“I know, you were planning to grab ***-1998 and shoot me the moment you opened the safe.” Two seconds later, Feng Bujue continued, “If I were the one being held hostage, I’d have the same thought.” He paused for half a second. “Too bad… I’m not.”

Before his words faded, he took a few more steps closer.

“To prevent you from doing something stupid, I’ll give you a heads-up.” Brother Jue went on, “I can tell you plainly… I’ve already anticipated your intentions. If you make any sudden moves, I won’t hesitate to react.” At this point, a chilling smile crept into his tone, “…no matter how cold-blooded that ‘reaction’ might seem to ordinary people.”

“I… I understand…” Dr. Jonathan’s voice trembled. “I… I won’t… make any rash moves…”

“Good,” Feng Bujue said. “Open the safe, Doctor.”

Hearing this, Jonathan swallowed and took the key from his pocket, inserting it into the safe’s keyhole.

During this process… his hands trembled, and his body shook. An animal’s instinct when faced with a deadly threat put his entire being in a tense, ready-to-snap state. Although his focus was heightened, the precision of his movements was reduced. The tension and fear made his actions slow and inefficient.

“Are you stalling for time, Doctor?” Feng Bujue asked. “Does opening a safe really take this long?”

“No… I… I just…” Jonathan quickly looked at Brother Jue and shook his head in denial. “…my hands aren’t obeying me.”

“Hmph…” Feng Bujue snorted coldly. “You’d better get your qilin arm (powerful arm) to stop acting up, or I’ll shoot it off.”

“I… I understand, I’ll open it right away.” Jonathan said, hastily starting to spin the mechanical lock on the safe.

“Oh, right… I might as well tell you that even if you are stalling… it’s useless.” At this moment, Brother Jue glanced up at the surveillance camera in the corner of the room. “Assuming the people on the other end of the monitor noticed the situation here the first second we entered the room and immediately issued an order for a siege… we still have about three minutes and thirty seconds before we’re threatened.”

The fact that he could state such a precise number clearly meant he had a basis; three minutes and thirty seconds… was precisely the shortest amount of time it would take to travel from the B3 laboratory to this ***-1998 containment measure.

As early as when Feng Bujue turned on the communicator and spoke his first words on the public frequency, he had already calculated this very step.

Announcing Dr. Jonathan’s name and location was both a probe and an inducement. Brother Jue factored in Steven’s reasoning ability, the time required for orders to be transmitted and executed, and other elements. The reason he was “leisurely” walking through the emergency通道 (tongdao - passage/channel) earlier was because he was consciously controlling the “time.” He was waiting for the B3 security personnel to concentrate towards the laboratory. When those guys were almost there, he would then hijack the doctor and retreat into the 通道 (tongdao). That way, by utilizing the technical advantage of the emergency safety 通道 (tongdao), he could buy himself a certain amount of “safe time.”

If this game were to be compared to chess, Steven could probably see the next two or three steps, while Feng Bujue… could see at least five steps ahead.

Relying on the information he gleaned from Kozmo, his memories from his previous activities in B3, and the information he obtained from Billy… Brother Jue had already constructed a very complex calculation model in his mind.

Every step he was currently planning and implementing, as well as the possible variations that could arise after each step, had been repeatedly scrutinized through zero-time-difference calculations. His ability… was already very close to Zero’s “prophecy program,” but it was also different.

Because Brother Jue was a “person,” a type of intelligent life form that was quite lacking in “principles.” The more lacking in principles one was, the more “unpredictable” one became, and the more able to “adapt to changing circumstances.”

The key to everything lay in——“choice.”

Humans would make choices that contradicted logic, common sense, correctness, or probability for various reasons. In the eyes of an AI, these were all “mistakes,” “irrational.” But sometimes, these choices would lead to “better” results.

If the “future” that Zero calculated was a straight, wide road, then the future that Feng Bujue calculated was a river with countless branches… He might not be able to see the exact destination, but he could greatly influence the outcome.

…………

Four minutes later, when Gore and Dan led a group of security personnel into the ***-1998 containment room, the room was already empty.

Gore looked at the surveillance camera that had been shot to pieces by a rifle and sighed. “Sir, we still didn’t make it… Austin must have taken the doctor back into the 通道 (tongdao).”

“I know.” Steven couldn’t even get angry anymore, because he knew that getting angry at his own people was pointless. The current situation wasn’t a problem on their side; it was just that the enemy was too cunning…

“Everyone, return to your original posts.” After a few seconds, Steven composed himself and issued an order to the other security personnel on a frequency that Brother Jue couldn’t receive. “Gore, Dan, you immediately lead the emergency response team to guard the B6 project, to prevent that madman from releasing something like 236 or 280.”

“Yes, sir.” The security personnel received their orders and began to act.

In the next ten minutes or so, the entire base was shrouded in a rather oppressive atmosphere.

Feng Bujue was like a stubborn disease lurking in the base. Even though the Foundation personnel knew of his existence, they couldn’t do anything about him in the short term. They could only wait for him to reappear from the 通道 (tongdao) before responding.

Of course, Steven would never allow this situation to continue. In fact… shortly after he deduced that Brother Jue was using that 通道 (tongdao), he had already contacted his superiors.

Soon, a team consisting of three Level 5 security personnel would arrive to take over command of the facility and be responsible for catching the rat known as "Rudy Austin."

However…

Steven never expected that twenty minutes after Brother Jue stole ***-1998, an incredible thing would happen.

At that moment, the secret door in the B7 monitoring level opened.

Feng Bujue walked out of the 通道 (tongdao), holding Billy in one arm and raising the other high above his head.

And not far behind Brother Jue was Dr. Jonathan, holding an assault rifle, “escorting” Brother Jue forward.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t be rash, take a good look…” As soon as Feng Bujue came out of the 通道 (tongdao), he received a warm welcome from all the security personnel on that level—dozens of guns were immediately pointed at him. “…I’ve already surrendered, everyone.”

“Do you think we’re idiots?” The next second, Steven, who was standing at the front of the crowd, said coldly.

Before his words faded, the muzzle of the gun in his hand had already turned towards Dr. Jonathan behind Brother Jue: “Dr. Jonathan! Please put down your weapon!”