16: Chapter 16 Temporary Escape, Misunderstanding at the Safe House

The engine roared, and black smoke billowed out.

That wuling hongguang, which made a noise everywhere except for its horn, was like a wild boar that had just escaped from a mental asylum, plunging headlong into the abandoned heavy industrial zone in the northern suburbs of Jianghai City.

The terrain here was complex, with abandoned factory buildings standing like a steel jungle and rusted pipes crisscrossing in every direction; it was practically a natural maze.

"Screech—!"

The ear-piercing sound of braking echoed through the empty factory area.

Pei Ji slammed on the brakes with extreme force. The wuling hongguang dragged two long black tire marks across the ground, the chassis shaking violently as if it were shivering, before the engine finally died in the shadows between two massive cooling towers.

White smoke was still rising from the front of the car, and the weathered bumper finally gave out, hitting the ground with a loud "clatter."

"Stop shaking and get out."

Qin Feng unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed the door open to get out, his movements efficient and crisp.

He glanced at Pei Ji, who was still in the driver's seat shivering like he had Parkinson's, and then at Su Tang in the back seat, who looked pale but still had an excited glint in her eyes. He sighed helplessly in his heart.

This batch of teammates was just too hard to carry.

"Hurry up!" Qin Feng lowered his voice, his tone stern. "The police drones will be able to scan this area in five minutes at most. If you don't want to go to the Public Security Bureau for tea, then keep up."

At the mention of the "Bureau," Pei Ji reacted as if he'd been electrocuted, scrambling out of the car and following closely behind Qin Feng on all fours.

The three of them used the cover of night and the abandoned buildings to move quickly.

In Qin Feng's mind, the [Perfect Escape Route Map] provided by the system was still clearly visible. The green arrow representing the way to survival was pointing toward an inconspicuous red-brick warehouse ahead.

"We're here."

Qin Feng stopped in front of a rust-stained rolling shutter door.

He looked left and right, confirming there were no surveillance cameras (at least none in plain sight), then bent down, gripped the bottom of the shutter with both hands, and pulled upward with a sudden burst of strength.

"Clatter, clatter—"

The shutter door was pulled up half a meter, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Get in."

Qin Feng stepped aside to let Su Tang and Pei Ji crawl in first, then followed closely behind, pulling the door down with his backhand, leaving only a small gap for ventilation.

The warehouse was dim, and the air was thick with the smell of engine oil and dust.

Qin Feng casually flipped a switch on the wall.

"Zzt, zzt..."

A few dim incandescent lights flickered twice before barely staying on.

The scene before them caused Pei Ji, who had been preparing to find a corner in this new environment to continue shivering, to widen his eyes instantly.

This is what you call an abandoned warehouse?

The space, spanning several hundred square meters, was organized with meticulous order.

In the corner were stacked several professional-looking tactical supply crates. In the center stood a large solid wood workbench topped with a computer matrix of three monitors. There were even two black assault rifles hanging on the wall.

If one ignored the dilapidated exterior walls, this was practically a secret base from a spy movie.

"Holy crap..." Pei Ji swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Qin... Brother Qin, where is this? Did we stumble into some terrorist's nest?"

Qin Feng was also slightly taken aback.

But he reacted quickly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

"Not bad. The production crew really went all out this time."

Qin Feng walked over, reached out to take down the rifle that looked like an HK416, and skillfully pulled the charging handle. He listened to the crisp metallic click and even weighed it in his hand.

"Tsk, all metal? This prop is really well-made; it feels just like the real thing."

Qin Feng gave the prop department a silent thumbs-up in his heart.

For this five-thousand-yuan appearance fee, the crew had not only arranged for the wuling hongguang drift but also set up such a realistic safe house in the middle of nowhere, even providing power to the computers.

This money was well spent!

If the director—who was so stingy he wouldn't even add a chicken leg to their lunch boxes to save money—knew what Qin Feng was thinking, he would probably cry himself unconscious in a bathroom stall.

This was a genuine Interpol secret contact point in Jianghai City!

It was a backup safe house set up by the violent agent Alice, codenamed "Black Widow." The guns inside were all loaded with live ammunition, and the computers were connected to the Interpol internal network!

But in Qin Feng's eyes, this was just a slightly high-end "scripted checkpoint."

"Alright, stop shaking over there."

Qin Feng tossed the "prop gun" onto the table with a heavy "thud," making Pei Ji flinch back again.

"This should be a temporary rest stop prepared for us by the director's team, probably to set the stage for the next phase of the plot." Qin Feng pulled out a swivel chair and sat down boldly. "Take a break before the police catch up."

Hearing that it was arranged by the crew, Pei Ji's hanging heart finally settled halfway.

He slumped onto a cushion on the floor, took off his glasses, and wiped his tears. "That was too scary... wahhh... that drift just now, I felt like I was going to see my great-grandmother... the director didn't say anything about this..."

"Is that all the courage you have?" Qin Feng glanced at him, shaking his head in disdain.

Just then, a faint fragrance drifted over.

