The True Face of Ordinary
He had intended to fulfill the dream of benefiting mankind with "everyone is a champion," but instead, he helped the rich and powerful achieve "a second life."
Robbie naturally was unwilling to accept Ordinary's proposal, but he had no choice. He didn't realize then that Ordinary was not just an athlete, but also the master of a mysterious organization in an ancient Eastern country.
Using some unknown method, Robbie finally agreed to Ordinary's request. The ambitious Ordinary gave his grand development plan for this technology a highly ironic name: "Meng Po Soup."
"Alright, this is your father, a father who was better than you could ever imagine, a father who died unjustly," An Wei said. "Shortly after your father returned to the country, we had Ping An. Of course, if I had known that your father intended to use this plan on you, I would have rather not given birth to you."
Thirty-five years ago, An Wei gave birth to Ping An. Upon learning that her firstborn was a chubby baby boy, she was overjoyed as a new mother. After finally recovering from childbirth, she eagerly awaited the nurse to bring her son.
However, An Wei, back in her hospital room, waited for over two hours without seeing her son. When she asked the doctor, she was told the baby had jaundice and needed "blue light" therapy. But the suspicious An Wei remained uneasy. Relying on her excellent athlete's physique, she endured the pain and left the room to find her son.
"I will never forget that when I reached the hospital corridor, there were many unfamiliar men in black. They treated me with respect, but they wouldn't let me leave the room," An Wei said. "I sensed something was wrong, and I didn't see Ordinary. So, I pretended to return to my room and then climbed out the window."
An Wei, who had managed to escape her room, first returned to the operating theater. She desperately wanted to know where her son had gone.
Perhaps Ordinary's men hadn't anticipated An Wei's stubbornness and sudden appearance. In any case, An Wei burst into the operating theater and witnessed a horrifying scene.
"According to your father, the surgery was unsuccessful because I screamed," An Wei said, looking at Ping An. "Do you know that with the technology back then, after the surgery, you would no longer be you, but a second Ordinary? So, my scream brought back the you of today."
Upon hearing this, Ping An wanted to ask, "Mom, are you writing science fiction?" But his mother's words did corroborate why he had a scar on his head.
Later, Ordinary confessed everything to his wife.
It turned out that as early as the Tang Dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian, in her pursuit of eternal life, had invited a Mr. Ke to help her find a solution. This Mr. Ke's original surname was Ping, the same Ping as in Ordinary and Ping An – the ancestor of the Ping family.
Mr. Ke, a cunning strategist, used Empress Wu Zetian's power to build his own strength, gradually forming a vast organization. The organization's clear objective was to find the most intelligent people to solve the riddle of eternal life.
Throughout history, truly intelligent people never claimed to be smart. Only those skilled in solving cases managed to conceal their talents. Therefore, in his rare public appearances, Mr. Ke always presented himself as a detective. A thousand years passed, and Mr. Ke's organization, which controlled many intelligent people worldwide, did not disappear with the changing dynasties but was passed down through generations, even establishing branches overseas.
Upon learning of Ordinary's plan, An Wei ultimately chose to tolerate and tacitly agree for the sake of her marriage and their child.
Later, after Ordinary implemented the "Meng Po Soup" plan, he performed surgeries for numerous world-class billionaires, charging exorbitant fees. The Mr. Ke organization also became increasingly active. Though it grew more powerful, it became harder to manage.
"Your father's unjust imprisonment was planned by me and Ou Er Jian. Don't blame me, Mom, because if I hadn't done it, your father would have been beyond redemption," An Wei said. "Initially, the surgeries were for money, which I understood. But later, your father was preparing to operate on a warlord entrenched in Africa, even intending to cultivate his own military force – I couldn't allow that. So, I persuaded your father's disciple at the time, who is now Ou Er Jian, to cooperate with me in a plan."
The Ou Er Jian family was wealthy. He had loved shooting since childhood and, after many attempts, finally became Ordinary's disciple. At that time, Ordinary rarely spoke about his affairs at home, so he hadn't mentioned taking disciples to Ping An or An Jing.
To prevent Ordinary from going astray, An Wei designed a plan while Ordinary was practicing archery. Ou Er Jian, Ordinary's disciple whom almost no one knew, personally shot and killed the referee, framing Ordinary. Ordinary naturally denied it afterward, but An Wei gave false testimony, identifying Ordinary as the murderer. Given Ordinary's status as a world champion at the time, she had intended to get him a life sentence. In fact, the court's final verdict was a life sentence, but Ordinary was caught off guard by his wife and, in a fit of rage, chose to commit suicide in court, planting the seeds of hatred in the fifteen-year-old Ping An's heart.
