The night before the promotion

Chapter 116 Raid
9 month 7 day.

Zhou Si was sitting in the shaking carriage. Opposite him was the fully armed Xiang Ji, next to him was Song Qiliang, and in the driver's seat in front was Li Weiyu. It was still the familiar team of four, no more, no less.

"After two days, we have basically determined the location of Zuo Zhi's real body."

Xiang Ji reported the situation to Zhou Si, "But as Director Dong is worried, if your speculation is wrong, it will cause a lot of trouble."

"So this operation was unauthorized, at least on paper."

Xiang Ji looked up at Zhou Si and continued, "Next, you will be the only one to conduct the raid, investigate Zuo Zhi's residence, and find his real body."

"Whatever happened along the way, it has nothing to do with the Inspectorate, do you understand?"

Zhou Si nodded and said wearily, "I understand. It's just a tedious conflict of interest."

Dong Yuan made concessions, but they were just concessions.

He would rather believe more real evidence than Zhou Si's guess, so he chose a compromise plan. Zhou Si would conduct the raid alone. If he found conclusive evidence, the Supervisory Bureau would fully assist Zhou Si in his subsequent actions. But if Zhou Si could not find it, the Supervisory Bureau could just announce that the matter had nothing to do with them.

As expected of a director-level role, Dong Yuan always puts himself in a position to maximize his benefits.

Zhou Si was too lazy to admire Dong Yuan's sophistication, he just felt angry about his pros and cons.

Li Weiyu looked at Zhou Si through the rearview mirror with some concern.

At this point, Li Weiyu also had some doubts in his heart. If Zhou Si's speculation was wrong, then Zhou Si would be against Zuo Zhi and even the entire Shenwei Technology.

If Zuo Zhi wanted to, he could throw Zhou Si into prison. However, Zhou Si's body was in such a bad state that he probably couldn't stay in prison. What was waiting for Zhou Si was most likely that his body would be recycled and his self-consciousness would return to the broken body, and he would spend a long time in the quiet darkness...

Just by imagining it, Li Weiyu shuddered at the possibility, and was even more afraid that Zhou Si would really step into such a future.

But Zhou Si always looked indifferent, as if he didn't care about any consequences and just wanted to carry out his will to the end.

Li Weiyun persuaded, "In fact, we can also conduct the search through legitimate means."

"Legal means?"

Zhou Si smiled helplessly, "Team Leader Li, you also know how troublesome it is to use legitimate means. Just applying for a search warrant is enough for Zuo Zhi to play games with us for at least a week."

Thinking of the countdown that was approaching zero, Zhou Si murmured, "We don't have much time left. If we delay, something bad will happen."

Li Weiyun asked again, "But can you really use this avatar body?"

What Zhou Si is using at this moment is the incarnation body in the longevity plan. Its appearance is highly realistic and it has extremely strong combat performance.

"no problem."

Zhou Si touched the back of his neck and felt several cold bumps hidden by his hair.

"I disconnected the network connection and installed a jammer in the slot. In theory, this should be able to interfere with external signals."

During these two days, Zhou Si himself was not idle. He discussed many plans with Ruan Linrui and made certain modifications and upgrades to Zhou Si's incarnation body, such as adding micro devices to the interface slot on the neck.

This is thanks to the assistance of the Supervisory Bureau. They directly dispatched military-grade jammers, and combined with the virtual machines created by the Supervisory Bureau, if Zuo Zhi was really monitoring Zhou Si, he should see that Zhou Si is still in the Supervisory Bureau.

Li Weiyu's eyes were still full of worry, but seeing Zhou Si so determined, he didn't say anything more.

"Don't worry about me. Once I enter, Ms. Ruan will assist me with my follow-up actions."

Zhou Si put on his headphones and after a brief ticking sound, Ruan Linrui's voice rang out from the headphones.

"I'm in position."

In the distant Shenwei Science and Technology Industrial Park, Ruan Linrui hid in her studio, remotely assisting Zhou Si's subsequent actions.

"Don't you think this looks like a nesting doll?"

Zhou Si was joking. In order to prevent his incarnation body from being monitored, he completely sealed it off. But in order to keep in touch with the outside world, he put on headphones and equipped himself with communication equipment, just like a living human being.

Ruan Linrui said in a cold voice, "It's already this time, stop joking."

