After Ye Wenjie finished recounting the history of her first contact with Trisolaris, the abandoned cafeteria remained silent. Many present were apparently just hearing the complete story for the first time. Wang was deeply absorbed by the narrative and temporarily forgot about the danger and terror he faced. Unable to stop himself, he asked, “How did the ETO then develop to its present scale?”
叶文洁讲述完这段历史后，大厅陷入一片静默，在场的许多人显然也是第一次听到这么完整的讲述。汪淼也被深深地吸引了，暂时忘记了目前的危险和恐惧，不由问道：“那么，三体组织是如何发展到这个规模的呢？”
“This… Lord that you talk about. Why is it so afraid of nanomaterial?”
“你们所说的……主。为什么这样害怕纳米材料呢？”汪淼问。
Ye replied, “I’d have to start with how I got to know Evans… But every comrade here already knows that part of history, so we shouldn’t waste time on it now. I can tell you later. However, whether we’ll have such an opportunity depends on you… Xiao Wang, let’s talk about your nanomaterial.”
叶文洁回答：“这要从我认识伊文斯说起……不过，这段历史在场的同志们都知道，我们就不要在这上面浪费时间了。以后我可以单独为你讲，但是否有这个机会，就要看你自己了……小汪，我们还是谈谈你的纳米材料吧，”
“The space elevator?” Wang suddenly understood.
“太空电梯？”汪淼立刻想到了。
“Yes. If ultrastrong nanomaterials could be mass produced, then that would lay the technical foundation for building a space elevator from the ground up to a geostationary point in space. For our Lord, this is but a tiny invention; but for humans on Earth, its meaning would be significant. With this technology, humans could easily enter near-Earth space and build up large-scale defensive structures. Thus, this technology must be extinguished.”
“是的，那种超高强度的材料一旦能够大规模生产，建设从地表直达地球同步轨道的太空电梯就有了技术基础。对主而言，这只是一项很小的发明，但对地球人类却意义重大。地球人类可以凭借这项技术轻易地进入近地空间。在太空建立起大规模的防御体系便成为可能。所以，必须扑灭这项技术。”
“Because it can allow humans to escape gravity and engage in space construction at a much larger scale.”
“因为它能够使人类摆脱地球引力，大规模进入太空。”
Ye smiled. “I don’t know.”
叶文洁微微一笑．“不知道。”
“What is at the end of the countdown?” Wang asked the question that frightened him the most.
“倒计肘的终点是什么？”汪淼问出了这个令他恐惧的问题。
“But trying to stop me is useless! This is not basic research. Based on what we’ve already found out, someone else can figure out the rest.” Wang’s voice was loud but anxious.
“你们这样做没有意义！这不是基础研究，大方向对了别人也能做出来的！”汪淼紧张地大声说。
“Speaking of basic research, how did your daughter die?”
“说到基础研究，你女儿是怎么死的？”
The question silenced Ye for a few seconds. Wang noticed that her eyes dimmed almost imperceptibly. But she then resumed the conversation. “Indeed, compared to our Lord, who possesses peerless strength, everything we do is meaningless. We’re just doing whatever we can.”
这问题令叶文洁沉默了几秒钟，汪淼注意到，她的眼神几乎不为人察觉地黯淡了一下，但旋即接下了剐才的话题，“其实，对于无比强大的主来说，我们做的一切都没有意义，我们只是做自己想做的事。”
“Yes, it is rather useless. It’s far more effective to confuse the researchers’ minds. But, like you point out, we didn’t stop the progress in time. After all, what you do is applied research. Our technique is far more effective against basic research…”
“是没有意义，能够扰乱研究者的思想是最有效的，但我们做得不理想，如你所说．这毕竟是应用研究，不像对基础研究那么有效……”
Just as she finished speaking, several loud booms rang out and the doors to the cafeteria broke open. A team of soldiers holding submachine guns rushed in. Wang realized that they were not armed police, but the real army. Noiselessly they proceeded along the walls and soon surrounded the rebels of the ETO.
