Chapter 260 He is Rong Yuan
Rong Yuan asked Noah to investigate the first dead person. When he was still studying the white dragonfly, Noah had already found out that he was just a homeless vagrant in L City. The reason why he was infected with the virus was most likely that he touched something he shouldn't have touched when rummaging through the trash can. To find out the origin of the virus, we first need to find out the range of his usual activities, and then investigate nearby buildings, people, etc.
After the outbreak of UCOC , L City almost became an empty city, with nearly one-third of the population dead and the rest of the people fleeing the city. If there were not a few people who were reluctant to leave, L City might have been completely blocked by Juniper Country. Now that the UCOC problem has been solved, some people who are nostalgic for their homeland or unwilling to give up their belongings have returned here one after another. Although there are still few people, under the operation of the government, some basic urban construction and management have been restored, such as traffic lights, garbage collection, hospitals, public security bureaus, and population management departments.
But in this city, even when the virus was at its worst, there was one place that was always working through the night.
crematorium.
There were so many dead that many bodies had to be sent to crematoriums in other places for cremation. Many families were even completely wiped out, without even a relative or friend to see them off. All you could see were employees in blue uniforms, wrapped up so tightly that you couldn't even see your eyes, pushing the bodies lined up one by one into the incinerator like garbage, then randomly collecting the silvery white ashes, slamming them into a jar, putting a label on it, and then pushing the next body down.
People all over the world had just come out of the terror of death, and grief was slowly awakening in their hearts. Everywhere people were holding flowers and candles in mourning. But this city alone did not even have room to feel grief.
I have lost so much that all my senses seem to have been completely numb.
Those who returned, wearing sunglasses and masks, with long scarves or wide-brimmed hats on their heads, hurriedly got off the train or plane, turning a blind eye to the devastated scene, lowering their heads, and going straight home or to the company with numbness on their faces to collect the necessary things, and then hurriedly left, as if they were an insignificant passer-by.
In addition to these people, the most common are volunteers from international aid organizations and employees dispatched by government departments. Others are the "gold diggers" who are bold enough to risk their lives and come here with the mentality of making a fortune.
There are almost no taxis in L City now, and only a few buses are running alone. However, there are abandoned vehicles everywhere on the road, some with keys still stuck in them. People in need will just find a car that is still working and drive away. The roar of the engine and the exhaust of the car bring a little vitality to the city.
Although many people worked day and night, you could still see a few dead bodies on the roadside. The painful struggle before death was still clearly visible, miserable and horrible. The atmosphere in the city was so oppressive that it was almost impossible to breathe. People walking in it were in a hurry. No loud voices could be heard, and no one paid attention to who was walking by.
Rong Yuan was wearing a black casual suit, with a large hood covering his face, and a mask on, with his hands in his pockets, walking through the streets like a black ghost, until he stopped in front of an apartment building with an arch and red bricks. He looked up at the old building that was at least a hundred years old, and easily opened the locked door. As expected, he found a corpse that had begun to rot on the sofa in the living room, with bulging eyes, black face, bloated abdomen, flies and insects all around, and an unbearable stench.
Rong Yuan covered his nose, took a step back, slammed the door shut, walked outside the apartment, took two deep breaths of fresh air, and then said, "Pea."
"Facial scan completed, physical features recorded, data uploaded to Noah." Pea said, less than ten seconds later he added: "The deceased's identity has been confirmed."
After the infrastructure of L City was restored, its population database and monitoring equipment began to operate normally. As a result, Noah, whose investigation was originally at a stalemate, successfully locked in on people who might be related to the infection of the homeless people. After detailed investigation and screening, he finally connected the clues with the dead in the house. Needless to say, Rong Yuan was determined to find out the source of this disaster.
This deceased died earlier than the cleaner, but his body was not found earlier. His identity was also very simple, he was a cleaner in a building owned by a shell company.
The distance was not far, so Rong Yuan chose to walk there. He also needed time to sort out his thoughts.
The consequences of this invasion of the Baise dragonfly are very serious. Global economic development has regressed by at least 20 years, and it will take the earth a long time to fully digest it.
There are still deaths whose statistics have not yet been completed.
The death of some people makes you feel that it is just a number, but the death of some other people makes people on the other side of the earth feel grief and regret. Many people who have made outstanding contributions and occupied important positions are now stuffed into incinerators like garbage. The changes in the political landscape and the chain reactions in all aspects brought about by this, I don’t know how long it will take to subside.
Rong Yuan gave an answer to the cause of the disease, but not everyone believed his answer. Some people conducted their own research, and some conspiracy theorists questioned whether the 907 Institute's actions in this matter were really so pure. However, Rong Yuan did not need to defend himself against his unfounded suspicions, and he was criticized by the public.
For many people, the reason to believe him is simple - because he is Rong Yuan.
