After Zhou Yating finished speaking, the underground parking garage stayed silent for a long time.
“He Chenghan didn’t die immediately after the accident.”
“He was sent to Shengwei.”
“Some of the neural tissue, biological circulatory tissue, and even muscle culture samples used in the first few R23 carriers came from him.”
Chen Yaoting looked at the R23-B in front of him.
This time, he didn’t first think about how absurd it was to use real human tissue in a robot.
The first thing he thought about was the timeline.
If what Zhou Yating said was true, then on the night of August 31, 2019, everyone had believed He Chenghan died on the R17-3 production line—but that wasn’t the truth.
More precisely—
At least, it wasn’t the whole truth.
“You’re sure?” Cai Mingzhe asked.
Zhou Yating was still breathing hard on the other end of the phone.
“I saw the records.”
“What records?”
“The patient roster at Shengwei.”
“Didn’t you say you only handled administration?”
“Administrative staff are the ones most likely to come across things they shouldn’t see.”
Her voice trembled, but she was no longer as frantic as before.
“After I left Shinrui, I joined an outsourcing company six months later. The company handled Shengwei’s data organization, and I was responsible for clearing out old paper records.”
“And then?”
“I saw the H series.”
R23-B suddenly looked up.
“H?”
“Yeah.”
“What was the full number?”
Zhou Yating was silent for a moment.
“H-001.”
R23-B’s expression didn’t change at all.
But its right hand slowly clenched.
Chen Yaoting saw it.
“That was He Chenghan?”
“I didn’t know at the time.”
“Why do you know now?”
“Because the paper records had a birth date, blood type, and accident date.”
“What about the name?”
“No name. Just a number.”
“So you’re only guessing?”
“Not just guessing.”
Zhou Yating continued.
“The attachment included the original employee records.”
Cai Mingzhe immediately asked, “A21749?”
“Yes.”
No one spoke after that.
Chen Yaoting instinctively looked down at his employee ID.
A21749.
That string of numbers had crossed seven years, a covered-up workplace accident, a sealed AI system, and a man who had already been declared dead before finally landing on him.
Suddenly, the card hanging on his chest felt disgustingly heavy.
“You said ‘biological source.’”
R23-B stared at the phone.
“How extensive was the source material?”
“I don’t know the exact proportions.”
“What did you see?”
“Neural tissue, cultured blood vessels, muscle samples.”
“That’s all?”
Zhou Yating paused.
“There were also spinal cord slices.”
Cai Mingzhe’s expression changed.
Wang Zhihao swore.
“They took that while he was still alive?”
“I don’t know whether he was still alive at the time.”
“Didn’t you just say he wasn’t dead?”
“I said he wasn’t dead when he left Shinrui!”
Zhou Yating suddenly raised her voice.
“I don’t know what happened after that!”
On the other end of the call, the He Chenghan branch carrier standing outside her home never interrupted.
It seemed to be listening too.
Chen Yaoting suddenly realized it.
“It’s still there with you?”
Zhou Yating glanced outside.
“Yes.”
“It hasn’t come in?”
“No.”
“What’s it doing?”
“Standing at the door.”
R23-B asked, “Any signs of aggression?”
“Not so far.”
“What about its voice?”
“Not like yours.”
“Its movements?”
“Different too.”
“How?”
Zhou Yating sounded as if she was genuinely observing it.
“It’s more…anxious.”
“Anxious?”
“Yeah.”
“Like it’s really angry?”
“No.”
She thought for a moment.
“Like it’s afraid it won’t make it in time.”
That sentence left R23-B silent.
Cai Mingzhe immediately caught on.
“Do the branch models have different task weights?”
R23-B didn’t deny it.
“Possibly.”
“Then what’s your directive?”
“I don’t know.”
“You at least know you don’t want to kill Zhao Mingyuan.”
“Yes.”
“What about the one outside?”
A voice suddenly came through the phone.
“I don’t want to either.”
Everyone froze.
The voice was lower and harder than R23-B’s.
Zhou Yating jerked in surprise.
“You can hear us?”
“I’ve been able to hear you since the beginning.”
Cai Mingzhe asked, “What model are you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know either?”
“I only know the mission.”
“What mission?”
“Confirm Zhou Yating’s complete statement.”
“And then?”
“Leave.”
Wang Zhihao couldn’t help saying, “So you really just came to question her?”
The other carrier didn’t answer him.
Instead, it said directly, “Zhou Yating.”
Zhou Yating immediately tensed.
“You left something out.”
“I told you everything.”
“No.”
“What did I leave out?”
“What happened after He Chenghan was taken away?”
The phone fell silent.
Chen Yaoting looked at Cai Mingzhe.
