Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

An Xiaohai had just logged into the forum when he received a series of private message notifications. When he opened the messages, they were all messages from Echo.

Are you there? Our chance encounter in this vast world is a destiny spanning lifetimes. The moment you click on this webpage, please don't forget that on the other side of the internet, I'm silently waiting to meet you…

Why aren't you saying anything? Have you encountered some difficulties? ...

You can tell me, pour out your troubles, and the world will be a lot brighter...

Why are you ignoring me? I really like your name! ...

……

An Xiaohai read through the private messages one by one, and the image of an intellectual, romantic, sunny, and gentle artistic young woman came to mind.

Undeniably, the person who sent the private message was extremely deceptive. If it were An Xiaohai from another timeline, he would definitely have developed a strong liking for her. But at this moment, An Xiaohai's calm heart remained completely undisturbed.

An Xiaohai was almost certain that the other party was online at the moment, and if he replied now, he might be able to start a chat with them immediately.

After some mutual manipulation, An Xiaohai is likely to gain access to the internal forum, and may even obtain registration for Ghostnet.

After much consideration, An Xiaohai gave up, for the same reason: it didn't fit his sensitive and suspicious persona.

An Xiaohai wasn't sure if the other party could monitor all his movements. If it were 10 years from now, this wouldn't be a problem, but in this era, An Xiaohai was a little unsure.

However, regardless of whether the other party could monitor all his actions, An Xiaohai still planned to go all out in the act, since it wouldn't be too much trouble anyway.

So, An Xiaohai clicked "Reply" and typed a line in the text box:

I'm sorry, I don't want to talk. I'm in pain and angry!

After typing this line, An Xiaohai paused for nearly two minutes, then deleted the entire line one by one and quickly closed the webpage.

After turning off the computer, An Xiaohai took off his clothes and lay down on the bed.

Let's get some sleep and talk about it later. As for Echo, let him worry about it himself!

-----

Honggang Technology Building, Xinghe Network Technology Co., Ltd.

It was past closing time, and almost everyone in the company had left, except for a few small cubicles next to the general manager's office where the lights were still on.

In the innermost cubicle sat a pretty girl in her early twenties, dressed fashionably, with a lollipop in her mouth, intently staring at the computer screen.

The computer screen displays a private messaging interface with a line of text in the input box:

I'm sorry, I don't want to talk. I'm in pain and angry!

The girl stared at the words quietly until, in the end, the words disappeared one by one.

"What a nuisance! He still won't say anything, really... What is this guy holding the fish suffering from? What is he angry about?... "

The girl took the lollipop out of her mouth, thought for a while, then put it back in her mouth. She opened another private message chat box, typed a message, clicked send, and then checked the box next to the name of the girl holding a fish.

After clicking "OK", the webpage turned into a table containing a list of usernames and the information they filled in when registering their accounts.

The name "Wind Holding a Fish" appeared in the top three of the table, and the name was displayed in red, but all his information was blank.

"Hmph, just you wait! I'll definitely take care of you within three days!"

After doing all this, the girl closed her laptop, picked up her coat and small bag from the chair, and opened the door to the cubicle.

Hearing the commotion, the door to the next stall opened, and another girl poked her head out: "Zhenzhen, why are you leaving so early today?"

"My uncle is coming to visit me from up here today, and I'm going to have dinner with him."

"Is it that really handsome older man?"

"Yes, he's my only uncle, who else could it be?"

"Why didn't you say so sooner? If you had, I would have taken leave and gone with you!" the girl said, pouting in disappointment.

"You didn't ask me earlier! Besides, my uncle doesn't like little girls!" Zhenzhen said, wrinkling her nose.

"You're so stingy! ...By the way, did you add that guy with the fish, Feng, to your list? I can't see him anymore."

"Yes, this guy is interesting. I'll deal with him."

"Okay, it's yours. This guy's been so quiet, so annoying! ...I'm so pathetic, I have to stay here until midnight. You're so lucky, you can go have a romantic dinner with that handsome older man!"

