14: Chapter 014 A Chance Encounter: Lin Mo, the One Being Targeted
In the rental house, Lin Mo watched the fleeting faint blue exhaust flame at his fingertip and let out a long sigh of relief. A huge sense of accomplishment welled up in his heart. He had succeeded! Although it was just a minimum-power verification prototype, it was enough to prove that the Miniature Ion Thruster he had built with his own hands was feasible!
[Task Completed. Reward: 300 Points, [Basic Energy Core Theory] Knowledge Fragment x1.]
The system notification arrived as expected. With the generous 300 points and the new knowledge fragment in his account, his spirit, weary from staying up late for several consecutive nights, was revitalized. He carefully disconnected the capacitor array, took the still-warm thruster prototype off the test stand, and prepared to disassemble it for inspection and data recording.
Just then, a strong wave of hunger hit him, and his stomach even felt a slight cramp. He only then realized that to conquer this thruster, he had gone almost two days without a proper meal, surviving entirely on bread and instant noodles.
"I need to go out and get something to eat, and replenish some 'supplies' while I'm at it." Lin Mo rubbed his stomach and glanced at the few raw materials left on the workbench. Although system points were precious, some basic, less sensitive electronic components and metal materials were more cost-effective to buy in reality, and it would also avoid drawing unnecessary attention from frequent exchanges.
He tidied up briefly, hid the key components and notes, and then left the house with his wallet and phone.
It was already past nine in the evening. The narrow streets of the urban village were still bustling. The smell of grease from food stalls, the music from shops, and the noise of pedestrians intertwined, full of the lively atmosphere of the marketplace. Lin Mo ate a bowl of steaming beef noodles at a noodle shop he often visited. Feeling the warmth brought by the food, both his body and mind relaxed a lot.
After filling his stomach, he familiarly turned into a nearby alley known for selling electronic accessories and hardware sundries. Shops lined the alley, filled with a dazzling array of components; it was a place where he often came to scavenge for parts before.
He focused on picking out the resistors, capacitors, and specific gauges of copper wire and aluminum alloy tubes he needed from several familiar stalls, bargaining with the owners. He didn't notice that in a dark corner at the alley entrance, two pairs of malicious eyes were already fixed on him.
They were two hoodlum-looking youths, one with yellow hair and one with a Buzz-cut, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, their eyes scanning back and forth between Lin Mo and the depths of the alley.
"Brother Yellow Hair, look at that kid. Doesn't he look like the one Hu-zi and the others mentioned a few days ago? The one who bought a lot of junk at the second-hand market and was quite willing to spend money?" the Buzz-cut youth said in a low voice.
Yellow Hair squinted his eyes and sized up Lin Mo: "Looks a bit like him. Look at that wallet he used to pay just now, it's bulging. And he's alone, looks like a student, easy to deal with."
They had heard from their peers before that there was a young man who looked like a college student who had been frequently buying "strange" electronic components and metal materials lately. He didn't spend extravagantly, but he was very straightforward. This kind of "fat sheep" who walked alone, seemed to have no background, and had a bit of money was exactly their favorite target.
"Come on, let's follow him. We'll 'borrow' some money to spend when we get to a place where no one's around." Yellow Hair stubbed out his cigarette, a sinister smile appearing on his face.
After buying his items, Lin Mo carried a small plastic bag and prepared to take a shortcut through another, quieter alley back to his rental house. As he walked, he was still recalling the [Basic Energy Core Theory] knowledge fragment he had just redeemed in his mind, thinking about how to improve the thruster's energy efficiency, completely unaware that danger was approaching.
Just as he reached the middle of the alley, where the light was dimmest, sudden hurried footsteps came from behind him.
"Hey! Kid in front, stop right there!"
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. He instantly snapped out of his thoughts, stopped, and slowly turned around. He saw Yellow Hair and the Buzz-cut youth blocking his path from both sides, malicious smiles on their faces.
"Hey buddy, we're a bit short on cash lately. How about lending us some money for an emergency?" Yellow Hair swaggered forward, reaching out to grab Lin Mo's collar.
If it were the Lin Mo of a few days ago, he might have panicked in this situation. But now, the system's knowledge infusion included not just technology; those combat skills integrated into his instincts and his far-beyond-ordinary calm judgment made his heart as still as water.
The moment Yellow Hair's hand was about to touch his collar, Lin Mo shifted his feet slightly, his body sidestepping at a clever angle. Simultaneously, his left hand shot out like lightning, accurately grabbing Yellow Hair's wrist and twisting it downward!
"Ouch!" Yellow Hair didn't even see what happened. He only felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and his whole body involuntarily doubled over.
Seeing this, the Buzz-cut youth cursed and threw a punch toward Lin Mo's face. Lin Mo's eyes turned cold. Without letting go of Yellow Hair's wrist, he used the momentum of his sidestep to whip out his right leg like a lash. Striking first by arriving later, he accurately kicked the side of the Buzz-cut youth's knee joint.
"Crack!" A tooth-aching crisp sound rang out. The Buzz-cut youth screamed, collapsed to the ground clutching his leg, and rolled around in agony.
Yellow Hair still wanted to struggle, but Lin Mo's fingers on his wrist tightened slightly. A piercing pain immediately made him lose all thought of resistance. He screamed and begged for mercy: "Brother! Big brother! I was wrong! We were wrong! We failed to recognize greatness! Please let us go!"
Lin Mo gave them a cold look and released his hand. He didn't want to cause trouble, let alone make a scene that would draw unnecessary attention.
"Get lost."
One word, bone-chillingly cold.
Yellow Hair felt as if he had been granted a grand amnesty. He scrambled to help up the wailing Buzz-cut youth and fled the alley in a mess, not even daring to look back.
Lin Mo looked in the direction they disappeared, his brows slightly furrowed. He brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes, picked up the plastic bag from the ground, and continued toward his rental house as if nothing had happened.
But he knew in his heart that he seemed to have been targeted by some low-level local thugs. This time was a coincidence; what about next time? Frequently buying special materials indeed carried risks.
"I need to think of a more secure way." He whispered to himself, quickening his pace.
What he didn't know was that in the shadows at the other end of the alley, a man wearing an ordinary jacket who looked like a passerby silently withdrew his gaze from this direction and whispered into the micro-microphone under his collar:
"Target encountered low-level harassment, handled it himself, no anomalies exposed. Threat cleared. The 'Cleaning Crew' can handle the aftermath."
The protective net in the shadows had quietly activated before Lin Mo even noticed, silently erasing this small conflict.
Lin Mo returned to his rental house and closed the door. He didn't know that his every move was being watched by pairs of eyes, and a technological storm centered around him was quietly brewing...