I write obituaries for the gods

“I’ve always believed in you, Brother Hao,” he said softly. “Won’t you believe me even once?”

Chen Minghao's hand trembled violently. He closed his eyes and let Lin Chen take the tablet.

Lin Chen picked up the tablet, quickly switched to the android control interface, and pressed the "Disarm" button.

"All androids have been disarmed! Repeat! All androids have been disarmed!" Lin Chen shouted.

He lowered his head and looked at Chen Minghao:

"Come on, I'll take you to a safe place..."

He saw that Brother Hao had already pressed a pistol against his temple.

"I've fucking had enough, Lin Chen... I've fucking had enough...!"

Chen Minghao gave Lin Chen a sorrowful smile.

"In your next life, I'll still make sure you're well-fed."

"Oh!"

......

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Not in Control of One's Own Fate

The gunshots faded into the rain, turning into wisps of smoke that flowed backwards with the rain curtain.

Chen Minghao suddenly opened his eyes, only to find that his pistol had shifted from his temple and was pointing towards the sky—

A powerful force pulled the gun away, and the bullet missed his head.

Chen Minghao, in a fit of rage, once again tried to aim the gun at his own head—

"enough!"

With a few "clicks," the pistol quickly disintegrated into countless metal parts.

Chen Minghao suddenly stood up, intending to jump off the edge of the lighthouse, but Lin Chen grabbed him—

"Let me go! Let me die!"

Chen Minghao shouted and desperately tried to jump off the edge of the lighthouse.

"I've fucking had enough! Stop torturing me!"

"You'd be better off dead, but what about your child?!" Lin Chen shouted. "Chen Minghao, are you even a man?!"

"I..."

Chen Minghao froze, stuck on the edge of the railing, his body trembling violently.

He turned his head and stared blankly at Lin Chen.

The man's body slid gently down the railing and collapsed on the edge once again.

"You're such an idiot, Lin Chen..." Chen Minghao muttered under his breath, "We've come this far, why are you still bothering me?"

Seeing that Chen Minghao had stopped struggling, Lin Chen released his grip and took two steps back.

“You made a mistake and you need to pay the price,” Lin Chen said in a low voice, “but your death won’t solve anything.”

"Hehehe...that's true..."

Chen Minghao wiped the rain off his face, looking dejected.

"You're very disappointed in me, aren't you?" His voice was hoarse. "You entrusted your life to me, and I betrayed you and even shot you."

"You missed me," Lin Chen said.

"I'm just a cook, I'm just not good at aiming, don't try to excuse me."

Chen Minghao shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“I don’t deserve it,” he said. “I thought everything was over, that this was the only way to survive in the new world, and I forgot that there are people like you struggling.”

“But I have no choice…” Chen Minghao looked up at Lin Chen, “I don’t want to get away with this, but I really have no choice… Lin Chen… During the hardest two weeks, Gute Street was without water and electricity, and when the brothers went out, they were attacked by endless androids. They came back missing limbs…”

"The men were the first to starve to death; they gave all their food to the women, and then the women gave all their food to the children."

“Louis came to me and said he would supply us with food if we helped them fight you,” he closed his eyes. “The first time, I refused, and my brothers supported me; the second time, I refused again, and although my brothers were unhappy, they still supported me; the third time…”

He opened his eyes again and looked up at the dark sky.

“Some people objected and wanted to join the investigation bureau. They started fighting because they were so hungry.”

"The whole building was burned down, and no one survived, including those who caused the disturbance."

"The fourth time, Louis relented, saying he would only ask us to provide them with some...some peripheral security services in exchange for food..."

Chen Minghao sighed softly:

“I have no choice but to accept it, because if this continues, we will all starve to death.”

"From security maintenance services... to collecting protection money... to counterinsurgency operations, those brothers, after going hungry, didn't want to go hungry again, they didn't want to go back."

"I'm sorry," Lin Chen said softly.

“You don’t need to apologize to me. I know you must be having a terrible time,” Chen Minghao said in a low voice. “The Investigation Bureau was overthrown, and everyone thought you were doomed. At first, a group of brothers waited for you with me, but they gradually couldn’t take it anymore…”

"During that time, He Lanhu was my only emotional support. I knew she was intricately connected with the people at the foundation, and I knew she was leading me to do bad things, but I really... I really couldn't help it..."

Chen Minghao covered his face with his rough hands and burst into tears:

"I've really had enough... Lin Chen... I've fucking had enough..."

Lin Chen just looked down at Chen Minghao without moving.

A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him, leaving him momentarily at a loss for what to say or do.

He was indeed very disappointed when he was betrayed by Brother Hao: Brother Hao was the elder brother he could entrust with his affairs after his death. He trusted Brother Hao so much, just as Brother Hao had trusted him so much.

But when Lin Chen saw the man in front of him breaking down, he suddenly understood Hao Ge's pain.

Hunger and death—they were just ordinary people, without the ability to fly or dive, without outstanding combat skills, and could only be slaughtered at the mercy of others.

In such a chaotic world, they either die or choose to become accomplices of evildoers.

The flowers of evil always bloom where corpses are buried.

"Get up."

Chen Minghao opened his eyes and saw Lin Chen extending a hand.