He is a man of genius, a child of miracles. He has created many great inventions that transcend the times, but none of them are weapons designed to cause harm. He has done many, many things, and every time he has done it has been to protect and help others, and he has never hurt anyone.
——In the eyes of ordinary people who have never met Rong Yuan, this is the Rong Yuan they know.
They may not trust their family members, their friends and colleagues, or their country's leaders, but they will definitely believe in Rong Yuan, a person they have never met.
Trust that He will care for them, help them, and guide them whenever they need it...and if He doesn't, it must be because He's too busy.
In fact, many people suspect that the founder of Skynet, which has now spread to 90% of the world's countries and has the widest recognition and the greatest influence, is Rong Yuan. There is a simple and straightforward but irrefutable reason for this suspicion, which is -
Who else could it be but him?
Some people listed reasons to prove this on the Internet, some people publicly thanked Rong Yuan on the message board of Tianwang, and some people analyzed and gave examples at length, but the people around Rong Yuan never dared to ask him in person. Rong Yuan himself did not respond at all, pretending that he did not know about it.
Now, this kind of speculation no longer poses a threat to him. However, this identity that he once used as a talisman seems to have no meaning whether it is made public or not.
Rong Yuan has been deified enough that not many people can see the real him through that halo. A large part of Skynet's honor comes from the efforts of those white chess pieces. Carrying all of this on his shoulders will only make him more like a great symbol.
Moreover, when those indignant people attacked those who questioned him with the utmost anger and stood on his side without hesitation, Rong Yuan kept suspecting that this matter might really be related to him.
"Pea, after the [Ark] is completed, let's leave the Earth." Rong Yuan suddenly said.
Pea didn't say anything, but Rong Yuan knew it was always by his side. If he lowered his head, he could see its face in his chest pocket.
"I've been thinking about this recently." He looked at the group of people busy collecting corpses in the distance and said softly, "Xiao Xiao said that the Merit Book will make the world's 'evil' concentrate around me, and will make the people around me suffer misfortune. I used to think that if I reduced contact with other people and stayed in a relatively safe and closed environment, I could reduce this impact."
"No accidents happened when I was at the research institute," said Wandou.
"Yes. But..." Rong Yuan lowered his head slightly and said, "The longer this peaceful life lasts, the more violent the next change will be."
He had spent nearly a year studying marshmallows in the warehouse laboratory he built. Later, foreign forces plunged the entire City A into chaos. Rong Yuan never knew how many people died at that time. The solid fortress formed by the research institute basically isolated him from the outside world. He then fled for his life on the Biqiu Star, and Paco also died. After returning to Earth , he spent six years on the [Ark] plan, followed by a catastrophe that almost wiped out all life on Earth.
Intellectually, Rong Yuan knew that he was not the one who caused those casualties. If anyone had to be held responsible for those things, it should be the executioner who did the evil and the instigator behind the scenes. It was very foolish to take the responsibility on himself. But at the same time, Rong Yuan also knew that before he obtained the "Book of Merits" and accumulated a lot of merits, the Earth he knew did not have these dangers. It was impossible to say that these had nothing to do with him.
He responded to each crisis with his own tactics and averted every crisis time and time again, but what if one day he could no longer handle it?
Rong Yuan analyzed them one by one, and then said: "So... keeping a distance may be the best way."
Pea was silent for a long time. Although it seemed to be more sentimental than Noah, in fact, they were both of the same nature. As long as Rong Yuan needed it, they would immediately give up everything. So whether Rong Yuan wanted to leave or stay, Pea had no objection, but...
"Rongyuan, if I leave... will it be okay with you?" Wandou was only worried about Rongyuan, afraid that the longing and reluctance would gnaw at his soul, and that the endless wandering would destroy his faith.
Rong Yuan smiled and said, "You should really learn from Zhou Yuan in this regard." Seeing Wandou's confused face, he added, "Have more faith in me." Looking into the distance, Rong Yuan said, "I have already imagined all the possibilities. No matter what the future holds, I have some awareness, so I will never be defeated. Moreover, even if I leave, I can come back after a while, and it will not have much impact. It will be no different from me staying in the institute now."
In the past six years, except for leaving the institute twice when Jin Yang got married and when his baby was one month old, he even ignored the invitation of the chairman of the parliament. Leaving the earth, taking away the bad luck, coming back regularly to see the people I want to see, and not having to care about any social activities - it seems pretty good to think like this?
"Well, it's up to you to decide." Pea paused and asked, "Do you want to take Noah with you?" Before saying this, it deliberately cut off the communication with Noah. Although Noah was not without means to break through the fragile blockade of the optical brain, he just didn't dare to do it, and was so angry on the other side.
"Maybe..." Rong Yuan just said two words, suddenly stopped, and turned his head to look at a person who just walked past him.
"What's wrong?" asked Pea.
"It feels a bit familiar." Rong Yuan frowned. When the man walked over, he actually heard a voice that he had only heard from Wu Xi.
"Who is that person?"
