Life Game In Other World
Chapter 473: The Sealed Scene (Request for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 473: Chapter 473: The Sealed Scene (Request for Monthly Pass)

"I haven’t heard anyone ask about my father in many years," Janos’s smile faded, "When my father died, I was still very young and not very clear about what he was doing at the time."

"This incident happened about forty years ago. Did your father leave any project documents behind? We now suspect that Zadi’s case might be related to your father’s assassination."

He Ao asked calmly.

The murder case of Senator Janos’s father still had no known perpetrator. At that time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had only determined it was the act of a cult, but they had never identified which cult or who the perpetrator was.

As time passed, more and more people were forgetting about this case.

So much so that the case had become an unsolved mystery.

Janos’s expression changed slightly again, it was hard to tell if he was happy or sad as he calmly pondered for a moment before speaking softly,

"My father didn’t like using electronic storage, so most of the documents he left behind were paper versions, stored in the underground archives of the villa. I can take you to see those documents, but I need you to keep their contents confidential."

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation is bound by confidentiality in any matter that involves federal secrets, trade secrets, or personal privacy, and we will not disclose this information to any third party other than those involved in the investigation."

He Ao nodded lightly.

Nock glanced at He Ao.

He was becoming more and more convinced that He Ao was a colleague from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and probably a very senior one at that.

The phrase He Ao had just used came from the internal regulations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but only experienced veteran agents could cite it so effortlessly; reciting the complete regulation made one appear very professional.

Anyway, Nock couldn’t remember these regulations himself; he could only retain a rough impression of them.

Meanwhile, He Ao was intently observing Janos.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents do have these obligations, and if a leak occurs, they can be subject to complaints, or even lawsuits to compensate for damages.

Of course, this would be subject to tracing who was responsible for the leak.

To ordinary people, these regulations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation almost have no effect, because even if their privacy is violated, the cost of asserting their rights is so high that they would rather not bother.

But for someone of Senator Janos’s stature, exercising his rights is not an issue at all; he could even put pressure on the Federal Bureau of Investigation through other means. That’s why, in his eyes, these confidentiality rules are effective.

"Let’s go, I’ll take you there."

Janos got up, leading the three towards the door.

There was an elevator right outside the office door, and Janos took the two down to the third subterranean level.

When the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by a winding corridor. The bright light shone on the purely white floor of the hallway, making it look spacious and upright.

"It’s quite warm in here."

Nock glanced at the lighting and said subconsciously.

"Although this is the third subterranean level, the temperature is controlled by central air conditioning 24 hours a day to maintain a comfortable range. However... it seems the temperature here is set a bit higher than on the surface,"

Janos said softly as he stepped out of the elevator, "The archive room is a bit further in."

He Ao and his companion followed behind him, continuing inward.

He Ao looked up at the central air conditioning vent.

The temperature here was indeed higher than on the surface.

As a core believer of the Life Goddess Church, whose ears were constantly filled with the whispers of the Life Goddess, He Ao could distinctly feel that the warmth wasn’t coming from the surface of his skin, but from deep within his soul.

The air here was thick with life force.

He Ao quietly followed behind Janos.

The underground space was designed like a labyrinth.

They walked for a while, turning several corners in succession.

"The pathways here are so complex," He Ao casually remarked, looking around as the hallway branched off with various doors on each side, "Has it always been like this?"

"Every few generations, someone in our family becomes dissatisfied with the layout of the family villa," Janos said with a laugh, "and then they go ahead and make big renovations."

Which meant that it hadn’t always been this way.

He Ao ran his fingers over the wall, deep in thought.

"We’re here."

Janos stopped in front of a door, placed his hand on it to verify his fingerprint, and then opened the door.

The lights in the archive room turned on automatically.

This subterranean archive room was free of any dust or musty smell as dedicated cleaning robots maintained it, and the air conditioning system regulated the temperature and humidity to preserve the documents for as long as possible.

The cost of maintaining this archive room was probably not less than renting a comfortable studio in an old building.

Janos led He Ao to stop in front of a shelf and took out a thick stack of folders and bound project books from a row.

A transporting robot came over, and he placed the stack of project books on top of it; then, in front of the dumbfounded Nock, he continued to pile more materials on it.

This continuous addition of documents lasted for half an hour before stopping.

Nock looked at the two stacks of materials on the transporting robot—taller than himself—and swallowed hard.

"My father was someone who liked to keep backups," Janos explained with a smile, "These are the records of most of the projects our family has dealt with over the last forty years. Many of these documents are actually duplicates, and some are just photocopies of inconsequential e-mails. You might have to dig through them on your own."

"Um..." Nock smacked his lips and looked at Janos, "May we borrow a scanner? If we scan these documents and then use text recognition software to convert them into electronic files, and then process them with electronic software, we should be able to quickly find the content we need."

This request was actually somewhat presumptuous.

But it was a request that had to be made because Janos wasn’t a fool; undoubtedly, someone was checking their identities right now, and his identity was certainly not a problem. However, he had already received notice of his suspension, meaning he had no authority to handle cases.

The individual at his side, posing as ’Zadi,’ was not an agent from the Limen City Federal Bureau of Investigation. The identities of both men wouldn’t withstand any scrutiny.

Of course, from the moment they entered, ’Zadi’ had never claimed to be an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

When they had just arrived, only Locke had shown his credentials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Even though the chief had suspended Nock, this suspension information would not be updated until tomorrow. So, in the official system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Nock was still an active agent,

If Janos simply checked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation system for identification, their disguise would largely be unquestioned.

But if Janos checked with the Limen City Federal Bureau of Investigation office, it was highly likely that the two men would be exposed.

