Chapter 68

The steel armored vehicle stopped at the entrance of the Starry Brilliance Hotel,

and the virtual bodyguards got out first to scout, confirming there was no abnormality in the surroundings,

before giving Lin Chen a "safe" gesture. Lin Chen walked into the hotel,

warm yellow lights spilling onto the marble floor, and a virtual waiter in a neat uniform

bowed and greeted him: "Mr. Lin, the private room is ready, Ms. He has not yet arrived."

Lin Chen nodded and walked into the top-floor private room. In the room, there was a round table,

and on the table were steaming hot dishes—braised pork, steamed fish, stir-fried seasonal vegetables,

and even a bottle of vintage red wine. These foods, which had almost gone extinct in the apocalypse,

were now emitting an alluring aroma. He sat in a chair, his fingertips tapping the tabletop unconsciously,

still pondering He Ximan's identity, when the system suddenly popped up a prompt: 【Detected that target He Ximan has arrived at the hotel entrance, carrying no weapons, no trailing personnel.】

Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief,

and just as he picked up his teacup, the door to the private room was pushed open. He Ximan walked in, wearing a black trench coat,

her hair casually tied behind her head, and she was carrying a laptop. "Mr. Lin certainly knows how to pick a place; the environment of this hotel,

is even more comfortable than a five-star one before the apocalypse." She smiled, sat down, and skillfully opened her computer, and a string of complex code instantly jumped onto the screen.

"Eat first, let's talk while we eat." Lin Chen poured her a glass of red wine. "There's no rush for the trade,

I need to confirm first that you aren't with the Shadow Organization." He Ximan picked up her wine glass,

and gently clinked it against Lin Chen's: "Don't worry, I have a grudge against the Shadow Organization;

they destroyed my laboratory and killed my teammates, I'm dying for them to be finished off sooner." As she said this, she picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in her mouth,

a hint of nostalgia flashing in her eyes, "It's been so long since I've had such authentic food."

The two ate and chatted, the topic ranging from life before the apocalypse to the evil deeds of the Shadow Organization.

He Ximan's alcohol tolerance didn't seem very good; after two glasses of red wine, her cheeks were flushed, and her speech began to slur slightly.

Lin Chen, however, was very sober,

having only sipped a little wine, his attention entirely on He Ximan's every move. He noticed that on the shell of He Ximan's laptop,

a small "127" logo was engraved, exactly the same as the laboratory number in the system prompt.

"It's time to talk about the trade." After three rounds of drinks, most of the dishes on the table were gone, and Lin Chen put down his chopsticks,

saying straightforwardly, "You crack the code first, and once I confirm there's no problem, I'll take you to the Sky Dome Villa." He Ximan nodded, shook her head, trying to stay sober,

and her fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard. The code on the screen scrolled continuously,

making a crisp "da-da" sound. Not long after, she suddenly slapped the table: "Done!"

Just as Lin Chen leaned over, he felt a blue light flash before his eyes, and the system prompt popped up instantly: 【Detected that the No. 127 Laboratory backend port has been mapped to the host's retina. Do you wish to view it immediately?】 His heart leaped with joy, and he hurriedly chose "View Later"—now was not the time to look at these things; he had to take He Ximan back to the villa first.

"The code is fine,

I'll take you away." Lin Chen helped up He Ximan, who was already unsteady on her feet. She leaned on Lin Chen,

still muttering to herself: "Shadow Organization... must destroy them..." Lin Chen didn't respond, helping her walk out of the private room, where the virtual bodyguards were already waiting at the door.

When getting into the car, Lin Chen subconsciously glanced at the rooftop opposite the hotel—the black shadow previously prompted by the system was gone,

and he asked the system: 【Where is the previous black shadow?】 【Detected that the black shadow has entered a dormant state, no threat.】 The system answered concisely, so Lin Chen didn't ask further.

The steel armored vehicle drove toward the Sky Dome Villa, and He Ximan leaned on the seat, soon falling asleep, her breathing even.

Lin Chen looked at her profile, his confusion still not dissipated—her technology was indeed impressive,

but why did she specifically choose to trade with him? And why was she so knowledgeable about No. 127 Laboratory?

These questions could only be asked once she woke up.

Returning to the villa, Lin Chen helped He Ximan out of the car, and A Kai and Xia Nuan were already waiting at the door.

"Is this He Ximan?" A Kai asked in a low voice, his eyes full of vigilance.

Lin Chen nodded: "She's drunk, put her in the guest room first, and we'll do a security check when she wakes up." Xia Nuan hurriedly led the way and made the bed in the guest room,

and Lin Chen carefully placed He Ximan on the bed and tucked her in.

Just as he walked out of the guest room, a system prompt suddenly popped up: 【Detected an abnormal program on the laptop He Ximan is carrying, suspected to be a tracking device. Do you wish to clear it immediately?】 Lin Chen's heart tightened, and he hurriedly said: "Clear it! And monitor her every move, notify me immediately if there's any abnormality." 【Abnormal program cleared, 24-hour monitoring of He Ximan has been activated, no abnormal situation.】

Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the living room, where A Kai handed him a glass of water:

"Do you want to check the No. 127 Laboratory port now?" Lin Chen shook his head: "Let's wait until tomorrow,

today we'll confirm He Ximan's identity first, don't let anything go wrong.

" Xia Nuan also nodded: "I've already checked the doors and windows of the guest room, and added a layer of invisible ice shield, she can't run."

The three sat in the living room, chatted for a while about tomorrow's plan, and then returned to their rooms to rest.

Lin Chen lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep—the secret of No. 127 Laboratory was right before his eyes,

but he always felt that there was a bigger trap waiting for him behind this. He touched his retina,

as if he could feel the existence of the port, and secretly resolved in his heart: Tomorrow, he must find out He Ximan's background,

and then check the contents of the laboratory.

Meanwhile, in the guest room, He Ximan suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze clear,

not a hint of drunkenness left. She quietly took a micro-communicator out of her pocket,

lowered her voice and said: "Target has been brought back to the villa, No. 127 port has been mapped,

proceed to the next step according to plan." After speaking, she closed her eyes again, returning to her sleeping appearance,

only the faint light of the communicator flashing once in the darkness before extinguishing completely.