Chapter 121 Top Alpha: He was once a crippled Omega. 31. He…
Three days later.
Around 9 p.m., a discreet convoy drove out of the military-controlled area of the first-class district of Far Voyage Star and into a garden villa in the second-class district.
With his slightly graying brown hair but still upright posture, Domir sat in a car, handling the tasks that had piled up from the banquet that day, with the help of smart glasses.
"Those idiots in the Reserves Department dare to submit another report? Do they really think the Citizens' Alliance is blind and can't see how much they've embezzled? Coming to Far Voyage Star, dealing with those rebels every day is already annoying enough, but when I turn around, I see they're all useless good-for-nothings dragging us down."
"In my opinion, our good days for the Bright Party are numbered. Before the leadership transition, we'll be devoured by those hyenas!"
Domir, having seen some document, abruptly removed his glasses, his face darkening.
Upon seeing this, the secretary immediately opened the storage box next to the chair and handed over a glass of chilled whiskey that had been kept at just the right temperature.
“This was specially requested to me by Deputy Minister Siri when the banquet ended tonight. He said you should like it,” the secretary said.
Domir glanced at it, then reached out and took it: "Siri is good. If it weren't for his help, I would really be like Peng Youshan, entangled with those rebels and constantly thinking about dealing with them... Those explosions and alerts a few days ago, ha, what a farce."
Domir scoffed.
He and Peng Youshan were both powerful figures within the Guangming Party and had close ties with the president, but they didn't have much of a relationship with each other and even had some disagreements and disliked each other.
This is also why the president selected them to cooperate on the mission to Far Voyage Star.
The fact that they don't get along well means that the probability of them uniting to cause trouble and rebel is small, while the probability of the rebels thinking they have an opportunity to jump out and court disaster is high.
Those in positions of power always think they understand human nature very well.
Domir twitched the corners of his mouth, closed his eyes slightly, and took a sip of wine.
The strong liquor rushed down his throat, making his face slightly flushed, and a look of intoxication appeared on his face, which then softened.
Domir loves wine.
A good glass of wine can often calm him down and restore his pleasant mood.
The secretary was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Domir suddenly asked, "Is there still no news from 'Black Deer'?"
“No, Director,” the secretary replied.
Domir frowned, his expression, which had just softened, once again revealing displeasure.
The agent codenamed "Black Deer" was the key figure in this laboratory relocation mission, and could be considered the commander-in-chief—but Dormir didn't want to call him that. What right did a mere agent have to command him? Dormir was willing to cooperate, but not to be ordered around.
According to the original plan, he and Peng Youshan were to act as the public figures to attract the attention of the rebels, deal with them, and make it seem as if they had come to Yuanhang Star to do something big in private, so as to create a suitable opportunity for "Black Deer".
When the time is right, "Black Deer" will contact them, verify the code, obtain the key from them, unlock the map to the laboratory, and then secretly go alone to complete the transfer mission.
Neither Domir nor Peng Youshan knew the identity of "Black Deer," nor the location of the map and the laboratory; this was for the sake of independence and secrecy.
All they knew were two things: first, they had to maneuver openly and put on a good show; second, they had to protect the vital biological information and wait for the "Black Deer" to acquire it.
Unlocking the biological map has a time limit; the biological information collected must be outside the body for no more than 48 hours. This means that once the "Black Deer" determines the timing and officially begins the mission, it must complete the task within 48 hours.
This sounds like it's quite difficult.
The strategy of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass" is extremely dangerous, even with the "open" aspect providing support.
Domir guessed that the intelligence agency must have sent their most experienced and top-notch agents for this purpose.
After arriving on Far Voyage Star, based on this suspicion, he observed many people and thought they were the "Black Deer," but later, after secretly investigating, he denied it.
He was filled with curiosity about this "black deer," but after more than three months of delay, that curiosity turned into suspicion and anger.
What kind of timing requires waiting so long?
In Domir's view, there have been many opportunities to make a move in the past three or four months, but "Black Deer" has not shown up.
With less than four months until the election, there's still no news about "Black Deer." Are they going to wait until the eve of the election to make their move? By then, the Citizens' Alliance and the Old Silver Wing will have already used the leaked intelligence to sneak into the lab and wipe them out!
