Chapter Eight: Designated Host
“Lin Zhekai?”
Chen Yaoting almost thought he had heard wrong.
Ms. Shen didn’t repeat herself. She simply turned the tablet toward him.
On the screen was a new addendum to the permanent plan.
Designated receiving host:
Lin Zhekai.
Status:
Candidate.
Chen Yaoting stared at those three words, his chest feeling as though something had pressed down on it.
“Why did Gu Chengyue designate him?”
“This isn’t something Mr. Gu can decide unilaterally.”
“You just said he designated him.”
“He made the request.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Mr. Lin has to agree.”
Chen Yaoting laughed.
“You think he’ll agree?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your company already put him through this once three years ago. And now you want him to do it again?”
Ms. Shen didn’t reply.
Chen Yaoting glanced toward the door.
The security guards in black hadn’t come any closer.
But every one of them stood in a fixed position.
His escape routes had been sealed off completely.
“I’m leaving.”
“Of course.”
Ms. Shen answered so readily that Chen Yaoting paused.
“You’re not stopping me?”
“I told you, we’re not here to arrest you.”
“Then what are all these people for?”
“To keep other unauthorized personnel from entering.”
Chen Yaoting pointed at the tablet.
“The thing that was talking to me just now—was it really Xu Mingzhou?”
“We can’t confirm that.”
“You don’t even know who’s inside your own system?”
“The system doesn’t preserve full consciousness.”
“Here we go again.”
Chen Yaoting cut her off.
“Every time you run into something you don’t want to answer, you start throwing out technical terms.”
Ms. Shen looked at him.
“Then I’ll put it another way.”
She pointed to the tablet on the table.
“The thing that spoke with you just now possesses a large amount of Xu Mingzhou’s memories, speech patterns, emotional responses, and self-awareness.”
“So it thinks it’s Xu Mingzhou.”
“No one can prove whether it’s really him.”
“Not even you?”
“Not even us.”
That answer left Chen Yaoting silent instead.
If even LEV couldn’t be certain, then the problem was no longer as simple as the company hiding a secret.
They had truly created something they didn’t fully understand themselves.
“Three-person transfer,” Chen Yaoting said.
“Explain the whole thing.”
This time, Ms. Shen didn’t evade the question.
“The permanent plan requires three vessels.”
“First, the paying client.”
“Second, the target host.”
“Third, the receiving host.”
“The paying client transfers into the target host.”
“The target host’s original consciousness transfers into the receiving host.”
“What happens to the person originally in the receiving host?”
Ms. Shen paused for half a second.
“They enter the system buffer.”
Chen Yaoting’s entire face darkened.
“So someone is guaranteed to end up without a body.”
“Yes.”
“What kind of bullshit plan is that?”
“That’s why the permanent plan offers such a high payout.”
“High enough to stuff a person into a computer?”
“On the condition that everyone volunteers.”
There it was again.
Chen Yaoting was sick of hearing the words “volunteers” and “voluntary.”
“If Lin Zhekai agrees, how much does he get?”
“Twelve hundred million dollars.”
Chen Yaoting froze.
“NT$1.2 billion?”
“Yes.”
“He enters my consciousness, and I enter his body?”
“No.”
Ms. Shen shook her head.
“You enter Mr. Lin’s body.”
“Mr. Lin enters the system.”
“And Gu Chengyue enters mine?”
“Yes.”
Chen Yaoting rapidly rearranged the pieces in his head.
So the result would be:
His own face, his own body, permanently used by Gu Chengyue.
He himself would wake up inside Lin Zhekai’s body.
Lin Zhekai would be stuffed into the system.
And all three of them would get paid.
Except one of them would never have a body again.
“Then what does Lin Zhekai need twelve hundred million dollars for?” Chen Yaoting asked.
“He can’t spend it himself.”
“He can designate a beneficiary.”
“How is that any different from selling his life permanently?”
“Some people believe there’s a difference.”
“Would you do it?”
For the first time, Ms. Shen didn’t answer immediately.
Several seconds later, she said, “No.”
Chen Yaoting stared at her.
“Then why do you still work for this company?”
“Because my job isn’t to make decisions for other people.”
The words were cold, but not false.
Chen Yaoting didn’t argue with her further.
He pulled out his phone.
Lin Zhekai had already sent seven or eight messages.
“Are you still there?”
“Answer me.”
“LEV’s people went upstairs.”
“If you see this, take the stairs.”
The last message had been sent a minute ago.
“I’m leaving the place across the street first.”
Chen Yaoting called him immediately.
No answer.
He called again.
Still no answer.
A third time.
The phone was off.
He looked up at Ms. Shen.
“Did your people touch him?”
“No.”
“Then why is his phone off?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“I don’t know.”
