novelraw Chapter 100: Artificial Souls - (27)
Chapter 100: Artificial Souls - (27)
When Kui Xin, fully equipped, arrived at the skydeck with Wei Zhi, she found it teeming with hovering police cars and armed helicopters.
The security officers were geared up and ready to depart for their target location.
Adam had sent the mission plan to everyone, and this time, the task was very straightforward—kill indiscriminately, eliminating all individuals except those from their own side without leaving any survivors. Kui Xin did not need to team up with others; she would be paired solely with Wei Zhi.
“Let’s go; we’re boarding the helicopter.” Wei Zhi walked resolutely forward without glancing around.
Kui Xin followed closely behind and climbed aboard the helicopter.
There was already someone seated inside—an unkempt middle-aged man dressed in combat gear. However, he lounged casually in his seat, devoid of any vigor or enthusiasm. Instead, he exuded a laid-back demeanor, resembling more of a tourist than a combatant.
His expression appeared relaxed and carefree; surprisingly, he was even chewing bubble gum—a stark contrast to the busy and tense security officers on the skydeck helipad.
Noticing Wei Zhi enter the helicopter, he turned and said, “Ah, you’ve arrived. Can we leave now?”
“This is Wang Feichi, an S-ranked Black Flame operative assigned to the Special Operations Division. Currently, he is semi-retired,” Adam explained through Kui Xin’s earpiece. “Based on my observations, he has a casual personality with little desire for power, making him quite approachable.”
“We depart in three minutes, sir,” Wei Zhi announced.“Hmph, the sooner we finish this job, the quicker I can head back home,” Wang Feichi replied. “I still need to help my son build with his building blocks.”
Wei Zhi momentarily stumbled, taken aback.
Kui Xin, perplexed, wondered…
Eliminating Mechanical Dawn is such a crucial task, yet this S-rank operative only seems preoccupied with playing with building blocks at home?
“With you, an S-rank agent present, we’ll undoubtedly end this battle swiftly,” Wei Zhi said, making a somewhat forced courteous remark.
Wang Feichi glanced at Kui Xin. “Who’s this young lady?”
“I’m Kui Xin, serving as both Secretary and Combat Adjutant to Group Leader Wei Zhi,” she introduced herself.
“Oh.” Wang Feichi looked briefly at Kui Xin before shifting his gaze out the window. “How is Black Sea City’s coastline? Is it suitable for bringing family on vacation here? This is my first visit.”
The consistently serious Wei Zhi seemed unsure how to respond, so Kui Xin chimed in, “The seawater is polluted, acid rain occasionally falls from the sky, and dense fog frequently creates a bitterly cold atmosphere near the coast. The further away from the city center, the more chaotic the law and order become—it’s not ideal for bringing your family.”
Wang Feichi clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Your Investigation Department in Black Sea City seems quite lacking. With such poor public safety, it appears you’re not adequately performing your core duties.”
Wei Zhi apologized, “I’m sorry; it is indeed our failure.”
After two days of interaction, Kui Xin observed that Wei Zhi was straightforward and unyielding, speaking her mind directly without any tact. Having such a person as a superior could be reassuring, but those who cannot navigate social situations adeptly often struggle to advance far in their careers. Wei Zhi’s firmness and directness were evident from her refusal to accept He Gaoyi as her secretary; she preferred nurturing the newcomer Kui Xin over using someone connected to Meng Jing.
“Most agents of the Federation’s Special Operations Division are selected from the Investigation Department. Although these two departments have equal standing within the Federation, to some extent, the Special Operations Division can be considered to have supervisory authority over the Investigation Department, with very high jurisdiction,” Adam explained. “The Special Operations Division often handles dirtier jobs such as wiretapping, assassinations, counter-espionage, and infiltrating other secret organizations. The Investigation Department is hesitant to intervene in the filthy affairs of the wealthy elite, but the Special Operations Division operates differently; they specialize in this type of work. The Special Operations Division has few members, but each one is an awakened being. ‘Black Flame’ Wang Feichi stands out among them as a top agent.”
Three minutes later, the helicopter took off.
As they soared above the cityscape, the deafening roar of the rotor blades filled their ears. Kui Xin looked down from the cabin, feeling how incredibly small the cars and people on the ground appeared.
The Rick Technologies building was situated on the outskirts of the city center. Adam had already taken control of surveillance permissions around the area, but to avoid alerting the suspects prematurely, the Investigation Department did not issue any orders to evacuate nearby residents or ordinary individuals working there.
The Investigation Department split its forces into multiple teams. One team infiltrated Rick Technologies’ building from the Skydeck, while another surrounded and established a blockade on the ground, completely encircling the structure.
An armed helicopter hovered above Rick Technologies’ building, dropping rope ladders. Kui Xin led the descent onto the Skydeck, followed by Wei Zhi, and lastly Wang Feichi.
Following them, more security officers descended using rope ladders, forming ranks on the skydeck.
Another helicopter paused at the side of Rick Technologies’ building. Its cabin door opened, and a security officer wielding a rocket launcher fired towards the building’s tempered glass. With a loud explosion, shards flew everywhere, creating a large hole directly in one side of the building.
Security officers then used grappling hook guns to shoot lines inside the building. The hooks were securely anchored to the walls, allowing the officers to swing themselves through the breach created on the building’s side.
From the sky, the ground, and intermediate floors, personnel of the Investigation Department simultaneously invaded from three directions.
