The Omniscient

Chapter 56: Brain Damage

"Brilliant! Xiao Hua, you're truly brilliant!"

Old Wang was already deeply convinced of Huang Ji's abilities. This young man had a mind as vast as the universe and talents that could stir chaos in the martial world.

Operating from the shadows, he could destroy three factions with a single plan or defeat enemies with mere words. He manipulated situations with such precision that his opponents were left with no escape, completely unaware of the true mastermind behind their demise.

Without a doubt, he was the most outstanding talent the Messiah had seen since the turn of the century.

Wait, he wasn’t even a member of the Messiah yet.

Old Wang couldn’t suppress his eagerness. The Messiah was in desperate need of talents like Huang Ji—someone who could transform the organization. Huang Ji could very well usher in a new era for the Messiah.

"Perfect, Brother Hua. Your strategy is simply flawless," Old Wang praised with a smile.

Huang Ji looked at him and shook his head. "It's not over yet."

He then recalled that during their wait, Huang Ji had called Zhang Junwei, instructing him to head to the riverside. When Old Wang went to retrieve the money, Huang Ji had also told Zhang to approach from another section of the embankment, as if he had more tasks for him.

Could it be that Zhang Junwei wasn’t just called here to witness the aftermath?

"What else needs to be done? Tielong has nowhere to go now, fleeing for his life. Do you still want to catch him?" Old Wang asked.

Huang Ji smiled. "At the very least, we should fish out the people who fell into the river, shouldn’t we?"

"Fish them out? Are you planning to save Ah Lei?" Old Wang asked in surprise.

The two got out of the car and walked to the riverside.

Zhang Junwei was already in the water, holding a rock as he plunged into the river with a splash. A short while later, he emerged, pulling Ah Lei to shore.

Not only Ah Lei, but also Cao Jing, who had already lost all signs of life.

"Big Brother! Ahhhhhh!" Ah Lei cried out, clutching Cao Jing's body in despair.

When the river water flooded the car, Ah Lei had been jolted awake, but the doors wouldn’t open.

Luckily, Zhang Junwei arrived in time and smashed the window to rescue him.

Even so, Ah Lei refused to leave Cao Jing behind. He managed to drag both of them to the surface, aided by Zhang Junwei, who was also a strong swimmer.

"Cao Jing is actually dead..." Zhang Junwei sighed.

Through sobs, Ah Lei recognized Zhang Junwei. "You’re the one who was forced to kowtow by Brother Jing back then, aren’t you?"

"...Yes," Zhang Junwei replied. "If I’d known it was you two in the water, I wouldn’t have saved you."

Ah Lei gave a bitter smile. "Never thought you’d end up saving my life. Brother, I wronged you back then."

He realized that Zhang Junwei must’ve been passing by and noticed the car sinking. Even though Zhang claimed he wouldn’t have saved them if he’d known it was them, Ah Lei still felt indebted for the life-saving act.

After speaking, he kowtowed three times to Zhang Junwei.

"The kowtows I made to you back then, I’ve returned them. Beyond that, I owe you my life!" Ah Lei said tearfully.

Zhang Junwei remained silent. Huang Ji's elaborate schemes had reduced Cao Jing to a pitiful end. Zhang’s old grudge had long since faded. With Cao Jing now dead, what was there to argue about? Instead, he admired Ah Lei’s sense of loyalty.

"From afar, I saw someone pushing a car into the river. That person looked like Tielong, right? What happened? Did you have a falling out?" Zhang Junwei asked.

Ah Lei clenched his fists so tightly they almost bled. His reddened eyes glared as he said, "Tielong killed Brother Jing. We’re sworn enemies now!"

From his perspective, he knew Cao Jing wasn’t the mole, so it had to be Tielong.

Of course, Ah Lei didn’t care about Tielong’s schemes or his ties to Old Ma. His only concern was avenging Cao Jing.

However, he was no match for Tielong. Earlier, Tielong had knocked him unconscious with just two punches before dumping him and the car into the river.

