Su Qing wasn’t at headquarters now. Everyone was already used to his unseen comings and goings. If they couldn’t find him, they would call him or shout over the comms. If there was nothing urgent, they would write a note and put it on his door. Anyway, no matter what he was doing, he had his own judgement. He wouldn’t hold things up. 

This was the first time he couldn’t be found when it was time to hold a meeting. All of the RZ Unit’s core members assembled in the conference room. Only he was missing. 

Hu Bugui looked at his watch. Su Qing’s communicator was turned off, so he called his phone. This time, Su Qing actually picked up. Wherever he was, there was a lot of noise. He said a few words, indicating that he wouldn’t be back very soon. 

“Then we won’t wait for you. We’ll hold the meeting now. Turn on your communicator and listen in.” Hu Bugui paused, then raised his head and glanced at everyone with their varying expressions. “Sit down, everyone.

“I trust that everyone is aware of the current circumstances,” Hu Bugui said quietly after being silent for a long while. 

Lu Qingbai looked infuriated. “What the fuck! Is there anything to fucking say about this? Is there? We’ll see who dares to come tomorrow. Political investigation? I do what I should and stand upright. There isn’t a single shameful deed in three generations of my family. What is there to investigate? Any thug that dares to walk through our door, I’ll make sure he’ll be eating through a tube for the rest of his life!” 

Hu Bugui didn’t speak. Xue Xiaolu tugged at Lu Qingbai’s clothes. “Dr. Lu…” 

Lu Qingbai smacked the table and stood up, paced two steps in place, then forced himself to lower his head slightly and take two deep breaths. He waved a hand towards Hu Bugui. “Fine, I won’t make trouble, you go on.” 

“General Xiong can’t be contacted now.” Hu Bugui left out the subtext. He lowered his head and looked at the pale blue tablecloth on the conference table. He laced his fingers together and put them on the table. He sounded very even-tempered. He knew that General Xiong had been ready for this. It was even likely that he himself had chosen this road. “There’s no use in anger or analysis. The most important thing is what we should do now.” 

Lu Qingbai folded his arms. He said, “The people we rescued from the exploding blue seal base didn’t die on the spot, but a couple of weeks later, they all manifested typical symptoms of the ‘sleeping sickness.’ This infectious disease’s rate of spread is very fast. You may all have noticed—recently the number of cases has been rising at a terrifying rate, but after those thirteen countries issued their joint statement, from yesterday to today, I’ve checked, and apart from a few individual locations, the various countries haven’t added a single case.” 

“I’ve also noticed that,” Hu Bugui said. “The countries that still had additional cases are those where the media has stood up to unequivocally question the statement concerning the ‘god-making project.’” 

“But it’s only a public opinion trend. No one’s said what the ‘god-making project’ actually is.” Xue Xiaolu pointed at the newspaper on the table. “This opposition is too weak, isn’t it? If this goes on, I think they’ll also compromise within a week.” 

“If you said it, many people wouldn’t believe it, anyway. The ‘officials’ of the world’s other countries have all acknowledged Utopia’s legitimacy.” Fang Xiu frowned. “This is a hijacking.” 

It truly was a hijacking. 

They weren’t invaders of some country or some race. They were hidden among all kinds of ordinary people. They couldn’t be guarded against. Even if you wanted to pick up a gun and resist, you would be at a loss for what to do. 

They had used certain means to spread an illness called “sleeping sickness” through all of humanity at an unbelievable speed. At present no one knew what its mechanism was or how it should be treated. They could research, but there was no time. By the time they had worked it out, everyone in the world, like in Sleeping Beauty’s castle, would have keeled over and died in this muddleheaded way. 

There wasn’t a single government that could watch the death toll being submitted each day without feeling enormous stress, never mind that politicians were also people, and would also worry about the their own safety and the safety of their families. 

Hu Bugui thought that perhaps when the explosions had happened—no, even earlier than that—Utopia had made private arrangements with each nation’s government. Otherwise, why would General Xiong have begun nervously remaining at headquarters from that time on? 

General Xiong had built the RZ Unit on his own. It had been too hurried. There were many questions there hadn’t been time to resolve. Even if he hadn’t seen it, thinking back, even Hu Bugui had been able to sense the old man’s anxiety when he had been staying at headquarters. 

But he hadn’t been able to say it. 

So many people couldn’t be permitted to die. Moreover, if the truth got out, there would be social upheaval. The Utopia Project had originated in this country. More than the governments of those thirteen nations that had had no alternative but to take the lead, this country’s government should understand the situation better. An ambivalent attitude at this time was likely because they hadn’t yet found a means for resistance or resolution and were too hard pressed. But the other side wouldn’t be easy to fool, so some people had to be sacrificed to make their standpoint clear. 

Hu Bugui knocked on the table. “For what I’m going to say now, don’t interrupt me, just listen—Chang Dou, where are the things I asked you to prepare?” 

