Blind Spot
Chapter 111 - 101 retrieves three

Chapter 111: 101 retrieves three

New Century Building, Hongjin Company.

Hiss.

The elevator doors slowly parted.

A slender woman wearing a Black Fox Mask, clad in a black leather outfit, holding a silver briefcase, stepped out of the elevator unhurriedly.

"This is the place, Hongjin Biopharmaceuticals," the woman surveyed the lobby where employees chatted and laughed.

"Excuse me, does anyone know where this person might be?"

She pointed forward with her hand.

Instantly, the projection button on her chest cast a full-body image of Li Chengyi wearing the Wisteria Floral Dress in mid-air.

"Ma’am, is that an exoskeleton or a full-body model? We are a biopharmaceutical company, not a consultation or detective agency. If you’re looking for someone, you should go to those places," a male employee kindly explained.

"Someone has assured me that you have private information and the latest whereabouts of this person," the woman’s voice was soft, "so... if you tell me again that you don’t...."

Schtick!

In an instant, her briefcase deformed and melted, transforming into a Crescent Moon Scythe.

The scythe shot out in a flash, piercing the thick wall behind the male employee.

Only a black slit appeared on the wall, with no debris.

The Crescent Moon Scythe sliced through the wall as if it were tofu, effortlessly penetrating it and returning in a wide arc from the hallway on the other side, hovering in the air to the right of the woman.

The male employee was stunned, standing in place, his coffee cup trembling violently, spilling much of its contents onto the carpet.

"I... I...." His complexion turned pale with shock, his legs weakened, rendering him immobile.

"Why waste words with them? If they won’t talk, just kill everyone," came a voice from behind the elevator.

Another tall, thin man wearing a Black Fox Mask emerged, unlike the woman, he didn’t carry a briefcase, but held two miniature submachine guns in his hands.

Now that they saw the guns in the man’s hands, the people in the hall finally realized what was happening.

Whoosh!!

In an instant, everyone simultaneously opened their drawers and reached inside.

Dozens of guns of various calibers were all aimed at the two individuals wearing Black Fox Masks in no time.

Click.

One of the robust female employees even shouldered a portable laser cannon. The barrel, as big as a human head, already glowed with a faint red light within its dark maw.

"....."

"..."

The two in Black Fox Masks froze.

If it were just common firearms, they could count on their exoskeletons for protection and not fear.

But now, a laser cannon had appeared....

This thing had extreme speed, almost instant hit upon firing, and was highly powerful, raising the danger level substantially.

Is this company really just a biopharmaceutical firm and not a military manufacturer??!

This firepower could easily fight a local battle in some small country!

"What did you say just now? Could you repeat that, I didn’t catch it," the sturdy woman with the anti-cannon asked.

Behind her stood Mr. Bai, with Pencil Eyebrow, arms crossed, a cold gaze fixed on the two.

"Hehehe... interesting..." The female Black Fox Mask chuckled. "Do you think this kind of show can stop us..."

She never got to finish her sentence.

A sharp sense of dread flooded over her as she took her second step forward, sweeping in like a tide.

"Someone has locked onto us...!" the male Black Fox Mask behind her said with a heavy voice.

"It’s a long distance! Not nearby, shall we continue?"

"....." The woman fell silent.

Lifting her head, her eyes beneath the mask flashed with a hint of blue light, as if her vision could penetrate walls, through the roof, looking towards a far-off place.

There, under the night sky, at least ten kilometers away on the top of a silver building.

There, a series of faint red glimmers converged like fish swimming together, forming a straight, sharp red spike full of intricate circuitry patterns.

At the tip of the spike, aimed directly at the two with the Black Fox Masks.

"Ladies and gentlemen, although I cannot stop you from acting," Ding Ning’s voice came from a speaker somewhere in the corporate lobby. "I can, however, deal with you after you’ve made your move."

The two in Black Fox Masks remained silent.

*

*

*

Scream Street.

Li Chengyi squinted at the old man before him, uncertain of the latter’s identity.

Looking for his secondary account?

His secondary account’s strength had been revealed quite a bit previously. Anyone who could trace the line to Hongjin Company, should not have missed the information from his previous actions.

And to boldly seek him out, knowing the strength of his secondary account.

That implies the person is exceedingly confident in themselves.

"Don’t rush, take your time thinking," the old man said with a gentle smile. "There has been some misunderstanding with that kid, but misunderstandings can be cleared up with good communication."

"Mr. Bai," Li Chengyi chose his words, speaking gravely, "the person you’re looking for, do you have a photo or a name or something?"

"I don’t have that," the old man shook his head. "But he likes to wear purple Exoskeleton Armor, and occasionally a golden Armor with protruding swords. We don’t know his name, but for brevity, people have given him a nickname, calling him Thug."

"Thug? Why would he get that nickname?" Li Chengyi inquired.

"Because every time he shows up, he’s bound to kill, to push a wave of bloodshed," the old man sighed. "Perhaps the stress of Blind Spots has his nerves tightly wound, always on the verge of collapsing, so he acts out with such brutality. But living a life should not be so controlled by instinct."

Li Chengyi felt a chill, and upon the unreserved mention of Blind Spots, he faintly guessed the old man’s background.

"Why have you concluded that instinct is controlling him? As far as I know him, he’s been very clear-headed, always," he responded in a low voice.

