417: Chapter 414 Madam, I don't think you want to either.

Li Mo coughed and looked at the woman who was still crying.

"She has a death wish."

The woman just cried silently, saying nothing.

Soon, a police car arrived with its siren wailing. Two police officers got out, one younger and one older. They looked at the woman sitting on the bank, then at the drenched Li Mo and Ye Ouyang, and walked over quickly.

"What happened?" the older officer asked.

Li Mo wiped the water off his face and pointed at the woman: "She jumped into the river; we rescued her."

The younger officer squatted next to the woman and asked a few questions softly. The woman only shook her head and didn't speak. He stood up and shook his head at the older officer.

The older officer nodded, took out a notebook, and began to investigate. Li Mo and Ye Ouyang told the story normally—they were passing by the bridge, saw someone jump, and dived in to save her; they didn't know anything else.

As Li Mo spoke, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and picked up the half-soaked pack of cigarettes from the ground. He pulled one out and handed it to the older officer.

"Here, Uncle Officer, have a cigarette."

The older officer was stunned for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand.

"No, no, no, we don't do that."

Li Mo didn't pull back his hand and continued, "I just want to know, why did this woman suddenly want to commit suicide?"

The older officer looked at him, then at the cigarette, and his tone softened slightly.

"Well, that's fine. That is indeed something you can know." He paused. "So, about this... don't give cigarettes. I don't smoke, I don't smoke."

[Narrator: Kids watching, don't copy this; smoking is bad behavior.]

Li Mo let out an "oh" and put the cigarette back.

The older officer closed his notebook and gestured with his chin toward the woman.

"Well..." he lowered his voice, "As for why she committed suicide, I think it probably has something to do with her child."

Ye Ouyang was stunned: "Child?"

The older officer sighed and began to explain.

This woman was from a single-parent household; she had been divorced for several years, and the child lived with her. Her ex-husband had been providing child support, quite generously, so she could get by even without working. She stayed home every day to raise the child. The child was only a little over a year old, an infant.

The reason for the divorce was unclear, but her ex-husband later regretted it and wanted to reconcile. The woman didn't agree. Then the ex-husband began all kinds of harassment, calling every day and sometimes blocking her door.

Just a few days ago, she was giving the child a bath.

Everything was going fine when the phone rang. She drained the water from the bathtub, left the child in the tub, and went out to answer the phone.

It was that ex-husband again, begging to get back together. She refused, they argued a bit, and she hung up.

By the time she went back—

That child, over a year old, had already drowned in the bathtub.

It turned out that while she was out answering the phone, the child had somehow managed to turn on the bathtub faucet. Water gushed into the tub. And the drain at the bottom of the tub was blocked by a little yellow rubber duck used for bathing—perhaps the child had put it there while playing, or it had been left there before. The water couldn't drain at all.

Fresh water kept coming in, old water couldn't drain, and the water level in the tub rose higher and higher.

By the time she finished the call and returned, the bathtub was full.

A child just over a year old is only that big. Even if there are only a few dozen centimeters of water in the tub, if they fall face down, they won't be able to get back up.

The officer paused.

"I think that's probably why she committed suicide."

Li Mo remained silent, not saying a word.

Ye Ouyang stood nearby, also silent. He watched as the woman was helped up by the police and walked toward the patrol car, his heart feeling heavy. That kind of sadness washed over him like river water, but he didn't know what to say.

After a while, he tugged on Li Mo's sleeve.

"Hey, our clothes are all wet. Let's go back and change."

Li Mo seemed to be pulled out of some thought, was stunned for a moment, and then nodded.

"Alright."

He turned around and waved to the officers.

"Uncle Officers, we're leaving now."

The older officer looked up and nodded at him.

"Goodbye. We'll take care of counseling her here, don't worry."

Li Mo didn't say anything more and turned to leave with Ye Ouyang.

—

The woman was taken to the Police Station and stayed for a long time.

A Policewoman poured her hot water, and a Psychological Counselor talked to her. They said life was still beautiful, that if her child were still here, they wouldn't want their mother to commit suicide like this, that one must always look forward in life, that...

She listened and nodded, but there was nothing in her eyes.

