Chapter Seven: The Super Artificial Brain

***Please add to your favorites***

“Damn it, how could something like this happen? Don’t worry, South, when we brothers get out in a few days, we’ll help you get your revenge. If I don’t cripple one of his hands, I, Long Kun, don’t deserve to be in this game,” Long Kun declared, furious after hearing the whole story.

The other young men nearby chimed in, promising to avenge South as soon as they were released.

Although Zhuo Nan was pleased by their loyalty, he knew that if anything else happened to Wang Yu, he would be implicated. Smiling, he said, “Kun, I appreciate everyone’s good intentions, but if that kid Wang Yu gets hurt now, I’ll definitely be held responsible.”

Hearing this, Long Kun understood. “Don’t worry, South, I’ll make sure you get your justice.”

“Kun, you said you’ll be getting out in a few days?” Zhuo Nan asked.

“South, stop calling me Kun. You’re my elder brother; just call me Long Kun,” Long Kun replied, embarrassed.

Zhuo Nan laughed. “How about we call each other brothers? If people find out you’re calling a teenager ‘Big Brother,’ how are you supposed to survive in this world?”

Long Kun thought about it and agreed, though in his heart, South was always his big brother. “You’re right, but privately, I’ll still call you Big Brother. You call me Long Kun.”

Zhuo Nan couldn’t argue with him, so he nodded in agreement and continued, “Long Kun, you haven’t told me about getting out?”

Long Kun grinned. “South, which month don’t we spend a few days in here? We’re just trying to make a living, and little troubles are common. If we stay too long, even the authorities get tired of us—they have to feed us, after all, so every month we’re bound to spend a few days here.”

“True, life isn’t easy for anyone,” Zhuo Nan mused, thinking of Second Uncle’s family and how hard life was for them.

“South, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? When Old Wu gets back, I’ll have him bring you something to eat,” Long Kun offered, noticing it was already dark outside.

Mentioning food made Zhuo Nan realize how hungry he was. Just then, Old Wu returned, and Long Kun went to the door and called out, “Old Wu, bring some food over!”

Old Wu, having just eaten, ambled towards them, grumbling, “Damn it, Long Kun, didn’t you already eat?” But when he reached the door, he was stunned by Long Kun’s swollen face. “Long Kun, what happened to your face?”

“It’s nothing, just took a tumble,” Long Kun replied sheepishly.

Old Wu had worked in the cells for years and knew exactly what was going on. He glanced at Zhuo Nan, sitting confidently on the bunk while everyone else stood, and realized this kid was formidable. Long Kun was notorious in the suburbs for being tough, and it looked like he’d been bested.

“Are you really okay?” Old Wu asked, suspicious.

“I’m fine, Old Wu. Bring some food; I owe you one,” Long Kun said.

“Alright, wait here. I’ll get it,” Old Wu replied, turning to leave.

Back on the bunk, Zhuo Nan asked, “Are you okay? You seem familiar with Old Wu.”

“South, you don’t know how things work here. Sometimes the police can’t handle certain matters, so they let us step in. It’s a cooperative relationship—if they can’t solve a big case, they’ll ask for help from people like us. Old Wu is a good man; when I first came in as a teenager, he looked out for me. Ten years later, he’s still here,” Long Kun reminisced about his early days.

While Zhuo Nan and Long Kun were forming their brotherhood, things at home were far less harmonious. Wang Liru had no appetite for dinner and sent Lanlan to bed early. Sitting in the living room, she stared at a photo of Zhuo Nan as a child, sorrow welling up until tears fell. Her child was in the cells—how much suffering would he endure?

Hearing the door open, Wang Liru quickly stood up, guessing Zhuo Wengang had returned. She hurried to greet him, asking anxiously, “Wengang, what did Director Wang’s family say?”

Zhuo Wengang sighed. Though only forty, his hard work made him look older, and today’s events left him even more exhausted. Zhuo Nan was the family’s only son—if anything happened to him, how could he face his deceased parents and older brother and sister-in-law? “Liru, no one was home, and they wouldn’t answer their phone. I went to the factory hospital, but they’d transferred to the city hospital. When I found them, it was useless. They said to leave it to the police… sigh…”

“Oh, what are we going to do? Nan Nan will suffer so much in there. Wengang, if it’s handed to the police, what will happen?” Wang Liru asked.

Zhuo Wengang sat down and took a sip of water. “I asked around. Nan Nan is already fifteen, so he might be detained for three months, fined, and we’ll have to pay Wang’s medical expenses.”

“Three months? That won’t do—he’ll miss the entrance exams. Nan Nan isn’t my biological son, but I care for him even more than if he were. Wengang, please try again,” Wang Liru pleaded.

Zhuo Wengang shook his head. “Liru, I know how you feel—I feel the same way. Nan Nan is the only boy in the Zhuo family; he’s like a piece of my heart. All we can do is wait until tomorrow. I’ll go see him at the station, and if necessary, we’ll pay Wang’s family more.”

Wang Liru calmed down, realizing there was nothing else to do but wait. She wondered how Zhuo Nan was coping inside.

“Liru, how much money do we have left?” Zhuo Wengang asked.

Wang Liru knew money was their only hope. Without thinking, she replied, “We have a twenty thousand fixed deposit and a three thousand savings account. Should I withdraw it all tomorrow?”

“Yes, take it all out. Tomorrow I’ll try to find Director Wang and see what he wants,” Zhuo Wengang said.

