Right on Target (TARGET)
The monk felt a surge of killing intent at that moment, but there was nothing he could do.
Wei Da was tied to the artificial human project—his life was worth more than theirs. He could only lower his gun and watch Wei Da walk away.
Inside the detention room, Su Heting wanted to keep the pistol as a trophy.
The Chief hinted pointedly, "All firearms tonight must be cataloged, sealed, and handed over to the higher-ups in full."
Su Heting gripped the pistol, reluctant to let go. "Didn’t you say this place was under your control?" He glanced at the surveillance cameras. "Can’t we wipe the footage and keep these guns?"
The Chief passed the pistol to an armed team member behind her. "No. Do you think Wei Da comes and goes without records? The higher-ups know exactly how many people and items he brings each time. The armed team can’t hoard weapons—these must be handed over voluntarily. And put the gun down. Hybrids aren’t allowed to carry firearms."
Su Heting said, "I’m afraid of being assassinated by Wei Da."
The Chief called him by his full name. "Su Heting."
Su Heting swiftly ejected the magazine, tossed the pistol to the armed team member, then raised his hands with practiced ease, his expression bored. "Yes, yes, hybrids aren’t allowed guns. Here, take it back."
The Chief sometimes felt Su Heting acted like a petulant child, his tantrums and defiance written all over his face, as if he wanted the whole world to know he was unhappy. She took two steps back, signaling for Su Heting to follow, and said to the armed team, "Clean up the scene. These people still need to be returned to Wei Da."
Seizing the moment, Su Heting removed the fake sensor cuff from his wrist and followed the Chief out of the detention room. At the door, he spotted the monk, who was crouched beside the entrance and examining the life monitor on the sunglasses-wearing man—a device that held basic personal information.
The Chief asked, "Are you sure they’re all Wei Da’s men?"
The monk’s fingers were stained with blood from rummaging through the corpses. He wiped the monitor’s screen with his jacket and handed it to the Chief. "Confirmed. They’re from Wei Da’s personal forces."
The Chief scrutinized the monitor’s information, which bore the insignia of Wei Da’s private armed unit. She nodded. "Clean this up as quickly as possible."
Su Heting looked down at the corpse and asked, "Are his armed forces all made up of survivors?"
The Chief replied, "Not necessarily. Take Viper, for example—he’s a Hybrid. But to talk about Wei Da’s forces, we have to talk about his background. He was quite familiar with you in the Old World, though you probably never met him."
Su Heting thought to himself: Here we go again—Black Panther.
The Chief turned slightly to face Su Heting. "Wei Da used to run arms deals along the border between the Northern and Southern Alliances in the Old World. He was a mercenary, and even back then, he commanded a small armed unit. Rumor has it he struck a deal with the Southern Alliance and specialized in ambushing Black Panther’s operatives along the border, which made him a thorn in Fu Chenghui’s side. Then, one winter, Fu Chenghui dispatched a sniper codenamed 7-001, who wiped out Wei Da’s entire unit. Wei Da escaped in disgrace and paid the price with hundreds of lives and one of his legs. After that, he vanished—until the New World, when he dared to resurface."
The monk stood up, clasped his hands, and murmured "Amitabha" several times before saying, "Evil begets evil."
Su Heting had no recollection of this "7-001." His knowledge of Black Panther was limited to the basics. Ask him about the Eskimo structure, and he could manage. But ask about other teammates, and he’d be clueless—digging deeper would expose him instantly.
Lost in thought, the monk asked, "You're 7-006, so you must have met 7-001, right?"
Why did this old man have to bring up such a sore subject?
Su Heting's expression remained cold, not even blinking. "Yeah, I have. You wanna meet him too?"
The monk pressed, "What kind of person is he?"
Su Heting made up on the spot, "A vicious, tyrannical, unreasonable psychopath, I guess."
The monk frowned, increasingly convinced of the old-world military's irresponsibility. "Someone like that should be locked up, not sent out on missions. What if innocent people get hurt? Will Black Panther take responsibility?"
Su Heting continued fabricating with the scant information he had about Black Panther: "Probably. Otherwise, how would Fu Chenghui face public scrutiny? Besides, not all of us are deranged lunatics—I’m perfectly normal."
As he spoke, he grew more puzzled
—Right, I am normal.
So why am I 7-006? That ranking is way too high. Could it be that I was once a heinous villain?
The monk had the same thought and was deeply distressed. "Xiao Su, you weren’t a cold-blooded killer like Wei Zhixin in the past, were you?"
Su Heting replied, "That’s different. My dad isn’t Wei Da."
The monk felt slightly relieved.
Su Heting added, "If my dad were Wei Da—"
The monk asked, "What then?"
Su Heting answered very rationally, "I’d eat large-plate chicken every day."
The Chief smacked him with the booklet she’d just picked up. "No hints, no chicken! And both of you, stop chit-chatting. Stay sharp—there’s plenty to do today."
The monk composed himself and said to the Chief, "So many people died tonight. How are you going to explain this to the higher-ups?"
The Chief showed no signs of complaint or distress. "I’ll tell the truth. I warned them long ago to keep an eye on Wei Zhixin. They ignored it. Now that he’s dead, they share the blame."
Her goal was clear—she wouldn’t give up on the Punishment Zone. Su Heting was her only bargaining chip, and she was willing to gamble on it.