As he sank into despair, thinking he would die with regret, Zhang Junwei’s unexpected arrival saved him.

To Ah Lei, it felt like divine intervention. It was as if fate had allowed him to survive and seek vengeance against Tielong.

"No matter what, I’ll find Tielong and get my revenge!" Ah Lei declared. "Zhang Junwei, Brother Zhang, I’ll never be able to repay your kindness in this lifetime."

"Are you planning to find him at Old Ma’s place?" Zhang Junwei asked.

"No, he’s on the run. I overheard him; he’s heading to Baoshan Dock to meet someone called Brother Hai!" Ah Lei replied angrily.

"What good is knowing that? Do you think you can kill him on your own?" Zhang Junwei asked.

Ah Lei chuckled bitterly, staring at the rushing river. He seemed to have made peace with everything.

"I’ll call the police and take him down with me!"

Zhang Junwei was momentarily stunned. "Is that really necessary?"

"My mind is made up. Brother Zhang, I have one last request: don’t let Brother Jing’s body fall into the hands of the cops." Ah Lei hoped Cao Jing could be properly laid to rest, but he didn’t have the time to do it himself. He could only entrust this to Zhang Junwei.

After making his plea, Ah Lei kowtowed a few more times.

Zhang Junwei nodded and said, "I promise you."

Grateful, Ah Lei stood, gave Cao Jing one last glance, and left resolutely.

After he was gone, Huang Ji drove the car down the embankment to the riverside.

"He actually overheard Tielong’s call. His heart is already dead; he plans to use the police to kill Tielong," Zhang Junwei sighed.

Old Wang marveled, "You predicted even this, Xiao Hua?"

Huang Ji examined Cao Jing’s body silently, and Zhang Junwei answered on his behalf.

"No, the boss told me to save Ah Lei. He said Ah Lei would definitely seek revenge against Tielong if he survived and even told me to remind Ah Lei about the call Tielong made and the SIM card he threw in the trash."

"It turns out I didn’t need to remind him. Ah Lei overheard where Tielong was going while in the car."

Old Wang recalled that after making the call, Tielong had discarded the SIM card. It was a routine action in their line of work when they thought no one was watching.

However, Huang Ji had observed everything. If Ah Lei retrieved the SIM card from the trash, the police could track Tielong’s meeting with Brother Hai.

But now, since Ah Lei overheard the call, it saved them a lot of trouble.

"Shhk!"

At that moment, Huang Ji suddenly pulled out a fine needle and inserted it above Cao Jing’s ear, piercing his skull.

He then took another needle and punctured Cao Jing’s temple, releasing a significant amount of clotted blood.

Huang Ji continued to pierce several points on Cao Jing’s chest and abdomen, then propped him into a side-lying position and firmly patted his back.

The others looked on, confused, until suddenly, Cao Jing coughed, spitting out a few mouthfuls of dirty water. He then opened his eyes and gasped for air.

“Holy sh*t!” Zhang Junwei was so startled he nearly jumped.

Old Wang exclaimed, “You brought him back from the dead?”

Huang Ji replied calmly, “He wasn’t dead to begin with. He had lost consciousness, and his lungs were full of water. When we pulled him from the river earlier, he wasn’t breathing. This kind of pseudo-death leaves only a slim chance of survival—within half a minute, he’d have been brain-dead. But I could save him.”

Cao Jing had barely escaped death.

Tielong’s powerful blow to his temple would have been fatal for most people, but against all odds, Cao Jing’s tenacity allowed him to endure slightly more than the average person.

Without immediate medical intervention, he would have died soon even without drowning. Saving him under such circumstances was extraordinarily difficult, but fortunately, Huang Ji had the expertise.

“Wa... ter... I want water...” Cao Jing muttered weakly, looking at the group with a dazed expression.

Zhang Junwei fetched a bottle of water from the car and handed it to him. Cao Jing sat up but didn’t take the bottle. Instead, he stared intently at it, examining it closely.

