Chapter 27: The Electronic Worm

Chapter 27: The Electronic Worm

When Du Changfeng saw me wearing a kasaya, he moved to greet me with Buddhist rites. I stopped him—our statuses were different. Buddhist rites would place us on equal footing, and since Xuanhong had become a monk, he was now honored as a Dharma master and abbot.

So I greeted him first as a junior and asked after his health. Du Changfeng appreciated the gesture.

Du Xinlang nestled beside her father like a dutiful little darling, calling for bird’s nest soup while massaging his back.

After the usual courtesies, I gestured for Du Changfeng to extend his arm. I wanted to take his pulse.

Du Changfeng had heard that Xuanhong knew something of medicine, but Xuanhong had never trained as a physician. To Chairman Du, pulse-taking was a minor art at best. He had his own private doctor and trusted Western medicine. Still, out of politeness, he extended his arm.

I rested my fingers lightly on his wrist. The pulse was disordered, weak. After a moment I asked, “Chairman, do you often experience dizziness, numbness in the limbs, and forgetfulness?”

Du Changfeng said at once, “Yes. You can tell? Last month I had a full workup at Pingdu Hospital. The doctor said I had a mild cerebral infarction and prescribed medication to dissolve it.”

I shook my head gently. “Chairman, your symptoms do resemble cerebral infarction. But medication won’t help.”

Du Xinlang broke in. “Why not? There are thrombolytic drugs for this now, aren’t there?”

“Thrombolytic drugs treat ordinary clots,” I said. “But the embolus in the Chairman’s case looks man-made.”

Du Changfeng’s expression turned serious. He stared at me, astonished. I could see he didn’t quite believe me.

I had to explain. “Chairman, I can sense an extremely regular pulse in the blood vessel of your left prefrontal lobe. It’s not coming from an artery—it’s coming from a foreign object inside the vessel. A micro-electrical signal. Please trust me, I have strong perceptual ability. It’s not only pulsing, it’s moving slowly. Once it reaches deeper tissue, it will affect language and consciousness, then hearing, movement, memory.”

Du Changfeng still looked doubtful, but the matter was serious. He called his private doctor and told him to come immediately.

I said quietly to Du Xinlang, “Is this doctor reliable? He hasn’t been bought off?”

Du Changfeng overheard. “Old Qi’s been with me twenty years. He shouldn’t be.”

Half an hour later, a spry old man walked in carrying a medical bag.

Once we were all seated, I told him what I’d found. He examined Du Changfeng carefully, frowning, then said softly, “There is something off. But the embolus is tiny, and it’s inside the skull. We’d need an MRI and angiography to see it clearly.”

I nodded and said nothing more.

In truth, I thought I might be able to move the embolus out with mental will alone. I could sense its intelligent structure. I didn’t know what to call this tiny entity, but if I had to name it, I’d call it an “electronic worm.” It seemed designed to block blood vessels, and its micro-electrical waves resembled those of the human brain—which is why I judged it intelligent.

Any intelligent entity is, at its core, electronic bionics. A living structure. And if it got in, there should be a way to make it come back out.

But Du Changfeng held high status and believed in modern medicine. This wasn’t the moment for me to act.

Dr. Qi and the butler left to arrange Du Changfeng’s care. Du Xinlang and I walked in the garden.

I calmed her fear first, then asked quietly, “Has the Du Group made any major business moves recently?”

She said, “You mean you want to ask who would be directly affected if something happened to my father? That’s hard to say. Competitors, partners, trade secrets—there are hidden conflicts everywhere. I honestly can’t think of anyone who’d be his enemy. He’s always kept a low profile, never made enemies.”

“You’re right,” I said. “No need to analyze it now. Underhanded schemes are petty…