Chapter 138: The Secret of Suspended High Tower 132
“Okay, I understand.”
Qualcomm closed the digital terminal and handed it to a waiting subordinate, his expression turning serious.
He had been accompanying Luo Xue and Ceres on a tour of the seventh level of the tower, but before they could go far, Qualcomm received a call and seemed to have learned something.
“Master Qualcomm, do you have something urgent to attend to?” Ceres asked. “If so, please go ahead, there’s no need to personally guide us.”
Luo Xue and Ceres had originally intended to explore the tower city themselves.
But Qualcomm insisted on being their guide, saying that they couldn’t neglect Federal officers.
As for whether he really thought that… or didn’t want Luo Xue and Ceres to roam freely within the tower city, it was unknown.
“Heh… it’s not exactly urgent, but I do have something to attend to. I might… have to excuse myself for a while.”
Qualcomm said with a regretful expression. After a moment of contemplation, he waved to someone beside him.
“Xiao Liu, come here and accompany the two officers around the city.”
A woman in a black business suit with short hair stepped forward, her head slightly lowered, and replied,
“Yes, Mayor.”
“Xiao Liu is my secretary’s assistant. She’s very familiar with the city.” Qualcomm looked at Luo Xue and Ceres with a smile. “If you have any questions, you can ask her.”
“Miss Guijiao, Ms. Ceres,” Assistant Xiao Liu extended her hand to Ceres. “My name is Liu Yun. Pleased to meet you.”
“Miss Yun, hello.”
Ceres replied with a smile.
“Actually, it should be Miss Liu…”
Luo Xue corrected from the side.
“Hmm?” Ceres blinked. “Really? But why can I call you Miss Guijiao…”
“I just don’t bother correcting people.”
“You can call me whatever you like,” Liu Yun seemed rather serious, her tone indifferent. “We’ll also need your cooperation with our work later.”
Hearing this, before Luo Xue and Ceres could speak, Qualcomm waved his hand dismissively, feigning a stern expression.
“Hey, what are you saying? How can we ask Federal officers to cooperate with us? Xiao Liu, it should be us cooperating with the Federal officers.”
“…It’s fine, it’s the same.”
Although Ceres maintained her smile, she cursed this old fox inwardly.
This was clearly his instruction to Liu Yun, yet he had to say it like this.
“Master Qualcomm, we won’t delay your business any further. We’ll be going then.”
Ceres raised an eyebrow. She didn’t want to stay with this old fox any longer.
“Alright, alright, have fun.”
Qualcomm leaned back in his wheelchair, his expression amiable.
Ceres and Luo Xue bowed to him, then continued walking under Liu Yun’s guidance.
Watching their receding figures, Qualcomm’s expression gradually darkened, his amiable demeanor gone.
“Have you caught him?” He asked slowly.
“We’re still pursuing him. The target’s strength is not to be underestimated.” The subordinate said in a low voice. “At least a Level 6 ability user… Master Luo Yong is on his way. The second level has been completely sealed off. He can’t escape.”
“Two years ago… you also said that.” Qualcomm said faintly.
“This subordinate knows his mistake.”
The subordinate immediately lowered his head.
“Let bygones be bygones. Just capture him quickly.”
Qualcomm waved his hand, leaned back in his chair, and frowned slightly.
“He’s been hiding on the second level for two years… I didn’t even consider the possibility of him disguising himself as a technician. But why expose himself now?”
“This subordinate doesn’t know, but… there’s a guess.” The subordinate said. “He’s in the department responsible for maintaining and activating the docking facility. His original plan was probably to tamper with it during docking and escape.”
“But he exposed himself in broad daylight, and when the Federal officers arrived… Perhaps he mistakenly thought this docking procedure was with the ground?”
Qualcomm’s face darkened as he listened, and he didn’t speak.
After a moment, he shook his head.
“No, that’s unlikely. Night Owl is so cautious, he wouldn’t make such a mistake. There must be… another plan.”
