The night before the promotion

Chapter 65 Investigation Begins

The next morning.

Although he had slept peacefully for a whole night, when Zhou Si woke up, he did not feel relaxed at all. On the contrary, it was as if yesterday's fatigue had caught up with him. Countless pairs of pale hands grabbed his body, dragged him, and tried to push him down.

Zhou Si will not fall, at least not now.

Standing up from the mattress, Zhou Si took two steps and simply moved his body. Except for the dull pain when his muscles were pulled and the wound, his body was no longer seriously injured.

Looking out the window, the morning light has not yet arrived. It is blocked by heavy clouds, making the whole city appear in a gray-blue hue, as if a curtain is shrouding and covering the city.

This reminded Zhou Si of his hometown, which was an industrial city with many steel mills. There was always a layer of light gray smoke above the city, like a layer of gauze, which was both separated and connected to the sky.

The sunlight tried to penetrate the smoke, but could only cast mottled shadows. The smoke was mixed with the smell of iron and fire.

When Zhou Si was a child, he often lay in front of the window like he does now, gazing at the city he was in.

Inside the factory, towering chimneys stand like totems, spewing out thick smoke from time to time. The smoke slowly spreads in the air, blending with the surrounding clouds. Flames shine through the windows of the steel furnaces. The red light is particularly conspicuous in the night, like the eyes of a giant beast, quietly watching the city.

Zhou Si once felt that Anyan City was different from his hometown, but now it seems that nothing has changed. The burning steel furnaces are no longer there, but replaced by buildings that run day and night.

Zhou Si opened the window and heard a drizzle. A freezing cold wind blew in his face, instantly making him more conscious.

"call……"

Zhou Si took a deep breath and exhaled a breath of white air that dissipated with the wind.

Looking further away from the city, in the depths of the distant ocean, a typhoon named Linjiang is striding towards here, just like the celestial official in mythology who controls wind and rain, manipulating the clouds and controlling the rain.

According to the weather forecast, based on the trajectory of the typhoon, it is very likely to land in the city of Yanyan. The extreme weather may last for several months, and heavy rains will continue to fall on the city.

The city of Anyan is about to face an extremely terrible typhoon, but the citizens are not panicking or worried. Few people even care about it. Everyone is immersed in the Internet, howling for a virtual storm.

Chen Wen Ge is dead.

The news of his death was like a huge rock dropped into a calm lake, causing ripples and instantly shocking the whole world. The news spread quickly like wildfire. Whether on the streets or in the online world, every corner was filled with discussions and repercussions about this incident.

On social media, related posts and comments are pouring in like a tide. Major news websites, forums, blogs, and even every platform that can carry information are all competing to report and dig deep. It is like a war without the smoke of gunpowder, and every byte is a soldier in this battle, vying for public attention.

The phone suddenly rang, and Zhou Si took a look at the caller ID and saw it was Ruan Linrui.

"Zhou Si."

Ruan Linrui's voice sounded very tired, as if she had not slept all night.

"The news of Chen Wen Ge's death has been strictly blocked. We are investigating the source of the information leak."

Ruan Linrui was puzzled, "I just don't understand why they suddenly did this..."

"Chen Wen Ge's death was most likely a smokescreen, but with the Golden Dream incident and the involvement of the investigation team, they may have felt that the smokescreen was not big enough, so they added fuel to the fire."

The enemy was in the dark, while Zhou Si and others were in the light. From the very beginning they were in a passive situation.

Zhou Si asked in return, "Isn't Shenwei Technology in chaos?"

Ruan Linrui was silent for a while, then said helplessly, "Well, first the stock price fluctuated drastically, and then the board of directors became uneasy."

"The board of directors has held an emergency meeting overnight. Zuo Zhi is busy dealing with those difficult guys and has no energy to deal with other things. Similarly, various departments within Shenwei Technology have also experienced a certain degree of turmoil. After all, Chen Wen Ge's death is too strange, and we deliberately concealed it for a month."

She smiled bitterly. “There are all kinds of conspiracy theories on the Internet now, and our department has even detected several hacker attacks on us.”

Zhou Si commented, "When the wall falls, everyone pushes it down."

"Not only that, our competitors are also taking action," Ruan Linrui explained. "Competing companies such as Shouheng Life and Fenglong Computing are having the media they invest in report this incident extensively, trying to steer public opinion in a direction that is unfavorable to Shenwei Technology."

