The mysterious figure dressed in a black bat costume defeated a security team in an instant, but it wasn't the combat skills that caught his attention the most.

It was the pair of cybernetic eyes glowing blue.

"It's them..."

The insignia was too conspicuous for the senior executive in biotechnology to pretend ignorance.

"Have these guys gone mad?"

He frowned, unable to fathom the motives behind such an action; offending so many people at once—regardless of their unique identity—was hardly prudent.

"..."

As the cardinal responsible for Night City, he knew he had to act swiftly without hesitation. No matter what the other's motives were, a quick decision was imperative.

He asked the security chief nearby,

"Have all the members been evacuated to the safe zone?"

"All 49 members currently inside have been accounted for, with no exceptions."

"Have the robots escort them upstairs, then notify that the Red Queen Club will be temporarily closed for maintenance. Dispatch all security forces to capture the intruder alive."

"And… leave the key behind."

The cardinal's orders shocked the security chief; this key was to activate the castle's self-destruction protocol. Only with both keys inserted would the command take effect—one with him, the other with the cardinal.

The implication was to blow up the place worth billions in euros...

And eliminate all witnesses.

"This..."

He asked with a stiffened expression.

"Does it mean all of them?"

The cardinal did not speak, merely stared at him. The look was as if gazing at a dead man, causing the chief's scalp to tingle with fear.

Not daring to utter another word, he hastily retrieved a physical key from his attire, placed it on the table, and quickly left the room, preparing to order his men to entangle the intruder with their lives.

It's not that the boss won't save you; it's just that he can't secure himself now. All he can say is sorry.

"The target is heading to the lowest level, everyone move closer to the lower levels, prepare to surround him."

"Roger... but what kind of bizarre guy is this? Doesn't he find it funny to dress like this, similar to those ridiculous samurai armor of Huang Ban's group?"

"Haha, maybe he has self-awareness, recognizing he's a flying rat."

The channel was filled with the chatter of subordinates trying to relieve their fear.

The opponent had wiped out teams 4 and 2 in the blink of an eye, and only as a single individual, so his strength was obvious—merely a bluff to bolster courage.

Unaware they had already been deemed disposable by higher-ups.

This movement was immediately noticed by Lucy, who monitored every action inside.

"Lin, a highly confidential directive was just uploaded in the inner-layer database, purpose unknown, and everyone seems to be moving towards the lowest level."

"Lowest level? What are they planning?"

Lin Miao felt something amiss; he hadn't gone running to the lower levels, still searching for possible secret passages around the dormitory area. What was this group up to?

Could the safe zone be on the bottom level?

But what did this have to do with the security forces?

Surely no fool plans to gather security forces for self-preservation?

The reality of a self-destruction system wouldn't resemble the film-like frenzy of flashing alarm lights throughout the base and a big countdown display on a screen, urging the protagonist to flee or disarm the bomb.

The castle remained as quiet as if nothing had happened, not even the ticking of clock hands could be heard.

Beep...

While he was puzzled, a communication request appeared before Lin Miao.

Ordinarily, he would never take this guy's call, but circumstances were peculiar now; Lin Miao had just pinned the blame on the other party. As for whether biotechnology realized this, or whether Blue Eyes could handle it, wasn't his concern.

"Mr. Lin, a suggestion for you: you'd better have your people withdraw from Red Queen Castle within fifteen minutes, or you might have to forsake this body."

Though the other party was hidden in darkness, those blue eyes identified the visitor's identity, confirming Lin Miao's suspicions of the observer's identity.

Only they could infiltrate this castle silently, leaving traces and sabotaging defense systems to allow players inside.

The system flaw Lucy discovered was undoubtedly left by them.

It seemed likely some sect members included Blue Eyes' moles.

"So it's indeed you guys... Why? Do you not wish for me to just die here?"

"Or let me fight an all-out battle against those bigwigs and have both sides suffer?"

"You're joking."

Blue Eyes smiled slightly,

"Not to mention whether you'd survive. Even if you actually died down there, it wouldn't benefit me at all."

"I'm merely taking the chance to talk to you, about Red Queen Castle... and our future matters."

"I have nothing to discuss with you."

"Now is prematurer than you'd imagine to say that, Mr. Lin. Since you've already seen what's happening here, I believe it's in your best interest to talk with us."

"After all... though these people hold little significance to you, they're nevertheless prominent figures in the real world, potentially affecting your game experience."

"Why are you so sure they'd come after me?"

Blue Eyes, conversing through the body of a vagrant, suddenly felt a gun pressed to his forehead.

Gloria nudged the vagrant forward from the shadows, "Don't move, or I'll blast your head."

Lin Miao: "If I leave you with this body and the journalist's corpse here, guess whether they'd come after me or you?"

"You underestimate that journalist's sensitivity; setting up an external tracker isn't challenging."

"Ah..."

Blue Eyes closed his eyes, not expecting to be tripped by the bait.

"But you best come out swiftly, Mr. Lin; they've already triggered the self-destruction system, leaving you 11 minutes and 27 seconds to escape."

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