Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 377 The Great Liquidation (4k)

Silicon Valley, USA

It's raining heavily.

The torrential rain pounded against the sign that read "AAAAA Centennial Silicon Valley Ancient Town Tourist Area Welcomes You".

Tu Hengyu stood at the end of the tourist area, holding a black umbrella, under the two-hundred-year-old "Google Headquarters" building. As one of the famous attractions from the Common Era, the Google Headquarters building has not been fully commercialized.

Famous historical buildings such as Google's headquarters, Apple's spaceship headquarters, and Intel's headquarters still retain some of their original functions, making Silicon Valley a gathering place for America's elite on Earth.

Tu Hengyu looked up and noticed that the lights in the Google building were glaringly bright at that moment.

A year has passed since the Doomsday War, and Tu Hengyu has finally accepted the fact that the Trisolaran world was defeated in the struggle against the thought imprint. He is no longer the scientist who was obsessed with digital life, but now he is just an ordinary person who wants to collect a debt.

The deaths of his daughter and wife, the car accident 160 years ago, and the teacher's tragic death—someone must be held responsible for all of these.

Liu Xiu escaped death in prison, but it wasn't so easy for other "comrades" who wanted to live a life of seclusion in the city.

Sam Hoffman hides in this office building and uses the money he earned from selling quantum computer research data to open a shop that ostensibly does AI healthcare, but specifically caters to people around the world.

Tu Hengyu didn't rush upstairs. He first opened a software on his portable computer and brought up the backend of Sam's Company. This was the access he had obtained through MOSS. With a few taps of his finger, the security parameters of Sam's Company were quietly changed.

After doing all this, he tucked the umbrella into his arms, pretended to be a client coming to discuss cooperation, and swiped his card to enter the elevator.

Sam Hoffman's lab is located at the very back of the 18th floor. The security lock at the door is the latest biometric model. Tu Hengyu had already figured out the pattern: Sam would have his assistant deliver coffee every afternoon at three o'clock, and he would wait at the corner of the corridor.

When his assistant, dressed in business attire, passed by, Tu Hengyu deliberately bumped into her, spilling coffee on her.

While his assistant was frantically wiping her clothes, Tu Hengyu quickly scanned her employee ID with a mini scanner, generating a fake temporary access pass.

When I pushed the door open, Sam Hoffman was typing code on his personal terminal, trying to solve the problem he was currently facing.
—The screen is covered with a dense array of bird wallpapers, QuickRepair, 2345 suite, LuMaster, and Driver Genius.

The dignified computer expert from the Common Era appeared somewhat drenched in sweat at this moment.

"you are?"

Sam Hoffman looked up, a hint of wariness in his eyes behind his glasses.

But after realizing that he had already physically disconnected from the internet, he wasn't too worried.

Tu Hengyu didn't say anything, walked to the coffee machine by the wall, and pretended to get water.

"Where did this new employee come from, coming here to get water? Don't you know this is the chairman's office?"

Sam Hoffman scolded.

But then it suddenly dawned on him how the other person had gotten into his office without access control.

Sam Hoffman got up to reach for the pistol under the table, but Tu Hengyu suddenly threw a freshly poured glass of boiling water at him.

Sam Hoffman suddenly turned to the side, his mid-stage acquired internal energy condensing in his palm, forcefully dispersing most of the hot water, his palm only turning slightly red.

Tu Hengyu drew his long umbrella, which instantly transformed into an umbrella sword, and slashed down.

"Xiantian realm?"

Sam's pupils contracted sharply as he dodged to the side. He saw the large solid wood desk cleaved in two by the umbrella sword, which then swept across the room without hesitation. Sam couldn't react in time and had his left arm cleanly severed.

"Wait, who are you? What do you want? Murder is punishable by death!" Sam Hoffman screamed, clutching his severed arm.

Sam Hoffman used his only remaining hand to retrieve a vintage pistol from under the table and fired several shots at the unfamiliar young man in front of him without hesitation.

The umbrella sword danced at high speed, instantly shredding the incoming bullets. Then, the umbrella sword unleashed a sonic boom and slashed down with a deafening roar.

"what--"

Sam Hoffman was filled with regret at the moment, his only remaining right arm and pistol were completely chopped off. He regretted not having a stun gun instead of using a flashy traditional pistol.

In fact, slashing bullets was beyond the capabilities of ordinary innate martial artists. This was a realm that only those at the peak of the innate realm could reach. He really did not expect that Tu Hengyu in front of him was a ruthless character at the peak of the innate realm.

Tu Hengyu didn't give him a chance to continue screaming. He swayed and was already in front of the table. His right hand formed a fist, and the wind from the fist carried the sharp whistling unique to innate internal strength. It struck Sam's chest directly.

Sam had no arms to block, and his heart was shattered by the intense innate internal force.

