Full-Time Public Enemy-Chapter 624 - 486: Heartclinging Worm

"Empire River Star is your hometown, and it's your fans who are in trouble—this is obviously a trap to lure you there!" Before the group set out, Chen Jixian delivered a rare, lengthy speech, its recipient none other than Chen Gu—who, unbeknownst to many, was his father.

Chen Gu's face remained somber; he seemed unable to think of a rebuttal.

"But in reality, even though it's our hometown, we have to admit that it's a backwater. If I were the Digital Group and planning an attack, I wouldn't choose there either; the attention it gets is too low."

"Therefore, I suspect this is very likely the prelude to a feint, with their goal being to draw us away from Capital Star."

Chen Jixian suddenly lifted his eyelids. "So, we might as well turn the tables! We'll pretend we're rushing to Empire River Star, then secretly stay hidden and find their true target!"

Chen Gu looked tempted. He glanced at Gong Shuxu, who, after careful consideration, also nodded. And so, the group was soon seen hurriedly exiting the Bureau building and boarding a spacecraft bound for Empire River Star.

Within the network of the Bureau building, a special "bug" had always been lurking. However, the encryption level of the Bureau building's network was extremely high, and all data entering and leaving was "processed" multiple times. This data processing was akin to that of an old-city sewage treatment plant; after repeated cycles, the "outgoing" data became "clean water."

Even if this "bug" were a nine-lived cat, it had lost eight and a half of them. Number 21 expended considerable effort to reactivate it. He then employed various techniques—unfathomable to humans but common for data lifeforms—to restore the information it held.

Then, he revealed a digital smile on the interstellar quantum network and sent a message to a dedicated "user."

"They think it's a trap. Activate Plan C."

They treated this operation as a "battle," formulating a complete plan from the outset, with contingencies for every possible scenario. In the entire battle plan, Number 21 was paramount; he was responsible for gathering intelligence and determining the opponent's intentions.

Two hours later, Number 21 found a segment of surveillance footage: Chen Gu and his group, after boarding the spacecraft, had quietly left through an emergency hatch. Although they all wore hats, visual comparison confirmed their identities—it was indeed them. It seemed only Marcus and Silver Eagle Charles were actually heading to Empire River Star.

「On the spaceship.」

Inside a cargo hold, a group of "ordinary-looking" people lay in several life-support pods.

Chen Gu used his Brain Domain Hacker abilities to communicate with everyone on a mental level, chatting as if using telepathy.

"How long can this disguise last?"

"The Professional with us can continuously reinforce the disguise. As long as he lives, it can be maintained indefinitely."

"The ones left on Capital Star won't blow our cover, will they?"

"No. Number 21 is indeed powerful, but that's also his weakness: he relies solely on electronic devices for judgment. As long as we maintain optical camouflage, his equipment won't be able to distinguish us."

"Upon arrival at Empire River Star, Marcus and Charles will be the visible leaders. The rest of us will act as ordinary members of the operations team." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Finally, someone raised a question, "What if… Number 21 never actually infiltrated the Bureau's network? Would all our efforts be in vain?"

Chen Gu answered, "Always assume our opponent is one step ahead."

In fact, when Chen Gu first heard about the attack, he was furious. He particularly detested the Digital Group's practice of readily dragging innocent ordinary people into their conflicts. However, on the way to the Bureau building, he had calmed down: the Digital Group's actions were too conspicuous. They had specifically targeted his hometown and chosen his fan club.

The conversation Chen Jixian had with him inside the Bureau building was also pre-arranged, a mental discussion between father and adult son conducted using Chen Gu's Brain Domain Hacker abilities. Getting Chen Jixian to deliver such a long speech in one go was indeed asking a lot of him, rather like asking a terrible actor to memorize a lengthy script.

Currently, the Bureau of Mystic Security didn't actually know if the Digital Group had taken the bait. They landed in Songtao Lang City at the scheduled time. Marcus led the way, followed by Silver Eagle Charles and a group of "operations team" members, to meet with the local sub-bureau's special operatives.

"Brief us on the situation!" Marcus had no time for pleasantries and got straight to the point.

The chief of Songtao Lang's Masked Sub-bureau, a Fourth Energy Level Regenerating Warrior named Ankara, immediately spoke, her face grave. "Approximately 3,200 people are trapped in the cinema. We've attempted to access the internal surveillance footage using technical means, but all attempts failed. Consequently, we have no information about the situation inside."

"We don't know by what means the criminals are controlling so many people. It's completely quiet inside the cinema."

Marcus asked, "Have you organized a rescue operation?"

"We attempted one," Ankara said, her expression sorrowful. "Two special operatives, along with our most elite operations team, tried to enter through the cinema's ventilation shafts. However, as soon as they breached the cinema perimeter, we lost contact with them. We haven't heard anything since!"