"The experts speculate that Shen Yufei's blindness is hysterical, triggered by extreme agitation upon hearing the news of her pardon."
Exiting the consultation room on the ninth floor of the Third Hospital's inpatient department, Zhang Beihai handed the diagnostic report for Shen Yufei, who had just been admitted, to David.
David scanned the report. Diplopia, constricted visual field, photophobia, foreign body sensation, intense ocular and orbital pain, abnormal color vision, ocular motility disorders, nystagmus, blepharospasm, accommodative spasm, or paralysis...
Does being an Astropath really require such a heavy sacrifice? David thought, maintaining an impassive expression.
"It might take a long time to recover... though we can't rule out the worst-case scenario," Zhang Beihai said, sounding a bit puzzled himself. How does a healthy person just go blind like that? From what he had seen of Shen Yufei earlier, she didn't seem "overly agitated" as the experts suggested.
"Consider it Heaven's punishment for her," David replied. While waiting for the elevator, he suddenly spotted someone unexpected.
"Shi Qiang?"
"David? What are you two doing here?" Shi Qiang asked, glancing at David and Zhang Beihai standing by the elevator. Realizing David didn't have any bodyguards other than the soldier beside him, Shi Qiang's expression immediately tensed up.
"Accompanying Shen Yufei for an eye exam. I should be asking you—aren't you supposed to be protecting Luo Ji twenty-four hours a day without shifts?"
"Don't even get me started! Brother David, I'm busy scouring household registers and birth certificates across the country, helping our Lord Luo choose a 'consort'." Shi Qiang's face fell. He looked around; though the hospital wasn't crowded today, silence sometimes carried a higher risk of leaks. He pulled David aside. "This isn't the place to talk."
As the elevator doors opened, Shi Qiang stepped in first, shielding David with his body. "I know a good spot. Let's talk over a drink."
A barbecue joint near Peking University.
The air conditioning in the private room was set to sixteen degrees Celsius. Within minutes of sitting down, Zhang Beihai felt his palms grow cold. Yet the other two seemed accustomed to it. Shi Qiang was understandable; Zhang Beihai watched him down a glass of Erguotou right after sitting, then looked at David, who was picking at bamboo shoot slices.
His father had told him stories of old wars, explaining more than once the principle of using alcohol to ward off the cold. The innate toughness and resilience unique to Northerners were fully embodied in the soldiers of the Anti-Japanese United Army. But David... wasn't he from the South? How was he so resistant to the cold?
"Brother David doesn't drink. Commissar Zhang, shall we have a glass?"
"No, thank you. I'm currently on duty. I can't violate discipline." Zhang Beihai declined the offer and silently observed David's expression. Though they had been in contact for less than a day, Zhang Beihai knew David wasn't someone who wasted time on social posturing for "brotherly loyalty." Since he was willing to sit down and chat with Shi Qiang, his former bodyguard, there must be something to arrange.
"Why were you at the psychiatric department checking household registers and birth certificates?" After the pleasantries, David put down his chopsticks and looked at Shi Qiang. "Did something happen with Luo Ji?"
"Don't ask. I only found out after getting close to him—that kid Luo Ji has a history of mental illness." Shi Qiang downed the rest of his drink.
"Be specific."
"It's hard to say. Ever heard of schizophrenia? It's something like that... He once fantasized about a perfect girlfriend and lived with this 'virtual person' for about half a year," Shi Qiang said gloomily. "Now my mission is to turn his fantasy into reality to prevent our Wallfacer from fantasizing about even scarier things."
"Do you have a candidate yet?"
"Not yet. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack." Shi Qiang shook his head. "But the world is big; there'll be someone... By the way, here's that thing you asked me to handle last time."
Shi Qiang pulled a set of documents from the black briefcase beside him and pushed them toward David. "This is Yang Dong's file. It's yours now."
"Thanks." David handed the file to Zhang Beihai. "Let me introduce you. This is the Chief Scientist of our Mars Fleet."
"No need to be so polite." Shi Qiang shook his head at David's thanks. "I'm just an errand boy. With a Wallfacer's backing, getting a few files from the local security bureau is easy."
"Yang Dong." Zhang Beihai hesitated for a moment but followed David's lead and broke the wax seal. When he saw the familiar portrait, he recognized the scientist.
"You know her?" David turned to ask.
"She and Academician Ding are among the few scientists in the design bureau who support propellantless propulsion technology." The "design bureau" Zhang Beihai mentioned was the General Bureau of Spacecraft Design, established to coordinate with the newly formed Space Force.
"I didn't expect you to care about that. Are you a technologist?" Shi Qiang's face was flushed with alcohol, but his gaze was sharper than ever. His question hit the mark; clearly, his mind wasn't as coarse as his demeanor suggested. He even knew a thing or two about the internal disputes regarding spacecraft propulsion in the domestic design bureau.
"I have nothing to do with those 'weapon-only' radicals." Zhang Beihai poured himself a glass of wine, sniffed it, and placed it back on the table. "I just feel that compared to scientists and weapon designers, we soldiers have a more special mission in this war... Moreover, I support Academician Ding's view. If we want to win in space combat, we must use propellantless ships as the primary equipment for the Space Force."
A "propellant" ship uses reaction engines that eject mass to achieve thrust. A "propellantless" ship, however, uses nuclear fusion to generate charged particles for propulsion. Theoretically, the latter can travel much further without needing to carry massive amounts of fuel. Of course, this was only theoretical. This was humanity's first time forming a Space Force; no one could imagine what the future held.
"Sounds about the same to me." Shi Qiang smiled. His gaze toward Zhang Beihai became piercing for a split second, as if trying to see right through the Space Force commissar.
"Eat, eat! Brother, the mutton here is Inner Mongolian lamb. Try it; it's different from the stuff outside."
An hour later, a drunken Shi Qiang leaned on David's shoulder as they walked out. Zhang Beihai nodded to David, signaling he would call a car, and walked ahead.
"This man does whatever it takes to get results. I don't recommend keeping him by your side." Almost the moment Zhang Beihai disappeared from view, Shi Qiang's solemn voice reached David's ear.
When David turned his head, there wasn't a trace of drunkenness left in Shi Qiang. His brow was furrowed. "Where did you find this guy?"
"The Space Force." David smiled. He knew exactly what kind of person Zhang Beihai was. But he needed someone like that for his plan. "I think you're overthinking it."
Hearing the answer, Shi Qiang gave David a deep look and said slowly, "I'm understanding you less and less, Brother David. Maybe you really were born for this line of work."
Shi Qiang shook his head, waved at David, and walked away quickly.