"After your father died, I thought everything would be over. However, Ou Er Jian, who was only in his early twenties at the time, harbored sinister intentions. He had known about his master's 'business' all along. He pretended to help me, but his real aim was to take over this 'business' for himself," An Wei said. "I had witnessed your father's fanatical actions for this. Ou Er Jian was too treacherous; I couldn't stand by. Helplessly, I had to found the An Corporation and legally inherit all of your father's overseas assets, including Robbie and the research projects."
Ordinary's sudden death caused internal strife among the members of the Mr. Ke organization when they learned of An Wei's actions. Some supported An Wei, determined to take the righteous path and join An Corporation International, becoming its earliest benefactors. The other faction, attempting to take over Ordinary's "Meng Po Soup" plan, intended to exploit the hatred between Ping An and his mother, hoping to win Ping An over and elect him as the new master of the Mr. Ke organization.
In reality, some experienced Mr. Ke members clearly discovered from Robbie's notes that Ping An had already completed the surgery at that time, but due to external factors, the "awakening" step was missing. Thus, the breakaway faction of the Mr. Ke organization kidnapped Robbie and intended to kidnap Ping An to achieve the "master's resurrection."
To protect Ping An, An Wei had to dedicate her efforts to continue developing the "Meng Po Soup" plan, seeking a solution for the post-surgery side effect of "losing one's self," and taking preventative measures. Simultaneously, she arranged for Mr. Ke members loyal to her to secretly protect Ping An.
Ou Er Jian threatened An Wei with "cooperation," and the two families eventually signed that contract.
After the story concluded, Ping An and An Jing looked at each other in disbelief.
An Wei seemed to have completed a mission and sighed with relief.
"So, what are you going to do next?" Ping An asked.
"Didn't you capture Ou Er Jian?" An Wei said with a chuckle. "Naturally, I will reap the rewards and then, with the mature technology, I will make it public to the world!"
"Why? Didn't you want to stop Father's plan?" Ping An asked, agitated.
"Silly son!" An Wei suddenly sat up straight and said, "Don't you want to live forever?"
Eternal life? Everyone wanted it, but this kind of technology that violated human nature and ethics was only fit for devils to use.
"Mother, you can't make it public. You should take this opportunity while Ou Er Jian is captured to completely destroy these technologies," An Jing said.
"Silly child, do you know how mature and advanced the current technology is?" An Wei said. "Two years ago, you and my good son-in-law destroyed the disobedient Mr. Ke faction. That old fellow Robbie, along with the research results, defected to me. His new technology can be applied not only to relatives; as long as the genes are compatible, one can choose freely."
"So, you secretly pushed forward the serial disappearances of young girls, leading Chen Fei to finally meet me and use me to destroy Ou Er Jian's forces," Ping An said. "A brilliant plan, Mother. Ou Er Jian takes the blame, while you sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor, formulating new plans overseas, free from domestic legal constraints! Mother, are you trying to become God?"
"I'm almost sixty years old, I'm getting old. Why can't I re-experience being a young girl?" An Wei said excitedly. "I've spent my entire life cleaning up after the Ping family. I want to live again for myself."
"So, you're planning to divorce me?"
The voice of Xiang Wanfeng suddenly came from the room.
It turned out that the old policeman had returned home at some unknown time and was now looking at his wife with disappointment.
"Useless Old Xiang, I've researched it. I still have a large number of Mr. Ke members plotting strategies for me. Whether it's domestic or international law, no one can convict me," An Wei said to her husband in the tone of a mischievous young girl. "Thank you for being there when I needed you most. Don't you want to see the young me? Don't you want eternal life?"
Silence suddenly fell upon the room. No one spoke.
Ping An held his head in pain, while An Jing began to cry quietly.
"I seem to recall you only have forty-nine percent of An Corporation International's shares?" Xiang Wanfeng suddenly said. "The rest, Ping An has twenty percent, and An Jing has twenty percent, right?"
"Old Xiang, I know what you're scheming. Do you think I don't know? You married me purely to solve cases, didn't you?" An Wei said in a tone of defiance. "You just wanted to investigate Ordinary and the secrets behind me, pretending to pursue me!"
"Cough, cough, cough, my feelings for you are certainly genuine," Xiang Wanfeng said, then suddenly looked at Ping An. "If Ping An and An Jing decide to go against you, then by gathering the remaining eleven percent, can we legally remove you from power within the framework of domestic law?"
At this point, even the slowest of minds, Ping An and An Jing, understood the implication.
"You're right, but that person who took the eleven percent of An Corporation International—" An Wei said. "I don't even know who it is. Can you find them? Oh, a friendly reminder, there are only three days left until I announce the successful development."
"You've been guarding against me for so many years. Although I haven't uncovered anything useful, I unexpectedly found out who holds that eleven percent!" Xiang Wanfeng said. "You're not from Hechuan, but unfortunately, I am. So, I know that the richest man in Hechuan has never been you, An Wei, but a bastard named Cui Sanye."
Cui Sanye?