Chapter 25 – Rainy Night in Hua City (17)
◎Deceiving Them◎
“I am a senior maintenance technician for the Weather Mimicry System.”
With this statement, several members of the Azure Phoenix team showed expressions of skepticism and caution on their faces.
Deputy Captain Maeda Jiu’s reaction was particularly direct. He let out a cold snort from his nose and muttered something in an incomprehensible dialect.
“Huh? What a coincidence?” An Qiwen clasped his hands behind his head and expressed his astonishment in a peculiar manner.
Was it really such a coincidence? Just when they felt drowsy, someone showed up to provide a pillow? Their captain was struggling with the temperamental mimicry system, unable to shut it down or dismantle it. And now, this person appeared out of the blue, claiming to be able to fix it?
“Not a coincidence,” Zhuang Qingyan explained with conviction, “The T014 mimicry system was due for its annual inspection. Headquarters dispatched us for a business trip, but as soon as we arrived in Hua City, heavy rain began. I suspected that T014 had malfunctioned. However, with the city overrun by zombies, I accidentally got separated from my colleague and couldn’t contact anyone else. That’s why there was a delay until now.”
Separated? Didn’t you eliminate your colleagues one by one? Song Ke silently ridiculed, she remembered it all too clearly!
Wu Juemin’s keen eyes scrutinized Zhuang Qingyan. From the latter’s expression, he couldn’t determine if he was lying.
The ID had been verified, it was genuine, and the photo did indeed match him… Furthermore, he likely didn’t know yet, but if he dared to lie about this matter, he would be exposed immediately.
Wu Juemin was more concerned about one thing: “Can you fix it on your own?”
“Of course.”
“Good, I’ll give you the time. You are responsible for restoring T014 to its original state.”
“Wait a moment, Commander,” Zhuang Qingyan’s smile seemed to hold a deeper meaning, “Under what capacity are you ordering me right now?”
Wu Juemin abruptly raised his head. He was dressed in the standard uniform of the Alliance combat task force, which accentuated his aura of seriousness and coldness.
His voice was deep and authoritative, “I am Captain Wu Juemin, commanding the 11th squad of the Azure Phoenix Detachment, a specialized force under the New Asia Alliance. At the moment, I am requesting your cooperation in our work to restore the normal functions of the T014 Weather Mimicry System, citing a critical military mission.”
Over a decade ago, the Alliance’s Azure Phoenix forces and the Qinglan Institute shared intelligence and supported each other. They had even collaborated deeply for a time. Wu Juemin’s request as a military officer to cooperate with a Qinglan researcher didn’t seem unreasonable.
Unfortunately, that was over a decade ago. Their relationship now… Zhuang Qingyan sneered inwardly.
Of course, he maintained a polite demeanor on the surface.
“Oh, it turns out you’re from Azure Phoenix. I’ll definitely cooperate then. Captain Wu, could you please lead us to the control center of T014? Oh, that center should be in the nearest branch of Qinglan. The exact location…”
“No need,” Wu Juemin interrupted.
“Huh?” Zhuang Qingyan blinked slightly.
“The control center has already been transported here.”
Wu Juemin lifted his wrist and tapped lightly, summoning the projection interface of his communicator. The air around them distorted for a moment, and the next second, the real-time footage of the Azure Phoenix logistics team appeared. A giant terminal was being escorted by four or five people, moving slowly forward.
Song Ke listened to their conversation absentmindedly, her chin resting on her hand. Once her mind relaxed, drowsiness surged over her. She was almost falling asleep when she saw the novel gadget, instantly widening her eyes.
What is this thing? It looks so powerful!
From the projection, Zhuang Qingyan clearly saw that enormous object. His perfect expression finally showed a slight crack.
So, this was what he meant by “transported here.” Were the people from Azure Phoenix all like this now? Unable to establish a connection to the backend terminal, did they simply resort to forcefully dismantling the central unit of T014?
These overbearing military bandits… No wonder the torrential rain in Hua City had only lessened and not completely stopped.
Zhuang Qingyan took a deep breath. He struggled to suppress the mockery on the tip of his tongue. “If the internal system can’t be connected, I must systematically troubleshoot the problems. It might take a few days.”
“That’s fine. We’ll stay here for a few days,” Wu Juemin nodded, then pointed to Song Ke with his finger. “However, until you fix T014, she must stay with you.”
The captain of Azure Phoenix was inherently cautious. He hadn’t completely dropped his suspicion of Song Ke; keeping her close was another form of surveillance.
…
And so, Song Ke and Zhuang Qingyan followed Wu Juemin and his team to the temporary residence of Azure Phoenix.
Although it was called a residence, it was quite rudimentary. It was even cleared out temporarily using their abilities—an isolated residential building.
It would take some time for the logistics team to bring over the central unit. Song Ke found an empty room, and under Zhuang Qingyan’s “strong” request and disgusted eyes, she cleaned herself up thoroughly, washing away the viscous fluid from her encounter with the swarm of zombie cockroaches.
