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Chapter 139 - 138: Cyber Spookiness

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The next evening came quickly.

Chen Xuan and Lin Qing took a taxi to the Jiang City Metropolitan Station and as soon as they got off, they could see a long line forming at the entrance of the recording hall, obviously waiting audiences.

Not long after they reached the end of the line, Chen Xuan felt gazes coming from all directions.

Of course... he knew that these people were not looking at him, but at Lin Qing beside him.

Today, Lin Qing was specially dressed up, looking completely different from the person who normally lounged on the sofa munching on chips or greeted guests in her uniform. Her hair, which could switch colors based on her mood, today was in a striking combination of pink, blue, and purple, with heightened saturation that made it extremely eye-catching.

The makeup on her face was astonishingly thick, with rose-red eyeshadow almost covering the entire eye socket and extending into long angles at the corners of her eyes. Her lips were coated in metallic powder, which could glitter with a little bit of light. If someone else wore this makeup, it would probably look crazy, but on Lin Qing, it was just right, exuding a cool "stay away" vibe with a hint of cuteness.

It was as if she was born for this look.

Moreover, the clothes she wore were very unique. The inner layer was a black latex jumpsuit like the one she wore on the Crystal Palace, essentially a combat suit. Over that, she had a large white vest that covered most of her upper body, leaving her well-proportioned long legs exposed. The effect of the latex tights was such that it fired up the imagination.

If anything could surpass black silk, it would naturally be black latex.

"You’re dressed too conspicuously..." Chen Xuan murmured quietly.

Compared to Lin Qing, he dressed very low-key, with casual clothes plus a hat and mask, portraying a sense of not wanting to show his face. The problem was that with a partner dressed so conspicuously, his effort to be low-key seemed wasted.

"It doesn’t matter, since we’re out having fun, what’s wrong with standing out a little?" Lin Qing giggled. "Besides, there’s anti-surveillance patterns beneath my facial skin, facial recognition can’t record my data."

"Hello, beautiful! Can I take a picture with you?"

Someone with a camera approached.

The person seemed well-dressed, exuding a friendly and cheerful aura.

After all, the men and women here for the TV station event were all quite stylish, in sharp contrast to the hurried workers passing by outside the door.

This place, filled with an atmosphere of life’s winners, made Chen Xuan quite uncomfortable.

"Sure." Lin Qing happily agreed.

Then she grabbed Chen Xuan’s arm, and made a V-sign for the camera with her other hand.

The flash started snapping away.

Fortunately, Chen Xuan was wearing a mask and hat, keeping his surprise hidden.

"I want to take some pictures too!"

"Can we exchange WeChat contacts?"

More people gathered around, and Lin Qing accepted them all. Not only did she allow them to take pictures, but she also posed professionally for the camera. However, no matter how she posed, she stayed close to Chen Xuan, pulling him into the frame.

"Miss, could we take a picture alone at the side?" someone finally asked.

"Nope, my boyfriend is a jealous person, he’d be upset if I didn’t include him," Lin Qing replied cheerfully.

This remark elicited laughter from those around them.

Chen Xuan nearly choked on his own saliva.

But with so many people watching, he couldn’t openly refute Lin Qing’s claim, so he resignedly allowed himself to be used as a backdrop in a series of group photos.

The situation only improved when the recording hall started ticketing and letting people in. Once the crowd dispersed, Chen Xuan whispered, "Why would you say that!?"

"It seemed more natural like that... otherwise, would we say we’re siblings? Our styles are too different," Lin Qing didn’t seem to mind. "Most of the men and women here are couples, and being a couple is the most versatile disguise for sneaking in anywhere."

"We’re not infiltrating the Dimensional Limit Mechanism’s territory, it’s just a TV show recording!"

"It’s all the same, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism’s reach is everywhere, there’s a good chance they’re observing here too. It’s good to be prepared for counter-surveillance once you leave the shop, it doesn’t hurt, right?" Lin Qing naturally took his hand. "Let’s go, Mr. Manager, it’s our turn to enter."

Chen Xuan could only helplessly let her lead him into the hall.

Following the line to the security gates, he suddenly remembered something, "Won’t this thing detect your implants?"

"It’s okay, military-grade armor is equipped to fake magnetic and radiation signals, these old devices can’t differentiate," Lin Qing said. "The only thing that can’t be faked is weight, because anti-gravity devices can’t be miniaturized, but there’s no scale here, so it’s no problem."

Chen Xuan was dumbfounded.

Using a scale for detecting future tech is more effective than a magnetic field or X-ray machine, what a paradox indeed.

After passing through the hall’s inner door, they officially entered the program recording area.

This place, in a way, was more like a large theater, only with more recording equipment and lighting. The central part was the stage, about three hundred square meters, surrounded by slowly rising audience seats. On the ceiling, there were numerous robotic arms, providing convenient overhead shooting angles.

The once nationwide popular "Who Is the Singer" show was also recorded here.

After finding their seats, Chen Xuan used his Heart Method to scan the audience, discovering that none of the Spiritual Qi auras were particularly noticeable.

This didn’t mean they lacked abilities... just that they weren’t Qi Sensing Men or walked a path separate from cultivation.

He thought about using his scanning gun to sneak a peek at everyone’s abilities but found that the signal was at zero bars. Places in the city where you could access the internet were typically mapped to their home WiFi, having no signal here meant the TV station was technologically blocking it.

Probably to prevent someone from recording the show and uploading it prematurely, he thought. But this meant a certain someone who couldn’t survive without the internet might find it very boring.

Chen Xuan turned to look at Lin Qing, only to find that she didn’t seem bored at all; her eyes were shimmering with a faint blue light.

"You have a signal?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, of course." Lin Qing replied matter-of-factly. "Blocking by sending noise to occupy channels is too crude, you can completely denoise through algorithms or amplify power to penetrate the block."

Chen Xuan didn’t want to understand the principle, "You should’ve said so, share it with me."

"Sure." She touched her earring, "Done."

"So your earrings... aren’t just decorations?" he remembered that the first time he met Lin Qing, she was wearing a lot of accessories, along with her colorful hair, looking like a rebellious delinquent girl. For a Warrior, these were not necessary, and even a hindrance in battle.

"Of course not, they’re all external devices with many uses." Lin Qing raised her hand, showing the bracelets on her wrist. "For example, this one contains retractable molecular wires that can cut through steel plates when electrified."

"Alright... I misjudged you," Chen Xuan sighed.

He took out his scanning gun and found that the signal had indeed recovered to full strength, enabling him to connect to his inventory and use the trading function.

Yet when he flipped to the inventory page, his heart couldn’t help but race.

The twisted black tendrils labeled "Decomposition and Re-Fusion" had already crossed several slots and showed a clear direction. Looking at the angle from which it extended, it targeted three abilities stored there: "Spiritual Energy Shield," "Linguistics," and "Guess the Coin."

Almost instantly, Chen Xuan realized it was attracted to "Guess the Coin." Because this ability had also undergone a mutation, the characters around it blurred as if soaked with ink.

They shouldn’t be able to interact like this being made with Excel tables and text, right?

This is truly cyberpunk madness!