"I've become the head of the Zade Family, but my soul is being consumed by money and power. My desires keep growing, and I can't even control myself anymore. And you, Sophia, you've changed too. You're not as pure as you used to be—you've got your own opinions now, your own ideas. I'm not who I was, and you're not who you were either."
Adam stared at his palm, his gaze distant and hazy. "The reason I pushed so hard for hyperspace exploration, the reason I kept risking my life diving into the hyperspace ocean again and again, is because I wanted to have powers like yours. I envy you, I look up to you, and I wanted to stand beside you—so I kept chasing after the thrill. When I found out I could use hyperspace too, I was over the moon, and I got even more obsessed. When the universe wants to destroy someone, it first drives them mad. I went mad, and that's when 'that incident' happened..."
Shaking his hand and clenching his fist to hide his palm, Adam Zade looked up and gazed deeply at Sophia. "Sophia, these past few days I've been thinking—maybe the old days were better. Back then, you were just studying, and I was just watching you."
"The old days?" Sophia tried to recall the past, but her expression stayed tense. "Weren't you the one who called that a 'muddy life'?"
"There was mud, sure, but back then all the mud was on the outside. Now, the mud outside is gone, but it's all crawled into my heart." Adam gently pressed his chest. "It's gnawing at my soul, twisting my personality, rewriting my will. These days, I feel like I'm not myself anymore. Sophia, I'm in pain. I really am. Ask yourself—do you think I'd be the kind of person who experiments on living people?"
"Back then I didn't believe you'd do something like that." Sophia's eyes flickered. "But you did."
"Yeah, I did. Exploring hyperspace forced me to face higher-dimensional information, and the overload warped my personality—just like it did to you back then. If it hadn't, I would never have done such a thing. But—what's done is done, no excuses. And I regret it." Adam pulled out a document. "Look, Sophia, here's proof of my confession and remorse."
Sophia finally dropped her defensive posture, picked up the document and glanced at it, her expression finally changing. "You turned yourself in?"
"I turned myself in." Adam smiled, relieved. "Back then, I was so out of my mind I manipulated state legislation through secret deals, but now I'm awake. I want to atone. I've confessed my crimes to Congress—the people coming to arrest me are already on their way, maybe they'll be here any minute. I don't know if I'll get the electric chair, the gallows, or something else, but I'll accept it. Thinking about those who suffered and died in live experiments—this is what I deserve."
"Adam!" Sophia couldn't keep up her icy facade anymore. She activated her hyperspace lens for a peek—sure enough, a squad of detectives was heading this way, looking fierce. They'd be here in about ten minutes.
"Sophia, I've been thinking—if I survive this, do you think we could ever go back to the way things were?" When a man's time is up, his words get kinder. Adam Zade's eyes glistened with tears. "Could we be like before? You, pure and lovely. Me, clear and open. No family drama, no chasing money. I support you, you study whatever you want, research whatever you want. Just the two of us, living our little days."
"I..." Sophia started to speak, but Adam Zade waved her off before she could finish.
He lowered his head, avoiding Sophia's gaze. Shadows covered his face, his voice barely a whisper: "No, you can't go back. You can't be that naive, obedient Sophia anymore."
"I really can't go back to who I was." Sophia met Adam Zade's eyes. "But..."
"But I can." Adam Zade suddenly looked up, his smile bright and innocent. "Sophia, I've shut down Project-X for good. I sent back everyone we used for experiments. Those prisoners might be stuck in jail for life, but they shouldn't have ended up on the operating table. And me—ha, if I'm lucky, maybe I'll get locked up with them."
"Really?" Sophia used her hyperspace perspective again to check. The Unknown Lighthouse responded to her call and quickly reported back. The test subjects really had been sent away. And Sophia discovered something even more surprising.
"Adam, your hyperspace permissions—what happened...?"
"Can't see them anymore, right? Of course, that's because I gave them up." Adam spread his hands, glowing faintly. "If I could still use hyperspace whenever I wanted, what would my regret be worth? My craving for hyperspace power made me into someone I hated. So I've let go completely. No more divinity, I'm ready to face my fate as a regular human."
"Adam!" Right then, Sophia was moved. She believed Adam Zade's sincerity and awakening.
Looking at the squad of detectives again—seven minutes left until they arrived, and the screeching sirens sounded like Adam Zade's death knell.
Sophia bit her lip, unable to hold back—she leaned forward and grabbed Adam's hand. "Adam, I'm glad you found yourself again. No matter what happens, I'll stay with you..."
"You can't." Adam inhaled, then exhaled, sounding defeated. "I've already gotten word—it's definitely the death penalty. As long as I'm still alive as Zade Family Head, a lot of people won't be able to sleep at night."
"How can they do this!" Sophia was furious, then fell silent. Even without the shadowy conspiracies, just by the book, a charge like 'governor colluding to change laws and push human experimentation' is basically a guaranteed death sentence. The man who'd tangled up her life—she might not get to see him much longer.
"No way, I'm going to defend you!" Sophia jumped up. "I'm getting my law license right now. You deserve a fair trial, I..."
"Don't say it, Sophia. I'm running out of time." Adam grabbed Sophia's hand. Once the most powerful man in the room, his hands were ice cold.
But his gaze was warm. "Sophia, in these last moments, I want to sing you a song. I put some effort into learning it—hope you like it." With that, he pulled out a guitar—the same beat-up one they used to play when they were down and out.
His fingers strummed; the six strings vibrated. The sound wasn't fancy, but it was real and straight from the heart.
He played well, and the melody was familiar.
Adam started to sing—in Chinese.