wavenovel Chapter 14 Open Day
Chapter 14 Open Day
"Only floors one through ten will be open on open days. The R&D center is on floors eleven through twenty-five, and the core area is on the twenty-third floor and above," Cheng Xu wrote on the paper. "But they will showcase some 'safe' projects, which may include a demo version of the energy monitoring system. Observe the demo equipment carefully to see if there are any abnormalities."
In the evening, Editor-in-Chief Qin convened a final preparatory meeting.
"I've already contacted the library and asked them to temporarily shut down the system installed by Hanshan Technology tomorrow under the pretext of equipment maintenance," he said. "Although it's only temporary, it might elicit a reaction from Hanshan Technology, so you need to pay special attention to their emotions and conversations."
"What if we encounter danger..." Li Shancheng asked.
"Evacuate immediately and use emergency teleportation talismans." Editor-in-Chief Qin handed each of them a yellow paper talisman folded into a triangle. "It will take effect in three seconds after you tear it open, and you will be randomly teleported to a safe location within 300 meters. But it can only be used once, and the energy fluctuations are huge, which will expose that you are cultivators."
Late at night, Li Shancheng lay in bed, repeatedly rehearsing tomorrow's actions in his mind. He thought of the information transmitted by the array's core, the methods for repairing the nodes, and the precious materials... Even if they successfully stopped Hanshan Technology, repairing the array's core would be a long process.
Outside the window, the purple dragonwood swayed gently in the night breeze. The two-headed blue phoenix wasn't perched on the tree as usual; it had vanished. Li Shancheng had a premonition that beneath the calm surface of Kyoto City, undercurrents were rapidly surging.
At 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Li Shancheng and Xu Qingqing arrived at the Chuangzhi Building. The atmosphere was noticeably different today; a red carpet was laid at the entrance, and the welcoming staff were dressed in neat uniforms. Media reporters and people from all walks of life arrived one after another.
They showed their invitation codes and entered the hall smoothly. The main venue for the open day was on the first floor lobby, where booths and demonstration equipment had already been set up. At around nine o'clock, Lin Han walked onto the stage and began his speech.
Just like the last time they met, he was dressed in a well-fitting suit and behaved with refined manners. But Li Shancheng noticed that Lin Han's eyes were somewhat dark, and although he had covered them with foundation, he could still see signs of fatigue.
"...We believe that the combination of technology and tradition can bring a better future to mankind." Lin Han's voice echoed through the hall through the microphone. "Today, we will showcase Hanshan Technology's latest achievements in cultural heritage protection, clean energy, and biotechnology."
After the lecture, the tour began. Li Shancheng and Xu Qingqing followed a group of visitors to the ancient book preservation system's booth. The system on display was the same simulation system they had seen in the laboratory, but on a larger scale and with more sophisticated equipment.
The demonstrator explained how the system monitors the condition of ancient books through a "non-contact energy field." Li Shancheng focused his attention and could indeed feel a faint energy fluctuation, but it was much weaker than the equipment actually installed in the library.
"This is a public demo version; the actual system's energy intensity is more than ten times higher," Xu Qingqing whispered in his ear.
They continued their tour. The biotechnology exhibition area showcased routine cell culture and tissue engineering research, showing absolutely no resemblance to the "Nirvana Project." However, Li Shancheng noticed that the person in charge of this area was noticeably more nervous than those in other areas, and answered questions very cautiously.
Around 11:00 AM, the visitors were guided to the rest area for refreshments. Li Shancheng and Xu Qingqing took the opportunity to break away from the group and, following the map provided by Cheng Xu, found the staff entrance.
"There are no security cameras in the emergency exit, but the access control requires an employee card." Xu Qingqing looked at the electronic lock. "I can try to crack it, but it will take time."
Just then, the door suddenly opened from the inside. A young woman in a lab coat walked out, carrying a stack of documents. She paused for a moment when she saw them.
"Who are you...?" she asked, puzzled.
"We're reporters, and we're lost," Xu Qingqing said immediately. "We wanted to go to the restroom, but we ended up here after wandering around for a while."
The woman glanced at them and said, "Reporters should be in the public area; this is the staff area. The restrooms are over there, to the left."
Just as she was about to leave, Li Shancheng suddenly noticed the name on her name tag: Chen Ya's Assistant - Liu Wei.
"Ms. Liu!" he called out to her. "Is Engineer Chen Ya here? Our magazine interviewed her before and would like to do a follow-up report."
Liu Wei's expression became visibly tense: "Engineer Chen...she's on extended leave and isn't at the company."
"When are you coming back?" Xu Qingqing pressed.
"I don't know," Liu Wei replied hastily. "I have work to do, I have to go now."
She left quickly, but Li Shancheng noticed that she wasn't heading back to the lab, but rather to the stairwell.
"Follow them," Xu Qingqing said.
They followed Liu Wei at a distance, watching her go up two floors and exit the stairwell on the thirteenth floor. The thirteenth floor was the administrative office area, separate from the research and development center. Liu Wei entered an office with a sign that read "Human Resources Department."
"She works in the human resources department, but she's wearing lab coats?" Li Shancheng wondered.
"And she said she was Chen Ya's assistant, but why would an assistant be in the human resources department?" Xu Qingqing also felt something was wrong.
They pretended to look at brochures in the hallway, waiting for about ten minutes. Liu Wei reappeared, now dressed in business attire, and the documents in her hand were gone. She walked to the elevator and pressed the down button.
When the elevator arrived, there was only one person inside—Lin Han.
Liu Wei was visibly startled, but she still stepped into the elevator. Before the elevator doors closed, Li Shancheng saw Lin Han's expression as he spoke to Liu Wei; it was serious and imposing.
"They're on the same floor, in the underground parking lot," Xu Qingqing said, looking at the elevator indicator lights.
"Should we follow them?" Li Shancheng asked.
"It's too dangerous. There are many surveillance cameras in the parking lot, and Lin Han is there," Xu Qingqing said. "But we can observe where they go from the lobby."
They quickly returned to the lobby on the first floor and found a spot where they could see the parking lot exit. About five minutes later, Lin Han's black sedan drove out of the parking lot, with Liu Wei in the passenger seat.
"Write down the license plate," Xu Qingqing said.
Li Shancheng quickly memorized the license plate number and took several photos with a hidden camera.
"What do we do now?" he asked.
"Go back to Qingyun Lane and track this car," Xu Qingqing said. "Liu Wei might be the key; she knows Chen Ya's whereabouts."
As they were about to leave, a voice suddenly rang out behind them: "Please wait, gentlemen."
Turning around, I saw a middle-aged man in a security uniform with a name tag that read "Security Supervisor - Zhao Gang".
"What's wrong?" Xu Qingqing asked calmly.
"Please come with me for a moment, there are some things that need to be verified." Zhao Gang's tone was polite but not rude.
They were taken to a makeshift security checkpoint. Zhao Gang closed the door and turned on a laptop.
"The system identified similarities between the facial features of these two individuals and certain records in the database," Zhao Gang stated bluntly. "Could you explain that?"
Li Shancheng's heart was pounding, but he remained outwardly calm: "We are reporters, invited to the open day. Perhaps the facial recognition was faulty?"
"Perhaps," Zhao Gang said, staring at the screen, "but the system shows that your energy characteristics... are somewhat unusual. Especially this gentleman's."
He looked at Li Shancheng: "Can I check your press pass? Also, please put your backpack on the table."
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse. The backpack contained a hidden camera and an emergency teleportation talisman. If discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable!