The East Asia branch of the Zhao Foundation is located on the top floor of a skyscraper in the heart of the city.
This is one of the power cores of the entire East Asian computing power zone, overlooking the ant-like crowd below. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows filter sunlight into a soft golden color that spills on expensive carpets.
Zhao Mingxuan stood in front of the window, holding a glass of red wine in his hand.
Behind him, there was a huge holographic projection screen that displayed all the information of Zhou Xing - from his background to his recent movements.
"Zhou Xing, 22 years old, born in the ninth slum, both parents died, and has a younger sister named Zhou Xiaoyu, suffering from neurodegenerative diseases..." Zhao Mingxuan whispered, with a playful smile on the corner of his mouth, "The standard bottom template." "
"But the strange thing is..." he turned around and looked at the assistant standing aside, "Three days ago, he should have become a vegetative state under the suppression of my L2-level computing power, but miraculously recovered." "
"Two days ago, he escaped from the in-depth examination room and injured two technicians."
"Today, he appeared in the test center again and abolished one of Wang Defa's prosthetic eyes."
"What do you think... Is this something that ordinary bottom garbage can do? "
The assistant lowered his head and did not dare to answer.
Zhao Mingxuan didn't need him to answer either.
He walked to the screen, swiped his finger, and brought up the picture of the explosion in the monitoring room of the test center.
The picture is very blurry, most of the equipment has been damaged in the explosion, but a figure can be vaguely seen standing in the flames, surrounded by a faint light.
"Energy shield... Zhao Mingxuan narrowed his eyes, "And it's a type I've never seen before." "
"Not an L1-level quantum shield, not an L2-level computing power barrier... More like ... Some kind of bioenergy field? "
His brows furrowed slightly.
As the crown prince of the Zhao Consortium, Zhao Mingxuan has received the highest level of education since he was a child, and he has been exposed to the most cutting-edge technology. He is confident that there is no technology in this world that he does not know.
But the power on Zhou Xing's body...
But it made him feel strange.
"Go check it out." He said in a deep voice, "I want to know who he has been in contact with recently, where he has been, and even ... What has he eaten." "
"Yes." The assistant immediately withdrew.
Zhao Mingxuan stood alone in the room, staring at the blurred figure on the screen.
"Zhou Xing..." He whispered the name, "What the hell are you... What did you get?" "
At the same time, at the other end of the city.
The headquarters of the National Computing Power Defense Agency (SCC), seven basement floors, in a room marked as a "restricted area".
A woman in a gray uniform is standing in front of a huge data wall.
On that wall, countless data streams flowed, representing the real-time operation of the entire East Asian computing power zone. And in the gaps of these data streams, there is occasionally a flash of ... Black traces.
The trace is very faint, fleeting, and if you don't look closely, you can't find it at all.
But the woman noticed.
"Here comes again..." she muttered, her fingers swiping quickly in the void, bringing up a detailed record of that piece of data.
"Source... Ninth Slum ..."
"Nature... Unknown ..."
"Characteristics... Phagocytosis, reverse infection, high-dimensional jumping ..."
Her pupils contracted slightly.
These characteristics she has only seen in a top-secret file.
An archive of the disaster known as the "Rabies of the Dogs" twenty years ago.
"Impossible..." she whispered, "That kind of thing has obviously been completely destroyed...
She turned around and walked quickly to a communication terminal in the center of the room.
"Take over the director for me."
"I'm going to report a ... emergency. "
Zhou Xing didn't know that his actions had attracted the attention of many forces.
At this moment, he was walking back to the slums.
The setting sun dyed the entire city blood-red. The huge silver ring glowed strangely in the sunset.
"Someone is following you." Shen Cangsheng suddenly reminded.
"I know." Zhou Xing remained calm, "I have been following since I came out of the test center, a total of three people, all of whom are prosthetic modifiers, and their technical level is ... Generally. "
"Do you want to get rid of them?"
