Heart Rate Synchronization Failed

Outer City District E is notorious: a lawless place teeming with all kinds of people, where gangs run rampant and public safety is poor. Ordinary people steer clear of it, while the wealthy look down on it.

Lu Jinzhe is an outstanding hacker. Though young, he has already taken on countless jobs. If he can do it, he'll take it on, no matter what, leaving countless gang factions with headaches.

Everyone in the trade knows the young hacker is exceptionally skilled and highly capable. He does, however, have one distinguishing trait: he hates the rich. He takes on every job with even the slightest connection to the plutocrats of the Inner City.

One day, a young master from the Inner City unexpectedly wandered into District E. He knew nothing about how the world worked, had more money than sense, and looked like an easy mark. Lu Jinzhe got involved, too.

The young master might have been easy to fool, but he had a stubborn streak. Not long after they met, Lu Jinzhe shot him, and the kid bit him hard enough to leave a bloody mark.

Given their opposing positions, they should have either been sworn enemies or loathed each other on sight.

Their paths truly began to intertwine when an accident sent them both plunging into the Abyss of Consciousness. For the first time, Chu Huai reached out to Lu Jinzhe, pulling his sanity back from the brink of collapse. "Get out of here alive, and I'll help you get revenge."

It ended after the two of them had finally severed all ties. One rainy night in the Inner City, the wanted Lu Jinzhe stood beyond the railing of an elevated bridge by the river, gazing at the familiar face on a building's news screen. He thought with bitter amusement: Let me borrow you one last time, as my reason to keep living.

Chu Huai had a secret: through Lu Jinzhe's eyes, he could see the emotions Lu Jinzhe left unspoken, whether they were real or feigned, good or bad.

The first time was when Lu Jinzhe pinned him against the railing amid a sea of flames. Their lips nearly brushed Chu Huai's cheek. Lu Jinzhe's gaze was captivating, yet concealed a sharp edge, as he asked whether Chu Huai wanted to date him.

The last time was when they parted. Lu Jinzhe took all of Chu Huai's classified data, gave him a farewell kiss, and smiled casually as though he didn't care in the least. He even reminded Chu Huai to take the safety off next time he pointed a gun at him.

Later, all the people of the Outer City heard was a rumor: the legendary genius hacker had tricked a rich young master from the Upper City, destroyed his company's database, and achieved what every hacker had dreamed of doing but never managed.

Strangely enough, the protagonists of the story, both the legendary hacker and the unlucky young master from the Inner City, vanished without a trace. They disappeared from the world along with the mysterious rumor.

On a rainy night woven with neon lights, Lu Jinzhe, the Inner City's most wanted criminal, was captured by the rising Resistance Army. When he finally recognized the familiar face of its leader, he thought: What goes around comes around. What a tangled fate we have.

Lu Jinzhe once told Chu Huai, "I have a cybernetic heart. Plenty of people have said that someone like me, who's even replaced his natural heart, must be as emotionless as a machine."

Years later, Chu Huai pressed him step by step and asked, "Is your heart rate still the same as it was back then? Does it still never falter?"

Theme: Treat others with sincerity.