Zhou Si smiled silently and said nothing more.

Soon, the vehicle arrived at the destination. After Li Weiyu found a good place to stop, he turned around and looked at Zhou Si.

"Doctor Zhou, I can only take you here," Li Weiyun continued, "The relevant information has been stored in your hard drive. You should be able to retrieve it from the system."

"Ah."

Zhou Si nodded slightly and opened the weapon box that Xiang Ji had prepared for him. Inside was a specially modified electromagnetic rifle. The barrel had been lengthened, the acceleration track had been extended, and the gun body had been thickened and widened. Rather than being an electromagnetic rifle, it was more like a handheld electromagnetic cannon.

"In order to ensure the safety of his main body, Zuo Zhi bought this suburban manor and built a fortress underground. He has a special security team responsible for protecting this place. It is said that he also used his power to call in some armed avatars to garrison there."

While Li Weiyu was explaining, Zhou Si continued to arm himself. He picked up a charging cable and connected his arm to the electromagnetic rifle. Then he opened another box, which was filled with fully charged cylindrical batteries.

Xiang Ji took out the cylindrical batteries and helped Zhou Si insert them one by one into the external interfaces on his arm. They were densely packed, like a raised shoulder armor.

"You will conduct the raid alone. If you feel that you are no longer able to defeat the enemy, you will evacuate immediately."

Li Weiyun made the final attempt to persuade them, "We have plenty of opportunities to find out the truth."

"No, Captain Li, there is no chance."

Zhou Si shook his head as he prepared himself, "I have a feeling that my guess is correct, and if we miss tonight, we will have no chance to catch him... catch the Immortal."

This time Zhou Si did not call the other party Zuo Zhi, but directly called him the Immortal. It seemed that in his heart, Zhou Si had equated Zuo Zhi with the Immortal.

Li Weiyun understood Zhou Si's implication, but he still asked in confusion, "There is no evidence, and they are contradictory..."

"So I was just about to go find evidence, Team Leader Li."

Zhou Si smiled. He was ready. He was fully armed, like a soldier in armor.

"We'll see."

After saying that, Zhou Si closed his eyes and thought. Then, a faint light lit up on one side of Zhou Si. It was a flapping bird, standing quietly on Zhou Si's shoulder.

Bt-24 tilted its head slightly and looked at the people in the car. Although Zhou Si had promised Bt-24 to change its paint job, many things happened after that, and even Zhou Si himself could not take care of them.

Therefore, the Bt-24 still has that old paint job, with scratches on the paint surface, and looks messy.

Bt-24 rubbed Zhou Si's cheek affectionately. Zhou Si opened his eyes and nodded to it with a smile, as if Bt-24 was not a cold machine, but a living animal, and had a so-called tacit understanding with Zhou Si.

"Are only the builders of the wall aware of the cracks in the wall?" Song Qiliang, who had been silent all this time, began to talk to himself. He looked at Zhou Si suspiciously and said in disbelief.

"Doctor Zhou, if your speculation is correct... I can't imagine what kind of storm will happen next."

"You got the cause and effect wrong," Zhou Si responded calmly, "Whether my speculation is correct or not, there is a storm waiting for us."

A storm a thousand times more violent than the attack on Stone Fort.

"Before his death, Ge Xindong gave me the original copy of the catalyst virus. Over the past two days, I and the people in the technical department have studied it."

Zhou Si gently stroked Bt-24's body. "This virus seems to be born to break through certain restrictions. It will turn everything in the original order into chaos. In a sense, it fits its name as a catalyst."

All orderly systems will return to chaos, and it only serves as an accelerating catalyst.

"and then?"

Song Qiliang looked at Zhou Si curiously, wondering why he suddenly changed the topic to the catalyst virus.

Zhou Si was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"Nothing, just some groundless speculation."

He casually brushed it off, "I've been having a lot of random thoughts lately, like a patient with paranoid delusions."

Zhou Si was no longer willing to share his worries with others. This would not change anything except making Song Qiliang and others fall into the same anxiety and internal friction.

Like a different kind of pride, Zhou Si would rather endure this pain alone.

only……

Zhou Si had a hunch that the existence of the catalyst virus was not just to conquer the high wall and large system.

He asked himself in his heart.

“A wall is a constraint, but what about a cocoon?”

