by <unknown>
"Then the next topic is, how do we maintain the stability of the Dyson cloud in solar orbit?"
"…"
The meeting room was filled with the babble of voices and countless terms that were unfamiliar to ordinary people were casually thrown out from these people. Everyone enjoyed the discussion despite its discordant nature, breaking up the details of the plan to ensure that every step was carried out smoothly.
Still, in any case, the more everyone discussed, the more they had a hunch — when they started to implement this globally shocking plan, it would be the biggest step in the history of humankind!
[ol][li data-annotation-id="51cf80ef-f48a-34cf-71bc-050fdb2cb4c2"]Taken from a novel of the same name by Liu Cixin, the theory proposed that once a cosmic civilization is discovered, other similar civilizations would inevitably try to wipe it out.[li data-annotation-id="91d1113b-9658-bdc2-427b-36824a27c4d6"]A fictional rebellion in the lore of the game Overwatch. To read more: https://overwatch.fandom.com/wiki/Omnic_Crisis[/ol]
Chapter 618: Sean |
The project to utilize the sun, a natural nuclear fusion reactor, began to unfold in full swing, and the speed was astonishing.
In just one month, the first Mercury exploration ship funded by Blacklight Biotechnology set sail and the Moon Rabbit Space Station temporarily became the gateway of the Dyson cloud project. Dozens of spacecraft began to be built in the dock of the Moon Rabbit.
Before the four continents and Blacklight Biotechnology jointly built a space base specifically responsible for this project in the future, the Moon Rabbit would assume this responsibility. As a reward, the four continents would come up with some benefits that could not be bought with money.
Step by step, the status of Blacklight Biotechnology in the Earth Federation was becoming more and more weighty. Now even those who were most insensitive to politics were also faintly aware that Blacklight Biotechnology had exceeded the scope of a private enterprise. In the face of the Earth Federation, Blacklight Biotechnology was more like a force with the right to converse on equal terms, not a company under the umbrella of the Earth Federation.
"Without anyone noticing, has this capital expanded to this level? Blackwatch is going against the natural order!"
"666, the capitalization of the Earth Federation. If this continues, it's estimated that the entire Earth will belong to this company in the future. We poor people will be breaking the law just by breathing…"
"I have to question the group of politicians of the Earth Federation — why did they nurture this company to this extent? When the country's law enforcement agencies are ruled by a for-profit company; when a company can set law enforcement rules at will; when the police are reduced to a law enforcement tool of a certain company; when a certain company can be above the law… What justice and fairness is there in this world?"
"Hey commenter, are you reciting lines or something? Blackwatch has never done all those that you've mentioned. When did they interfere with the law? And to the previous commenter, I think you're thinking too much because Blackwatch Corporation wouldn't care whether a swine like you breathe or not!"
"This cybertrooper must be filthy rich now! What's the referral code? I want to earn money too!"
There was a lot of discussion on the Internet and many people continued to share their concerns about Blackwatch, but generally, this kind of hot topic would not last long before a bunch of counterarguments flooded in. Some of these speeches came from Blackwatch fans while most of them were cyber troopers hired by Blacklight Biotechnology.
After a few exchanges, both sides would start to make warm inquiries about each other's family members in a refined and friendly manner…
…
On the other side, late at night in Detroit, Northern America, an eight or nine-year-old black boy was desperately banging on his mother's door and screaming.
The little boy's face was streaked with tears and he looked back toward his room in horror from time to time, but only saw the darkness at the end of the corridor. In the deep darkness, black shadows seemed to be pulsating…
"Open the door, Mom, please!
"Mom, open the door, those monsters in the dream are coming after me again. I'm so scared!
"Sob, sob, sob…"
In the end, the boy could not help curling up in front of the door, staring at the darkness at the end of the corridor.
Finally, the boy heard irritated footsteps in his mother's bedroom and then the door creaked open. The stench of alcohol immediately rushed over his face. At the door stood a white man whose eyes were ready to spit fire.
"Mr. Quinton…"
There was a look crying for help in the boy's eyes, but he was greeted with a slap in the face!
"Slap!"
The boy was dizzy from the strike. He glanced at the man blankly then peered into the room, only to see his mother sitting on the bed impatiently, puffing cigarette smoke.
"Enough, you brat!"
A look of disgust gleamed in the eyes of the white man. "You have disturbed us dozens of times and what did I tell you before? I said I hope it won't happen again!"
"Mr. Quinton, I'm sorry…"
The boy could not help sobbing in a low voice. "But what I said is true. There are monsters in the dream. I didn't lie to you!"
"Slap!"
However, the boy's explanation was still met with a slap in the face. The man called Quinton roared, "I've had enough of you. No wonder your father doesn't want you. Believe it or not, if you dare to knock on this door again in the middle of the night, I'll crush you to death with my own hands!"
With that, he roughly took the boy by the collar and dragged him toward his bedroom. "Now, get yourself back to bed!"
