I sustained a work injury yesterday, resulting in four stitches on my right arm. Fortunately, it was only a flesh wound and did not affect my bones or nerves. My updates might be less frequent for the next couple of days.
Dai Lian’s mouth and nose were covered by a pair of unfamiliar, large hands, and she was quickly dragged into a storeroom beside the main hall.
The door was shut heavily, plunging them into darkness and silence, completely cutting off all external information.
Dai Lian clutched her chest, calmly inching towards the corner of the room, while simultaneously using her tongue to dislodge a paper-thin piece of poison from between her teeth, preparing for a final stand.
“How dare you show your face here?” the person who had dragged Dai Lian in spoke from the darkness.
Dai Lian strained to recall the man’s voice. She had received professional training and was supposed to remember the owner of every voice she encountered.
However, this voice was completely unfamiliar.
Who could it be? Judging by his words, he seemed to know me and was aware of my precarious situation. Was he friend or foe?
“You are too bold. You have stolen so much intelligence, they have already begun to suspect you and are investigating you in secret,” the man continued.
“With your current identity, you shouldn’t be in the conference room. If you are discovered by a secret agent, you will not leave this place alive.”
“And your old partner, Feng Tong, both of you have been exposed.”
“Trouble. Are the local intelligence personnel’s brains filled with lead weights? Put this on and come out with me, then hurry to Bai Lan Star Street, No. 821. The code phrase is: 6652581.”
Dai Lian felt the object the man had thrown at her. It was a head hoop, a torture device specifically designed for capturing intelligence personnel.
Once worn, it would dull the mind.
But this was a fake; a simple heft in the hand would reveal a significant difference in weight.
“Hurry, there’s no time! When you go out, remember to rub the corner of your mouth with the thumb of your dominant hand.”
If the other party was a friend, it would be fine.
If it was an enemy, there would be no need for such a gesture.
The most terrifying scenario was an enemy disguised as a friend. What was his objective? Was it merely to capture a low-level intelligence operative?
Dai Lian was only responsible for stealing intelligence; she knew nothing about the intelligence chain behind her. For him to capture her was a complete waste of time.
After careful consideration, Dai Lian put on the head hoop and feigned a dazed, vacant expression.
The man slowly opened the door and, pulling Dai Lian along, stepped out. Simultaneously, his other hand gripped her still-loosely tied belt.
Dai Lian then used the thumb of her right hand to wipe the corner of her mouth.
The man’s face glowed, a satisfied smile on his lips as he led the dazed Dai Lian quickly out of the vast conference room.
The moment they exited the conference room, two men in black suits entered the interior space they had just left.
“Alright, don’t look back, don’t look at me. Take your partner and hurry up,” the man said casually.
Dai Lian kept her head down, not looking at the man, and asked in a low voice, “Why are you helping us?”
The man replied flippantly, “I can’t stand how stupid you lot are.”
“Who exactly are you?”
“You wouldn’t want to know,” the man said softly and turned to leave.
Dai Lian remained silent for a moment, then raised her head and quickly walked towards the main entrance.
As soon as she stepped outside, the sentry at the door spoke, “Miss Fang Yue Dai Lian, today…”
Dai Lian raised her hand, her left middle finger and thumb pinching together to form a lotus hand gesture. Immediately, her fingers spread apart, symbolizing the wilting of the lotus.
The sentry instantly closed his mouth and followed them.
The two of them hailed a hovercar and flew towards the designated location.
…
“Xian Zhong Defense Academy! This is Xian Xia City’s, and indeed all of Xian Xia’s, finest mecha pilot training base, as well as one of Xian Xia City’s famous landmarks…”
“It gathers outstanding mecha pilots from all over the country, with the largest contingent coming from Cai Hua City.”
“All information here is completely confidential, and even the admission channels are secret…”
“We are only allowed to visit this publicly accessible area in the southwest corner of the academy. All other areas are strictly off-limits. Please follow me closely, tourists, and do not wander off, or you will be responsible for the consequences…”
The tour guide lectured enthusiastically at the front,
Followed by a small group of tourists, including Gu Ya.
At a corner, Gu Ya broke away from the group and headed towards the main teaching building.
“Hello, entry is not permitted here,” a robotic patrol officer blocked Gu Ya.
