Chapter Forty-One: An Acquaintance

The chubby man grinned, baring his teeth.
“Honestly, it’s just the equipment holding us back. If we had a 3D printer, I could finish everything in one go. As for the upper and lower plates of this cervical brace, we still need to make molds, so they’ll have to experiment with that themselves.”

Zhou Yi nodded.
“I’ll join the team for the experiments. Meanwhile, you focus on digging up information, especially about Cheng Zhi’s ex-girlfriend. I suspect she’ll know something. Also, the business agent Cheng Zhi hired—since he didn’t want to use his own identity, tracking this person might lead us to some clues.”

The chubby man’s eyes lit up. Zhou Yi’s insight was impressive; both leads were promising. He quickly buried himself in internet searches.

Zhou Yi stood up, knowing it was time to give the chubby man enough space and time. He needed to draw attention elsewhere. The blueprints had already been sent to the email Zhang provided, and Zhou Yi was just about to leave with the printed drafts when Zhang walked in.

“The first set of designs is ready. Is the fabrication team prepared?” Zhou Yi asked.

Zhang froze, mouth agape, glancing from the chubby man focused on his computer to the drafts in Zhou Yi’s hand. She seemed overwhelmed, pointing toward the stairwell.

“They’re… they’re… having a meeting downstairs. The team was just formed! This… this is so fast!”

The chubby man, hearing this, couldn’t help but call out from his station, “Is it fair to say a man is too quick? These are just the preliminary sketches I had in mind before. If the computer were faster, we’d be even quicker. Keep it down over there, I’m still busy!”

Startled, Zhang quickly covered her mouth.

Zhou Yi waved a hand, led Zhang out, and thoughtfully closed the door behind them. He smiled at her.
“Come on, let’s go see the team working on the prototype. Some of these sketches were already done. The rest will need time and quiet for him to finish. I’ve given him all the parameters, but disturbing him now would only make him irritable.”

Zhang nodded vigorously.
“I understand. People with talent often have difficult temperaments. Someone as approachable as you is… incredibly rare…”

As she finished, her expression turned awkward and she glanced at Zhou Yi, clearly at a loss for words. She was not much of a conversationalist—her words could kill a conversation. Zhou Yi smiled, patting the blueprints.

“Let’s go.”

The two made their way downstairs.

Hearing footsteps, Su Yongming looked up in confusion. Zhang quickly explained, and Su Yongming was briefly surprised before understanding.

“So, you’d already worked on the designs. Even better! Let’s all take a look at the plans!”

...

Base Hall Three.

Sophia stared intently at the screen, while Carter hunched nearby, sneaking a glance at her.

“Deputy Commander, it seems they haven’t located the Awakened, Cheng Zhi, nor uncovered his identity. Shouldn’t we intervene this time?”

Sophia shook her head, her gaze fixed on the screen.

A map was displayed, showing only Zhou Yi and the chubby man’s positions. The blue marker for the Awakened, which should have appeared, was absent.

“How would we intervene? Send another team? Cheng Zhi has already exceeded our expectations. I suspect someone from the Hunter tribe has contacted him. Otherwise, he couldn’t have concealed his tracks with his abilities alone.”

Carter sighed, glancing at the screen. He was well aware the difficulty of this mission world had spiraled out of control. What had started as a one-star mission was now marked as three stars—decisions beyond his influence.

“You’re right, Deputy Commander. Still, for newly appointed Chosen, this task is truly daunting.”

Sophia cast him a sidelong glance. She understood his meaning; usually, such missions would be personally handled by herself or the Commander. After all, higher risks meant greater rewards.

The glaring three red stars made Sophia narrow her eyes.

If she said too much, Carter, that old fox, would only become more suspicious. For now, doing nothing was the best help she could offer. Only after Zhou Yi’s group found Cheng Zhi would she step in—then her involvement wouldn’t arouse Waldner’s suspicions.

“Just keep watch. Mr. Waldner’s decisions are beyond our control. Besides, with him away, we need to be cautious at the base. We’ve lost too many Chosen and slaves lately. The AI hasn’t reprimanded us because our energy output is still increasing, but the Lord of Time City is bound to inquire. Once Cheng Zhi is located, inform me at once. If Hunters are encountered, all the better if we can eliminate them. Even if not, I can bring our people back and minimize losses at the base.”

Carter placed his right hand over his chest and bowed to Sophia.

“Yes, Deputy Commander. But with so little information, there’s little we can do to help.”

Sophia waved him off, her gaze turning cold.

“You’re talking too much today. This isn’t your concern. Even if Mr. Waldner favors you, know your place. Just keep watch—I’m going to rest.”

With that, Sophia departed, leaving Carter pale and trembling, kneeling on the ground. Once she was gone and he stood up, his subservient expression vanished. He straightened his jacket and looked around at the others.

“All right, don’t concern yourselves with what you shouldn’t know. Focus on your tasks. I won’t repeat Miss Sophia’s orders: if you detect anything, inform Zhou Yi’s group immediately. Be alert for any signs of Hunters.”

“Yes, sir!” came the chorus.

With that, everyone in white set to work, recalibrating the Hunter detection equipment to this mission world, though nothing registered.

A faint smile curled Carter’s lips.

If such unexpectedly chosen individuals died here, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. At least Mr. Waldner wouldn’t be angry—he might even commend him.

...

Second floor of the research center.

Zhou Yi had finished a second sketch—not a priority, but enough to give the impression that research was ongoing.

Zhang assisted by his side. As Zhou Yi stretched, he noted darkness had already fallen outside.

Glancing at the clock, he saw it was already seven in the evening. Zhou Yi turned to Zhang.

“That’s enough for today. You go ahead and finish up. We’ll stay here tonight—it’s quieter.”

Zhang wanted to protest, but people in research were known for their quirks, and Mr. Su’s respectful attitude toward these two made her wary of questioning them. Besides, the small room had already been set up for them; clearly, these were people who got things done.

“All right, I won’t disturb you any further. Someone will bring supper at ten. If you’re not satisfied with the arrangements or need anything else, just call me.”

With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed downstairs. The chubby man looked around, then chuckled.

“That young lady’s very considerate. She almost makes me think she could satisfy any other requests I might have.”

Zhou Yi walked over and rapped the table.
“Enough nonsense. What did you find?”

The chubby man sighed.
“Boss, can’t we have a little fun in life? We’ve only got twenty-eight days left out of thirty. Can’t I joke around a bit? Who knows, you might lose me soon.”

“Enough with the chatter. If you haven’t found anything, I’ll get back to drawing.”

The chubby man hurriedly grabbed Zhou Yi’s sleeve, grinning.
“Can’t you give me a little comfort? Sit down, I did find something, but you should take a look.”

This time Zhou Yi said nothing, pulling over a chair to sit beside him.

The chubby man tapped away at the keyboard, accessing a website’s backend. Clearly, he’d already found some registration records.

“I found info on Cheng Zhi’s classmate’s father. In his contacts, there are two business agents. One of them took on eighteen jobs in May—mostly hotels, construction companies, and some tax services. The other had over thirty assignments. I shortlisted five: two internet cafes, two tech companies, and a network technology firm. This last one seems most likely, so I dug up more info on it. The legal representative is a woman named Li Mei, twenty-seven, a local from Jinan, married.”

Zhou Yi examined the details carefully. The business scope did fit, but with Cheng Zhi’s cunning, he wouldn’t hide his trail so simply.

“Did you check Li Mei’s household registration?”

“Speaking of which, you’d better see for yourself!”

With a mysterious smile, the chubby man operated the computer, pulling up the registration info. When Zhou Yi saw the household head’s name, he froze—how could it be him?