: Simon's Invitation

On the last day of August, the sunlight was filled with a touch of summer's stubbornness.

This area is called Kinriel Street, which consists of two continuous, wave-shaped floating buildings that stretch for about two kilometers.

On the elevated road, which is 100 meters apart, the two buildings are connected by many transparent suspended glass walkways, like ribbons of light that reflect the last rays of summer, casting delicate light that is as deep or shallow as a landscape painting.

They are currently parked on the edge of the entrance to a bar on the left, where a three-meter-tall holographic pink woman is flirtatiously professing her love to them.

Two hundred meters in front of Old Jack's clinic stands an avant-garde opera house, resembling a giant golden trophy or a gilded flying saucer. On its surface, a pale purple holographic face with rhythmic undulations appears in the form of an inverted semicircle.

It looks like the image of a big, black man with a large beard wearing light gold-tinted sunglasses, exuding a majestic aura, especially with a jeweled crown on his head.

Jack excitedly introduced, "That's the famous hip-hop prince, Kinriel. When I was a kid, my bedroom in the clinic was covered with his posters. Although he was black, he never married and used all his income to donate and build schools."

Hu Tu looked up and said, "I think I've heard of him before. I remember he came from Chixiao Star. He was blacklisted by the hip-hop association there, but eventually made a name for himself in Silver Moon City. To thank his benefactor and the city, he donated all the money he earned to an orphanage. He's really admirable."

"That's right. Don't be fooled by how high-end that holographic musical is. The tickets are actually very cheap, and residents of Silvermoon City always get a 20% discount. It seems like he really likes our place."

Jack, engrossed in his monologue, gradually came to his senses, glanced at the time, and said, "It's already noon. I'm so excited! What do you think we should do if they really are cult members?"

He spoke in a low voice, his eyes fixed intently on his own clinic.

Qiao Yuan gestured to Hu Tu to drive the taxi a little further; thirty meters was a bit too far.

Then he looked at Jack calmly and said, "Don't be afraid. If they really are cult members, I'll ask my sister to take them all down for you. Just listen to me then."

Jack immediately exclaimed, moved, "Brother!"

As the taxi approached within ten meters, Qiao Yuan put his index finger to his lips and shushed Jack: "If you can confirm that they are cult members, then don't show your face."

Jack listened and nodded repeatedly.

Hu Tu also became nervous. Although the street next to him was bustling with people, this was the first time in his life that he had followed cult members.

As the saying goes, theoretical knowledge without practical application is ultimately superficial.

As time ticked by, a woman in a black dress appeared outside Old Jack's clinic, but after exchanging only a few words with Jack's father, she picked up her bag and left.

Then another young man with blond hair stumbled out of the bar, probably from a fight. A piece of bone was sticking out of his left elbow, and it was bloody and quite frightening to see.

Jack's father was smoking at the door. His bronze muscles were stretched taut by his white long-sleeved undershirt, a testament to his years of fitness training, which gave him a very robust physique.

Jack had previously mentioned that the other party's father was a genetically enhanced doctor.

As Huang Mao walked over in pain, Jack's father frowned slightly. He glanced at the opposite side of the road, and seeing no result, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and rubbed it back and forth with the sole of his shoe until the sparks were completely extinguished.

Qiao Yuan observed very carefully. It seemed that if the cultists were to appear, they would come from across the street.

Jack's father had already gone to treat Huang Mao's injuries, so they could only continue to wait.

Qiao Yuan patted his belly again, even though he often slept until the afternoon and ate dinner directly during the summer vacation.

Tick ​​tock.

Twenty minutes passed, and there was still no progress after Huang Mao appeared.

Jack lay to the side muttering, "It seems a bit late today. I'm afraid it'll be gone. Is it gone this week or what? Ugh, so annoying."

"Don't rush," Qiao Yuan instructed.

Although he was constantly hungry, nothing was more exciting than breaking through to the next level.

Three more breakthroughs are needed to advance to the first tier of Heavenly Destiny Pioneer [Awakening].

This promotion will not only enhance his memory corridor abilities, but more importantly, it will increase the number of times he can access the timeline each day by one more time!

Ten minutes later, a mysterious man wearing a gray cloak emerged from an alley diagonally opposite, his black leather boots stepping onto the all-glass suspended pedestrian walkway as he walked towards them.

The cloaked man wore metal armor on both hands, and in his left hand he held a glass bottle filled with a dark green liquid, resembling tea.

Hu Tu, with his sharp eyes, asked, "Is it him?"

Qiao Yuan nodded slightly: "It should be about the same, but there seems to be something inside that bottle."

Compared to their casual conversation, Jack seemed extremely agitated. He stared intently at the man, somewhat puzzled, and said, "There does seem to be something in that glass bottle, but what I'm curious about is, why does this guy come every week? It's been two months already. Even if he's a regular customer, it's not like he comes here at the same time every weekend, is it?"

