Jiang Ye was able to leave the hospital and return home to recuperate once the cause of his illness was identified.
He remained weak and drowsy, exhausted like an old man in his twilight years. However, this time he could lie in his own soft, large bed, with Cen Yemeng holding him as he slept, feeling incredibly warm and comfortable in her embrace.
But the nightmares persisted.
Every two to three hours after falling asleep, Jiang Ye would jolt awake, his emotions extremely agitated.
On a few occasions after waking from nightmares, Jiang Ye even held his wife and wept uncontrollably, crying like a child.
He claimed to have been dreaming of extremely bloody scenes, often battlefields strewn with corpses, or horrific traffic accident sites with gruesome bodies. These visions tore at his heart in his dreams, making it difficult to wake up, as if trapped in hell.
He also dreamt of countless vengeful spirits, their faces blurred, crying out as they floated in a vast, dark river, their wails piercing the heavens.
Cen Yemeng was at a loss. She had never seen her husband so vulnerable. All she could do was hold him tightly and speak words of comfort.
To soothe her husband's emotions, Cen Yemeng found some movies and projected them in the bedroom using holographic technology, watching them with him.
They were all very lighthearted, popcorn flicks, such as agent shootouts, alien explorations, and workplace comedies.
The couple had often watched such movies to relax in the past, but Jiang Ye now showed severe discomfort.
Any bloody scene in the movies, even if it looked fake, would make Jiang Ye turn his head away. He would even break out in a sweat and his face would turn pale.
"What's wrong, darling?" Cen Yemeng asked, very worried. "Are you feeling unwell again?"
"I don't know," Jiang Ye sighed heavily. "I seem to be unable to bear bloody scenes anymore. I don't know why, but I feel extremely repulsed."
"This isn't bloody, it's all filmed, it's fake," Cen Yemeng frowned. "And these are all commercial films suitable for children. How could..."
"I don't know, I don't know..." Jiang Ye's expression was weary. "Perhaps it's the influence of those nightmares. Now, even a tiny bit of blood makes me nauseous. It feels like post-traumatic stress disorder. I might need to see a therapist."
"Should I call a therapist?"
"Let's wait until I'm better," Jiang Ye sighed again and again. "I just want to lie in bed holding you and rest quietly. Let's not watch these action movies. Let's watch... cartoons."
Cen Yemeng had no choice but to find some animated films and watch them with her husband.
In one scene of an animated film, a big bad wolf caught a little lamb and was preparing to cook it. While chopping ingredients for the soup with a cleaver, he accidentally cut his own paw, causing a little blood to spill. The wolf cried out dramatically for a while and then put on a band-aid.
Cen Yemeng quickly turned to look at her husband. She saw Jiang Ye frown slightly. He even felt a slight discomfort from the blood in the animated film.
To ensure her husband could watch movies comfortably, Cen Yemeng would first watch the cartoons herself while Jiang Ye was asleep, making sure there was not a single trace of violence or blood in the entire film. Then, she would play it from the beginning when her husband woke up.
Every morning after breakfast, a doctor would visit to administer an injection of medication to Jiang Ye.
The medication contained the military's healing atomic parasites. Each syringe contained over a billion of them. More than half would rush to Jiang Ye's brain to fight, while the rest would be metabolized by his body along the way or remain in other parts of his body as temporary guards.
This type of medication was scarce, and many planets couldn't even obtain it. Jiang Ye was injected with a high-grade version specially supplied by the military, costing five million per syringe, with a market price of over thirty million. Of course, these medications were provided to Jiang Ye free of charge by the military, as Jiang Ye's value to the military far exceeded the cost of these drugs.
Meanwhile, the military police were also frantically investigating the source of the atomic parasites.
However, there were no leads.
Atomic parasites were currently the most common tool for assassinating important figures.
They were extremely stealthy. A small capsule could store hundreds of millions of atomic parasites. Contact with the skin surface had a certain probability of allowing them to enter the body. If they could come into contact with the respiratory or esophageal tracts, they would almost certainly enter the body.
The most crucial aspect was that there were virtually no traces.
Ordinary poisons would leave traces, but atomic parasites were difficult to detect and required extremely advanced instruments. Furthermore, atomic parasites exposed to the environment would typically dissipate within 48 hours. Many days had passed since Jiang Ye fell ill, so even if there were any residual atomic parasites, they were likely gone by now.
They were like phantoms.
After a detailed examination by experts sent by the Galactic Empire's military, over a hundred potential security vulnerabilities were identified, through which Jiang Ye could be infected with atomic parasites.
These vulnerabilities included air conditioning systems. The air conditioners in Jiang Ye's home, private car, spaceship, and office could all automatically detect air composition, but only for traditional toxic gases. For extremely minute substances like atomic parasites, more advanced air conditioning equipment was needed.
Air conditioners capable of detecting atomic parasites cost over eighty million each.
Cen Yemeng signed the authorization without a second thought, requesting that all of them be replaced.
Jiang Ye enjoyed eating fruit, and most of his fruit was harvested from its origin and delivered by air. During this process, many people could come into contact with the fruit. Although there were detection devices, and it was tested for toxic components before being given to Jiang Ye, it still couldn't detect the presence of atomic parasites.
Suppose an assassin disguised themselves as a fruit farmer and simply sprinkled some atomic parasite culture medium onto an apple, then washed it clean with water. In that case, no toxic components would be detected, but a small amount of parasites would have already entered the apple.
It was done without anyone knowing.
Similarly, most of the food Jiang Ye consumed could also be poisoned through similar means. For instance, staple foods, milk, and water – anything that didn't require high-temperature heating – allowed atomic parasites to survive.
This poison was extremely insidious and undetectable by ordinary instruments. Even the people who sample-tested Jiang Ye's food suffered no ill effects, but it allowed the parasites to enter Jiang Ye's body. The most terrifying aspect was that some atomic parasites had gene-targeting functions; they would only activate once inside Jiang Ye's body, meaning the tasters would remain unharmed.
On the fourth day at home, Jiang Ye had largely recovered. He was no longer drowsy and even had the strength to do eighty push-ups.
He immediately summoned the private security expert sent by the military to assist with the investigation to discuss the incident.
The expert was a thin, elderly man in his forties named Wang Feng, who was a chain smoker. Jiang Ye and he talked on the balcony, where his smoke could be quickly dispersed by the wind.
"The military police have investigated every possible area and interrogated everyone they could," Wang Feng said. "Currently, there are no conclusions, and it's unlikely there ever will be. But based on my experience, there's at least a seventy percent chance that your illness was caused by weaponized atomic parasites."
"Someone tried to assassinate me?" Jiang Ye frowned. "It doesn't feel like it. These atomic parasites are too mild; they could hardly kill me."