The helicopter’s rotors were deafening.

But even they couldn’t drown out the voices coming from the phone, calling for Jiang Yuan to die.

“Jiang Yuan, oh, Jiang Yuan. I honestly don’t know how you still have the nerve to live. If I were you, I’d jump out of this helicopter right now. Maybe then the public would actually sympathize with you.”

Yi Nanye began casually goading Jiang Yuan into suicide. He’d been deliberately kept in an oppressive environment for days, and his mental state was already poor. Hearing those words now could easily push someone over the edge.

Whether he jumped from the helicopter in despair or angrily cursed the public, either way, Yi Nanye would get what she wanted. If Jiang Yuan dared to curse them, she could report that he had antisocial tendencies and didn’t care about the public at all.

“Prove my innocence by dying? Not a bad idea. Too bad I’d rather live long enough to hear the whole world apologize!”

Jiang Yuan raised his head and glared at Yi Nanye. A feeling he couldn’t quite name welled up inside him. He refused to accept this!

He wouldn’t just admit defeat. Now that he’d been given a chance at freedom, he had to prove he wasn’t Codename Jiang, no matter what. And even if he was, he could still turn over a new leaf. From today on, he had to become someone with absolutely no stains on his record!

“Who do you think you are? How many countries are there in the whole world? A little over two hundred, all told. More than a hundred and fifty of them want you dead. Have you even thought about how big a proportion that is?”

“But can the voices of those more than a hundred and fifty countries—even with the remaining fifty or so added in—drown out the Five Great Powers? The five permanent members of the Security Council haven’t called for my death. What gives the other countries the right?”

“Heh… So you look down on the people of less-developed countries? Can I take it that your values are completely warped?”

“I won’t comment on other countries. I obey my country’s will. If my country gives the order, I’ll kill myself immediately, without another word. From today on, my life doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the state.”

“Fine. You win.”

Yi Nanye shrugged. Jiang Yuan’s words were so perfectly in line with the right values that they practically reached the heavens. They were exactly what the politicians who’d protected him wanted to hear. Jiang Yuan knew what stance he had to take if he wanted to stay alive.

Only the will of the five most powerful nations in human civilization could stand against the majority of the world’s people.

Only by obeying their will could he keep his life safe!

And the decision to release him had surely been reached after all five major powers discussed it together.

For the rest of the journey, Yi Nanye didn’t play anything through her phone’s speaker again. She knew there was no point. This guy, Jiang Yuan, had a strangely resilient mind. As far as she knew…

The other two suspects, Ito Jiang and Jin Zaijiang, were both in bad shape. Ito Jiang had shown increasingly violent tendencies and signs of a personality disorder, while Jin Zaijiang had developed dissociative identity disorder and depression.

Only Jiang Yuan—only Jiang Yuan—was still perfectly normal after all the tests and evaluations. He even seemed more mature than before. He hadn’t been negatively affected; he’d actually grown.

That alone was suspicious. How could someone this age be so mature? She’d thought she was precocious herself.

That afternoon.

The helicopter reached the city and landed on the roof of a controversial unfinished office building in the downtown commercial district.

Jiang Yuan and Yi Nanye got off the helicopter. It immediately flew away, with no intention of sticking around. Jiang Yuan obediently waited for Yi Nanye’s next instruction, but she said nothing and simply led him downstairs.

But they only went down one floor, from the rooftop to the top floor. Then she pulled a key from her belt pouch and unlocked the door.

The room was fully furnished, with all kinds of household items and daily necessities. Jiang Yuan even spotted some of his personal belongings.

“What’s this supposed to mean?”

The moment Jiang Yuan saw the place, he realized it was very likely where he’d be living from now on. He could return to society, sure, but he couldn’t go home like a normal person.

“Are you blind? This is where you’ll be living from now on. Your parents have been moved elsewhere. The people in your neighborhood and several nearby blocks are protesting and won’t let you come back, so they had to find you another place.”

“Then why not somewhere in the suburbs?”

Jiang Yuan was dumbfounded. If they had to find him another place, shouldn’t it be somewhere far from people? This was the busiest commercial district in the city. Sure, the building was unfinished and construction had been put on hold, so nobody lived in it, but the foot traffic nearby was insane.

“How should I know? I’m just following orders from above. Besides, I’m pretty sure I told you not to talk to me.”

With that, Yi Nanye sat down on the sofa, pulled out her phone, and started playing with it. Jiang Yuan stood there, stunned, unsure what to do. He’d hoped he might get to see his parents. Right now, he really needed their understanding and comfort.

At this moment, people all over the world were cursing him, wishing he’d die a horrible death on the spot.

In a situation like this, Jiang Yuan couldn’t help missing the parents who loved him most. They were the only ones who definitely wouldn’t curse him. Before he knew it, his eyes had drifted to the family photo beneath the TV.

But Yi Nanye noticed even that.

“What’s wrong? Missing your mom? Really want to curl up in her arms and cry?”

“Though I think even your mom would tell a bad kid like you to go die.”

Yi Nanye sneered. Jiang Yuan didn’t get angry. There was no point in getting mad, and letting her provoke him would only make him look pathetic. If he was going to live with the whole world against him from now on, he’d have no shortage of rumors and the vilest insults.

After all, he was a suspect in the Codename Jiang case.

A destructive madman more hated than any war criminal in history. The greatest sinner humanity had ever seen. If Jiang Yuan were an outsider, he’d probably be furiously writing online too, posting long rants every day demanding to know why the suspect known as Codename Jiang hadn’t been executed.

Given the choice between three lives and the safety of the world, anyone would choose the latter without hesitation.

“There’s no need for verbal attacks and mockery. The whole world hasn’t managed to curse me to death, so what good are a few casual insults from you? If you don’t want to talk to me, then be quiet.”

“And you think you’ve got any right to talk about me?”

Yi Nanye seemed to take that as a challenge. She looked ready to give Jiang Yuan a proper tongue-lashing, but he immediately turned away and headed for the bathroom.

He was choosing not to engage, too. If she didn’t want to talk properly, then they didn’t have to talk at all. He wasn’t even interested in trading insults with Yi Nanye.

He knew exactly where he stood.

He had to stay calm, composed, and clearheaded at all times.

Giving in to his emotions would get him nowhere!