Lu Youqi was a little lost in thought. It had been ten years, and this rain seemed as if it had never stopped.
In the skies above Sydney, an even greater storm was brewing.
Lu Youqi walked to the window. At forty, his leg ached slightly whenever it rained heavily—the passage of time invariably taking its toll on the body. The ambitions of his lifetime seemed never to have had the chance to unfold, yet this current opportunity and stage were something he was reluctant to face. This was not a chance to build, but a crisis to defuse.
Lu Youqi looked around his familiar room—the familiar switches, circuit boards, work software, and various hardware and software prototypes. He found it bitterly amusing; the toys he had tinkered with during his spare time over half a lifetime, the intrusion detection systems he had thought would serve him in a crisis, were not nearly as effective as that old blind man cutting wires and crawling through ventilation shafts.
There was so much to do right now, and perhaps so much to prepare, but at this moment, all he wanted was to find an old friend to confide in. Lu Youqi also knew she wouldn't turn him away.
Truth be told, Lu Youqi hadn't visited Li Geyu many times, yet she always seemed to be a wonderful confidante. Li Geyu's charisma and approachability had won over countless people, which was also one of the reasons for the Zhu Ban administration's electoral success.
Even though it was already late at night, Lu Youqi still dialed Li Geyu's number. From the other end of the line came her familiar warm, hearty laughter: "Come on over. As it happens, I've had a few things I wanted to see you about these past few days anyway. If you come to me, it saves me a trip."
Lu Youqi thanked her, hung up, checked the security equipment at home, and drove to Li Geyu's residence.
Li Geyu was an avid collector, particularly of electronics. Her collection ranged from *Summer of Love* to the *print* engine, almost like an entire history of the gaming industry's development. The first time Lu Youqi had visited Li Geyu's home, he was astounded by what she had gathered there—not just by its abundance and taste, but by the overflowing sense of joy it radiated. It reflected the elegance, seriousness, and meticulous care of a woman decorating her own home.
When he knocked and walked in, Li Geyu still appeared to be wearing the clothes and makeup of her daytime role as a government secretary. Smiling, she motioned for Lu Youqi to sit beside a large workbench.
Without mincing words, Lu Youqi asked right away, "How has Wan Yining been lately? Is she in any danger?"
Li Geyu smiled and said, "Asking about her right off the bat? She's doing just fine!"
Lu Youqi asked again, "Who on earth arranged for her to be by Zhang Beihai's side?"
Li Geyu swirled her teacup, set it down, and asked, "What kind of person do you think Wan Yining is?"
Seeing Lu Youqi's confusion, she said, "You understand a part of human nature, but never the whole..."
Lu Youqi asked, "So? Why did she want to be with me back then? I still haven't figured it out. I once heard a saying: no matter how foolish a girl might seem, she is always shrewd when facing a boy. Just like however slow a rabbit runs, it is fast in front of a wolf—because if the rabbit runs too slow just once, it gets eaten, whereas the wolf only misses a single meal. The stakes of the game are completely different. If a girl falls for a boy, she pays a price, a price that might alter her entire life. Biologically speaking, that dictates girls can never afford to be reckless. So, could you enlighten me?"
Li Geyu said, "So? So why do you think Wan Yining liked you? Because you're good-looking? Because you're a university professor? Because you've published a lot of papers? You underestimate women far too much!"
With that, Li Geyu sighed. "Wan Yining is actually someone who pursues romance to the extreme. In my view, the reason she fell for you was your trait of caring about everyone in the world. Perhaps she read it in your papers, or saw it in some news report; either way, that savior-like demeanor of yours moved her. It's the same reason she's drawn to Wade or Zhang Beihai. In the *New Xia* game series, those two are dangerous figures, but they are also heroic figures. They don't cooperate with this world; they serve only their own ideals and goals. While accomplishing something monumental, they also harbor delicate ripples of emotion. When girls like Wan Yining observe all this from the sidelines, ripples stir within their hearts too. Sometimes, we humans find it difficult to pinpoint exactly where love for another person comes from, but I know with certainty that this was why she loved you. On the one hand, she was touched by your influence, your imagination, and your grand rhetoric. Sadly, while you men might not take the things you say seriously—viewing them as creations you can retract at any time—to her, they were declarations of romance. In short, she took your words to heart. And it was precisely the high-flown, gravity-defying concepts you proposed—like Future Archaeology and the Theory of Historical Resurgence—that fed her romantic illusions."
Li Geyu looked at Lu Youqi with a faint, knowing smile and continued:
"You claim to understand people, to study micro-human nature and macro-human nature, yet you don't even know why a woman who liked you felt that way. Did she want to get something out of you? I dare say Wan Yining is willing to give far more than you ever were. She is the kind of person who makes sacrifices for a phantom, whereas you are not. You're sitting here clicking your abacus beads, insisting on calculating exactly what she wants, so let me tell you: this is what she wants—an indestructible romantic dream. Ever since humanity first dreamed, there have always been two kinds of people. It's not a divide between men and women, but between those who believe in dreams and those who don't: the emotional, foolishly, impractically brave people in your eyes, and rational, cold, mature people like you."
Hearing this, Lu Youqi felt a flush of embarrassment. His neck reddening, he asked, "Then what about you? Which kind are you?"
Li Geyu said, "Me? I'm just a simpleton. It's precisely because I'm clumsy that I work as a secretary for everyone—I could never outcalculate people like you anyway. Actually, I'm very timid. Maybe I'm still just a kid, not a grown-up."
