36: Chapter 36 Ma Wenju's Desperate Situation, Lin Wan'er's Kiss Seals Their Love

Su Che held his phone, the slight relief he felt after the live stream ended having vanished completely.

"Run?"

"How could he run?"

"Our people lost his trail."

Qin Lan's voice was laced with frustration.

"He is extremely cunning. He had several hideouts in Xuefeng City and a professional counter-surveillance team assisting him."

"Our people just arrived at an empty nest; he vanished into thin air."

Su Che did not speak; the studio was so quiet that one could hear the hum of the light tubes.

"Su Che, your side..."

Before Qin Lan could finish, Su Che's phone rang again.

Two names pulsed on the screen.

Jiang Yingxue.

Su Che glanced at the caller ID and spoke directly to Qin Lan.

"Wait for my call."

He hung up on Qin Lan and answered Jiang Yingxue's call.

"Mr. Su, good evening."

On the other end of the line, the woman's voice remained soft and sweet, carrying a hint of lazy amusement, as if the global public opinion storm that had just occurred had absolutely nothing to do with her.

"Speak your mind."

Su Che was in no mood to beat around the bush with her.

"Hehe..."

Jiang Yingxue laughed, her voice trembling with mirth.

"Mr. Su is still as direct as ever. I like that."

"I called to do you a small favor."

"I know where Ma Wenju is."

Su Che raised an eyebrow.

"Your conditions?"

"Very simple."

Jiang Yingxue's voice became serious.

"The same as before: the complete technical data for the 'Kunlun' Anti-gravity material."

"Not only can I tell you Ma Wenju's hiding place, but I can also help you deliver him alive to the gates of the Ministry of State Security."

"I can even return to you all the original data from the 'Strong Particle Collider Experiment' that was stolen from Academician Lin Xiangdong back then."

She paused, her voice filled with temptation.

"Mr. Su, I know you aren't moved by money."

"But you should care about your sweetheart's reputation, right?"

Su Che was silent.

On the other end of the line, Jiang Yingxue seemed to have already heard the bells of victory.

Five seconds later.

"Get lost."

Su Che said only two words.

Then, he hung up the phone directly and added Jiang Yingxue's number to his blacklist.

He dialed Captain Li Jun's number.

"Captain Li Jun, I need military support."

"What kind of support?"

"Open up access for me to all space-based and air-based reconnaissance units you can mobilize."

"Also, I need a supercomputer. Now, immediately, right away."

Captain Li Jun was silent for a few seconds on the other end.

"...Alright!"

...

In the village committee courtyard, the temporarily constructed laboratory had not yet been dismantled.

Su Che dove right in.

He connected his own battered computer to a portable supercomputer terminal that had been urgently airlifted by the military using a thick data cable.

On the screen, massive streams of data cascaded down like a waterfall.

Full-area satellite images of Xuefeng City, urban surveillance data, communication base station signal records... all information converged here.

"Initiate Quantum Information Technology screening."

Su Che ordered into his headset.

A low hum emanated from the supercomputer's chassis.

Su Che's hands became a blur on the keyboard.

In his mind, the complete version of the Quantum Information Technology was operating with unprecedented efficiency.

Complex algorithmic models were established, only to be instantly overturned.

He did not track Ma Wenju's phone signal or vehicle information.

That was too amateur.

He was tracking a form of "information disturbance."

As a defector, every exchange of information Ma Wenju had with the outside world—even the signal from his bodyguard's walkie-talkie—would leave a unique, fingerprint-like quantum mark against the massive background of the city's information.

Under ordinary information technology, this mark was too faint to be negligible.

But in front of Su Che's quantum algorithms, it was as inescapable as a firefly in the dark of night.

"Found him."

It took less than ten minutes.

Su Che stopped his hands.

On the screen, atop the 3D map of Xuefeng City, a red dot was blinking clearly inside an abandoned chemical plant in the suburbs.

He sent the coordinates directly to Qin Lan.

"Xuefeng City, abandoned chemical plant in the south of the city, Warehouse No. 3."

"He intends to escape via the waterway through the underground river there."

On the other end of the line, Qin Lan was completely stunned.

The Ministry of State Security had mobilized dozens of people and investigated for several hours without a clue.