Qualcomm looked up in the direction Luo Xue and Ceres had left and said slowly,
“Federal officers… that’s right, there aren’t many opportunities to contact Federal officers. He must want to tell them what he knows. He deliberately exposed himself!”
Qualcomm’s heart sank even further.
“Has Luo Yong arrived yet?” Qualcomm asked softly, his voice hoarse.
“Not yet… but soon, very soon!” The subordinate quickly replied. “The city defense department has already started narrowing down the search area. Once Master Luo Yong arrives, the capture operation can begin immediately!”
“Not enough, send Chen Ting as well.” Qualcomm’s fingers unconsciously tapped the leather armrest of his wheelchair. “The mission objective has changed. Kill Night Owl.”
“Kill… kill Master Night Owl?”
The subordinate’s face was filled with panic.
“Yes, I originally wanted to ask him a few more questions before permanently eliminating the threat, but since he’s so uncooperative, forget it.” Qualcomm said indifferently, then turned his wheelchair and headed towards the gravity elevator. “I’m going to rest. I want to see his corpse when I wake up.”
“As you command, Master Qualcomm.”
The subordinates bowed in unison, watching Qualcomm enter the gravity elevator.
The mayor was returning to the ninth level of the tower. No one dared to follow.
Only after the elevator doors closed did the subordinates start whispering amongst themselves.
“What exactly did Master Night Owl do wrong? First, they pursued him, then they locked down the tower, and now they want to kill him?”
“Are you new here? Haven’t you heard the rumors? It’s said that he knows some secrets he shouldn’t know… things that even Master Luo Yong and Master Chen Ting, who are a level higher than him, don’t dare to touch!”
“Sigh, the affairs of these big shots… it’s better not to know too much. You never know when your head might roll…”
“Keep your voice down, don’t let anyone hear. This is the seventh level. Some things… should only be said on the lower three levels.”
The lower three levels were where the maintenance personnel worked, and supervision there was lax. The big shots rarely paid attention to this place. Otherwise, how could Night Owl have avoided so many searches?
But gossip aside, the mayor’s orders still had to be carried out immediately.
Soon, the order to kill Night Owl reached Luo Yong and Chen Ting.
They had been colleagues with Night Owl, all members of the High Tower’s Special Operations Team. Receiving the order to kill their old friend filled them with mixed emotions.
But they also knew very well that once their old friend accidentally learned some things, he had no chance of survival.
“After all, it’s about… Master Qualcomm’s deceased brother, Dr. Lingxi… Why bother?”
…
On the second level of the Suspended High Tower, Night Owl was desperately trying to escape.
Unlike the order and structure of the upper three levels, the lower three levels were relatively chaotic, which gave Night Owl a chance.
But clearly, this chance was running out.
Although the second level housed precious equipment and devices, and destructive weapons couldn’t be used, Qualcomm didn’t care about the cost of capturing Night Owl. The city defense department was using human lives as a barrier, forcibly restricting Night Owl within a small area.
They were playing a game of cat and mouse in this small area.
The cats were his two old friends, and he was the trapped rat.
“Night Owl, give up.” Luo Yong sighed. “For old times’ sake… I’ll make sure you die painlessly.”
“No… Boss, you don’t understand what Qualcomm is doing.” Night Owl took a deep breath and said, “As long as I’m in this Suspended High Tower, I’m not safe.”
“Don’t worry, Boss, I won’t tell you. Because those who know… have to die. If everyone knew, Suspended High Tower 132 would be gone. Qualcomm… is a complete lunatic!”
Luo Yong’s heart trembled upon hearing this, but Chen Ting wasn’t affected.
She moved swiftly, pressing towards Night Owl, her attacks fierce and deadly.
The battle on the second level had a huge impact on the entire Suspended High Tower, almost half of the tower’s systems shutting down.
…
“Anything else you want to know?” Liu Yun asked faintly.
“Nothing.” Ceres shook her head.
Luo Xue leaned forward and asked, blinking,
“Sister Liu, what was the Mayor busy with just now?”
