The place to receive the gun was the same as the place to receive the combat uniform, right at the supplies station.
Pei Ran followed Team Leader Li over and successfully received a brand-new, silver-shining gun, as well as a holster that could be worn on the body.
Team Leader Li said, “This is a Night Shadow M3000 tactical handgun. The built-in energy block has been specially reinforced and can fire over two thousand times. It’s from Black Well’s factory, recently remodeled, and can be taken outside the shielding layer without being affected by the Silence.”
Pei Ran thought: W, this seems even better than the gun you had on the ball.
W was quiet today. Ever since greeting her in the morning, he hadn’t spoken in her ear at all. Who knew what he was busy with.
Besides the gun, she also received a large military backpack, which contained all kinds of prepared supplies, even including a canteen and military rations—very well-equipped.
W suddenly spoke.
He said in her ear, “Pei Ran, find a chance to shake off Team Leader Li and go alone to Room 1210 on the twelfth floor. It’s a small conference room. Someone is waiting there to see you.”
So mysterious—Pei Ran immediately asked him, “What was the first gift you gave me?”
Even inside Black Well, it was still best to be cautious.
W’s voice carried a smile: “A twelve-petal snowflake. It’s really me.”
Just then, the gear distribution was complete. Pei Ran said to Team Leader Li, “I want to go to the restroom.”
Team Leader Li nodded, “We’re about to depart, so yes, you should go to the restroom. Conditions outside are very harsh. After you’re done, head back to the Special Ops Division on your own. I’ll go up first.”
Once she left, Pei Ran also took the elevator upstairs.
W said in her ear, “I’m guessing you still don’t know who the rescue target is for this trip to Lidao.”
Pei Ran replied confidently, “I don’t know.”
As long as she could go to the island, it didn’t matter who she was rescuing.
“I knew it,” W said.
“In the Federation, there’s another major party that has always competed with Basserway’s Federal Heritage Party. It’s called the Tech Vanguard Party. The leader of the Tech Vanguard Party, also a strong contender for the position of Chief Executive Officer, was named Maxino. He didn’t survive during a rescue operation at the beginning of the Silence.
“But within the Tech Vanguard Party, there’s another person—slightly younger, also very popular among the public—named Nan Yi. We’ve been looking for him. Recently, we got word that he’s trapped in a holiday villa on Lidao. This trip to the island is to rescue him.”
So it turned out the mission was to rescue the arch-rival of the current Chief Executive Officer, Basserway.
Arch-rival number one had died by accident, and now they had to rescue arch-rival number two.
The elevator arrived. Pei Ran followed the room number and found Room 1210, lightly knocking on the door.
A voice inside immediately responded, “Please come in.”
Pei Ran pushed open the door and saw Song Wan, dressed in military uniform, waiting inside.
Pei Ran was not surprised.
W had hurriedly briefed her in the elevator about the rescue mission in a rush—clearly to prepare her mentally, because someone was about to talk to her about the rescue.
Song Wan gave Pei Ran a slight smile. “I had Agent W invite you here. I have something to tell you. Actually, it’s Marshal Vina’s intention—FBSMD has a rescue mission to Lidao and hopes you can take part.”
Pei Ran asked, “Is it the mission to Lidao led by Deputy Team Leader Lu? I just received my equipment and was about to depart.”
Song Wan was slightly surprised. “That’s even better.”
She paused for a moment. “Marshal Vina said, she hopes you can ensure the safety of the rescue target. Do everything possible to bring him back to Black Well safely.”
The military wanted this rival of Basserway to survive and be brought into Black Well.
Pei Ran quickly thought: Looks like Marshal Vina still doesn’t plan to directly impose military control over Black Well. She wants to bring in another high-popularity candidate for Chief Executive Officer to make things difficult for Basserway.
Song Wan continued, “If necessary, you may use any means.”
Her words carried deeper meaning.
What kind of “any means”? Killing?
Song Wan added, “In the rescue team, there’s a Captain Zachary who will fully cooperate with your actions.”
Rescue operations were supposed to ensure the safety of the target. Pei Ran nodded in agreement.
Song Wan let out a breath of relief.
She said, “Lu Ming’s rescue team, although small in number, has a much higher success rate than the Special Ops Division’s team. Right now, the outside is full of frenzied fusion creatures. Ordinary special ops team members can’t compare to FBSMD members in combat ability. We know what you’re capable of. With you there, we’ll feel much more reassured.”
After Pei Ran left the conference room, W finally spoke.
“Pei Ran, don’t go back yet. Head to the emergency stairwell. I’ve asked Qiao Sai to bring you something.”
The emergency stairwell was right next door. As soon as Pei Ran pushed open the door, she saw a young man leaning slantwise against the wall, long legs stretched out, idly playing with a small box in his hand.
