“All passengers, please take note. You have arrived at the first level. Please check your personal belongings and disembark in an orderly manner. Thank you for taking this shuttle. We look forward to serving you next time…”
The shuttle soon slowed to a halt, and its passengers finally arrived at the destination of this trip. Zhang Heng waited until the arrival carriage moved to the arrival area. He then unfastened his seat belt and walked out of the station with the other passengers.
He noticed that the atmosphere on the first level was very different from when he came last night. Although the mood in the city was still humdrum, there were now herds of riot police patrolling the streets. Such a scene was extremely rare on the first level where its state was almost always in total anarchy.
The heavy police presence was obviously related to Zhang Heng’s previous fight with the biker gang. Dozens of people had died from the battle after all, and it would be considered a serious incident no matter where it happened. Miss F was serious when she promised Zhang Heng that she’d help him deal with the problem. When Zhang Heng showed up in front of the riot police, they made no move. Instead, they just watched him walked past them.
After that, Zhang Heng headed towards the rendezvous point.
The rendezvous point was a residential area. However, unlike the third-level residential area, the only access control system was broken, and no surveillance cameras were installed. So, Zhang Heng took the elevator to the 22nd floor and knocked on the door of 2204.
After a while, the electronic lock was unlocked, and Miss F’s voice came from inside.
“Come in. Close the door.”
“Hmm.”
Zhang Heng did what she asked and walked into the room.
Unlike what he expected, this place was not like the secret base on the second floor of the cinema. It was an actual residence. The furniture and furnishings weren’t comparable to Xu Qian’s apartment, but the hangings on the wall and the decoration in the house showed that there was indeed someone living here.
Besides, Zhang Heng had also seen a little girl sitting on the carpet in the living room. She was about three to four years old and an adorable one as well. As of now, she was playing with a toy duck. Zhang Heng said hello to the little girl, but she just looked up at him and did not say a word. After that, she lowered her head and continued to play with her toy duck.
And Zhang Heng sat down on the sofa opposite her. About five minutes later, he heard Miss F’s voice coming from the kitchen, “Help me clean up the table.”
“Okay.” Zhang Heng got up and cleared the books and papers on the dining table next to him.
After a while, Miss F came out of the kitchen two plates of stir-fried vegetables.
“I usually only eat vegetables at night. Since you are here, I have cooked an extra plate of shredded pork with green peppers for you tonight. It’s in the kitchen. You can bring it out.”
“Thank you,” Zhang Heng said, and he looked at the little girl on the carpet. “Does she belong to you and Mr. G…”
“No, she is my friend’s child. She asked me to take care of her temporarily,” Miss F said, “Her mother will get off work soon and will pick her up.”
“Oh.”
Zhang Heng then walked into the kitchen and took out the plate of shredded pork with green peppers and the two bowls of rice on the side.
Other than that, Miss F also filled the bowls with congee. She then placed the chopsticks and spoon beside the bowl. At the same time, she asked the little girl on the carpet to play in the room next to her.
Once the two were seated, Zhang Heng passed the gift that he had just bought to Miss F, who sat opposite of him, and at the same time, thanked her. “I didn’t expect that you would let me come to your house.”
“Why do you say that?” Miss F took the gift and found that it was a box of chocolates. When she saw the chocolate brand, her hand froze for a short while
“Once I return to the security company, this memory of mine would most likely cause you some trouble,” Zhang Heng said. “Thank you for showing me the movie. The part about social surrealism is impressive and profound. Oh, and the hamster you gave me. I didn’t understand what it meant until I got home.”
“That’s impossible,” Miss F frowned. “It is never easy to doubt one’s self-existence. Even the best philosophers would not be able to figure out your identity so quickly, not to mention that you have accepted it in such a composed manner. And you did not even doubt it.”
“Uh, this is probably because recently, I happened to be thinking about who I really am,” Zhang Heng said.
“Do you have an answer now?”
“No, but I at least already know that I am a clone.”
“Due to the existence of the memory encoder, the memories possessed by the clones are all forged.” Miss F used her chopsticks to take some vegetables for Zhang Heng. “You need a little time to adapt to your new identity and think about who you are, what you live for, and how you want to live.”
“You are right. But before that, I still have one important thing to do,” Zhang Heng said while pointing at his head. “I have to take out the tracking device under my cerebral cortex. ”
“Is that why you came to me?” Miss F seemed a little curious. “How do you know I can help you?”
“Because I know who you are,” Zhang Heng said. “If there is another person in this world who can solve the trouble I’m encountering, it is you. You have encountered the same thing as me, and the world thinks that you are dead. And now you are sitting across from me. I’m not sure whether I should continue to address you as Miss F or Tang.”
Miss F’s pupils contracted when she heard what Zhang Heng said. But soon, she returned to normal. If Zhang Heng had not been paying attention to her eyes all this time, he wouldn’t have captured the split-second emotional change on her.
After that, Miss F calmly said, “Tang is dead, or to be more precise, she has never existed before. She is just an idol created to meet the entertainment needs of the public. She has no relatives, no friends, no freedom of thought, and precious memories that truly belong to her. She is just an… empty and beautiful toy.”
“But now you have those things,” Zhang Heng said. “I came to you for no other purpose. I just want to know how you extract the tracking device out of your head back then?”
“Sorry, I can’t help you with this matter.” Miss F shook her head.
“Huh?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“I was rescued by someone back then, and you have seen the person who saved me.”
“Mr. G?”
“Yes. So, if you want to remove the tracking device from your head, you can only ask him for help. As far as I know, he is also the only person in New Shanghai 0297 who can remove the tracking device from your head.”
“Then what price should I pay? Wait… In order for him to help you, you are required to marry him?”
“You have misunderstood us. I want to marry him because that’s what I want. Mr. G didn’t force me to do anything. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have delayed until now to get engaged.” Miss F then touched the engagement ring on her hand.
“But you have to know that even if it is him, the risk of helping you is very high. He may ask you to do him a favor in return. But don’t worry. I will help you to convince him.”
