Lu Zhaoming's heart felt as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand, and the pounding on the door was like a death knell, striking his nerves again and again.

"Open the door! Room check!"

The voice was so rough it sounded like it had been sanded, every word carrying an unquestionable command, like an apocalyptic version of "SF Express, your justice has arrived, please sign for it!" Lu Zhaoming's lips twitched, thinking to himself, "These days, are ward rounds this hardcore?"

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. Su Li's words, "Are you hiding something from me?" were still echoing in his ears.

This woman has a nose that's even more sensitive than a dog's!

Lu Zhaoming's eyes flickered as he quickly considered a solution.

Confess now?

No, the information inside the chip is too sensitive. If it were leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But should we continue to conceal it?

I'm afraid I'll completely lose Su Li's trust.

"Wait a moment!" he called out to the door, then turned to Su Li and said in a low voice, "This matter is complicated. Give me some time, and I will explain it clearly."

Su Li's face was pale, and there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes, but she still nodded and stepped aside.

Lu Zhaoming opened the door, and several uniformed soldiers barged in. They roughly pushed Su Li aside and searched the room as if some heinous criminal was hiding there.

"Routine inspection, cooperate!" The lead soldier's tone was unfriendly, his eyes scanning every corner of the room like radar.

Lu Zhaoming cursed inwardly, this must be Qin Wan'er's doing!

She's trying to trap herself like a fish in a jar!

The soldiers searched the area but found nothing unusual. However, as they were leaving, the lead soldier gave Lu Zhaoming a meaningful look and sneered, "Things haven't been peaceful lately, Mr. Lu, you'd better be careful."

After saying that, they swaggered away.

Lu Zhaoming closed the door and turned to look at Su Li, only to find her gaze fixed on him, as if trying to see through his soul.

"Can I speak now?" Su Li's voice was soft, but it carried a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

Lu Zhaoming sighed, walked to the table, picked up the kettle, poured himself a glass of water, and then drank it all in one gulp.

“There are some things I need more time to understand,” he said slowly, a hint of apology in his eyes. “But I can assure you that everything I’ve done is for our better survival.”

Su Li fell silent. She didn't press the matter further, but simply turned and left the room.

Lu Zhaoming watched her departing figure, his heart filled with guilt.

He knew that a rift had formed between him and Su Li, and that this rift would grow wider and wider over time.

The next morning, a piercing noise suddenly came over the base's loudspeaker, followed by a slightly hoarse voice:

"Urgent Notice! Urgent Notice! Yesterday, someone reported that intelligence broker Lu Zhaoming was in private contact with the infamous Old Wolf gang, suspected of collusion! We are now playing video evidence. Survivors, please make your own judgment!"

Immediately afterwards, a blurry video was played on the radio.

In the video, a figure resembling Lu Zhaoming is talking to several people dressed in rags. Although the image has been edited, the iconic tattoos of the Old Wolf gang are still recognizable.

"Holy crap! This is going to cause trouble!" Lu Zhaoming was furious when he heard the broadcast.

The image is clearly fake, but in this information-isolated apocalypse, rumors often have more power than the truth.

As expected, the entire base was in an uproar after the broadcast.

The survivors were abuzz with discussion, and many began to question Lu Zhaoming.

"I knew it! This kid's background is suspicious, there's definitely something wrong with him!"

"Old Wolf is a ruthless killer, how could he collude with Old Wolf?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's an undercover agent sent by Old Wolf!"

In Qin Wan'er's office, she was watching the surveillance footage with a smug look on her face, a sinister smile playing on her lips.

"Lu Zhaoming, aren't you so capable? Let's see how you turn things around this time!" she said in a low voice.

She immediately gathered several confidants, fanned the flames, and proposed to re-examine Lu Zhaoming's background. Some even suggested expelling him from the base.

Lu Zhaoming knew that he had to find out the truth about this matter as soon as possible, otherwise he would be in a hopeless situation.

"System, analyze the source of this video!" he silently prayed.

"Analyzing...Analysis complete! The video was taken in an abandoned factory area, and the recording equipment is located in Warehouse No. 3 in Area A."

Lu Zhaoming

The abandoned factory area is located on the edge of the base. It used to be an industrial area, but it has long been reduced to ruins after the devastation of the nuclear war.

The ruins were dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and a stench of decay permeated the air.

With the help of the system's resource analysis function, Lu Zhaoming quickly located Warehouse No. 3 in Area A.

The warehouse doors were wide open, and the inside was empty except for some discarded machine parts scattered on the floor.

He cautiously entered the warehouse and carefully searched every corner.

Suddenly, he discovered a hidden corner where some forgery tools were piled up, such as a voice changer, image processing software, and some crudely made masks.

"It really is a fake!" Lu Zhaoming sneered inwardly. It seems that Qin Wan'er really went to great lengths to ruin his reputation!

Just then, he noticed an unfinished "public opinion manipulation plan" on the table.

The plan detailed how to manipulate public opinion to smear Lu Zhaoming, and how to incite the survivors' emotions to ultimately drive him out of the base.

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