Soul Patch

Chapter 234 is definitely leaking!

Soon, another black Audi picked up the old man and the aloof woman.

The car drove very smoothly the whole way. When there were slightly bumpy or uneven sections of the road, the driver carefully slowed down to try to avoid the car shaking.

From the moment he got on the bus, Old Luo closed his eyes to rest. At first glance, it looked like he was asleep, but the occasional tapping of his fingers on his leg indicated that he was not asleep, but rather deep in thought.

The woman sitting next to him kept looking out the window, seemingly not in the same good mood as the old man; her brows were furrowed and her facial features were tense.

Something was tormenting her inside. She glanced at Elder Luo several times, but seeing that he seemed to be in a meditative state, she didn't dare to disturb him.

As if sensing the woman's anxiety, Old Luo slowly opened his eyes, his pupils gradually focusing on the woman beside him. He saw that the woman's pretty face was contorted with worry, and there were wounds with traces of dried blood.

He reached out and pulled out a few tissues, saying in a deep voice, "Wipe your face first!"

The woman was staring intently out the window, her lips pressed tightly together. As soon as she heard Elder Luo finally speak, she eagerly turned her head and asked, "Have the headquarters calculated when the system will restart?"

Yes, it really is because of the system.

Old Luo's expression changed, his gaze fixed on the woman. He stubbornly stuffed a tissue into her hand and repeated, "Wipe it off."

The woman had no choice but to take the tissue, wipe her face haphazardly, and say, "Okay, um... have you figured out when the system will start?"

"Within an hour!" Old Luo said slowly.

"Ah?" The woman exclaimed, her movements freezing. She grabbed Old Luo's arm, the withered, bony arm digging into it. "What should we do?"

Although I tried my best to calm myself down, my voice still trembled a little when I spoke.

"Headquarters is still doing calculations and looking for solutions," the old man said slowly.

"Xiao Yi, don't worry." The driver, who had been listening to their conversation, turned around to comfort them.

The woman called Xiao Yi had slightly trembling eyelashes and reddened eyes. She controlled her emotions and nodded to the driver, "Awei, thank you!"

The car silently slid into the underground parking garage and stopped among a row of black Audis.

We've arrived at headquarters.

The basement is estimated to be over a thousand square meters and is full of cars.

Adjacent to their parking spaces were luxury cars such as extended Lincolns, Mercedes-Benzes, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Maseratis.

This super-luxurious lineup inevitably reminds one of... a wedding planning company.

Wedding company lead vehicles generally fall into one of these few styles.

Old Master Luo walked in front, with Xiao Yi and the driver acting as his right and left arms. The three of them moved through the luxury car like the wind, heading straight for the elevator at the end of the corridor.

He has absolutely no interest in luxury cars.

The three of them quickly ascended in the elevator. After reaching the 12th floor, the elevator paused briefly, then slowly moved up half a step before coming to a stop.

According to the floor display, the elevator appears to be stuck between the 12th and 13th floors.

Luo Zhu pressed the elevator open button, and with a "whoosh," the two elevator doors slowly opened to the sides.

A dark, hidden door appeared before them.

Old Luo stepped out of the elevator and stood in front of the hidden door. Xiao Yi and the driver, Awei, followed him out of the elevator. The elevator doors then closed and clattered as they descended.

The three of them seemed not to notice the hidden door and stepped inside.

When their bodies touched the hidden door, it seemed to melt, rippling outwards like stones thrown into water.

A fine electronic net swept past the three of them; the net was visible but intangible.

Similar to infrared scanning, the physical characteristics of the three people were quickly input into a networked computer for calculation and comparison. Soon, the three people passed the identification of sclera, fingerprints, and other aspects.

After being identified, they seemed to enter a parallel space, where a spacious and open area appeared in front of them.

The area seemed boundless, but if you walked in one direction, you could reach a dark wall within a hundred meters or so, with the moon and stars hanging on it.

In the center of the area, there are three petri dishes filled with liquid. Three people are lying in the liquid in each petri dish.

The three people in the petri dish were wearing specially made silver metallic conduction suits, which were connected to various electronic detection devices, making them look somewhat like patients with tubes inserted in a hospital's intensive care unit.

Upon closer inspection, one can discern two men and one woman lying in the petri dish.

