Hongjing Municipal Bureau, Command Center.

The sound of ringing phones echoed throughout the room as nearly thirty police officers sat in rows, answering the latest news from various sources.

“Understood, is it on the main road in Meicun?”

“Connecting you to hotline three.”

“I’m sorry, this information is currently classified. We will inform you of any updates in a timely manner.”

They were like weavers sitting on a dense web of information, gathering and refining countless pieces of information, condensing them into concise and useful reports, and submitting them upward once again.

The hall was filled with bustling voices as the officers weaved and shuttled around. So much so that when the Provincial Bureau Chief accompanied by others arrived, no one paid excessive attention to him either.

The visitor was dressed in the simplest iron-gray overalls, with the cuffs and collar washed to a pale white. Paired with gray hair and the most ordinary gold-rimmed reading glasses, he looked no different from an old man taking care of his grandchildren on the street.

The only difference was that the old man looked weary, with traces of exhaustion around his eyes and brows. Yet, even so, you could still sense the authority characteristic of someone in a higher position from the gaze hidden behind the reading glasses.

In fact, if there were no special circumstances, the officers present would only be able to see this level of leadership on television throughout their entire lives.

Behind the old man were police experts, emergency response department specialists, medical department professors, and even Mr. Zhang’s dream mentor, Academician Zhang, following closely behind.

In the entire hall, the first to notice the situation was Comrade Zhang Xiaolong, the deputy head of Xing Conglian. A female officer stood up from her seat and saluted. She was about to inform the Chief of the situation when the old man waved to them, saying, “Please sit, do whatever you need to do,” before leading the massive entourage across the entire hall and arriving at the entrance to the command room on the innermost side.

A floor-to-ceiling glass partition separated the hall from the command room, like two separate worlds.

The noise from outside and the quietness inside formed a sharp contrast. In the spacious room, there was only Xing Conglian, sitting quietly in front of the TV, smoking and watching the news about the impending attack on Meicun.

The Provincial Bureau Chief thought of knocking on the door, but the old man stopped him. The group of people stared at the screen through the glass, as if watching a silent film.

The TV screen showed the tragic scenes from the Meicun clothing market. The incident happened during the peak period of shipping in the afternoon. The escalators were crowded with workers carrying large and small packages. Due to many blind spots in the surveillance, it was impossible to determine the exact location of the incident. Someone rushed to the escalator and madly rushed downward. As a result, the crowd pushed and fell off the escalator, resulting in trampling and crushing. The uninformed crowd desperately tried to escape but never made it out.

The camera panned across a brown blood stain from top to bottom, and children’s sandals were left on the railing.

There were no casualties in the footage, and the scene had already been cleared. Under the hazy white incandescent light, there were only large patches of disarrayed, colorful clothing, like soulless shells, drifting gently in the air.

The news footage ended, and only then did the old man push open the door.

On the LCD screen, the TV had already switched to the hospital. The host was reporting on the list of casualties and missing persons, and each name sounded extremely heavy.

Xing Conglian stood up to inquire, but when he turned around to see the old man, there was no surprise or shock in his gaze. He furrowed his brows, and his eyes were as deep as a pond.

“Minister Shen,” he calmly saluted the old man and then put his hand down. This attitude surprised many people around.

“Don’t waste time. We have already seen the latest briefings on our way here. Can you catch the criminals within 24 hours?”

Unexpectedly, the Minister was straightforward. He sat down with his entourage of experts around the circular table in the command room and spoke to Xing Conglian in such a manner.

“It’s difficult.” Xing Conglian only replied with two words.

“What do you mean?” The old man suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze sharp. “Facing so many victims, you’re telling me it’s difficult? If you can’t do it, get out of this position, and I’ll replace you with someone else!” The old man slammed the table, scolding him angrily.

Xing Conglian stood in front of the glass curtain wall covered with densely packed strategies and didn’t become fearful because of the old man’s anger.

The news was now interviewing eyewitnesses at the clothing market. A middle-aged woman covered in blood looked traumatized as she said, “I told them not to push, not to push, but nobody listened; everyone went crazy.”

Xing Conglian raised the remote control and lowered the volume.

“This isn’t a simple attack case,” Xing Conglian said.

The old man was impatient and asked, “I don’t need to hear the difficulty. When can we get Shen Lian’s confession?”

“Shen Lian’s confession may not be as simple as catching a criminal,” Xing Conglian said, showing no respect for the senior leader in front of so many people.

“Xing Conglian!” Minister Shen didn’t raise his voice, but real anger finally appeared in his eyes.

The chief secretary hurriedly signaled to the police captain in front of the glass panel.

However, Xing Conglian didn’t accept it. “There is no point in getting angry with me here.” He paused and said very clearly, “The criminals are just creating a time gap between us fully researching the drug and the huge social impact it causes.”

“Isn’t the current social impact bad enough?” Minister Shen said coldly.

“Compared to what they want to achieve, what we have now is just an appetizer.”

Xing Conglian’s voice had a metallic and deep quality, and he didn’t deliberately make the statement eerie, but it still sent a shiver down the spines of many present.

