Striving for Science C105

The first bolt of lightning missed its target, and the second one was about to strike. Shen Chang'an hadn't had time to pull the old woman out of the way when he saw the lightning, halfway down, suddenly repelled by a golden light.

He wasn't sure if it was a delusion, but he seemed to see the thundercloud that had struck him twist in agony, slowly dissipating.

"Chang'an, it's almost lunchtime, what are you doing here?" A car pulled up to the side of the road, and Shen Tu leaned out of the window. Dao Nian was in the back seat, rolling up his sleeves.

"Dao Nian." Shen Chang'an rushed to the car window, his face a picture of fear. "Thank goodness you came in time, or I would have been struck by lightning."

Dao Nian: "..."

No matter who was hiding behind it, Dao Nian was certain that this person wouldn't dare to directly harm Chang'an. Chang'an's identity was special, anyone who directly harmed him would suffer a tremendous backlash.

Last time, the remnant of the Great Dao, in a fit of rage, lost its reason and struck Chang'an with thunder. It ended up so weak that he could have crushed it with one hand. If even the remnant of the Great Dao was like that, let alone anyone else.

He glanced at the Bedside Granny standing by the roadside, his expression cold.

The Bedside Granny dared not approach him. Heavenly Dao was unpredictable, the life and death of deities were merely a blink of his eye.

"It's fine, I'll split it back for you." Dao Nian reached out and patted Shen Chang'an's head, opened the car door and got out, looking up at the sky that had returned to normal. "Why did you buy so many bubble teas?"

"Oh, for my colleagues, I almost forgot." Shen Chang'an checked the time. "Wait for me here, I'll hand out the bubble teas and then we'll go home for dinner together."

"Okay, go ahead." Dao Nian nodded, watching Shen Chang'an run off.

"Lord Heavenly Dao." After Shen Chang'an left, the Bedside Granny, clutching the stone head of the Bedside Grandpa, walked up to Dao Nian and bowed tremblingly. "Greetings to General Shen Tu."

"Don't call me General." Shen Tu smiled. "Times have changed."

The Bedside Granny held the stone head tightly, wrapped in her coat, unable to speak. Back when the Heavenly Court still existed, she was just a minor deity, and even in front of the Gatekeeper Generals, she wouldn't dare to raise her head.

It was precisely because she knew these Generals wouldn't be easily fooled that she dared to pretend to cooperate with that person's plan. But now, facing General Shen Tu, she still felt a sense of unease.

Dao Nian looked at the Bedside Granny. On this little fairy, he saw the divine power belonging to Chang'an, or rather... the divine power of the Life Dao.

The Life Dao, transformed into a human, walks the world, only awakening upon death.

He is Heavenly Dao, setting the rules for heaven and earth, while the Life Dao is the miracle outside these rules. If we follow the trajectory of the novel, he is the unchanging, unmerciful Heaven, and Chang'an is the protagonist who overthrows him.

In the end, he and Chang'an would meet the ending that the audience loves most, his death, in exchange for Chang'an's success, and the establishment of new world rules.

The prerequisite for establishment is destruction and death, in literary works, these are just insignificant costs.

But in real life, these costs could be everyone, or important family and friends, who can easily say, "That's just the necessary cost of a new world"?

With the depletion of spiritual energy, the Life Dao reincarnates for hundreds of lifetimes, naturally, it doesn't think about how to destroy a world and then build a new one, but rather how to let this world, in peace, obtain new spiritual energy.

Perhaps because it was afraid of being discovered by him, this Heavenly Dao, the Life Dao sealed its memories and all its emotions, becoming a truly ignorant, slow-growing human.

The Bedside Granny looked at the Lord Heavenly Dao, not knowing what to say, she simply bowed and retreated to the corner.

"Was Chang'an sent to the mortal realm by you?"

Although he had transformed into a human, he was ultimately not born from human beings. For the Life Dao to be accepted by the rules of the human world without being discovered, he naturally had to rely on the help of a deity.

The Bedside Granny has another name, "the Granny who Sends Children." Children sent to the human world by the Granny who Sends Children are naturally human children.

Not expecting the Heavenly Dao Lord to speak to her directly, the Bedside Granny was stunned for a moment before nodding in agreement: "Yes, Lord."

"Is it like this every life?"

"The Life Dao Lord has no previous karmic connections. After transforming into a human, he also has no familial ties." The Bedside Granny said, "He was an orphan in every life. He was a monk, a Daoist, a poet, and a general guarding the border. He was born without anyone's expectations and died without any attachments."

