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墨書 Inktalez
"Why?!" Jack's words reminded me that he was hiding many things from me, including this Sand Table Model. "What the hell is going on? How much have you been up to behind my back? Do you know what happened at my shop? It got struck by lightning! You know what's going on, right?"
"Zhang, just promise me you won't mess with that Sand Table Model anymore."
"Why should I promise you? You have one too, don't you? Why is it okay for you but not for me? You need to clarify things today. You've been scheming with AE for years, and I've been working for nothing. I'm losing everything here."
"Zhang, some things are not convenient to discuss right now."
"What do you mean 'not convenient'? Are there people around you, or are you under surveillance?"
"That's not what I mean. I’m alone here."
"Then just come clean. Stop beating around the bush. First, tell me why my shop attracted lightning; don’t give me that it was an accident. Luckily, I wasn’t at the shop; otherwise, I would have been roasted like a pig. What does it have to do with the Sand Table Model? You copied—"
Before I could finish my sentence, Jack's loud voice came through the phone.
"SP! Zhang, there’s no one here, but your conversation might be overheard by others. Do you understand?"
The lights in my room were off, and the heating was strong; it wasn't cold inside. What was cold was my heart. Suddenly, I felt as if countless eyes were peering at me from the darkness, countless ears listening to every sound I made. I felt like a white mouse trapped in a cage.
I took a deep breath and involuntarily lowered my voice to ask, "Are you sure?"
As if that would help me evade those spying on me. Perhaps my voice sounded more like a thief's. Jack's tone on the other end was filled with concern for me.
"Yes. Zhang, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I replied somewhat dejectedly.
But I wasn't fine. I had matters to discuss with him, and personally, I was struggling too. I felt as if I had suddenly developed anxiety and claustrophobia. Lying in this silent room with no one around offered no sense of security; I desperately longed to be in a bustling environment where being lost in a crowd seemed like the only way to escape the eyes and ears lurking in the darkness.
"Zhang, you don't have to be upset. I'll start the adaptive training right away and will join you as soon as possible."
"Why do you insist on participating in this expedition? You should know the dangers involved. Is it really worth it?"
"It is worth it. I didn't get to see the Eternal Gate! Damn it. I fainted at that moment. I must go back, even if it means dying beneath the Eternal Gate. I'm prepared for the worst, but those who were prepared didn't make it to the last moment. So, I must go to Lop Nur and I'm willing to pay any price."
I let out a silent bitter laugh. Yes, at The Eternal Gate of the Hakka People, we had already ascended the altar and seen the keyhole of the Eternal Gate. But at that moment, Jack was unconscious; even when he was painfully awakened, his consciousness was still hazy. There was no way he could see what the Eternal Gate looked like.
"Alright, I'll wait for you here. I'm also waiting for your answer, Jack. You need to think carefully; when we meet next time, you should be honest with me about some things. I don't want to be led around by others. If your answer doesn't satisfy me, I can make sure you won't get to Lop Nur. You should know that in this Expedition Team, my importance surpasses yours and that of your backers."
"I will give you a satisfactory answer. Zhang, take care."
"You too."
The call ended in a heavy silence. In my warm bed, my heart and body felt devoid of warmth. It was as if I were in an ice cellar; I couldn't dare close my eyes nor could I manage to do so. It seemed that falling asleep would signify death.
It didn't matter where Jack got my phone number; what mattered was the information he provided: my phone was being tapped.
I thought about how much impact my shop being struck by lightning had; it had somehow made its way to America. Of course, it was more likely that ae had ears here. However, I was quite touched that Jack took the risk to call me. He knew my phone was being monitored and still reached out; he must have been under immense pressure. I believed that the higher-ups at ae wouldn't allow him to make this call.
Then another thought struck me. Since my phone was being tapped, any conversation I had with others would also reach certain ears. What worried me most was if my conversation with A San leaked out; that would be deadly.
Even though a conversation with Cao Mingzhe leaking would also be troublesome and enough for me to face serious consequences, he would have to clean up after any mess since he was involved too.
But if something went wrong on A San's end, my plans would fall apart—at least half of them would go down the drain. I would lose my right to choose; regardless of what the Eternal Gate truly was, I could only go see it and see if I could rescue Xiao Guolin and Song Guilong. There would be no possibility of taking further action against it.
In fact, I trusted Xiao Guolin's choice more than anything else. I believed that this thing's existence posed a threat not only to me and those who had come into contact with it but also to our world.
I thought carefully and then bought a new phone card to call A San. In such a short time, there shouldn't be any monitoring on my call yet. Moreover, my conversation with A San didn't involve specific tasks; it was just a request for him not to contact anyone else, meaning so far, my secret hadn't leaked out.
Changing phone cards? Useless. Perhaps the first few calls wouldn't be monitored immediately, but subsequent calls would still be tapped. As long as I called a familiar number, this new number would be exposed.
The only option left was to buy several phone cards and change them after each call; if A San's new number wasn't monitored and I only called him from my new number, then it wouldn't be tapped either. This plan was feasible since at that time phone cards and train tickets didn't require real-name registration.
As I thought about this, I rolled over and got up, only to see the darkness outside. Reluctantly, I lay back down.
I still needed to buy a new phone. That way, I wouldn't have to buy multiple SIM cards; only calls with A San needed to be super confidential. Conversations with others could be more subtle, and for anything too important, it was better to discuss face-to-face since I couldn't meet with A San in person.
It was late at night, and yet I couldn't sleep. I carefully considered this matter again and made a more reasonable plan. Then I looked at the clothes hanging in front of my bed; money became an issue again. Don't expect to get a dime from Huang Hai; I'd have to buy a second-hand one. As long as it could make calls, the cheapest second-hand phone would probably cost around one hundred or eighty.
The upside of not being able to sleep was that my ears were particularly sharp, picking up even the faintest sounds. The noise of Huang Hai drunkenly stumbling through the door was especially jarring in the quiet night.
However, as I listened to that sound, I thought of Cao Mingzhe. He hadn't exchanged any words with me in the hotel lobby and had only spoken to me in the freezing garden. Could he also be under surveillance or monitoring? Or did he know that I was being watched? Both possibilities existed, and it seemed I needed to be more cautious.
Jack's words echoed in my ears: "Zhang, take care of yourself."
It felt like Jack, far across the ocean, knew more than I did.
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