Chapter 154: Purpose

"An Angel?" Zhang Wenda stared in disbelief at the thing behind the screen.

But then he remembered that anything was possible in this world, and his guess suddenly didn't seem so absurd.

Just as Zhang Wenda was thinking this, he saw the Angel looking at him, a hint of pleading in its eyes.

"O, lamb, save me, save me, save me." A series of muddled sounds appeared in Zhang Wenda's mind.

'It can see me? It should be fine, though, right? I seem to be on its side now.'

At that moment, Zhang Wenda wanted to ask the Angel some questions, but it was impossible. He wasn't Hu Maomao; he didn't have the ability to speak in someone else's mind. All he could do was let the Angel keep pleading inside his head.

Just as he was about to try using hand gestures, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from a distance. "What's the progress on Project 2? The boss is getting impatient."

That was Tang Xingxiong's voice. She was back!

Zhang Wenda didn't hesitate for a second. Mission accomplished or not, he was getting out of there.

But as he turned, he saw a mouse cursor speeding toward him, hugging the ceiling. It was Qianxi's cursor!

Pinned from both front and back, Zhang Wenda was completely trapped with no way out.

But then, an idea struck him. He pointed at the Angel inside, then at himself. "Help me first! I can only save you if you help me!"

"O, lamb, God saves all people!" The Angel's wings flared open, and a brilliant white light enveloped everything.

Tang Xingxiong squinted. After the intense light faded, she looked at the Angel inside with some dissatisfaction. "You need to speed things up. We need our project finished before the end of the month."

As soon as she finished speaking, she whipped her head toward the ceiling on her left. She felt like she'd spotted something, but there was nothing there.

"Biaozi is still so carefree." The comment from someone beside her made Tang Xingxiong's tone instantly severe. "No discussing private matters during work hours!"

After that, she added viciously, "How dare he humiliate me like that. I'll kill him one of these days!"

After saying her piece, she took a moment to calm down before turning to the side and asking, "How are things with Old Third?"

"There's been no word since our last contact. I'm afraid it's bad news."

"It doesn't matter. As long as we can hold out until the end of the month, everything will be solved."

Meanwhile, Zhang Wenda had already silently retraced his steps and left the computer.

That had been too close; he'd almost been discovered.

But Zhang Wenda didn't have time to dwell on it. His intuition told him that Angel was important.

He immediately found Hu Maomao, wanting to pass the information on through him.

"Wait. Tell him face to face."

Hu Maomao took off his head covering and gently pressed his right index finger to Zhang Wenda's forehead. The world around him changed, and Zhang Wenda instantly found himself in the Shanghai office of Tan Yougen, the Deputy Director of Bureau 507.

Zhang Wenda looked down and realized he was in someone else's body.

"So, I hear you found out what project Tang Xingxiong is working on?" Tan Yougen asked, looking at Zhang Wenda with great interest.

Not bothering to wonder what kind of ability Hu Maomao possessed, Zhang Wenda stated his discovery concisely. "An Angel. They have an Angel locked up inside that giant computer."

Tan Yougen's reaction, however, was extreme. He shot up in his seat. "An Angel? They're actually building an Angel Engine?"

"What's an Angel Engine?" It was the first time Zhang Wenda had heard the term, but he had a feeling this was something big.

His expression turning grim, Tan Yougen sat back down. "The existence of Angels is also illogical. Their most peculiar trait is that, if properly stimulated, the energy within them is infinite."

"That's why some foreign organizations control Angels through abuse, using them as national engines. I just never thought Big Circle would actually find a way to smuggle one in."

After explaining all this, Tan Yougen fell into silent contemplation, his expression extremely serious.

While he had learned some new things, right now Zhang Wenda was more concerned about his own problem.

"Since I figured out what Tang Xingxiong is up to, is my mission complete? Can I bring my uncle back now?"

"No." Tan Yougen shook his head. "You only found out that Tang Xingxiong is using the Angel Engine. You didn't find out *what* they're using it to charge. The Angel Engine's power is immense—a single Angel can power an entire country. Whatever they're charging, it can't be small."

Zhang Wenda was not happy to hear that. "What are you playing at? Is this *Infernal Affairs*? 'Three years, then another three years,' right?"

"I'm just being realistic," Tan Yougen said earnestly. "You must understand that this is incredibly important. If the Angel Engine is being used to charge a weapon for Big Circle, it could have enough power to destroy all of Thought Wave One."

The words made Zhang Wenda's scalp tingle. That big eyeball with wings actually had that much power? "What would happen if Thought Wave One was destroyed?"

"Then our world would have no more children. Everyone would be born an adult, educated in the womb, and forced to start working as soon as they could walk." Tan Yougen described a terrifying world that made Zhang Wenda's skin crawl.

"That may be true, but how is a small fry like me supposed to handle a place like that? You're asking for the impossible, aren't you?"

Tan Yougen smiled amicably. "Don't worry. Go back and wait. I won't let you go it alone. For something this important, I'll have people create an opportunity for you. Everything you're doing now will build your seniority in Bureau 507."

"Enough with the empty promises. You've really got some nerve, sending a rookie like me to handle something so important. If my uncle hadn't created an opportunity for me today—"

Zhang Wenda froze mid-sentence.

"What is it? Did you remember some detail?" Tan Yougen asked quickly.

Zhang Wenda nodded silently. "I did remember some details. But can I ask a question first? Is my uncle one of your people?"

"Song Tuba? No." Tan Yougen shook his head. "If he were one of our people, our previous deal would have been pointless."

"That's what I thought." Zhang Wenda's expression suddenly turned serious.

"What's right? What's lining up?"

Tan Yougen frowned slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You watched my uncle grow up, right? You know his personality very well, don't you?"

"Did he help you? Well, that's a good thing." Tan Yougen leaned back slightly in his chair.

"Then he gets credit for this mission, too."

Looking at the man opposite him, Zhang Wenda grew even calmer. "Before, if this was just an ordinary mission, it would make sense to send me. But the moment the Angel Engine came into play, I felt like something was off."

"First of all, Tang Xingxiong doesn't trust me at all, and you clearly don't think much of my abilities either. I could never figure out why you would give such a crucial mission to a kid like me."

"The truth is, this important mission was never really for me, was it? You were just using me to get to my uncle, right? His skills, his relationship with Tang Xingxiong... he's the perfect person for this mission. But unfortunately for you, he's not your subordinate."

"You calculated it all from the start, didn't you? You knew that if I was involved, my uncle would definitely step in to help."