Su Tang had approached Qin Feng's side at some point, holding an alcohol cotton ball and gauze she'd found in a supply crate.

"Brother..."

Su Tang knelt beside Qin Feng, her large, watery eyes full of concern as she looked at the back of his hand.

There was a two or three-centimeter long scrape there, still oozing beads of blood.

This had happened when he accidentally grazed it while violently pulling the handbrake in the wuling hongguang earlier.

"You're hurt." Su Tang bit her lip, her voice so soft and sweet it sounded like it could drip. "Let me bandage it for you."

Qin Feng was about to say "this tiny scratch is nothing," but seeing Su Tang's "if you refuse I'll cry for you" expression, he could only swallow his words.

"Whatever."

Qin Feng extended his hand, but his gaze shifted to the computer screen in front of him.

Su Tang held Qin Feng's hand as if it were some rare treasure.

Her movements were incredibly gentle. She first used the alcohol cotton ball to dab away the blood around the wound, blowing softly on it after every wipe as if that could lessen the pain.

The warm breath fanned across the back of his hand, bringing a faint, indiscernible itch.

Qin Feng's whole body stiffened, and his brow furrowed slightly.

This woman... isn't she acting a bit too much?

"Does it hurt?" Su Tang looked up, her exquisite little face flushed with an unnatural blush, her eyes misty. "Brother... you were hurt just now while trying to protect us, right?"

"..." Qin Feng really wanted to roll his eyes.

I did it for that five thousand yuan!

I did it so that violent policewoman wouldn't flip the car!

But as a professional "hardened criminal," Qin Feng maintained his cold and aloof persona.

He didn't answer, merely tapping the keyboard with his other hand to wake the sleeping computer screen.

"Since there's a computer, let's see how much the public opinion has fermented."

Qin Feng calculated in his head that as long as the popularity was high enough, the director shouldn't go back on his word, and maybe he could even get a bonus.

However.

The moment his fingers touched the keyboard.

That familiar mechanical voice exploded in his mind again.

[Ding! Detected that the host is contacting a network terminal.]

[Triggered Scenario Mission: Erase Traces.]

[Mission Description: As a high-IQ hardened criminal, how can you tolerate your escape route being exposed under the police's 'Sky Eye'? Please clear all traffic surveillance records along the way and turn the pursuers blind.]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a temporary skill: Hacker Grandmaster (Trial Version - 30 Minutes).]

[Skill Description: In the world of the network, you are a god, and they are insects.]

Qin Feng was stunned for a moment.

The system's service was just too thorough, wasn't it?

He had originally just wanted to delete some traffic violation records. After all, he'd been running red lights and driving against traffic; if the Traffic Police Department settled the score later, he'd lose enough points to have to retake his driver's license exam eight times over.

Furthermore, the fines would be an astronomical figure; the five-thousand-yuan appearance fee wouldn't even be enough to cover them.

"Deleting records... I'm good at that."

A confident curve hooked at the corner of Qin Feng's mouth.

Possessing master-level hacking skills, looking at this seemingly ordinary computer now felt like a max-level account returning to the starter village.

Although this computer was connected to Interpol's encrypted internal network with an extremely high firewall level, under the system's enhancement, those layered encryption algorithms were like transparent window paper to him.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!

Qin Feng's ten fingers began to fly across the keyboard.

His speed was so fast it created afterimages. The crisp clacking of the keys merged into a dense patter of raindrops, sounding exceptionally pleasing in the empty warehouse.

On the screen, countless lines of green code poured down like a waterfall.

Su Tang was tying the final loop of a bow when she heard the sound and looked up in surprise.

She saw Qin Feng's profile flickering in the light of the screen, his focused gaze sharp as a blade, his long fingers seemingly playing an impassioned piano concerto.

"So... so amazing!"

Su Tang covered her mouth, her eyes practically overflowing with stars.

Although she couldn't understand what those garbled characters on the screen were, this 'don't-know-what-it-is-but-it-looks-powerful' aura was simply too killer!

"He can drive like a racer, strip a gun, and even write code..." Su Tang felt her heart rate was about to exceed the speed limit. "Is this a versatile male god?"

Even Pei Ji in the corner stopped sobbing, poking his head out to look over. "Brother Qin can even fix computers? This hand speed... you couldn't train that even if you were single for thirty years, right?"

Qin Feng had no time to pay attention to these two clowns.

His consciousness had already followed the network cable like a ghost data stream, instantly infiltrating the surveillance center server of the Jianghai City Traffic Management Bureau.

"Found them."

Qin Feng gave a light chuckle.

He saw the dozens of surveillance video files that recorded the wuling hongguang's racing footage.

"Delete."

"Format."

"Overwrite."

Qin Feng's operations were smooth and flowing, without any hesitation.

Meanwhile, at the technical department of the Jianghai City Police Headquarters several kilometers away.

The atmosphere was originally oppressive and busy.

Dozens of technical officers were frantically screening surveillance, trying to find that missing wuling hongguang.

"Found it! Huaihai Road intersection surveillance! The car went north!"

An officer shouted excitedly.

However, before he could switch the footage to the large screen.

