Chapter 213: Red Sign

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Qin Ran read this message and didn’t get off the car.

She reached out and tapped her finger on her lips before narrowing her eyes slightly.

After a long while, she pressed on her phone and replied—

[How did he find you?]

Matthew and Chang Ning belonged to completely different forces. Chang Ning’s 129 headquarters was in Beijing, while Matthew had his own intelligence network. Logically speaking, Matthew and Chang Ning would never cross paths…

Why did he suddenly find Chang Ning? And even threatened to find her?

If it was because… then wouldn’t it be more convenient to find her directly?

It was too tortuous to find her through Chang Ning.

Qin Ran looked out the window at the headlight outside.

Chang Ning didn’t answer her question and simply sent another message—

[Is it convenient for a voice call?]

Qin Ran thought about what Shi Liming said before and didn’t know why Matthew was looking for Chang Ning. While typing her reply, she dug out her headphones from her pocket and stuffed them into her ears.

She was about to open the door when Chang Ning sent a voice call.

Qin Ran directly picked up.

“Why is he looking for you?” It was windy outside, so Qin Ran pulled her hat on. She glanced around and walked over to where Cheng Mu was just a few steps away. The wind suppressed her voice as it blew past her.

It was still in the morning for Chang Ning. He asked someone for a cup of coffee and sat on a chair to start browsing the members of this year’s membership. “He’s very strange. He asked us to take his order.”

At this, Qin Ran reacted. She reached out and tucked her phone into her pocket before glancing around her. Shi Liming and Cheng Mu were talking to Leader Zhou not far away. The other men were all preoccupied and nobody paid attention to her.

She lowered her voice. “So, Matthew is looking for Lone Wolf?”

“Of course.” Chang Ning propped his legs up and reached for his mouse. “Who else could it be? Only I and He Chen know your identity for now.”

“That’s good.” Qin Ran calmed down and leaned against the streetlamp beside her. Her tone regained her usual sloppiness as she asked, “What order does he want me to take?”

Chang Ning stared at the candidates on the computer and chuckled. “He asked you to investigate Q.”

Q, a short-lived hacker in Continent M.

The hacker that gave huge headache to the major cyber polices but rendered them at their wit’s ends.

“Do you think Matthew wants you to compete with Q?” Chang Ning turned to Ouyang Wei’s page on the computer and squinted. “Your situations are similar and you’ve never met before.”

The name Lone Wolf had also appeared in front of Matthew several times. It had invaded Matthew’s system too many times.

So when Matthew came to Chang Ning, he had kept a close eye on it.

“That’s not the case.” Qin Ran glanced at Shi Liming. He and Cheng Mu were walking back. “He just wants to know Q. Don’t accept this order. I still have matters to attend to on my side, so I’ll hang up first.”

Chang Ning still wanted to ask Qin Ran how she knew about this, but before he could utter a single word, she had already hung up.

**

“Miss Qin, over here.” Shi Liming had just returned from talking to Leader Zhou. After confirming Qin Ran’s residence, he led her inside.

He also carried the suitcase for her.

Her casual dressing did indeed resemble a tourist.

It was said to be an aircraft parking ground, but it, in fact, covered an area smaller than that of Yun Cheng Airport.

It was almost ten o’clock in the evening, so there were fewer people around than during the day. Most of them were tour groups and some strangely dressed people.

“This is one of our strongholds.” Shi Liming introduced to Qin Ran and Cheng Mu while bringing them inside. “It’s a trade center. There are two teams in the law enforcement hall all year round, as well as some from the foreign trade hall. Luo Dui is negotiating with them.”

The parking ground was very large. Although dispersed, it was still partitioned with discipline. It wasn’t as standardized as ordinary airports, and there were business opportunities for helicopters and private jets as well.

In the spacious place, Shi Liming led Qin Ran and the others along a path directly to a building.

The door of the building was made of black steel.

When Cheng Mu saw the gate, he thought of Gu Xichi’s high-tech iris-recognition gate.

He was still thinking about it.

At that moment, the gate lit up and Shi Liming took out a card. A quaint machine voice sounded—

[Verification successful.]

The door opened and Shi Liming turned around to explain the origin of the door. However, he realized that Qin Ran was absentmindedly scrolling through her phone as if she didn’t just witness something spectacular.

Even Cheng Mu, who always made such a fuss, was calm.

