39. A very simple name.
Xie De had picked it at random because he did not want anyone to know his real name. He treated it as an alias.
As cannon fodder in a novel, his social connections had been very simple before 455 found him. Every day, he followed the same boring route between home and work.
He had bought the apartment himself without even telling his parents. It was in a remote little city in the north, where the economy was underdeveloped and transportation was inconvenient. There were no towering skyscrapers; low-rise buildings formed the backdrop of everyday life. In a city like that, a small, old, run-down apartment with two bedrooms and a living room cost only a little over a hundred thousand yuan.
The area had a temperate monsoon climate, with long, cold winters, short, warm summers, crisp autumn days, and brief spells of windblown sand in spring.
Here, the quiet blue hour was distinctly palpable, carrying a lingering melancholy, as though the sky were shedding tears.
Life moved slowly, but the climate was unsuitable for retirement. Economic growth was sluggish, and the city could not hold on to its young people.
The young left to make their way in the world, and once the older generations died, they would not return. This little city teetered on the edge of time, destined to become a hometown that existed only in memory.
Xie De was one of the few young people who had moved there to settle down. His easygoing nature left him without the courage to venture out, and once he grew accustomed to the slow pace of a small city, he could no longer adjust to the changes of a big one.
He often enjoyed assessing himself. He called himself mediocre, a thoroughly ordinary person who was genuinely very cowardly.
Of course, he had envied the carefree ease of protagonists in movies and novels. He had envied people who were well-liked, outgoing, and generous, and those who could simply pack up and travel the world on a whim.
He had thought about changing, but his efforts always came in fits and starts.
The more socially anxious he became, the less he wanted to socialize; the less he socialized, the more socially anxious he became. He was trapped in that vicious cycle.
Maybe I really can only be cannon fodder in a story.
Withdrawn and socially anxious, he had hardly any friends. He was not even close to the colleagues he worked with.
For the longest time, he had never imagined that his peaceful, unchanging life would be shattered by something so absurd.
Huge ripples swept through his life, the butterfly effect spiraling violently, forcing him to scramble forward in a frantic, clumsy rush before he could even take everything in.
At first, it had only been the economic downturn of recent years. His boss's business was struggling, and someone with his unlikable personality had naturally been laid off.
Then, before he could find another job, 455-a system that should only have existed in novels-suddenly appeared. All right, even novels would not feature a system this useless.
But it had appeared all the same. Through threats and promises? Or perhaps Xie De had simply had enough of an ordinary life but still did not want to die. Whatever the reason, he and 455 reached an agreement, and his life was turned upside down from then on.
But really, it did not need to be turned upside down to this extent.
Expressionless, Xie De loaded the Glock with nineteen rounds. He changed into loose, inconspicuous clothes and put on a baseball cap, hiding his stern brows and eyes. Still, with waist-length silver hair, a height of 188 centimeters, and a striking presence, there was only so much he could do to keep a low profile.
Fortunately, 455 was not so useless that it could do nothing at all.
Every electrical appliance in the apartment was running.
Zeros and ones flashed endlessly across the computer, speakers, phone, and television as they drew power without pause to sustain 455's intensive operation.
455's data trembled with nerves, remarkably human, like someone anxiously bouncing a leg.
"I've deleted all the surveillance footage that caught us, including dashcam recordings. But before I erased it, someone from a laboratory picked up our direction. He's heading toward our city right now. We can't let him expose our whereabouts! He'll definitely come take the villain away and kill you. Even if you escape, he'll have the entire laboratory hunt you down."
"Host, we have to kill him before he confirms where we are!"
455 spoke with professional confidence. "Images form on human retinas through light and shadow, and electrical currents also emit faint light. I can blur your appearance in other people's eyes so you won't be exposed, but you have to move fast and stay in the shadows. I'm trying to hack into surveillance systems in other cities to locate him. Wait for my instructions. You'll have to go there and kill him."
"Got it." Xie De took a deep breath. He felt the hand holding his gun tremble slightly, unable to tell whether the emotion inside him was excitement or fear.
Because he had never imagined that one day he would actually kill someone in real life!
This isn't cool at all. Not one bit!
But people died for wealth as birds died for food. He simply wanted to stay alive.
Soon, 455 sent him a location and a photo. "Found him!"
The photo showed a man wearing sunglasses. From the surveillance camera's angle, he looked perfectly ordinary.
He was in another major city, only a three-hour flight away. 455 could block the plane's detection systems and let Xie De bring the gun aboard.
Time waited for no one. Xie De had no idea how he could be this calm, with barely a hint of anything amiss on his face, as though he were going on vacation rather than going to kill someone.
Only after he boarded the plane and arrived, still dazed, in another city did the sight of the towering buildings bring on a sudden sense of unreality, as though he were merely playing a spy game.
Then he suddenly remembered how hastily he had left. He seemed to have warned Wei Yunmo rather fiercely not to go outside before leaving. Now that he thought about it, had he frightened the little brat?
Of course not.
Wei Yunmo had weathered far more storms than Xie De imagined.
From Wei Yunmo's perspective, all he knew was that Mr. 39 had left him in a shabby safe house. He had watched 39 enter the master bedroom and emerge less than ten minutes later in a different set of gear, radiating an aloofness that warned strangers away. The scent of cedar and tobacco on him mingled with the acrid smell of gun smoke.
A Glock flashed briefly into view.
He seemed to understand instantly what Mr. 39 was going to do-kill someone.
Possessing more than one gun in a country with strict gun control made Mr. 39's identity all the more mysterious. Wei Yunmo could not help wondering whether 39 belonged to another secret organization that rivaled the laboratory. Was it the club?
Why did Mr. 39 bring me back here?
What's his purpose?
What does Mr. 39 stand to gain?
Or is the Underworld Organization Mr. 39 belongs to at odds with the laboratory, and has it given him strict orders to deliver me somewhere else?
"Stay put."
The man uttered those words in a husky voice, then left without even locking the door.
Wei Yunmo wondered to himself what would happen if he disobeyed the man and ran away instead of staying here.
A hissing sound interrupted his thoughts.
Wei Yunmo lowered his gaze. The huge house centipede clung menacingly to the door handle, its slender, jointed legs densely packed together. The danger it posed was no different from a gun pressed to his forehead.
Mr. 39 had shut him in with this monster.
For a moment, Wei Yunmo could imagine the man's derisive laugh. "Do you dare run?"
If he dared, the monster could bite through his throat at any moment. He was welcome to try.
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