56: Chapter 56 Attack

The venue of the XXXX Technology Forum.

This was a high-value international science and technology forum meeting. Aside from the teams of tech giants from various countries, the attendees consisted of professional magazine media and university academic teams.

There were no audiences or the like, so the personnel were relatively simple, yet there were quite a lot of people.

Lin Ning's task today was to follow behind Ou Jiarui, acting as an attendant and an early warning system.

In truth, he couldn't imagine what kind of chaos and scenes would unfold if an "assassination" occurred in such a globally broadcast conference.

He suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, as if he had traveled into a movie.

For the first time, Lin Ning wore a formal suit, hung an assistant's badge, and followed Ou Jiarui to meet various big shots.

But!

From the moment he entered the venue, looking around, his field of vision was like a screen covered in pop-up warning windows from a computer.

Light red, bright red, deep red, brownish-red!

Wasn't the proportion of red too high? These weren't foreign academic big shots; this was more like prison inmates out for recreation.

Lin Ning's back turned cold, and the back of his neck began to stiffen and harden as if someone were gripping it. Cold sweat seeped from his temples. What was he supposed to do?

He suddenly discovered the limitations of his Golden Finger. He could discover bad guys, but in a situation where everyone was a bad guy, how could he find those who wanted to harm Ou Jiarui?

Lin Ning took a step back to create a little distance, pressed his earpiece, and reported the situation to Chen Zhi in a low, somewhat panicked voice, "Most of them aren't good people. What should I do? I can't distinguish who the target is; there are too many 'suspects'."

There was a pause on the other end of the earpiece. "Calm down!"

The voice was steady and powerful. It didn't offer any comforting words; instead, it was somewhat cold and ruthless. "I have not pinned my hopes on you, Lin Ning."

"We have security measures that have never failed. You are just an insurance policy; just do your best."

Chen Zhi's words were like a basin of ice water, extinguishing his groundless panic. That's right, before he existed, hadn't these invisible fronts been operating all along?

A chill mixed with shame and clarity spread from his heart—so he had gotten ahead of himself; he wasn't that important.

He had even ridiculously feared that the Ministry of State Security would forcibly recruit him.

Chen Zhi's cold voice came through again. "We never fight alone. You should believe in yourself and believe in your teammates. This is the first lesson."

Lin Ning silently followed Ou Jiarui's footsteps and re-examined the people present.

However, his mind kept replaying all his experiences since obtaining the Golden Finger. Had he been too easily satisfied?

Red name—report—collect money. It seemed like he had become a factory assembly line worker tightening screws.

The Golden Finger had given him an extraordinary starting point and platform, but how he grew was up to him to decide.

Whether to mark time in place or to dance in the wind.

He had definitely gotten ahead of himself. At the beginning, he still knew how to read, study, and use his brain to think about how to develop methods for using the Golden Finger. When did he start slacking off?

Ou Jiarui had already headed toward the main venue, and Lin Ning composed himself and followed.

The conference was divided into several venues held simultaneously according to different disciplines. The reports and discussion meetings in the main venue were for the currently most popular disciplines.

Ou Jiarui was scheduled for 3:00 PM on the first day. The morning was mainly for various conjectures and discussions on academic directions.

It was more like a social time.

For Lin Ning, the boring morning passed quickly.

After lunch, he followed Ou Jiarui back to his private lounge for a nap.

Nothing happened, but Lin Ning's nerves could not relax, and they grew tighter as time passed.

Liu Zhao, the Ministry of State Security agent accompanying Ou Jiarui, re-checked the entire situation of the lounge like a pre-programmed sequence before letting them in.

Ou Jiarui's body was still in the recovery stage, so during the nap, specialized medical personnel came over to administer an IV drip.

After checking that the status of the doctor and nurse was fine.

Lin Ning stood guard in front of the only window in the room, scanning the passing crowds.

Anyone who attempted to approach here or even took an extra look was a key target of attention.