“What exactly are the criminals demanding? So far, no organization or individual has claimed responsibility for this matter.” Fearing that the old man might get a heart attack from Xing Conglian’s fearlessness, the head of the provincial department intervened.

“Demands?” Xing Conglian’s gaze turned cold. He turned around and wiped off a large area of useless water-based pen marks on the glass panel behind him, then wrote down the words in red.

The edges of the writing looked blurred, and the old man squinted.

Xing Conglian stopped and looked down at all the experts in the office. He said in an unprecedentedly cold tone, “Killing—what’s so remarkable about killing? His goal is to destroy people’s hearts.”

Many experts who were well-prepared with disciplinary knowledge were shocked by his words, but they quickly understood.

“The blind arbitrator talks about the purposelessness of natural selection..” Academician Zhang looked at the glass panel and said, “And.. human evolution.. morality, and genes?”

“Yes, genes.”

Xing Conglian calmly recounted Lin Chen’s views to them, saying, “More and more research has shown that antisocial personalities or some criminals may be born with criminal genes. For example, the warrior gene codenamed MAOA affects people’s brain neurotransmitters, making them emotionally abnormal, irritable, and difficult to control; or the mutant gene that produces a large amount of 5-H2TA receptors weakens the prefrontal cortex function, causing emotional disorders and impulsive behavior.”

Xing Conglian hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted.

“Genetic determinism is the most powerful argument for exculpating criminal behavior. How can a police officer like you endorse this view?” an irritable medical expert said.

“I don’t endorse it, but it is a view accepted by the criminal. Therefore, we believe that the mastermind behind all these events represents the criminal group and conveys two perspectives. First, all human behaviors defined as crimes are influenced by the brain, and the criminals do not need to take responsibility for their actions. And this is why he wants to develop and spread this drug that deprives people of their humanity.”

It was as if Xing Conglian was speaking on behalf of Lin Chen, who should have been the one to explain all this.

Emergency room footage appeared on the TV.

Even though the TV volume was already lowered to the minimum by Xing Conglian, the inhuman roar still seemed to permeate the screen and reach beyond the curtain.

“If the TERN isomer affects the human brain and causes people to commit crimes, can they avoid responsibility for their criminal behavior?” Xing Conglian asked, but he didn’t give anyone time to answer. “The answer is yes because we now classify all drug-influenced individuals as victims.”

He continued, “Furthermore, if a criminal takes the TERN isomer again and commits a crime, would they be exempt from punishment? The answer is very likely, as we cannot discern the details of how everyone is affected by the drug.”

“And if you think this is already a malicious intent, then the hidden problem of the criminals is even more deadly. In the mass panic incidents, a third scenario inevitably arises: many individuals not affected by any drug commit violations against others simply to protect themselves. Should they be held responsible for this?” Xing Conglian pointed to the TV screen and asked the most thought-provoking question. “If our answer is that we cannot determine or convict, then the criminals will ask this world—why should they be held accountable for their criminal actions?”

Xing Conglian’s presence was imposing, and his eyes revealed a cold and cruel gaze.

Someone immediately retorted, “The premise is flawed. The TERN isomer causes a specific situation, but under normal circumstances, people can control their behavior.”

“They believe they can’t; they are inherently psychopaths.”

“That’s sophistry. The law constrains human behavior, regardless of individual will. Whether you can control yourself or not has nothing to do with whether the law can constrain you!”

“Why should the law constrain me?” Xing Conglian questioned.

“Natural law, social contract..”

“I don’t care about society. I am an independent individual!”

“The essence of a person lies in their social nature!” an expert who argued with Xing Conglian shouted.

At this moment, Xing Conglian suddenly stopped.

He withdrew his previous aggressive momentum, lowered his raised finger, and looked into the distance as if peering through the long history. Calmly, he asked, “Then, what if social morality itself.. is wrong?”

No one answered this question.

The room fell into a silence as dark as night, reminiscent of his mood when Lin Chen asked him this question.

Xing Conglian knew bringing up Lin Chen at this time was inappropriate, but it was also reasonable.

At that time, Lin Chen sat in the library with a calm gaze, explaining to him the terrifying thoughts behind all these events.

Lin Chen asked him, since people always like to dig deep and ask about the ultimate answer to the question of “why someone becomes a criminal”, what exactly is the ultimate answer?

Xing Conglian couldn’t answer, and he didn’t even want to hear Lin Chen’s response to this question.

Because Lin Chen’s contemplation on this question clearly pervaded the three long and gloomy years after Huang Weiwei’s death. It was the question that the mastermind raised and tormented his soul day and night.

What is morality?

Why are laws based on morality formed?

Why do people become criminals when they violate legal rules?

“If this were just an ordinary criminal, when he proves that we lack an objective standard for defining criminal behavior, he has already achieved his purpose,” Xing Conglian said. “But obviously, the criminals we are facing this time are ambitious. They are anti-society, not against the social system but against the moral principles that each of us relies on for survival.”

Since Xing Conglian had been confrontational, Minister Shen remained silent until now. The old man raised his head and slowly spoke. “If.. social moral principles.. are not trustworthy?”

