At the Evening Glow Restaurant, Chen Gu, dressed in his school uniform, entered under the guidance of a waiter. Ossosa, seated lazily at a table, waved at him.
Only after Chen Gu took a seat did Ossosa make the introductions. "This is my wife, Qiao Ayin, and this is my daughter, Isabella."
Chen Gu shook Qiao Ayin’s hand politely. When it came to Isabella, his eyes lit up, and he spread his arms enthusiastically. "Come give your uncle a hug!"
"Bugger off!" Ossosa scowled. Isabella, however, warmly embraced Chen Gu. This only fueled Ossosa’s irritation, and he tapped the table repeatedly, emphasizing, "She’s your niece! She’s your niece! You old lecher, watch yourself!"
Isabella was already eighteen, a freshman at a university in Wuzhaoyin City.
The girl had blonde hair, and her eyes, as blue as lake water, resembled two clear gemstones. She had inherited her parents’ excellent genes, possessing snow-white skin, striking features, and a tall, slender frame—the epitome of the independent, professional, and beautiful women so admired in this era.
"Listen to yourself," Chen Gu glared at Ossosa. "I was just expressing an uncle’s affection. You creepy, old fuddy-duddy."
Isabella snickered. Qiao Ayin, with the refined grace of an educated woman, said, "Chen Gu, Ossosa often speaks of you. He only ever says good things about you to me. Yet, you two start bickering the moment you meet. We women truly can’t understand the friendships you men have."
The two ridiculous best friends rolled their eyes at each other.
"He said good things about me?"
"When did I ever speak well of him?"
The mother and daughter couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Ossosa brought his family to meet Chen Gu—it was a meeting forty years overdue, at least in Ossosa’s mind.
Chen Gu, an actor by trade, had no trouble playing the role of an uncle who could liven up the atmosphere and entertain his old friend’s wife and daughter. Thus, the meal was quite enjoyable. Towards the end, Chen Gu gave Ossosa a subtle hint. Ossosa then had his wife and daughter go to the car first, while he joined Chen Gu outside the restaurant for a cigarette.
"Yes. Do you know about... Professionals?"
As soon as Chen Gu asked, Ossosa’s expression changed. He glanced around warily, pulled Chen Gu into a corner, and asked in a low voice, "Why are you asking about this?"
My apologies, Chen Gu thought, feeling compelled to lie. "I... I might have encountered a Professional."
He concocted a story about going for a run at night and accidentally witnessing a battle where one side possessed power that defied all logic.
"Later, I searched online and found out about Professionals. But most people online believe that so-called Professionals are entirely fictional; such beings can’t possibly exist in the real world."
Ossosa thought for a moment and said, "That’s classified!"
Seeing the curiosity in Chen Gu’s eyes, he added helplessly, "Knowing about it won’t do you any good. You might even attract trouble."
Chen Gu’s heart skipped a beat. "You really know?"
Ossosa glared. "Who do you think I am? I’m the foremost energy expert on Empire River Star! My research projects have involved some Professionals..."
Suddenly, he clapped a hand over his mouth, glaring at Chen Gu as he muttered, "Almost let that slip."
"Don’t dwell on it. Their world is very dangerous. You finally got out. Isn’t living a quiet, normal life good enough?"
Chen Gu took a deep breath. "I really want to know!"
Ossosa frowned. "You..." He suddenly grew irritated. "Damn it, just tell me the truth! What the hell is going on?"
On the way over, Chen Gu had prepared various excuses, including the "night run" story. Now that Ossosa wasn’t so easily fooled, he offered another explanation. "If you’d seen that kind of power with your own eyes, how could you resist fantasizing about it?"
"The prison I was in, Wuzhaoyin City’s Second Prison, held Wei Jiangqi, a Prophet of the True Knowledge Sin..."
Chen Gu was halfway through his sentence when, just as he’d expected, an expression of sudden understanding dawned on Ossosa’s face.
"But you were under Soul Imprisonment at the time. How could you have seen Wei Jiangqi use his abilities?" Ossosa asked, then slapped his own forehead. "I asked a stupid question. Wei Jiangqi is a Brain Domain Hacker; as long as you’re conscious, he can use his abilities."
So the Prophet, a major thorn in the Confederation’s side, is a Professional, Chen Gu mused. Ossosa, completely unguarded around his old friend, had readily spilled the beans.
Chen Gu felt a pang of guilt towards his old friend, but it couldn’t be helped. He could only compensate him in other ways in the future—for instance, by helping to look after his daughter.
Ossosa asked with concern, "What did he do to you?"
Chen Gu replied nonchalantly, "He visited my dream once. He didn’t do anything, but I always feel uneasy, so I wanted to learn more about Professionals."
Ossosa was taken aback. "He’s opened a backdoor into your brain..."
"What?" Chen Gu was completely bewildered.
Ossosa explained, "Brain Domain Hackers should actually be quite easy for you to understand; you’re a hacker yourself. They treat human brains as ’meat-puters’—flesh machines. Most of what you can do with a computer, they can do with a human brain."
"However, the Confederation is well-aware of Wei Jiangqi’s abilities and has implemented corresponding safeguards. The fact that he could still walk into your dreams and leave a backdoor means his Energy Level must have increased."
"But you don’t have to worry. Wei Jiangqi’s targets are always high-profile individuals. You were probably just a target of opportunity for him—it’s likely everyone in the Second Prison had a backdoor installed by him."
The more Chen Gu listened, the more unsettling it sounded. "What kind of outrageous things are you saying!"
Ossosa also realized how that sounded. Just as a sleazy smile began to form on his lips, he suddenly saw someone, and his expression changed instantly.
Sensing someone approach from behind and noticing Ossosa’s uneasy expression, Chen Gu turned around curiously. He saw a tall, thin old man with long, disheveled hair and a scruffy beard. The man exuded a weathered, decadent air and was clad in a studded leather jacket, skinny jeans, and cowboy boots. He was walking towards them, visibly excited.
Chen Gu was stunned, not expecting to meet him here.
The old man, upon seeing Ossosa’s expression, seemed a bit embarrassed, but Chen Gu had already opened his arms. "What are you standing there for? Now that you’re a big star, are you afraid the paparazzi will snap a picture of you hugging me?"
The old man laughed and cursed, "Bullshit!"
He strode forward and hugged Chen Gu, murmuring, "It’s been more than forty years, over forty years..."
Ossosa said coldly, "Gorilla, let go quickly. Let’s find a more private place. Chen Gu’s right; you don’t want to be photographed. It wouldn’t be good for you."
The last time they were supposed to have dinner, Gorilla had bailed, offering excuses. Although Ossosa had tried to smooth things over with Chen Gu back then, now, seeing Gorilla in person, Ossosa didn’t mince his words.
Anyone could tell Gorilla was a rocker. When he was young, he dreamed of becoming a big star, but among his circle of old friends, the "star" in his dream had somehow morphed into "Gorilla."
Gorilla gave a bitter smile. "You wouldn’t believe me no matter what I said. I was in the middle of organizing a performance on an alien planet at the time. How could I have rushed back?"
"Then why didn’t you even call Chen Gu?"
"I made several calls, all showing the user as offline! I was quite puzzled. Chen Gu might be a die-hard lecher who’d choose passion over pals and is audaciously bold when it comes to women, but I didn’t think he’d be as petty as you."
Chen Gu suddenly realized something. "When exactly did you try to call?"
"Around nine or ten in the morning, or maybe three or four in the afternoon. With my job, I’m usually free around those times."
Chen Gu smiled wryly. "I was in class. The school blocks all communications."