Chapter 179
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Chapter 179: Professionals
The sound of the object falling was barely audible; if not for the darkness amplifying Luke’s hearing, he might not have noticed it at all.
Despite being trapped and wanting to sort through the chaos in his mind, his longing for freedom quickly took precedence over everything else.
His hand soon brushed against a spot that felt different from the tile floor. He gently moved his fingers, trying to pull the object closer.
With a slight effort, there was a soft "swish" as something slid into the cell.
He quickly retracted his hand and felt around on the ground, soon finding a thin piece of material.
No, it wasn’t just a piece of paper; it was… an unopened scalpel blade.
Luke carefully explored, removing the blade from its packaging, and even accidentally nicked his hand twice to confirm the direction of the sharp edge.
The chubby boy gently held the thin blade, faced with two choices.
Stay here and wait for what the mysterious person referred to as “fishing” to begin, using himself as bait to lure the senators.
Or use this unexpectedly obtained blade to end his life.
This wasn’t impossible; Luke, exhausted both physically and mentally, found that death, which once seemed so terrifying, didn’t feel so painful anymore.
This blade was clearly left behind carelessly during the warehouse transport, and its sharp edge was enough to cut his carotid artery.
The nutritional paste left by the other party could sustain him for three days if consumed sparingly; although it wasn’t a long time, it was enough for suicide.
In the darkness, Luke slumped in the corner formed by the wall and floor, as thoughts swirled in his mind…
—
“Master, you have a new message~ But [Skydome] can’t tell who it’s from.”
As the sky darkened, Ji Yongxing, who had been busy all day in the weapons research department, finally returned to his small nest.
Upon hearing [Skydome] say this, he already knew who had sent the message.
Ji Yongxing didn’t deliberately hide his relationship with Lin Qingliu; in his eyes, it was entirely normal for a researcher to have a few friends, especially since this friend lived in the inner city, not far from the research institutes.
However, because of the other party’s true identity, he always felt it was strange for his creation to use Lin Qingliu’s name.
To avoid that awkwardness, he manually left the message blank, even though that was a kind of disguise in its own right.
But when he opened the message, he discerned some issues through the underlying meaning.
Lin Qingliu hoped he could help with some tasks, specifically… tasks related to disassembly.
—
He should understand, right?
At this moment, Lin Qingliu was at home contemplating the current situation’s developments.
The first exploration team had successfully returned last night, and the follow-up to the Exploration Plan would quickly be put on the agenda.
Wang Xiao and Shi Jin were now undergoing more rigorous training.
El continued to gather unwanted supplies for emergencies.
Everyone had their own tasks, giving Lin Qingliu a strange sense of “characters living their own lives.”
Whenever he thought about this, he could only sigh quietly; after all, the real world couldn’t let those characters be called upon at will like in a game, and interpersonal relationships remained very important.
As for his only connection at the research institutes, Ji Yongxing, he should have seen that message by now.
He hoped Ji Yongxing would understand his intent and bring reliable disassembly tools to assist him here.
The object to be disassembled was the metal ring extracted from Luke’s arm bone.
Having witnessed the formidable power of that device, Lin Qingliu had no desire to trigger its safety mechanism again.
Since one of his hypotheses had been confirmed, it was time to delve into something more intriguing to uncover the truth behind the upper echelons of Hope City.
The tiny hex Screw Holes and the meticulously sealed design on the metal ring left Lin Qingliu, who had little mechanical expertise, utterly stumped.
He could have used his spatial abilities to manipulate it, but he felt it wasn’t secure enough.
Certain parts of the device exceeded his precision; a single misstep could lead to disastrous consequences.
To err on the side of caution, he ultimately decided to enlist the help of a professional.
An hour later, there was a knock at the door of Lin Qingliu’s residence. Ji Yongxing, now dressed in casual attire, stood at the entrance, a small leather suitcase in each hand.
He was clad in clothes suitable for inner city travel, appearing like an ordinary Young Man visiting a friend with thoughtful gifts.
Lin Qingliu ushered Ji Yongxing inside and led him first into the outer examination room.
“I’ve made some discoveries that should help us better understand the upper levels of Hope City.”
Ji Yongxing nodded:
“I see. So, what do you need me to disassemble? The message didn’t provide specifics, and…”
Ji Yongxing glanced around, finding the examination room rather ordinary, with no sign of anything unusual that required disassembly.
“Yes, the item isn’t here because I need to go over some precautions first.”
Lin Qingliu’s expression grew serious:
“The item is in the adjacent examination room. Once we enter, all communication should be done through the communicator or with pen and paper. Avoid speaking carelessly.”
“You mean…?”
“Exactly. I’ve already ruined one before, so it’s best to be cautious to prevent accidentally triggering the keywords and causing it to self-destruct.”
“Understood. I also have something to tell you.”
Meeting Lin Qingliu’s inquisitive gaze, Ji Yongxing placed his hard shell case on the bed and opened it.
Inside was a computer with parts of its outer shell missing; it was clear that most of its components weren’t new, and the configuration seemed rather modest.
Ji Yongxing quietly powered on the machine, watching as the green pixel cursor on the display screen blinked rhythmically.
“[Skydome], this is a friend; he’s with me.”
He added this somewhat resignedly; otherwise, given the timid nature of this AI, it might have remained silent indefinitely.
“Ah, Master, you should have said so earlier.”
A mechanical, synthesized voice chimed in, and the green cursor on the screen transformed into a simple, emoticon-like face.
A cylindrical camera extended from the top of the screen, then retracted slightly, leaving about two centimeters exposed as it began to rotate silently, resembling a furtive peeper.
