The Decaying Dream of America: I Assemble Corpses and Confront Madness

Lin Zheng's consciousness was like a ship tossed about in a storm, slowly rising to the surface from the bottomless, dark seabed.

He opened his eyes wearily and saw Evelyn sitting at her desk with her back to him, her fingers lightly tapping on the keyboard, the dim light of the screen outlining her tense profile.

Arthur sat on the single sofa next to him, his body wrapped in a large trench coat.

"Are you feeling better?"

Arthur's voice rang in Lin Zheng's ears, bringing him a sense of reassurance.

Lin Zheng tried to move and found that his body was no longer trembling violently, but the painful memory of being torn apart still left cold remnants deep in his consciousness.

He nodded silently, his throat dry, unable to utter a sound.

"Don't rush."

Evelyn turned around, her eyes behind her glasses revealing concern.

She put down her work, picked up the still-warm coffee from the table, and brought it to Lin Zheng's lips.

"You've overworked yourself too much; it will take time to recover."

Arthur pulled the Colt Python revolver out of its holster slightly from under his arm, then pushed it back in, making a slight metallic scraping sound.

He was unconsciously gathering his strength to calm himself down.

Lin Zheng felt a warm feeling in his heart as he watched Arthur's habitual actions; it felt so good to be cared for.

"During the time you were almost unconscious, I did a simple sorting and categorization of what I had noticed earlier."

Evelyn faced the computer again, and after several webpage redirects, she opened an encrypted folder. Dozens of case records immediately popped up on the screen, dense text and photos, silently telling one tragedy after another.

These are case data that she retrieved and initially compiled from the hospital's internal system overnight, based on clues provided by Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng sat up straight, barely supporting his groggy head, and focused his gaze on the screen.

It was a series of seemingly unrelated reports of "accidental deaths"—

A homeless man froze to death under a bridge, a drunkard died of overdose in an alley, a prostitute was found dead in her rented room, and the cause of death of xxx is unknown...

Every case was hastily closed by the police department and thrown into the depths of the archives that no one would bother with.

However, behind these useless words and blurry photos lies the despair of the forgotten.

"Each of these cases points to... a systemic 'harvesting' of marginalized groups."

The masses are like ears of wheat, sown, planned, and harvested.

"There are many more reports like this, probably more than we can imagine. I've only listed the ones I know personally. If you're still upset, we can talk about it later."

Evelyn sighed softly, turning her gaze to Lin Zheng with a silent question in her eyes, asking him if he was ready to face all of this, and if he could bear any more.

Lin Zheng did not answer, but silently took out the "Sam's finger bone" from inside his collar. The finger bone was warm and smooth from his caresses, and carried a strange heaviness.

He wasn't a pervert; it was just that having "friends" around made him feel somewhat at ease when facing these crazy things.

"I can, come on."

Come on, let his sanity plummet, get ready for madness, and see if he unleashes virtue or torment.

The clock in the office chimed crisply, its hands, pointing towards dawn, gently turning a notch.

"These figures are worse than I expected."

She tapped the screen lightly with her fingertips, pointing to those alarming numbers.

"These are not isolated cases, but a massive, premeditated crime."

The PDF opens on the screen, and you click on each zoomed-in photo of the victim—

The scene included haggard drug addicts, homeless men with vacant eyes, exhausted prostitutes, and children who hadn't even had a chance to grow up.

Lin Zheng didn't feel much when he looked at these pictures, but once he combined them with the Gundams he had seen before, it had a devastating effect.

Evelyn's glasses reflected the light from the screen, revealing the worry in her eyes.

"They all come from slums...and police case reports always contain various inconsistencies or investigations that abruptly end at crucial moments."

The people there are no longer considered human beings.

Arthur spoke in a low voice, gripping his Colt Python revolver tightly, his rough fingertips tracing the grooves on the gun barrel, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

What he was fighting against back then was perhaps not a few corrupt police officers, but an entire "harvesting" machine that had been corrupted by power.

He looked at Evelyn, then at Lin Zheng, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry and a touch of challenge.

"So, what should we do?"

He held "Sam's finger bone evidence" tightly in his palm. The twisted, blood-red lines at the tip of the finger bone were a map's guide, but they pointed to the entrance to the abyss.

"I know what to do."

Lin Zheng spoke, his voice still carrying a hint of fatigue, but clearer and more composed than ever before.

"First, we need to find them... Where did those who were 'harvested' go?"