Ye Wenjie, watch my moves closely.

Evans and Peterson were taken to a military train overnight and placed under strict guard.

A medical team from the big city also checked into the town's hospital at the same time, bringing the best treatment results to Yang Weining and Ye Wenjie.

Zhang Zhi'ao did not leave. When the sun rose, he and Li Youyu returned to the house where they had found Cheng Lihua.

By the light of daylight, Li Youyu saw the bloodstains on the ceiling, which Ye Wenjie had covered with her own wounds.

"The Trisolarans' communication parameters..."

It's fair to say that neither he nor Evans were winners last night.

However, without Ye Wenjie and Yang Weining, Li Youyu would be a complete loser.

Looking at the whole affair, the only variable was Cheng Lihua. He didn't expect that Cheng Lihua would return just when Evans was about to fall into his trap.

This is too strange. The entire operation was kept highly confidential. How could Cheng Lihua, who doesn't even have an official position, know about it?

There's a mole inside?

No, Li Youyu rejected his own idea.

Those who know the inside story are all trustworthy people.

They couldn't possibly leak the information to Cheng Lihua.

The only breakthrough lies with Cheng Lihua.

Unfortunately, Li Youyu shattered her brain with just three shots.

I was a bit impulsive.

Li Youyu thought to himself.

"What do we do now? Should we cancel the show?"

Zhang Zhi'ao interrupted Li Youyu's thoughts.

Having obtained information about the Trisolarans, it's virtually impossible to get Evans to spend money. "Should we...?"

Zhang Zhi'ao made a throat-slitting gesture.

"I can only say it's very tricky."

Li Youyu frowned. "Evans's visit to China is not a secret. He has a secretary, family, and interest groups related to his huge wealth. If Evans doesn't return for a long time, it will definitely be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If it is not handled properly, it may become a diplomatic incident. Moreover, Cheng Lihua's matter is strange. There is no reason for her to come here without any information channels."

Based on the timeline, the country is already in conflict with one superpower, so it is impossible for it to become hostile to another superpower.

Zhang Zhi'ao sighed.

Being constantly constrained by others made him feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

Li Youyu spoke with the elderly man via a special phone line, and he was equally surprised by Cheng Lihua's sudden appearance.

"She exploited a loophole in the judicial system to escape punishment, and I only just found out about this... Someone will investigate the relevant personnel, but everyone involved in this matter has a normal logic of action, and no one is particularly eccentric."

The "eccentric" behavior the old man was referring to was like Li Youyu, a kind of person who was artificially and mechanically possessed, and whose actions were inconsistent.

He worried that there might be a second Li Youyu.

"I had the National Security Agency investigate her life, and the only change was a letter."

"letter?"

"A month ago, the postman delivered a letter to her, and that's when she started preparing to come. We've found the postman, and he's fine. The key issue now is that letter. The National Security Bureau hasn't found it and suspects she might be carrying it with her. Can you try to find that letter? I need to know its contents."

After hanging up the phone, Li Youyu searched for Cheng Lihua's belongings but found no letter. He also found nothing at her temporary residence.

During this period, Yang Weining and Ye Wenjie have been recovering well and do not need to stay in the hospital indefinitely. They can return to Qijiatun to recuperate.

On the night of her discharge from the hospital, Ye Wenjie handed Li Youyu a letter stained with blood.

Li Youyu opened the letter and saw a line of small print instructing him to direct Cheng Lihua to this location...

Bring the Three-Body Problem data you have to Evans.

This is the direct cause of the variable that led to Cheng Lihua.

But what's strange is that if the sender knew what Evans wanted, why didn't he contact Evans directly?

This motive is too strange.

Li Youyu repeatedly looked through the letter. There was no signature, no postmark, and even the font was a deliberately imitated printed font.

The only possible trace left is that obsessive-compulsive folding method: folding it three times vertically, and then folding it horizontally once more.

There wasn't much information available, but Li Youyu had a vague feeling that the letter was incredibly familiar. He thought about it for a long time, until the perfect full moon in the sky set and rose again, but he still couldn't figure it out.

