Only a few days after Zhang Beihai had kowtowed and thanked his ancestors, he was quarantined in his office.
To Zhang Beihai's shock and fury, he seemed to have already fallen into Wade's trap. Wade and his associates had in fact made their moves long ago. Just yesterday, he was still planning how to seize control of personnel and finances, and rein in a few middle managers; judging by today's situation, he had been calculated from the very start. Wade and the others had likely planned all along to cast him aside. The earlier presentation plans and the like might have merely been meant to placate him, or perhaps they simply weren't willing to share much of the pie with him, wanting only his compliance with their operations.
Zhang Beihai looked out the window. A sea of white quarantine troops and auxiliary machines of the "Xingtian" model were already patrolling the streets. Though it was nominally a quarantine, Zhang Beihai felt as if he were practically becoming a prisoner. Whether Wade's faction or Zhu Ban's, either could easily find any excuse to make him the scapegoat.
Wan Yining hadn't had time to go home and was quarantined in the office with Zhang Beihai, but she actually felt quite happy about it. Sensing Zhang Beihai's dejection and disappointment, she said, "It's fine, Boss. Sometimes it's a false alarm; maybe the epidemic prevention department just made a testing error. Even if it's real, it doesn't matter. At worst, we'll be quarantined for seven or eight days. Even without this, an epidemic drill could easily keep us quarantined for seven or eight days anyway. Just think of it as a vacation for us."
Zhang Beihai gazed at Wan Yining's gentle, pretty face in her uniform, seeming to search for something in her eyes, and said in a cool tone, "I'm afraid it won't be that simple this time."
Wan Yining chuckled and said, "No way! What could be not simple about it? Did you forget? I'm a medical student, so I understand this much better than you. During the decades you were asleep, epidemic prevention was our primary coursework. Ever since COVID-19 in 2019, we've weathered several even more formidable viruses up to now. There are already mature protocols for everything from epidemic control to vaccines. Most of the time, it's just minor squalls."
Zhang Beihai fell silent for a moment, then said, "What you say isn't wrong, but isn't this time different from before? This time, there's Xingtian..."
"Xingtian?" Wan Yining interrupted him. "Then you're worrying too much again. There's plenty of police gear like that—even our hospital security probably has a few. The technology the whole system uses is called 'conditioned reflex,' which means it only reacts to one specific pattern. Those robots are like dumb dogs; what difference does it make whether there's one more or one less?"
Zhang Beihai smiled wryly upon hearing this. "You're right, but they were manufactured by the United Systems Corporation that Wade recommended. Maybe I don't understand the technical details you mentioned about conditioned reflexes and whatnot, but I understand Wade as a person."
Wan Yining paused, startled, and asked, "What about Wade?"
Zhang Beihai said, "Just as I don't understand the current era, you probably only have a superficial grasp of ours. Earlier, you mentioned how much you liked a line Wade said in the game 'Wade': 'Advance at all costs!' That's right, he is indeed that kind of man. I've met people who act at great cost, but someone like Wade, who advances at any cost, is exceedingly rare. You're still young and haven't seen someone like him. If he sets his sights on a goal and strikes, it must be meticulously planned, with every step calculated. As Sun Tzu said, he who calculates more wins. What you see now is merely the quarantine step; he might already be carrying out several subsequent plans. For instance, Chairman Zhu Ban hasn't held a cabinet meeting for two weeks due to the flu, and most of the secretaries around him, except for Li Geyu, have fallen ill with it. Maybe you aren't sensitive to this and think it's normal for anyone to catch the flu or a virus, but my common sense tells me this isn't right. Look through the entire history of human civilization—in which era did a plague ever start with the emperor?"
Wan Yining looked somewhat bewildered upon hearing this. "Do you mean... Wade might have created a virus? Just to produce these Xingtian robots? Or... but why would Wade do that? He's so popular right now; even my father thinks he stands a good chance of winning if he runs for Chairman of the Coalition Government in the next election. What else does he want? Just to earn some petty kickbacks from United Systems Corporation? He doesn't look like that kind of person to me. His stipend and salary ought to be very high."
