Contact by email

After Lin Yu's reminder, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot also remembered the purpose of their trip.

"Oh, right," Nightless Sky Fire Apricot patted her head, looking embarrassed. "Hehe, I almost forgot, we're here to investigate Supervisor Tennyson's hidden identity."

Then, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot tried to salvage the situation. "However, these devices are also related to what we're investigating—how he got these devices, why he built such a place underground... I think that's inherently related to his secrets."

"After all, although Supervisor Tennyson has already reached the top in the City That Never Sleeps, and the income level of the powerful manager of the Divine Power Group is no less than that of most Noble... setting up such an Alchemy Laboratory is something that money can't buy."

"Especially... this underground laboratory, it's probably only known to Supervisor Tennyson himself."

Stiller nodded. "Even for President Paris, secretly setting up such a laboratory would be no easy task."

"To be honest, even some Duke wouldn't do such a thing."

"However, this seems to be a good thing for us—because many of these Alchemical Equipment are 'one-of-a-kind' or 'prototypes.' Investigating their origins could very well reveal what Supervisor Tennyson's secret is."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was quite satisfied. "Right, right, I'm not entirely neglecting my duties... Hmm, I am still thinking about how to conduct the investigation."

Hearing Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's words, Lin Yu sighed, "Don't worry, I'm not saying you can't move these things. If there's time later, you can still pack them up and take them with you."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot gave a thumbs up. "Yay, Arthur, you're so good to me, you're truly my best, best, best friend, I love you!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Siyu turned to look at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, and then at Lin Yu.

"Wow, is this your lover in this world, senior?"

Lin Yu noticed Qin Siyu's gaze shift twice and knew that the female Thief was using her brain again, so he corrected Qin Siyu almost as soon as she finished speaking.

"She and I are just friends, there's nothing between us—can you please not be so simplistic in your view of interpersonal relationships?"

"The customs of this world are different from yours. It's very common for friends to say 'I love you,' it's just a slightly exaggerated way of expressing it."

Hearing Lin Yu say that, Qin Siyu scratched his head.

"Oh, is that so?"

Huo Xing from Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said, "That's how it is. Arthur and I are very good friends."

Lin Yu looked at the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot with some surprise.

Seeing Lin Yu's surprised expression, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot tilted her head and said, "What's wrong with your expression, Arthur? Am I wrong?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "No... I'm just shocked that you didn't use this as an excuse to make a joke or anything."

"I don't always cause trouble for others. That wasn't a place for jokes, after all, it involved your reputation," said Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, glancing at the Alchemical Equipment. "Besides, you can't take a bribe, Arthur. One important lesson I've learned from my mother lately is... when someone offers you a lot of practical benefits, making sure you can provide Emotional Value in return is the most basic thing!"

Hearing Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, Lin Yu said helplessly, "So it all comes down to these 'Alchemical Equipment' after all..."

"Yes, anyway, let me check them out first, confirm their approximate production year and condition, and see how many are original, how many are refurbished after being scrapped, and how many are counterfeits..."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot Patted a huge alchemical instrument beside her and said, "Moreover, many of the devices here are equipped with intelligent systems and should have 'usage records' or something like that."

"We can also confirm exactly what he's built with this equipment... To be honest, the level of sophistication here far surpasses the top laboratories of the Three Great Corporations. He could easily create the most cutting-edge, state-of-the-art military-grade equipment here himself."

"So, I'm also very curious to see what he'll create."

Upon hearing Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's words, Lin Yu replied, "Alright, then I'll trouble you to go and confirm it..."

"I'll go check out that terminal over there and see if there's any information worth investigating."

After they finished speaking, Lin Yu and Nightless Sky Fire Apricot also began their own investigations.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot started activating the facilities one by one to conduct tests and collect information, while Lin Yu over there turned on the terminal.

Compared to those advanced alchemy facilities, Supervisor Tennyson's terminal appeared rather plain and unremarkable—it was the most common terminal in the City That Never Sleeps, and although the model was relatively advanced, it was the kind that could be found everywhere but could not be bought anywhere else.

Although the Supervisor Tennyson appear to have made some safety modifications, that's not surprising.

