Chapter 317: Calculation

'Now, GOC personnel should already be on site.'

On the vast ocean, Li Cheng sat inside an eight-meter civilian submarine, heading toward Yin City.

The final phase of 【Anchor Link】 was quite complex; time rewound ten minutes back.

Li Cheng first used 【Condensed Qi Internal Explosion Fist】, in a 'small amount, multiple times' manner, infusing Noah's physical body with massive amounts of 'Qi,' then detonating it simultaneously, eliminating him without damaging the spatial engine.

Then, according to the prearranged conditions, Gao Ta's AI retrieved a USB drive already prepared with substantial technical data and shoved one into Zhao Zijing's hands.

Afterward, he injected Zhao Zijing with a delayed-action antidote to the anesthetic, moved her into the elevator, and set the descent timer.

As for himself, besides the same USB drive, he took away other rare devices from Gao Ta that could not be replicated.

Having completed all this, he activated the engine, bringing the entire Gao Ta back to Earth along with the time jump.

Taking advantage of the other players' confusion over what had just happened, Li Cheng finally had Gao Ta's AI use its last remaining energy to teleport him and Huiyu over two thousand kilometers away, to the East Sea.

Upon reaching the East Sea region, Li Cheng immediately logged into the Battlefield entity, found a black-market dealer, and purchased a 'female-use 99-new,' 'civilian' submarine.

Submarines and submersibles are two different things; the former are typically used for military purposes—such as naval combat, intelligence gathering—and can remain submerged for long durations and dive to greater depths.

In contrast, submersibles mostly retain the appearance of surface vessels, can submerge to a certain depth, and are typically used for scientific research and underwater exploration.

As early as the early 1990s, Colombia's Medellín Cartel began using submarines to smuggle stimulants into the United States.

After the Medellín Cartel collapsed and the Cali Cartel was arrested, this craft rapidly spread and developed.

Many 'vibrant social groups' in Central and South America began using a variety of tools—semi-submersibles, low-profile vessels, submarines, fully submerged submarines, unmanned surface vessels, and unmanned semi-submersibles—to smuggle all kinds of goods into the United States.

The secondhand civilian submarine Li Cheng bought, though not originating from Nanmeizhou, was riddled with suspicious traces—

It came with built-in speakers that automatically played the Cantonese song 'Rainy Night Piano' in its TikTok DJ version, and the air inside carried an inexplicable odor of frozen pig's trotters.

In short, Li Cheng piloted the civilian submersible underwater, had Huiyu deploy part of its liquid metal to coat the hull, reinforcing its structure and allowing deeper descent, evading surface detection systems and patrol boats, and slowly steered toward Yin City.

After ten hours of slow, meandering travel, he finally returned to Yin City.

During this time, Zhao Zijing, Fu Ding Hua Long, Father Andre, and others tried contacting him via their friend communication system.

Fu Ding Hua Long and Father Andre had no idea what had occurred on Gao Ta's uppermost level, nor the truth behind the mission.

To them, Li Cheng's explanation was:

'All of us players were deceived by Noah! It was all Noah's conspiracy!'

'Jiu!'

'To avoid drawing fire onto myself, I, Master Pi Fu, take my leave.'

This excuse was naturally meant to fool uninformed outsiders.

But when Li Cheng received Zhao Zijing's message, he simply marked it as read and ignored it, kicking the ball back to her.

'If Zhao Zijing were merely an ordinary member of a large guild, she would have reported the situation immediately, sent superiors to interrogate me, and possibly even uncovered my real-world identity to launch a Box Weapon against me.'

'But she isn't an ordinary guild member—she has dual affiliations with both the Special Affairs Bureau and GOC.'

Li Cheng thought calmly back at his home: 'The USB drive I gave her contains data—including, but not limited to, Light Prism Tower, construction-grade high-molecular materials, fifth-generation nuclear power systems, and brain-machine interfaces—each item is priceless.'

'Given these data, she must and will cover for me.'

'Meanwhile, because all the data are incomplete, each has gaps.'

'Whether GOC or the Special Affairs Bureau, they must cooperate with the residual Noah AI in Gao Ta; and the Noah AI can use this opportunity to demand they properly house the refugees from the other world.'

Perhaps due to the scientist's lofty pride, Noah had despised the wealthy and powerful in life; the refugees cryogenically stored in Gao Ta were all ordinary people, numbering around four to five thousand.

Such a small number could easily be sustained on any obscure Pacific island, provided information secrecy was maintained.

GOC and the Special Affairs Bureau would most likely agree.

Li Cheng's cousin Xue Luomeng remained in the underground parking lot; his cousin Xue Lingyu was initially teleported near Gao Ta and was immediately taken back inside by spider robots, placed into cryogenic stasis. After disinfection, quarantine, and memory cleansing, both can return to society.

Everything was within his plan.

The only possible uncertainty was the location of the invisible conception.

'Sigh, this mission really wore me out.'

Huiyu, now in pajamas, slumped her shoulders and rubbed her waist, dramatically walking past Li Cheng, her phone screen clearly displaying the Taobao shopping cart checkout page.

'What are you tired from?'

After living together so long, Li Cheng knew exactly what Huiyu was up to the moment she shifted her hips; he blinked and retorted: 'You didn't even fight much this time.'

One error, one send, one content, one look!

'I didn't fight much, but the mission was long.'

Huiyu declared confidently: 'No merit, but there's hardship; no hardship, but there's fatigue; no fatigue, but there's being stuck; no being stuck, but there's Los Angeles at four a. m.'

'Los Angeles is already burned down—what Los Angeles?'

Li Cheng grimaced and waved his hand; Huiyu immediately threw a tantrum, clinging to him like a koala and swaying back and forth: 'Buy me a game console, figures, manga, a graphics card.'

The eight-hundred-kilogram soft mass crushed Li Cheng, making it hard to breathe; they wrestled back and forth—

Riiip—

Li Cheng's clothes and pants finally gave way under the unbearable weight and tore apart.

'.'

The living room's atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

Huiyu silently jumped down; Li Cheng wordlessly retrieved new clothes and pants from storage, put them on, and cleared Huiyu's shopping cart—as if nothing had happened.

Like when watching a movie or TV show at home with parents and something inappropriate appears, the best response is to pretend you didn't see it—everyone eats, drinks, and says nothing.

Any other behavior leads to awkwardness—like pretending to be clueless and exclaiming, 'This person has two testicles?!'

'I'm going to do my homework.'

Huiyu said in an unprecedentedly gentle tone, tiptoeing quietly back to her room.

Li Cheng nodded, silently opened his mission log, and reviewed his gains.

(End of Chapter)