126: Chapter 126 Alternative Uses of the Perception of Good and Bad Fortune

Zhao Yi pushed open the doors to the command center.

Jiang Feng and Lu Cheng followed close behind him as they walked in.

The command hall, usually brightly lit, was now bathed in the dim red glow of alarm lights.

The main power had been cut, and only a few emergency backup lights were functioning on the ceiling.

On the display wall directly in front, the dense array of over a hundred street surveillance feeds had more than half turned into flickering static.

A dozen or so dispatchers sat in front of their computers.

They wore headsets, their hands flying across keyboards.

A continuous stream of reports echoed throughout the hall.

"There's a pile-up at the intersection of North City Avenue! Traffic is paralyzed! Ambulances can't get through!"

"The fire at the Second Substation in the East District is out of control! The fire department is requesting support!"

"The Third Precinct reports that communication base stations in their jurisdiction have suffered physical damage, and walkie-talkie signals are severely jammed!"

Zhao Yi strode to the main command console and grabbed the microphone.

"All patrol units, abandon electronic navigation and switch to paper maps!" Zhao Yi ordered, "Deploy all available police force to the streets of North City and the East District! Direct traffic manually and maintain order!"

This widespread paralysis of power and communication had turned the modern police dispatch system into a pile of scrap metal.

In the dead of night, without surveillance or signals, trying to coordinate hundreds of Police Officers to search for people was practically impossible.

Jiang Feng leaned against the wall, watching the static on the big screen with cold eyes.

He knew the operational logic of these monsters from Eden all too well.

This was no ordinary terrorist attack; these people acted with extreme purpose.

They had gone to such great lengths—cutting the power, creating an information blackout—for one single goal: to muddy the waters.

The muddier the waters, the weaker the police defenses.

This was a forced confrontation.

The prey were Lu Cheng, who understood their secrets, and him, Jiang Feng, the so-called abnormal variable.

At that moment, all communication devices in the hall emitted a harsh screeching sound.

The dispatchers hurriedly took off their headsets, expressions of pain on their faces.

Then, a heavily synthesized, voice-modulated electronic sound came through the public channel speakers.

The voice had no inflection whatsoever; it was completely devoid of emotion, a flat line.

"Good evening."

"I am the Prophet."

The electronic voice introduced itself in a flat, matter-of-fact tone.

"In order to correct the algorithmic error that triggered this chain reaction, and to eliminate the uncontrollable variable named Jiang Feng."

"I have prepared a little game."

Zhao Yi clenched his fists and gestured to an operator.

The operator's hands flew across the keyboard, attempting to trace the source of the audio signal.

But the operator soon shook their head, indicating that the signal was hidden behind encrypted bounce points and could not be traced.

The Prophet's voice continued from the speakers.

"I have placed high-destruction devices beneath the backup generator units at Jinghai City Third People's Hospital, the First Central Hospital, and the Red Cross Hospital."

"These three hospitals are currently experiencing a power outage."

"In the intensive care units, there are a total of four hundred and twenty-three patients currently relying on backup power to maintain their life support systems."

"I am giving you one hour."

"If Lu Cheng or Jiang Feng are not delivered to the Riverside Pier in the East District within one hour."

"The backup power supplies at the three hospitals will be destroyed on time."

"Those lives will end because of your selfishness."

The electronic voice delivered its final verdict.

"Hand over two people in exchange for four hundred and twenty-three; this is the optimal solution."

"The timer starts now."

The signal cut off.

The entire command center went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

This was a malicious and unsolvable moral hostage situation.

Using the lives of over four hundred innocent, critically ill patients to trade for two specific targets.

All the Police Officers began to avert their eyes.

Zhao Yi slammed his fist onto the metal console.

"Screw your optimal solution!" Zhao Yi's eyes were bloodshot.

A Police Officer's duty is to protect the public; to actually make them betray their comrades and consultants was something no one could bring themselves to do.

But those were over four hundred human lives.

If the destruction devices were triggered, no one could bear the consequences.

Lu Cheng stood where she was.

Her super-brain was processing at high speed.

A few seconds later, she turned around, took a step, and walked straight toward the hall's exit.

Her strides were fast.

"Dr. Lu! Where are you going?" Zhao Yi roared.

Lu Cheng did not stop.

"The Prophet's algorithm is not wrong," Lu Cheng said without looking back, "This is the only optimal solution to save lives."

"I must go be the sacrifice; I am his primary target."

"You must protect Jiang Feng."

That machine logic of hers, which Jiang Feng had once shattered, had gained the upper hand once again when faced with such a massive data standoff.

She would rather die than fail to maintain this numerical balance.

Lu Cheng had just reached the edge of the hall when a hand reached out from the shadows beside her.

That hand grabbed her wrist.

Lu Cheng's steps were forcibly halted by the force.

She turned her head.

Jiang Feng walked out from the shadows in the corner.

He looked at Lu Cheng and shook his head.

"Give me a moment."

After speaking, he ignored everyone else's reaction and recited silently in his mind.

[Auspice Perception] activate!

He was going to reveal his trump card directly!

"I want to calculate: if I don't go, what is the auspice trend?"

[Auspice Perception activated]

[Auspice trend determined to be steady]

Don't court death and you won't die; the judgment result was fine.

But the point wasn't that; it was the value of the lifespan consumed!

[Lifespan consumed: Base lifespan 50 days, plus involvement in lower-level causality, additional consumption of 5 days, total 55 days.]

Lower-level causality!

Given the system's nature, if it really involved over four hundred human lives, how could it be judged as lower-level?

Jiang Feng scoffed, strode to the command console, and snatched the microphone from Zhao Yi's hand.

"Connect me to that frequency!" Jiang Feng pointed at the communications officer.

The communications officer hesitated for a moment and looked at Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi nodded firmly.

Jiang Feng picked up the microphone.

He didn't even pause for half a second.

"Bullshit!"

Jiang Feng cursed directly into the microphone.

This articulate, profanity-laden outburst echoed throughout the command center and was transmitted via radio waves to the Prophet's ears.

"Who do you think you are, daring to play with probabilities using human lives against me?"

"The basement generator units of the three hospitals have air-raid-level reinforced concrete and twenty-four-hour uninterrupted security patrols."

"You only have so much manpower, and we just caught a batch of you earlier."

"What are you using to simultaneously place destruction devices at all three hospitals?"

Jiang Feng sneered.

"You didn't send anyone to the hospitals at all!"

"This trick of yours is called bluffing in game theory! You just want to use moral weaknesses to force us to submit!"

No one spoke for a long time.

Finally, the Prophet spoke.

"Interesting."

"Can fortune-telling really calculate to this extent?"

"I am becoming more and more interested in you."

The communication cut off, and Jiang Feng shivered; this feeling of disgust was exactly the same as when he first met Lu Cheng.

"Why does everyone want to slice me up?" he grumbled to himself.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Hello? Who is it?"

He pressed the answer button.

"Do not show a surprised expression."

"It would be bad if someone saw."

"I am the Prophet."

"If I wanted to kill you, you don't really think you could have escaped the siege of those fifteen Eden guards, do you?"

"If you can come to the Abandoned TV station in North City alone, without bringing any police, I can give you a big gift."

"A piece of hardcore intelligence you would risk your life to obtain."

"The ultimate clue to completely eradicating that terminal tumor in your brain..."