Before long, Li Youyu had no time to think about it anymore.

News has arrived from the capital.

Evans was charged with espionage, and the interest groups behind him were willing to pay a large sum to bail him out of the country. The exact amount was not specified, but the funding for the particle collider project at the Institute of High Energy Physics was secured.

As for whether Evans, who has returned, still possesses normal intelligence, that remains to be seen.

Although it sounds terrible, it seems better than being sliced ​​into pieces by nano-knives decades later.

The Mid-Autumn Festival arrived in the blink of an eye, and the Red Coast Special Operation was nearing its end. Around noon, the group gathered in Qijiatun for a meal. During the meal, Zhang Zhi'ao and Li Youyu discussed more details of the negotiations. The negotiations had gone so smoothly for two reasons: first, the ransom was entirely paid by Evans himself; second, influenced by international oil prices, the United States was facing an energy crisis, and the government was willing to provide a batch of crude oil at below-market prices to alleviate the immediate crisis.

But in fact, this batch of crude oil was stockpiled by the government based on intelligence provided by Li Youyu. Even though the selling price was far lower than the market price, it was still more than twice as expensive as when it was purchased six months ago.

With both factors combined, the United States naturally wouldn't delve into Evans's case.

Ultimately, national interests are the most important.

After finishing their meal, Zhang Zhi'ao toasted Yang Weining a few more times, and they exchanged addresses and contact information.

He planned to bring his son, Zhang Beihai, to visit him more often after returning to Beijing.

Ye Wenjie saw the silly kindergarten photo of Zhang Beihai and couldn't stop smiling.

In a flash of insight, she suddenly spotted the little girl laughing happily in the corner.

It was Lin Yun, the child whose mother sacrificed herself in the border war.

Ye Wenjie's heart clenched. She couldn't help but think that today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for family reunion.

What is Lin Yun doing at this very moment?

-----

In the kindergarten of the military dependents' compound.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. As soon as get out of class ended, the children rushed out of the classroom with their schoolbags on their backs and ran into their parents' arms.

Lin Yun sat in the corner, covering his ears with his hands, silently reciting ancient poems, ignoring the noise outside the window.

Just then.

A piece of milk candy appeared in front of her.

Lin Yun frowned and looked up, only to see a little boy with snot running down his nose grinning foolishly at him.

"What are you doing, Zhang Beihai?"

Zhang Beihai sniffled and said, "The teacher said in class that children should learn to share. Today is a holiday, so I'm sharing this candy with you."

"unnecessary,"

Lin Yun lowered her head and pouted.

Zhang Beihai grabbed her hand and forcefully stuffed the candy into it. Lin Yun felt a little touched, but then she suddenly heard Zhang Beihai say, "You don't have a mother anymore, but I do, so you need this candy more than I do."

Boom!

Zhang Beihai took a solid punch to the back.

He burst into tears, successfully recruiting a kindergarten teacher.

After learning the whole story, the teacher didn't know whether to say Zhang Beihai was kind or naive. She could only carry Zhang Beihai's schoolbag in one hand and take him to the school gate with the other, handing him over to his mother who had come to pick him up.

After hearing the teacher's description, Zhang Beihai's mother was both amused and exasperated. She stuffed the two mooncakes in her hand into the teacher's hands and said, "I know about Lin Yun's situation. The little girl is so pitiful. Give these two mooncakes to her."

"Mom, that's me..."

"Shut up."

"..."

The teacher smiled awkwardly, took two mooncakes back to the classroom, and asked with a smile, "Little Lin Yun, your dad went to the army base today and can't pick you up. Would you like to sleep at the kindergarten with me?"

Lin Yun shook his head and said calmly, "My mother will come to pick me up."

The teacher's smile faded. She patted Lin Yun's head and said softly, "Little Yun, your mother has sacrificed herself and won't come to pick you up."

Lin Yun didn't answer the teacher's question. Instead, she stared intently at her book and repeated, "Dad won't come to pick me up, but Mom will."