It's Situ again!
Qingmu felt inexplicably irritated, wondering how this person could be involved in everything.
"Professor, do you know Situ?" he asked.
Mei Yiqiu countered with a question, "You know Situ too?"
Qingmu shook his head and said, "I don't know him, but I've heard a lot about him lately. Several things I've encountered recently have been related to him."
Mei Yiqiu said, "I see. I'm not sure if we're talking about the same person. The Situ I know is a Chinese-American genius scientist, his English name is Arthur Stone, but he's commonly known as Situ in Chinese circles. Many years ago, when I was still at Princeton, he was making waves at various prestigious universities. I met him a few times, but we weren't close. However, he's a true genius. Mr. Lester has written to me about him several times, and his words hinted at the idea of having him follow in his footsteps."
Mei Ziqing said in surprise, "That's not right. According to you, he should be quite old, but the person I met in Copenhagen looked very young!"
Mei Yiqiu said, "That's why I said this Situ may not be that Situ!"
Qingmu, however, was more interested in the young man Mei Ziqing had mentioned. "What did the person you met look like?"
"He's so handsome... um... I can't find any other word to describe him besides handsome." Mei Ziqing tilted her head back, her eyes staring blankly into the distance, unfocused, as if sleepwalking. It took her a long time to recover, and then her face flushed. "Please forgive my lapse. That person is just... too handsome!"
Qingmu recalled how the girls at the music academy were even more infatuated with Situ than Mei Ziqing was now. He was pretty sure that the person they were talking about, and the one who made Du Juan fall in love at first sight, was the same person. But Du Juan was only thirteen years old when she first met Situ, which meant that at least ten years ago, Situ was already a handsome young man and had the ability to activate the Group Dream Realm left behind by Kitano Masatake.
If the Situ that Mei Yiqiu knew was the same one that Mei Ziqing met, then the world would have another monster like Duwa that never ages.
Do all members of the Awakeners' Alliance possess the art of preserving youth? This is truly a miracle in the field of life sciences.
Thinking of the Awakeners' Alliance, Qingmu recalled that symbol, "Professor, did you mention any progress on the underwater pyramid expedition at the Copenhagen conference?"
"They're all gone!" Mei Yiqiu exclaimed.
"What's gone?" Qingmu asked.
Mei Yiqiu looked sorrowful and kept smoking.
"The professor means that the underwater ruins are gone." Mei Ziqing was familiar with the agenda of the Copenhagen Conference; she knew everything except for Lester's last words. "Not only the underwater ruins and the inverted pyramid have disappeared, but also several Ghost Island that have just been relocated, and the research vessel carrying dozens of researchers."
Qingmu had no say in this kind of scientific expedition accident, so he didn't ask any more questions. In any case, he already knew that the mark was the emblem of the Awakeners' Alliance, and that he had some vague connection with the Alliance. As for what exactly that connection was, he would probably have to find out once he found the woman who exuded that strange fragrance.
What Qingmu couldn't understand was why that woman had disappeared after just one visit. If she didn't want to be found at all, then what was the point of her putting on that show at the bar that day?
Mei Yiqiu was smoking there, seemingly lost in thought. His eyes were bloodshot and red, whether from not sleeping for several days or from being exposed to too much smoke, it was hard to tell. Seeing the professor's worrying condition, Qingmu got up to say goodbye and told him to get some rest.
Mei Yiqiu added a final reminder: "Don't forget to schedule an appointment with Elder Xia. Rich people like that always act like their time is more precious than Einstein's, requiring appointments to see everyone."
Mei Ziqing chuckled and said, "Don't you also need to make an appointment to see a professor? Look how many people you've turned down since you got back, you didn't even answer the mayor's call."
"That's different!" Mei Yiqiu pursed his lips, but couldn't quite put his finger on how it was different, so he asked, "Besides the mayor, who else has come to see me?"
Mei Ziqing said, "They are all your school colleagues and students, as well as a few reporters and companies that came to discuss cooperation with you."
"None of that matters!" Mei Yiqiu said.
"Oh, right, there was a woman who said she'd been here a few times already. I think we should have been in Copenhagen then," Mei Ziqing said.
"Did she say anything?" Mei Yiqiu asked.
"No. She only said she had something very important to tell you in person," Mei Ziqing said, then added, "She's a very beautiful and elegant woman, and she has a child with her."
"Oh, alright. Next time she comes, take her to the meeting room." Mei Yiqiu had Mei Ziqing see Qingmu out, and then instructed, "Tell everyone to get back to work; there's no need to worry about Lester Signature anymore."
After seeing Qingmu downstairs, Mei Ziqing kept thanking Qingmu, "Thank you so much, Mr. Qingmu! You helped everyone out of that predicament. If it weren't for you, I don't know what kind of situation the professor would have gotten himself into!"
Qingmu smiled and said, "The professor is a very wise man. Even if I hadn't come, he would have adjusted quickly."
"Oh, really!" Mei Ziqing laughed. "But I should still thank you!"
After leaving the laboratory, Qingmu sat on a bench in the Riverside Park for a while. Although the Sun was blazing, he was used to sitting in that spot. From there, he could see the smooth river surface, with floating weeds from upstream drifting along the water, blocked by the riverbanks, forming a large expanse of green duckweed.
The idea of alien life forms invading sounds a bit far-fetched, but if even Japan devils were seen in Southern Yunnan, what could be more bizarre? Now, recalling what Duwa said about Situ searching for evidence that the two world wars were a dream, it suddenly doesn't seem so incredible.
Saving humanity is such a great undertaking that it has always been done by leaders or extraordinary geniuses. It's not something I could possibly do myself. But it would be nice to be able to participate with the scientists. The key is that this matter is very relevant to him, and if humanity were to perish, his life would be greatly affected.
The thought that everyone around me is an alien gives me goosebumps.
However, no matter how great a cause may be, it can only begin with guerrilla warfare using millet and rifles, especially since we don't even know where the enemy is right now.
Qingmu felt his mind was a bit of a mess, so he carefully sorted out his thoughts, intending to summarize what had happened recently and make a plan or something.
But the thought of summarizing and planning—such tedious and complicated things—made his head spin, just like when he saw the bill Bi Shenghua had given him. After enjoying the river view under the scorching Xia Tian sun for half a day, he finally came to three conclusions:
First, call Li Wei to arrange a meeting with Xia Wenyuan;
Secondly, ask Xia Wenyuan to help arrange for Mama Yao to come to Wuzhong;
Third, the Boss Coal must be hungry; hurry back and feed him.