40: Chapter 40 To Be or Not to Be?

Academician Zheng took a deep breath, the sound of which was exceptionally clear in the silence.

He did not look at the attendants behind him, his gaze still firmly locked on Chen Youhua's face, his voice low and slow, carrying a power that pierced into the heart.

"Comrade Chen Youhua,"

The form of address changed quietly.

"Regarding the achievement you mentioned that concerns the survival of humanity... please come with me. This place is not suitable for such a conversation."

He did not directly answer the question of whether the clearance level was sufficient, but this reaction itself was already the most definitive answer.

He had caught the ball that was capable of turning the world upside down.

Chen Youhua looked at the unquestionable determination and unprecedented gravity in Academician Zheng's eyes, the light behind his lenses flickering slightly, like a pebble dropped into a deep pool.

He nodded gently and stepped aside to clear the doorway.

"Please wait a moment, I need to change my clothes."

His tone was as calm as usual, as if they had just been chatting about daily life, or had asked an inconsequential question.

The door closed gently behind him.

Outside, Academician Zheng stood with his back to the dormitory door, hands behind his back, gazing at the bright campus outside the window, his brows furrowed tightly.

Sunlight fell on his crisp Zhongshan suit.

The two attendants behind him remained as silent as sculptures; their tense posture and sharp eyes revealed that their hearts were not as calm as they appeared at this moment.

Inside, Chen Youhua walked to the wardrobe, his fingertips brushing over a few simple items of clothing.

His heartbeat was steady, but his mind was racing.

The first step of testing was a success.

What followed was the true moment of pushing electronic life and its shackles towards the behemoth that was the national will.

This move was incredibly risky, but it was also the only path he had to ensure that the spark would not be misused, or even turn back to consume humanity.

He chose a clean white shirt.

The door slid open silently behind him and closed just as silently, as if it had never existed.

The moment Chen Youhua stepped into this room, his eidetic memory felt a slight stutter for the first time.

It was not that his memory was blurry, but rather that his perception itself was disturbed by an extremely ingenious design that defied everyday spatial intuition.

He was clearly keeping his eyes open, clearly remembering passing through several heavy alloy doors that required multiple biometric authentications, remembering the corridor's light that was as soft as moonlight, remembering every turn he took... but now, standing within it, he felt a strange sense of disorientation.

The walls were smooth as mirrors, with no seams and no decorations, as if carved from a single piece of warm, lustrous jade.

The light source overhead was not a lamp, but the entire ceiling, emitting a warm, bright, yet not at all glaring light evenly.

It was full-spectrum light that highly restored the natural spectrum, capable of soothing the nerves to the greatest extent and dispelling the fear of claustrophobia.

The air was fresh, carrying a hint of cool humidity like a forest after rain.

There was no oppression here, only a tranquility that was almost Zen-like and meticulously crafted.

It felt less like a secret room for core national intelligence, and more like a mental relaxation room in a top-tier sanatorium.

In the center of the room were two wide, ergonomic dark gray armchairs, not placed facing each other, but at a subtle 120-degree angle, facing a massive screen that occupied the entire wall.

The screen was silently playing international news.

An economic summit in a certain country, a local conflict erupting somewhere, reports of a technological breakthrough... the images were clear down to the finest detail.

Academician Zheng was already sitting in one of the chairs, his posture relaxed, yet his spine remained straight.

He pointed to the empty seat beside him, signaling for Chen Youhua to sit.

"A very special room."

Chen Youhua spoke calmly, his voice appearing exceptionally clear in the space with excellent sound absorption.

He sat down in the other chair, his body naturally sinking into the soft yet supportive backrest, feeling that deliberate comfort.

"Hmm, it took some effort."

Academician Zheng did not look at him, his gaze fixed on the news footage, his tone as if he were discussing the weather.

"When people are nervous, their judgment is prone to errors. Especially when facing... truly important matters."

He picked up an exquisite remote control from the side and lowered the volume of the news until it became a blurred background sound.

"Chen Youhua, do you read history?"

The gaze behind Chen Youhua's lenses flickered slightly.

He did not answer immediately, just adjusted to a more relaxed sitting posture, casting his gaze towards the screen as well.

On the screen, news about a breakthrough in nuclear energy miniaturization was playing.

"I read some."

He replied.

"Then you should be able to understand,"

Academician Zheng's voice was low and steady, carrying a sense of weight born from having experienced the vicissitudes of life.

"When the first atomic bomb detonated in the deserts of New Mexico, what were those top scientists participating in the Manhattan Project thinking?"

He paused, seemingly recalling, or perhaps organizing his thoughts.

"They created an unprecedented power.

That light, that heat, that devastating shockwave... they knew better than anyone what this meant.

