41: Chapter 41 Sakura Onikiri Locks Souls Across a Thousand Miles, Kunlun Heavenly Gate Shows Initial Clues

Su Che's grip on the envelope tightened.

"And the 'Kunlun' data in your hands."

General Zhang looked at him and continued.

"They don't know that the raw data for 'Kunlun' is not in your hands."

"Right now, the outside world thinks your Anti-gravity water pump was made using 'Kunlun' materials."

"An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty. You know how it is."

"I understand."

Su Che's voice was flat.

"Also, keep an eye on that Jiang Yingxue."

General Zhang sighed.

"The 'Pan-Pacific Group' she belongs to is riddled with factions and is far from a monolith. She has failed several times and is under immense pressure. Maybe you can use that to your advantage."

He patted Su Che on the shoulder.

"As for Onikiri, the Ministry of State Security and our military will set up a dragnet around the perimeter for you."

"'Onikiri' is the sharpest blade in Ida Heavy Industries' hands. He is extremely good at stealth and is a cold-blooded killer."

"You kid, keep your head down. Stay in the village for now, and don't fucking wander around!"

With that, General Zhang turned and strode away.

In the night sky, the helicopter roared to life again and quickly vanished into the horizon.

Only Su Che was left in the yard.

A top-tier agent?

A dragnet?

Su Che scratched his hair in frustration.

"It's not the thief stealing you fear, but the thief constantly plotting."

He understood the impossibility of guarding against a thief forever.

What if?

What if those people failed to stop him?

A strong sense of insecurity wrapped around his heart like vines.

What should he do? Maybe ask the system!

Before Su Che could speak, the familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

"[Ding! Strong [Security Anxiety] detected from the host. Side quest triggered!]"

"[Quest Name: My Turf, My Rules!]"

"[Quest Description: What is a top-tier agent anyway? On your turf, even a dragon has to coil up! Please develop a home security AI covering the entire house, so that any malicious flies or mosquitoes have nowhere to hide!]"

"[Quest Reward: 200 Skill Points. Unlocked exchange access for [AI Behavior Prediction Algorithm] (Beginner level), requires 100 exchange points.]"

"[Current accumulated Skill Points: 350. Would you like to exchange?]"

"Exchange!"

Su Che did not hesitate.

"[Ding! Consumed 100 Skill Points. Successfully exchanged for [AI Behavior Prediction Algorithm] (Beginner level) exchange access.]"

"[System Notification: This technology must be used in conjunction with [Biometric Lock Technology (Fingerprint + Voiceprint + Gait)]. Skill Points required for exchange: 20. Would you like to exchange?]"

"Exchange!"

"[Ding! Consumed 20 Skill Points. Successfully exchanged for [Biometric Lock Technology].]"

"[Current accumulated Skill Points: 230.]"

Su Che looked at the panel, feeling slightly relieved.

He directly dialed Captain Li Jun's number.

"Captain Li Jun, send me some materials."

"Miniature infrared sensors, low-power Bluetooth modules, flexible bulletproof fiber, high-sensitivity voiceprint collectors..."

He rattled off a long list of materials in one breath.

On the other end of the line, Captain Li Jun was dumbfounded.

"Engineer Su, are you... building a Gundam?"

"Cut the crap, hurry up."

Hanging up the phone, Su Che sat in the yard, waiting for the materials to arrive.

From his pocket, he pulled out the yellowed letter left behind by his grandfather.

He opened the envelope.

The letter paper was very thin, and the handwriting on it was bold and powerful.

The letter was not long, mostly filled with his grandfather's expectations and warm words for this grandson he had never met.

But at the end of the letter, Su Che found a set of encrypted coordinates marked with special symbols.

Below the coordinates, there was also a line of small text.

A riddle.

"Above Kunlun, lies the Heavenly Gate."

Su Che's heart skipped a beat.

The Heavenly Gate?

What on earth is that?

He immediately rushed back to his workshop and began trying to decrypt the coordinates on the military supercomputer terminal.

However, he quickly realized.

The complexity of this encryption algorithm was far beyond his imagination.

With the computing power of this portable supercomputer, to brute-force it would take at least... a century.

"What a pain in the ass."

Su Che cursed and could only give up for now.

The next day, Captain Li Jun delivered all the materials he requested.

Su Che plunged into his workshop and spent the entire day busy working away.

An invisible security network, composed of countless miniature sensors and an AI hub, was quietly deployed by him in every corner of the yard.

After finishing all this, "Onikiri" had not yet arrived, or perhaps he was lurking somewhere and hadn't moved.

Lin Waner, however, arrived first.

In her hands, she held a brand-new book.

"For you."

She handed the book to Su Che, her cheeks slightly flushed.

It was the book "2049: The Possibilities of the Next Ten Thousand Days".

"Thank you."

Su Che took the book and flipped through it casually.

Inside the book, a concept called the "Mirror World" caught his attention.

Through high-precision modeling and holographic projection, a "mirror image" identical to the real world is created in the virtual world.

An idea popped into his mind.

He looked at Lin Waner and grinned.

"Waner, give me a photo of your father."

"Huh?"

Lin Waner was puzzled, but she still took out a slightly faded, one-inch black-and-white ID photo from her wallet.

In the photo was a thin, scholarly middle-aged man wearing glasses.

Lin Xiangdong.

Su Che took the photo, turned, and walked into the workshop.

Half an hour later, he walked out holding a crude, palm-sized device made of a few lenses and a chip.

"Come here, stand still."

He pulled Lin Waner to the center of the yard and pressed the switch on the device.

A soft beam of light projected from the device.

Light and shadow intertwined.

A three-dimensional figure of a middle-aged man, identical to the one in the photo, appeared out of thin air in front of Lin Waner.

He wore a faded blue lab coat and his familiar black-rimmed glasses, with a gentle smile on his face.

Lifelike.

As if he had never left.

Lin Waner froze.

She stared at her "living" father, looking at his familiar features and familiar smile.

Tears instantly burst from her eyes.

"Dad..."

Choking with emotion, she reached out, wanting to touch the face she had longed for day and night.

But her fingertips only passed through a cold patch of light and shadow.

She could no longer hold it in. Suddenly turning around, she buried her face in Su Che's chest and wept aloud.

"Thank you..."

"Thank you... for letting me... see him one more time..."

Su Che held her gently, feeling her body tremble, and said nothing.

The winter sunlight spilled over them.

It was very warm.

...

The night before New Year's Eve.

Every household in the village hung up red lanterns and put up new Spring Festival couplets, and the festive atmosphere grew stronger.

Su Che's "cannon barrel" for the laser fireworks show had also finally completed its final calibration.

He planned to conduct the first official test tonight.

Ten o'clock at night.

All was quiet.

Su Che walked out of the workshop alone, preparing to start up the equipment in the yard.

Just as he stepped out the door.

The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated silently.

He took it out to look.

On the screen, a scarlet warning box was flashing.

"[Unknown biological intrusion detected. Threat level: Extremely High.]"

"[Target is approaching at high speed with an abnormal gait...]"