Chapter 887: I Exist for You 23

Time Exchange, A research chamber.

On the floating bed board, Xuyuchuan lay unconscious, the bead string still tightly wound around his neck, unharmed.

Beside the bed board, members of the Time Exchange gathered in a pile, each expression doubtful and anxious.

They had exhausted every method they could think of, yet they couldn't remove this bead string.

Number Two was frantic, constantly looking toward the communication channel with the Chief; just then, the channel lit up with blue light.

"Chief!"

Number Two hurried over, bowed his head in a salute within half a second, his tone swift.

"This person is someone we are currently cooperating with, tricked by Huacishu, entangled with a strange bead string that cannot be removed."

The Chief had just received the news; the news that his old rival Huacishu, unseen for hundreds of years, was still alive also shocked him greatly.

His appearance remained that of a middle-aged man; although he wore a similar tight combat uniform as the other members, his shoulders bore more epaulettes, a gun was fastened at his waist, and his aura was formidable.

The Chief stared intently at Xuyuchuan's neck, eyes slightly narrowed, pressed the third button on his belt, and took out a detector.

"If we can't take it off, then we'll just study it directly."

As for this person's life, it's entirely up to his own fate.

But coincidentally, when the detector began beeping, the bead string suddenly loosened considerably, and Xuyuchuan's purplish swollen face gradually eased.

The Chief looked at the instrument's output report, his face growing darker, his lips pressed into a line, and the pressure around him dropped.

Inside the research chamber, it was silent as a grave; Number One, who had come along, spoke up: "Chief, is there anything abnormal about this bead string?"

The Chief snorted, violently threw the instrument onto the table, his expression extremely grim.

"This damned thing can restrain Fortune Value."

"What's the difference between this and directly declaring war on their Exchange?"

"Several hundred years ago, Huacishu and I traded Fortune Value; I used another's Fortune Value to help him secure the Top Scholar position."

"He thought this was too cruel, yet he had no choice but to obey; after succeeding, he actually tried to break free from me! He didn't even consider that he was merely a scholar who could only write pitiful stories—where did he get this kind of capital?"

"I originally thought I had already killed him."

The more the Chief recalled, the colder his voice became.

"Number... One! Report!"

The research chamber's main gate was pushed open again; the member in charge of identity investigation entered with a smart screen, and upon seeing the person inside, hastily changed his address.

Number Two's expression changed instantly, and he let out a cold snort.

Number One's expression also turned somewhat subtle, his smile seeming mocking, as he took the smart screen and flipped it open.

"What's so urgent that you didn't notice the Chief is still here?"

The member took a deep breath, "You asked me to investigate the identity of that person appearing beside Yishen."

"Before, this person had been an unregistered resident; recently he got a job and registered his household, and after registration his name is... Jin Chen."

"Jin Chen?"

Number One pondered for a few seconds, feeling the name was very familiar, but couldn't recall who it was for a moment.

Xuyuchuan, groggily waking up, was greatly shaken by that name.

He weakly raised his hand, coughing as he explained, "It... it's the protagonist from Yishen's book!"

Others might not know, but he is at least the nominal chief editor responsible for Yishen's work—how could he not know?

"Number One! Chief! Someone has rushed to the outside of our temporary docking point!"

Another member came to report, "It's that mysterious person who killed several of our members!"

Number One let out a sound, "He actually managed to find his way here!"

He had crossed paths with Jin Chen before, naturally knowing how difficult this person is to deal with.

"Chief, I'll take people to intercept him."

Number One turned his back to Xuyuchuan, gave Number Two a look, and said, "This person is in contact with Yishen most of the time; we can use him to travel through the timeline."

Only the Number Two who brushed past could hear the voice.

He rolled his eyes, "You don't need to tell me; I'm not stupid."

Number One led the team members out to intercept the person.

Extremely weak and unable to resist, Xuyuchuan was pressed onto the bed by Number Two, preparing to forcibly activate the time-travel device.

The Chief's thoughts were completely elsewhere.

He constantly had a faint feeling that everything happening now was somewhat familiar.

The writer, the protagonist who came out of the book...

Where exactly had he seen it before?

The Chief shook his head, returned to the office to look for something, and meanwhile pondered how to deal with Huacishu.

Meanwhile.

Jin Chen hid in a corner, his face full of speechlessness, his helplessness nearly spilling over.

Originally intending to sneak in unseen and follow the members inside, but as soon as a foot stepped past the main gate, this broken gate started beeping and wailing like a mad thing.

"This broken equipment is still quite high-end."

Jin Chen silently complained, this news of his intrusion had surely already reached Number One.

Since the covert operation failed, he could only go straight for a hard fight.

Jin Chen poked his head out from behind the pillar, glanced left and right cautiously, and indeed saw Number One leading a few people out to search.

He sneaked around from the other side, his footsteps making no sound.

He patted the shoulder of the last member of the team.

The member started, quickly turned his head, and was met head-on by Jin Chen's fist.

"Wow, you didn't bring a gun!"

"Jin Chen, who was preparing to snatch a gun, felt the member's waist—empty."

"He had already drawn the attention of the few in front, shoved the dazed member toward them, and slipped sideways to evade."

"But he failed to dodge."

"Jin Chen held up his hands, but several members with energy guns pressed him back; black gun muzzles lined both sides, and when he turned around, he faced Number One."

"He was surrounded by members who already had an action plan."

"\"This time you can't get away. \""

"Number One curled his lips in a smile, tapped the gun barrel against his palm, and said, \"I knew you'd use that trick. \""

"\"Hey, you know me pretty well. \""

"Although Jin Chen held up his hands, his expression showed no fear whatsoever; his handsome face was nonchalant, he flicked the corner of his mouth, and said, \"Too bad, I'm not interested in you. \""

"Number One, as if his tail had been stepped on, said: \"... You're sick! I don't swing that way! \"

"Jin Chen was even more surprised, his peach-blossom eyes widening: \"You're the one who's sick! I mean I have no interest in fighting you. \""

"What the hell is wrong with you all these days! He's a married man!"

"Several members: \"... \""

"What kind of conversation is this."

"Why is their boss so worked up about this gay thing?"

"Jin Chen shrugged and said, \"I mean, are you just planning to wear me out here? Aren't you going to take me in? \""

"He still wanted to sneak in this way, after all, fighting them one by one then rushing in would be a waste of time."

"Number One straightened his arm, aiming the gun at Brocade City's neck, and said, \"Cut the crap—you're the protagonist of Yishen's book; how did you end up in this world? \""

"\"Huh? \""

"Jin Chen took two seconds to react, and he was genuinely impressed by how quickly he jumped to that topic."

"\"What's it to you? … Are you guys just stalling for time? \""