Chapter 80: Entering the Vault

Chapter 80: Entering the Vault

At 9 p.m. the next day, Lu Heng and Su Muyu stood in front of the Gongteng Corporation Headquarters building on Champs-Elysees Avenue in the Coastal City's Ningyun District.

The building had a total of 39 floors and stood at 203 meters tall, making it a landmark in the Ningyun District.

Lu Heng and Su Muyu looked up at the brightly lit Gongteng Corporation logo on the building.

"The vault is on the 27th floor, and the security is extremely tight. There are two layers of security checks, and there's no way to enter from the outside through ventilation ducts or similar means. You basically have to take the elevator to get up there," Su Muyu briefly introduced the situation inside the building.

"The security is indeed tight," Lu Heng agreed.

"Also, under normal circumstances, you can't press the button for the 27th floor in the elevator. You need a card to access it," Su Muyu added.

"Do you have the card?" Lu Heng asked.

Su Muyu took out a magnetic card and said, "I just got it."

With the help of the Scout Eagle, obtaining a card was indeed not a difficult task.

"Great, let's go in. Activate the invisibility," Lu Heng said as he took a step forward.

The two entered an invisible state and walked into the Gongteng Corporation Headquarters.

It was already 9 p.m., and most of the company's employees had already left for the day, with only a few working overtime or on the night shift.

Lu Heng and Su Muyu walked straight into the building, moving as if they were invisible thanks to the Invisible Veil.

The infrared scanners at the entrance didn't detect their presence.

Since the Invisible Veil - Hide Shadow had undergone skill fusion, it now had the effect of blocking infrared sensors and masking their scent.

Therefore, Lu Heng completely ignored the security checks at the entrance and walked into the building confidently. He swiped the card, pressed the elevator button to go up to the 27th floor, and arrived at the vault level.

The elevator stopped on the 27th floor, and the doors slowly opened to reveal a corridor patrolled by security guards.

As the elevator doors opened, two security guards approached to check, only to find nothing inside.

"Why is there no one here?" one of the guards scratched his head in confusion.

"Maybe someone pressed the wrong floor," the other guard responded casually and continued patrolling, eager to finish his rounds and return to the security room to check his phone.

Lu Heng and Su Muyu stood in the corridor, watching the two guards disappear around the corner.

Su Muyu turned and pointed to the other side, saying, "The vault entrance is over there. There's a second layer of security checks, and there are guards on duty at the entrance 24/7. Moreover, the vault door is made of an alloy, so it would probably take a large amount of explosives to blow it open."

"There's no need to break down the door. I can go in directly. You can wait outside and find a spot where you can evacuate at any time. If something unexpected happens, you can leave first without worrying about me," Lu Heng said after observing the situation outside the vault and preparing to execute his plan.

"Okay," Su Muyu nodded in agreement and began to think about the retreat route based on the building's structure.

The Gongteng Corporation's vault indeed had a very high level of security, comparable to a bank vault.

Even a master thief would have difficulty breaking into such a vault.

However, in the era of superpowers, things were different.

Lu Heng used Shadow Traverse to enter the shadows, ignoring physical collisions, and walked straight through the wall into the vault.

Inside the vault, numerous gold bars were stacked together, forming a small mountain.

This was a common practice during times of peace, but in times of chaos, gold was the ultimate currency.

Throughout history, gold has always retained its value during periods of war and turmoil, while the value of paper currency often plummeted to that of mere scrap paper after a collapse in monetary credit.

The Abyssal invasion would directly plunge the human world into chaos, so conglomerates and financial groups had already started hoarding gold.

This caused the price of gold to soar over the past month, and the trend indicated that it would continue to rise.

However, after the Abyssal descent, gold was not the only hard currency.

Demon Cores had even higher value and possessed both monetary and practical uses.

Therefore, Demon Cores were the true hard currency of this era, even harder than gold.

Obviously, the Gong family understood this principle as well.

In addition to the gold bars, there was also a glass cabinet inside the vault containing Demon Cores, with an estimated number of forty to fifty cores.

The total value of these cores was at least 30 million or more.

Since they were already here, they might as well take the cores, making it a real windfall.

However, before they started collecting the cores, they needed to find the Skill Slot Expansion Core first.

...

At the same time.

After Lu Heng entered the vault by walking through the wall, Su Muyu had considered the retreat route and was waiting quietly outside.

It wasn't long before the elevator moved again.

Su Muyu's eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly used the Scout Eagle to check the situation inside the elevator.

The elevator doors opened, and Gong Zhenting emerged with a team of Mutants.

Seeing Gong Zhenting's sudden appearance, Su Muyu's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately became worried. She hurriedly took out her phone to send a message to Lu Heng.

However, there was no response, clearly indicating that there was no signal inside the vault, and Lu Heng couldn't receive the message.

Fortunately, after exiting the elevator, the team of Mutants didn't rush towards the vault.

This meant that Gong Zhenting didn't know about the situation in the vault and was here for another reason.

Su Muyu was anxious but couldn't do anything, so she started planning for the subsequent support and evacuation.

Walking alongside Gong Zhenting was a bald Mutant, who was clearly the leader of the team.

This bald man appeared to be in his thirties, with a fierce appearance, bulging temples, and veins visible on his muscular arms. He had calluses on his palms and fingers, indicating his expertise in using firearms.

Moreover, his aura suggested a high level of power.

"Hong Qiang, sign the contract. I'll leave Lei Jin Hao's team and the foundation to you," Gong Zhenting said as he walked towards the vault entrance, trying to recruit the bald Mutant.

Hong Qiang smirked, "It's not enough."

"The resources I can provide are something you won't find anywhere else," Gong Zhenting affirmed.