Unable to contain himself, Domir used his secret network, which could only be used three times, a few days ago to contact "Black Deer".
The term "Black Deer" still applies; the timing isn't right.
Domir really wanted to curse and question "Black Deer" about whether he had already joined the rebels.
"Black Deer" seemed to sense his anger and reassured him that although the time was not yet right, it would be soon and he would contact him in the coming days.
Domir was skeptical, but began to wait again.
His personal secretary was his confidant for many years, and he needed to assist him with many confidential matters. Therefore, Domir did not hide the existence of his secretary, "Black Deer." However, the secretary did not know the specific tasks, only that he was to help his boss keep an eye on the information in a certain encrypted communicator, which was what his boss had been waiting for.
“This 'Black Deer'…”
Domir's fingers cracked as he gripped the wine glass, his knuckles turning pale.
The secretary's heart tightened slightly, and just as she was about to speak, a bright light suddenly appeared on the road ahead, accompanied by a violent explosion.
The secretary's expression immediately changed drastically. He slapped the emergency safety barrier inside the car and stepped forward to protect Domir: "Director, be careful!"
Almost simultaneously, several braking sounds rang out.
"Who goes there!"
The guards quickly got out of their vehicles, fully armed, with one group protecting Domir's modified car while the other surrounded the strange truck that had suddenly rushed out from the street corner and forced the convoy to stop.
Having lived to this day in his position, Domir has encountered countless dangers, but this is Far Voyage Star, not Central Star, not his own territory. He felt a chill in his heart, but no matter what, he remained composed on the surface.
The sudden stop spilled the whiskey in his hand. Domir gave his quick-thinking secretary an approving look, then slowly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the spilled whiskey from his cuffs and knees.
"After following me for so many years, don't you know you should be more mature?"
Domir pushed aside his secretary's shield, but didn't dare to show too much of his face. He only looked out through the raised protective barrier, then raised his hand to open the external communication: "What's going on?"
From his angle, he could only see the backs of a group of guards wearing AI armor.
"Chief, there's an unmanned truck blocking the road ahead. There are no explosion warnings yet, so we can't determine if it's an attack. We need to investigate further..."
The voice of the guard captain came through.
Driverless trucks?
Domir frowned, but before he could say anything, his secretary had already activated the smart monitoring system.
The scene in front of the convoy was projected.
It was a small truck that could be seen anywhere on the side of the road in the Far Voyage Star, but its exterior seemed to have been modified. A huge screen stood on the cargo box, flashing a strong white light, like a small sun, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.
"What is that..."
Domir couldn't figure out the truck's purpose.
The secretary said, "Director, although this vehicle is theoretically protected against an explosion equivalent to 100 tons of TNT, this is a distant planet, so we must be careful. Let's immediately activate the backup route and go around it, or go to another accommodation. We can leave the rest to the nearby guards."
These words struck a chord with Domir, who also didn't want to take any risks, and immediately said, "Let's go to Bailey Garden."
"receive!"
A response came through the communication channel.
The escort team immediately shrank back, with all but a few remaining to guard the area changing direction with the convoy.
However, at that moment, the truck that everyone was so wary of and that had appeared so strangely suddenly had its screen flash, the bright light faded, and a row of even brighter holographic characters appeared.
"He's lying to you, the lab map is lost..." the secretary read out the words unconsciously.
Domir's gaze faltered, a moment of blankness crossing his face, before he seemed to realize something and his back immediately straightened. "Activate the shield, turn off its smart display! Investigate, investigate the origins of this car!"
"But Director, using interference devices before even conducting an investigation might be..." the guard captain said cautiously.
"That's an order!"
The captain of the guard was interrupted, his expression hardened, and he offered no further objections.
The equipment was turned on, and the screen on the truck flickered a few times before quickly going out. Apart from a few headlights, the surroundings were instantly plunged into darkness. The truck stood there silently, without any unusual reaction, as if it had simply come to make a brief appearance.
Domir stared at the truck, his face grim.
"Let's go to Baili Garden!" he said in a deep voice after a few seconds of silence.
