scélérat

Chapitre 30

Lin Wen's smile held a hint of mystery as he pointed upwards with his hand.

Although I knew what he was up to, I had no choice but to play along.

"Is it on the roof?"

"No, in the sky."

"The sky?"

"To be precise, the images projected below are transmitted in real time from the surface of the moon."

"What?" Kou Yun and I pretended to be incredulous, but Xiahou Ying was genuinely startled.

"That's impossible. Based on my understanding of this ability, no matter how many people with such abilities you find, you still can't bring something down from the moon." Xiahou Ying said, then turned to me and asked, "Mr. Dai, don't you agree?"

"Dr. Lin, you're not joking, are you? With my abilities, even the smallest thing couldn't be retrieved from a distance of more than a kilometer. And the distance from the moon to the earth..."

“The average distance is 380,000 kilometers,” Lin Wen interjected. “However, nothing is impossible. Please forgive me for saying this, but you don’t really understand why this ability works. In fact, I have the same ability as you, and I have successfully extracted three pieces of this ore from the surface of the moon by myself. It’s just that the open-pit mine we found has mostly huge pieces of ore, and I can no longer find any smaller pieces that I can reach. You see, although distance can be overcome, the size of the object being transferred is limited.”

"Oh?" I perked up. It seemed that Lin Wen's research over the years had indeed yielded significant results.

"Please note, the ten-second countdown has begun." A pleasant female voice rang out throughout the venue, interrupting Lin Wen's commentary.

The display board lit up, showing a bright red Arabic numeral "10", which then changed to "9".

Thirteen, Shock (3)

"When the countdown reaches zero, these friends below will work together to try and move this rock from the moon to the center of this container. This is a precious mineral, and the air pressure and temperature inside this container are kept constant, just like on the lunar surface, to ensure the stability of the mineral. By the way, the size of the rock in the picture is the same as its real size, maintaining the same proportions so that you can lock onto it more easily," Lin Wen said.

"3, 2, 1, 0".

The ore on the screen suddenly disappeared.

It was a success?

No, the container is still empty.

Lin Wen had never encountered anything like this before. He opened his mouth wide, and after a moment of stunned silence, he smiled bitterly: "It seems that something went wrong during the transfer. In short, it failed again."

He turned to Xiahou Ying and said, "Miss Xiahou, according to my research, the success of this ability is greatly related to the confidence of the user, and the transfer of an item by multiple people involves mental coordination. I know that your secret technique can subtly influence a person's mental state..."

"Is it just about boosting confidence and collaboration?"

"If possible, we should also improve their observation skills and concentration."

I nodded to myself; these two enhancements would definitely make locking easier.

"It's simple. Go get me that backdrop. I'll draw something around the outermost edge. Give me a brush and some blue ink. Dilute the ink with a little water; a light blue would be better. I'm very busy lately. Once it's done, I'll go back tomorrow morning," Xiahou Ying said.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

By this time, there was a slight commotion on the first floor; the hosts were probably unsure how to handle the situation. Lin Wen hurriedly went downstairs.

The projector was quickly turned off, and the screen was swiftly removed by one person.

"Please wait a moment, we'll make some adjustments and then try one last time today," the female voice said into the microphone.

"Are they all downstairs?" I asked Kou Yun softly when Lin Wen wasn't around.

Xiahou Ying didn't react at all, pretending not to hear. It seems she didn't want to get involved in my affairs, and not exposing me was already doing her duty as a friend.

"They're all here. I saw my brother; he's sitting with Mom and Dad."

"How many people aren't from your village?"

"Not many, I think there were only two."

In other words, even including Lin Wen, Zheng Yu, with his influence, only managed to find three such non-Kou family members, truly rare talents.

At this moment, Lin Wen returned, with a young man beside him holding the rolled-up curtain and a pen already prepared.

He spread the curtain out on the ground, then picked up a brush, dipped it in light blue ink, and quickly drew a series of "scribbles" on the outermost edge of the curtain.

In less than ten minutes, Xiahou Ying had finished. The symbols, some thick, some thin, some independent, some connected by fine threads, formed a large ellipse on the screen. If you stared at them for a while, you would feel that each stroke of the symbols was slightly twisting, as if they were little living monsters.

"Alright. Have someone hang it back up. These symbols can influence a person's mental state through the subconscious; focusing on them for more than five minutes will have an effect."

"Great. It takes at least twenty minutes to get used to a new ore, that should be enough time for it to work its magic." Lin Wen waved for someone to take the curtain away.

