Shen Yufei, Frontiers of Science, fringe personnel, gunfights, mathematicians, Beijing...
"No, to be honest, we only met for the first time yesterday," Wei Cheng answered earnestly. He was desperate for the police to believe in his innocence. "Besides, even if she had invited me, I probably wouldn't have chosen to join."
Wei Cheng moved the five fingers of his right hand—the only part of him not immobilized by a cast. Following the doctor's instructions, he opened and closed his hand to speed up his recovery. He felt somewhat lucky that it was his left hand that had smashed the gunman's face while he was possessed by that unknown entity. If it had been his dominant right hand, Wei Cheng didn't know how he could look at that pile of mangled flesh and convince himself to keep living.
"We have already reviewed all of your records," Chang Weisi said with a nod. "I believe you. Do you have anything else to add?"
Compared to the other officers, Chang Weisi's gaze was gentle as he scanned Wei Cheng's bandaged, weary frame.
"I..." Wei Cheng hesitated. But considering the danger posed by the gunman 'he' had killed, and wanting to trade information for more police protection, he gritted his teeth. He ultimately gave a subtle account of his experience of "being haunted" in the Buddhist temple.
When he heard Wei Cheng solemnly declare that he was controlled by a vengeful ghost, allowing him to suddenly explode with power and withstand gunfire to take down the shooter, the expression on Chang Weisi's face visibly faltered.
"Alright, as I said before, everything requires a more scientific explanation." Although Chang Weisi quickly adjusted his expression, Wei Cheng could tell the man didn't truly believe him.
"Beijing has the best psychiatric doctors in the country," Chang Weisi consoled. "I believe they can help you during your treatment."
Once a helpless-looking Wei Cheng was wheeled away for official medical treatment, Chang Weisi turned to Shi Qiang. "What do you think?"
"I actually don't think he's lying," Shi Qiang said thoughtfully, watching the direction in which two medical staff members had pushed Wei Cheng.
"I agree," Chang Weisi replied. He didn't notice Shi Qiang shaking his head slightly at the response.
"One piece of good news, one piece of bad news." The veteran detective walked in with two officers. He put down his phone and spoke seriously to Chang Weisi, who had just finished the interrogation. "The good news is that we have successfully monitored all of Shen Yufei and Pan Han's domestic accounts and properties without any interference or obstacles."
"And the bad news?" Chang Weisi asked.
"A Dutch passenger ship full of tourists just departed from Dayun Port. According to Customs' screening, a man and a woman boarded using forged passports."
"Why wasn't this discovered at the time?" Shi Qiang asked.
"The enemy used unknown electronic technology to jam the Customs system's alarms," the veteran detective explained. He was clearly experienced, knowing the functions of every department by heart. "I only found this because I requested a manual check of the passenger list for ships departing this morning."
Shi Qiang shrugged. Looking at Chang Weisi's grim expression, he said, "Look on the bright side. At least this proves our investigative direction was correct. The enemy possesses advanced technology and a highly organized structure."
But Shi Qiang only told half the story. That conclusion only applied to the "scientist suicide cases" they were originally chasing. As for Wei Cheng's "delirious talk"—which Chang Weisi dismissed as the result of extreme mental stress—Shi Qiang had a different perspective.
"What is our next step in the investigation?" the veteran detective asked Chang Weisi, ignoring Shi Qiang once again.
"Perhaps we should ask the opinion of a witness to this shooting."
David felt Chang Weisi's gaze fall upon him. The reason Chang Weisi had agreed to Shi Qiang's suggestion to bring David into the Planetary Defense Council (PDC) was twofold. On one hand, there was Shi Qiang's recommendation; he was keen to pack the security bureau with more of his "own brothers." On the other hand, Chang Weisi had read David's file.
'Friend of scientist Yang Dong,'
'Physics student,'
'Enrolled with honors,'
'Brave and of high moral character,'
'Experienced in combat.'
No matter how one looked at it, David was a prime candidate to be absorbed into the PDC after graduation. As a nascent organization with immense power, the PDC needed to start cultivating its own "highly reliable" and "professional" personnel.
David, who had been watching the situation evolve from the sidelines, finally spoke. "I don't believe someone as rigorous as Shen Yufei would make such a mistake."
Sensing the psionic marker currently moving north across the continental shelf, David raised an eyebrow. He was certain that Shen Yufei and Pan Han had not boarded a passenger ship after being exposed. It was a decoy.
Under Sophon surveillance, David didn't intend to reveal himself too early. However, a proper nudge was necessary. If things got desperate, he could always log into another "avatar" to uproot this Trisolaran stronghold.
But the problem remained: even if psionic possession was stealthy, the Trisolarans would eventually notice the anomaly if it happened too often. Furthermore, the bodies he could possess were rare. Among the tens of millions in Beijing, David had found only a handful. Possessing Wei Cheng had been a stroke of sheer luck. He didn't think he would encounter a second such opportunity easily.
Maybe I should establish a potential organization through Warp possession first?
"You know Shen Yufei?" Hearing David's words, both Chang Weisi and the veteran detective looked surprised.
"Indeed. In a sense, she is my senior," David explained. Shi Qiang had already heard about the taxi incident from the young officers, so he wasn't particularly surprised by David's answer.
"I recall the files saying Shen Yufei graduated from Yan University," the veteran detective frowned, his sharp gaze seemingly trying to cut into David.
"The supervisor she had when she was in the Physics Department at Yan University happens to be my teacher now."
"And that supervisor happens to be an old acquaintance of ours," Shi Qiang added. He pulled a crumpled document from his pocket, slammed the name 'Yang Dong' onto the table, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and continued.
"Ye Wenjie, Professor of Physics at Yan University. Besides being Shen Yufei's former supervisor, she is also the mother of our primary protection target—astrophysicist Yang Dong."
Looking at the increasingly grim faces of the men before him, Shi Qiang grinned. He turned toward the portrait of Shen Yufei pinned to the wall and let out a fierce, predatory smile.
Things were becoming more and more interesting.