Passing each other by

Inside a luxurious mansion.

A middle-aged general in military uniform, with five silver stars on his shoulders, slowly stepped forward.

"Captain Zheng Xuan, I've already made the arrangements."

"Make a list of everything you need for this operation-transportation, weapons, equipment, intelligence support, and anything else. The B5 Garrison Corps will do everything in its power to provide it."

Jiu Zhengxuan bowed slightly, his gaze humble yet glinting with confidence. "Thank you, Commander Jiang."

In the open space outside the DOG Group.

Qin Yiguan, Chen Mudou, and Jingye Meinan stared at the aircraft before them.

It resembled an old-era helicopter, but had no rotor.

One of its three landing struts was broken. A metal panel had peeled off the nose, exposing circuitry that still crackled with sparks. Rust covered the entire fuselage, making it look like an excavated relic.

"Can this thing fly?"

Jingye Meinan looked doubtful.

Chen Fazheng took a few steps forward. "If the Research Society weren't located inside a massive aircraft up in the sky, I'd never have parted with my personal property for you to use."

"This aircraft looks beat-up."

Chen Fazheng casually patted it. With a creak, the entire aircraft tilted a little farther, looking ready to fall apart at any moment.

"It is a little beat-up."

Chen Fazheng held his right fist against his chin and coughed. "Young people, please remember that our DOG Group is a rising startup..."

Qin Yiguan suddenly said, "No need to trouble yourself, Director Chen. I get it."

Rumble.

Chen Fazheng watched his Three-Legged Cat slowly rise into the air.

"Sigh..."

"The three members I spent all day painstakingly recruiting, gone just like that."

"The company has rules. Once you accept a job, you have to do it."

"Assassinate the head of the Research Society?"

"I'm afraid those three underlings of mine are done for."

Inside the aircraft.

The young man pondered silently.

The Research Society operated an aircraft tens of thousands of meters long, floating above the clouds.

The first thing to consider was how to approach the target.

Just fly straight over?

We'd probably get blasted to ash from twenty kilometers away.

Jingye Meinan slicked back his hair with a dashing gesture. "An airborne craft that huge almost never lands, so it needs a lot of supplies."

"I've already learned from girlfriend number eighty-six that there's a Research Society supply base not far from here."

"And in forty-five minutes, a shipment will be taking off. We can slip into the supply convoy and then board the Research Society's airborne base!"

As he spoke, Jingye Meinan entered the coordinates into the Three-Legged Cat, leaving its autopilot to handle the rest.

The young man looked at Jingye Meinan.

Having so many girlfriends really did have its benefits.

He then asked, "You actually have eighty-six girlfriends?"

Jingye Meinan looked rather proud. "Please don't insult me. That's just this month."

"How can you treat love like that? Scumbag."

Hugging her folder, Chen Mudou muttered under her breath.

Thirty minutes later.

The Three-Legged Cat landed in an enormous base, laid out like an old-era logistics park.

Transport ships flew straight up into the sky, one after another.

"Please don't disrupt our work."

"That junk heap of yours has no permits whatsoever, and you claim you're carrying important supplies? What important supplies?"

"Don't tell me you mean the three talented individuals aboard?"

"What do you do?"

"Nanoscale grime removal specialists?"

"So, basically, you're cleaners trying to wrangle yourselves a job?"

"Get lost."

A line of soldiers carrying heavy weapons kept the illustrious Hall 157 of the Dog Gang outside the security cordon.

"Don't worry. I've already made arrangements."

"My fifty-ninth girlfriend's best friend works here."

Jingye Meinan tilted his head slightly and gave a mysterious smile.

Then.

Jingye Meinan set his sights on a female commander in the distance.

She had short hair and wore a military uniform with tall leather boots.

She had an aloof, imposing air, and was also very beautiful, with a distinctive charm.

The female commander was clearly in charge here. Expressionless, she surveyed everything happening around her.

She simply ignored petty troublemakers like Qin Yiguan and his companions.