Lin Yu manipulated the cursor on the terminal's interface and began browsing the functions of this universal terminal.

Supervisor Tennyson used this terminal to connect all the devices together. It contained simple performance overviews and usage records for many devices. Lin Yu casually flipped through it and copied it down, then loaded it into his Communication Device.

Then, Lin Yu noticed... that the terminal also contained some logs written by Supervisor Tennyson and design sketches of Alchemical Equipment.

Lin Yu couldn't understand these either, but after looking closely at the design sketches, they seemed somewhat familiar.

"This Alchemical Armor... it looks a bit like the one that fought against the Second Generation 'Freud' in Shenzhen..."

However, upon closer inspection, there are many differences in the details.

Moreover... Lin Yu felt that even if Supervisor Tennyson was really hiding his strength, he definitely wasn't at a level where he could participate in that battle.

After all, if it was really Supervisor Tennyson who fought the Second Generation "Freud" that day, then even if President Paris's entire body of Alchemy Component were overloaded to the point of smoking, he still wouldn't be able to kill Supervisor Tennyson.

Lin Yu had witnessed the destructive power and ferocity of the Second Generation "Freud".

Someone capable of withstanding the attacks of the Second Generation "Freud"... even if they deliberately choose to die, President Paris would probably be a formidable opponent.

"Although they're not the same person, there might be some kind of connection between them..."

Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then copied all the design sketches and manufacturing logs.

He opened the last application on the terminal.

Upon opening it, Lin Yu discovered... that the program was actually "Email".

This terminal, located in a Secret Base... even has the function of communicating with the outside world!

Although the "email" was encrypted, as long as there are channels for external communication, there will inevitably be some degree of "security vulnerabilities" and "risks".

"It seems that Supervisor Tennyson had some reason to 'have to contact the outside world' while he was in this underground space..."

Although Lin Yu had originally hoped to find something like Supervisor Tennyson's private Communicator here, Lin Yu was still somewhat surprised that he found evidence of the other party contacting other people so easily.

Upon opening the emails, there weren't many, only three short messages—these messages seemed to be automatically deleted after a month.

In most cases, Supervisor Tennyson would likely manually delete the records.

Only...

Now, Supervisor Tennyson has been dead for just over two weeks.

The automatic deletion function failed to delete these three emails, Supervisor Tennyson himself did not have time to clean them up.

"You're really lucky."

Lin Yu opened the first email.

Mr. Candle replied to Dark Rock: I have already sent out the design plan, and the points you mentioned have been corrected. Please complete the update as soon as possible. It may be needed for the next exploration cycle. Also, keep an eye out recently; someone is bringing up Bringing Up the Past.

This is a reply email received by Supervisor Tennyson. From this email, Lin Yu can learn that Supervisor Tennyson is communicating with someone named "Mr. Candle" using the identity of "Dark Rock".

Furthermore, although this was a reply email, a previous email from Supervisor Tennyson had been deleted.

However, Lin Yu could easily deduce from the replies what the two had been discussing in the previous letter or even earlier—most likely that Mr. Candle had designed an alchemical device and handed it over to Supervisor Tennyson for him to manufacture, and the two had discussed some "feasibility" issues and finalized the design plan.

"So Supervisor Tennyson of this lab isn't entirely a 'personal hobby'... it seems he's also using this Alchemy Laboratory to take on side jobs?"

"However, it might not necessarily be a side job... This Mr. Candle and he may have been acquainted and had a working relationship before. 'Bringing Up the Past' sounds like a coded message, reminding him to be careful... Could it be referring to the 'Supreme Evolution' matter?"

Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then opened the next email.

The next email was Supervisor Tennyson's reply to the other party.

Dark Rock replied to Mr. Candle, "I have completed the manufacturing and preliminary testing. Please conduct your own tests to ensure it meets your requirements and has long-term stability. I will pay attention to safety matters, and please take good care of yourself."

Upon seeing this reply, Lin Yu became even more certain.

"As expected, this 'Mr. Candle' and Supervisor Tennyson are at least some kind of long-term Partner... Their relationship is not as simple as that of a customer and manufacturer."

"Furthermore, Supervisor Tennyson seems to respect the other party quite a bit... perhaps because he's his senior?"

Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then opened the last email.