"I am under orders to escort Ye Wenjie to the United Nations headquarters," Chang Weisi declared.
However, facing the masked soldiers behind Chang Weisi, the girl standing beside Ye Wenjie suddenly raised the metal sphere in her hand. Her voice was melodic as she spoke.
"I assume you've already seen the fate of that small island in the Pacific, leveled by a hydrogen bomb."
"What kind of junk is this? Just a broken ball—" Shi Qiang grumbled, though his feet remained rooted firmly to the spot.
"Shi Qiang!"
Hearing the keywords "Pacific," "island," and "hydrogen bomb," cold sweat instantly broke out on Chang Weisi's forehead. He roared, his voice cracking from tension.
Having personally witnessed the ground zero of a nuclear explosion and received the "at all costs" order from above before boarding his flight, Chang Weisi was now prepared to die for his country.
"Take your men and evacuate! Now! Immediately!" Chang Weisi commanded sternly. His eyes remained fixed on the small metal sphere in the girl's hand as he spoke into his earpiece. "I need experts! Nuclear bomb experts! Now!"
The authorities were clearly prepared for this, a fact that once again made David realize the terrifying efficiency of the state as a war machine.
Several experts in nuclear materials arrived. One of them visibly froze upon seeing David standing at the front of the crowd.
David recognized her. It was Zhao Xuan, his former landlord from his time at Handong University, his senior, and a doctoral student in nuclear engineering. David hadn't realized she had a military background.
"Can you verify her words?" Chang Weisi asked.
The nuclear scholar beside him seemed somewhat distracted. "Oh... it's simple. Use this." Zhao Xuan pulled a spring scale from her pocket.
This gave Chang Weisi a slight sense of relief. It seemed the older veterans of the research institutes had caught wind of something; they had all sent their younger subordinates to participate in the military mission while they stayed hidden in their laboratories, refusing to move.
Young people today truly have courage! Chang Weisi looked at Zhao Xuan, who was dressed only in a casual long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants, with a gaze of admiration.
"We'll know if it's nuclear material by weighing it." Zhao Xuan's tone was indifferent. But when she saw the spring suddenly snap down and the red marker pull all the way to the bottom, her voice abruptly failed her.
She stared fixedly at the smiling young woman before her. No, sister, you're actually playing for real!
"At least it contains heavy element fissile material," David added as Zhao Xuan stood dazed. "Though I expect it's only a low-yield bomb."
Hearing this, Zhao Xuan's body shuddered, while Chang Weisi let out a sigh of relief. "That counts as good news," Chang Weisi remarked.
"I'll go talk to her." David pushed past Zhao Xuan and walked toward the girl. Chang Weisi froze, then instinctively reached for his waist. When his hand met empty air where his sidearm should have been, his expression changed. He signaled the special forces team behind him with his eyes not to act rashly.
"Stop right there!" the girl shouted, raising the nuclear bomb and placing her finger on the trigger.
David halted his steps. He looked at Ye Wenjie. "Professor Ye, what exactly is your plan?"
David's gaze shifted to the firearms lying on the ground. Since Ye Wenjie had already ordered the ETO members not to resist, why stage this performance?
"Let them leave. I will stay here with you. Once my companions signal me that they are safe, I will deactivate the bomb and surrender," Ye Wenjie, standing close to the girl's left, said to David.
"This is meaningless. Every mile for hundreds of leagues is already under the surveillance of the UN forces. The entire world is hunting you." After a pause, David stared into Ye Wenjie's eyes and said with certainty, "You have accomplices outside!"
Everyone saw the expression of the formerly smiling girl stiffen. Chang Weisi's heart immediately went on high alert. However, the old and steady voice of a commander came through his earpiece:
"Do not alarm our enemy! The United Nations has already authorized a joint fleet composed of China, the US, Russia, and the UK to set out and suppress the remaining Trisolaran remnants."
"Furthermore, the UN committee has issued a supplemental regulation. If possible, bring David into the underground bunkers as well. Humanity needs his talent."
Chang Weisi was startled. It seemed David's performance today had already drawn intense scrutiny from the highest levels of human leadership.
"I understand," Chang Weisi replied in a low voice.
"You don't need to know, David." Ye Wenjie's voice remained calm.
"Will the Trisolarans help your people escape? You just said they are constantly watching this place," David asked.
"No." Ye Wenjie sighed. "To the infinitely powerful Lord, our destruction and human resistance are both meaningless. We are simply doing what we want to do."
After speaking, Ye Wenjie fell silent, her eyes dimming slightly. David took the opportunity to take a step forward.
"Stop!" Facing David's approach, the girl warned. Her index finger, painted with pink nail polish, gripped the metal sphere tightly. Her gaze toward David was flirtatious yet tinged with defiance.
David began to recall how Shi Qiang had handled this girl in the original timeline. A child with no mother, right?
David opened his hands and moved forward, step by slow step. "Your mother very much hopes to see you one last time in this life."
"You... what did you say?" Hearing David's words, the girl's body trembled.
David, of course, didn't use a fake letter to deceive the girl's feelings as Shi Qiang had. The influence of psionic power on human emotions was far more potent than any letter.
"She regrets it. She regrets it deeply. If only she had been a bit stronger back then... Sigh, she said her final wish in this life is to see you one more time."
Following David's words, the girl's eyes filled with tears. Her flirtatious and spirited eyes were now full of sorrow and disbelief. "What exactly happened to her!"
The girl had completely lost her guard. By the time she reacted, David was standing in front of her, his fingers even able to reach the edge of her clothes.
The girl tried to raise the nuclear bomb, but it was too late. David struck her wrist with a heavy punch. With the crisp crack of a breaking bone, the girl's arms slumped powerless.
Immediately, in the split second before the bomb hit the ground, David drew his pistol and pulled the trigger toward the device without hesitation.
With a muffled sound, yellow smoke rose from the surroundings. Shi Qiang didn't hesitate, grabbing Chang Weisi and turning to run. David gripped Ye Wenjie tightly with one hand and tucked the girl under his other arm, sprinting toward the exit.
Although David's shot had scattered the conventional explosives used to trigger the nuclear core—ensuring the fissile material wouldn't undergo precise compression and thus preventing a nuclear explosion—the yellow smoke escaping from it was a different matter. It could be hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic inorganic gas, or an aerosol of radioactive substances.
In any case, regardless of which it was, inhaling too much meant a normal person could prepare for their next reincarnation.