CDJMM – Volume 2 – Chapter 10 The State Slaps and Teaches the Scum a Lesson (10)

After passing through more than a dozen checkpoints and being searched three times by soldiers, Chu Gangsong finally arrived at his destination for this trip—the so-called “Black Box.”

The term “black box” originally referred to a flight data recorder, but now it had become the nickname for their usual meeting room.

This meeting room was located underground and was said to withstand nuclear bombs and magnitude-eight earthquakes. It was quite small, only about twenty square meters, with no windows. Without the lights on, it would be pitch-dark—hence the name “Black Box.”

Inside, the room was brightly lit. A few colleagues who had arrived early were sitting around the round table, chatting in low voices. Their team leader, Luan Hang, was poring over a thick stack of documents.

Chu Gangsong quietly sat down.

Kong Dubo from the Ministry of Public Security gave him a smile and pointed at his dark circles.  “Didn’t sleep well?”

Chu Gangsong gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Didn’t sleep at all.”

Kong Dubo chuckled, shaking his head in mild reproach. “Still too young.”

Chu Gangsong let out a helpless sigh. “I’ve been through my share of storms. Back in the ’70s, I was seasoned on the battlefield too. But this matter… it’s too shocking. If not for…” He shook his head again and left the rest unsaid.

Cang Bohai from the Ministry of State Security exhaled a smoke ring, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and grinned as he joined in. “It’s just time travel. The concept has been explored in countless literary works both domestic and foreign, and physics has long produced endless theories to back it up. Nothing strange about it. In the future world where ‘Canned Food’ supposedly comes from, who’s to say they haven’t already developed space-time travel?”

Ge Yi from Military Intelligence frowned and seriously refuted him. “If ‘Canned Food’ really comes from the future, then he wouldn’t be able to change past history. That’s a paradox. I once read a French sci-fi novel that mentioned the ‘grandmother paradox’: if you travel to the past and kill your grandmother, then your father would never be born, and neither would you. But if you were never born, then who was it that traveled back to kill your grandmother?”

As they spoke, another three or four people trickled in, sat down around the table, and joined the discussion.

An elder from the Public Security side, an old veteran investigator named Guan Zhou, chimed in: “The grandmother paradox actually proves the existence of parallel worlds. Because the grandson traveled to a parallel world and killed the grandmother of that parallel world, his own life trajectory in his original world remains unaffected. So I believe it’s entirely possible that ‘Canned Food’ comes from some parallel world in the future.”

Those present were all top talents—elites among elites—brimming with knowledge. For a while, they cited theories and references freely, their discussion soaring in all directions.

Once Professor Zhu Liang from the Public Security University sat down, all ten members of the “Seeking Fox” special task force had finally arrived.

Luan Hang lifted his head at last. “Since everyone is here, let’s begin the meeting.”

“These are some basic materials. Take a look, then tell me your thoughts on this individual we call ‘Canned Food.’”

The codename itself had been debated within the team. In the end, Luan Hang had deliberately chosen “Canned Food” to confuse foreign intelligence agencies.

Chu Gangsong took the file handed to him. His pupils contracted. There were only a few short paragraphs, but he read them very slowly. His brain was running at high speed, turning over every word carefully, chewing on them bit by bit. His colleagues did the same.

After some time, Luan Hang asked, “Finished reading? Share your opinions.”

Professor Zhu Liang from the Public Security University adjusted his glasses and spoke first.  “Then allow me to break the ice. Please correct me if I’m wrong. First, based on the wording in the letter, I judge that ‘Canned Food’ is likely male. His phrasing and sentence structure carry a distinctly masculine tone. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that ‘he’ is actually a woman suffering from gender identity disorder.”

Chu Gangsong nodded inwardly. He agreed with this assessment.

Seeing that no one objected, Zhu Liang continued: “Second, his IQ is very high. But he also possesses the common flaw of highly intelligent people: arrogance. He has a strong desire to win, and he loves seeking thrills. This is evident from the fact that he boldly took the initiative to contact us, allowing us to find him. He seems to relish this dangerous cat-and-mouse game with us, and being able to toy with the entire state apparatus in the palm of his hand makes him quite proud.”

Cang Bohai followed up: “I also believe he’s male. And I think he suffers from some form of personality disorder—most likely histrionic personality disorder, also called attention-seeking or hysterical personality disorder. Out of a need for attention and stimulation, he sent us this letter, hoping to draw the gaze and focus of the entire nation upon himself.”

Zhu Liang immediately refuted, “From my interpretation of the wording and phrasing in these few passages, he’s a rather calm and rational person. That doesn’t match the traits of a histrionic personality with excessive emotional overflow. However, I do think he shows some characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder…”

The others followed by sharing their own interpretations of the materials, each giving their views on whether Canned Food had a personality disorder.

Among them, the soldier Ge Yi put forward a refreshing perspective: “I’m a straightforward guy, I think in simple and crude terms. Honestly, I think you’re overcomplicating things—histrionic personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder—just listening to it gives me a headache. Have you ever thought that maybe Canned Food revealed secrets from the future purely out of patriotism? As for this game he set up to make us search for him, maybe it’s just a joke he’s playing on us.”

