Chapter 140: Midnight Shadows

[Your current spiritual energy level is fifty-seven][Qi Refining Stage]

[Your current attributes are]

[Strength: Eighty-seven][Unlocked: Strength does not decay and grants immunity to diseases]

[Energy: Seventy-four][Unlocked: Robust offspring and the ability for seven encounters in one night]

[Stamina: Seventy-six][Unlocked: Lifespan exceeds limits, body strength increases, and cultivation doubles]

[All Things Affinity: Level One][Basic affinity: You can master all things quickly and far surpass ordinary people]

After checking the panel, Lin Zheng Ran pulled out his phone and located the address for Pan Cheng Electronics.

He’d planned to take a cab, but since he was alone tonight, he figured there was no need to waste the money.

Lin Zheng Ran slipped into a narrow alley and ran his hand along the wall.

Then, with ease, he alternated kicking off the walls on both sides and swiftly climbed to the rooftop.

Standing on the roof, he gazed out over the city, using the building tops as stepping stones based on the address for Pan Cheng Electronics on his phone.

He moved quickly toward the distance.

Back in middle school, Lin Zheng Ran had arm-wrestled his dad to test a normal adult’s strength.

That way, he could gauge how much stronger he was compared to average people.

Once he had strength figured out, speed was easy to calculate too.

Lin Zheng Ran started with the smallest amount of force, gradually increasing from less than ten percent, and based it on his strength stats at the time.

Around twelve points, his dad couldn’t hold out anymore.

Since his dad was a civil servant and not the strongest type, Lin Zheng Ran assumed the peak human strength was around fifteen to sixteen.

With his current strength at eighty-seven, it seemed like four or five times the norm.

But as numbers climbed, the gains got bigger, and stamina multiplied with strength, so Lin Zheng Ran couldn’t quite pin down how powerful he really was now.

Still, hopping from rooftop to rooftop wasn’t a problem at all.

His figure flashed through the night at lightning speed.

A little girl holding her mom’s hand glanced toward the distant rooftops by chance, but Lin Zheng Ran was too fast, and it was dark out.

She only caught a shadow darting across the sky.

She pointed excitedly: “Mom, look, there’s a big black bird flying over the rooftops!”

Her mom peered over curiously but saw nothing: “A big black bird? In the city district? Probably just some sparrows.”

“Sparrows? What’s that, Mom?”

“Those little birds you see in the trees.”

The little girl hummed thoughtfully and kept staring at the now-still rooftops: “But that one looked pretty big.”

Her mom chuckled: “Maybe it was a plane flying by, especially this late at night.”

“Could be.” The mother and daughter shrugged it off.

Far off, Lin Zheng Ran zipped through the city and reached Pan Cheng Electronics’ headquarters in about ten minutes.

He stood in the shadows on the rooftop, eyeing the seven-story building.

Only a few offices still had lights on; most people had clocked out.

The city district wasn’t like a big metropolis where everyone worked late.

Lin Zheng Ran spotted the guards at the entrance and the cameras on the walls—everything was straightforward except for those cameras, which were a hassle.

But he remembered his All Things Affinity.

He could hack the cameras with a simple program; as long as no one noticed for half an hour, it’d be fine.

So, Lin Zheng Ran scaled down the building side, grabbing holds effortlessly, and dropped from the roof to the ground.

He headed to a nearby electronics store that was still open.

Lin Zheng Ran bought a USB drive and handed over some cash, mentioning he wanted to make a program. The owner asked what for.

Lin Zheng Ran brushed it off: “Just a game software.”

The owner, curious about how he’d do it, agreed.

Lin Zheng Ran fired up a decent computer in the store and opened the programming interface. His All Things Affinity kicked in fast.

At level one, it gave him the skills of someone who’d studied programming for forty to fifty years as an ordinary person.

Whipping up a quick script to hack the surveillance was a breeze.

The owner watched Lin Zheng Ran typing code furiously and was stunned: “Whoa, bro, you’re a hacker! Don’t mess up my computer.”

Lin Zheng Ran laughed it off: “Nah, just messing with a game program.”

Once the program was done, he loaded it onto the USB drive and said goodbye to the owner.

He strolled right up to the security gate at Pan Cheng Electronics.

The guards were getting chewed out by a female supervisor who was rattling on about something.

The gist was:

“Remember your duties—you’re the company’s security. It might not seem like a high-skill job, but you’re the first line of defense at our gates.

Stay vigilant! Don’t let suspicious people wander in, and log any visitors. Got it?”

The guards nodded.

In unison:

“Yes, ma’am.”

The female supervisor was around thirty, decent-looking but not stunning.

Spotting Lin Zheng Ran, she walked over curiously: “A student? What are you up to?”

Lin Zheng Ran usually avoided using his special abilities to upend his normal life—it was too unpredictable. Otherwise, he could make a fortune through shady means and never work again.

Of course, shady stuff wouldn’t help him level up; he needed to read more and train those three young girls to boost his levels.

Lin Zheng Ran was eager to reach max level and see what happened.

“Sis, my dad had to step out for something, and I need to wait here for him. It’s cold outside—can I sit in the security room for a bit?”

Normally, she’d say no.

Even though Lin Zheng Ran was a good-looking guy who appealed to women, this was still company property.

But his charm stat worked its magic; for anything not too outrageous, people rarely refused.