The convoy started up and arrived at another safe place about an hour later.
The journey went smoothly, but the gloom in Domir's heart did not dissipate much because of it.
After entering his residence, he immediately downed two glasses of wine and then said to his secretary, "Tonight, get rid of everyone in the guard team, including the driver."
The secretary felt a chill run down her spine, finally confirming her suspicions: the arrangement of the characters was indeed incorrect.
But this was the boss's secret, so the secretary didn't say anything more, just responded with a normal expression and left.
Domir was left alone in the huge room.
He loosened his tie, paced irritably around the sofa twice, then closed his eyes tightly, raised his finger, and activated another encrypted communicator disguised as a ring.
He was naturally more wary than trusting of a tip that came from an unknown source and was clearly problematic. But the tip was so accurate that it hit his biggest worry.
Who could have sent this?
This person is clearly aware of their mission and their intentions are not clearly defined as good or bad...
I was on the road just now when the investigation results regarding the truck came out. Its origin is unknown; it suddenly drove out of the garbage dump, and no one in the vicinity had contact with it. The surveillance cameras from the previous two days were also broken.
As for satellite monitoring, the magnetic field in that area is abnormal, and the satellite images are too blurry to be repaired.
Apart from the screen, there were no other problems with the truck. There were no bombs or poison gas; it seemed to be just a warning rather than an attack.
If it were a rebel group, they wouldn't give such a warning at all. Instead, after receiving the information, they would directly search for maps or even go to StarNet to stir up a new public opinion trend.
Moreover, given the opportunity to bypass so many smart machine defenses and rush out like a truck, why didn't they just blow it up? Why did they have to do something like that?
As for Peng Youshan, who was also involved in this mission, it seems unlikely that he would be included either...
Who exactly is this person?
Several faces flashed through Domir's mind, but none of that mattered right now. A mission leak was dangerous, but the only thing on his mind was whether the hint itself was true or false.
If it's true...
The irritation on Domir's face faded, and his expression became gloomy and solemn.
He had two chances left to make secret contact.
Staring at the ring on his middle finger, Domir twitched his fingertip and tapped the air three times.
With a soft beep, the miniature earpiece embedded in the ear emitted a notification tone for an encrypted call.
Unseen by him, on the inside of his clothes, a mechanical spider, imperceptible even to his intelligent protective gear, lurked silently, eavesdropping and spying on everything around it.
The truck was both a hint and a diversionary tactic.
The real key is this tiny intelligent machine that took advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was drawn to quietly sneak under the car, and then followed Domir into Bailey Garden.
This is Qi Pingye's proudest work since arriving on Yuanhang Star.
Is he trying to contact Qi Mingzhao?
Inside a small hotel in the second-class section, Chen Wu asked in a low voice.
Qi Pingye remotely controlled the intelligent machine, quickly cracking the communicator's encryption so he could directly eavesdrop on the communication channel. "It should be..."
Before he could finish speaking, the call was connected.
"Black Deer!"
Domir opened his mouth.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then an unfamiliar voice came through: "Director Domir, I remember saying last time that you should not contact me unless absolutely necessary, so as not to expose yourself."
This is not Qi Mingzhao's voice.
Qi Pingye was taken aback and exchanged a glance with Shen Wu.
"Your voice has changed?" Shen Wu asked softly.
“The AI analysis isn’t…” Qi Pingye frowned. “No, it’s the voice changer. It must be something he figured out himself, something that can fool the AI…”
Qi Pingye swiped rapidly.
The smart glasses popped up countless blue boxes, and voiceprint analysis unlocked layer upon layer, deciphering the disguise of the voice in reverse.
Finally, the original voice of the "Black Deer" was restored in the next sentence.
It was indeed Qi Mingzhao.
Qi Pingye and Shen Wu exchanged a glance, both letting out a sigh of relief. They almost thought they had guessed wrong and that their plan had backfired.
only.
"I never thought Qi Mingzhao would actually become a spy for the intelligence agency and be carrying out such an important mission..."
Qi Pingye stroked his chin. "Could it be that he's actually been pretending all along? Is there some extraordinary talent in him that we can't see?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com