Episode 3

Although he tried to comfort himself, the huge panic still tightly gripped Wu Qingchen's heart, and he didn't have the mood to talk anymore. The car was silent with no conversation. Soon, the convoy left the city and took to the highway. The journey was smooth, with the lead car in front and the rear car guarding. It was about forty minutes later when the police car slowed down for the first time. This was a stretch of road near the entrance of the expressway that Wu Qingchen could barely recognize. The road itself had not changed much, but a seemingly endless dividing rope was erected in the middle. Two soldiers stood back to back every meter or so on both sides of the rope. Wu Qingchen's lane was unobstructed, whereas the other lane in the opposite direction was full of unknown numbers of cars. Wu Qingchen saw that just ahead of his car, several soldiers stopped a bread truck and another truck going in the same direction. They were quickly escorted to the other side of the dividing rope and parked at the back. The deceleration was very smooth and slow, and when the convoy finally stopped, the entrance to the expressway was in front. After parking, the four people in the police car remained focused and alert, and the police car did not turn off. The entrance to the expressway was unusually empty, and several unidentified people seemed to be directing the convoy. Most of the vehicles in the convoy quickly turned around and left, only a dozen or so police officers and soldiers remained on site. They did many strange actions around the entrance under the direction of those people.

After a while, a middle-aged man of about forty finally walked up to the police car and saluted the senior military personnel. "Reporting, everything is normal. Please instruct." The senior military personnel returned the salute and held his earplug intently. The senior military personnel quickly put down his left hand and pointed to the highway entrance to the military driver. "Alright, keep driving forward." Are they going to the highway? Where exactly are they taking me? Who did I offend? Are they trying to frame me? If the weird situation before only brought pressure and nervousness to Wu Qingchen, the feeling of being taken away from his hometown soon made him feel like he had fallen into the water and lost the last straw, filling his heart with fear and panic. "I... I..." He didn't know what to say or do. An indescribable emotion made Wu Qingchen suddenly sit up and struggle out of the two police officers' grasp. "What's going on?!" "Sit down!" "What are you doing?!" "Get him!" "Be careful! Be careful!" If the four loud shouts at the door before could be considered stern, then the five loud shouts now could be completely described as hoarse. The commotion inside the police car immediately caught the attention of the police and military personnel who had been closely monitoring the car at the highway entrance. In just a moment, Wu Qingchen saw at least dozens of people rushing towards the police car. As if their shoes were on fire, or as if there were countless bullets chasing them from behind, these dozens of people had completely different postures but shared the same sense of urgency.

Among the dozens of people, those directly facing the police car ran away, those with their backs to the police car turned and charged, those standing kicked and pounced, and those crouching kicked and jumped. Regardless of the posture, the crowd of runners, chargers, and jumpers had nervous, anxious, and even somewhat ferocious expressions. Wu Qingchen also saw that a young soldier of about 10 years old probably made too much movement, lost balance, and fell heavily to the cement ground, but completely ignored the bloody palm prints on the hands. The soldier continued to rush towards the police car, rolling and crawling, and finally fell to the back of the others. His face was full of regret and anxiety, and tears had already flowed out.

"Captain Ji! Is this your work achievement?" Director Zhang's white hair almost stood up.

"Is this the result of my work style? Or the result of your work attitude?" Captain Ji Mingming slammed his police cap off, got out of the police car, slammed the door heavily, and took out his phone with his right hand. "Authorization, vigilance, authorization, vigilance. Everyone just thinks about sticking to the rules and shirking responsibility. Has there been such an incident before? Has there been such a rule? What the hell are they guarding?"

The riot was quickly suppressed, and everyone in and out of the police car had a sullen face but no one said a word to Wu Qingchen. Of course, at this moment, Wu Qingchen, who was curled up shivering in the back seat of the police car, no longer needed anyone's warning.

Throughout the entire process, the two police officers restrained Wu Qingchen again. The senior military officer stepped out of the police car and grabbed the phone to contact someone. After a few minutes, he sat back in the passenger seat. As soon as Ji Mingming finished his call and resumed his seat, he nodded to the young military driver and said, "Alright, continue driving forward."

This time, the journey forward was relatively short because the police car stopped again just after entering the guiding lane to the highway. The car pulled up next to about a dozen all-black commercial vehicles and dozens of military personnel either standing or crouching around them.

One of the commercial vehicles slowly pulled up next to the police car. Immediately, another middle-aged military officer walked up to the police car and saluted, "Director, Officer Zhang, this is a new command."

The senior military officer, also referred to as "Director" by the middle-aged officer, carefully read the document and handed it to Officer Zhang on Wu Qingchen's right side.