……

When they were still a few kilometers away from Zuo Zhi’s suburban manor, Li Weiyu stopped the car. If he continued to move forward, he would most likely trigger the security system, so he simply stopped here and dropped Zhou Si off.

“I’m starting to act.”

Zhou Si spoke to Li Weiyu, and at the same time, he was also speaking to Ruan Linrui who was far away in the sky through the headphones.

The agile figure walked quickly through the green jungle outside the manor. Although Zhou Si's body was heavy, he made no sound when moving quickly, like a quietly lurking cheetah.

In addition to the weapons he carried, Zhou Si also put on a loose raincoat. As the electricity was turned on, the raincoat began to become transparent, and Zhou Si's covered body also blended into the surrounding environment.

With the development of science and technology today, optical camouflage is no longer a high-end technology. Many infiltration-type avatar bodies are equipped with it.

Zhou Si moved forward cautiously, and soon his visual system detected many detection devices in the darkness. Zhou Si carefully passed them, and Zuo Zhi's brightly lit manor was right in front of him.

Unlike Chen Wen Ge, Zuo Zhi has a very happy family. As a shrewd businessman, he can run a multinational company as well as a small family.

Zuo Zhi's wife died a few years ago and his children were scattered in different cities. For a long time, Zuo Zhi's luxurious manor was idle.

Rather than enjoying a luxurious life here, Zuo Zhi would rather stay in the Shenwei Building and enjoy the pleasure of dominating power.

Zhou Si walked through the blind spots of many cameras. When he was near the manor, he observed drones hovering in the night sky and security avatars standing in the sentry posts.

Until now, Zhou Si still hasn't seen any living people. There are only corpses of incarnated beings here, as if what he is going to face next is a castle full of ghosts.

"I'm in."

Zhou Si's voice was very low, and the precise control of his incarnation's body allowed him to control the volume sensitively.

However, this roundabout way of communication still made Zhou Si feel a little absurd, but he was helpless.

Ruan Linrui asked, "Do you need me to help you hack into the camera?"

"Not for the time being, so as not to alert the enemy."

Zhou Si rejected Ruan Linrui's kindness.

For those who join the longevity plan, the location of the original body is the most important thing. With Zuo Zhi's cautious and rigorous mentality, instead of hiding himself in this luxurious manor, Zhou Si thinks that he is more likely to lock his original body in the vault.

Moreover, since the beginning of the invasion, Zhou Si found that everything was going too smoothly.

At first, Zhou Si’s idea was not to infiltrate silently like this, but to use a suicide truck to open a path and force his way into the manor, just like Huo Daochuan did when he raided the stone fort.

But with the relevant security information sent by the Supervisory Bureau and Zhou Si's current actions, he found that although the security level here is tight, it is far from airtight.

Zhou Si had reached the edge of the wall, and the magnificent courtyard was right before his eyes, but he did not move forward. Instead, he observed vigilantly, as if this manor was a trap carefully prepared for him, waiting for him to fall into it.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Si no longer hesitated. He was not here anyway. Even if his incarnation body was destroyed, he would just wake up in horror in the container.

Zhou Si crossed the wall and landed lightly in the manor. He followed the overlapping building map in his field of vision and walked directly into the depths of the manor.

There were no security avatars or personnel in the golden room. Even though there were several cameras, Zhou Si simply analyzed their field of view and easily found the blind spots, passing through the gap silently.

"This is going too smoothly," Zhou Si murmured in a low voice, "so smoothly that it makes me feel uneasy."

Passing through the long corridor, Zhou Si came to the basement of the manor. This was supposed to be a wine cellar, but was transformed by Zuo Zhi into an underground fortress to store his body.

The heavy explosion-proof door was at the end of the corridor, and the complex electronic lock acted like a seal, completely blocking it.

"Ms. Ruan, is there anything wrong with Zuo Zhi from Shenwei Technology?"

Zhou Si stood there, waiting for Ruan Linrui's reply.

At the end of the voice, Ruan Linrui looked at the secondary screen of the computer, where a live broadcast was playing.

In the picture, Zuo Zhi is standing on the stage, greeting the audience with a smile.

"Welcome everyone to the press conference of Shenwei Technology."

Ruan Linrui looked at Zuo Zhi, who was in high spirits, and replied to Zhou Si.

“Nothing unusual.”

(End of this chapter)