378: Chapter 376 Untitled Draft

"That's right!"

The message from the other side was full of exclamation marks.

"I didn't expect to find another like-minded comrade!"

Shen Mingyuan stared at the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard for a second before typing a line:

"Really? So can I join you guys? Are there any activities? Or are we going to protest?"

He deliberately made his tone enthusiastic, like a passionate young man who had just found his group.

The other side paused for a few seconds, then messages popped up one after another:

"Ah, no, no. Not that fast."

"First, help us with a few tasks."

"Don't worry, they're all beneficial for animals."

Shen Mingyuan narrowed his eyes.

"What kind of tasks?"

"For example... releasing some animals. Like from a wildlife park—let the tigers out, make those damn humans feel the power of animals."

After sending this, the other side added another line:

"What do you think? Can you do it?"

Shen Mingyuan stared at the screen, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk twice. Then he typed:

"Just releasing these animals?"

The other side paused again for a few seconds.

"Forget it, forget it. Wait."

"We'll assign you tasks. If you can complete them all perfectly, we'll agree to let you join."

Shen Mingyuan adjusted his tone to be even more eager:

"Really? That's great! So when will I get a task?"

"I'll contact you. Stay connected at all times, make sure you reply instantly."

"Alright, alright. So that's it for today?"

"Mm."

The other side went offline.

Shen Mingyuan stared at the screen for a few more seconds, then closed the chat window and shut down the entire computer.

The screen went black, and the room fell silent.

He stood up, walked to the bed, lay down, and stared at the ceiling for a while.

It was very late.

I'll have to tell Lu Jianchuan and the others about this tomorrow.

He turned over and closed his eyes.

Early the next morning, Shen Mingyuan ran into Lu Jianchuan in the hallway, and the two went together to the training area to find Wei Ziqing. Wei Ziqing could already walk normally and was sitting on a bench stretching his legs. Seeing them approach, he stopped and waited.

Shen Mingyuan recounted what had happened the previous night.

After listening, Lu Jianchuan was taken aback. "No way? You just posted a few things online, and someone really reached out to you?"

"Who knows," Shen Mingyuan shrugged. "Given they're capable of doing such things—recruiting people just from a few online posts—it seems pretty reasonable."

Wei Ziqing thought for a moment and nodded. "That makes sense."

Lu Jianchuan asked again, "What about the tasks? If they really ask you to do something, and you 'join' them, then what?"

Shen Mingyuan smiled. "We'll act. I'll do whatever he tells me to do. When the time comes, both of you will be there. After I finish, the three of us will transform immediately to stop it. Problem solved, right?"

"That could work," Lu Jianchuan said. "We'll just act a little."

Wei Ziqing asked, "Is there a task now?"

Shen Mingyuan took out his phone and glanced at it, shaking his head. "No messages so far."

Lu Jianchuan stroked his chin. "Seems like there's more than one person behind that screen. Last night's conversation was contradictory—first telling you to release animals, then saying not to."

"Who knows," Shen Mingyuan put away his phone. "Probably multiple people. Too contradictory, the tone."

Wei Ziqing stood up and stretched his legs. "Alright, I'm off then. I'm going to work out. Are you guys coming?"

Lu Jianchuan shook his head. "You go ahead. It's pretty crowded this time of day. I'll go in the afternoon."

Shen Mingyuan also said, "I haven't had breakfast yet. I'm heading to the cafeteria first."

"Then I'm off," Wei Ziqing waved to the two and turned to walk toward the training area.

Shen Mingyuan and Lu Jianchuan walked side by side toward the cafeteria.

As they walked forward, a person turned the corner of the hallway.

Ye Ouyang.

He was still wearing the same faded blue hoodie, walking slowly with his head down. Hearing footsteps, he looked up. Seeing Lu Jianchuan and Shen Mingyuan, he paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Senior Lu, Senior Shen."

Shen Mingyuan raised a hand in greeting. "Morning."

