Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 614: Infection

Boss, senior, investor, rival—and they even took Luo's spine.

The face that appeared on the coffee table showed a trace of contemplation. After several seconds of silence, Yu Sheng's voice broke the stillness: "This sounds quite complicated."

"...It is complicated, this is a complicated place."

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "But judging from the scene and your attitude, I think these identities can be bundled and summarized as your enemies, right?"

Luo also raised an eyebrow, hesitated a little, then nodded: "That seems pretty accurate."

"So do you need to take him out?" Yu Sheng asked with some curiosity.

"Not very easy," Luo thought seriously for a moment, gently shook his head, "The one who came over today is definitely not his true form—although he portrayed himself as fierce, Old Qiao is actually more afraid of death than anyone else. As far as I know, he has been in desperate situations more than once, and there was even a time when he was trapped and his shuttle was blown up, but he always manages to appear unharmed the next day, and then retaliates ruthlessly... He's never admitted it face-to-face, but I suspect he has built a bunch of robotic avatars, and the ones making appearances are always just shells."

Yu Sheng began to think seriously.

"This might take some time then," he said thoughtfully, his eyes resting on Luo again, "Also, seeing that you came straight in and contacted this Old Qiao... your target probably isn't just to take down a person, right? Do you suspect these abnormal records from the Black Stone Space Station are related to him?"

Luo's gaze changed slightly, and his tone grew solemn: "I have more than one suspect, but I'm almost certain now that he at least plays a part in it."

"How did you see that? Because he took over your assets and became the primary beneficiary?"

"Just from how quickly he accepted my 'invitation' and hurriedly came to the meeting place I arranged," Luo explained patiently, knowing some details only she could see, and understanding that her new boss didn't grasp the complex 'interpersonal relationships' within Black Dot Group, "The Black Dot Group is a fiercely competitive place, no one truly cares about a 'colleague' who has suffered significant failure and visibly lost value, especially, like you said, when he benefited from my failure by taking over the mining sites and Star Port facilities I left behind.

"Based on what I know about Old Qiao, his most normal course of action should be to delay me, try endlessly to uncover my true situation while leaking news of my return to Dark Meteor Domain to all my competitors—given his informed status, he must already know about my time with the Special Service Bureau; even if he doesn't, he could create enough incriminating evidence to ensure I had no chance of shaking the profits he's already consumed."

Yu Sheng pondered: "So, he hurried to accept your invitation and met you face-to-face because..."

"He's very surprised I survived, something completely unexpected in his 'plan,' forcing him to come see what's going on," Luo paused, then continued pondering, "Of course, this reason alone isn't enough; Old Qiao coming in person proves only his surprise at my survival. What truly makes me suspect his involvement in this issue are the transaction terms he proposed to me."

Yu Sheng: "Oh, he wants your research data, right? Then the exchange terms are to guarantee your return to the Black Dot Group and grant you a laboratory or something..."

"It's all a cover; I won't believe in his promises," Luo shook his head, "There's only one truth: he wants my research data from recent years. When he made this request, the temperature at a cooling grate on his right chest rose by 0.2 degrees—this matter holds significant importance to him.

"In fact, if he weren't wary of me, given Old Qiao's character, he might not bother with such trouble. He'd find a way to catch me on his ship, cut open my brain in the laboratory, and directly extract my electronic brain for analysis. He has always done this to defeated competitors."

"Your corporate culture is quite wild, I'm serious," Yu Sheng smirked, "What else did you notice?"

"...He's in a hurry," Luo hesitated for a moment, frowning, "Or rather, too hasty—there's no need for him to expose his intentions so clearly, to directly bring up the research data the first thing he said. This would certainly make me suspicious, and he's not foolish; he couldn't not consider this."

"Maybe he's not concerned about your suspicion—after all, you've lost most of your assets, don't hold a position within the Black Dot Group, and bear the suspicion of being captured by the Special Service Bureau and disappearing for a long time; in his view, you should have reached a dead end," Yu Sheng analyzed earnestly, "He's constantly emphasizing that he's your last support in the Black Dot Group, likely reminding you not to entertain surplus fantasies."

Luo frowned: "Perhaps, arrogance is also one of his traits, not to mention he hasn't liked me very much over recent years."

"Doesn't like you? Why?"

"...Can you accept that an experimental animal you raised in a cage one day suddenly broke free of its chains, not only gaining an identity outside, but also climbing step by step to your level, obtaining the same resources and engaging in equal face-to-face conversations with you?"

Yu Sheng: "What's not to like? That's hilarious."

"?"

Luo's eyes widened, looking at the face on the table as if seeing a ghost.

Yu Sheng, not minding, continued to ramble: "Did you know Hu Li raised two chickens named White Cut and Salt Roasted? At first, she kept them as a reserve food source, now the three of them get along almost like sisters. Just the other day, I heard those two whispering, saying they shouldn't continue cultivating, otherwise, they'd have to start working... Speaking of which, should I find them a job?"

