"Why is my little sidekick calling me now? Are they inviting me out?" Chu Biyao was quite puzzled.
"Don’t answer yet." Ye Fan advised seriously, "Forget about the help I gave you. It’s enough that the three of us know about it. Don’t let it leak out, or it could be very disadvantageous for me."
"Ye Fan, you aren’t secretly a bank-robbing fugitive, afraid of your identity being exposed, are you?" Chu Biyao blinked.
Wang Hong was also puzzled. With such impressive hacking skills, many people would be envious, so why the desire to keep it hidden?
"If someone with my abilities gets noticed by the government, they’ll treat me like a lab rat and lock me in a cage for research. Think about it, in a world full of people, there are always some exceptional outliers. Why do we rarely see them around? You know what I mean." Ye Fan made up an excuse.
"Sister, whatever Ye Fan says goes. Just be mindful," Chu Mengyao reminded.
"Ye Fan, don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret. Even if you’re a wanted criminal, I’ll help keep your secret. If things get too tough here, I’ll help you escape. I know some channels; you can smuggle into whichever country you want." Chu Biyao said earnestly.
Wang Hong held back laughter; she knew Chu Biyao too well—so talkative she could bring the dead back to life with words.
"Sister, don’t mess around. Is this how you joke?" Chu Mengyao was not pleased.
"Why so serious?" Chu Biyao chuckled, then finally answered the call.
On the other end, Zebra was surrounded by many people, all experts in analysis, eager to determine from Zebra’s call if anything unusual was amiss, hoping to trace the God Organization.
"Hey, my little sidekick, where are you?" Chu Biyao spoke first.
"At work, I saw some online posts defaming you. I was planning to find connections to get you some justice, but you resolved it so quickly." Zebra’s magnetic voice came through, hinting at who might be helping Chu Biyao behind the scenes.
"Something’s off with the little sidekick, seems like they’re trying to probe about Ye Fan." Chu Biyao thought to herself, recalling Qian Weiguo’s mysterious work and Ye Fan’s earlier warnings. She was convinced the little sidekick had ulterior motives in calling.
Having decided to keep the secret, Chu Biyao naturally put Ye Fan out of her mind.
Nonchalantly, she said, "Just got home wanting some peace for a few days, only to find holes for attacks. Oh well, let them talk. Out of sight, out of mind. Wait a minute, you said it’s resolved? What got resolved?"
"The posts insulting you have disappeared, didn’t you know?" Zebra was puzzled.
"Disappeared? How did they disappear? You’re not lying to me, are you?" Chu Biyao questioned.
"Why would I lie to you? They’re really gone," Zebra raised his voice.
"Wait a moment, let me check." After a flurry of keyboard tapping, Chu Biyao gasped, "Wow, they’re really gone. Those jerks aren’t badmouthing me anymore; they’re all praising me now. Could it be my good character is finally shining through?"
Chu Biyao was overjoyed for a moment, then mischievously asked, "Little sidekick, admit it, did you find someone to do this for me? Trying to get on my good side by pretending to know nothing, just waiting for me to praise you?"
"Not at all! If it were my doing, I’d have owned up for the credit long ago. Wouldn’t play dumb about it. Don’t you know me better?" Zebra chuckled bitterly.
"Hmm, true enough." Chu Biyao pondered for a moment, then shrieked, "Chen Yifei, Zheng Qiang, you bastards trying to harm me, I’ve really lucked out now, haha! I’m over the moon. Little sidekick, where are you hiding? I want a proper celebration. Come find me when you can, I’ll treat you to drinks. Not going to chat anymore, I need to relish my happiness and then deal with those two bastards. Bye-bye."
Chu Biyao hung up the call, and at the Hidden Dragon Base, Xiaolong and others looked grim.
Initially, Chu Biyao’s sweet and pure voice was pleasant to their ears, but the mention of the "mouse hole" displeased them. How could the prestigious and secretive Hidden Dragon Base be reduced to such a term?
"Zebra, was it your big mouth that called the base a mouse hole?" Xiaolong’s gaze was unfriendly.
"Captain, how would I dare? You all heard, I grew up with this celebrity, following her around, earning the nickname little sidekick. I often sneak around mysteriously, so she says I act like a mouse, hiding and sneaking. It’s not me talking nonsense," Zebra responded with a rueful smile.
"You might as well be little sidekick. Calling you Zebra really disgraces the species," Camel teased.
"Haha!" A few people laughed uproariously.
"Quiet." Xiaolong sternly ordered, and everyone fell silent immediately. He spoke somberly, "Listen closely. Was there anything suspicious in her voice? Even the slightest doubt, we’ll spare no expense in finding out whether Chu Biyao is connected to the Terminator."
"Judging by the voice alone, nothing seemed amiss. No changes in emotion."
"Zebra did set a verbal trap, but the other party didn’t seem to notice."
"In my opinion, someone as aloof as the Terminator can’t be involved with a celebrity, right?"
"Helping one celebrity deal with two others, does that not make sense?"
"What do you think, is it likely the Terminator could be a Huaxia person?"
A few people spoke up, the conversation drifting far from the topic. Regarding the Terminator, the world knew very little, not even daring to assert if the Terminator was from Huaxia.
The truth was, too few knew the Terminator’s real identity or appearance. The God Organization’s top brass once knew, but now, with them all gone, the massive information vault is lost. While the Terminator constantly changes identities during missions, who else truly knows who they are? No one can answer that with certainty.
"Don’t overthink it, the Terminator is a myth, a legend, yes, but still a person. People can’t isolate themselves in remote mountain forests. They’re bound to be entangled in emotions and desires. The Terminator destroyed the God Organization for a reason. Although we don’t know the exact motives, if we can recruit the Terminator to our side, Huaxia will gain immeasurable benefits." Xiaolong declared firmly.
The captain’s words gradually calmed Camel and the others.
Indeed, the Terminator is a person, no idol in a temple. They focused too much on the Terminator’s aura of mystery, ignoring that the Terminator is just like them—a regular person. Perhaps, even if the Terminator crossed paths with them, they wouldn’t recognize them.