novelraw Chapter 92: Artificial Souls - (19)
Chapter 92: Artificial Souls - (19)
With just one glance, Lin Xinji could discern the superhuman ability of the person before him.
At that moment, he naturally identified Meng Xiuran’s superhuman ability—Destiny Premonition.
Through physical contact, Meng Xiuran could foresee the other person’s future. However, the glimpses of the future were randomly displayed, unable to target specific time periods, and there was a certain cooldown period involved. For instance, after seeing someone’s future, Meng Xiuran had to wait ten days before he could again view their destiny. Excessive use would strain and exhaust his body.
“What does ‘already predetermined fate’ mean?” Lin Xinji locked his gaze intently on Meng Xiuran’s eyes. “Is it unchangeable? In your visions, is the future set in stone?”
He could discern the general effects and limitations of Meng Xiuran’s superhuman ability, but not the minute details.
Meng Xiuran replied, “I’ve attempted to alter some foreseen futures before, but I failed. Just like our conversation now, it is a link predestined by fate. I will tell you the date of your death, and you know you’ll be killed, yet there’s nothing you can do. No struggle can resist the ultimate outcome.”
“What did you see?”
“Your corpse. People from the Investigation Department were preparing to collect your body. A cloth covered its surface, stained with seeping blood, and your wristwatch-hand hung over the edge of the stretcher, displaying 11:59 PM on August 12th.” Meng Xiuran showed no emotion. “These are all the specific details I witnessed.”
Subtly, Lin Xinji’s face paled.
“Who will kill me?” He turned, scanning their surroundings as if he suspected a hidden assassin among the guests.“I can only perceive fixed scenes; your questions cannot be answered by me,” Meng Xiuran replied mildly. “You indeed will die, Mr. Lin. Instead of struggling ungracefully, it’s better to accept it calmly. You can communicate with your family, convey your final words, and distribute your assets; depart with dignity.”
A surge of anger flashed in Lin Xinji’s eyes, but he suppressed it through his self-discipline, maintaining his usual composed demeanor. “Thank you for your advice, Meng Xiuran, but I decline.”
Meng Xiuran stated, “You have the right not to accept my advice.”
With a deep look at Meng Xiuran, Lin Xinji stepped back, turned, and departed. Pressing on the invisible communicator behind his ear, he said, “Adam, notify all relevant personnel to be on high alert! Prepare helicopters and police cars for the skydeck. Have the Investigation Department send reinforcements here immediately and investigate all surveillance footage from the Emerald Eye to identify any suspicious intrusions.”
“Yes, sir. A high alert was initiated, and notifications were sent. Helicopters require five more minutes for preparation,” Adam responded.
“Yu Liang!” Lin Xinji commanded calmly, “Join me promptly and ensure my protection.”
Alarms suddenly blared within the Emerald Eye as security guards, officers, and bodyguards from both families swiftly mobilized, providing tight protection around everyone in the banquet hall.
“Is there an assassin hidden within this building?” Meng Xiuran’s uncle, Meng Qi, asked gravely.
“Possibly. We can’t stay here for long. We’re uncertain if the assassin’s target is everyone or just Lin Xinji, but given their capability to kill him, they likely wouldn’t hesitate to take us out as well. We don’t know how many enemies we’re dealing with.” As Meng Xiuran spoke, he grasped Meng Qi’s hand and activated his superhuman ability, “Destiny Prediction.”
After a few seconds, Meng Xiuran’s expression relaxed. “We’ll be alright.”
He then walked up to another younger member of the Meng family, abruptly seizing his wrist and causing him to tremble in fear. “Bro- brother Xiuran, what are you doing?”
Meng Xiuran closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again and moving on to the next person. He used his superhuman ability on various members of the Meng family until he finally saw the vision he sought.
Pulling out a handkerchief, he wiped his hands and said, “Uncle, I foresee us leaving by helicopter.”
Immediately after speaking, he coughed once and dabbed away blood from his nose—a side effect of overusing his ability.
Meng Qi, too concerned to attend to his nephew, hastily contacted the helicopters.
There were many Meng family members present, requiring at least three helicopters to evacuate them all. The helipad on the Emerald Eye’s skydeck could only accommodate one helicopter at a time, as it was not a military facility and had limited space.
The Shu family also had a significant presence, and if Lin Xinji intended to escape, he couldn’t abandon the Shus without care.
“Make Lin Xinji wait his turn; our Meng family must leave first,” Meng Qi said expressionlessly. “The Investigation Department’s helicopter will land in three minutes? Deny it landing permission. This Emerald Eye has investments from my Meng family, and I decide whose helicopters can use the helipad. You’re asking about the Shu family? They can either queue up or go downstairs and drive away.”
After ending the communication, the Meng family began their orderly evacuation under the escort of numerous security personnel.
Meng Xiuran calmly followed the crowd to the fire exit, heading for the Skydeck. Despite the situation, he even found time to chat with his uncle.
“Uncle, Auntie chose a partner who is doomed to die young,” Meng Xiuran remarked.
“Your aunt couldn’t have known he would be so short-lived,” Meng Qi replied softly. “It’s not feasible to shake hands with every potential business partner just to check if they’re cursed with an early demise, right?”
“No need. Shaking hands with someone on their deathbed brings bad luck,” Meng Xiuran said. “Fate is fate; predetermined destinies cannot be altered. Lin Xinji’s struggles are inevitably futile.”
“Could our action of making Lin Xinji wait in line for the Meng family’s helicopter serve as the final trigger for his demise?” Meng Qi asked leisurely.
Meng Xiuran replied coldly, “Even if it does, it’s merely another link in the chain of destiny.”
Continuous updates from their teammates echoed over the security officers’ communication channels.
