Chapter 14 Confrontation

　　New Century Building, Hongjin Company.

　　Hiss. The elevator doors slowly parted.

　　A slender woman wearing a black fox mask and a black leather suit, carrying a silver suitcase, slowly stepped out of the elevator.

　　"This is it, Hongjin Biopharmaceutical." The woman looked around at the employees in the hall, chatting and laughing. "Excuse me, does anyone here know where this person is?"

　　She raised her hand and pointed forward.

　　The projection button on her chest immediately projected a full-body image of Li Cheng颐 wearing a wisteria scale armor in mid-air.

　　"Madam, is this an exoskeleton or a complete body? We are a biopharmaceutical company here, not a consulting or detective agency. If you want to find someone, you should go to those places," a male employee kindly explained.

　　"Someone confirmed to me that you have this person's private information and latest whereabouts here." The woman's voice was soft, "So... if you tell me again that you don't..."

　　Chi!

　　In an instant, the suitcase in her hand deformed and melted, turning into a slender crescent scimitar. The scimitar shot out instantly, penetrating the thick wall behind the male employee.

　　There was only a black crack on the wall, without any debris.

　　The crescent scimitar cut through the wall like a knife through tofu, easily penetrating the wall and circling back from the corridor on the other side, floating in the air to the woman's right.

　　The male employee was stunned, standing in place, the coffee in his hand trembling violently, spilling a lot on the carpet.

　　"I...I..." His face turned pale, his legs weakened, and he couldn't move.

　　"What's the point of talking nonsense with them? Kill them all if they don't talk."

　　A tall, thin man wearing a black fox mask walked out from behind the elevator.

　　Unlike the woman, he didn't have a suitcase, but held two miniature submachine guns in each hand. Seeing the guns in the man's hands, the people in the hall finally reacted.

　　Shua!!

　　In an instant, everyone opened their drawers and reached in.

　　Dozens of guns of various sizes and calibers were all aimed at the two black fox mask wearers. Kacha.

　　One of the sturdy female employees even carried a single-soldier laser cannon on her shoulder. The muzzle was the size of a human head, and a faint red light was already lit in the dark hole.

　　The two black foxes froze.

　　If it were just ordinary firearms, they could rely on the exoskeleton to block them, so they wouldn't be afraid. But now, even laser cannons are here....

　　This thing is extremely fast, almost hitting as soon as it's fired, and its power is great, making it much more dangerous. Is this company really a biopharmaceutical company? Not a manufacturer of munitions??!

　　This firepower is enough to fight a local war in some small countries!

　　"What did you say just now? Can you say it again? I didn't hear you clearly."

　　Behind the cannon-carrying, strong female employee, Pencil Eyebrows stood with her arms crossed, staring at the two with cold eyes.

　　"Hehehe... interesting..." The black fox woman laughed. "Did you think this little battle could stop..." She couldn't finish her next words.

　　A sharp and terrifying sense of threat swept over her like a tide the moment she took a second step forward.

　　"Someone's locked onto us....!!" The black fox man behind her said in a deep voice. "It's a long distance away! Not nearby, should we continue?"

　　"...." The woman fell silent.

　　Raising her head, a blue light flashed in her eyes under the mask, as if her sight penetrated the walls and roof, looking at a place far away.

　　That was the top of a silver building at least ten kilometers away under the night sky.

　　There, strands of faint red light were gathering together like swimming fish, forming a straight, sharp red spike covered with tiny circuit patterns.

　　The tip of the spike was aimed at the two black fox mask wearers.

　　"Gentlemen, although I can't stop you from taking action!" Ding Ning's voice sounded from a speaker somewhere in the company lobby. "But I can deal with you after you take action."

　　The two black foxes remained silent.

　　*

　　*

　　*Screaming Street.

　　Li Cheng颐 narrowed his eyes and stared at the old man in front of him.

　　For a moment, he was unsure of the other party's background. Was he looking for his alt account?

　　The strength of his alt account could be said to have been displayed quite a bit before. Anyone who could find the Hongjin Company line shouldn't miss the combat information from his previous actions.

　　And to dare to come to his door openly after understanding the strength of his alt account meant that the other party was very confident in themselves.

　　"Don't rush, think slowly." The old man smiled kindly, "That child has some misunderstandings with us, but misunderstandings, if they are explained clearly, will be resolved."

　　"Mr. Bai." Li Cheng颐 considered the title for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Does the person you're looking for have a photo? Or a name or something?"

　　"We don't have that." The old man shook his head, "However, he likes to wear purple exoskeleton armor, and occasionally he wears full body armor with刺剑 (ci jian, thrusting swords) inserted in it. We don't know his name, but someone gave him a nickname for the sake of simplicity, called Thug."

　　"Thug? Why would he be given this nickname?" Li Cheng颐 asked.

　　"Because every time he appears, he will inevitably kill people and stir up a lot of blood." The old man sighed, "Perhaps the Dead Angle makes his nerves tense, always on the verge of collapse, so he acts so violently. But a person shouldn't be controlled by instinct in this life."

　　Li Cheng颐's heart tightened. Hearing the other party openly mentioning the Dead Angle, he vaguely guessed what the other party's background was.

　　"Why do you judge that he is being controlled by instinct? From what I know of him, he is very sober, and always has been." He replied in a low voice.

　　The old man looked at him and smiled.

　　"We've been studying the Dead Angle for over a hundred years." Just then, his juice arrived.