Zhang Beihai gave a cold sneer and said, "Then perhaps he doesn't just want to replace Chairman Zhu Ban." Saying this, Zhang Beihai walked to the window, gazing at the endless stream of Xingtian robots, and said, "Your father is a man of foresight and wisdom; his judgment is certainly correct. Wade indeed has a bright future. Ah, you're still young, so there are things you might not easily understand right away. Yining, you're twenty this year, right? I still remember reading a poem when I was twenty. Don't mind if it's a bit long; I'll recite it to you. Wade is probably very familiar with it as well."
With that, Zhang Beihai began to recite the poem:
General, your tank is a powerful vehicle. General, dein Tank ist ein starker Wagen,
It smashes down a forest and crushes a hundred men. Er bricht einen Wald nieder und zermahlt hundert Menschen,
But it has one defect: Aber er hat einen Fehler:
It needs a driver. Er braucht einen Fahrer.
General, your bomber is powerful. General, dein Bombenflugzeug ist stark,
It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant. Es fliegt schneller als ein Sturm und trägt mehr als ein Elefant,
But it has one defect: Aber er hat einen Fehler:
It needs a mechanic. Er braucht einen Monteur.
General, man is very useful. General, der Mensch ist sehr brauchbar,
He can fly and he can kill. Er kann fliegen und er kann töten,
But he has one defect: Aber er hat einen Fehler:
He can think. Er kann denken.
The moment Zhang Beihai finished reciting the poem, the image in his mind was of Wade swirling a wine glass and saying, "Next is my toast. General, our robots no longer need a driver, and even better, they cannot think!"
Wan Yining's expression froze slightly, and she asked, "Then what does Wade want to do? Use military force? Isn't that too audacious? We have to tell Chairman Zhu Ban right away... My father has the epidemic prevention troops; he can stop him too—"
Zhang Beihai looked at her and said, "Chairman Zhu Ban... Yining, haven't you heard that Chairman Zhu Ban has been resting for two weeks after contracting the influenza virus? For an order concerning such a critical global pandemic to be announced by the epidemic prevention forces makes me wonder if he's even still around. As for your father, well, I suspect the only reason I can still stay quietly in this place instead of being arrested and quarantined by the epidemic prevention troops is simply because you are here too."
Tears welled in Wan Yining's eyes after hearing this, and she pressed on, "Are you starting to suspect me now too? Because it's obvious that my father, Jiao Huanqi, and Wade are on the same side."
Zhang Beihai was taken aback; he hadn't expected Wan Yining to ask so bluntly.
He gave a bitter smile and said, "What good would suspecting you do? Both of us are like fish on a chopping block right now. We have no agency whatsoever. Whether it's Wade's camp or Zhu Ban's, both will see us as hostile forces. Wade and his people might even pin the blame for originating the virus on us. We're both cornered now."
Her eyes still red, Wan Yining kept staring at Zhang Beihai. "You have to answer my question. When did you start suspecting me? Why did you want me as your secretary?"
Zhang Beihai: "That was Wade's arrangement, wasn't it? I didn't do anything; he just said he wanted you to come work here."
Wan Yining asked again, "So from the beginning, you knew I was Jiao Huanqi's daughter, a spy sent by Wade! That's why you turned their trick against them and kept me by your side to use as a hostage against my father, right?"
Zhang Beihai's face shifted slightly, and with a near growl in his voice, he said, "No!"
He added, "At this point, is there any need for me to lie to you? Even if I took you as a hostage, what could I do? I'm powerless, and outside are actually your father's men protecting you and surveilling me."
Zhang Beihai sighed again and said, "In fact, back then I agreed to let you come over for an entirely different reason—one having to do only with myself. Of course I had heard that you were Jiao Huanqi's daughter, and I knew Jiao Huanqi was the leader of the conservatives. But if I could have foreseen today's situation, I would have handled things differently long ago, rather than ending up in this compromised state under someone else's control. You talk about turning their trick against them, but if I had known what their trick was, I would have beaten a retreat long ago. Wade and I are merely from the same era; we are not of the same kind."
Wan Yining continued to stare into Zhang Beihai's eyes.
Zhang Beihai said, "What? Do you really want me to go on?" He offered a bitter smile and continued, "When you've told too many lies, you actually feel nervous and embarrassed when the time comes to speak the truth. Yet with you, I can only tell the truth. But how could I bring myself to say it? I wouldn't dare lie to you of all people. I simply wanted to keep you by my side. I know I'm a terrible person, riddled with the flaws of Common Era people. In any case, having you next to me brings me happiness—that might be the only thing that makes me happy anymore."