It was the same young man from the photo that Ryan had secretly taken. Tousled brown curls, clothes worn loosely, collar unbuttoned, looking utterly bored.
As soon as he saw Pei Ran, he immediately left the wall and came over, the corners of his eyes tilting down slightly, eyes full of amusement.
“Pei Ran? I’m Qiao Sai. Don’t know if you’ve heard my name before…”
Heard about him ten thousand times already.
Pei Ran said, “I know you. W mentioned you, and so did Ryan.”
“Mm, probably didn’t say anything good about me,” Qiao Sai said with a smile.
Pei Ran thought silently: Said you’re 1.83 meters tall, 72.5 kilograms, no abs, suffering from neurasthenia, hate getting up in the morning, and want to find a rich woman.
“No,” Pei Ran said, “all good things.”
“Really? I don’t quite believe that.” Qiao Sai handed her the small box in his hand. “W asked me to give this to you, so I’m just a temporary delivery guy.”
Pei Ran took it and asked curiously, “What is it?”
Qiao Sai smiled, “Open it and see for yourself. My task is done, I’ve got to go.”
He smiled at Pei Ran, waved his hand, and really turned to leave.
“Wait a moment,” Pei Ran said.
She asked W in her mind, “Do you have a way to analyze the components of a medicine?”
W said, “Of course I can. Do you have something you want me to test? I can have Qiao Sai bring it to me.”
That was exactly what Pei Ran had in mind.
W had sent Qiao Sai’s little robot to look after her, and had Qiao Sai deliver something to her, which showed that in W’s eyes, Qiao Sai was highly trustworthy. It just so happened that she could entrust this to him.
Pei Ran took out a small paper packet from her pocket and handed it to Qiao Sai. “Please help me pass this to W. Thank you.”
Qiao Sai took it and smiled. “No problem. Qiao Sai Express—mission guaranteed to be delivered.”
He turned and went upstairs.
W asked, “What medicine do you want to test?”
Then he immediately realized, “The medicines in the isolation center cabinet—I had them transferred directly from the warehouse, the entire process under strict monitoring, no chance of issues. You’re talking about the box of medicine the doctor prescribed and someone delivered to your isolation room last time? If you dig into the delivery process, there was indeed a chance for someone to switch it midway.”
Pei Ran replied, “Yes. I felt like the foil seal on that box looked a little strange, different from the others. I want to test whether someone tampered with it.”
Pei Ran continued, “In the paper packet I gave Qiao Sai, there’s a full strip of tablets and one broken half-tablet. Both need testing. That half-tablet—I thought it looked suspicious, so I broke it open to check. That one especially needs a thorough test.”
Pei Ran didn’t tell the truth.
The small half-tablet in the paper packet had been generated by her using Green Light No. 1.
Last night in the dormitory, she had taken one tablet from the suspicious medicine box and added the small half-tablet she had made with Green Light, wrapping them together in the paper packet, waiting for an opportunity like this to get them tested.
In fact, she didn’t care at all about that suspicious medicine. If it had been tampered with by Xing Wuxian’s people, that would be completely normal. She wasn’t going to take it anyway. What she really wanted to test was the small piece she had created herself.
W’s voice grew serious. “No problem. There’s an AI in Black Well’s lab that can analyze medicine components. As soon as the results are out, I’ll let you know.”
The one in charge of testing the medicine wasn’t a human, but an AI under W’s control. Pei Ran felt much more at ease.
As soon as this thought arose, Pei Ran realized that her thinking was a little strange.
She had subconsciously come to feel that in a place as complex as Black Well, artificial intelligence was more trustworthy than humans.
W said in her ear, “Not going to open the box and take a look?”
Pei Ran came back to her senses and opened the small box.
As soon as the lid lifted, a silver metal leg stretched out from inside.
Then came the other legs, followed by the body.
It was an entirely silver mechanical spider.
Pei Ran was taken aback. “You gave this to me?”
“Yes,” W said. “Last time you said you’d read a novel where the female lead had a pet spider. But I searched all over Black Well and couldn’t find a furry pet spider like you described. Fortunately, Qiao Sai is really good at making things like this, so I asked him to make a mechanical spider pet for you.”
The mechanical spider waved its metal legs and quickly crawled out of the box. It lifted one clawed leg and lightly touched Pei Ran’s hand to test her reaction.
Seeing that she didn’t resist, it immediately crawled onto her palm.
It actually looked quite cute—round and chubby, its legs not even as long as her palm, with only one big, shiny black eye on its head, round like a metal sphere’s big eye, currently tilted upward, staring at her.
Pei Ran suddenly realized, “W, can you see me through its eye?”
The silver head of the mechanical spider tilted slightly, mimicking W’s exact mannerisms.
