Chapter 84

Seeing Xuyan drink several cups in succession without changing his expression, this time it was Wenshuzhi's turn to look troubled. He hurriedly said, "Come, come, let's eat some dishes first, chat slowly, try this shredded potato — by the way, little brother, looking at your physique and eyes, it seems you must have practiced martial arts for over ten years, right?"

Xuyan was stunned for a while before he reacted — what was Wenshuzhi talking about? Practicing martial arts? For many years? Was he mistaken? With his athletic ability, he often couldn't even jump over a one-meter bar, let alone practice martial arts?

"Brother Wen, I've never practiced martial arts, not in this life."

Wenshuzhi smiled naturally and said, "Then I must have been mistaken. But looking at your eyes, you seem like someone who has practiced. You really haven't practiced martial arts? What about qigong? I heard from Yaoyu that when you saved my old man, you seemed to have used some kind of power!"

Xuyan explained vaguely, "Oh, Brother Wen, you mean that? I've never practiced martial arts, but when I was in elementary school, I met an old man who taught me a breathing technique. I didn't understand it, but I kept practicing it. Although it didn't have much effect, it did make me feel more refreshed."

"Oh, I see, there are indeed experts among the common people — is that old man still around?"

"He? I don't know where he's from, but he often wandered around our elementary school, picking up trash and old things. No one knew his name; they just called him 'Old Trash.' After I graduated from elementary school and moved twice, I never saw him again — some classmates said he died long ago."

Another dead end.

Wenshuzhi glanced at Xuyan a few times, seeing his open and honest face, he couldn't tell if the young man was lying or telling the truth — well, it didn't matter, let's just assume he's telling the truth.

Wenshuzhi casually raised his glass and clinked it with Xuyan's. Perhaps because of the many debts, or perhaps because he was numb, Xuyan didn't refuse this time and drank it down in one gulp.

Xuyan hadn't eaten for a whole day and night. Although he had made some progress in his cultivation, eating was a psychological habit. When it was mealtime, even if he wasn't hungry, he still wanted to eat. He quickly cleared the table.

Wenshuzhi kept chatting with him, but Xuyan was enjoying his meal and didn't have much time to respond, only mumbling a few times. After a while, Wenshuzhi lost heart. He held his chopsticks, deep in thought, as if he had some deep worries.

Wenshuzhi's incessant talking didn't bother Xuyan much, but when he fell silent, Xuyan became curious. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and asked, "Brother Wen, you seem to have some troubles?"

"Ah, it's still about work. The higher-ups are pushing harder every day. We have hundreds of people running around the country, spending months, with money flowing like water, and time passing, but the investigation has made no progress — Brother Yan, to be honest, as the person in charge, I'm under a lot of pressure. If this joint task force doesn't produce results in another one or two months, the higher-ups will likely replace me. Then, I'll probably be sent to sit on a cold bench."

After a few cups of liquor, Xuyan felt much closer to Wenshuzhi: "How can they do that? The higher-ups are too unreasonable. Such a complex case, to thoroughly investigate it, isn't that easy at all?"

"Ah, little brother, that's how it is in the military. The higher-ups won't argue with you. If you solve the case, you're a hero, and you'll get rewards and promotions. If you can't solve it, no matter the reason, you're considered incompetent and useless, and you'll be sidelined. Especially this time, this task force is under the attention of the central leaders, and the higher-ups take it very seriously. If I fail this time, I might have to sit on a cold bench for the rest of my life, and I might never recover — my future prospects are probably over."

Wenshuzhi sighed, initially, he was just trying to gain Xuyan's sympathy, but as he spoke, he gradually became emotional and really started to worry about his situation: Yes, since the task force was established, hundreds of elite forces from the Ministry of State Security, the National Security Bureau, and the Public Security Bureau have been running around the country conducting investigations and experiments, and the expenses have already reached nearly 2 billion. With such a large investment of human and financial resources, if there's no result in the end, his fate would likely be no better than a lifetime on a cold bench.

Even if the higher-ups didn't punish him for his father's sake, he wouldn't have any chance of being heavily used in the future — as he said, he would probably just be a major general, and the gold star representing a general would likely be out of reach for him.

Seeing Wenshuzhi's dejected look, Xuyan felt a pang of sympathy. He said, "Brother Wen, this isn't your fault. The strange cases that have happened are not caused by humans. No matter how much your task force investigates, there won't be any results."

Hearing Xuyan say this, Wenshuzhi was overjoyed: This kid really knows the reason!

He didn't dare to look up at Xuyan, afraid that Xuyan would see the excitement in his eyes. He pretended to be drunk, drooping his head and mumbling, "Not caused by humans? Brother Yan, you're talking nonsense. If it's not caused by humans, is it natural?"

Xuyan thought seriously for a moment and nodded, "Brother Wen, you're right. Treat these recent strange cases as natural disasters, like earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis. There's no real cause for these things. Even if there is a cause, it's not something we humans can prevent."