Having said that, Zhang Beihai lowered his head to avoid Wan Yining's gaze, then continued, "Leave in a little while and contact the epidemic prevention troops outside. Don't worry, your father still loves you. From what I know, he won't hurt you..."
"Enough," Wan Yining cut him off angrily. "You don't need to worry about my relationship with him! Nor do I need his protection!"
Wan Yining added, "Don't forget, I am still the First Secretary of the Logistics and Public Relations Department appointed by the Coalition Government. Unless I resign of my own accord, you don't have the authority to kick me out."
With that, she quickly brushed away the tears at the corners of her eyes and said, "Protecting your personal safety, Zhang Beihai, is also one of my duties. Starting now, I'm going to stay downstairs, and you will stay inside this safe house. I will manage the security door's passkey, and I will handle all communications first. As the highest-ranking medical personnel in this department, according to the 'Coalition Government Epidemic Prevention Guidelines,' I should now be in charge of the department's management under a global pandemic state of emergency." Wan Yining gritted her teeth and said, "As long as I am here, you can work in peace in this room. If anyone wants to take you away to quarantine, or if anyone wants to transmit the virus to you, they'll have to step over my dead body first."
Zhang Beihai looked at the girl's face. The surging tide within threatened to engulf him, yet the walls inside his heart seemed to gently push the waves away.
Wan Yining carefully shut the security door behind her as she left. Through the window, Zhang Beihai watched the rain falling harder and harder, its pattering roar seemingly swallowing the clamor of the mortal world. The people in white hazmat suits had all gone indoors to take shelter from the rain, while the white patrolling "Xingtian" drones hovered about in the downpour. Following a crash of thunder, the large screen behind him happened to begin broadcasting the Coalition Government's announcement:
Attention all players and friends, this is the Coalition Government Press Briefing Hall. We have just received the latest bulletin from the epidemic prevention department: an unknown novel coronavirus has been detected across multiple regions worldwide. According to clinical analysis, this virus is extremely contagious and can cause respiratory failure. Tests conducted by the epidemic prevention department have confirmed that the virus exhibits an exceptionally high degree of mutation, and no antibodies have been found anywhere in the world. The Coalition Government has decided to activate a Level-1 Epidemic Prevention Bulletin. The virus is currently under analysis, and a vaccine is expected to be prepared within 96 hours. The Umbrella Corporation is assisting with this epidemic prevention effort. Please protect yourselves according to the details in Chapter 1926 of the 'Epidemic Prevention Guidelines.' If you have any questions, please consult Umbrella Corporation's customer service. Concurrently, in accordance with the 'Epidemic Prevention Guidelines,' the following policy prohibitions are temporarily implemented:
- 1. A one-week home quarantine will be implemented in all areas. No one may leave without government approval, and violators will be severely punished according to law.
- 2. All commercial activities will be temporarily suspended. Basic living supplies will be distributed uniformly by the government, and illegal hoarding or price gouging will be severely penalized according to law.
- 3. Global flights will be entirely grounded, and all airports and border crossings will be closed.
- 4. All hospitals will admit only patients with fever and breathing difficulties; other outpatient services are temporarily suspended.
The epidemic prevention troops shoulder the grave responsibility of controlling the spread of the virus and maintaining public order. They will assist the government in enforcing home quarantine measures, ensuring the equitable distribution of supplies, and promptly halting any behavior that might trigger panic and chaos. We appeal to all players and friends to actively cooperate with the work of the epidemic prevention troops and make a concerted effort to weather this difficult period together.
Furthermore, to alleviate public panic, we will provide real-time updates on the epidemic's development and government response measures across major media platforms. We also urge all players and friends to remain calm, trust in science, trust in our professionals, and believe that we can overcome this global health crisis together.
Please strictly abide by epidemic prevention regulations, support the epidemic prevention troops, and work together to safeguard the tranquility and harmony of our beautiful home. As always, we will stand with the people to fight the epidemic and defend our home. Respectfully, Coalition Government Press Briefing Hall."