Chapter 14: PreviewÂ
The gloomy underground laboratory was blocked by a heavy iron door. Since it wasn’t working hours, there wasn’t a trace of human life here.
“Lu Xiuan, you are wasting time. He is just an ordinary human male incapable of reproduction.”
In the center, a golden electronic eyeball rotated on a giant mechanical rack. An emotionless, androgynous electronic voice echoed throughout the laboratory.
“I said it has nothing to do with you. You just need to fulfill your duties.”
The golden electronic eyeball rotated, focusing its gaze on Lu Xiuan. After a long time, it projected an electronic screen, and dense numbers instantly filled the blank space.
Data scrolled across the screen, quickly providing specific coordinates. Lu Xiuan raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Isn’t this the harbor shipping invested in by SkyNet? The Cocoon landed in this place this time?”
Although Chen Yide was arrogant, it had to be said that his investment eye in business was quite good; none of the projects he eyed failed to make money.
Even though he was really annoyingâcoming to cause trouble and demanding faster progress yesterdayâmany things were much more convenient with his help. Lu Xiuan turned around. A person stepped out from the shadows of the laboratory. Plaid shirt, carrying a commuter bag, expressionlessâlooking exactly like a miserable corporate slave.
“Lais, I’ll leave this one to you. Lakumu acted recklessly last time and is still being watched by those guys. Act according to the situation when necessary.”
Lais, who had been looking at the ground, slowly raised his head upon hearing this. “What about those people? You know we aren’t the only company investing. The port is busy all year round.”
Lu Xiuan turned his back, his tone icy. “What does that have to do with us? I only care about whether the Cocoon is brought back safely.”
The corners of Lais’s mouth lifted. He lowered his head, his voice even more raspy. “Yes, I will handle it.”
The lights flickered as if due to a bad connection. On the white wall, a massive shadow appeared where Lais stoodâmany long, tough tentacles waved excitedly in the air, and the smell of salty brine filled the room.
He left. Lu Xiuan organized the scattered documents on the table. Just as he tucked a stack of papers under his arm preparing to leave, the golden eyeball suddenly turned to him, the electronic voice rigid yet stern:
“You have developed useless emotions towards a human. I will eliminate him when necessary. He will interfere with your thinking. No one is allowed to hinder the civilization’s recovery.”
Lu Xiuan’s face turned unpleasant. He rolled his eyes, his tone unpolite. “I don’t want to say it a third time. Eden, you are overstepping. You are just an AI assisting us. Do not let there be a next time.”
The sound of footsteps faded away. Eden rotated its eyeball, staring directly at his retreating back. The heavy iron door boomed shut.
A faint mechanical hum sounded; Eden seemed to have unlocked some permission.
“Civilization’s interests are priority. Reviving the civilization is Eden’s highest directive. Violators of this principle, regardless of who they are, will be eliminated.”
…
Yan Hengze was very interested in the data displayed on the screen. He enthusiastically studied the unique and magical abilities of these Xenomorphs.
Li Nanyi sat in his seat, typing on the computer, his expression focused and unmoved by the outside world.
“Bro, what are you doing?” Xiang Zhengming was truly bored. tired of playing games, he started poking left and right, harassing everyone.
“Writing a resignation letter.”
Li Nanyi didn’t stop his hands, typing as he thought. Xiang Zhengming simply pulled a chair over and sat next to him, leaning on the desk. “You finally thought it through and decided to jump ship from that black-hearted company?”
Having worked together for a while, they were somewhat familiar. Leaving aside the young master Yan Hengze, even Zhong Yi was shocked by Li Nanyi’s high-intensity work state. Delivering takeout day and night, sometimes moonlighting as a courier, sometimes handing out flyers on weekendsâif he didn’t need to sleep, Xiang Zhengming would have thought he was a robot disguised as a human.
“I plan to resign, then rent a place and see how things go.”
“Oh, I know. You’re planning to start a business!”
Li Nanyi nodded. “Yeah, I suppose.”
He had organized his accounts these days, and he had saved enough money. He would rent a place to live first, then find a suitable storefront and open a photography studio as planned.
“Then afterwards we can…”
“Nanyi! Zhengming! Come look at this!”
Zhong Yi shouted for them from under the light screen. The two stood up and walked over quickly.
As soon as they stood there, they were shocked into taking a step back by the dense text on the screen.
Xiang Zhengming: “What is this stuff?”
“It’s a notice. To be precise, it’s some kind of crime forecast.”
Zhong Yi’s tone was serious. “This forecast letter was posted on the forum this morning. It’s now circulating on various websites, causing significant panic.”
“Could it be intentional? Just to grab eyeballs?”
Yan Hengze crossed his arms. “Isn’t that the trend nowadays? Create a big gimmick to attract traffic and go viral.”
“No. If it were just for traffic, I wouldn’t have specifically brought it out to show you. A few days before this notice was issued, the supercomputer captured traces. Someone has been warming this up for a long time.”
