Half an hour later, Chen Gu had settled into a cost-effective bachelor apartment.
A billion Star Yuan was enough for him to live a life of extravagance indefinitely, but as a newcomer to a film crew, a shivering, tender young actor like him should naturally be cautious, keep a low profile, and quietly develop.
The apartment was equipped with basic living facilities. Inside his backpack were items Chen Gu had "inherited" from the original body, most of which were from forty years ago and had long been phased out in this era of rapidly advancing technology.
Only two items were useful: a black diary and a small storage card.
Chen Gu first opened the diary, which had been left to him by the original body's father, Chen Beiliu.
The original body had been sentenced to "Soul Imprisonment" for one hundred and twenty years. In his prisoner number "8203," "82" represented the penalty of "Soul Imprisonment," while "03" indicated that he was the third person to be sentenced to this penalty after the Confederation had established it.
Originally, the Confederation had only eighty-one types of penalties, but with technological development, they added an "82nd" penalty: Soul Imprisonment.
Yes, the Confederation often disregarded things like the so-called interstellar constitution.
"Soul Imprisonment" involved freezing the prisoner's body with special technology. The body would not age. Although the brain could still maintain faint biological electricity in this state, implying consciousness persisted, the entire soul essentially seemed imprisoned in an inanimate shell.
An entire one hundred and twenty years! It was a non-lethal but extremely cruel punishment, reserved for those who had committed universally abhorred crimes that nevertheless did not warrant death.
Because it was indeed very harsh, sentencing someone to such punishment required the agreement of more than seven of the nine Supreme Judges of the Confederation.
When the original body was judged, the nine Supreme Judges unhesitatingly and unanimously passed the sentence!
Even the first two unfortunates sentenced to Soul Imprisonment had not achieved this distinction. More than forty years had passed since the original body's sentencing, and an "8204" prisoner had still not appeared.
As for why the original body was so detested, it all began with one person: Aviloya, the Valkyrie of all humanity.
More than sixty years ago, during humanity's first interstellar expansion, they encountered a large-scale confrontation with an alien intelligent life on Keel Dragon Major Star in the Skull Dragon Star Domain. There, the Alien Insect Race ambushed the human exploration team. They brutally tore apart all the warriors, devouring them and thus igniting the war between the two races.
Humanity knew little about this adversary and was constantly retreating from the war's onset. During this crisis, a prodigiously talented female warrior, piloting a star combat Mecha, daringly ventured into the swarm and miraculously killed the Alien Insect Race's queen.
Her actions greatly inspired the entire army. Under Aviloya's leadership, they launched a counter-offensive. Ultimately, after heavy sacrifices, the Alien Insect Race was completely driven out of the Skull Dragon Star Domain. At the edge of the Star Domain, a Star Sea fortress chain was established. Today, it serves as humanity's first line of defense against the Alien Insect Race.
After the war, Aviloya became a national icon. Her bravery and decisive action on the battlefield were admired, and her Mecha combat skills were impeccable. Off the battlefield, donning an evening gown, she was elegant and intellectual, radiating endless charisma. She was the goddess in the hearts of all men.
The original body, also named Chen Gu, was quite talented. He secretly took holographic photos of Aviloya and used his hacking skills to create a special "art film." He was the male lead and even turned it into a "series" of sixteen episodes, each with its own plot...
The fool sealed his own fate by uploading the film to the interstellar network, even leaving a message promising weekly updates if he received enough likes.
He was arrested before the second-week update. The rest of the films were used as evidence. Though not "publicly broadcast," their indecent content was leaked, enraging all men who gathered to protest, demanding the Supreme Court severely punish this sleazy wretch.
What did this incident illustrate? It showed that soliciting likes is fun momentarily, but tomorrow it's off to the crematorium.
The Supreme Judges were also men, and Aviloya was their goddess too. So, it came as no surprise that the young man was sentenced to one hundred and twenty years of "Soul Imprisonment." Once the judgment was announced, all of humanity rejoiced. Except for his father, Chen Beiliu, surprisingly no one else considered it cruel.
Chen Beiliu had only this one son. His wife had died in an accident, and he, deeply affectionate, poured all his love onto his child.
In the father's memory, Chen Gu was not the despicable thief who had severely blasphemed the goddess of the entire Star Domain. He was always the lovely little boy of his memory.
After Chen Gu was sentenced to Soul Imprisonment, Chen Beiliu's fortunes suddenly turned. He was originally just an ordinary businessman running a small company, but in just a few years, he became one of the top ten wealthiest men on Empire River Star.
