Sudden Turn of Events

Yan Junxun silently bit on a piece of candy, leaning on the third-floor railing as he watched the Supervisory Bureau's central screen.

"The day before yesterday, Black Panther Commander Fu Chenghui attended the North-South talks..."

The media cameras swarmed towards the suit-clad Fu Chenghui. He was 62 years old this year, but he looked to be only around 40. He was one of the Northern Front Alliance's first Black Panther members; his serial number was unknown. The assassination of the Commander-in-Chief was the turning point in Fu Chenghui's political career. After the Commander-in-Chief was assassinated by a sniper, he became a core figure in the Alliance, and thus began a controversial political career.

"The Stagnation Zone issue has once again sparked heated discussion..."

Yan Junxun ate his candy and turned his head. He looked towards the window at the end of the third floor and saw the sky over the Docking Area.

The sky was gray and hazy. There were no birds, only clouds like oil stains floating above.

The central screen was still broadcasting the news, with Fu Chenghui speaking on behalf of the officials. Yan Junxun began to zone out. There was a slight stabbing pain in his head, but it didn't stop him from turning his "eyes."

On the stuffy street, there were few pedestrians. The virtual greenery couldn't block the wind and sand, and the signs of the small street-side shops were all filthy.

Yan Junxun switched the view.

Someone opened a door and hugged the child who rushed into their arms.

No, not this one either. Yan Junxun continued switching views; he wanted to see something else.

Piao Lin was taking notes, talking with the Supervisory Bureau member beside him.

Yan Junxun could clearly hear what they were talking about. This was Jue's perspective.

Piao Lin's screen was exposed before Yan Junxun's "eyes." On it were the detailed confessions of the personnel captured in this operation.

Li Hu: The Clown contacted me first. He knows a lot of things. I didn't want to take the risk at first... Yes, yes, the surveillance data on goods in the Stagnation Zone was all provided by The Clown. I don't know who he is, but he has a lot of this kind of data.

Li Hu: Bai Jingqing's case has nothing to do with me. I have thousands, if not tens of thousands, of girls working for me. How could I possibly remember Bai Jingqing? Besides, she was with a boss. You should go investigate her boss...

Yan Junxun couldn't see anymore, because Jue had moved the camera back to Piao Lin.

"The Lixing case and the Bai Jingqing case need to be separated," Piao Lin said to Jue. "The Lixing case is a follow-up to Mite. We need to give Black Panther a heads-up. Jue, give me the Mite files."

"Okay," Jue said, pulling up the files. "I'm a little dizzy..."

"What's wrong?" Piao Lin leaned closer with a concerned expression. "Is it an aftereffect from last night's attack? We can go to the Main Management System after work to check your basic settings... Are you okay?"

Yan Junxun switched the view.

The Docking Area's Main Management System was at work, receiving all information. Data scrolled rapidly across its display like a never-ending fluorescent waterfall. It had given Black Panther a special information folder, and all the detailed orders concerning Black Panther were in here.

[01AE86's willingness to cooperate is low. If necessary, he can be killed on sight.]

[The regional system's cooperative objective is to monitor 01AE86 and 7-001.]

[Mission termination date is August 8, 2166.]

What mission? The Mite Protocol?

Jiang Lian hadn't mentioned this cooperation from the regional systems—did Jiang Lian know?

Yan Junxun's heart began to race. August 8th was his birthday. He sensed something was wrong from these few lines of text, but he couldn't see any more. The Main Management System was highly alert; it had already started to sound an alarm!