Zhong Yi pulled up another image. “Look hereâa week ago, someone posted a warning online saying monsters would appear in the commercial district, and intentionally linked the matter to the fire in the Street Park. Two days after that post was deleted, marketing accounts brought it up again and forecasted an explosion event on Xiwang Road that afternoon.”
“And in fact, that afternoon, a sedan on Xiwang Road caught fire due to overheating, triggering a chain reaction of vehicles in the parking lot, followed by traffic accidents on the overpass. Before this notice appeared, there had already been multiple similar cases.”
“We have to be vigilant. Online public opinion is already developing in a bad direction.”
Li Nanyi spoke while scrolling through the screen to browse. “So you suspect that these are all the work of one person, and this forecast will also happen as scheduled?”
Zhong Yi nodded. “Yes. It might be a disciplined organization. The police haven’t found any clues either.”
“Then this doesn’t have much to do with us, right? Human behavior. We’re supposed to be responsible for handling alien Xenomorph incidents.”
Xiang Zhengming shrugged. Zhong Yi glanced at him and said helplessly, “It has everything to do with us. Do you really think these bizarre incidents are human-made?”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“It means this is the work of alien monsters. They are targeting the port now! Idiot!”
Yan Hengze put on a mocking, punchable face, sitting directly on the console and crossing his legs.
“Damn, don’t be too arrogant. Being a young master makes you amazing? Having money makes you amazing?!”
Xiang Zhengming got angry just looking at his face.
“Sorry, it really does make me amazing.”
Li Nanyi looked at the forecast letter and spoke up. “This forecast says they will plant explosives on the No. 13 ferry at Xishui Port in three days to send ‘evil things’ to hell. If I remember correctly, Hengze, one of the industries under your father’s name is shipping, right?”
Yan Hengze raised his chin proudly. “Bitter Melon Face, at least you have some knowledge. Yes, that is an industry under my dad’s name. To get in, you’ll still have to rely on your Brother Ze’s face.”
“I… this…”
“Hehe, what? Convinced now?”
Having argued with him so many times, Yan Hengze finally won a round. The joy on his face could barely be concealed.
Li Nanyi didn’t mind the nickname he gave him. He scanned the forecast letter intently. The large blocks of text were cut out from various magazines and newspapersâdifferent fonts and sizes, arranged crookedly on a blank A4 sheet. It seemed this guy had strong counter-reconnaissance awareness.
[Forecast
I will install explosives on the No. 13 ferry at Xishui Port in three days, letting the evil things step into hell.
For survival, for death]
What did this mean? For survival, for death…
Li Nanyi’s thoughts were cluttered. Looking at the few large words jumping out at the end, he still couldn’t figure it out.
“Anyway, that’s the situation. Because of this forecast letter, many workers at the port don’t dare to go to work now, and operations there have been forced to stop. But the No. 13 ferry is cargo scheduled to be shipped out that day, and it can’t be called off. So, on that day, the Bureau will arrange for you to be on standby on the ship. Our people will observe from the shore and provide timely support. You must go all out.”
Zhong Yi issued the command. Although there was no definitive evidence yet that it was the work of Xenomorphs, for the safety of Yujiang, no possibility could be overlooked.
If it was Xenomorphs, solve it as soon as possible. If not, even better. She hoped nothing would go wrong this time. Her heart beat fast, feeling somewhat uneasy.
…
The blinds in the director’s office were lowered. An employee knocked on the door and placed a document on the desk.
“Director, this is the document to be signed today.”
“Okay, I know. Just put it there.”
The employee looked up secretly. Lu Xiuan’s eyes hadn’t left the computer. His fingers tapped slowly and rhythmically on the desk. Tap, tap.
“Is there anything else?”
Lu Xiuan shifted his eyes slightly to look over. The employee lowered his head in embarrassment. “Apologies, Director Lu, nothing else. I’ll go out first.”
Director Lu is so diligent, the employee thought enviously. He doesn’t slack off during work hours, and stays overtime until ten o’clock. No wonder he was promoted to director at such a young age.
However, what was on the computer of the diligent Director Lu wasn’t work documents. Strings of chaotic code jumped out of the screen. Lu Xiuan hit the keyboard to organize these codes. The knowledge stripped from the Cocoon had undergone special encryption technology and needed to be organized and decrypted before use.
Lu Xiuan sighed, pressed the enter key, and stretched in his chair. It was a pity; the Cocoon guarded by Lakumu didn’t contain the data he wanted.
These compressed knowledges brought from Yelaire were all about military technology. The biological genetic knowledge he wanted must be packed in other Cocoons.
He could only hope the next Cocoon Lais brings back would have it. After all, that was the most critical and indispensable step for the re-awakening of the Yelaire civilization.
The sooner the better.
Lu Xiuan looked out the window. The streets were much quieter than before. Beneath the peaceful and harmonious city, undercurrents surged faintly.
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