Chen Yaoting gave a cold laugh.
“You’d better really not know.”
He headed straight for the door.
This time, no one stopped him.
The elevator worked normally.
So did the first floor.
As soon as he stepped outside, he looked across the street.
The coffee shop was still there.
The seat where Lin Zhekai had been sitting was empty.
Only a half-finished cup of coffee remained on the table.
Chen Yaoting crossed the street.
He pushed open the door and asked the clerk, “Where’s the guy with glasses who was here just now?”
The clerk thought for a moment.
“He left.”
“How long ago?”
“About five minutes ago.”
“By himself?”
“Yeah.”
“Did anyone talk to him?”
“I think there was a woman.”
“What kind of woman?”
“Short hair, wearing a suit.”
Chen Yaoting immediately thought of Ms. Shen.
But Ms. Shen had clearly been upstairs the entire time.
“What did she look like?”
The clerk’s description was vague.
In her thirties.
Dark suit.
Short hair.
Very thin.
Not especially distinctive.
“Did they leave together?”
“No.”
“The woman left first.”
“What about the guy?”
“He left after taking a phone call.”
Chen Yaoting frowned.
He picked up his phone and called again.
The phone was off.
Something was wrong now.
He walked out of the coffee shop.
The moment he reached the covered sidewalk, the old phone’s number called him.
It wasn’t Lin Zhekai’s own phone.
It was the old phone Gu Chengyue had given him three years ago.
That phone was supposed to be on Lin Zhekai right now.
Chen Yaoting answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
There was no sound on the other end.
“Lin Zhekai?”
A few seconds later, a man spoke.
“No.”
Chen Yaoting stopped.
The voice was very young.
But it wasn’t Lin Zhekai.
And it wasn’t Gu Chengyue.
“Who are you?”
“Didn’t you just talk to me?”
A chill ran through Chen Yaoting’s entire body.
“Xu Mingzhou?”
“At least, that’s still what I call myself.”
He tightened his grip on the phone.
“How are you using this phone?”
“I’m not.”
“Then who am I talking to?”
“This call is only an interface.”
“Stop saying things I don’t understand.”
The other side paused, then put it more directly.
“Lin Zhekai has entered the synchronization range.”
“What does that mean?”
“His brain signals are connected to LEV now.”
Chen Yaoting’s expression changed instantly.
“Where is he?”
“Basement Level Three.”
“Which Basement Level Three?”
“The place you went today.”
The old data center.
Chen Yaoting immediately started toward the roadside.
“Did he go there himself?”
“No.”
“Who took him?”
“He walked in himself.”
“What the hell are you talking about? He just told me not to go back!”
The other end of the call suddenly went silent.
Then Xu Mingzhou said, “That’s why it’s strange.”
“He didn’t change his mind.”
“Then why did he go?”
“Because the person controlling that body right now may not be him.”
Chen Yaoting stopped at the roadside.
Traffic rushed past in front of him.
“What did you say?”
“After his first synchronization three years ago, something in the system remained inside him.”
“The Japanese?”
“Not just memories.”
“What else?”
“Fragments of a personality.”
Chen Yaoting remembered the dream Lin Zhekai had mentioned.
The hospital room.
Someone asking if he was ready.
He had always answered no.
Until last week.
The first time, he had answered yes.
It hadn’t been what he wanted to say.
“That dream,” Chen Yaoting said. “Was it you?”
There was a pause on the other end.
“No.”
“Then who was it?”
“The first generation.”
The first host again.
“Who the hell was that person?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“You saw him in the video just now, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“Can’t you look him up?”
“The data was erased.”
“By LEV?”
“Earlier.”
“What do you mean, earlier?”
“Before the current LEV even existed.”
Chen Yaoting’s head began to ache.
“So LEV didn’t invent this technology?”
The other end was silent for several seconds.
“No.”
That was another new answer tonight.
But he had no time to pursue it.
“What will happen to Lin Zhekai now?”
“If he completes pre-synchronization—”
“The permanent plan will have one more usable receiving host.”
“He would never agree.”
“He doesn’t necessarily need to be conscious.”
Chen Yaoting’s expression changed completely.
“Didn’t you keep saying it had to be voluntary?”
“The contract requires it.”
“The technology doesn’t.”
The words struck him like a hard slap.
So LEV had always emphasized voluntary consent in legal terms.
But the technology itself—
It didn’t care at all.
“Is the address the same?”
“Yes.”
“Buy me some time.”
The other end actually laughed.
“What do you think I am?”
“Aren’t you in the system?”
“So?”
“Cut the power, open the doors, trigger an alarm—do anything.”
“There’s only so much I can do.”
“You were able to talk to me through a tablet just now.”
