Yang Dong closed the bedroom door and carefully turned the deadbolt.
"You are in a very dangerous position right now, David."
Yang Dong picked up the diary from the desk and stared intently into David's eyes. "You have no idea what kind of entity you are fighting against."
Her eyes, usually as still as a clear spring melted from a snow-capped mountain, rippled with emotion for the first time. David pursed his lips and remained silent.
"I am merely one of thousands of individuals in human civilization about to collapse in the face of an irresistible crisis," Yang Dong shook her head, her expression carrying its habitual faint sadness. "There is no need for you to go to such lengths for me."
"It has nothing to do with you; this is simply what I ought to do," David answered with genuine sincerity.
He felt that Yang Dong had likely misunderstood something. As one of the hidden threads of the Three-Body story, Yang Dong—who technically only existed in the background lore—likely knew more about the truth of Trisolaris and the universe than almost anyone else. Looking at her expression, David could easily guess that she realized he was currently investigating events related to the extraterrestrials.
"No... there is never such a thing as an inevitable responsibility in this world," Yang Dong shook her head. "Give up. Perhaps humanity can still spend one last period of happy, memorable time before the end."
"I know some problems have surfaced in physics recently, Yang Dong, but I don't think there's a need to be so pessimistic," David said. In Yang Dong's eyes, this young man—already deeply entangled in the whirlpool of struggle between humanity and the alien race behind her mother—showed a hint of confusion.
"History is full of such instances. A hundred years ago, when the 'Two Dark Clouds' (the wave theory of light and the Maxwell-Boltzmann equipartition theorem) appeared, didn't the world of old physics also face the brink of collapse?"
The young man's answer was so simple, so full of hope for the future and vibrant energy. It caused Yang Dong's heart—once frozen by her mother's betrayal of humanity, the collapse of the pillars of physics, and repeated failures—to waver at this moment.
"I don't understand what makes this time any different. The God of physics is fair; while He grants disasters, He also grants the hope that humanity once dreamed of. The great Theory of Relativity was built on the foundation of the wave nature of light, and the grand edifice of Quantum Mechanics was rebuilt from the ruins of the equipartition theorem. I don't believe the collapse of an old world is entirely a bad thing."
Listening to David's words, Yang Dong nodded, but ultimately shook her head.
"This time is different," Yang Dong's voice was indifferent and rational, yet carried an inescapable sense of despair. "I am certain that humanity cannot crawl out of this mire on its own. For certain reasons—call it my selfishness or my conceit—I cannot tell you the source of the disaster..."
"Then look for a power that transcends humanity itself," David responded. He tried to reignite Yang Dong's confidence. "I believe the world... or rather, the universe, has been just toward humanity from the very beginning. It will never grant us mercy at a whim, but neither will it impose an irresistible penalty upon us without cause."
"Perhaps."
Yang Dong managed a small smile. She hadn't originally intended to have a direct showdown with David; she had left her diary for him, containing enough truth to expose the Adventists' conspiracy. Although it would still be futile for human civilization as a whole, it would at least benefit David and, in another way, provide cover for her mother.
"But I stand by my view. I don't believe humanity can rebuild the edifice of physics this time."
For some reason, even though she and David were still speaking the same futile platitudes as before, her mood had clearly brightened significantly after their conversation.
The sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside. Yang Dong walked out of her pure birch forest—a place that now only belonged to memory—as if nothing had happened, taking a stack of empty lunch boxes from her mother's hands.
"David."
Today, Ye Wenjie was wearing a white polyester shirt and blue flare pants, styles that were very popular in the 70s and 80s. Her preference for clothing colors usually leaned toward the somber due to her upbringing; in fact, David had expected her to be wearing the same Sun Yat-sen suit she wore through all four seasons.
Ye Wenjie freed her hands and gestured for David to sit beside her.
"I heard from Dongdong's classmates that if one wants to get married, they must buy a house near Peking University?" Ye Wenjie said with a smile, making David feel awkward for a moment.
"Is that so?"
"Something like that. Yang Dong did mention it, but she and I haven't..."
"Then it's true!" Ye Wenjie nodded.
David smiled bitterly. First, he wasn't yet sure if he wanted to enter a marital relationship with Yang Dong. Such a brilliant woman with such a complex background—until David was certain whether he would need to "dispose" of her at a critical moment, he didn't know how this would affect his plans.
Second, he hadn't yet neutralized the Sophons. A massive flow of capital from the Abominable Intelligence to himself, while unlikely to trigger Earth's financial regulations, would inevitably catch the eyes of the Trisolarans.
Now was not the ideal time to launch the Great Crusade. First, the Warp had just been born, and its routes were highly unstable. According to David's calculations, a stable Warp route suitable for an expeditionary fleet wouldn't appear until after the massive Warp storm sweeping the galaxy broke out in a hundred years.
Until then, David's primary focus would be on how to push the fleet's sub-light speed in the material universe toward the speed of light. It was still unknown how human society would react to the emergence of Psionics and the Warp. He needed to observe cautiously and covertly before deciding on the next move.
But this didn't mean David refused to step onto the stage. He acknowledged the power of human civilization itself; every individual possessed infinite possibilities. The "Swordholder" position would be an excellent opportunity. After all, that kind of power was legal and legitimate. By utilizing the Warp, David could easily achieve a transcendent status similar to Luo Ji's in human society. There was no need to use violence to forcibly integrate humanity, which would leave unpredictable hidden dangers and trigger large-scale bloodshed.
In short, as things stood, David didn't need to stain his hands with the blood of his compatriots or carry the weight of human atrocities for the sake of power. Everything was progressing steadily.
"I have an old friend who used to be the head of a guard regiment at an experimental base. Later, he took advantage of a good opportunity to retire and go into business, becoming a real estate developer. He's now a famous real estate tycoon in Beijing."
Ye Wenjie tucked a card-like object into David's pocket.
"He invited me to look at his developments during his birthday recently. I checked them out; the quality of the properties he builds is actually quite good."
David stared blankly into Ye Wenjie's eyes. The flash of anxiety he saw there convinced him that Ye Wenjie was also worried about her uncertain future. She was doing everything in her power to keep her daughter out of the whirlpool.