The old man glanced at him and smiled.

"We have been studying blind spots for over a hundred years."

Just then, his fruit juice arrived.

Pineapple, watermelon, and white pear juice.

The pale yellow pineapple settled at the bottom of the glass, with the pale white pear juice in the middle and a few slices of pale green mint suspended within, topped with milkshake, watermelon, and a garnishing black cherry.

"Look," he pointed to the bottom of the juice glass.

Li Chengyi’s gaze followed the tip of his finger, landing on the pineapple chunks at the bottom.

"What?" he asked.

The old man smiled.

"This is my favorite juice."

He wiped the condensation from the outside of the glass with his finger, revealing more of the pineapple inside.

"I am a person who dislikes sour tastes the most. But I also like the fragrance of pineapple, what should I do?"

He paused, withdrawing his hand with a smile.

"So, I ask the waitstaff to put it at the very bottom."

"?" Li Chengyi did not understand the meaning of his words at that moment, but it was clear that there was more to come.

"But even when it’s at the very bottom, I still know that when I finish this juice, it will inevitably be sour.

So, every time I drink juice, I feel worried, afraid, even..."

"Fear." The old man’s smile slowly faded from his face.

"Do you understand that feeling?"

"No matter how sweet it starts, in the end, I’ll have to face the sourness I detest. As I drink more, the more I think about approaching the sourness. But to give it up, I can’t bear to lose the fragrance."

"Human instinct is like this too," the old man spoke calmly.

"Blind spots are just like that... they make people afraid. No matter how much sweetness we get from it, we actually understand that in the end, it’s sour."

"Your friend is being driven by fear, recklessly sprinting down a predetermined path. Many people have traveled this path, and it always leads to an unhappy end."

Li Chengyi fell silent for a moment.

"You know a lot about blind spots?"

"Yes, very much so," the old man nodded with a smile returning to his face. "That’s why both you and your friend are good kids. You each have your own talents, your own abilities, and they should not be buried like that."

"He must have killed many of your people, right? Don’t you hate him?" Li Chengyi asked again.

"This is the way of the world; natural law and order circulate, death is a return to the cosmos. All things are composed of particles, and death is just a restructuring, a new journey, nothing more," the old man said with a smile.

"But he was living well on his own, why get mixed up with you? Has anyone from your organization successfully escaped from the blind spot?" Li Chengyi asked.

"I don’t know," the old man shook his head, "But if there’s anyone in this world who’s most likely to escape the blind spot, it must be someone from our organization."

"Don’t worry, you can think about it carefully," he lifted his juice and took a gentle sip.

"Don’t be controlled by fear. That’s the instinct of our not yet fully evolved animal brains. But now, it’s no longer needed. Only by getting rid of fear can we possibly discover the true nature of the blind spot."

Li Chengyi pondered for a moment.

"Don’t talk about all that irrelevant stuff, just tell me what the benefits are of joining you."

"....." The old man’s smile faltered. "Of course, there are benefits... more comprehensive information about blind spots, advanced alloy technology, stronger enhancement techniques, and, of course, a greater ideal!"

"You shouldn’t discuss the future based on benefits; people shouldn’t be so vulgar," he said with a slight frown, trying to persuade him.

"But I am a vulgar man. I don’t understand all that stuff you’re talking about. I only know what I have in my hand, what I can get?" Li Chengyi spread his hands. "By the way, Mr., what’s your surname?"

"...No need for formality, it’s Bai... I’ve already said it. Bai Chong, you can call me that," the old man replied.

"Mr. Bai, you should also think about the disadvantages of joining your group. Like being wanted everywhere, having nowhere to hide, having to keep on running and dodging, living in constant fear every day, and being careful not to accidentally say something you shouldn’t. Doesn’t such a life tire you out?"

Li Chengyi’s juice arrived too, a loquat apple juice; he picked it up and took a sip to moisten his mouth.

"So, you should think about using more tangible things to convince my friend."

"A hundred million," Bai Chong held up a finger. "Is that enough?"

"...." Damn practical!

Li Chengyi’s hand shook, nearly toppling the juice.

"Laundered money? Under what pretense will it be distributed?" he quickly recovered and asked.

Bai Chong narrowed his eyes, no longer speaking.

He leaned on his cane, stood up, and seemed ready to leave.

Pushing the chair away, he lifted the juice again, draining it down to the line of the pineapple.

"There will come a day when you’ll contact us on your own," he steadied his hat and placed down a piece of paper.

"When you want to get in touch, you can dial this number."

The paper had a row of numbers written clearly in black ink.

Li Chengyi squinted at it and then looked up, only to be startled to find that Bai Chong had disappeared.

A full-grown man, vanished in the second it took to look at a piece of paper.

’Optical invisibility?’ He quickly activated AR engineering mode, which could detect infrared radiation.

But still, he found nothing.

’Even the heat is shielded?’

Sitting back down.

He reached for the piece of paper, noted the number.

Dudu...

Suddenly his phone rang, and when he took it out, it was a call from Pencil Eyebrow.

He pressed answer right away.

"What’s up?"

"People from Utopia came to the company, nearly launching an attack. Thankfully we were prepared; Mr. Ding Ning is remotely monitoring the situation and repelled the enemy. How about you? We just detected that your signal was blocked again," Pencil Eyebrow said with slight worry.