After reading the document, Officer Zhang, with graying hair, looked up at the middle-aged officer and asked, "What's the plan for this journey?"

"Let's change cars first. We'll talk on the road..." the middle-aged officer pointed to the earpiece on his left ear, opened the door of the commercial car, and revealed three fully armed soldiers. "You know, time is tight...and we have even less time left..."

Officer Zhang nodded and walked down from the police car with Ji Mingming, sandwiching Wu Qingchen in between them.

Entering the business car, Wu Qingchen's vision darkened. The car windows were small and dark, making it impossible for Wu Qingchen to see the driver's position. He only felt that the three fully armed soldiers looked even younger and their expressions seemed a bit nervous. As soon as Wu Qingchen got in the car, the three soldiers immediately loaded their guns and Ji Mingming, who got in last, closed the car door.

The three of them sat in the back seat, and the business car quickly started, still similar to the original convoy. Wu Qingchen's car was located towards the front of the new convoy.

The convoy traveled very fast this time, passing rows of trees, houses, and hills, leaving behind a changing colors in their retina.

After the convoy started, Ji Mingming occasionally pressed his earphones and his lips and throat moved. Wu Qingchen couldn't stand it anymore and finally asked, "Officer Ji, I want to know who I've offended?"

"What are you talking about?" Ji Mingming was stunned, then reacted after a while, "Are you still guessing?"

"I just don't understand what's going on."

"Nobody would understand...let me see...just wait for a bit..." Ji Mingming brought the cigarette he was holding near his nose - he had repeated this action many times during the trip, but never lit the cigarette - then whispered into the throat microphone for a few words.

The response was slow this time, at least three minutes later, Ji Mingming's ear twitched, and his frowned brows finally smoothed out a bit.

"Alright, Mr. Wu Qingchen." Ji Mingming shifted his gaze towards Wu Qingchen. "It wasn't originally my turn to explain to you, and really, I don't know much about it. However, considering your emotions, especially your immature emotions earlier, my task has changed a bit."

Ji Mingming's expression made Wu Qingchen think he was going to say "childish" instead of "immature," but Wu Qingchen wasn't embarrassed at all. "Your task?"

"Yep, I was just here to chat with you. The task was just to keep you company and talk to you."

"So, you're an interrogator?"

"You see, you're thinking too much into it." Ji Mingming shrugged. "The situation is really complicated, let's not make it any more complicated. From here on, what I say means what it means at face value. Just understand it that way."

"Okay, go ahead."

"First of all, you haven't offended anyone...well, at least not offended them to the extent that you think. Secondly, no one wants to harm you, at least, no one here dares to harm you...don't understand?" Seeing Wu Qingchen nod in confusion, Ji Mingming empathized. "It's okay if you don't understand, let me say it another way."

"Look at this highway, what do you see?"

What can you see on a highway? Four lanes? A median strip? Two-way traffic? An asphalt concrete surface? They all seemed ordinary.

The windows of the business car were small and dim, and Wu Qingchen looked carefully for a while, but didn't see anything peculiar about the highway.

"Be patient." Without waiting for Wu Qingchen to express his doubts, Ji Mingming pointed directly outside the window.

Wu Qingchen continued to tilt his head, looking at the asphalt concrete road surface, the green belts separating the lanes, the trees on both sides, the farmland, and mostly short houses. After a long time, he suddenly lifted his head.

From Wu Qingchen's beginning of observation until he finally noticed, at least ten minutes had passed, and whether in the same direction or opposite lanes, besides the convoy he was in, Wu Qingchen never saw any other vehicles.

"See it now?" Ji Mingming grinned. "The entire highway is open only for you."

Wu Qingchen's mouth widened.

"Haven't turned yet?" Ji Mingming shook her head. "Mr. Wu, change your thinking. Are you a bodybuilder or a sanda champion? Are you particularly agile, or is your courage particularly strong?"

Wu Qingchen didn't say anything.

"If it's just to deal with you..." Ji Mingming raised her right hand to gesture in a circle. "Is it worth so many cars, so many people?"

"But why..."

"Why such a big scene?" Ji Mingming directly voiced the question Wu Qingchen wanted to ask. "It's very simple. It's because you're just too easy to handle, and it's too difficult to protect you, that's why we did this. Yes, it's for protection."

"What? Can't believe it?" Ji Mingming's smile had a hint of cruelty. "Those who don't believe are still behind! Don't think of yourself as a serious suspect, you're not capable! Before today... no, just a few hours ago! The things related to you don't even add up to a few pages. Whoever wants to catch you is wasting police force."

