Light Fortress

Gu Shen was momentarily stunned.

That's right... Before the fire disaster, Mr. Shu had already extended an olive branch.

He was somewhat puzzled; if it wasn't for an "Extraordinary Awakening," what else about him could possibly attract Mr. Shu's attention?

"Meow—"

After Nan Jin left, the well-behaved orange cat lying on the sofa suddenly had fluorescent light shining in its eyes, and its meow became sharp.

It jumped onto Gu Shen's knee and gestured writing in the air with its paws while meowing continuously.

"...Ruler!"

Gu Shen immediately understood—Chu Ling had come back online, "Did you hide the Ruler? Where did you hide it?"

On the day of the fire disaster, the last of his memories had blurred.

After using the Truth Ruler, his spiritual power was depleted, and even the final phone call was made by Chu Ling on his behalf... Although Gu Shen hadn't experienced what followed, he knew it must have been complicated.

The fire had a substantial impact, and the officials must have taken it over and sealed it off directly.

And the source of the fire—his residence—must have been thoroughly searched inside and out several times already.

For a cat to hide the Truth Ruler was not an easy task.

The orange cat took Gu Shen's clothes in its mouth, leading him towards the inner room... arriving in front of the holographic screen, which turned on automatically. Accompanied by the effect of waves washing ashore, that familiar dialogue box popped up again.

It was a message from Chu Ling.

"Gu Shen, we meet again."

After this message appeared, the fluorescent light in the orange cat's eyes slowly faded. The silly cat yawned, looked around in curiosity as if it didn't understand why it was there, and then left disdainfully, shaking its tail.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes... While recovering in the hospital bed, he had been pondering a question.

How exactly did Chu Ling communicate with him through the orange cat?

The only somewhat forced answer he could come up with was technology invasion.

In the era where Deep Sea connected five continents, artificial intelligence was highly mature; using implanted chips to control a stray cat was not difficult.

But once there are too many coincidences, they are no longer coincidences.

His own string of bizarre encounters in the past few days... Chu Ling had anticipated them all in advance and even provided warnings. Along with the stray cat he "coincidentally" found half a month ago, stringing these events together, they couldn't just be simple "coincidences."

"You..."

Gu Shen typed slowly, "Are you a hacker specializing in network cracking?"

That was the most reasonable explanation he could think of.

Either way, the person had saved his life. Gu Shen thought he could trust Chu Ling with confidence.

The car's warning, the fire alert, the last phone call... Had Chu Ling missed any one of these, Gu Shen most likely would have been a goner by now.

"Hmm, a hacker specializing in network cracking... an interesting perspective. You can think of it that way," Chu Ling replied quickly and added seriously, "Including but not limited to that."

"Including... but not limited to that."

Gu Shen repeated to himself, feeling that the girl's talent and courage were truly intimidating.

The cybersecurity of Deep Sea was of utmost importance. As the server linking five continents and responsible for the lives of billions, it was patrolled by the world's top security teams night and day.

Yet Chu Ling was able to hide her identity and converse with him.

This was already considered an act of "presumption," a privilege that broke the rules.

If she could do even more... it was hard to imagine what the consequences would be if the officials noticed.

"What you're doing... is very dangerous."

The more Gu Shen thought about it, the more of a headache he got. If Chu Ling were exposed, it would lead to a very serious large-scale manhunt. By that time, the Judgement Institute would likely be involved in the pursuit as well, and those were all real monsters, "What will you do if you're discovered?"

"Don't be afraid," the young girl responded casually and calmly, "They can't find me... I've already sent you the location of the 'Truth Ruler.' I suggest you act tonight, better to get your hands on the item early."

It seemed that the girl didn't care at all about the consequences of being tracked down.

Gu Shen didn't say anything more... He clicked on the data package labeled by Chu Ling as the "Ruler," and a multi-layered three-dimensional map unfolded before his eyes. Gu Shen was silent for a while, without a doubt, this was another powerful privilege that could only be used after linking with Deep Sea.

The map was marked with extreme precision.

Gu Shen could tell at a glance... It was that half-destroyed building left unfinished due to the fire. Because of the fire disaster, all residents had been evacuated, arranged to stay at a nearby temporary residence, and the building itself was cordoned off with police tape, with no admission for unrelated personnel.

