Player 0

Zhuang Mo took out another file and said, "Bai Shuang's father, the old city lord Bai, was luckier—he didn't inherit the disease and lived to 73, a normal lifespan. As for Bai Shuang's grandfather, he really died in a car accident, which has nothing to do with Daoist Wu."

"The old city lord Bai was extracted from the accident scene by emergency doctors. According to superstition, a child taken from a dead mother's womb is called a 'coffin child.' Daoist Wu used to strongly dislike people calling the old city lord that, but some tongues can't be controlled, and they insisted on mocking him with that name."

Huang Peiyu reviewed the files Zhuang Mo gave him, then suddenly thought of someone: "Have you checked Wu Daoist's personal assistant, Chen Chahua?"

Zhuang Mo shook his head: "I tried, but couldn't find anything useful. What I can confirm is that Chen Chahua visits Principal He from time to time. What they discuss, I can't find out."

Huang Peiyu sneered, "I used to suspect Daoist Wu, but had no evidence. After meeting Chen Chahua, I quickly focused on Daoist Wu as the prime suspect. I can't say for sure if Wu killed Chang Ming, but my gut says Daoist Wu caused the deaths of Bai family's heads over generations."

Huang Peiyu glanced again at the documents: "It seems Chen Chahua is a good storyteller. She told us the 'coffin child' story but said nothing about the Bai family's hereditary disease. I've heard of this disease before—people don't live long with it."

Zhuang Mo said, "I also asked Bai Shuang about their family's hereditary disease. It's as you said—people rarely live past forty. Bai Shuang said the old city lord Bai asked Daoist Wu to perform genetic screening on her fertilized embryo to prevent her from inheriting the disease."

Huang Peiyu laughed, "The old city lord Bai was testing the legal boundaries, but it's understandable. Every parent hopes their child is healthy. Since he's dead now, even if responsibility is investigated, he's gone without anyone to defend him."

"But," Huang Peiyu continued, "why are there no records of Bai Shuang's birth mother?"

Zhuang Mo was puzzled: "I checked but couldn't find anything. Bai Shuang herself doesn't know who her birth mother is. I suspect she might have been born through surrogacy arranged by the old city lord Bai. Since Bai Shuang is the product of genetic screening, she's at least a test-tube baby. It's possible the old city lord simply used donated eggs."

"Makes sense," Huang Peiyu said. "He was a heroic figure, but sadly childless in old age. Whale Fall City is huge, and he surely didn't want to give it to others. Before dying, he found a way to have a child. Given the hereditary disease, genetic screening was the only way to avoid passing it on."

Changing train of thought, Huang Peiyu said, "Someone else must know the truth!"

Zhuang Mo's eyes lit up, and he and his master spoke the name in unison: "He Shouchen!"

"He must know the inside story!" Huang Peiyu said. "Chen Chahua said the old city lord once told Principal He he had a daughter. Bai Shuang had been born then, but was still an infant. The old city lord intended to entrust Principal He with caring for his daughter. Who could have expected this outcome?"

Zhuang Mo felt indignation for Bai Shuang: "He Shouchen is a university president—how can he not understand basic decency? I heard the old city lord treated him well, but he neither helped Bai Shuang nor hesitated to use information asymmetry to try to snatch Whale Fall City from her."

Huang Peiyu smiled lightly: "The old city lord's wisest move was designing the Whale Fall Decision game. Not just He Shouchen, the old city lord likely told other great families the same."

"Player One Chang Ming, Player Two Xiao Jingji, Player Three Xiao Meigui, Player Four He Shouchen. When giving them the game accounts, the old city lord must have said the same words to each."

Zhuang Mo couldn't believe it: "But none of them kept their promise!"

"Entrusting the child before death," Huang Peiyu carefully pondered the phrase, "The old city lord expected they wouldn't keep their promises, so he deliberately used 25 years to let the families check and balance each other. The families fought openly and covertly, so none could seize the city prematurely. Bai Shuang could grow up during that time."

Zhuang Mo grew worried: "But the families already found ways to seize the city. They hold a preliminary game tournament with their own rules, so the winners always come from the space giants. Whale Fall Decision itself has been hacked, so the hackers control the outcomes of preliminaries and finals."

Huang Peiyu fell silent for a moment, then said, "The police have no jurisdiction over Whale Fall Decision's game results. Unless Bai Shuang reports it and asks for police tech help to catch the hackers, we can't act. Our immediate priority is to find Chang Ming's real killer. The man has been dead for 20 days—we cannot delay."

Zhuang Mo's worry deepened: "I finally understand why Bai Shuang hides her identity. If the other families learn her origins and she reveals them, they will claim her birth is illegal and hold Daoist Wu responsible."

Huang Peiyu: "Daoist Wu is Bai Shuang's foster father. She won't want her foster father imprisoned. If he suffers, Bai Shuang alone won't be able to defend Whale Fall City."

But then Huang Peiyu added, "Still, as a police officer, we must investigate! You have to find out exactly how Bai Shuang was born."

"Do we really have to investigate?" Zhuang Mo worried. If Bai Shuang's birth has a shameful secret, exposing it could harm her greatly.

"What do you think?" Huang Peiyu's face turned stern. "If you don't solve this, don't expect to get promoted!"

Zhuang Mo was torn—on one side, the woman he deeply loved; on the other, his future career. He didn't want to lose either, but the situation forced a choice.

After much agonizing, he devised a compromise: investigate quietly to find the truth.

If the truth is bad for Bai Shuang, hide it if possible. If not so bad, he can help her fight rumors from the other families.

With that decided, Zhuang Mo resolved to return to Whale Fall City and continue his shameless investigation.

Before leaving, Huang Peiyu warned once more: "Behave yourself, and don't get Bai Shuang pregnant during the investigation."

"Master, rest assured!" Zhuang Mo said confidently, "She takes estrogen every day—I watch her take it."

Huang Peiyu remained uneasy. He couldn't explain why, but his veteran cop intuition told him his apprentice might slip up on this.

"Be careful—never let your guard down."