570: Chapter 570 The Pinnacle of the World, The Chosen One

Lin Fusheng leaned back against the car seat, his gaze fixed on the rapidly passing street view outside the window.

His gaze grew somewhat distant, as if undergoing a Transmigration through time back to that era intertwined with passion and fire.

"Seventeen years ago, I, your dad, Professor Ye Zhiren—that is, the current professor—the three of us all belonged to an organization called 'Utopia'."

"At that time, we were all very young and full of drive, feeling that this world was unfair to outcasts. Why should we hide like mice? Why should our life and death be decided by ordinary people?"

"So, under the leadership of the old leader, we gathered a group of like-minded brothers and sisters, dreaming of establishing the first country completely belonging to outcasts themselves in this world."

"In this ideal country, all outcasts were not subject to government jurisdiction, and there were no worldly prejudices. Everyone lived and worked in peace and contentment there, being the masters of their own house."

Fang Cheng held the steering wheel with both hands, listening quietly without interrupting.

Lin Fusheng's voice was very low, as if carrying the heavy weight of rolling wheels.

"Thinking about those days now, it still feels like a dream."

"Your dad was the youngest, open-minded and cheerful, and the youngest backbone in the organization, responsible for the liaison work among members."

"As for me, I used to hang out in the Dao, my medical skills were okay, and I was responsible for healing everyone and doing logistics support work."

"As for Professor Ye Zhiren..."

Lin Fusheng paused, a hint of a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth:

"He belonged to the Intelligence Department. He participated in many of the organization's plans and negotiations, and was an able assistant by the old leader's side."

"In the early stage, the organization developed very smoothly, gathering many outcasts with different abilities around the world."

"Our tentacles spread across all levels of society, and even penetrated into the core of national power, and we also supported a small country in the Southern Continent as our backup base."

"However, the bigger the setup, the more complex people's hearts became, and more problems popped up."

Lin Fusheng's tone suddenly changed, and the air in the car seemed to grow a bit colder.

"And the biggest problem among them arose between the old leader and the deputy leader."

"The old leader was gentle, steady, and magnanimous, advocating to take things slowly, accumulate strength, and wait for the grand trend to arrive."

"As for that deputy leader, for some reason, his temperament suddenly changed drastically, his actions became increasingly radical and ruthless, with only the results remaining in his eyes, completely disregarding the process."

"He had fierce arguments with the old leader many times, believing that to realize the ideal, any sacrifice was necessary, even sacrificing our own people."

"After that, he began to use unscrupulous means, even sparing no effort to collude with external forces to achieve his goals, treating the lives of companions like grass."

Speaking of this, Lin Fusheng's tone suddenly became complicated, carrying an indescribable sigh.

"That father of yours, don't look at him as usually giggly, his bones are very upright. He felt that the deputy leader's approach had completely violated our original intention."

"But his position was humble and his words carried little weight. Several persuasions were to no avail. In the end, he really couldn't stand those conspiracies and bloodshed, and publicly questioned the deputy leader."

"As a result, he was rebuked by the other party as pedantic, stripped of his post, and handed over to another confidant of his to take over."

"Because of this, your father became completely disheartened and developed the intention to quit."

"At that time, with the old leader protecting him, his withdrawal from the organization was quite smooth, and he didn't encounter any difficulties."

"I still remember that not long after he left, I deliberately went to visit him once."

Lin Fusheng's gaze fell on Fang Cheng's face, his tense expression softening a lot:

"At that time, you were only three or four years old and still babbling. You shouldn't have any impression of me."

"At that time, the two of us sat in the courtyard, basking in the sun, opening our hearts and chatting about many things."

"Your dad held you and told me that he had gotten used to his current life, and previously thought everything was too simple and naive."

"He said that actually living a stable life in itself was already very happy."

"Compared to those out-of-reach obsessions back then, he now realized that being able to wake up every day, watching his loved one stay by his side, and watching his child grow up bit by bit was such a happy thing."

Fang Cheng's eyes sank slightly, and his fingers holding the steering wheel unconsciously tightened a bit.

"At that time, I even laughed at him for losing his edge at such a young age. Now I understand that he saw things much more thoroughly than all of us."

Lin Fusheng's voice revealed a sense of loss, and he couldn't help letting out a deep sigh:

"In the two years after he withdrew, the internal rifts within the organization grew larger and larger, gradually dividing into two factions."

"The moderate faction headed by the old leader and the radical faction gathered around the deputy leader—although both sides maintained peace on the surface, in reality they had long been estranged and were as incompatible as fire and water."

"Until the outbreak of the Guangwu Gate incident, the contradictions that had been forcibly suppressed finally tore open a complete gap."