"Ho ho..."

Sam Hoffman was speechless.

If Sam Hoffman had suddenly appeared on the fully prepared operating table at this moment, he might still have a chance to survive, but now there is clearly no such chance.

"Do you think you'll be safe just by cutting off the internet and running from where you went online to the company? If you were willing to throw away your personal computer, you might have a chance to escape. It's a pity you can't bear to part with what's inside, Mr. von Neumann."

Sam Hoffman's expression instantly turned to horror.

The red alert, indicating a violent incident, had already sounded in the office, but Tu Hengyu simply snapped his fingers, and Little Moss shut down the entire company's alarm system.

Tu Hengyu clearly wanted this teacher's friend, his "uncle-in-law," to die knowing the truth.

"You're a veteran of the organization, having been with it since Evans' time. If I remember correctly, you're probably involved in the car accidents, plane crashes, and falling objects from high altitudes of several senior scientists, right? You really executed the 'miracle' project of the Trisolaran world very well."

After saying that, Tu Hengyu took off his sunglasses.

(Note: The Miracle Project was a plan by the Trisolaran world to demonstrate supernatural powers to Earth, attempting to construct a false universe that science could not explain through a series of "miracles," thereby overwhelming scientific thinking with non-scientific thought and causing the collapse of the entire scientific thought system. Towards the end of the Evans era, the plan evolved into the assassination of senior scientists, with efforts made to disguise their deaths as accidental.)
"Picture... Picture..."

Sam Hoffman coughed up blood, recognized the young man, and his face was full of resentment.

"It's me. I've come to collect my debts from the organization. My daughter and my wife both died at the hands of the organization."

Sam Hoffman stared, seemingly frustrated, and managed to utter half a sentence: "It...it wasn't me who did it..."

"There's no other way. There aren't many people left in the organization, so we have to start with you. But don't worry, you're the first, but you're definitely not the last."

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed his left hand into a palm, and the palm wind swept across the spilled table, destroying the quantum computer that was full of ancient viruses.

Then, the umbrella sword in his left hand went straight for Sam's face.

"Stop! Don't move! Tu Hengyu, you've broken the law. This is a tourist area in Silicon Valley. The police will be here in three minutes if a gunshot is fired. Don't kill anyone. Calm down."

A female voice, clearly belonging to a police officer, came through the loudspeaker in the room.

"The Internet of Things era is really troublesome." Tu Hengyu curled his lips. He thought that he could just ask Little Moss to help hack the building's wireless network and alarm system, but he did not expect that this crappy company still had old-fashioned fiber optic network cables.

This type of fiber optic cable cannot be disconnected programmatically; it can only be physically severed.

That makes sense. After all, it's Silicon Valley, a place with over two hundred years of history. It's normal to have fiber optic internet.

In a world of the Internet of Everything, it is indeed very difficult to kill someone secretly. The umbrella sword suddenly contracted before it touched Sam's face, then poured in through the deep megaphone and camera.

Sam struggled and roared, his acquired internal energy churning within him. Despite his shattered heart, he tried to escape, but Tu Hengyu's innate internal energy suppressed him completely, making it difficult for him to even move a finger. Tu Hengyu looked at Sam's face, contorted with fear, and recalled the infinite loop room his daughter had left in 550A. He picked up the old US military pistol and skillfully cocked it.

“Mr. von Neumann, you have betrayed humanity and the Trisolarans. You are neither a qualified traitor nor a qualified human being. You should have died long ago, but you have survived to this new era.”

Don't worry, you're the first, but definitely not the last.

With a muffled thud, the bullet pierced Sam's temple.

Looking at von Neumann's corpse, Tu Hengyu suddenly remembered a rumor: the Wallfacers seemed to have the ability to extract the souls of the dead and reincarnate them, but this ability seemed to be limited to the period of the apocalyptic war.

I've never heard of anyone being able to reincarnate after death, except for those who sacrificed their lives in the Doomsday War and those Space Force soldiers.

Over the past year, at least a thousand families of those who died in accidents have knelt outside the Wallfacers' compound, begging Luo Qing to save their loved ones, but Luo Qing has never appeared. Later, the United Government even issued a ban prohibiting such people from approaching the Wallfacers' compound.

That's good. I hope he doesn't reincarnate as that bastard's soul. This beast who killed at least 15 scientists from the 20th century AD using computer programs is better off just dying cleanly and easily.

He tossed the pistol beside Sam, then pulled a miniature USB drive from his pocket, plugged it into his personal computer, and found all the evidence that Sam was part of the ETO.
The evidence has been uploaded to the U.S. government police system.

After doing all this, he walked to the window, looked at the lights of the police cars approaching through the rain, and did not run away.

When the police broke down the electromagnetic door and rushed in.

