**Bayside District Public Security Bureau, Analysis Division Office.**
Xie Kedu suddenly took off his gaming headset and said to Xue Zhi Shi, "Old Xue, I have something going on in the game tonight, so I need to leave early."
Hearing this, Jin An An didn't even look up. Such things happened frequently with the gaming enthusiast Xie Kedu.
Xue Zhi Shi nodded casually and replied, "No problem." As someone who had previously executed commissions for Er Gou and Kaisi, he was also an early member of the Ghost Organization. He had long realized that Xie Kedu and Qin Xue Zhong were likely both in the black space.
Now that the entire black space had disappeared, cutting off contact, and with Xie Kedu suddenly having urgent matters, something significant was definitely happening.
He wasn't particularly concerned about the Ghost Organization itself, but he had always cared for his subordinates. With Xiao Qin missing work for several days and now Xie Kedu getting wrapped up in this mess, he naturally felt worried. Moreover, with even the Ghost Organization in trouble, this incident could be more severe than the previous situation with Tang Kede.
"An An, it's better to head home early today and not wander around. I haven't been able to reach several friends; there might be trouble in Xigu City again," Xue Zhi Shi said while packing up his things.
Jin An An looked at him, somewhat confused.
Xue Zhi Shi thought for a moment and added, "Or… you can stay in the office; at least it's safer here."
Only then did Jin An An seriously nod, saying, "Then I'll stay in the office. If you need any help, just let me know."
She knew that Xue Zhi Shi had high authority in the security department and had held senior positions in the past. Much of what he said was reliable. She decided to pull an all-nighter in the office, locking the door, preparing her weapons, ensuring she had enough snacks, and if she got bored, she could even play Xie Kedu's game.
Xue Zhi Shi smiled, indicating he understood, and then left directly. His departure wasn't just because of the sudden disappearance of the black space; it was also because Xie Kedu and Kaisi had both sent out distress signals in their respective private channels.
Xue Zhi Shi was in both of their channels, but neither of them knew he was there.
Kaisi thought Xue Zhi Shi was just a trustworthy mercenary who occasionally did odd jobs at the mercenary club to make ends meet. Xie Kedu believed he was an older brother he knew from the forums, a professor at the school who often discussed firewall technology with him.
For a long time, Xue Zhi Shi had carefully managed his various identities—not only to protect those around him but also to avoid unnecessary trouble for himself.
Both Kaisi and Xie Kedu's messages pointed to the same coffee shop. This was definitely not a coincidence.
Xue Zhi Shi drove carefully, using all signal jammers and data shields, avoiding cameras as he approached from the ground. It was now 4 PM, and Xigu City was starting to get dark. Since most companies hadn't closed yet, the city appeared somewhat calm.
— This scene didn't look like something significant was about to happen.
Xue Zhi Shi rarely went out at this time, and seeing this sight didn't improve his mood; instead, he felt more cautious. The calmer and more concealed the enemy, the more dangerous they were.
He smoothly arrived near his destination but didn't rush to get out of the car. Instead, he found a hidden spot to stop, gently opened the sun visor in front of the driver's seat, revealing a photo inside.
It was a picture of him and a woman, both looking young and smiling, as if their future was filled with endless hope. However, the photo was somewhat old, with yellowed corners and a bit worn.
Almost no one in the Bayside Bureau knew that Xue Zhi Shi once had a wife. Jin An An had heard of it but didn't know the specifics of what happened back then; she only knew that Xue Zhi Shi's wife had fallen into a criminal trap in a virtual dream and had died as her consciousness faded.
Regardless, because the murderer had never been caught, Xue Zhi Shi had spent the years strengthening his firewall technology, hoping one day to gain enough power to confront the culprit responsible for his beloved's death. Even though his skills had caught up with the most seasoned security experts at headquarters, he had never used them. The person he most wanted to protect was no longer in this world.
He stared at the photo for a while, then took it down to reveal a panel behind it.
— He had integrated his strongest technology into an active firewall installed in the car.
So far, he had never encountered a situation requiring such a level of defensive technology. But today, he felt he had no choice but to use it.
He didn't even understand what the black space of the Ghost Organization was about, yet it suddenly disappeared. During the earlier outbreak of the Tang Kede virus, it had created such a significant commotion, but the black space remained steady.
Now, due to a case that hadn't been fully understood, the black space vanished?
As a senior security expert, he knew how unbelievable that was. The technology of the Ghost itself was almost divine, yet an enemy had effortlessly wiped it out?
He couldn't afford to be careless.
As he activated the active firewall, Xue Zhi Shi immediately felt the surrounding quiet down. The firewall actively shielded all external signals, blacking out videos and images that interacted with personal chips and were targeted at individuals. Simultaneously, accompanying music and sounds all disappeared.