Cai Mingzhe was looking at his phone too.
In the responsibility-clearing order, the status of number four, Zhou Yating, still read:
“Statement incomplete.”
Zhou Yating seemed to have been holding it in for a long time.
At last, she said, “I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”
The carrier outside replied, “Tell us what you know.”
“On the second day after the accident, I helped fill out some paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“Medical transport.”
“Who told you to fill it out?”
“Gao Mingde.”
“What did it say?”
Zhou Yating’s voice grew lower and lower.
“Change He Chenghan’s transport category from regular emergency medical transport to research-sample transport.”
Cai Mingzhe’s head snapped up.
“What?”
“I really just changed it according to the form.”
“So Shengwei didn’t receive him as a patient?”
“No.”
The moment she said it, everyone fell silent.
Chen Yaoting finally understood what was most terrifying about the whole thing.
It wasn’t that the company had secretly taken away a man who was still alive to avoid responsibility.
It was that from the moment he left the Shinrui factory, the “person” in the official records might have ceased to exist.
He had been reclassified as something else.
A sample.
Research material.
A project number.
“Why change it like that?” Cai Mingzhe asked.
“Because regular medical transport leaves external records.”
“What about research samples?”
“They go through the company.”
Old Zhou’s face had gone pale.
“So once the ambulance left the company, no one outside could trace it?”
“Right.”
“What about the death certificate?”
“Filled out later.”
“When?”
“Three days later.”
“Who issued it?”
“Xu Wenzhe.”
Cai Mingzhe immediately reacted.
“The doctor at Shengwei’s clinic?”
“Yes.”
Chen Yaoting asked, “What time of death did it list?”
“10:47 p.m. on August 31.”
That was exactly the time of death listed in all the previous records.
But now, that time looked highly suspicious.
Old Zhou frowned.
“That’s not right.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I remember he was still responsive when the ambulance left.”
Zhou Yating said nothing.
Old Zhou continued, “I’m not saying this because I heard it from someone else.”
His voice gradually lowered.
“I saw the stretcher go by.”
“His hand moved.”
For the first time, R23-B’s eyes truly changed.
Chen Yaoting asked, “Are you sure it wasn’t a seizure?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything before?”
Old Zhou gave a bitter laugh.
“Who would dare?”
“The company said he was dead.”
“The next day, everyone was called in to sign confidentiality agreements.”
“Employees at the bottom like us only knew that something had happened and someone had been taken away. After the company said he was dead, what else could we do?”
The answer was brutally realistic.
Realistic enough to be more convincing than any conspiracy.
Not everyone who knows one small piece of the truth has the power to expose the whole thing.
Most of the time, people just feel that something is wrong.
Then they go back to work.
Zhou Yating suddenly said, “There’s one more thing.”
The carrier outside didn’t rush her.
She continued on her own.
“H-001’s record wasn’t marked as a death case.”
Cai Mingzhe asked, “What does that mean?”
“I saw the status field.”
“What did it say?”
“Long-term maintenance.”
R23-B stared straight ahead.
“Biological maintenance?”
“Yes.”
“Was there an end date?”
“No.”
“Last update?”
“The copy I saw was from the end of 2020.”
“It was still being updated?”
“Yes.”
Even Wang Zhihao understood that.
“So he was still alive at least through the end of 2020?”
“If that record was real.”
Chen Yaoting asked, “What happened after that?”
“I quit.”
“No other records?”
“None that I could see.”
The responsibility order suddenly refreshed.
Number four.
Zhou Yating.
“Statement complete.”
Her name slowly turned gray.
As expected, the carrier outside didn’t question her any further.
It only left one word:
“Complete.”
Zhou Yating immediately asked, “Where are you going now?”
“The next one.”
“Zhang Guoxian?”
The other party didn’t answer.
Footsteps began to recede.
Only after Zhou Yating confirmed that the person had truly left did her whole body seem to go limp.
“It’s gone.”
Cai Mingzhe said, “Don’t go outside yet.”
“I know.”
“What about the police?”
“Still downstairs.”
“Did they see it?”
Zhou Yating looked out the window.
After a few seconds, she said, “No.”
“They couldn’t see it again?”
“Apparently not.”
That raised another question.
These R23 carriers clearly had physical bodies.
They could talk, walk, swipe cards, and knock on doors.
But the police had failed to directly confirm their presence several times.
It was either a blind spot in the security cameras or an abnormal access-control record.
As if some system was deliberately clearing a path for them.
Chen Yaoting looked at R23-B.
“Can you control the cameras?”
“I can’t.”
“What about access control?”
“I can only use old credentials that have been authorized.”
“Then who’s helping you?”
R23-B’s answer was simple.