"No, no, Mr. Quinton, please don't make me go back!"
The boy's face changed suddenly and he struggled desperately. "That group of monsters… That group of monsters escaped from the dream, they did escape from the dream! Believe me!"
However, no matter how hard he struggled, how could he break free of a middle-aged man in his forties? Soon, he was dragged back to his room by the man.
"Okay, brat, go to bed at once!"
The man named Quinton commanded loudly and at the same time, reflexively pressed the light switch on the wall.
"Crackle!"
With the sound of the switch being turned on, the man only saw the light above his head flash twice, then it died out again.
"Hmm?"
Quinton could not help frowning. He pressed the switch several times again but the light still only flickered twice and then dimmed again as if something had interfered with it.
"The bulb is broken?"
Quinton scratched his head in confusion and then looked at the little boy behind him. Only then did he realize that after he came to this room, the little boy had suddenly fallen quiet.
"George?"
Quinton turned around suspiciously but saw that the little boy had already shrunk toward the bed somehow. In the darkness, the boy stared at him in terror, no, it should be said that he was staring behind him!
When he saw this scene, Quinton suddenly felt a chill in his heart for some reason. He slowly turned his head somewhat stiffly but he saw that there was nothing behind him by the light outside the window.
"Phew…"
Quinton secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, he suddenly felt a kind of detached anger. An adult like himself was fooled by a child!
Thinking of this, he turned his head again furiously and was about to yell at the boy, but the moment he turned his head, a black figure was already standing in front of him…
When the morning sun shone into the gloomy street the next day, the haze of the entire street seemed to be dispersed in an instant, but after that came bursts of harsh screams.
Soon, the local police department was dispatched. They sealed off a house and rescued an unconscious child from the house.
"This is the scene of the crime, Mr. Sean."
&nbs
p; A man wearing a black cloak and holding a pipe, surrounded by several sheriffs, walked slowly to the house cordoned off by strips of warning tape.
"Just last night, two terrible murders occurred in this house."
One of the police sheriffs who was bald explained as he looked at the handsome profile of the man and put on an ingratiating manner, "The deceased were a white male and a black woman. The white male was Buss Quinton, 41 years old. He was originally unemployed but because he hooked up with the owner of this house, he was able to live here.
"The black woman was the head of the family and had a son. Her husband died in a gang shootout three years ago, so she had raised the child by herself until last night happened…"
After saying all this, the sheriff sighed slightly. "This is the background of the two victims. The deaths of these two people are very strange and it's probably the work of a psionicist. That's why we asked you, Mr. Sean, to help us investigate."
The man called Sean nodded. He ignored the barrier tape at the door and walked to the door step by step, then frowned slightly. "There's the smell of sulfur…"
"What did you say?"
The sheriff on the side asked subconsciously.
"The presence of sulfur, don't you smell it?"
Sean turned his head and asked.
"No… There's no smell here."
The sheriff sniffed vigorously, then shook his head repeatedly.
"Strange. So this isn't something the nose can smell, but rather my…"
Sean opened his mouth with a surprised expression. His face grew even more serious, and at the same time, he slowly opened the door in front of him.
The bodies of the two deceased had not been handled yet. Sean first came to the second floor and opened the door of the master bedroom. He instantly saw a black woman lying naked on the bed. Her corpse was shriveled. She had been a black woman, but there was a peculiar ashy tint to her skin.
"Her blood was drained."
Sean immediately commented. Then, he stepped forward and gently touched the deceased's body, only to find that her chest had completely collapsed, but there was no wound on her body.
Seeing this, Sean raised his eyebrows again. "Her internal organs are gone…"
Seeing the movement of Sean's hand, the sheriff on the side wiped his sweat slightly. "That seems to be the case at the moment."
"Where's the other corpse?"
Sean turned his head and looked at the sheriff calmly.
"In… In the child's room."
The sheriff made an inviting gesture and led Sean to the room at the end of the corridor. Here, a big white man was lying quietly on the floor with bulging eyes and an unbelieving look on his face as if he had seen something terrifying before his death.
Sean knelt and examined the corpse with his hand again. Sure enough, just like the dead woman, the internal organs were missing, but no wounds were seen anywhere on the body.
"Send the corpses back."
Seeing this, Sean stood up and said solemnly, "Remember to send me the autopsy report."
"Yes… Yes!"
The sheriff nodded repeatedly. He had seen quite a few murder scenes himself but for some reason, none were like this one. The entire room seemed to be filled with a strange air of death, which induced an inexplicable sense of depression.
After the corpses were taken away, only Sean was left in the child's room. He then looked around and caught various clues.
Sean was a psionicist.
A psionicist police detective.
He was also a victim of the fusion virus in those years, but after he had recovered from the disease, he realized that he had acquired a wondrous ability — in a small space, he could observe what had happened there a few hours ago.
It was like a video recorder. His ability was to find the playback button of the video recorder and play out the scene that was left in this area.