If Shi Liming were to ask Cheng Mu, Cheng Mu would tell him extremely calmly that he had seen a more advanced “iris recognition” machine before.

Shi Liming touched his nose awkwardly. “We’re going to the third floor. It’s a room reserved for the boss, but he hasn’t been there much.”

There were only a few busy figures in the whole building.

After Shi Liming led them into a room, someone outside brought in their meal.

Qin Ran walked around the room and then sat down in front of the computer.

After Cheng Mu finished his meal, his cell phone rang. It was a message from Ouyang Wei asking if he and Lu Zhaoying wanted to play games.

Cheng Mu lowered his head and rejected her. Then, he turned around to ask Shi Liming, “Is there a training ground here?”

“Of course.” Shi Liming ordered the people to put away the chopsticks and asked Qin Ran to find him if she had any problems. Then, he brought Cheng Mu out. “I’m going there too. As the boss’s subordinate, we can’t fall behind in training. If only I can be as good as Mr. Cheng Shui…”

On the other hand, in the capital.

Ouyang Wei threw her phone down a little anxiously.

Forget about Lu Zhaoying, why was Cheng Mu ignoring her recently?

She stared at her phone and simply couldn’t understand it.

“Miss.” Outside, her butler knocked on the door. “129 is releasing the first round of notice today.”

Ouyang Wei put aside her thoughts about Cheng Mu and looked at her phone. She made up her mind to stop contacting them for the time being.

**

Continent M’s border.

Leader Zhou and Luo Dui were waiting by the car.

“When will the goods arrive?” Leader Zhou went to the stand and glanced in the direction of the airport. Luo Dui followed behind him.

Beside him was a middle-aged man wearing a military green coat and a small felt hat on his head. His furry clothes tuned down his vicious appearance due to the scars on his brow bone, but his eyes were still deep and sharp.

Nobody dared to stare at him in the eyes.

This was the general of Cheng Juan’s subordinates, Huo’er. He was terrifyingly capable and was the first person to guard the borders of Continent M.

He had a cigarette in his mouth as he said powerfully, “One o’clock in the morning, they’ll hand it over tomorrow morning.”

Then, he paused and looked in the direction where Qin Ran and the others had left. “Who were the three people just now?”

“That’s Miss Qin…” Leader Zhou explained Qin Ran’s identity simply. “I don’t like how things are developing. Mr. Huo’er, can you lend me a team of people when you leave? I’m afraid something might happen to Miss Qin.”

“Dog, shit, troublesome.” Huo’er took two steps forward. “I’ll transfer a team of men for you, but it won’t be a large number. Otherwise, I won’t be able to guard the border.”

The two of them were talking.

Not far away, someone hurried over. “Mr. Huo’er, the line on the other side of the cargo was intercepted! We suspect it to be the Mas family.”

“Intercepted? Where are the technicians?” Huo’er’s green eyes deepened and the scar on his brow bone bent like a centipede.

Hearing this, Leader Zhou also tensed up.

“The technicians are already handling it, but Mr. Cheng Huo isn’t there. Our whereabouts are soon to be leaked, and it’ll be easy to rob us on our way back…”

Everyone was on edge.

Upstairs, Qin Ran sat on the sofa in the hall and finished a game with Lu Zhaoying.

She didn’t move even though it was time for the next round.

Putting her fingers on the keyboard of her usual black notebook, she hit a few keys and the computer screen switched to a blue and white virtual network screen.

Several red dots on the screen were chasing each other.

Qin Ran squinted and chuckled softly. “It’s so lively…”

“What?” Lu Zhaoying urged her to start the game.

Qin Ran took a sip of water and replied calmly, “You play by yourself first, I’ve found something more fun…”

**

Cheng Mu was brutally beaten up by Shi Liming. He only came back from the martial arts field at one o’clock in the morning.

He seemed even more decadent now because he realized that Shi Liming had even gone easy on him.

“Brother Cheng Mu, it’s okay.” Shi Liming patted Cheng Mu on the shoulder, comforting him. “I’m considered pretty good in the procurement hall, and so are you.”

Cheng Mu pursed his lips silently.

He knew that Shi Liming only came to the procurement hall after being eliminated by the law enforcement hall.

If Shi Liming wasn’t capable enough, then what about the other people in the law enforcement hall?

What about Cheng Shui, who was even more powerful than Leader Du of the law enforcement hall? Judging by what they said, it seemed Cheng Huo was also an extremely capable hacker.