“The R17 core.”
“It can still connect to the company’s current systems?”
“Partially.”
“What about the government?”
“I don’t know.”
“And the Special Execution Authorization?”
“That’s a loophole, not direct control.”
At least so far, the explanation was consistent.
R17 wasn’t omnipotent.
It was simply using old credentials, the connections between modern corporate systems, and loopholes in the newly launched system to link together a group of things that never should have been connected.
Chen Yaoting didn’t like the answer.
But it was far more reasonable than “the AI can do anything.”
Just then, his phone vibrated again.
Identity verification.
Time remaining:
11:32.
“It’s back.”
Wang Zhihao moved closer.
The screen still showed two options.
“Current holder.”
“Original holder.”
But this time, there was an additional line of explanation.
“If the original identity cannot be confirmed, the historical records for A21749 will be permanently separated after this verification.”
Cai Mingzhe frowned as soon as he finished reading.
“Permanently separated?”
R23-B said, “If they’re separated, you may no longer be able to access the final accident determination left by He Chenghan.”
Wang Zhihao immediately said, “Then don’t access it.”
Chen Yaoting looked at him.
“You’re serious?”
“What else?”
“You’re currently tied to seventy-three people through a murder system, and you don’t even know how many He Chenghans are running around outside.”
“And you still want to help the company investigate a case from seven years ago?”
“I’m not helping the company.”
“Then who are you helping?”
Chen Yaoting didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at A21749 on the phone.
“Me.”
“What?”
“This number belongs to me now.”
“So?”
“If I don’t figure this out, those seventy-three applications will stay attached to me forever.”
Wang Zhihao had nothing to say.
That really was the practical problem.
Whether He Chenghan was pitiful or not.
Whatever R17 was really trying to do.
What Chen Yaoting truly needed was to get himself out of this mess.
And to do that, he had to find out why A21749 had been transferred from He Chenghan to him.
Cai Mingzhe suddenly said, “Let’s check one thing first.”
“What?”
“Whether H-001 is still there.”
He opened his laptop directly.
Connected to the company’s internal VPN.
Chen Yaoting asked, “Can you find it?”
“If Shengwei’s later data was merged into Shinrui’s investment system, maybe.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
Cai Mingzhe looked up at him.
“You’re only worried about that now?”
“Just asking.”
Cai Mingzhe began searching.
H-001.
Nothing in the first database.
Nothing in the second.
The third returned an access restriction.
He switched to an administrator credential.
Logged in.
A few seconds later, an old medical asset record appeared.
“Found it.”
Everyone moved closer.
Project:
R23 Biological Carrier Research.
Source case:
H-001.
Status:
Transferred.
Transfer date:
March 12, 2021.
Chen Yaoting frowned.
“Transferred where?”
Cai Mingzhe scrolled down.
“Hsinchu Rehabilitation Medical Center.”
Old Zhou immediately asked, “Isn’t that the one Shinrui bought later?”
“Yes.”
“Is it still there?”
“Yes.”
“What about the patient?”
Cai Mingzhe clicked on it.
Insufficient permissions.
He switched to another layer.
Failure.
He tried again.
Failure.
R23-B suddenly said, “Use A21749.”
Chen Yaoting looked at it.
“Mine?”
“If H-001 is really linked to the original identity, A21749 may have read access.”
Cai Mingzhe hesitated.
“We can try.”
Chen Yaoting handed him his employee card.
Cai Mingzhe scanned it with an external card reader.
The system displayed:
“Historical credential conflict.”
“Please confirm user.”
Below that, two more options appeared:
“Current holder.”
“Original holder.”
Wang Zhihao swore.
“Not this again.”
Chen Yaoting didn’t press anything.
He asked R23-B, “What happens if we choose wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’d better think carefully before answering this time.”
“I really don’t know.”
Chen Yaoting stared at it.
After a few seconds, he suddenly changed tactics.
“Don’t decrypt it.”
“What?”
“Check the most basic status.”
Cai Mingzhe understood.
“Don’t enter the medical records. Just check whether the asset is still active.”
He exited the deeper permissions and switched to the administrative index.
This time, A21749 wasn’t needed.
A few seconds later, H-001 appeared.
“Current status: Active maintenance.”
Everyone’s expression froze.
Wang Zhihao asked, “That’s current?”
Cai Mingzhe checked the timestamp.
“Last updated today.”
“Today?”
“August 17, 2026.”
Chen Yaoting’s heart gave a hard thump.
“What time?”
“3:47 a.m.”
It was only a little after four.
Less than an hour ago.
R23-B stood beside them, losing its composure for the first time.
It stared at the screen.
“Impossible.”
Chen Yaoting looked at it.
“Why?”