"Help us and atone for your crimes," Lin Chen said.

Chen Minghao stared blankly at the outstretched hand, his nose twitched, and finally he grasped Lin Chen's hand.

"I tried my best..."

Lin Chen pulled Chen Minghao up and looked at the man in front of him who had suffered so much from the war. His feelings were very complicated.

"Where is Louis?" Lin Chen asked.

“He left the port a long time ago,” Chen Minghao said in a low voice. “The Investigation Bureau troops here… no, I should say the rebels, are led by his deputy Zhao Tianmu.”

Zhao Tianmu, that guy.

Lin Chen turned his head and looked at the port: the First Armed Division had taken control of the dock, and the guerrilla helicopters had surrounded the Ocean, broadcasting threats in all directions.

With the situation largely settled, the ocean liner, which was already preparing to leave its post, slowly approached the shore and came to a stop.

"Where did Louis go?" Lin Chen asked.

“He left with the people from the foundation,” Chen Minghao said. “That kid has been acting strangely... Zhao Tianmu is afraid of him too, so Zhao Tianmu was even preparing to escape on the ocean liner.”

"Once you board the ocean liner, you should be able to catch him."

......

"Oh!"

The cabin door was kicked open, and Li Zhanyi rushed into the first-class cabin with a pistol in hand, followed by a group of officers from the First Armed Division.

Zhao Tianmu was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing the Investigation Bureau uniform, with his hands empty.

The moment he saw Li Zhanyi, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

“Haha…how ironic,” Zhao Tianmu said. “Tell me, was Lin Chen killed or not? Louis was hoping Chen Minghao would take care of him…”

"You underestimate me?"

Lin Chen entered the room and stood beside Li Zhanyi.

"You're thinking too badly of people," Lin Chen said.

"Ah...as expected, uncultured good-for-nothings are unreliable. They're full of loyalty and righteousness, even though they've already become such beasts, they still put on that air of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness..." Zhao Tianmu sighed.

"how about you?"

Lin Chen waved his hand, and two officers from the First Armed Division stepped forward and handcuffed Zhao Tianmu's hands behind his back.

"Your Director Louis is still with the Foundation, and you're already planning to run away on the ocean liner?" Lin Chen walked up to Zhao Tianmu. "It doesn't seem like you're particularly loyal either..."

"What do you know..."

Zhao Tianmu looked troubled.

“Louis has fucking gone mad, you know…” he whispered. “He’s planning to go with Mr. Z to carry out that… that plan, the plan to destroy Rain City…”

"Louis is going to collaborate with Mr. Z on this?" Li Zhanyi frowned. "My God... does he really want to..."

“He hates this city, he hates you all,” Zhao Tianmu laughed bitterly. “He just feels… haha, he just feels you stole what was his, and he can’t accept it…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen and Li Zhanyi exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

Louis has completely gone mad.

“Take him away,” Lin Chen said. “Interrogate him properly.”

After saying that, Lin Chen patted Li Zhanyi on the shoulder, and the two walked out of the cabin together.

"Senior, we've found He Lanhu." The voice of Embroidery Needle came through the earpiece.

"Received, I'm coming right now." Lin Chen pressed the earpiece.

Following the coordinates given by the embroidery needle, the two arrived at a cabin on a lower level.

Lin Chen saw He Lanhu again. She was no longer the elegant and imposing woman she used to be. Her messy hair was stuck to her face, and her casual clothes looked like they hadn't been washed for many days.

Upon seeing Lin Chen, that foxy expression returned to her face.

"Investigator Lin...it seems we've fallen into your hands after all...it looks like my husband's chances of survival are slim..."

"Chen Minghao is not dead," Lin Chen said decisively.

"Should I thank you then?" He Lanhu clapped his hands with a smile. "You must have killed quite a few of his brothers, right? Does he still want to talk to you? Does he appreciate your mercy?"

Lin Chen walked up to He Lanhu and looked down at her.

"What is the foundation's setup in the Baiyin District?" Lin Chen asked directly.

He Lanhu gave a bitter laugh:

"How would I know so much? If I were really from the foundation, would I be in such a miserable state?"

“Think about it again,” Lin Chen said. “If you answer well, you might not have to stay in jail for so long, and your child will be able to have a mother to take care of him after he is born.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen immediately sensed that He Lanhu was somewhat agitated.

"Don't use the child as an excuse..." Her lips twitched slightly.

“You’re the one who put your child in danger,” Lin Chen said. “If you still consider yourself a mother, think about your child.”

"Damn it, I already told you I don't know!"

He Lanhu stared at Lin Chen, panting heavily, as if he had suffered a great shock.

After a long while, she finally calmed down and said in a low voice:

“My relative who works at the foundation died in Pearl Beach, killed by your armed forces section one.”

"Before, he... only gave me some insider information and trends; I really don't have the kind of relationship you're imagining..."

Upon hearing He Lanhu's words, Lin Chen immediately felt a headache coming on.

Sister, I thought you were some kind of double agent or something, but it turns out you only have this little connection?

Personally, Lin Chen wanted a win-win situation. As long as He Lanhu could provide him with some useful information, he would try his best to get He Lanhu to receive a lighter sentence.