His gaze swept to the side, landing on the silent figure following behind Ye Ouyang—a humanoid mechanical creation with sleek lines and industrial beauty. Its main body was white, with black outlining the joints and key structures, and golden stripes decorated the edges of the shoulder armor and chest, appearing efficient and highly technological. From its back extended a slender, flexible mechanical tail, forked into three sharp golden metal claws, currently swaying slightly.

Shen Mingyuan's eyes lit up. "Hey, isn't this White Tiger?"

The humanoid machine took a step forward. Optical lenses in its head position lit up with a faint blue light, its voice steady, carrying a hint of metallic texture.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Shen Mingyuan."

It turned to Lu Jianchuan and gave a slight nod.

"Hello, Mr. Lu Jianchuan."

Ye Ouyang looked at White Tiger, then at Shen Mingyuan, somewhat surprised. "You know White Tiger?"

Shen Mingyuan nodded. "We fought side by side before, right, White Tiger?"

"Yes," White Tiger's mechanical tail swayed gently. "Mr. Shen Mingyuan once fought alongside me."

Lu Jianchuan examined it for a few seconds, suddenly intrigued.

"Your name is White Tiger," he said, a hint of curiosity in his tone. "So, are there three others—Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon? Making up the four Sacred Beasts?"

White Tiger's optical lenses flickered slightly.

"Indeed, there are."

Lu Jianchuan's eyes lit up. "Are they all robots like you?"

"No," White Tiger shook its head, the motion so fluid it was almost indistinguishable from a human's. "Only I am in a single-unit robot form. Vermilion Bird is a fighter jet swarm, composed of twenty-seven unmanned combat aircraft capable of coordinated operations. Azure Dragon is an all-terrain Breakthrough drone swarm, excelling at infiltration and reconnaissance in complex environments. Black Tortoise is a mobile war fortress, focused on defense and firepower suppression."

It paused.

"Additionally, there is Qilin, a cosmic space high-to-low laser strike platform responsible for orbital support."

After listening, Lu Jianchuan fell silent for two seconds, then softly exclaimed, "Huo."

"Wow, a whole combo."

Lu Jianchuan looked at White Tiger. "And you? What type are you?"

White Tiger's mechanical tail swayed gently, its voice steady. "I am an all-around type, equipped with multiple functions including healing, combat, field analysis, and rescue."

Shen Mingyuan nodded beside him. "Oh, I see. You're the jack-of-all-trades."

Ye Ouyang stood to the side, silent the whole time. Now, he took half a step forward, looked at Lu Jianchuan and Shen Mingyuan, his lips moving before he finally spoke:

"Then... Seniors... about that thing I asked you to help me with..."

Lu Jianchuan was taken aback.

Then he remembered—yesterday, that young man, that set of armor.

He had completely forgotten.

With so many things happening these past two days—the Black Bear, the Circus, Shen Mingyuan's undercover plan—he had pushed it completely to the back of his mind.

He looked into Ye Ouyang's expectant eyes and fell silent for a second.

"I haven't run into him," he said, his tone steady, betraying nothing unusual. "If I do, I'll definitely tell you, okay?"

The light in Ye Ouyang's eyes dimmed a little, but he quickly nodded.

"Okay... alright."

He took a step back.

"Then... we'll go get breakfast. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Shen Mingyuan raised a hand and waved.

Ye Ouyang turned and walked toward the other end of the hallway. White Tiger followed behind him, its forked mechanical tail swaying gently, its steps soundless.

After a few steps, Ye Ouyang unconsciously moved closer to White Tiger.

White Tiger lowered its head, its optical lenses rotating slightly, as if looking at him or confirming something. Then its mechanical tail lifted slightly, the golden claw tips almost touching the hem of Ye Ouyang's clothes before retracting.

Their figures gradually disappeared at the end of the hallway.

Lu Jianchuan stood in place, looking in that direction without a word.

Shen Mingyuan glanced at him sideways but also said nothing.

After a while, Lu Jianchuan withdrew his gaze.

"Let's go, eat."