“Cao Jing, don’t you want to drink?” Zhang Junwei asked.

Cao Jing seemed not to hear him. After a long pause, he pointed at the bottle cap with his finger and began rubbing its ridged edge with interest.

“Do you need me to open it for you?” Zhang Junwei twisted the cap off and handed the bottle to him again.

Yet Cao Jing still didn’t drink. Instead, he dipped his finger into the bottle, letting water droplets drip off the tip, watching them with childlike fascination.

“What’s wrong with him?” Zhang Junwei asked, noticing something was clearly off.

Huang Ji explained, “His brain suffered severe trauma, combined with prolonged oxygen deprivation. His cognitive abilities have regressed to a childlike state.”

“Cao Jing, Cao Jing!” Huang Ji called his name twice, but Cao Jing didn’t respond, showing no recognition of the name. To him, it was just a meaningless sound.

“He’s also lost his memory. He doesn’t even know who he is anymore,” Huang Ji added. “However, judging by how he asked for water as soon as he woke up, he still retains basic instincts and some language ability.”

Zhang Junwei gaped at him, exchanging a glance with Old Wang. Both of them blurted out at the same time, “He’s become... dumb?”

Huang Ji nodded. “Exactly. His intellect has been destroyed by a combination of physical and psychological trauma.”

Zhang Junwei frowned. “He’d have been better off dead than becoming mentally impaired.”

“This isn’t typical intellectual disability,” Huang Ji corrected. “It’s irreversible brain damage—commonly referred to as brain death. Modern medicine can’t repair it. However, I have methods to partially restore his abilities, improving his speech and coordination between his hands, eyes, and brain.”

Zhang Junwei asked, “Why save him, then? Are you planning to hand him over to the police?”

Huang Ji shook his head. “No. To the world, he’s already dead. I’m taking him home.”

“Home? What’s that supposed to mean?” The two were even more confused.

Huang Ji replied, “With current human technology, his condition is incurable. But I need a subject for research.”

Zhang Junwei was taken aback but reluctantly agreed. “Alright. I only promised to keep him out of the hands of the cops. I didn’t say he couldn’t end up with you.”

They loaded Cao Jing into the car and brought him to Zhang Junwei’s warehouse base.

Inside the same lab where Huang Ji had previously worked on viruses, he placed Cao Jing on the operating table.

“Can you really cure him?” Old Wang asked.

Huang Ji replied, “Cure? I can’t guarantee that. But I can give him a new life.”

“Other than Lin Li, no one else is allowed to enter my lab. Once I’m done, Lin Li will take care of him. As for how he’ll live afterward, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Old Wang frowned, sensing from Huang Ji’s tone that he intended to conduct some kind of human experiment. He thought to himself that Cao Jing’s life was a tragedy. Still, if Huang Ji hadn’t intervened, Cao Jing would be dead. But Huang Ji’s mention of a ‘new life’ left him uneasy. Did it mean rehabilitating Cao Jing to live as a normal person?

The truth was something Old Wang couldn’t fathom, and Huang Ji didn’t plan to share. From the start, Huang Ji had never intended to eliminate Cao Jing completely.

While Cao Jing appeared to be the most tragic victim of this scheme, he was actually the only one who would find salvation—a chance to crawl back from the brink of death and gain a new life.

Cao Jing’s height and physique were nearly identical to Huang Ji’s. If a flawless plastic surgery procedure could be performed, they could be made indistinguishable.

His brain, however, couldn’t be saved; his memory was irreparably damaged. The original self-awareness was effectively dead, leaving behind a mere shell.

In essence, Cao Jing would need to rebuild his identity from scratch.

If Cao Jing became Huang Ji, even if the Illuminati confronted him face-to-face, they wouldn’t uncover his true identity. They would assume he was impersonating a fool.

After all, the ‘real Huang Ji’ had always been, and rightfully so, a fool from birth. And that fool had indeed been attending school in Shanghai...

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