Luo continued to stare wide-eyed at the face on the table.

This time, Yu Sheng couldn't pretend not to see: "Why are you looking at me?"

Luo pursed his lips, suddenly realizing that he had always been a conservative. In a sense, his new boss in front of him might even be considered a Chaos Sacred Body, even in the most chaotic place of the Dark Meteor Domain—his chaos had developed in another direction entirely, to the extent that both good and evil factions might find him a bit anthropomorphic.

And what's even more frightening is that Baili Qing, that Ironclad Expression, didn't think there was anything wrong with this person.

Not just Baili Qing, but also Mo Ran didn't find anything strange about standing on a living planet, nor did the group of kids living in the Exotic Realm Valley, the demon used as a weapon by the Thunderbolt Titans, or the ghost trying to teach an alchemy puppet to perform Sword Flight…

Luo's cold sweat dripped onto the coffee table as Yu Sheng's large face shifted a few centimeters to the side. The new boss seemed to be deep in thought and suddenly blurted out, "There's another possibility; there's someone behind 'Old Qiao'."

The derailed thoughts were abruptly pulled back, and Luo hurriedly returned to his senses, "You mean?"

"He's not in a hurry, but perhaps the people behind him are, or maybe he himself is caught in a larger whirlpool. After your Pioneer Laboratory's world-shaking explosion, many things that could have been hidden under the surface came to light—so much so that he has to rush to you directly for experimental data, risking arousing your suspicion, yet he doesn't dare to make it too big of an issue, at least not daring to fall out with you on the Gray Dwarf Star.

"We can boldly speculate what your rival could have done that he doesn't dare let the corporation know—secretly colluding with the Venerate Saints Monastery, transferring corporate funds, selling company secrets? Engaging in vicious competition with colleagues, ultimately leading to the demise of a Pioneer Laboratory? These are significant mistakes, but I still have plenty of reason to suspect there might be something even more potent, after all… your corporate culture is indeed pretty wild."

Luo listened, stunned, to Yu Sheng's serious analysis. Her astonished and earnest gaze made the face on the coffee table a bit embarrassed, "Why are you staring at me again? Tell me if there's a problem with my analysis."

"No, there's no problem," Luo frowned, "Boss, I'm just very... surprised, how did you think of all this? I mean, you live in the Boundary Land and haven't had much contact with the people from the Lawless Zone, Black Dot Group's stuff..."

"Is it hard to imagine? It's the kind of thing you can think of if you have a brain," Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, "Oh right, I'm also a writer..."

Luo: "...Huh?"

"I'm a writer, didn't you know?"

Luo looked puzzled, "I... didn't know. Should I have known?"

"Oh, it's quite normal if you didn't know, check it online later," Yu Sheng said casually, then awkwardly pulled the topic back, "Let's not talk about this. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on that 'Old Qiao' from now on—his iron shell might just be a 'manifestation', but it looks well-made, so there must be a time for maintenance back at his lair. I'll first infiltrate inside him—good thing you reminded me, or I would have prepared to explode directly on him, exposing things prematurely."

The more Luo heard, the stranger it felt. She eyed Yu Sheng up and down several times, "How come you sound like a virus?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, "Then it should be called 'getting sick'..."

Luo was momentarily stunned, clearly not catching on.

In the realm of cold jokes and puns, she was at least ten Baili Qings away from Erin.

At the same time, above the orbit of the Gray Dwarf Star, a silver-white luxury shuttle was docked inside the cabin of an escort ship.

Inside the shuttle's cockpit, Old Qiao did not leave his seat but maintained a state ready to separate from the ship and fly back, connecting to the escort ship's data link and checking the entire ship—then, not feeling at ease, he checked another nearby ship, as well as the traffic log of the entire surrounding system.

He then irritably scratched his shoulder.

Since leaving that tower, or more strictly, since leaving Luo's Reception Room, he always felt a bit... "itchy."

Steel doesn't itch, and he was quite unfamiliar with this sensation derived from a frail body, so much so that after scratching repeatedly, he still couldn't recall what this feeling was specifically called, only that it was a kind of inner discomfort.

After another scratch or two, Old Qiao felt like he was about to discover something.

Now, he just needed to lift a piece of armor on himself, and maybe he would be able to see the nerves and blood vessels pulsating slowly underneath.

But suddenly, that peculiar discomfort and unease all vanished.

Old Qiao's scratching action came to a halt, with two sizzles sounding from his speaker, the final bit of doubt dissolving into a short electric current in his logic chip, dissipating in that brief noise.

It didn't itch anymore.

Old Qiao relaxed.

Yu Sheng's face slowly faded from his hard steel skull.