However, Hong Qiang was still dissatisfied, "Lei Jin Hao is dead, and you must be anxious, right?"

Gong Zhenting had indeed invested a lot of money in Lei Jin Hao, and including the other Mutants in Lei's team, the total amount exceeded several hundred million.

However, with Lei Jin Hao's death, all the money spent on him was wasted.

What's worse, the Gong family urgently needed to nurture a new team of Mutants, or many things would be impossible to accomplish.

So, when Gong Zhenting heard that Lei Jin Hao had died in the Abyssal Battlefield, he immediately met with a Mutant named Hong Qiang and offered him an enticing deal.

Gong Zhenting continued negotiating the terms, "As long as you agree, the Super Crystal Core in my possession will be yours in the future."

Hong Qiang shook his finger and corrected, "Not in the future, but now. I want to see the Crystal Core first."

As they spoke, Gong Zhenting had already walked to the vault door, scanned his iris for security clearance, and then led Hong Qiang inside, "Let your men wait outside."

Entering the vault didn't require so many people, and Hong Qiang signaled his men to wait at the entrance.

Gong Zhenting made a gesture to the security personnel at the vault door and said, "Open the vault door."

Two security personnel quickly approached and began the procedure to open the vault door.

...

At this moment.

Inside the vault.

Lu Heng searched the entire vault but couldn't find the Super Crystal Core.

However, he discovered a safe on the wall.

The existence of a safe inside the vault indicated that it held the most valuable items.

The safe required a password to open.

Lu Heng tried twice, but both attempts were unsuccessful.

If he entered the wrong password three times, the safe would lock immediately and sound an alarm.

In such a situation, the most sensible course of action would be...

Lu Heng drew out the Aurora Blade, channeled his thunderous power, and swung his sword.

The safe door opened with a crisp sound, efficiently and cleanly.

Lu Heng took out a palm-sized box from the safe, opened it, and indeed found the Super Crystal Core inside.

[Skill Slot Expansion Core: Using this Crystal Core allows you to break through the skill slot limit, adding an extra skill slot for the user.]



Upon obtaining this Super Crystal Core, Lu Heng's face lit up with joy, and he immediately absorbed it.

[Using the 'Skill Slot Expansion Core', Skill Slots +1]



[Skill Slots: 4]



After using this Super Crystal Core, the number of skill slots increased from 3 to 4, leaving an empty slot available.

Immediately, Lu Heng took out the [Bullet Time] Crystal Core and began absorbing it.

The energy from the Crystal Core flowed through his palm and into his body, circulating around his entire body before finally settling in the 4th skill slot.

On the character data panel, the information for the 4th skill appeared.

After acquiring the [Bullet Time] skill, Lu Heng scanned the vault, looking for any other high-value items to take.

Just then.

The vault door made a sound and slowly opened.

Gong Zhenting entered the vault with a bald Mutant, saying, "Lei Jin Hao is dead. You can take over Lei Ming; this team has a solid foundation, and you'll be satisfied."

"I've heard that Lei Jin Hao offended someone powerful, and that's why he died. This isn't a problem that Lei Ming can solve on their own," Hong Qiang held leverage over the Gong family's current weakness and made an outrageous demand.

"Lei Jin Hao died in the Abyssal Battlefield, which proves his incompetence," Gong Zhenting actually knew how Lei Jin Hao had died.

One of Lei Ming's surviving members had escaped and recounted the events that transpired in the Abyssal Battlefield.

This was also why Gong Zhenting was in a hurry to find a new enforcer.

"Is that so?" Hong Qiang's face showed a hint of ridicule.

Gong Zhenting narrowed his eyes slightly, his face betraying a hint of displeasure. As the chairman of the Gong Teng Group, when had he ever been manipulated like this before?

However, with Lei Jin Hao's death, he no longer had a capable enforcer to rely on, forcing him to spend a fortune to buy off Hong Qiang.

He smirked and retorted, "What's the matter? Are you afraid? If Lei Jin Hao couldn't handle someone, you're worried you can't either."

Hong Qiang burst out laughing, "Chairman Gong, you underestimate me. It's not that I look down on Lei Jin Hao, but in my eyes, he's just a bullet away from death."

Gong Zhenting continued, "If that's the case, what's there to fear? After taking over Lei Ming, whatever you want will be yours."

Hong Qiang confidently smiled, "Rest assured, if Lei Jin Hao couldn't do it, I'll help you. First, give me that Super Crystal Core, and then I'll bring your enemy's entire family to you as a gift."

Gong Zhenting had originally planned to use the Super Crystal Core as a bargaining chip, but now he had no choice but to lead Hong Qiang towards the safe in the vault.

As they approached the north wall of the vault, he finally saw the state of the safe.

The safe door had been damaged.

"What's going on here?" Gong Zhenting's eyes widened, and he turned to run back and alert the others.

Just then.

Hong Qiang flipped his hands, and two Browning pistols appeared in his hands. He aimed at a pillar and shouted, "Come out! I see you!"

Lu Heng stepped out from behind the pillar, facing the two men.

Gong Zhenting, upon seeing Lu Heng, exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"

Lu Heng smirked and asked, "Who was it that wanted to capture my entire family just now? I'm right here; do you want to start with me?"

Hong Qiang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Chairman Gong, is this man your enemy?"

In truth, Gong Zhenting wasn't entirely sure if Lu Heng was the killer of his son, but at this point, it didn't matter if the enmity was confirmed or not.

"Yes, it's him! Kill him now!" Gong Zhenting pointed at Lu Heng, his voice trembling slightly.

"Good, that saves me the trouble of searching for him," Hong Qiang said, aiming his Browning at Lu Heng's chest and pulling the trigger.

Bang!

One more chapter, coming later.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end