“Heh, you’re quite arrogant, kid?”

From the later ranks of the crowd, two tall, thin men with light green-dyed hair slowly stepped forward.

The two had decent looks, but their eyes were a bit dark, and their energy seemed to be a forced revival of something withered.

As they walked out, the others realized that at least half of the crowd had come with them. Some even had bulges at their waists, clearly carrying guns.

“Well, not bad, not bad at all.” Li Cheng颐 smiled. “Isn’t this a mutual attraction? Who told us there were only two of us?"

His meaning was clear: because there were only two of them, without any replacements, they had attracted so many people to join.

“Good temper, I’ll give you that.” The green-haired man curled his lip. “But the content of your words is quite arrogant. You’re an interesting person.”

“Yes, thank you for the compliment.” Li Cheng颐 nodded in agreement. “I just think that everyone’s situation is bad enough as it is, so why make things worse for each other?”

“Makes sense. You know, kid, I find you more pleasing to the eye than a lot of people.” The green-haired man laughed.

“Give us the goal then. You’re right, who told us we need you, not the other way around? High-frequency flashing, huh? I hope you’re as effective as they say. Otherwise, this old man won't have wasted my time driving tens of thousands of miles!”

“I won’t let everyone down.” Li Cheng颐 smiled warmly. He opened his hands, signaling everyone to quiet down a bit.

Once the noise subsided, he slowly began to speak.

“So, now let’s talk about the test question.”

He looked around at everyone. There were already thirty or so people densely packed together. Everyone quieted down, all eyes focused on him.

“The fastest way to obtain the whereabouts and personal information of all direct members of the Tie Feng Group and the Xu family of Suiyang. Time limit: one hour.”

“Now.”

Li Cheng颐 clasped his hands together, making a crisp clapping sound. “Begin.”

*

*

*Tie Feng Group.

Xu Zhenchang stood with a cold expression in the top-floor office of the group's building, overlooking the night view of Suiyang.

“Brother Zheng.” His voice was low. “Haven’t you found the modified human murderer who killed our son yet?”

“Someone is helping them hide their tracks. I can only trace it to Hongjin before it’s cut off.” Inside the office, the lights were off. A burly figure sat on a soft leather chair in the shadows.

He held a lit cigarette in his hand, the faint red dot clearly visible in the darkness.

“The other child who was with my son before was also killed in a hit-and-run a few days ago. The perpetrator has been identified as Zheng Qingrong, the older sister of the girl they killed.”

He was Zheng Kai, the chairman of the entire Tie Feng Group's board of directors.

The exposure of his son Zheng Jiayu’s affair some time ago had caused the group's stock price to fall sharply, wiping out at least a third of its market value.

This had aroused the dissatisfaction of many members of the board of directors, which he had only managed to suppress until now.

“I’ve already had someone quietly adjust the Sky Eye system and secretly investigate. The information I found is limited, and it only shows that Hongjin of Syndra is somewhat suspicious. I hope you and I can work together to take action against Hongjin. Syndra has friends in the Federation as well. I might not be able to suppress them alone,” Xu Zhenchang said calmly.

“It’s not that I’m unwilling,” Zheng Kai replied. “It’s just that our previous efforts failed to uncover the real mastermind behind the scenes! But now, I’ve hired a real expert from out of town. He's a top-tier expert in network security! With him, we’ll definitely be able to find out the details and whereabouts of that modified human!”

“Oh? Who is he?” Xu Zhenchang asked curiously.

“Cyber-Electron Chen Fubo,” Zheng Kai said, gently pressing a button on his suit.

A moment later, the office door automatically opened, and a black-suited man with silver-rimmed glasses and a refined demeanor walked in.

“I came as soon as I received the commission. Pleased to meet you both. I am Cyber-Electron Chen Fubo.” The bespectacled man bowed with a smile.

“The difficulty of this operation is relatively high, involving local Sky Eye systems, so the price is fifty million. Do you two have any objections?”

“As long as we can achieve our goal, money is no problem!” Xu Zhenchang replied coldly. His son, Xu Zhongsheng, had been assassinated right in front of him at his own company, in the Palace Garden.

He had to avenge this no matter what!

“Alright… next, I’ll need…” Cyber-Electron Chen Fubo had just started speaking when a look of surprise flashed across his face.

“Wait, someone has quietly entered the surveillance system here. Not bad technique. Please wait a moment, gentlemen. It just so happens that we’ve encountered an external hacker intrusion. Let me handle it.”

“Please tell us what you need, and we will prepare it properly,” Zheng Kai said solemnly.

“It’s alright. It’ll be quick, very quick to resolve.” Chen Fubo smiled, pressing the switch of the implanted chip on the side of his neck.

“Just a small thief…”

He said calmly, but suddenly paused.

“No, it’s actually two small thieves. But it’s fine. The technique is quite good, but it’s only strong in this small place. Compared to me…”

Again, he didn’t finish his sentence. The smile slowly disappeared from his face.

“Three, huh? Any other person would not be able to withstand this data stream, but I am different. It's a good thing you found me; otherwise…”

*Di di…*

Suddenly, faint electronic beeps came from within his body. “Wait… something’s not right!”

“Not three… more than three!”

Cyber-Electron’s expression became completely serious.