叶文洁话音刚落，轰然几声巨响，饭厅的两扇大门同时被撞开，一群端冲锋枪的士兵冲了进来。汪淼注意到他们不是武警而是正规军，他们几乎无声地贴墙而行，很快在三体叛军周围形成了一个包围圈。
Shi Qiang was the last to enter. His jacket was open, and he held the barrel of a pistol so that the grip was like the head of a hammer. Da Shi looked around arrogantly, then suddenly dashed forward. His hand flashed and there was the dull thud of metal striking against a skull. An ETO rebel fell to the ground, and the gun that he was trying to draw tumbled to fall some distance away. Several soldiers began to shoot at the ceiling, and dust and debris fell. Someone grabbed Wang Miao and pulled him away from the ETO ranks until he was safe behind a row of soldiers.
史强最后走了进来，皮夹克敞着怀，手里握着枪管，枪柄像一把榔头似的露出来。他大大咧咧地四下看看．突然冲向前去，倒握着枪的手一抡，响起了金属砸在头骨上的闷响，一名三体战士倒了下去，没来得及抽出的手枪捧出老远。几名士兵冲天鸣枪，天花板上落下一片尘土。有人拉起汪淼，飞快地跑出了三体叛军的人群，站到一排士兵后面。
“Drop all your weapons onto the table! I swear I’m going to kill the next son of a bitch who tries anything.” Da Shi pointed at the submachine guns arrayed behind him. “I know that none of you is afraid to die, but we’re not afraid either. I’m going to say this up front: Normal police procedures and laws don’t apply to you. Even the human laws of warfare no longer apply to you. Since you’ve decided to treat the entire human race as your enemy, there’s no longer anything we wouldn’t do to you.”
“武器都丢桌子上！谁再炸刺，穿了丫的！史强指指身后的一排冲锋枪说：“知道各位都是不要命的，我们也是冲不要命来的！我可把话搁这儿了：普通的警务和法律禁区，对你们已经不适用，甚至人类的战争法则对你们也不适用了！既然你们已经与全人类为敌，咱们大家也都没什么可忌讳的。”
There was some commotion among the ETO members, but no one panicked. Ye’s face remained impassive. Three people suddenly rushed out of the crowd, including the young woman who had twisted Pan Han’s neck. They ran toward the three-body sculpture, and each grabbed one of the spheres and held it in front of his or her chest.
三体叛军的人群中有一阵骚动，但并没有大的惊慌。叶文洁不动声色。有三个人突然冲出人群，其中包括扭断潘寒脖子的那个美丽女孩儿，他们冲向那座活动的三体艺术品，一个人抓住了—颗翻飞的金属球，紧紧拖在胸前。
The young woman raised the bright metal sphere before her with both hands, as though she were getting ready to start a gymnastics routine. Smiling, she said, “Officers, we hold in our hands three nuclear bombs, each with a yield of about one point five kilotons. Not too big, since we like small toys. This is the detonator.”
美丽女孩双手托起晶亮的金属球，让人联想到身材苗条的艺术体操运动员。她又露出那动人的笑，用悦耳的声音说：“各位警官，我们手里拿着的是三枚原子弹，每枚当量一千五百吨级，不算大，我们喜欢小玩艺儿，这是起爆开关。”
Everyone in the cafeteria froze. The only one who moved was Shi Qiang. He put his gun back into the holster under his left arm and placed his hands together calmly.
大厅的一切顿时凝固了，唯一在动的是史强。他把倒握的枪插回左腋下的枪套，神态自若地拍拍手。
“Our demand is simple: Let the commander go,” the young woman said. “Then we can play whatever game you want.” Her tone suggested that she wasn’t afraid of Shi Qiang and the soldiers at all.
“我们的要求很简单：让统帅走，然后咱们一起玩什么都行。”女孩接着说．样子有些娇嗔。
“I stay with my comrades,” Ye said, calmly.
“我和同志们在一起。”叶文洁平静地说。
The young woman laughed once more and picked up the bag herself. She loaded her sphere into the bag, hung it on the hook of the scale, and the gauge immediately dropped to its bottom, the spring in the scale having been fully extended.