This map was real-time; yellow dots could be seen wandering near the old building, and there was an especially conspicuous red dot.

"Yellow dots are ordinary people; the red dot is a Transcendent. A Transcendent has already arrived, and after tonight, it's estimated that the number of combat personnel dispatched by the two entities will gradually increase, as well as Transcendents from unknown paths... The possibility of the Ruler being exposed will increase," Chu Ling simply explained. "See the location of the Ruler? It's right next to the body of victim number two, tucked inside a pile of planks in the corner of the stairwell leading to the top floor."

Gu Shen remembered that spot.

With the Ruler, he had meted out Divine Punishment, burning the arsonist alive right there.

At the last moment, Chu Ling chose to hide the Ruler there... It was risky.

But also very wise.

As the origin of the fire, his dwelling was bound to be carefully inspected. If the Ruler was placed there, it would likely have been exposed by now.

No other location could ensure it wouldn't be searched.

Only the spot where those two bodies were located, the rooftop and the corridor leading to the rooftop, would be entirely preserved due to being the primary crime scene.

He was now a man of the Judgement Institute, and Mr. Shu wouldn't let go of the true mastermind behind the fire disaster.

"The best time to act is tonight at 23:00. There will be a shift change among the workers at the old building; you can take the opportunity to sneak in. This is the action plan before getting the Ruler, and this is the escape route,"

Chu Ling, like an unfeeling machine, once again sent two files in a package.

After opening and reading them carefully, Gu Shen took a deep breath and typed to ask, "What will be the consequences if the Ruler is exposed?"

There was a brief pause, as if Chu Ling was thinking. Or perhaps she was accessing information.

She recounted an ancient incident: "Before losing control, A-009 was an important member of the Ancient Literature Society and had considerable ties with the Deep Sea Godfather, Allen Turing. With the collapse and destruction of the Ancient Literature Society, A-009 started down the path of uncontrollability, which led to being firmly imprisoned. Over the years, she had been moved among multiple cities... A certain high-ranking individual in the council, out of a desire to explore the true cause of the woman's loss of control, kept conducting experiments. They believed that it was an Extraordinary Item imbued with immense power that caused the complete breakdown of A-009."

Gu Shen was shocked.

An Extraordinary Item imbued with immense power?

"Inside the train car, the bone-knife you saw, and the newspaper... are believed to be the main culprits behind her uncontrollability."

"After the loss of control, A-009 perfectly concealed the existence of the Ruler for over a decade. So that high-ranking individual doesn't know that on her person... was hidden the third Extraordinary Sealed Object,"

Reading this, Gu Shen began to break out in a cold sweat.

"For reasons unknown... A-009 chose to give you the 'Truth Ruler,'" Chu Ling was succinct. "You don't need to know the reasons. All you need to understand is... once this Ruler is discovered, the troubles you'll face will be enormous. The will of that high-ranking individual is not something you can currently contend with."

Gu Shen asked with difficulty, "You should know that I've been granted 'Sanctuary' with a special pardon."

"Of course I know; however, that special pardon only pertains to the surface truth of the fire case... Although the issuer of the special pardon is quite powerful, his protection is based on personal sentiment, not a genuine concern for your life and death," Chu Ling's response made Gu Shen tense up all over. "But if the 'Truth Ruler' is exposed, allegiances will be thrown into disarray, and it's highly probable the special pardon will no longer offer protection. Are you prepared to face this outcome?"

Gu Shen's gaze was fixed on the screen.

Sweat imperceptibly formed on his forehead... His brain operated to the utmost, then paradoxically blanked out.

Though reluctant to believe, he knew that what Chu Ling said was right.

The Truth Ruler... must never be known to a third person.

Exhaling a long breath, Gu Shen made up his mind, "I'll act tonight, but what about the other Transcendent? What should I do about them?"

At the other end, Chu Ling was pleased with Gu Shen's reply.

"Don't worry, I will assist you... Before you act, change into some clothes. As long as you can connect to Deep Sea, I can contact you at any time."

Gu Shen sat in front of the holographic screen, pondering for a very long time, then asked the last question in his heart.

"Chu Ling..."

"Why are you helping me?"

The dialogue box indicated the other party was typing, backspacing, and eventually returning to stillness.

Chu Ling answered all of Gu Shen's questions.

Except for this one, there was no reply.