Chapter 599 - 293: Three-Way Melee
The place where Luo Xin lives is heavily guarded, yet Su Jiameng didn’t find it intimidating at all. Instead, it gave her a strange sense of familiarity. She recalled times when she went undercover in a star thief’s lair, gathering intel for assassination missions.
"Did you just remember something pleasant? You look rather cheerful," Gu Ningyi slightly tilted his head. Although Su Jiameng’s facial expressions barely changed, her slightly eased brow and the upward curve of her lips betrayed her mood. "You look quite happy."
"At one time, I was a star thief for a while... Well, whether it was for momentary gain or another reason, those days were rather free. Plus... I don’t know if it’s a case of all star thief leaders using the same decorating company, but I’ve just noticed so many secret doors here look remarkably similar to ones I’ve seen in past star thief lairs..."
Gu Ningyi fell silent immediately. An undercover Alliance Major General scouting a star thief leader’s lair generally only had a few possible purposes: to assassinate or steal classified information. Now, they were in Luo Xin’s base, after all. However, thinking about it, he figured that showing up here with Su Jiameng was already a pretty audacious move.
Gu Ningyi, being the eldest son of the Gu Family, might have been an Alliance Military Department captain or lieutenant general by now if not for his rebellious past. And Su Jiameng, with her legitimate Alliance Military Department background, has taken out so many Insect Race claws that they could circle this planet countless times...
More importantly, Gu Ningyi himself was a star thief leader now, and his place had a style noticeably similar to Luo Xin’s. Could he say that while Su Jiameng’s criticism aimed at Luo Xin, it also left his own chest stabbed twice?
Two characters with such "dignified" backgrounds casually strolling into the lair of one of the three great star thieves—no matter how you look at it, it seems out of place.
Under the guidance of a special attendant, they passed through layer upon layer of checkpoints, each showcasing highly confidential advanced technology. Su Jiameng was quite moved as she observed, "From the looks of it, star thief leaders’ habits seem similar, no matter the era."
Despite knowing he shouldn’t, Gu Ningyi’s curiosity won over, "Why is that?"
"Countless traps that look like they fear death, but the checkpoints are too weak to make them seem serious... They’re practically useless for defense..." Su Jiameng pointed to the iris scan checkpoint they just passed, "This defensive system actually has a major flaw; a virus software called the Universal Little Key can disrupt its recognition, then enter the password ***** to unlock it..."
The checkpoint itself was a combination of an iris scan and a gesture password. Only when both commands were correct would it open.
And the password Su Jiameng mentioned happened to be the same gestures the attendant used. Gu Ningyi didn’t know if she was speaking the truth, but the attendant ahead did stumble... which at least showed her password was spot-on.
As Su Jiameng accurately described the functions of two other bizarre defensive checkpoints, Gu Ningyi noticed the attendant had mist gathering at his back... It seemed she guessed them all right? Gu Ningyi twitched the corner of his mouth and asked, "How do you know this?"
Ordinarily, the passwords and keys of defensive system checkpoints are kept by the star thief leader and only a select few trusted aides. Yet, Su Jiameng discerned them effortlessly while just passing through... Was she really a proper major general in her past life, or was she actually a seasoned thief used to cunning exploits!
Su Jiameng suddenly chuckled, eyes full of mischief, "You scout enough places, and you’ll get familiar... It’s all practice."
Gu Ningyi thought he should switch topics; how many star thief lairs had this person surveyed to hone such skills? Practice made perfect? Wasn’t her legitimate career supposed to be that of an Alliance Major General? Is this behavior even befitting?
"We are in someone else’s territory—maybe tone it down a bit." Gu Ningyi wished to facepalm, though in his mind he made a note to completely renovate his own little nest when they got back, upgrading all defenses to version 2.0.
Luo Xin had already received a report from subordinates and had been waiting for them for some time. Their entire conversation was broadcast to her ears.
"Such esteemed guests, my apologies for not coming sooner to greet you," Luo Xin, wearing bold makeup that was in no way garish but exuded an indescribable cool elegance, spoke with a pressure that weighed down on them. "I just received some breaking news; I wonder if you two are aware?"