World War I

Chapter 3: 5000 million funding

"Lao Liang, tell me, what exactly is this place?"

"Only those who can enter the 98123 Bureau have the right to know this. Because of you, a loser, I got scolded by my boss. Let's go. There's no gang here to commit crimes like you found."

Luo Ye looked around for people, "Where is the waste? There are only two of us here."

Lao Liang could only laugh and said, "You are not useless, I am useless. I am old and my eyesight is not good. I actually let you get on the car. Let's go."

"Where?"

"You'll know when it arrives."

The two men walked out of the white office, got into a military green jeep, and drove around in the tunnel.

"get off."

"What is this place?"

Luo Ye walked into the room and was dazzled by the piles of instruments in the room.

"Sit on that iron stool."

"Isn't this a free full-body checkup for me?"

"Do you want to stay here for the New Year?"

"Yes, I obey."

Luo Ye no longer had any doubts. What he encountered was not a fraud gang. There couldn't be such a fraud gang. This should be a scientific research base with the highest level of confidentiality, hidden underground. He accidentally hit the wrong car.

He sat on the cold crimson iron stool, and light from the wall shone above his head.

"Have mercy, I don't recognize any of these instruments. If you mess with them for a while, they'll be useless. Do I need to sign a non-disclosure agreement?"

"unnecessary."

"I understand the Statute of Secrecy."

"Shut up! Close your eyes again! Count to ten silently, starting from 10 and ending at 1. Please cooperate!"

In the right corner of the room, a robot was standing and suddenly gave a prompt in a female voice.

Luo Ye glared at the robot, closed his eyes, and began to count silently. The robot's two arms were frighteningly thick and disproportionate to the size of the entire machine.

After ten counts, he felt drowsy but couldn't fall asleep. The memory of entering the mountain seemed to be fading, but soon, pictures of it kept appearing before his eyes.

This magical feeling is just like the invisible ink made of cobalt chloride used by the agents in TV dramas. When the ink is written on paper and it dries, the color cannot be seen. When the paper is placed in water, the writing will appear, and when the paper dries, the writing will become invisible again.

About five minutes later, Lao Liang said, "OK."

Luo Ye opened his eyes and adjusted to the light.

"Have a comfortable sleep."

"What kind of comfortable sleep was that? It was awful. It felt like a female fly was buzzing in my ear. I didn't sleep at all."

Lao Liang frowned and said, "You didn't sleep?"

"I want to sleep but I can't,"

"Then do you remember those people and cars you saw in the tunnel?"

"of course I remember."

Luo Ye was once again brought by Lao Liang to a steel-built office.

Sandaowen stared at Luo Ye for half a minute. "I was wrong. It turns out you're not a loser. Congratulations! You're accepted. You're the only one who was accepted out of all the interviewees today."

A stream of air rushed out of Luo Ye's throat, making a strange sound like the sound of a tire being punctured by a nail.

"You've screwed me up halfway. Just now you said I was the only one who didn't make it past the first round of interviews, and now you're saying I'm the only one who was accepted. I need to clarify something. Did you see the uniform I'm wearing? I did go for an interview today, but I didn't come here for an interview. I went to the Railway Public Security Bureau, not this place. I got on the wrong train, and you made a mistake too."

"Your previous company fired you, under the pretext of sending you to the Railway Public Security Bureau for an interview. In reality, they were giving you face. It's true that you got on the wrong train, but I wasn't mistaken. It was correct."

Luo Ye grinned silently in embarrassment.

"I'm not that bad, who told you that?"

"You have no place at the Railway Public Security Bureau. If you're not on the wrong train, you can only deliver packages or something like that."

"You must know someone from the Nanwai Police Station, right? He always says I'm destined to be a courier."

"Just met him three minutes ago. You know this guy, right?"

Director Liao's gloating face appeared on a crystal screen on the wall.

"I would recognize him even if he turned into ashes."

