Geek

Gu Shen froze.

That was right... Mr. Shu had extended an olive branch even before the fire.

He did not understand. If it was not because of an "Extraordinary Awakening," what else about him had attracted Mr. Shu?

"Meow—"

After Nan Jin left, Orange Cat, who had been lying obediently on the sofa, suddenly reflected a fluorescent glow in its eyes, and its cry turned shrill.

It jumped onto Gu Shen's lap, gesturing through the air with its paws as if writing while meowing incessantly.

"...The ruler!"

Gu Shen understood at once. Chu Ling was back online. "You hid the ruler? Where did you hide it?"

His memories of the day of the fire had become blurry.

After using Truth Ruler, his mental strength had been exhausted. Even the final phone call had been made by Chu Ling on his behalf... Though Gu Shen had not experienced what happened afterward, he knew it must have been complicated.

The fire had caused a huge impact. Once the authorities took over, they would certainly seal off the area immediately.

And the source of the fire—his home—had probably already been searched inside and out several times.

It was not easy for a cat to hide Truth Ruler.

Orange Cat caught the hem of Gu Shen's clothes in its mouth and led him toward the inner room... When they reached the holographic screen, it powered on automatically. Accompanied by an effect of crashing waves, that familiar chat window popped up again.

It was a message from Chu Ling.

"Gu Shen, we meet again."

After that message appeared, the fluorescent glow in Orange Cat's eyes slowly faded. The silly cat yawned, turned in a circle to look at its tail, and seemed confused about why it was here. Then it flicked its tail and stalked away in disgust.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes... While recovering in his hospital bed, he had been considering a question.

How exactly had Chu Ling communicated with him through Orange Cat?

In the end, he could only arrive at a somewhat forced answer.

Technical intrusion.

In this era where Deep Sea connected the Five Continents, artificial intelligence had already become highly developed. Using implanted chips to control a stray cat was not difficult.

But once there were too many coincidences, they stopped being coincidences.

The string of bizarre events he had encountered these past few days... Chu Ling had foreseen every one of them and given him warnings. Coupled with the stray cat he had "happened" to pick up half a month ago, there was no way these things were merely chance.

"You..."

Gu Shen slowly typed, "Are you a hacker specializing in network breaches?"

It was the most reasonable explanation he could think of.

No matter what, the other party had saved his life. Gu Shen felt that he could trust Chu Ling without worry.

The warning in the train car, the alert about the fire, the final call... If Chu Ling had failed to do even one of those things, he would most likely be dead by now.

"Mm, a hacker specializing in network breaches... An interesting view. You can think of me that way." Chu Ling replied quickly, then added seriously, "Including, but not limited to that."

"Including... but not limited to that."

Gu Shen muttered the words to himself, feeling that this girl's talent and nerve were frighteningly immense.

Deep Sea's network security was extraordinarily important. As the server connecting the five continents and responsible for the lives of billions, it had the world's most elite security teams standing guard around the clock.

Yet Chu Ling had managed to conceal her identity and speak with him.

That already counted as an unauthorized, "overreaching" privilege.

If she could do even more... It was hard to imagine what the consequences would be if the authorities discovered her.

"What you're doing... is dangerous."

The more Gu Shen thought about it, the more his head hurt. If Chu Ling was exposed, it would trigger an incredibly serious large-scale manhunt. The Adjudication Court would likely be involved in the pursuit as well. Those people were all genuine monsters. "What if they find you?"

"Don't be afraid." The girl responded calmly and casually. "They can't find me... I've already sent you Truth Ruler's location. I suggest acting tonight and retrieving it as soon as possible."

It seemed that this girl did not care at all about the consequences of being tracked down.

Gu Shen said nothing more... He opened the data packet Chu Ling had labeled "Disciplinary Ruler," only for a layered three-dimensional map to unfold before him. Gu Shen fell silent. There was no doubt that this was another powerful privilege only available through a connection to Deep Sea.

The map was marked with astonishing precision.

Gu Shen recognized it at a glance... It was the unfinished building that had been half-destroyed by the fire. Because of the blaze, all residents had been evacuated and placed in temporary housing nearby. The building itself had been surrounded by police tape, with unauthorized personnel forbidden from entering.

