280: Oh no, that's how we got exposed.

[Real World · Lu Jianchuan's Room]

Late at night, Lu Jianchuan sat at the desk in his guesthouse room, reading some internal GUPA documents about the structure of the Haichuan City laboratory under the desk lamp, trying to identify potential risks. The twin bracelets on his wrist gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the light.

Suddenly, a faint, static-like tingling sensation came from the inside of his left bracelet—not painful, but a clear alert.

At the same time, his personal phone on the desk lit up automatically, unlocked, and switched to the wechat interface. The contact with the starry sky avatar, ".", had sent a message: no text, just a notification for an encrypted file transfer, followed immediately by a segment.

.: File Transfer: [survesegment002.enc]

.: The 'anomaly' you're looking for has been preliminarily identified. Target: Dr. Chen Ruian. This is a recently intercepted behavior log segment (compiled from lab public area surveillance and communication band captures). His private chamber uses complete physical isolation, zero electronic devices; internal conditions unknown. Recommendation: Assess cautiously; target danger level may be higher than expected.

Lu Jianchuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately clicked to receive the file. The file was specially encrypted, but the moment he confirmed receipt, it automatically decrypted and began playing.

A clear, multi-angle video appeared before his eyes, showing Dr. Chen Ruian alone in the lab late at night—operating equipment, answering encrypted communications, mixing unknown liquids, and finally entering a hidden chamber! Even the distorted voice from the communication was displayed with precise subtitles. The video cut off abruptly after the chamber door closed, just as 'The Forger' said; the interior was impossible to see.

This intelligence came too fast and too accurate, almost as if he were there in person! Even though Lu Jianchuan had been mentally prepared, he was still stunned by 'The Forger's' ability to silently perceive everything. But he didn't hesitate at all; the authenticity of the intelligence and 'The Forger's' stance had long been beyond doubt through their extended cooperation.

He quickly forwarded the video file to an encrypted group chat with only the four of them plus Golden Bone, adding no lengthy explanations, just typing a few simple words:

Lu Jianchuan (Group Chat): Urgent intelligence. Target confirmed. Watch immediately.

After sending the message, he immediately stood up, put on his jacket, and walked straight out the door, standing in the silent hallway. He didn't need to knock on doors one by one; he believed those who saw the message would react instantly.

Sure enough, in less than two minutes, Shen Mingyuan's door next door opened first. His usual relaxed expression was replaced by seriousness, his eyes sharp. Immediately after, Wei Ziqing's door across the hall slid open silently, and he emerged, his hand instinctively moving to his waist. Cynthia's door opened last; her face looked somewhat pale under the hallway lights, but her eyes burned with a complex light—shock, anger, realization, and a deeper coldness.

Without a word, the four of them moved with perfect tacit agreement into Lu Jianchuan's room and closed the door tightly.

"Did you all watch the video?" Lu Jianchuan asked in a low voice.

"Yes," Shen Mingyuan nodded, speaking quickly. "The call content, what he was mixing, and that chamber... the evidence chain is clear enough. This Dr. Chen is the 'fish' we're trying to catch, or at least a crucial part of it."

"So it really is him..." Cynthia's voice tightened slightly. She clenched her fist, her fingertips digging into her palm. "No wonder... I felt that... nauseating familiarity when I saw him."

She looked up, her eyes filled with painful self-analysis and clarity. "I must have encountered him in the past, likely... at one of 'Prometheus's' experimental sites! He's responsible for my 'sense of familiarity'!"

"But... but why do I also feel familiar with this lab environment? Could it be... could I have been brought here before? That doesn't make sense; this is a formal GUPA institution..."

"Now isn't the time to dwell on memory details," Wei Ziqing interrupted her, his tone calm and firm, his gaze sharp as a sword. "Since the target is confirmed and we have evidence, the primary question is: What do we do? Execute an arrest immediately?"

"Direct arrest?" Shen Mingyuan immediately shook his head, his cautious tactical mind racing. "Not appropriate. First, this is an important GUPA lab; Chen Ruian is a formal Researcher. Without explicit orders from above and a careful plan, we have no authority to act directly. It could easily cause chaos and uncontrollable conflict."

"Second, the video only shows him performing suspicious operations and entering the chamber, but we don't know what's inside or what he did there."

"We lack the most crucial direct evidence. Third, and most importantly—who is his accomplice? The distorted voice on the other end of the communication is likely the 'mole' Infiltrate within GUPA! Acting now would only alert them, causing the mole to hide completely."

Lu Jianchuan agreed with Shen Mingyuan's analysis: "Lawyer Shen is right. Our current advantage is that 'the enemy is in the open, we are in the dark.'"

"Chen Ruian thinks his disguise is successful and doesn't know we've identified him."

"That mole probably also believes this probe is low-risk. We must use this information gap."

"Then what do we do next..." Cynthia forced herself to calm down and asked.

"Wait," Lu Jianchuan said succinctly. "I've already synced the video to Golden Bone. How to handle Chen Ruian, whether to arrest immediately, and how to set up to best lure out his accomplice—he needs to weigh this and issue formal orders."

"Our current task is 'surveillance' and 'standby.' Before orders arrive, we must not let him aware we know."

Shen Mingyuan added, "Exactly. And we need to continue playing our roles as the 'security team' well—even... give him some false sense of 'security.'"

"For example, tomorrow we can show more interest in other aspects of the lab or raise some routine but harmless concerns about vaccine safety to divert his attention."