"Brother Wen, if I were you, I'd disband this task force. You won't find anything, and continuing will just waste human and financial resources."

Hearing Xuyan's firm words, Wenshuzhi's heart raced. At this moment, he was almost certain that Xuyan knew the reason. Thinking that his hard work of the past half year had finally borne fruit, and the result was right in front of him, even the calm Wenshuzhi couldn't help but tremble slightly — in Wenshuzhi's view, getting the truth from Xuyan, a college student with no social experience, would be easier than taking something out of an open box.

Wenshuzhi was excited inside but showed no signs on the surface: "Little brother, I believe you, but I'm afraid the higher-ups won't! With hundreds of people suddenly going crazy and becoming killing machines, causing thousands of deaths and injuries, if you tell the higher-ups that it's a natural phenomenon, they won't accept it — even if it's a natural phenomenon, there must be a cause! Even for typhoons and earthquakes, there must be a mechanism and a cause. How can so many killing machines suddenly appear out of nowhere? If I report this to the higher-ups, they'll think I'm shirking responsibility and will still punish me."

Xuyan smacked his lips, admitting that Wenshuzhi had a point. It was indeed hard for normal people to accept that so many people suddenly went crazy due to a natural phenomenon.

"Brother Wen, there is a cause, but I'm afraid if I say it, the higher-ups will be even less likely to accept it."

"Brother Yan, don't be afraid. You haven't said it yet, how do you know the higher-ups won't accept it? Let me tell you, don't be fooled by TV. The real central leaders are very open-minded and can accept many new ideas, even some theories that seem unbelievable to us. The higher-ups will seriously research and consider them — Brother Yan, even if you tell me it's aliens causing trouble, the higher-ups can understand. After all, it's a reason, right?"

Hearing this, Xuyan felt better. He nodded and said, "That's good. If I tell you, Brother Wen, don't laugh at me! If you don't believe me, just consider it as me talking nonsense, and forget it."

"Hehe, Brother Yan, just say it, who else would laugh at you?"

"That's good. Brother Wen, you're a military officer, but do you believe in the netherworld and ghosts?"

Wenshuzhi frowned slightly but didn't simply answer "yes" or "no." Instead, he asked Xuyan, "Little brother, the netherworld you mentioned, is it the same one that the old man mentioned when he was sick?"

"Brother Wen, you know?"

"Yes, when you cured the old man and went back, my sister and brother-in-law told me about you and what you said — Brother Yan, you don't think these crazy people, like the old man, are also affected by the netherworld, do you? Are they also possessed?"

Xuyan was relieved: He had found a very good communication partner. Wenshuzhi not only had a broad perspective but also a sharp mind and strong acceptance ability. He quickly understood Xuyan's theory and could even apply it to other situations, saving Xuyan a lot of effort.

"Brother Wen, you're right: the passage to the netherworld has developed a crack, and the evil energy has entered our world. Those who encounter this evil energy will get sick — like the old man, covered in black energy, on the verge of death; while others will become bloodthirsty beasts, losing their reason and killing innocents."

Wenshuzhi listened intently, putting his hand in his pocket and secretly turning on the recording function on his phone. He asked, "Little brother, do you mean that the appearance of these crazy people, like the patients with the 'rapid organ failure syndrome,' is due to the netherworld? Where is this 'netherworld' you mentioned?"

"The netherworld... to be honest, Brother Wen, I don't fully understand this theory. According to my understanding, the netherworld is a very evil world different from ours, separated by different dimensions and not on the same plane... Uh, I think you can understand the concept of a plane, right?"

"Little brother, hehe, isn't this what you young people call '穿越' (穿越 means '穿越' in Chinese, which can be translated as 'time travel' or 'dimensional travel')? I've seen quite a few sci-fi movies and novels, so I understand this. But your theory is somewhat similar to something I heard in the U.S."

Wenshuzhi's understanding of his theory surprised Xuyan. He didn't expect that someone else had proposed a similar idea, which surprised him even more: "In the U.S.? Who said it?"

"It was a CIA investigator named Martin Fred. He speaks Chinese. When I was in the U.S., he was my host and accompanied me everywhere. During our chats, we exchanged some ideas.

Martin told me that he had a theory that these crazy people who kill innocently were not infected by a virus but were eroded by some evil force, losing their reason.

I asked him where this evil force came from. After some thought, he told me that he believed this evil force was not a product of our world but came from a different world — because I didn't fully agree with his idea, I didn't continue the discussion, but from his demeanor, he seemed to have some inside information."

Xuyan was surprised, "The Americans think the same?"

"I think it's not the official stance of the U.S. government, just Martin Fred's personal opinion — but little brother, let's get back to the point. What evidence do you have for your theory?"

Xuyan shook his head, "I don't have any evidence. But don't you find it strange that this strange disease and this manic disorder appeared at the same time?"

Wenshuzhi felt ashamed: As the head of the task force, he had been so focused on the crazy killers that he hadn't noticed the strange disease. His perspective was too narrow!

