Life Game In Other World
Chapter 581: Second Laboratory (Long - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 581: Chapter 581: Second Laboratory (Long Chapter for Monthly Votes)

Cars drove across the old road surface.

A neatly dressed, refined-looking middle-aged man stood on the side of the road alongside a youth with an explosive hairstyle and a hoodlum’s air,

Both holding a can of cola in one hand and a huge hamburger in the other, they watched the traffic come and go.

"These hamburgers taste pretty good, the stuff around Plante District isn’t bad."

Ryan took a bite of his hamburger, his mouth smeared with salad dressing and lettuce leaves.

"I used to hang around here quite a bit,"

He Ao glanced at the towering Welme Vitland Hospital building not far behind them, "That’s when I discovered this place. It’s cheap, serves big portions and is tasty."

"Indeed."

Ryan chewed on his hamburger, mumbling indistinctly.

Although he often roamed around and knew the roads well, his eating spots were fairly fixed, and he hardly ever sought out these hidden roadside joints for food.

"Is there any movement in that building?"

He Ao also took a bite of his hamburger and asked indistinctly.

"Let me check,"

Ryan raised his wristband, and a surveillance image projected out, showing the entrance of the small building. Just as they left, they had placed a miniature camera not far from the building’s entrance to monitor any activity.

Ryan’s car was filled with many such ’props’.

"No," the projected image flowed rapidly, showing the activity at the entrance of the building since they left, "no one has come in or out."

"Good."

He Ao took a sip of his cola. Before they left, he had checked; there were no other visible entrances or exits to that small building.

According to Eve’s calculations, they had always walked in the dead angles of the cameras and had not yet been exposed.

Beep—

Just then, a jarring horn sounded from in front of them, as a brightly colored, costly modified car slowly stopped in front of the two men.

The car’s wheels turned to the right, seemingly ready to drive onto the sidewalk where He Ao and Ryan were standing. The driver stuck his head out of the window of the driver’s seat, glanced at the two still eating their hamburgers, "You two beggars over there, scoot aside, can’t you see my damn car coming? If you don’t move, I’ll run you down."

He Ao lifted his head and looked at the driver sticking his head out with puzzlement.

In that instant, the driver felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave, with the fear of death creeping up from his feet to the crown of his head.

Without any hesitation, he sat back in the vehicle, turned the steering wheel sharply, floored the accelerator, and sped along the road.

"Hey, what happened to that driver?"

Ryan held a hamburger and a cola in one hand while his other hand had just drawn out a handgun. He looked somewhat bemused as he turned to watch the vehicle that had disappeared, leaving only its taillights visible, his expression showing a touch of bewilderment,

"I hadn’t even drawn my gun yet, why did he run off?"

"Maybe he saw we were both pretty amicable and decided to give up troubling us."

He Ao bit into his hamburger and looked towards the direction from which the car had come.

"Is that so?"

Ryan tucked his gun back into his waistband, somewhat puzzled. In all his years, this was the first time he’d heard someone describe him with the word ’amicable’.

Could it be that after following Professor Jess around, he had also been influenced to possess some charm?

It was then that a black and white vehicle stopped in front of them.

The passenger-side window rolled down, revealing the silhouette of the person in the passenger seat.

An older man, dressed in a Federal Bureau of Investigation uniform, with a miniature earpiece on his ear, rested his hand on the car window, his face wearing an incredulous expression as he looked at Ryan,

"Ryan, did you report that there’s smuggling of contraband materials nearby? Did your boss get into a feud with a smuggling ring?"

"No."

Ryan quickly shook his head, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offering it to the old detective.

"So you’re ready to turn away from the darkness, betray your boss and become a cooperating witness?"

The old detective waved off Ryan’s cigarettes, pulling out a pack of his own. He placed one in his mouth and lit it with an electric lighter.

Meanwhile, he pushed the car door open and stepped down from the vehicle.

"You speak as if you don’t know our boss," Ryan hurriedly said, retracting his cigarette and standing next to He Ao, "We’re just concerned citizens passing by."

"Concerned citizens?"

The elder detective raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to He Ao. He extended his hand to He Ao, "Hoon."

"Jess."

