Chapter 43 Game
The icy bubbles of champagne seemed to still linger on Ling's fingertips, but the afterglow of that "friends' gathering" at VM Manor lingered like a freezing rain, completely extinguishing the last vestiges of her "normal" fantasies. The invisible barriers, the deep awe, and the suffocatingly large "Galaxy"... everything weighed heavily upon the air of Apartment 1601. Even Zhao Chen's silent care—the perfect coffee, his preferred dinner, the tucked-in blanket at midnight—became part of this sense of alienation. The more gentle he was, the clearer the vast, unfamiliar, and unfathomable shadow beneath the veil of "Zhao Chen" became.
Fear, suspicion, anger, and resentment churned in her chest, night after night, leaving her unable to eat. She needed an answer. One that would rip away all pretense. The "right time" seemed far away, and she couldn't wait any longer.
Opportunity quietly opened up a crack on a cold Monday morning.
Zhao Chen had an early, international meeting at 6:30. When Yu Ling's alarm clock jolted her awake, he was fully dressed, standing before the large floor-to-ceiling mirror in the living room. His dark gray, couture suit outlined sharp lines, his platinum watch gleamed in the morning light, his hair meticulously combed. The gentle man in the apron had vanished, replaced by a stern, elite figure.
"Did I wake you up?" He turned around, his sharp expression instantly melting into a gentle smile. "Sleep a little longer?"
"No," Yu Ling said hoarsely. Her eyes swept over his meticulous attire, then fell on the closed study door behind him—the battlefield of the meeting. A thought flashed through her mind like lightning.
She walked closer, stretched out her hand, and with deliberate intimacy, brushed the tie knot under his Adam's apple with her fingertips: "It's crooked." The touch was warm.
Zhao Chen's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, then relaxed, lowering his eyes and letting her play with him: "Thank you, Lingling." There was tenderness in his eyes.
At this moment! Yu Ling's eyes were fixed on the study door—that heavy solid wooden door actually had a gap thinner than a hair!
Her heart pounded against her ribs! She suppressed her pounding heartbeat, pretending to be unconcerned. "So early, a European merger?"
"Well, finishing up." He glanced at his watch and frowned slightly, "I have to go in." He shook her hand and turned to walk towards the study.
As he pushed the door open, his hand seemed to be groping in his inner pocket, and his movements paused slightly. He had simply closed the door.
“Click.”
The subtle sound was like thunder in Yu Ling's ears! The door didn't close! The gap still existed!
She froze in place, her blood curdling. Her ears became her only weapon, catching the sounds leaking through the crack in the door: Zhao Chen's low, calm, authoritative English greeting, followed by a vague response. The meeting had begun.
In the dead silence of the living room, only her drum-like heartbeat could be heard. That gap was the devil's whisper, the keyhole of Pandora's box.
Go? Or not?
This is the only key! The key to his real world!
The urge to risk everything crushed her fear. Yu Ling took a deep breath, tiptoed, and slid silently to the door like a cat. She pressed her eyes to the gap.
The morning light cast a chilly gray-blue hue over the study. Zhao Chen stood with his back to the door, facing the fragmented images on the huge curved screen. Wearing headphones, his profile was stern, his thin lips parted, as he dominated the meeting. But Yu Ling's gaze lingered on him for only a moment before being fixed on an open, sleek, sci-fi silver metal box beside his desk.
The lid opened at a 45-degree angle, revealing several suspended flexible screens emitting a cold blue light. There was no meeting screen, only a cascading stream of green code, so fast it left only afterimages. Between the codes, complex three-dimensional dynamic charts flashed by—like the pulsating blood vessels of a financial model, or the glowing neural networks of a city! Even more frightening was the fact that in one corner of the screen, a real-time satellite surveillance feed was displayed, so clear it could even read license plates!
This isn't a conference device! This is a war command terminal! The nerve center of the intelligence center!
Yu Ling's breath was instantly cut off! A cold fear washed over her! She covered her mouth tightly, her nails digging into her palms! Zhao Chen... who the hell was he?!
My eyes were drawn to it like a magnet, unable to move away. I scanned the inside of the box lid and found a small label in an inconspicuous corner. It read in simple, cold black Song-style font:
"Gu's Nirvana Plan - Execution Phase - Core Key Alpha"
Gu family!
Nirvana Plan!
Core key!