Tu Hengyu was standing next to Sam's body, with blood dripping carelessly from the black umbrella.

"I am Tu Hengyu,"

He willingly extended his hands, allowing the handcuffs to lock his wrists.

People of this era clearly had never heard of this name.

Tu Hengyu slowly said, "Sam Hoffman is a member of the Trisolaran organization. The evidence is in the quantum computer and has also been uploaded to your police system. You can talk to my lawyer, Little Moss, if you have anything to say."

The federal officers were a bit stunned, clearly not expecting this situation.

The phantom of a small moss suddenly appeared on the scene.

"A little moss?!" an officer exclaimed.

"MOSS?" the lead officer asked, puzzled.

Clearly, everyone in this era knows this fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.

She glanced at the police officers, and countless streams of information were displayed amidst the interwoven holographic images.

"Breaking news: The state government, the U.S. federal government, and the Earth United Government have issued a pardon to Mr. Tu Hengyu. Officers, you may return now. I apologize for disturbing you on this rainy night. If any charges are subsequently brought to court, I will represent Mr. Tu Hengyu in court."

Because the moss has a physical body, it possesses all political rights and a normal social identity, and indeed has the right to represent others in court.

The officers exchanged bewildered glances. This was the first time in history that MOSS, as an artificial intelligence, had so openly shown favoritism towards one of the humans.

...

Two days later, Rodriguez, the president of a multinational corporation and a super-rich man who wielded enormous economic resources and wielded immense influence in the business world, was found dead in his bedroom.

Numerous signs of a struggle were found at the scene, suggesting a fight between the assassin and his bodyguard. However, the assassin emerged victorious, and Rodriguez was stabbed in the heart with a sharp object.

The only note left at the scene was that Rodriguez's identity in the Trisolaran organization was: David.

...

Three days later, Kovalev, a Soviet aerospace engineer, died in a car accident, leaving behind his Trisolaran identity as "Gagarin".

...

Five days later, the Spanish philosopher Reno Moreno was found dead next to a bookshelf in a used bookstore in Madrid. No obvious signs of a struggle were found at the scene; it is suspected that the killer approached him under the pretext of "discussing philosophy," and then struck him on the head when he was off guard, killing him. The Three-Body Organization's identity was left at the scene: Cervantes.

...

One month later

The modern-day Wall Street financier, Brown, has died...

Spartacus (Zhang Yijie) died in the Common Era...

Chen A-Hua (New Mozi), chief researcher at the Quantum Physics Laboratory, has died...

……

In just one month, 27 people identified as members of the Three-Body Organization died. The causes of death were varied, including intentional or accidental. Interestingly, because the victims were scattered all over the world, they did not attract much attention in the vast human society and therefore did not cause a social uproar.

However, a small number of remaining Trisolaran members who realized something was wrong discovered that someone was specifically hunting them, former ETO members, and began to flee beyond Earth.

But they soon discovered that escaping Earth was virtually impossible. Any attempt to travel to outer space by civilian spaceship or space elevator was rejected by MOSS on the grounds that they had not obtained an interstellar visa or that their interstellar visa was invalid, thus trapping them all within Earth.

Ultimately, the death toll of the entire ETO organization climbed to around 60.

This included almost all the members of the Three-Body Organization, except for the group of ETO members led by Liu Xiu who surrendered.

Perhaps there is one more.

Three months after the Great Purge began, Tu Hengyu finally confirmed the location of the last surviving ETO member's residence through network technology and with the help of MOSS.

Einstein.

"They actually live here..." Tu Hengyu looked at the old gate of Tsinghua University and fell into deep thought.

It's incredibly ironic that the final assassination attempt, which would mark the end of the operation, would take place on his own alma mater, on the site of a school built 200 years ago.

Tu Hengyu touched the sniper rifle in his pocket, showed the gatekeeper his identity as a Tsinghua University alumnus, and then walked straight toward his destination.

Little did they know that they hadn't walked far before a strange man carrying a child blocked their way.

"That's enough, Xiao Tu. Einstein's identity is different from that of the previous members of the Three-Body Organization, and there is no comparison between them. Your revenge mission can end here."

Realizing that his identity and thoughts had been exposed, Tu Hengyu had no intention of getting entangled with this person. He no longer concealed his innate perfection strength and shot into the depths of a birch forest like a cannonball.

However, a wave of sword energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere and sent him flying far away.

"I said, okay."

The man appeared out of thin air in front of Tu Hengyu, who had fallen to the ground. The child in his arms remained motionless, and the sniper rifle in Tu Hengyu's arms was also taken out of thin air by the man, who instantly removed the battery.

Tu Hengyu struggled to lift his head, feeling the soreness in his body, and finally saw a familiar face.

"Dr. Luo Ji?"

(End of this chapter)