True and False Daughters 24
Ten minutes later, a group of plainclothes officers with extraordinary bearing arrived to clear the area.
Just in case, Qin Jingzhou and a circle of academicians and experts, all with intelligence scores over 20, formed a human barrier, watching that motionless "little octopus" intently.
Half an hour passed, and all the elders and academicians in the capital showed up.
Although a few elders and experts had already seen BT001 hanging from the back of Jin Li’s head, for most of the higher-ups who had only ever taken intelligence potions, this was their first time… seeing it with their own eyes.
Witnessing this “little octopus” that hovered between illusion and reality but could be observed with spiritual power, even these well-traveled bigwigs were shocked.
Next, everyone clustered together, discussing on the spot how to deal with the thing.
In fact, there was already a consensus: these semi-corporeal things, though rare, must have always existed. It was only thanks to the evolution of spiritual power that people could truly perceive them now. With a specimen at their feet, even with some risk, there was no way they’d let it go.
The main thing was that after Old Qin and his group joined forces with Qin Jingzhou for that strike, their confidence had grown considerably.
As for the elders, just like Old Qin and the others, they’d stopped being surprised by Qin Jingzhou’s small edge—specifically, his ability to project spiritual power outside his body. After all, they’d all experimented on themselves plenty once they developed spiritual power.
After hearing how Academician Qin and the others had joined forces to knock down BT001, the elders got interested and hurried to try it: they soon discovered that projecting spiritual power outside the body had almost no effect on physical objects—it felt about as strong as a gust of wind—while firing it at the “little octopus” could actually jostle it and knock it askew.
Qin Jingzhou watched as the elders and academicians happily used the “little octopus” for target practice, their aim improving shot by shot, and simply smiled without comment.
To have spiritual power that could penetrate physical matter and actually harm soul consciousness, you needed an intelligence score over 50. Without his help, the very top Chosen Ones in this world would need at least two or three hundred years to hit 50 intelligence.
At that moment, the system asked, “Hey Brother Zhou, should we let them figure things out on their own?”
“Of course,” said Qin Jingzhou calmly. “They haven’t even mastered what’s possible with twenty or thirty points yet. What, are you getting impatient? Want me to take you to hunt down the Center-of-attention System?”
The system replied in a low voice, “Yeah. The Center-of-attention System decisively cut off all non-core functions and then slipped away like a cicada shedding its shell. I’m worried it might really escape, because it just now swallowed up all of Jin Li’s fate.”
“Relax,” Qin Jingzhou chuckled. “I don’t think it’s ready to give up so easily.”
An hour later, professionals had set up a large tent right there, covering the “little octopus” and leaving enough space for various instruments and equipment.
Academicians and experts interested in this research project set up a duty roster. The rest naturally went home. As for the still-unconscious Jin Li, she was sent to a specialty hospital, where she would face a series of questions and tests.
However, when the Center-of-attention System had abandoned its host “in the face of disaster,” Jin Li’s brain had likely suffered irreversible damage: a drastic loss in intelligence and mental derangement. The researchers assigned to Jin Li probably wouldn’t get the results they hoped for.
With Jin Li no longer a breakthrough point, the bigwigs and rich heirs previously affected by her influence recovered one by one. When the official investigators came knocking, they all confessed, even though it might land them in detention.
With both Jin Li and BT001 apprehended—at least on the surface—Qin Jingzhou spent the weekend in Capital City. On Sunday night, he flew back to the hotel to accompany his precious daughter as she continued filming their variety show.
The entire variety show production team had been replaced. The new director practically knelt before his precious daughter, groveling before the powerful…
In the past half year, following her father around, He Chunxi had met countless big shots. Even the eldership in charge of research could call her by name. She hardly needed this place to satisfy her vanity.
So she said straightforwardly, “No need for any special treatment. Just do things as usual, and let’s finish the show smoothly.”
The director and producer both let out long sighs of relief: as long as this little VIP wanted to continue shooting, the other guests had no choice but to keep quiet, no matter their opinions.
On Monday, Qin Jingzhou brought his daughter to the location shoot. Watching her act naturally in front of the cameras didn’t stop him from holding his laptop and checking out statements posted by various households and organizations on social media, including the two major platforms.
The “Vanguard Army” that had backed Jin Li, especially the ones who’d slandered him and his precious daughter, as well as the paid shills posting nonsense on social media, had all landed in detention.
And those rich heirs, as if coordinated, posted sincere apologies at exactly nine o’clock in the morning, saying everything they could and expressing their willingness to bear full legal responsibility.
Their parents followed up, announcing increased charitable donations, especially for education. They would have liked to pay Qin Jingzhou “protection money,” but Gao Wen firmly rejected them all.
With announcement after announcement flooding out, the smarter netizens started discussing.
“Is this groveling and admitting defeat... and now they’re sucking up?”
“Otherwise, why stress boosting their charity efforts so much?”
“I’m getting nervous here. These people spread rumors, slandered, censored, suppressed, all at once. If Professor He hadn’t won the Hua Country Science & Technology Prize, who knows what would’ve happened!”
“Come on, if Professor He hadn’t gotten the prize, could all these people have joined forces?”
“No, now you’re making me even more nervous!”
“I have a theory: could these people have been manipulated by some powerful force inside and out?!”
