Chapter 41: Having It Out with Wang Feng

"Damn it."

"You can't even solve a problem this simple?" Shang Lu sat in a chair like a head teacher, rolling up a lecture handout and tapping the control console with it rhythmically. "This is the most basic homework exercise."

The upper half of Shen Jiang's face was covered by the scanner. If she could bare her eyes, she would definitely use her gaze to pierce Shang Lu through.

"Can you make Wang Feng get out of the shielding room? My mind is entirely filled with him!" Shen Jiang said, extremely frantic. "He's still swaying!"

"I like Wang Feng very much," Shang Lu said.

"Supervisor."

"Hmm?"

"You'd better pray you don't fall into my hands." Shen Jiang took a deep breath and clenched both fists tightly—endure!

"Which song are you going to sing this time? Still *I Love You, China*? Or should we switch to *Blooming Life*?" Shang Lu asked. "*In the Spring* is also pretty good."

"I'll sing *Orphan of a Beautiful World*," Shen Jiang said.

Shang Lu applauded. "Please go ahead, Leader."

The music in the headphones was thoughtfully switched to an instrumental accompaniment. The girl brewed her emotions for a moment and then began to sing a cappella:

"Don't cry, my beloved, I think we will die together.
Don't cry, rose of summer, as everything passes you watch the traffic rush by."

Shang Lu tapped along with the rhythm.

This was truly a bizarre scene. The interior of the fully enclosed electromagnetic shielding room was almost pitch black, without windows or superfluous facilities, resembling an interrogation room. Two people were separated by a wall, one sitting squarely under the MEG system's scanner, the other leaning behind the one-way glass. In such a prison-visitation-like setting, what they were doing was singing.

Many years later, when Shang Lu recalled it, he found it both comical and surreal. In such a gloomy world, there was actually an afternoon where the theme of those few hours consisted of general relativity, Riemannian geometry, and Wang Feng's songs. Was this combination strange? Strange indeed, but at that time he was young and neurotic, and she was also young and neurotic.

Shen Jiang's voice was slightly low, often missing the notes.

"Oh, don't cry, beloved, we must be strong and smile,
Because no matter what,
We are forever the orphans of this beautiful world."

Shang Lu applauded vigorously. "Leader, next time before you start singing, you can add a line—that signature, heart-wrenching one of Wang Feng's... 'Are you ready?'"

"What kind of crappy tradition is this?" Shen Jiang asked. "Do all of you people in Science City like Wang Feng so much?"

"There are also those who like Eason Chan, Jay Chou, and Jacky Cheung," Shang Lu said. "Singing is one of the few entertainment activities in Science City. Many people rely on it to relieve depression and anxiety. Come on, Leader, let's start the next problem. It's another very simple one... The metric coefficients on the hyperbolic half-plane $H^2 = {(x_1, x_2) in mathbb{R}^2 mid x_2 > 0}$ are given by: $g_{ij} = frac{1}{(x_2)^2}delta_{ij}$, $i, j = 1, 2$. Find the connection coefficients of $H^2$."

"Who are you planning to use to distract me this time?"

Before Shen Jiang could finish her sentence, a rhythmic and powerful piece of music and its intro sounded in her headphones.

It was *Spark*.

Damn it, Wang Feng again.

This guy just couldn't let Wang Feng go.

"How much time do I have?" Shen Jiang asked.

"The time it took me to finish saying this sentence, Leader," Shang Lu said. "Time's up."

Shen Jiang clenched her fists tightly once more—endure!

"You... you'd better not fall into my hands," Shen Jiang said, gnashing her teeth.

"I have recorded all the songs you sang, Leader. I'll consider sending them to the broadcasting station to play for everyone during shift changes in Workshop 110 every day," Shang Lu said. "Of course, if you don't want to do that, I respect your opinion."

"Doesn't anyone beat you up in Science City?" Shen Jiang asked.

Shang Lu thought back for a moment. "No one dares."

"I dare," Shen Jiang said. "Let me punch you once after training is over."

Shang Lu was slightly stunned, then nodded. "Alright."

During the first week, all the arrangements made by Shang Lu were adaptive training. The primary task at this stage was to filter out the interference caused by the metal electrodes of the invasive iEEG-BCI system. Just like how one cannot carry metal on their body when getting an MRI at a hospital, the MEG-BCI, an extremely delicate magnetic field signal detector, is highly sensitive to any tiny interference, and the electrodes in the mecha pilot's brain were a tricky source of interference. When the Institute of Automation and Mechanics was researching this system, Shang Lu had never encountered such a problem; his test volunteers had all been ordinary people.

"Moving electric fields generate magnetic fields. The brain first generates electrical signals, and electric currents then generate magnetic signals. The brain's magnetic field signal is much weaker than its electrical signal. To capture it, you have to be extremely, extremely sensitive. That's why the MEG system requires troublesome things like superconducting coils," Shang Lu said. "But in your case, Leader, you are many times more troublesome than an ordinary person. The iEEG-BCI system electrodes in your brain are a massive source of interference."

"Filter it out as noise," Shen Jiang said.

"It's not that simple. It's not a constant baseline noise. When your brain is active, the current inside the electrodes also changes," Shang Lu said. "They are both generating magnetic field signals, mixed together like a tangled ball of yarn."

"Any solutions?"

"Two methods. The first is to undergo surgery to remove the electrodes," Shang Lu said.

"That's impossible," Shen Jiang said. "Tell me the second one."

"The second method is to sing Wang Feng's *When I Miss You*."

Shen Jiang shouted angrily, "Come again!"

"Please listen to the question: In a spherically symmetric spacetime—note, in a spherically symmetric spacetime—the metric is given by: $ds^2 = -B(r)dt^2 + B(r)^{-1}dr^2 + r^2dOmega^2$. You are on a spaceship propelled by a rocket, maintaining a position at the point $(r = r_0, heta = pi/2, phi = 0)$. Now, find your four-velocity."

The training lasted until six o'clock in the afternoon. Once it concluded, the MEG system's scanner slowly rose, and Shen Jiang's eyes saw the light of day once more. She raised a hand to cover her eyes and leaned back in her chair, panting.

She was exhausted.

Shang Lu came out from the adjacent control room, walked down the corridor, and unlatched the door of the shielding room.

Shen Jiang stood at the doorway and locked eyes with him. As if suddenly remembering something, the latter leaned his upper torso forward slightly, turned his face at a slight angle, and exposed half of his cheek—signifying that a gentleman's word is as good as a bond, and he would keep his promise to let her throw a punch.

Shen Jiang took a step forward, her right shoulder brushing against his left. Shang Lu was just about to speak, having barely uttered:

"Didn't you say you wanted to..."

The girl formed a fist with lightning speed—bending her right arm—gathering strength, and delivered a fierce, swift jab with explosive inch-power straight into Shang Lu's chest and abdominal diaphragm. The rest of Shang Lu's unfinished sentence stuck in his throat. In an instant, his face turned red, then white, then blue-green, his mouth open but unable to make a sound.

"Ah..." Shang Lu clutched his stomach and slowly bent over, his entire body curling up from the intense pain. This single punch almost knocked his lunch right back out of him.

Shen Jiang watched coldly as he grabbed the door frame and slumped downward.

Shang Lu stared wide-eyed, his clever brain operating in painful stagnation.

Holy crap...
This woman, couldn't you have held back a little... Damn it... You really meant it...