Life Game In Other World
Chapter 471: People Under the Torch (Massive - for Monthly Passes)

Chapter 471: Chapter 471: People Under the Torch (Massive Chapter for Monthly Passes)

Just then, He Ao’s wristband vibrated.

He lifted his wristband.

——

The weather was good today; sunlight sprinkled onto the office desk, bringing with it a touch of warmth.

Meanwhile, Nock bowed his head, his tablet’s screen in front was shadowed and had gone dark.

He was frozen, his lackluster eyes fixed on the black screen of the tablet.

"Hey."

A colleague patted his shoulder.

"What’s up?"

He snapped back to reality with a start, waking from his reverie and turned to look at his colleague.

"The Director is looking for you."

The colleague pointed in the direction of the Director’s office.

"Oh, okay."

Nock stood up somewhat absently and bumped directly into the edge of the desk,

"Nock, what’s with you today? Are you sick?"

The colleague looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"No, I’m fine," Nock shook his head and forced a smile at his colleague, "Just thinking about some things."

He steadied himself and then walked slowly toward the Director’s office.

The door to the office was open, and when Nock arrived at the doorway, he noticed that a well-dressed young man with a slicked-back hairstyle was already sitting inside.

Nock stared blankly at the young man as the door behind him closed slowly.

The Director rarely allowed people from outside the Federal Bureau of Investigation into his office.

"Nock, let me introduce," the Director put on his glasses, smiled, and pointed at the young man in front, "This is a Lawyer from Stars Pharma, he is here to report a case."

Then he pointed to Nock and continued, "This is our most passionate agent in the office. Don’t be fooled by his youth; the biggest smuggling case recently in the office was handled by him, and quite handsomely at that—he’s brave and strategic."

Hearing the Director’s praise, Nock felt a bit awkward.

The so-called ’biggest smuggling case’ was just apprehending a few Wilderness Hunters carrying junky old guns. At the time, Nock charged in guns blazing, and those Wilderness Hunters surrendered on the spot out of fear.

However, Nock didn’t miss the key information in the Director’s words; he looked at the young Lawyer,

"Report a case?"

What kind of case required the Director’s personal attention?

And this person is from Stars Pharma? Such a coincidence? At this time?

"Agent Nock, hello," the Lawyer stood up, smiling as he shook hands with Nock, "I’m here today to report a case to the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the suspected ’theft of corporate secrets.’"

He slowly picked up the briefcase resting against the chair, and from it, he took out a stack of thick files.

Nock watched his movements blankly. In fact, all these documents could have been displayed on a tablet or electronic paper, but printing them out on expensive paper was a display of ’elegance’ exclusive to high society.

"This is the information we’ve collected," the lawyer said with a smile as he placed the documents on the table, "The former security chief of the Research Institute in Limen City under the original group, ’Zadi,’ exploited his position to steal important commercial secrets from the group. And he has been missing since the institute caught fire last night. We suspect he has absconded."

"Zadi’s despicable act has caused tremendous damage to our group, putting a key project in which we had invested heavily at risk of being aborted. Therefore, we have come to report this matter, hoping that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will administer justice for us, capture this unforgivable criminal, and return a clear sky to Limen City."

"To administer justice for you...?"

At this moment, Nock had just picked up a piece of information on the desk and was flipping through it. Hearing this, he looked up incredulously at the lawyer standing in front of him.

The lawyer’s face wore a smile, genteel and composed, his expression tinted with slight indignation and resentment, as if he and the ’Stars Pharma’ behind him were truly innocent victims of bullying.

Nock felt a surge of anger rise to his chest, so intense that he began to feel a slight sense of suffocation.

He reached out, about to grasp the lawyer’s shoulder and angrily interrogate him about the human experiments at the research institute.

"Ahem—"

But just as he was about to erupt, a soft cough sounded in his ear. The director picked up the milk tea pot beside him, took out three cups, his hand passing over the photo frame on the desk, and he filled each cup with milk tea,

"Come on, have a cup of tea. Making this milk tea took quite a bit of effort."

Hearing the director’s words, Nock’s imminent outburst was suppressed once again. He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to the material in his hands.

"Let me take a look at the material first."

