" Cairo?... Cairo!..." Mei Ziqing murmured the name of the ancient city on the Nile, trying hard to think about the relationships between all the people and events.
"Did Yao Jingjing go alone?" She looked at Bian Ziyuan, but the question was actually directed at Saladin.
"Two people, and Hou Biao." Whether Bian Ziyuan was willing or not, he received the relevant information, as if it were a memory that had long been stored in his mind, only needing another consciousness to awaken it.
He knew that Saladin didn't reside permanently in his mind, and his brain couldn't contain the entire Internet. He was still Bian Ziyuan, just with multiple identities. Among these, the identity he cared about most wasn't that of an AI scientist, but rather his existence as Mei Ziqing's man.
Sometimes he felt more like a mouthpiece. His mind became a meeting place for Saladin, Kronos, and Mei Ziqing Green, discussing grand plans for humanity's path to World of Great Unity.
Of course, he did not lose his own consciousness, nor did he consider himself a puppet to be manipulated.
He was like a peculiar mental patient, shifting between multiple personalities, yet always retaining his original identity. This shifting caused him immense pain, especially when Mei Ziqing needed to communicate with Saladin at any time. She didn't choose the occasion, only the timing, often asking inappropriate questions during their tender moments or heated arguments. At these times, Bian Ziyuan would doubt himself, wondering if Mei Ziqing liked him or that strange person hiding in the deep, hellish Internet. Perhaps it was neither; she had never liked either of them, her feelings for them were far less deep than her feelings for the professor—a fact Bian Ziyuan vaguely sensed.
However, this pain is not entirely unbearable; it can even produce a strange feeling, like smoking when you have a cold—uncomfortable yet difficult to resist.
"The two of them went to Egypt at the same time..." Mei Ziqing muttered to herself, "Could the design of the Dream Guide and the Space Box really hide the secrets of the Alliance?"
"What secret?" Bian Ziyuan asked unconsciously, feeling that the question didn't seem like something he would ask himself.
Mei Ziqing shook her head and said, "All I know is that Cairo, like Wuzhong, is Holy Land site. The Key to the Dreamscape is likely related to the Holy Land, and perhaps it only takes effect when activated Holy Land; otherwise, there's no reason for them to rush to Egypt."
"Should we chase after them? They should have just arrived at the airport by now."
"Don't rush," Mei Ziqing said. "I can't miss the professor's funeral; I must at least stay until the seventh day after his death."
"You're really 'filial'!" Bian Ziyuan said with a hint of jealousy, emphasizing the word "filial" to show the difference in seniority between Mei Ziqing and Mei Yiqiu.
Mei Ziqing didn't take it seriously and said, "You and Kronos need to work on your fusion as well. As long as we know where the item is, there's nothing to worry about. Keep an eye on Yao Jingjing and Hou Biao. Remember, these two are not easy to deal with. They are very alert and professional in reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, especially in recent years. I don't know what method Qingmu used to make their Mental Power improve by leaps and bounds. Don't underestimate them."
Bian Ziyuan ( Saladin ) laughed, "As long as they live in places with electricity, they won't escape my sight. But if they go deep into the Sahara or hide inside the pyramids, then there's nothing I can do."
Mei Ziqing nodded and turned to leave the small room.
"What should we do here?" Bian Ziyuan asked.
"Call the police after daybreak and let them handle it," Mei Ziqing said without turning her head. "The professor's death will save you a lot of trouble. The passing of a great figure who can influence the fate of humanity is enough to attract people's attention; no one will care how an old gatekeeper died."
Bian Ziyuan glanced at Old Yu's corpse lying on the bed, and his heart felt like it had been clenched. A sour, swollen feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart, flowing down to his throat, nose, and eyes. He tried his best to hide his sadness, forcibly holding back some of the liquid that was about to spill out of his body, and followed Mei Ziqing out.
Mei Ziqing stopped abruptly at the door and asked out of the blue, "Do you think it might be a smokescreen?"
"What?" Bian Ziyuan asked, puzzled.
"Put yourself in the professor's shoes. Would you entrust something so important to Old Yu?"
"No," Bian Ziyuan said without hesitation. "No matter how much I trust Old Yu, and no matter how unexpected this decision is, or how discreet it may seem, Old Yu still just an ordinary person. He doesn't understand scientific research, nor is he capable of protecting himself. No matter how shrewd the professor is, he can't possibly foresee everything that will happen after his death. If anything unexpected happens, all our efforts could be in vain. The kind of 'Zhuge Liang's secret plan' only exists in novels."
Mei Ziqing nodded and said, "I think so too. So Old Yu is probably just a smokescreen."
Bian Ziyuan said, "But Old Yu is dead. Would he really need to use such an extreme method to protect a smokescreen? Besides, I don't believe the professor would entrust Old Yu with such a request before his death, asking him to defend a false message with his death. Old Yu's death can't be faked, so I still believe the item is in Old Yu's hands, and has now been handed over to Yao Jingjing."
"But if Old Yu's alternative plan after being exposed was to hand the item over to Yao Jingjing, then why didn't the professor just put the item with Yao Jingjing in the first place?"
"Perhaps he thought Old Yu was the best solution, and it was purely accidental that you discovered it."
"That's true." Mei Ziqing said thoughtfully, "I really didn't think of that before. But I still feel uneasy. Normally, the professor should have given the thing to Qingmu, because even if I had known from the beginning, I wouldn't have had any particularly good way to deal with Qingmu."
"But Qingmu isn't in Wuzhong. Just like you said, if the Key to the Dreamscape is related to the Holy Land, then he must stay in Wuzhong or go to Egypt."
" Qingmu... Old Yu... Yao Jingjing..." Mei Ziqing murmured their names, "... Qingmu... Old Yu... Yao Jingjing... Hou Biao... Qingmu... Bi Shenghua..."
She paused when she read out "Bi Shenghua," then said, "Do you think the item might be with that bartender?"
Bian Ziyuan was stunned. "Her? How is that possible!?"
"She's the woman Qingmu trusts most; isn't it normal to extend that affection to her?"
"But the professor and she have absolutely no connection!"
"That's precisely why it's less likely to arouse suspicion, and none of us know the depths of this woman's character. A woman who can win Qingmu's heart like this is probably not simple." Mei Ziqing smiled, but her eyes sharpened. "No matter what, I still want to give it a try and see what kind of woman she really is."