Balance

He waited a long time...

The other party did not reply again.

Gu Shen took his hands off the projection keyboard, feeling a little regretful.

That should have been the expected response, right?

Some things were important, yet not that important... Gu Shen did not want to dig into Chu Ling's identity or motives.

For now, it was enough for him to know that this girl was on his side and sincerely helping him.

Gu Shen carefully read through the two files she had sent over last.

Around the Old Building where he had once lived, a crooked security perimeter had been set up twenty meters away. Outsiders were strictly forbidden from entering. Together with several concealed surveillance devices, it formed a tight Surveillance Line.

Chu Ling had marked all those points out.

And the loopholes appeared as well—

Because of the fire, several cameras that came with the Old Building had been damaged. As a result, there were several blind spots around the positions where the temporarily assigned guards were stationed... The first file detailed two routes suitable for infiltration.

During shift changes, the guards would conduct a patrol after handing over duties.

That was the best opportunity to avoid the surveillance and enter the Old Building.

From that perspective... infiltrating would not be too difficult.

But according to Chu Ling's calculations, the shift-change patrol at around 23:00 would leave only about a one-minute window. By the time he got the ruler, the next group of guards would already be in position. If he returned the way he came, there was a chance he would be discovered.

So the escape route had to be planned again.

"Escape plan: leave from the rooftop at Point A. Use the height difference to reach the adjacent, unsealed Old Building at Point B."

Gu Shen's expression changed slightly. He stared at the three-dimensional escape map. The Old Building where he had lived was marked as Point A, while diagonally across from it stood a slightly shorter apartment block, marked by Chu Ling as Point B.

Escape by jumping off a building—simple and brutal.

"You've got to be kidding..."

Gu Shen looked at the distance between the two three-dimensional diagrams and the difference in height, feeling somewhat despairing. He viciously grabbed Orange Cat and held him up before his face. "Hey, you know that if I miss, I'll die when I jump, right? Is there another plan?"

The innocent kitten let out a meow and struggled desperately.

But the villain was too strong. Unable to resist, he could only submit.

It seemed Chu Ling had already disconnected... Gu Shen sighed. He also understood perfectly well that this seemingly most unreasonable escape route was actually the most reasonable one. If he returned the way he came, there was a high chance the guards would spot him.

Did he really have no choice but to jump?

For tonight's operation, Gu Shen planned to buy a portable device that could connect to Deep Sea.

If he could communicate with Chu Ling in real time and receive the latest updates, the operation's chances of success would greatly improve.

But Gu Shen also knew clearly that every move he made now was probably being watched.

According to Nan Jin, because of the "Amnesty Decree," many people at the Adjudication Court had already set their sights on him... That meant someone might also pull up his Electronic Bill.

Now was a good opportunity.

After the fire, he had moved into a New Home, and there were naturally many "daily necessities" to buy. A portable device connected to Deep Sea was a necessity. If he bought one while he was at it, no one should suspect his intentions.

19:01.

There were less than four hours until the actual operation.

Time was tight. After quickly tidying up, Gu Shen took Nan Jin's card and left the apartment.

Having lived in Da Teng City for seventeen years, Gu Shen had always stayed in remote, sparsely populated areas. The moment he left the apartment, everything around him felt so unfamiliar... The clamor and noise carried by the hot wind rushed toward him. Crowds surged through the streets, neon lights had just come alive, steel skyscrapers stood row upon row, and a vast electronic tide washed across the giant screen in the central plaza, where an advertisement of a family happily reunited was playing.

This era, this world, was enormous.

Invisible, silent currents and networks crossed five continents, connecting everyone together. Every person was like a drop of water in the waves, pressed close to one another. Raise a voice, and it could splash into foam.

Yet he alone was an exception.

Gu Shen had always felt like a solitary grain of sand on the beach. Deep Sea connected the whole world, but it did not connect him.

He pulled his coat tighter, put on his hat, and squeezed into the crowd.

