Chapter 45: Holding a Meeting with My Brain

Zhou Mo almost tumbled right out of his chair. That flash of memory just now...

Seeing Zhou Mo stumble, Xia An beside him quickly stood up and asked, "Are you alright?"

Zhou Mo forced his expression to look normal. "I'm fine, just a bit of low blood sugar, I suppose."

Xia An glanced at the darkening sky. "You've certainly been busy all day. Fancy grabbing some dinner together?"

Zhou Mo squeezed out a rigid smile. "No thanks, I need to rush back home and hold a board meeting with my brain."

Thinking Zhou Mo was merely joking, Xia An said, "There's been a lot happening today. You definitely need some time to process it all."

Zhou Mo took a deep breath, suddenly remembering Sun Zhongwen, and asked, "What about Sun Zhongwen's body..."

Xia An stubbed out his cigarette and sighed. "Unless something unexpected happens, it'll remain at the City Guard headquarters. We'll be guarding his corpse overnight for the next few days to make sure no one tries to steal Sun Zhongwen's brain. If nothing happens in the next couple of days, we'll arrange for cremation as soon as possible."

"Though I'd imagine the other party wouldn't dare make a move against such an obvious trap."

Hearing this, Zhou Mo's mouth twitched. "Caution is always warranted. If there's nothing else, I'll head back first."

Xia An nodded. "Go on back and get some rest. Come down to the station in a couple of days to sign some paperwork and collect your bonus. I reckon the payout this time should be quite substantial."

Zhou Mo had zero interest in bonuses right now. In a daze, he left the City Guard headquarters and rode his little electric scooter home.

Stopping by a pharmacy along the way to buy a case of glucose, Zhou Mo unlocked his skull and released Brainy upon getting home. Then, he opened the refrigerator, looked at the two dozing brains inside, and announced, "Rise and shine, we're having a meeting."

A short while later, three pots filled to the brim with liquid glucose were arranged on the dining table, with a brain resting in each. Zhou Mo urgently needed someone to help him sort out his thoughts; he no longer cared whether these pots could ever be used for cooking again.

With two hollow eye sockets and his skull lid propped open, Zhou Mo wore a grave expression as he recounted everything that had happened today to the brains in the pots.

"That's the situation in a nutshell. What do you all think our next move should be?"

"Not only have I somehow become Liu Tianyou's younger brother, but it also appears I've become a member of the 'Primordial Truth'..."

Primordial Truth was undoubtedly the name of the brain-eating demon organization, and just hearing the name suggested it was anything but simple.

At this point, Zhou Mo couldn't maintain his composure anymore, smacking a hand against his forehead and burying his face.

The moment he learned this news, the dormant memories of his past life began to revive, automatically supplying him with the tropes of a prime-time melodrama.

An elder brother who joined the organization achieves great success, discovers the dark conspiracies within, and begins a journey of searching for family and seeking self-redemption.

***

After finally tracking down his younger brother, he discovers the brother has become an enforcer for the organization, ultimately choosing self-sacrifice to redeem him...

"What kind of cheesy, tragic-brother soap opera nonsense is this?!"

The dog brain and the doctor's brain (Liao Feng's brain) simultaneously turned their gazes toward Brainy.

Brainy floated atop the glucose, using its two eyeballs to shrug: Don't look at me, I'm just a brain, Liu Tianyou was the one who did all that.

The doctor's brain slowly blinked a query: What about the memories?

Brainy rolled its eyeballs: As if any of you have memories. How am I supposed to know where they're hidden?

Brainy had no control over the resurgence of memories either; it seemed to require some kind of special trigger mechanism.

Brainy tapped the rim of the pot with an eyeball: Let's get down to business. Does anyone have any clues?

Dog brain: Can we go outside and play?

The doctor's brain hurled an eyeball directly at the dog brain: This doesn't concern you.

The doctor's brain turned to Zhou Mo: Are you still planning to get your original brain back?

Zhou Mo let out a heavy sigh, his tone resolute, however: "Get it back! We have to get it back!"

Brainy scratched its head: Judging by current circumstances, getting your brain back is going to be rather difficult. Should we figure out a way to dig out Sun Zhongwen's brain and check his memories?

After pondering for a long while, Zhou Mo shook his head. "No, the City Guard is currently using Sun Zhongwen's brain as bait. We can't take that risk."

The dog brain's pupils gleamed with profound depth: I can go lead them on a chase while you guys sneak in and steal it.

Brainy ignored the dog brain: Well, then we're out of options. All our leads are cut off.

The doctor's brain contemplated for a moment: Not necessarily all of them. There's still that tip-off letter.

Zhou Mo rubbed his chin. "True. Although Chen Xiu only mentioned it in passing, I have a gut feeling there's something wrong with that letter. Liu Tianyou shouldn't be the type to use such low-level tactics to deal with the brain-eating demons."

Zhou Mo rested his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together. "Let me organize my thoughts."

"Sun Zhongwen and his accomplices were willing to become assassins purely to exact revenge on the brain-eating demons. Meanwhile, Liu Tianyou was targeted by them because he intended to betray the organization. Liu Tianyou allowed himself to be killed voluntarily, and right before his death, he even conducted experiments on himself and his younger brother."

"Clearly, the result of Liu Tianyou's experiment was Brainy here, and the result of my experiment is this current state of affairs of mine."

***

"And the fact that Liu Tianyou tacitly allowed Sun Zhongwen and the others to come assassinate me implies that he very likely knew this outcome would happen."

"Let's put ourselves in his shoes. If I were Liu Tianyou,"

"and I were preparing to betray a massively influential organization, would I really choose to alert the authorities via an anonymous tip-off letter?"

"Given Liu Tianyou's identity as the Father of the Deep Ones, he should have had plenty of alternative methods. An anonymous tip feels far too deliberate."

"Judging from the deeply guarded and cryptic reactions of Liu Tianyou, Sun Zhongwen, and Chen Xiu, the brain-eating demons—or rather, Primordial Truth—seem to have infiltrated to a remarkably high level. Liu Tianyou must have known very well that an anonymous tip-off letter would accomplish nothing."

The doctor's brain: Indeed.

Brainy: I don't quite understand, but you sound right.

Dog brain: ?

Unbothered by their reactions, Zhou Mo continued thinking aloud, "Liu Tianyou wouldn't make such a rudimentary mistake. Because it was an anonymous letter, only his death could ever connect that letter back to him in the first place..."

"So this wasn't just a simple tip-off letter at all. It's highly likely to be a clue left behind by Liu Tianyou!"

At that thought, Zhou Mo's train of thought suddenly cleared.

"Now that I think about it, that's not our only clue. At the very least, that Chuanghe Research Center hasn't surfaced yet."

"Furthermore, Sun Zhongwen said before he died that he only sent Zhang硕 to kidnap me, and that someone else was behind sending Zhang to kill me..."

For a moment, Zhou Mo felt invigorated. "Having more brains really is fantastic. It feels like there are still plenty of viable directions to investigate."

The three brains exchanged blank looks: What use are we?

Who knows!

With that thought, Zhou Mo couldn't help but cast his "gaze" toward the rather vacant-looking dog brain. "Have you recovered yet? I think we need to work on bonding more. Let's see when we might be able to fish out some of your other memories."

The dog brain didn't quite understand, but its two eyeballs still radiated pure, unadulterated foolishness:

Can we go play outside now?