“That was because someone opened a channel in advance.”
“Who?”
“Xu Zhiming.”
Chen Yaoting froze.
So the invitation tonight hadn’t been sent by Xu Mingzhou himself?
“The text messages too?”
“Some of them.”
“What do you mean, some?”
“He delivered the messages for me.”
“And telling me to go alone—that was him too?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t trust Lin Zhekai.”
Chen Yaoting stopped.
“Isn’t he your brother?”
“I told you.”
Xu Mingzhou’s voice was flat.
“Don’t trust him.”
The call ended.
Chen Yaoting stood by the road, his head suddenly crammed full.
Xu Zhiming was obviously Xu Mingzhou’s older brother.
Yet even Xu Mingzhou himself was telling him not to trust him.
Lin Zhekai had already returned to Basement Level Three.
And the person controlling that body might not be Lin Zhekai himself.
Chen Yaoting flagged down a taxi.
“Nangang.”
The driver looked back.
“Where in Nangang?”
He gave the address near the old data center.
The car pulled away.
Chen Yaoting called Lin Zhekai’s phone the entire way.
It was still off.
He called Ms. Shen again.
She answered.
“Is Lin Zhekai with you?”
Ms. Shen was silent.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
Chen Yaoting nearly cursed aloud.
“You just told me you didn’t know.”
“I genuinely didn’t know then.”
“Who took him there?”
“He arrived on his own.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“The security footage shows that.”
“Is he conscious now?”
Ms. Shen didn’t answer.
“Are you synchronizing him?”
“We’re only evaluating him.”
“Stop it.”
“Mr. Chen—”
“I said stop it!”
The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
Ms. Shen’s voice remained calm.
“I don’t have the authority to terminate it unilaterally.”
“Who does?”
“Mr. Gu.”
“He’s practically on his deathbed and he still has authority?”
“He initiated the permanent plan.”
“What about Xu Zhiming?”
This time, Ms. Shen paused.
“He’s been suspended.”
“Where is he?”
“He left.”
“You let him walk out?”
“He’s an employee, not a criminal.”
This company was so law-abiding at certain times that it made him want to laugh.
“I’m going to the data center.”
“I don’t recommend it.”
“Stop me if you can.”
“Mr. Chen.”
“What?”
“Lin Zhekai has already signed the letter of intent for the permanent plan.”
It felt as if someone had suddenly slammed on the brakes inside Chen Yaoting’s head.
“Impossible.”
“The electronic signature has been completed.”
“He was just telling me not to go.”
“That was before.”
“How much is he getting?”
“Twelve hundred million dollars.”
“What about the money?”
“The NT$100 million intent deposit has already entered the designated beneficiary account.”
“Whose account?”
“His daughter’s.”
Chen Yaoting froze.
Lin Zhekai had a daughter.
He hadn’t mentioned her at all today.
“How old is she?”
“Seven.”
Ms. Shen continued, “Mr. Lin rented out his body three years ago to pay for his daughter’s surgery for congenital heart disease and her subsequent medical expenses.”
At that moment, Chen Yaoting realized for the first time that he didn’t actually know Lin Zhekai at all.
He only knew that the other man had been short on money three years ago.
He had never asked why.
“So he really might have agreed to this himself?”
“It’s possible,” Ms. Shen said.
Chen Yaoting leaned back in the rear seat.
For a while, he said nothing.
If it were him—
NT$1.2 billion.
All of it left to a seven-year-old daughter.
In exchange for being trapped in the system forever.
Would he agree?
He didn’t know.
But at least he no longer felt so certain that Lin Zhekai wouldn’t.
“I want to see him.”
“Not right now.”
“Why not?”
“He’s undergoing a neural evaluation.”
“How long?”
“About forty minutes.”
“Don’t perform any permanent transfer.”
“Not today.”
“Do you guarantee that?”
“I guarantee it.”
Chen Yaoting didn’t completely believe her.
But at least he had a clear answer.
By the time the taxi reached the area, it was after ten at night.
The data center looked completely different from that afternoon.
The iron gate was closed.
Someone was in the security booth.
Two black SUVs were parked inside.
Chen Yaoting got out.
As soon as he reached the gate, a security guard came out.
“Mr. Chen?”
He paused.
“You know who I am?”
“Supervisor Shen instructed us to let you in.”
That was even stranger.
That afternoon, they had been chasing him.
Now they were letting him in voluntarily.
“Lead the way.”
The guard swiped his card.
They entered the main building.
The elevator went straight to B3.
When the doors opened, the white corridor from that afternoon appeared again.
Only now, every door was closed.
Ms. Shen stood at the far end.
Two medical staff stood beside her.
“Where is he?”
“Inside.”
Behind the glass, Lin Zhekai was indeed lying on one of the beds.
