The sky had not yet brightened, the streetlights of Jinghai's morning streets were still lit, and Han Ming drove along Riverside Road to the observation plaza at the Bund.
As it was still early morning, a cool river breeze blew gently, and the plaza was sparsely populated. Han Ming quickly spotted Tao Jie not far away, who seed to have been waiting for him for a while.
"Sorry for disturbing you so early."
Seeing Han Ming arrive looking sowhat travel-worn, Tao Jie spoke first.
"Where's your boyfriend?"
Han Ming looked around. "So early in the morning, is he comfortable letting you co here alone?"
"He's in the parking lot. I didn't let him co over."
Tao Jie looked at him calmly and said, "I just want to talk with you."
Han Ming frowned slightly and said with a smile, "You have your boyfriend waiting while you et alone... won't he... have any objections?"
"He'll understand."
"Then he's truly magnanimous."
"I wanted to talk to you about Chen Yufeng's car accident." Tao Jie looked at Han Ming, her expression dimming as she said, "Han Ming..."
"If you're looking for hoping I won't get involved in this case, and then thanking for my good intentions, then I can only say, sorry, I'm already involved." Han Ming stated directly.
Tao Jie frowned slightly. "What do you an?"
Han Ming said with a calm face, "I've already investigated the situations of those eight truck drivers. The results match our speculation—these people have either disappeared or left Jinghai with their whereabouts unknown. So this car accident was a ticulously planned and extrely brazen murder. As your friend, and as a self-proclaid lawyer who upholds social justice, I believe it's necessary to restore justice to the facts and not let criminals escape punishnt."
"Han Ming!"
Tao Jie's expression changed, and she said urgently, "You don't understand, this isn't just a lawsuit or a case. You've seen it yourself—this is no ordinary cri at all. The dangers involved are beyond your imagination!"
"Of course I can see this isn't ordinary cri."
Han Ming replied, "Those who can plan such a murder are definitely not ordinary people, and the resources they can mobilize are certainly not small."
"If you know that, why are you still investigating?!"
Tao Jie looked at Han Ming, moved as she said, "Han Ming, I know you liked once, and I've always considered you a friend. That's exactly why I don't want you dragged into this matter, do you understand!"
"I understand, but so what."
Han Ming said, "If it's not ordinary cri, then don't use ordinary thods. I know darkness exists in this world. Yes, the world may not be perfect—war, plague, disasters, ideological struggles, class corruption never stop—but it's still getting better, civilization is still advancing. Because I believe that no matter how the world changes, there will always be so people resisting, repairing, striving to keep the world moving forward under the light."
"Of course, I don't have such lofty aspirations for myself. But since you consider a friend, then as a friend, shouldn't I face this together with you?"
"Han Ming!"
"Or maybe you could tell about the end of the world. I think that topic might be more aningful to discuss." Han Ming said with a completely serious expression.
Tao Jie looked at Han Ming incredulously. At this mont, seeing Han Ming's persistence, her long-sealed heart loosened slightly again because of him.
After a long while, she sighed and said,
"Alright, if you can still accept what I'm about to tell you next..."
"Did this happen after you went abroad?" Han Ming asked.
He pushed Tao Jie's wheelchair, walking slowly along the riverbank. The empty plaza had only sanitation workers busy at work, the world just awakening.
"Chen Yufeng and I t at a literary society in England. He was one of the founders of that literary society. That literary society was full of science fiction enthusiasts who liked to exchange romantic scientific fantasies. I t so people there—these people didn't just like novels, but also used this channel to invest in so science fiction literature, like film entertainnt or investing in so cutting-edge technology companies, and so on."
"Investing in tech companies through novels?"
"It's really just an extension of creativity. Because many people in this literary society co from wealthy families, they like investing in these kinds of technological concepts." Tao Jie said.
Han Ming nodded. "Concept incubation, that's indeed a type of potential investnt."
"This science fiction literary society has been continuously launching prize essay contests externally while also sponsoring so folk science fiction literature forums, aiming to dig up new IPs for comrcialization. They would release two or three different thed essay contests each year. But later I discovered that among the essay contests they released, there was one the that never changed, continuously investing considerable prize money to solicit submissions."
Tao Jie lowered her gaze slightly and said slowly:
"That the was: If the world were to be destroyed in 300 years, and you possessed the ability of immortality and infinite wealth, how would you save the world?"
"When you ntioned the world's destruction last ti, was this what you ant?" Han Ming said.
Tao Jie glanced sideways. "If I told you this isn't a science fiction essay contest, but a real strategic issue that exists, what would you think?"
"Strategic... issue?"
Han Ming narrowed his eyes. "What do you an?"
Tao Jie took a breath, her gaze turning toward Jinghai's skyline where dawn light was rising.
"Because the world really will be destroyed in 300 years. At the sa ti, there really are people in this world who possess immortality and infinite wealth. And such people have codenas similar to the 'Wallfacer Project' in 'Three-Body'... Wallfacers!"
Han Ming didn't speak. Seeing his silence, Tao Jie unconsciously tightened her fingers on her wind blanket and said,
"Do you think I'm talking nonsense? That because I suffered a major life change, being in a wheelchair for so long has caused delusions, ntal instability, that's why I'm telling you these things?"
"No."
Han Ming said calmly, "I'm very curious about this. I want to hear you finish."
Hearing this, Tao Jie's fingers gripping the wind blanket slowly relaxed. She continued,
"Wallfacers didn't appear only in this era. So say 500 years, so say 1000 years—there's never been exact information about this point. But we generally believe that Wallfacers already existed before the industrial civilization appeared."
"That's a long ti too."
In Han Ming's heart, a storm raged, but his face remained unperturbed. "How did they appear? With such a long ti, don't the governnts and official bodies of various countries know about the existence of the world's end?"
Tao Jie said, "No one knows how Wallfacers appeared, just like no one knows how Wallbreakers appeared."
"There are Wallbreakers too?"
"Where there are Wallfacers, naturally there are Wallbreakers."
Tao Jie said, "It's like a ga of survival for civilization, while also resembling a civilization ga. The outco of this ga determines whether Earth can achieve civilization continuation before the end."
"Them? There's more than one Wallfacer?" Han Ming caught the key information.
"Yes."
Tao Jie looked toward the distant river surface. "In the current world, there exist a total of seven Wallfacers, and simultaneously, seven Wallbreakers!"
"And both Wallfacers and Wallbreakers possess the abilities of immortality and manipulating infinite wealth. No one knows where this ability cos from, nor why they were chosen to beco Wallfacers and Wallbreakers."
Han Ming was greatly shocked in his heart—seven Wallfacers, seven Wallbreakers!
And all possessing the abilities of immortality and infinite wealth...
"Then the purpose of Wallbreakers is to kill Wallfacers?"
Tao Jie shook her head. "Yes, and no."
"What do you an, yes and no?"
"Because Wallfacers and Wallbreakers cannot be killed. Or rather, until the end cos, there will always be fourteen people!"
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