Chapter Nine: Original Identity Expired
“Chen Yaoting must reach Hsinchu before He Chenghan wakes up.”
“Otherwise, his original identity will be permanently invalidated.”
After the carrier finished speaking, the hand gripping Chen Yaoting’s ankle did not loosen in the slightest.
Wang Zhihao clung desperately to his arm from outside the rolling door.
“What the hell is an original identity? Let him go first!”
The carrier ignored him.
The red light in its eyes continued to blink at regular intervals.
Half of Chen Yaoting’s body was stuck beneath the rolling door, and the metal edge was pressing painfully into his waist.
“Didn’t you just say H-001 told you not to go near him?”
R23-B leaned against the side, its right leg already completely immobile.
It was also staring at the carrier that had been taken over.
“This isn’t a normal message format.”
“What does that mean?”
“If H-001 had really issued the command directly, it wouldn’t have gone through the retrieval channel.”
The carrier gripping Chen Yaoting immediately replied:
“Command source: H-001.”
R23-B asked:
“Verification code.”
The other side paused for half a second.
“Unauthorized to provide.”
“Then it isn’t H-001.”
“Command source: H-001.”
“You’re just replaying the label.”
R23-B’s tone suddenly turned ice-cold.
Chen Yaoting understood at once.
Someone—or some system—was issuing commands in He Chenghan’s name.
But there was no time to verify it slowly.
The other two carriers behind them were already running over.
Cai Mingzhe lay flat on the ground and reached out until his hand found the crowbar beside him.
“Zhihao, hold on tight!”
“I am holding on!”
Cai Mingzhe shoved the crowbar beneath the rolling door and brought it down hard on the carrier’s arm.
Bang!
It didn’t loosen on the first strike.
The second strike landed.
The metallic impact was heavy.
A small section of the carrier’s wrist casing cracked, exposing a black structure underneath.
It still held on.
“One more!”
Cai Mingzhe slammed the crowbar down a third time, directly onto the finger joints.
Two of the fingers finally lost their strength.
Chen Yaoting yanked his leg free.
The three people outside pulled with all their strength and dragged his entire body out from beneath the rolling door.
“Move!”
Old Zhou shouted from ahead.
The group immediately ran out of the loading area.
R23-B couldn’t run.
Wang Zhihao and Cai Mingzhe supported it from either side, but they were still moving slowly.
Chen Yaoting looked back.
The first carrier had already reached its hand beneath the rolling door.
The second carrier behind it knelt directly down and began lifting the door with it.
The metal rolling door shrieked against the floor.
“They can lift it?”
Wang Zhihao cursed as he ran.
R23-B panted out:
“The carriers’ output limit is higher than a normal person’s.”
“You too?”
“I used to.”
“And now?”
“Less than half after my right leg shut down.”
Outside the loading area was a truck access lane.
It wasn’t completely sealed off.
Because of a hydraulic failure, the outer iron gate had only lowered halfway.
The group bent over and squeezed through.
The cold air of the early morning rushed in from outside.
For the first time, Chen Yaoting felt that an ordinary street could be this safe.
But the feeling lasted less than ten seconds.
Cai Mingzhe’s phone rang.
The priority list for responsibility elimination appeared again.
The original fifth name, Zhang Guoxian, was still marked “Awaiting Activation.”
But a new countdown had appeared at the top.
“Original identity lockout deadline: 01:47:32.”
Chen Yaoting stared at it.
“One hour and forty-seven minutes?”
Cai Mingzhe nodded.
“Probably the time left before He Chenghan officially wakes up.”
“Who calculated this?”
“Don’t know.”
R23-B added:
“Could be the medical system’s estimate.”
Wang Zhihao immediately asked:
“So what now? We really going to Hsinchu?”
No one answered right away.
Old Zhou stood by the roadside, looking first at the factory and then at R23-B.
“If those things really are after Yaoting, staying in Taoyuan isn’t any safer.”
“The problem is that going to Hsinchu could be walking straight into a trap.”
Cai Mingzhe said it.
