Jiang Yujin picked up a pen and scribbled a few words, then put away the floor plan he had drawn. He stood up and said, "Go back to your room and check on your boss. If he takes anything, record the surveillance video and tell me."
Shi Bu scratched his head: "The boss never takes anything when discussing business."
Jiang Yujin: "Just keep recording."
Between the boss and his brother, Shi Bu decisively chose to trust his brother, nodded, and then asked, "What about my brother?"
Jiang Yujin said, "I'm going out for a walk."
There are surveillance cameras everywhere, and someone guards the area at regular intervals, but if he wants to go out for a stroll, he can definitely get out.
Shi Bu nodded, put away his paper, pen, and computer, and got up to go back to his room.
Jiang Yujin left the room, but his method of leaving was unusual—he climbed out the window.
He could cross from the sixteenth floor to the first floor in an instant by climbing out of a window, and he also slipped the floor plan out of a sealed window he encountered along the way.
As he emerged from the shadows, he saw the flow of people and vehicles along the roadside. It resembled an ordinary city, with parents with children, students with backpacks, and commuters rushing to work. Everyone here seemed to have their own lives, busy yet ordinary.
Walking down the street, passersby glanced at him before looking away and continuing on their way. Jiang Yu strolled aimlessly, passing several intersections. Some of the traffic lights were malfunctioning and wouldn't light up properly, but the flow of traffic seemed to adhere to some unspoken rule, still passing through the intersections in an orderly and quiet manner.
Someone stood next to him, carrying a briefcase with a newspaper tucked inside, looking at the broken traffic light across the street. Jiang Yujin glanced at the person beside him and said calmly, "You should at least fix this traffic light, otherwise it looks a bit fake."
The person next to him turned to look at him, asking in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
Jiang Yujin didn't say anything more and crossed the road after the traffic stopped.
A person who appeared to be planning to cross the street, carrying a briefcase, stood still, but eventually turned around and walked away.
At the next intersection, the man carrying the briefcase encountered three high school students with backpacks and they passed each other.
As they parted, the newspaper fell to the ground. The high school student picked it up, but the other person had already disappeared at the end of the road. He could only glance at it briefly before putting it away.
Chen Jing and his two companions walked towards the Silver Building.
Slightly different from what they had imagined, the building looked clean and bright, with no guards outside and people in suits walking around inside, making it look like a legitimate company.
Before the people inside the building could even look at them, the three of them looked away and left as if they were just passing by.
After walking some distance, Chen Jing stopped and said, "This is it."
The building looks ordinary, but if you look closely, you can see that the pockets of the people working inside are slightly bulging, as if they are carrying something quite large, and everyone is like that.
Judging from its size, it likely contains a gun. Most companies don't provide every employee with a gun.
Although they knew the location, based on what they had just seen, getting into the building would be very difficult. They didn't know its layout or structure, and with so many people inside, it would be easy to be spotted, and once discovered, it would be very difficult to get out.
Chen Jing thought for a moment, then said, "Let's walk around the building first."
Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin nodded.
One side of the building faces the road, the place they had passed before, but the other side faces the adjacent building, which is much shorter than this building, only about ten stories high, and is still under renovation, covered by a green screen.
They went to the building next door. Presumably due to renovations, the building was empty. They went up the stairs and looked through the green screen at the silver building next door.
The two buildings are close together, but there is absolutely no hope of connecting this building to the next one. Presumably to prevent anyone from sneaking in from this building, all the windows on the dozen or so floors facing this direction of the silver building have been sealed off, except for the windows above the top of this building, which are very high and completely out of reach from the top of this building.
Zhang Xin, with her sharp eyes, noticed several pieces of paper stuffed outside the company's window while looking at the building next door. There seemed to be something written on them, but most of the content was obscured and could not be read clearly.
Little Fatty went to get the paper. After reaching for it little by little, he quickly jumped back, his heart still pounding when he returned.
It seems his trip was worthwhile. Upon opening the papers, they found several floor plans. Based on the layout, these appeared to be the floor plans of the Silver Building. The key floors marked were the sixteenth and seventh floors, with explanations of the routes and checkpoints to reach them. It was very detailed, but only the sixteenth and seventh floors were shown; the rest would require them to figure out on their own.
At the very end of the paper was a small note saying not to let anyone see it. Only this sentence was different from the previous handwriting; it looked much more sloppy.