"Hmm, it might be related to that bottle?"

Qiao Yuan murmured to himself, his intuition telling him that the glass bottle containing the dark green liquid probably possessed a spirit. Since he wanted to maximize his profits... he decided to use the liquid inside the bottle as an anchor point.

In this way, we can find out what the liquid is and, incidentally, the identity of the other party.

Of course, you can also use the events after the man enters the clinic as the anchor point; it's the same.

He just wanted it all!

They want to break through barriers, arrest cult members, and also take this potentially spiritual liquid.

If he were to enter the clinic, even if he called Yan Baobao immediately, it would still take at least fifteen minutes, by which time the liquid might have already been used.

Of course, there is an even worse possibility: that the other party is not a cult member and all their previous assumptions were wrong.

It's alright, just treat it as a stroll.

He saw Jack's father come out, his eyes showing a hint of struggle and helplessness. As the cloaked man approached, he used gestures to lower the roller shutter door.

[Anchor point: The origin of the dark green liquid.]

[Time: 80 minutes ago.]

Qiao Yuan watched the changes in the river of time with shining eyes. As the surrounding scenery changed, he arrived at a dark gray experimental base that seemed to be closed off.

Before me was a massive glass wall, ten meters high, inside which some kind of experiment was taking place. Occasionally, blinding horizontal beams of light would spill out, making them somewhat glaring.

Apart from the huge glass windows, the floor and ceiling are made of airtight dark gray titanium alloy, creating a rather serious atmosphere, and there are no windows facing outwards.

Qiao Yuan couldn't tell where he was for a moment.

I could only see a few men and women wearing white radiation suits or mecha suits walking by in the corridor from time to time, looking like serious researchers, discussing something.

At this moment, he followed the man in front of him, who was also dressed in a white mecha suit, with a strange look in his eyes, and they arrived at a private office. After undergoing two scanning checks, the man sat down in his office with a relaxed demeanor.

There was still no window to the outside world here, and the strictness made Qiao Yuan feel oppressed for the first time, as if he were isolated from the world.

It seems that the same applies to this man; he can only idly lift his mecha mask, drink coffee, and communicate with someone via encrypted messages on the holographic desktop.

This message also has a self-destructing mechanism, giving him a special code layer implanted in the public system that can be deleted with a single click at any time.

Qiao Yuan vaguely understood, and a smile gradually appeared on his face. He said something like, "Hurry up, bro, I'm about to have a bout of depression here."

Such simple content is even encrypted and has a self-destructing mechanism...

Qiao Yuan was initially clueless, but gradually discovered only the underlying code from a certain giant company in the other party's office.

His gaze gradually sharpened, and he realized that he was in the territory of the [Supernova Armed Forces].

This is one of the top ten interstellar giants of the Apocalypse Federation, alongside [Twilight Group], [Fajia Heavy Industry], [Paradise], and [Flounder Pharmaceuticals].

As the name suggests, they started by selling arms.

It was quite well-known outside the city, but it became smaller once it reached the main city.

That's understandable, though. The [Supernova Armed Forces], which started with arms dealing, actually poses a greater threat to [Legal Heavy Industry] than the Twilight Group, so they're bound to be suppressed in the main city.

He gradually discovered new details.

The specific location is on the 60th floor of the Third Experimental Base Building of the [Supernova Armed] Photovoltaic Energy R&D Center, in the office of Biological Expert No. 025.

[Having learned of the secret laboratory base of Chen Di, a biological expert from the Hellish Cult and the Lightman Research Association, I have gained absolute control and accelerated the digestion of the Pioneer Potion. I am only two steps away from advancing to the first tier of the Heavenly Destiny Pioneer [Awakening]]

The pop-up message startled Qiao Yuan. Huh? The Lightman Research Association?

Oh my god!

He subconsciously thought this was an illegal experimental base, but looking at the very low-key expert Chen, he realized that this so-called Light Human Research Association should be legitimate, just... very secretive.

"Interesting. A cult of hell is hiding in what appears to be a legitimate, clandestine laboratory?"

"Why are they studying the light beings?"

"A military testing base?"

That place is indeed very secluded, disguised as a giant corporation, making it difficult even for Yu Jin to investigate.

He had just been thinking that this guy was always in the lab, yet he would bring a bottle of medicine to Jack's dad's clinic every day, which felt very deliberate.

So it turns out she had a dual identity.

About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the biometric door of the office. After seeing the surveillance footage, the man clearly smiled and, with a click of the biometric door, gestured for the other party to come in.

The newcomer was a blond Caucasian man completely covered in a white radiation suit. He handed over a bottle of tea and said, "That's all. The checks are very strict now, and it's getting harder and harder to deal with."

Qiao Yuan then realized that the dark green tea water was similar to the dark green liquid he had seen before, except that there were no tea leaves in it.

But upon closer inspection, he discovered that the tea water itself seemed to be mixed with some kind of transparent bloodstains and was full of rich spirituality, although the glass itself had a concealing effect.