The video file suddenly flickered.

And then.

The screen went black.

"What happened? Did the signal cut out?"

"No! My screen is black too!"

"Same here! All surveillance records regarding that car are disappearing!"

The entire technical department instantly fell into a chaotic mess.

"Everyone move aside!"

A low shout full of arrogance rang out.

A young man wearing a hoodie and gold-rimmed glasses, looking only in his early twenties, pushed through the crowd and walked in.

He was Gu Heng.

A network security consultant specially hired by the provincial department, a genius youth who had once breached a certain country's bank firewall in one minute, codenamed "Keyboard Warrior" (though he hated that nickname).

Gu Heng pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose, a cold light flashing across the lenses.

He shoved the displaced officer to the side and placed his hands on the keyboard.

"Someone is infiltrating the internal network? Interesting."

A disdainful sneer appeared at the corner of Gu Heng's mouth.

Playing hacker tricks in a place where he was stationed? It was simply showing off before a master.

"Let me see which deity you are. Within three minutes, I'll find your IP address and even strip down what color underwear you're wearing today."

Gu Heng confidently hit the enter key, launching his proud tracking program, "Hound."

However.

Three seconds later.

The sneer on Gu Heng's face froze.

On the screen, the red progress bar representing the tracking progress suddenly hit an invisible wall and froze solid just as it reached 1%.

Immediately following that, red warning pop-ups began to appear frantically.

[Warning! Tracking Failed!]

[Warning! Firewall Breached!]

[Warning! The other party has obtained Super Administrator privileges!]

Gu Heng's fingers froze in mid-air, trembling slightly.

What was he seeing?

In that virtual world of data, the other party's code was like a disciplined army of ghosts; wherever it passed, not a blade of grass remained.

His defense system was as fragile as a piece of soaked toilet paper in front of the other party—one poke and it was through!

What was even more terrifying was that the other party wasn't deleting data stealthily.

They were... openly demolishing it!

"Is this... Ghost Code?!"

Gu Heng stood up abruptly, his chair toppling to the floor with a loud "clatter" due to his sudden movement.

His expression turned from confidence to ghost-seeing horror, then transformed into a morbid fanaticism.

"An expert! An absolute top-tier expert!"

Gu Heng stared intently at the line of surveillance logs rapidly disappearing on the screen, his breathing hurried.

"This isn't some cleanup work done just to escape!"

"This is a display of skill! A blatant provocation!"

"He's telling me: as long as I want, this entire city's network is under my control!"

The technical officer who had been pushed aside asked weakly, "Consultant Gu, then... what do we do? Can it be recovered?"

"Recovered?"

Gu Heng gave a tragic laugh, righted his chair, and sat back down, a blazing fighting spirit ignited in his eyes.

"This is like someone using a nuclear weapon to blow up your house, and you're asking if it can be glued back together?"

"The data is completely gone."

"But..."

Gu Heng's hands returned to the keyboard. This time, his gaze became more solemn than ever before—it was the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.

"I've finally met my match."

"Qin Feng, is it?"

"No matter who you are, this network offense and defense battle has only just begun."

...

Inside the safe house.

Qin Feng had no idea that his operation, done merely to save some money on fines, had been interpreted by the police as a declaration of war against the entire network security system.

"Done, work finished."

Qin Feng hit the final enter key, looking at the "Cleanup Complete" message on the screen, and stretched with satisfaction.

"This way, whether it's the traffic police or the production crew, they shouldn't be able to find any specific evidence of my violations just now, right?"

Qin Feng thought happily to himself.

Not only was the five thousand yuan saved, but his driver's license points were also protected.

Truly killing two birds with one stone.

He closed the interface and turned around, only to find Pei Ji and Su Tang looking at him as if he were an alien.

"What are you looking at?" Qin Feng rubbed his nose, feeling a bit confused. "It's not like I have something on my face."

"Brother..." Pei Ji swallowed, pointing at the keyboard Qin Feng had just been typing on so fast it almost sparked. "Were you... playing Minesweeper just now? That hand speed... can you teach me? I want to use it to grab concert tickets."

Qin Feng: "..."

"Stop talking nonsense." Qin Feng stood up, walked to the supply crate, and kicked the lid open. "See if there's anything to eat to replenish our strength. Before dawn, we have to find a way to move to another place."

Although it was temporarily safe here, Qin Feng knew that the SWAT Captain named Xiahou Dun must still be searching the city for him like a mad dog.

And...

Qin Feng's gaze fell on the "HK416 prop gun" hanging on the wall.

For some reason, he felt that the craftsmanship of this gun was a bit too refined.

"This production crew wouldn't really have gotten a batch of real ones to use as props, would they?"

Qin Feng shook his head, tossing the absurd thought out of his mind.

How could that be possible?

This was a law popularization program, not a life-risking one.

However, what he didn't know was that on the other side of the city, Interpol agent Alice was looking at the "Safe House Network Abnormal Access" alert on her phone, a bloodthirsty sneer appearing on her beautiful face.

"Someone moved my cheese?"

"Very well, it looks like tonight won't be boring."