On the big screen, Director Liao sat in his office chair with a serious expression, smiling as he said, "Luo Ye, we finally got you out. I thought you'd go to the Railway Public Security Bureau to put on a show and then run back to the Nanwai Police Station to get free food and drinks. Congratulations, and thank the country for taking you in! You've actually had a lucky break and been accepted into a top-level national department. How could I not have seen your true strengths? I've never seen anything like this before. You don't have to go to the Railway Public Security Bureau anymore. From now on, this is your new unit, new job, and new beginning. You have a bright future. Work hard, and we'll see you again."

"Wait, can I speak to Director Liao?"

"Yes, but not now."

The picture disappeared, the screen went black, and Luo Ye licked his lips.

"Okay, your interview questions can come to an end. I'm sure you have many other questions, right?"

"What department is 98123? The department that prevents world war?"

"That was a joke, but you can understand it this way. To put it simply, Bureau 98123 is a scientific research unit, similar to Area 51 in the United States. It's our country's most promising resource, specializing in the study of paranormal phenomena, unconventional events, potential, radio waves, space, evolution, timelines, and so on. Bureau 98123's employees are recruited from all over the country, and many possess extraordinary talents that are beyond ordinary people. You probably learned some of the details in the car. 98123's research projects involve dozens of projects, with two core projects. The first is the study of shadow matter, a complex, mysterious cosmic substance with vitality and powerful force. We are the only one who has mastered this substance; neither the United States nor Russia has. This is a strategic research project."

"I don't understand what shadow matter is. I do know what dark matter is. What about the second project?"

"Time travel experiment."

Luo Ye laughed loudly, Lao Liang and Sandao Wen looked at him and laughed.

"Yes, you won't believe it, but with shadow matter, it's possible to travel through time. The two are combined into one. Strictly speaking, these two projects are actually one. Everything is ready, except for the east wind. We lack a carrier."

“I don’t do live streaming to sell goods.”

"Seriously, can't you see your fingers sometimes?"

"How did you know? I have some eye problems occasionally, and the doctor said it's astigmatism."

"No doctor can figure out what's wrong with your eyes except us."

After Sandaowen finished speaking, he walked towards a huge black safe behind him, entered the password, and after facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, and voice control recognition, the heavy iron door of the safe slowly opened, and he took out a blue and white, delicate object that looked like a glass tube.

The entire safe only contains this one thing.

"Look carefully and tell me what you see. Don't jump to conclusions. The amnesia chamber won't work on you. You're the first person in the history of Bureau 98123 to do that. Similarly, I think you can handle this as well."

"Boss, you look very nervous, like a scammer waiting for the victim to reveal their bank card PIN number."

"Don't be distracted, just watch carefully."

Lao Liang also seemed a little nervous.

"bomb?"

"Stop talking nonsense and look!"

Luo Ye stared at the tube for a long time. "There's something swimming inside, like white smoke, that can form different shapes. Damn! It's become another me, smiling at me. No, it's constantly changing. It becomes whatever I think it becomes. What the hell is this?"

Luo Ye reached out to take it.

"do not move!"

Sandao Wen's face turned red with excitement, and he kept rubbing his hands together.

"I say, what are you excited about?"

Three lines pointed at Luo Ye, "After searching high and low for something, we finally found it without any effort. The person we are looking for is you!"

Lao Liang circled around Luo Ye and said, "Director, for the sake of caution, should we screen other projects? If we make a mistake, it would be disastrous, and no one can bear the responsibility."

"No mistake! The other projects are just supplementary. The ability to see the shadow matter form is the real thing. It's the carrier we're looking for. Great! It's truly great! After decades of hard work, we can finally enter the substantive operational stage!"

After Sandao Wen finished speaking, he slammed his fist on the table, causing the cups on the table to bounce.

"Are you the director?"

"Yes, let me introduce myself. My name is Xing Tian, ​​and I'm the current head of Bureau 98123."

"I understand. It's quite unreasonable."

San Dao Wen picked up the teacup and took a sip of water. He said, "Don't be sarcastic. There is a mission that urgently needs you to complete. It is a sacred mission of infinite glory."

Luo Ye burst out laughing. "The director's humor is truly masterful. I'm just an auxiliary police officer. I caught a thief, and people still think I'm too low-class. I'm too far away from being sacred."