Chen Yaoting looked at the countdown on the phone.
“What exactly happens when the original identity expires?”
R23-B answered:
“The historical connection to A21749 may be permanently severed.”
“Wasn’t it already confirmed that He Chenghan and I are separate individuals?”
“Confirmation that we’re separate individuals doesn’t mean the old authorization link has been removed.”
“So if it expires?”
“He Chenghan’s old credentials, accident determination, and the final R17 data may all be archived.”
“What about the seventy-three Special Execution Authorization applications?”
“Uncertain.”
Chen Yaoting’s expression darkened.
That was the real problem.
If expiration only meant that the records from seven years ago could no longer be accessed, he could simply give up.
But those legal-kill applications were still attached to him.
And September 4 still hadn’t been canceled.
“Check the application status first.”
Cai Mingzhe said it.
Chen Yaoting immediately opened the Special Execution Authorization system.
Seventy-three.
Not one was missing.
The target name still displayed:
Chen Yaoting.
Only the original “Identity anomaly comparison in progress” had disappeared.
In its place was:
“Execution target identity confirmed.”
Wang Zhihao froze when he saw it.
“Isn’t that worse?”
“Yes.”
Chen Yaoting’s voice turned cold.
Before, they could still claim it was a system error that had linked the wrong identities.
Now the system clearly knew that Chen Yaoting and He Chenghan were not the same person.
Yet it hadn’t withdrawn a single application.
“Why?”
Old Zhou asked.
Cai Mingzhe stared at the screen.
“Because approval doesn’t automatically revoke them.”
“That’s insane.”
“That’s how the first version of the system’s rules worked.”
“Even if the identities were linked incorrectly?”
“You have to file a manual appeal.”
“How long?”
“Officially, three to seven business days.”
Wang Zhihao swore outright.
“They could legally kill him after seven days, and it still takes three to seven days?”
Chen Yaoting looked at the seventy-three names.
The situation had suddenly become painfully real.
Forget R17.
Forget R23.
Forget He Chenghan.
Once September 4 arrived, if even one of those seventy-three people decided to act, he would still be a legal target.
And the only thing that might prove this entire mess had originated from an error involving the old identity was the original record set belonging to He Chenghan and A21749.
“I’m going to Hsinchu.”
He said it.
Wang Zhihao immediately looked at him.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Those carriers are chasing you.”
“That’s why we need to hurry.”
“Aren’t you afraid that was a fake command?”
“I am.”
“Then why go?”
“Because whether that message was fake or not, He Chenghan really is there.”
That was the only thing they knew for certain right now.
And he had just responded to them of his own accord.
Cai Mingzhe closed his laptop.
“I’m going.”
Chen Yaoting looked at him.
“You?”
“I’m responsible for this.”
Wang Zhihao immediately said:
“You’re only growing a conscience now?”
Cai Mingzhe didn’t argue.
“I deleted the accident data back then, burying this mess for another seven years.”
“I’m not going to atone.”
“I just need to at least recover that data.”
Old Zhou spoke up too.
“I’m coming.”
“What are you going for?”
“I know what He Chenghan looks like.”
“Seven years ago.”
“Still better than none of you having ever actually seen him alive.”
Wang Zhihao let out a sigh.
“Then I’m going too.”
Chen Yaoting looked at him.
“You can go home.”
“If you die in Hsinchu, the company’s going to drag me in for questioning all day tomorrow.”
“That’s a terrible reason.”
“I’m going anyway.”
The four of them finally turned toward R23-B.
It leaned against the outer wall of the loading area, its right leg dragging on the ground.
The red light on its wrist was still on.
“You can’t come.”
Chen Yaoting said it.
R23-B didn’t answer immediately.
“He Chenghan explicitly said not to let any R23 carrier find him.”
“I know.”
“And you’re being recovered right now.”
“I know.”
“Then staying here isn’t safe for you either.”
R23-B raised its head.
“So what are you planning to do?”
The question made Chen Yaoting hesitate.
If they left it behind, the carriers coming after them might capture it and take it back.
