Hu Fei picked up the hard drive, examined it briefly, then connected it to the computer and said, "Ladies, time to get to work."
As soon as the words were out, a beauty immediately brought a freshly brewed coffee to Hu Fei. Two other beauties stood behind him on either side, gently massaging his shoulders, and another beauty with freshly washed grapes crouched beside him, feeding him the seedless and peeled grapes from time to time.
Witnessing this scene, Ling Chen’s eyes widened.
This fatso... damn, he’s treating himself like an emperor. He’d never enjoyed such treatment in all his years.
At this moment, Hu Fei’s fingers danced on the keyboard, typing rapidly. After a while, he shook his head and said, "No good!"
"Why not?"
"The data on this hard drive are encrypted with something special; it’s going to be pretty tough to crack. How about this, why don’t you leave the hard drive with me, and I’ll try to break into it?"
Ling Chen asked uneasily, "Are you sure you can handle it?"
Hu Fei replied discontentedly, "Do you even know who I am? Special encryption is only a bit of a hassle; it’s not easy to stump me. Give me seven or eight days, and I’ll contact you once I have results."
"Alright then." After saying that, Ling Chen changed the topic, "Oh, one more thing, help me find someone, Lin Guodong, in his fifties, with a square face and a southern accent when he speaks."
Lin Guodong, the person in charge of the second experimental base; this personal information was provided by Liu Xiyao. Assuming no accidents occurred, this intel should be enough to find data related to Lin Guodong.
"Got it, you head back and wait for my message," said Hu Fei.
Ling Chen had wanted to stay a bit longer, but seeing Hu Fei’s enjoyment, he really felt like punching him a few times. However, recalling that he needed Hu Fei’s help, he repressed the urge, deciding out of sight, out of mind, and left the office.
By the time he left the courier company, it was already past four in the afternoon.
Having been out of touch for several days, Nanrong Wanqing must be worried sick. Ling Chen hailed a taxi by the roadside and headed straight for Wealthy Manor.
Once home, Ling Chen entered and saw the empty living room, then he remembered—it was Wednesday, and Nanrong Wanqing would definitely be at work. He should’ve gone directly to Hongyu Group instead of coming home.
Clang!
While he was thinking, Ling Chen suddenly heard a crisp noise from the rooftop, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.
Is there someone else in the house?
That’s right, it must be that girl Su Lin at home.
With that thought, Ling Chen walked up the stairs, arrived at Su Lin’s bedroom door, and knocked.
"Who’s there?" Su Lin’s voice came from inside the room.
"It’s me."
"Wait a moment!"
After about half a minute, the door finally opened, and a blushing Su Lin peeked through the crack, looking at Ling Chen outside and asking, "What do you want?"
"Nothing, I just heard some noise from your room, so I came to check. Hey, are you okay? Why is your face as red as a monkey’s buttocks? You weren’t..." Ling Chen halted there, choosing not to continue. He still vividly remembered the incident of Su Lin’s online purchase of large bananas. The girl was alone at home, probably couldn’t bear the loneliness, so... Ling Chen smirked mischievously to himself.
Seeing the bad smile on Ling Chen’s face, Su Lin’s pretty face turned even redder. Knowing well what the scoundrel was thinking, she fought back the embarrassment and said irritably, "Don’t let your imagination run wild."
"Who’s fantasizing? We’re all adults here; I can understand. Uh... you carry on, I won’t disturb you," said Ling Chen as he turned around, ready to leave.
"Stop right there!" Su Lin hastily called out to Ling Chen. She definitely didn’t want Ling Chen’s assumptions to cause any misunderstandings and damage her ’ladylike’ image.
"What’s up, is there something else?"
"You..." Su Lin hesitated for a moment and then said, "Come in first."
Into the room?
Ling Chen was slightly stunned and asked cautiously, "Is it... appropriate for me to enter now?"
Su Lin grew anxious and said angrily, "Ling Chen, if you... if you keep talking nonsense, do you believe I’ll go complain to Wanqing about you?"
"Alright alright! I’m coming in, isn’t that enough?" Ling Chen, speechless, had to follow Su Lin into the bedroom.
Once inside the room, Ling Chen’s gaze was immediately drawn to something on the floor.
This is...
Ling Chen’s expression changed slightly, and he looked at Su Lin in surprise, asking, "Is this real or fake?"
"It should... probably be real," Su Lin glanced at the object, a hint of fear in her eyes.
Seeing the reluctance on Su Lin’s face, Ling Chen said helplessly, "You study archaeology; it’s just a skull, is there a need to be so scared?"
Saying this, Ling Chen picked up the skull that had fallen on the floor and examined it closely in front of him.
And sure enough, the skull was not only real but also seemed rather old.
"Where did you find this thing?"
"I was bored today, so I went to an auction. I saw an ancient weapon and thought it looked cool. Plus, it was cheap, so I simply bought it, planning to make it a collectible. Who knew... who would have guessed that a skull would suddenly fall out from it."
"And why was your face all red when you opened the door?" Ling Chen asked curiously. Anyone who saw her like that just now would probably have the wrong idea.
Su Lin pointed to some food on the table and explained, "When I left the house, I bought some southern specialties, not knowing they would be so spicy." Saying this, she glared at Ling Chen with annoyance and chided, "You think everyone’s mind is as dirty as yours, always thinking about unhealthy things."
Ling Chen gave a small cough to cover his embarrassment and quickly changed the subject, "Uh... let’s not talk about that. By the way, what weapon did you buy?"
"There! In the box," Su Lin said, pointing to the cardboard box by the bed.
Ling Chen walked over to the bed, lifted the lid off the box, and saw something that resembled the shape of a lantern, with several sharp blades attached to the bottom, forming a lotus-like shape—quite cool-looking.
This is...
Looking at the weapon in front of him, Ling Chen’s mind stirred, and immediately a name came to him.
The Blood Dripping Device!
The legendary weapon specifically designed for beheading.
No wonder there was a skull hidden inside; probably only the Blood Dripping Device could have done this.
As he pondered, Ling Chen lifted the Blood Dripping Device out of the box and then carefully placed it on the table.
The bottom of the Blood Dripping Device should have been sealed by the blades, but Su Lin had triggered the mechanism, causing all the blades to come apart, which led to the centuries-old skull falling out.