Chapter 2: Unfolding_1

Jiang Yu marveled in his mind, "This 'product' is freaking amazing!"

Golden Finger was indeed golden, actually allowing for three minutes of "Sophon's perspective"!

With this store, even if he couldn't mobilize the resources of the whole world, Jiang Yu still had a trump card to play!

Looking at the lottery draw, there was an electronic lottery box with a price tag next to it: one draw for 100, also marked with the words "price increase after half a year."

Jiang Yu couldn't help but wonder, what was needed to purchase products or enter the lottery? Money?

With his doubts, he went to check the income section and found some records when he opened it:

Deception Points from 17163 +1.

Deception Points from 17177 +1.

Deception Points from Governor Number Three +1.

Deception Points from the Supreme Leader +1.

...

Jiang Yu realized that the prices in the store were in "Deception Points"!

Just now, he had deceived a group of Trisolarans through Sophon, thus earning a dozen "Deception Points" from them.

But at this rate of adding one by one, when would he ever amass a thousand points?

The Golden Finger was powerful, but he couldn't afford it!

However, Jiang Yu then realized that what he was currently doing was full of deception, wasn't it?

There was no need to think of ways to create income; just let it happen naturally. He had to do things with great risks now and couldn't afford to make some inconsequential moves.

Having figured out this part, Jiang Yu composed himself, ready to find Shi Qiang in broad daylight under Sophon's surveillance and establish a network of informers first.

...

Meanwhile, on the giant ship "Judgment Day" in the Atlantic Ocean.

A line of text suddenly appeared in front of Evans: Pay more attention to Jiang Yu from China. Sophon has too many people to monitor, and can't keep watch over him all the time.

Evans was startled, "As you command, my Lord. But may I ask, why do we need to monitor this young man from the East?"

He vaguely remembered that at the recently concluded global leaders' meeting of the Adventists, Kong Xiang, one of the main persons in charge from China, recommended Jiang Yu to solve the mess the organization had left in Jiangdong Province.

Kong Xiang had said that Jiang Yu was steadfast in his will, absolutely loyal to our Lord, and could be sent to Jiangdong Province for some experience, to be cultivated as a future leader.

But because Jiang Yu was too young, Evans had rejected this suggestion.

Sophon: This young man is undertaking a bold plan, but we are not sure about the success rate of the plan. We can only observe him for some time before making an assessment.

"I understand," Evans said, his eyes filled with a shadow of foreboding. He hadn't expected Kong Xiang, his student, to have bypassed him and communicated directly with the Lord, which annoyed him.

Evans said, "My Lord, as I've said before, you are too easily deceived. For the sake of maintaining your mystique, and to prevent you from being deceived, please stop communicating with others."

He paused before asking, "What is Jiang Yu's plan?"

Sophon: He plans to infiltrate humanity as a traitor and then...

"Terminate this plan!" Evans's expression almost twisted, "My Lord, this Jiang Yu is dangerous! His plan is dangerous too! We don't need his superfluous actions at the critical moment of the 'Poison Apple Project'!"

Sophon: Jiang Yu's proposed plan would allow us to better study human deceptive behavior, and we think it's a good experimental opportunity.

Evans said, "Lord! This young man definitely harbors malicious intents, you can't trust him!"

Sophon: There's no need for such a fierce reaction; in the words of The East, this is an idle, casual move amidst a busy schedule, which might yield great results in the research on humanity. Of course, to avoid spiraling out of control, you must pay enough attention to him.

"My lord, the 'Poison Apple Project' has already started; you don't need to study humanity any further," Evans persisted.

Sophon: No, humanity's deception might be helpful to us.

"Very well, my lord, I will keep an eye on Jiang Yu," Evans sighed, pondering before sending an email to Kong Xiang: Monitor Jiang Yu's every move.

Evans could never have dreamed that his email would have the opposite effect.

Throughout their communication, Sophon had consistently used the word "pay attention," and Evans followed suit.

Despite having lived in China for many years, Evans had failed to deeply understand Chinese culture, especially the cultural nuances of language.

If Evans had used the word "take note" at this point, Kong Xiang might have somewhat grasped the intent. But "be wary of" would have been the most accurate.

On the other side of Earth, upon receiving the email, Kong Xiang was elated, thinking that his previous recommendation had caused Evans to notice Jiang Yu, hence the attention given.

In Kong Xiang's understanding, this was a prelude to promoting Jiang Yu; he pondered for a moment, deciding to delegate some responsibilities to Jiang Yu.

...

Shi Qiang walked out of the police station's office building, looked up at the sky where the moon had already risen halfway, and sighed deeply, having broken his promise to celebrate his son's birthday today.

Lighting a cigarette, Shi Qiang had just reached the entrance of the police station when he saw a young man with delicate features and a slender build waving at him from the side of the road.

Shi Qiang rolled down the window: "If you need to report something, go to the lobby on the first floor. I'm off duty!"

The person waiting outside was naturally Jiang Yu, who hadn't expected Shi Qiang to finish work so late and had waited outside the police station for a good part of the night.

The guard at the gate had grown more and more suspicious of Jiang Yu and figured that if he didn't leave by the middle of the night, he would probably have to notify the on-duty officers to come and arrest him.

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "Officer Shi, could you give me a ride?"

Shi Qiang took a drag of his cigarette and sized up Jiang Yu: "You're a student, aren't you?"

"Well spotted, Officer Shi."

"The suspect we caught this afternoon, is he your brother?" Shi Qiang smiled. "You can stop worrying, intentional assault, that's at least three to five years in prison."

Jiang Yu was momentarily taken aback, but then realized Shi Qiang suspected he was trying to seek favors.

After waiting half the night and finally catching Shi Qiang before he could leave, Jiang Yu hurriedly opened the car door and got in: "Officer Shi, you've guessed wrong this time, I have something more important to discuss with you.

"Drive, please. It's hard to catch a taxi here, at the very least you should drop me off at school."

Shi Qiang silently looked at Jiang Yu, took another deep drag from his cigarette, tossed the butt out of the window, and drove away from the police station: "Which school?"

"Yanjing University."

"It's not on my way."

"No, it will be on your way," Jiang Yu said with a smile. "Officer Shi, have you seen any of the recent movies released?"

"No time."

"Make some time to watch them. I believe the content will interest you," said Jiang Yu. "Also, what do you think about the recent activities initiated by the environmental organizations?"

"The explosion at the Liangxiang Accelerator Construction Site and the poisoning case against scientists in Jiangdong Province, have you looked into these incidents, Officer Shi?"

Shi Qiang lit another cigarette: "Are these two cases the work of the same gang?"

"Yes," Jiang Yu stated seriously. "Someone wants to tarnish the name of science!"