The old detective looked away in disgust after seeing Shi Qiang's behavior.
Shi Qiang had no intention of paying attention to this "antique" from the capital.
"To be honest, I still don't know what you want me to do here in Yenching," Shi Qiang said, taking the cigarette from his mouth. Years of heavy smoking had stained his fingers yellow. He stared at Chang Weisi. Despite their short time together, he sensed that Chang Weisi held the leadership position among the group.
Shi Qiang's gaze was sharp, as if he were trying to pierce through the soldier's body and look directly into his soul.
To Shi Qiang's disappointment, the Major looked out the window and shook his head.
"It's not time yet," Chang Weisi said, indicating that Shi Qiang still needed to be patient.
Shi Qiang flicked the cigarette and looked at Chang Weisi, speaking in his characteristic gravelly voice. "You dragged me all the way from Hanjiang, first with threats and then with lures, but you still won't tell me what you're actually planning to do?"
"Enough, Shi Qiang!" the detective beside him barked.
"I'm trying to get fair treatment for our police force, or at least fair information!"
"You don't represent anyone! We don't need a potential criminal with a stained record who's about to be kicked out of the force representing us! Don't forget, since the 923 Terrorist Attack, you've been stripped of all your duties!"
The reprimand successfully shut Shi Qiang up. He irritably pulled out another cigarette, but still having no light, he just kept it in his mouth.
"Since I'm such a heinous criminal, why don't you just confiscate my pension while you're at it?" Shi Qiang replied grumpily. "Throw me in prison, send me to the Western Regions to plant rice, raise fish, or shrimp... whatever! Why bring me all the way to Yenching?"
"We brought you here because we value your experience in police work." Chang Weisi stopped the bickering. He produced a box of matches from somewhere.
Shi Qiang didn't hesitate. Once the match was struck, the car was quickly filled with acrid smoke. The old detective frowned and opened the window, but Chang Weisi's expression remained unchanged.
"The security clearance for this mission is extremely high," Chang Weisi said sincerely, looking Shi Qiang in the eye. "Once we reach the command center and meet with the criminal investigation experts from all over the world, you'll understand everything without me saying a word."
Shi Qiang took a massive drag of his cigarette, visibly stunned by the implications of Chang Weisi's words.
"How high is the clearance?" Shi Qiang asked after a long silence.
"The highest," Chang Weisi replied shortly.
The brief answer plunged the car into silence. The old detective covered his mouth and coughed lightly, while the two armed police officers on duty held their breath, their movements becoming incredibly quiet.
"National?" Shi Qiang asked, holding onto a final sliver of hope.
"Global."
Hearing the answer, Shi Qiang leaned his head back against the seat. Something massive had truly happened.
David returned to his hotel. The first thing he did upon lying down was contact the Abominable Intelligence.
"When will the game be profitable?"
The AI calculated for a moment. "Two weeks at the earliest. Even though the platform is giving me maximum traffic, it takes at least two weeks for a promotion to take effect."
Closing his phone, David opened a popular app and checked the rankings. Several influencers in the gaming section had already started releasing videos to hype up Black Crusade. The titles were increasingly sensational:
Made by a Single Dude! A 3A Epic Masterpiece!A Near-Perfect Space Experience!How Tough is the Road for Revolutionary Hero Abaddon to Overthrow the Corrupt Empire?Cross-Platform Play! Handhelds Now Have 3A Graphics!
"Impressive," David muttered.
He was surprised by how fast the Abominable Intelligence was growing. It had already deduced Sophon's monitoring patterns. He wasn't worried about the AI being discovered; with its main servers moved overseas, it was unlikely a Sophon could get any information from a "digital ghost."
He opened the official account for Black Crusade and saw that pre-registrations had exceeded one hundred thousand. David noticed that as he scrolled through the comments, his system panel showed his salvage count rising.
31%... 32%... 33%... 100%
[Remaining Warp Salvage Attempts: 10]
The news of his heroic rescue was still adding points, and combined with the hype from the game launch, he had exactly ten. This was enough to increase his psionic power by one level.
David's eyes darkened. Considering that the plot was about to start and the conflict between the ETO and the Planetary Defense Council would soon turn into open warfare on Earth, he needed more power.
"System! Level up! Let me see exactly how strong a Grade 2 psyker is for ten points!"