女孩又笑了一声，接过塑料袋将球装了进去，挂到弹簧秤上，标尺哗地一下直落到底。
The young woman chuckled. The explosives expert also laughed, contemptuously. The ETO member took out the sphere and tossed it on the ground. Another ETO fighter picked up the scale and the bag and repeated the procedure with his sphere, and ended up also tossing the sphere to the ground.
女孩儿哈哈一笑，这边的爆炸物专家也轻蔑地笑笑。另一个拿球的人也照样称了球，然后也将球扔了。
The officer threw a bag in front of the three ETO members holding the spheres. One of the ETO fighters picked up the bag and took out a spring scale, a bigger version of the ones some customers brought to street markets to verify the portions measured by vendors. He placed his metal sphere into the bag, attached it to the spring scale, and held it aloft. The gauge extended about halfway and stopped.
那位军官将一只塑料袋扔到那三个拿球的人跟前，袋中装着一把弹簧秤。一名拿金属球的三体战士拾起塑料袋，取出弹簧秤后将球装进袋子，挂到弹簧秤上，举起来晃了晃，然后把球取出来扔到地上。
“Can you confirm her claim?” Da Shi asked an officer next to him, an explosives expert.
“能证实她说的吗？”史强低声问旁边一位显然是爆炸物专家的军官。
The smile on the explosives expert’s face froze. He whispered to Da Shi, “Damn! They really do have one.”
爆炸物专家脸上的笑容凝固了，低声对史强说：“这个是了。”
“I have an idea: Shoot the sphere,” the explosives expert whispered to Da Shi.
“有一个办法：向那个球射击。”爆炸物专家在大史耳边低声说。
The flashlights attached to the soldiers’ guns focused on the young woman holding the nuclear bomb. While she held the destructive power of 1.5 kilotons of TNT in her hands, she smiled brightly, as though enjoying applause and praise on a spotlit stage.
士兵们枪上电筒的光柱集中在那个拿核弹的女孩儿身上，这个艳丽的死亡之花手捧着一千五百吨TNT，灿烂地笑着，仿佛是在舞台聚光灯下迎接着掌声和赞美。
“Won’t that set off the bomb?”
“不会引爆？”
The explosives expert said, “We can at least confirm that there are heavy elements — fissile material — inside. We don’t know if the detonation mechanism works.”
“至少可以肯定里面装有重元素裂变材料，至于引爆系统行不行还不清楚。”爆炸物专家说。
“The conventional explosives around the outside will go off, but the explosion will be scattered. It won’t lead to the kind of precise compression of the fissile material in the center necessary for a nuclear explosion.”
“只会引爆外围的常规炸药，但会将炸药打散，无法对中心核炸药产生精确向心压缩，肯定不会发生核爆炸。”
Da Shi remained impassive.
史强仍不动声色。
Da Shi stared at the nuclear woman, saying nothing.
大史盯着核弹女孩儿，不说话。
“How about snipers?”
“要布置狙击手吗？”
Almost imperceptibly, Da Shi shook his head. “There’s no good position. She’s sharp as a tack. As soon as she’s targeted by a sniper scope, she’ll know.”
大史几乎不为人察觉地摇摇头。“没有合适位置，那小东西精得能捉鬼，狙击手的长家伙一瞄准她就会觉察。”
Da Shi strode forward. He pushed the crowd apart and stood in the middle of the empty space.
说完，大史径直向前走去，拨开人群，站到中间的空地上。
“Calm down,” Da Shi said, standing about seven or eight meters from her. He took an envelope from his pocket. “I have some information you’ll definitely want to know. Your mother has been found.”
“悠着点儿丫头，有件事你肯定想知道。”大史站在距女孩七八米远处，从衣袋中掏出一个信封，“你母亲找到了。”
Da Shi took two steps forward. He was now no more than five meters from her. She raised the bomb and warned him with her eyes, but she was already distracted. One of the two ETO members who had tossed away fake bombs strode toward Da Shi to take the envelope from him. As the man blocked the woman’s view of Da Shi, he drew his gun with a lightning-fast motion. The woman only saw a flash by the ear of the man trying to take the letter from Da Shi before the bomb in her hands exploded.