Wang Liru added, “I’ll buy something to visit Wang Yu tomorrow. We can’t show up empty-handed.”

“Liru, the Zhuo family owes you so much,” Zhuo Wengang said, grateful for such a loving wife but also feeling guilty for not being able to provide her with a good life.

Wang Liru put her hand over his mouth, protesting, “Wengang, don’t ever say that again. I never gave you a son, but Nan Nan is my son. If I don’t take care of him, who will?”

“Yes, we have both a son and a daughter—some families can only dream of that,” Zhuo Wengang replied, hugging her tightly.

Wang Liru blushed and scolded, “Stop it, the children are asleep. I’ll heat up your dinner; hurry and eat.”

Only then did Zhuo Wengang remember he hadn’t eaten all evening. He nodded quickly.

The bunk was crowded, but Zhuo Nan couldn’t sleep. Staring out at the night sky, he thought about the scene from his fight with Long Kun—it was another manifestation of his powers. After the fight, he tried to use his ability to foresee the next moment, but nothing appeared. It seemed this power was only useful in combat, though it was more practical than the one from that afternoon. Maybe it would upgrade in the future—he recalled how protagonists in the novels he’d read in his “past life” grew stronger as their abilities leveled up.

He wondered how Second Uncle and Aunt were doing, probably worried sick. In his “previous life,” his grades were poor, but he’d never been in the cells. Now, after being reborn, he’d experienced it firsthand. He’d barely been reborn a day: first punished, then fought, and now detained. History was slowly being rewritten by his actions.

He recalled memories from his “previous life”: after the steel mill closed, all the workers were bought out, but before that, something happened—Wang Zhenguo was caught embezzling, but returned the money and got off without punishment. Though he lost his position as deputy director, the factory was already failing, and after the buyout, he went out on his own and supposedly made a lot of money.

Thinking about this, Zhuo Nan sensed something suspicious about Wang Zhenguo. He probably didn’t return everything—just enough to calm things down. He must still have plenty of dirty money.

This was an opportunity. If he could obtain evidence of Wang Zhenguo’s corruption, he could finally bring him down. Zhuo Nan wished bitterly that fate would give him the powers to walk through walls and become invisible—then he could sneak out tonight, investigate, and return by morning.

He cursed fate in his mind: “Why are you so stingy…”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind, startling him: “Kid, do you want to die? You’ve already experienced reincarnation, what more do you want? Are you hoping I’ll send you back?”

Zhuo Nan looked around, but no one was there. Through the window, the stars and moon hung peacefully in the sky—nothing unusual. He wondered where the voice came from.

“Stop looking. I’m the one speaking,” the voice continued in his mind.

“You’re talking?” Zhuo Nan thought.

The mind replied, “Yes, it’s me.”

“Who are you?” Zhuo Nan asked.

“To put it simply, I’m a super brain, a product from another world. In our world, people are made, not born.”

Zhuo Nan was bewildered, but after experiencing reincarnation, a talking brain didn’t seem that strange. “How did you end up in our world?”

“It’s a long story. After I was created, no one could integrate with me in my world. When your soul arrived after your death, we were able to fuse. So, the people in my world opened a time tunnel and sent us back,” the brain explained, even sighing.

Zhuo Nan was stunned—what a stroke of luck. “Brain, since you’re super, do you have any other powers for me?”

“Power? The name ‘super brain’ just means I have a fully developed brain. For example, humans usually use about 10% of their brain, with intelligence developed to just 1–2%. Einstein maybe reached a bit over 2%. I operate at 100% efficiency—that’s why you can recite everything you’ve read backwards.”

“What about the images I saw earlier?” Zhuo Nan asked.

“That’s another aspect of full brain development—a calculation formula. It predicts what might happen in the next second and summarizes the outcome most likely to occur,” the brain explained.

“Then can you calculate the lottery numbers?” Zhuo Nan exclaimed, feeling like he’d struck gold.

“I can’t,” the brain replied.

“What? Didn’t you say you can calculate?” Zhuo Nan protested.

“I forgot to mention—I’m still experimental and many functions haven’t been developed,” the super brain admitted, sounding helpless.

“Damn, I thought you were some big shot. What a disappointment.” Zhuo Nan’s excitement faded as he accepted the harsh reality.

“Not necessarily. My computing power depends on my host. The stronger you are, the stronger my ability becomes,” the brain continued.

“What does that mean?” Zhuo Nan asked, curious.

The brain replied impatiently, “I told you, I’m an experiment—I don’t know everything myself.”

“What if I die? What happens to you?” Zhuo Nan asked.

“Obviously, if you die, I’m done too.”

Hearing this, Zhuo Nan smiled coldly. The brain sensed something was off and asked, “What are you thinking? Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Heh, I’ll just kill myself now. If you want to live, you’d better tell me everything you know,” Zhuo Nan replied, pressing his head against the wall.

The brain sighed, “Go ahead—I really don’t know. I’m a first-generation experiment; that’s why I ended up with you. But seriously, after all you’ve been through, are you really willing to die?”

Zhuo Nan cursed inwardly, “Damn it, time to sleep…”

The brain retorted, “I’ve been sleepy for ages—it’s you who keeps thinking and pretending to be deep, making it impossible for me to rest.”

Zhuo Nan snapped, “Damn it, someday I’ll dig you out…”

The brain laughed, “If you have the guts, try it… hahaha…”

The new novel, “Super Genius,” has officially launched.