Chapter 970: The Origin of Everything

The recording continued to play, Gu You asked, “How did the experiment turn out?”

Patient: “Several tests have confirmed the accuracy of this mathematical model. I applied it to myself. My second boyfriend, the model predicted he would cheat in six months, and sure enough, when I found out he was in love with someone else, I wasn’t sad at all; instead, I was excited. When choosing my next boyfriend, I was very cautious, collecting their variables for this model to see if they were trustworthy. Unfortunately, none of them were reliable.”

Gu You: “I completely understand. Good men are indeed hard to find.”

Patient: “Miss Gu, will you keep everything I say here confidential?”

Gu You: “Of course!”

Patient: “Even if it crosses societal boundaries and appears illegal to others… will you keep it a secret? Will you turn around and tell the police?”

Gu You: “I will definitely keep it confidential. It’s basic professional ethics for a counselor.”

Patient: “Alright, I trust you! My third boyfriend later became my husband. The model predicted he was a very reliable person. Our relationship was filled with romance and sweetness. A few years later, we got married. Then I found out something: his childhood friend died in a car accident. It seemed insignificant, but it introduced a new variable. When I recalculated with this variable, the model produced a shocking result—he… he would kill me in the third year of our marriage! I lived in constant fear day and night. The better he treated me, the more frightened I became. I couldn’t muster the courage to divorce him because I couldn’t explain any of it. Eventually, I couldn’t bear the torment anymore and I killed him!”

There was a long silence. Gu You sounded shocked as she slowly said, “You feared he would kill you, so you killed him?”

“No no no! After everything I’ve said, don’t you understand? It’s not fear. My model is perfect; what it predicts will definitely happen. He was going to kill me!” There was crying.

Gu You said, “Alright, I understand now. I will keep this confidential. It’s about time today; can you show me this model next time we meet?”

“Okay… I feel much better having shared this secret. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The recording ended there. Chen Shiwei exclaimed, “Who is this patient!?”

Peng Senjue picked up a document and glanced at it. “It should be a woman named Chen Anhe, highly educated, a graduate student.”

“I’ve heard that name! Chen Anhe, the graduate student acquitted in a spousal murder case due to insufficient evidence! I see now, who would have imagined such a motive? She’s the creator of the life function!”

“I’ve been studying these samples for the past few days,” Peng Senjue said as he stood up and walked outside.

Chen Shiwei followed, “Have you figured it out?”

“Almost!” Peng Senjue picked up a sample, “This mathematical model is ingeniously designed. It quantifies human psychological traits based on calculus to predict future actions… I ran a test on you.”

“Test on me?”

“Your life function indicates you will cheat in the seventh year of marriage.”

“Nonsense, what kind of fortune-telling math is this?”

“No, it’s very scientific.”

“Even if it’s scientific, I don’t believe it. Life is full of variables. What if I die in the sixth year? Besides, I have a great relationship with Dong Xue; cheating is absurd!”

“You won’t die prematurely. Your life function tells me so. But say, when you’re on a mission, Xiaodong didn’t sleep well last night, and he accidentally shot you. Such accidents can’t be predicted. Life functions can only predict what will inevitably happen because everyone has their own rules of conduct.”

Chen Shiwei was speechless. “If I believe this is true, it means admitting that the human observer is correct?”

“Based on your stance, you’ll never admit it’s accurate?”

“Let’s not discuss this now. Everyone’s busy with this case. Why don’t you come back and help?”

After a moment of silence, Peng Senjue said, “I’ll take these recordings with me.”

Chen Shiwei watched as Peng Senjue copied the recordings onto a USB drive. “You can miss her, but don’t put her on a pedestal. You won’t move forward if you do. You need to start your own life.”

“I need some time.”

“You must have already used that life function to predict your own future, right?”

“Yes, my future is to be alone.”

“Alone? Well, I’ll prove how unreliable this thing is!”

They got into the car. Chen Shiwei said, “Don’t you think this is a paradox? Killing someone who’s going to kill, but the one being killed hasn’t committed any crime!”

“If you could go back before World War II and had a chance to end Hitler’s life yourself, would you do it?”

“That’s a hypothetical that doesn’t exist. Even if someone could kill young Hitler, the tide of history wouldn’t change. Another Hitler would emerge, Hitler II, Hitler III!”

“Isn’t history made by people? You deny the inevitability of fate and claim history can’t be changed, which is self-contradictory.”

“Why do I feel like you’re advocating for the human observer?”

“Can’t argue with that. Are you using your position to suppress me? I’m not taking sides; I’m just debating with you!”

Chen Shiwei made a helpless gesture. “Okay, okay, I surrender. Whether fate is inevitable or accidental, it only happens once.”

Peng Senjue chuckled, and Chen Shiwei felt relieved. His old friend was back to normal.

At that moment, Chen Shiwei’s phone rang. Lin Dongxue asked, “Where are you?”

“I’m on my way back with Old Peng.”

“Another injection murder has occurred. We’re rushing to the scene now. You should hurry over too!”

“What!?” Chen Shiwei couldn’t believe it. He had concluded that the culprit injecting murders was another executor. Since the human observer had declared an end to all criminal activities, why was this person still committing crimes?

“Tell me the address!” Chen Shiwei said.

The two hurried to the scene. The police had already surrounded the location—a deserted public restroom on a quiet commercial street. The victim, a male, sat slumped in a stall, his belt still undone, froth at his mouth.

The forensic technician examining the body pulled an envelope from the deceased’s pocket and handed it to Chen Shiwei to review. Inside was another new life function.

He couldn’t understand it, so he passed it to Peng Senjue, who furrowed his brow and examined it for a while. “This isn’t a life function at all!”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s nothing. The deductions are all over the place; it’s just a poor imitation!”

Chen Shiwei looked shocked at the body. “So the culprit injecting murders is just an imitator!?”