Irreversible - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Scumbag’s Counterattack (Part 2)

Although Gu Jing was an “honest person,” she understood the survival rules of society perfectly. To launch a public opinion offensive against someone as wealthy as Su Tianyu, the strike had to be precise and decisive.

With the push from the self-media outlets she had sought help from, the situation fermented at an exponential rate. By the time Su Tianyu and Mu Zhilan attempted to start their PR crisis management, it was already too late.

Simultaneously, she sought help from a minor protection organization. This organization had been helping teenagers resolve psychological issues intermittently over the years; faced with such a massive story, they stepped in readily, catalyzing it into a major social news event.

School bullying has always been an existing yet difficult-to-solve issue in modern society. How to define bullying among minors has long been a subject of controversy.

However, the minor protection organization voiced its stance: “I believe school bullying is not as simple as a scuffle between underage children.”

“Students who bully are like members of a criminal organization, acting tyrannically in schools, insulting ordinary students, and even stripping them of their decency and dignity. It is undeniably evil.”

“At a time when government agencies are dedicated to sweeping out organized crime and eradicating evil, we must place high importance on school bullying and view it as an ‘evil’ that must be eliminated.”

This statement resonated with many people. Coupled with the ample evidence Gu Xizhou had accumulated, even before the police had begun their formal investigation, the general public had already defined “Su Nanfeng” as “evil.”

“Delinquent,” “wealthy scumbag,” “scum wasting public resources,” “a pest with nothing but a face.”

That night, sitting on her hospital bed and scrolling through the “righteous words” of netizens and their evaluations of Su Nanfeng, Gu Xizhou felt a faint sense of satisfaction.

She understood that Su Nanfeng was a child just like her; even as she watched the netizens curse Su Nanfeng, Gu Xizhou was acutely aware that, in a sense, this was another form of “violence.” Su Nanfeng’s sins should be adjudicated by the law, not by an online court or by crushing the opponent through public pressure.

But with such a vast disparity in family and social backgrounds, the mother and daughter had only the power of the people to rely on to ensure they obtained fairness. This was a major loophole in social institutions and a tragedy of the legal system.

Thinking of this, Gu Xizhou’s eyes dimmed. Holding her phone, she suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Detecting her mood, 0820 remained silent for a moment before speaking: “You must understand that this social mechanism determined from the very beginning that the phrase ‘all men are created equal’ is an empty slogan.”

Gu Xizhou held her phone, feeling somewhat dejected: “But I still want to try for fairness as much as possible.”

“And I’m thinking, if there were children being bullied like me, but their grades weren’t as good, their personalities weren’t as brave, and they didn’t act heroically—if they were bullied for all sorts of reasons, would everyone still help them the way they’re helping me?”

“Would they stand up like this?”

The thoughts of youth are always so idealistic and naive, filled with a longing for freedom and justice. They clearly find it hard to change anything, yet they are always full of passion to create a new world.

0820 thought for a moment before saying: “It’s very difficult. The human heart is a tyrannical thing that is easily manipulated yet often spiraling out of control.”

“Rather than relying on the truth, goodness, and beauty of human nature, it is better to make changes through laws and regulations, implementing effective statutes to govern the world.”

“Only by possessing power can you help more people.”

Gu Xizhou sat in the dark, contemplating for a long while before finally saying: “In the future, I want to study law and become a powerful Chief Justice…”

“To help many, many people who need it.”

0820 was slightly stunned, only speaking after a long pause: “Then you’ll have to work very hard.”

“And to become a Chief Justice, you don’t just need a good brain. A body strong enough to help you avoid all risks is also very important.”

Gu Xizhou paused, then grumbled discontentedly: “My mom said she’ll give me more pocket money from now on. If I drink more milk and eat more meat, I’ll grow taller.”

“And she’s going to sign me up for a boxing gym to learn kickboxing and grappling. That way, no one can bully me in the future…”

0820 nodded, answering perfunctorily: “Yes, yes… your mom is the best to you…”

“But it’s 1:30 AM now. If you don’t sleep, you can forget about growing taller at your height!”