"At that time, 'Utopia' overnight became an evil organization denounced by everyone, unfairly bearing the crime of killing innocent citizens."

"And the traitors who truly created that tragedy had long since joined forces with certain politicians and acted as accomplices."

"For the sake of power and profit, they pushed other companions out as scapegoats, used them as a token of allegiance to the new government, and directly handed a list of core members over to the Special Investigation Team."

Lin Fusheng closed his eyes, his fingertips holding the armrest of the seat trembling slightly, as if unable to bear recalling those Hell-like days.

"Overnight, it felt as if the sky had collapsed."

"The first to die was the old leader. His whereabouts were leaked by traitors, and he encountered an ambush by a heavy force of the Special Investigation Team. In the end, heavily outnumbered, he unfortunately sacrificed his life."

"Once the old leader fell, Utopia, left without a leader, completely fell apart and could no longer hold on."

"The Special Investigation Team pressed on with their victory, and the search network spread across the country. People like us fled everywhere like stray dogs."

"In those days, too many brothers who fought side by side fell into the net, and quite a few died in the joint pursuit of the Special Investigation Team and traitors before they could even be caught."

Lin Fusheng's Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and an unspeakable heaviness was added to his voice.

"Your father, Fang Shijie, had long ceased to be a member of the organization. He could have stayed out of it, living in seclusion as he said himself, disguising himself as an ordinary person to be a good husband and a good father."

"Yet he still chose to act, doing his utmost to help the fleeing organization members, which also included me and Professor Ye Zhiren."

"That we could survive was entirely exchanged by him risking his life and facing the danger of being targeted by the Special Investigation Team."

"Yet precisely because he had once been a liaison of the organization and knew the whereabouts and details of too many people, under the identification of traitors, the Special Investigation Team ultimately found him."

Lin Fusheng's voice became somewhat hoarse, every word seeming to be squeezed out from his throat.

"In the end, so as not to implicate us or let other companions be tracked down one by one, during the process of evading the pursuit of the Special Investigation Team, he chose to burn himself to death..."

After speaking the last two words, Lin Fusheng's shoulders trembled slightly, his eye sockets vaguely reddened, and he could no longer say a single word.

The air in the carriage seemed to completely solidify.

The honking of other vehicles passing by appeared exceptionally harsh.

Fang Cheng's spine was held straight, his gaze sinking as he looked at the road conditions ahead, and he had not spoken from beginning to end.

Lin Fusheng opened his eyes, showing a look of fatigue:

"From that day on, my heart grew cold, and I never mentioned any ideals and ambitions again. In front of living human lives, those things are completely worthless."

"When the storm subsided a little, I secretly returned to Dongdu, found Jiuchang Street where you and your mother lived, opened a trauma clinic, and became an ordinary trauma doctor."

"Living here for more than ten years, just like your father, I gradually got used to a stable life, got used to guarding the small shop every day, watching neighbors come and go, with days plain yet steady."

"As for what outcast country, what fairness and justice... they were nothing more than a mirage, all in vain."

"I just want to guard you, watching you grow up safely. Only then, when I reach the underworld in the future, will I have the face to see Shijie and tell him that I have taken good care of his child."

He let out a long breath, as if wanting to spit out all the heavy worries accumulated in his chest for more than a decade.

Then he turned his head, looking at Fang Cheng sitting in the Driving seat, his tone full of earnestness and worry:

"A-Cheng, the past is already past. There's no need to keep holding onto it. A person cannot live forever in past hatred and obsession."

"Your father's greatest wish before his death was actually just to hope that you could be an ordinary person and live a safe and peaceful life."

"So don't investigate what happened back then anymore, and even less be bewitched by that madman Professor Ye Zhiren to get mixed up in those bloody, endless grudges."

Fang Cheng did not answer Lin Fusheng's words, simply maintaining Focus while Driving the car.

The carriage fell into a long silence.

The engine emitted a low hum, making the atmosphere increasingly stifling.

At this moment, the Land Rover SUV was Driving across the cross-river bridge.

The river surface was dazzlingly illuminated by the sunlight, rippling with sparkling waves.

The towering skyscrapers in the distance stood along the riverbank, resembling a forest made of steel and concrete.

After a long while, Fang Cheng slowly spoke, his voice so steady that not a trace of fluctuation could be heard.

"Uncle Lin, is that deputy leader who created all the problems still in Dongdu?"

Hearing this, Lin Fusheng suddenly turned his head, his eyes filled with disappointment:

"You... could it be that you didn't listen to a single word I said at all?"

Fang Cheng quietly met his gaze, with no expression of joy or anger on his face.