Xigu City suddenly transformed into a vast, quiet, and damp metropolis. Only the skyscrapers, darkened by rain, towered into the clouds like tombs.
The data glows on people's bodies vanished, and those sparkling outfits appeared to Xue Zhi Shi as mere pieces of fabric of odd shapes.
Near the café, everything seemed normal, with no data available. When he turned his head, he saw a woman.
A woman who shouldn't exist.
Xue Zhi Shi thought he was seeing things. He turned off the car's firewall, and the woman disappeared. He turned it back on, and she reappeared. At the same time, the gaze of those around her never lingered on her but instead passed right through her.
Xue Zhi Shi even saw a couple whose eyes passed through the woman's body, looking at the clothes in the store window behind her.
Such a sight could only mean one thing.
— The woman had used an incredibly exaggerated data control ability to distort the data in every nearby person's chip, making them unable to see her in any camera or human eye.
While shocked, Xue Zhi Shi also found her somewhat familiar. It took him a few seconds to realize that this was the case from a couple of days ago when Zhang Yuan went to the morgue to handle the killer case with Jin An An and Qin Xue Zhong!
This was the escaping puppet; what was her name again…
Right, Mu Ting Deng!
From the looks of it, Mu Ting Deng had been observing a store across the street, a plant shop with its door open and lights on, but seemingly no one inside.
Behind her was the coffee shop where Xie Kedu and Kaisi had arranged to meet.
This woman… was standing right outside the glass where Xie Kedu and Kaisi were located, and neither Zhang Yuan nor the three of them had noticed that the victim they had been desperately searching for was right outside!
Mu Ting Deng's expression seemed a bit hesitant, then she sighed, as if she was preparing to leave.
Xue Zhi Shi realized he had to act now.
At that moment, Mu Ting Deng took her first step, preparing to leave. Her departure direction was right past the café's entrance.
Xue Zhi Shi quickly started the car, sharply turned the steering wheel, and parked it at the café's door.
The splashing water nearly drenched a pedestrian.
This drew curses from those nearby, "Crazy! How do you drive?!"
However, none of this fazed Mu Ting Deng. She seemed quite familiar with this—after all, others couldn't see her, so no matter how ridiculous things happened around her, she easily avoided them.
As long as she didn't bump into anyone, no one would discover her.
So when Xue Zhi Shi got out of the car and walked toward the café, Mu Ting Deng didn't mind, merely intending to sidestep him.
What she didn't expect was that instead of passing her by, Xue Zhi Shi suddenly reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her into the café with him.
Mu Ting Deng intended to resist, but Xue Zhi Shi was surprisingly holding a stun gun, which paralyzed her entire body upon contact.
Thus, she followed Xue Zhi Shi and crashed into the café.
---
Kaisi, Zhang Yuan, and Xie Kedu were sitting at a window-side table, anxiously watching the plant shop across the street, discussing their next steps.
Just then, a car abruptly stopped at the café's entrance.
The first to react was Xie Kedu; he recognized it as Xue Zhi Shi's car. He was somewhat bewildered as to why this boss, who usually slacked off to avoid trouble, was here.
After Xue Zhi Shi got out of the car, Zhang Yuan also recognized him.
The three of them had only time to exchange a glance, seeing confusion reflected in each other's eyes.
Then Xue Zhi Shi crashed inside.
At the moment Xue Zhi Shi burst in
, the three were still worried about whether their involvement with the Ghost Organization had been exposed.
However, as the electric flash passed, a woman suddenly appeared beside Xue Zhi Shi.
Xue Zhi Shi calmly said to the three, "I'm Chuan Huo, and I was also in the black space. I'll explain the rest later; let's start with this woman."
The three of them focused their attention on the woman lying beside Xue Zhi Shi, the very focal point that brought the case to light—Mu Ting Deng.
Everyone had assumed Mu Ting Deng was a victim.
However, she had been present at the scene when Qin Xue Zhong and Yu Zhe Zhu went missing, and the technology she used was very similar to that of the hacker who infiltrated the Jinshan Hotel.
This raised suspicions.
They calmed the staff, controlled Mu Ting Deng, and then woke her up.
As Mu Ting Deng regained consciousness, her expression clearly showed panic when she realized she couldn't escape, and she looked up at the four men in front of her.
Kaisi spoke first, "Where did you take those two?"
Hearing this, Mu Ting Deng surprisingly relaxed.
Because Kaisi's tone clearly indicated he wanted to save someone.
Mu Ting Deng replied, "I don't know, but I came to save those two as well, to prevent them from ending up like me."
---