The apartment was located in the bustling city center. The nearest supermarket was only a five-minute walk away. Gu Shen pushed a shopping cart, picked out some daily necessities, then headed to the electronics section.

A small, adorable pink wheeled robot slowly approached Gu Shen. Two pincers clamped onto his shopping cart and helped push it along as it enthusiastically asked him a question.

"Hello, sir! What do you need?"

Unmanned shopping had already become widespread in large supermarkets, and intelligent machines could handle most shopping assistance tasks.

But Gu Shen knew that beneath that soft, cute pink mechanical shell flowed nothing but emotionless code. The cloud database in the background would store every conversation between the robot and its customers.

Nowadays, a connection to Deep Sea had become an indispensable need.

Almost every new electronic product could provide wireless network connection services.

Before coming here, Gu Shen had been wondering whether Chu Ling's technology could synchronize building cross-section maps and real-time personnel movements if he bought holographic glasses or a holographic helmet...

He glanced at the price of the holographic glasses... 12,999.

Then he glanced at the holographic helmet—39,999.

Those seemed to be only the mini models. There were also plus and plus max versions.

This was... ridiculously expensive!

His bank balance was only five thousand.

The pink robot followed Gu Shen as he stopped and started, sensing that he had paused and beginning an enthusiastic introduction. "This is Citigroup's latest holographic glasses model. It uses the newest lifi Technology and offers up to 256 hours of battery life, perfectly meeting your daily office and entertainment needs... The current promotional price is only 12,999. If you are willing to apply for a membership card, you can also enjoy—"

"Alright, alright..."

Gu Shen's head hurt from listening. He ruthlessly interrupted the chatty robot. "I'll just buy a pair of wireless earbuds. The basic model is fine. Take me there."

Holographic glasses and helmets were certainly useful, but the latter was too bulky and inconvenient for movement.

As for the former... it was not that Gu Shen begrudged the money. Nan Jin's bank card, together with his own balance, should have been enough to buy a pair of glasses.

The most important thing was still the "Electronic Bill" from this shopping trip. This was only routine shopping after moving into a new home. There was no reason to immediately buy a pair of holographic glasses.

"..."

"Alright, please follow me."

The robot froze for a moment, then led Gu Shen left, then left again.

Gu Shen chose a very affordable pair of wireless earbuds for less than two hundred yuan. They could connect to Deep Sea. He had had his eye on them for a long time, and now was the perfect time to buy them.

The pink robot helped Gu Shen push the cart all the way to the self-checkout machine. Its base slowly rose, and with round suction-cup hands, it removed the products one by one and placed them on the counter.

"The total is 556.5 yuan."

Mm... not expensive.

Though it hurt a little, he could accept it.

Gu Shen did not hesitate. He immediately took out his pitifully low-balance bank card to pay.

Although the Adjudication Court had arranged a high-end apartment for him and given him a bank card "sufficient for daily expenses"... accepting favors from others for no reason was not Gu Shen's style. He still had money now, and this money was also "sufficient for daily expenses."

Of course, not using that card for payment was also because he was considering the possibility that his "Electronic Bill" might be investigated in the future.

After completing the payment, Gu Shen took out another card.

"Check the balance on this card too..." His feelings were complicated. The Adjudication Court had been generous, solving his housing problem for him. How much money could this card contain?

Thinking back to Nan Jin's expression, if it was enough for daily expenses... five thousand? Ten thousand?

If those people had investigated his everyday life, they should know that two or three thousand a month was enough for his expenses.

"Beep—"

Gu Shen stared blankly at the screen.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands...

In truth, the money Nan Jin had left him was not so exaggerated that he needed to count the digits to determine the amount, but Gu Shen still counted it several times carefully to make sure he had not made a mistake.

"..."

Gu Shen stared at the screen, feeling dazed.

Five hundred thousand.

Nan Jin had deposited a full five hundred thousand into the bank card she gave him.

In his entire life.

He had never seen so much money.