"We can talk about computing power later." Sun Hang said. "For now, the most important thing is to determine whether the Sphinx is still in Egypt."
"Is that Mr. Pei’s idea?" Professor Cao raised his eyebrows.
This Professor Cao had a very good relationship with Pei Zongjun. The two had already become close friends despite the age gap before Pei Zongjun had his body frozen. Because of this, the older Ji Yaohua called Pei Zongjun "Mr. Pei," while this Professor Cao called him "Old Pei" over and over—although by age, Pei Zongjun could almost be counted as belonging to Professor Cao’s grandfather’s generation.
"Yes." Sun Hang looked at the central brain’s holographic projection.
The holographic projection nodded.
"Then I have no objections." Professor Cao said. "Besides, if you’re going to look for the Sphinx, I think the sail and human figure you saw earlier might be a very important clue."
"That thing is connected to the Sphinx?" Wang Xiyi couldn’t help asking.
"If we divide things using the alignment nine-grid, the Sphinx roughly falls somewhere between Lawful Neutral and Lawful Evil. Unlike the man-eating monster in Greek Mythology, in Egyptian mythology the Sphinx’s image is more sacred. You can see this from the large number of Sphinx statues in Ancient Egypt that bear the Pharaoh’s face."
Professor Cao took a sip of water to moisten his throat, then continued: "In Ancient Egypt, the Sphinx was regarded as a projection of the Pharaoh’s power. By the modern era, the Sphinx came to be seen as one of the symbols of Egyptian culture. So for Egyptians, the Sphinx is undoubtedly a ’positive-image’ anomalous entity."
"Professor Cao, by your reasoning, those survivors in the Egyptian region are very likely under the Sphinx’s protection?" There was a trace of doubt in Ji Yaohua’s tone.
"I never said protection, but if there really are survivors, there’s a high chance they know some clues about the Sphinx." Professor Cao shook his head. "Most anomalous entities with self-awareness are filled with hostility toward humans, but the Sphinx is an exception. It’s the kind you can communicate with, and it’s quite willing to communicate with humans. As long as you can answer its riddle, it can grant your wish like a genie... Otherwise, what do you think that half of a brain inside the central brain came from?"
"The Sphinx may be restricted by some rules-type anomalous entity, or its very existence might be the embodiment of a certain rule." A Dubhe Tower executive sitting in a smart wheelchair, his whole body bristling with tubes, spoke—his vocal cords had long since degenerated to the point of being unable to produce sound, and he relied entirely on a voice synthesizer the size of a button battery stuck to the side of his neck to talk.
As his throat wriggled, a stiff electronic voice came out from the synthesizer: "The Sphinx’s rule is riddles. Answer correctly and you receive a reward; answer wrong and you bear the punishment—clean and simple."
"In that case, searching for the Sphinx and contacting the ’suspected survivors’ can be done together." Sun Hang said.
"Since we’ve discovered the existence of the ghost train, I think that aside from the expedition squad, we can absolutely send more people to Egypt." Another Dubhe Tower executive said. "With ’Nephthys’ present, the risk level of the Egyptian region to humans may be far lower than that of any other Surrendered Area."
"Are you planning to establish a forward base there?" Professor Cao looked at that executive.
"Why not?" the executive countered. "Using carrier rockets to transport personnel and supplies is extremely costly and risky, but the ghost train is different..."
"Let’s put aside whether the ghost train’s operating rules can remain stable." Professor Cao cut him off. "According to the rules Sun Hang and his team have worked out, the ghost train only gives you one chance per month. In other words, if you send a group over, even if they discover something, it’ll take another month before that information can be sent back—Xiazhou and Egypt are now like two isolated parallel worlds, and the ghost train is the portal connecting them... But the biggest problem with this portal is that it only opens once a month, and the number of keys is very limited."
The "keys" Professor Cao referred to were, of course, metro cards from the Egyptian region. Besides the one in Sun Hang’s hand, Dubhe Tower had collected seventeen more from the public. These eighteen metro cards were currently the only keys they had.
The instant he boarded the ghost train, certain rules surfaced in Sun Hang’s mind, the most important of which was: no fare evasion.
Only people holding metro cards could board the ghost train and be taken to their destination. If they tried to have one person swipe a card while a bunch of others snuck on, those fare evaders would be trapped in the train cars forever, never able to get off.
According to that executive’s idea, they would first send a group to establish a forward base... If those people failed to return a month later, the metro cards they carried would be permanently lost, and Xiazhou would lose its "fast lane" to Egypt via the ghost train.
"I have a way to make maximum use of the keys we currently have." Candle Dragon said.
"Let’s hear it." The Dubhe Tower executive in the wheelchair lifted his eyelids and looked at Candle Dragon.
"A round trip doesn’t take a month; it takes six hours—that’s the time difference between Chunming City and Cairo. Adding in travel time, we actually have a full five and a half hours." Candle Dragon said. "After the vanguard arrives, we can have one person take all the metro cards and ride the ghost train departing five and a half hours later back to Xiazhou. That way, even if we lose contact with the vanguard, we won’t lose any keys."
"Tsk, that sounds pretty cold-blooded." Sun Hang muttered. "I didn’t expect you to be that kind of person, Old Zhu."
"I’m only stating facts." Candle Dragon let out a low sigh. "This is a war. In war, sacrifice is unavoidable. If we stop moving forward because we’re afraid of sacrifice, the only ending waiting for us is defeat."
"A Commander has to be cold-blooded enough." Professor Cao looked at Sun Hang. "According to Hunter training protocols, choices like this are supposed to be left to the upper command, but in practice, it’s very common for Hunters to lose contact with command. In those moments, if a Hunter runs into a trolley problem, there is only ever one choice."
"Sacrifice the few to save the many." Candle Dragon said. "Or, sacrifice those of lower value to save those of higher value... Lives are equal, but people’s value does differ. At the edge of life and death, reason is more useful than humanity... even if the person who has to be sacrificed is me."
[P.S. I’ve been discharged. Spent a ton of money, had blood drawn I don’t know how many times, did a whole bunch of tests, and they still couldn’t find the cause... In the end they sent me to the psychiatry department and said it’s most likely physical reactions triggered by anxiety... The doctor’s advice was for me to just forget about it, stop taking my temperature, and do something else to distract myself... We’ll see in a month whether my temperature returns to normal; that’s all I can do for now.]