Volume One, Chapter 14: The Alcohol-Dependent Patient

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Wang Xu found the responses utterly baffling, feeling the man was completely unreasonable.

“I’ll say it again: the key point is how you foresaw the incident. Without any evidence, mere claims will only deepen suspicion against you. Now, tell me clearly—what were you doing before and after the power outage?”

“What else could I be doing? Slave labor, that’s all. That old bastard made me carry the electromagnetic monitor to the entrance of the Origin Laboratory. I’d just connected the wires and plugged it in when suddenly the power went out. Damn it, the circuit breaker had never tripped before. Just as I was about to check the wiring, I noticed the lab door was open. Realizing something was seriously wrong, I told Song Qi to call the police immediately. But that vixen turned against me instead, framing me like a dog biting its master…”

“Stop, stop…”

“So you’re saying you caused the power outage?”

“Does it even matter? I’ve set up that electromagnetic monitor hundreds of times without ever causing a short circuit…”

“But the short circuit happened! Don’t dodge the question, Zou Yao. We have reason to believe you intentionally caused the blackout.”

Zou Yao fell silent for a moment, then slumped back in his chair like a rogue.

“Fine, suspect or not, say whatever you want. It’s not like I can change anything. I’m done here. You cops should think it through yourselves. The Origin Lab requires biometric access; even I want to get inside…”

Remembering Bai Chen’s advice, Wang Xu focused on Tang Hui as the central figure, viewing the other two merely as conduits to “The Beyond.”

He softened his tone. “So, did you see Tang Hui again during the blackout?”

At the mention of Tang Hui, Zou Yao seemed to recall something. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly collapsed into his chair, convulsing.

“Alcohol… give me some alcohol…”

Predictably, Wang Xu glanced at Zou Yao’s profile. The first line of his identity information was crystal clear.

“This person is a severe alcoholic. During episodes, he experiences memory confusion, erratic behavior, and violent mood swings. On the night of the incident, after calling the police, he consumed over 1000ml of high-proof liquor.”

No wonder he’s acting like a madman...

——

Zou Yao no longer remembered how much he had drunk. Since returning to the lab, everything had gone wrong, and when things went wrong, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

Two shots of liquor washed over his soul like a cleansing wave, instantly refreshing him and making him forget all worries.

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All alcoholics seemed to have this symptom.

This time was no exception; another sip of liquor worked like a miracle. Seeing Zou Yao regain some color, Wang Xu reluctantly put the Maotai back in the locker.

“Better than medical alcohol. Why hide such a good thing?”

“This was senior brother’s, saved for after closing the case. You’re wasting it,” Wang Xu complained.

Returning to business, Wang Xu urged Zou Yao to recall the events during the blackout carefully. Perhaps aided by the alcohol, Zou Yao’s speech suddenly became much smoother.

“I personally designed and laid out all the circuits in the Origin Lab. The capacitors inside are built from microorganisms combined with metal ions. Not only waterproof, but they can withstand voltages far beyond any material on the market. Honestly, even if you brought the Laser Light of Taihu Lake here, the system would still run fine.”

“In other words, to ensure safety, the circuits absolutely cannot short unless deliberately sabotaged.”

“Who can enter the control room?”

“Besides the old man, only myself…” Zou Yao lowered his head.

Clearly, while the lab was flooded, Hu Chuan couldn’t have left. Only Zou Yao himself could have interfered with the circuits.

“But who knows what happened inside ‘Origin,’ right? I don’t have the key; I’ve never been in and don’t even know what ‘The Beyond’ looks like. Officer, do you know what it means that the Origin Lab door was half-open?”

“Someone opened the door beforehand?” Wang Xu asked.

“Either the vixen opened it from outside, or someone from inside did. But I don’t want to suspect her. When I went to check the circuit, Song Qi had just come out of the monitoring room, walking towards the corridor.”

Wang Xu nodded, accepting Zou Yao’s account.

“So, the person who opened the door was Professor Hu Chuan, and you were the first to confirm the body and call the police, right?”

Zou Yao: “No. That door was only open about thirty centimeters. It would have taken too long to squeeze in.”

“I don’t quite understand. Based on what you said, how can you be sure Professor Hu Chuan was already dead?”

“Because he had no reason to open the door.”

“What do you mean?”

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Zou Yao’s eyes flickered. Unpleasant memories surfaced, like flowers shrouded in mist.

He could recall, but couldn’t see clearly.

“‘The Beyond’ requires the Origin Lab to be fully flooded during operation. From what I observed, the old man and the female student entered at 2 a.m. I glanced at the experiment logs. Volunteers usually have to stay inside ‘The Beyond’ for at least two hours, only leaving once absolute safety is confirmed. So the lab door wouldn’t open before 4 a.m. at the earliest.”

Wang Xu still didn’t fully understand. “Time difference alone doesn’t prove anything. Wait… are you saying the ‘Beyond’ experiment itself is life-threatening?”

Zou Yao nodded.

“The old man’s so-called time-space travel is an idealized concept. In reality, every time ‘The Beyond’ is activated, it’s like opening Pandora’s box—like Schrödinger’s cat. Until you observe it, you don’t know if it’s alive or dead.”

“Volunteers could die?”

“Think about it logically. ‘The Beyond’ works by breaking down and reshaping the brain’s perception of time and space. The human brain is an incredibly intricate instrument, far beyond modern science’s reach. And what is that old man doing? Using random quantum entanglement to reshape cognition? How is that any different from rolling dice to decide those volunteers’ fates?”

Wang Xu told Zou Yao to calm down. Though confused, he realized time-space travel was likely a dangerous experiment.

“Have you come into contact with other volunteers?”

Zou Yao scratched the back of his neck, nodding then shaking his head.

“Seems like… sometimes the old man had me watch over volunteers after the experiment, but I can’t remember the details.”

Alcohol-dependent patients often suffer intermittent memory loss due to neural impairment from alcohol.

This complicated things… Wang Xu murmured. If what Zou Yao said was true, the blackout would disrupt ‘The Beyond’s’ operation. Tang Hui, being inside during the experiment, couldn’t have risked causing the outage. This not only made the Origin Lab’s true events unclear but also required reevaluating Tang Hui’s motive.

Though Wang Xu’s voice was low, Zou Yao’s unusually keen hearing caught his speculation. His body trembled instinctively as he leaned back in his chair.

Wang Xu thought Zou Yao was about to relapse and reached for the liquor. But Zou Yao’s next words left him stunned.

“Life-threatening? No, those monsters aren’t in danger—they are the danger itself. I’ve said it before—such inhuman experiments should never have been done. But that old stubborn man even sacrificed himself…”