The female supervisor saw Lin Zheng Ran looking pitiful in the evening chill, and with his handsome face, she couldn’t say no: “Alright, go ahead and sit in the security room for a while.”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled: “Thanks, sis. You won’t get in trouble for this, will you?”

“Oh, I’m in charge here—I’m the one dishing out the lectures, not getting them.” She blushed, thinking how cute this young guy was: “It’s cold out; hurry in and sit down, little brother.”

“Thanks a lot, sis.”

“No problem.”

She watched him enter the security booth, then went back to her meeting with the guards.

In the security room, Lin Zheng Ran plugged the USB into the surveillance system.

The hack program ran smoothly.

It was simple—if they checked tomorrow, it’d show the backups were lost, and the next half-hour of footage would loop the previous half-hour.

Without surveillance, everything was easier.

Lin Zheng Ran stepped out: “Sis, I have to go now. Thanks again.”

The supervisor paused: “Already? You barely sat down. Want to stay longer?”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled: “No need, sis. Dad just messaged me—he’s on his way. Thanks for everything.”

The supervisor grinned: “Okay, take it easy on your way, little brother.”

“Will do.”

Lin Zheng Ran left the booth and vaulted over the empty wall with ease.

He scanned around, saw no one, and walked straight into the company building through the main door.

He took the stairs up—the general manager’s office was always on the top floor, a standard setup, so it was easy to find.

If anyone working late passed in the hallway, Lin Zheng Ran ducked out of sight.

Otherwise, he kept going up.

On the seventh floor, outside the deputy general manager’s and general manager’s offices, it was clear that overworkers were the ones stuck here.

The big bosses had long gone home.

The offices were empty.

Recalling what Jiang Jingshi had said, Pan Cheng Electronics got into shady stuff because their deputy general manager was pulling the strings.

So, Lin Zheng Ran decided to start with the deputy’s office.

It had a standard key lock. Slipping on gloves, Lin Zheng Ran pulled a wire from his pocket, and his All Things Affinity helped again.

It was like having forty years of lock-picking experience; a quick probe, and the door opened.

With no cameras watching, he could do whatever on this floor without anyone noticing.

Because no one else was around.

Inside, Lin Zheng Ran drew the curtains and turned on the computer.

It asked for a password, but his All Things Affinity made quick work of it—a forty-year programmer veteran wasn’t fazed by simple codes.

A little tinkering, and the computer booted up.

Lin Zheng Ran searched for video source files and checked the recently saved ones.

After digging around, he found the intimate video of Wang Jie and that guy, and traced its source—it came from a USB drive.

“A USB? It must be in this office somewhere.”

Lin Zheng Ran deleted the video from the computer and eyed the locked cabinet, using the wire to open it again.

Though there were several USB drives inside, none matched.

After a thorough search, he spotted a safe tucked in the file cabinet.

The safe looked high-end, and even with years of experience, it wasn’t something he could pick.

Lin Zheng Ran tried and failed to open it.

So, he went with the simplest approach.

Brute force.

He took a deep breath, then gripped the safe door like he was splitting an apple, putting all his strength into it.

Whatever material the fancy safe was made of, under Lin Zheng Ran’s pull, it groaned and twisted until it broke open.

He might have overdone it—the safe split in half, and everything inside spilled out.

Lin Zheng Ran sifted through the mess and found two USB drives.

He checked them and confirmed one had the video source files.

“There it is!”

The other USB had some encrypted files—Lin Zheng Ran wasn’t sure what they were, but since he was taking stuff anyway, he pocketed it too.

He’d decrypt them at home later; maybe there’d be a surprise bonus.

Lin Zheng Ran let out a relieved laugh: “Didn’t expect to find all this in the first office. Now Pan Cheng Electronics has no lewd videos left—half the problem’s solved, but”

He glanced at the mangled safe on the floor; there was no fixing that, so he’d have to ditch it.

Lin Zheng Ran crumpled the safe into a metal ball and set it aside to toss in the trash later.

He looked for recent employee files but realized he’d forgotten to ask Wang Jie about the two people Pan Cheng Electronics poached.

After all, those two were why the studio got accused of plagiarism.

He pulled out his phone to ask.

Wang Jie replied quickly with their names and added: “Lin Zheng Ran, have you and Boss Jiang figured out what to do about today?”

Lin Zheng Ran kept it simple: “Don’t worry, Wang Jie. We’ll sort it out.”

“But… Pan Cheng Electronics only gave us a few days to think.”

Lin Zheng Ran: “It’s fine. I have other things to handle now, Wang Jie.”

He put his phone away without more replies.

With their names, it was straightforward. Lin Zheng Ran found their employee files and noted their home addresses.

Turns out, they lived together—that made things even easier.

Since those two accused the studio of plagiarism, Pan Cheng Electronics must have signed contracts with them; otherwise, they’d be at risk if the pair turned coat.

Lin Zheng Ran checked the contracts from the safe.

Sure enough, he found them.

It was almost too smooth—clearly, the deputy general manager never imagined someone would break in at night and rip open his safe to take the contracts and USB drives.

“Guess he wasn’t as cautious as he should be.”

With everything gathered, Lin Zheng Ran stuffed the USB drives and contracts into his pockets, locked up, headed downstairs, hopped the fence, and tossed the safe ball into the trash bin at the entrance.

It landed with a loud thud—turns out the safe was heavier than it looked.

Lin Zheng Ran checked his phone map: “Now, just track down those two poached employees, and this is all wrapped up. That was easy—didn’t even take ten minutes.”