But if they brought it along, they might carry the danger straight to He Chenghan.
Cai Mingzhe suddenly said:
“Cut off its tracking first.”
“How?”
“If the recovery module has independent communications, we might be able to do it if we find the antenna or communications node.”
R23-B said:
“I can open the diagnostic schematic.”
“Open it.”
It closed its eyes for a few seconds.
Then it pressed its right hand against the back of Cai Mingzhe’s phone.
The phone automatically brought up a nearby-device connection.
A simplified structural diagram appeared.
Chest cavity.
Spine.
Limbs.
A red dot appeared beneath the right collarbone.
Cai Mingzhe zoomed in.
“Here.”
“Can we remove it?”
“No tools.”
Old Zhou said:
“The guardhouse has emergency shears and some small maintenance tools.”
“Go back to the company?”
“Not inside. The guard booth outside.”
“Will we make it?”
There was still a little over an hour and forty minutes on the countdown.
“Ten minutes.”
They finally decided to go to the guard booth first.
The group walked along the outer perimeter of the facility.
They hadn’t gone even two hundred meters when Chen Yaoting’s phone vibrated again.
This time, it wasn’t the Special Execution Authorization system.
It was a text from an unknown number.
The message contained only one sentence.
“Don’t bring R23-B to Hsinchu.”
There was no signature.
Chen Yaoting stopped.
“Here we go again.”
He showed the phone to the others.
Cai Mingzhe asked:
“The number?”
“Hidden source.”
R23-B stared at the message.
“It could be H-001.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t.”
Wang Zhihao immediately rolled his eyes.
“Great. Those three words win today’s championship.”
Chen Yaoting didn’t laugh.
A few seconds later, a second text came in.
“If you want the seventy-three applications invalidated, bring Cai Mingzhe.”
Everyone fell silent.
Cai Mingzhe’s expression turned grim.
“Why me?”
A third message.
“Because he knows where the accident data was really stored.”
Chen Yaoting turned to him.
“You know?”
“I don’t.”
The phone vibrated again.
A fourth message.
“He knows.”
Those three words seemed to point straight through the phone at Cai Mingzhe.
Wang Zhihao frowned.
“You’d better think this through right now.”
Cai Mingzhe’s face was stiff.
“I really don’t know where the complete backup is.”
“If you don’t know about the complete backup, what about part of it?”
“I only know that He Chenghan left a mirror copy back then.”
Chen Yaoting stared at him.
“You didn’t mention that earlier.”
“Because I don’t know if it’s still there.”
“Where?”
Cai Mingzhe was silent for a few seconds.
“Not on the company server.”
“Then where?”
“His personal device.”
“What device?”
“An industrial-control laptop.”
“What happened to it?”
“After the accident, it was sent to Hsinchu too.”
Chen Yaoting understood immediately.
“So that laptop might have been sent to Shengwei along with He Chenghan?”
“Yes.”
“You deleted the company-side copy.”
“Yes.”
“So the real complete version might be on that laptop?”
“Maybe.”
Wang Zhihao couldn’t help saying:
“You’re really good at leaving out the important parts.”
Cai Mingzhe didn’t respond.
A fifth text popped up.
“Bring him.”
“The rest of you don’t enter Building B.”
This time, Old Zhou spoke first.
“This doesn’t sound like a system.”
“Why not?”
“It sounds too much like a person talking.”
Chen Yaoting felt the same way.
R17’s prompts were highly standardized.
Although the carriers spoke like people, their mission messages still had a mechanical quality.
These texts, however, were extremely direct.
They even knew about something Cai Mingzhe hadn’t finished saying.
“If it really is He Chenghan…”
Cai Mingzhe said quietly.
“That means he didn’t just wake up.”
“He’s conscious.”
“And he’s watching what we’re doing right now.”
Wang Zhihao looked around.
“How?”
No one knew.
When they reached the guard booth, Old Zhou found the tools.
Cai Mingzhe had R23-B sit down.
According to the structural diagram, the communications node was beneath the right collarbone.
