Hua Changsheng sat across from him, dressed in his customary gray suit.
Ever since Hongxiao could remember, his grandfather wore it on important occasions. Despite the years, the cuffs and collar remained immaculate.
He appeared older than the last time Hongxiao had seen him, his usual duckbill cap set aside on the table, revealing his speckled white hair.
"Is this information reliable?" Hua Changsheng's brows furrowed slightly, his expression solemn and serious.
Suddenly, Hongxiao felt his lips part as if about to speak. Then the sentence "Our inside man at Mossy Lane has sent a definitive message" came out of his mouth.
It was an odd sensation. Hongxiao hadn't planned to speak, yet he vividly felt his lips and tongue cooperate to form the words.
It was as if someone else was manipulating Hongxiao's mouth.
Or perhaps it was Hongxiao who was manipulating his mouth.
"What is their purpose?" Hua Changsheng asked.
"It's unclear. Perhaps they're beginning to prepare for the Second Wave."
"So, the Second Wave is finally upon us." Hua Changsheng tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought, trying to calm himself.
"No matter what their plans are, the Evolution Stimulator is your specialty; that's why they urgently summoned you to Beijing."
"I'll do my best. These agents are somewhat similar to certain microbes here on Earth, but there are differences. Have we obtained a sample?"
"It might arrive tomorrow."
"Good. Then I'll do some prep work at the lab." Hua Changsheng stood, donned his cap, and adjusted it.
Hongxiao felt that he stood as well, and said: "There's no rush. You've had a long journey. Maybe it's better for you to take some rest first."
The door opened, and a man in black suit entered. Hua Changsheng followed him out.
Hongxiao felt that he stared at the closed door for a long time, motionless.
Perhaps he was pondering.
Hongxiao couldn't grasp the nature of his thoughts.
But Hongxiao's own brain churned rapidly.
It seems that this scene happened in Beijing, then? And at that Grandpa was alive, and still in Beijing?
What Second Wave? What microbes? And grandpa was an expert?
Hongxiao remembered his grandfather working in the public health sector, perhaps holding some low level official's position.
But never had Hongxiao associated grandpa with experts, labs, or scientists.
Suddenly, he turned and walked from one end of the room to the other, passing through two doors.
From his viewpoint, Hongxiao saw a spacious room lined with a semicircle of sofas against the wall, a large coffee table in front.
On the other side, a long table surrounded by high-backed plush chairs looked luxurious. Paintings hung on the walls, but they were too blurry to make out.
Passing another door, he entered a smaller conference room, then another even smaller room with plain white walls and nothing else visible.
But in the center, there was a small table with an oval white object on it.
Hongxiao couldn't tell what it was.
But he knew.
"Hua Changsheng has arrived," he said with a low voice.
Though it was him who was speaking, Hongxiao felt his grandfather's name escape his own lips - an act that made him internally flinch.
Raised in a traditional Chinese family, Hongxiao knew too well that, directly uttering the full names of one's elders, such as a father or grandfather, is considered disrespectful.
'Grandfather, I'm sorry, forgive my irreverence,' he silently apologized, feeling a mix of guilt and discomfort.
Of course, he didn't care.
The white object suddenly emitted a pale blue light, and a voice followed.
"Shall we proceed with Plan One or Plan Two?"
The voice sounded robotic, indistinct between male or female.
"Plan One is not feasible. I don't even know who sent it through what channels."
"Then Plan Two it is."
"I will execute it personally."
"Will this affect your investigation progress?"
"No. Whatever happens, they won't let my people contact the courier. That's the Mill's rule."
"The item has been placed in the old spot."
"Good. Bear witness for me."
"I will bear witness."
The blue light vanished, and the room returned to its prior utter silence.
Hongxiao thought he could hear his—or actually his —breathing.
Then he began to walk again.
Doors opened and closed repeatedly. Many different rooms and corridors flashed before Hongxiao's eyes.
He walked a great distance, up and down many stairs, yet he felt he was always in the same building, never venturing outside.
How large was this building? Hongxiao wondered.
Finally, he stopped in a room.
Before him appeared a bookshelf, several layers high, densely filled with books in various languages—Chinese, English, and some that looked like English but weren't quite.
Hongxiao saw his hand reach between two books, but almost immediately, he glanced left and right, then behind him.
At the same time, Hongxiao felt his hand grasp something like a small paper packet, then slip it into his right coat pocket.
What was he doing so surreptitiously? Hongxiao had a foreboding feeling.
Another series of doors opening and closing, going upstairs and downstairs. This time, he entered a room elegantly arranged.
The walls were stained deep wood, bathed in soft, noble yellow wall lamps.
Several elegant wooden tables were placed in the center, arrayed with various bottles of alcohol.
Hongxiao had only seen beer bottles and hard liquor bottles from his hometown —so he couldn't identify these.
The liquors here varied in color, and the bottles differed in height and girth but were arranged harmoniously.
It seemed the air was also tinged with the scent of alcohol.
He picked up a flat bottle, its label depicted something that looked like a dragon or perhaps some plant. Unscrewing the cap, a rich aroma wafted out.
As Hongxiao was overwhelmed by the scent, his hand swiftly opened a packet, poured some white powder into the liquor, then screwed the cap back on.
He shook the bottle gently. Hongxiao clearly saw the liquor cloud briefly before returning to its crystal-clear state.
Hongxiao's heartbeat quickened.
Or maybe it was his heartbeat?
He traveled far - still within the same building - before pushing open a heavy door.
This was a spacious room, resembling Professor Zhu's Laboratory 1.
The walls were painted a refreshing white, with rows of fluorescent lights on the ceiling illuminating the windowless space.
Several long tables neatly arranged with various containers spanned the room.
Turning to the right, he saw a more modern long table, laden with various instruments with display screens. His grandfather sat on a stool beside it, examining some materials.
Hongxiao's sense of impending doom grew. He wanted to shout but found he couldn't speak.
When he finally could open his mouth, the words were not his own.
It was his.
"Look what I've brought you, Mr. Hua."
"Tequila?"
"Blue. Your favorite."
Hongxiao didn't remember his grandfather favoring any blue liquor. To his knowledge, the old man preferred the obscure hard liquor from their hometown.
But grandpa, please don't drink this!
Hongxiao saw his grandfather's smiling face. He tried with all his might to control the hand holding the bottle.
If the right hand couldn't move, maybe he could knock the bottle over with the left!
Or any facial muscle could give a warning sign.
But despite his efforts, nothing moved.
Hongxiao felt suffocated, enraged, as if a million poison arrows were piercing his heart.
Finally, with all his strength, he screamed.
The sound was heart-wrenching, as if venting something, yet it seemed to dissipate the scene before him.
In its place, a blurry shadow emerged.
Gradually, the shadow sharpened into a refined face hidden behind black-rimmed glasses.
For the first time, Hongxiao saw Ma Jun so close. Her eyelashes were long, her lips slightly upturned, her black hair lightly draped over her shoulders, glistening under the light's caress.
He felt some of her hair tickle his face, itchy and fragrant.
"Hongxiao, what's wrong?"
Hongxiao felt Jun's right hand gently holding his left.
He didn't want to speak, as if afraid that talking would dispel the warmth he felt.
Suddenly, an inexplicable pain gripped his heart.
As he sat up, tears streamed down his face.