Chapter Ninety-Three: The Computer and the Human Mind

At first, Liu Yunfei had thought he would be facing a vicious battle, never imagining that the story would take such a turn. Looking at the people on the stage, he felt a sudden understanding: life was a stage, like the performance atop the dark room’s roof. Everyone, in the name of their own interests, did all manner of things they themselves could hardly have foreseen, and the story so often veered in directions no one expected. To borrow one line, he had guessed the beginning of the tale, but not the ending.

He had originally meant to spare the farmers and kill off the gifted ones, but now, in these circumstances, he found he could not harden his heart enough to slaughter them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Liu Yunfei glanced at the three elders standing over there. At once, two of them dropped to their knees, imitating the White-Haired Elder, weeping bitterly. Their acting was plainly not as good as his: tears they did produce, but not a single one of real grief. They forced themselves to think of every most miserable thing they had ever known, yet still could not cry properly.

But that was how a play went. Some wept, some laughed.

The Wind Elder came over with a full, flirty smile, swaying her narrow waist and rolling her ample hips. Before she even arrived, her chest had already arrived first.

“Little handsome, you’re very strong. Tell me, do you have a girlfriend?”

As she spoke, she pressed her soft breasts against Liu Yunfei’s shoulder.

“Sorry, I already have one,” Liu Yunfei said, sidestepping her.

The softness was softness indeed, but Liu Yunfei knew when to be wary. At a time like this, he dared not be careless.

“Then do you have a lover?” The Wind Elder was still unwilling to give up.

“I’ve got plenty of those too,” Liu Yunfei said, moving aside again.

“Then since you’ve got plenty, you won’t mind one more.”

The Wind Elder seemed determined to throw herself at him no matter what.

“…”

Liu Yunfei was speechless.

These people were despicable and shameless enough, but now that it had come to this, he truly could not bring himself to kill them. Yet letting them go was clearly impossible. Who knew what further evil they would do, how many lives they might ruin? Keeping them by his side was no solution either. They were all rotten to the core, harmful to others and to themselves alike. Besides, school would begin in a few days; he could hardly take them to class.

Over by the side, the Sand Elder and the Thunder Elder, seeing the woman using her natural advantage to bargain for her own future, thought to themselves: we may not be able to cry, but we can fight. Since we’ve stormed the mountain gate, we ought to present some kind of token of surrender.

Before Liu Yunfei even called on them, the two elders also joined the assault on Sadi.

Sadi was not a born gifted one either; he had merely studied some martial arts, so compared with ordinary people he was only quicker in movement, tougher in body, and stronger in his fists. He was already barely falling into disadvantage against the White-Haired Elder. Now, seeing all the hired fighters he had paid so dearly for rush in on him, and even Hardy, the one he had trusted most, flee without a word, he was overcome with grief and fury. A sense of desolation unlike anything he had ever known rose within him, and he could not help coughing up a mouthful of blood.

He was about to use the Splitting Divine Skill.

The Splitting Divine Skill was the Sun Temple’s secret, a final killing art used only in the most desperate moment, when one must disintegrate oneself and the enemy together. Every generation’s patriarch would employ it at the most critical hour, to avoid falling into enemy hands, suffering humiliation, or being forced to reveal the sect’s secrets.

Sadi wanted to move, but he could not. He only felt blood surging endlessly up within his chest. His knees gave way, and he fell to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth without pause. It was not that he could not bear defeat; over the years he had failed countless times. But this time was too miserable.

“If you had given me another half hour, the world would have been rewritten.”

At times, the distance between happiness and misfortune is only one step away. It can be seen, yet not reached.

When Sadi had spat out his last mouthful of blood, he knelt there in silence. Vitality left his body with swift finality, and his soul remained forever at the side of his true god. At the same time, from the sky came a great sigh: those were the fragmented souls of the liberated Iblis. He knew this scene had ended here, but the story had not. He waited, hoping for another redemption, a thousand years or ten thousand years hence.

Iblis’s story was not over. Liu Yunfei’s story was not over either.

He was sighing over how, in scheming to the very end, Sadi had only ruined himself in the end. At the same time, he was considering how to deal with these four best-of-bad-friends, and with Hardy, who had fled. He would never let that man go. Whenever Liu Yunfei thought of him, he thought of Park Min-ji’s despairing eyes.

He looked at the four oddities and thought that, useful as they were, if all of them could be put to use, his strength would increase greatly. But these people were truly too shameless. If he took them along and met an enemy stronger than himself, they would immediately abandon him and throw themselves into the arms of a new master. Best to kill them.

As he thought this, killing intent flashed in Liu Yunfei’s eyes. Then another thought moved him. He suddenly remembered the old spirit of the Aurora Castle. That old spirit was short on talent. If these four oddballs could be made absolutely loyal, then conquering the Mafia would become a powerful new weapon, and Aurora Castle’s strength would surge.

“Are you all willing to follow me with complete loyalty?” Liu Yunfei asked in a deep voice.

“Yes, yes, yes! As long as Young Master gives the word, even the fiercest dog we’d dare fight,” said the Thunder Elder at last, finally getting a chance to prove himself.

“Of course. Forget fighting; I’d dare bite a dog twice myself,” said the White-Haired Elder, not afraid to be treated like a dog so long as his life could be saved.

“Then follow me to one place. Come on, all of you hold on to me.”

