88 Puppet Jade
National Academy of Sciences, Beijing
“Professor Cong! Professor Cong!” A slender young man rushed into the laboratory, holding a thick stack of documents.
“Hmm? Xiao He, what’s the matter?” A man in his thirties raised his head from the laboratory equipment. He was a well-groomed man, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat. He appeared meticulous and scholarly, exuding an intense academic aura.
“Professor Cong, it happened… that thing…” Xiao He said breathlessly.
“You should drink some water. Why are you running back and forth in the office? What’s the matter?” Cong Zhenzhong handed him a glass of water.
Xiao He didn’t take the water but instead handed the documents to Cong Zhenzhong. “Professor Cong, about seven to eight months ago, shortly after the earthquake, we detected a massive energy fluctuation in the direction of Yunnan. The energy value of that fluctuation was no less than the seismic activity caused by the Puppet Jade!”
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Usdt Hbldgbsdt yefwpvle bkp tzypplp. “Zlp, byp vbyv ldlatu qzwnvwyvksd alyrrlyale?”
Omnkvlezu dseekdt, Dkys Tl pyke, “Zlp, kv byp alyrrlyale! Rd vbl nldvayz altksd, okvbkd Fbyydmk’p csaelap, ycswv mm jkzsxlvlap qasx Jlkfkdt, kv fwpv byrrldle!”
Usdt Hbldgbsdt vssj vbl esnwxldvp yde iwknjzu qzkrrle vbaswtb vblx. Tkp cseu valxczle pzktbvzu, yde bl xwaxwale, “Rv yrrlyale ytykd. Mbyv ldlatu, rlabyrp vbl sdzu rsola vbyv nyd akhyz vbl Vwrrlv Kyel, byp qkdyzzu yrrlyale ytykd. Twaau, vyjl xl vs pll kv!”
***
Mbl dlmv xsadkdt, lhlausdl osjl wr zyvl.
Ubldt Mkydck osjl wr yde zssjle yv Nkw Wldtuw, obs oyp pzllrkdt lhld xsal pswdezu vbyd bkx. Tl oyzjle shla yde jknjle bkx, pyukdt, “Pked’v R vlzz usw vs jllr oyvnb?”
Swcckdt bkp lulp, Nkw Wldtuw pyke, “R eaydj vss xwnb. R’x ps vkale. Dky, nyd usw nssj…”
Usdt Dky alprsdele okvb y uyod, “Gzaktbv, R’zz es kv,” yp bl uyodle alrlyvlezu.
Cheng Tianbi wanted to slap him a couple of times. “I knew you’d make him do it. Go gather firewood.”
Liu Fengyu pursed his lips. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you? Then you do it.”
Cheng Tianbi glared down at him. “Gather firewood.”
Liu Fengyu crawled out of his sleeping bag dissatisfied, standing up as if he had no bones, and unsteadily went to gather firewood.
After Tang Yanqiu woke up, he helped Cong Xia prepare the cooking utensils. Once he finished, he went to the side and practiced a set of punches, full of vigor and without any signs of lethargy.
A thick layer of snow covered the ground, making a creaking sound when stepped on. Abu was hopping around, stomping on the snow and playing, while Zhuang Yao sat nearby with a notebook, scribbling and drawing while muttering to himself.
Cong Xia and Cheng Tianbi silently prepared breakfast. Cong Xia would occasionally glance at Cheng Tianbi and couldn’t help but smile, but Cheng Tianbi never looked up. Cong Xia thought that Cheng Tianbi seemed even more thin-skinned than him. Perhaps it was because he was young and had spent a long time in the military, so he hadn’t been exposed to much. Although Cong Xia didn’t have much combat experience either, at least he had lived in a mature social circle for many years, making him more open in that regard compared to Cheng Tianbi.
Suppressing his laughter, Cong Xia whispered, “Tianbi, what would you like to eat? Do you want congee or noodles?”
Cheng Tianbi murmured, “Whatever.”
“How about mushroom and meat congee?”
“Okay.”
Cong Xia couldn’t help but smile, feeling sweet inside.
When Liu Fengyu returned, he saw the two of them busy cooking. One had a tense expression, his ears turning red, while the other had a silly smile on his face. Liu Fengyu almost burst out laughing. Carrying a bundle of dry twigs, he walked over and bumped Cong Xia’s waist with his knee. “Hey, what’s with that silly smile?”
Cong Xia straightened up abruptly. “Huh? I’m not smiling.”
Liu Fengyu smirked. “I’m talking about what kind of messy things you have in your head, little virgin? You’re smiling like that…”
Cong Xia embarrassedly said, “I wasn’t smiling. You must have misunderstood. My face is just frozen stiff.”
Liu Fengyu pursed his lips. “Hmph, still not admitting it.”
Cong Xia handed over the dry twigs and quickly changed the subject. “Liu Ge, can you help me break the ones that are too long?”
While breaking the twigs, Liu Fengyu teased them. “Xiao Xia, your Liu Ge here has a lot of rich “combat” experience that hasn’t been put to use for a long time. If you ever need it, feel free to consult me anytime, free of charge. Just give me a pat on the shoulder.”
