"Can I ask what exactly is 'wrong' about him compared to the other Wallfacers?"
The woman asked. Regaining the Lord's attention had reignited the hope of survival in her eyes. She sat before a dressing table, filling a plastic basin with cold water to wash herself. She could no longer stand the stench on her body, but her current living conditions were so primitive that hot water was a luxury. She could only wring out a towel and wipe herself down as best she could.
"I cannot tell you," the Sophon replied.
"Just like with Luo Ji?" the Wallbreaker asked, puzzled.
She truly didn't understand why the Wallfacer Project of a mere backward civilization could be so effective. Out of five Wallfacers, two were actually perceived as threats by Trisolaris.
"It is different. We know exactly what Luo Ji—you were just baiting me for information, weren't you?" The Trisolaran suddenly realized something. The Sophon abruptly stopped, then asked, "In our world, this is not considered deceit."
The woman shook her head, trying to shake the water from her hair.
"That is because your human society is constantly filled with high-level strategies and schemes, while Trisolaran society is relatively simple," the Sophon answered briefly.
"As far as I know, you actually decided on the corresponding Wallbreakers the moment humanity decided on the actual Wallfacer Project... people like us were just reserves. In fact, I never imagined I would be able to communicate directly with the Lord behind the Sophons." The woman stood up, carefully drying her hair with a towel. "Why do you want me to temporarily join the already established plan now to help you analyze Wallfacer David?"
"Because the Wallbreaker we originally selected fell into a trap due to this man's performance at the UN General Assembly... It's not his fault. In fact, if we had been more careful, we wouldn't have arranged for him to face an opponent of David's caliber."
"I see." The woman grew thoughtful. "Just as Luo Ji's Wallbreaker is actually himself, you worry about Luo Ji's plan, yet you are desperate to know David's true plan."
"No, you are mistaken. Trisolaris never 'desires' anything. A weapon sufficient to destroy all the fleets of Earth's civilization was launched yesterday."
The Trisolaran's response carried a rare hint of solemnity. Clearly, the hastily manufactured weapon had consumed more of their unexpected resource reserves than planned.
"Because of its small size, it was accelerated to light speed from the start. It will take only four years and three months to reach Earth. Your task—or rather, the task of all of you—is to use every means possible to delay the speed at which the UN fleet takes to the sky. The weapon we launched will destroy the UN fleet before it reaches Mars... Incidentally, after destroying the UN's Martian fleet, we will also eliminate all other potential threats on Earth."
"Do you really think a fleet capable of an interstellar expedition can be built in three years?" The woman shook her head, as if surprised that both the Trisolarans and the Wallfacer named David were making such a fuss over nothing. Anyone knew that such a hastily rushed fleet would be meaningless in war, yet the Trisolarans seemed to care deeply about shooting down Earth's Martian fleet.
"To be honest, if left unhindered, it might take less than three years." As the laptop screen in the basement lit up on its own, the Trisolarans transmitted the footage of the conversation between David and Zhang Beihai in the car.
David's decisions left the woman even more confused. "I still don't understand. What is the significance of such an interstellar fleet?"
"We don't understand either, but our analysts tell us that by analyzing Wallfacer David's sequence of actions, expressions, and words, he is using this fleet as an anchor to conduct a complete and total fraud."
"You self-taught human sociology and psychology?" the woman asked in shock. "From a planet four light-years away?"
"Specifically, on a fleet four light-years away from Earth. But that is not important. You must understand that while all other Wallfacers are doing their best to hide their inner thoughts, Wallfacer David's performance is very abnormal."
"Is it possible..." The woman hesitated, then pointed to her head. "Could there be something wrong with his mind? Schizophrenia? Delusions? Post-traumatic stress?"
"We have retrieved all data concerning him since the Sophons arrived. The conclusion is that aside from being overly confident, there are no issues with his psychology or mental state." The Sophon's answer ruthlessly crushed the woman's speculation. "He is implementing his plan, yet no one knows what that plan is... This is completely different from the other Wallfacers. The Leader has ordered this unknown threat to be nipped in the bud."
"Should we find an opportunity to kill him, like we're trying with Luo Ji?" The woman, now in her last set of clean clothes, made a tactical gesture.
"No. The source of the danger does not lie with him personally, but with his plan. As long as we have not deciphered what his intentions are, any human could potentially continue to execute David's Wallfacer plan after his death."
"I understand." The woman picked up her phone and slung her computer over her back. She left most of her luggage in the basement because, just moments ago, her anonymous credit card notified her that a sum of two hundred thousand US dollars had been deposited. "I will find out what David's plan really is."
The woman opened the basement door, and at that moment, the sunlight completely swallowed her. She raised her hand, squinting slightly. "I have only one request. Please, Lord, save my sister."
"No problem," the Sophon replied. "The rescue mission began even before I arrived."
"Senior Shen."
Walking through the basement corridor illuminated by glaring incandescent lights, David spoke as he saw Shen Yufei holding the Lectitio Divinitatus, kneeling on the ground and praying to the void.
Hearing David's voice, Shen Yufei opened her eyes as if waking from a dream. "David..."
The moment Shen Yufei saw David, she subconsciously gripped the Lectitio Divinitatus in her hands tightly. During those dreamlike six months, she had walked alongside the Holy Spirit; fighting and praying had become almost instinctive to her. As a top technical model, she had fallen before the positions of the French De Gaulle Legion after witnessing the last two J-20s of her flight squadron being shot down by the French SAMP air defense missile system.
"May the Emperor protect you!" Shen Yufei said out of habit, then performed a standard Aquila gesture toward David. The prison guard nearby seemed unfazed by her reaction.
"Ever since you left last time, her mental state has had some issues. We've already contacted the psychiatric doctors from the Third Hospital next door. If it doesn't improve, we'll ask for permission from above to transfer her to a psychiatric hospital for a period of treatment," the warden explained to David with an embarrassed look.