19: Chapter 19 Kate's Secret Collaboration

The roar of tracks crushing the asphalt shattered the silence of the early morning in Los Santos.

Lin Fan maneuvered the tank, rampaging through the streets, while the pursuit team of police cars and military vehicles behind him clung on like a swarm of flies that couldn't be shaken off, their sirens sharp enough to pierce the eardrums.

The tank's armor was thick; bullets hitting it only sparked, but Lin Fan knew clearly that this thing had limited range. The fuel gauge needle was sliding toward the bottom, and if they kept burning it like this, they would be surrounded sooner or later.

"The fuel won't last ten minutes!" Lin Fan roared into the radio, the corner of his eye catching the glaring five-star wanted level on the system panel, his temples throbbing, "Franklin, find a hidden place to park! Michael, suppress the pursuers behind us!"

"Received!" Franklin's voice came through the radio, tinged with urgency, "There's an abandoned dock warehouse ahead; we can hide in there!"

The submachine gun mounted on the turret by Michael spat tongues of fire, bullets hitting the tires of the closest police car with precision, causing it to instantly lose control and crash into a lamppost on the side of the road with a loud bang.

"Hurry! The helicopter is here!"

Lin Fan looked up; in the night sky, a police helicopter was circling in, its searchlight beam like a sharp sword, locking firmly onto the tank's position.

He gritted his teeth and jerked the steering wheel, the tank's tracks carving two deep grooves into the ground as it charged toward the dock warehouse.

Just as the tank was about to rush into the warehouse, the machine gun on the helicopter fired, bullets hitting the tail of the tank like raindrops, producing a deafening sound.

Lin Fan slammed on the accelerator, and the tank crashed through the warehouse gate; the heavy iron door slammed shut, temporarily isolating the noise and firelight outside.

The warehouse was pitch black, permeated with the salty, fishy smell of seawater and the scent of rust.

Lin Fan cut the engine, the tank's roar came to an abrupt halt, and the surroundings instantly became terrifyingly quiet, leaving only the three men's heavy breathing.

"Safe for now."

Michael jumped down from the turret, his shoulder wound splitting open again due to the intense movements, blood staining half of his camouflage uniform, but he only frowned, took out a cigarette from his pocket, only to find the cigarette case had been riddled with holes, and could only throw it on the ground in frustration.

Franklin leaned against the tank's tracks, panting heavily: "five-star wanted level, the military has even been deployed; this is a big mess."

Lin Fan didn't speak; he opened the tank's hatch, jumped down, and scanned the surroundings of the warehouse vigilantly.

There were many abandoned shipping containers piled up here, with heavy shadows, always giving one a sense of insecurity.

Just then, another door of the warehouse was slowly pushed open, and a blinding beam of light shot in, illuminating the faces of the three.

The three of them instantly tensed up, pulling out their guns and aiming at the direction of the doorway.

At the source of the beam stood a blonde woman in a sharp suit, holding a pistol, the muzzle pointed steadily at them.

It was Kate.

"Mr. Lin, we meet again."

Kate's voice was calm and waveless, echoing in the empty warehouse, "Or should I call you... an 'outsider' from the real world?"

Lin Fan's pupils contracted sharply, his grip on his gun tightened, and his tone was cold: "What exactly do you want?"

"Nothing much."

Kate walked slowly into the warehouse, put away her pistol, but did not lower her guard, "I'm just here to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" Franklin sneered, "You're an FBI agent, we're five-star wanted criminals; what kind of deal is there to talk about?"

"Of course there is."

Kate walked up to Lin Fan, looking at him with sharp eyes, "I can help you clear your wanted status, and even help you deal with Victor. But in exchange, you have to help me investigate someone—Victor."

Lin Fan stared into Kate's eyes, trying to read something from her gaze, but the other party's eyes were as calm as a deep pool, impossible to see through.

"Why do you want to investigate Victor?"

"Because he deserves to die."

Kate's voice carried a hint of imperceptible hatred, "He is not only the gang leader of Los Santos, but also a 'parasite' of this world. He is tampering with game code, controlling NPCs, and trying to become the god of this world."

Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat.

Tampering with code? Controlling NPCs?

This coincided with his previous speculations!

"How do you know all this?" Lin Fan asked.

Kate didn't answer, but took a USB drive from her pocket and threw it to Lin Fan: "This contains some of the evidence of Victor tampering with the code. My father was a game tester for 'GTA5'. Ten years ago, he was silenced by Victor because he discovered Victor's secret."

Lin Fan took the USB drive, his fingers trembling slightly.

Game tester... silenced...

He finally understood why Kate knew he was an outsider, and why she wouldn't save Victor.

"You want us to help you get revenge?" Michael asked from the side.

"Not revenge, but justice."

Kate corrected, "Victor's existence has already threatened the stability of this world. He is even attempting to open a channel between this world and the real world through code. Once successful, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, looking at the USB drive in his hand, then at Kate, calculating rapidly in his mind.

Cooperating with the FBI carries great risk, but they are currently at a dead end; Victor is watching them like a tiger, the military and police are closing in step by step. Cooperating with Kate seems to be the only way out.

"Why should I trust you?" Lin Fan asked.

"Because of the chips in my hand."

Kate smiled, took out her phone, and opened a file; the screen displayed a draft of a wanted status revocation order, "I have contacts inside the FBI; I can help you forge identities and revoke the wanted status. Additionally, I also know one of Victor's secret strongholds, where his core server for tampering with code is stored."

Lin Fan, Michael, and Franklin exchanged glances, all seeing the temptation in each other's eyes.

"Fine, I agree."

Lin Fan finally nodded, "But we need time to prepare."

"No problem."

Kate said, "I'll give you three days. Three days later, we'll meet at Warehouse No. 7 at the docks."

Just as Kate turned to leave, Lin Fan suddenly spoke up: "Why do you have photos of me from the real world on your computer?"

Kate's footsteps paused, she looked back at Lin Fan, a meaningful smile curling the corners of her mouth: "Because in my father's belongings, there was a prophecy about an 'outsider'. He said that one day, someone from the real world would travel to this game world and break Victor's rule."

After saying this, Kate left the warehouse without looking back.

The warehouse fell into silence once again.

Franklin looked in the direction where Kate had disappeared and couldn't help asking: "Are we really going to trust her? She's an FBI agent."

"What else can we do if we don't trust her?"

Michael sighed, "We're at a dead end now."

Lin Fan didn't speak; he took the USB drive, walked to the tank's cockpit, and opened the laptop inside.

He plugged in the USB drive and opened the files inside.

Inside the files were some messy codes, as well as some recordings of conversations between Victor and a mysterious person.

In the recordings, Victor mentioned "Code Editing", "Digital Legion", and "channel between two worlds"...

Lin Fan's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

So, Victor's ambition was even greater than he had imagined.

He not only wanted to rule this game world but also wanted to get his hands on the real world.

Just then, a strange email suddenly popped up on Lin Fan's computer screen.

The sender of the email was an anonymous account.

The content of the email was only one sentence: Beware of Kate, her purpose goes beyond this.

Lin Fan's heart sank.

He looked up at the ceiling of the warehouse, his eyes becoming complex.

The waters of Los Santos were deeper than he had imagined.

Is this collaboration an opportunity or a trap?

He didn't know.

But he knew that from this moment on, the game between him and Kate had only just begun.

And Victor would definitely not sit and wait for death.

A bigger storm was quietly brewing.