Gu Ya smiled slightly, reached out, and patted its arm. The next second, the robot moved aside, allowing Gu Ya to pass.
Entering the main teaching building, the first-floor lobby was deserted, with several robots diligently cleaning.
“Admission channels are confidential, right?” Gu Ya thought, quietly walking towards a holographic display stand.
Gu Ya’s finger lightly tapped the holographic stand, simultaneously activating 【Code Tampering】.
The code spanned only a few pages, indicating clearly that it was not connected to the main teaching network.
“In that case, I’ll have to check out the admissions office.”
Across the vast first-floor lobby, at every corner and every five meters, there was a camera.
As Gu Ya walked by quietly, some of these cameras would follow him.
This wouldn’t do. Gu Ya glanced coldly at the cameras. They surely had facial recognition and data retrieval functions.
Within seconds, they could identify Gu Ya as unauthorized personnel. He needed to find a way to resolve his identity issue.
He scanned his surroundings and noticed a camera on the door of a less conspicuous storeroom.
Gu Ya moved quickly towards it, his leg exoskeleton armor activating. A clear, pleasant whirring sound of propellant discharge could be heard. Gu Ya slowly approached the camera.
Through the camera’s wireless network transmission channel, Gu Ya traced the signal, leading him to the teaching building’s main server.
【Code Tampering】!
Countless lines of blue code scrolled rapidly as Gu Ya browsed at high speed.
“As expected, my record is here. Any later, and the alarm would have triggered. Thank goodness.”
Gu Ya muttered, deleting the pending alarm records and setting his appearance to trusted.
Next, Gu Ya strolled openly into the lobby, pressed the elevator call button, and headed for the admissions office on the 21st floor.
As the elevator doors opened, a long-haired woman in a black business suit rushed in, heads down, and collided with him.
“S-sorry!” The long-haired woman didn’t look up, nodding profusely until the elevator doors closed.
Gu Ya ignored her and casually entered an open office.
He picked up an employee ID card from the desk; it belonged to the woman he had just bumped into at the elevator entrance.
After parsing it with 【Star Blueprint】, Gu Ya retrieved an identical replica from the system’s mall and added his own information to it.
Then, he settled down by the holographic system, his finger lightly touching it, and 【Code Tampering】 was activated.
The system has the most complete and sensitive firewall? What’s the use? 【Code Tampering】 was like a ghost, directly penetrating system defenses and entering the interior.
Opening the information database, he found a roster of tens of thousands of students, covering any period from the first cohort over two hundred years ago to the present.
Gu Ya even saw the names Wang Shang Meng and Zeng Yi Yao.
“So, as long as I add my information to this list, I will become the first student in the school’s history to be admitted through ‘cheating’. But there’s still one problem to solve: how to deal with the counselor…”
Within a class, there must be someone managing the students. He or she would be the most familiar with the student roster. The sudden appearance of an extra person would inevitably raise suspicion.
“Uh… you… you’re sitting at my workstation…” The same flustered woman stood behind Gu Ya, also with her head down, afraid to look, speaking in a very low voice as if afraid Gu Ya would harm her.
Gu Ya said coldly, “You should know that our school has a secret department that periodically inspects employees’ holographic systems.”
Upon hearing this, the woman became even more hesitant to object. She obediently stepped back, lowering her head even further.
Gu Ya quickly finished adding his information and stood up, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, he thought of a way to solve the problem.
“Do you know where to find the counselors or class representatives for the first-year classes?” Gu Ya asked softly.
The woman flinched slightly and responded in a hushed tone, “There are no counselors or class representatives here.”
None? Gu Ya was a little confused and asked, “Then who takes attendance, who announces training? Who handles students’ daily affairs?”
The woman kept her head down, still not daring to look up, “Are you secretly assessing my work capability? The students are very self-disciplined.”
Gu Ya understood now and said, “Yes, you answered very well.”
If that was the case, then adding one more person wouldn’t raise any suspicion.
“The students all have their own exclusive mechs…” the woman said softly.
Gu Ya immediately felt a sense of foreboding but then became excited.
“The exclusive mechs are all very high-performing, aren’t they?” Gu Ya asked.
The woman nodded.
Gu Ya smiled faintly and swiftly darted out the door.