Ye Wenjie knew exactly what she was doing.
Although she believed her cause was to liberate all of humanity from evil tyranny, she also knew that the judgment of history is always cold and ruthless. The tides of history do not care whose daughter one is, or whose mother. They certainly do not bother to distinguish between those who are truly guilty and those who are entirely innocent.
The Angel of Vengeance stands on the highest peak, sword in hand, gazing into the distance. He guides the righteous on Noah's Ark toward their final chance of survival while watching with indifferent eyes as the old world is completely submerged by the apocalyptic flood.
"He owes me a favor. It will be much, much cheaper if you buy from him," Ye Wenjie said softly.
She lowered her voice once she heard the sound of running water in the kitchen stop. "There's a bank card inside. The password is on the business card. Don't tell Dongdong."
Looking into Ye Wenjie's eyes, David nodded solemnly.
Compared to Yang Dong, who would likely refuse her mother's "dirty money," David was much more pragmatic. He viewed it as a small investment in the cause of humanity's conquest of the galaxy. At most, he could appoint Ye Wenjie as the Governor of Trisolaris in the future as a return on today's investment.
"Who told you I wanted to buy a house?"
Yang Dong walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel. She had clearly overheard Ye Wenjie's earlier introduction to David about buying property.
"Luo Ji?"
It turned out Yang Dong's guess was remarkably accurate. Upon hearing her words, an awkward expression immediately appeared on Ye Wenjie's face.
This realization brought a sense of clarity to David. No wonder that kid Luo Ji ran off so quickly. He taught sociology and was bored to death most days; he wasn't nearly as busy as Ding Yi, the chief scientist of the Academy of Sciences. Moreover, he was Yang Dong's high school classmate and had taken Ye Wenjie's classes in university. Why the frantic exit?
The guy was clearly afraid Yang Dong would settle the score with him!
"It really was him," Yang Dong snorted after seeing Ye Wenjie's reaction.
She tossed the towel onto the table and looked up at the clock. It was already two in the afternoon. "I still have work over at China No. 2."
Yang Dong pulled two pieces of bread from a cabinet and stuffed them into her coat pocket. She put on her outerwear and waved David's keys. "I'm borrowing your motorcycle."
"Sure, no problem," David said, momentarily dazed.
After their recent conversation, Yang Dong's attitude toward him seemed to have undergone a subtle shift. At the very least, the old Yang Dong would have preferred a taxi over bothering someone else. Now, she seemed subconsciously more reliant on him.
As the door clicked shut, only Ye Wenjie and David remained in the room.
"Do you need me to tutor you in physics?" Ye Wenjie broke the silence after they sat on the sofa for a while.
On one hand, she admired David's character and felt he could protect Yang Dong. On the other hand, she worried that too much contact with her would implicate him, and by extension, her daughter. Fortunately, the ringing of David's phone broke the awkward atmosphere.
David offered an apologetic smile to Ye Wenjie. On the other end of the line, Shi Qiang's anxious voice came through.
"Brother David! Are you in Beijing right now?"
Shi Qiang never missed an opportunity to pull "his own people" into the Earth Defense Security Department's operations.
"I am."
Hearing the slight breathlessness in Shi Qiang's voice, David's expression shifted.
"News came from the FBI spy network in the Middle East. Shen Yufei, Wang Miao, and the others have been found. The Russians have launched fighter jets from an airbase in Syria to strike several possible hiding spots for final confirmation. An airborne assault brigade from Moscow has been mobilized for immediate deployment in Syria."
"I'm at the West Suburb Airport now. The plane takes off in ten minutes."
David checked his navigation and found he was about five kilometers from the airport. "I should be able to make it," he responded calmly. "I'm not far from your location, about six kilometers."
"Alright, I'll try to buy you as much time as I can."
Shi Qiang hung up quickly. From the noisy arguing at the airport in the background, David suspected those ten minutes were something Shi Qiang was fighting the flight crew for.
"I have to go, Professor Ye."
David waved goodbye. The ride-hailing app on his phone was already notifying him that the car had arrived at the Peking University gate.
"Go attend to your business!"
Ye Wenjie's expression remained unchanged, but David, enhanced by psionic power, could tell her heart rate had spiked the moment she heard the name "Shen Yufei."
So, what will Ye Wenjie do? David hurried downstairs and shut the car door quickly after getting in.
If you make the wrong choice— David shook his head and sighed softly.
The scenery outside the window blurred past. The neon lights of Beijing remained beautiful and sacred even in the misty drizzle. The grey bricks and green tiles interspersed among the skyscrapers emitted a heavy sense of history, making this city of the future feel less illusory.
Even if it's for Yang Dong's sake, I'll have to make you disappear early. "Car accident," "plane crash," "falling object," or even an "attack by a Warp demon." For a true "superman" like David, there were far too many ways to make an ordinary person like Ye Wenjie leave this world without a trace.
...
"You finally made it, brother."
Watching Shi Qiang pace back and forth by the cabin door, David could sense a strange irritability coming from him. "Get inside, don't catch a cold in the rain."
Shi Qiang pulled David into the passenger plane, which was already filled with personnel from the Earth Defense Security Department. Aside from operational staff from Beijing, there were numerous white and black military officers discussing things with Chang Weisi in the aisle.
"Here's the data."
Shi Qiang sat David down beside him and tossed over an unsealed file folder.
There were only a few pages of critical information. David pulled them out and glanced over them; a moment later, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Why are there Al-Qaeda members involved?"
Al-Qaeda—the international front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders.
"It's not actually that surprising."
Since smoking was banned in the cabin, Shi Qiang began chugging the free mineral water. "Don't be fooled by the fact that this Earth Defense Security Department is a newly formed organization, so mysterious that I still don't know the specific mission."
Shi Qiang glanced at the officers with standard American and British accents seen on TV and sneered.
"But its power is staggering. There are probably only a handful of factions in the world brave enough to oppose it, and they're all desperados living day by day."
"I bet if the higher-ups hadn't insisted on taking them alive, the joint China-US fleet would have already reached the Persian Gulf, demanding the local government cooperate with UN combat operations."