“The electrical distribution room suddenly exploded!”
“Report! Security officers on duty at floor 121 encountered an attack by unidentified individuals. Assistance required!”
“Personnel have been dispatched to floor 121.”
The chaos continued. Suddenly, indecipherable static filled the security officers’ headsets, causing their teammates’ voices on the communications channel to become intermittent and muffled.
Adam issued a warning, “Currently under… crackle… attack… signal… communications temporarily disrupted… crackle… restoring now…”
A series of intense explosions echoed near Kui Xin, accompanied by distinct vibrations beneath her feet. The blasts did not stop after a single instance but continued with two or three successive detonations.
The Emerald Eye’s 121st floor housed six elevators operating simultaneously. By causing commotion on this level, Kui Xin aimed to lure security officers here for investigation.
Most security personnel were concentrated on the top floors, but Kui Xin created chaos specifically on the 121st floor. With an eleven-story height difference, using the elevators was their optimal choice; otherwise, taking the stairs would waste significant time. She surmised that the security officers wouldn’t directly stop the elevators on the 121st floor, but rather halt them either above or below before walking up or down the stairs to search each floor for intruders.
After spending a considerable amount of time in the Investigation Department, she had nearly mastered their operational patterns.
Thus, she installed miniature bombs on the elevator cables and waited for Adam’s signal indicating that the security officers had entered the elevators before triggering the detonation.
With a massive explosion, the elevator carrying the security officers plummeted rapidly. Thanks to safety mechanisms, it took several dozen floors before finally coming to a halt, leaving its occupants disoriented and trapped inside.
Kui Xin skillfully eliminated this wave of enemies.
She pressed a button on the side of her helmet, and a map of the building’s floors appeared before her eyes, displaying the movements of all the security officers.
Following Adam’s guidance, she had rushed to the electrical distribution room earlier, where she installed bombs on the building’s power circuits. This action immediately cut off the Emerald Eye’s power supply, plunging the entire building into darkness and rendering the surveillance cameras non-functional.
The elevators had their own dedicated emergency circuit; simply cutting the main power wouldn’t suffice, so they needed to be blown up instead.
Kui Xin activated night vision mode through her goggles.
She had detonated all the elevators leading to the topmost levels, leaving no other means to ascend except for the staircases.
Adam said, “The Meng family is quite adamant; they refuse to yield the helipad. The Shu family has chosen to walk towards the balcony on the 121st floor under the escort of security officers and bodyguards, from which they will depart in a floating police car.”
“Descending so many floors at once, I hope those pampered rich kids don’t get leg cramps,” Kui Xin remarked dryly with dark humor. “What about Lin Xinji?”
“After receiving Meng Xiuran’s warning, he preemptively went to the skydeck helipad. He wanted to leave, but the Meng family refused to budge,” Adam explained. “Taking off and landing helicopters is very time-consuming; it would take the Meng family at least fifteen minutes just to send everyone away. Lin Xinji was considering whether to depart by helicopter from the Skydeck or go down to the eleventh-floor terrace for the police car. He had a significant escort with him—one B-rank awakened being, two C-rank awakened beings, and ten security officers. The remaining guards, awakened beings, and security personnel were accompanying the Meng and Shu families.”
“Is there any way to forcibly cut off access to the fire escape route?” Kui Xin asked. “Would blowing up the stairs be possible? Is the stair structure strong?”
“Yes, as long as we have enough explosives. Good thing you brought sufficient high-powered bombs,” Adam replied.
“Then let’s blow it up, starting with the 121st floor. Leave no chance for his escape,” Kui Xin said resolutely.
With both the elevator and staircase destroyed, two out of three escape routes were blocked, forcing Lin Xinji to head towards the Skydeck.
She was gradually tightening her encirclement, treating Lin Xinji like prey trapped within a net. By securely cinching the bag, she ensured that the prey had nowhere to flee.
After setting up the detonators, Kui Xin pressed the trigger button to explode the stairs. She then returned to the elevator lobby, where Adam controlled the elevator system to open its doors revealing only emptiness, save for a few cables inside. She fired her grappling hook upwards and continued climbing towards the topmost level.
“Floor 132 has people—ten of them.” Kui Xin, hanging from the cable, noticed her eyepiece display showing individuals scattered across different locations on the 132nd floor.
“It’s two C-class awakened beings and eight bodyguards. B-class Yu Liang along with the remaining security personnel are on the skydeck,” Adam said. “To reach the sky deck from the 132nd floor, one can only use the stairs. They are tasked with rearguard duty. If they block your path, you won’t be able to ascend further.”
Adam pretended that due to an unknown hacker attack, he was unable to provide timely assistance, but the internal communications of the security team remained uncut.
Kui Xin glanced at the time—it was 23:15.
There was still enough time.
She descended slightly along the elevator cables, exited on the 131st floor, and climbed up the stairs, planning to eliminate the final obstacles one by one.
At the stairwell entrance of this floor, two guards were positioned, descending cautiously with their guns at their ready, as if patrolling for suspicious individuals.
Using the blind spots indicated by red dots on the map, Kui Xin evaded their line of sight. Then, suppressing her footsteps, she stealthily approached like a silent cat. She covered the rear guard’s mouth while forcefully twisting his jaw with her other hand.
With a soft crack, his neck slumped unnaturally, rendering him motionless.
One of the guards ahead noticed something amiss and raised his gun, turning back. However, Kui Xin was quicker. She stepped over the fallen bodies, a short blade emerging in her hand, and swiftly slashed at his throat. Blood instantly gushed into his windpipe, rendering him unable to make any sound as he collapsed, losing all strength.
The entire process was silent, not alarming those listening on the communications channel.