Dao Nian's heart skipped a beat. Living in the world with human identity and emotions, how could such a life be enjoyable?

"This old woman's divine power is weak. Seeing the Lord die in loneliness and torment in every life, my heart ached, and I felt it was unfair to him. He did so much for all living beings, but they didn't know who he was, they didn't know his name, they didn't even know that someone was living for them, paying such a high price." The Bedside Granny's voice was filled with resentment, "Sometimes I hate all living beings, sometimes I hate…"

She glanced at Dao Nian and swallowed the next sentence: "Twenty years ago, I held the Life Dao Lord, who had transformed into a naive infant, and came to the human world, which had already changed drastically. I made a decision in secret."

"I sent him to a couple who were destined to be childless." The Bedside Granny lowered her eyelids, "This is the Lord's last life. If the world doesn't experience a spiritual revival, the Lord will die as a mortal, and the Life Dao will cease to exist in the world.

Through hundreds of lives, the Lord has endured all kinds of hardships, but he has never experienced what it means to have family and happiness." 

The Bedside Granny chuckled self-deprecatingly, "This old woman doesn't know if the decision I made back then was right or wrong. At least... the Lord experienced the beautiful emotions of the human world. It wasn't in vain that he came to the world a hundred times and suffered so much."

Shen Tu suddenly understood. If the Bedside Granny hadn't made her own decision back then, what would Shen Chang'an's fate have been?

Would he have been sent to an orphanage, or would he have grown up enduring endless torment?

He dared not imagine such a possibility, and Dao Nian couldn't imagine it either.

"Brrr, it's so cold today." Shen Chang'an ran over, "It looks sunny, but there's not much warmth." He reached Dao Nian's side and naturally took his hand, turning to look at the Bedside Granny, "Granny, let's have lunch together."

"No." The Granny shook her head, "This old woman must leave. I'm going to find a way to wake up the old man."

"Oh." Shen Chang'an didn't know much about the work of deities. He looked at the kind-faced old woman and smiled, "Then be careful on your journey. Come back to Wuming City when you have time."

"I will, Lord. This old woman will never forget your kindness." The Bedside Granny glanced at Dao Nian and bowed deeply to Shen Chang'an, "Please take care of yourself, Lord. Don't forget what this old woman told you."

After the bow, the Bedside Granny turned into a wisp of blue smoke and disappeared into the sky.

Shen Chang'an was about to tell Dao Nian that someone was jealous of their relationship and wanted to break them up, when his phone rang.

"Chang'an, you haven't gone far, have you? There's been an unexplained explosion at Wuming High School. Many parents have rushed over. We're going to the scene now. You won't be able to have lunch today."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Shen Chang'an hung up the phone, hailed a taxi, and said to Dao Nian, "Something urgent has come up. You guys go back and eat first, don't wait for me.

Shen Tu looked at Dao Nian, who was left behind, and thought: "..."

"Let's go back." Dao Nian accepted it well. As a qualified boyfriend, he should support his boyfriend's work.

However, before getting into the car, he waved his hand towards the sky.

In a snap of his fingers, a golden aura shot straight into the clouds, like a warning.

Shen Tu: "..."

Saying he understands, but then punching someone in the face. Is Heavenly Dao, after falling in love, really this dishonest?

***

When Shen Chang'an arrived at Wuming High School, there were already many students and parents gathered outside. These parents were all anxious, some had found their children, others were calling out their children's names. The whole school was in chaos, and some onlookers were taking pictures with their phones.

He put on his work badge and squeezed through the crowd. He heard several police officers shouting hoarsely to maintain order, and teachers were telling some onlookers not to point their phones at the students and take pictures.

"Chang'an, over here." Ding Yang and Xu Ze saw Shen Chang'an rushing over and waved to him.

"What happened?" Shen Chang'an stopped a man who was about to rush into the school, and at the same time pulled up the broken cordon.

Seeing that Shen Chang'an was stopped by the emotional parents, Ding Yang quickly walked to his side and helped him stop people.

"There was a sudden explosion at the school. Fortunately, the few students closest to the explosion point were safe. Two of them were called to the office because they didn't listen carefully in class, another one secretly went to the internet cafe to play games, and another one didn't come to class this morning, so no students died. However, a few students who were close by were injured and have been sent to the hospital."