San Dao Wen tried to adjust himself and calm down, then said, "How about we change the explanation to something you can accept and send you on a business trip? No resistance allowed."

"Well, I understand. Where to?"

"Russia."

"Da Mao's family?" "Yes."

"What to do?"

"It's not a random trip anyway."

Luo Ye thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Interviewer, am I really accepted by Bureau 98123?"

“You’re serving your country.”

"Being an auxiliary police officer is also serving the country."

"Does building missiles for the country have the same kind of service as building roads for the country?"

Luo Ye smiled and said, "I heard from the Taoist priest that they are only hiring one person this time. Is it someone like me that you are waiting for?"

"The Taoist priest only knows one thing, not the other. In fact, over the years, we have always used the same method to find someone who can clearly see the shape of the shadow matter. If you hadn't boarded the wrong bus, you would have waited forever."

“It would be an honor.”

Three lines pointed at the small test tube. "Be serious! I repeat for the eighth time, this is not a joke. If you don't take it seriously, you'll be put in solitary confinement for seven days! The contents here took Bureau 98123 60 years to accumulate. It will help you travel to a specific place and time, but the selection is very demanding. We've been searching for a long time, and we didn't expect you to suddenly appear."

Luo Ye didn't dare to smile anymore and asked, "After 60 years, only that much has been saved. How much does it weigh?"

"It was obtained through a special channel. It has no weight. It only has weight after it combines with the soul. It may come from the fourth dimension. That's all I can tell you."

The screen flashed again, showing a huge and mysterious abandoned base.

"We will send you to that place to find a man named Product One. Your mission is to arrest him and send him back to reality."

"not understand."

"You'll understand. Ever since I learned that the memory erasure chamber couldn't erase your memory, I felt there was a chance. You, Luo Ye, are the most suitable candidate."

Luo Ye's mind was in a mess. "Should I sign the contract?"

"unnecessary."

"Will I die? It's so scary."

The screen reappeared, and a video appeared, showing a mysterious area covered in colorful light in the forest.

"This area is located in the old forest in the northeast, and its owner is this—!"

"What's wrong with his eyes? They're red."

"His name is Product One, also known as Mammoth Spirit. He's a product of genetic modification from a secret Soviet base, and he's wreaked havoc. Even today, he's able to use cold atom experiments to create a confined space, a border between the real world and the parallel world. We sacrificed hundreds of lives to identify his true identity. Currently, he's unkillable, and he can even hide in confined space, but that's not important. He can disintegrate a person's body and mind, breaking them into tiny pieces. To eliminate him, we have to start from the most primitive ecological source, while he's still a little less powerful. Have you ever been to St. Petersburg?"

"Yes, I went to Russia with Chief Liao to participate in a police exchange. I was just there for fun, just carrying bags and buying cigarettes."

"Have you ever met a Russian police officer who participated in the arrest of Product One at the secret base in Mommiase?"

"Yes, that was a great coincidence. How did you know?"

"Extracted from your memory bank, it is extremely crucial to your identity."

"You can actually extract my memory bank?"

"Ah."

Luo Ye scanned back and forth between Sandao Wen and Lao Liang's faces.

"Is it okay not to go?"

"This is an order! As an auxiliary police officer, you should understand the meaning of orders. You must carry out the orders of the 98123 Bureau to the letter. The orders of the 98123 Bureau are stricter than those of the military and police departments. I hope you understand."

Five seconds later, "When can I come back?"

"Just capture him and bring him back. If you really can't handle it, you can just kill him. It depends on your luck, ability, decision-making ability, etc."

"Can you bring some helpers? Hundreds of people are dead and can't handle it. You let me deal with it alone. It's the same as asking me to die."

"helper?"

Sandai Wen was so angry that he laughed.

"I see. Only people like me who can clearly see the shape of shadow matter can go. But Product One is amazing, and I'm not Superman."

"You can only carry out the mission alone, no one can help you. Didn't you understand what I just said? I asked you to start from the source. He wasn't very strong at that time, he was just a seedling. You can't even handle a seedling. You are too self-deprecating."