Wei Ziqing nodded. "Understood. I'll continue monitoring the lab's physical layout and personnel flow, especially possible other exits or blind spots for that chamber."

Cynthia took a deep breath, suppressing her churning emotions, her eyes turning sharp and cold again. "Fine. I'll... 'normally' maintain contact with him, without showing any signs of suspicion. I'll wait to see... how long he can keep up the act."

[Perspective Shift · Golden Bone's Online Meeting]

Late at night, in a highly encrypted virtual meeting room at GUPA Headquarters.

The meeting interface was concise and cold, with four separate audio/video streams arranged on the screen, all backgrounds replaced with a uniform dark gray.

Golden Bone's window was lit; he sat in a high-backed office chair, hands folded on the desk, his face half-lit, half-shadowed by the screen light.

Of the other three windows, two showed Vague-processed figures with only approximately distinguishable outlines. The last window had no image, only a subtly pulsating abstract geometric shape representing sound waves, labeled 'Authority IV - Advisor.'

"...Their operational efficiency is faster than anticipated," Golden Bone's voice came through a high-quality microphone, steady but with a hint of barely perceptible gravity.

"Especially this video. To locking Chen Ruian so quickly and obtain real-time surveillance records at this level... impressive, but slightly Exceeding my assessment of their capabilities."

On the screen before him played a copy of the video 'The Forger' had sent to Lu Jianchuan.

"Direct, silent, traceless intrusion into the core surveillance network and local communication bands of the Haichuan lab. Based on the skill sets Lu Jianchuan, Shen Mingyuan, or Wei Ziqing have shown so far, this doesn't seem like something they could accomplish independently."

The window with the male-leaning contour spoke, his tone rational and calm.

"Then there's 'someone else' assisting them," the female contour window interjected, her voice clear and decisive.

"The method of obtaining this video is similar to previous instances where they always got key intelligence in advance or their actions precisely hit node. I speculate it's the entity that created those three mysterious armors, providing information support from behind."

Golden Bone gave a slight nod. "Highly likely. Regardless, their approach and success rate have indeed exceeded expectations again. I've urgently dispatched our best electronic warfare counter-intrusion team to the Haichuan lab to attempt Reverse tracing and find traces of this intrusion."

He paused, his usually steady tone revealing rare gravity and... confusion.

"But so far, nothing has been found. The opponent's intrusion methods... are far more advanced than I anticipated. No, not just advanced—they're on an entirely different level of capability."

"My technicians report that the intrusion really occurred, and traces of data Cut and compilation theoretically exist, but all conventional, even some非 conventional, detection methods have found no 'digital fingerprints' or path logs usable for tracking."

"It's like... a 'phenomenon' we Completely incomprehensible—it happened, left results, but we can't observe the process or find the source."

"A 'formless' ghost in electronic space," the male contour voice also turned serious. "This is dangerous. It means we know almost nothing about them, not even where to look."

"Yes," Golden Bone admitted.

Then, the window with only the pulsating geometric shape spoke—a completely neutral, high-quality algorithm-synthesized electronic voice, steady and Without any ripples:

[No need to overly worry about their existence itself. As long as it can be confirmed that their current operational logic highly aligns with our ultimate goal—maintaining civilization's survival and Combating the extraordinary threats—that is sufficient.

Moreover, based on long-term observation, psychological profiles and behavioral model assessments of those three Aptitude Holders have long been completed; their core Justice Tendency and stability are reliable.]

Golden Bone fell silent for a moment, his gaze seeming to fall outside the meeting interface. "My concern isn't the three Aptitude Holders, nor this mysterious 'assistant.' My concern is... Cynthia."

A brief silence fell in the meeting.

The electronic voice responded calmly:

[Truth cannot be buried forever, especially for someone as keen as her. Sooner or later, this long-buried 'landmine' will explode.

Rather than letting her be shattered alone at an uncontrollable moment, it's better for her to face it in a relatively controlled environment, with reliable companion support. This itself is the relatively optimal choice after risk assessment.]

The male contour voice agreed: "Exactly. And now she has Lu Jianchuan, Shen Mingyuan, and Wei Ziqing by her side. If she real experiences extreme emotional out of control or behavioral Rampage, their abilities and understanding of her are sufficient to intervene and stop."

"Then, regarding the handling of Dr. Chen Ruian and those behind him?" the female contour brought the topic back to the present.

The male contour immediately proposed:

"Execute a direct arrest. Chen Ruian is a key node; prying open his mouth has a high probability of Following the clues to find that 'mole' who has been hidden within the organization, providing shelter and support for 'Prometheus.' We can't give him more time and opportunities."

"Seconded," the female contour voice said Decisive. "The video evidence is enough to start up internal investigation and emergency arrest procedures. To think the founder of 'Prometheus' has been Infiltrate in our own important research mechanism. It's our greatest Satire and must be Clear immediately."

Golden Bone's gaze swept over the three windows; the electronic voice window remained calm, expressing no opinion, indicating no objection. He slowly took a breath and made a decision.

"Then, consensus reached. Authorize 'Night Ops Group' and Cooperate personnel from the Haichuan Branch to start up emergency arrest procedures against target Chen Ruian.

"The operation must be swift and hidden. While controlling the target, Collect as much evidence as possible his chamber, and beware of possible accomplice Reception or desperate measures. Meeting adjourned."]