Chen Beiliu stubbornly believed his child had done no wrong. However, he couldn't wait one hundred and twenty years, nor could he change the Supreme Court's judgment, even with his astonishing wealth. Still, his money did play a role. He filed an application and, after many covert operations, successfully used Chen Gu's "seed" to conceive a grandson, Chen Jixian.
That was the middle-aged man Chen Gu had met earlier.
How the "seed" was obtained, Chen Gu decided not to dwell on such details.
Chen Jixian was an outstanding student from a young age. At sixteen, he was exceptionally admitted to the Confederation's premier military academy, the Tiangong Military Division. He completed in just three years what normally took people five, then enlisted in the war, earning numerous military accolades. By forty, he held the rank of Colonel.
In Chen Beiliu's diary, writing as if speaking to his son, he meticulously recorded every detail of Chen Jixian's growth. Even Chen Beiliu understood that his grandson always carried a heavy burden in his heart.
Anyone born under such circumstances would feel that their grandfather didn't love them for who they were but only wanted a replacement.
In the diary, Chen Beiliu also told his son, Chen Gu, to understand Chen Jixian, writing, "For all this is my fault. If one day you have the ability, try to make it up to the boy. As both a grandfather and a father, we owe him too much."
At the end of the diary, Chen Beiliu wrote:
"My child, I can't hold on any longer. After your mother passed away, my health has been failing, and over the years, I've been relying on medication. I had a conviction to hold on until the day you were released!
But now, I really can't hold on. Fortunately, Jixian has just made a great contribution. I will persuade him to use his military achievements to reduce your sentence. Decades have passed since your incident, and not many people remember it, so it shouldn't be hard to manage.
I will make this request as my dying wish. Before I pass away, I will present it to Jixian. Although he bears some resentment toward me, he will certainly not refuse an old man's last wish. This is the last thing Dad can do for you.
Son, you are about to be free!
I have left all my estate to Jixian; that is the compensation he deserves. If he's not so warm towards you, don't hold it against him. I sincerely hope that you, father and son, can be like a true family, with a loving father and a filial son. I hope you can love him as I have loved you.
Oh yes, there's one more thing I haven't told you—you have a grandson and a granddaughter, a pair of adorable twins. I like them very much too..."
After reading the diary, Chen Gu sighed deeply. Chen Beiliu's actions were absurd, even somewhat "cruel" to Chen Jixian, but who could bring themselves to blame an old man who dearly loved his child?
Moreover, the old man had compensated his grandson with all his wealth.
Chen Jixian was actually a victim. Honestly, Chen Gu felt that since Chen Jixian managed to get him out and even gave him one billion Star Yuan, he must be a very principled and generous person.
This whole family was pitiable. And the clear culprit behind this tragedy was the original body—now this blame, with a CLANG, landed squarely on Chen Gu's head.
Closing the diary, Chen Gu stood before the mirror, feeling somewhat puzzled.
He had transmigrated from his own world. Yet, this body shared his name and appearance; even his parents' names were the same.
In his original world, Chen Gu's father was also named Chen Beiliu, and his mother had also died in an accident when he was very young.
He was over thirty, drifting in the north as a minor actor. For a major supporting role, he hadn't hesitated to get involved with a formidable woman. While riding his beloved little scooter "onward to Tiger Mountain," he must have had a traffic accident and inexplicably arrived in this distant future.
But I don't have a forty-something-year-old son, nor a pair of twin grandchildren nearly my age! Chen Gu clutched his hair and howled in dismay.
What kind of script is this? The bulk-buying version of 'Happy to be a Dad': 'Happy to be a Granddad'?
Buy one, get two free? Extra quantity at no extra charge?
As Chen Gu was venting his frustrations, the apartment's computerized housekeeper suddenly emitted a BEEP BEEP and announced: "You have a visitor."
Impossible.
But the computerized housekeeper switched to the visitor's camera feed from downstairs. Chen Gu was startled by the fellow whose large head was pressed so close to the camera that his entire face almost filled the lens.
"Hurry and open the door for Daddy!" the large face, sporting white stubble and black-framed glasses, said earnestly.
Chen Gu was confused for a moment. Was it Chen Beiliu? But wasn't Chen Beiliu dead? And besides, the appearance didn't match. His memories from two lifetimes merged, slowly allowing him to connect a younger face with the white-stubbled one before him.
"Ossosa, you damn grandson!" Chen Gu exclaimed. "How dare you try to get one over on your grandpa!"