Chapter 111: Chapter 107: Encounter_2
However, the device CC is holding… looks extremely high-end and very tech-savvy.
It’s about the same size as a typical ear-hook style Bluetooth headset, semi-circular, just right to hook onto the ear.
Lin Xian wasn’t sure how this thing could project an “eyefront screen”, but since CC had said so, it must be true.
It seemed that in the second dreamscape, the technology of New Donghai City was still very advanced.
Although it didn’t meet Lin Xian’s expectations, compared to the year 2023, there were some high-tech products that were beyond comprehension.
“How did you get this thing?”
“I stole it from another Waste Treatment Plant, and I’ve had it for a long time.” CC answered indifferently:
“To us, this thing seems advanced, but to the people of New Donghai City, it is outdated. They just use it as a general work communication device, for sending and receiving notifications, that’s all.”
“Doesn’t this thing recognize identity? Can you use it just by stealing it?” Lin Xian inquired.
“There’s a password, but I cracked it.” CC answered with ease.
The attributes of CC as a Code Expert were still there; it just wasn’t clear if the skill to crack codes was learned in the second dreamscape or directly inherited from those memory fragments.
Lin Xian looked at the gadget in CC’s hand:
“This device is for communication among Waste Treatment Plant workers. Through it, you can check the position, route, and even the specific task for each garbage truck, right?”
“So, you knew in advance that tonight, a bunch of hafnium alloy safes would be transported to this Garbage Factory, and that’s why you figured out a way to sneak in here.”
“You’re making it sound more dramatic than it is.”
CC twirled the “Bluetooth headset” between two fingers:
“After cracking the password, many functions were actually unusable. But indeed, I can see the task route of each garbage truck, their departure and arrival times, and some other information related to waste treatment.”
“In the memory fragments, the long-haired, bearded man told me that he had left my safe in the [Tem Bank] for safekeeping. He was supposed to tell me the combination, but for some reason, he didn’t say it… I don’t know if it’s because my memories are incomplete.”
“There’s no such bank in old Donghai City, so it must be in New Donghai City, but I can’t get in there. I’ve been waiting around here for an opportunity for a long time, thinking of many ways, rummaging through newspapers and materials in the Waste Treatment Plant every day, to see if I could find some useful information.”
“Later, I saw a bankruptcy announcement from [Tem Bank] and a notice for safe deposit box claims in a newspaper. It mentioned a deadline; if unclaimed by August 28, the safes would be processed as waste.”
“This might be my only chance, so I figured out a way to steal a supervisor’s ear-hook device from the garbage factory, this one. After cracking its password, I can see all the work information of New Donghai City’s Waste Treatment Plants, as well as the garbage trucks’ collection routes and time schedules.”
“The Garbage Factory responsible for waste transportation in the area where Tem Bank is located. And the garbage truck responsible for collecting Tem Bank’s waste arrives at the plant at either 00:25 or 00:57. There are only these two shifts that pass by Tem Bank.”
“So, if Lin Xian’s safe is not in the batch of garbage trucks at 00:25, it will definitely be in the garbage trucks arriving at 00:57.”
CC was completely unaware of the gravity of the situation, staring at the steel gate not far away:
“We just need to keep hiding here and wait for the batch of garbage trucks at 00:57, Lin Xian’s safe will definitely be on those trucks.”
Looking at CC, who was confident and relaxed.
Lin Xian said nothing.
The next batch of garbage trucks would not arrive at the Garbage Factory until 00:57… which was no different from 20,000 years later.
Because they would never come either way.
This dreamscape, this future world, would be destroyed by a white light in a few minutes at 00:42, then loop back to this same day infinitely, starting everything over.
There’s no tomorrow here…
The 00:57 that CC was eagerly anticipating would never arrive.
Lin Xian hesitated to speak:
“Forget it, let’s talk about something else.”
“Since you’ve been around here for a long time, could you give me some clues on how to infiltrate New Donghai City? Any clue will do, as long as it can help me get into New Donghai City… even if it’s dangerous, just tell me.”
“You want to enter New Donghai City?”
“Exactly.” Lin Xian nodded:
“I want to find two books in New Donghai City, and some data. I doubt that stuff can be rummaged from the Garbage Factory; it has to be found in New Donghai City, so I have to make a trip there.”
CC blinked, looking incredulously at Lin Xian:
“Just for two books, you’re willing to infiltrate New Donghai City… Do you have a death wish?”
“Look who’s talking; the way you’re acting seems almost the same to me. Besides, what’s the difference between New Donghai City and this place? Why are you all so scared to go in?”
Lin Xian shifted his position, leaning back on a pile of safes:
“Is the security in New Donghai City really that tight? Or is it full of identity recognition devices that can immediately identify and eliminate outsiders?”
CC shook her head, sitting on a Hafnium Alloy Safe, looking up at Lin Xian:
“No one has ever successfully infiltrated such a new type of city. Or perhaps some have… but they never came back out, died inside; nobody knows about these things, at least I don’t, I’ve never heard of it.”
“It might be as you said, the security could be tight. Or unexpectedly, New Donghai City could be all show and no substance. But then… who would dare to bet?”
CC chuckled softly, turning her gaze towards the towering steel walls, like a sheer abyss:
“Everyone has only one life; no one dares to bet.”
“I think you’re quite daring to bet,” Lin Xian commented.
“That’s because I have reasons more important than life itself, so I must take the gamble.”
CC turned back, looking at Lin Xian:
“But for you, just to find two books, it hardly seems worth it.”
“That remains to be seen.”
Lin Xian smiled, looking up at the immense, boundaryless steel wall:
“My life isn’t worth much; I can afford to bet.”
“Less than two books?”
“Less than a piece of paper.”
CC laughed out loud, her eyes curling into crescent moons behind her mask:
“You really have a sense of humor.”
“But… honestly, it’s a bit of a pity. If you had met me earlier today, you wouldn’t have had to think about sneaking into New Donghai City for those two books.”
Lin Xian stepped away from the safe he was leaning on, standing up straight:
“[What would it have been like if I’d met you earlier?]”
CC took out the small “Bluetooth headset,” weighed it in her hand, and said with a smile:
“If you’d met me earlier, I could have told you… that a large number of water-damaged books were going to be transported to Waste Treatment Plant No. 314 tonight. Couldn’t you just find the books you’re looking for there?”
“Unfortunately… it’s definitely too late now.”
“They’ve already been burned to ash.”