Tong Wenshi

Biodata

Background / History

Before the Imperial Capital’s evacuation, Tong Wenshi directed an unspecified bureau. During the evacuation, he brought more than twenty thousand survivors from the capital and surrounding routes to the grasslands. The survivors elected him their interim leader, and he helped restore social order in a settlement that eventually housed more than forty thousand people 20 22 25.

His administration also preserved classified national records evacuated from the capital. These archives covered industry, engineering, science, geography, mineral resources, economics, finance, and cultural history. Their possession was a major basis for the settlement leadership’s claim to represent the legitimate government 38.

Appearance

• Wears glasses and initially appears no older than forty or fifty 20.
• Has pronounced facial wrinkles, withered hair, weary eyes, and weather-beaten hands 23 24 26.
• Looks noticeably younger as his stress diminishes during his stay in No. 1 Spacetime 35.

Personality

Tong Wenshi is cautious and evidence-minded. His physics education makes Zhang Tianyuan’s claims about parallel worlds and prophecy difficult to accept, but he investigates rather than rejecting them outright. He asks for technical corroboration, consults his colleagues, and repeatedly questions what the visitors stand to gain from helping his people 21 22 23.

His central political concern is preserving his country’s independence. Although he regards No. 1 Spacetime’s people as cultural kin and is willing to shelter them, he refuses to treat shared ancestry as justification for annexation. He seeks Zhang Tianyuan’s protection because his depleted country cannot independently restrain its vastly stronger counterpart 24 28.

Once committed, he acts quickly: he recruits the Second Branch’s first core members overnight and publicly announces cooperation despite widespread disbelief. His concern also extends beyond his own nationals; while planning Antarctic relief, he asks that foreign research stations receive supplies rather than be left to freeze 25 26 45.

Abilities & Skills

Administration and Organization

• Led a large survivor evacuation and helped rebuild an orderly community on the grasslands 20 22 25.
• Recruited four initial core members for the Mutual Aid Society’s Second Branch in a single night 25.
• Organized population-wide assemblies and later supervised preparations for the settlement’s move south 25 39 45.

Diplomacy and Political Judgment

• Identifies the risk that temporary refuge could become permanent occupation or assimilation 24 28.
• Negotiates reciprocal aid: industrial and military assistance for his world in exchange for sheltering No. 1 Spacetime’s refugees and supporting its eventual reconstruction 31 32.
• Studies films and history books to assess the parallel country’s historical development, population, and industrial strength 28.

Scientific Literacy

• Understands the concept of parallel spacetimes through his physics studies 21.
• Recognizes the limits of his expertise and defers assessment of military command systems to an adviser and programming specialists 21 22.
• Does not demonstrate Zhang Tianyuan’s supernatural abilities: his attempt to imitate Zhang’s materialization of documents produces nothing 24.

Relationships

• Zhang Tianyuan — Aid partner and prospective protector. Tong seeks his backing against possible annexation, organizes the Second Branch at his request, and later relies on his mediation during interworld negotiations 23 24 28 31.
• Bai Xu — Representative of the Mutual Aid Society’s First Branch. Bai explains his world’s evacuation needs and remains in Legend World to help establish the Second Branch while Tong travels to No. 1 Spacetime 23 25 26.
• No. 1 Spacetime’s senior leadership — Counterpart government and mutual-aid partner. Tong initially fears their country’s overwhelming strength, but both sides agree to reconstruction assistance, temporary refuge, and eventual return migration 28 31 32.
• Xu Tianji — Engineering team leader whom Tong authorizes to consult and transfer classified national records for reconstruction planning 38.
• Grassland survivors — His electorate and the people he helped evacuate. They respect his organizational ability but initially believe he has been deceived by the Mutual Aid Society’s claims 20 25 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

First Contact with the Mutual Aid Society

Tong meets Zhang Tianyuan’s convoy after it reaches the grassland settlement. Its specialized military equipment attracts his attention, but the name “Parallel Spacetime Mutual Aid Society” initially raises suspicions of a cult. He requests proof of the visitors’ origins and agrees to have their command systems inspected 20 21.

The specialists find that the visitors’ systems have distinct underlying code and design requirements, supporting their claim to represent an independent military. Tong resumes negotiations but continues to question their motives. Zhang explains that Bai Xu’s world needs somewhere to shelter its population during its own predicted apocalypse 22 23.

Membership and the Search for Protection

After consulting the other settlement leaders, Tong visits Zhang privately and signs the member-state application. He receives fifty thousand individual applications and agrees to establish a local branch. He also signs an individual membership form himself 23 24.

His decision is partly an attempt to secure an independent backer. He fears that admitting more than a billion refugees could allow the parallel country to absorb his country’s remaining population and national assets. Zhang’s assignment gives him hope that his people have value to the Society beyond merely providing territory 24.

Tong recruits four core branch members overnight, then addresses the settlement’s forty thousand survivors. His announcement of parallel-world assistance meets accusations of fraud and cult activity. Rather than postponing cooperation, he announces that he and the pregnant women will travel to the other spacetime 25 26.

Crossing and Interworld Negotiations

Zhang transports Tong, the pregnant women, and the wooden speaking platform directly into No. 1 Spacetime’s containment facility. Seeing the new surroundings finally confirms parallel travel for Tong. He helps record a reassurance video for those left behind and undergoes disinfection, examination, and quarantine 26 27.

During isolation, he makes telephone contact with the parallel government and studies its history. After a month, he completes quarantine and joins the first formal meeting between the worlds. There, he also experiences the school chairs that improve memory and learning ability 28 29.

The resulting agreement exchanges No. 1 Spacetime’s manpower, supplies, and reconstruction assistance for temporary refuge in No. 2 Spacetime. Tong promises to help the refugees return and rebuild after their disaster. He also supports settling foreign refugees in Africa rather than within his own country 31 32.

Reconstruction and the Return South

Tong returns with the first large aid convoy, whose personnel total 9,956. At the settlement, he announces that more assistance will follow and that the visitors intend to help drive out the Darkseekers within a year 35 37.

He grants the engineering team access to the evacuated national archives and permits their transfer to No. 1 Spacetime. He then recommends reclaiming the Imperial Capital’s radio station so its nationwide emergency broadcast can announce the Society’s arrival. While Zhang’s expedition carries out that mission, Tong prepares the settlement to move south 38 39 41.

Antarctic Rescue Planning

After clearance operations begin in the capital, Tong travels there by helicopter to retrieve additional classified documents. News of surviving astronauts prompts him and Zhang to consider whether Antarctica’s isolation and cold might also have protected research-station personnel 42 44.

They recover a roster showing that 166 people had staffed their country’s three Antarctic stations when the outbreak began. Tong urges their rescue and asks that foreign stations also receive supplies. While Zhang returns to No. 1 Spacetime to seek expedition support, Tong resumes overseeing the camp’s southward relocation 45.

Notable Quotes

“They have vast resources at their disposal, so naturally they have the confidence to face anything. We, on the other hand, are treading on thin ice. Every decision has to be made carefully.” 23

“If we could send some supplies to the other research stations, that would be good too. We can't just watch them freeze to death on the Antarctica Continent.” 45