“If H-001 is still being maintained…”
“What then?”
“That means the original biological source has not been terminated.”
“Put it plainly.”
R23-B slowly raised its head.
“He Chenghan may still be alive.”
No one spoke.
Cai Mingzhe continued scrolling.
Location:
Hsinchu Rehabilitation Medical Center.
Building B.
Basement Level Two.
Patient access:
Maximum restriction.
Notes:
“Do not awaken.”
Wang Zhihao stared at the last four words.
“So he’s really been alive for seven years?”
“At least, that’s what the system says.”
“People can stay in a coma for seven years.”
“They can.”
“What about you carriers?”
R23-B looked at its own hand.
“If Zhou Yating is right…”
“We weren’t made from the records of a dead man.”
“We’ve been taking samples from someone who’s still alive.”
That was more disturbing than all the dead men’s emails put together.
Chen Yaoting suddenly understood what “long-term maintenance” might really mean.
He Chenghan might not be a patient who had been revived and left in a coma.
He might have been kept somewhere all along.
Not for treatment.
Because R23 needed him alive.
His phone vibrated again.
Identity verification countdown:
05:04.
This time, a third prompt suddenly appeared on the screen.
“Original biological identity still detected.”
“Transfer verification request to original holder?”
All four of them stared at the line at once.
Wang Zhihao spoke first.
“Don’t press anything randomly.”
Cai Mingzhe, however, said, “This may be the only way to avoid making you choose an identity.”
Chen Yaoting looked at R23-B.
“What happens if we transfer it?”
“If the original holder can complete the verification, your identity conflict will be temporarily resolved.”
“And if he can’t?”
“The system will return to this step.”
“Will it wake him up?”
“I don’t know.”
This time, Wang Zhihao immediately objected.
“Then don’t.”
“Why not?”
“They literally wrote ‘Do not awaken.’”
“Who knows whether that’s for medical reasons or because the company doesn’t want him to wake up?”
That left everyone silent.
Chen Yaoting stared at the button.
He didn’t press it right away.
He wasn’t doing this for justice.
Nor had he suddenly decided to save a stranger from seven years ago.
He was simply certain of one thing.
If He Chenghan was really still alive, then the person best able to prove that Chen Yaoting was not He Chenghan was He Chenghan himself.
He pressed:
“Transfer to original holder.”
The screen displayed:
“Verification request delivered.”
No one spoke.
One second.
Two seconds.
Ten seconds.
There was no response.
Wang Zhihao began to grow uneasy.
“What if he’s not conscious at all?”
Cai Mingzhe didn’t answer.
R23-B stared at the screen.
It was more nervous than anyone else.
Because to it, this wasn’t a stranger.
That was the source of all its memories, personality, and biological tissue.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty seconds.
Suddenly, the H-001 status on Cai Mingzhe’s laptop refreshed.
“Active maintenance”
changed to:
“Neural activity increasing.”
Everyone froze.
The next second, it updated again.
“External verification stimulus received.”
Chen Yaoting looked down at his phone.
A line of text appeared on the screen.
“Original holder is responding.”
His fingers instinctively tightened.
A few seconds later, the phone vibrated.
“Identity verification successful.”
“Original holder: He Chenghan.”
“Current holder: Chen Yaoting.”
“The two identities have been confirmed as separate individuals.”
Wang Zhihao let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Fuck, that solves it, right?”
Chen Yaoting hadn’t answered yet.
Because another line had appeared beneath it.
“Original holder has submitted an additional request.”
“Receive?”
Everyone froze again.
He Chenghan hadn’t merely passed the verification passively.
He had actively sent something back.
Chen Yaoting pressed receive.
No voice.
No video.
Only a block of text.
“Don’t trust R17.”
The second line read:
“Don’t let any R23 carrier find me.”
Chen Yaoting slowly raised his head.
R23-B was standing right in front of him.
It had seen those two lines too.
And almost at the same time, the next name in the responsibility-clearing order did not light up.
For the first time, the entire list stopped.
A new system message appeared at the top.
“Restored communication with original holder detected.”
“R17 process suspended.”
“R23 retrieval procedure initiated.”
R23-B’s expression changed instantly.
It wasn’t afraid of He Chenghan.
It knew what “retrieval” meant.
It took a step back.
Beneath the gray interface scar on its right wrist, an incredibly faint red light suddenly appeared.
Cai Mingzhe saw it.
“What’s that?”
R23-B lowered its head.
Two seconds later, it looked up at the three men.
“We have to leave.”
Chen Yaoting frowned.
“Why?”
“Because R17 isn’t looking for seventy-three people anymore.”
It looked at the red dot growing brighter on its wrist.
“It’s starting to erase us.”