Chapter 23: One Twist After Another
Qi An also received a bowl of soup.
When the soup bowl was put down, a large portion of the milky white broth inside had disappeared.
Because she was happy, Lan Jiarou finished her soup and said a few more words of blessing, praising Tan Fu and expressing her gratitude for everyone's hard work throughout the year, listing their achievements and contributions.
After this speech, the head of the cybersecurity department, with a very official tone and a stern face, said a few more words.
Then the banquet officially began, and everyone started eating.
The atmosphere was generally relaxed and cheerful, but some people were hiding something.
Qi An was somewhat dejected and somewhat stunned.
During a lull in the scramble for food, someone asked Qi An, "Dr. Qi, what's wrong? Why aren't you eating? There won't be any left if you don't eat soon."
The person who asked this question was an engineer who rarely had close contact with Tan Fu because he was engrossed in his work.
However, he had paid to experience Qi An's purification and couldn't forget it! That's why he would say something caring to Qi An.
But some people, being the gossips they are, had already noticed the subtle tension between Manager Lan and the others, and thought to themselves, what else could it be but that she's "fallen out of favor" and is unhappy!
However, Qi An said, "I think there are fallen insects nearby."
One sentence left both the questioners and the gossipers speechless.
"Huh?" The engineer doubted his ears.
But Qi An's brows furrowed even more: "There are fallen insects around here, probably... in the direction of the kitchen!"
The voice was loud enough to make everyone at the head table turn around.
Lan Jiarou frowned: "What did you say?"
Song Fanyu stared at her and asked, "What did Dr. Qi say?"
"I said, there are Fallen Insects! My senses are very clear, they're right here underground, in the direction of the kitchen!" Qi An said sternly.
Song Fanyu picked up his walkie-talkie and connected it to the pager channel in the kitchen.
The moment the connection was established and a question was asked, a terrified scream pierced through the walkie-talkie!
The kitchen and the dining hall are in the same space, and the screams also come through the medium of reality.
This left everyone in the entire cafeteria floor utterly astonished!
"Enemy attack! The 4th and 6th underground guard squads seal off the kitchen!"
People in the cafeteria, evacuate in groups to the safe house!
After shouting, Song Fanyu pressed a button on the walkie-talkie, and a piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire underground central level!
This underground fortress is full of cameras and alarms.
The alarm lights, with their dangerous orange-yellow glow, instantly extinguished the bright white lights, and the entire underground central level screamed like a boiling kettle!
......
As soon as the kettle boiled, the sound was immediately transmitted from underground to the surface.
The guards on the ground of "Star Fortress" also received the alarm.
But before they could even process the news that "there are fallen insects underground," the captain of the guards at the main gate was struck in the forehead by a bullet that appeared out of nowhere!
There are enemy attacks outside too!
The outer guards were instantly thrown into chaos, like water suddenly boiled over!
The shouts of orders to find cover, the panicked cries of "Captain! Doctor! Doctor!" and the enemy attack alarms yelled into the walkie-talkies created a chaotic scene, like fireworks exploding.
The fireworks were so dazzling and bright in the night sky! The commotion here instantly woke up the silent streets and half of the base!
The sniper turned and left.
He was extremely far away, almost 3 kilometers away, which was beyond the patrol range of the hidden sentry.
He ran extremely fast, taking a winding route that kept him completely out of sight of any sentries.
In fact, the situation at the front gate was chaotic just now, and he could have taken advantage of the confusion to fire two more shots.
But through his scope, he spotted a troop of soldiers heading towards him at the end of the tree-lined road.
They are clearly elite soldiers, possibly a special forces team!
It goes without saying that these are reinforcements, but they arrived too quickly; it's only 7:15 now!
Actually, he fired too early; their planned attack was scheduled to begin at 7:30.
The first step of the plan is to send the pioneers into the underground of "Star Fortress" to lie in wait for a while.
The second step was for Tan Fu to cooperate with the cook to poison all the supervisors and core employees, thereby weakening the defenses of "Star Fortress".
The third step was to have Tan Fu enter the safe room in the main control room and take control of the entire underground fortress's defense system amidst the chaos.
The poison is potassium cyanide, a highly toxic substance that can cause rapid death, but Starhold has a strict drug detection mechanism, preventing doctors from stockpiling too much.
The poison dissolves in food, which prolongs the onset of the poison. They need to wait until the managers and core employees die from the poison and until the underground fortress is in chaos before taking action.
But before the poison even took effect, their cult's stronghold was discovered.
The sniper received a message a few minutes ago: "This Shore Residence" is surrounded!
......
If "Star Fortress" is a kettle with boiling water, then "This Shore Residence" is probably a pot that has been sitting still for many years and has suddenly been put on a pile of firewood.
For most pedestrians on the ground, it was just an ordinary night.
The curfew is at 9 p.m., but many shops are still open at 7 p.m., which is the time when people get off work, and the streets are quite lively.
But the customers and shop owners all heard a rumbling thunder.
Some people suspected it was going to rain, but the stars in the sky were bright.
The sound didn't come from the sky either; some sharp-eyed people noticed that a large group of heavily armed soldiers had arrived at the end of the street!
It wasn't a muffled thunderclap, but the heavy thud of military boots on the ground!
It wasn't just one team, it was two teams: one team of soldiers and one team of police officers. Both teams had a clear objective and rushed towards "Ci'anju," surrounding the shop completely!
"The police are searching for criminals! This street has been blocked off. All pedestrians and shopkeepers, stay where you are and wait for the police officer to verify your identities!"
To reiterate, no member of the public may leave this street without identity verification. Anyone who violates this rule will be treated as a suspect!
The shouts were like muffled thunder, rolling down the street and leaving everyone dumbfounded.
Good heavens! North Base 1 has always been peaceful and prosperous. When has something like this ever happened?
The public's anxiety is an unknown anxiety, while the feelings of some people in "This Shore Residence" are a known fear!
Why would there be a sudden search and arrest operation? Moreover, the outer circle of the encirclement was only staffed by the Ministry of Public Security, while the inner circle consisted of soldiers from the 2nd Division!
The restaurant staff all looked pale as paper, but Boss Jin remained relatively calm. He greeted the officer and police officer who strode in, asking them in a bewildered and panicked manner what had happened to his shop.
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