Jingye Meinan followed the security cordon around to the point nearest the female commander, slicked back his hair, and leaned against one of the cordon's posts.

Smiling across the cordon, he said, "Beautiful, my aircraft may be broken-down, but it's just like my heart, waiting for you to mend it."

The female commander slowly turned her head, her brows tightly knitted.

Where did this lunatic come from?

Do I even know you?

The next moment, Jingye Meinan maintained his elegant pose while his mouth kept moving, pouring out words.

Qin Yiguan and Chen Mudou were too far away to hear him clearly.

Only a short while later.

The female commander's icy expression actually softened, like an iceberg melting.

She even waved away the guards around her and let Jingye Meinan cross the security cordon.

"Ha ha ha!"

"Hee hee hee!"

Their mingled laughter drifted over. Jingye Meinan chuckled one moment and flashed a teasing expression the next.

Qin Yiguan's expression shifted repeatedly.

That cold, aloof commander.

Was she actually blushing?

And what was that look on her face? Was she giggling coyly?

Three minutes later, Jingye Meinan pointed at an empty shipping container in a nearby corner.

The aloof commander actually looked a little bashful, her face slightly flushed, as she followed Jingye Meinan into the container!

Bang.

The container's iron doors shut and were locked from inside.

The corner of Qin Yiguan's eye twitched.

Creak, creak.

Less than a minute later, the container began rocking slightly.

One minute and forty-eight seconds later.

The two emerged one after the other. Jingye Meinan looked smug, while the female commander's face was flushed.

"Boss Qin, all done!"

"All our clearance paperwork is taken care of!"

Jingye Meinan pointed behind him at the female commander, who was straightening her collar as her expression returned to normal. "Personally authorized by Commander Luna!"

As he spoke.

When no one else was looking, Commander Luna shot Jingye Meinan a flirtatious glance.

The corner of Qin Yiguan's mouth twitched. He could hardly believe it.

But the next instant, the young man suddenly realized something and asked, "What exactly is your Reality Enhancement?"

Jingye Meinan finally stopped hiding it. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "Opposite-Sex Resonance."

Qin Yiguan froze. "What?"

Jingye Meinan continued with a smile, "Just think of it as 'enhanced flirting'!"

Speechless, Qin Yiguan silently gave him a thumbs-up. "That's a powerful skill!"

A little later.

The Three-Legged Cat slowly ascended with the transport fleet, passing through without a hitch.

Thirty seconds later.

An elegantly designed medium-sized aircraft, equipped with a powerful weapons system, slowly landed in the logistics park.

The cabin door opened.

Three figures stepped out.

A young man in a spotless white suit.

A girl in a school uniform.

And a young soldier carrying an alloy case on his back.

The young man in the white suit had barely touched the ground when he seemed to sense something. He abruptly looked up at the sky, straight toward the Three-Legged Cat.

Inside the Three-Legged Cat, Qin Yiguan felt an inexplicable alarm and abruptly stepped back from the observation window.

That single step kept Qin Yiguan out of the other man's sight.

"Jiu Zhengxuan?"

The young man narrowed his eyes. "He's brought two people with him, and one looks like he's from the military. Why does that look in his eyes remind me of a cop hunting a thief?"

On the ground, Jiu Zhengxuan found nothing unusual in the sky.

But his gaze remained wary, and he began inspecting the transport aircraft on the ground one by one.

Beside him, Wei Hu reported, "Captain, Commander Jiang has already notified them. Our departure clearance is straightforward. It'll only take fifteen minutes."

Jiu Zhengxuan nodded slowly. "Good."

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Qin Yiguan kept watching Jiu Zhengxuan.

Clearly, he was also heading into the Research Society!

Somehow, the young man sensed that Jiu Zhengxuan would be an obstacle in this operation!

If they had taken off just thirty seconds later, the two groups would inevitably have met on the ground, and his Hall 157 probably wouldn't even have managed to get airborne.

At that moment.

Qin Yiguan looked at Jingye Meinan, pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Good thing you don't last long."