“Yes, since everything is the result of random choices, there is actually no morality, no justice, no goodness, and no moral standards that we have constructed. Human nature is inherently selfish, and we can do whatever it takes for our self-preservation, so actions that align with our nature cannot be considered wrong and should not be punished.”

Though this idea was grand and terrifying, it also appeared ludicrous due to its grandiosity.

One of the strategy research experts sitting down couldn’t help but chuckle. “A fool’s dream, like ants trying to shake a tree. How can he prove human nature is selfish by spreading chaos and poisoning everywhere?” The middle-aged man pursed his lips and pointed at the TV. “The more he does, the more people stand up to prove he’s wrong.”

The news had moved on to the next stage, no longer reporting the chaos at the Meicun clothing market, but instead, it began to narrate the act of heroism that occurred at Meicun Train Station.

A young train station intern named Lu Xiaotian prevented a poisoning incident at the train station. However, due to ingesting too much of the drug, Lu Xiaotian suffered acute brain failure and was in critical condition.

The news report used extremely touching language, and in the corridor outside the hospital room, the reporter almost used all the honorable and righteous words to describe this young person who was only 22 years old.

While many in the command center showed pity in their eyes, Xing Conglian didn’t turn to look. He coldly interrupted the moment, saying, “You’re so stupid,” to someone.

A strategy expert slammed the table and stood up. His level was higher than Xing Conglian’s, so he confidently scolded, “Xing Conglian, who do you think you are? Until now, you haven’t explained anything logically. You’re just talking nonsense, and no wonder you can’t catch the criminals or extract confessions!”

With one hand in his pocket, Xing Conglian looked down at the strategy expert who questioned him not far away.

Actually, how could the culprit be without reason? With just a few words of verbal infringement, they managed to divide people who should have been united. Then, when it comes to life-and-death interests, who can guarantee that the moral values held by this society will not be shaken?

Xing Conglian said, “I call you stupid because you have seen the briefing, and you should know about the voting incident that happened on the Dark Web. So, do you think the culprit is just inciting chaos everywhere merely to satisfy the desires of some internet perverts who want to see violent and bloody events?”

“You!” The strategy expert was rendered speechless by the question. He then retorted, “And you also said he wanted to prove that people don’t need to be responsible for their criminal actions. But this kind of proof is meaningless in reality. The force of law is not determined by him. Even if he’s dissatisfied, he has to accept it!”

“I said this was just an appetizer.” Xing Conglian turned around and drew a map of the three provinces on the glass panel with a bright red water-based pen. “The appetizer proves his ability to threaten our social security. After widespread coverage in the news media and causing a sense of insecurity in all the masses, he can move on to the second stage.”

Throwing away the pen, Xing Conglian pointed to the map on the glass panel and asked, “Suppose this voting didn’t occur on the Dark Web. Suppose that in the real world, everyone has the right to vote. Each resident of the three provinces has the power to select the next target for the attack. What do you think would happen then?”

It was like a gale blowing or a thunderbolt striking.

This was Xing Conglian’s mood when he heard Lin Chen’s question. And now, in this simple command room, in front of the scrolling TV news, everyone finally understood his feelings at that time.

Shock, followed by being at a loss.

But Lin Chen’s questioning didn’t end there. He asked Xing Conglian, “Xing Conglian, have you ever thought that the problem I faced back then was just a tiny human nature experiment with no great social significance? But what if now, he wants every person to face the same human nature experiment? If every resident in the three provinces has the power to choose the next attack location on a city-based level, do you think this really won’t shake the moral principles that our society relies on?”

Lin Chen’s voice was calm and slow. Now, Xing Conglian also repeated Lin Chen’s words to the people at the highest level of this country.

However, just like back then, Xing Conglian was at a loss, and the weathered old man in front of him also began to panic.

Xing Conglian thought, yes, each of them always claimed to believe in human nature. But deep down in an area that was hard to speak of, they didn’t believe that justice could overcome evil, that goodness could defeat ugliness, or that some people could eventually triumph over others..

In fact, they didn’t even believe in human nature itself.

“This is a balancing game on a tightrope,” Lin Chen said.

Kinky Thoughts:

There are a lot of philosophical ideas here. The question of whether morality is inherent or learned is one of the main points, and such a question has been debated and theorized by countless philosophers and social scientists.

Personally, I think morality is simply a social construct. We have law and order only because there’s an inherent system already set up to satisfy the basic needs of human nature (food and shelter, which ultimately means survivability). Stability for these things supersedes everything else, so we can easily accept laws established through morality (in order to maintain the stability of our survival).

That is not to say that some people aren’t more “moral” than others. Chemicals in the brain and personality play a huge factor as well. Due to chemical imbalances, they can affect how people see morality and their actions.

Thus, the question is, can these people be held accountable for their actions if what they are doing is inherently because of their genes. In a moral and civilized society, yes, since they pose an inherent risk to others and, by extension, the stability of our survivability. The bigger question now is, due to criminal actions, innocent people are now driven to act irrationally, which is outside their control. Can they still be held accountable when they commit crimes during such acts? Such is the gray area..

But I digress..