Chapter 61 Conspiracy
The bright, radiant corridor felt like a white paradise.
Rolling, rolling.
At the end of the corridor, a small robot, about a meter tall, glided in. It had no neck or waistline, and was round and bulging like a white bucket. Its casters moved smoothly beneath it. It stopped in front of a white wall.
The hidden door on the wall was revealed, and the moment it opened, the conversation inside the room suddenly stopped.
The little machine slid in, tilted its small square head, and greeted the only human. Its electronic voice was sweet.
"Welcome back! The BZ654230 patrol robot is very pleased."
Li Nai stood ramrod straight and stiff, her empty black eyes moving downwards, looking down at it emotionlessly. She didn't speak, her cold and lifeless demeanor mirroring that of the aloof robot colleague of the little robot.
However, in terms of her inner identity, "Li Nai" is indeed like a machine.
Li Nai, the panda cub sitting at the table enjoying his meal, glared resentfully at the system's back.
Eat all your food!
He angrily devoured a large chicken leg.
The white hair around its mouth was shiny.
puff!
He spat out a bone, which landed with a thud on the little robot's bald head. The little square head spun 180 degrees, only then realizing the panda was there.
The electronic eye quickly scanned the panda and stopped at the last large chicken leg on the plate.
The bucket rotated 180 degrees, the casters slid closer to the table, and two Doraemon round hands opened, extending three-clawed long arms.
Ding~
Hold the plate by its sides and carry it away in a flash.
Li Nai opened her mouth, completely bewildered.
After saying, "Panda cubs can't eat too much meat," the little robot held up a plate and presented it to "Li Nai."
A crisp electronic voice said, "Please enjoy. If it's not enough, I'll get you more. Don't be shy."
The system "Li Nai" remained silent and did not take any action.
The little robot thought for a moment and then put down the plate on its head.
"Don't like it? That's okay. I'll get you something else."
As soon as he finished speaking, he spun around 108 times, carrying the last big chicken leg as he left.
"Waaaaah!"
I'm still not full!
Panda Li Nai was so anxious he almost fell off the table.
The door closed. Not even a crack.
Li Nai hugged the round belly and lay down, picking his teeth with his sharp claws.
A little while later.
"Have you figured it out?" she asked. "A plan to win over Ji Fenglan."
The system's lifeless eyes glanced at her lightly. "That's your problem."
"Don't say that. I'm the host now. How can anything be accomplished without a system?" Panda Li Nai stuck out her tongue and acted cute.
"System, do you have any information about her in your database? Like her obsessions or something?"
"No."
Li Nai lowered his head and sobbed, "Your system is too heartless. You can't even bear to scan the database. System, you don't want to see the mission die in vain at the last step, do you?"
The system coldly replied, "It's alright, we can find someone else to continue the mission."
Li Nai opened her mouth wide, her black bean eyes instantly welling up with tears. She turned her head and mentally vented her frustration.
The system sensed something, and with a flick of its cold eye, it pierced through the two warning beams and struck the panda's back.
Li Nai remained silent, as if chilled to the bone.
System: "If you don't want to die, complete the mission quickly."
Li Nai pouted and lay back, complaining bitterly.
"Of course I don't want to die, but Ji Fenglan is too unpredictable. I feel that everything she says and does is a mix of truth and falsehood, making it impossible for you to figure her out."
The system remains silent.
Li Nai raised its furry head to peek for a moment, then sat up with its round body. It scratched at the table with its two paws and moved forward, making a scraping sound as the chair legs rubbed against the ground.
"Hey, hey. System Master, I have some questions I don't understand, please enlighten me."
The system didn't even glance at her this time, treating her like a wooden doll standing in the room.
Li Nai asked directly, "How can we end the apocalypse? I've already completed three missions, so why hasn't the apocalypse changed? Suppose I successfully win over Ji Fenglan, what will happen to the apocalypse? Will the whole world instantly return to normal, or will something be given to help humanity slowly rebuild our homes? Also, these four people I've won over, do they... have some kind of relationship with each other, or are they connected to the apocalypse?"
The panda blinked its bean-like eyes.
If it weren't for the bright light shining directly on its head, with its tiny black eyes surrounded by a black ring, you wouldn't know that a panda can wink unless you look closely.
The wooden figure moved. She turned around, and although her eyes were still empty, Li Nai felt as if there was a dark vortex hidden inside, as if it wanted to suck her in.
A moment of silence.
The system spoke: "According to the database, the apocalypse originated from an undisclosed virus within the Rose Group. This virus was a product they developed while extracting dark matter."
Then, the system stopped talking.
Li Nai complained that the system was unreliable, while background information about the four women flashed through her mind.
Qi Shuihan is an assassin employed by the group; Mi Xi is the daughter of the group's founder, a female PhD; Lin Jingru is the daughter of Lin Zhijun, the actual controller of the group; and Ji Fenglan is one of the managers of the Rose Group.
They all have very close ties to the Rose Group. Moreover, apart from Qi Shuihan, the relationships between the remaining three are even more intricate and complex.
"System, you are so powerful, why don't you just solve the problem of dark matter directly? First, it can end the apocalypse, and second, it can prevent others from continuing to study it. Why go through all the trouble of trying to win over these people?"
The system paused noticeably, followed by several minutes of silence, as if it were making a decision.
"I can't get close to it."
"Why?"
"There are limitations between dimensions. I must inhabit the bodies of natives in order to enter other dimensions and stay there peacefully."