"Yes, because of your request, these cues will also greatly enhance the viewer's attention. In twenty minutes, they should be able to memorize every detail of the stone. However, the consequence is that it is easier to get tired. There are no other side effects."

"Thank you very much. I think the boss will be very happy too," Lin Wen said.

I smirked slightly. Xiahou Ying's matter is over already? That's too easy! How much could she earn from such a trip? Judging by the level of importance she placed on it, it's definitely more than a million. Sigh, I thought I'd made a lot of money this time, but it turns out comparisons are odious; Xiahou Ying is a professional money-grubber.

The screen was hung up again on the first floor, and the projector was turned on. The lunar rover, 380,000 kilometers away, had just found another piece of ore to aim at the camera. I've never seen a lunar rover film a distant view before, and I wonder how large this open-pit helium-3 mine actually is. Considering that Black Flag Group's probe discovered this deposit in lunar orbit, it must be quite large.

“Let’s see how it goes this time, Mr. Dai. As you can see, our whole process is simple, just a bit tedious. But since adding these suggestive symbols can be tiring, we’ll shorten our working hours starting tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll find some time to tell you about some of my research results on supershort displacement, which involves some basic theories I’ve summarized. This will be the foundation of your confidence,” Lin Wen said to me.

"You mean, after hearing your theory, I'll be confident I can move things from the moon to here?"

“Yes, there are already successful cases that have proven my theory to be correct. Beliefs need to be based on something. Relying solely on Miss Xiahou's suggestive symbols to build confidence is actually building castles in the air and is not conducive to you truly mastering your own abilities.” At this point, Lin Wen smiled apologetically at Xiahou Ying.

Xiahou Ying smiled slightly and did not refute.

Lin Wen really has the air of a scientist; he's quite persistent in his theories and opinions, and he speaks frankly even in front of guests.

The helium-3 ore now appearing on the screen is even larger than the previous one, about 1.5 meters high and 1 meter wide. The camera focused on the front for about five minutes, then slowly turned to the side, and finally the lunar rover extended its arm to overturn the ore, capturing the bottom of the rock in the frame. Then the lunar rover put the ore back in its original position, and the camera focused on the front again, seemingly repeating the process to reinforce the impression.

Compared to the slow, infrequent movements I witnessed at the Jiuquan base, this time the speed was much faster. Besides Xiahou Ying's cues enhancing efficiency, it was probably also because it was getting late, and Zheng Yu was about to return to host a banquet for his guests, so they didn't want to prolong the event. This was just a trial run of the cues' effects; they hadn't expected to succeed on the first try, and there was still plenty of time tomorrow.

I was watching the images on the screen, just like I usually watch TV, not really paying attention. Plus, the images were so dull, I was even less focused. But as I watched the images, the pale blue symbols around the screen inevitably caught my eye out of the corner of my eye. After a while, my gaze was involuntarily drawn to that ordinary-looking big rock. It seemed to have a magnetic quality, gradually attracting my attention.

Thirteen, Shock (4)

Gradually, the image of a mineral seemed to project into my mind, and as time went by, the image became clearer and clearer.

A very slight tremor pulled my attention away from the magical curtain. I glanced at Lin Wen; he seemed to have felt the tremor as well, but he didn't say anything.

I suppose this island is located in an earthquake-prone area, so such minor tremors are not uncommon.

After successfully diverting my attention, I dared not look at the screen again. Even so, with my eyes closed, the image of the stone still clearly floated in the darkness. Xiahou Ying's scribblings were truly remarkable; they probably stimulated the brain cells of the viewer's subconscious. It's difficult for ordinary people to concentrate fully on observing something, and even if they could, it wouldn't last. Yet these suggestive symbols could keep one in that state for extended periods. No wonder Xiahou Ying said it would be tiring after a while. Good heavens, starting tomorrow I'll be joining the work on the first floor. A few hours a day—won't my head explode?

As I was lost in thought, I heard a female voice say, "Please note, the ten-second countdown has begun."

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."

Lin Wen leaned out to look down, his expression slightly tense.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0".

Without a sound, the huge ore disappeared from the image on the screen.

Looking at the container again, the ore sat calmly in the middle, as if it had always been there.

I opened my mouth, and Lin Wen clenched his fist.

After a few seconds of silence, a cheer suddenly erupted on the first floor, and many people jumped up from their seats.

"This is a magnificent moment that will change the world. We are all witnesses to this moment."