The three people look extremely similar; in biology, this phenomenon is called fraternal multiple births.

The data cables from the detection devices on their bodies were directly connected to a giant computer, which then projected the calculation results onto a light screen in mid-air.

The staff from headquarters brought three pairs of specially made glasses and walked towards them. When they reached Mr. Luo, he stood up straight and bowed his head to show respect: "Good evening, Mr. Luo! This is the latest forecast data."

Old Luo nodded slightly to him, took the glasses he was handed over and put them on. He stared intently at the prediction result that appeared in mid-air and fell into thought.

"Ah Wen, thank you." Xiao Yi took the glasses, thanked him, and then looked at the projected screen.

"You've worked hard, Wen. Any progress here?" Wei patted Wen on the shoulder, took the glasses, and asked.

Awen sighed and said, "The system is about to start a new mission, and judging from the calculation data..."

Awen paused for a moment as he spoke, then tapped the metal device on his left wrist, and a beam of intense infrared light shot out.

Like an infrared pen pointing at a light screen.

He gestured with the infrared pen, pondering, "This time it's a bit strange. I can't see the number of patch carriers participating in the system mission, and I estimate that this man is the one whose life trajectory will be changed in this mission."

Awen tapped something in the air, and the image on the light screen instantly changed:

A tall, young figure appeared on the screen, the man facing a dark, hidden door, searching for a mechanism.

Everyone was startled. Even the usually composed Elder Luo frowned slightly, raised his hand to stroke his chin, and turned to Awen thoughtfully: "He shouldn't be able to pass through the light wave access control!"

Awen nodded, pointed to the young man's figure on the light screen, and said in an incredulous tone:
"You haven't killed him yet? The mission... is about to begin! Are you going to wait until the mission is completed, like Li Shiman's mission, and then go to the real world to kill people?" He looked at Old Luo and then at Xiao Yi with a look of horror.

Like him, the two of them witnessed the tragic scene of Liu Qingqing being punished by the system and committing suicide by drinking poison.

They understood the system's punishments, red lines, and minefields, so when they failed to coerce Liu Qingqing, they resorted to using a Gu poison smuggled from secret channels abroad.

After Liu Qingqing mistakenly ingested the poison, she indeed lost her self-awareness in a short period of time. They used hypnosis to manipulate her into killing Li Shiman.

They erased all evidence and did everything without anyone noticing.

Even if they knew how terrifying the system's punishment was, seeing a living person suddenly bleeding from all seven orifices and with their eyes bulging out of their sockets was a horrific sight that would give them nightmares.

He's still afraid to go to the toilet at night.

So, if the system task is activated, are they going to resist the system's power and go back to the real world to kill people again?
"This young man is called Wenjie?" Compared to the system mission, Elder Luo seemed more interested in the mission objective this time. He pondered, "He actually managed to follow us here."

After saying that, he looked at Wenjie, who was sitting by the hidden door, leaning against the door with his head up, and smiled.

The smile was complex, containing disbelief, appreciation, but mostly resentment and hatred.

He quickly composed himself and said to Awen, "You just said that this mission is a little different, and the number of patch carriers involved is uncertain, right?"

"Yes, Elder Luo, should we still attempt to hack into this system mission?" Awen looked at Xiao Yi and Awei, his gaze finally settling on Elder Luo.

It's obvious that if we're talking about hacking the system, only Xiao Yi and Awei can access it right now, and they can't fight. They're probably not even as good as Lü Jian, who was in the last mission to hack into Li Shiman.

Lu Jian had some martial arts training, and it was estimated that his combat strength would reach 2 in the system's evaluation.

If Lü Jian couldn't kill Wen Jie, then even if they hacked into the system this time, how could Xiao Yi and Awei be a match for Wen Jie?

Old Luo's eyes fell on Xiao Yi and Awei. He was well aware of Awen's concerns. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Of course we have to hack into the system. No matter what, we can kill Wenjie in the system or in the virtual scene. There will be no system punishment."

Of course, his basic skills have been greatly enhanced by the system. I analyze that his overall skills should be between level 3 and 4. We definitely have no chance of winning if we go head-to-head with him, so we can only use strategy..."

Old Luo beckoned to Xiao Yi and Awei with his finger, and the two came closer. Old Luo whispered something in their ears.

