All the clear-headed people present instantly looked over that way. The pathetic Type 3 man who had just struggled awake on the ground saw this violent scene and stared dully for a moment; then, accordingly, his head tilted and his eyes rolled, and he once again silently passed out. 

As for Su Qing himself, after he had performed this earth-shattering unprecedented action, the hot blood surging through his brain began to cool, and he looked down blankly at his hands, thinking, I’d better chop off these worthless hands, chop them off…

The tragedy was, it was already too late to chop. It turned out that the guy who wasn’t afraid of burning his hands could only ignore pain through the stimulation of excitement; he wasn’t really made of steel—for example, after getting hit on the back of the head, he couldn’t turn around and keep squabbling with Su Qing like a superman; instead, he gutlessly fell forward and didn’t move. 

Su Qing stood there, looking fierce while inwardly trembling, still holding the weapon in his hand. He swallowed with difficulty. 

The “reveling” Type 4 nut jobs exchanged looks. The fanatical expressions on their faces had yet to recede. Their eyes were bloodshot. The three of them gathered into a small circle and slowly approached Su Qing. 

Su Qing subconsciously wanted to retreat, but his brain irrelevantly came up with a memory of going to his grandma’s house in the country when he was little and being chased by a big wolf dog. An uncle had rescued him and told him, when you met a beast like this that bullies the weak but fears the strong, the more fear you display, the bolder it will be; but if you stand strong, it will run off with its tail between its legs. If you’re really afraid, then you should bend down and pretend to pick up a rock to scare it off. 

So Su Qing raised the chair, doing his best to force a fierce and savage expression onto his face—though the outcome wasn’t ideal, he acted like he was ready to violate the prohibition against taking life, trying to scare off these beasts. 

Sadly, it was clear that while these men were insane, their IQs were still higher than a dog’s. Watching Su Qing with his small physique wave around a shabby chair, not only were they not frightened, they also found it very entertaining. They pointed at him and laughed. 

One of them was holding a length of metal pole he had picked up somewhere. He swayed back and forth and dragged the end over the ground so the pole scraped the floor and let out a scalp-numbing sound. 

Su Qing’s mouth went dry and his brain became muddled. He gave off a heavy air of being bitterly pressured. There really was no advance and no retreat for him. 

Behind him, people began to comment, all kinds of voices mixing together into a buzzing in his ears. The head of the three lunatics took a step forward and put a hand on Su Qing’s shoulder. He looked down at Su Qing’s scrawny chicken claws and, grinning, asked, “What are you trying to do?” 

The veins stood out on the backs of Su Qing’s hands, but he didn’t dare to make a sound, afraid that if he spoke, his voice would shake. His shoulders were rigidly tensed. 

The lunatic became bolder. He lifted his hand from Su Qing’s shoulder and lightly patted his face with the back of his hand. Narrowing his eyes, he looked Su Qing over and quietly said, “Kid, you’re new. You need to understand the rules. Do you know what our rules here are?” 

Su Qing squeezed out two words between his teeth: “Let go.” 

Looking provocative, the lunatic used all his strength to smack his face. The skin turned red. 

Su Qing took a deep breath. He thought, he had gotten himself into this; time couldn’t be turned back, and there was no medicine for regret. He would face a knife whether he stuck his neck out or drew his neck in. Better to go for broke! 

He finally looked at the old man huddled in the corner. The old man was raising his head slightly. He hadn’t yet lowered the arms covering his head. He looked astonished. His eyes met Su Qing’s, and Su Qing couldn’t understand the complex expression in his aged eyes. He only hurriedly averted his gaze and raised his leg to kick the kneecap of the lunatic next to him, then rotated the chair and defiantly brought it down on the man’s head. 

This time the lunatic dodged, reaching up to make a fending off gesture over his head. A chair leg scraped his sleeve and left a mark. The corners of his eyes began to twitch, all the nerves in his face looking like they were going out of control. He yanked over the pole his companion behind him was holding. “Well, fuck, you’re feeling full of yourself, aren’t you!” 

Su Qing shielded himself with the chair. Maybe the crappy chair was too crappy, or maybe this man’s strength was too great. With a crash, the wooden chair broke into pieces. 

Su Qing’s elbows went weak, and a chair leg knocked heavily against his forehead, stunning him a little. Su Qing flared up again, thinking, Shit, my own dad never hit me, what the hell are you supposed to be? 

When he got angry, his fear weakened significantly. Su Qing flung the wooden chair away and reached out to grab a big metal ladle from a pot. He brandished it like a mighty weapon. 

He had meant to use some fake moves to fool the lunatics, like in a wuxia novel, and look for an opening to kill at one blow. Sadly, he didn’t have a very good understanding of the notion of an “opening.” He swung the ladle around for ages, and apart from getting rice all over the place, he gained nothing. 

The three lunatics stood in a row and rushed at him with order and discipline. At the critical moment, like an iron tree blossoming, two white coats who had been keeping to the background suddenly stood up and reached out with their gloved hands, saying, “He’s a newcomer.” 

Su Qing hadn’t expected this bunch to step in on his behalf. Holding up the ladle, he stared blankly, thinking, How come it’s like an online game here? There’s special treatment for newcomers? 

Then he heard a white coat say, “His period of usefulness is longer than yours. He’s more valuable than you are.” 

