Code: MHY

Before going downstairs, Wang Lei checked his laptop's battery. Thinking of Qi Lin's temper, he hurriedly got up from the computer, brushed past Rui Mengmeng, and ran down the stairs.

Maybe he had gone a little too hard when trying to get close to Qi Lin back then.

It seemed that everyone around him, including his parents, who barely cared about him these days, thought he was pursuing Qi Lin. He had even heard that they had secretly met with Qi Lin. Whenever he went home for a meal now, relatives and friends urged him to bring Qi Lin home as soon as possible.

Qi Lin herself was a wealthy, beautiful girl, but she did not have the temperament of some spoiled little princess. A young, handsome, rich man was pursuing her, and he had no bad habits—he did not smoke at all, and only drank for tasting purposes. After all, it was unrealistic for a chef to never touch alcohol. So, she was secretly delighted. Their relationship quickly grew closer as well.

After Qi Lin's father investigated Wang Lei's background, he found nothing to dislike about this young wealthy man who had built his fortune from scratch, amassed nearly a billion in assets in five years, and had a clean record. He directly gave his tacit approval to Wang Lei's pursuit of Qi Lin.

Still, Wang Lei's continued refusal to confess left Qi Lin with a bit of a headache. She knew that a good man would sooner or later attract other butterflies. Wang Lei was simply too much of a homebody for anyone to have noticed him yet. So, she had started exercising a girlfriend's authority early on. Whenever Wang Lei lazed around, she often gave him a thorough scolding.

Wang Lei's response was, "Your boobs are big, your legs are long, and you'll be amazing in the future. I'll put up with it." But every time, he accepted the criticism humbly and never changed.

Still, those were only minor issues. Qi Lin, whose stomach had already been thoroughly conquered by Wang Lei, said she would never truly get angry over such things.

After coming downstairs, Wang Lei only needed a few minutes to make Qi Lin laugh so hard she swayed with laughter, while her colleagues looked on with envy.

Then Wang Lei got to work. Qi Lin also knew that Wang Lei would compromise with her on many things, but he would absolutely never compromise on what went on the restaurant's menu each day. In Wang Lei's words, that was the dignity of a chef with backbone.

While Wang Lei cooked, Qi Lin began complaining to him. During her shift last night, the local thug Liu Chuang had caused trouble again. He had even fought with a college student and torn apart the outdoor AC units of nearby residents.

The moment Wang Lei heard it, he knew the plot had begun. He knew Liu Chuang too. After all, Wang Lei had bought this entire street. Liu Chuang hung around this area all the time, so it was impossible not to know him.

The two had even fought once because Liu Chuang had been extorting Wang Lei's tenants. At the time, however, Liu Chuang had not yet activated his genes. Wang Lei, on the other hand, had been continuously altered by the Stellaron, leaving his physical condition at the peak of human capability. On top of that, he had deliberately spent money over the past few years to learn some basic military martial arts in the army. Beating up Liu Chuang and a few other little thugs had been as easy as playing around.

But after beating Liu Chuang up, Wang Lei had personally made a serving of Great Universe Fried Rice to nourish those thugs, who had not eaten properly in several meals, before delivering them all to the police station.

After that, Liu Chuang never caused trouble on Wang Lei's street again. It seemed he had even stopped other thugs from coming to make trouble there.

Because of that, Wang Lei often left some unfinished ingredients in the places Liu Chuang frequented. It counted as payment for him.

Qi Lin knew about all this too. Although she was somewhat unhappy that Wang Lei was helping a bunch of thugs who only knew how to make trouble, Wang Lei meant well. So she would not lose her temper with him. At most, if she ever got the chance to arrest Liu Chuang, she would keep him locked up for as many extra days as the rules allowed.

A cheerful lunch ended amid complaints, laughter, and chatter. Before leaving, Qi Lin said she would be on duty rather late today and would not come for dinner tonight. She told Wang Lei not to prepare anything.

The moment Wang Lei heard that, he knew tonight was probably the attack at Feiliu District Airport. Qi Lin would be shot through the chest by a Taotie vanguard soldier's laser, leading Super God Academy to discover that she carried the Super Gene.

Wang Lei had long planned to get involved in this battle, and he had made quite a few preparations for it. Otherwise, even with free electricity now, he would not still be short of the energy needed for even a single transmigration.

Much of the energy he had saved through the system had been exchanged for points to buy things, especially high-tech items from Honkai Star Rail. The Taotie and the gods of the universe might look down on Earth's native civilization, which had not even reached the spacefaring age.

But if the known universe of today were placed under the setting of Honkai Star Rail... Heh. Keisha, Hexi, Carl, Liangbing, and the other top technological gods would probably be scared to death by the Aeons and their Emanators.

Even setting aside overpowered existences like the Aeons, the Angel Civilization—the pinnacle of the known universe—would probably only count as an advanced civilization ruling a single galaxy if placed in Honkai Star Rail. Looking across the entire Imaginary Space, civilizations like that were not especially rare.

So, using the Energy Points he had saved for a long time through charging devices and slaughtering pigs, chickens, sheep, and cattle, Wang Lei spent a full 7,000 Energy Points to exchange for a complete set of Interstellar Peace Corporation police-issue mass-produced exoskeleton armor.

Its appearance was similar to Iron Man's armor from Marvel, except the helmet resembled Black Panther's. In Wang Lei's eyes, its defensive capabilities were formidable. According to its description, its built-in Energy Shield could directly block several frontal shots from powerful electromagnetic rifles and high-energy Laser Guns. It could also support operations in outer space, while possessing additional functions such as invisibility and signal interference.

Tonight, Wang Lei planned to wear this set to Feiliu District Airport and meet the Taotie, to see what level the Interstellar Peace Corporation's ordinary soldier armor stood at compared to Taotie equipment.

Thus, after Qi Lin left, Wang Lei announced that business was over for the day and closed the restaurant early.

Rui Mengmeng had grown accustomed to Wang Lei suddenly closing up at times. In her eyes, Wang Lei had earned so much money in five years, so he had to be a genius. She could not understand the thoughts of a genius. So, she just had to listen to Wang Lei.

Evening quickly arrived. Wang Lei took the black exoskeleton armor from the system's storage space. The system itself did not actually come with a System Space, but fortunately, items exchanged through the system could be stored in it. Things not obtained through the system could not.

After Wang Lei activated the exoskeleton armor, its built-in artificial intelligence began identification. "Genetic verification passed. Iris verification passed. Please state the activation password."

With a solemn expression, Wang Lei said, "Code: MHY."

"Password correct. Please equip."

The exoskeleton's chest armor then opened automatically. Wang Lei only needed to step inside, and the exoskeleton armor automatically equipped itself around him.

Once the exoskeleton was fully equipped, the room contained only an alien warrior brimming with futuristic technology.

Wang Lei then directly activated the exoskeleton's invisibility system. His figure vanished from the room. Earth's current detection equipment had no chance of detecting him.

If there had been a second person in Wang Lei's room at that moment, they would have seen a bizarre scene. There was clearly no one in Wang Lei's room, yet the window suddenly opened. Then, out of nowhere, a gust of air blew the things on the desk flying everywhere.