Chen Di nodded and said, "It's okay, I reckon a few more times should be enough. Thanks, brother."

As he spoke, he showed the other person his index finger under his left hand gauntlet...

Qiao Yuan suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The cultist's left index finger, along with its bone, had become completely transparent, like crystal, and seemed to possess a powerful ability to absorb light.

He gradually seemed to understand everything.

Jack just mentioned that the cult member had been visiting his clinic for two months, coming every weekend at noon. So that's why.

This so-called tea water should contain some kind of source substance extracted from the human body.

Clearly, the other party is undergoing humanization, but has not been affected by the radiation mutation.

At that moment, the white man asked, "Is your place reliable? You might as well do it yourself at home."

"No, this is too complicated. It requires a highly experienced doctor. David, we should avoid contact in private, since we've both signed confidentiality agreements."

"I've been there many times... Once I truly possess this ability, hehe, our status there will be secure."

[Having learned of the whereabouts of David Joseph, a cultist from the Hellish Cult and a biological expert from the Lightman Research Association, I have gained absolute control and accelerated the digestion of the Pioneer Potion. I am just one step away from advancing to the next level of the Celestial Pioneer [Awakening]]

"??? What's going on?" Qiao Yuan was genuinely shocked after glancing at the panel.

"Another cultist, huh? Does that mean I cleared the timeline twice in one go?"

"Holy crap! You can do that?"

Qiao Yuan's heart inexplicably raced, and in an instant, he broke through to the point where he was only one step away from awakening.

He had thought that the mask of darkness would allow him to move quickly, but he found that it was even faster now.

I've easily swiped the app six times since last night and even discovered some huge secrets each time.

Although he couldn't obtain the spiritual light-human source material, nor could he capture David in one fell swoop, he still made a profit, and it opened up a completely new way of thinking for him.

Qiao Yuan continued listening, and eventually followed David away, returning to David's office.

I waited half an hour before going back.

After exchanging a glance with Hutujak, he dialed Baby's number.

According to Jack's previous statement, this guy would stay at the clinic for at least half an hour each time, which was more than enough time to catch him.

It was over. Hungry, he pushed open the car door and randomly picked a noodle shop nearby.

"Brother Qiao, what about my father?"

"Don't worry, they'll take care of it."

"Okay." Jack said with a relaxed tone, clearly now trusting him completely.

Twenty minutes later, an Ember hovercar landed in the distance. Yan Baobao and Captain He cautiously lay in ambush, and only after Chen Di left the clinic did they quickly subdue and arrest him.

This time, Qiao Yuan rarely saw Bao Bao use that long-lost silver longsword. Although he always carried it with him outside the city, he rarely used it.

This one should be new.

Because when the baby came to the main city, he didn't bring the silver sword he used to have.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Chen Di did not see Qiao Yuan and the other two, feeling both angry and helpless.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and then took Qiao Yuan and Hu Tu to a nearby steakhouse for a meal, spending nearly a thousand yuan, which was quite extravagant.

Then I took them to play on Kinriel Street nearby until the afternoon, and they were in a great mood.

Qiao Yuan's credit score has unknowingly reached nearly a thousand, rising rapidly, and he also receives a daily bonus of 50,000 yuan from the Tiandu Branch.

Around 5 PM, Jack coughed and said, "I want to go back to the clinic, do you want to come?"

Qiao Yuan smiled and said, "Let's leave it at that for today. The cultist was just arrested, and there's still some talk about it around here. Let's visit your father another time."

Hu Tu muttered to himself, "Hey, sorry Jack, my girlfriend called again."

"Haha, it's okay," Jack nodded enthusiastically, "Then I'll help you call a taxi."

As he spoke, he hailed a taxi.

Qiao Yuan nodded slightly and said goodbye to Jack: "See you tomorrow when school starts. I'm leaving."

"See you when school starts, haha," Jack waved his arms vigorously on the sidewalk below.

Here, the levitating taxi gradually sped along Jinrui Street towards Donglin Market.

Hu Tu was on the phone with Qin Xue the whole time, his face beaming with sweetness.

Qiao Yuan, on the other hand, was still eagerly awaiting the breakthrough he was waiting for.

The thought of having to wait until tomorrow night for the federal professional boxing match to start, and then not being able to earn money to enter the wreckage area until the day after tomorrow, is just too much.

I just felt an irresistible urge to try it.

Suddenly, their hovercar was stopped by a modified armored vehicle in front of them.

Qiao Yuan suddenly frowned and looked over.

The window of the military green armored vehicle slowly rolled down, revealing the face of a charming blonde woman inside.

It was Veronica.

"Long time no see, Qiao Yuan."

Qiao Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he feigned surprise, asking, "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important, but Lord Simon would like to invite you to the banquet tonight."

"Come on, Qiao Yuan."

"You'll definitely like it."