The PDC meeting hastily concluded amidst a boiling sea of chaos.
Escorted by two towering security guards, Luo Ji walked toward the exit.
Excited reporters surged forward, only to be firmly blocked by an invisible human wall of security.
Camera flashes erupted frantically, illuminating Luo Ji's face in a deathly pale light.
"Mr. Luo Ji! On what grounds do you claim the Trisolarans are nothing to fear?"
"Your Dark Forest theory is anti-human terrorism!"
"Step down! Liar! Lunatic!"
Countless people hurled questions and curses at him from behind the barricade.
Luo Ji remained expressionless, as if those voices came from another world and had nothing to do with him.
His dead, silent eyes swept over the crowd.
Suddenly, he stopped, raised his hand, and pointed at a well-dressed middle-aged man in the crowd who was indignantly waving his fist.
"Him," Luo Ji said. His voice wasn't loud, but it pierced clearly through the clamor. "Detain him on suspicion of crimes against humanity."
The security captain escorting him paused in surprise. "Sir, we don't have..."
"I am a Wallfacer," Luo Ji interrupted, his tone completely flat.
"My orders are the highest authorization."
The security captain hesitated for a second before finally issuing the command into his earpiece.
"Detain the target."
Two guards immediately parted the crowd and approached the bewildered man.
The scene instantly erupted into an uproar.
"What are you doing! This is political persecution!" the man screamed in terror.
Luo Ji ignored him. His gaze shifted to the other side, landing on a woman disguised as a reporter.
"Her too."
Under everyone's horrified gazes, Luo Ji casually pointed out several people, all of whom were promptly apprehended.
Next, the guards detained several deeply hidden Earth Trisolaris Organization members within the venue, individuals he had recognized through the memories implanted in his mind.
To everyone present, this did not look like the execution of the Wallfacer Project; it looked like a blatant, bloody political purge.
The bulletproof black sedan drove away from the UN Headquarters under heavy escort.
Outside the windows were throngs of protesters and angry banners.
Inside the car, however, there was dead silence.
Luo Ji leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knee.
He was digesting the massive amount of intelligence regarding the ETO's organizational structure and member roster in his mind.
Suddenly, the sharp screech of tires pierced the tranquility inside the car.
Ahead of the convoy, an out-of-control tanker truck barreled straight toward Luo Ji's vehicle.
"Protect Mr. Luo!" the security captain's roar exploded over the comms channel.
The escort vehicles accelerated sharply, attempting to intercept it with their own bodies.
But it was too late.
Boom—!
A deafening explosion sent a massive fireball into the air.
The shockwave flipped the surrounding vehicles onto the ground.
Everyone assumed that the fourth Wallfacer, who had taken office less than an hour ago, had been reduced to ashes.
However, at the core of the flames and thick smoke, Luo Ji's car was enveloped by a faint golden ripple, almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
The shockwave, powerful enough to tear through steel, brushed past the ripple like a gentle breeze.
As the smoke cleared, the black sedan sat completely unscathed in the center of the blast.
The car door opened.
Luo Ji slowly stepped out. He brushed non-existent dust off his sleeves, a trace of impatience even showing on his face.
He looked up and glanced at the sky.
It was as if he were expressing his contempt to some unseen audience.
"Is this all you've got?"
He muttered softly to himself.
The surviving security personnel rushed over. Seeing the unharmed Luo Ji and the pristine vehicle, their faces were filled with disbelief.
They attributed it all to the vehicle's ultra-spec defensive capabilities and inexplicable luck.
The PDC convened an emergency meeting.
The atmosphere in the conference room was incredibly oppressive.
Chairwoman Say, several representatives of the permanent member states, and some of the world's top engineers and physicists sat in silence across from Luo Ji.
"Mr. Luo Ji, your safety is our top priority. But your actions are severely affecting our internal unity," Say spoke first, her voice weary.
Luo Ji did not respond to her concern.
He gently placed a metal chip, the size of a fingernail, in the center of the conference table.
"This contains the data for a new material. I want you to use it to build a room beneath the PDC headquarters as quickly as possible."
"I call it the 'Black Domain'."
He looked around at the crowd, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"This material can completely block Sophon surveillance."
"How is that possible? Sophons are subatomic particles; they can penetrate anything..."
"Build it according to the blueprints I provided," Luo Ji cut him off. "This technology comes from the future, a future... I have seen with my own eyes."
A deathly silence fell over the conference room.
Everyone was stunned by the surreal madness and confidence in his words.
Through the omnipresent Sophons, the Trisolaran world, four light-years away, also witnessed this scene.
"Incomprehensible."
"What is his strategic intent? How did he survive that explosion? According to our calculations, his survival rate was zero."
"The 'Black Domain' he proposed... according to our model deductions, it is theoretically feasible. But that kind of material should not be within the grasp of Earth's current technology."
"Who exactly is he?"
"Could a third-party civilization have entered the fray?"
For the first time since facing Earth, the Princeps of Trisolaris felt confusion and panic.
Luo Ji was like a ghost that had suddenly appeared, a variable that defied all logic.
He had completely disrupted their perfect invasion plan.
A few days later, Luo Ji submitted a lengthy list to the PDC.
Every person on the list corresponded to an ETO member's codename, position, and true identity.
Its accuracy sent chills down the spines of the PDC and various national intelligence agencies.
It practically exposed all of the ETO's hidden cards.
However, when they saw the last few names on the list, everyone gasped.
"Ye Wenjie..."
"Cheng Xin..."
Inside the PDC conference room, a general slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.
"Absurd! Ye Wenjie is a decorated scientist of the Red Coast Project! And Cheng Xin is one of the most brilliant aerospace engineers of our time!"
"Listing them as ETO members is baseless slander! It's an abuse of power to eliminate dissidents!"
Voices of doubt and protest rose one after another.
No matter how much power a Wallfacer possessed, they could not accuse humanity's heroes without evidence.
Facing the overwhelming wave of questioning, Luo Ji simply sat in his chair, watching them quietly.
He offered no defense, nor did he show any anger.
He waited until everyone had finished speaking before slowly opening his mouth.
"How much longer until the 'Black Domain' is completed?"
An engineer immediately replied, "Reporting to the Wallfacer: the main structure is already finished. We expect to perform the final seal in twenty-four hours."
"Good," Luo Ji stood up.
"In twenty-four hours, when the 'Black Domain' is sealed."
He turned around, his calm gaze sweeping over every supreme leader of the UN's five permanent member states present.
"I will invite all of you for a private conversation."
"I guarantee that after the conversation ends."
"You will personally sign this list. You might even want to execute them with your own hands."
Twenty-four hours later.
Beneath the PDC headquarters.
As the final piece of special alloy plating, shimmering with a dark luster, was slowly installed into place by a robotic arm.
The heavy metal door, which seemed capable of isolating everything, slowly closed shut amidst a low rumble.
From the surveillance perspective of the Sophons, this newly constructed room, along with everyone who had entered it, vanished.
That space had become a realm of absolute, pure darkness, impenetrable by any information.
Inside the Black Domain.
Soft lights flickered on, illuminating the faces of the five supreme leaders.
Opposite them stood Luo Ji, alone.
He had taken off his restrictive suit jacket and was wearing only a simple white shirt.
He closed the door. The heavy thud of it shutting felt as if it had completely severed two universes from each other.
Luo Ji turned his head, looking at the five individuals before him who held the highest power in human civilization.
For the first time, a complex smile—a mixture of pity and cruelty—appeared on his face.
"Welcome to..."
"...the real universe."