“The more chaotic the airport, the better. Give them access,” Lance wasn’t particularly concerned.
In every massive ecosystem composed of humans, various low-level errors were inevitable. But precisely because they were human, they could continuously correct errors and get back on track.
Humans are the most adaptable animals.
“Mm.” Duma nodded very seriously at the camera, his eyes instantly becoming vacant again.
Control system C-level Awakened second-tier ability—[System Mastery]. This ability allowed the Awakened to remotely access any control system with their will. It was a rare and valuable ability, with the only drawback being that as personal strength increased, the Awakened would become more and more like an emotionless AI.
For this very reason, Duma was the only legitimate slacker in the Black Lantern Society. While the entire illegal organization was working themselves to death, they were desperately trying to prevent him from working hard.
No joke—the Black Lantern Society had a specific position just to supervise Duma’s daily eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying life. If the kid did even one extra set of exercises, the supervisor would cry to high heaven.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck! His grandfather’s… Huh?”
The two Ghost Eye Guild members were almost scared out of their wits by the alarm, but unexpectedly, the next second, the indicator light suddenly turned green. The system displayed “access granted,” and the heavy door opened before them.
The two exchanged glances. Though somewhat puzzled, they still breathed a sigh of relief, secretly wiping cold sweat from their foreheads.
Zhan Pingchuan naturally heard the alarm as well and hurriedly tapped his earpiece.
“The airport system might be malfunctioning,” one member replied, somewhat mentally exhausted.
They successfully entered the private VIP area.
Once there, they discovered their difference.
All the staff here wore red uniforms, while only they wore green.
A female service staff member passing by frowned, looking at the two of them in confusion, seemingly not understanding why staff from the regular VIP area could enter here. But perhaps thinking management had made special arrangements, although hesitant, she didn’t ask.
The two reacted quickly, immediately darting into the men’s restroom, knocking out two young men who had just finished using the toilet, and holding their noses as they changed into their red uniforms.
“Well, Young Master, you might not believe it, but the household deity my mother has been praying to all these years must be effective. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why the airport system happened to malfunction right in front of us.”
Zhan Pingchuan’s thought process wasn’t as straightforward as theirs. He felt something was off. The probability of coincidences in this world was lower than finding a wife at school—why would it just happen to fall on their heads for no reason?
He was about to warn the two to be careful of ambushes when the bathroom door suddenly made a sound. Zhan Pingchuan, quick-eyed and quick-handed, hurriedly shrank back under the covers, holding his breath and listening.
Lance found sitting on the toilet quite uncomfortable. Taking advantage of the currently stable situation, he came out for some fresh air.
He instinctively looked toward Zhan Pingchuan.
What kind of problem did this person have, covering his head instead of his navel while sleeping?
Who could possibly sleep with him in the future?
Lance frowned, his long-healed obsessive-compulsive disorder starting to act up.
The mixed-blood baby, influenced by Lance’s father’s traditional Chinese medicine health theories since childhood, simply couldn’t bear to see this uterine-cold-inducing behavior. So he stepped toward Zhan Pingchuan’s bed.
The slippers stepping on the wooden floor each made a sound that struck Zhan Pingchuan’s heart. He hurriedly inventoried his body parts exposed outside: toenails recently trimmed, legs long and straight enough, that area between his legs obviously well-developed, and as for his abdomen—
Zhan Pingchuan noticed that his pajama top had rolled up, exposing half of his abdomen, including the area with his Adonis belt.
As everyone knows, men’s muscles look their best only when tensed and engorged with blood; when relaxed, they appear much less defined.
So while keeping his breathing as even as possible, Zhan Pingchuan slightly contracted his abdominal muscles, tensing them to display his superior eight-pack contours.
Planning ahead, he was already considering how to react when Lance secretly leaned in for a kiss.
Lance bent down, and Zhan Pingchuan’s mouth unconsciously curled into a smile under the covers.
Then with a “whoosh,” Lance pinched the summer blanket with two fingers and pulled it up, thoroughly covering Zhan Pingchuan’s carefully tensed abs.
Lance: Ah, much better.
Zhan Pingchuan: “?”
At the same time, Zhan Pingchuan received a report from his team members—
“Young Master, we’ve spotted the targets!”
Zhan Pingchuan’s spirits lifted, while he simultaneously mocked himself for overthinking things. The little cutie had no intention of… Bah! The system malfunction wasn’t a trap set by the other side after all.
In the private lounge, more than ten bodyguards in suits stood scattered around, their expressions stern as they observed every movement.
Two people sat facing each other on purple sandalwood chairs in the center.
Boras sat with his back to the floor-to-ceiling window, cutting a cigar. He held it between two fingers, lit it, and took a deep drag.
“Some illegal organizations have become excessively rampant lately. Even Dean Erdiff, a hero of such upright character who made great contributions to the Federation, fell victim to their poisonous hands.”
Kluova lightly wiped her leather gloves. Hearing Boras’s words, she revealed an enigmatic smile: “Do you really think so?”
Boras’s fingers paused as he looked up at Kluova: “What do you mean?”
