Chapter 210: Exploitation and Countermeasures

Chapter 210: Exploitation and Countermeasures

In the middle of the ninth month since the Abyssal Descent.

Due to the death of Alex Austin, the invitation scroll from the Creator Club, numbered 029, could not be delivered again.

These past few days, Lu Heng had been waiting for 027 to appear.

It wasn't to reprimand him, but to clarify some matters.

From Akagawa Tomo to Alex Austin, the target of the consecutive invitations had died twice.

At first, Lu Heng hadn't fully grasped the connection, and it was only after eliminating Alex Austin that he slowly realized what had happened.

Seven days after the theft of the tech data, another Full Moon Night arrived.

A pair of colorful eyes appeared in the moonlight, like a graffiti painting—first the eyes, then the silhouette of a cloaked figure.

027's appearances always left Lu Heng in awe.

Up until now, he hadn't figured out the nature of his ability to suddenly appear and disappear.

It was truly peculiar.

When he appeared, it was as if a painter had drawn him into existence, and when he vanished, it was as if an eraser had wiped him away.

Lu Heng had pondered this before, guessing that it was some kind of illusion ability, combined with spatial abilities, to create such a unique visual effect.

A single skill, as far as he could remember, didn't seem to have such an effect.

As 027 appeared, Lu Heng took out the invitation scroll and threw it at him, saying, "Your invitation failed. Here's your invitation back."

027 raised his hand and caught the invitation, putting it away without showing any anger.

Lu Heng stared at his colorful eyes and asked, "Aren't you angry?"

"Do you need me to be angry?" 027 asked a strange question.

"Twice."

"Yes, you failed twice."

"It's less about my failures and more about your intentional actions."

"Oh? What wonderful ideas have you come up with now?" 027's tone carried a hint of mockery.

Lu Heng's gaze grew sharp, and he said with certainty, "At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but after eliminating Alex Austin, I realized what was happening.

"Akagawa Tomo and Alex Austin were intentionally arranged by you.

"If you wanted to invite these two people, you could have done it yourself.

"Especially Akagawa Tomo, you have a Soul Snatcher, and exchanging him to join would not be difficult at all.

"In Akagawa Tomo's case, he wouldn't need any conditions for the exchange. Giving him the invitation scroll would be enough for his agreement.

"But instead of inviting him yourself, you assigned the task to me.

"The first time, I considered it my first task as a new member, a sort of test.

"The second time, you knew it was impossible for me to exchange the tech data for Alex Austin's membership, yet you still forced me to go.

"Once could be a coincidence, but twice is definitely not. So, your intention was not to invite these two, but to have them killed."

The Creator Club had never stipulated that invitations must be passed down in order.

Lu Heng's number was 028, and he was invited to the Creator Club by 027.

However, the organization had never mandated that 029 must be invited by 028.

Any high-ranking member could carry out invitation tasks, meaning 027 could directly invite 029.

Alternatively, members with lower numbers could also perform the invitation.

In this situation, both candidates for 029 were ones Lu Heng did not wish to invite, yet the invitation task was still assigned to him.

Therefore, 027's intentions were definitely questionable.

027 listened to Lu Heng's speculation and let out a cackling laugh, "You have a vivid imagination."

Lu Heng stared at his eyes, pondering, "I'm starting to wonder about your identity."

027 stopped laughing, his tone calm, "Curiosity killed the cat."

Lu Heng took a step forward, getting closer to him and staring into his eyes, even considering whether to make a move and test him.

At this point, even if the opponent had strong combat power, it wouldn't be unmanageable.

027's expression turned serious, warning, "I advise you not to have such devious thoughts."

Lu Heng scoffed, "You're using me, and it's happened twice."

027 took a deep breath and said, "Your task is here."

Lu Heng furrowed his brows, as the previous invitation tasks were assigned by 027, but from his tone, this one seemed to be an official mission.

027's tone gradually turned solemn, "This is your first official mission."

"What is it? Tell me."

"Sachs Tech Data."

Upon hearing the task, Lu Heng's eyes narrowed in surprise, not expecting it to be this mission.

"I don't have a backup of the data here."

"I know, but it's not my concern. This is your official mission, and how you complete it is up to you."

"Which number issued this task?" Lu Heng narrowed his eyes.

"An official mission means it's issued by the organization itself." 027 corrected.

"What if I can't complete it?" Lu Heng asked.

"Then the consequences could be dire." 027's tone carried a chill.

Lu Heng's mind raced, deducing many critical pieces of information.

