545: Chapter 545 Preparing for Evacuation

Konks emerged from the underground bunker and stepped into his spaceship. He set the coordinates for the Aetherland Hive City and didn't say a word throughout the entire process.

There was too much in his head; he needed to organize his thoughts.

The truth about the Wuqi Clan, the assembly line of living bionic humans, and the Void's hundred and forty years of dark history.

The sheer volume of information was overwhelming. His SAN value would recover only to plummet again, fluctuating like a roller coaster.

The ship flew above the clouds. Below lay the pitch-black wasteland, punctuated by the occasional flicker of lights from a Hive City.

Konks stared outside, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the control panel.

He had to get the information out.

That was the first step, and the most important one. Keeping it in his hands was useless; he had to let the right people see it.

But how should he send it?

Send an encrypted email directly? Too risky. Although the Shankong people had a skewed technology tree, they weren't entirely without the ability to monitor communications.

The chance of it being intercepted wasn't high, but the probability of alerting the enemy was significant.

Have the Wuqi Clan send the signal themselves? They were still fighting a guerrilla war; sending information outside the star System was far too difficult for them.

After weighing his options, there was only one way to be one hundred percent safe.

A human courier—delivering it personally.

And he couldn't do it sneakily. It had to be open and grand, right under the noses of the Shankong people, so that even as they watched, they wouldn't dare stop him.

The plan wasn't complicated, really—just three steps.

Step one: request leave and return home.

He had ready-made excuses: family matters, or simply saying he couldn't adjust to the environment here, the research pressure was too high, and he was homesick.

A visiting Scholar was still a person. Wanting to go home was only natural.

Step two: before leaving, place an order and buy insurance.

Konks opened his personal terminal, accessed the interstellar network, and found the Interstellar Peace Corporation's official website.

The page was, as always, filled with the fragrance of capitalism. The product categories were dazzling, ranging from planet-level terraforming to personal gene optimization—they had everything.

He typed "High-end Security" into the search bar, and a bunch of packages popped up.

There was the "Silver Package," which provided two company guards and a standard commercial ship to ensure you reached the designated area alive.

There was the "Gold Package," which provided a squad equipped with various light and heavy armored vehicles—enough to swagger in and out of the capital of an aerospace-era civilization.

Konks swiped down directly to the second page: the "Diamond Package."

The client specifies the time and location, and the company dispatches a professional security team along with a dedicated armed escort ship to meet them.

Ensures absolute safety from the point of departure to the secure destination, including standard company VIP treatment throughout the journey.

The string of zeros following the price was roughly equivalent to the cost of hosting a wedding on Penacony.

Konks didn't even blink. He selected it and clicked buy. Identity verification, pupil scan, credit points transferred.

[Order confirmed. Thank you for choosing the Interstellar Peace Corporation's security services.]

[Your order has been received. Expect confirmation of the detailed pickup plan within 1 hour.]

[Wishing you a pleasant journey.]

Done.

Step three: wait. Wait for the company's people to arrive, and then leave with flair.

The ship landed at the civilian spaceport of the Aetherland Hive City. Konks returned to his dormitory in the academic exchange area as usual.

The journey was calm; he didn't feel like he was being followed.

Perhaps the Shankong people didn't think much of a minor Scholar like him yet.

Back in his dorm, he first sent an email to the Cultural Counselor of the Eastern Federation's embassy to the Void.

"Hello, Counselor Wang. This is the visiting Scholar, Konks."

"Due to recent personal family reasons and high research pressure, I am feeling somewhat unwell. I would like to apply to conclude my current visit early and return home to rest for a while."

"I will provide the relevant paperwork and reports as soon as possible. I hope for your approval."

After sending the email, he sent a message to his lab mentor, Alva.

The content was similar: something urgent came up at home, he had to rush back, he was sorry for the temporary interruption of the project, and he would organize and send back the follow-up data.

Having sent those, he sat in his chair and waited.

First, for the approval of his leave. Second, for the company to contact him.

The embassy's reply came first.

Counselor Wang replied quickly, expressing understanding. There were no issues with the procedure; he told Konks to take care of his health and just provide a written explanation after returning home.

Alva's reply was slower, but it was just a formal expression of regret, wishing him a smooth journey and hoping for future cooperation opportunities.

Everything was going smoothly—so smoothly it felt a bit surreal.

Then, his personal terminal vibrated with a call from a number with no caller ID.

Konks answered.

"Mr. Konks, this is the Interstellar Peace Corporation Customer Service Center. The 'Diamond Package' security service you ordered has begun. We are now confirming the pickup details with you."

"Go ahead."

"Based on your current coordinates at Building D2, Academic Exchange Area, Aetherland Hive City, our proposed pickup plan is as follows."

"At 0900 Standard Time tomorrow, the pickup team will arrive at the entrance of your building. We suggest you complete all luggage preparations before this time."

"We will escort you to the Third Landing Pad on the outskirts of the Hive City, where an escort ship will be waiting. Do you have any other requirements or special items to declare? Such as weapons of mass destruction or biological samples?"

"No such special items. The time works for me."

"Understood. Additionally, according to security terms, once the service begins, your communications will be under our protective monitoring until the service concludes. If you have any questions, you may contact us through this line at any time. We wish you a pleasant life."

The call ended.

Clean and efficient, without a single wasted word—that was the company's style.

Konks put down his terminal and began packing.

There wasn't much to pack, mainly the data core filled with evidence, several backup storage drives, and some personal belongings.

He disguised the data core as an old-fashioned music player and tucked it into the bottom of his suitcase.

After finishing this, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his eyes open.

At the same time, in a spacious office in the upper levels of the Hive City.

Alva stared at the leave request from Konks on his screen, his brow furrowed.

His intuition told him something was wrong.

This Eastern Federation Scholar had been heading out far too frequently over the past six months.

He called it field research, and though the data reports he brought back each time looked legitimate, they were too perfect—so perfect they seemed manufactured just to satisfy requirements.

Furthermore, the timing he chose to end his visit was very subtle.

It was right when the cultural exchange mission was causing a stir over in the Eastern Federation, with Zheng Huairen's group being extremely active and relations between the two sides becoming delicate.

Was it a coincidence?

Alva's fingertips tapped on the smooth tabletop.

He pulled up Konks's entry and exit records for the past six months, his vehicle rental history, and even tried to access some data from the border monitoring System.

The records showed that Konks indeed frequently traveled to remote areas, and the times and locations matched up.

But deeper data—such as exactly where he landed and what he did there—was unavailable.

It wasn't that it had been erased, but rather that those areas themselves had very little monitoring.

The more he looked, the heavier the doubt in Alva's heart became.

He picked up his internal communicator and dialed a number—the line for the Security Affairs Office under the Joint Coordination Committee.

"It's me, Alva. I have a situation regarding that Eastern Federation visiting Scholar, Konks..."

He voiced his suspicions, which weren't many, simply highlighting the frequent outings and the sudden request for leave.

The other side was silent for a few seconds before a low voice replied, "Understood. We will keep an eye out. However, there is currently no clear evidence of a violation, and since it involves Eastern Federation diplomatic personnel, it is not advisable to act rashly."

Alva put down the receiver, his expression sour.

The security department's stance was clear: they didn't want to court trouble. After all, people from the Eastern Federation and the Company were still watching from above.

But the unease in his heart didn't subside; he felt as though something big was about to happen.

The next day, at 0850 Standard Time.

Konks dragged his suitcase out of the dormitory building. He stood at the entrance and checked the time.

Exactly 0900.