The two looked at Elder Luo, then exchanged glances, their faces showing expressions of determination.

Xiao Yi said confidently, "Don't worry, Elder Luo will definitely be able to handle this."

Ah Wei clenched his fist, swung it twice in the air, and echoed:

“Yes, we need to leverage our strengths. We are familiar with the system, the scenario construction of the mission, and even the plot development of the mission. We underestimated him before, thinking he was easy to deal with, which is why we failed time and time again... This time he's doomed!”

Awen looked at Old Luo with a puzzled expression, then at Xiao Yi and Awei, and still somewhat worried, he instructed them:

"After you hack into the system, put on the metal bracelets. If necessary, I can force a shutdown. We can't afford any more losses."

"Be careful!" Old Luo said calmly as he watched them.

"Don't worry, Elder Luo!"

"Yes, I will protect Xiao Yi!"

The two followed Awen behind the light screen, around the central area, and arrived next to the giant computer.

Next to the computer is a row of white enclosed cabins, each large enough for a person to lie down.

After a person lies down, the glass cover automatically covers the cabin. The person inside the cabin will then float up and rotate at high speed. When the centrifugal force reaches a critical point, it will help them escape some of the gravity and reach a semi-weightless state (a is between 5 and 6). At this time, hypnotic drugs will be released in the cabin, causing the person inside to enter a deep sleep.

This state of deep sleep helps protect the person in the sealed capsule from memory confusion and brain damage caused by the intersection of the two timelines when shuttling between the system and the real world.

Soon, Awei and Xiaoyi fell asleep in the sealed cabin. In the system, the two had entered the scene and began to do various preparations.

Awen gave Xiaoyi a deep look. Xiaoyi looked serene, as if she were asleep.

He sighed as he walked toward Old Luo, his spirits gone. He looked unsteady on his feet, his expression bewildered, as if he were filled with deep confusion and helplessness.

"Old Luo, I don't understand. Aren't they just going to their deaths?" Awen said, biting his lip as he walked to Old Luo's side.

It was difficult to say these words. After saying them, my throat tightened and my eyes felt burning.

As Old Luo watched the figures of Xiao Yi and Awei gradually become clearer on the light screen, the two discussed for a while and then walked towards a building...

"Someone always has to make sacrifices. The system has a bug now, and it's uncertain how many patch carriers will be assigned to the tasks. I estimate that a complete system crash is not far off," Old Luo said calmly.

He turned and walked toward the giant computer. His back was straight, and there was a kind of fortitude and perseverance hidden in his bones. However, his back looked lonely, as if he was not Old Luo, but just an old man who had lost his wife and children in his twilight years.

"But we still know very little about the system. This time, we didn't release many patch carriers to participate in the mission, but it's also possible that we didn't predict it. Predictions are unpredictable!"

Perhaps the patch carrier receiving the system task can see information such as the number of patch carriers and the task target?

Old Luo turned around and looked at Awen through the console of the giant computer, saying, "Do you have any other ways to destroy this system? Have you forgotten our original intention? Rather than being tortured to death by the system, we might as well find a way to destroy it."

Awen crouched down in pain, clutching his head with both hands, and said in a muffled voice, "Not all the carriers died. As far as I know, one carrier successfully broke free from the system's control."

"You mean Wen Tianyi!" Old Luo forced a bitter smile: "Wenjie's father, you mean him, right?"

Awen suddenly raised his head and stared blankly at Old Luo, unable to fathom Old Luo's thoughts.

In fact, he had never been able to figure out what the old man was thinking. He thought he understood, but time and time again, the old man in front of him always did things that were completely different from his guesses.

"Haven't you done any research? He paid the ultimate price. If Wenjie hadn't corrected his death, he would still be dead."

We formed this anti-system alliance, trying every possible method to study and analyze the laws of systems, not to live better, but to die.

Luo Zhu spread his hands and stared at Awen with a piercing gaze, making Awen's eyes burn even more.

He lowered his head and dragged his heavy steps to the light screen.

Looking up at the light screen again, watching Xiao Yi and Awei who had invaded the system, I felt my face was wet, and I didn't know what was sliding down my face.

He wiped his face and thought to himself: It's leaking, it must be the ceiling of the black curtain that's leaking!
(End of this chapter)