Chapter Forty-Three: Man, Tiger, and Ant

“You really think I don’t dare.”
Wang Yanshu snatched the pistol and pointed it at Qian Zhongshu.
“Wait!”
A furious shout rang out as Wang Bowen pushed through the crowd, holding up his phone.
Everyone turned to look at Wang Bowen, and Wang Yanshu did too. “Director Wang, what are you doing?”
Wang Bowen handed the phone to Wang Yanshu. “Someone’s looking for you.”
Wang Yanshu eyed the offered phone, uncertain, but took it.
“Hello? Who is this?”
His tone was brash at first, but the moment the caller spoke, Wang Yanshu’s attitude shifted instantly—he became deferential. “Yes… yes… I’ll handle it right away, it’s all as our department head instructed!”
“Yes…”
After hanging up, Wang Yanshu carefully returned the phone to Wang Bowen, then called out to the security bureau staff, “Release everyone. We’re leaving.”
The sudden turn of events left Qian Zhongshu bewildered. He went up to Wang Bowen and asked, “Old Wang, what’s going on? Who did you call?”
Wang Bowen smiled. “The Prime Minister.”
“What!”
…
With the security bureau gone, the crowd in the square erupted in cheers. Wang Bowen stepped onto the platform and called out, “Everyone, please quiet down.”
“Though the security bureau has left, we’ve wasted too much time already. I suggest everyone return to your posts immediately, check all equipment, and report any issues to your department leaders, who will then forward them to me.”
As soon as Wang Bowen spoke, murmurs rose among the crowd.
“Director Wang, none of us knows whether the spy was found. Is it safe to resume work now…?”
“Yes, Director Wang, if we start working and another group like theirs shows up, won’t all our effort be wasted?”
“That’s right…”
Hearing their concerns, Wang Bowen thumped his chest and vowed, “The person who called Wang Yanshu just now wasn’t ordinary. I promise everyone here, today’s incident will not happen again.”

“This…”
Seeing the lingering doubt, Qian Zhongshu stepped forward. “I trust Director Wang. Since he’s given his word, I believe him.”
Given Qian Zhongshu’s earlier display, everyone nodded, agreeing to follow the organization’s arrangements.
Wang Bowen said, “Good, since there are no objections, let’s make up for lost time. Everybody, get to work.”
At his words, the crowd dispersed in an orderly fashion, heading toward their departments.
Wang Bowen descended from the platform. Lin Guangming came over. “Old Lin, what about Zhang Mingyang?”
“Oh! I almost forgot.”
Wang Bowen quickly called Hui Jun over, instructing him to take some people to the logistics warehouse and release Zhang Mingyang.
…
Elsewhere, in the low warehouse, Zhang Mingyang was curled up, quietly reading “The Game of Resources.” The unrest in the base seemed to have nothing to do with him.
He opened to the second chapter, and the opening question left him dumbfounded.
The book read: “A hunter has a gun. Opposite him are a tiger and an ant. Which do you shoot first?”
Looking at the question, Zhang Mingyang thought even a fool would know—you shoot the tiger first; the ant poses no threat.
He read on. The next part said: “If the tiger has the ability to turn the ant into another tiger, which do you shoot first?”
Here, Zhang Mingyang grew even more puzzled. How could an ant become a tiger? And what hunter would foolishly let the ant become a tiger? Obviously, you’d shoot the tiger right away.
Something was off—the logic was different.
The chapter’s title was “Change Under Resources,” but the opening question left Zhang Mingyang unsure how it related to the theme.
He turned the page. It read:
“Changes in human thinking are shaped by society; society is shaped by technology; and technology is shaped by various resources. Therefore, resources are the origin of all evolution.”
“Thanks to various resources, in just a few million years, humans evolved from lowly apes to the dominant species on Earth. This process is much like an ant becoming a tiger. In this evolution, we don’t know whether the ant succeeded because the tiger helped it.”
“But, as more resources are discovered and exploited, the ant is no longer content to be a tiger. It sets its sights on the hunter with the gun, wanting to become the one who can decide the fate of lesser creatures.”
“At the same time, the ant, having evolved so smoothly, never considers why it became a tiger, or why the tiger chose to turn it into a tiger. Was it because the ant was weak? Because the tiger was kind? No.”
“It’s because, if the ant isn’t turned into a tiger, the hunter faces only one threat—the tiger. The probability of the tiger being shot is 100%.”

“But once the ant becomes a tiger, the hunter now faces two threats, and the probability of either being shot drops to 50%.”
“Moreover, the hunter considers: a single tiger can be killed without risk, but with two tigers, he hesitates, for if he’s injured, other hunters might kill him to reduce competition for resources in the forest.”
“Because of the hunter’s hesitation, the tiger has a high chance of escaping. With resources, it can hide, bide its time, and evolve into a hunter.”
“As for the ant, though it has become a tiger, it’s only a cub—not a threat to the adult tiger. This cub can attract the attention of nearby hunters, helping the adult tiger complete its evolution safely.”
Reading these smooth, clever words, Zhang Mingyang felt dizzy. He tried to summarize the passage in his mind.
“In essence, a hunter wants to kill a tiger. To avoid being killed, the tiger turns an ant into another tiger. When the hunter sees two tigers, he hesitates, giving the original tiger time to grow and evolve into a hunter, while the evolved ant becomes a tool for the tiger.”
“Yes… that seems to be it.”
Though he understood the logic, Zhang Mingyang still didn’t grasp how the question related to the chapter title. Was it about how humans change under the influence of resources, or…
“Bang bang…”
The sound of someone pounding on the iron door interrupted him.
“Well! You really like studying, reading even at a time like this.”
“Hui Jun!”
Zhang Mingyang looked at the door—wasn’t that Hui Jun?
“How did you get in?” Zhang Mingyang knelt, peering outside.
“The security bureau’s gone. Director Wang asked me to let you out.”
“They’re gone? What happened?”
“I’ll explain outside.”
Hui Jun opened the iron door, and Zhang Mingyang crawled out from inside.