"Shenwei Technology's market share is really too large, and they all want to take a piece of it." Ruan Linrui asked with concern, "This shouldn't affect your investigation, right?"

"It won't affect me, but Team Leader Li and the others will probably be under a lot of pressure."

Zhou Si stuck his head out and looked down at the wet street. The cold wind made his cheeks feel numb, as if covered with a thin layer of frost.

"The public opinion field affects not only Shenwei Technology, but also the Supervisory Bureau. Maybe people from higher levels will be sent here as well," Zhou Si thought. "If we can't find more clues as soon as possible, the investigation team will most likely be disbanded and rebuilt. Even if Zuo Zhi is willing to entrust us, it won't work. This case is no longer under his control."

After closing the window, Zhou Si rubbed his stiff face. A new idea came to his mind, "Which of Shenwei Technology's competitors are the ones that will never give up?"

"Shouheng Life."

Ruan Linrui immediately said, "Although the two companies focus on completely different fields, the market for technology application is the same."

"According to the visions of the future of mankind on the Internet, Shenwei Technology is aiming for mechanical ascension, while Shouheng Life is aiming for genetic ascension... In fact, this slightly sci-fi vision is not reasonable. The real contradiction between the two is that the incarnation body has seized the market for biological enhancement.

Compared to compiling complex genetic systems, humans are more willing to trust the reliability of machines, not to mention that the longevity program that is being tested recently, once it is successfully commercialized, will cause an irreparable blow to longevity. "

At this point, Ruan Linrui suddenly realized, "Do you think Chen Wen Ge's death might be related to Shou Heng's life?"

"I'm not sure. I'm just guessing from the perspective of 'the biggest beneficiary after Chen Wen Ge's death'," Zhou Si said softly. "After all, conflicts between companies are not uncommon. Didn't the Northern Wilderness Army fight a proxy war with a competing company in Africa?"

Zhou Si stretched his slightly stiff neck, checked the time, and said, "Tell Mr. Zuo Zhi that we will find clues as soon as possible. As for the pressure from all sides, please ask him to bear it for us."

"Ok."

Zhou Si hung up the phone, went out to the clinic as usual, and plunged into the workshop.

He first put on a bulletproof vest, inserted a polyethylene plate, installed a cylindrical battery on the straps, then hung two hatchets around his waist, and finally put on a white coat, covering all of this fierceness under the pure white robe.

After everything was ready, Zhou Si stood in front of the mirror. His image was reflected clearly without any change.

Very good, his mental state is also very stable. Looking at the time, there is still some time before the agreed time. After thinking again and again, Zhou Si took off the hatchet and replaced it with the electromagnetic pistol sent by Xiang Ji.

After being fully armed, Zhou Si awakened Bt-24.

"Please help me again," Zhou Si said to Bt-24, "As for the new paint job, I'll get it done for you after I'm done with all this."

Bt-24 tilted its head, as if looking at Zhou Si. Its body was still painted like a macaw, but with many scratches and color loss caused by replacement parts.

"1."

Zhou Si frowned. Although Bt-24’s reply was very efficient, sometimes he would really mistakenly think that it was being sarcastic to him.

The previous camouflage mask had been damaged in the battle, so Zhou Si was temporarily unable to use the Bt-24 for dual vision, but he could use his mobile phone to view the Bt-24's perspective and treat it as a drone that would automatically search for targets.

There were bursts of horn sounds outside the clinic. Zhou Si knew that Li Weiyu had arrived. He let Bt-24 stand on his arm and left the clinic with it.

After leaving the clinic and looking at the roadside, Zhou Si was surprised to see an RV parked on the roadside.

Xiang Ji opened the car door and motioned Zhou Si to get in.

After entering the car, Zhou Si found that the interior was completely different. There was a pitch-black metal frame and neatly stacked equipment. Behind a layer of perforated iron plate was Song Qiliang sitting on an iron chair. In his arms was a neural docking helmet. Behind Song Qiliang, a humanoid avatar was half-kneeling.

This is not a motorhome at all, but a disguised armored vehicle.

Zhou Si was slightly surprised, "You applied for the armed avatar?"

Song Qiliang said behind the isolation board, "This is a scout-type armed avatar. But although it is called an armed avatar, it is not equipped with many deadly weapons and equipment. It is only in the category of an armed avatar in terms of defense and power."

