Luo Zheng gave Song Yun a cold look, the chilly gaze making her scalp tingle. She quickly turned her face away, not daring to et Luo Zheng's eyes. Seeing that Song Yun had no intention of interfering, Luo Zheng continued speaking to Zheng Duo, "I will change the daily password at any mont, recognizing the code, not the person. You and I will command from the surveillance center. I'll adjust the surveillance system; bring reliable people to help. Any problem?"
"No problem," Zheng Duo readily agreed.
Song Yun pouted, really wanting to say, isn't recognizing people better? We all know each other. But seeing Luo Zheng's cold expression and Zheng Duo's ready agreent, she figured there must be a reason behind it. Sensibly, she didn't ask and continued to eavesdrop.
"The enemy has weapons. What about your weapons and equipnt?" Luo Zheng asked.
"The guards are all current Ard Police personnel, rotated every six months, equipped with guns, well-trained, and should have no issues with combat capability," Zheng Duo quickly responded. As a critical Military Research Institute, security was paramount, and it was unthinkable to recruit personnel from society to act as security guards; they were local Ard Police on rotation.
Luo Zheng, having reviewed the relevant materials and received confirmation from Zheng Duo, breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were well-trained, command should be straightforward. He then said, "That's good. Let's go to the surveillance room and perfect the monitoring equipnt."
Seeing there was nothing concerning her, Song Yun, annoyed, turned around and left. She took the elevator to the basent and stepped into the conference room. Seeing Mountain Eagle sitting quietly and no one else around, she inquired and learned that everyone had gone to patrol the vicinity. Thinking it over, she turned back to her work.
Lan Xue, Ghost Hand, and Snow Leopard ticulously checked each corner of the underground space, leaving no detail overlooked. Then, they returned to the conference room to study the construction blueprint of the underground space thoroughly. After a long observation, no abnormalities were found. Without even a sewer system, how could the enemy infiltrate this kind of basent, and where could a bomb be placed? Everyone beca puzzled.
After a while, Elder Lin arrived. Noting the ti, it was dinner ti. Everyone left the ground level and went to the staff cafeteria on the third floor of the office building. Entering a private room, given Elder Lin's status, it was natural not to dine in the hall with others.
The dining table in the private room was already laden with food. Everyone seated, the Guard captain Zheng Duo along with Luo Zheng rushed over. Exchanging glances after a busy day without a drop of water, everyone was famished. There was no talk of work, and they started devouring the al.
Song Yun genteelly shoveled the rice in her bowl. Seeing how Luo Zheng and others ate voraciously, as if charging into battle, fast beyond comprehension—and then looking at Lan Xue, who was hardly any different—she suddenly understood what Lan Xue had said before. Indeed, they were not from the sa world. The ways of thinking, habits, and behavioral norms, even the foundational values, were utterly differing. Thinking this, Song Yun, sowhat vexed, put down her bowl and went to the corner to get water.
By now, Luo Zheng and the others had finished eating. Seeing the rest had eaten less than half, Lan Xue shared a glance with everyone. Ghost Hand, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Eagle, catching the hint, left to observe the situation in the hall. With enemies inside the Military Research Institute, perhaps gathering in the cafeteria was an excellent opportunity to observe closely and see if there were any clues to be found.
"You eat as if you're battling; so fast," Elder Lin said with a chuckle.
"No choice, we're used to it. On the battlefield, only the fastest survive," Lan Xue smiled faintly, eyes drifting to the neatly stacked cases of mineral water beside, then asked, "That's water for regular consumption here, right?"
"Yes, help yourself if you're thirsty," Elder Lin said, smiling as he continued with his al.
Lan Xue, approaching the corner, took out a bottle from an opened case. It was just ordinary mineral water. After drinking a few sips and seeing another stack of water boxes, he paused, asking, "What about those?"
"These items are for the researchers in the underground space. They'll be moved down shortly, just stack them here for now," Song Yun said indifferently, continuing to eat.
"Eh?" Luo Zheng was taken aback and looked towards Lan Xue. Seeing Lan Xue's solemn expression, he walked over, opened a box, and took out a bottle—a very ordinary bottle of mineral water, nothing unusual at first glance. He looked at it carefully, then approached Lan Xue. Lan Xue looked at the bottom and then the top of the bottle, also finding nothing unusual.
"What's wrong?" Elder Lin asked in surprise, looking at Lan Xue and Luo Zheng.
"Nothing, just looking," Luo Zheng replied, walked away, and returned the mineral water to a distant spot. A strand of golden sunlight shone through the window and fell right on the bottle of water. From the corner of his eye, Luo Zheng noticed sothing off about the color of the water, startled, he picked it up for a closer look but found nothing.
"Did you find sothing?" Lan Xue, seeing Luo Zheng acting strangely, approached and asked in a low voice.
"Not sure, you look." Luo Zheng said, placing the water bottle where the sunlight hit it, noticing the water seed sowhat yellow. When he moved it away, it looked normal again.
"Let see." Lan Xue, noticing the anomaly too, picked up another bottle of water and held it under the sun; the water appeared slightly yellow. When removed from the sunlight, it reverted to its normal state. She compared it to her own water which remained unchanged under the sunlight. Lan Xue's face turned pale, and she said quietly, "The water supply should have been fine, but soone tampered with it here. You keep watch."
"Okay," Luo Zheng agreed, imdiately suspecting an insider.
anwhile, Lan Xue approached the dining table and asked seriously, "Who has co into contact with this batch of water?"
"What do you an?" Elder Lin, taken aback, put down his utensils and looked at Lan Xue, then glanced at Luo Zheng nearby and realizing sothing was wrong, he stood up, his expression hardened, and looked towards Song Yun.
Song Yun imdiately explained, "After this batch of water was purchased, it was stored here. I had the logistics staff help move two boxes out to prepare for transport to the underground later. It's a public cafeteria, people co and go, who specifically touched it, who knows? What's happened?"
"What's happened? Is there a problem with the water?" Elder Lin asked in surprise, looking at Lan Xue.
Lan Xue did not explain but instead said, "Could soone bring so live chickens, ducks, or fish over?"
"I'll go," Zheng Duo agreed, and soon ca back with a basin holding a live fish. Luo Zheng instructed Zheng Duo to pour the water into a trash bin, leaving only the fish, then he had Luo Zheng open the problematic mineral water and pour it into the basin. Everyone watched curiously until the fish suddenly floated to the surface, belly up, its eyes grey and lifeless. Everyone was stunned.
"What's going on here?" Elder Lin exclaid, watching Song Yun, his back breaking into a cold sweat. The thought of this water being sent underground terrified Lin Shusen, he looked at Song Yun and said, "How can you be so careless? How did you handle this? Zheng Duo, investigate imdiately."
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