Chapter 216: Surprise from the Heavens

As night falls on the Magic City, the lights that come alive in various places make the entire city dazzle and shine.

“Team Leader Liu, the former Team Leader Ning has never left Dream Technology. Are we planning to stand guard 24 hours a day?” Deng Quan asked over the communication channel.

“Deng Quan, just focus on your task. You’re guarding the cargo entrance. Make sure to check carefully. We cannot allow Ning Shuangshuang to sneak out with the cargo trucks!”

“Alright, I’ll inspect rigorously. The President of Dream Technology has just gone to complain to Director Mo. If something happens, you’ve got to cover for us.”

“Don’t worry. If I’m having you do this, I’ll take responsibility if any issues arise.”

At that moment, Liu Fan was standing outside the main entrance of Dream Technology, which had now bought up the entire industrial park plot.

There were six entrances and exits to the entirety of Dream Technology, including three for cargo trucks, two for staff personal vehicles, and one for pedestrian access.

Liu Fan and a team member were guarding the main gate, which was the pedestrian access point. It was easier to inspect as a glance could tell if anyone was Ning Shuangshuang.

After all, it was summer, and people couldn’t cover up as much as they would in winter.

“Hmph, typical capitalists, not going off work even this late,” Liu Fan grumbled as she watched the brightly lit factory area of Dream Technology.

Dream Technology was now a super-rich large company, with the nation’s elite sharpening their heads to join.

Especially recently, Dream Technology recruited a large number of researchers, setting off a wave of job-hopping in the professional realm.

It’s said that quite a number of people chose to switch careers from just Ali Cloud’s research institute alone, not to mention foreign-funded enterprises’ research institutes established in Tang Country, which had either laid people off or shut down altogether.

With Dream Technology and Wisdom Technology overturning the IT industry, many domestic research institutes of foreign enterprises found it hard to continue, let alone their branch organizations.

Moreover, in many state-owned research institutions, a lot of people were attracted too.

The remuneration Dream Technology offered was so generous it was outrageous.

Once hired and having passed the probation period to become an official researcher, not only would their annual salary range from several million to tens of millions, but their immediate family members would also be registered and included in the welfare system, enjoying all-rounded pension, medical, and daily life security.

This was jokingly called by netizens as the real-life version of “one person attaining the way and bringing along the dog and chicken to heaven.”

As a result, for every research position at Dream Technology, there were 528 applicants, and these were top talents in technology, not common administrative positions.

The media even exclaimed that Dream Technology’s approach finally reflected the value of knowledge as a scientific researcher finally earned more than a common internet celebrity or a second-tier star.

The most crucial aspect was that Dream Technology not only raised salaries but showed care for the entire family of the employee.

As Liu Sichen, the Vice President of Marketing at Dream Technology, said, “To cultivate a top tech talent, their family contributes even more effort.”

Under such circumstances, researchers who joined the company were immersed in their specified research topics, and if the company did not mandate leaving work, they could live at the company.

Apart from the researchers, the rest of the company’s positions were also better compared to any other company of the same role in the whole of Tang Country, no, the entire world.

These people also habitually maintained a 996 work schedule.

It was after nine o’clock at night and the entrances began to see a trickle of people leaving work.

Liu Fan and another team member started to scrutinize each person, but fortunately, the entrance they were guarding was well-lit, allowing them to clearly see everyone who passed through the gate.

“Wow, Team Leader Liu is so dedicated, standing guard here so late. I’m truly impressed,” came a voice.

Seeing Leng Yanran appear before her, Liu Fan couldn’t help but snort disdainfully and said, “Don’t be smug. You stepped on my foot this afternoon. I could file a complaint against you for assaulting an officer.”

Leng Yanran patted her chest and said, “I’m so scared. Go ahead and complain!”

After that, she huffed and turned to walk back into the building.

“Hey, where’s Ning Shuangshuang?” Liu Fan called out to Leng Yanran.

Leng Yanran waved her hand dismissively without turning back and entered the building.

“Team Leader Liu, this is Xiao Zhou. Former Team Leader Ning just left Dream Technology in a black sedan, license plate Mo A7856S. I’m following now. Please cooperate as soon as possible.”

Liu Fan responded immediately: “Alright, keep a close eye on her. I’ll arrange for backup right away!”

She then spoke into the communication channel, “Attention everyone, the target has left Dream Technology. Xiao Zhou is following her. Everyone, withdraw immediately and head to the Tongshan Road area to prepare to support Xiao Zhou.”

After instructing, Liu Fan signaled to her subordinates to leave.

However, shortly after their departure, several cargo trucks drove out of a cargo entrance and headed towards the docks.

Inside one of the trucks, Ning Shuangshuang and Leng Yanran were concealed.

“Yanran, will this disguise work? The security department now has new feature recognition software. It’s not just facial recognition anymore,” Ning Shuangshuang worriedly remarked.