Kluova tugged at her lips, saying casually: “It’s just the two of us here, so spare me the formalities. I actually think the Black Lantern Society didn’t kill the wrong person.”
Boras retorted: “If that’s the case, why did you accept this assignment to investigate his death?”
Kluova crossed her legs seductively: “Of course, I’m interested in that White Pharaoh. Aren’t you curious about what kind of person could kill someone possessing two S-level abilities?”
Just then, two servers carrying trays entered, interrupting their conversation.
All the armed bodyguards looked over simultaneously. Boras raised one hand, fingers spread, making a placating gesture: “I ordered coffee.”
The two servers gently placed the coffee in front of Boras and Kluova, watching as Boras put down his cigar and took a sip from the coffee cup.
The two exchanged glances and discreetly withdrew.
“Success!”
For them, the key was Boras, because Zhan Pingchuan and the manager’s conversation had explicitly mentioned the rebellion suppression. If the Federation government learned of Ghost Eye Guild’s involvement, they certainly wouldn’t let it go.
As for Kluova, even if she fully restored the scene, she would only know that Erdiff had intended to ambush Zhan Pingchuan. Zhan Pingchuan was just an innocent victim, and investigating a victim would be harmful rather than beneficial.
After leaving the private lounge, the two didn’t waste a moment. They quickly left the VIP building, exited through the goods delivery door, jumped directly onto a bus, reversed direction, and drove out of the VIP building parking lot with the two knocked-out workers, the entire process taking less than three minutes.
Meanwhile, in the private lounge, Boras clutched his chest in pain, his coffee cup falling to the ground. He opened his eyes wide in disbelief, looking toward the direction the two servers had left, his eyeballs filled with red bloodshot lines.
But before he could utter a word, he fell backward, blood flowing from his seven orifices, his eyes open and motionless.
Those vigilant bodyguards, seeing their superior poisoned to death, remained expressionless, taking no action.
Soon, Kluova stood up and coldly smiled at Boras’s corpse: “That’s what you get for showing off. Struck by lightning, weren’t you?”
The next moment, ‘Boras’s’ appearance gradually changed, slowly transforming into an ordinary person with a square face and dark skin.
Following this, Kluova’s face also changed, becoming a blonde, blue-eyed young woman.
“The two masters were indeed prophetic. The Black Lantern Society really did send people to assassinate.”
A bodyguard nearby glanced at the wall clock and reminded: “Miss, it’s boarding time.”
The young woman’s expression changed slightly, but she quickly reassured herself: “They’ve killed him, so they won’t come after me. Let the Black Lantern Society think they’ve succeeded.”
Duma saw the entire scene through the private VIP lounge’s surveillance and shook the camera, saying softly: “Lance, someone in the lounge poisoned the fake Boras.”
Lance raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
He wasn’t surprised that Kluova would use her ability to change someone else’s appearance to match her own. What surprised him was, besides them, who else wanted Boras and Kluova dead?
It didn’t make sense. Even if Boras and Kluova restored the scene from that night, the only person they could point to was Lance. How could this involve anyone else?
He had no clues for the moment and turned back into the bathroom.
As soon as Lance closed the bathroom door, Zhan Pingchuan threw off his covers and quickly searched for the latest news from Harbor Tan International Airport.
He soon discovered that the 3 PM flight to Capital City hadn’t changed its schedule, and the airport hadn’t experienced any commotion.
This defied common sense.
If a high-ranking official of the Blue Pivot Ability Inspection Team died, the entire airport would surely be immediately locked down to pursue the killer, and the Federation government would respond accordingly. But now it was too quiet.
Kluova, chameleon form…
Zhan Pingchuan quickly realized that besides her scene restoration ability, she must also have the ability to change appearances. The two Ghost Eye Guild members hadn’t killed the real Boras at all!
At the same time, the young woman ‘Kluova’ and another Boras, accompanied by numerous bodyguards, proceeded through the VIP passage to the apron and boarded the special aircraft prepared by the Federation government for the Blue Pivot inspection team.
The plane slowly taxied toward the runway. The young woman lifted the shade and looked out at the ant-like busy civilians.
At exactly 3 PM, the plane suddenly accelerated, its nose lifting, and with the help of the wind, it smoothly ascended into the sky.
The young woman leaned back in her seat, gazing at the endless sea view in the distance, a relaxed smile spreading across her lips.
Mad Clown shouldered the rocket launcher, raising the corners of his lips high toward the continuously ascending plane. His finger gently pulled the trigger, and the enormous high pressure generated by the burning propellant instantly ejected the projectile!
The rocket cut through the gusty sea wind like a blade, piercing the thin cloud layer, fiercely biting toward the massive object rising in the sky—
Boom!
With a tremendous sound, a brilliant fireball exploded in the sky. Countless glittering fragments plummeted into the sea, and the massive fuselage, trailing thick smoke, crashed angrily onto the sea surface, the huge waves it raised directly shattering a reef.
“Aaaahhhh—”
“A plane has crashed!”
