Chapter 71.1 – Atsha (3)
After jotting down some characters with a pen, Jiang Yujin put away the completed floor plan.
Standing up, he said, “Go back to your room and check on your boss’s activities. If he has received anything, record it on the surveillance video and let me know.”
Shi Bu scratched his head, “The boss never takes anything when negotiating business.”
Jiang Yujin replied, “Just focus on recording.”
Choosing to believe his brother decisively between the boss and his brother, Shi Bu nodded and then asked, “What about you, brother?”
Jiang Yujin said, “I’ll go out for a stroll.”
There were surveillance cameras everywhere, and guards were stationed at regular intervals. But he was sure he could get out if he wanted to.
Shi Bu nodded, put away his pen and paper, and computer, then got up to return to his room.
Jiang Yujin left the room, but his way of leaving was not ordinary – he climbed out the window.
From the sixth floor to the first floor, he could instantly cross the distance by climbing out the window. Along the way, he also shoved the floor plan through a closed window he encountered.
When he emerged from the shadows, he saw the flow of people and traffic on the street. This seemed like an ordinary city, with parents carrying children, students with backpacks, and office workers rushing back and forth. Everyone here had their own lives, appearing busy yet ordinary.
Walking down the street, people glanced at him as they passed, then shifted their gaze back and continued on their way. Jiang Yujin strolled through the streets, passing several intersections one after another. Some traffic lights at these intersections were malfunctioning, no longer displaying the correct signals. However, the flow of vehicles seemed to adhere to some unspoken rule, proceeding through the intersection in order, quiet and orderly.
Someone stood next to him, holding a briefcase with newspapers tucked inside, looking at the broken traffic light on the opposite side.
Jiang Yujin glanced at the person beside him and said in a low voice, “At least fix this traffic light, otherwise it will look fake.”
The person next to him turned to look at him, puzzled, and asked, “What are you talking about?”
Jiang Yujin didn’t say anything more and crossed the road after the traffic stopped.
The person who seemed ready to cross the road stood still, holding a briefcase, and eventually turned around to walk back.
At the next intersection, the person with the briefcase encountered three high school students with backpacks, and they passed each other without incident.
As they separated, a newspaper fell, and one of the high school students picked it up. The other person had already disappeared at the end of the road, so he could only take a quick glance before folding it and putting it away.
Chen Jing and the other two walked towards the silver building.
It looked slightly different from what they had imagined. The building appeared clean and bright, with no one outside handing out pamphlets. Inside, people in formal attire were moving around, giving the impression of a legitimate company.
Before the people inside the building could notice them, the three of them averted their eyes and left as if just passing by.
It wasn’t until they had walked a considerable distance that Chen Jing stopped and said, “This is it.”
The building seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, they noticed bulges in the pockets of the people inside, as if they were carrying something substantial. And everyone seemed to be carrying something similar.
Judging by the size, it was likely firearms. In a regular company, not everyone would be equipped with guns.
Although they now knew the location, entering the building based on what they had observed earlier seemed difficult. They were unfamiliar with the layout and structure inside. With many people around, entering unnoticed was challenging, and once discovered, escaping would be even more challenging.
After contemplating for a moment, Chen Jing said, “Let’s walk around the building first.”
Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin nodded.
One side of the building faced the road, the same place they had passed earlier. However, the other side faced a neighboring building, which was considerably shorter, with about ten floors and undergoing renovation, covered by green screens.
They went to the neighboring building. Probably due to the ongoing renovation, there was no one inside. They climbed the stairs and looked through the green screens at the silver building next door.
The two buildings were close, but there was no apparent way from this building to the neighboring one. Probably to prevent anyone from infiltrating from this building, the windows on the side facing this direction had all been sealed on the dozen or so floors, except for the windows higher than this building’s roof, which were still open but too high to reach from this building’s rooftop.
Zhang Xin, with sharp eyes, noticed several sheets of paper wedged outside the windows of the neighboring building. Faint writing could be discerned on them, but most of the content was obscured and unreadable.
Xiao Pang retrieved the papers bit by bit. As he reached for each sheet, he quickly jumped back, his heart pounding when he returned.
It seemed that their trip had been very worthwhile. After unfolding the papers, they discovered several floor plans. According to the layouts, these were floor plans of the silver building. The highlighted floors were the sixth and seventh, detailing the areas and checkpoints to pass through on these two floors. It was detailed, but the floor plans only covered the sixth and seventh floors, leaving the rest for them to explore on their own.