These images are unlikely to be a trap set by Zero specifically to catch people. If they had the skill, they could have apprehended the person entering the building from the start, instead of using such an extremely subtle method. The images might be real, but not necessarily accurate, and it's unclear why they were hidden here.
Little Fatty asked, "Go?"
Chen Jing nodded: "Go."
The security inside the silver building was even tighter than they had imagined. It looked ordinary at first glance, but if you included people walking by with documents or having coffee in the corridors, you would find that there were people everywhere, leaving no blind spots.
If there are no blind spots, create them. Make a commotion elsewhere, and while everyone else's attention is drawn, the three of them slip through. With so many fingerprint locks and iris scanners, their usual method would have been to isolate someone who appeared to be of higher status and use that person to get through the system. But this time, things were slightly different. Headquarters wasn't suited to this approach, and remembering the notes on the paper they'd seen, they ultimately opted for the slowest but safest method.
There will never be a building without ventilation ducts. These ducts extend in all directions and are quite complex, but in some ways they are very convenient.
To avoid alerting anyone, it took them quite a while to get from the first floor to the sixth. The seventh floor couldn't be accessed directly; even the ventilation ducts had invisible infrared beams. Little Fatty dealt with the items before they continued upwards.
They eventually reached the seventh-floor ceiling. Any slight movement from the ceiling would be noticed by those below, so they were even more cautious here than before.
Because of the commotion they caused, the building is now on high alert. Most of the people on the seventh-floor corridor are gathered in front of a door, exchanging small conversations as if they are chatting.
Knowing where to go, Chen Jing closed his eyes and listened carefully for a while before finally choosing a direction.
They moved from the corridor ceiling to the ceiling of a room.
The ventilation openings are constructed similarly to louvers; once the angle is right, they can see what's below.
The blueprints we received earlier were correct; the seventh floor is indeed a key floor.
Below them was the laboratory, which appeared to be significantly larger than any of the branch laboratories they had seen before. The changes outside were irrelevant to the laboratory; those inside continued their research with peace of mind, the various machines emitting soft, constant humming sounds.
The laboratory was large, but there weren't many people. There were armed men constantly patrolling the four corners.
The three of them had to deal with two cameras in the four corners, plus the lab personnel scattered throughout the room. Chen Jing frowned and said, "Two seconds."
If they're more than two seconds late, and even if anyone in the room reacts in time, they'll have a very difficult time getting out of here today.
Almost instantly, the ventilation duct was kicked open, and three people jumped out. The person in the corner collapsed to the ground before he could even raise his gun, unable to give any warning. After dealing with the person in the corner, the remaining experimenters didn't have time to notify those outside either, collapsing silently to the ground before they could make a sound.
Xiao Pang took the USB drive out of the waterproof bag. Before he could even plug the USB drive into the computer, the sound of entering a password came from outside.
"You continue, we'll hold them off here."
Chen Jing reacted instantly, stepping over the test bench to the door and locking it again just as it was about to be unlocked. While the people outside were still trying to open the door, Zhang Xin stood aside and directly shut off the circuit.
Unable to open the door normally, the people outside began to physically break it open. A fused ring appeared in the center of the door, and before a hole could be melted through it, Chen Jing re-metalled the door.
The noise outside stopped for a moment.
A brief silence is often followed by a greater threat. Zhang Xin frowned: "No one notified anyone outside."
The cameras have also been tampered with. Even if someone noticed something amiss, it shouldn't have happened so quickly; there must be something they haven't noticed yet.
But it's clear now that there's no time for them to think about this.
The noise outside started again, much louder than before. Little Fatty noticed the situation; the USB drive was still transferring data, but the speed was clearly lagging. He gritted his teeth and started using other computers.
Data transmission rate 99%
As the computer transmission pop-up disappeared, the door was forced open, and gunshots rang out. They returned to the ventilation duct and quickly descended.
Going down was faster than going up, and the people behind them were also quick, chasing them all the way from inside the building to outside.
After running into a small alley, they lifted the manhole cover and went into the sewer.
The lights came on, and several people's eyes widened.
Inside the sewers, as far as the eye could see, were piles of scarlet chunks of flesh.
——
Jiang Yujin, who was strolling outside, received a message from Shi Bu, a video.
The video was a screen recording of surveillance footage from the office he had visited before. The middle-aged man with gray hair gave Lu Dongcheng a small, square blue box, which opened briefly as he handed it over, and Lu Dongcheng accepted it.