The personnel at the Limen City Federal Bureau of Investigation were not numerous, and the investigators knew each other well; no one would betray Nock because Nock was, in a sense, actually working on a case.

Moreover, the chief was exceptionally protective of his subordinates, and the consequences of betraying other agents were quite severe.

And Janos, unable to get information from other agents, would surely contact the director using the Senator’s name.

Today is Saturday, and the director would be home playing with his children from three to five o’clock, a sacrosanct routine, during which time the director would turn off his smart bracelet, refusing any contact.

Nock glanced at his bracelet; it was now four seventeen, forty-three minutes to five o’clock.

In fact, Nock and He Ao had timed their visit for this exact window of opportunity.

However, this strategy was not Nock’s idea, his only role was to provide the exact timing of the director’s return home to play with his children, as well as relevant data and intelligence from inside the Limen City Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Sorry," Janos replied in a calm but definitive tone, "My father did not trust electronic software. To honor his wishes, the documents in this archive cannot be scanned."

If there truly was a scanned version, Janos wouldn’t have brought them to this underground archive in the first place.

Nock opened his mouth but found no words to say.

Could such people who reject electronic software truly exist in this world, and one of them was a former Senator...

To this, He Ao expressed understanding. He had researched Janos’s father’s background; Janos’s father was someone with rather extreme views against the widespread promotion of electronic devices.

He believed that these widely deployed smart robots would eventually turn humans into useless beings, and when the preset programs failed to control these intelligent devices, humanity would face an existential catastrophe.

Of course, such political views actually catered to a group of people who opposed smart machinery.

Yet his ability to resist electronic software at home also demonstrated a consistency between his beliefs and actions.

At this moment, Nock turned his gaze to He Ao; their time was limited. To go through so much material in forty-three minutes and come out unscathed was nearly an impossible task.

"It’s okay," He Ao said softly, "I’ll check these documents. We just need to skim through them to find the target materials. It will be quick. You just help me pass the books."

The reason he said this was because Nock was clueless about what to look for, and with his Super Memory and Transcendent enhancement, Nock’s efficiency simply couldn’t match his; it would be more direct for him to search on his own.

Now, they had enough time.

"Alright, Senior."

Nock had evidently realized He Ao’s concerns and, although he wanted to help He Ao, he understood that not even knowing what to look for would likely result in him getting in the way.

Hearing He Ao’s words, the anxiety and tension in his heart diminished a lot. He hadn’t known He Ao for long, but He Ao’s professionalism and reliability during this short period had led him to truly regard He Ao as a senior he could trust.

Meanwhile, on hearing the term ’Senior’, He Ao’s thoughts paused briefly.

When did I become a senior? What exactly has this guy been imagining?

He was somewhat startled, but at this moment he could not show such surprise, as it would reveal that he and Nock were not close.

His hands worked without pause, merely nodding slightly to indicate he heard Nock’s response.

Nock, seeing He Ao nod, had a thought flash through his mind.

Could it be that his guess was correct, that this person truly was a senior?

Was he working now or had previously worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

While he pondered wildly, his hands didn’t stop, promptly taking out another document and standing by, waiting for He Ao to finish with the one in his hand.

He Ao flipped through the books at an extremely fast pace, scanning over the table of contents and foreword quickly to determine if the project was related to the previous small park precursor of Stars Supreme Hospital.

If it was related, he would rapidly skim through the internal content with his Super Memory; if unrelated, he would cast the document aside.

At this time, Janos had not left; he stood behind the two, watching the silhouette of He Ao flipping through books as if touring flowers on horseback, deep in thought.

...

The minutes ticked by, and the pile of documents on the robot reduced.

He Ao’s brow remained tightly furrowed.

Among these documents, he found no information regarding the abandoned park project. The only potential link was in some emails, where Janos’s father had once obliquely mentioned an unnamed project.

What he discussed was the subcontracting of certain projects, and there was no mention of the ’mysterious businessman’ who originally bought the land of the abandoned park.

When the last document was handed off from He Ao, he paused, turning his head to look back at Janos, "Is this all the project information from that year?"

"After my father’s death, what I managed to compile is all here; all of the documentation is included." Janos replied slowly.

He Ao raised his hand to glance at his bracelet; it was four forty-two in the afternoon. He had reviewed all the documents in just twenty-five minutes.

Eighteen minutes remained.

He Ao looked at Janos, continuing to ask, "The crime scene back then was said to be in the basement?"

"Right on this level."

Janos paused briefly, then slowly said.

"Can we take a look?"

At this moment, Nock seemed to have grasped He Ao’s intent and timely interjected his inquiry.

"Sorry," Janos shook his head, "That place was cleaned up shortly after the investigation reached a deadlock by the servants at the time; my father needed peace to return to Heaven."

As he spoke, he looked toward He Ao, "Shouldn’t the Federal Bureau of Investigation have a detailed dossier on the case from that year?"

"I’d like to see the scene for myself,"

He Ao replied calmly, "Is that room still there?"

"It’s still there, but there’s nothing left," Janos turned sideways, gesturing for He Ao and the other to come out first, "You two follow me."

He Ao looked back one last time at what was behind him, as the transport robot methodically placed the books back on the shelves.

Janos, standing at the door, was watching him.

He Ao averted his gaze and stepped out of the archive room.

Janos locked the door and led the two along the twisting corridor ahead.

He Ao looked up at the wall in front of him; this section seemed to be the fringe of the underground space, what came into view was a long straight wall.

After about two or three more minutes of walking, the three stopped at a more spacious crossroad.

"It happened right here," Janos seemed to fall into a memory, "My father died in front of me."

He Ao stood at the center of this crossroad, feeling a strong life force there.