What if he was allergic to tea?

Counselor Wang set his teacup down on the coffee table and suddenly felt dizzy.

Gao Jian hurried to his feet to steady him.

Counselor Wang took off his glasses, his vision hazy. Looking at the young man before him, he asked a baffling question:

"Young man, who are you?"

Oh, no.

Gao Jian felt the world spin, and his vision went black.

The Dustless Memory Pill's main effect was to blur memories of the past week, making them feel like recollections of a dream and leaving the person unable to distinguish reality from illusion. Once the drug's effects wore off completely, the person would also entirely forget everyone they had met in the last seven days.

But the pill seller hadn't said it would kick in this fast.

Even Ibuprofen needed half an hour to figure out where you hurt.

Counselor Wang rubbed his forehead. "Oh, right, I remember. Young Gao, is your grandfather doing well?"

"He's doing fine," Gao Jian said quietly as he supported Counselor Wang. "Counselor Wang, would you like to sit down and rest? You don't look too good. Could your blood sugar be low?"

"I look perfectly fine!" Counselor Wang waved a hand.

"Why don't you sit down for a bit?"

"Is this any time to rest? Those people from the Federal Bureau of Investigation are right outside our doors! Zhou, go get Old Chen. We'll go over the escape route again... wait, who are you?"

Gao Jian's vision went black again.

"Oh, right, you're young Gao. You've grown so much! Is your grandfather doing well?"

Please stop asking that.

Gao Jian pleaded inwardly.

"Wang Jieyi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" the deputy consul general asked with a frown.

"Counselor Wang?" The military attaché looked puzzled.

"Wang? What's going on? Are you not feeling well?" The consul general also turned a concerned gaze toward him.

Everyone present had noticed something was wrong. Counselor Wang suddenly looked as though he was high out of his mind, turning in circles where he stood and spouting nonsense. Yet he clearly hadn't done anything just now... could a cup of tea get someone drunk?

Counselor Wang's full name was Wang Jieyi. He had started out as an interpreter and entered the diplomatic service in 2008, working his way up from a junior clerk to counselor at the consulate general. Still only in his forties, he had already been selected as the next consul general in Houston. If he could eventually secure a transfer back home, his career prospects would be even brighter. He had a limitless future ahead of him.

Wang Jieyi was known for his composure. He had remained unflinching in the face of street gunfights in South Africa and had even organized evacuations of Chinese nationals from war zones. He was extremely disciplined and never touched alcohol, so why did he now look as if he had been smoking weed?

Is this West Lake Longjing legit?

Under everyone's scrutiny, Counselor Wang suddenly slapped the table and said woozily, "What are you all looking at me for? I'm working on a plan. In a minute, I'll rush out and draw those people outside the consulate toward me, then Old Chen and Zhou will drive out... huh, why are we rushing out? What were we trying to do again?"

At that, Counselor Wang turned another blank look toward Gao Jian.

"Young man, who are you?"

Gao Jian covered his face.

The room fell completely silent.

Elon Musk looked at Counselor Wang, then at Gao Jian, then at the empty teacup. He swallowed.

He seemed to have figured something out.

"Counselor Wang seems very agitated," Counselor Liu, who had remained silent until now, suddenly said.

The consul general nodded. "He certainly is full of energy. Our Counselor Wang has always had plenty of fighting spirit. Liu Feng, help Wang Jieyi somewhere he can rest."

Liu Feng quickly helped Wang Jieyi out.

The consul general then turned to Clerk Zhou by the door.

"Zhou, come here a moment. Where did you brew this tea?"

Zhou's face went deathly pale.

The veteran consul general had spent decades contending with hostile forces and matching wits with United States intelligence agencies. He quickly identified a possible point of suspicion. Of the seven cups of tea Clerk Zhou had brought in, only Counselor Wang had drunk one, and judging by its position, that cup should have been intended for Elon Musk.

Was this an attempt to poison the world's richest man?

At the thought, the consul general's expression darkened.

He waved a hand, and the military attaché beside him immediately sprang into action. Leading more than a dozen armed police officers, the attaché swiftly sealed off the scene and conducted thorough searches of the reception room, the corridors, the water station, the storage room, and other areas. Unfortunately, they found nothing unusual.

Under normal circumstances, the consulate general would not have had security personnel from home stationed there. But after President Vance took office the previous year, the two sides had reached an understanding allowing each to station a small number of personnel within the other country's embassy compounds.

Those dozen or so armed police officers were also what gave the consulate general the confidence to deter the Federal Bureau of Investigation from forcing its way in with a search warrant.

Once all that was done, the military attaché contacted the embassy in Washington, D.C., and informed the ambassador of the situation at the consulate general in Houston.

The ambassador issued instructions:

"With the threat situation unclear, the consulate general must do everything possible to ensure Elon Musk's safety and arrange for Gao Jian to return home as soon as possible."

The consulate general officially went into lockdown.

A little while later, Counselor Liu ran back, out of breath, and said:

"Consul General, we've taken Counselor Wang to the consulate doctor."

"Is he all right?" the consul general asked gravely.

"We've provisionally ruled out cyanide poisoning. Other possible causes of poisoning are still being investigated, but Counselor Wang doesn't seem to be in any distress. His complexion is healthy and his breathing is steady. Not long after we took him there, he fell asleep on the hospital bed. We can't wake him no matter how much we call to him."

"Asleep?"

"Yes. Honestly, that quality of sleep is enviable."

After hearing Counselor Liu's report, the consul general turned to Zhou again.

By now, Zhou, who had been responsible for making the tea, was so distraught he was nearly in tears.

He had already given a clear account of the entire process: how many grams of tea leaves he had used, the temperature of the water, and everyone he had passed while carrying the tea.

"Consul General, I really don't know..."

"All right, no one's blaming you. You may go." The consul general waved him away.

Gao Jian silently apologized to Zhou.

The consul general turned back and said gravely, "It appears the situation is far worse than we imagined. There may very well be an undercover CIA or FBI operative inside the consulate. They must already know part of what's going on. In accordance with the ambassador's instructions, I recommend we begin the relocation immediately."

Elon Musk spoke hesitantly. "Well... my friends, I don't think the situation is necessarily as serious as you believe."

Everyone turned to the world's richest man.

Elon Musk paused, then continued, "Whether it's the FBI or the CIA, I'm on good terms with the directors of both agencies, and I know what they're capable of. They don't have the ability to plant an informant inside your consulate... this may just be a minor accident."

The consul general shook his head. "Mr. Elon, an accident wouldn't have left Counselor Wang unconscious."

Gao Jian said quietly, "What if Counselor Wang is allergic to West Lake Longjing?"

The consul general frowned at Gao Jian. "Gao, this is no time for jokes. Have you ever met a Chinese person who was allergic to tea? Their target is either you or Elon. Whichever it is, if even one of you comes to harm inside our consulate, they may have achieved their objective. We mustn't delay. Let's begin the relocation immediately. And Mr. Elon, I strongly recommend that you leave as well. It's no longer safe here."

At those words, Gao Jian looked at Elon Musk, who happened to look at him at the same moment.

Both turned their heads away simultaneously.

"Then let's relocate first." Gao Jian sighed.

Elon Musk agreed. "My people are ready."