I know what Lin Wen is talking about. After a successful attempt with the help of the sigil, the ore from the moon will travel 380,000 kilometers to Earth one after another. Even if only five pieces of helium-3 ore are transported each day, the energy extracted from them would probably be equivalent to the oil production of a Middle Eastern country for ten to fifteen days.

A young man pushed open the door and whispered a few words to Lin Wen.

"The boss is back. He'll never believe how successful we've become," Lin Wen told us. "I'm going out to greet him. You can come with me too."

Since he said so, I had no choice but to follow him to greet the Bixie.

As I was about to leave the first floor, I suddenly felt that someone was missing. I turned around and saw Kou Yun running towards the door of the inner hall.

I was startled and realized that the little girl couldn't resist going to her family reunion.

It was too late to stop her at this point. Recalling the pre-arranged explanation for what to say after her identity was exposed, and calculating the possible chain reaction, he sighed softly and caught up with Lin Wen and Xiahou Ying again.

The ground shook again.

A shadow crossed my mind; I had a bad feeling.

Stepping outside, there's an open space not far away.

The stone still sits peacefully in the center of the open space.

Nearly a week has passed since I escaped this ordeal. The police have already issued a commendation for my assistance in the case, and in an instant, I went from being a much-discussed murderer in Shanghai's media circles to a legendary figure of courage, resourcefulness, and perseverance. My superiors quickly removed my personnel file, which was already in the process of being dismissed, from the HR department, and the two months I had missed work were counted as paid leave.

I haven't officially started work yet; I took a week-long extended leave and came to Hunan.

Based on my memory from last time, I set off from Wangjiasha Village and walked alone towards Koujia Village.

To be honest, it's a bit dangerous. I could easily get lost in the mountains, and even with a compass, it would be troublesome. Besides, there are wild animals in the primeval forest.

I just can't be satisfied without making this trip. I think if any member of the Kou family survived that disaster, they would definitely return to their idyllic paradise.

I stared blankly at the round stone. The last time I came, there were only Kou Yun and me in this village, along with a few whimpering mutts. I already felt a deep sense of loneliness. But now, Kou Yun is gone, and the mutts have vanished without a trace. In this Kou Family Village, I am the only living person.

Surrounded by a jade-green lake, this mountain village has become a tomb in my heart.

I wanted to erect an empty tomb and a tombstone, but I stopped shortly after starting. Firstly, apart from Kou Yun and Kou Feng, I didn't know the names of the others; secondly, there was still a glimmer of hope in my heart.

Standing by the lake, gazing at his reflection. His beard was unshaven, his T-shirt clung to his body with sweat, and his face and hands were covered in grayish-black grime—he looked utterly disheveled.

He was about to go back to Kou Yun's wooden house to fetch water to wash his face when he changed his mind. He took off his shoes, and fully clothed, jumped into the icy lake water with a splash.

The cool liquid enveloped my entire body, my pores opened instantly, and the heaviness in my heart eased somewhat in that instant.

However, many bruises on my body had not yet healed, and after trekking for most of the day, the lake water splashed against my skin, causing them to ache again. At that moment, I had a slight illusion, as if I had returned to that brief moment when I was on the brink of life and death.

My entire skeleton felt like it was falling apart; it ached and swelled, and I didn't know if I had any fractures. My head was also spinning. Fortunately, seawater rushed in through the open car window, flooding my ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Amidst the pain, it also cleared my mind.

The Hummer looked as if it had been hit by a train, then swept back by the giant torrent, tumbling and rolling several times before crashing into several trees. By the time it calmed down, the seawater had almost completely filled the vehicle.

It felt like I was being violently shaken dozens of times by a giant. My conscious mind was the source of the pain; I felt like my stomach acid was churning in my head. My body's natural protective mechanism should have made me faint in this situation, but I knew that if I fainted, I would never wake up again. Although I didn't know if the thing that kept me conscious was still on my neck, I stubbornly held on and didn't let myself drift off.

As the shaking of the car gradually subsided, I was barely able to breathe. My eyes, forced open, felt like they'd been splashed with chili water from the seawater, and I involuntarily squinted into slits. I could only vaguely make out what was happening inside the car. I noticed that Xiahou Ying, who seemed just as disoriented as I was and had bumped into me several times, was actually trying to open her car door. I couldn't help but admire her audacity. However, it seemed her door was dented and wouldn't open for the time being.

Thirteen, Shock (5)