That was not just the power to end a war, but the power sufficient to end human civilization."

The news footage switched to a scene of a group of peace activists protesting outside a nuclear facility.

"Fear."

Chen Youhua interjected, his voice very light, yet exceptionally clear.

"And massive uncertainty.

They couldn't predict what the world would become once this power spread and fell into the hands of different wills.

At the time, the politicians, the military strategists, and even the scientists themselves—no one could guarantee anything."

"Yes, fear."

Academician Zheng finally turned his head to look at Chen Youhua.

His eyes were deep; there was no questioning in them, only a heavy understanding.

"People at that time did not have a god's-eye view.

Before them was the smoke of the end of World War II, in their ears were the wails of their compatriots, and behind them was the huge shadow of the Nazis potentially mastering nuclear weapons first.

In that environment, creating this ultimate weapon was a necessary evil, a choice made in desperation."

"Today, when we look back, we can lightly say that nuclear deterrence brought peace, but for those who were in it, who wasn't walking on thin ice, trembling with fear?

Do they mock Oppenheimer's repentance as weakness?

No, that was precisely the most sober realization of the essence of power."

Chen Youhua remained silent.

Academician Zheng's words were like a key, precisely opening that heavy box within his heart.

He did not need to explain what electronic life was again, nor did he need to elaborate on its technical principles.

Academician Zheng had used the birth of the nuclear bomb, a shared historical memory of humanity, to draw the contour lines of understanding.

What they were discussing was that instinctive, primitive, trans-temporal fear and responsibility when civilization faces a power capable of subverting its own existence.

"I understand."

Chen Youhua said slowly.

He took out that seemingly extremely ordinary black USB drive from his pocket.

There was no fancy packaging, no flashing indicator lights, just like any other one he would use to casually record data in the laboratory.

But at this moment, under the soft light of the full-spectrum illumination, that touch of black seemed capable of devouring everything.

He offered no explanation, no embellishment, merely handing the USB drive to Academician Zheng.

"This is all my hard work over the past period."

His voice was as calm as if he were stating a formula.

"The answer is all inside. Once you see it, you will understand everything."

Academician Zheng's gaze instantly focused on that small USB drive.

The peace and composure of reminiscing about history on his face instantly faded, leaving only respect for Chen Youhua, and respect for his achievement.

He did not take it immediately, but extended both hands, and with extreme solemnity, carefully received it.

The USB drive in his palm felt as light as nothing, yet heavier than a thousand catties.

An achievement concerning the life and death of all humanity... potential risks far exceeding the sum of nuclear fusion and gene editing... all the shocking warnings were now condensed into this small, silent metal block.

Academician Zheng took a deep breath and nodded to Chen Youhua.

He did not ask another word, just extremely solemnly clasped the USB drive tightly in his palm, and then slowly stood up.

There was shock, heaviness, scrutiny, and even more, a sense of determination as if accepting a mission in a time of crisis.

"Wait here for me."

He only said these four words, his voice a bit hoarse, yet carrying an unquestionable power.

He did not explain where he was going, nor did he say how long it would take.

He gripped the USB drive tightly and turned to walk towards a corner of the room.

The smooth wall there silently slid open a gap, revealing the entrance to another passage.

His back disappeared behind the door, and the wall immediately returned to its original state, as if there had never been a passage.

Inside the room, only Chen Youhua remained.

On the huge screen, the news was still silently flowing.

The rise and fall of the stock market, celebrity scandals, technological breakthroughs, the clouds of war... the various states of human life, the changing of world affairs.

Chen Youhua leaned back deep into the armchair, his whole body almost sinking into it.

He tilted his head back slightly, closed his eyes, seemingly truly enjoying this rare tranquility and comfort.

What was the scene outside like?

What kind of mental storm was Academician Zheng experiencing right now?

How would the state apparatus react?

He did not know, and for the moment, did not want to know.

Like an examinee who had handed in their final exam paper, he chose to empty his mind in the brief interval before the results were revealed.

He had completed the first step he had to take.

He had handed the key to electronic life into the hands of someone he believed had the ability to understand its weight and the power to decide its fate.

As for whether this key would ultimately open a new era, be permanently sealed, or trigger a storm he could not foresee...

He opened his eyes, his gaze cast towards a news report on the screen about a certain country's Artificial Intelligence swarm controlling drones.

The corners of his mouth seemed to hook into an imperceptible, cold, and infinitely weary arc.

"Survival, or destruction?"

This eternal proposition was now held in humanity's own hands.

And he was merely the one who had ignited that first spark and personally forged the first shackle for it.

The path that remained was darker and more unpredictable than any mathematical abyss he had ever traversed.