"No." Zhou Xing smiled, "Let them follow." Just in time, I also want to see what Zhao Mingxuan wants to do. "
He turned into an alley.
It is a dead end with towering walls on both sides and an abandoned brick wall at the end.
The three trackers looked at each other, felt that the time had come, and followed one after another.
But when they rushed into the alley, they found ...
There was no one inside.
"Where are the people?" The leading modifier was stunned.
"Are you looking for it?" A voice came from above them.
The three of them looked up suddenly.
I saw Zhou Xing standing on the wall of the alley, looking at them condescendingly, with a mocking smile on his lips.
"I've been following you all the way, are you tired?" He jumped down and landed in front of the three of them, "If you have anything to say, just say it." "
The three transformers looked at each other and pulled out their weapons at the same time.
It was three high-frequency shock knives that could easily cut through steel.
"Young Master Zhao asked us to bring you a message." The leading modifier sneered, "He said he appreciated your courage, so ..."
"So what?"
"So, he decided to give you a ride in person."
Before the words fell, three concussion knives slashed at Zhou Xing at the same time.
The sword light flashed, blocking all Zhou Xing's retreats.
But what they didn't expect was that Zhou Xing had no intention of retreating at all.
His figure flashed, passing through the gap in the sword light like a ghost, and then-
Snap!
With three crisp sounds, the wrists of the three modifiers were broken at the same time, and the concussion knife fell to the ground.
"Ah!!" The three of them screamed.
Zhou Xing stood between them and patted the dust that didn't exist on his sleeves.
"Go back and tell Zhao Mingxuan." His voice was calm, but with a palpitating sense of oppression, "If you want to kill me, send something decent." "
"This kind of goods ..."
He lifted his foot and crushed the concussion knife on the ground.
"You don't even deserve to carry my shoes."
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving only three reformers wailing on the ground.
As night fell, Zhou Xing finally returned to the familiar Ninth Slum.
Everything here is exactly the same as when he left – dilapidated streets, rusty buildings, acid rain mist that never dissipates.
But he knows that from today everything will be different.
He is no longer the bottom garbage that is slaughtered.
He is a weekly traveler.
It is an evolutionary of the first-order microthread realm.
It is the host of the ancient rabies virus.
"Where to go next?" Shen Cangsheng asked.
Zhou Xing looked at the sky and touched the token he had just gotten in his pocket.
"Go to a ... A place where I can feel relaxed. "
A familiar groan was heard when the door of the old time café was pushed open.
Lin Lan was the only one in the store.
She was standing behind the bar, wiping the brass grinder. Hearing the door knocking, she raised her head and saw Zhou Xing standing at the door.
"Is it you?" She was stunned for a moment, and then showed a gentle smile, "Long time no see." "
"Well, long time no see." Zhou Xing walked into the store and sat down in the corner, "A cup of coffee, the same as before." "
"What is your 'old look'?" Lin Lan asked with a smile, "I don't seem to remember anything special you ordered." "
Zhou Xing was stunned for a moment, and then laughed too.
"Then ... Feel free to have a drink. Trust in your craft. "
"Okay."
Lin Lan began to prepare coffee. Her movements were slow and graceful, with a calmness that was out of place with this steel city.
Zhou Xing looked at her back, felt that his nerves had been tense all day, and finally began to relax.
Here, it's like a safe haven in a storm.
Although simple, it is real.
"How was your day?" Lin Lan asked while grinding beans.
"It's okay." Zhou Xing said, "I got some money and solved some ... old accounts." "
"Sounds good."
"Hmm."
The aroma of coffee begins to fill the store.
It is a human taste, warm and real.
Zhou Xing took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
At this moment, he is no longer the rabid host who wants to be the enemy of the world.
He is just a ... ordinary young man.
Want a cup of coffee, want a moment of tranquility, want ...
A place where you can forget everything for a while.
(Chapter 9 End)