Milestone (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Shouhu FREE)

"So that's how it is."

Having learned the secret of the datafied body, Fang Linyan felt a sense of clarity. No wonder Fang and the others had fought so fiercely earlier—injuries that would have immediately crippled an ordinary person barely affected them. The reason must lie here.

He glanced at his phone and raised an eyebrow.

Earlier, before getting in the car, Fang Linyan had sent messages to some potential clients in Worcester, saying he had TIC Rare Element Additive for sale and could do an in-person transaction, goods first, payment later. However, in the rumors he spread, he reduced the quantity of TIC Rare Element Additive he possessed by ten times, calculating it purely in grams.

Now, he saw that several clients had already replied expressing interest in a deal. While this would make transactions a bit more troublesome, Fang Linyan calculated that, all told, he could still sell for over a hundred thousand dollars—enough to cover his upcoming expenses.

With about thirty-four hours left before the mission deadline, Fang Linyan arrived in Worcester and began delivering the goods door-to-door according to the addresses provided. No hiccups occurred along the way, and he smoothly collected roughly twenty thousand dollars in cash and around a hundred thousand in bank transfers. However, the cash couldn't be taken out of this world, meaning he could only spend it here.

At this point, Fang Linyan had sold less than a fifth of his TIC Rare Element Additive. But he was cautious, feeling that he had enough money and didn't want to stir up trouble. After thinking it over, he tossed the bag with the remaining TIC to a few homeless people, telling them it was valuable. This served both as a good deed and, more importantly, to scatter the attention of any possible pursuers.

With his financial needs met, Fang Linyan first followed the main mission's requirements and prepared to book a ticket for American Airlines Flight 11 (from Boston Logan International Airport to Los Angeles), scheduled to depart in over thirty hours.

But then he realized he had already booked a first-class seat on that flight fifteen days ago, so he was happy to save himself the trouble.

After that, Fang Linyan pondered over the app for a while and casually booked a ticket from Boston to Washington, departing three hours later. Worcester was less than a hundred kilometers from Boston Logan International Airport, all highway, so he had plenty of time to get there.

Why go to Washington?

Because Fang Linyan calculated the timing and found that the weather in both Boston and Washington would be clear for the next week, ensuring no weather-related flight delays. He figured he could try for the Scholar milestone.

After all, he had checked and learned that the Mayflower Compact was currently on display in Hall 4 of the National Museum, alongside other famous but worthless items like the Lexington Rifle and Lincoln's Top Hat, most likely replicas of the originals. So the security there probably wouldn't be too tight.

Thus, the only difficulty in this task was the "touch" part. Fang Linyan was already confident about that and had planned several schemes. In his plan, if everything went smoothly, he would only need three hours in Washington to succeed.

***

A cold wave had hit Washington, bringing a drizzling, chilly rain.

The rain wasn't heavy, but when it landed on the back of his hand, his face, or his ear, it carried a bone-piercing chill, as if seeping straight into his marrow. Leaves fell rustling in the mid-autumn wind and rain, and the air held a cold that promised snow was about to fall.

The statue in the center of the square had taken on a grayish hue, making one feel a biting cold rising from within.

Fang Linyan wore sunglasses, his face sufficiently altered with makeup, a trench coat over his shoulders, hands in his pockets, walking briskly along the sidewalk, indistinguishable from any other passerby. Six hundred meters ahead of him was Hall 4 of the National Museum.

Before this, he had loitered nearby for about two hours, first to familiarize himself with the terrain, and second to plan an escape route in advance.

Now that everything was ready except for the final push, Fang Linyan began looking for homeless people in the area. With the financial crisis in full swing, there was no shortage of them. He planned to use money to convince them to smash the display case of the Mayflower Compact directly, or at least draw everyone's attention away. As for an excuse, he could just say it was a bet with a friend.

Since the perpetrator would at most face a charge of "damaging public property," and only if caught red-handed, Fang Linyan figured two or three hundred dollars would be more than enough persuasion. And so it was. He pulled out three hundred dollars, and a homeless man named Jack was tempted. Jack easily convinced his companion to join in.

After Fang Linyan paid a hundred-dollar advance, Jack and his companion Tom went straight to a nearby convenience store, bought a cup of hot coffee and two sandwiches, and started wolfing them down. They shared the hot coffee, wincing as it scalded them, but neither let go of the cup, showing just how desperate their situation was.

After barely filling their stomachs, they called out to Fang Linyan, picked up two stones from the roadside and stuffed them in their pockets, then strode directly toward Hall 4 of the National Museum.

As Fang Linyan had judged earlier, security here was very lax. No one was visible outside the museum, and inside, only a middle-aged guard was lazily leaning against a railing, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his neck hunched like a quail hiding from winter.

Needless to say, there were very few people inside Hall 4—just an old man, a couple, and two visitors who seemed to be from out of town. The blonde woman in the couple was quite pretty, and though she was holding her boyfriend's arm, she winked at Fang Linyan, suggesting she was likely a bit of a flirt. Fang Linyan smiled back.

Once inside, Fang Linyan spotted a faintly glowing roll of paper in a cabinet to the southeast of Hall 4. He was startled at first, but quickly realized the faint glow was projected directly onto his retina, invisible to others—it was clearly marking the mission item.

So, pretending to be a tourist, he walked over once, confirmed it was the "Mayflower Compact," read it carefully for a while, then pretended to turn and leave. But before leaving, he casually raised his collar and stood in front of the display case for ten seconds before slowly walking away.

That was the prearranged signal—confirming the target and telling the two men he had brought to make their move.