Hearing this, Gu Xizhou hurriedly turned off her phone, pulled the blanket over her head, and said obediently: “Going to sleep, going to sleep…”

0820 let out a soft laugh. Before long, the steady breathing of the girl could be heard. The ward became quiet, with only the humming sound of the air conditioner. The summer cicadas outside the window chirped incessantly… zhi-zhi-zhi…

As Gu Xizhou entered her dreams, 0820 sensed the pulsing of her brainwaves, withdrew its consciousness, and returned to another world.

In the other world, it was also late at night. 0820—Gu Xizhou—opened her eyes within a dormant pod filled with nutrient fluid.

She looked up. Through the pale green fluid and the transparent glass wall of the pod, she gazed at the ceiling dotted with dark night lights, her consciousness hazy.

Sensing her return to consciousness, Lin Shi, a researcher in a white lab coat standing by the instruments, immediately opened the dormant pod. He pulled out the consciousness-link device from her head and strode toward Gu Xizhou: “Boss…”

Gu Xizhou placed both hands on the edge of the pod and stood up with effort. The pale green liquid slid down her pitch-black hair, flowed over her pale cheeks, and dripped back into the pod along her thin, frail body.

Seeing this, Lin Shi quickly grabbed a bath towel and draped it over Gu Xizhou’s thin shoulders, feeling immensely relieved: “You’re finally awake.”

In the dim laboratory, Gu Xizhou’s thin, slender body stood in the nutrient pod, her wet hair draped around her like a specter: “How long was I in this time?”

“Eight days… a full eight days, Boss.” Lin Shi wrapped the bathrobe around Gu Xizhou’s thin frame, looking very worried. “You look terrible. We should wait until you’ve recovered before we discuss the newly obtained data.”

Gu Xizhou’s eyes narrowed, deep as a cold pool. She said in a heavy voice: “No. I’m going to see her first.”

Lin Shi froze, then nodded after a long moment, responding with a “Fine.”

With Lin Shi’s help, Gu Xizhou dried her hair, wrapped herself in the bathrobe, and walked out of the dim research room. She crossed a glass corridor about two meters long and entered another laboratory.

In the center of the brightly lit lab sat a cylindrical glass dormant pod.

Gu Xizhou walked to the pod, looking at her own ghostly reflection on the green nutrient fluid. She strained her eyes to see through the liquid, looking at a pure and beautiful face that was faintly visible.

It was a woman, exquisitely beautiful. Her eyes were closed, and her black hair spread out like seaweed; she was as peaceful as a mermaid sleeping in the sea.

Gu Xizhou couldn’t help but reach out, pressing her palm against the glass over the woman’s face, her gaze tender: “Zhiyi…”

My little mermaid.

Inside the fluid-filled pod, countless thin tubes protruded from the woman’s fair body, eventually converging at the base of the pod and connecting to the massive floor-standing instrument nearby.

This instrument was “Cross,” a psychiatric treatment pod that had not yet finished development by the Su Group’s medical device company, controlled by Gu Xizhou four years ago. It was the most advanced medical equipment in the world today. This device primarily worked through the link between virtuality and reality to awaken the survival consciousness of people in a vegetative state or psychiatric patients.

Four years ago, Su Zhiyi had jumped from a building to commit suicide. She was dying when she was brought to the hospital. Gu Xizhou went mad, using every means possible to keep her, but to no avail. Finally, Cross was used in an emergency, and Su Zhiyi was placed in this dormant pod to preserve her last shred of brainwaves.

If this equipment were ever unplugged, Su Zhiyi would completely vanish from this world due to brain death. But now… with the assistance of Cross, Gu Xizhou had forcibly kept her in the human world. And for these four years, she had been building virtual world models to stimulate Su Zhiyi’s brainwaves, hoping she would open her eyes.

In these four years, Gu Xizhou had failed 1,021 times. On the 1,022nd attempt, she captured a flicker of something different.

Gu Xizhou couldn’t help but think of the bright and brilliant sixteen-year-old Su Zhiyi she had seen in the “virtual” world she had built, and she lowered her head with a smile. She reached out, stroking Su Zhiyi’s face through the glass, her expression manic: “I feel like… I’ve found you.”

“You really… love me so much…”

But Su Zhiyi, how do I bring you back to my world?