"Is this the 'RoboCop' you mentioned?" Zhou Si thought.

"Almost." Song Qiliang stroked his helmet. "The humanoid posture is suitable for camouflage and can enter most scenes. In the next investigation, I will control the avatar to cooperate with you."

Xiang Ji then added, "According to the rules and regulations, I need to stay in the car to ensure Song Qiliang's safety."

When Song Qiliang is immersed in the avatar shell, his real body is in an unguarded state. Once attacked, he will have no power to resist, so someone needs to stay behind to protect him.

"I also thought about staying in the Supervisory Bureau and remotely controlling the actions of the armed avatars," Song Qiliang said, "but considering the complexity of the hidden alleys, remote control will easily lead to intrusion and signal interference."

Li Weiyun drove the car and sighed, "It's rare to see you take it so seriously."

"There's nothing we can do, Team Leader. You heard what those leaders said. If we can't handle this, we have to replace the people in charge."

Song Qiliang was unexpectedly motivated. "This is a big case. Once we find out the truth, we will be able to get a promotion and a raise. Our future will be bright."

Song Qiliang was not joking about this. Chen Wen Ge's death involved too many things. Once the case was solved, they would be able to rise to a high position in the Supervisory Bureau.

"Don't get so excited, this is just a field survey," Li Weiyun said coldly, "Control yourself."

Song Qiliang smiled awkwardly and said no more.

Zhou Si and others' job today is to go to the Hidden Alley to investigate information related to Yunzhong City. Considering the threat posed by the Paradise and the fact that the news of Chen Wen Ge's death has been made public, no one knows what kind of malice is waiting for them in the Hidden Alley.

They also thought about bringing more team members to participate in the operation, but then they thought that even the top executives of Shenwei Technology had been infiltrated like a sieve, and large-scale operations would inevitably attract the attention of the Paradise. This passive situation greatly restricted their actions.

Song Qiliang put on the neural docking helmet, and soon, as he fell asleep, the scout incarnation behind him slowly stood up.

Before setting off, Song Qiliang camouflaged the scout incarnation to a certain extent. Its overall appearance and body shape were not much different from those of an adult. Song Qiliang put camouflage clothes on it, and then put a hat and a mask on it. After wrapping it up with so many layers, at first glance, it looked exactly like an ordinary person.

After driving for a while, the RV arrived at the edge of the hidden alley. The tailgate opened, and the scout put on a raincoat and got out of the car, followed closely by Li Weiyun.

Xiang Ji sat in the driver's seat with an electromagnetic rifle next to him. He looked vigilantly at the hazy drizzle around him. Finally, Zhou Si slowly got out of the car.

Different from his previous image of a doctor who was obsessed with white coats, this time Zhou Si put on a dark raincoat with his hat brim pulled down, almost completely covering his face, with Bt-24 standing on his shoulder.

"Why did you change your style?" Li Weiyun joked.

"I'm not stupid enough to put the group at risk for a little bit of my own stubbornness." Zhou Si's principles were unexpectedly flexible.

Lifting his raincoat slightly to reveal the white coat underneath, he added, "But I made some appropriate trade-offs."

Li Weiyun didn't know what to say to him, so he asked, "Where should I start?"

"Mrs. Cui."

Zhou Si then recalled, "Thinking back to the last time we met it, I felt that it actually revealed this to us on purpose."

Li Weiyun wondered, "Why does it do this?"

"Maybe... maybe the emergence of Cloud City has disrupted the original order of Hidden Alley?" Zhou Si looked at the neon lights under the hazy rain curtain. "The balance of this gray area is already very fragile. No one knows what kind of impact the emergence of Elysium has had on this place in secret."

"As for deeper questions, we can ask him in person."

Zhou Si looked at the scout incarnation behind him and said, "Our safety depends on you, Commissioner Song."

"of course."

Song Qiliang's voice came directly from the headphones worn by the two men. The scout incarnation glanced around. Its high-performance body allowed it to surpass the limits of human senses and perceive those imperceptible things.

The three of them, one in front and one behind, strode into the hidden alley and merged with the dense flow of people.

In the corner of the shadow, Huo Daochuan calmly watched the three people walk into the hidden alley, then he dialed the phone and responded.

"They are here, and their target should be Madam Cui."

(End of this chapter)