Chapter 92: Artificial Soul 19
Lin Xinji only needed a glance to know what the extraordinary ability of the person before him was.
At this moment, he had indeed seen Meng Xiuran’s extraordinary ability—Fate Prediction.
The effect allowed him to see the future of another through physical contact, showcasing random glimpses without the ability to probe a specific time period, and there was a certain cooldown. For instance, after seeing a person’s future, Meng Xiuran had to wait ten days before he could look into that person’s future again, and excessive use would strain his body.
“What does it mean to have a predetermined fate?” Lin Xinji fixed his gaze on Meng Xiuran’s eyes. “Isn’t it changeable? Is the future unalterable under your prediction?”
He could discern the general effects and flaws of the other’s extraordinary ability but not the minute details.
Meng Xiuran said, “I’ve attempted to change certain futures I had already seen, but I failed. Just like our conversation right now is a link in fate, I will tell you your death date. You know you will be killed, but you are powerless to change it; any struggle cannot resist the final result.”
“What did you see?”
“Your corpse. The Investigation Bureau personnel are collecting your body. A cloth is draped over your body, with blood seeping through. Your watch-wearing hand hangs outside the stretcher, and the electronic screen displays August 12, 23:59.” Meng Xiuran’s expression remained neutral. “That’s all the details I saw.”
Lin Xinji’s complexion subtly turned pale.
“Who will kill me?” He turned his neck to scan the surroundings, seemingly suspecting a hidden assassin among the guests.
“I can only see fixed scenes. I cannot answer your question,” Meng Xiuran replied calmly. “You are indeed dead. Mr. Lin, instead of struggling futilely, why not accept it with composure? You can leave a message for your family via communicator and distribute your estate, leaving in dignity.”
Fire surged in Lin Xinji’s eyes, but he suppressed his anger with his own cultivation and said as usual, “Thank you for your advice, Meng Xiuran, but I refuse to do so.”
Meng Xiuran said, “You have the right to refuse my advice.”
He stared deeply at Meng Xiuran, took a step back, turned, and pressed down on the invisible communicator behind his ear, saying, “Augus, notify the relevant personnel to stay alert! Prepare the helicopter and police car on the rooftop, and send personnel from the Investigation Bureau here to check all surveillance at the Emerald Eye to confirm if any suspicious individuals have infiltrated.”
“Understood, alert status activated, information has been conveyed. The helicopter needs five more minutes to prepare,” Augus replied.
“Captain Yu!” Lin Xinji said calmly, “Come and meet me, protect me.”
An alarm suddenly rang out inside the Emerald Eye, and security personnel, security officers, and bodyguards from both families moved in unison to secure the guests in the banquet hall.
“Is there a hidden assassin in this building?” Meng Xiuran’s uncle, Meng Qi, said gravely.
“Maybe there is. We can’t stay here long. We can’t determine if the assassin’s target is everyone or just Lin Xinji, but since they can kill Lin Xinji, they likely wouldn’t mind taking us all down too. We don’t know how many adversaries there are,” Meng Xiuran said, grabbing Meng Qi’s hand and activating his extraordinary ability, “Fate Prediction.”
A few seconds later, Meng Xiuran’s expression relaxed. “We will be fine.”
Meng Xiuran then moved to another younger member of the Meng family, unceremoniously grabbing his wrist, startling the younger man. “Xiuran Brother, what are you doing?”
Meng Xiuran closed his eyes and opened them again, then moved on to the next person. He used his extraordinary ability on different members of the Meng family and finally saw the scene he wished to glimpse.
He took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands and then said, “Uncle, I saw us leaving by helicopter.”
After saying this, he coughed once and wiped away the nosebleed that had resulted from overusing his ability.
Meng Qi didn’t care about his nephew’s condition and quickly contacted the helicopter.
There were many members of the Meng family present, at least three helicopters were needed to evacuate everyone, and the rooftop at the Emerald Eye could accommodate only one helicopter at most; after all, it wasn’t a military building, and the helipad was limited in scope.
The Shu family also had many people here. If Lin Xinji wanted to escape, he couldn’t leave the Shu family behind.
“Let Lin Xinji go to the back of the line; my Meng family must leave first,” Meng Qi said expressionlessly. “The Investigation Bureau’s helicopter is set to land in three minutes? It’s not allowed to land. The Emerald Eye is an investment of my Meng family; I decide whose helicopter can land here. And as for the Shu family? They can either wait in line or go downstairs and drive away.”
After hanging up the communicator, the Meng family began to withdraw in an orderly manner, escorted by numerous security personnel.
Meng Xiuran nonchalantly followed the flow toward the fire escape, preparing to head to the rooftop. He even had the leisure to chat with his uncle.
Meng Xiuran said, “Uncle, Auntie chose a short-lived partner.”
“Your aunt didn’t know he would be a short-lived partner,” Meng Qi said with a hint of melancholy. “You can’t possibly have to shake hands with every potential partner of the family to confirm whether they’re short-lived, can you?”
“Better not. Shaking hands with someone about to die is too ominous,” Meng Xiuran replied. “Fate is fate; a predetermined fate cannot be changed. Lin Xinji’s struggles are destined to be futile.”
“Will our letting Lin Xinji wait for the Meng family helicopter be the trigger for his eventual death?” Meng Qi asked slowly.
Meng Xiuran replied indifferently, “If so, that’s just another link in fate.”
The communications channel of the security personnel continued to relay reports from their teammates.