First, the Creator Club needed to obtain the Sachs Tech Data, and it was certain that no one in the organization possessed this data.

In other words, among the 27 members ahead of him, no one had direct access to the Sachs Tech Data.

Currently, those who have access to this data are all Tech Pioneers at the level of the National Defense Academy of Sciences.

Moreover, even the Academy's Deans, these Tech Pioneers, cannot access all the data; they can only access the portion related to their field of expertise.

The Creator Club has assigned this task, implying that none of the first 27 members are Tech Pioneers from the Great Xia Academy of Sciences.

Then, a question arises: What does the Creator Club want with the Sachs Tech Data? Can they even digest these technologies? Obviously, they cannot.

This data covers various fields of a 1.6-level civilization. Forget about a single organization.

Even the largest industrial nation on Blue Planet would not dare claim to be able to fully utilize it.

So, what can the Creator Club do with this data? The answer is becoming clear: it is more likely that they want to use it for a trade.

For instance, they might exchange this data for the recruitment of a major figure, thereby indirectly controlling a nation.

Or perhaps the Creator Club aims to acquire specific technologies from it.

Lu Heng wanted to clarify this issue, so he asked, "Even if I want to complete the task, it's impossible to obtain all the tech data. If I can only get a portion of it, which field do you want?"

027 paused for a moment before replying, "The biological field."

Lu Heng was slightly surprised by this answer, "Sachs is a mechanical civilization, and you want the biological field's tech data?"

027 calmly responded, "The Sachs civilization originated from an organic life civilization and their biological technology is not inferior. It's just that after transforming into a mechanical civilization, the development in this field has stagnated."

A hint of a smile flashed in Lu Heng's eyes, as he already knew the answer to this question.

Lu Heng was very familiar with the technological level of the Sachs civilization.

Indeed, Sachs is a mechanical civilization, more precisely, a late-stage semi-mechanical civilization.

During the transformation into a mechanical civilization, biological technology does not immediately stagnate.

Therefore, even though Sachs has transformed into a mechanical civilization, their biological technology is at least at the 1.5-level or higher.

Hence, it is not surprising that the Creator Club wants to acquire biological technology.

Hearing the more precise goal, Lu Heng's mind was filled with more speculations.

Furthermore, in his past life's memories, the Creator Club indeed possessed advanced biological technology and could provide significant support in this field to its members.

Especially in the field of biopharmaceuticals.

Could it be that the Creator Club's biological technology in his past life also originated from the Cyber World? To recreate the biological technology, they would inevitably need a lab and a biopharmaceutical company specializing in this field.

A company capable of digesting Sachs' biological technology would certainly not be a small enterprise.

In other words, there must be a biopharmaceutical company ranked within the top 50, or even top 10, worldwide under the control of the Creator Club.

Lu Heng was a member of this organization in his past life, so he was well aware of its operation methods.

When the Creator Club wants to acquire power in a specific field, the most direct and effective method is to invite a master of that field to join the organization.

If they want to control a top-10 biopharmaceutical company worldwide, they just need to invite the actual shareholder of that company.

Regardless of the complexity of the company's equity structure, there must be a decision-maker who can approve deals. Getting this person on board is all that's needed.

In other words, among the Creator Club's existing 28 members, there should be an actual shareholder of a top-10 biopharmaceutical company worldwide.

This narrows down the scope significantly, and with some time and effort, it is possible to identify this person.

However, finding this person now doesn't serve much purpose.

Lu Heng quickly pondered and suddenly spoke up, "This task is too difficult for me to accomplish alone, so I need your help."

027's eyes flickered with surprise upon hearing this invitation.

He hadn't expected Lu Heng to make such a request.

But within the Creator Club, this request was reasonable.

For a task of such high difficulty, it would indeed be challenging for a single member to accomplish, and it was only natural to ask for assistance from other members.

027's expression froze for a moment before he spoke in a deep voice, "You're doing this on purpose."

Lu Heng didn't deny it, shrugging, "Is it only okay for you to use me, but not for me to retaliate?"

027's suspicions were confirmed—Lu Heng wasn't genuinely asking for his assistance in completing the task; he wanted to drag him into it.

If the task failed, it wouldn't be just Lu Heng's responsibility; the mysterious member, Number 027, would also have to bear the consequences.

If the task was to be genuinely completed, it wouldn't be that complicated. Lu Heng only needed to visit Xavier Matrix again and obtain another copy of the data.

However, Lu Heng had no intention of executing the task, so he was first pulling 027 in as a scapegoat.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end