The wear-down-Gao tactic

Bian Xia asked a few more detailed questions, and Gao Jian answered each one honestly.

"So, in short, the struggle between Elon Musk's SpaceX and NASA reached the point where they were openly sabotaging each other, and you got caught up in it and became collateral damage. Is that right?"

Gao Jian nodded like a chick pecking at grain.

"All right. In that case, tell the truth when they question you later."

"Absolutely. I won't hide anything from the organization."

Gao Jian looked around and lowered his voice. "Director Bian, what exactly do the higher-ups have in mind? They're not going to arrest me, are they?"

Bian Xia shook his head. "It won't come to that. Your background is spotless, and you're a technical specialist. Our country has always been fairly lenient with technical talent... I imagine their questions will mainly focus on whether you've been recruited by the other side..."

"I definitely haven't!" Gao Jian said hastily.

"I know, I know, but they still have to rule out that possibility. At the very least, you'll need to explain your relationship with Elon Musk clearly. Also, I heard from the director that you toured Starship headquarters. Did you get access to any technical materials on the Starship launch vehicle and the SLS rocket?"

Gao Jian nodded repeatedly.

But Bian Xia merely gave a quiet sigh.

"When you get back to the bureau, remember to put everything you saw and heard on record. Though I'm afraid those technical materials won't be much use in the short term."

"Why not? I learned a lot, especially about the SLS rocket. Elon Musk even showed me its blueprints. I think a lot of those ideas could be applied to our own aerospace technology-"

As Gao Jian rambled on, Bian Xia suddenly said:

"The Chang'e Program has been suspended."

Gao Jian froze.

Bian Xia watched Gao Jian's reaction. First came shock, then disbelief, then bewilderment. He plainly couldn't understand it.

"Why... Is it because of the geomagnetic storm? But a storm like that only happens once in a thousand years. Why suspend the Chang'e Program?"

Gao Jian asked, his emotions running high.

"The higher-ups believe the technology isn't mature enough, and that a crewed lunar landing would be too risky," Bian Xia said flatly. "The United States couldn't even manage its return to the Moon, so there's no need for us to rush either. The goal of landing on the Moon before 2030 has been canceled."

"They failed because of the geomagnetic storm. What about us?"

"Whatever the reason, it's been suspended."

Gao Jian lowered his head, his thoughts unreadable.

In truth, he desperately wanted to ask about the Jade Rabbit Lunar Rover, unmanned soft landings on the lunar surface, lunar orbiters, landings on the Far Side of the Moon, and other matters concerning lunar exploration.

After witnessing the anomalies in orbital space-"flat Earth," the "Van Allen Radiation Belt," the "Lorentz Force Spiral," and "gravity failure"-he could no longer understand how past lunar missions had been carried out.

Surely the soft landings and the Jade Rabbit Lunar Rover weren't fake too?

But considering his own position, he wisely kept those questions to himself.

If he asked them, all his lies might unravel.

Well, I'll investigate it little by little once I'm free again.

His conversation with Deputy Director Bian soon ended.

Several officials from the State Security Bureau came over and discussed something with Deputy Director Bian. Afterward, he walked away looking worried, though not before giving Gao Jian a meaningful glance, reminding him to answer honestly.

The car window was closed again.

This time, he was taken away from his CNSA colleagues for good. The car wound through the sprawling complex for another half hour before stopping.

The place looked like a sanatorium. Its gray-white perimeter wall was so high that even a pole-vaulting zombie would have struggled to clear it, and there was a sentry post at the entrance.

The sentry saluted and raised the barrier, allowing the car into the quiet compound. A few rows of camphor trees grew inside, but there was no other landscaping. The car stopped outside a small building, and Gao Jian obediently got out as directed.

The State Security Bureau personnel led Gao Jian down a corridor with pale blue vinyl flooring and into a spacious, brightly lit special observation room.

Looking at the warm yellow room, padded from floor to ceiling, Gao Jian silently grumbled. He had a feeling plenty of high-ranking corrupt officials had wept in here while confessing their crimes.

Should I squeeze out a couple of tears later too?

This padded room was very different from the cramped rooms described online, where one couldn't stand upright, lie straight, or sit comfortably. It had a single bed a meter wide and a padded armchair. There were even plenty of magazines on Party history available to read on a small padded table nearby.

This was clearly not a detention room that petty officials qualified for, but Gao Jian understood. He wasn't an actual criminal, so there was no need to torment him with one of those tiny padded rooms. He guessed he wouldn't be staying here very long.

Someone soon brought him bread and bottled water. Gao Jian helped himself without hesitation. Still hungry after eating and drinking, he even asked for two Jinluo King sausages and two Xizhilang jelly cups, then finished off a pear.

He kept feeling that his spiritual energy drained more slowly on a full stomach, though he wasn't sure whether it was all in his head.

Next came an elaborate series of medical examinations.

Several medical staff checked Gao Jian's temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate, and drew a tube of blood. Finally, they used something resembling a portable X-ray scanner to conduct a thorough full-body scan.

When they saw the tube of bright red blood and the reasonably clear X-ray images, the doctors exchanged subtle glances.

Gao Jian looked thoughtful.

"Engineer Gao, please rest here for now. If you need anything, press the bell by the bed. We hope you understand," one of the doctors said.

Gao Jian nodded obediently.

The door was locked from the outside.

His divine sense swept over the entire "sanatorium" without the slightest restraint.

The doctors hurried to an office with the test results. People from many different fields were gathered there, discussing a wide range of subjects. Gao Jian also noticed that his examination results were being sent to the capital through a specially encrypted channel.

After a while, they received instructions from their superiors. But those instructions were vague as well, making no mention whatsoever of impostors like "Robert."

Of course. How could they possibly discuss something like that openly?

Once the instructions arrived, the person in charge of the facility coordinated a series of "offensives" against Gao Jian. Psychological negotiation experts, psychiatrists, neurologists, and professionals of every description were all on hand. The sheer completeness of the lineup made his scalp prickle.

The questioning offensive continued late into the night.

Gao Jian had already told them about his body's original owner wetting his pants as a child. Even with the mental strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was now utterly drained.

So they're trying to wear me down...

Gao Jian pulled himself together, making sure the airtight story he had prepared remained watertight. No matter who he faced, he could give a plausible account.

To make it more convincing, he also deliberately let a few muddled and contradictory details slip out in his exhausted state, only to correct them in a fluster when asked again.

When had I ever suffered like this back home?

Even an interrogation under the oppressive divine sense of a Golden Core elder from the Punishment Hall hadn't put him under this much pressure.

At two in the morning.

Another familiar H9+ drove into the compound, and two distinguished-looking middle-aged men stepped out. One went to see the facility's leadership, while the other came straight to the observation room.

He showed his credentials and sent all the attendants away, then walked directly up to Gao Jian.

"Comrade Gao Jian, let me introduce myself first. My surname is Liu. You can call me Officer Liu. I'll give you a brief explanation of the situation. On instructions from our superiors, the investigation into the circumstances of your recent stay in the United States has been terminated. We'll contact you if there are any further arrangements. For now, our recommendation is that you go home and rest for a while. There's no hurry to get back to work."

Gao Jian stared for a moment.

"Go home?"

"Yes. Go home."

As he spoke, Officer Liu took the key and unlocked the observation room door.

Seeing Gao Jian still standing there in a daze, Officer Liu broke into a smile.

"If I remember correctly, your home is in Han Dong Province, isn't it? Come on. I'll take you to complete the paperwork so you can head back. Don't worry, I've already spoken to your superiors. This will count as leave without coming out of your annual allowance. Oh, right-your grandfather has been waiting for you for a long time."