This wasn’t as simple as removing a screw.
They had to cut open a short section of its synthetic skin.
“This is going to hurt.”
Cai Mingzhe said it.
“Do it.”
R23-B was blunt.
Chen Yaoting frowned.
“No anesthetic?”
“Do you have any?”
They didn’t.
Cai Mingzhe could only disinfect the area first.
When the blade cut in, R23-B’s entire shoulder visibly tensed.
Underneath wasn’t pure metal.
First came skin.
Then a thin layer of artificial muscle.
There was real blood too.
Darker than a normal person’s.
Wang Zhihao’s face went pale as he watched.
“Does this thing count as a machine or a person?”
No one answered.
Cai Mingzhe found a black module about the size of a fingernail.
Two thin wires were connected beside it.
“This should be it.”
“Cut them?”
“It could affect other functions too.”
R23-B said:
“Cut them.”
Cai Mingzhe snipped the first wire.
The red light remained on.
The second.
Click.
The red light on R23-B’s wrist went out instantly.
Its entire body jolted with it.
Then it closed its eyes.
“Hey.”
Chen Yaoting immediately caught it.
A few seconds later, R23-B opened its eyes again.
“I’m still here.”
“What about your right leg?”
It tried to move.
“No recovery.”
“The recovery countdown?”
“Stopped.”
Cai Mingzhe looked at his phone.
The device signal that had identified R23-B had disappeared.
“At least they can’t track it for now.”
But Chen Yaoting still couldn’t relax.
An alarm suddenly sounded from inside the distant facility.
Not a fire alarm.
A vehicle-exit warning.
Then the iron gate at the loading area—the one they had just escaped through—slowly rose.
Three He Chenghan carriers under someone else’s control stepped out.
They didn’t search around randomly.
Three identical faces turned toward the guard booth almost simultaneously.
Wang Zhihao’s face went white.
“Didn’t we cut off the tracking?”
R23-B stared at them.
“They aren’t tracking my signal.”
“Then what are they tracking?”
The three carriers moved forward at the same time.
One of them raised a hand.
In it was the thing Chen Yaoting had dropped on the inside of the rolling door.
An employee ID card.
A21749.
Chen Yaoting reached toward his chest.
Empty.
“Fuck.”
R23-B immediately said:
“They’re tracking the old credential.”
Cai Mingzhe snatched up the tools.
“Get in the car!”
“Your car’s still in the basement!”
Old Zhou pointed beside the guard booth.
“The patrol vehicle!”
An old nine-seater was parked nearby.
The keys hung on the guardhouse wall.
Old Zhou grabbed them.
“This one doesn’t have a networked anti-theft system.”
Everyone rushed into the vehicle.
R23-B could only be carried by two people.
The doors had barely closed when the three carriers charged around the corner of the facility’s outer perimeter.
Old Zhou started the engine.
It caught on the first try.
“Go!”
The vehicle shot forward.
Chen Yaoting looked through the rear window.
One of the carriers didn’t continue after them.
It stood where it was.
Looking down at the A21749 employee ID card.
The next second, it snapped the card in half.
Chen Yaoting’s phone vibrated immediately.
“Original identity credential destroyed.”
The countdown instantly changed from a little over an hour and thirty minutes to:
“00:59:59.”
Everyone’s expression changed.
Wang Zhihao cursed.
“They did that on purpose!”
But R23-B kept staring at the screen.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“If they wanted to stop us, capturing you directly would be faster.”
“Then why break the card?”
R23-B was silent for a few seconds.
“To force you to go to Hsinchu within an hour.”
Chen Yaoting turned around.
“So that means—”
“At least one side…”
R23-B watched the Shinrui factory recede farther and farther behind them.
“Really wants you to meet He Chenghan.”
The vehicle merged onto the expressway.
Another text came to Chen Yaoting’s phone.
This time, it contained only an address.
Hsinchu Rehabilitation Medical Center, Building B, underground parking lot.
A sentence followed:
“Don’t use the main entrance.”
And then the final sentence:
“Zhao Mingyuan got there first.”