The veteran officer had his ways after years of experience. Will's twisted expression eased slightly as he waited for the man to continue.
"What else can we do? I'll give you an extra 10% bonus if it works."
The old officer remained silent, wearing a faint smile.
Gritting his teeth, Will glared at him with displeasure and threat in his voice: "Another 10%. Don't push your luck."
The old officer finally showed a satisfied grin. "Sir, think about it—the biochemical leak in the research facility has likely wiped out everyone inside. That means all witnesses who knew about the child are dead. More importantly, the institute rarely transmits research data externally via networks to prevent leaks."
"And aside from the guards, the only others who knew the child escaped are our own people..."
Will's eyes gradually widened as he listened, unable to suppress a growing smirk. "Good, very good."
"If we just delete the data from the servers, no one will ever know about the child. We can pin the whole thing on Blue Cosmos—dead men tell no tales."
At this, Will's face darkened. "Are you stupid? The company was alerted the moment the institute's alarms went off. They're probably already on their way. How are we supposed to handle the data in time? Why don't you try breaking in yourself?"
"No, no, no!" The old officer hastily shook his head. Seeing Will's expression turn stormy, he quickly added, "But we have the perfect candidate right here."
He pointed at the shattered phone on the ground. Will's face immediately lit up with understanding.
Coming and going in a hurry, the officers filed out of the alley and into their patrol cars before speeding off.
Soon, the Garrison returned to the research facility's main entrance.
The moment Will stepped into the guard post, he saw Weber tied to a chair. The two guards nearby hurried over. "Sir, we—"
"Good job. Go outside and follow the others' lead. I need to have a word with our 'righteous' officer here."
Bowing obsequiously, the two quickly left.
A moment later.
Weber struggled in terror against his restraints, the cloth binding his wrists leaving red marks.
"Impossible! I've studied the facility's layout—the server room is in Zone B, where the biochemical leak happened! You're sending me to my death!"
Will sneered mockingly. "What's wrong? Done playing the noble officer? Weren't you going to help that kid? Didn't you think we were too dirty to associate with?"
Leaning closer, Will patted Weber's cheek with his plump hand. "Sorry, but you don't have a choice. You're playing this game whether you like it or not."
Weber glared at Will with fury.
"Oh, by the way, don't worry about your posthumous reputation. No matter what, you'll be reported as 'a hero who died fighting Blue Cosmos rioters while risking his life to save citizens'—consider that your consolation prize. Hahaha—!"
Weber gritted his teeth, his jaw creaking as every muscle tensed, straining against the cloth bindings until they stretched taut. But after a few seconds, his body slackened, and he slumped back into the chair.
"Damn it..."
Minutes later, Weber, now fully armed, was escorted to the entrance of the research institute building.
"Can he even get in? The institute's under quarantine."
"There's a special access route. These quarantine measures make it easy to enter but impossible to leave."
Through the guard station's surveillance feed, a group watched as Weber stepped into a specialized isolation chamber.
...
Half an hour earlier, at Mendel Shopping Mall.
Zhou Tianming, scrolling through a map on his phone, was startled by the piercing wail of police sirens.
He retreated a few steps, blending into the crowd as he watched the patrol cars speed past.
"That direction..." Tianming muttered, tracking the police cars' path. "They really traced the phone signal. Good thing I took precautions."
Standing by the roadside, Tianming put himself in the Garrison's shoes.
If they couldn't find me through phone tracking, their next move would be checking surveillance footage.
He glanced around—cameras were everywhere: at intersections, in front of stores.
With a sigh, Tianming realized the game of cat and mouse had begun. He couldn't afford to be careless anymore.
Merging with the crowd, he slipped into an alleyway, using passersby to block the cameras' view before darting inside.
He dialed Weber's backup number again.
For a long moment, there was no sound at all. Tianming began to suspect Weber's phone had been compromised, but just as he was about to hang up, a noise came through.
His luck seemed to hold—until the dial tone dragged on for over a minute with no answer.
Seriously...
With no other choice, he called Zhou Hanxiang instead.
"Tianming, how did it go?"
"Failed. Couldn't find him." Thinking of the Garrison's earlier movements, Tianming guessed Weber had been exposed. "He probably got caught helping me escape. Let's just hope he's okay."
"I see. Then I won't wait either."
"Be careful. I'll figure something out on my end."
Suddenly, Hanxiang's surprised voice crackled through the phone: "Someone's coming in!"
Tianming frowned. "Who? Mom, be careful."
"It's the Garrison—a young man, fully armed." Her tone shifted, laced with hesitation and confusion. "His face is injured..."
???
A thought struck Tianming. "No way it's that much of a coincidence..."
"Mom, call out 'Weber-Walter' and see how he reacts."
Hanxiang's voice echoed faintly, as if she were using a speaker system.
"Oh! He reacted—he jumped and even dropped his gun."
A grin tugged at Tianming's lips. "That's the guy I'm looking for. He helped me earlier. The injuries are probably from the others beating him up."
"Tianming!" Hanxiang's voice turned stern. "Don't take pleasure in someone else's suffering when they got hurt helping you. You should be grateful."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll thank him properly."
"Tianming!"
...
After a while, Weber's voice came through the phone, tinged with surprise: "Never thought we'd connect this way."
"Tianming!" Zhou Hanxiang's voice called from the side.
Expressionless, Zhou Tianming pitched his voice higher: "Thank you, big brother, for your help earlier." Then suddenly raising his volume gruffly, he shouted, "Thanks!"
Without waiting for a response, Zhou Tianming immediately asked, "How's your Garrison planning to catch me? Any new developments?"
After a long pause, Weber's slightly frustrated voice finally responded: "They've given up. Want to sweep your escape under the rug, so they sent me into the institute to delete all records about you from the servers."
Zhou Tianming froze, suddenly realizing a question—were his records still there?
According to the original storyline, Via had noticed something amiss and asked her sister Yantian to send Kira and Cagalli away. Logically, for Kira's safety, Via must have handled his records.
As Ulen Hibiki's wife and an Artificial Womb researcher, Via had both the position and opportunity to manage the records.
Zhou Tianming had never considered his own records because, based on the original story, only a handful of people knew Kira's true identity.
If clear documentation existed, far more people would know about it.
Now that this was brought up, Zhou Tianming wasn't so sure anymore.
Just then, Zhou Hanxiang spoke up: "Tianming, I have to deal with the biochemical leak anyway. I can check while I'm there. It's better not to leave any traces of you."
After hesitating, Zhou Tianming agreed it was worth confirming. Better not leave a ticking time bomb for himself.
"Be careful then. If it's too risky, just leave it. The universe is vast—there's always somewhere to hide."
"Leave it to Mom."
Zhou Hanxiang's voice carried determination.