Although this kind of ability was a supportive type and had no offensive power, Sean was a valuable member of the Detroit City Police Department because every time he was dispatched, it meant the case would be easily solved!
At this time, Sean picked up a photo on the table. It was a group photo of an ordinary family of three. A black man and a black woman flashed their big white teeth and looked at the camera with a smile. Between them, there was a boy with an obedient face.
Sean heard that this boy was the only survivor of the incident.
After placing the photo back to its original position, Sean no longer hesitated. He closed his eyes and started to activate his ability.
"Hum…"
Everything in the room became weird at once. Dark shadows flared up and flickered ceaselessly on the walls as if the shadows in the room had all come to life. They began to condense and regroup in front of Sean. The light outside the window also began to dim!
If an outsider saw this, they would be crying out for God in alarm because it was still morning. The sun had just risen but now the scene outside the window had returned to darkness!
This was Sean's superpower.
With the activation of his psionic powers, everything in the room went back to a few hours ago. At the same time, the door of the room began to shake violently. It seemed that someone was banging on the door vigorously but Sean just gave a vigilant glance without stepping forward to open the door because he knew that if there were someone outside the door, they would have come in long ago. Why would they stay silent and just keep pounding at the door?
Thinking of this, Sean refocused his attention to the room but saw that two figures had stood in front of the door of the room at some point.
Of the two figures, one was tall and one was short. The tall one was the previous deceased man named Quinton and the short one was the child in the photo.
"Huh? Why is there no movement?"
Looking at the scene in front of him, Sean could not help frowning. He continued to activate his power but the two figures were frozen in place. No matter how Sean tried, he could not rewind the scene!
Meanwhile, perhaps it was an illusion but Sean felt that the stench of sulfur pervading the room was getting stronger…
"Cough… Cough, cough…"
Sean could not help coughing. His nose was slightly warm as if something was dripping from it. Sean lowered his head subconsciously and touched it, only to get blood on his hand — this was due to the excessive use of his psionic powers.
"I don't believe this!"
Sean gritted his teeth and raised his head to release his psionic energy more forcefully, but when he looked up, he was surprised to find that at some point, the two figures in front of him had already turned their heads…
The two shadows were tilting their heads and staring at him silently from a strange angle. Seeing this, Sean's scalp turned numb and at the same time, a faint chill permeated through his limbs.
"Impossible…"
Sean's pupils contracted furiously. The two figures he had traced back in time using psionic energy were not real people. How could they possibly see him?
Chapter 619: The Second Case |
"Mr. Sean, Mr. Sean?"
In a daze, Sean heard someone calling him.
He slowly opened his eyes. Only then did he see several police officers and a group of medical personnel in white standing in front of him. They were happy when they saw that he woke up.
"This is…"
Sean endured his dizzy head and sat up while holding his forehead. It was only then that he realized that he did not know when he had passed out, and he had been laid out on a hospital bed at this time.
"You passed out at the murder scene earlier."
The sheriff who was following him before came forward and said solicitously, "Is it because you overused your psionic powers? If so, that's okay, we can wait for you to recover before continuing the investigation."
Sean nodded, then turned to look at the doctor on the side. "Is my body okay?"
"After a preliminary inspection, we
didn't find any problem. It must've been caused by excessive fatigue."
The doctor replied, "If you're worried, we can give you a comprehensive examination."
"Then, there's no need for that."
Sean waved his hand and declined the doctor's kind offer.
After that, several police chiefs said a few words to Sean. Seeing that Sean was still lacking in energy, they made an excuse to leave.
When everyone had left, Sean lay back on the hospital bed, a little tired.
This was an intensive care unit. The entire room was clean and bright. There was plenty of space and there was only one bed in the entire room. This environment meant that he must be in a high-level ward in Detroit, but Sean was not concerned about that. He began trying to remember what he had seen at the scene of the crime.
'I only remember that before losing consciousness, I seemed to have seen two people…'
Sean frowned and thought, 'They just stood there quietly, seeming to look at me, but how is that possible… Is it some kind of superpower that restrains me?'
After thinking for a while, Sean turned his head and looked at the bedside table, only to see a blue file folder there. He picked it up and opened it doubtfully. Only then did he find that it was the autopsy report of the case.
After seeing the contents of the report, Sean's pupils shrank slightly.
Sure enough, all the internal organs in the bodies of the two deceased had disappeared utterly without a trace. Whether it was the heart, spleen or lungs, everything was gone. Not only that, even the blood of the corpse had vanished. The corpse was like an empty skin bag.
"Is this something that superpowers can pull off?"
Sean fell into deep thought…
One day passed by quickly but Sean, who was lying in the hospital bed, found that although an entire day had passed, he was not hungry at all. Even if someone brought him food, he did not have the slightest appetite.
He only drank a sip of water in the day but then stopped due to the feeling of fullness in his stomach.