“That’s right, that’s what I was thinking too. Actually…” Chu Gangsong hesitated for a few seconds, unsure if he should continue.

Team leader Luan Hang spoke up, “Xiao Chu, just say it. Maybe it’ll open a new path of thought for us.”

So Chu Gangsong carefully said, “I’m not certain, it’s just a thought. What if the reason Canned Food sent us this letter… was to ask us for help?”

At these words, everyone’s expression changed. They all asked at once: “What do you mean by that?”

“Help? Where do you see that?”

Kong Dubo, a seasoned veteran of national security, reacted quickly and asked, “You mean Canned Food is actually in some kind of monitored or dangerous situation, which prevents him from reaching out to us directly, so he can only use this roundabout way to draw our attention?”

He frowned deeply, then added, “But that doesn’t add up. If that were the case, he could’ve just slipped us his location, so we could go and rescue him.”

Chu Gangsong gave an embarrassed smile, “It’s just a thought I had, maybe I’m overthinking it.”

Luan Hang was silent for a moment before saying, “No. I think Xiao Chu has a point. We can’t dismiss any possibilities. We must prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

Veteran criminal investigator Guan Zhou from the police agreed with a grave face, “Team Leader Luan is right. This matter is of great importance, with many connections and implications. Anything could happen—we have to prepare for the worst.”

Zhu Liang pushed up his glasses, “If Canned Food truly is seeking help from us, then he’s very likely to continue sending us letters. If, on the other hand, he has a personality disorder and just craves attention, then when he sees no reaction after a while, he’ll also continue sending us letters, revealing more clues. Of course…”

He glanced at Ge Yi with a slight smile, “If Canned Food really is a patriot, even better. In that case, he’ll definitely keep sending us letters, giving us more hidden knowledge from the future.”

Kong Dubo stared at him, “So… we can only wait?”

Luan Hang wearily removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, “For now, yes. I’ve already had the relevant departments investigate all organizations, institutions, and individuals nationwide with computers, checking for any unusual activity on their machines in recent days. The results aren’t back yet, so all we can do is wait. At the same time, I’ve instructed customs to conduct strict political reviews and checks on all recent departures abroad.”

He gave a bitter laugh, “If Canned Food isn’t in the country, then we’ll truly be at a dead end.”

Cang Bohai immediately spoke up, “I think, given Canned Food’s proud and arrogant personality, he wouldn’t flee abroad. He’d stay here, waiting for us to find him.”

Zhu Liang said, “Right now, we’ve already deduced that Canned Food is very likely male, highly intelligent, proficient in advanced computer technology, and possibly has some kind of personality disorder. This should significantly narrow down the scope of the census. Moreover, since Canned Food came from the future, he must have some conspicuous abnormal behaviors. We could start investigating from that angle.”

Luan Hang nodded, “That’s indeed a good entry point.”

The group meeting lasted for a long time, with members speaking freely from their respective fields, giving a comprehensive interpretation of Canned Food.

After the meeting adjourned, these high-IQ elites from different departments returned to their organizations. Mobilizing every possible human and material resource, they launched a massive nationwide census.

Le Jing sat at his desk, bored out of his mind, while Li Yian’s endless chatter buzzed in his ears:  “You only scored two points higher than me, what’s there to be so proud about? I just didn’t do well this time. Next time—next time…” His voice grew quieter and quieter until he stopped altogether.

Le Jing cast him a cool glance, “Next time what?”

The disdain in the teenager’s eyes stung Li Yian, and his brain short-circuited, forgetting his grandfather’s advice altogether. “You actually look down on me! If you look down on me, you’re looking down on my grandfather! Do you know who my grandfather is?”

Le Jing: …

Li Yian lifted his chin proudly, “Of course you don’t. If I told you, it would scare you!”

He opened his Chinese textbook, flipped directly to The Last Person Who Didn’t Take Drugs, and, pointing at the author’s name, declared with pride, “See this? Author Mr. Li Jingran—that’s my grand-uncle! And in the first-year textbook, Mr. Zhou Dezhuang’s The Burial of a City, that was written about his funeral!”

Le Jing: “…Oh.”

Li Yian grew furious, “What kind of reaction is that?! How can you be so indifferent?! Don’t you have even the most basic respect for revolutionary martyrs?!”

Lè · Revolutionary Martyr · Jing casually replied, “Mm, I respect him (myself) a lot.”

Li Yian glared angrily, about to continue when a classmate called from the doorway, “Li Yian, Song Caiying from Class Three is looking for you!”

Song Caiying was the class beauty of Class Three, the dream girl of countless boys. The eyes of everyone in the room immediately turned strange, some even whistling and making sarcastic jeers.

Li Yian gave a cold snort and swaggered out.

Typical.

Le Jing wasn’t surprised at all.

Earlier, when he’d taken a few days off due to food poisoning, he had learned from the system that Li Yian had started flirting with the heroine. Over the past week, the two often met in secret, but this was the first time they’d met openly at the classroom door.

This meant a critical plot point was about to begin.

Le Jing thought for a moment and decided—it was time to send the country his second letter.