Just now, in a room, Ning Shuangshuang was startled to see someone who looked almost exactly like herself.

Furthermore, she had seen someone identical to Leng Yanran.

She knew, of course, that Leng Yanran was a highly realistic robot. It was her first time encountering Secretary Leng, and when she learned she had once been Dr. Du Qiu’s secretary and had talked to Du Qiu, she couldn’t help but utter a jealous remark.

Du Qiu had laughed and explained Secretary Leng’s identity to her.

That put her at ease to interact with Leng Yanran without any reservations.

Leng Yanran said, “Don’t worry, the highly realistic robots have been further upgraded and can now simulate all behavioral characteristics of the subject. The software used by your security department won’t be able to recognize us.”

“How are we going to leave the Magic City?” Ning Shuangshuang asked.

“Later, we’ll follow the trucks to the port and leave by boat. Here, put on this mask.”

Seeing the thin and exquisitely crafted mask that Leng Yanran handed her, Ning Shuangshuang said, “Leaving this way doesn’t seem to be the original plan of leaving openly on a commercial flight.”

“The sir has a surprise for you, but you have to be at sea to see it, so the original plan was changed.”

“What about the person posing as my double? How long will she have to pretend?”

“She will continue for a while until those above completely relax their guard, then she’ll suddenly disappear.”

Ning Shuangshuang shook her head and said, “Best to arrange for her disappearance as soon as I reach Du Qiu. That Liu Fan was my arch-enemy before, and she definitely won’t miss this chance to mess with me. She’ll find every excuse to get close to my double. If she sees through it, it won’t be good for your kind of highly realistic robots; people will become more vigilant in the future.”

“You can talk to the sir directly about this matter.”

The truck convoy soon arrived at the port.

After passing through customs, the cargo and accompanying personnel boarded a bulk carrier one after another.

The carrier was registered in a Southeast Asian country and belonged to a shipping company in that nation.

The carrier left the dock at ten o’clock that night and soon sailed out of the Yangtze River Mouth, heading south.

Past midnight, while the ship sailed in the international waters of the East China Sea, Leng Yanran stood at the bow, facing the wind.

She looked up into the inky night sky.

Ning Shuangshuang found it odd and asked, “Yanran, why are you staring at the sky all this time? It’s pitch black tonight, with bad weather, and not a star in sight. Where’s our cabin? Let’s go in and rest. I’m tired.”

Leng Yanran, still looking up, suddenly said, “It’s here!”

“Stop just talking, let’s get back,” Ning Shuangshuang insisted as she reached out to pull Leng Yanran.

Leng Yanran pointed upwards and said, “Look at the sky!”

Upon hearing this, Ning Shuangshuang lifted her head to gaze into the heavens.

Thick clouds shrouded the sky, obscuring the moon and stars, leaving the night utterly dark.

Suddenly, Ning Shuangshuang noticed a bright spot, like a falling star, descending from the night’s expanse from afar, heading straight towards their ship.

The bright spot rapidly enlarged before her eyes, with the tail flame of a flying object becoming visible, but there was none of the loud roaring usually associated with jet planes.

And as the flying object descended vertically, the bright spot faded and vanished.

This flying object was massive, twice the size of the largest airliner on Blue Star!

Its shape resembled a giant W, only that the base of the W was the front, and the peak was the rear of the vehicle.

The bright spot had been at the peak, right in the center.

Such an enormous craft appeared out of nowhere and then approached, looming over the ship like a towering mountain.

It was a suffocating sensation.

Suddenly, a beam of light descended from the vehicle, landing at the bow of the carrier, right where Ning Shuangshuang and Leng Yanran stood.

Ning Shuangshuang instinctively looked down and closed her eyes to avoid the blinding light.

Leng Yanran continued to look up as the massive flying object made its descent.

“Shuangshuang, this has come to pick us up.”

Ning Shuangshuang opened her eyes to find the light was soft and easy on her eyes.

Looking up, she was astonished to see the flying vehicle suspended merely 15 meters above the ship’s bow deck!

By now, the cargo ship had dropped anchor as well.

Under the gentle light, a hatch opened on the underside of the flying vehicle, and two people who looked exactly like Ning Shuangshuang and Leng Yanran in their current disguises descended, clearly intended to replace them.

Following their descent, a lifting basket was also lowered.

Leng Yanran took Ning Shuangshuang’s hand and stepped onto the basket.

Upon standing within the flying vehicle, Ning Shuangshuang still couldn’t quite believe it. Had Du Qiu really developed such a science fiction-like flyer?

Although she had heard from her mother about Du Qiu arriving in South Sudan on a huge flying vehicle capable of hovering, it seemed to create a great wind when hovering.

From Ning Shuangshuang’s common sense, it was likely the strong winds were caused by huge lift fans.

But today’s flying vehicle was almost silent, without a hint of wind. How was it achieving hover?

Leng Yanran led Ning Shuangshuang into the inner cabin.