Chapter 408: Confrontation

The base’s network security department.

The base’s very geography isolated it, and the network security department restricted most external contact, inspecting all communications.

Triss was a madman, but a very capable one.

He cleverly managed the staff, dividing them into social strata: “those who could know the truth,” “those who couldn’t but were useful,” and “those who were only good for food.” He made them all serve his ends.

He ran the entire base like a small Kingdom. Elites who were supposed to fight Superpower Users were instead processed into food for the Angel, fed to it in a constant stream.

In a way, his actions were actually beneficial to the Superpower Users.

If he hadn’t apparently imprisoned a Superpower User—one connected to the All-Knowing—the other Superpower Users wouldn’t have even considered moving against him.

At this very moment, the staff in the network security department were reviewing emails. Every single one had to be carefully screened and confirmed to be safe before being sent out.

After all, the base had plenty of external business. Food, water, and personnel transport all required contact with the outside world; it couldn’t be a completely closed system.

Each email was reviewed by three auditors and required a final sign-off from a supervisor before it could be released.

At ten o’clock in the morning, an auditor spotted the email sent under Jinghong’s name.

This was morning coffee time. The network security staff would pour themselves a cup and start processing emails.

Just as the auditor went to open the email, his right hand suddenly twitched. The coffee beside him tipped over, spilling scalding liquid all over his keyboard and pants.

“SHIT!”

Swearing under his breath, the first auditor leaped to his feet from the heat, immediately grabbing tissues to wipe down his keyboard and pants.

After using more than a dozen tissues, he realized his frantic movements had jolted his computer, causing it to freeze.

With a sigh, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to troubleshoot the malfunction.

What he didn’t realize, however, was that before the computer crashed, he had unintentionally hit the keyboard, opening and closing Jinghong’s email before marking it as “reviewed” and forwarding it to the next auditor.

Of course, one auditor’s accident wasn’t a problem.

Even two or three in a row wouldn’t be a problem.

As long as the final supervisor didn’t sign off, the email would never make it outside; it would remain trapped internally.

But at this moment, a combination of extreme luck and Duan Fei’s Talent came into play.

The moment the second auditor opened the email, his chair groaned under the strain and gave way, sending the three-hundred-pound man crashing to the floor.

In his panic, the auditor instinctively grabbed the keyboard. His doughy fingers mashed the keys, approving the email from the first auditor and forwarding it to the next.

The third auditor had been up all night and was staring numbly at the screen. Without a second thought, he marked the email as reviewed and sent it on to the supervisor.

Meanwhile, the supervisor was in a meeting. His pet parrot flew onto his keyboard, unlocked the computer by walking across a few keys, took a few more steps, and sent Jinghong’s email all the way to military headquarters.

All the luck condensed in the Hancock Character Card was consumed in that instant, completing a nearly impossible task.

But from Alemann’s perspective, all Duan Fei did was click the mouse. She saw none of the coincidences that transpired in between.

Seeing the “Message Sent” notification appear, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “That’s… it? It worked?” she asked, bewildered. “I have a comrade who went undercover at another base, and he told me contacting the outside was practically impossible. How did you do that?”

“Just lucky.”

“I’m being serious. Can you stop joking?”

“I’m being serious too. You can’t learn my methods, so don’t bother trying. I estimate military headquarters will send someone in about half a day.”

Duan Fei was right.

That same day—the afternoon of the fifth day—an armed helicopter arrived.

A squad of soldiers quickly disembarked. Their leader, a colonel, faced the officer who came to greet them and demanded sternly, “Where is Triss?”

“The Major is currently working.”

“Take me to him! And don’t try anything funny. We have missiles aimed at this place!”

Faced with the enraged colonel, the officer didn’t dare hesitate and immediately led him to Triss’s office.

Triss, already at his desk, had known the colonel was coming. But he acted as if it were a surprise, smiling elegantly. “Colonel, sir. Is something the matter?”

The colonel threw a printout of the email onto the desk in front of Triss and roared, “This is a formal complaint against you! Effective immediately, you are suspended from all duties pending an investigation. You will not leave this facility until the matter is resolved.”

Triss picked up the printout. As he read it, the smile on his face stiffened for a moment.

But he quickly composed himself, appearing even more relaxed than before.

He handed the paper back, frowning thoughtfully for a moment before asking, “I believe there must be some misunderstanding.”

“The lieutenant colonel still hasn’t returned, and your people claimed he was never here. We suspected he was attacked by Superpower Users, but it turns out the traitor was you! Repent, Triss!”

“Well, I am very sorry to hear that, but I must say, the lieutenant colonel was indeed attacked. We just found him.”

“And where is he?”

“He’ll be here in a moment. Please wait.”

Triss picked up his walkie-talkie, holding it up to show he wasn’t pulling any tricks, and called for the lieutenant colonel in front of the colonel.

A few minutes later, the lieutenant colonel, covered in bandages, was escorted in.

From the moment he entered, the colonel stared intently at his former subordinate, trying to determine if he was an impostor.

A person’s appearance could be altered by surgery and their voice mimicked, but the secret codes and information known only to the two of them could not be faked.

After asking a few simple questions about his condition, the colonel suddenly asked, “What did you do last night?”

“Rested. Had a bit of beer.”

“How was the beer?”

“It was good.”

“You’re injured now, so don’t push it.”

“Understood.”

The lieutenant colonel’s replies were seamless, dispelling the colonel’s doubts. He was convinced this was his subordinate.

The exchange confirmed it: the man was not under duress.

He turned to Triss, his stern expression suddenly melting into a warm smile.

The colonel clapped him heartily on the shoulder. “My apologies, Triss. It seems I’ve misunderstood you.”

“Not at all. The fault is mine for allowing such a misunderstanding to arise in the first place.”

“I knew you were a capable man. Keep up the good work, son. The military won’t forget you.”

“Thank you, Colonel, sir. Thank you.”

Triss maintained a polite smile, but his eyes grew increasingly cold.