled milk, but I still can't help making assumptions: What if you or Cai Ji had chosen a simpler approach, and either of you had told Zhou Yu what I was doing? He only had to come to my company, and the intern Xiao Zhou would have to pack up and leave. He wouldn't even have to worry about Zhou Wenxing, he just had to use his magic to weed the moon, and then let you persuade me to stay put, and the problem would be solved, right? We didn't need to get to this point. Things could have been much better."

"Do you really think so?"

"I don't see any harm in that choice. We have nothing now. If we had chosen another path..."

"It was me," Li Li said. "Not us. You were the only one who didn't know there was another option."

Luo Binhan said nothing. He wanted to clarify that he was not here to accuse someone of something, but he felt like he had something stuck in his throat and it was hard to untie it. He managed to squeeze out a voice and said, "At least Zhou Yu could have survived..."

"And then?" Li Li asked. Her voice suddenly took on an unprecedented harshness, and her tone was almost urgent. "Do you really believe that if we avoid this time, the future will be smooth sailing? I don't want to hurt your feelings at this moment. We can discuss it later--"

"Let's talk now, Li Li," Luo Binhan requested. "Don't worry whether I like it or not, just say what you want to say right away. We should all do this. After all, we can still talk together today, and who knows what will happen tomorrow?"

Li Li paused for a moment. "I only have two points to make for you." She said quickly, "The first point is that Mr. Zhou Yu will not survive as you think. Avoided this time? Yes. But did you notice what was the key to luring him into the deadly trap? It was not a death message forged by an enemy, nor was it his trust in you - I guess this is the reason Zhou Wenxing tried to make you believe. But you also understand that Mr. Zhou Yu did not fall into the trap because he knew nothing, he had his own reasons for going. Does this reason disappear if we avoid it this time?"

"They didn't do anything until I came back."

"Because Feng Chuxing needs the best time! But if this opportunity is unfortunately missed, do you think he will do nothing next? Let's make the most obvious assumption: if Feng Chuxing never involved you in this plan, but directly asked Mr. Zhou Yu to exchange his life for the rest of another person, what do you think Mr. Zhou Yu would do? He may refuse first, and then try to find Feng Chuxing through the information channel, but if the situation is unfavorable, don't you think he will eventually repeat the same mistake?"

"But the fact is that Feng Chuxing didn't do that." Luo Binhan said, "He went to great lengths to get me into this plan..."

"It was Zhou Wenxing who pulled you in."

"What difference does it make?"

"This is a world of difference!" Li Li's voice became louder and louder, like a person who gets more and more excited. "You can't forgive the role you played in this tragedy, and you are unwilling to admit that it is an inevitable result, even though you can analyze it yourself - this is the result of Mr. Zhou Yu's own personality! If you think you have the right to jump, why don't others have it?"

Robinson was speechless. After a while he said: "This is different... This is not the right way..."

"That's why I beg you, I beg you again and again to do the right thing. Mr. Zhou Yu's own choices led to his consequences, and Zhou Wenxing - this is the second point I want to make to you - deliberately involved you in this whole incident for purposes unrelated to helping Feng Chuxing. He wants you to think you are responsible, and he wants you to believe that you have caused the current outcome, so that you will do what he wants you to do next."

“Whatever he wants me to do,” Luo Binhan repeated, “that path has been blocked by Zhou Yu.”

"Really? If you were to discover a seemingly feasible secret path, could you assure me that you would not immediately set foot on it? I ask you to think again about what the so-called resurrection is. We do not need to look for references in myths and legends, just look at the example we know. You saw with your own eyes what kind of impact Zhou Wenxing's resurrection had on this person - I mean not only the body, but also the spirit and will. He was not what he is now when he was alive, and this is all that the will you are counting on can do. This is the resurrection it will bring you! Do you really want to repeat this mistake?"

"Yeah," Robinson muttered, "If I were there and knew the final result, I would do the same thing."

"gentlemen!"

"Do you know what I thought of when I looked at the night sky the night before yesterday?" Luo Binhan said to himself, "I really felt fate. It's a bit mysterious to say this, but I just reviewed all my previous experiences. To be honest, Li Li, I feel unfair to you: you have tried your best for almost everything, and paid attention to every detail, but your luck is always bad at critical moments. You have already suspected that Zhou Wenxing had stayed in Snail City, but I opened the box first and went to Dongyun Road; when we were in the wetlands, you were the first to realize the answer to the riddle of the Bodhi tree, but I ran into a bloody bee; and here... This is a great place for stargazing, right? But my luck is not that good. You may not know that I once put the notebook on the candlelight and threatened Zhou Yu to burn it. If the flame had jumped up at that time, the incident would not have happened. You see, we are always tripped by tiny coincidences on the road ahead."

"None of these details affect the inevitable outcome."

"It sounds like you're still buying into fatalism."

"It is not what you think, sir. I still hold to my old opinion that it is not a question of the will of the universe."

"What do you think it is?"

"It's human, it's our own nature - it's human destiny to be defeated by our own weaknesses."

"But heroes are not free," Robinham said softly. "We have tried everything we could. Our nature, all the efforts of our little world, all the blood, sweat and thought could not counteract the curse. Now, let me try something else for you."

"Sir, what do you want to do?"

"Can you please keep an eye on Shi Qi for me? I think the European plan you proposed is very good, but she can survive no matter where she is. And there is also my sister, so don't involve her. Finally, I have to say it again. Li Li, you are indeed a very good friend..."

Li Li suddenly turned up the volume on his phone. Her angry and disappointed voice resounded everywhere. She had never been more like a flesh-and-blood person than now. Luo Binhan seemed to have seen her wearing a blood-red coat, leaning on the table with both hands and looking down at him. Her huge shout was like thunder tearing through the universe, shaking his heart. The imaginary image had a cold face and painful eyes. She said:
"Do you think I don't want to try to save Zhou Yu, Luo? I'm his friend too! I've seen all his medical records! He's been taking a high-energy nerve stimulant to restore consciousness that was originally developed for my prototype - when she started to get sick! She died within three years of taking the drug. How much time do you think Zhou Yu had? Do you think it's normal for a living person to sleep more than twenty hours a day? Let him hold on for another three, five or ten years, but in the end it will be in vain and his wish will not be fulfilled... Everyone is doomed to die, but we live in this world not just to live forever, but to make a difference. I beg you -"

At that moment, Luo Binhan was filled with surprise. Was this her true feelings? Or was it her new strategy of using human voice simulation technology? He thought intently and threw the phone far into the bushes. The black box had been waiting on his lap for a long time, and he finally opened it. The illusion of thunder disappeared in an instant, and butterflies danced in the quiet sunshine.

(End of this chapter)