His voice carried a certain restrained hoarseness.

Meanwhile, the lawyer naturally picked up the milk tea next to him and, looking towards the director with a light chuckle, said, "I heard that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has information on Zadi. Actually, Director Thorin, you could do this: contact Zadi first, lure him to a location we’ve designed, and then capture him in one fell swoop."

As he said this, the lawyer casually glanced over the small office, "If the Federal Bureau of Investigation is short-staffed, our Stars Pharma can provide some ’support.’ After all, maintaining the Federation’s fairness and justice is also the duty of us ordinary citizens and lawful enterprises."

"Oh? Is that so?"

The director smiled, his eyes narrowing.

While Nock, who was looking through the material, froze in his motion.

The lawyer’s words, implicitly and explicitly, indicated that they knew ’Zadi’ had already contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

But in Limen City, only two people knew about this, one was himself, and the other was... his gaze flicked to the side at the director, whose eyes almost disappeared as he smiled.

However, he quickly realized that if the director had spoken, then the lawyer wouldn’t be so suggestive, and it seemed that the lawyer didn’t know that he was the agent ’Zadi’ had contacted.

The director once said he would report those materials upward.

Nock glanced at the lawyer, who still wore a gentle smile on his face. It seemed that this was the result of the ’report.’

This was no coincidence; Stars Pharma had come prepared.

And the charge of ’stealing commercial secrets’ was easier to prove than ’arson.’

It was clear that Stars Pharma wanted to use the power of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to catch ’Zadi.’

In that moment, Nock suddenly remembered the question the director had asked before: why hadn’t ’Zadi’ gone through public channels to report, and why had he sent it to his personal email.

Because ’Zadi’ did not trust the Federal Bureau of Investigation at all!

Nock suddenly felt despair; the walls he thought he could rely on had collapsed, and turned into giant stones pressing down on him.

He was not a Transcendent, nor did he have extensive experience; without his identity as a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, he was nothing.

Relying on his own strength to investigate the research institute, to investigate Stars Pharma, to seek justice for those who had lost their lives or even died innocently in the institute, was like a fool’s dream. Even those colleagues and leaders who were still speaking kindly to him at the moment could become his enemies in the next second.

At this moment, he felt as if he had suddenly fallen into the darkest Abyss, unable to sense even a shred of light around him.

A chill crept up his spine as the sunlight fell on his arms, and all he felt was a bone-deep cold.

Is this what ’Zadi’ is facing right now? That the whole world is his enemy, with no one to trust, and no way to trust at all?

Nock’s movements, as he flipped through the documents, froze in mid-air.

"Nock, you need to put your heart into this case," said the Director with a quiet chuckle next to him, his round forehead reflecting brilliance under the sun. He smiled, and his entire face seemed to squeeze together, "Get on good terms with Stars Pharma, and things will go much smoother for you in the future. You need to understand where to put your heart and where not to."

’You need to understand where to put your heart and where not to.’

This sentence hit Nock like a hammer to his chest, and he struggled to lift his head, looking towards the lawyer in front of him.

At this moment, the lawyer was also looking at him. The young lawyer stood up, smiling, "Of course, our corporation always favours young talents like Mr. Nock. With your courage and insight at such a young age, you are bound to have a limitless future."

As he spoke, the lawyer pulled out an invitation from his breast pocket.

"I just so happen to have an invitation to a charity dinner by the corporation. It’s said that all the young talents of Limen City will be present at this event, and the Mayor and Senator will be attending as well.

"Does Mr. Nock have any lady in mind? Perhaps you might find Cupid’s favor at this dinner."

Nock looked at the invitation being handed to him, edged in gold and inlaid with crushed gemstones.

In the past, like this kind of high-society dinner, he would be driven away by security just for glancing at the door’s edge.

Dimly, it seemed as if the sounds of clinking glasses and a soft waltz echoed in his ears.

The invitation handed to him was not just a piece of paper; it was a highway to the heavens.

The invitation wasn’t important, and even the banquet wasn’t important, what mattered was that Stars Pharma could easily gather a group of high-society individuals.

Accepting this invitation was tantamount to accepting Stars Pharma’s invitation.

Nock felt as if he could see the bright lights and the high-society’s grand entrance slowly opening before his eyes.

