Unconventional security

Shen Qianshan smiled slightly, "Let's talk again next time, excuse me."

"If you're going to East Africa Bridge, keep an eye on Duke; he's the official representative of East Africa Bridge."

Seeing that the other party left decisively, Chen Bei did not ask any further questions.

He received information about the Earth's core as soon as he arrived in the Upper City District; the speed of progress was beyond his expectations.

As for Duke University, which he mentioned... Chen Bei didn't have much of an impression of it.

Even among the news articles I searched, those about the East African Bridge rarely mentioned this person.

The other party was like a puppet emperor in ancient times.

I wandered around the research institute again, but didn't see anything of value, and I didn't have the authority to go to higher floors.

Since they couldn't wait for Shen Qianshan to come down anytime soon, the two had no choice but to give up.

The research institute was extremely strict; if it weren't for Shen Qianshan's knowledge of this information, this trip would have been fruitless.

"Let's go, let's go see the East African Bridge."

Chen Bei and his companion turned and left, heading towards the higher-ups of the research institute.

Shen Qianshan stared at a screen in front of him, which displayed images of the first floor of the research institute. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the images were constantly following Chen Bei and his companion.

At the entrance, another researcher walked up to Shen Qianshan.

"Could they do it? Would they be willing to do it?"

"Heh," Shen Qianshan chuckled upon hearing this, "whether they're willing or not isn't up to them to decide."

"It's like I'm standing below him. Even if he knows it's a pit, he still has to jump in and come to me for questioning. There's no way to avoid it."

......

On the other side, just as the two stepped out the door, Chen Bei's phone vibrated.

He looked down and saw a message from an unknown number.

[Chief Chen, are you getting used to the air in the Upper City area? — Duke]

Chen Bei stared at the line of text, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Ye Zhixue leaned closer: "Duke? How did he know your phone number? And how did he know you came to the Upper City?"

"What's so difficult about that?"

Chen Bei put away his phone and continued walking forward.

"The Star Eye System can even find out what time you went to bed last night, so checking a phone number is a piece of cake."

"Then why did he contact you? Did he find out we took on the interview assignment? But I was the one who took it on, shouldn't he have contacted me?"

Ye Zhixue sensed something amiss. On the surface, everyone had done a good job of keeping their entry into Shangcheng a secret, but in reality, it seemed that wasn't the case.

Chen Bei's eyes flickered slightly, and he turned off his phone without replying to the text message.

"They wouldn't come looking for no reason. Someone probably told him. You can also tell that I'm the one who's in charge between the two of us."

"Someone told him... Shen Qianshan?!"

Ye Zhixue was incredulous. They had only contacted two people in total: the newspaper owner and Shen Qianshan, and at most, the security guard 001 in front of the Hope Tower.

If someone was tipping someone off, the most likely culprit would be Shen Qianshan.

But that doesn't make sense. The other party is willing to tell them so much, and they don't seem like lackeys of the East African Bridge faction.

How did you manage to tip them off?

"Pretty much, right? A senior, experienced researcher just happened to be on the first floor of the research institute when we arrived?"

"This floor is purely for sightseeing, there's no scientific research equipment at all. What would he do here when he's so busy all day? Don't tell me it's for the coffee in that corner cafe."

Chen Bei scoffed, still unsure of what Duke meant by sending him a message.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Let's go and investigate the East African Bridge in person first before deciding how to get back.

I took two steps, and my phone vibrated again.

This time it wasn't text, but a picture. Chen Bei clicked on it and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The photo shows the gate of the 103rd District Police Station.

Two people stood at the entrance, wearing earth-colored robes, smiling at the camera. Behind them, Wang Tao could be seen standing in the courtyard, looking somewhat bewildered, but unharmed.

Ye Zhixue leaned closer for a look: "They went to room 103?"

Chen Bei didn't say anything and continued scrolling down.

Second message:

[Duke: Don't be nervous, I just sent someone to invite your colleague for a cup of tea. That young man named Wang Tao is quite interesting; my man casually pointed him out and said a couple of things.]

Don't worry, they're all civilized people; no violence occurred.

[However—your female security officer named Gu Mengyao has a bit of a temper. My men had barely walked in when she pulled out a gun.]

The video that follows is short.

In the video, Gu Mengyao stands at the entrance of the police station, gun pointed at the camera, her eyes sharp. Chen Cha stands behind her, one arm hanging naturally at her side, it's unclear whether she's injured.

At the end of the video, a man's laughter can be heard off-camera:

"Director Gu, please don't get so angry. We really just came here for tea."

Gu Mengyao didn't speak, but she didn't lower the gun either.

Chen Bei stared at the screen, his fingers tightening slightly. He was all too familiar with Gu Mengyao's eyes in the photo; they were eyes that could truly fire a gun.

"They went to 103?" Ye Zhixue's voice tightened. "Wang Tao was taken away? Gu Mengyao..."

"I didn't take it."

Chen Bei interrupted her and turned the phone screen towards her.

"Look at the photos. Wang Tao is standing in the yard, uninjured, and there are no guards around. In the video, Gu Mengyao has a gun pointed at the camera, but no one outside the frame is making a move."

What does this mean?

Ye Zhixue was stunned for a moment: "So...they really just went for tea?"

"This shows they came to deliver a message, not to break off relations."

Chen Bei put away his phone. "If they really wanted to harm my people, they wouldn't have sent me a video. Sending photos of the corpses would have been much more effective."

Ye Zhixue realized: "So Duke posted these things to tell you that he could touch your people, but he didn't?"

"Um."

Chen Bei lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. There was a designated smoking area outside the research institute, and this time there was no need to pay.

"They're waiting for my reply."

My phone vibrated again.

Third message:

[Duke: Director Chen, you came to the East African Bridge alone. I'll treat you to a drink.]

Don't bring the androids, don't bring the weapons, and don't bring that little girl.

Just the two of us, let's chat.

Finally, there's a location tracking feature.

East Africa Bridge, top floor of the Commerce Department.

Chen Bei stared at the line of words, feeling bitter.

As long as a complete social system is formed, power will always be the sharpest knife.

Even though the two are thousands of miles apart, the other party can manipulate him at will through a small electronic screen. Even though the 103rd district is thousands of miles away, the other party can easily crush him.

Ye Zhixue leaned closer to read it, her brows furrowing deeply: "He wants you to go alone? Isn't this clearly a trap?"

"We have to go even if it's a trap."

Chen Bei stubbed out his cigarette and flicked it into a roadside trash can.

"The Feast at Hongmen is called the Feast at Hongmen because people have no choice but to go."

Ye Zhixue panicked: "But what if..."

"There's no 'what if'."

Chen Bei interrupted her, turned around, and said, "Go back and find Dr. Zhou, and explain what happened today, especially what Shen Qianshan said, the Core Project, and the thing Miao Yun took away."

"If I can't get out of the East African Bridge... you know who to look for."

Ye Zhixue opened her mouth, as if to say something, but in the end only uttered two words:

"careful."

Chen Bei didn't answer. He simply turned around and walked towards the driverless car on the side of the street.

I took two steps, and my phone vibrated again.

This time it's not Duke, it's Cho Seung-soo.

[Cao Chengxiu: Miao Yun is awake and insists on seeing you.]

Below the message were two voice messages. Chen Bei clicked on one, and Miao Yun's voice came into his ears.

[Duke is not someone you should meet. Be very careful of Shen Qianshan!]

[You could really die! They're a bunch of lunatics!]