Zhao Ruitian walked into the red-lit chamber like a man stepping into his study at home.
Calm.Unhurried.Perfectly in control.
His polished shoes clicked softly on the concrete floor.His hands were clasped behind his back.And his expression…
Pleased.Deeply, disturbingly pleased.
Zhao's eyes lifted toward the floating sphere—glowing faintly above the pedestal.
He exhaled a soft, reverent sigh.
"Beautiful," he murmured. "I had almost forgotten how magnificent Lin Cheng's creation was."
Lin Wei stepped protectively in front of Liu Fang, his heart pounding.
"Stop walking," he said through clenched teeth.
Zhao did not stop.
He only smiled wider.
"After all these years… the sequence finally completes itself. Your father would be proud, Lin Wei."
Liu Fang shouted:
"Don't you dare talk about his father—!"
But Zhao ignored her, gaze locked only on Lin Wei.
Master Yu stepped forward, voice low and dangerous.
"Director Zhao… you weren't supposed to have access here. How did you—"
Zhao tilted his head, amused.
"I've always had access, Yu. I built the locks."
Silence.Cold and profound.
Old Zhang muttered:
"Oh, that's just great. We were dancing in the wolf's den the whole time."
The Truth Comes Into Focus
Lin Wei swallowed.
"You forced me to open this place. You manipulated everything."
"Yes," Zhao said plainly. "And you did wonderfully."
Liu Fang snapped:
"You're insane!"
Zhao chuckled softly.
"No, Ms. Liu. I am painfully, relentlessly rational. The exact opposite of insanity."
His eyes sharpened.
"Lin Cheng hid the sphere from the world. You were the only variable I couldn't predict. The only person who could activate it without causing a catastrophic destabilization event."
Master Yu spat:
"You used a child's grief as a key."
Zhao looked almost offended.
"Not used. Guided. There is a difference."
Lin Wei's voice shook:
"What do you want with the sphere?"
Zhao turned his gaze to the floating black device.
His smile faded.
His voice dropped to something colder—something dangerous.
"I want what your father denied the world."
He stepped closer.
And the sphere hummed—as if recognizing an old enemy.
Zhao's eyes glimmered with dark satisfaction.
"Prediction. Certainty. The end of chaos."
Lin Wei stared.
"You want to control people. Their futures. Their choices."
Zhao didn't blink.
"Of course. Free will is a myth society clings to. But imagine a world where disaster is predicted, where crime is preventable, where advancement is optimal."
His gaze slid back to Lin Wei.
"Imagine a world without fear. Without mistakes. Without waste."
Liu Fang whispered:
"That's not order. That's enslavement."
Zhao smiled mildly.
"Words. Nothing more."
The Sphere Reacts
The device pulsed—once, twice—faster and faster.
Lin Wei's system flashed violently:
Warning:External Interference DetectedUnauthorized User Attempting AccessIntervention Required
Zhao's voice took on a hungry edge.
"It recognizes me. It remembers me."
Old Zhang spat:
"Yeah, and it looks like it hates your guts."
Zhao ignored him.
Lin Wei stepped forward, blocking Zhao's approach.
"You're not touching it."
Zhao stopped.
But his smile didn't fade.
"Lin Wei… have you ever wondered why the sphere bonded to you so quickly? Why it responded as if welcoming you?"
Lin Wei stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
Zhao's voice softened.
Almost gently.
"As you now know, it was keyed to your mother's lineage. But you don't yet understand what that means."
Lin Wei's blood turned cold.
"My mother—what about her?"
Zhao studied him with something like pity.
"Your mother wasn't just any researcher. She was the originating mind behind the probability algorithms. Lin Cheng built the shell. But she built the brain."
Liu Fang gasped.
"No… Wei… he's lying—"
But Zhao didn't look away.
"She didn't die in an accident, Lin Wei. She disappeared because she was too valuable. Too dangerous."
Lin Wei's knees almost buckled.
"My father… said she died in a lab fire."
Zhao shook his head slowly.
"Your father told you only the piece of truth he could bear. She burned the lab herself to destroy her work. Then she vanished before anyone could stop her."
Lin Wei felt the world tilting.
"My mother… she's alive?"
Zhao's smile widened—sharp as a blade.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps she allowed herself to be consumed by the sphere's resonance. Only the device knows for sure."
The sphere pulsed violently, the chamber trembling.
Liu Fang screamed:
"Wei! It's reacting!"
Zhao extended a hand toward the sphere—
"Come now, Lin Wei. Give me the override symbol your father showed you."
Lin Wei's heart lurched.
He hadn't said a word about the symbol.Not one.
Yet Zhao knew.
Zhao always knew.
"How did you—" Lin Wei began.
Zhao's eyes glittered.
"Because your father wasn't the only one who encoded that message into the sphere."
He took one more step.
"Give me the override, and I will tell you what happened to your mother."
Lin Wei clenched his fists.
Every memory.Every lie.Every manipulation.Every warning from his father.
It all converged into a single truth:
Zhao Ruitian would never accept "no."
Lin Wei whispered:
"…I'm not giving you anything."
Zhao's pleasant smile finally dropped.
"I see."
His posture straightened—hands still behind his back—expression turning cold and surgical.
"In that case…"
Footsteps echoed behind him.
Heavy.
Multiple.
Lin Wei's blood went ice-cold as three men in tactical uniforms emerged from the shadows—face shields down, weapons drawn.
Zhao's voice was soft.
"You don't leave this warehouse until the sphere is mine."
Liu Fang grabbed Lin Wei's arm.
"WEI, RUN!"
But it was too late.
The soldiers raised their stun batons.
Zhao lifted a hand—
Calm.Commanding.
"Do not harm him.He's too valuable."
The chamber erupted into chaos.