"Just a few hours ago?" Under immense pressure, Wu Qingchen didn't care about Ji Mingming's contempt and quickly grasped the point.

"Very good, Mr. Wu! That's exactly the line of thinking we need."

"But a few hours ago..." Wu Qingchen frowned as he tried to recall, "A few hours ago, I was sleeping at home. Is there a misunderstanding?"

"Haha, sleeping? There's no misunderstanding about that. The whole world knows you were sleeping at home, and even knows that you were dreaming in bed!" Ji Mingming laughed.

"Warrant Officer Ji, you..." Wu Qingchen even suspected that he had offended Ji Mingming and didn't know what to say. His mind involuntarily turned to the grey-haired Director Zhang beside him.

Director Zhang nodded slowly, his expression heavy. "He's not joking."

Are they all crazy? If it weren't for the strong metallic smell in the business vehicle and the fact that Wu Qingchen doubted he was dreaming again, he would have thought he had gone insane.

"This is too complicated to explain in words. Let's take a break, and there will probably be authorization soon." After saying this, Ji Mingming's attention focused on a cardboard box he had pulled from nowhere and placed on his lap.

Although he was still full of doubts, Wu Qingchen strangely felt calmer after talking to Ji Mingming, even though they didn't solve anything and even added more thoughts to his mind.

The convoy continued to move quickly. It was unclear how much time had passed when suddenly a whooshing sound came from the sky in the distance, like muffled thunder on the horizon. The sound quickly approached, and when it became distinct, it turned into a deafening roar.

On the ground, several huge black shadows swiftly passed by. Wu Qingchen lifted her head and suddenly gasped for breath: In the sky, there were several new visitors arranged in a pin-shape formation, advancing side by side with the convoy. Some of them arrived at the front of the convoy, while most remained on both sides. This...this... one, two, three... eight, nine helicopters are also a part of the protection!? This was quite challenging for Wu Qingchen's imagination, inevitably causing her mouth to open wider. The other people in the business car seemed to have been mentally prepared and had no reaction. Wu Qingchen had never seen a helicopter in person before. Unlike images or screens, even though they were far away, Wu Qingchen still felt that the nine bodies in the sky were quite large, full of strength and a sense of intimidation. Staring blankly at the sky, Wu Qingchen didn't know how long had passed before she heard a "ha" sound in her ear. Turning her head, Ji Mingming held a display screen about fourteen or fifteen inches in size with both hands, continuously pressing keys: "Ha, you passed the application so quickly? Special approval from the office for the handling of major disasters? Qingchen, it seems that your situation is more troublesome. Alright... Here, take a look for yourself. After watching it, you should understand." Application? Major disaster? Special approval? Finally, Wu Qingchen was able to know why. She couldn't help wiping her hands on her pants, taking the display screen from Ji Mingming’s hand. Ji Mingming pressed a few keys, and the screen quickly switched between several menus, entering into playback mode.

The video doesn't seem to have been shot by professionals; the camera is zoomed out and the scenery is not very clear. However, the scene is selected well: a blue sky with a few white clouds drifting, a winding river dividing the forest and hills on the ground and, near the river, three farmers holding tools working in a small field...

...Working...working...working...

For a full five minutes, the same content is played in the video.

What is this? Raw footage before the earthquake?

Wu Qingchen raised his head and frowned, looking at Ji Mingming with suspicion.

"Don't you have any thoughts?" Ji Mingming seemed a little surprised by Wu Qingchen's reaction. Soon he looked up and said, "Oh...you're right...the observation angle is different."

As he spoke, Ji Mingming approached Wu Qingchen and pressed a few buttons on the screen. Immediately, the video was enlarged, and the position of the farmland filled up the screen.

It is obvious that the camera that shot this video was quite professional. Even when enlarged dozens of times, the tools, crops, and weeds in the video were all clear, and even the sweat on the foreheads of the three farmers, the numb exhaustion of the first two, and the inexplicable surprise of the last farmer were all displayed clearly...

Clear...clear...clear...

It was as if a thunderous explosion sounded in his ears, and Wu Qingchen's hands suddenly trembled, almost throwing the screen away.

This...this...this...

Isn't this me? Isn't this me? Isn't this me?

"This is the dream I had at noon, isn't it? This is the dream I had at noon, isn't it? This is the dream I had at noon, isn't it?"

"How can this be? How can this be? How can this be?"

It's as if the carriage beneath Wu Qingchen's feet suddenly turned into a huge block of ice. The piercing coldness ran all the way from his feet to his head, causing his tongue to freeze. Wu Qingchen's lips trembled, but he couldn't utter anything.

