Chapter 30: One Man Achieves Enlightenment
“Perhaps.” Wu Qingchen sighed. Hearing “close your eyes and it’ll be ten days,” Wu Qingchen couldn’t help but think of the one-to-thirty time acceleration, and also recalled the turmoil on Earth that Chen Wenming had mentioned during their earlier conversation in the underground room.
“All right, there’s a minute and a half left. The time is almost up.” Ji Mingming glanced at his watch again. “Any more questions?”
Wu Qingchen shook his head and let his gaze drift two or three meters away—to the entrance of the conference hall, where Chen Wenming stood upright among four officers who never left his side.
“Worried about your friend?” Ji Mingming followed Wu Qingchen’s line of sight and looked back. “Don’t worry. Although both your company and Brother Chen’s company have closed, you have your new job, and Brother Chen will have his new job as well.”
“Oh?”
“This new job is also thanks to you.” Ji Mingming smiled. “As you said, Earth now has a dedicated research team for the Medieval World, and the number of people specifically studying you has reached over a million. Now, an old friend who has studied you for more than ten years appears—how could we possibly let go of such a genuine ‘expert’?”
A real “expert”...
Wu Qingchen couldn’t help but smile.
“What’s funny? There are a lot of people studying you now, but when it comes to truly understanding you—especially predicting how you’ll respond to certain emergencies and complex situations—Chen Wenming is absolutely the most authoritative expert.”
“I know...” Wu Qingchen kept smiling and nodded. “I just never thought that being familiar with me could have such advantages. Too bad I have so few friends; otherwise, a lot of people wouldn’t have to worry about finding jobs anymore.”
“That’s true. You really don’t have many friends. No matter how hard we look, only Chen Wenming qualifies. But...” Ji Mingming’s expression suddenly shifted to a half-smile, half-smirk. “But, Brother Wu, your social connections aren’t that simple either... Wang Jiang, you know him, right?”
“Wang Jiang?” Hearing the name, Wu Qingchen frowned, then after a moment slowly nodded. “I know him.”
“What about Zhou Liye?”
“I know him.” Wu Qingchen’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“And Yang Qinghua?”
“I know him too!” Those three words were squeezed out between clenched teeth.
Wang Jiang, Zhou Liye, and especially Yang Qinghua—the last of the three. Wu Qingchen didn’t just know these names; they were etched in his memory, unforgettable.
At certain points in life, Wu Qingchen had often gripped his bedsheets at night, held onto bus straps during his commute, or pinched his chopsticks while eating, quietly muttering these three names—praying to heaven for each to suffer a flat tire, a flower pot to the head, or a plane crash...
Put simply, Wang Jiang, Zhou Liye, and most of all Yang Qinghua, had each—at certain times, places, and for certain reasons, whether briefly or for a long while—given Wu Qingchen profound physical or psychological memories.
In the simplest terms, these three were Wu Qingchen’s ‘enemies.’
Thinking of this, a sense of foreboding welled up in Wu Qingchen’s heart.
“Speaking of which, these three comrades are also ‘experts’ in studying you—though compared to Mr. Chen, their research focus seems a little different...”
Oh, for heaven’s sake!
“So...” Ji Mingming continued, “These three ‘experts,’ along with a dozen or so others who share similar research interests but are a bit less accomplished, have all been brought to the capital and will probably join Mr. Chen’s project team...”
Good Lord! Is there any justice left in the world?
If dreaming while asleep feels like forced labor, so be it;
If waking means learning to fish, hunt rabbits, or wield a hoe all day, so be it;
If making phone calls or meeting friends requires vigilance as if guarding against thieves, so be it;
But now, the people he dislikes most are getting special treatment from the state, just because they’re his enemies...
Oh, for heaven’s sake!!!
Is there any other important figure in the world as miserable as me?
“What’s wrong, Brother Qingchen...” Noticing Wu Qingchen’s fluctuating expression, Ji Mingming quickly dropped the joking tone. “Whether you like them or not, anyone with deep social ties to you has already been brought to the capital. Those friends you just called—local police have likely already contacted them.”
“But, for safety reasons, only Brother Chen was arranged to meet you today. Besides...” Ji Mingming couldn’t help but smile. “No need to be so upset... Remember how terrified you were when you first arrived three days ago? Those ‘experts’ you least want to see are also receiving the most urgent treatment... And since their health isn’t a priority, the methods are probably a bit rougher... Feeling better now?”
Not at all!
Although his ‘enemies’ were likely frightened out of their wits, recalling how Chen Wenming had entered his room unable to even change into proper clothes, his face riddled with fear and anxiety, Wu Qingchen could imagine that his ‘friends’ had received equally ‘rough treatment.’
This truly was pain for the close, joy for the enemy. One man’s rise, enemies ascend to heaven...
He was a thorough tragedy. Wu Qingchen felt utterly powerless.
“All right, all right...” Ji Mingming shook his head helplessly. “There’s nothing to be done—who told you to be so famous now? For example, the day after the celestial event, Chen Wenming’s manager couldn’t reach him; it wasn’t about his phone being off, but our technical department found that many foreign media outlets were calling him nonstop. The higher-ups ordered his communication and location services shut down.”
“And it wasn’t that there were no taxis outside Chen Wenming’s house—the traffic police had blocked the road. Furthermore, from the moment Chen Wenming left home until he reached his company, field agents intercepted at least six groups of foreign intelligence personnel trying to approach him, one group even fully armed and with a location set up for easy abduction... Imagine, would you prefer your friends to become ‘missing persons’?”
“Well...”
Of course he didn’t want his friends to be harmed, but... Wang Jiang, Zhou Liye, and especially Yang Qinghua—maybe if they ‘disappeared’ it wouldn’t be so bad?
This thought was clearly anticipated by Ji Mingming. “As for those you don’t want to see, I doubt they think very highly of you right now. Do you think that after these people ‘disappear,’ they’ll keep your details confidential? Remember the explosion at the assembly hall? Would that benefit you?”
The explosion at the assembly hall, the sudden assassination attempt...
Wu Qingchen’s hands trembled slightly. The next moment, thinking of certain scenarios, he quickly looked at Ji Mingming. “Wait! Even so, my information is still easy to gather... All the online forums, games, I have so many posts and accounts... I’ve heard about social engineering...”
“By the time you think of it, it’s already too late!” Ji Mingming rolled his eyes. “As soon as your location was confirmed, before we even arrived, your registered accounts, game characters, chat records, forum posts and replies—all the traces you’ve left online... Apart from your own computer, which no one has touched, only one supercomputer in the world has a complete backup, and it has been physically disconnected from the outside network—of course, I mean the full, complete data... As for bits and pieces, the media and some countries are simply too fast for us to control.”
Well, it seemed there was no escaping scrutiny under the magnifying glass.
Wu Qingchen sighed helplessly. Ji Mingming checked his watch one last time, and when he looked up again, Jiang Fengming was already approaching with his team.
“All right, my time’s up.” Waving to Wu Qingchen, Ji Mingming gave a brief farewell, and the four officers with Chen Wenming turned and walked away, leaving Wu Qingchen with six retreating figures and Ji Mingming’s final words:
“Mr. Wu, see you tomorrow—or in ten days... Enjoy your training.”
“Mr. Wu, see you tomorrow—or in ten days... Enjoy your training.”