He Ao also reached out and shook hands with the detective.

Ryan had introduced this Detective Hoon to He Ao while on the phone.

He was formerly one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in charge of the West District, one of the few agents in Vitland known for their integrity. He dismantled many gangs, significantly improving the order in West District for a while.

Later, he got transferred to the Plante District, a place with less action, due to the machinations of those gangs and the financial groups behind the Intermediaries.

Actually, Detective Hoon was already an ’acquaintance’ of He Ao. The previous night, at the psychiatric hospital, he was the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent the Mysterious Person had called in.

"So where’s the suspected smuggling site?"

Hoon surveyed the surroundings and returned his gaze to Ryan.

"Inside there," Ryan pointed to the alleyway.

There was still some distance from here to the building where the van had driven in.

While on the call, He Ao did not ask Ryan to specify the exact location but mentioned a vague place instead.

The reason was simple: to prevent the Mysterious Person from getting wind of it in advance.

"Let’s go take a look, then."

Hoon, clearly an old hand, did not question why Ryan had not indicated the address clearly from the start.

He Ao and Ryan got back into their nearby vehicle, while Hoon’s car followed them.

Both cars took a detour and parked again at the entrance to the alley.

The group stepped down from their vehicles.

He Ao was accompanied by Ryan, while Hoon was with a young detective dressed similarly to himself, also wearing headphones.

"Swiet, the rookie I’m training," Hoon introduced the detective to He Ao.

"Jess."

He Ao extended his hand.

"Hello," the young detective shook hands with He Ao. His eyes focused on the bone axe and wooden case He Ao was carrying on his back. He opened his mouth to say, "What is this...?"

"I’m a biologist conducting research; these are just some small tools," He Ao calmly explained.

The wooden case seemed normal enough, but that sharp axe... Did one need an axe for studying biology? What kind of research method was that?

Swiet was momentarily confused; he began to question whether he hadn’t read enough books or lacked experience.

"Swiet, keep up," Hoon tapped him on the shoulder, signaling him forward before Swiet could voice the question brewing in his mind.

"Yes, sir."

Swiet curbed his curiosity and followed Hoon’s steps.

He Ao glanced at Hoon’s back and then caught up.

This time, Ryan led the way to the building.

"It happened here; we saw the vehicle transporting contraband materials drive into this building," said Ryan, pointing to the structure.

"There’s a smell of blood here."

Hoon glanced at the miniature laser cannon disguised as a camera, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

He took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and placed his Federal Bureau of Investigation badge in the most conspicuous position, "Wait here for a moment."

It was at this moment that He Ao reached out to stop him, "I’ll go with you."

Hoon turned around, looked at He Ao’s figure, then glanced at the cannon muzzle that was just covered by He Ao, pondering something.

In the end, he nodded, "Alright."

The two then headed towards the large door.

As they crossed a certain boundary, the fixed miniature laser cannon began to rotate its body, following their steps.

He Ao looked up at the laser cannon, which usually came with a camera to correct the aim, so in a sense, it also served as surveillance.

Hoon reached the door and, facing the guard there, took out his ID, "Hello, Federal Bureau of Investigation. I suspect that you’re involved in a smuggling case and we would like your cooperation in our investigation."

The guard looked at Hoon, taken aback, then immediately picked up the intercom on the desk, "Please wait a moment."

After a couple of minutes, a man dressed in a white lab coat ran out and approached Hoon, "Hello, I am in charge of this laboratory. We haven’t heard anything about smuggling; you must have the wrong place."

"Is it possible for us to have a look inside?"

Hoon put away his ID and asked with a smile.

The person in charge looked up at He Ao, who was behind Hoon, hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, "Follow me."

"Wait a second."

Hoon pressed his earpiece to connect with Swiet, "You guys come over."

"Who are these people?"

The lab manager looked at Ryan and Swiet as they approached and once again surveyed He Ao.

"They are with me investigating this matter,"

Hoon quickly responded, and, raising his hand to check his bracelet, he fixed his gaze on the lab manager, "We’re short on time, and if there’s nothing here, I’d like to quickly head to the next location."

Under his imposing stare, the lab manager’s hands hanging by his side subconsciously retracted a little, "Alright, please come in."

