"Less than a hundred." Mei Yiqiu said this with a hint of frustration. " The Lester Signature is too difficult. Besides requiring a high level of mathematics and logic, it also requires mastering deep self-hypnosis. Most importantly, the Lester Signature itself is the most difficult code in the world to decipher. The decoder must be familiar with the signer's past thought patterns in order to find the coordinates of their consciousness."
"Scientists aren't necessarily good at hypnosis, and those who can hypnotize might be mathematically illiterate. Even if you manage to find a group of people who have mastered the Lester Signature, there's no guarantee you'll find suitable people to decipher it."
Mei Yiqiu sighed, emptied the tobacco from his extinguished pipe, refilled it with tobacco, lit it with a match, and puffed away.
"With seven billion people in the world, we can't know how many have been compromised. We can only determine how many are normal within a small circle. Tragically, this small group of so-called scientists has no power to change this phenomenon."
"Then what about the government? Will the United Nations intervene?" Mei Ziqing couldn't help but ask.
Mei Yiqiu snorted through his nose, "Towards the end of the Copenhagen Conference, government representatives from several major countries arrived, but they simply didn't believe it was true."
Qingmu said, "I'm afraid they're more unwilling to believe it! If they did believe it, how would those government officials prove their innocence? Would they have to get Lester Signature from the president down?"
"That's right!" Mei Yiqiu said, "That's the most tragic part. Faced with this catastrophe, no government can step in to organize things; humanity is just a disorganized mess, and crucially, we have no means of resistance."
"Perhaps things aren't so bad!" Mei Ziqing was a cheerful and optimistic girl; her beautiful and intelligent smile often eased the tense atmosphere in the dreary laboratory. "Since no large-scale invasion has been detected yet, it means they also have some concerns or weaknesses!"
Mei Yiqiu his head and sighed, "We know nothing about them."
Qingmu said, "Professor, she's right. I don't think the situation is out of control yet."
"Oh? What's your opinion?" Mei Yiqiu asked.
" Xia Wenyuan's gray matter layer developed fibrotic lesions, which I initially suspected were related to the invading shadow in his dreams. In Cuanzhou, I met a patient with similar brain lesions. Although the doctor diagnosed it as a complication of leukemia, I was almost certain that she had encountered the same thing as Xia Wenyuan."
Then Qingmu gave a general overview of Yao Jingjing's mother's situation and asked Mei Yiqiu to help see if Wu University Affiliated Hospital could arrange a hospital bed and surgery.
"No problem, I'll call Dean Zhou of the medical school right away."
Mei Yiqiu swiftly, picking up the phone and making the call immediately. In Wuzhong, his words carried weight no less than the mayor's. No sooner had he finished the call than the vice president of Wu University Affiliated Hospital called, inquiring in detail about the patient's name and information, saying that the best bed had been reserved and that the best specialists would be arranged for a consultation.
After hanging up the phone, Mei Yiqiu asked Qingmu, "When are you going to bring the patient over? I need to personally examine the brain lesion."
Qingmu said, "I'll arrange it as soon as possible."
Mei Yiqiu thought for a moment and said, "How about this, have Elder Xia send someone to pick him up. Rich people can do this kind of thing much faster than you; a private jet will do the trick. You contact the Xia Family later, and I'll go with you to see him."
"And Ziqing," Mei Yiqiu instructed Mei Ziqing again, "Contact Dr. Smith at Hopkins Medical Center and have them send over Mr. Lester's death report and related documents."
Mei Ziqing said "yes" and immediately went to contact Hopkins Medical Center in the United States.
Mei Yiqiu said to Qingmu, "I understand what you mean. All those who have been invaded may have one thing in common—fibrotic lesions in the cerebral cortex. So, those who don't currently have this disease are safe, is that right?"
Qingmu said, "Currently, it seems to be related to Tushu."
Mei Yiqiu shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not entirely true! Although I don't yet know the final outcome of this brain disease, from your description, I can roughly guess that if this disease is left untreated, the brain will fail, and the person may become a vegetable. If that's the case, why would they invade us? What's the use of occupying the body of a vegetable?"
Qingmu thought for a moment and said, " Xia Wenyuan's private doctor Peter, seems to have said that there are no more than ten similar cases in the world, and they are all celebrities."
Mei Yiqiu said, "There should be more than ten, they just haven't been discovered yet." He tapped the table lightly with his pipe. " Mei Ziqing is right, the situation shouldn't be out of control yet. Don't be fooled by this race's lack of memory; they're very intelligent, naturally adept at choosing their targets. Their first targets were all people who could have a significant impact on the world—scholars, politicians, celebrities, and the wealthy. Hmm, look at Lester and Xia Wenyuan, they're very representative figures. As for the brain lesions..."
Mei Yiqiu scratched his Einstein- esque afro. "It's very likely that they encountered strong resistance. Perhaps they have something like a self-destruct device that will activate under certain circumstances. If they can't take over this body, they'll find a way to destroy it."
Qingmu said, "This doesn't seem to make sense! Consciousness can block nerve transmission, but it can't affect the metabolism of human cells, let alone change the physical properties of brain cells. The intruder is a conscious entity, so how could it cause brain damage? This is why I've been hesitant to connect the two things."
Mei Yiqiu nodded and said, "You're right. Hopefully our guess is wrong, otherwise things will be even more complicated!"
Qingmu asked, puzzled, "Didn't you just say things weren't out of control yet?"
"Everything has two sides. You have to think of it this way: since their target is still social celebrities, it means that most ordinary people have not yet been invaded," Mei Yiqiu said.
"I agree with that." Qingmu was certain that the people around him were all normal; if anything unusual happened to them, he would have noticed, and the Boss Coal would have too. As for Yao Jingjing's mother, something important must be hidden in that secret area of her brain. But how did the "aliens" know that?
Mei Yiqiu continued, "From another perspective, there are only about a dozen known cases of brain lesions worldwide. Does that mean that other celebrities, including those who control most of the technology, power, and wealth in human society—such as engineers in Silicon Valley, financial tycoons on Wall Street, and presidents, prime ministers, and generals in various countries—have already been taken over by invaders?"
Mei Ziqing returned with a report and overheard the professor's deduction. She was so shocked that she stood there speechless, her mouth agape.
Even Qingmu, a lazy person who never took anything to heart, felt a chill run down his spine and said, "It's not that serious, is it? You're fine, aren't you? If I were an intruder, I would definitely target someone like you first."
"Perhaps they think my influence isn't enough, and that's true. Controlling a president or general is far more useful than controlling an old man like me. Besides, there are fewer than a hundred people whose Lester Signature so far, and the scientific community is in great danger, let alone those foolish politicians and rich people!" Mei Yiqiu sighed, taking out an envelope. " Situ's warning was right—don't trust anyone!"