Lu Youqi was taken aback by Li Geyu's self-assessment. Sitting in the air-conditioned room, he felt a light sweat break out on his back. Looking toward the window, he paused for a few seconds before adding, "I know I'm a pretty terrible person."
Then Lu Youqi looked back at Li Geyu. "Does Wan Yining like Zhang Beihai now?"
Li Geyu pursed her lips. "That, I don't know. Did you come all the way here tonight just to ask that?"
Lu Youqi said, "You seem a bit irritable today. I'm just worried that Zhang Beihai will exert an unpredictable influence on the current situation. Besides, my concern for Wan Yining is also because I don't want her getting dragged into it—you know her father is essentially the leader of the conservative faction in recent years... You seem not to worry about any of this at all?"
Li Geyu replied, "What do any of these things have to do with me? You talk as if you know me so well. What makes you so sure I would worry about these things?"
Lu Youqi was momentarily at a loss for words. Smiling awkwardly, he said, "Perhaps I should ask it this way: what are Chairman Zhu Ban's thoughts on the present situation? I don't quite understand why he appointed Wade and Zhang Beihai."
Li Geyu sighed. "To tell the truth, even I can't quite read the current situation anymore. The trails of secrets surrounding many people have gone cold. Take Mantis, for example: whenever I can see him, he's completely blind, no doubt about it; yet when I can't see him, he manages feats no blind man could pull off. I know you're dead set against Chairman Zhu Ban appointing those two, but honestly, there's no grand reason behind it. Those in power don't have that many choices. Decisions that look inexplicable on the surface are all born of necessity. If Chairman Zhu Ban hadn't appointed them, how much longer could he have held onto the chairmanship? His successor would have done the exact same thing anyway. That power wasn't given to them by Chairman Zhu Ban; the two of them are merely figureheads."
Lu Youqi nodded and said, "I understand. I was only asking about stances, not voicing an opinion on the decision. If there's ever a need for me in the future, please feel free to reach out anytime."
Li Geyu said, "Chairman Zhu Ban might not necessarily need you, but I think someone else might. I hope you can seize the opportunity—Jiao Huanqi thinks rather highly of you."
Lu Youqi looked up, met Li Geyu's eyes, and nodded. Then he asked, "Chairman Zhu Ban's current term must be tough, isn't it? Jiao Huanqi and his camp are gaining fierce momentum."
Li Geyu sighed. "You're about the only one who still spares a thought for him. You know he grew up in the generation when the DD Party successfully abolished global passports, and his father was such an extraordinary genius who burst onto the scene out of nowhere. But now the DD Party has shrunk into a third- or fourth-tier minor party, and he has so many ambitions he hasn't had the time to realize. Now he has become completely trapped in mediating relations between different departments. It's so hard for us to get anything done. Jiao Huanqi criticizes his leadership and his political shifts, but the truth is the Coalition Government is simply becoming harder and harder to keep stable. Each ministry acts like an independent warlord, and every committee has its own fiefdom. More than two hundred Central Committee members, each shouting louder than the last. Add to that the fact that the second generation of the Great Migration is now the mainstream—the Gaming Industry Committee, for instance, has money, territory, and its own technical support troops, making it nearly impossible to keep in check. On top of that, the different sects within the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are arguing more and more bitterly. The conservative faction and the progressive faction are locked in a standoff, each developing games to recruit followers. Every day we feel like we're being roasted over an open fire; pushing policies through is brutally hard. You criticized us before for failing to deliver on political promises, but there are reasons for that."
Lu Youqi nodded. "So appointing Wade and Zhang Beihai to the Logistics and Public Relations Committee was also meant to counterbalance Jiao Huanqi's faction?"
Li Geyu said, "It's nothing more than using one wolf to swallow another. The files indicate that although both are people from the Common Era, their values differ completely from Jiao Huanqi's. One is likely a radical activist, and the other an opportunist from an intelligence agency. Since Jiao Huanqi and his people have been praising them to high heaven, why not bring them out for them to use?"
Lu Youqi sneered. "I'm afraid Zhu Ban's wishful thinking will backfire. Those two are dangerous men. If they turn against each other, you're the ones who'll suffer."
Li Geyu said, "We can only say there was no alternative. The Touma Party behind Jiao Huanqi is exceedingly difficult to deal with. If things continue along this trajectory, pushing our policies through will remain next to impossible. It might stir up a bit of chaos, but Chairman Zhu Ban hopes that amid the turmoil, the people will strengthen their own community building, that certain policies will gain grassroots approval, and that a bottom-up revolution can take place."
Lu Youqi nodded. "More than twenty years have passed since the *Setting Sun* incident, and some techno-utopians are already beginning to stir again. Humanity always needs to smash its head against a wall and bleed before it thinks about correcting its ways. Ethical reviews of AI research and development have become an afterthought that everyone treats casually. This current stage is probably the most perilous one. Personally, I still hope the government's governance remains stable."
Li Geyu said, "What you're saying is entirely right. But as luck would have it, he's fallen ill these past few days—caught the flu that's going around. Once he gets a bit better in a few days, we'll make some adjustments and infiltrate the Logistics and PR Department by sending my secretary over."
"The flu lately seems quite severe. Just a few days ago, I heard Zhu Ban's bodyguard, Xiao Zhao, coughing, and only three or four days later, Chairman Zhu has fallen ill too. Take care of yourself—the Coalition Government relies entirely on you now."
Li Geyu smiled and said, "All right, I'll take your advice. Don't worry, I won't get sick."
Lu Youqi took his leave and headed home. On the way, a figure flashed past—it seemed... to be the silhouette of Mantis.