Final Civilization

Chapter 15: Arson

"Good news, Tianzhou agreed to our proposal. There will be major progress tomorrow. Join the partners' meeting in the afternoon."

Han Ming looked at the message Director Qi had sent on his phone; between the lines he could feel Qi Rong's delight that the firm had landed Tianzhou as a major client.

He replied with a quick "Okay," then walked into the bathroom, thinking while he showered.

"In the dream, I can't arouse suspicion, or the police will kill me. But the problem is... what is the logic of suspicion?"

"Is it just because I said the wrong thing or made a weird movement?"

Water gushed, and Han Ming's thoughts spun rapidly.

"You and your wife went around proclaiming the end of the world. With your behavior, calling it disturbing the public order would not be an exaggeration."

"It seems they hauled us to the police not because someone reported us, but because we were brought in. Disturbing the public order doesn't sound like a huge crime..."

Sss~

Han Ming turned off the shower, lifted his head."If we're released, would the situation be different?"

After finishing his shower, he called his parents who lived far away in Mountain City, chatted a bit with Lin the Hound, then

turned off the lights,

and slept.

...

The light and shadow from the ceiling fan flickered before his eyes. Han Ming opened his eyes. Ahead, a police officer whose face was half-hidden in shadow began to speak, his voice sharpening from hazy to clear.

"You mean the world is about to be destroyed, you've been chosen as a Wallfacer to save humanity, and strange events surround you—that you can achieve immortality and control the world's wealth?"

Han Ming shook his head and replied calmly,

"I've been reading a science fiction novel lately. The plot is very gripping. I may have gotten too absorbed and kept replaying the scenes in my dreams."

"Science fiction? That's your explanation?" The officer sounded impatient.

"Yes. Work's been very stressful recently, which might have caused some hallucinations. I even forget what I did." This time, Han Ming decided to play dumb.

"Forgot?!" The officer tapped the table with his finger. "You and your wife went around declaring the world was ending and even set your house on fire, almost starting a blaze. At worst, that's arson. You expect two words—'hallucination'—to make it go away?"

Han Ming's eyes jolted.

"Arson?"

"If the neighbors hadn't discovered it in time, the people on the first floor could have been harmed. Tell the truth, what exactly happened?" the officer asked sternly.

"I..." Han Ming's expression fell. His gaze swept over the desk—letterhead paper, a fountain pen, an ink bottle, the incident report logbook, a stamped cloth tucked under the glass tabletop, and an old enamel teacup beside the police officer.

What was going on? The scene suddenly had more environmental details, many objects that hadn't been there before.

It was as if the setting had become richer.

"My... wife?" Han Ming's train of thought was interrupted, so he went straight to the point.

He didn't know how the case had suddenly turned into arson; this was completely different from before.

Han Ming felt a bit disoriented, but he could only force the topic change. If the officer turned to call someone, he might have a chance to snatch the incident logbook and see the information inside.

This time he planned to act by force; give him two seconds and it would be enough!

"Answer my question first!" the officer said. "What's the exact reason? Why burn the house?"

Han Ming shook his head and stared fixedly at the logbook on the desk. "This shouldn't have been my deliberate act. Maybe it's a misunderstanding, but if no one was hurt, I will cover all damages."

"Not deliberate?" The officer asked in puzzlement. "What do you mean? Did you do it under some hallucination or while your head wasn't clear?"

"Not that. Like I said, I've been under heavy stress lately and reading too much science fiction, so... I can't even remember what I did."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The officer slammed the table three times and said in a very severe tone,

"Don't dodge. Stop rambling about some science fiction novel. World destruction, Wallfacer—I've never heard any of this."

"The book's called Three-Body. I got these ideas from that novel."

"Three-Body?"

"Yes."

"Is Three-Body a book from our era?" The officer's tone suddenly grew intriguing.

Han Ming's brows knitted. He immediately smelled something foul.

He raised his head, and the officer's mouth slowly spread into a strange smile beneath the shadow.

"Damn!"

...

Monday, nineteenth floor of Huatian Tower. Han Ming sat in his office looking out at the blue sky, constantly thinking.

He was starting to realize that the dream was an interrogation arena.

The dream sequence began in a police station, with both him and his "wife" present, and he had revealed the line about being a Wallfacer. The time should be sometime before the millennium.

That was the reliable piece of information Han Ming could confirm.

But other details, even the reason he ended up in the police station, were uncertain.

The first time, he had filed a report himself after encountering strange events.

The second time, they were preaching the end of the world and disturbing the public order.

The third time, besides proclaiming the end of the world, he had burned the house and was suspected of arson.

The situation seemed to be growing more complex, just like the dream's progression.

"If I burned a house, whether or not it caused major negligence, arson is a serious crime. I can't be exonerated quickly." Han Ming sipped his coffee and mused.

"The other side is clearly testing me. Any loophole will arouse suspicion and lead to being killed."

"I must figure out why 'I' and my 'wife' would set a fire, which house was burned, and what era it was. This dream must have actually happened somewhere at some time."

Han Ming increasingly sensed that his dreams were closely tied to his precognitive flashes and the voice that called him a Wallfacer. He had to find answers.

The dream's details had become more complex, but in Han Ming's view that was actually good news.

More details meant richer clues, and with the police station setting, there were more possibilities for determining dates and addresses.

He exhaled, put down his coffee, and began searching for information about Tao Jie on his computer.

The firm's intranet couldn't be used to investigate private lives, but Han Ming could find the ruling related to Tao Jie's car accident, the car owner's information, and her past social media posts. Piecing these together, he grasped the broad outline of her recent years.

"Nineteen years ago she went to Oxford Law School in the UK to study, in September she was invited to join a law association, and participated in Greenpeace youth environmental activities."

"In March of year twenty she joined a science fiction club called Nebula Assassins, where she met Chen Yufeng, one of the dead in the major wedding car convoy accident on Wenhai Road; Chen Yufeng was Tao Jie's deceased husband."

Han Ming looked at the screen photo where a young man stood beside Tao Jie smiling; he was tall and slim, a sunny smile, quite handsome—exactly the type of college basketball player who loved attention.

"Chen Yufeng, son of Chen Xu, the real controller of Pengcheng Industrial Group, majoring in business management. Chen Yufeng was also one of the founders of the Nebula Assassins club."

"On March 21 of year twenty-two, Tao Jie and Chen Yufeng got engaged, and on May 25 of the same year they married. The wedding was set at the Capella International Hotel at 8:42 a.m. The wedding motorcade suffered a chain collision at the intersection of Wenhai Road and Jiading Road; including the groom Chen Yufeng, two people died at the scene, one person later died from severe burns despite rescue efforts, and several others were injured. The accident left Tao Jie with neurogenic paralysis in both legs..."