Cong Xia pretended to be clueless. “What are you saying? Oh, it’s too long, break it shorter.”
Liu Fengyu chuckled mischievously. “Let me tell you, when two men do it, lack of experience can easily lead to injuries. If you ever have a need, remember to consult me.”
Cheng Tianbi turned his head around and glared at him fiercely. “Stop talking nonsense…”
Liu Fengyu smirked in satisfaction.
Cong Xia was too scared to lift his head. This Liu Fengyu spoke so bluntly, mentioning things… doing… Cong Xia’s face turned red.
Zhuang Yao’s voice came to their rescue at the right moment. “Everyone, come over, let’s warm ourselves by the fire, have a meal, and then discuss what happened yesterday.” He looked at Cheng Tianbi. “Are you in the mood to talk now?”
Cheng Tianbi remained silent.
Cong Xia’s expression also became serious. What happened yesterday was too complicated, and he still found it hard to believe. After the immense joy, he also had some worries, especially with the ancient jade’s resistance to the Puppet Jade, which made him uneasy.
The five of them gathered around.
Zhuang Yao said, “Take out the things, both of you. There’s no need to hide anything, right?”
Cong Xia hesitated for a moment, then lifted his clothes and carefully unwrapped the layers of bandages around his stomach. A palm-sized, egg-shaped jade stone fell into his hand. The jade stone was flat and round, almost the same length as Cong Xia’s palm, four centimeters wide, and two centimeters thick. It had a dark green color, a simple and unadorned appearance, without any patterns. If placed in a jade store, it would be considered an unprocessed piece of jade, of ordinary quality. In this era, even if it was thrown by the roadside, no one would bother picking it up.
It was this unremarkable ancient jade stone, concealing the secret that could change the world.
Cheng Tianbi also took out the tiny piece of Puppet Jade from the inner pocket of his clothes, along with the silver-colored flexible metal that wrapped around the Puppet Jade.
Zhuang Yao took a deep breath, his desire for knowledge making his blood boil. He made a great effort to restrain the frenzied restlessness within his cells and whispered, “Let’s talk about the Puppet Jade first.”
He gently pinched the fragment of jade, the size of a fingernail, and looked at it in a place with sunlight. The black jade was very transparent and free of impurities, a top-quality jade material. How much Puppet Jade could there be in total, if such a small piece could store such immense energy? How large could it be?
Zhuang Yao placed the Puppet Jade back into Cheng Tianbi’s hand and picked up the piece of flexible metal that wrapped around it. “I don’t have any instruments here. When we get to Xi’an, let’s see if we can find some instruments to test its elemental values. I suspect this is a type of undiscovered metal. Just imagine, it can contain such vast energy and prevent it from leaking out, or perhaps it can prevent most of the energy from leaking out. Its molecular structure must be incredibly dense. This doesn’t seem like something from Earth… Huh?” Zhuang Yao suddenly frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhuang Yao blinked and moved the metal slightly to the side, away from his hand. Suddenly, his expression changed, and his entire arm, as if lifting a heavy object, leaned forward and slammed onto the ground with a loud thud.
Everyone was startled.
Cong Xia exclaimed, “What happened?”
“It’s so heavy… quickly, pick it up…” Zhuang Yao’s face turned pale. If it wasn’t for his overly realistic performance, he couldn’t believe that the thing he said was heavy was actually a metal piece the size of a quail egg resting in his palm.
Cheng Tianbi used his fingers to pinch the metal piece and his expression also changed. “It’s really heavy.”
Zhuang Yao said, “No, bring the Puppet Jade over here.”
Cheng Tianbi quickly handed the Puppet Jade to Zhuang Yao. Zhuang Yao let out a long sigh, as if everything that just happened hadn’t occurred, and effortlessly lifted the two thin objects.
“What’s going on?” everyone exclaimed in astonishment.
Zhuang Yao shook his arm, almost dislocating it. “This flexible metal becomes heavier the farther away it is from the Puppet Jade. When it’s together with the Puppet Jade, it’s almost weightless. It’s truly incredible. This is definitely something that has never been excavated by humans.”
“So amazing?” Liu Fengyu was skeptical. He picked up the flexible metal himself and gently moved it to the side, just as Zhuang Yao had described. Indeed, the farther away from the Puppet Jade, the heavier it became. He could barely lift it with one hand, and he had to catch his breath before putting the metal back.
Cong Xia sighed, “There are so many things we don’t know.”
Zhuang Yao said, “Cheng Tianbi, tell us how you came across something like this.”
Cheng Tianbi paused for a moment and said, “I can’t provide too many specifics. If it wasn’t for being forced into a desperate situation yesterday, I wouldn’t have brought it out. Firstly, I didn’t know this was Puppet Jade. When the Bat person appeared, I had my suspicions, but I couldn’t be sure. Secondly, as you may have guessed, I’m a member of the scientific expedition team. I left Golmud ahead of time and survived the devastation of the earthquake in order to bring the Puppet Jade back to Beijing.”
“Just this small piece? And why didn’t you fly directly back to Beijing, but instead went to Yunnan?” Zhuang Yao inquired.
