Chapter 38
On the fifth interstellar day, Wen Ling's merchant ship arrived at the neutral star region "Liuli Port". This place was a mixed bag of people, making it an ideal place for secret transactions.
The Noah Company representative showed up at the agreed-upon meeting place on time. To Wen Ling's surprise, she was a young woman with a capable demeanor and sharp eyes.
"Your Highness, please call me Miss Su." She smiled and handed over a document. "This is our preliminary analysis of His Majesty's condition."
Wen Ling flipped through the documents, his heart sinking. The medical report was far more professional than he'd expected, with several key figures coinciding with Dr. Case's analysis.
"Your company's technology is impressive," he said deadpan.
Miss Su's smile deepened. "We've invested decades in this field. But—"
She changed the subject. "To cure this particular neurotoxin, further research is needed. We're hoping to obtain some... historical data for reference."
Wen Ling immediately understood her hint. She was asking for research data on the Star Shuttle Project.
"We can discuss the historical data," he said, closing the document. "But I need to see your company's sincerity first."
Just as the meeting was going on, the communicator on Wen Ling's wrist vibrated slightly - this was Miao Weizhen reminding him that an abnormal signal was detected.
Almost at the same time, the lights in the club suddenly went out. In the moment of darkness, Wen Ling felt a cold object pressing against his lower back.
"Don't move, Your Highness." A strange voice sounded in my ears, "Someone wants to invite you to be their guest."
Wen Ling calmly pressed the emergency button on his communicator. Just as he was about to strike back, the lights came back on, and his captor had collapsed. Miss Su stood nearby, the energy gun still emitting a puff of smoke.
"It seems someone doesn't want our cooperation to proceed smoothly." She put away her gun as if nothing had happened. "I suggest we continue this discussion elsewhere, Your Highness."
Wen Ling noticed that she put away the gun with extraordinary skill, which was definitely not a skill that an ordinary company representative should have.
Meanwhile, Miao Weizhen, far away at the Iron Throne base, received even more disturbing news. Luo Yan detected that at the same time Wen Ling was attacked, reconnaissance signals from unknown forces appeared outside the base.
"They're testing our reaction." Miao Weizhen stared at the blip on the star map. "This attack is a cover."
Lao Lin hurried into the command center. "Weizhen, I analyzed the weapon signals intercepted during the attack. The energy cores of those weapons utilize patented technology developed in the early stages of the Star Shuttle Project."
All clues pointed to Noah, but Miao Weizhen felt something was wrong. It was too obvious, as if someone was deliberately drawing their attention to Noah.
He connected to Wen Ling's encrypted communication: "The situation has changed. Noah Company may just be a pawn."
Wen Ling's voice remained calm on the other end of the line. "I feel the same way. Miss Su just 'accidentally' revealed that things have been quite turbulent within their company lately."
This game is more complicated than they imagined. In the invisible darkness, it seems that there is another hand controlling the chess game.
Wen Ling, arranged by Miss Su, checked into the safest hotel in Liuli Port. Late at night, as he was about to rest, his communicator suddenly received an encrypted message.
The information came from an unknown source, and its contents shocked him. It contained the complete technical archive of the Star Shuttle Project, including several core data that had never been made public.
Attached to the file was a sentence:
【Be careful of those around you.】
Wen Ling immediately forwarded the message to Miao Weizhen. A few minutes later, a quick beep sounded from the communicator.
"Leave there immediately!" Miao Weizhen's voice was filled with rare tension. "The encryption method of that message is exactly the same as the last message the laboratory received on the day Xinglan's accident!"
Wen Ling stood up suddenly, and at this moment, he smelled a faint sweet fragrance - it was nerve gas!
He held his breath and rushed to the window. Just as he was about to break the window and escape, the door was knocked open and Miss Su rushed in with several people.
"Come with me!" She grabbed Wen Ling and put a protective mask on him. "The hotel has been surrounded."
In the escape passage, Wen Ling noticed that Miss Su's men moved in unison and coordinated well, and it was obvious that they had received professional military training.
They successfully broke through and boarded a small speedboat. As they were leaving Liuli Harbor, Miss Su suddenly spoke up: "Your Highness, do you know why Noah Company is so interested in the Star Shuttle Project?"
Without waiting for Wen Ling to answer, she continued, "Because it wasn't just Miao Weizhen and his sister who were in charge of this project back then."
The speedboat's navigation screen suddenly lit up, displaying a yellowed file. It was a photo of the research team. Standing next to Xing Lan was a young man with a gentle smile.
"This is my father, Su Jinyan." Miss Su's voice was filled with mixed emotions. "The third person in charge of the Star Shuttle Project."
Wen Ling looked at the photo in shock. The archives showed that Su Jinyan had mysteriously disappeared after a laboratory accident, with the official records marking him as an "accidental death."
"My father is not dead." Miss Su's voice turned cold. "He was held captive by Noah Company for fifteen years. It wasn't until three months ago that I found an opportunity to rescue him."
She turned to Wen Ling, her eyes sharp. "But when he was rescued, his consciousness was already... not quite complete. Noah Company conducted too many experiments on him."
Wen Ling suddenly understood something: "So Wen Xunyi was poisoned..."
"They're testing the new technology my father developed," Ms. Su continued. "And now, they want the complete Star Shuttle Project data to complete their research."
The speedboat suddenly shook violently, and the alarm blared. Miss Su glanced at the control console, her face suddenly changing. "They're catching up. It's a Federation warship."
At this moment, Miao Weizhen's voice came from the communicator: "Wen Ling, listen carefully: Fifteen years ago, the Star Shuttle Project had three core members. In addition to Xing Lan and Su Jinyan, there was also a chief advisor whose identity is kept secret."
The photo on the navigation screen suddenly enlarged, and in the corner of the photo, a blurry hooded figure was marked with a red circle.
"We always thought Noah was the mastermind," Miao Weizhen said in a cold voice, "but now it seems they may just be a pawn being used."
The real opponent seems to have started planning fifteen years ago.
Wen Ling looked at the federal warships getting closer and closer outside the window, and suddenly realized that what they were involved in was not just a power struggle, but a huge conspiracy spanning fifteen years.
He and Miao Weizhen are getting deeper and deeper into the core of this conspiracy.
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