Jiang Yujin stopped walking and started to walk back.
When he got back to his room, someone knocked on the door, saying they were about to leave. He opened the door and smiled, replying with a "okay."
After a few hours of sailing and two hours of negotiations, there was a strange feeling here. The people who came didn't want to stay here any longer. As soon as they heard they could leave, they returned to the ship they came from.
With Zero gone from the ship, the others visibly seemed more relaxed. Jiang Yu took one last look at the city filled with skyscrapers, then turned back to his room.
Until they reappeared on the sea, people kept coming out of their rooms to go up on the deck for some fresh air.
Jiang Yujin mingled in the crowd. Someone recounted what had happened before leaving, saying that they seemed to have heard gunshots and saw what appeared to be armed people on the street after leaving the building.
An unmanaged city does seem a bit too free, at least not suitable for people like them. Everyone is happy to leave as soon as possible.
Shi Bu found his brother on the deck and was about to go over when he saw Lu Dongcheng walk up to him.
Handing the water to the person in front of him, Lu Dongcheng asked, "Is the matter finished?"
He could tell that the other person wasn't there for the money; they had other things to do.
Jiang Yujin took the water offered to him but didn't drink it. He held it in his hand and said, "Is the business deal done?"
Lu Dongcheng said the deal was done.
He provides the funding, the other party conducts the research, and the new technology developed belongs to him—it's that simple.
Jiang Yujin looked up and asked, "He didn't give me anything nice?"
Lu Dongcheng's expression remained unchanged: "What good stuff?"
Jiang Yujin smiled, but the emotion in his eyes faded. He held the water glass to the other person's lips and said, "Want a sip?"
Lu Dongcheng didn't drink.
"Whoosh—"
The sound of shattering glass suddenly rang out, startling the others who were chatting on the deck. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw their boss being choked, with most of his body hanging over the railing. If he were pushed any further, he would fall into the sea in an instant.
His breathing became labored, and Lu Dongcheng looked up to see eyes so indifferent they were devoid of any emotion. There was no disgust, no scrutiny, as if they were looking at a dog passing by on the street. Jiang Yujin said, "I told you before, there shouldn't be a next time."
There was something in the water. He had only vaguely sensed something when the person asked him if he wanted some water when there was tea nearby, and he had a guess earlier. When the person chose not to drink the water, he knew his guess was true.
This kind of thing had already happened in the game. On a stormy night, in the cabin, they couldn't find the key item to complete the level, so they had to stay in the dungeon. The other person casually handed him a glass of water.
He was about to drink it, but in the end he didn't.
The strange thing is that the water is so clear that you can even see the tiny, undissolved colloid at the bottom of the cup.
He'd seen this stuff before; it was a plant-based glue from a game that could damage parts of brain tissue, causing functional amnesia. He'd seen it before, but he never imagined it would one day be used on him.
Finally, the crucial item that had been missing was found on the other party.
"..."
With his throat gripped and most of his body above the sea, Lu Dongcheng gasped for breath, his life hanging by a thread.
They were discovered after all.
It's true that people say he's insidious, selfish, perverted, unscrupulous, and despicable.
Unlike Shi Bu and the others, what he ever wanted was never to be a friend or partner. Whether Xu Tonggui lived or died, it was none of his business to take the stage.
So he used this method. He tried it twice, once in the game and once now, but neither time did it work.
On the way here, the other person drank the water he offered without hesitation, and he thought that the other person trusted him again.
Jiang Yujin let go.
People who hadn't yet caught their breath fell downwards.
Those on deck stared wide-eyed, their hearts pounding. In the end, the crew reacted quickly and grabbed the person before he completely fell.
Although Shi Bu, who was not far away, did not know what had happened, he still went forward.
Jiang Yujin said, "When your boss is sober, show him the previous video. If you don't want the video to appear in the Special Investigation Bureau, you'll know what he should do after he finds out."
Shi Bu nodded.
For several hours on the way back, everyone on the ship watched the bodyguard who had almost killed his employer with bated breath, before finally seeing him off.
There are some things that are beyond their control. The only thing they can do is to not look or listen too much and to protect their own lives.
They set off in the afternoon, and by the time they returned, it was completely dark. After disembarking, Jiang Yujin returned to the hotel where he had stayed, took a shower, and went straight to sleep.
The high school students returned just before dawn, their clothes soaked and stained with red marks. Since it was still early, they took a quick shower and then went to Chen Jing's room together.