At the end of the papers, there was a small note, saying 【Do not be seen by anyone】. This single sentence had a different handwriting from the previous notes, appearing much more hastily written.
These plans didn’t seem to be traps deliberately set by Zero to catch people. If they had the capability, they could have captured anyone entering the building from the beginning, rather than using such an indirect method to catch people. The plans might be genuine, but they were not necessarily accurate, and it was unclear why they were hidden here.
Xiao Pang asked, “Go?”
Chen Jing nodded, “Let’s go.”
The guards inside the silver building were even more stringent than they had imagined. Although it seemed sparse and ordinary, anyone carrying documents or even sipping coffee in the corridors was noticed; there was no hidden corner.
With no blind spots, they created their own. Creating a disturbance in one place, taking advantage when others’ attention was diverted, the three slipped through. Despite numerous fingerprint locks and iris recognitions, based on their consistent approach, they would typically isolate someone who appeared to hold a higher position and use that person to pass through all the recognitions. However, there was a slight change this time. The headquarters didn’t quite suit this method, and remembering the note on the paper, they ultimately chose the slowest but safest approach.
There was never a shortage of ventilation ducts inside the building. The ducts extended in various directions, complex yet convenient in a certain aspect.
To avoid alarming anyone, it took them a considerable amount of time to move from the first floor to the sixth. They couldn’t directly go up to the seventh; even within the ventilation ducts, there were invisible infrared beams. After Xiao Pang dealt with them, they continued upward.
They eventually reached the ceiling of the seventh floor. Any noise made on the ceiling would be noticed by those below, so they proceeded even more cautiously here.
Due to the commotion they caused earlier, the building was now on slightly higher alert. Most people on the seventh-floor corridor gathered in front of a room, engaging in small talk, as if chatting.
Knowing where to go, Chen Jing closed his eyes, listened carefully for a while, and finally chose a direction.
They transitioned from the corridor ceiling to the ceiling of a room.
The ventilation duct’s structure was similar to blinds, and from their carefully chosen angle, they could observe the situation below.
The previously obtained blueprints were accurate; the seventh floor was indeed a crucial floor.
Below them was a laboratory, visually larger than any branch’s laboratory they had seen before. External disturbances didn’t affect the researchers inside; they were still diligently conducting experiments, and various machines emitted faint operational sounds.
Although the lab was large, the number of people wasn’t substantial. There were armed guards patrolling in all four corners.
For the three of them, there were two cameras in each corner to deal with, in addition to the scattered researchers in the room. Chen Jing furrowed his brows and said, “Two seconds.”
If it exceeded two seconds and anyone in the room realized, it would be difficult for them to leave today.
In almost an instant, the ventilation duct was kicked open, and the three jumped down. The guards in the corners collapsed before raising their guns, unable to give any warning. After dealing with the guards, the remaining researchers didn’t have time to alert others before quietly collapsing without making any noise.
Xiao Pang took a USB drive from a waterproof bag. Before he could plug it into the computer, the sound of entering a password came from outside.
“You continue; we’ll cover here.”
Chen Jing instantly understood, stepped over an experimental table to the door, and locked the door that was about to be opened again. Outside, people were still attempting to open the door, and Zhang Xin stood aside, directly melting the circuit.
Unable to open the door normally, those outside began physically breaking down the door. A melting circle appeared at the center of the door, but before a hole was melted through, Chen Jing reverted the door back to metal.
The commotion outside stopped.
After a brief silence, which often indicated a greater threat, Zhang Xin frowned, “Clearly, no one informed them outside.”
They had also tampered with the cameras; even if someone noticed something abnormal, it shouldn’t happen this quickly. However, there was evidently no time for them to contemplate this now.
The noise outside resumed, and it was much more intense than before. Xiao Pang also noticed the situation here; the USB drive was still copying data, but it was apparent that the speed couldn’t keep up. He gritted his teeth and began operating another computer.
【Data Transfer 99%】
As the computer transfer pop-up disappeared, the entrance door was forcefully kicked open, and gunshots rang out. They retreated into the ventilation ducts and swiftly descended.
Descending was quicker than ascending, and the pursuers behind them moved rapidly, following them from inside the building to outside.
After running into a narrow alley, they lifted a manhole cover and entered the sewer system.
Lights illuminated, and several people widened their eyes.
In the sewer system, as far as the eye could see, were piles of crimson flesh chunks.
