Chapter 12: Decision (Please Bookmark)_1

Regarding the "Miracle Project" of the Trisolarans, Jiang Yu was deeply impressed, recalling how the nanotechnology engineer Wang Miao had encountered a "miracle" that left him bewildered and utterly broken.

During the second phase of the project, the ETO prepared a list of practical physicists to target, and sure enough, Jiang Yu found Wang Miao's name.

Once these people were all dead, or had started to believe in Trisolaran civilization, it would mean that Earth's physical science community had suffered immeasurable losses.

Going back a page, Jiang Yu stared blankly at Yang Dong's name.

In his original memory, he had little impression of Yang Dong, for this was someone whose story had ended before it even began.

However, he had just met Yang Dong that very morning, a living, breathing person, not just two cold characters on this list.

Jiang Yu now really wanted to smoke a cigarette to relieve his tension, but since he had time-traveled, he had also quit smoking incidentally and didn't carry cigarettes with him.

He paced hesitantly in the restroom, initially only wanting to join the ETO to increase the credibility of the intelligence he provided.

The reason for contacting Sophon was to defect openly; Jiang Yu could always use Sophon as a shield, allowing him to easily disengage from the ETO.

Secondly, after earning Sophon's trust, Jiang Yu hoped he could become, in the eyes of the Trisolarans, a "spy within humanity lurking in the ETO," a status that might enable him to gain more information.

Even if he couldn't achieve this ideal state, Jiang Yu also hoped to deceive the Trisolarans with his God's View and extract even more intelligence from them.

Of course, if he could incidentally undermine the ETO or the Trisolarans along the way, so much the better.

All these plans were mental battles, posing almost no danger.

However, Jiang Yu now realized that the ETO had more secrets than he had imagined, and it seemed that his original plan was not enough to deal with the current situation, making it apparent that staying with the ETO was a very dangerous action.

After hesitating for a while, Jiang Yu still couldn't make up his mind to stay firm; he left instead. He took a deep breath and continued to look at the stolen documents.

The fourth document was no longer about plans but about a weapon called "self-destruct," which was an instruction manual for its use.

It was a by-product of Brain Implant Technology that could produce ultrasound waves at special frequencies and pitches, triggering feelings of world-weariness and suicidal tendencies in the brain.

The ultrasonic waves emitted by this weapon exceeded the frequencies audible to the ear; people attacked by this weapon would suddenly become agitated without knowing the source of their agitation.

What's more terrifying was that this weapon had an area of effect; once activated, all humans within a thirty-meter radius would be attacked.

Just being attacked by "self-destruct" for three minutes could cause noticeable mental illness. Over ten minutes could lead to self-harming tendencies and irreversible psychological disorders.

Typically, being attacked for thirty to thirty-five minutes meant that over 95% of the victims would choose to commit suicide immediately, while the remaining 5% would also commit suicide within 24 hours.

At the end of the document, there were some case studies and conclusions by users.

One user summarized that targeting someone for five minutes would plant the seed of suicide. Thereafter, any slight dissatisfaction in the target's life would accumulate suicidal tendencies.

This was the most reliable mode of attack, as the target would commit suicide one to three days after being attacked, providing the user with a perfect alibi.

...

After finishing the document, Jiang Yu almost burst out cursing; the ETO folks talked all the time about humanity's harm to Earth's species, but weren't they themselves the black sheep?

Taking a deep breath, he continued to look at the other documents.

The remaining documents were not very important; some were meeting records, others were records of communications between Kong Xiang and others.

Jiang Yu had attended some of these meetings himself, so they were no secrets to him.

Jiang Yu briefly scanned the contact summary again and found an email from Evans to Kong Xiang: "Keep an eye on every move Jiang Yu makes."

Jiang Yu's heart pounded. Before trying to contact Sophon, he had also considered that it might draw Evans's attention.

At that time, he had planned to use Sophon as a "magic weapon" against Evans. That was also part of his plan, to use Sophon to create chaos within ETO.

If he could create chaos, great; if not, he would flee. Regardless of the outcome, with Sophon's support, Jiang Yu could easily extricate himself.

However, the situation developed far beyond Jiang Yu's expectations. Evans hadn't come looking for trouble, but instead, Jiang was inexplicably assigned to infiltrate Ye Wenjie's vicinity.

Upon reflection, Jiang Yu thought, "From this email, it appears that Evans wants Kong Xiang to take precautions against me on his behalf, but why would Kong Xiang still promote me instead?"

Fortunately, there were annotations from Kong Xiang below the email.

Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Old Evans has really suffered from his 'lack of culture' here. What was he thinking using the word 'keep an eye on'?"

As he laughed, Jiang Yu thought of his own predicament and gradually his laughter faded.

Evans would surely realize his mistake before long, and Jiang Yu knew he would then be met with a more ferocious assault.

Jiang Yu started pacing again, the details of the "Miracle Project" and a weapon named "Self-destruct" kept flashing through his mind.

He thought back to his original intent to deal with ETO and the Trisolarans: to make a humanly possible effort to ensure the continuation of mankind.

Indeed, the situation had developed far beyond his expectations. At the very least, Jiang Yu hadn't anticipated there would be a plan as insidious as the "poisoned apple."

Before stealing the files, Jiang Yu had thought that taking them was already fulfilling his moral obligation. This was to be his first and last adventure.

But now Jiang Yu realized that if he didn't do something, humanity's fate might be even more miserable than in the original story.

Thinking of the "Miracle Project" again, where each name seemed already etched on a tombstone.

He finally made up his mind that he couldn't always think about how to survive at all costs. Sometimes one needed to do what was within their power, to avoid future regrets.

Having come to this realization, Jiang Yu began to ponder his near-term plans, and soon an idea came to him.

First off, he couldn't continue to drift along as before; he needed to strive for some initiative.

Next, he must deepen his contact with Ye Wenjie as soon as possible, as her strength could be used to counter any trouble Evans might cause.

Moreover, he had to make good use of his mentor-student relationship with Kong Xiang. Jiang Yu believed that as long as Evans did not act directly, under Kong Xiang's supervision, there would still be plenty of room to maneuver.

He estimated that under Sophon's surveillance, Evans couldn't go too far. If handled properly, there shouldn't be too much danger.

However, just in case, he still needed to keep in regular touch with Da Shi. If anything seemed amiss, he would take to his heels and run.

Caught up in a surge of thoughts, Jiang Yu called Shi Qiang: "Da Shi, get me an email address; I've got some documents to send you."

"Congrats little brother, looks like you've succeeded," Shi Qiang laughed. "I'll text you the email address."

He paused, then added, "Try to do less of these risky things in the future. We can find someone else to handle them."

"Got it, I'm aware," Jiang Yu whispered: "Da Shi, these files aren't something a mere police officer can handle anymore."

Shi Qiang got the message immediately: "I understand. I'll pass the files on to someone who can deal with them. Oh, by the way, my superior, Chang Weisi, would like to have a word with you."