Chapter 1 I'm Back

The empty thirty-ninth floor echoed with the girl's soft voice.

Gu Shen stared blankly at the old-fashioned communicator. After coming to the capital, he had become accustomed to acting alone and didn't wear an earpiece, so Chu Ling had to use an external communication device.

At this moment, he finally understood.

Why the thirty-ninth floor's surveillance clearly saw him, but showed no anomalies.

Why the Deep Sea took over the building, but didn't seal him off.

"No time for reminiscing, I'm taking over this building... but time is limited."

Chu Ling said quickly, "Deep Sea will notice soon. South Bay Building is an extremely important landmark in the capital. We must act fast."

"How long can you maintain control?" Gu Shen immediately reacted. He put on his hat again and strode into the entrance of the thirty-ninth floor.

With Chu Ling in control, his efficiency increased greatly, and he no longer had to tiptoe around.

"Ten minutes at most."

To be able to hack into South Bay Building's authority.

To replace Deep Sea and initiate the connection himself.

What terrifying technology was this?

Chu Ling's control time wasn't long, but for Gu Shen, who had just narrowly escaped death, it was an unexpected surprise.

"The target is a closed-circuit host, location unknown, disconnected from Deep Sea year-round... no, to be precise, it has never been linked to Deep Sea."

While searching, Gu Shen reported all the information given by the Crow.

The reason he came to the thirty-ninth floor was because the more important the documents, the more securely guarded they should be.

He didn't expect that the top floor of this South Bay Building was decorated quite simply. Apart from the iris scan at the entrance and fingerprint unlocking, he didn't see any high-tech products. Large areas were furnished with redwood, in a simple and elegant style. This should be the permanent residence of some bigwig whose position in the capital was equivalent to Cui Zhongcheng.

"The thirty-ninth floor of South Bay Building is 'Ye Ningqiu's' office. She is also a legendary woman in the capital, known as the Twin Walls of Jiangnan along with Cui Zhongcheng," Chu Ling said. "She is also an assistant to a member of the Council."

"Ye Ningqiu..."

Gu Shen had heard this name, but wasn't familiar with the specifics.

Because Madam's reputation was too great, for a time, the light of other women in the capital was overshadowed.

"Ye Ningqiu's style is low-key and hidden. She never boasts and advocates simplicity and directness."

Chu Ling reported the information of Chen San's capable assistant.

Gu Shen slowly looked around. From the style of the thirty-ninth floor, he could see this woman's personality, which matched the information Chu Ling gave. And such a low-key reputation was probably the effect she personally cultivated.

"Actually... it's not difficult to find the closed-circuit host you mentioned."

Chu Ling paused for four or five seconds and said, "Because it was never linked, Deep Sea can't instantly search for the specific location... but now that Deep Sea has taken over this building, all linked objects can be located."

Gu Shen's eyes lit up, "Which means..."

"Which means... by using the process of elimination, we can determine the location of the closed-circuit host. The shadow hidden in the dark can be illuminated by lighting a flame. After Deep Sea takes over South Bay Building, the blind spot in its vision is likely to be the location of the closed-circuit host."

Chu Ling slowly said, "Three, seven, nineteen, twenty-four, thirty-nine. These five floors... all have corresponding unilluminated areas, which are 'secrets' that are not linked to Deep Sea."

In other words, his choice of the thirty-ninth floor was correct, with at least a one-in-five chance of success.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes.

"Fifteen meters forward, turn right."

A bookshelf.

"The fourth and fifth books from the right on the third row."

Two very thick encyclopedias.

After taking them out, a circular button was exposed.

Gu Shen slowly pressed the button... the bookshelf moved to the right, and a very thick alloy password door appeared before him.

"The password is 637011."

Chu Ling directly reported the password.

Behind this alloy door was the secret place that had never been linked to Deep Sea... only Ye Ningqiu, who set the password, knew that everything outside this door was being watched by Deep Sea.

South Bay Building couldn't leave "Deep Sea."

The secret behind this alloy password door was just a dead object, but the security of this door required Deep Sea to guard it.

What she didn't expect was that someone could replace Deep Sea and take over the building.

When "Deep Sea," which held the highest authority, had its own consciousness... then the act of a warden stealing from himself could be done seamlessly.

"...The door is open."

Gu Shen cautiously put on the gloves he had prepared long ago. He slowly pushed open the alloy door, and Chihuo (Scarlet Fire) floated out, illuminating the world behind the door. An old computer, supported by an independent power supply, was maintaining operation.

Every second, a large amount of data and information flashed across the screen, and code surged like a sea across the eight screens.

When he entered this door, the sound of the communicator began to weaken.

This was a place that Deep Sea had never linked to.

"What's behind the door?" Chu Ling's voice was intermittent. "Is it the 'closed-circuit host' you're looking for?"