　　Pineapple, watermelon, and pear juice.

　　Pale yellow pineapple was沉 (chen, submerged/sinking) at the bottom of the glass, pale white pear juice in the middle, with a few pieces of green mint floating in it, and the top was covered with milkshake, watermelon, and a decorative black cherry.

　　"Look." He pointed to the bottom of the juice glass.

　　Li Cheng颐's gaze followed the tip of his finger and landed on the pineapple pulp at the bottom. "What?" he asked.

　　The old man smiled.

　　"This is my favorite juice."

　　He wiped the condensation off the outside of the glass, revealing more of the pineapple inside.

　　"I don't like to eat sour things. But I like the pineapple's fragrance, so what should I do?" He paused, then retracted his hand and smiled. www.

　　"So I asked the young clerk to put it at the bottom for me."

　　"?" Li Cheng颐 didn't understand what he meant by saying this at this time. But it was obvious that he had more to say.

　　"But even if it's at the bottom, I still know that this cup of juice will inevitably be sour in the end. So, every time I drink juice, I feel worried, afraid, even..."

　　"Fear." The smile on the old man's face slowly faded. "Do you understand that feeling?"

　　"No matter how sweet it is at the beginning, I will inevitably face the sourness that I hate in the end. The more I drink, the more I think about how I'm about to drink something sour. But if I give up, I can't bear to part with the fragrance."

　　"Human instinct is the same." The old man's tone was calm.

　　"The Dead Angle is like this.... It makes people afraid. No matter how much sweetness we get from it, we actually understand that in the end, it is sour.

　　"Your friend is being driven by fear, recklessly sprinting forward along a fixed road. Many people have walked this road, and it will only lead to a bad end."

　　Li Cheng颐 was silent for a moment.

　　"You understand the Dead Angle very well?"

　　"Yes, very well." The old man nodded, a smile returning to his face. "So, you and your friend are both good children. You both have your own talents, your own abilities, and you shouldn't be buried like this."

　　"He should have killed a lot of your people, right? You don't hate him?" Li Cheng颐 asked again.

　　"This world is like this, the cycle of heaven, the law of nature, death is also a return to the natural universe. Everything is made up of particles, death is just a reconstruction, a new journey, that's all." The old man smiled.

　　"But he's living well on his own, why should he mix with you? Has anyone successfully escaped the Dead Angle?" Li Cheng颐 asked.

　　"I don't know." The old man shook his head, "However, if there is anyone in this world who is most likely to get rid of the Dead Angle, that person must come from us."

　　"Don't worry, you can think about it carefully." He picked up the juice and took a light sip.

　　"Don't be controlled by fear. That's the instinct left over from our not-yet-fully-evolved animal brains. But now, it's no longer needed. Only by getting rid of fear is it possible to find the true essence of the Dead Angle."

　　Li Cheng颐 thought for a moment.

　　"Don't talk about things that don't matter, just tell me what the benefits are of joining you."

　　"...." The smile on the old man's face froze for a moment, "Benefits... of course there are, more complete information about the Dead Angle, advanced alloy technology, stronger modification technology, and, a greater ideal!

　　"You shouldn't talk about the future for the sake of benefits, people shouldn't be so vulgar." He frowned slightly and advised.

　　"But I'm just a vulgar person. I don't understand what you're talking about. I only know what I have in my hands and what I can get." Li Cheng颐 spread out his hands. "By the way, what's your honorable surname, old sir?"

　　"..My surname is Bai... I already said it just now. Bai Chong, you can call me that." The old man replied.

　　"Old Mr. Bai, you should also think about how many disadvantages joining you might bring. For example, being wanted everywhere, having nowhere to hide, only being able to constantly run and hide, being worried every day, being careful not to accidentally say something you shouldn't say. Isn't that kind of life tiring?"

　　Li Cheng颐's juice also arrived, a loquat apple juice, and he picked it up and took a sip to moisten his mouth. "So, you should think about using something more practical to impress my friend."

　　"One hundred million." Bai Chong held up one finger, "Is that enough?" "..." That's really damn practical!

　　Li Cheng颐's hand trembled, and he almost knocked over the juice.

　　"Laundered money? Under what name will it be distributed?" He immediately reacted and asked quickly. Bai Chong narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

　　He tapped his cane, stood up, and seemed ready to leave.

　　Pushing back his chair, he picked up the juice again and drank it in one gulp until only the pineapple was left.

　　"There will be a day when you will take the initiative to contact us." He steadied his round hat and left a note. "When you want to contact us, you can call this number."

　　A string of numbers was clearly written in black ink on the note.

　　Li Cheng颐 squinted at it, and when he looked up again, he was stunned to find that Bai Chong was gone. A huge living person had disappeared alive in the one second he spent looking at the note.

　　"Optical stealth?" He quickly turned on AR engineering mode, which could view infrared radiation. But he still got nothing.

　　"Even heat is shielded and concealed? Sitting in his seat.

　　He reached out, picked up the note, and wrote down the numbers. Du...

　　Suddenly, his phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Pencil Eyebrows calling. He immediately pressed to answer.

　　"What's wrong?"

　　"People from Utopia came to the company and were almost attacked. Fortunately, we were prepared, and Mr. Ding Ning was monitoring remotely at all times, forcing the enemy back. How is it on your side? We just monitored that your signal was blocked again." Pencil Eyebrows said with slight concern.