Su Che had done it in ten minutes?

...

Dawn arrived.

Lin Waner hadn't slept all night, her eyes bloodshot.

She pushed open the door and saw Su Che sitting in the courtyard, tinkering with that "smart bacon smoking box," not knowing what he was doing.

The sunlight spilled onto him, gilding him with a golden edge.

"Su Che..."

She called out softly.

Su Che turned his head, saw her haggard appearance, and stood up.

"What's wrong?"

"Ma Wenju... he..."

"He's been caught."

Su Che said it nonchalantly.

"Last night, the Ministry of State Security intercepted him at the pier. They caught him red-handed."

Lin Waner's body swayed uncontrollably.

Fifteen years.

The mountain that had weighed on her heart for fifteen years had just been... moved aside?

Tears could no longer be held back; they rolled down like broken beads.

She didn't cry out loud, just covered her mouth, her frail shoulders shaking violently.

Su Che didn't speak; he just stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms.

Lin Waner buried her head in his chest, feeling that solidity and warmth, and the grievances and pain she had suppressed for fifteen years were vented to their heart's content at this moment.

She cried for a long time.

Only then did she slowly lift her head, looking at him with teary eyes.

"Thank you."

Su Che grinned and reached out to wipe the tear stains from her face.

"I said it before: your business is my business."

Lin Waner looked at him, at his clear and earnest eyes.

As if possessed, she stood on her tiptoes.

She leaned in.

A soft pair of lips with a hint of coolness gently pressed against his own.

Su Che was stunned once again.

In his mind, his CPU, which rivaled a supercomputer, crashed for the second time.

Both of them were kissing for the first time, awkward and clumsy.

Their lips were just lightly pressed together; neither knew what to do next.

Lin Waner mustered her courage, mimicking what she had seen on TV, wanting to deepen the kiss.

As a result, her teeth knocked against Su Che's lip.

"Hiss—"

Su Che gasped in pain, instinctively flinching.

Lin Waner's tongue was lightly bitten by his teeth.

"Ouch!"

The two of them separated instantly, as if shocked by electricity.

Su Che touched his bruised lip, while Lin Waner covered her bitten tongue, looking at each other's disheveled and comical appearance.

Finally, they couldn't help but burst out laughing with a "pfft."

The awkward atmosphere vanished in the laughter.

Only a sweetness that couldn't be described remained, fermenting in the air.

Su Che looked at her reddening earlobes, his tone very gentle.

"Waner, for the New Year, are you going back to your hometown, or will you stay in Su Family Village?"

Lin Waner shook her head gently.

"There's no one left in my hometown. After my father passed away, that place was empty."

The burden of fifteen years had been lifted, yet the place that had held her childhood no longer had a destination.

Su Che's heart softened, and he reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Then we'll spend the New Year here in Su Family Village. On New Year's Eve, we'll host a romantic fireworks show in our village and have a proper celebration."

Lin Waner looked up, a shallow smile rippling in her eyes, and gave a soft "Mm."

But then she remembered that the village didn't allow fireworks.

"Isn't it forbidden to set off fireworks for the New Year now for the sake of environmental protection? It's not just us; the villagers and children in the village must want to see a fireworks show of their own too."

Su Che scratched his head; he remembered the electromagnetic pulse firecrackers he had made when he first returned to the village.

"That is indeed a problem. I was struggling with those firecrackers precisely because of the village's ban on fireworks and firecrackers. It's a real headache!"

As soon as he finished speaking, that familiar mechanical voice rang out in Su Che's mind at an inopportune moment.

[Ding! New livelihood demand detected, main mission triggered!]

[Mission Name: New Year's Eve, A Shining New Journey!]

[Mission Content: Firecrackers filled with smoke and gunpowder are a stale way to celebrate the New Year! Brilliant, pollution-free light and shadow are the romance of the New Year! Please develop an environmentally friendly, safe, and visually stunning New Year's Eve laser fireworks show device, allowing the whole village to welcome the New Year in the midst of magnificent light!]

[Mission Reward: 350 Skill Points, unlocks primary redemption permission for [Quantum Enhanced Laser Technology], requires 200 redemption points.]

[Current host has accumulated 210 Skill Points, redeem now?]