Looking at him like this, Lin Fusheng couldn't help becoming a bit anxious, and replied with a firm tone:

"I cannot say the whereabouts of that person, and you must never inquire about it!"

He stared fixedly at Fang Cheng, warning him word by word, every word exuding solemnity:

"You must know that there is a kind of person in this world who completely cannot be measured by conventional logic, and that person is exactly like that."

"As long as you recite his name in your heart, even across tens of thousands of kilometers on the other side of the world, he will sense it."

"A-Cheng, I know you are very strong, and your talent might even be higher than your dad's back then."

"But the current you is absolutely, absolutely not his match!"

"Rashly investigating him and provoking him will only bring catastrophic disaster to yourself, your mom, and your uncle and the others, do you know?"

Seeing that Lin Fusheng was actually fearful to this extent, Fang Cheng did not pursue the questioning further.

Whether it was Xuanzhen, Professor Ye Zhiren, or Uncle Lin in front of him.

These once-influential figures, whenever that man was mentioned, showed a fear that was surprisingly identical.

Perhaps that man indeed stood at the Peak of this world, like a deity looking down on all living beings.

But no trace of timidity could grow in Fang Cheng's heart.

Fear? It didn't exist.

The fingers holding the steering wheel tightened slightly, and deep inside his heart, a burning Battle Intent surged up.

The panel in his mind was his unique confidence, and also the capital for a Heaven-Defying change of fate.

The gap before him was never an obstacle, merely a temporary distance.

Facing such a formidable enemy, Fang Cheng did not need luck, nor did he need to escape; he only needed time.

As long as he was given enough time to polish his Physical Body and continuously climb upward.

That man standing at the Peak of the world, seemingly invincible, would one day be heavily trampled under his feet, tasting the feeling of bowing and submitting.

Fang Cheng steadily controlled the steering wheel with both hands, looking straight ahead, and said in a deep voice:

"Uncle Lin, rest assured."

"I promise you, the path that I and the professor are going to take will absolutely not repeat the disastrous path of 'Utopia'."

His tone was very calm, yet it exuded an unquestionable seriousness.

Hearing this, Lin Fusheng's body stiffened slightly.

Then he turned his head sideways, gazing at that young and resolute profile on the Driving seat.

In a trance, the figure of the old friend who was equally stubborn and high-spirited once again overlapped with the person in front of him.

After a moment, Lin Fusheng sighed silently in his heart.

Words having reached this point, further talk was useless.

Although he had the name of an elder, he was after all not a close relative connected by Bloodline to Fang Cheng.

The child before him had long shed his greenness and was an adult with independent will.

He had his own judgment and the path he wanted to pursue.

Recalling it, when he was young, wasn't he also like this?

Always thinking that with a burst of hot blood one could change the world, without heavily hitting the south wall and bleeding from the head, one would never learn to turn back.

Only when that ridiculous ideal was crushed into mud by cruel reality would one deeply realize what a luxurious gift it was to have an ordinary and stable life.

The power bestowed upon you by the heavens far exceeding ordinary people often had already secretly marked the heavy price that needed to be borne.

Fang Cheng's choice now, it wasn't that he couldn't understand, it was just...

Lin Fusheng turned his head, gazing at the boundless river water outside the window.

But human effort ultimately had its limits.

The surging grand trend of this world was like that breached torrent, carrying mud and sand down together.

Being able to barely stand firm and preserve oneself amidst it was already a great fortune.

Wanting to go against the current, be the mainstay turning the tide, and even vainly attempting to change the direction of the tide...

Looking through the long river of history, perhaps only those Persons of Destiny rarely seen in hundreds of years had a glimmer of hope.

Fang Cheng, could he really do it?

Lin Fusheng once again looked at that vibrant, unblemished face, his gaze deep and complex.

That was worry for the future of his Junior, and also nostalgia for past years.

The hand resting on his knees clenched into a fist, then quietly loosened.

The original worry in the depths of his eyes was forcibly suppressed, replaced by a trace of determination deeply hidden in his heart.

Forget it.

Persuaded he had been, and stopped he could not be.

Since this child was determined to walk this single-plank bridge full of thorns, let him go and venture out.

If there really was such a day, and A-Cheng unfortunately ran into that terrifying man...

The worst he could do was return this life to Fang Shijie.

Even if he had to fight to his last drop of blood, he had to protect his only flesh and blood in this world safe and sound.

Lin Fusheng secretly made up his mind and no longer persuaded him.

The Land Rover SUV drove off the cross-river bridge, all the way forward.

The high buildings outside the window were gradually replaced by low streets and alleys.

Not long after, the familiar architectural outline of Jiuchang Street appeared in his line of sight.