Chapter 88: Danger

Be the master of wealth, not its slave. We often hear this saying, yet it applies not only to riches but to many other things—abilities of all kinds, power, even intellect that sets one apart, as in Xiao Cheng’s case. If you possess a skill and wield it wisely, you are its master. But if you allow the changes brought by that skill to alter who you are, you become its slave.

Perhaps there are few slaves to intellect, but many to power.

To harness a force is true wisdom.

Xiao Cheng nodded silently to himself. A mature, composed persona like Wen Xiaodao still served its purpose; he had conjured this imaginary personality precisely to remind himself—never forget your original intent.

"Is it alright if I act not out of hatred, but simply for the petty thrill of mischief?" Xiao Cheng smiled at Wen Xiaodao in the virtual world. "What other pleasures do I have each day? Eating, sleeping, teasing Zhang Peiyue? Surely you can't deprive me of even these simple joys?"

"Doesn't flirting count? You exchange glances with the school beauty every day—she's practically pregnant by now!"

"Pregnant from just looking? Get out of here!"

"You can't get pregnant from glances; only this will do the trick!" Wen Xiaodao shamelessly performed that activity which could lead to pregnancy, and in the virtual world, such scenes were easy to simulate. Models were never in short supply; a lifelike Yang Liushan was pushed onto the bed, though the black stockings didn't suit her style.

"Get lost!" Xiao Cheng retorted, his face flushed.

...

Liang Qing’er, sitting in the front row, nudged her desk mate. "Shanshan, look at Xiao Cheng. You gave him a smile just now; his face is still red!"

Yang Liushan couldn’t help but glance back. Xiao Cheng was propping up his chin, looking utterly smitten, his cheeks as red as if he'd just had a drink. She found it amusing but, with Qing’er watching, felt embarrassed and whispered, "What does it have to do with me?"

Yang Liushan was unaware that she had become the leading lady in Xiao Cheng’s fantasy. In the virtual world, Xiao Cheng, furious, launched planes, cannons, and missiles as if chasing down a villain. After the commotion, Xiaodao pleaded for mercy. "Alright, alright, stop! You’ve given all your maturity to me, leaving yourself pure as snow. Now my little films have no audience!"

"I gave you composure too! Why do you still act like a clown?"

Wen Xiaodao shrugged. "Being a clown is entertainment—to amuse the world and oneself. It doesn’t conflict with composure. If you insist, I could lend you some composure."

"You?"

...

"Don’t you realize how dangerous you are?" Xiaodao said.

Xiao Cheng was unconcerned. "How dangerous is it to tease Zhang Peiyue? His family is rich, but his father, Zhang Weishan—haven't we seen what kind of man he is from what happened five years ago? Even after his brother was killed, he didn’t step forward. The richer they are, the more timid."

"Zhang Peiyue, even Zhang Weishan, pose no threat to you at their level. But now you've won the math olympiad championship—you’re famous."

Fame invites trouble. The bird that sticks its head out gets shot.

"No, anyone can be famous, but you can't. Have you forgotten the scene from fifteen years ago, when you were three days old?"

Their minds were intertwined, though their perspectives differed. The mature Wen Xiaodao always considered safety and looked further ahead, while Xiao Cheng retained his fifteen-year-old sincerity, using his extraordinary mind mainly for study. With Wen Xiaodao’s reminder, Xiao Cheng understood.

Fifteen years ago, that mysterious event in the maternity hospital—if it was real—might well have been an experiment by some secret organization using newborns, with Xiao Cheng as one of the test subjects. After the experiment, they would certainly monitor the samples, so Xiao Cheng was likely under constant surveillance!

If the experimenters discovered the mysterious reagent had worked, what would they do to him?

A child prodigy who finished the math olympiad in fifteen minutes with a perfect score—this was effectively announcing to the experimenters that their project had succeeded!

Xiaodao and Xiao CD fell silent. Their shared mind raced, analyzing the risk. First hypothesis: if the experimenters were always nearby, observing his every move, they would know immediately that the experiment had succeeded. If a next step was necessary, they would have acted already; their inaction might mean they need further observation.

Xiao Cheng could recall every event and every person from birth onward, reviewing his memories for any suspicious followers, but found none. It certainly wasn’t his parents or grandmother—he remembered his parents’ voices even from the womb.

If he could rule out this hypothesis, there was only one possibility: the experimenters lacked the ability or saw no need to monitor the sample constantly, only checking in periodically. This interval might be a year or two—since nothing unusual had happened, he was likely between observation periods.

He carefully recalled that night, every detail. He couldn’t identify the two people, as he hadn’t been able to see clearly, only a vague shadow, not unlike Teacher Yan without glasses. Yet, from their voices, he could deduce something—a baby girl died, the experiment was interrupted, both were flustered, and most importantly, they had no record of the newborns!

Newborns have no names, and it’s hard to distinguish them. If they wanted to keep tracking a sample, they’d have to follow the child’s mother! He wasn’t the one being tracked—it was his mother.

Could this be why his mother left?

She departed in the midst of upheaval, when he needed maternal love most—there had to be a special reason!

...

"These things will reveal themselves in time." Seeing Xiao Cheng’s turmoil, Xiaodao comforted him. "But your task is to verify this, and, as much as possible, avoid revealing your extraordinary intellect. There’s nothing you can do about the math competition now, but you must try to compensate."

Xiao Cheng nodded. "I understand."

"What do you intend to do?"

"Although I appeared in the media, only one pixelated photo was published in the 'Evening Sun News.' The resolution on the paper is low—only acquaintances would recognize me. As long as I keep a low profile, there shouldn't be much trouble."

"Better safe than sorry. Though the experimenters pose no direct threat to your life now, they might force you into something. It's best not to attract their attention." Wen Xiaodao frowned. "From our analysis, we likely haven’t yet entered their sights, so we need to minimize the impact of the math competition and muddy the waters as much as possible."

"Hospital birth records, police household registration systems—since birth, people leave endless traces. It's hard to divert their attention elsewhere."

"I need to change my birthday, and sever links with my mother—at least on the level of evidence."

"You’re planning to hack into the police household registration system?"

"I think I can manage it."

By now, Xiao Cheng had transformed into a formidable shark prowling the internet!

——————

You see, don’t you? What a massive pitfall lies ahead. Let’s leave it there for now.