Wang Feichi pointed at the tightly sealed entrance to the sky deck with his finger. Black flames silently burned, swiftly melting a large hole in the sturdy metal door. When it hit the ground, the molten metal dripped like flowing lava, sizzling.
Wang Feichi stepped inside while chewing gum.
What greeted his eyes was an empty corridor with no lights on. Immediately, everyone switched their goggles to night vision mode.
Several technicians activated miniature drones, which emitted green flashing lights as they flew forward. The drones scanned the entire floor, displaying the scene on everyone’s goggles.
Within less than a minute, the scan results came back—this level was devoid of people.
“Not a single person…” Wang Feichi rubbed his chin. “Let’s move on to the next level.”
Wei Zhi gestured to the security officers behind her, and several promptly advanced to set up detonators on the corridor floor. After stepping back three paces, they pressed the ignition buttons.
The floor emitted a dull sound as a circular section dropped directly down to the lower level, creating a hole large enough for two individuals to pass through side by side.
The drone descended through the hole, initiating another round of scanning once it entered below.
Calmly, Wang Feichi jumped through the opening and soon received the new scan results.
He remarked, puzzled, “Still not a single person? Could they all have fled?”
Wei Zhi swiftly followed Wang Feichi’s descent and cautiously scanned their surroundings, saying, “We haven’t leaked any information, and we even spread some false rumors.”
“I hope this trip won’t be fruitless,” Wang Feichi remarked.
Kui Xin and the security officer accompanying her also landed on this floor.
She tightened her grip on the gun, mentally prepared, feeling that the situation before her wasn’t particularly difficult to accept.
Mechanical Dawn had indeed carried out a thorough evacuation; the empty building seemed like a mockery directed at the Investigation Department.
Two consecutive floors were devoid of any living presence, with even the power supply cut off, leaving not a single light lit.
In truth, Kui Xin was unfamiliar with the structure of Rick Technologies’ building. She had only visited a few floors, and even those visits were guided by others. The Investigation Department obtained the architectural plans from when Rick Technologies constructed the building, but the images depicted on these plans did not match at all with the interior layout Kui Xin had observed. Mechanical Dawn must have extensively modified the building.
“Group Leader, reporting—something is off,” came the voice of another squad over the communications channel. “There’s nobody on the middle floors of the building; every office is empty.”
Shortly after, another squad responsible for infiltrating the ground floors reported through the communications channel as well: “Report, there is no one on the ground floors or in the underground spaces either. However, the underground area has clearly been modified, featuring fully enclosed metal corridors and metal gates. There are also some laboratories present, containing large scientific instruments that weren’t moved out in time. The place is very clean, and all data from the computers has been wiped.”
Wei Zhi’s expression darkened.
She realized this was an orderly evacuation. As soon as Black Flame arrived in Black Sea City, the Investigation Department decided to launch a blitzkrieg, but their blitzkrieg could not match Mechanical Dawn’s speed. Before it even began, Mechanical Dawn had already vacated the premises.
When did this start? For an organization of such scale to evacuate, preparations would have needed to be made at least several days in advance.
“How intriguing.” Wang Feichi’s gaze no longer held its initial ease. “This group seems almost clairvoyant… They’ve cultivated more than one awakened being and carried out the port explosions. Hmm, it appears their hand might be behind the ship’s destruction too, and Lin Xinji’s death likely resulted from their actions as well. Now they’ve silently relocated from the downtown building without the nearby Investigation Department noticing a thing. The members of Mechanical Dawn just vanished into thin air… What exactly does Mechanical Dawn intend to achieve? Surely it can’t be to overthrow the Federation?”
Wei Zhi’s complexion turned even more grim. “An organization has been developing in Black Sea City for over twenty years, only emerging recently, and we arrived a step too late. I’m sorry, Head…”
“Why are you apologizing? You’re not responsible for the Black Sea City Investigation Department,” Wang Feichi said leisurely.
“Continue investigating,” Wei Zhi instructed her subordinate nearby. “Don’t overlook any details; even papers found in trash bins should be taken away for analysis, as they may contain valuable intelligence.”
They traversed floor by floor, searching through various rooms.
Eventually, they reached a familiar level with Kui Xin—the floor where the conference room was located.
Both Wei Haidong’s meetings and conversations with Kui Xin took place on this floor, and she recognized the door of the conference room.
As they approached the room, Wang Feichi extended his hand, causing the conference room door to instantly melt and reveal what lay behind it.
“… Oh?” Wang Feichi raised his eyebrows.
A small projector was sitting on the table in the conference room, emitting a beam of light onto the ceiling.
It displayed a concise line of text.
“This time, I win.”
There was no signature, but these brief words conveyed the arrogance and contempt of the sender.
“Intriguing.” Wang Feichi grinned. “Is this meant to provoke us?”
“Ah,” Adam said, “this is from Eve to me.”
In the next moment, the font projected by the projector turned blood red. Kui Xin instinctively stepped back, her intuition starting to wildly sound alarms.
“Watch out!” Just as she shouted those words, she saw flames erupting skyward.
A bomb was hidden within the conference room!
Wei Zhi stepped forward, and with her movement, the surrounding air instantly solidified. The space fractured into countless fragments, like a shattered mirror. The explosion’s fiery glow reflected off the broken mirror surfaces, then froze in place.
B-level: Space Restriction!
“Step back,” Wei Zhi calmly instructed.
They calmly retreated from the conference room. The flames were confined for over ten seconds before bursting through the restraint like blooming flowers, leaving the interior charred black.