“The electrical room on the floor just exploded!”
“Report, the security officer on the 121st floor has encountered an unknown assailant and requires support!”
“Personnel dispatched to the 121st floor.”
And it wasn’t over; suddenly, indistinguishable static and a distorted voice flooded the communications channel.
Augus sent a warning: “Under attack… crackle… signal… communication temporarily… crackle… restoring…”
…
Kui Xin heard intense explosions and felt significant tremors beneath her feet. The explosions did not occur just once but had a series of two or three.
The elevator bank on the 121st floor of the Emerald Eye was operating six elevators simultaneously, making a ruckus on this level to lure security personnel to investigate.
Most of the security personnel were concentrated on the top floor, yet Kui Xin stirred up a major commotion on the 121st floor. Given the height difference from the 11th floor, taking the elevator was the optimal choice for the security personnel; otherwise, using the stairs would waste a lot of time. Kui Xin reasoned that the security personnel would not directly stop the elevator on the 121st floor but would likely halt it below or above that floor, then walk up the stairs to check each floor for the adversaries.
Having spent enough time in the Investigation Bureau, she had nearly figured out their operational patterns.
Thus, she installed miniature bombs on the elevator cables and waited for Augus to alert her that the security personnel had entered the elevator before directly pressing the detonation button.
With a booming explosion, the elevator filled with security personnel plummeted rapidly and, under the safety mechanisms, fell several dozen floors before coming to a halt, leaving a razed scene within the elevator shaft, as many people were trapped inside.
Kui Xin had beautifully dispatched this wave of enemies.
She pressed down on the side of her helmet, and a floor map appeared before her, showing all security personnel’s movements.
Earlier, she had run to the electrical room under Augus’s guidance, finding and installing the bomb in the building’s power circuit, directly cutting off the power system of the Emerald Eye, plunging the building into darkness, causing the surveillance cameras to malfunction.
The elevators had a dedicated emergency circuit; merely cutting the power was insufficient, hence the need for explosives.
Kui Xin’s visor had already activated night vision mode.
She blew up all the elevators leading to the top floor; without alternative access via the stairs, there was no way to reach the upper floors.
Augus said, “The Meng family is being obstinate; they refuse to give up the helipad, while the Shu family has chosen to walk to the 121st-floor terrace under the escort of security personnel and bodyguards to leave in flying police vehicles.”
“If they rush down this many floors at once, I hope those pampered rich young masters don’t get leg cramps,” Kui Xin remarked with dark humor. “And what about Lin Xinji?”
“After receiving Meng Xiuran’s warning, he went up to the rooftop helipad early; he wants to leave, but the Meng family refuses to give way,” Augus said. “With a helicopter, the time wasted is considerable; the Meng family will need at least fifteen minutes to evacuate, while Lin Xinji is contemplating whether to take the helicopter or go down eleven floors to use the police vehicle. He has several escorts, one B-class Awakened, two C-class Awakened, ten security officers, while the remaining bodyguards, Awakened ones, and security officers are escorting members of the Meng and Shu families.”
“Is there any way to forcibly cut off the fire escape?” Kui Xin asked. “Can we blow up the stairs? Is the stair structure sturdy?”
“Yes, as long as there’s enough explosives. Thankfully, you have brought sufficient powerful bombs,” Augus replied.
“Then let’s blow it up, starting from the 121st floor, leaving him no escape chance,” Kui Xin said decisively.
With the elevators blown up and the stairs destroyed, two of the three escape routes were blocked, forcing Lin Xinji to flee to the rooftop.
She steadily closed in on her encircled target, with Lin Xinji being the prey within her grasp; she tightened the net, leaving him nowhere to escape.
After setting up the explosive devices, Kui Xin pressed the detonation button, destroying the stairs, then returned to the elevator waiting area. Augus controlled the elevator system to open the elevator door for her, revealing only a few hanging cables behind the door. She shot a grappling line upwards and continued her ascent to the top floor.
“Someone on the 132nd floor, ten individuals,” Kui Xin noted while hanging on the cable, her visor showing various movements on the 132nd floor.
“Two C-class Awakened, eight bodyguards, Captain Yu and the remaining security personnel are on the rooftop,” Augus replied. “They can only use the stairs to move from the 132nd floor to the rooftop; they are responsible for covering the retreat. If they cut off your access, you can’t go up.”
Augus pretended to be under attack from unidentified hackers, unable to provide timely assistance, but the internal communications of the security personnel had not been completely severed.
Kui Xin glanced at the time, 23:15.
There was still time.
She tugged on the elevator cable, descending slightly from the 131st floor and walking up the stairs, planning to deal with the last obstacles one by one.
At the stairwell of this level stood two bodyguards, who were descending with their guns drawn, moving cautiously, as though patrolling for suspicious individuals.
Using the map’s marked red dots, she slipped into their blind spots and then, lowering her footsteps, pounced on them like a cat, covering the mouth of one of the bodyguards while viciously twisting his jaw with the other hand.
With a faint crack, his neck twisted unnaturally, rendering him motionless.
The other bodyguard noticed the disturbance, turning back with his gun raised, but Kui Xin was quicker. She stepped over the fallen body, smoothly drew a short blade from her hand, and with a swift stroke, pierced his throat, causing blood to pour into his trachea, choking him silent, as he collapsed to the ground, drained of strength.
The entire process was silent, not alerting anyone listening on the communications channel.
