webnovelvip Chapter 290 Testing the Waters
Chapter 290 Testing the Waters
Chapter 290 Testing the Waters
After sitting in Shangguan Su's private meeting room for a while, when everyone learned that the area specially prepared for the train had been cleaned up, Chang Lei took Tang Zijun to the site.
Since the mission only required Tang Zijun's cooperation, Tang Cao and Qin Nan did not go together. The two girls were not idle people, so they skipped and hopped to visit the Magic Bureau building.
To avoid attracting attention, Chang Lei and Tang Zijun did not use the reverse passage directly, but chose the normal mode of transportation instead.
Although this is not very convenient, it gives them time to communicate.
"What exactly happened?" Tang Zijun couldn't help but ask in a low voice as soon as she left the Demon Surveillance Bureau building.
His mind is now completely occupied with the data loss issue that Shangguan Su just mentioned.
The issue isn't the data itself, but the loss of the data.
"I'd like to know what's going on too." Chang Lei opened the car door and got in, letting out a soft sigh. "You know, I don't know much about these electronic and internet things. Back when we were active, these things didn't exist."
That's true. When Tang Zijun fought against the greedy people, surveillance wasn't widespread back then, and smart networks were still in their infancy. The two sides mostly interacted with people who were already well-off.
Unexpectedly, with the development of the times, they actually have a vague feeling of being abandoned by the times.
Tang Zijun fastened her seatbelt and turned to say, "Tell me in detail what happened that night, what exactly occurred."
"When we arrived, the battle at the Bureau of Demonic Oversight was already at its most intense. Those Shadows couldn't cause any trouble, and it was only a matter of time before they were defeated. My main task was to save people and prevent casualties."
Chang Lei recalled for a moment and continued, "Deputy Director Qiu arrived very quickly. By the time I sensed her, I was already preparing to leave."
But before that, I was preparing to take Qing and Bai's phones back, and it was at that moment that I realized something was wrong.
"So you discovered the data loss when you went to get your phone." Tang Zijun frowned; the timing did indeed match up.
"To be precise, the documents were already gone when I arrived at the location," Chang Lei said. "I originally wanted to tell you about this, but this isn't my area of expertise, so I subtly reported it to Shangguan and asked her to investigate further."
Tang Zijun nodded, indicating that she understood the whole story.
As Chang Lei drove, he turned to look at Tang Zijun. "Your identity information is registered under my name, including Qing and Bai's. Basically, all the missing information is from Xuecheng. I have a feeling that those guys are probably after you."
"Old Chang, tell me the truth. Based on your understanding of this matter, is this deliberate or...?" Tang Zijun narrowed her eyes slightly.
"I know what you're suspecting. Online fraud is indeed a specialty of a few greedy individuals, but didn't you take care of those back then? And in all these years, no new greedy individuals have emerged."
"As for the heretical demons and the shadow race, we haven't found them to have this ability yet. As for it being done by humans, that's even more impossible. No one can hide from my deception techniques, as you know."
As he spoke, Chang Lei continued, "After I discovered the data loss, I tried to reconstruct the scene using deception techniques. I can only say that during the period when the data was lost, nothing approached that area."
"You mean, the data was lost suddenly, without any warning?" Tang Zijun asked, somewhat puzzled.
"It's not that there were no signs, but rather that with my abilities, I couldn't detect those 'signs.' For someone to be able to deceive me, they must be at least on the same level as me, or even higher..."
"Impossible." Tang Zijun shook her head slightly, interrupting Chang Lei. "If someone reaches the position of a god, I will sense it."
Seemingly noticing Chang Lei's confusion, Tang Zijun explained,
"Just like how I hacked into that train this time, the appearance of a god is itself a kind of pollution. If this was really done by a god, then it's impossible that it left nothing behind."
"What you're saying makes some sense..." Chang Lei nodded thoughtfully, then raised his head again. "So tell me, what exactly is going on? It's impossible that something is operating right under our noses without us noticing, right?"
"I don't know," Tang Zijun said, adjusting her glasses. "But I feel like I've overlooked something..."
The car sped along the street, heading straight out of the city along the wide road.
Chang Lei gripped the steering wheel, pondered for a moment, and then broke the silence. "The Magic Bureau probably won't be able to find anything out about this. How about I spread the word and have the other magical girls keep an eye on it?"
"There's no need," Tang Zijun shook her head. "Although we don't know their purpose yet, it's certain that those guys are after me. If we muddy the waters, it will only give them an opportunity to take advantage of us."
