Xingtie: My silly online friend is actually a raccoon!

The elevator descended slowly, the metal cables humming softly in the shaft.

Lu Ze leaned against the wall of the elevator car, watching the floor indicator lights jump down one floor at a time, starting from his current floor A20: A20, A19, A18...

B1, B2, B3—with a ding, the stairwell doors slid open to both sides, and a completely different atmosphere from upstairs rushed in.

It's no longer the smell of disinfectant mixed with cold metal.

There's a faint coffee aroma mixed with the citrus scent of some kind of cleaning agent.

The corridor lights were no longer a stark, cold white, but a warm, pale yellow, which, when shone on the beige walls, gave this underground space a touch of...livability.

Lu Ze was slightly taken aback.

He had spent two whole days in that cold and oppressive environment on the 20th floor, and suddenly entering such a seemingly normal area felt somewhat unreal.

He stepped out of the elevator, the hem of his white coat swaying gently with his steps.

To the left of the corridor is a transparent glass wall, inside which is a staff coffee lounge.

The automatic beverage machine emitted a low standby hum, and several light-colored small round tables and matching plastic chairs were scattered around it.

A middle-aged man in a research staff uniform was slumped over a table in the corner, his face buried in his arms, his shoulders rising and falling slightly with his even breathing, completely unaware that there was another person in the corridor.

Lu Ze's gaze lingered on the dozing clerk for two seconds, making sure the other party showed no signs of waking up anytime soon, before continuing to look around.

To the right of the corridor is a half-open metal door with a sign that reads "Patrol Team Equipment Maintenance Room".

Through the crack in the door, one could vaguely see neatly arranged weapon racks and charging equipment with flashing indicator lights inside.

Lu Ze silently memorized this position.

At the end of the corridor, two autonomous mechanical guards, each about half a person's height, were slowly gliding along a fixed track.

Their design is simple, with red sensors embedded in their square shells, scanning the corridor back and forth at a fixed rhythm.

However, their patrol range seems to only cover the area at the end of the corridor, and does not extend towards the coffee lounge.

Overall, security on level B3 was not lax, but the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed than on the upper floors.

Perhaps the patrol teams here are confident enough in their own capabilities.

Lu Ze withdrew his gaze and quickly calculated in his mind what to do next.

The immediate priority is to understand the layout of this area, locate Angelite, and then find a suitable time to implement the plan.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of a row of trash cans outside the coffee lounge.

Three metal trash cans stood side by side, neatly leaning against the corner of the wall.

The colors are dark gray, light gray, and dark green. The containers are labeled with categories, and the lids are wiped clean, gleaming with a warm luster under the warm light.

Lu Ze's hand almost reflexively reached for his phone in his pocket.

He took out his phone, aimed it at the trash cans, and pressed the shutter. Not content with just one shot, he moved two steps to a different angle, framing all three trash cans and their surroundings in the viewfinder.

He then took a few steps forward and, at the corner of the corridor, spotted an even larger blue industrial waste bin, and raised his phone again.

After a series of camera shutter clicks, he packaged all the photos and sent them to Xing.

After doing all this, Lu Ze stared at the chat interface, and the expression on Xing's face when she saw these photos involuntarily popped into his mind.

First, they look completely bewildered, then their golden eyes widen and widen until they practically want to jump into the screen.

"hey-hey."

Lu Ze couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The silly laughter echoed in the quiet corridor, seeming somewhat out of place.

The clerk, who was dozing in the corner, turned over and mumbled something incoherent in his sleep.

Lu Ze quickly covered his mouth, but his shoulders were still trembling slightly.

He could picture Xing scratching his head in frustration.

If that scornful pioneer could make such an expression, then this journey to another world doesn't seem so bad after all.

But then again, he was standing in a dangerous underground laboratory, yet he was grinning like an idiot at a trash can.

"Looks like you really like trash cans?"

A pleasant female voice came from behind, with a distinctly playful tone.

Lu Ze's smile froze on his face instantly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it felt like ice water being poured over his entire body.

His back suddenly tensed, and a chill ran down his spine to the back of his head.

In this oppressive and eerie laboratory environment, the sudden appearance of a living person's voice behind you creates a more realistic and frightening effect than any horror movie.

Lu Ze reflexively jumped back, his back slamming against the corridor wall with a "bang".

The cool metallic touch traveled through his white coat to his skin, and the slight sting helped calm his wildly beating heart.

He suddenly looked up toward the source of the sound.

Two meters away, a woman dressed in a black and gold Valkyrie battle suit was leaning against the glass door frame of the coffee lounge with her arms crossed.

Her light blonde short hair was neatly tucked behind her ears, with a few wisps of hair falling on either side of her face, highlighting her well-defined jawline.

The combat suit was well-tailored, with metal armor on the shoulders and several modular equipment pouches hanging from the multi-functional weapon belt at the waist.

Her posture was casual, but Lu Ze could clearly sense the explosive power hidden behind that casualness.

Those icy blue eyes were scrutinizing him with great interest, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, a half-smile playing on her lips.

Lu Ze recognized the outfit instantly.

The intelligence sent by Xing described it in detail—black and gold uniform, light blonde short hair, and ice blue eyes. There can be no mistake.

Patrol Captain Angelette Shaniat.

She actually started noticing Lu Ze the moment he appeared on B3 floor.

At first, she was checking the upcoming shift schedule in the equipment maintenance room when she saw a strange face in a white coat looking around furtively in the corridor through the half-open door.

Although the man deliberately kept his steps steady, his eyes kept darting around, and his expression was tense, making him look suspicious no matter how you looked at him.

Angelite frowned immediately.

The Tower of Babylon's experiments were of a special nature and had an extremely high level of security. Researchers would not normally wander around on such floors, much less look around in this manner.

Her first thought was that it was a spy, or an infiltrator trying to steal experimental data.

She quietly pushed open the door to the maintenance room and silently followed the suspicious figure, intending to observe first before deciding whether to make a move.

Then she saw the spy take out his phone and start taking pictures of something in the corner.

She looked in the direction the camera was pointing.

garbage can.

The spy took another picture from a different angle; it was still of the trash can.

I took two steps forward and took another picture; this time it was an even bigger trash can.

He then looked down at his phone screen, suddenly grinned, and let out an uncontrollable, silly laugh.

"hey-hey."

This silly laugh completely stumped Angelite.

Having worked in the patrol team for so many years, she has seen all sorts of suspicious people: some who are so nervous that they move their hands and feet in unison, some who pretend to be calm but end up bumping into door frames, and some who run away on the spot.

But she had never seen a spy bang on a trash can and then stand there grinning like an idiot.

This is definitely not a spy.

No organization's spies would be this unprofessional.

This only proves that this person really likes trash cans.

Although Angelit had already mentally downgraded the other party's identity from a suspicious spy to a researcher with strange behavior.

However, according to regulations, as the patrol leader, she still has a responsibility to ask a few questions when encountering unfamiliar faces in sensitive areas.

So she walked over to the man in the white coat who was still grinning foolishly, stood behind him, and began to speak with great interest.

At this moment, Lu Ze's back was pressed against the cold wall, his heart still pounding in his chest.

The two were only a few steps apart, and it was so quiet that he could clearly hear himself swallowing.

Angelite didn't rush to ask further questions, but simply maintained her casual stance, her icy blue eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity as she quietly awaited his answer.

"I'm asking you," she tilted her head slightly, her tone as relaxed as if she were discussing the weather, "Do you like trash cans?"