He glanced at the bracelet on his wrist, which recorded the personal email address ’Zadi’ had left him; just as long as he could find a way to trick ’Zadi’ out...

Thump—thump—thump—

Nock seemed to hear his own heart beating faster and faster.

Destiny had placed him at a crossroads where one path was strewn with gems and lights, where elegant ladies swayed seductively on stage, and well-dressed people raised crystal-carved glasses to him.

On the other path was an endless, all-consuming darkness. In its deepest part, a lone and blurred figure stood quietly there, alone in the deep darkness, his body flickering with a faint glow.

The light was so weak and dim that it seemed like it would be swallowed by the darkness at any second.

Nock gazed at the invitation before him, as if staring at the fork in the road of his destiny.

Ultimately, he smiled faintly and placed the documents he held on the table, "Sorry, I’ve got some family matters to attend to, I have to head home."

With that, he turned and walked towards the door without a backward glance.

Why had ’Zadi’ chosen him? Why had he sent the information to him privately?

It was apparent that the other party had investigated him. Nock didn’t know what they had found out, but he knew that the act of sending him emails meant only one thing.

The other party trusted him.

Even in the darkest night, the other party believed there were others shining brightly within the endless darkness.

He couldn’t let down that trust, just as someone walking in the dark cannot betray the torch that lights their way.

The office’s automatic doors closed slowly.

The young lawyer’s face displayed an expression other than a smile for the first time as he stood there holding the invitation, stiff as a puppet stripped of its fine clothing.

"Damn it!"

The bureau chief also seemed to finally react. He slammed his hand on the desk and stood up abruptly.

It was only then that the lawyer snapped out of his astonishment. He turned his head and looked at the bureau chief.

The visibly enraged bureau chief picked up the phone from the desk right away, "Tell that little bastard he’s suspended. If he can’t figure out what he did wrong, then he can just get the hell out!"

The oppressive feeling characteristic of a C-level swept through every corner of the cramped office in an instant.

The young lawyer felt almost suffocated by this terrifying pressure; he trembled as he folded up the invitation and looked at the bureau chief, "Director Thorin, calm down, it’s not uncommon for young and promising individuals to be somewhat headstrong, calm down, calm down."

Only now did the bureau chief seem to notice the lawyer who was nearly crushed to death and hurriedly restrained his aura. A smile once again spread across his face, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m to blame for not managing well. This damned kid is still too impulsive. Here’s what I’ll do, I’ll immediately call over a reliable and steady investigator from the bureau. He’ll definitely be able to handle this situation well."

"Good, good, good"

The lawyer, who had finally caught his breath, sat back down. He looked at the bureau chief’s now smiling face, and though he still harbored anger in his heart, with the other’s attitude being so agreeable, he could only suppress it forcefully.

But he was no longer in the mood for idle chit-chat with the bureau chief.

Waiting always seems long, and the lawyer took a sip of milk tea.

His gaze swept over the bureau chief’s desk, pausing on a photo frame.

In the photo, the bureau chief and his wife snuggled together, with elderly parents sitting in front, and three children, one big and two small, standing to the side.

Judging by the freshness of the frame and the bureau chief’s appearance, this photo seemed to have been taken not long ago.

A nice family with old and young.

The lawyer withdrew his gaze and continued to stare at the tightly closed office door.

Soon, an older, middle-aged detective pushed open the door and walked in.

······

Nock returned to his own desk, grabbed a couple of items quickly, while he began to edit an email on his bracelet at a fast pace and dashed towards the door.

At the workstation beside him, a colleague who had been eating instant noodles leaned back in the office chair, watching a promotional documentary about Ande.

The scene finally paused in front of Ande’s gravestone.

Behind this lonely tombstone lay densely packed other solitary tombstones.

"Being a hero isn’t as glorious as it seems, is it?"

——

"So, do you have any solutions in mind now?"

Standing by the window in the bright sunshine, Roger asked softly.

"No," He Ao shook his head, looking out the window at the sunlight, "but there is always a solution for everything."

He raised his wrist and looked at the new email in his inbox.

This mission was certainly going to be a lot more difficult than before.

But now, he was no longer alone.