The Chief continued, "I know what matters to them. As long as Wei Da is unharmed, they won’t care. Go now, take Wei Da to my lounge and keep an eye on him. I expect the higher-ups will send someone within two hours. When they arrive, I’ll submit the Punishment Zone intel and try to negotiate."
The monk accepted the order but then asked, "What about this kid?"
Su Heting said, "I’m busy."
The word "busy" struck a nerve with the monk, who fumed, "Busy? Oh, you’re so busy! Sneaking out for a date in the middle of the night!"
Su Heting replied, "Well, I fight in the Punishment Zone during the day. Nights are my only free time. Dates take time too, you know."
The monk didn’t believe he had anyone to date. As he walked away with his gun, he muttered, "Who the hell would date you?"
Su Heting had never been on a date, but he’d never admit it. He casually draped an arm over the back of his neck and put on a know-it-all expression. "Of course, a beautiful la—" He bit his tongue, thinking of Xie Zhenshu, and changed his tone. "None of your business. Just go already!"
The Chief had a headache from their bickering. She tapped Su Heting’s arm with the booklet, signaling him to leave too. "Go, go, you too. Head to Detention Room 103."
Detention Room 103 was familiar to Su Heting—it was where he’d entered the Punishment Zone both times before.
The Chief walked in, sat down, kicked off her high heels, and pointed to a nearby chair. "Sit."
Su Heting sat down.
The Chief brushed aside the silver hair that had fallen by her cheek. "Where did you get the gun you used to shoot Wei Zhixin yesterday?"
Su Heting replied, "Wei Zhixin gave it to me."
The Chief leaned back slightly in her chair, taking a moment to rest. Hearing his answer, she gave a small nod, as if she had gotten the response she wanted.
According to Xingtian's regulations, Hybrids weren’t allowed to carry firearms. The higher-ups would definitely question the origin of that gun, and this was the answer the Chief needed—the gun had been left behind by Wei Zhixin during his last attempt to hunt Su Heting down. It hadn’t come from their armed unit, so if anyone was to be held accountable, it would be Wei Zhixin, not her.
As for why the gun had been fully loaded, she would claim ignorance, and so would Su Heting. Even if the higher-ups wanted to investigate further, they’d have no way to do so—the gun was already lost.
The Chief said, "Now isn’t the best time to enter the Punishment Zone. I still have to deal with the people the higher-ups are sending over later. But according to the message you sent to Monk, you said you want to go in now?"
Su Heting answered, "Now."
There was no trace of exhaustion on the Chief’s face. Her eyes were sharp and alert—she wasn’t as easy to fool as Monk. "You’re in such a hurry—is it really because you’ve found Jue?"
Su Heting’s words were half-truths. "Yeah, otherwise why would I go in? The sooner I finish this mission, the sooner I’ll be free."
The Chief asked, "Where is Jue?"
Su Heting didn’t know, but he had to pretend he did. "In the Divine Demon Territory outside the Punishment Zone’s city. The NPCs say there are many ‘gods’ there—all of them systems."
The Chief wasn’t in a rush. She had time to spare. "Why didn’t you mention this after you came out of the Punishment Zone last time?"
Su Heting put on an innocent expression, as if to say, Oh, did I not? "I didn’t mention it?"
The Chief couldn’t be bothered to play along. "You’re not telling the truth, Su Heting. I know you always leave yourself an out, but I need to know everything about the Punishment Zone. This time, I can let it slide as you forgetting. Next time, I might not."
Su Heting shrugged. "I’m a good kid. I’ll tell you everything."
The Chief said, "You should be grateful the Punishment Zone has signal blockers. Otherwise, your every move would be under my watch."
Su Heting was grateful for the blockers. Come to think of it, that little bell was still in his pocket—he could feel it as soon as he logged in. Compared to threats, he hated surveillance even more, especially the kind that never let up. It made him feel suffocated.
The Chief let out a long sigh. "All our hopes in the Punishment Zone rest on you—"
"Don’t," Su Heting cut in, resisting the idea. "No, thanks. I’m no savior."
The Chief found it amusing. "Being a hero is beneath you? Wei Da’s artificial human project has already begun. Soon, artificial humans might emerge as new weapons of war. I’m telling you, time is running out for us."
It was running out.
Su Heting suspected that if they kept talking, dawn would break in the Punishment Zone. He switched his tail’s interface, but just before logging in, a thought occurred to him. "Wei Da won’t storm in here and shoot me dead, will he?"
The Chief said, "Not while I’m alive!"
Su Heting felt reassured. "If anything happens, wake me up. I’ll send your regards to Jue."
As soon as the words left his mouth, his tail plugged into the interface.
The detention room blurred around him. The Chief seemed to say something, but Su Heting couldn’t hear her. Instead, the familiar electronic voice echoed in his ears, clearer than ever before.
"Welcome to the Punishment Zone.
"Your current session duration is—"
Before the electronic voice could finish, Su Heting felt a sudden chill envelop him, and his eyes snapped open.
Freezing rain mixed with hail pelted down on him relentlessly. Instinctively, he raised a hand to shield his face, but the wind was so fierce it nearly forced his eyes shut again.
"Hey," Su Heting flicked his tail, its tip switching into a small light, "Inspector!"
The icy rain drenched his hair in seconds. The surroundings pitch-black, an endless void of darkness.
His tail swayed wildly in the wind as the faint light kept flickering like a tiny boat tossed in a raging storm.
Xie Zhenshu opened his eyes in the darkness upon hearing the call.
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