Night fell, and in the hospital bathroom, Leon Chen pressed the final key.
Message sent successfully!
Leon breathed a sigh of relief, having sent all the data Turing had browsed. It was a colossal task, one that would have been impossible without his visual memory.
Grace Wang, as usual, sent a word of thanks.
Before shutting down the network, Leon thought for a moment and asked, "What was the final outcome of the kidnapping in Xi Jing a few days ago?" Leon only knew from the media that the notorious Rebi terrorist group had taken over a mall, but were defeated by undercover agents within an hour.
Their leader, Gree, was killed while escaping through a secret tunnel to the outskirts, and the rest was left vague.
There was no mention of Isabella Xiang or Cynthia.
The most perplexing part for Leon was why XO was linked to Isabella.
"Don't worry about that incident. It won't happen again," Grace Wang replied coldly. "The state will secretly strike against the Rebi organization."
"They can only use such despicable means, but they are too naive." Grace added.
Leon guessed that Grace must have obtained details and intelligence about the plan. Perhaps she even knew about the involvement of Isabella. Leon initially intended to probe, but considering Grace's exceptional sixth sense as a top hacker, he abandoned the idea.
"Alright, I've made up my mind to retire for a while."
"You're going to retire?" Grace was surprised. "Is it because of those thugs? That's too bad. The future of information warfare needs experts like you."
Leon sent a smiley face emoji: "If there's really a problem, I'll reconsider. But for now, I'm tired of the internet."
Grace seemed to understand. From his initial debut, taking over the US Department of Defense with a stunning attack, to infiltrating the Hacker Tombstone's fifth-generation computer, and later defeating the Three Kings and One Queen of the EU, XO had reached the pinnacle of the internet.
The so-called loneliness of a master…
Maybe there's still temptation!
Grace's lips curled into a mysterious smile as her fingers danced over the keyboard.
"You said your idol is the Queen. If I introduce you to her, would you stay?"
Leon was stunned when he saw this message.
Is this a trick? A temptation or a trap?
"Aren't you the Queen?"
"My name is Princess. I merely inherited the Queen's title. I can reveal that the Queen was heavily involved in that plan."
Leon thought for a minute and finally chose to decline.
"Some things are better left mysterious…"
"Alright then, if XO insists." Grace didn't push further. Instead, she provided a bank account, surprising Leon.
According to Grace, although the state had given him a special number to solve all his troubles, the technology he possessed was twenty years ahead of its time. Therefore, an undisclosed amount of cash was deposited into a central bank account. With just the account number and password, Leon could withdraw the money without any credentials.
Grace emphasized that this amount was a mere drop in the ocean compared to the state's research funds, but it was a small token of appreciation.
Leon knew this was just bait. Leaving a large sum of money for him was a ploy to track him down if he couldn't resist and tried to withdraw it.
Leon shook his head, smiled politely, and recorded the account and password on his watch.
"Goodbye, I'll be off the internet for a long time!"
"Hopefully, we'll meet again…"
Leon could almost see Grace's reluctance. He logged off, exhaled deeply, and felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
Leon washed his hands and was about to leave the bathroom when he noticed a light bar appear on his watch.
Lina's communication also came through at that moment.
"Leon, quick, the target has appeared!"
"What target?" Leon was confused by her urgent tone.
"Do you see the light bar?" Lina asked seriously.
"Yes." Leon nodded. The light bar looked like a download progress bar on the internet, currently at about thirty percent.
"That's the Ability Law Module Sensing Radar, also known as the 'Boundary.' If a specific core block from the watch appears nearby, the Boundary will give an alert. The closer you get, the more the bar fills up," Lina explained urgently. "Leon, you must find and retrieve that ability module. If it stays in the mortal world for too long, it will cause big problems."
Leon remembered that more than half of the abilities from the Upper Realm's watch had been lost due to the passage issues. He needed to collect them all back.
"Got it." Leon immediately set out to find the target.
Like a game, Leon used the progress bar to gauge the module's location. The longer the bar, the closer he was. The shorter it was, the farther away.
To be honest, this first-time module retrieval felt both thrilling and nerve-wracking for Leon.
As the light bar reached sixty percent, indicating proximity, Leon stopped and realized he had unknowingly ventured into the hospital's basement. Unlike the upper floors, the military hospital's basement was half a blood bank, with instruments, laboratories, morgues, and other facilities. The corridor lights were off, shrouding everything in darkness.
Leon took a deep breath and activated Ability No. 102—Darkness Insight!
His pupils quickly adjusted, allowing him to see clearly in the dark.
The basement doors were locked with electronic locks, forcing Leon to use bio-electricity to unlock them. He found bio-electricity to be quite handy, not just for attacks but also for defending against bullets and opening electronic locks. It was very convenient.
Leon continued down the corridor, feeling a bone-chilling coldness permeate the air.
After several turns, the progress bar reached eighty percent, almost there.
Szz!
A sharp breath echoed in Leon's ears.
Turning a corner, Leon saw a shadow flash by.
The progress bar quickly retreated, indicating the "ability" was moving away.
Leon hurriedly gave chase, but the bar receded rapidly. When Leon reached a dead end, he was dumbfounded. There was nowhere to go, and the target had vanished.
Leon checked his watch again. The Boundary light bar had completely disappeared.
"Did you find it?" Lina asked.
"I lost the target," Leon replied, puzzled. "Can abilities run?"
"If the ability chip is in a living organism or a moving object, it can move. But it's rare to lose track of it so quickly when you're so close. It must be a valuable ability, Leon," Lina said with a smile. "Too bad you missed it this time."
"Dear Lina, nothing ever goes perfectly," Leon shrugged, accepting the setback.
Leon then noticed the progress bar's light disappear completely.