Luo Ye pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "Then don't beat around the bush. Since you can extract my memory bank, can I quit my job after I come back? Scientific research is not suitable for me. I want to continue to be an auxiliary police officer. No, I want to be a regular police officer. Can I be a regular police officer after I come back?"

Sandao Wen glanced at Luo Ye and then turned his gaze to Lao Liang.

Lao Liang said, "If you can complete the task perfectly, I won't have any problem giving you the position of police chief."

Luo Ye glared.

"I'm not lying to you. What's the official position of the director of 98123? Just guess as high as you can. As for the salary—"

San Dao Wen immediately said, "As for the salary, how about a monthly salary of 30,000 RMB? If it's not enough, you can apply for more. I will continue to pay you until you are satisfied. You can understand the meaning of this sentence, right?"

Luo Ye's eyes were about to fall out.

"but--"

Luo Ye pricked up his ears.

"Given that your business trip is extremely unique, you may be the world's first person to carry out a mission across time and space. Therefore, if the salary isn't suitable for you, how about giving you 5000 million rubles as activity funding?"

"Did I hear that right?"

"Yes, 5000 million, hidden somewhere in Russia. You can find it. The key is that you have to complete the task. When you come back, I will give you another 2000 million RMB. Listen carefully, it is RMB, not rubles. Calculate how many Russian rubles 2000 million RMB equals."

"Am I dreaming?"

"No, young man, you live in reality."

Luo Ye came back to his senses: "The Russians did it, why do we have to clean up their mess?"

"Because his destructive power knows no boundaries."

"You talk so mysteriously, I still don't believe it. Seeing is believing. Give me some information to boost my confidence."

The air in the office was twisting, and something like a nebula appeared. The nebula expanded and covered the room. When the nebula dissipated, a person who looked exactly like Luo Ye appeared in the office.

Luo Ye was startled.

The man suddenly exploded. Luo Ye heard a scream, his own. The three lines suddenly reappeared before his eyes. "This is the confined space, simulated by super software. It's far inferior to the effect of shadow matter. You just saw the explosion. This is Product One's current killing method. It's hard to defend against. As for how he killed people in the past, that's something you need to understand. Alright, I've said what I need to say and proved what I need to prove."

"Show your opinion."

"Dry!"

“Excellent!”

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you mean."

Three doctors, two nurses, and four people in gray work clothes walked in.

"So, does that mean I've become a time agent?"

"No, it's not, but you will have a special identity. This is one of the conditions for whether the mission can be completed. You will understand it after you arrive. I won't elaborate on it."

Luo Ye was sent to a larger laboratory, which contained a glowing bed and was surrounded by various huge instruments flashing signals.

A composite colorful light came over, and a program voice sounded above the head: The soul and body separation program began.

Luo Ye panicked when he heard this. The separation of soul and body did not mean murder for money.

His butt suddenly felt tight and painful. He turned his head and saw a smiling nurse using a syringe as big as a javelin to inject a needle into the fleshiest part of his butt.

"Girl, what's your surname?"

Luo Ye suddenly fell asleep and was carried onto a large bed that looked like an operating table.

Luo Ye's final thought: "Three lines, I will remember you! I will remember you even until I die."

In Sandaowen's office, he stared at the huge crystal screen with an extremely nervous expression.

Lao Liang was beside him. "Director, can this be done? Can this be done?"

"This is the first time! Stay calm, stay calm. The location, time, people, and events must all be entered accurately. The most important thing is the shadow material. I don't know if it can merge with his body. God bless you, it must succeed!"

"Old Ghost is personally in charge. I hope it will succeed. Director, your deception skills have improved again. Where is he going to find 5000 million rubles of funding?"

"I have to fool him. This kid is very cunning. Besides, he is serving the country. The national interest is more important than any personal interest."

Half an hour later, a doctor took off his mask and said, "It seems it didn't work, it seems it worked."

"Quick, switch the video! Take it over immediately!"

(End of this chapter)