Shi Liming followed behind Cheng Mu and couldn’t help touching his nose.

He knew that Cheng Mu was Qin Ran’s friend, so he had really gone easy on him in hopes of drawing a tie. Who knew that…

The lights in the suite hall were still on. When the two went in, Qin Ran was sitting on the sofa and playing with her computer.

The computer screen was blue.

Qin Ran’s face was slightly cynical and cold.

When the two approached, the computer screen changed to Kyushu Tour and Lu Zhaoying’s voice sounded.

“What the f*ck! Damn it! You lousy teammate! Qin Ran, when are you coming!”

Qin Ran casually pressed “enter” and turned off Lu Zhaoying’s voice. She looked very calmly at the two of them and sincerely invited them. “Do you want to play a game together?”

At the same time.

At Leader Zhou’s side.

The technician looked at the connection that had suddenly collapsed and froze in his seat.

“What’s wrong?” Leader Zhou was focused on their situation and immediately came over.

The technician moved his hand and said in a daze, “Leader Zhou, they seem to have collapsed over there…”

“That’s good. Have you intercepted any useful news?” Leader Zhou put down his phone and stopped trying to reach Cheng Huo. He heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s one o’clock, the goods are coming soon. We’ll talk along the way.”

The technician immediately stood up and went downstairs with Leader Zhou to pick up the goods. “I received a message saying that they’re going to take Avenue 26 tomorrow. When you return to the manor tomorrow, it’s best to split into two…”

The two parties were still in oblivion.

Just now when they were fighting each other online, something strange had found its way in…

**

The next day.

Qin Ran got up very early. Cheng Mu came in with a bag and took care of the flowers before putting away her things.

He stood by the flowerpot, staring at it carefully. Today, the flowers and leaves seemed to have wilted a little.

He picked up his phone and dialed Classmate Lin’s number to inquire about it.

He even sent a picture of the flower.

It was exactly seven o’clock in China. Cheng Mu thought that Lin Siran might still be in the evening self-study, so he informed the gardener about this matter as well.

Both Lin Siran and the gardener sent their replies almost simultaneously—

[It’s normal.]

Their reply was exactly the same.

Cheng Mu stared at it curiously. But since they both said it was normal, he put down the flower pot.

Then, he followed Qin Ran and Shi Liming to hang out.

Qin Ran wore the black down jacket that covered her knees and made her look extremely thin. The jacket had a red flower on the cuffs. It was a distinct and conspicuous red spider lily.

Cheng Shui had prepared this for her when she came to Continent M.

Most of the clothes in the box were of this color.

The three of them left the building and walked outside.

The borders of Continent M were chaotic and didn’t belong to the jurisdiction of any party. The people from the tour groups only stayed in the hotel and dared not run around.

The side near the parking ground was a little more peaceful. It was also the gathering place for the commercial black market and the arena auction.

Qin Ran’s hat obscured her vision, so she simply pulled it off.

Her appearance and skin tone was very eye-catching. Her wild and gangster-ish aura was also very attractive. However, when the countless people saw the red spider lily on the edge of her sleeve, they quickly looked away in avoidance.

It was cold outside, and there were few people setting up a stand outside. Shi Liming took Qin Ran and the others into the underground auction.

Since they didn’t have a special reservation, the three of them didn’t enter the room and mixed with a group of people to watch the auction.

The auctioneer on stage was an old man with long, curly blond hair.

“The next item is the automatic series robot EA3 developed by the Yunguang Consortium, of which EA1 is with Country Y’s Queen. The starting price is 7 million.”

The Yunguang Consortium controlled the two major markets of the Internet and food and was undoubtedly their leader.

The auctioneer struck the hammer.

A group of people passionately began raising the price by one or two hundred thousand.

As for the big bosses in the rooms upstairs, none of them made their move yet.

“So many people want to buy this robot?” Cheng Mu glanced at the robot and felt like it wasn’t much different from the one at Gu Xichi’s house, except for the color.

Gu Xichi’s robot was particularly useful. Jiang Dongye had inquired several times and had still failed to find its origin.

Shi Liming quickly took out his mobile phone and dialed Cheng Shui’s phone number. He reported to him about the auction site here and didn’t even have time to explain to Cheng Mu.

At the same time, the image of the robots was enlarged on the big screen of the auction house.

Very distinctly, a red poppy flower logo could be seen on the robot’s wrist.