Liu Yunfei looked at the four of them. Riding the Somersault Cloud with them all was clearly inconvenient, but taking only two would leave the other two to run away. He had no choice but to try it. If any of them fell to their death, it would count as bad luck on their part.

At times like this, women and children truly had the advantage. Liu Yunfei tucked the Wind Elder and Sand Elder under his left and right arms, while the two who were willing to be dogs clung to his legs. Having traveled the route three times already, Liu Yunfei did not need to search for it again. He landed very smoothly before the main hall of Aurora Castle. Fortunately, not one of the four bad friends had fallen to his death.

After finding Gao Renhou, there was no time for pleasantries. Liu Yunfei briefly explained the matter. The old spirit of Gao burst into delight.

“Four talents delivered to me, and they’re disloyal? No matter. I’ve plenty of ways to make them loyal. You needn’t worry. I’ve managed this vast Aurora Castle for thousands of years. I’ve seen my share of small mistakes, but disloyalty? That has never appeared.”

Liu Yunfei knew the old spirit had wandered the world for a thousand years and could be said to know the human heart inside and out. Reassured, he prepared to leave, but the pockmarked Sand Elder caught hold of him.

“Young Master, please give me back the lower half of my body.”

He was still thinking of rebuilding his image in the Wind Elder’s heart, but the Wind Elder was already casting her sultry, resentful eyes toward Liu Yunfei. If there had not been so many people around, she would have thrown herself into his arms long ago.

Liu Yunfei left behind a handful of fine sand and hurried back.

The twelve guardians in Mecca had not yet arrived. The black sky still drifted with those devil souls, and on the ground still lay those armed farmers who were neither alive nor dead. But where had Hardy fled to? After thinking it over, Liu Yunfei decided to go first to that earthen manor.

By then, Hardy had already driven back to the earthen manor. Along the way, he had been admiring his own decisiveness and cleverness. The moment he saw Liu Yunfei appear, he knew the whole affair had failed—utterly failed. He had originally wanted to report to the old patriarch, but he knew Sadi would never willingly flee, and if everyone ran, then he himself would not escape either. He knew that Liu Yunfei hated him most of all. Still, even in defeat he had not lost all; at least he still had six hundred million dollars in hand. Wherever he went afterward, with a simple turn of identity he could become a wealthy man. Whether anyone else succeeded or failed, I am the one who succeeds, Hardy thought.

Originally, Hardy could have driven straight to Riyadh or to the port city of Jeddah and taken a ship out of the country. But he suddenly remembered that there was a notebook back at the earthen manor, containing a list of names from the Sun Temple Church. Many wealthy men from Arab countries were on it. He had absolutely no intention of protecting them; he was thinking of extorting a large sum from them later, or forcing them to work for him. That printed list, more than ten pages long, was worth more than six hundred million dollars.

He also knew Liu Yunfei might come here looking for him. But he still harbored a gambler’s luck—the same luck that lives in every man who makes a mistake. Fortune favors the bold, they say; at most he needed five minutes to get hold of that priceless list. Just five minutes. Could it really be that unlucky?

As if fate itself were mocking him, Hardy had just entered the room where he had spoken with the old patriarch and had only just picked up the laptop when Liu Yunfei arrived.

Like anyone else, Hardy would choose life when weighed against even greater profit. He did not fight desperately, because he knew he could not win. He did not flee either, because he knew he could not escape. He only regretted that he had once used up that concentrated poison vial all at once. His only choice now was to sacrifice wealth in order to preserve his life.

“You’re here.”

Liu Yunfei nodded.

“In this computer there is a list recording everyone in the Sun Temple Church. Its value cannot be measured. I’ll give it to you—let me go.”

Hardy spoke calmly. The more dangerous the situation, the calmer he became. That was his style.

Liu Yunfei shook his head. He wanted nothing. He only wanted to kill the instigator and never allow him to continue harming others.

“I also have six hundred million dollars in cash in a bank in Zurich, Switzerland. I’ll give you that too. I only want one life.”

Hardy refused to believe Liu Yunfei would not be tempted. His own life, however precious, surely could not exceed six hundred million dollars.

Liu Yunfei still shook his head. He had already seen the bank account number and password when Sadi entered them. With his memory, those dozens of letters were fixed in his mind at a glance.

“If you kill me, no one will be able to get the money. I have to go to that bank in person and provide my fingerprints.”

This time Hardy truly panicked. He very much wanted to crack open the boy’s head and see what was inside. Six hundred million dollars for one life—how could he not be tempted?

Before Liu Yunfei could shake his head again, Hardy moved.

Of course, he was only trying to save his life. How would he know if he did not try?

He chose diversion. First he hurled the laptop at Liu Yunfei’s face. That was a list of incalculable value; anyone with a brain would understand its importance. As Hardy threw it, he sprinted in another direction—not toward the door, but toward a side passage leading to the rear hall, where he knew a hidden path.

But he was mistaken. He and Liu Yunfei were far too close. Liu Yunfei did not even bother to chase. He merely caught the laptop, then swung it back at Hardy’s skull.

Liu Yunfei had no desire to let that list spread into the world. Without these chief culprits, those people might still have remained honest and law-abiding. He did not wish to stir up blood and storm. So he used all his strength.

Perhaps his force was simply too great. The laptop and the human skull burst apart at the same time. Hardy’s wicked soul, together with the list he had never forgotten even in death, sank into eternal silence.