Although Shen Yufei had joined the Trisolaran organization, her primary focus was the Three-Body Problem—a mathematical puzzle that posed less of a threat to humanity than a mosquito buzzing outside a summer net. She had never killed anyone, harmed anyone, or participated in any crimes beyond illegal possession of a firearm and involvement in Trisolaran subversive activities.
Consequently, convicting her became a dilemma. Death or life imprisonment seemed excessive, especially since Earth's civilization was considering its international image. They wanted this first case of extraterrestrial subversion to be judged perfectly, leaving no room for criticism from any quarter.
Thus, Shen Yufei's sentencing became a problem. Currently, the UN High Court offered two options. The domestic plan was to confiscate all her assets and sentence her to twenty years in prison plus life-long residential surveillance, ensuring this former core member of the ETO remained under human control. The West, however, intended to focus on the "cult organization" aspect, slapping her with an astronomical fine that she couldn't pay off even after two thousand years of labor, along with a light three-year sentence and a ban on leaving the country—letting this "traitor to humanity" feel the iron fist of capitalism.
"I think her mental state looks decent, at least much better than before," David said, pulling up a chair to sit in front of Shen Yufei. He observed that, seemingly under the influence of the Lectitio Divinitatus, she appeared very fearful of him.
"I brought a pardon, Senior."
"Psyker—"
As soon as David spoke, Shen Yufei whispered.
David had originally intended to use Shen Yufei to bait the Sophons, hoping her abnormality would prompt the Trisolarans to unfold a Sophon from higher dimensions to capture and study her. However, Shen Yufei hit him with a shocker the moment they met.
"..."
"Don't think playing dumb will get you through this!" the warden barked. "Do you know who is in front of you? One of the only five Wallfacers on Earth. If you offend him, he could have you sentenced to death and executed tomorrow!"
David was so cringed by the warden's introduction that he felt like he could carve out a three-bedroom apartment in the concrete floor with his toes. But he quickly adjusted his mindset and spoke in a calm voice.
"Bring her a stool."
Zhang Beihai fetched two folding stools from the guards outside and placed them in front of Shen Yufei, who was kneeling upright on the cold concrete floor.
"Penance is the only way for a soul about to fall into hell to approach the Emperor," Shen Yufei said, refusing Zhang Beihai's assistance and the stool, all while clutching the Lectitio Divinitatus.
"..."
Zhang Beihai's eyes flickered. At this moment, he also began to suspect whether this rebel's brain was truly malfunctioning.
"Total lunatic!" a prison guard coughed and whispered to a colleague.
"What is a Psyker? And who is the Emperor? Your superior? Or one of those aliens?" The chubby warden, who looked barely forty but was actually two years away from retirement, was clearly experienced. Even though she was certain the woman was mentally unstable, she asked the questions with a straight face.
"The Emperor is the greatest human," Shen Yufei said, her face filled with awe and adoration. "He will save us all from the hands of aliens and demons."
"..."
The fat woman nodded impassively to the recording officer, whose expression was complex, signaling her to continue recording word for word. Then she asked again, "Then who do you think is the greatest human? Your leader? Ye Wenjie? Evans? The US President? Or some emperor from a feudal dynasty in history?"
"No..."
Upon hearing the fat woman's question, a mysterious smile appeared on Shen Yufei's face. She gently flipped to the first page of the Lectitio Divinitatus in her hand.
She spoke softly. "None of them. The Emperor—He is among us."
As the title page was turned, the very first line of the first page read:
'Rejoice! For I bring tidings! A God walks among us!'
The warden clearly didn't believe her. "If there truly were a 'greatest human' among us," the warden looked at David with a serious expression, though a glint in her eyes proved she was joking, "then who could it be other than our Lord Wallfacer?"
Your desire for better retirement benefits is a bit too obvious, David thought, pretending not to notice the warden's 'I want to get promoted!' look.
He glanced at the Lectitio Divinitatus in Shen Yufei's hand. The golden cover remained sacred, but due to her constant flipping, the pages were wrinkled despite her meticulous care.
The Emperor and Hell—the Warp—were easy enough to explain away as delusions. But "Psyker."
David quickly ran through the general world-building of Warhammer in his mind. Does the Lectitio Divinitatus mention anything about Psykers? Did the Ecclesiarchy include the part about slow-roasting Psykers in the Astronomican's flame? If so, that's incredibly grim! But if not...
"What is a Psyker?" David asked.
The moment Shen Yufei had spoken earlier, he had intentionally suppressed his psionic aura. Consequently, Shen Yufei's eyes flashed with confusion as she looked at him. She clearly couldn't figure out what had just happened. Had she hallucinated?
"A special kind of human possessing a transcendent power called 'Psionics.' You can understand psionics as superpowers," Shen Yufei answered honestly, unable to grasp why the atmosphere had changed.
"Strange," Zhang Beihai whispered, sitting beside David on a stool and watching her expression. "She doesn't look like she's lying."
"I agree," David replied.
"May I ask her a few questions? I feel this matter is very important." After getting David's nod, Zhang Beihai stared at the woman whose eyes were incredibly bright despite her haggard appearance.
"Have you seen a Psyker?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"In another world."
The recorder's hand paused slightly. Zhang Beihai's pupils constricted as something clicked in his mind.
A variant of humanity... Psykers.
In the past, Zhang Beihai would have respected the experts' opinions and agreed to send someone like Shen Yufei to a psychiatric hospital. But now, even aliens had appeared and were preparing to invade Earth. Zhang Beihai had to carefully consider the intelligence Shen Yufei was providing.