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Chapter 165 Disagreement
The door to the base's temporary command area was tightly closed. As soon as Su Wanqing came in from outside, she handed the documents and USB drive to Xiao Ran and turned off the outside lights.

Only a small desk lamp was left on in the room, illuminating the negotiation draft filled with notes.

Lu Zhao pushed the data he had just archived aside and sat down without saying a word.

He tightened the lid of his water glass with a click, as if preparing for a less-than-pleasant meeting.

Xiao Ran leaned against the door, unfastened and put down his sniper rifle, and pulled up a chair to sit down next to the table.

Lin Che sat at the back, his face expressionless, only twirling the cap of a reagent pen in his fingers, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Su Wanqing spoke up: "The negotiations just now were only preliminary. Now we must take a stand. Each of you must clearly state your position and leave no room for future problems."

She distributed sticky notes and envelopes to everyone, saying, "Speak first, and then write it all down, seal it, and give it to me. Who goes first?"

Lu Zhao raised his head, moving slowly as he turned to a data graph in the file. His voice was low and steady: "I believe cooperation is feasible. The military's equipment is indeed advanced; some of their instruments and data are two levels higher than ours. If we make good use of their experimental conditions, we might be able to figure out exactly what this highly active element in the girl's body is, and even make real improvements to the immune system. The virus is spreading rapidly in various cities now. If we don't break through while resources are plentiful, we'll just be waiting to die."

He paused for a few seconds, then said, "We need to find a way to control ownership of the technology, but we can have access to the equipment."

Lin Che tapped the corner of the table, his lips twitching tightly. He interrupted Lu Zhao before he could finish speaking: "Don't just look at the equipment. Can the military really be trusted? 'Night' said it all the way here—they haven't told us a single truth since they started following us. Now they're giving you some hard equipment, and the next step is to get all the girls over. What they want is never to save people, but to get complete samples to the lab. They don't care whether the girls survive or not. I've seen too many of the military's tricks."

Su Wanqing nodded and wrote his words down on a corner of a notepad. Lin Che raised his chin and continued, "Let 'Night' say a few words."

His breathing deepened, his gaze lingered for a couple of seconds, and then he spoke, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotion: "It's very simple. What they value is the girl as an experimental subject. The terms are detailed now, but once you sign them, they'll have the upper hand. In the end, they can cancel all the terms. That's what the military is best at. As long as you have the data and samples, they're not partners, they're hunters."

Xiao Ran shifted slightly and held up two fingers: "Let me add one more thing. Don't have any illusions. The military has tanks and rockets. If we really try to fight them head-on, even escaping will be difficult. Don't talk about absolute cooperation. No matter how much they promise, they might turn their backs and take action. My suggestion is: agree to them on the surface, try to salvage as much equipment and clues as possible, and if all else fails, find a way out in advance. If necessary, just shake them off."

In other words, cooperation and withdrawal plans should be implemented simultaneously; don't focus on just one.

Su Wanqing didn't rush to react. She rested her hands on the edge of the table, her brows still flat, and calmly looked at the three of them: "I've remembered your attitudes. But no one can make a decision based solely on their own subjective opinions. Now write down your true thoughts, no need to sign them, and hand them to me in a bit."

She opened the envelope. “I will read it myself. Before the final decision, all procedures will proceed according to the plan, but any investigation into the military background must be initiated immediately. Lu Zhao, check all their command structures and the medical research teams behind them, and see if there are any problems with key personnel and research lines.”

Lu Zhao nodded and began entering keywords into the tablet, preparing to retrieve the permissions table.

As he received the delivered note, he jotted down a sentence: "I can currently check about a third of the military's basic infrastructure, but special sequences might be disguised using aliases. It will take time."

Lin Che's face was grim. He casually tossed the reagent cap back into the box. He pulled out a notepad, wrote a few lines, sealed it, and quickly placed it on the table.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment, then opened his coat and stuffed the envelope into a small inner pocket. "My idea is simple—I hope no one ever has to resort to it as a last resort."

