"How did you discover the existence of Psykers?"
Zhang Beihai asked. The soldier asked this with his extraordinarily keen talent for perceiving crises.
"Did the Trisolarans tell you directly... or..."
"No, it was some far greater entities," Shen Yufei shook her head. "Do you believe in Heaven and Hell?" she asked her interrogator.
"As an atheist, I do not believe in Heaven or Hell in the religious sense," Zhang Beihai replied. For some reason, the strange expression on Shen Yufei's face made him increasingly uneasy.
"Then I'm afraid I must disappoint you," Shen Yufei said apologetically. "This universe might not have a beautiful Heaven, but it certainly contains an incredibly terrifying Hell."
"Let's get straight to the point." Zhang Beihai put down his pen. "When did you realize Psykers existed?"
"It's... hard to say. In that world, the flow of time seems different from ours."
Zhang Beihai noticed that as she spoke, she subconsciously gripped the book in her hand—the Lectitio Divinitatus or whatever it was called. Moreover, Zhang Beihai once again caught the key phrase: that world.
"What exactly is 'that world'?" Zhang Beihai asked.
"A world largely similar to our Earth's civilization. I'm not sure if it exists in our universe... in that world, I was serving in the North China War. During the battle for Position 1437, I destroyed two M1A2 tanks with anti-tank rockets..."
"Stop! Get to the point!" The warden tapped on the table.
Zhang Beihai snapped back to his senses. Without realizing it, he had been deeply drawn into Shen Yufei's narrative of events occurring on another Earth: the 'North China War,' 'Northern Ice Plains,' 'Cities after nuclear explosions,' 'Highways filled with tank wreckage,' 'Helicopters falling like scorched phoenixes.' To counter fierce invaders who possessed technology from unknown sources, the commanders had resolutely employed full-spectrum jamming.
The moment Zhang Beihai realized what he had just done, he became convinced of that world's existence. This wasn't merely out of emotion; it came from his intuition as an elite naval officer. This intuition had saved his and his soldiers' lives several times during dangerous voyages. He held an instinctive trust in this irrational gut feeling. After hearing Shen Yufei's detailed description, Zhang Beihai reached a conclusion.
Shen Yufei is not lying.
On the other side, the warden continued the interrogation following Zhang Beihai's train of thought. "Let's assume that world really exists... then how did you discover Psykers?"
"It's simple. That world is similar to ours, also facing 'Hell' and alien invasions. However, unlike us, the aliens invading them accept surrenders from the major human nations on the planet," Shen Yufei answered. She hesitated briefly.
"I once observed their starry sky. During the day, they are in a quite delicate binary star system. For six months of the year, an extra dark-red sun formed by the light of a red dwarf appears in the sky. The night sky is similar to ours... Looking from the night sky of that planet, the positions of various galaxies have only slight deviations from ours. I highly suspect that if this planet truly exists in the universe, its distance from us likely does not exceed a hundred light-years."
A hundred light-years. By current human technology, this was an unimaginably vast distance. But on the scale of the entire universe, or even the Milky Way, a hundred light-years was practically negligible. The vast Milky Way, spanning a hundred thousand light-years, could swallow any civilization that had not mastered light-speed travel. Even with light-speed technology, crossing the galaxy in a hundred thousand years remained a treacherous endeavor.
"The anomaly first occurred on that red dwarf. Initially, some cultists on Earth who worshipped the red dwarf—the Sect of the Second Sun—heard certain 'whispers.' Over time, these whispers grew stronger and clearer. Until one day, people discovered they possessed extraordinary powers."
"So, the humans of that Earth deployed these superpowered individuals into the war?" Zhang Beihai asked, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
"Yes. After realizing the invaders did not feel the calling of the 'masters,' Psykers worldwide spontaneously joined our side. Under the cover of full-spectrum jamming, they used their abilities to conduct surprise raids, destroying a large amount of the enemy's high-tech equipment."
Shen Yufei recalled those battles. As the most important trump card of the Earth Resistance, the Psykers used their power alongside infantry weapons to ambush numerous enemy vehicles, tanks, and fighter jets at airfields.
"Alright, I understand. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Shen." Zhang Beihai turned to David. "I have no more questions."
"I will issue a pardon for you." David stood up. He reached out his hand, signaling Shen Yufei to return the Lectitio Divinitatus.
Looking at David's outstretched hand, Shen Yufei hesitated. But remembering that this was originally something David had left for her, she reluctantly returned the book that had taken her on a series of wondrous adventures and drastically altered her views on 'nations' and 'humanity.'
"Can a serious criminal like me really be pardoned? The power of a Wallfacer is truly immense," Shen Yufei said with a hint of surprise in her voice as she watched David flip through the book.
"There are conditions, of course," David said.
The Shen Yufei before him, having been baptized by the fires of another world, had completely transformed from a Trisolaran Redemptionist into a human supremacist. Under the influence of the Lectitio Divinitatus, her soul's perception of the Warp had reached a highly sensitive level.
"I need you to join the Mars Fleet. As part of the first group of explorers, you will embark on the route to Mars with me in three years."
David roughly recalled the Warhammer lore regarding Warp navigation. Besides the Geller Field used later to ward off daemons, an Astropath who could perceive Warp storms and navigation routes was equally indispensable.
"I agree."
To regain her freedom, Shen Yufei answered eagerly. Then, she saw a phantom of an angel—visible only to her—fly past. Immediately following that, the angel released a blinding golden light that swallowed her vision. Shen Yufei's world turned black.