Cheng Tianbi firmly stated, “Please refrain from asking any more questions.”
“Let me guess,” Zhuang Yao took a deep breath. “Here’s my speculation about the whole situation. You are a member of the scientific expedition team and were tasked with escorting a group of scientists to Golmud. They somehow detected a massive energy reaction in Golmud, one that could be comparable to the energy contained within the entire Earth. Of course, you probably didn’t know about this in advance; you were simply carrying out your mission. Why do I know this? Because when I was in Beijing, the theory of ‘Cambrian consciousness’ proposed by that man had already caused panic in the scientific community. At that time, everyone believed that if such consciousness truly existed, it would need to be triggered by a certain catalyst, a certain energy, such as causing large-scale earthquakes, tsunamis, global warming, glacial melting, volcanic eruptions—methods that the Earth is capable of using to annihilate species. ‘Cambrian consciousness’ wouldn’t seek to counter humans through something as simple as brainwaves making everyone commit suicide, but rather through some physical attacks, just like what has happened to many species throughout history, such as dinosaurs. Therefore, in order to unleash some form of global-impact physical action, it would require an immense and unparalleled amount of energy. Such energy couldn’t have appeared out of thin air, but if it truly exists, it couldn’t have gone undetected all this time. There are only two possibilities: either this energy is external, like extraterrestrial meteorites, or this energy has been hidden away. Most people discarded the first possibility because if there truly was an extraterrestrial energy capable of easily destroying humanity, even if humanity knew about it, they wouldn’t be able to stop it. So, their focus shifted to the second possibility: where and how could the energy capable of overturning the entire planet be hidden?”
Zhuang Yao surveyed the group and continued, “I have been researching this speculation for several years. Before I left Beijing, there were already reports that the man had found traces of this energy. Two years later, the Beijing authorities sent the scientific expedition team to Golmud. So, my guess is that the man discovered that the energy capable of overturning the entire planet is in Golmud. In other words, the Puppet Jade, which contains immense energy without any attributes, is in Golmud. They went to Golmud for some reason, which caused a massive energy outbreak. Or perhaps, it was because the time for ‘Cambrian consciousness’ to counterbalance humanity had arrived, and they simply triggered a medium, resulting in a major earthquake. The attribute-less energy instantly radiated globally, marking the official arrival of the Second Cambrian Period, with species worldwide undergoing rapid evolution and humanity facing its doomsday.”
After Zhuang Yao finished speaking, no one uttered a word. In just a few sentences, a highly plausible speculation was made about the causes and consequences of humanity’s plight. However, knowing the truth didn’t bring them any comfort. On the contrary, they felt a chilling sense of powerlessness reflected in this event.
The human race, with its life, thoughts, and emotions, was insignificant compared to the Cambrian consciousness. With just a gentle trigger of a mechanism, humanity would perish like rats thrown into molten iron.
Humanity, as a species, had spent hundreds of millions of years slowly transitioning from the sea to land, evolving into upright beings. It took millions of years to learn to make tools and gradually develop intelligence and the ability to think. Then, over thousands of years, civilizations, knowledge, and science were established. Through the efforts of countless generations, striving for stable and prosperous lives, humanity had finally reached the pinnacle of civilization that this planet’s species could achieve, with advanced technology enriching the lives of ordinary people in the present era, continuously progressing.
However, all of this meant nothing to the Cambrian consciousness. It believed that humanity had developed too rapidly, occupying the survival space of other species. With a mere turn of its body, the Cambrian consciousness could destroy the struggles and efforts of humanity over hundreds of millions of years!
Such a tragic and terrifying reality it was.
The existence of the Cambrian consciousness revealed to them that the ultimate outcome of development was not a better life, but rather destruction—a merciless and unforgiving destruction!
Zhuang Yao’s tone became heavy as well. “Back then, they had you bring back a small piece of the Puppet Jade to Beijing, perhaps as a sample. Since you didn’t even know it was the Puppet Jade, you were unaware of the nature of the thing implanted in your body, and unaware of the soft metal as well. However, I can be certain that the soft metal is what conceals the Puppet Jade. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to find something to hide the Puppet Jade in such a short time. In any case, you left ahead of time with the Puppet Jade and escaped a disaster. As for the people who remained in Golmud at that time, there has been no news from them, most likely they are dead. As for why you didn’t fly directly back to Beijing but went to Yunnan, my guess is that when those people found this small piece of Puppet Jade, it caused a small-scale leakage of energy, resulting in communication system failures and the inability of planes to take off. So, you had to go to the nearest Yunnan to catch a flight?”
Cheng Tianbi remained silent.
Zhuang Yao continued, “I believe my speculations are not far off the mark, but I don’t know the specific details. However, the appearance of this Puppet Jade has unraveled many mysteries in my mind and made the truth clearer.”
Cong Xia silently stared at the tiny fragment of jade and felt a sense of fear when facing the Puppet Jade, which was completely black.
Zhuang Yao said, “Now that we have discussed this, let’s talk about the role of the Puppet Jade in relation to what happened yesterday.” He shifted his gaze to Cong Xia.
***************
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