The nap time ended, and still, nothing had happened.

But Lin Ning felt that the air seemed to have become viscous, a sense of dislocation where he simultaneously felt that time was passing very slowly and very quickly.

Coming out of the lounge, he brushed past a cleaning staff member at the staircase, and Lin Ning's footsteps faltered for a moment.

Then he continued walking forward.

Before, when screening the venue staff, the red names Lin Ning had identified, although mostly light red, had all been reported to Chen Zhi.

He had told Chen Zhi that the possibility of them being related to Ou Jiarui or being spies was extremely small. But for the sake of safety, Chen Zhi had transferred all of these people away.

In other words, at least among the venue staff, there shouldn't be any red names.

But among the cleaning staff he had just brushed past, there was one person flashing a red name.

If he hadn't missed it at the time, then this person must have snuck in later.

Pressing his earpiece, Lin Ning reported this situation to Chen Zhi.

Lin Ning suddenly had some confidence. The Golden Finger was the foundation, but he could use his own thinking on top of that foundation.

Combining it with some previous cases, especially the matter of the nurse Meng Li, those colors that changed instantly or gradually, at this time and in this place, should be focused on.

And the cleaning staff member from just now was another kind of situation.

Lin Ning felt a sense of sudden enlightenment; he couldn't just rely on heaven to feed him; he also needed to make an effort to use his brain.

Furthermore, the boost to his Psychic Power and body after the Golden Finger upgraded was also a direction for him to strive to become stronger.

For example, his increasingly keen perception, especially regarding the emotions fed back from others' words, expressions, and body language.

And his sensitivity to danger.

He had persisted with physical training; it seemed he also needed to start paying attention to training his Psychic Power.

The journey was peaceful, and they arrived at the venue.

After listening to a report that Lin Ning didn't understand at all, they reached the mid-discussion break time.

The next session was Ou Jiarui's, and Lin Ning and Liu Zhao accompanied him to the restroom.

Next to the restroom was a smoking room. Looking through the small window on the door, there were quite a few people inside, and the atmosphere looked very relaxed and pleasant.

Entering the restroom, there were three people washing their hands.

Lin Ning instantly tensed his body, every muscle mobilizing in preparation for battle.

All three were red names; wasn't that a bit too coincidental?

He turned sideways and blocked in front of Ou Jiarui.

Liu Zhao, who was beside him, saw Lin Ning's action and almost simultaneously placed his hand on his waist.

However, nothing happened. The three red names didn't even give them a glance; they washed their hands and left.

Lin Ning still didn't relax. Liu Zhao, who was abnormally sensitive to combat states, looked at him with some confusion.

Lin Ning ignored him, walked to a cubicle, pushed open the door panel, and signaled for Liu Zhao to check.

Stepping forward, the moment Liu Zhao put one foot into the door.

A chill shot up Lin Ning's back, and a huge sense of crisis enveloped all his perceptions.

Instinct took over control of his body.

"Get down!!" The moment the roar tore through his throat, he threw his body at Ou Jiarui, knocking him to the floor.

Liu Zhao's reaction was only half a beat slower than his, and his body pressed down on them like a mountain.

"Click!"

A slight mechanical sound.

Immediately after, inside the cubicle door, a metal storm composed of countless sharp fragments carrying a violent aura exploded!

Pitter-patter—the tile wall was instantly gouged with countless white spots, and debris splattered everywhere.

Thud, thud, thud, thud—the thick cubicle door panel emitted a dull moan as it was pierced by a sheet of cold light.

Lin Ning heard the muffled groans of pain from Liu Zhao, who was lying on top of him.

Immediately, the smell of blood instantly choked his breath.

Bloodshot veins rapidly crawled across Lin Ning's eyes, and anger raged in his heart, but his brain was screaming: Protect the person underneath you!

He tightly wrapped his body around Ou Jiarui, frantically pressed the communicator, and roared hoarsely:

"Restroom! Under attack!!!"