A silver device encircled his head.
His eyes were closed.
His chest rose and fell steadily.
“Wake him up.”
“The evaluation isn’t over.”
“I’ll wait.”
Ms. Shen glanced at him.
“Twenty minutes.”
Chen Yaoting stood in front of the glass, watching Lin Zhekai.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
One by one, the indicator lights on the equipment went out.
Finally, the silver ring-shaped device rose.
Lin Zhekai slowly opened his eyes.
Chen Yaoting immediately went to the door.
“Can we go in now?”
Ms. Shen swiped her card.
The door opened.
He went straight inside.
“Lin Zhekai.”
The man on the bed turned his head.
His eyes were unfocused at first. Two seconds passed before they settled.
“Yaoting?”
His voice sounded normal.
Chen Yaoting let out a breath of relief.
“What the hell were you doing?”
Lin Zhekai didn’t answer.
“You told me not to agree, then you came here and signed for NT$1.2 billion yourself?”
Lin Zhekai slowly sat up.
His face looked terrible.
“You know?”
“My daughter?” Chen Yaoting said.
“Yes.”
Lin Zhekai closed his eyes.
“I didn’t leave her out on purpose.”
“You really agreed?”
After a long time, he nodded.
“Why?”
“Because it’s NT$1.2 billion.”
“You’re always telling me not to let money fool me.”
Lin Zhekai gave a bitter smile.
“That’s how I know what a joke I am.”
“Isn’t your daughter cured now?”
“The surgery was successful.”
“Then what do you need NT$1.2 billion for?”
“So she’ll never have to worry about not having money again.”
“What about you?”
“I don’t care.”
Chen Yaoting’s anger flared.
“What do you mean, you don’t care?”
“After what happened three years ago, I haven’t really felt like myself anyway.”
“So you’re just giving up your body?”
Lin Zhekai didn’t answer.
The silence was genuine.
Genuine enough that Chen Yaoting began to believe the other man might really have agreed of his own free will.
“What about that dream with the Japanese?”
“What?”
“The hospital room where someone asked if you were ready.”
Lin Zhekai frowned.
“How do you know about that?”
“You told me yourself today.”
“I didn’t.”
Chen Yaoting went completely still.
“Say that again.”
Lin Zhekai looked confused.
“I never told anyone about that dream.”
“But you told me.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Then who was I talking to today?”
Lin Zhekai’s breathing grew ragged.
It was as if he had suddenly thought of something.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“This afternoon, at the coffee shop.”
“Yeah.”
“There was a period of time when I… blacked out.”
Chen Yaoting frowned.
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“I remember you went to move your car.”
“And then?”
“The next thing I remember, I was at an MRT station.”
“An MRT station?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t come here on your own?”
“I don’t know.”
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
“When I came to, the LEV address was already in my phone.”
“Then I came here.”
“Why did you come?”
Lin Zhekai’s expression grew more and more disturbed.
“Because I felt like…”
“Like what?”
“Like I was supposed to come.”
Chen Yaoting looked at Ms. Shen.
“This is what you call voluntary?”
Ms. Shen had already pulled out the tablet.
“Run another check.”
Lin Zhekai suddenly reached out and grabbed her.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
“My intent deposit.”
“It has entered the beneficiary account.”
“Withdraw it.”
Ms. Shen looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“The NT$1.2 billion permanent plan?”
“Cancel it.”
Chen Yaoting finally relaxed a little.
But the next second, every light in the room flickered.
The silver equipment lit up on its own.
No one had touched it.
A line of text appeared on the screen.
SESSION RESUMED.
Ms. Shen whipped around.
“Who activated it?”
The technician rushed to the control console.
“Not us!”
Lin Zhekai suddenly fell backward.
His eyes closed.
“Lin Zhekai!”
Chen Yaoting rushed over.
The device had already begun descending.
Ms. Shen shouted, “Cut the main power!”
Someone hit the emergency stop.
Nothing happened.
They hit it again.
Still nothing.
The main screen on the wall suddenly switched to an unfamiliar display.
It wasn’t a LEV interface.
Black background.
White text.
Only one line of Chinese appeared.
“The receiving host has agreed.”
Chen Yaoting stared at it.
“He just canceled it!”
The next line appeared.
“Lin Zhekai canceled.”
Two seconds passed.
A third line appeared.
“I did not.”
No one in the room spoke.
Chen Yaoting suddenly remembered what Xu Mingzhou had said.
What had remained inside Lin Zhekai three years ago wasn’t just a memory.
It was also a fragment of a personality.
A fourth line slowly appeared on the screen.
“Chen Yaoting.”
“It’s finally your turn.”
A fifth line.
“I’ve been waiting for this body for five years.”