大史趁机又向前跨了两步，将自己与女孩的间距缩短至五米左右。女孩警惕地一举核弹，用目光制止了他。但她的注意力已经被大大分散了。刚才扔掉假核弹的两人中的一个向大史走来，伸手来拿他举着的信封。大史闪电般抽出手枪，他抽枪的动作正好被取信的人挡住，女孩没有看到。她只看到取信人的耳边亮光一闪，怀中的核弹就被击中爆炸了。
After hearing the muffled explosion, Wang saw nothing before his eyes but darkness. Someone dragged him out of the cafeteria. Thick, yellow smoke poured out of the door, and a cacophony of shouting and gunshots came from inside. From time to time, people rushed through the smoke and out of the cafeteria.
一声沉闷的巨响后，汪淼两眼一黑什么都看不到了。他被人拉着拖出食堂，黄色的浓烟从火门涌出。里面的喧闹声和枪声响成一片，不断有人从浓烟中冲到外面……
The young woman’s feverish eyes dimmed. At that moment her eyes were truly windows to her soul.
女孩儿神采飞扬的眼睛立刻黯淡了下来。但这时，这双眼睛真的通向她的心灵。
“Stop,” the young woman warned Da Shi, staring at him intently. Her right thumb was poised over the detonator. Her face was no longer smiling in the flashlight beams.
“站住。”核弹女孩向大史抛了个媚眼警告道，右手拇指紧按在起爆开关上，指甲油在电筒光中闪亮着。
“Who was that young woman’s mother?” Wang asked.
“那个女孩是谁？”汪淼问。
Da Shi grinned. “Fucked if I know. Just a guess. A girl like that most likely has mother issues. After doing this for more than twenty years, I’m pretty good at reading people.”
大史咧嘴一笑，“我他妈怎么知道，瞎猜的，这样的女孩子，多半没见过妈。我干这行二十多年，就学会了看人。”
Wang got up and tried to go back into the cafeteria, but the explosives expert grabbed him around the waist and stopped him.
汪淼起身要冲回大厅，被那名爆炸物专家拦腰抱住。
“Careful. Radiation!”
“当心！放射性！！”
Through the small window of an ambulance, Wang stared at Da Shi, who was lying inside. A wound on Da Shi’s head continued to ooze blood. The nurse who was dressing the wound wore transparent protective gear. Da Shi and Wang could only talk through their mobile phones.
汪淼透过救护车的小窗看着车里的大史，他头上的一道伤还在流血，给他包扎的护士穿着透明的防护服，大史和汪淼只能用手机说话。
The chaos eventually subsided. More than a dozen ETO fighters were killed in the gunfight. The rest — more than two hundred, including Ye Wenjie — were arrested. The explosion had turned the nuclear woman into a bloody mess, but she was the only casualty of the aborted bomb. The man who had tried to take the letter from Da Shi was severely injured, but since his body had shielded Da Shi, his wounds were light. However, like everyone else who remained in the cafeteria after the explosion, Shi suffered severe radiation contamination.
混乱很快平息了，有十几名三体战士被击毙，其余包括叶文洁在内的二百多人被捕。核弹女孩炸得血肉模糊，但这枚流产的核弹只炸死她一人。大史面前的取信人被炸成重伤，由于有这人的遮挡，大史只受了些轻伤。但他和爆炸后待在大厅中的其他人一样，受到了严重的放射性沾染。
“Buddy, you’re the one who was right!” Da Shi laughed, shaking his head. “I would never have thought that actual fucking aliens would be involved!”
“老弟，还是你赢了。”大史笑着摇摇头，“老子怎么会想到，奶奶的，竟然真扯到外星人那儿！”
“I bet you’re happy to be proven right. There really was someone behind all this.” Wang forced himself to smile, hoping Da Shi could see it.
“你赢了，真的是有人捣鬼。”汪淼努力地挤出笑来，希望车里大史能看到。
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