Huang Liang thought he had finally figured out the organization's purpose in sending him to Los Angeles —to enter the Wolf Family through Professor Mei Yiqiu's introduction, which would undoubtedly make it easier to gain their trust, because of Professor Mei's special status and his good personal relationship with Old Wolf, as well as their business cooperation— the Wolf Family had invested a large sum of money in the Space Box project.
What Huang Liang couldn't understand was how the organization knew that Mei Yiqiu would recommend Huang Liang to Vancouver. It was entirely the professor's whim, and before that, there was no indication that Professor Mei needed to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor for massage and cupping.
If all of this was part of the second leader's plan, then this leader was truly all-powerful, making Huang Liang feel a chill run down his spine.
He also considered another possibility: that Professor Mei had been successfully parasitized and had become a member of the organization. However, this possibility was extremely low, because the organization had once issued an assassination list, which included scientists whose names Lester Signature, and Mei Yiqiu's name was on the list.
Now that Lester Signature has been obtained, it will be extremely difficult to parasitize again. Moreover, if Mei Yiqiu one of their own, Howard wouldn't have said that the organization wanted to find a way to seize control of the Space Box project, and wouldn't have planned to send him to Wuzhong to investigate Mei Laboratory. Isn't the Space Box project in Professor Mei's hands?
Huang Liang guessed and guessed, but he still couldn't figure out what was going on.
The professor's views on the integration of different cultures, especially those involving different races, always seemed to carry a deeper meaning. He even suspected that this highly respected old professor and the second leader had reached some tacit understanding—perhaps they both knew the truth but kept it to themselves, helping each other out for their own benefit?
If that's the case, Huang Liang has to consider what role he played in all of this—was he just a pawn?
He didn't want to be a pawn; he wanted to see the whole game clearly.
However, he still tried his best to maintain a steady and cautious style of conduct, and did not easily reveal his true thoughts. He believed that no one knew his trump card. Even Qingmu had not been seen for more than a year, and the changes that had taken place in him during that year surprised even himself.
Mei Yiqiu offered to take Huang Liang to Vancouver, but Huang Liang dared not agree rashly, as he could not act without the organization's permission. However, he did not receive that mysterious phone call again. Instead, the clinic where he worked received a large deposit from the professor, and then assigned him a work order to Vancouver and gave him an advance of $10,000, saying that he would receive a bonus of $20,000 after completing the job.
Huang Liang didn't know how much Mei Yiqiu paid the clinic, but if he could get 30,000, the clinic would receive a considerable sum.
His impression of scientists was that, apart from devoting everything to scientific research, they were always stingy with money in their daily lives. This amount of money didn't seem like it came from the old professor. He guessed that it was from the Wolf Family, but the clinic didn't mention Wolf's name.
After Mei Yiqiu finished his activities in Los Angeles, he asked Mei Ziqing to call him and ask if he wanted to travel with them or go alone, since it was very convenient to get from Los Angeles to Vancouver, only a three-hour flight.
Huang Liang thought for a moment. Since the organization had no new assignments, he should accept the work arranged by the clinic. He was now very interested in the relationship between the seriously ill Mr. Wolf, Professor Mei, and the organization's second leader. Was his trip to Vancouver arranged by the organization, a coincidence, or something else entirely?
However, when he arrived in Vancouver, he discovered that the person Professor Mei had taken him to see was not William Wolf at all, but an old man Dickinson.
Dickinson lived in an old-fashioned villa in Vancouver and owned a spotted dog that was just as old as him.
"Mei! China Mei!" Dickinson cried out as soon as he saw Mei Yiqiu, spreading his arms wide. He looked so thin that one worried the wind might blow him away from the doorway.
Mei Yiqiu clearly also very excited, and stepped forward to hug him tightly. " Charlie! It's so good to see that you're alright!"
Charlie Dickinson pointed to his temple and said, "I'm physically fine, but I have a terrible headache, and my IQ has clearly dropped."
Is it because of a bad memory?
"No, it's not memory, my memory is excellent. I still remember what you looked like when you were studying at Princeton, and your close female friend. I even helped you pass her a little note! What was written on that note again—"
Oh, dear Selina, you shine like a supernova, I can't pretend I can't see you.
I may be a black hole in your eyes, and no one can see my brilliance, but as long as you are willing to try to get close to me, you will find that you can never leave me!
Dickinson read aloud with great interest, then burst into laughter. "I said you were really boring back then. Everyone else was writing about sunshine, beaches, and sunflowers in their love letters, but you were writing about supernovae, quantum mechanics, and gravity. Well, you were certainly confident, comparing yourself to a black hole, hahaha..."
Mei Yiqiu laughed along, "That's all ancient history! Oh, by the way, do you... have any news about Selina? Is she doing well?"
Dickinson said, " Selina's doing great in Florida, walking her dog and taking care of her grandchildren every day. She's much more comfortable than us old folks!"
"That's good, that's good." Mei Yiqiu looked up at the azure sky of Vancouver and said thoughtfully, "Being able to live an ordinary life is a lucky thing!"
Dickinson pulled his arm and said, "Alright, stop reminiscing, come in and have some tea. I have some good tea here; I know you China people all like to drink tea."
Upon entering the living room, Mei Yiqiu introduced Huang Liang and Hou Biao to Dickinson, then sat on the sofa and asked:
" Dickinson, your memory is fine, so what's with the claim of a decline in IQ?"
Dickinson brewed a few cups of tea, brought them over and placed them on the coffee table, saying, "My memory is fine, but my logical thinking ability has declined significantly. I can no longer solve some reasoning problems that high school students can do."
"Is it that serious?" Mei Yiqiu in surprise. "Logic is your specialty!"
Dickinson laughed, "Indeed, even my dreams are a jumbled mess now, because my memories can't be logically reconstructed effectively, so my dreams are probably the strangest in the world."
After listening, Huang Liang felt that Dickinson's symptoms were somewhat similar to neurasthenia. The decreased logical thinking ability might be the reason for his inability to concentrate, but strangely, his memory had not declined, because neurasthenia is usually accompanied by memory loss. When Dickens talked about dreaming, Huang Liang became interested.
However, out of caution, he said nothing. He wasn't sure what Mei Yiqiu had brought him here for—to give this old man a massage? He himself found it a bit ridiculous; given Professor Mei's status, she wouldn't do such a thing. Vancouver couldn't possibly be without a massage therapist.
Mei Yiqiu sighed, "You've really gone to a lot of trouble! If there are any adverse consequences, we can stop the experiment."
Dickinson said, "What could be more miserable than blindness? I would rather lose everything than be scientifically blind. To keep the eyes of mankind open, I'll be a guinea pig, even if I die!"
Mei Yiqiu nodded, pointed at Huang Liang, and said, "In a little while, Dr. Huang will use acupuncture to test the inductive response of the nerve bundles before and after the chip. You know, sometimes, advanced instruments may not be as effective as these ancient and primitive methods."