The map updated in real time. He could see yellow dots wandering around Old Building, as well as one particularly conspicuous red dot.

"Yellow dots are ordinary people. Red dots are Extraordinary individuals. One Extraordinary has already arrived. After tonight, the number of combat personnel dispatched by the two institutions is expected to increase, and other Extraordinary individuals of unknown origin will arrive as well... The chance of the disciplinary ruler being exposed will rise." Chu Ling explained simply. "Do you see where it is? It's beside the second victim, inside a pile of wooden boards in the corner of the stairs leading to the rooftop."

Gu Shen remembered that place.

That was where he had brought down divine punishment with the disciplinary ruler and burned the arsonist alive.

At the final moment, Chu Ling had chosen to hide the disciplinary ruler there... It was risky.

But it was also wise.

As the source of the fire, his residence would certainly be inspected thoroughly. If the disciplinary ruler had been left there, it would probably have already been exposed.

There was no guarantee that any other location would avoid being searched.

Only the location of the two corpses—the rooftop and the stairwell leading to it—would be preserved in its entirety because it was the primary crime scene.

He was already part of the Adjudication Court. Mr. Shu would not let the true culprit behind the fire escape.

"The best time to act is tonight at 23:00. A group of workers will change shifts at Old Building, and you can infiltrate during that window. This is the operation map for retrieving the disciplinary ruler, and this is the escape route."

Like an emotionless machine, Chu Ling packaged and sent two more files.

After Gu Shen opened them and read them carefully, he took a deep breath and typed, "What will happen if the ruler is exposed?"

There was a brief pause, as though Chu Ling was thinking. Or perhaps searching for information.

She told him a story from long ago. "Before losing control, A-009 was an important member of the Ancient Text Society and had considerable dealings with Alan Turing, the Deep Sea Godfather. As the Ancient Text Society declined and was destroyed, A-009 embarked on the path of losing control and was placed under strict confinement. Over the years, she was transferred between several cities... A powerful figure in the Council intended to investigate the true reason behind this woman's loss of control, so experiments were continuously conducted. They believed that some Extraordinary item containing immense power had caused A-009 to lose control completely."

Gu Shen froze.

An Extraordinary item containing immense power?

"The Bone Scraper you saw in the train car, as well as that newspaper... were believed to be the culprits behind her loss of control."

"After losing control, A-009 perfectly concealed the existence of the disciplinary ruler for more than a decade. Therefore, that powerful figure did not know that she... had hidden a third Extraordinary Sealed Item on her."

By this point, cold sweat had begun to seep from Gu Shen's back.

"For unknown reasons... A-009 chose to give Truth Ruler to you." Chu Ling was concise. "You do not need to know why. You only need to know... once this disciplinary ruler is discovered, you will be in enormous trouble. The will of that powerful figure is not something you can oppose at your current stage."

Gu Shen asked with difficulty, "You should know that I have the protection of the Amnesty Decree."

"Of course I know. But that Amnesty Decree only applies to the surface truth of the Fire Disaster Case... Although the person who issued it is also very formidable, his protection is merely a matter of personal favor. He does not truly care whether you live or die." Chu Ling's reply made Gu Shen's entire body tense. "But if Truth Ruler is exposed, the factions will be thrown into disarray, and that Amnesty Decree will most likely no longer protect you. Have you prepared yourself to face that outcome?"

Gu Shen stared fixedly at the screen.

Without realizing it, his forehead had become covered in sweat... After pushing his mind to its limit, it instead went completely blank.

Though he did not want to believe it, he knew everything Chu Ling said was correct.

Truth Ruler... absolutely could not be known by a third person.

After letting out a long breath, Gu Shen made up his mind. "I'll act tonight. But there's another Extraordinary individual. What should I do?"

On the other end, Chu Ling was very satisfied with Gu Shen's reply.

"Do not worry. I will assist you... Before the operation, change your outfit. As long as you can connect to Deep Sea, I can contact you at any time."

Gu Shen sat before the holographic screen for a long, long time before carefully asking the final question in his heart.

"Chu Ling..."

"Why are you helping me?"

The chat window showed that the other party was typing, writing and deleting, before quickly falling silent again.

Chu Ling had answered every question Gu Shen asked.

Only this one received no reply.