Su Wanqing received three papers with different handwriting styles. She stared at the draft agreement on the table and remained silent for two minutes.

Finally, she gently tucked the envelope into the bottom of the folder and looked at everyone at the table: "From now on, all communication details related to the military must be backed up, privately, encrypted, and stored in two layers. Base access routes will be patrolled in sections, and any unauthorized access routes must be coded."

Lu Zhao interjected, "My data analysis was completed by midnight, and background research was conducted simultaneously. I'll notify you immediately if there are any suspicious points."

Xiao Ran patted his pockets and stretched his shoulders: "I'll recheck the entrances and exits and sniper positions tonight. If there's any disturbance, we'll retreat. Everyone should get some sleep. Don't trust either the rebels or the military."

Lin Che didn't say anything more. He closed the tablet, pressed the digital watch on his wrist, as if planning the next step.

He walked slowly, glancing back at the side room where the girl was before leaving.

The meeting ended, but no one laughed. Only scattered footsteps and the soft hum of experimental equipment could be heard in the corridor. Lin Che turned the corner and entered a side room. A girl with a childlike voice sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, her back to the door, hugging a plush bear.

He didn't push the door open very loudly, but the girl still turned to look at him.

The girl spoke calmly, her childlike voice carrying an unusual calmness: "You've come."

Lin Che took two steps and stood by her bedside, staring down at the floor.

The remaining lights of the night cast a dim glow around them. He asked curtly, "Are you alright?"

The girl blinked, her gaze not fixed on Lin Che's face, but rather as if she were looking at something behind him.

She suddenly said, "Actually, you have another self, and he's very anxious. But don't worry, I can sense you both."

Lin Che was taken aback and didn't respond immediately. He felt a little uneasy, but he didn't want to leave.

He tried to calm himself down and whispered, "Can you feel... anything?"

The girl hugged the teddy bear tightly and whispered, "They've been so noisy and scary. I can tell what they're going to do. Your other half is worried something will happen to me too."

She thought for a moment, then added, "But don't worry about me, I'm not afraid. Actually, I know why I'm special."

Lin Che remained in his original position, extending his gaze a foot forward. Until 'night' silently connected in his mind.

Night's voice was even lower: "You say you're special because of what's in these experiments?"

The girl nodded, her fingers slowly smoothing the bear's fur. "The doctors once said that the star inside me shines brightly when everyone else is asleep. I know what they're doing."

Lin Che paused, placing "night" at the forefront, his tone becoming even more serious: "Then do you know what everyone is up to? Can you distinguish between those who are good to you and those who want to take advantage of you?"

The girl turned and looked at him intently for a moment, then suddenly spoke frankly: "I know, but I also know you're not the same. The people around you are always the ones who worry about me the most. Those uncles and aunts with guns are always trying to figure out how the stars appear. They can't think of anything else."

As Lin Che listened to her words, his fingers unconsciously clenched at the seam of his trousers. His lips were pursed; he didn't want to speak, yet he didn't want to leave.

Night added softly in her mind, "She can see through too much; we have to be careful about every word she says."

The girl paused for a moment, then added, "It's okay. I can feel how hard you're trying to protect me. That's more important to me than anything else."

Lin Che stood up, closed the door, and patted the door panel with his back to her.

He didn't look back, and slowly walked away.

Su Wanqing tidied up the documents left on the table by the conference room, took out the three sealed letters from the bottom of the folder, and put them away in order.

She pursed her lips and went to her temporary office. Lu Zhao had already sat back down at the control panel. A list of military personnel popped up on the screen. He checked the details page by page, pressing the record button from time to time, afraid of missing any key points.

Xiao Ran moved the sniper rifle from the windowsill to the door and rechecked the team's spare magazines and communication batteries.

He stood at the door for a full five minutes before slowly opening it, hanging up the safety lock, and then heading to the storage room to find the pre-installed directional signal generator.

As night approached, everyone in the team was busy with their own tasks, remaining silent and no one dared to relax even for a moment.