Zhenzhen didn't answer, but gently pinched the girl's nose and walked towards the company entrance. When she reached the front desk, the company's security guard called her back:

"Ms. Xu, there is an email for you here. Please sign for it!"

The security guard quickly took out a letter and handed it to him with both hands.

Xu Zhenzhen took the email, casually signed her name on the receipt, and then quickly left. The security guard watched her walk into the elevator before taking a deep breath and sitting back down.

-----

Xingfuyuan Residential Area, early the next morning

After finishing breakfast, An Xiaohai sat on the sofa as usual and began to ponder.

"Hey! With so many people helping you deal with those assassins this time, you shouldn't be under so much pressure, right? Why are you still so sullen?" Mai Xiaoyu asked while clearing away the dishes.

"I'm wondering what he's doing."

"Who? Ahn Cheol-ho?"

"Yes, I'm wondering what kind of impact this will have on him? If I were him, what measures would I take..."

"So, what's your thought? What do you think he'll do?"

"I think he'll most likely play along."

"How can we turn the tables on them?"

"In his view, the incident was caused by Captain Zhou arresting Kang Jiaxiang, and Zhan Weiting and Kang Lianhai then sent their Japanese operative, Cao, to rescue him, but Cao suffered a great loss."

Enraged, the two posted a bounty on Captain Zhou and his team on the Ghost Network. Just then, I logged into the Ghost Network with my Medusa account and accepted the bounty.

Furthermore, a few days ago, Tianyou and his group had already made plans to sneak back into the country.

For An Zhehao, he needed to think clearly about these questions:

First, who exactly killed the first batch of Japanese Caos?

Second, when did An Xiaohai find out about this?

Third, when will An Xiaohai return, why does he want to return, and has he already arrived in Shenhai City?

Fourth, among Zhou Zhengguo, Wang Tiejun, and Zhou Meng, who is An Xiaohai most concerned about, to the point that he would take such a big risk to come back? If An Xiaohai didn't come back because of these three, then what is his real purpose in coming back?

Fifth, what exactly is the relationship between An Xiaohai and the Shenhai City government?

Sixth, will An Xiaohai use this incident to deal with him, and how will he use it?

Seventh, how will he find An Xiaohai who has secretly returned, and how will he kill him in this complicated situation?

That's about it.

Of course, these are the most important points. In addition, he has to think about many other details. After he has figured all of these out and arrived at a logically consistent explanation, he will start to design his plan.

What I need to do is put myself in his shoes, help him make a plan, then find the weaknesses in that plan, and devise a plan specifically to counter it, delivering a fatal blow.

……

"Let's talk about something else..."

Mr. Chen, what does your online name mean? "Holding a Fish in the Wind"—who is the fish? Many people call me Little Fish, so you wouldn't happen to have a crush on me, would you?

Give up! I don't like young boys! But I wouldn't completely rule out considering a young boy as rich as you!

"Secretary Xiaoyu, I also have a question I'd like to ask you."

"you say."

"If you earn any extra income during the course of a task, do you need to hand over this extra income after the task is completed?"

"For example?" Mai Xiaoyu became a little wary.

"For example, you played mahjong with Zhan Weiting and Kang Lianhai, and it seems you won a lot of money from them. I heard it was three or four hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Do you have to hand over this money after the mission is over?"

"What money? Where are you talking about Hong Kong dollars?! What nonsense are you spouting?! It was just a game of mahjong, and I even lost 200 dollars! Who's spreading rumors? They're just talking nonsense! I'm going to wash the dishes!"

Mai Xiaoyu wiped the table haphazardly, grabbed a pile of bowls, and ran off, leaving An Xiaohai alone in the living room with a bitter smile.

-----

An island at sea

Xu Tianyou was lying on a beach chair wearing only shorts, while Pan Zhuangzhuang, his face covered in grime, held up a large umbrella to shield him from the sun.

A dark-skinned man with a mouthful of yellow teeth who smiled walked over from the makeshift dock not far away, bowing and scraping with a fawning smile.