"Advanced technology...brain implants...thought monitoring...brainwave control..."

Countless movie scenes flooded Wu Qingchen's already chaotic mind. Beads of sweat, the size of beans, dripped down his forehead and flowed down his pale cheeks, finally ending up on his trembling chin.

"Calm down, Mr. Wu, please calm down!" Officer Zhang, whose hair had turned white, stared at Ji Mingming with anger, leaning forward and anxiously rubbing his hands, seemingly wanting to grab Wu Qingchen's arms with all his strength, but hesitated and didn't take any action.

Snap!

Ji Mingming reached out his hands and slapped Wu Qingchen hard in the face. Wu Qingchen suddenly shuddered and his eyes regained focus.

"Have you understood?"

"No, I haven't understood!" Exhausted from trying to control his tongue, Wu Qingchen wasn't sure if he was still in a dream - or more accurately, unsure if he was truly living on earth, unsure if his life truly existed, unsure if he really existed. "This can't be! How is this possible? This is my dream! This is my...how can you possibly...how could you..."

"No, this is the truth!" Ji Mingming's voice completely drowned out Wu Qingchen's sobbing tone that had already begun: "Wu Qingchen, even if you close your eyes for another hour, this is still the truth!"

"Why do you have the right to monitor me! And...and record my dreams!" When saying these words, Wu Qingchen had already become more alert, even feeling irrational to herself.

"You think too highly of yourself!" Ji Mingming's expression was as if he had seen a mouse playing poker: "Do you think we want to see you dream? Do you think this is a movie filmed in your neighborhood?"

Ji Mingming vigorously pointed at the screen, as if he was not going to stop until he poked his fingers through it: "Let me tell you, Mr. Wu Qingchen! Today, on May 8th, 2012, at 1:27:13 pm, anyone in the world with eyes, whether it's day or night, can look up and see what's inside here! Do you understand? The people who've watched this video, and you're probably at least in the two to three billion range."

Everyone in the world can see it? Have I become a mirage...no, have my dreams become a mirage?

Wu Qingchen couldn't figure out what benefit Ji Mingming, or rather, what benefit all these people had in conspiring to deceive him. His body began to feel weak.

"Haha! It's not over yet! Do you know how we found you?" Ji Mingming quickly operated the screen, and the video on the screen flew to the back part:

The character played by Wu Qingchen in his dream was a bit scared and tried to take a quick step to leave, but accidentally tripped over a tree branch and fell onto a rock. However, his facial expression didn't seem to show any pain.

With no transitional sequence, the screen abruptly switched to the final, frozen image: in a small bedroom, Wu Qingchen was lying on the crumpled bed sheets, with a faint wrinkle on his brow, visible scars on his left eyebrow, right arm, and lower leg. Through the loosely drawn curtains, one could also see the huge signs of "Bright Eyes Glasses," "Golden Photography," and "Haojue Motorcycles" across the street. "By collecting data from business bureaus across the country and identifying the one hundred and twenty-plus street addresses where these three stores are registered," said Ji Mingming as she pointed to the three signs on the screen, "we found seven such locations in our province. To find you alone, Director Zhang’s team has more than one hundred and twenty people. Dreaming is not a crime, but why don't you just go and catch the mirages in the desert?"

Ji Mingming finally had a bitter smile on her face. "Mr. Wu Qingchen, although many people around the world may see you having some dreams, we are probably not going to find you this quickly and cause so much tension...Director Zhang..." As she spoke, Ji Mingming adjusted the video a little forward and froze the image at the moment when Wu Qingchen fell on a stone in his dream.

Pointing to the spot where Wu Qingchen collided with the stone, Ji Mingming lifted up her police uniform to reveal her abdomen, which had an obvious scar on the same spot. At the same time, Director Zhang, who had sighed countless times before, also lifted his shirt to reveal a scar in the same place on his abdomen.

Taking a look at the shocked Wu Qingchen, Ji Mingming refused to give up: "There's more...I should be able to temporarily command you all, please also show this kidnapper the evidence of his wrongdoing."

The three soldiers' lips and throats moved slightly, probably consulting through their headsets. After about ten seconds, they all uniformly placed their guns next to their seats and lifted their combat uniforms to reveal their perfectly chiseled six-pack abs, each marked with a prominent red scar.

"Do you understand now?" Ji Mingming removed his own police uniform top. "Based on current investigations and statistics, regardless of age or gender, even newborn babies who have just come out of the hospital, or death row inmates who have just been executed, suddenly have this red mark on their bodies... In addition..."

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