Ever since they entered the sewers, their pursuers seemed to know their every move perfectly, keeping them pinned down no matter what. They only managed to catch their breath after exiting the sewers and disappearing into a deserted alley. They eventually found their way back and returned the way they had made. They sustained some injuries along the way, but managed to protect the USB drive remarkably well.
The USB drive was full of research records. Unlike the branch, which mainly researched the combination of humans and alien species, the headquarters had a very clear research direction: to keep studying the same thing and constantly delving deeper.
The people at headquarters found it deep in the Latso Desert, brought it back, and named it [0]. Or, to put it another way, using a more familiar name, the cells of [0] are called biogen.
All of the branch's research is based on the headquarters' in-depth research on [0].
As they suspected, [0] is like the mother of the alien species, possessing the functions of repair, control, fusion, enhancement, and generation. In addition, according to headquarters' research, besides these functions, it also possesses the ability to parasitize and dominate.
The parasitism function was discovered and put into use several years ago. The alien species they encountered with abnormal behavior before may have been the ones being parasitized. For example, alien species that did not originally have the habit of hoarding food suddenly began to store food, or alien species that would normally share food with their own kind always kept the nutrients for themselves and refused to share even a little bit. These behaviors are hard to call normal.
They do this because they want to provide nutrients to the [0] part that exists in their bodies. In other words, it's not that they want to, but that they have to do it.
For some reason, perhaps related to the game's collapse, [0] is very weak and in dire need of a lot of nutrition, and these parasites are its source of nutrition.
Zero uses it to create alien species, then implants a part of it into the alien species, and then releases it to various places.
This also explains why, starting from a certain point in time, the alien species, which had been declining in number, began to reappear in various places, and in increasing numbers.
It also has the ability to dominate and invade the brains of other species, completing the takeover in a short time. Once the takeover is complete, it possesses the mind of the invaded entity while simultaneously controlling it to do things for itself.
[0]is a thing, but not entirely a complete entity. It can be just a single cell, or some remaining fragments; these are all forms of it, and all can grow into it. No matter how incomplete or insignificant, as long as it is alive, it can think and observe.
The fact that Little Fatty felt he was being observed when facing the red meat chunks was not unfounded.
"It means that to solve it, we must completely destroy every single cell and every segment of the gene that might survive."
Zhang Xin's expression turned completely serious.
This is almost impossible. After so many years of operation, the cells and genes of this thing have spread all over the world, and there are too many uncontrollable factors involved.
Little Fatty pointed to another paragraph below and said, "Look at this paragraph."
[The subjugated individuals can still function normally, think, work, and even conduct research, a fact already demonstrated in the 113,000 participants.]
Upon seeing this text, Chen Jing realized something and took out the newspaper that he had casually stuffed into the waterproof bag earlier that day.
The newspaper was from many years ago, heavily yellowed, and the front page featured a special report: [Population of Atsha surpasses 110,000]
The small print below states: "The current actual population is approximately 113,000."
113,000, the exact same number.
As they slowly came to their senses, goosebumps silently crept up the arms of the people in the room.
So the children, couples, fathers and mothers they see in Atsha today, the students chatting and laughing in the streets, are all people who have been controlled.
They are all [0].
—Including the researchers and guards in the building.
There are connections between each part of [0], its eyes are their eyes, its perceptions are their perceptions.
So when they broke into the lab yesterday, no one notified the outside world, yet the people outside were still able to detect the anomaly immediately and try to break through the door.
Because they were originally one.
Do not let anyone see this.
Zhang Xin turned around and quickly rummaged through her bag, finding the blueprints she had unexpectedly obtained earlier, with the notes at the bottom clearly visible.
They finally understood what that sentence meant.
Once they're seen by just one person, they're known to everyone in the city. If they try to unlock the iris and fingerprint locks as usual, they're destined to never leave the building once they step inside.
The chubby boy felt a chill run down his spine: "Who left these papers?"
"..."
"Knock knock"
In the ensuing silence, there was a knock on the door, and the three of them immediately looked at the door with alertness.
Chen Jing gestured for them to calm down quickly and got up to open the door.
A person with disheveled hair, wearing pajamas, stood in the doorway, one hand clutching a large, soft white pillow, the other unconsciously scratching an itch, saying in a sleepwalking manner:
"Son, I have mosquitoes in my room, I'm coming to your place to take shelter for a while."