The access card for the laboratory was left in the storage box on level B3 of the parking lot by Dr. Wang. I looked at the card in my hand, once again confirming whether the tracking device made by Old Ma was functioning properly.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Old Ma's voice on the other end of the phone was filled with concern.
"Xiao Yu is in danger. Plus, this might be our only chance to gather evidence." I took a deep breath. "If you can't reach me within 12 hours..."
"I understand. I'll hand over all the information to the police."
I swiped the card, and the elevator descended. -3, -4, -5... until -8. I had no idea this office building had such deep underground levels.
When the elevator doors opened, I was greeted by a long corridor entirely in white. The smell of disinfectant mingled with the hum of some electronic devices in operation.
"Reporter Zhang, welcome." Dr. Wang emerged from around the corner. "It seems you've uncovered quite a bit."
"Where is Xiao Yu?"
"Don't rush." He gestured for me to follow him. "Would you like to see our true research results?"
As we walked through the corridor, I was suddenly met with a vast circular space. The walls were lined with screens, and at the center was something resembling a control center.
"This is..."
"The Life Prediction Center." "Welcome to the future." Dr. Wang's voice echoed in the underground space. As he pressed a button on the control center, the surrounding walls became transparent. My breath caught in my throat.
It was not an ordinary Cultivation Pod. Inside each glass chamber floated complete human organs, undulating in a deep blue solution. Hundreds of screens flickered with vital signs, as if playing an endless countdown.
"Are these... alive?" I struggled to suppress the feeling of nausea.
"Better than alive." Dr. Wang's eyes sparkled with a fervent light. "They have been given new meaning. Each organ will be reborn in the body of someone who needs it most..."
"This is the true significance of the AI System," he said, his tone filled with a kind of zeal. "We are not just predicting life; we are redefining it."
I fought against the shock rising within me. "These devices..."
"The most advanced Biological Data Analysis System..." Dr. Wang's voice held an indescribable complexity. His hand brushed over the Control Center, trembling slightly as it made contact with the data.
I noticed a photograph on his desk, featuring a girl with a radiant smile. The date in the corner of the photo showed it was taken a year ago.
"I believed that too back then—perfect algorithms, perfect matches..." His voice suddenly turned bitter. "Until I found my daughter's name on the Candidate List. Do you know? The system said her organs could save three people; it was the optimal solution..."
After a long pause, he wiped away his tears. "Look at these Curves." Dr. Wang pointed to the wall covered in Vital Signs Charts. "Each line represents a person's trajectory of fate."
"You are predicting people's deaths." I stared at the endpoints of those trajectories—all marked by a red dot.
"Not just predicting." He offered a faint smile tinged with sorrow. "We are rewriting fate."
A holographic projection popped up in the Control Center, displaying a complex network diagram. I recognized Fang Li's name among others labeled as "donors."
"Look here," Dr. Wang pointed to a string of numbers. "Everyone's life trajectories can be quantified. And once quantified..."
"They can be traded," I interjected, "using cryptocurrency."
"Smart. But that's just the surface. The truly frightening part is..." He pulled up another interface. "AI can not only predict death but also create 'coincidences'."
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