Hoon and He Ao walked ahead, being the first to cross through the large door.

Behind the door was a small courtyard surrounded by a wall. Almost at the moment He Ao stepped into the yard, a few sounds of mechanical movement followed.

He Ao’s gaze quickly swept over the yard; a few miniature laser cannons were hidden in the corners, their muzzles now tracking their movements.

Hoon’s eyes also scanned those corners, and it was clear that he had spotted the laser cannons, too.

However, neither of them stopped walking.

"Mr. Jess,"

Ryan walked up beside He Ao and pointed towards the location near the outer wall of the courtyard.

The van they had seen enter was parked there.

"Mhm."

He Ao nodded to acknowledge.

At this time, Hoon leaned in closer, glanced at the lab manager leading the way in front, and asked He Ao in a low voice, "That manager has looked at you several times; he seems to recognize you."

"I don’t know him."

He Ao shook his head.

He looked up at the small building above them, where the sunlight’s brilliance on the building’s glass made it impossible to see the scene inside.

At this point, the lab manager had already reached the front door of the building and was beginning to push it open.

"Do you think there will be gains this time?"

Hoon also looked up at the window and asked softly.

"There will be,"

He Ao nodded.

"I’ll take you to my office, where we buy all our medicinal materials through official channels, and all the bills are stored on the computer,"

The person in charge opened the door, revealing a long, narrow corridor.

Then, he led everyone into an office on the first floor near the entrance and walked straight in.

The office was simply decorated with just a desk and a computer on it.

"Hold on, I’ll get the files for you."

The person in charge approached the computer.

"That Jess seems to have disappeared."

Swiet leaned against the wall, tapped the earpiece he was wearing, and connected with Hoon. His gaze swept around the room, only seeing Ryan guarding the entrance. "He didn’t seem to come in just now. I find this incident a bit suspicious, both of these whistleblowers and this laboratory... they’re all a bit odd."

"Don’t bother,"

Hoon shook his head, "Sometimes, it’s better not to know too much."

"Okay... "

Swiet nodded, pausing before he couldn’t help but say, "That Ryan, he doesn’t seem like a good person."

"He works for Heish."

Hoon watched the person in charge’s movements and whispered.

"Heish? The most famous Intermediary?"

Swiet was taken aback, "Isn’t she an Intermediary... "

"Some things aren’t so clear cut," said Hoon calmly, "if you ever get transferred to the West District and find yourself with no way out, you can seek cooperation with Heish."

"Alright."

Swiet nodded, somewhat understandingly.

"Look," by this time, the person in charge had projected some files, and his eyes scanned the office, "That Jess... the gentleman who came in with you, where is he?"

"He went to the restroom."

Hoon looked up at him.

"Our restroom is a bit out of the way... "

Upon hearing this, the person in charge quickly stood up, about to rush out, but Hoon stopped him with one hand.

"I saw the sign when I came in,"

Hoon spoke calmly, pressing down on the person in charge’s raised hand, which had a bracelet on it, "It’s at the end of the corridor, around the corner, not hard to find. Let’s take a look at these accounts first."

The person in charge looked up at Hoon’s pressing gaze, swallowed hard, and slowly nodded.

——

He Ao’s steps took him into the reading room located at the farthest end of the first floor, close to the restroom.

The layout of this laboratory was very similar to the one where Jess had worked for several years. The reading rooms of both labs had tables with two computers connected to the intranet.

This design was to facilitate the lab researchers in consulting materials.

He Ao took out an earpiece he had asked from Ryan on the way and put it on, then picked up the data cable next to the left computer and connected his bracelet to the computer.

"Data connection successful."

Eve’s voice sounded in He Ao’s ear.

He Ao tapped on the earpiece, and a crisp, youthful voice followed, "Uncle Jess, I’m ready."

The computer screen flickered.

He Ao raised his head and looked at the camera in the corner of the reading room, facing his direction.

——

"Jess,"

Inside a room aglow with various lights, a gaunt figure glanced at the surveillance feed, seemingly looking through the screen directly at him, and revealed a light chuckle,

"Thinking you can breach my firewall just by accessing the intranet, that’s a bit too overconfident."