“Yes, I can see you,” the mechanical spider said, spinning around nimbly. “And I can see what’s around you too.”
This wasn’t a mechanical pet at all. Just like the metal sphere, it was fully under his control—it was him.
“You’re going to the offshore island. Take it with you—it might be helpful,” W added quickly. “This is also Marshal Vina’s idea—to provide full support to you during the mission.”
The fact that he was going to follow her had actually been openly arranged.
“A lot of people recognize my patrol drones. It wouldn’t be convenient to bring one of them out directly. And if I only communicate with you mentally, I won’t be able to see your surroundings. With this pet spider, things will be more convenient.”
He kept emphasizing that it was a pet, as if he was treating himself as the pet, delivered right into her palm.
Pei Ran poked its head with her fingertip.
The mechanical spider’s eye lit up with a flash, emitting a strong beam of light. Small as it was, the light was surprisingly bright.
Pei Ran stifled a laugh and poked it again, signaling for him to turn the light off.
She lifted one of its clawed legs, holding it up to her eyes and flipping it back and forth for close inspection. W remained silent—it was unclear if he was being virtually shy again.
A mischievous thought sparked in Pei Ran’s mind. Holding it up, she ran a fingertip along its belly.
The mechanical spider’s legs suddenly twitched.
Pei Ran had just been putting on a show, not expecting such a reaction. She was a little surprised. “It has sensation?”
W’s voice was suspiciously low: “Mm… The legs and body both have sensory components.”
Pei Ran asked, “What else can you do?”
She wasn’t asking “what else the spider can do,” but “what else you can do.” W’s voice became even more unnatural.
“It has night vision, can locate positions, crawls very fast—climbing walls and ceilings is no problem. Too bad there’s no firearm; Qiao Sai didn’t have that kind of attachment,” W said. “There wasn’t enough time this round. If there had been more, Qiao Sai could’ve made something even better.”
W asked, “Are you going to give it a name? It seems you humans always name your pets.”
What kind of name would that be?
Pei Ran said, “Let’s call it—W?”
Silence filled her ear. If his core processor could blush, it would definitely be overheating by now.
Pei Ran placed it back into her palm.
The mechanical spider spun halfway around, then climbed up her arm, gripping her clothing with the tips of its claws and hanging on steadily.
It paused to consider, then slipped into the side pocket of her upper garment.
W said, “…I need to find a place to hide.”
Pei Ran asked curiously, “What can you even see from there? Why not go into the pocket on my chest?”
Her combat uniform just so happened to have a pocket on the chest—higher up, with a much better view.
Pei Ran instantly understood—he was trying to avoid suspicion.
He sure overthought things.
Pei Ran directly grabbed one of the spider’s legs and stuffed it into the chest pocket of her combat uniform.
With the mechanical spider in her pocket, like carrying some bulging, hidden secret, she returned to the Special Ops Division office.
Lu Ming and the others were handing out boxed meals.
Lu Ming came over, handed a box to Pei Ran, and asked, “Before we leave, do you need to go back to the dorm to get anything?”
Pei Ran always carried her medicine with her and didn’t need anything else. She replied, “No need.”
Lu Ming nodded. “Alright, then we’ll set off after eating.”
He casually sent her a set of documents as well—specific information on the rescue mission. Pei Ran skimmed through it. Just as W had said, the mission was to go to Lidao to find that opposition party leader named Nan Yi and escort him safely back to Black Well.
Everyone ate quickly, devouring their food like a storm. Within a few minutes, they were done, picked up their backpacks, and departed.
The team members arrived together at the parking lot and boarded a vehicle marked with the Ministry of Defense’s shield emblem.
Pei Ran calmly observed the surroundings.
Team Leader Li wasn’t going—she was staying behind to hold down the fort in Black Well. She had come specifically to send them off and was now sitting in the driver’s seat.
Besides her, there were seven people. Among them, only two were soldiers from the Special Ops Division, wearing rank epaulettes on their uniforms. Both were captains, one named Mia, the other Zachary.
Captain Zachary was the one Song Wan had mentioned would fully cooperate with her. As soon as he got on the vehicle, he gave her a slight nod in greeting.
The two officers seemed to be about the same age and appeared to know each other well, chatting the entire time.
Neither of them wore suppression bracelets on their wrists, which suggested they were ordinary people without supernatural abilities.
But from snippets of their conversation, it was clear they had been on many rescue missions, having gone in and out of Black Well several times already.
Lu Ming sat in the front passenger seat. Behind him was a black-haired young man wearing a red suppression bracelet—he was also from FBSMD, named Ueno Tōru.
Ueno Tōru had a cold expression, the kind that kept people at a distance, and didn’t say a single word.