Screams and shouts were incessant. The entire Harbor Tan International Airport was in chaos. Alarms and fire sirens sounded simultaneously. A hundred thousand passengers fled in panic, scattering in all directions.
“Please remain calm, everyone. Leave in an orderly manner. The airport will immediately investigate the accident that just occurred!” The airport broadcast urgently pacified passengers to prevent a stampede.
A normally peaceful afternoon was completely disrupted.
But… was it really over?
This seemed too easy. Was the Blue Pivot inspection team’s security so vulnerable?
Lance rubbed the edge of his tablet, narrowing his eyes.
He didn’t feel at ease. This assassination had been strange from beginning to end.
They had chosen the maintenance service center as their sniping position—wouldn’t the Blue Pivot inspection team have thought of that? Yet until the rocket launcher was fired, Blue Pivot had never sent anyone to investigate this place.
There was also the poisoning incident of the fake Boras in the VIP building. Logically, an assassination had already occurred once. Even if it wasn’t Boras himself who died, shouldn’t that have raised alarm?
The plane actually departed on schedule, the two high-ranking officials boarded on time, and the inspection team didn’t even promptly search for the poisoners.
Such composure, unless… the 3 PM departure was simply a smokescreen put out by the Federation government!
Lance suddenly looked up: “Duma, immediately search all flights departing from Harbor Tan today. Check if any are bound for airports near Capital City, or if any have temporarily changed their routes.”
Mad Clown was bewildered: “What’s going on? You think they didn’t board this plane?”
Duma hugged his knees, and in just the blink of an eye, he had retrieved the key information from the massive data flow.
“A flight NTF8850, which took off at noon from Harbor Tan bound for Nashi, changed its route midway and will land at Capital City Airport at exactly 4 PM.”
Mad Clown: “Holy shit! That means they’ll arrive in just an hour?”
Lance’s pupils contracted. This meant that the two high-ranking inspection team officials had immediately rushed to the airport and headed for Capital City as soon as they received the assignment, giving no one any chance to react.
The thorny issue was that once these two reached Star University, they could enter and exit the campus in any identity. He had no way to identify who the real Kluova was!
No, that wasn’t entirely true.
Lance raised his hand, using his middle finger to push his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. A cold, ruthless intent flashed in his eyes: “Mad Clown, prepare a VSSK for me.”
The huge explosion at Harbor Tan International Airport also reached Zhan Pingchuan’s ears. Learning that the Blue Pivot inspection team’s plane had been hit by a rocket launcher and crashed into the sea, Zhan Pingchuan knew that not a single real person was on board.
A rocket launcher’s range is 100-400 meters. Adding the distance of the aircraft’s takeoff and ascent, to accurately shoot down a plane, the sniper must have been inside the airport.
He was already familiar with the airport’s three-dimensional satellite map. The most advantageous sniping spot was on the maintenance service center’s rooftop. But if Boras himself had been present, the inspection team should have taken action the moment the sniper assembled the projectile.
Boras’s second-tier ability [Voice Print Capture] could hear any movement within a 200-meter radius. Even the sound of a gun being loaded couldn’t escape his ears.
Zhan Pingchuan switched his earpiece channel, still in the mood to make sarcastic remarks: “Manager, a suggestion—perhaps your information network needs updating?”
The other side maintained that calm, neither angry nor pleased voice: “Upon investigation, flight NTF8850, which took off from Harbor Tan at 11 AM, will soon land in Capital City. Headquarters is too far to reach in time; it’s all up to you now.”
“Tsk.” Zhan Pingchuan threw off his covers and got out of bed. “I suspect you’re deliberately using free labor. I’m just a freshly adult, innocent young man, and in less than two days, I’m becoming a target of the Federation government’s manhunt. Honestly, my fragile, tender heart has suffered great trauma. I suggest headquarters issue a huge bonus as consolation.”
Just as Zhan Pingchuan finished speaking, the bathroom door lock clicked, and Lance turned the knob to come out. The two unexpectedly made eye contact.
Lance was somewhat surprised but quickly concealed his emotions, rubbing his fluffy long hair: “You’re awake?”
Zhan Pingchuan thought to himself, darling, you’ve gone to the bathroom several times already. Is your digestive system that fragile?
He smiled lazily: “Just woke up.”
Lance nodded perfunctorily, his fox-like eyes slightly narrowed, thinking to himself that he needed to find a way to shake off Zhan Pingchuan and act alone.
But coming up with an excuse that wouldn’t arouse suspicion was a bit troublesome.
There was no time. He might as well use the Moth Rong Weng, poison him first, then come back to save him after the mission was completed. After all, an S-level wouldn’t die so easily.
Thinking of this, Lance steeled his heart and was about to step forward—
When he saw Zhan Pingchuan casually pick up his school uniform jacket, vigorously rub his sleepy eyes, and smack his lips, saying: “I’m a bit hungry. What do you want to eat? I’ll bring it back for you.”
Lance’s footsteps instantly halted.
His eyes curved, and his fingers, as tender as white scallions, lightly touched the doorknob. His tone was relaxed: “Lamb and radish shumai. I’ll take a shower and wait for you to come back.”
##