Su Qing: “…” 

The Type 4 angry birds paid no attention. Grim-faced and screaming, they were about to defy their superiors and execute the white coats as well. The one holding the pole jabbed a white coat with it, irritably saying, “Get…” 

Su Qing guessed he was going to say “get out,” but when he had said only one word, the man turned ashen-faced and bent over, convulsing. Su Qing carefully stepped aside. He saw a white coat holding a tiny instrument to the pole. Based on his understanding, Su Qing thought it was a small taser. 

The man who had been electrocuted gripped the conducting pole irresistibly, frothing at the mouth while performing an unconventional form of pole dance. 

The white coat looked at him coldly and thought that he had had about enough, then pressed on the “taser” and watched the man fall exhausted to the ground. With one hand in his coat pocket, looking rather monstrous, he asked, “Would anyone else like to try?” 

Their anger receding, the remaining two Type 4 birds who could still walk upright exchanged a look and obediently “did the heroic thing.” They picked up their two paralyzed companions and withdrew. 

An electric bell rang in the main hall. Su Qing stared. He found the main hall’s door opening and a team of uniformed people coming in to methodically clean the hall. 

Su Qing stood in the middle of this team of uniformed people. Someone pulled the metal ladle out of his hand, but none of them paid attention to him or even gave him a look, as though he were only a statue. They also didn’t talk amongst themselves at all, quickly and efficiently performing the tasks at hand, like a group of robots. 

Su Qing saw that the collars of their uniforms were embroidered with the word “Utopia” in an unobtrusive location. 

Just then, someone next to him quietly said, “This means that mealtime is over.” 

Su Qing turned and saw that the old man who had just been pressed into the corner and beaten had come over to him at some point. At a close look, he found that this old man was actually tall and broad-shouldered, only somewhat skinny. The old man’s face was injured. He smiled at him and extended a hand. “Cheng Weizhi. Thank you for that just now.” 

No one had ever tried to shake hands with Su Qing so solemnly. He stared, considering how much force it would be appropriate to use so as not to seem rude while uneasily shaking hands. “Just doing what I ought to do… My name is Su Qing.” 

He had just spoken when a sharp whistle sounded. The group in “Utopia” uniforms had completed their work and dispersed. The guards with the guns heard the whistle and immediately switched modes from “at ease” to “at attention,” changed formation, and stood in two lines. 

Cheng Weizhi gave him a gentle push and whispered, “They want us to leave the main hall and go back to our rooms. If you don’t mind that I’m an old codger, you can stay with me.” 

Su Qing was all at sea. He didn’t understand anything. The guy who had just been providing commentary for him had turned his attention to fainting and hadn’t said anything clearly, so he readily went with Cheng Weizhi. 

His mind was full of questions. For example, what did “absorbing emotions” mean? Could such insubstantial things really be used as an energy source? How were types of so-called blue seals and grey seals distinguished? Could grey seals also absorb emotions? Then why couldn’t grey seals leap onto roofs and vault over walls like blue seals? 

Also…what was Utopia? Who had done all of this? 

Cheng Weizhi walked ahead. His back was a little humped, but whether speaking or acting, there was a scholarly moderation about everything he did. Once over his scare, he actually appeared somewhat elegant, an intellectual from head to toe. 

Su Qing couldn’t help asking, “Er…Uncle Cheng, what even is this place?” 

Cheng Weizhi brought Su Qing to a room. He put his hand on the doorknob, paused, and said, “I’ve been here over two months. Based on my observations, apart from the ‘blue seals’ and ‘grey seals,’ all the personnel have a ‘Utopia’ symbol, either obvious or concealed. I have no way to determine whether this is the name of an organization or a research project.”  

Su Qing followed Cheng Weizhi inside. The furnishings inside were simple but not crude. Nothing that should have been there was missing. In one room, there were three single beds. Cheng Weizhi opened a closet and with great effort pulled out a set of bedding. “Nights get a little cold here. I’ll give you an extra quilt.” 

Su Qing suddenly seemed to see one winter, while he was attending university, how Su Chengde had had his driver take him to the school without saying a word in advance. He had come on purpose to bring him a quilt and personally put it on his bed, even muttering, “I’ve felt that it’s been a little cold lately, and the heating in your school isn’t any good, so I brought you another quilt. Don’t keep using that electric mattress pad, it’s not safe, and it’s uncomfortable…” His heart ached, and he hurried over to take the bedding, clumsily making his own bed. 

Cheng Weizhi was elderly and had gone through that irritating incident just now. He sat on his bed a little breathlessly and gave a bitter laugh. “Everything I know, I heard from the researchers. Sometimes when they talk they don’t take particular care to avoid us…” 

Su Qing stared, hearing the unspoken implication in these words. 

Cheng Weizhi continued, “Grey seals are like a consumable good. I’ve kept track, and up to this point, there hasn’t been a single grey seal with more than three ‘uses.’ Without a conversion system, absorbing energy three times is fatal to the ‘energy crystal.’” 

Su Qing, not understanding, quickly asked: “What crystal?” 

Cheng Weizhi slowly stood up and poured himself a cup of warm water, then took a box of cookies from a cupboard. He beckoned mildly to Su Qing. “Here, young fellow, I snuck this out of the main hall another time. I saw you didn’t eat anything just now. You must be hungry.” 

Su Qing clutched his hair and went over to sit. Cheng Weizhi drank some water and began to carefully narrate the cause and effect of this terrifying grey house.