Li Nai nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. Crossing dimensions seems incredibly difficult, but what does that have to do with approaching dark matter?
She was about to ask a question.
Just then, the door opened. The little robot, carrying a tray of food with both hands, slid smoothly into the room, and the aroma of hot food just passed by the panda's nose. Li Nai sniffed, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"
...
The sophisticated, minimalist office was dimly lit, with the only source of light coming from five computer screens.
They were suspended in the air, partially encircling a woman.
Ji Fenglan swiped her finger across the right side of the screen in front of her.
In the center of the screen is a rotating black Rubik's Cube, with an unlock progress bar below it for climbing.
The number jumps to 100%.
The next instant, a series of graphic and textual reports appeared, one after another.
Move the cursor and click on a few of them.
Outside the screen, two reflective lenses illuminated densely packed text.
The text scrolled down and then suddenly stopped.
The lens then turned to the left, reflecting the surveillance footage.
She replayed the video she had already watched several times. She sped up the timeline at the bottom.
"According to the database, the apocalypse originated from an undisclosed virus within the Rose Group. This virus was a product they developed while extracting dark matter."
"I can't get close to it."
"I can't get close to it."
"I can't get close to it."
The video audio seemed to be malfunctioning, playing the same sentence repeatedly until Ji Fenglan stopped it.
Could it be her?
Behind the slightly blue lens arc, his amber eyes gradually glazed over, lost in thought of a late night nine years ago.
She was 21 years old then, brimming with talent, and in the midst of a restless period, yearning to conduct her own independent research. Her advisor, for reasons unknown, only permitted her to work as an assistant on other people's research. To her, this was a form of belittling and humiliation.
The mentor had seriously misjudged her; Ji Fenglan had never been a truly obedient girl or a good student since childhood. Soon, she set her sights on a suitable candidate for the experiment.
Throughout the entire group, only the place where that madman lived was truly desolate and deserted. Apart from the medical staff conducting routine checkups, no one ever visited him. Whether he went hungry for one meal or three, it didn't matter. Even if he died someday, the news wouldn't come until days later.
The dimly lit corridor, with its flickering shadows, created a ghost movie atmosphere on the second floor of the villa.
She injected herself into her experimental subject as usual.
Before even getting close to the room, slanting sunlight streamed through the half-open door, illuminating the wooden floor, and behind the door, a heated argument could be heard.
The voices are similar, but the tones are completely opposite. One is hysterically revealing, the other is calm and ruthless.
Are other people coming?
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Perhaps the test subject had developed another personality because of the drug she had given her.
He tiptoed closer to the door, peeking through the crack to look around the room. There was only the madwoman inside. She was sitting on the floor, her feet bound, but her hands were struggling.
"You can solve dark matter! Why do you want me to go?!" the madwoman shouted.
"I can't get close to it." A calm voice.
The madwoman immediately bit her wrist, and blood flowed instantly. Suddenly, her head froze. Her狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) face seemed to be struggling against something.
A few seconds later, the ferocity relaxed and turned indifferent.
"Tonight's mission is the final one. If you complete it, you will return to your own time."
His indifferent face began to tremble, gradually turning into a ferocious expression.
"No, I don't want her to die."
As soon as he finished speaking, his face returned to its cold indifference.
"Just as I thought. To protect her, you didn't hesitate to take poison to break free from my control, and even gave up the chance to go home."
The madwoman's face was indifferent, but a single tear rolled down her cheek.
After shedding tears, the madwoman ceased her hysteria and became even colder than before. She tore at the strips of sheeting binding her feet with both hands and walked towards the door where she was hiding.
She forced herself to calm down and carefully moved into the shadows.
The crazy woman seemed oblivious to anyone's presence, and stepped out the door—
Snap!
He braced himself against the door frame with both hands.
The crazy woman seemed to be preventing herself from going out.
His empty, black vortex-like eyes looked at his hands from side to side.
My head is frozen in place.
Her pale, beautiful face contorted, gradually turning red, and her body trembled, sometimes leaning back and sometimes bending forward.
After a few tugs and pulls, the madwoman's hand slipped, and she fell sideways into the shadows near the door, kneeling down and hitting her feet.
It's been discovered.
The madwoman was clearly startled. She looked up at her, her nervous red eyes trembling. When she caught sight of the syringe in her hand, a flash of clarity appeared in her eyes, and she suddenly understood something.
She gripped the syringe tightly and took two steps back uneasily.
The madwoman wasn't angry; instead, as if seeing a lifeline, she pointed behind her, mouth agape, veins bulging in her neck, shouting, "Tell Louise to run!—"
The sound stopped abruptly.
The madwoman stood up nimbly, her body radiating a cold, deathly aura.
A chill ran down her spine. Just as she realized she needed to leave, the other person suddenly appeared in front of her face.
A hand dripping with blood patted her shoulder.
Thank you for your help.
His eyes, as black as holes, glanced at her.
Help? She helped with what?
Squeeze the syringe tightly.
A night breeze suddenly rose in the corridor, caressing her face.
I looked around, and there was no one there.
The madwoman—no, she's gone.
She touched her wildly pounding heart. Curiosity surged within her, and a strange heat rose within her. She unbuttoned her shirt collar.
I really want to study it...
When she returned to the laboratory, the fire alarm was blaring, and the group's security personnel were rushing to carry out rescue operations.
She followed and realized that the route led to her supervisor's laboratory.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com