Chapter 175
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Chapter 175: Noodle Soup
In the dim alley, the three people stood in silent stillness.
Luke stared at the communicator in the young man’s hand, feeling his heartbeat briefly halt before accelerating explosively, blood rushing through his veins.
That communicator, the one worn down at the edges from being tucked away in a pocket for years.
That communicator with a yellowing sticker and slightly curled corners.
How could it be in his hand?
Luke’s thoughts were drowned in a tide of confusion, and for a moment, he lost his thinking ability.
When Luke discovered his father was not carrying a communicator, a strange idea had already formed.
His father, the one who always maintained a serious demeanor, would never engage in pointless actions.
If he had time to record a last message, he certainly would have had the chance to destroy that communicator.
This meant that this item, which was almost a token, appearing here was entirely permitted by his father.
The [Believers] were the organization that killed his father; he would never deliver the communicator to his enemies.
And now, with the communicator in the Heart Snatcher’s hand, there was only one possible conclusion.
The Heart Snatcher he was tracking had a connection to the [Believers], but it should be a hostile connection!
The flood of information overwhelmed Luke’s brain, causing him to ignore many unreasonable parts of this logical chain.
Because deep down, he still couldn’t imagine his father doing something so irrational.
Just as his brain became sluggish with thought, a somewhat distorted call suddenly reached Luke’s ears:
“Captain, Captain, do you need reinforcement?
“Hello, can you hear me? If there is no response, the contingency plan will activate in thirty seconds…”
“It’s fine, it was a misjudgment; you all continue your work.”
Luke forced himself to respond calmly and then added,
“Change the monitoring plan from two shifts to shift work; several targets are down, so there’s no need to overwork the team; let everyone rest more.”
“Understood, received.”
The communication ended, and Luke fixed his gaze on the young man before him.
“You’re quite astute.”
The Young Man with slightly gray hair chuckled and stepped aside to clear the path:
“Please come with us.”
It was a trap, but not a conspiracy.
It was undoubtedly an open scheme; as long as Luke remembered why he embarked on the path of revenge and still wanted to uncover the truth behind his father’s death, he had to follow the Young Man ahead.
That seemingly fragile individual could be crushed into mincemeat with just a flick of his finger, yet now Luke found himself unable to do so.
At least his current abilities were enough for self-defense.
Luke sighed inwardly and retracted the shield that had been enveloping El, which slowly contracted in accordance with his will.
“There’s one more condition,” the young man suddenly said.
“Don’t push it too far.”
Luke felt his patience was nearing its breaking point.
Yet, the young man seemed oblivious and continued to explain earnestly:
“For your safety, please refrain from speaking without my permission from now on.
“If you must answer a question, simply nod or shake your head.
“I’ll repeat this once more—it’s for ‘your safety.’
“Do you understand?”
Luke took a deep breath and nodded, his expression tinged with defiance.
El chuckled at this.
He recognized this behavior; Dr. Lin had once described it as being “sharp-tongued but well-meaning.”
The three people exited the alley and stepped onto a relatively wide road, their formation shifting from a tight encirclement to a flanking position.
Luke didn’t mind. He knew that if he wanted to leave, these two wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Where were they headed?
He desperately wanted to ask, but he wasn’t allowed to.
The three of them wandered aimlessly through the darkened streets, passing by closed commercial districts and residential areas in the inner city.
Could their organization’s base really be hidden in such a mundane residential area?
That seemed almost absurd.
Finally, they arrived at an unremarkable spot by the roadside, a scene that could be found in at least eighty out of a hundred places in Hope City.
The only thing that stood out was a faint “X” marked on the ground.
“We’re here. Stand still. Yes, right here.”
El moved between Li Rui and Luke, placing his hands on their shoulders as he spoke.
“Don’t breathe for now.”
The three took a deep breath and held it. Suddenly, they felt weightless on the hard ground, as though they were plummeting toward the earth’s core.
The scenery around them shifted rapidly. Luke glimpsed the cross-section of the ground, spotted tiny worms wriggling in the soil, and witnessed sights he never imagined he’d see.
In that moment, he understood how black market supplies were smuggled away and why that impossibly heavy machine had vanished without a trace.
What a bizarre ability!
Before he could process it further, the three of them landed in an underground hollow space.
El and Li Rui, accustomed to the experience, landed gracefully.
Luke, however, stumbled backward, feeling a dull ache in his tailbone.
This is… underground?
Luke was startled. How could such a dark tunnel exist beneath the inner city, completely unknown to those above, even the council?
El stepped forward again, taking the lead.
But it seemed unnecessary. The dark tunnel, despite its impressive scale, had no branching paths. There was no need for a guide.
After walking for about ten minutes, they reached the end of the tunnel.
A thick concrete wall stood before them. Luke stared at it, lost in thought.
Sure enough, El grabbed his shoulder again, and the three held their breath as they moved forward, passing through the dark, damp earth. They emerged into a… laboratory.
The place looked damaged, with flickering lights and stains scattered across the floor.
Luke felt a strange sense of familiarity, though he couldn’t quite place where he’d seen it before.
El pushed open the operating room door and calmly announced,
“I’ve brought him.”
“Good.”
Lin Qingliu, seated in a rotating chair, took the communicator El handed him.
This was a specialized Luke trap, the only one of its kind in the world.
Li Rui and Luke followed into the operating room. Li Rui, out of habit, closed the door behind them and stood to the left of Lin Qingliu’s chair, while El took his place on the right.
As for the man in the chair, El had already briefed Luke.
In short, he was the boss of the boss—someone Luke hesitated even to look at directly.
