Such a Pain
After all, he was abroad, receiving a call with no caller ID. Back home, he would probably have hung up on a call like that without a second thought.
Otherwise, the moment he picked up, he'd hear, "Hey, got a minute? I've got some new apartments near the subway, commercial properties, stocks, insurance, financial products..."
All sorts of sales pitches like that.
"Zhengwei, it's Li Bai!"
Li Bai called out without preamble.
"Huh? What's with your number? There's no caller ID! Are you using a satellite phone?"
Luan Zhengwei glanced at his phone screen again. Aside from showing that a call was in progress, it still displayed no number.
He hadn't been able to reach Li Bai by phone at all, not even by satellite phone. He'd had no choice but to send an email, hoping Li Bai would get back to him as soon as he saw it.
He hadn't expected Li Bai to call so soon after he sent it. And the call felt strange; it was clearly coming from an area with abnormal signal coverage.
Either there was something wrong with the phone or something wrong with the cell tower.
Otherwise, why wouldn't the number show up?
Luan Zhengwei was only half right. The backup biological laboratory on the shore of Lake Victoria wasn't connected to the public communications network. It had its own satellite signal source, and the signal went straight into space without passing through the ground at all.
"I borrowed someone else's phone."
Holding the receiver, Li Bai found it a little novel to use a landline again after getting used to mobile phones and other wireless devices.
"Oh. Is it safe to talk on that phone?"
Luan Zhengwei hinted at what he meant.
Clever people didn't need many words. Li