"That's true." Chang Lei sighed upon hearing this. "What a hassle."
Seeing this, Tang Zijun couldn't help but chuckle. "What's wrong? I didn't know you'd suddenly become so sentimental."
Chang Lei waved his hand and said, "Back then, I was all alone, with nothing to rely on, like a piece of duckweed, and I didn't have to think about anything. Now that I'm sitting in this position, I realize that it's really hard to be a good person."
"Oh, now you understand how tough it was for me back then?" Tang Zijun smiled.
"I understand, I understand," Chang Lei sighed. "I always thought you had a bad temper, that you'd rather take action than talk. Now it seems, if it were me, I probably wouldn't waste words either."
"Heh..." Tang Zijun leaned back in her chair, smiling without saying a word.
Chang Lei took a deep breath. "It's better to be alone. I don't have to think about so many things, like magical girls or demonic beings."
"What's it to me? I come and go without a trace, I can do whatever I want."
"Sigh...it's a pity we're not in control of our own lives now." Letting out a long breath, Chang Lei pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned to ask, "So, what should we do next?"
"You're asking me?"
Tang Zijun gave him a warning look, then smiled.
"Just wait. Since they've taken the initiative, they'll definitely have another move. You have to understand, if they have the ability to steal data silently, they also have ways to prevent you from finding out."
"This time it was data loss, which means that the other party did it intentionally. What they wanted was for us to notice this. The more we do, the more mistakes we make. We don't need to pay attention to them. No matter what their purpose is, they will eventually slip up."
At this point, Tang Zijun's lips curled into a smile.
"They want our information, right? Write down a few, a mix of truth and falsehood, the more interesting the better. First, we'll learn about the world, then we'll investigate things. This is just a trial balloon."
"I know what to do," Chang Lei said with a smile.
"Oh, right," Tang Zijun suddenly changed the subject. "Give me one of those 'figurines' you have to play with."
"Huh?" Chang Lei was taken aback and said, "That's for Luan Luan to play with. What do you need that for? You don't need it."
"I'll send one to my parents. Those guys can find my information, so they must know about my relationship with Tang Cao. Who knows, they might try to harm my mom and my dad."
"That's true." Chang Lei nodded. "Alright, I'll pick one out tonight. You don't need to send it; I'll just deliver it to you after I'm done. I know your neighborhood well anyway."
"Okay, put it by my bedside." Tang Zijun shrugged.
Regarding his own bedroom in his hometown, besides himself, the people most familiar with it are his old rivals like Chang Lei. Those greedy people have basically figured out his house in order to target him.
They can even tell if your socks haven't been washed for days.
At first, I was quite annoyed because whenever no one was home, my house would be like a gathering of greedy people. Of course, it got much better later when Langya was on guard, and no greedy people dared to approach. We drove in silence until we reached the foot of a mountain.
From afar, Tang Zijun saw an abandoned tunnel cave, which looked like it had been dug out of the mountain in the past, with a row of railway tracks laid out from the cave.
"Where is this location? Are there really places like this near Yandu?"
"You're trapped in an information cocoon, aren't you?" Chang Lei grinned. "There's a lot you don't know. This world is vast, and there are many corners that ordinary people will never visit in their lifetime. This is one of them."
The two got out of the car one after the other, and soon an agent in a Demon Suppression Bureau uniform ran over quickly.
"This is the research area that Shangguan prepared for you. See if you can call that train over. By the way, be careful, since the train is currently parked in the city."
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
Without wasting any words, Tang Zijun immediately began to silently call out to the steam train in her mind.
This feeling was like calling out to Langya. After establishing a connection, Tang Zijun felt that she had the ability to communicate with him at any time, but this communication was currently one-way.
As their connection deepened, even when they were far apart, Tang Zijun was able to know the other person's location and whereabouts, and could even sense all the changes in the environment around the train.
This is why Tang Zijun dared to let the train stop in the city so confidently; if any trouble arose, he could board the train at any time to suppress it.
As Tang Zijun called out, he could clearly feel the train being reawakened, its whistle echoing in his mind.
The train wheels began to turn, and the entire train slowly began to move.
"We're here," Tang Zijun said.
Chang Lei and the detectives beside him were taken aback when they heard this, and then they looked in the direction Tang Zijun was looking.
Immediately afterwards, in the far distance, a long, serpentine black shadow emerged from the clouds and hurtled straight toward the group.