As time passed, his face became increasingly ugly. Sweat seeped from his forehead, gathering into thin streams that flowed down his neck. “How can there be so many!? Just… how many people have you offended!? How can there be so many!?”

He was in trouble now. His entire body temperature was exaggeratedly high, and faint white smoke could even be clearly seen rising from his hair.

“Not good!!” Suddenly, his expression changed drastically, and he reached out to press the switch on the side of his neck to forcibly disconnect the network connection.

But it was too late. In an instant.

All the modified modules on Chen Fubo’s body were overloaded simultaneously, conflicting with each other. Large amounts of white smoke billowed from his body.

*Pfft.*

He fell to his knees on the carpet, desperately grabbing at his neck, trying to forcibly disconnect the link. But it was too late.

*Whoosh!!*

In an instant, bright yellow flames erupted from within him, accompanied by crackling arcs of electricity and black smoke.

In just two seconds, he burst into flames. “No!!!” A scream rang out.

Zheng Kai, who had been sitting in his seat, couldn’t help but stand up in shock, watching the scene before him.

Xu Zhenchang also stood in the firelight, watching the self-immolating Chen Fubo without saying a word. The hatred in his eyes was now gradually transforming into shock and fear with the sudden flames.

No matter what kind of images or information they had, nothing was as shocking as a living person suddenly combusting to death before their eyes.

*Glug.*

The two stared blankly at the burning, fallen Chen Fubo, swallowing with difficulty, not reacting for a long time even after the automatic fire suppression system in the office had released a rain of water.

*

*

*Forever Botanical Garden.

“You guys are skilled.” Under the lights, the green-haired man played with a gold watch in his hand, tossing it up and down.

“Your speed is faster than my people, but you think that’s enough to win?” He laughed. “Boom!”

He imitated the sound with his mouth.

“Now it’s great. Aren’t you guys fast? I’ve destroyed the system! Burned all the chips! Cut off all the networks!”

“If I can’t do it, you guys can forget about it too!” He laughed arrogantly.

Behind him, more than a dozen people sat on the ground, opening the laptops they had brought with them and rapidly carrying out his instructions.

“Hick.” Suddenly, a female voice rang out.

Next to the red sports car, Rainbow Candy leaned against the car door, striking a pose that best accentuated her curves.

“You think we can’t do anything just because you burned the chips?” A mocking smile appeared on her face.

“Done!” Behind her, a synthesized electronic voice came from inside the sports car. “Sister Candy, all information has been collected.”

“Thanks, Cucumber.” Rainbow Candy patted the sports car.

“You’re welcome. Serving you is my greatest value,” the electronic synthesized voice replied. “I’m done here too.”

“Me too.” “Information collected.”

At that moment, four or five voices rang out almost simultaneously from the various teams present. The green-haired man's unrestrained, arrogant smile became a little uncontrollable.

He looked around, his eyes darkening. “Not bad, you’re all experts!”

“That’s why I said you’re a hick,” Rainbow Candy said sarcastically, looking at Li Cheng颐, who had been quiet all along. “Time’s almost up. Want to take a look?”

“Thank you, everyone.” Li Cheng颐 nodded.

“Let’s have everyone project all the data simultaneously, then take a photo immediately after disconnecting from the network as proof.” “Of course.” Black Beard nodded in agreement.

After all, it wouldn’t even take a second for AI to modify screenshots. Not disconnecting from the network would be a blatant invitation to cheat, and that would never end.

“Also, even if we can’t end up on the same team in the end, it would be good to exchange contact information and make friends, right?” Li Cheng颐 said earnestly.

“How about… we start a small group chat?” Country Trident raised his hand. “Good idea!” Black Beard nodded in agreement.

“Come on, everyone, scan me.” Li Cheng颐 immediately took out his phone.

Everyone who had come here was an expert who was extremely confident in their abilities within the Dead Zone. At least in terms of network security, everyone present was not weak.

Having multiple contacts would allow for more opportunities to communicate in the future.

“Let’s all meet up offline more often in the future. Familiarity breeds friendship. I’ll treat everyone to eggs. Boiled eggs are the most nutritious,” Country Trident happily handed out eggs to everyone in front of him.

“What should we name the small group chat?” Having scanned the QR code, Rainbow Candy was clearly concerned about this. “Something nice, not something embarrassing.”

“Hmm…” Li Cheng颐 thought for a moment, “Fate has brought us together here. And everyone is as beautiful as flowers, each with their own color and fragrance.”

“How about we call it Happy Farm?” A group of people instantly became speechless.

“What kind of name is that! Get serious!” Rainbow Candy yelled.

“Just kidding.” Li Cheng颐 laughed, “Just to liven up the atmosphere. As for the name… how about Garden of Fate?” “Barely acceptable.”

“Alright, that’s it.”

“A bit sissy, but we can just find some muscle men to hold down the fort in the future.” Everyone present spoke up.

“Then that’s settled.” Li Cheng颐 smiled, “If everyone in the group decides to join my team, I’ll plant a corresponding perennial flower for them in the botanical garden.”

The smile slowly faded from his face.

“However many people are on the team, I’ll set aside an area to plant that many flowers.” “While you live, the flowers will continue to bloom.

“And when you die…” He paused.

“I’ll find a way to retrieve your ashes and bury them under the flowers, so that they can replace you and continue to live on.”