Those three words burned into Yu Ling's mind like a red-hot iron, instantly dragging her back to that cold night at the Hot Spring Villa! Gu Qianqian! Gu Group! Zhao Chen's cold verdict over the phone! Not only was he involved, he was actually carrying out the sentence! And using something so terrifying?!
The huge impact made her eyes go black, her legs went weak! Her body stumbled backwards uncontrollably.
Boom!
My back slammed heavily against the cold corridor wall! The dull sound was like an explosion in the dead silence of the morning!
"Who?!" In the study, Zhao Chen's cold, knife-like question instantly ripped through the air! With the fury of being interrupted and the piercing alertness!
Yu Ling's heart suddenly stopped! Her blood froze! It was over!
The door was slammed open!
Zhao Chen's tall figure was blocking the door, with murderous aura surging around him. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and he instantly locked onto Yu Ling, who was lying on the wall with a pale face!
Their eyes met.
The air freezes.
The violence in Zhao Chen's eyes faded like a tide when he saw that it was her, replaced by astonishment and a hint of... unexpected panic! His eyes quickly swept across the crack in the door, then fell back on her pale face, and instantly understood.
"Lingling?" His voice was tense and a little hoarse. He stepped forward quickly and offered his hand to help. "What are you doing..."
"Don't touch me!" Yu Ling lashed out at his hand as if burned by a branding iron, her body trembling with extreme fear and anger. She pointed at the silver magic box in the study, still gleaming faintly. Her voice was so sharp it split the air, and every word was icy:
"What is that?! Tell me! Zhao Chen! What the hell is that?! And what is Gu's 'Nirvana Plan'?! What the hell are you doing?!"
Tears mixed with great grievance and fear surged out, and questioning was a sharp blade of despair that cut through all disguises.
Zhao Chen's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Looking at her shattered face, the naked fear and accusation in her eyes, shock, anger, worry, helplessness, and finally a bottomless complexity swirled in his eyes. A faint voice inquired from the study: "Mr. Zhao."
He took a deep breath, all his emotions instantly suppressed. His face shifted to one of helplessness and doting, even a hint of amusement. He leaned sideways, shielding the horrifying scene from the doorway with his body, and gently closed the study door with his backhand.
"Lingling," his voice was extremely soft, carrying a soothing magnetism. He reached out to wipe away her tears, but Yu Ling dodged him fiercely. He wasn't annoyed, but sighed helplessly, his tone as relaxed as if he was coaxing a child frightened by a nightmare, "You scared me. It's no big deal."
He casually gestured toward the closed door, a fuss-inducing smile spreading across his face. "That's a 'high-end toy' that a friend of mine, a... uh, a gaming enthusiast, left with. You know, one of those... hardcore strategy battle games, just with more complicated equipment." He shrugged, his expression impeccably natural. "'Gu's Nirvana Project'? Perhaps it's the codename for a large-scale dungeon or faction mission in their game? Those planners just love to come up with these fancy names. 'Core Key Alpha'? Probably the authorization code to unlock a certain ultimate level, right?"
He naturally grasped her trembling shoulders, and with irresistible gentleness, he led her away from the study door. "Those codes and charts? They're all for the game's real-time data calculations and dynamic map rendering. Satellite images? They're incredibly common. These days, top games all have built-in real-world map modules for immersion, using public satellite data interfaces." His tone was as relaxed as if he were explaining breakfast. "I tested the equipment before the meeting, and I think I forgot to turn it off. I didn't expect you to see it and get scared."
Being half-hugged by him as she walked towards the living room, listening to this smooth and logically "perfect" explanation, an absurd chill rushed from the soles of Yu Ling's feet to the top of her head!
Games? Hobby toys? Dungeon quests? Realistic maps?
What did he take her for?! A fool with no intelligence?!
The high-tech feel of that box, the insane speed of the code flow, the astonishing clarity of the satellite imagery, and that cold, glaring "Core Key" label... How could any of it even remotely resemble a "game"?! He could actually use such a nonchalant tone to disguise something so terrifying as a "game guide"?!
The humiliation of being completely fooled and the overwhelming rage instantly swept over her! She suddenly broke free from his embrace and stumbled back, her red eyes fixed on Zhao Chen's face full of "innocence" and "helplessness", her voice hoarse and torn by extreme anger:
"Zhao Chen! Do you think I am—"
Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong!
The sharp, rapid, almost piercing doorbell sound was like a resounding arrow, piercing the taut, almost cracking string in the living room without warning! It instantly froze Yu Ling's erupting questioning!
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