After tidying up, like a boneless cat, Song Ke stretched her limbs and collapsed onto the bed. Finally, she could rest.
Immediately, she turned over, staring fixedly at Zhuang Qingyan.
“That T, T014, can you really, really fix it?” Song Ke expressed a great deal of doubt. What if this ‘Zhuang’ guy was all talk and no substance?
Grandpa had said that some men loved to brag.
Zhuang Qingyan grinned, “You’re this skeptical of me?”
“And you, you even claimed to be a, a pharma, pharmaceutical researcher,” Song Ke countered logically.
“Hmm…” Zhuang Qingyan appeared calm, “That’s correct, a pharmaceutical researcher, but, part-time.”
“Hmph.” Song Ke huffed.
“Actually, being a senior maintenance technician is also part-time.”
Zhuang Qingyan chatted and joked, then dropped a bombshell, “You guessed it right, I can’t fix any weather mimetic system.”
Song Ke: “!”
Seeing her startled expression, Zhuang Qingyan continued to fan the flames, “So, I was lying to them just now.”
Song Ke: “!!”
Her fingers shifted to the edge of the bed, clutching the strap of her backpack. She seemed ready to make a sudden escape at any moment.
Zhuang Qingyan noticed her subtle movement and smiled brightly, his peach blossom eyes sparkling.
“Don’t worry, T014 doesn’t need any repairs, just turn it off.”
“But I’ll need to put in some effort to bypass the firewall. After all, this isn’t my area of expertise.”
He winked mysteriously, “This time I’m telling the truth.”
The Synoptic Mimetic System (SMS) was a cutting-edge technological creation independently developed by the Azure Phoenix Research Institute. It made its official debut in the year 20 of the New Era, alongside the Lu starships, as a remarkable achievement of the “Glorious Thirty Years.” Its primary function was to monitor and improve weather conditions. When extreme weather conditions reached a threshold or were about to exceed the limits humans could endure, artificial intelligence would calculate and automatically intervene and adjust. For example, if an area experienced extreme heat, the SMS could release rain and cooling measures to alter local weather and maintain climate balance.
Currently, over a hundred SMS units were deployed by the Alliance, distributed across cities ranging from Class B to Class D, covering nearly 90% of regions. The unit near Hua City was numbered T014.
The rampage of T014 was the main cause of the torrential rain in Hua City.
After hearing Zhuang Qingyan’s explanation, Song Ke suddenly recalled the day of the heavy rain and the falling incident at the Starship Harbor. Could these two events be related? She quickly shared her speculation with Zhuang Qingyan.
“You think the collision of the starship caused T014 to go out of control? Hmm… that’s not impossible,” Zhuang Qingyan responded with an ambiguous statement.
Song Ke still had one more question, “Why did, did those people want to, to fix it?”
“If the out-of-control T014 continued running indefinitely, it wouldn’t just affect Hua City. It would flood all the areas it covered. By then, it wouldn’t just be solved by sacrificing Hua City.”
“So complicated…” Song Ke scratched her head, finding it hard to fully understand.
Mischievously, Zhuang Qingyan intentionally reminded her, “You haven’t used up your quota for questions today. Do you have any more?”
Actually, she did, but…
Song Ke absentmindedly touched her wrist through the air, hesitated for a moment, and then couldn’t resist, “That thing, thing from earlier, when you tap it and, and a picture appears, what is it?” She swung her legs excitedly and opened her hands wide, mimicking the action.
“Child~” Zhuang Qingyan chuckled. Only a child would be interested in new toys. “That’s a communication terminal specific to District B.”
“…Oh.” As soon as she heard it was from District B, her excitement waned.
District B, it was separated from CDEF, quite far away. Grandpa had strictly forbidden her to go there.
“Interested?”
Song Ke blinked, neither confirming nor denying.
With a slight movement of his right hand, Zhuang Qingyan conjured a female version of the communication terminal out of nowhere, teasing her like a cat, “Here, take it to play.”
It was a mini-terminal in silver-white. Although communication and positioning were forcibly disabled, other functions could still be used. Song Ke fiddled with the built-in camera, projecting images onto the floor and playing with it happily.
“Is it fun?” Zhuang Qingyan asked beside her.
“En.”
“Do you know who this belongs to?” Zhuang Qingyan added casually.
“Who, whose?”
“Wu Yarou’s.”
“Oh, right~ You know her too.”
“How about it? Remember now?”
Song Ke: “…”
It seemed, perhaps… sort of… she had a vague impression?
Song Ke’s memory rapidly rewound to the day when she first met Zhuang Qingyan. At that time, he had taken advantage of the chaos and taken something from the bodies of the two people. She vaguely remembered expressing strong disdain for such behavior.
She remembered.
Song Ke felt extremely uncomfortable.