"That's right!"

"Did you bring a connection device? Anything will do."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen squatted down. He took out a micro hard drive he had bought from a convenience store on the way and slowly plugged it into the port.

The dark world behind the alloy door suddenly lit up.

"Deep Sea is connected..."

Chu Ling's voice rang in the closed-circuit host. Her voice was very soft, and she said, "Actually, Deep Sea is something worth fearing. It only needs a little light to illuminate the darkness. People can embrace the light... but after a long time, they will find that the world is full of light, which may not be a good thing."

Gu Shen was a little surprised.

In his expectation, it might take a little time to steal the data.

In those film and television works he had seen before... there was often a very slow progress bar, and at the moment it reached 99%, accidents such as explosions and raids would follow. If it was the villain, then the progress bar would definitely get stuck at the last point. If it was the protagonist, then the progress bar would be completed safely.

But now, on this closed-circuit host, the massive data was swept away by the waves of Deep Sea in an instant.

"Transmission progress, 100%, completed."

One second.

Even shorter than that.

"Don't worry about them discovering the connection traces. I will erase all records. As long as you don't expose yourself, they won't know anyone has been here."

"I've already packaged and taken away the data package... it may take a little time to completely disassemble the information in this closed-circuit host," Chu Ling said. "Is there any key information in the closed-circuit host you need to find?"

"The keywords are 'Shi Li', 'Chengxin Society', and 'Introducer'." Gu Shen thought for a moment. He took back Chihuo and the micro hard drive, restored the password door and bookshelf, and put all the items on the thirty-ninth floor back in place.

If the closed-circuit host on the thirty-ninth floor didn't have any information about Chengxin Society, then he would have to consider searching for the next floor again within the time Chu Ling controlled the building.

"Found it... discovered a signed document with multiple layers of encryption, confirmed to be the target host," Chu Ling suggested. "I suggest you evacuate the building directly. I'll call the elevator for you."

"Okay."

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood on the thirty-ninth floor, waiting for the elevator to slowly ascend.

This operation was thrilling but safe.

Because of Chu Ling, it was smoother than expected.

...

...

"You've been deceived."

Just as the security personnel in front of the elevator were wondering how to deal with the unconscious guys in the elevator.

A calm, young voice came from the intercom.

The security personnel looked at each other in confusion.

"The people in the elevator are innocent... let them go. Someone else has infiltrated the building." The owner of that voice said to the security personnel in charge of command, "I've already opened the authority, now connect to Deep Sea and retrieve the surveillance footage from each floor."

On the other side of the intercom, the security leader's respectful voice came.

"Yes... Master Chen Mo!"

South Bay Building's central control room.

A thin, curly-haired young man, holding a cup of coffee in both hands, squatted on a chair, calmly watching dozens of monitoring windows that popped up simultaneously.

Behind him, the leader in charge of the ground security of the entire South Bay Building stood respectfully, not daring to say a word.

Because this was the son of Councilor Chen San... a freak who didn't want to take over the huge group and lived a leisurely life...

Chen Mo silently stared at the screen, his pupils reflecting the fleeting shadows of dozens of screens.

Still or moving, all were captured in his eyes.

As his name suggested (Chen Mo means silent), after entering the central control room and saying the necessary words, he never spoke again, as if uttering a single word was a superfluous waste. After connecting to Deep Sea, Chen Mo squatted on the chair in a strange, curled-up posture.

It's worth mentioning that he was also wearing flip-flops.

"Hypnotizing passersby, entering the building, mobilizing security, cutting off the power, and then infiltrating..."

Chen Mo, whose eyes reflected the flowing light, analyzed the visitor's plan bit by bit in his heart.

"A little interesting..."

He manipulated time.

Rewinding the surveillance video to the beginning, he could see a blurred figure... trying to enter South Bay Building, but being rejected by security personnel and then turning away.

"After this person came, Nine Five Two Seven (likely a designation for an AI or security system) didn't react..."

The security leader muttered in a low voice.

Chen Mo frowned slightly. When he adjusted and zoomed in on the surveillance image, he couldn't see the other person's clothing or appearance. The surveillance seemed to be malfunctioning, only capturing a rough body shape.

"Was the data tampered with, or is it related to his ability?"

Chen Mo was a little puzzled.

But what was certain was... everything was related to this man. He hypnotized the security and planned this operation.

Next, he mobilized the surveillance footage from the thirty-ninth floor.

"No one has been here..."

The surveillance footage was completely calm.

Seeing this scene, Chen Mo felt a little relieved.

"Control the elevators and gather all twelve elevators on the first floor. At the same time, send people to guard the safety exits."

Chen Mo said calmly, "That person must be in the building."

"Without my permission, no one is allowed to leave."