"Who exactly are you people?" the principal asked.
The principal of Qingmu University, Wang Qin, was a capable and pragmatic figure. Over the past decade, he had dedicated himself to the university, launching countless world-renowned research projects and cultivating outstanding students across the country. His influence extended not only throughout Jiuzhou, but also globally.
"Last night, the entire city experienced a blackout, and all the electricity was funneled toward your university. We need an explanation," said one of the men in black.
But at this moment, facing the three men in black, Wang Qin felt genuinely frightened. He could barely speak coherently—there was a gun pressed against his back.
"I don't know anything! I really don't! If I did, I'd definitely tell you."
"Are you sure you don't know?" the man asked.
"Positive."
"Alright. We'll leave for now. But if we find out you're lying, you know the consequences. Even the Xuanwu Division won't be able to protect you."
With that, the three men in black left.
Watching this scene, Chen Mo was filled with dread.
So the blackout last night was caused by charging Red Queen? And it drained power from the entire city? That was too insane. And who exactly were these men in black? They even dared to hold a gun to the head of a university president?
Guns were banned in Jiuzhou.
Chen Mo had originally wanted to test whether his powers could be recharged with electricity, but now he figured he'd better not.
Those men in black were too extraordinary in their demeanor and appearance. They were clearly not ordinary people.
And they were already investigating him.
He had to move Red Queen and hide her immediately.
A sudden thought struck Chen Mo. He asked, "Red Queen, can you use facial recognition to identify those three men in black?"
Red Queen's projection dimmed momentarily, then lit up again. "I activated Tianhe-2 and performed a global facial recognition scan. What's surprising is…"
She paused.
"Stop stalling—just tell me."
"There is no trace of these three men in black anywhere on the internet. Not a single piece of data. At first, I thought they might be government agents, but I hacked into every official registration database, even top-secret SSS-level human archives—and still found nothing. It's as if these three don't exist in the real world."
"That's impossible! As long as someone's alive, they leave traces of their existence," Chen Mo said, shaking his head.
"But they really left none."
"…"
Chen Mo fell silent. As unbelievable as it sounded, the facts were right in front of him. Maybe these people were so powerful that they could erase all traces from the net. That was the only way this made sense.
This was bad.
He had already attracted the attention of some incredibly mysterious individuals. What if they found Red Queen?
At first, Chen Mo had suspected these men were official investigators. But then Red Queen played another video, showing a different group of people—actual investigators from the Xuanwu Division.
That ruled out his earlier assumption.
The bad news: two separate groups were investigating the city-wide blackout—both likely after Red Queen. One group was from the Xuanwu Division, the other's identity was completely unknown. There was no digital trace of them, not even a single byte.
The good news: neither group had figured out that Red Queen caused the blackout. They weren't taking the incident too seriously yet. That meant he still had a chance to move Red Queen.
"Red Queen, use my ID to rent an apartment near the university. I need to transfer your mainframe as soon as possible."
"No."
"Then rent one farther away."
"Understood, master." Red Queen replied, and her projection simulated the image of a young girl walking away. A glowing portal appeared in the air, and she stepped through it—apparently off to find Chen Mo a new place to live.
Chen Mo looked at Red Queen's mainframe, which resembled a table, and groaned. It was way too big! There was no way to move it discreetly.
Forget it.
There was no better option.
He removed the clothes covering the mainframe and wrapped it tightly in layers of newspaper—classic self-deception camouflage.
Then he hoisted the mainframe onto his back and headed outside.
Luckily, the mainframe only weighed a few dozen kilos. He could still manage it.
After carrying it outside, he hailed a taxi and, after a few anxious moments, successfully arrived at Xingfu Community—his newly rented apartment.
Only then did Chen Mo breathe a sigh of relief.
He had originally planned to build a high-tech company and soar to success, but the appearance of those two investigative groups had forced him to be more cautious and discreet. He couldn't afford to expose any of his abilities.
This seemingly peaceful world clearly hid many secrets. Until he was powerful enough, the best strategy was to remain hidden—undetected by anyone.
Sitting in his rented apartment, Chen Mo lit a cigarette. The events of the past two days felt like a dream. First, he discovered his ability to reach into movies and pull out objects. Then he obtained the super AI Red Queen. And now, he was being investigated by two mysterious factions.
It all felt unreal.
And a bit overwhelming.
Whatever.
What's the point of overthinking?
Worrying wouldn't help anyway.
If he hadn't charged Red Queen again, causing another blackout, none of this would've happened. They wouldn't have been able to trace anything back to him.
Right now, the most important thing was to follow his plan and steadily turn his powers into real strength.
With that in mind, Chen Mo laid out three plans:
Plan One: Establish a high-tech company to earn money quickly. Once he had enough, he'd build a power plant of his own—allowing him to charge Red Queen whenever he wanted.
Plan Two: Research his ability to reach into movies—figure out how it worked, how it could be recharged, and how to increase the number of times he could use it. Step one: test whether electrical energy worked.
Plan Three: Keep a low profile and continue his studies at Qingmu University. Of course, the high-tech company could be made public. A college student starting a business wasn't unheard of—it could actually serve as a great cover. Becoming a public figure would allow him to use one secret to shield another, keeping his deeper abilities hidden. It was the safest approach.
"Red Queen, can you help me register an offshore company online?" Chen Mo asked.
"Of course. Have you forgotten? I'm omnipotent on the internet," Red Queen replied, her voice echoing from the mainframe before shifting to the speakers nearby.
…
Why does she sound so smug?
"Master, what kind of offshore company do you want to register? What's the name and business scope?"
"Oh! Right."
"Make sure to include biotech and biomedical research in the business scope. My head is full of that data. We'll be able to restart the T-virus research soon."
Red Queen sounded elated, as if she had just thought of something exciting. Her joyous voice echoed through the entire apartment—even the fridge and TV vibrated with sound.
"The company will be called Black Domain Technologies. As for the business sectors…"