"Man-made?" Shen Chang'an frowned. No wonder these parents were so agitated. If he were a parent, he would probably be scared to the point of weakness in his legs.

The school leaders and teachers were still trying to stop the students from evacuating. Students from each class were lining up to leave the school and meet their parents. Outside the school gate, the crowd was so dense that there wasn't even a place to step.

Traffic police were maintaining order outside, while the bomb disposal team continued their search, worried about other potential threats to the school's safety.

"I'll go take a look." Shen Chang'an watched the students rushing out of the teaching building, a sense of unease growing in his heart.

"What are you going to see? You don't know anything about bomb disposal." Ding Yang grabbed Shen Chang'an's arm. "Don't go and get involved in that mess."

Shen Chang'an was about to say something when he heard the school's broadcast system come alive.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. I'm only here to find someone."

Hearing this voice, Shen Chang'an's expression changed.

"I don't care if the person I'm looking for is here or not, but I expect him to appear before me within two hours." The speaker's voice was filled with arrogance and madness. "I know you've hidden him, but so many of my brothers died at his hands. How can I face them in the afterlife if I don't avenge them?"

"What... what is this?" Ding Yang also realized something was amiss. Even the noisy crowd outside had fallen silent.

"To show my sincerity, I've invited a few children to join me in the broadcasting room." The man's voice was laced with a cruel laugh. "If that person doesn't come, I'll take these children to meet my brothers. What do you think of my plan?"

The police realized something was wrong and quickly ordered the school to count the children. They found three missing. Fearing there might be other explosives in the school, they urgently evacuated the students and parents. The bystanders who had come to watch the commotion, upon hearing about the explosion and the possibility of death, turned tail and ran without looking back.

No matter how exciting the spectacle, life is more valuable.

The negotiation expert arranged by the police tried to communicate with the villain who had kidnapped the children, but the villain was unyielding and only made one demand: that they hand over the person who had been on a secret mission a year ago, codenamed "Tianyou."*

TN: roughly Heavenly Assistance

"I'll be damned!" Yao Huailin was both anxious and angry. This criminal was simply inhuman. Not only did they not know who the "Tianyou" who was on a secret mission was, even if they did, they couldn't possibly hand him over.

They risked their lives to protect the safety of the people. Now that something has happened, they want to use the hero as a bargaining chip. If they really do this, how heartbroken the hero would be?

"Are the snipers ready?"

"The villain is very good at counter-sniping. Our snipers can't find a suitable sniping position. If we act rashly, the children he's tied up will be in danger."

"Damn it!" Yao Huailin cursed twice, taking two deep breaths. "First, let the negotiation expert stabilize the situation over there. Just say... tell them that we've already requested his demands from our superiors."

About five minutes later, Yao Huailin received the information sent by his superiors.

It turned out that this villain was from a notorious criminal gang. Hundreds of innocent people had died at their hands. Over the years, many heroes had sacrificed themselves to wipe out this criminal gang. It wasn't until a year ago that the gang was finally eradicated. But it seemed someone had managed to escape secretly.

It seems that the "Tianyou" that this villain wants them to hand over is probably the key figure in taking down this criminal gang.

Looking at the criminal gang's heinous crimes, Yao Huailin couldn't help but curse, "Good riddance!" These scum, these beasts, they deserve to die.

"Dao Nian." Listening to the school broadcast, the villain's arrogant laughter and the children's terrified cries, Shen Chang'an pulled out his phone and dialed Dao Nian's number. "My dear, if I say 'May Heaven protect us,' will you come and help me?"

“I knew it, you’re the most reliable, the most amazing boyfriend in the world.” Receiving an affirmative answer, Shen Chang’an walked towards Yao Huailin, phone in hand. “Now, let’s go together and rid the world of evil.”

"You have one hundred and five minutes left," the broadcast crackled again. The criminal said, "Tianyou, I know you've been transferred to Wuming City. Don't think you can rest easy hiding in this small town. If you don't show up, these kids won't survive. You, the great hero, can you watch these children die in your place?"

"Damn it!" Yao Huailin smashed the mineral water bottle in his hand in anger.

The other police officers didn't look good either.

If the person codenamed "Tianyou" really exists, the words the criminal said were forcing him to die.

Footsteps sounded behind him. A rather pale hand picked up the mineral water bottle that Yao Huailin had thrown on the ground and placed it back in front of him: "Don't litter, and don't waste water resources."

"Shen Chang'an?" Yao Huailin was puzzled, "What are you doing here?"