Su Mo was stunned for a mont; it seed Audiana had no intention of keeping this secret.
He picked up the box and began to study it.
The box had a complex password system requiring biotric iris, physical key, and nuric password triple authentication. The casting material used was extrely strong; he couldn’t open it with all his might.
Audiana chuckled softly and nodded her chin towards Broken Blade.
Broken Blade moved beside Su Mo, his bionic implant at the fingertip gathered a high-energy laser beam, slicing along the seams of the box, forcefully breaking the lock.
Su Mo opened the box.
Inside was a black, circular object, shimring with tallic luster, covered in nurous interface ports.
Su Mo’s pupils dilated intensely, completely dazed there.
Audiana lazily smoked a cigar pipe, "Recognize it?"
Su Mo said dazedly, "This is... Hegemony Company’s black core?"
Audiana: "To be exact, it’s the black core from Hegemony Company’s Base 101 on the Windswept Plains, a digital storage dium containing all research data and personnel intelligence of the base."
These words made Su Mo break out in a cold sweat.
He realized he had made a grave mistake.
Previously, he and Nuobai thought Base 101 was destroyed.
Indeed, the self-destruct sequence had activated. They had seen the blaze soaring into the sky from afar.
However, the black core had been preserved against all odds...
Theoretically, given the catastrophic power of the base’s self-destruction, the fragile black core shouldn’t have survived, but such an event, as improbable as being struck by a teor while walking, had indeed happened.
He believed Base 101 was obliterated, everyone dead, his old identity erased from the world, allowing him to reveal himself freely.
But it wasn’t the case.
His secret as "Dr. Chen" still had traces, and they were right here in this black core.
Su Mo swallowed hard and asked perplexed, "Why is the black core in the hands of the Eagle Claw Association?"
Audiana blew smoke rings and spoke slowly, "Wouldn’t you say these people are bold? They ambushed the convoy retreating from Base 101 on the country highway, killed everyone, and snatched the black core intending to sell it to the Iron Blood Alliance."
Upon hearing this, Su Mo felt numb.
Such audacity...
Truly audacious!
Robbing a Hegemony Company convoy isn’t anything new. Given the sharp conflict between the three titans, it’s normal for tit-for-tat retaliation or getting targeted by random bandits.
But this Eagle Claw Association, in their robbery, killed everyone.
Killing everyone is one thing, but they dared to steal the data-laden black core.
And not just steal it, but to sell it to the company’s archenemy...
Brave souls, courting calamity.
No wonder they’ve provoked a whole squadron of Razor Squadron.
These fools got completely exposed without injustice.
Su Mo couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Currently, he had only one thought in mind: to quickly destroy this black core!
This was the only way his identity as "Dr. Chen" could remain entirely hidden.
He suppressed the turmoil within and pretended to advise, "Lady Countess, I urge you not to set your sights on the black core. The company’s people showing up isn’t a joke. It’s best to destroy it early."
Audiana’s face displayed a sinister smile; her next words tightened Su Mo’s heart again, "Playing mind gas with ? Huh? Company dog."
Su Mo’s expression froze, "You..."
What’s going on...
The black core had been sealed within the box all along; no one should have opened it...
How did Audiana know he was from the company?!
Audiana spoke calmly, "You’re surely bewildered right now. Let answer your questions one by one."
"First, I have no interest in the black core. I provided you with intelligence about it because I’m repaying a favor."
After she spoke, she took sothing from her chest and tossed it to Su Mo.
Su Mo caught it and realized it was a white mask without any patterns.
He imdiately recognized it; it’s Nuobai’s mask.
Stunned for a long while, he asked in a daze, "Silent Death God visited you?"
Audiana smiled, "I had a decent relationship with Nuobai before and know her real na, so you don’t need to conceal yours."
Su Mo frowned, "Did she tell you my true identity?"
Audiana spoke leisurely, "No, she did indeed write a letter yesterday afternoon, but it didn’t ntion your identity. It rely said you’re a new friend of hers trying out as a rcenary and asked to look after you."
"But I have my intelligence system. Combining the recent events on Windswept Plains, Nuobai’s sudden retreat, and the letter she wrote , it was easy to piece everything together and deduce your identity."
"The cause and process of all this are simple. When Nuobai kidnapped you, she triggered the self-destruct sequence at Research Base 101. Everything was destroyed but the black core survived against all odds."
"The company later organized a convoy intended to transport the black core back to headquarters, but encountered an ambush by the Eagle Claw Association en route; the convoy mbers were all killed and the black core was stolen."
"Losing such an important item like the black core would definitely grab Hegemony Company’s attention, hence a Razor Squadron was dispatched, which, through investigating traces on-site, followed the trail and finally located the Eagle Claw Association."
"Before the Razor Squadron reached the frontier, that is, yesterday, you made a na for yourself at the public commission center, and I got to know about you. Nuobai also wrote a handwritten letter asking to take care of you in the future."
Audiana showed the letter, asking McCarthy to pass it to Su Mo, speaking with an intrigued tone, "If you had entered my sight a few days later, or if Nuobai’s letter had co a few days late, the black core would already be back in the company’s hands now."
"Then they’d read the data inside, observe the surveillance backups and identify the kidnapped person’s appearance, matching it to your DNA, fingerprints, iris, and other biological information in the database... then casually pinpoint you through big data."
"Before all of this happened, Nuobai’s letter ca into my hands, and you happened to stumble upon a car service on the highway."
"What more can I say? We’re fated, and as I need to repay Nuobai’s favor, I extended a hand, giving you the chance to go and steal the black core."
"Now, everything is fine. There are no survivors left from Base 101, the Razor Squad pursuing you is completely wiped out, and the black core has been secretly transferred into your hands. Apart from Nuobai and the people in this room, no one else knows your real identity."
"You’re truly safe, Su Mo."
At this mont, Su Mo finally understood the significance of this commission.
Calling it a commission might not be appropriate because it was completely Audiana’s undertaking, entrusted by Nuobai, to provide him with a self-rescue operation.
He finally comprehended why Audiana repeatedly emphasized covert actions, leaving no traces, sending out an observer to watch him, and setting a six-hour deadline.
Everything was to ensure he could secretly obtain the black core before the Razor Squadron arrived, completely severing the company’s chances of tracing him.
Audiana’s initial reluctance to reveal might have stemd from concerns about her safety, unwilling to be entangled too deeply in this affair, and providing a lead for an opportunity of self-rescue was already the maximal extent of her assistance.
And now, his self-rescue was successful.
The company may know a researcher from Base 101 was kidnapped, but remains uncertain about their fate, unable ever to obtain any of his information.
Like Audiana said, he’s safe.
Earlier, his escape with Nuobai was just a brief rebirth.
This ti, he’s genuinely safe.
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