Seeing the netizens getting closer to the truth, Gao Wen asked his boss, “Should we...?”
Qin Jingzhou waved him off, “When Brain Gold hits the market next year, their speculation will get even wilder. Let them talk.”
And so, he made the call.
The travel variety show shoot went very smoothly. In total, it took half a month, and once they were done, Qin Jingzhou and his precious daughter went home. By then, Du Jiaying had already moved into the building next door.
Back in Capital City, they only stayed at home half a day before it was time for the awards ceremony.
The ceremony was broadcast live. When the camera focused on Qin Jingzhou, even the comment sections on the biggest video platforms froze for several seconds. After the awards came the official celebration banquet, and Qin Jingzhou took only his precious daughter. Once again, he introduced her to all the high-ranking officials in attendance.
This time, even more people got to know He Chunxi.
He Chunxi didn’t get stage fright at all. She was calm and composed in public, but once they got home, she didn’t even bother to change out of her dress and heels. She spun in front of her father, “Dad, I’m so happy, so excited!”
Qin Jingzhou sat down in the rocking chair by the window. “What’s this, are you fishing for compliments again?” Then he gestured toward the medal on the coffee table.
Since her father approved, He Chunxi didn’t stand on ceremony.
She grabbed her phone, snapped a photo of his profile, then another detailed close-up of the medal.
She showed her father the pictures, then eagerly posted them to her Moments feed: two photos, accompanied by the words, “I’m so proud!”
After her father woke up, He Chunxi had already purged her contacts twice. No one from the entertainment industry could see her feed now. After posting, she tossed her phone aside, threw her arms around her father’s arm. “Dad, I’m hungry. What should we have for a late-night snack?”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Didn’t eat enough, huh?”
He Chunxi stood up and tugged at the waistline of her little dress. “Didn’t dare eat too much.”
Qin Jingzhou lit a cigarette. “Order me a bowl of pork wontons.”
He Chunxi agreed, “Okay.” She paused. “Should we invite Brother Gao, Jiaying, and the others?”
Qin Jingzhou glanced at his daughter. “Why not just invite the family of three downstairs, too?”
He Chunxi flashed a pair of sparkling tiger teeth as she smiled.
By now, Shang Xi’s mom had returned to the country, and his dad no longer had to stay at the hotel across from the complex. He could finally enjoy sleeping on a cot in the living room.
The Shang family trio had, of course, watched the awards ceremony. Shang Xi was certain that Uncle He and Xi Xi would return and summon him, so… he hadn’t even eaten dinner.
He held out until ten at night, and his perseverance paid off.
Xi Xi called, and he ran upstairs to join her. The two held hands and went out to buy the late-night snack together.
When they returned, Gao Wen and Du Jiaying arrived as well.
Du Jiaying was a little sulky, but it wasn’t serious. Qin Jingzhou was patient. Waiting for this daughter to “wise up”—well, even if she never did, it was fine.
No matter how complicated Du Jiaying felt, everyone else at the table was cheerful, they all ate their late-night snack together, chatting and even playing cards afterward.
Strangely, despite everything on her mind, Du Jiaying dozed off on the sofa not long after.
The next morning, she woke up in the guest room, covered with a light blanket.
She washed up in the bathroom. When she came out, she saw He Chunxi and Shang Xi cooking together in the semi-open kitchen, and her biological father sitting in the rocking chair—she inched closer: her dad was reading research papers… the kind of stuff she couldn’t even understand the title of.
This past while had dealt her blow after blow, but she was getting used to it. She smiled and nodded at her dad, unlocked her phone… her adoptive father had called her every five minutes since eight that morning.
She frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then called him back in front of her biological father.
The call connected instantly, and once she set it to speaker, her adoptive father Du Jizheng’s voice rang out clearly: “Jiaying, please, please come see your brother!”
Du Jiaying tensed up. “Is he having an episode?”
Du Jizheng sounded shaken too. “He went to see Jin Li in secret, came back completely out of it, and your mother and I couldn’t be bothered with him. In less than three days he suddenly fell into a coma!”
Du Jiaying’s voice trembled as well. “Does he need a kidney transplant?”
Du Jizheng was on the verge of tears. “No! The experts told us to… prepare for the worst!”
Qin Jingzhou finally spoke up. “Interesting. In that case, why don’t we all go and take a look?”
He already knew what was coming, so he finished breakfast with his precious daughter at a leisurely pace, gathered their group, and headed to the hospital where Du Jiahui was staying.
Even though it wasn’t visiting hours, Qin Jingzhou made his way to the outside of Du Jiahui’s luxurious private room without a hitch.
Through the glass wall, he looked at the barely breathing Du Jiahui, and the familiar gray mist swirling at his chest. Then he watched as the fog drifted straight through the glass, heading right for his precious daughter.
Now in pure mist state, the Center-of-attention System, having ditched all unnecessary parts, could only be seen by those with intelligence over 30, if not higher.
His daughter suddenly looked up, tugged his sleeve, her face full of suspicion. “Dad, there’s a system… it says it wants to bind with me.”
Before Qin Jingzhou could reply, his own system was already squealing with excitement. “Wow! It’s walking right into our trap!”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Go on, what are you waiting for?”