Wenshuzhi frowned, deep in thought, and said slowly, "Internally, we've given the crazy killers a code name, 'F Virus Mania Patients.' According to the timeline, the first batch of organ failure patients and the first batch of F Virus Mania patients indeed appeared at the same time. It's not impossible that they have the same cause.

Little brother, you cured the old man's organ failure. Since the organ failure and the mania are caused by the same reason, can you also cure the F Virus Mania patients?"

Xuyan shook his head, "I can't. The mania patients have lost their reason and are no longer human. No matter how skilled the doctor, there's nothing that can be done... Wait, let me think!"

At this moment, Xuyan suddenly remembered what Zhu Youxiang had said. He remembered that Zhu Youxiang's second master had made a 'Demon-Exorcising Pill,' which was originally used to save and treat people possessed by evil spirits. He had accidentally used the Demon-Exorcising Pill on people affected by evil energy, and it worked very well — but he didn't know how it would work on people possessed by evil spirits.

"Brother Wen, I said there's no cure, but that might not be true. I have some ideas that might be worth trying, but..."

Xuyan thought for a long time and finally shook his head, "To solve the problem, it might not be effective."

Wenshuzhi was anxiously waiting for Xuyan to continue, but he didn't expect this answer. He couldn't help but ask, "Why wouldn't it be effective? Little brother, tell me!"

"To save people, we need a precious ancient pill. The formula for this pill has been lost, and the existing pills are very rare. Each pill used is one less. We can't save many people, and now we're facing frequent outbreaks of crazy killers across the country — the remaining pills are not enough."

Wenshuzhi thought for a moment and asked, "Little brother, how many of those ancient pills are left?"

Zhu Youxiang had given Xuyan a full bottle of pills. Xuyan had used two on Gong Xueting's father and Wen Lao, leaving at least fifty to sixty pills. But in front of Wenshuzhi, Xuyan was cautious: "Those pills, there are only four left. The formula has been lost, and it's hard to find them again."

"Four pills... to save a mania patient, how many pills are needed?"

"To treat the old man's condition, one pill is enough. But the mania is more complicated. I think at least two pills are needed to cure it."

Wenshuzhi waved his hand decisively, "In that case, four pills are enough! Two pills to save people, and if it works, the other two can be used for analysis and replication — that should be enough."

Xuyan was stunned, looking at Wenshuzhi and shaking his head, "Brother Wen, I think we don't know the formula and the manufacturing process of this ancient pill. It might be very difficult to replicate."

Wenshuzhi was very confident, as if Xuyan's concerns were not worth mentioning. He said confidently, "Replication is not a problem, little brother. With modern technology and civilization, if the country puts all its efforts into it, what problem can't be solved?

We have so many scientists and medical experts, so many advanced technologies and instruments. I don't believe that with modern technology and advanced extraction equipment, we can't do better than the ancient alchemists."

Looking at Wenshuzhi's confident appearance, Xuyan hesitated — to be honest, although Wenshuzhi was very confident, Xuyan didn't really believe he could replicate Zhu Youxiang's pills. Zhu Youxiang had said that the effectiveness of the Demon-Exorcising Pill was due to the large amount of spiritual energy infused into it. According to the Earth's technological system, there is no concept of spiritual energy. Even if the pills were crushed and each component analyzed under a microscope, Xuyan didn't believe that Earth's technology could replicate the spiritual energy from the Ming Dynasty.

Seeing Wenshuzhi's confident appearance, Xuyan didn't want to dampen his spirits and said vaguely, "Um, okay, let's hope it goes well."

Seeing Xuyan's anxious look, Wenshuzhi smiled — this was a difference in thinking.

Xuyan was worried about the inability to replicate the pills, but for Wenshuzhi, this concern was irrelevant.

First, Wenshuzhi believed that with modern technology and intelligence, and with the highest level of national support, gathering the most advanced pharmaceutical technology in the country, replicating ancient pills should not be difficult;

Second, even if replication failed, Wenshuzhi would not suffer any loss. His task was to find the cause of the strange disease and provide corresponding countermeasures to the country. As long as Xuyan's pills were effective, even if they saved only one mania patient, it would prove that Wenshuzhi had found a way to deal with the mania, indirectly proving the correctness of Xuyan's theory, and completing his task — even if it was incomplete, this stage of results would allow him to complete his task.

As for the inability to replicate the pills — that was not Wenshuzhi's responsibility. He was an intelligence officer, not a leader of the Ministry of Health or the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The inability to replicate the pills was not his responsibility, so he was not worried about this issue.

Now, Wenshuzhi was only worried about one thing: whether Xuyan's pills were really effective and could cure the mania patients. As long as this was confirmed, all other problems would be solved.

He stared at Xuyan with bright eyes, "Brother Yan, where are those four pills now?"

"They are in my room at home."

Wenshuzhi's first reaction was to go with Xuyan to get the pills, but he suppressed his impulse and asked, "Brother Yan,