Hou Biao was assigned by Qingmu to be Mei Yiqiu's bodyguard, so he was present during their conversation. After glancing at the list, he pointed to one of the assassins' names and said, "I know this guy. He used to be in a mercenary group in France. After their captain died and the group disbanded, he went solo. He's a tough one."
Qingmu then asked, "Where are the others?"
Hou Biao shook his head and said, "I don't know them. They're probably all young people. This line of work is all about youth. Once they get older, they either die or are covered in injuries. Those who are alive earn enough money and then go somewhere to retire."
Qingmu said, "Can we find them? It's too passive of us to wait for the assassins to come to us."
Hou Biao said, "We can try, but I can't guarantee it will work. Assassin organizations and mercenaries are essentially no different; they both kill for money. The only difference is that assassins generally don't participate in wars, while mercenaries take on any job. However..."
"But what?"
Hou Biao hesitated for a moment and said, "Even if we find them, I can't handle them by myself."
Qingmu thought it made sense, but judging from Hou Biao's expression, there must be a way, otherwise he would have refused earlier. A person like him never beats around the bush when he speaks.
What do you need?
"Money!" Hou Biao answered decisively. "Whether it's an assassin or a mercenary, they all get jobs through middlemen. Except during wartime, they generally don't contact their clients directly. However, to get information from the middleman, you have to pay a good price. Also, I need to find some helpers, which also requires money."
"How much?" Qingmu asked.
Hou Biao held out his palm and said, "Fifty million, US dollars."
Qingmu scratched his head. He didn't have much of a concept of money, but he knew that fifty million US dollars was no small sum, so he looked at Mei Yiqiu.
The professor coughed and said, "Logically speaking, I can't touch the Foundation's accounts, and our Space Box development is at a critical stage, plus we need to research and launch encrypted communication satellites. We're short of money right now, but since this concerns the overall situation, I can make an exception. However, even so, I can only come up with 20 million. The rest... let that old wolf in Vancouver cover it. Maybe he can help in other ways."
Qingmu knew that the "old wolf" he was referring to was William Wolf, so he said to Hou Biao, "Do what you think is best, and try to find out who the employer is from the middleman."
Hou Biao said, "That's difficult. People in this line of work value their reputation more than their lives. They might sell me the hitman's whereabouts for money, because that wouldn't be considered a breach of trust. But betraying their employer is like throwing away their own livelihood."
Mei Ziqing said angrily, "How can you talk about integrity when you're doing such a wicked business? You're just a hypocrite!"
Hou Biao's eyebrows twitched, but his expression remained unchanged; he simply shut his mouth and said nothing more.
Mei Yiqiu said, "Even thieves have their code of honor. They're not the only ones who commit heinous crimes. If we're talking about hypocrites, officials are the ones who deserve that title the most!"
Seeing the professor's serious expression, Mei Ziqing realized she had misspoke. She stuck out her tongue and quickly bowed, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Professor, I'm sorry, Mr. Hou, I shouldn't have said that."
Her apology made Hou Biao a little embarrassed. He hadn't been with the professor long, and although he saw Mei Ziqing Tiantian, they rarely spoke. Because Mei Ziqing spoke fluent Mandarin and her surname was Mei, Hou Biao had always assumed she was a relative of the professor. Only now did he realize that this woman was not only beautiful, but her mannerisms and speech were somewhat Japan, and there was even a hint of the deeply hidden allure characteristic of Japan women in her eyes. He looked closely, and the more he looked, the more convinced he was of his judgment; he was just short of asking her aloud.
Qingmu didn't take Mei Ziqing's words seriously, saying, "It seems like uncovering the mastermind behind this won't be easy!"
Mei Yiqiu said, "Actually, there's no need to investigate anymore; we all know who did it."
Mei Ziqing said, "Professor, since the United Nations has established Space Management Committee, and various countries have issued statements promising maximum support in terms of both financial and human resources, why not apply for the arrest of Ronald Cohen, Ronald of the Dream Foundation?"
Mei Yiqiu said, " Ronald Cohen is no ordinary person, and the Dream Foundation is no ordinary small foundation. Most importantly, their members include many political figures from various countries, and perhaps even powerful individuals. Who are you going to send to arrest him? Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless conclusive evidence is found."
"Evidence..."
Just then, Mei Ziqing's phone rang. She answered it, said a few "uh-huhs," and then stood up and said, "Excuse me, there's a registered letter that I need to sign for." With that, she left.
When Mei Ziqing returned, he brought a large envelope and handed it to Mei Yiqiu. Mei Yiqiu opened the letter, chuckling, and said, "Before the quantum satellite network is built, we can only communicate using this primitive method. The more primitive, the safer!"
He opened the letter and read it for a while before handing it to Qingmu. The letter contained information about research progress on Gray Brain Virus and toxoplasmosis. Qingmu didn't understand it very well and only glanced at it before handing it to Mei Ziqing.
Mei Yiqiu said, "Based on the information we have so far, there are more cases of Gray Brain Virus than just the few we've discovered. Look at the last page; it lists some strange medical accidents and murders that have occurred around the world."
Mei Ziqing turned to the last page and read aloud, "From last Christmas to this August, there were 179 cases of vegetative state patients worldwide caused by unknown brain diseases, according to verifiable medical records. Of these, 123 cases could be ruled out as being related to the Gray Brain Virus. The remaining 56 patients all died, leaving no valuable information about their brains. Among these people, 22 underwent brain surgeries that defied medical common sense, another 26 were murdered, and eight had their organs stolen, including livers, hearts, kidneys, and... brains!"
Qingmu suddenly jolted awake and asked, "What? What did you say? Stealing kidneys and brains?"
Mei Yiqiu said, "Based on the current information, the Parasitic Consciousness will encounter resistance when it invades. When the resistance is strong, they will control Toxoplasma gondii to induce the Gray Brain Virus, weakening the person's resistance due to brain lesions, so that they can successfully parasitize. The worst outcome of the Gray Brain Virus is to turn people into a vegetable, but they don't want humans to discover the existence of the Gray Brain Virus too early, so they will definitely try their best to kill those people in a vegetable state, while destroying the evidence or destroying the brain."
"But the damage caused by the Gray Brain Virus is irreversible. So if they successfully infect someone, wouldn't they just be infecting a disabled person?" Mei Ziqing asked.
"They don't care about disabilities!" Mei Yiqiu said. "Maybe they can't feel pain at all, or they don't care about pain. They only care about whether their parasitism will succeed, whether they can control the Earth's resources, and whether they can expand their race."
Qingmu didn't hear a word they were saying; he was currently searching his memory: kidney theft... brain... Gray Brain Virus... Dream Foundation...
He suddenly stood up, somewhat excitedly saying, "Maybe we've captured an alien!"