David thought for a moment.
He weighed the possibility of exposure, but soon realized that with his [Astral Projection] ability—which allowed his soul to displace across the galaxy via the Warp—he now had a perfect excuse. He could evade Sophon surveillance while legitimately keeping a close eye on the progress of the struggle between the authorities and the Trisolarans.
"What are the specifics?"
David didn't answer yes or no directly; instead, he asked Shi Qiang what he needed to do. This decisiveness made Shi Qiang think even more highly of him.
"I need you to help me get a handle on the Neutron Research Institute... whether it's through Yang Dong, Luo Ji, or Ding Yi. It doesn't need to be too professional; I just need to figure out what these scientists on the enemy's hit list are actually working on."
"How should I contact you?" David picked up his phone. "Calls or—"
"No, considering the enemy's methods are quite bizarre, phones are too unreliable." Shi Qiang shook his head and pulled two walkie-talkies and a handmade radio from his backpack. "Use this. A wireless radio. As long as you're around the outskirts of Yenching, I can reach you."
Shi Qiang then pulled out two napkins and wrote down two sets of addresses.
"These are safe houses in the Yenching suburbs I had friends set up. If you have important intel and can't reach me, or if you run into danger, hide there first."
David looked at the locations. One was in the north, one in the west; the furthest was nearly twenty kilometers from the nearest subway station.
"Do you have transport in Yenching?" David shook his head at Shi Qiang's question. "Then that's perfect. After we eat, I'll take you to get a motorcycle."
David and Shi Qiang emerged from a dealership, each pushing a touring motorcycle. Shi Qiang chose black, while David chose a red-and-white model.
"There's something I don't understand."
After paying for the bike, David looked at his remaining balance of less than ten thousand yuan and took a deep breath. He asked, "How do you determine who is or isn't on the hit list?"
It was noon. David shielded his eyes from the stinging sunlight.
"If you saw the more detailed files at the command center, you'd know that most of the targets once served on a specific project." Shi Qiang moved the box gifted by the shop owner to the back of the bike and secured it with zip ties.
The shop owner clearly recognized Shi Qiang, providing not only the lowest price but also plenty of touring gear. Shi Qiang had intended to pay for David's bike, but David didn't want to owe that kind of favor. After several discounts, he could afford it himself.
"What project?" David straddled the bike. As the engine roared, he followed Shi Qiang.
"China No. 2," Shi Qiang replied. "They say it's some kind of high-energy particle accelerator? I don't get the technical stuff. It's in Liangxiang. I went with the command center to see it once; the thing is three stories high, like a metal monster."
At the next intersection, Shi Qiang stopped and waved. David looked up and saw a red wall topped with barbed wire and large characters: Yenching Third Prison.
David turned on his navigation. Following the intelligence provided by his Abominable Intelligence, he headed toward a temple in the Yenching suburbs.
"May the Buddha protect my Lord."
Shen Yufei knelt before the Buddha, holding three incense sticks and bowing devoutly.
This trip to Yenching had led her to discover a mathematical genius whose talent surpassed any she had ever seen. Perhaps by sponsoring him, she could save her Lord, who reigned four light-years away, allowing the Trisolarans to break the mystery of the three-body problem and escape the threat of solar engulfment. Perhaps then, humanity could escape destruction and, with Trisolaran help, evolve into a higher civilization free of lies and evil.
Shen Yufei gently inserted the incense into the bronze burner. She bowed again to the golden statue of the Buddha and prayed once more.
"May the Buddha protect my Lord."
A cold wind brushed past her ear. She looked up in confusion, but the hall was sealed tight, and the candles on the altar burned steadily. A hallucination?
"Shen Yufei—"
For a moment, she thought she heard someone call her name. A shiver ran through her. She looked around; everything was normal, but she knew the voice was no illusion.
"My Lord, are you calling me?" she asked the golden Buddha.
The Buddha remained silent with a faint smile, but Shen Yufei saw a drop of water slide from the Buddha's eye. Under the candlelight, the light refracted, making it look as if the Buddha was hinting at something with eyes shimmering in gold.
"That is..." Shen Yufei followed the Buddha's gaze. "The moon?"
She sounded confused and found the sight unbelievable. As a highly educated intellectual, she fell into deep thought. "The moon... what is on the moon?"
The high-ranking Redemptionist of the ETO didn't realize that while she struggled to understand this sign, an invisible presence was observing her every move.
"It seems the Trisolarans haven't confirmed the moon's anomaly yet."
From Shen Yufei's reaction, David could draw this conclusion. He knew she was high-ranking because, in the original story, Ye Wenjie's reaction to Shen Yufei's assassination was one of extreme fury, leading her to purge the ETO.
"The lunar base construction can be put on the agenda, then."
David didn't care if the moon base was exposed, as long as the Trisolarans couldn't link it to him. His initial vision for the moon was an orbital defense platform for Earth, serving temporarily as an experimental base. While rich in resources, the moon had two flaws: it was too close to Earth, and it was too small—only 1/50th the volume of Earth. In contrast, Mars—about 1/6th the volume of Earth—would be more suitable as a true research base and space war fortress.
Of course, checking the Trisolaran status was only one reason David came here.
He sensed a figure chatting with a monk at the temple gate—someone who had been tailing him and Shi Qiang since earlier that day and had followed him all the way here.
David's eyes turned cold.
"Little mouse," David's spiritual form whispered.