Although Luo Xue currently looked like a ghost, she was still quite cute.
Liu Yun almost stumbled at her words.
But she was a professional and quickly regained her composure, replying in her usual indifferent tone,
“I’m sorry, but what the Mayor does is not something I can know—I can only speak freely about what I’m allowed to know.”
“Oh.” Luo Xue nodded and asked casually, “Then, Sister Liu, do you know Night Owl?”
Liu Yun’s pupils constricted slightly, and she quickly lowered her head and said,
“Yes, a Federal wanted criminal, and the mastermind behind the arson case here. The Federation is very interested in him.”
Liu Yun naturally knew about the capture of Night Owl. Since the Mayor hadn’t told them anything, she didn’t dare to reveal anything either.
“Not really, I’m just personally interested in him.” Luo Xue said, staring intently at Liu Yun. “Just now, the Mayor went to deal with something related to Night Owl, right?”
Luo Xue was confident in her ability to read people. When she mentioned Night Owl, Liu Yun’s expression was like she was saying, “How did you know?”
Liu Yun was shocked that Luo Xue knew about this.
Although her surprise was only for a moment, it was enough for Luo Xue to notice.
“No, it’s not.” Liu Yun shook her head and said faintly. “Night Owl has been wanted by the Federation for a long time. How could the Mayor be dealing with his matters now?”
“If you say so, then it must be true.” Luo Xue snapped her fingers. “Sister Liu, you just said you didn’t know anything, but now you know it’s not?”
“…”
Liu Yun didn’t say anything. She seemed calm on the surface, but she had already let it slip.
“Miss Guijiao, what should we do now?”
Ceres rubbed her hands excitedly. She smelled something big brewing.
This trip was definitely worth it. It couldn’t be just for a formality, could it?
“Let’s get rid of these troublesome eavesdroppers first.”
Luo Xue glanced at Ceres and sighed softly.
She felt that Ceres was a bit too excited…
“No problem.”
Ceres responded, her green eyes turning blank, and an invisible mental wave swept out, a strong wave of drowsiness washing over everyone around them.
“Hypnosis ability?”
Luo Xue also felt the drowsiness, but she could still resist it.
“Just a small application.” Ceres said, but didn’t reveal her specific ability, being quite cautious.
Liu Yun’s eyes widened in shock.
“What are you trying to do?”
She was also a high-level ability user, and this simple hypnosis wasn’t very effective against her.
“Something that’s not convenient for others to see.” Luo Xue teleported behind Liu Yun. “Please rest for a while, Sister Liu, we’ll be back soon—sorry!”
“You—”
Liu Yun struggled against the drowsiness, trying her best to use her ability on Luo Xue.
But Luo Xue was faster.
“Stun Technique!”
She clenched her fist and punched Liu Yun in the head.
Liu Yun’s consciousness faltered slightly, and she could no longer resist the drowsiness, collapsing to the ground.
Luo Xue shook her hand. Although she couldn’t use techniques or abilities because of “Hidden Flower,” her physical strength was still very strong.
At least knocking someone out wasn’t a problem.
“You call that a Stun Technique?”
Ceres twitched her lips. She had thought it was some kind of special ability.
But…
Well, Miss Guijiao was indeed a martial artist. This was her ability.
“Just say whether it works or not.” Luo Xue rolled her eyes at Ceres, then picked up the unconscious Liu Yun. “Find a safe place to put these hypnotized people.”
“The seventh level usually has confession rooms, completely sealed small rooms.” Ceres said. “Once locked, they’re completely isolated from the outside world. It should be safe enough. Hey, do you want me to help you carry a few?”
“No need.”
Luo Xue picked up the remaining people with her other hand.
These were the spies lurking nearby, also affected by Ceres’s hypnosis.
A petite girl holding one person in her arms and carrying seven or eight others tied together with her other hand, this scene was quite impactful.
“Let’s go.” Luo Xue narrowed her eyes slightly. “I want to see… what exactly is going on with Night Owl.”
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