Ding Yi rubbed his throbbing forehead, a lingering effect of his hangover, and sat up in bed, stretching his arms.
The sky outside the window was very dark.
Through the gaps in the curtains, Ding Yi saw a gloomy sky without a sun, much like how physics had lost all hope. He reached out with his feet in the dark to find his slippers, but only touched empty beer cans he had tossed aside. As he felt around, the cans collided with a clattering sound.
"What time is it now?" Ding Yi muttered to himself, picking up his phone.
He didn't care whether the gloom outside was due to dark clouds or because evening had slipped by unnoticed. Since resigning from the research institute, his days and nights had been inverted for several weeks; what concerned him was neither the weather nor the time.
Ding Yi looked at the alarm on his screen, which was only a few minutes away from going off.
"Time to log in and draw some cards."
Stepping over the littered cans, he sat at his computer and took two cans of Cola from the nearby fridge. He expertly opened the Black Crusade icon on the screen. In the study next door, there was a set of VR equipment—originally purchased to study the game designed by the Trisolarans. However, after the full-scale conflict between humanity and Trisolaris broke out, he felt nothing but coldness toward a game designed by the aliens who had destroyed his future in physics.
Although Ding Yi was no longer a professional physics researcher, his standards for games were unexpectedly high for a former academician. In the entire country, only Black Crusade, with its exquisite graphics and realism, could pique his interest enough to log in at the same time every day.
But today, when Ding Yi opened his personal game page, an email caught his attention.
"Wallfacer David invites you to join the Mars Fleet assembly. Laboratory coordinates..."
It was an invitation from Beijing. Seeing the detailed warship data provided by the Wallfacer and David's sincere request, a light reignited in Ding Yi's eyes.
Meanwhile, inside the Three-Body game world.
It was another cold Stable Era. The sun was drifting further from Trisolaris, and the nights grew longer as time passed. The sky and the earth were swallowed by darkness, leaving only a pitch-black, ink-like visual.
"The first Wallbreaker meeting begins now."
A voice rang out in the darkness.
"Accelerate time. Search for a Stable Era with suitable temperatures."
At the command, the entire world began to spin rapidly. Countless points of light—the flashing radiance of stars—streaked by. Finally, after the passage of several thousand virtual years, the Wallbreakers found a relatively stable Era with sufficient sunlight.
"King Wen of Zhou, you speak first."
Qin Shi Huang stood before the massive pendulum from the original story. The Trisolarans once believed this pendulum could hypnotize the sun; now that they were a civilized society, they knew a dormant sun brought them no benefit, yet they had added it to the game as a gesture of history.
"What do you want me to say?" King Wen shook his head.
"The Lord contacted you personally to be David's Wallbreaker. The purpose of this meeting is to assign Wallbreakers to each Wallfacer," Qin Shi Huang said. The sunlight hitting the pendulum cast seven shadows beside him. "We all agree you should set an example, as no one knows where to start a Wallbreaking mission."
"If you want me to share the Lord's instructions, I can only say you are all mistaken. The Lord did not tell me what David's plan is." King Wen still held the book containing the irregular laws summarized from a thousand Chaotic Eras on Trisolaris.
"The task the Lord gave me is simple. It is not the guidance for a Wallbreaking plan you imagine. I have only one mission: stop the Mars Fleet from leaving Earth. Ideally, destroy it in its cradle before it is even built."
"So, the Lord didn't choose you to be David's Wallbreaker?"
"No, I am David's Wallbreaker. But my primary task is not 'Wallbreaking' in the traditional sense. The Lord has more detailed objectives for me to complete: destroy the Mars Fleet."
"It sounds like the Mars Fleet is some attempt to bypass the 'Anti-Escapism Act'," Mozi noted. "Can we use that legislation to stir up trouble?"
"We've tried, but with little effect. The East doesn't want to lose this massive order, and the Americans want to see what kind of fleet can be assembled using current human technology," Aristotle answered.
"Aren't China and the US already building their own Space Forces?" someone asked.
"That will take at least two hundred years to take shape. The space construction of countries like China and the US is very systematic. They have already planned which aspects of every possible technological breakthrough under the blockade can be applied," von Neumann responded. "Even if it is the struggle of a trapped beast," he added.
"However, we did discover something through Sophon surveillance. David gave Yang Dong a set of starship manufacturing blueprints from an unknown source. The technology is very backward and not worth noting... Furthermore, he contacted Ding Yi through the game Black Crusade, intending to have the former Chief Physicist join his Mars Fleet."
Von Neumann spoke with elegance, yet with no lack of rationality and wisdom. "Tell me, is there a possibility he intends to transport scientists to Mars to continue physics research?"
"I think it's impossible. Even if Earth's technology develops for another two hundred years, it would be difficult to build an experimental base on Mars. Now, on a near-Earth space station..." Mozi grew thoughtful, and his hesitation sparked concern among the attendees.
"The Lord has already anticipated this." Qin Shi Huang's voice pulled everyone's thoughts back. "To completely blockade humanity, more Sophons have been launched into the solar system. Soon, not just Earth, but the entire solar system will be under the Lord's surveillance."
Qin Shi Huang swung the pendulum beside him, and the sky suddenly darkened. The weather of the Three-Body world was always unpredictable. As another few hundred years were accelerated, a warm Stable Era arrived, and Qin Shi Huang stopped the pendulum's acceleration.
"The consumption of each Sophon is immense for the Lord," Mozi asked. "What made the Lord reach such a resolution? In my view, the current Sophon blockade of Earth is more than sufficient."
"No, things are changing." Qin Shi Huang shook his head. Then, the void behind him shimmered, projecting a video—the conversation between Shen Yufei and Zhang Beihai.
"Parallel worlds... Psykers... do these things really exist?" Mozi asked in disbelief, looking at King Wen of Zhou, who seemed to have known all along. "Is it possible Shen Yufei is lying? That she is using her own intelligence to mislead the enemy?"
"The Lord has confirmed that everything Shen Yufei said is the truth, though what she saw may not necessarily be the facts. Furthermore, the Lord has acted ahead of the skeptical nations of Earth. By analyzing the star distribution mentioned by Shen Yufei, the Lord has identified the location of the planet she described."
Qin Shi Huang struck the pendulum, and the space behind him transformed into a sea of stars. In the center of the barren expanse, a beautiful, habitable planet—seventy percent similar to Earth—shone brilliantly.
And the location of this planet was less than twenty light-years from Earth.