Chang Dou gave an “oh” and picked up a bag from beside him. He turned it over and slipped out a pile of varied-looking pocket watches. One was a very simple disk, one looked like a human skull. There was one in the shape of a cartoon animal, and a lady’s pocket watch with a lacy border. The edges of all the covers had names carved on them. 

Chang Dou distributed the pocket watches by name, leaving behind Su Qing’s, which Hu Bugui took. Chang Dou clutched his hair. “These were made in a rush, they might not be ideal. I did my best to decorate them according to everyone’s usual casual clothes. It’s best for them not to be too obvious when you wear them.

“This is a life-reaction communicator, already set up ahead of time. You hold it in your hand and press a button on it.” 

After pressing that button, the pocket watch’s three hands began to tick like an ordinary watch’s. Chang Dou said, “After the life-reaction communicator is activated, don’t take it off yourself. When the carrier is near death, their location will automatically appear on the others’ watches through the positioning system. The positioning system won’t be displayed ordinarily. Apart from that, the pocket watch contains a communicator with anti-interference and anti-tracking functions. It can avoid headquarters’ inspections. There’s an energy detector, an emotion blocker…I was in too much of a rush, that was all I could do. I’m sorry, I couldn’t make anything better.” 

He lowered his head as though he had failed to live up to the organization’s trust. 

“Thank you,” Hu Bugui said, trying to smile, but sadly he failed somewhat. “Professor Cheng and his son have already been sent away in advance. Tonight, I need you all to leave headquarters…” 

“Captain Hu!” 

Hu Bugui made a gesture, indicating that they shouldn’t interrupt him. “Leave for the nominal purpose of investigating the ‘sleeping sickness.’ Take your personal belongings. Then don’t come back. Su Qing, did you hear that, too? I’m afraid you’ll have to come back tonight to take the child.” 

Su Qing had been silent from the start. Only now did he put in a word: “The child is out here with me.” 

Hu Bugui nodded. General Xiong had said that Su Qing was an extremely sharp person. There were many things he might notice at the faintest hint. So he said, “Then just don’t come back. You can report your address to me individually, and I’ll think of a way to send you the new communicator.” 

Su Qing didn’t speak again. Not only that, he once again unilaterally turned off his communicator. 

Qin Luo suddenly asked, “If we all go, what will happen when people come for the political investigation tomorrow?” 

“I’ll stay,” Hu Bugui said matter-of-factly. 

Lu Qingbai pointed at his own nose and asked, “Do I look to you like an asshole who would abandon a teammate and run away?” 

Fang Xiu immediately added, “Do you think that’s what I look like?” 

Qin Luo shook her head. “I’m not going, anyway.” 

Xue Xiaolu said, “Captain Hu, this idea of yours is rotten.” 

At last, Chang Dou wasn’t confused anymore. He understood what Hu Bugui was saying and immediately flushed red. “I…I also won’t…” 

Hu Bugui waved a hand. “Don’t worry. Listen to me. The higher authorities don’t necessarily want to do anything to the RZ Unit, or else they wouldn’t have sent notice in advance this time. Don’t overthink it. This is a mere formality. It would be indiscreet not to leave at this time.” 

“But…” Lu Qingbai frowned. 

“Dr. Lu, I hope that as a member of the armed forces, you’re able to obey orders.” Hu Bugui’s glanced around at all of them. “Go and collect your things. In twenty minutes, I’ll see you out of headquarters.” 

Su Qing was very busy at this time. He had basically understood what Hu Bugui was going to say, so he hadn’t listened with much attention. 

Before leaving, General Xiong had given him a folder. Inside were a check and the personal files of all the RZ Unit’s core members. As soon as he opened it, Su Qing understood what General Xiong meant. 

When General Xiong had called Hu Bugui up to the eighth floor to chat about philosophy, Su Qing had shut himself up in his room and quickly read about all his teammates’ backgrounds and families. 

Fang Xiu’s father had passed on, and his mother was a retired professor. Hu Bugui’s home was in the countryside, parents still in good health. Chang Dou’s parents and older brother were all travelers, regularly scattered all over the world, their whereabouts uncertain. Lu Qingbai’s father had been hired to teach at a medical school after retirement. Qin Luo’s parents were local. Xue Xiaolu had grown up with her grandmother, and the old lady had passed away; she had no connections. 

Su Qing understood what General Xiong meant. While there was still time, he wanted to resolve everyone’s worries about their families. 

He was a practiced hand at this—assigning fake identities, handling residences and new accounts, creating people out of thin air, dealing with these people individually, and coaxing them into doing what he said. 

When he received Hu Bugui’s phone call, in a few short days, he had already basically completed all of the above. He was standing alone in B City’s bustling street—he had come to his final stop. 

With his head down, he stared at the watch on his wrist. He wasn’t wearing any disguise this time. Wearing a black trench coat with a straight collar, he was leaning in an unobtrusive corner. The setting sun stretched his shadow out long. There was a pile of cigarette butts at his feet. 

Suddenly, a trembling voice said, “You…you’re…” 

Su Qing slowly raised his head and saw the person getting out of the car stopped at the gate. Little by little, his eyes met Su Chengde’s.