After counseling her for so long, it was unclear if it had any effect.

When she walked out of the Police Station, it was already dark. The streets were brightly lit and crowded, but she felt those lights and people were far away from her.

She didn't want to die a second time.

It wasn't that she didn't want to die, but that she didn't have the courage to die again.

She slowly walked home, went up the old residential building, took out her keys, and opened the door.

The house was pitch black.

She reached out to feel for the switch on the wall—

The light came on.

Then she saw it.

On a chair by the door sat a person.

Li Mo.

He just sat there quietly, looking at her, unknown how long he had been waiting.

The woman's whole body stiffened, and she almost screamed. She took a step back, her back hitting the door, staring at him in terror.

Then she recognized him.

It was the person who had jumped into the river to save her.

"You... how did you get in? What do you want?!"

Li Mo didn't stand up. He just looked at her and spoke, his voice very soft.

"Where is your child's body?"

The woman was stunned.

At that moment, she felt as if something had been pierced.

"You..." her voice trembled, "What do you want? Why are you asking this?!"

She looked at him, her eyes starting to redden again.

"Even though you saved me, but—"

Li Mo interrupted her.

"I have a way to bring him back to life."

The woman's entire body froze.

She opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. After several seconds, she squeezed out a sentence:

"You... you're joking, right?"

Li Mo didn't answer.

He picked up a small cage from beside him, which contained a white mouse. He placed the cage on the floor, opened the door, and reached in to grab the mouse.

With his other hand, he pulled a small knife from his pocket.

Before the woman could react to what he was doing, she saw him raise the knife—

And slice down sharply.

Half of the mouse's head was sliced off. Blood sprayed out, the mouse's body convulsed a few times, and then it stopped moving.

The woman covered her mouth, almost screaming.

Then Li Mo put down the knife and pulled a small syringe from his pocket. The syringe contained a tiny bit of Golden Liquid, faintly glowing under the light.

He stuck the needle into the mouse's body.

The woman stared intently at the mouse.

A few seconds. A dozen seconds.

That bloody wound began to move. It wasn't bleeding; it was... growing. New tissue sprouted from the edges like something alive, quickly covering, filling, and taking shape.

Half a minute later, the mouse's head was as good as new.

It moved, climbed up, circled the cage twice, and squeaked a few times.

Li Mo looked up at her.

"If your child's body is well-preserved, and if this agent can be successfully developed..."

He paused.

"Perhaps your child can have a chance at resurrection."

The woman's legs went weak. She leaned against the door and slowly slid down to the floor, tears flowing silently.

"My child..." she choked out, "hasn't been cremated yet... he's still at home... I bought a small coffin, but haven't..."

Li Mo nodded.

"I know your child hasn't been dead for long," he said. "But if it's too long, the brain cells will completely die off, and then it might really be impossible to save him."

The woman looked up at him.

"What... what do I need to do?"

Li Mo looked at her and remained silent for a few seconds.

"The agent hasn't finished development yet. To be precise, it has only just begun," he said. "It hasn't even undergone any human trials. I imagine you probably wouldn't want an unresearched, unperfected agent injected into your child's body, would you?"

The woman didn't speak.

"I need some live subjects for experiments," Li Mo's voice was calm. "Do you understand what I mean?"

The woman was stunned.

She sat on the cold floor, staring at the mouse still scurrying in the cage, and at the person sitting quietly in the chair.

A long time passed.

She spoke, her voice raspy, but every word was clear.

"I will be the test subject."

Li Mo looked at her.

"Then, think it over for a few days," he said. "In a few days, I will come back for you. If you agree—"

"I agree," the woman interrupted him.

Li Mo was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Good." He stood up. "At the very least, I will first arrange a suitable place for your child. I'll freeze him so his cells don't continue to die and disappear. If the agent research is successful, he might still have a chance to come back to life."

He paused.

"I will guarantee that."

The woman used the door to pull herself up and staggered toward the inner room. After a few minutes, she came out holding a small coffin.

The coffin was very, very small.

Li Mo took it and held it in his arms.

He didn't say anything else, turned around, walked out the door, and disappeared into the dark hallway.