Chapter 266: The Red-Haired Woman

Chen Ling tore at his chin with his fingertips, and his figure changed instantly.

The law enforcer's trench coat with eight stripes fluttered in the wind, and a face that seemed incapable of emotional fluctuation covered his original features. Seeing this face, Jian Changsheng's eyes widened in shock:

"Deputy Chief [Tan Xin]? Heart, are you playing with fire??"

"Wait for me on the third floor."

The gentle voice came from beneath that face. Chen Ling walked straight toward the fourth checkpoint, his black trench coat fluttering, a sharp aura sweeping out.

Since the fourth checkpoint was a "person," there was actually more room for Chen Ling to maneuver... He needed to get to the fourth floor, but Qiong Xuan's captain clearance probably wasn't enough. Since that was the case, he decided to pull out the highest-ranking authority in the current law enforcement system!

As a "law enforcement representative" frequently active in major newspaper headlines and radio stations, Chen Ling had seen Tan Xin's photo countless times. Plus, before coming, Chen Ling had specifically searched for radio recordings featuring Tan Xin. Even though he had never met him in person, Chen Ling was confident he could replicate him perfectly. This was one of his trump cards for this mission.

In the Aurora base, what could be more effective than the face of Deputy Chief Tan Xin?

And so, under Jian Changsheng's shocked gaze, Chen Ling walked alone into the passage leading to the fourth floor... As he went deeper, the surrounding lights gradually dimmed.

Jian Changsheng was right; the passage was indeed unremarkable, with no mechanisms or ritual artifacts. But after Chen Ling rounded a corner, a figure appeared in his field of vision.

Seeing her, the first thing one noticed was her long, deep-red hair... like lava flowing from the edge of hell, naturally draping over her crisp white shirt.

A black tie was tied loosely at her collar, and her solemn dress pants outlined perfect leg lines. Above this "worker's outfit" that reminded Chen Ling of his past office life was a clean, cold face.

She was beautiful, but had a sense of distance that made one afraid to get close, like an untouchable iceberg. At this moment, this "iceberg" was holding a children's book that was nearly falling apart:

— *Panda Panpan's Wonderful Adventure: Taking You Into the Magical World of Magnetic Fields*

Seeing this, a flash of surprise crossed Chen Ling's eyes, but his footsteps didn't falter. As if he hadn't seen her at all, he walked straight toward the fourth-floor gate...

"Have you decided?"

Just then, a cold female voice came from the side.

Chen Ling stopped.

These five short words sent Chen Ling's brain into overdrive. Judging by the tone, she was an old acquaintance of Tan Xin, but what "decision" was she talking about? How should he answer? Was she really the person he suspected?

"Yes." Half a second later, Chen Ling replied coolly with a single word.

Saying less meant making fewer mistakes; for Chen Ling right now, this was the best response.

The red-haired woman continued to hold the book, studying it intently. After turning a page casually, she continued:

"Once you take this step, there is no turning back for you or the entire Aurora City..."

"I know."

"The burden on you has been too heavy all these years." The red-haired woman closed the book and slowly closed her eyes. "If someone must do it, let it be me."

Chen Ling shook his head. "No, some things only I can do."

The red-haired woman looked at him deeply and said nothing more. Instead, she slowly stood up and looked toward the third floor at the other end of the passage...

Seeing this from the corner of his eye, Chen Ling said nothing and silently walked in the opposite direction toward the fourth floor.

After passing through the gate to the fourth floor, a cold sweat broke out on Chen Ling's back...

He actually made it through??

Although it was only a few short sentences, Chen Ling's mental energy had been drained rapidly, and he had roughly guessed the woman's identity... It is no exaggeration to say that if he had answered even one word incorrectly, not only would the mission have failed, but even the Twilight Society might not have been able to save him easily.

However... what did she mean by those things she said?

And while he was bluffing, he seemed to have accidentally let her misunderstand something... Who knows where she went? Hopefully, it won't have a major impact on his mission.

Chen Ling was still feeling lingering fear as he reviewed the situation in his mind. At the same time, a fork in the road appeared before him.

There were two paths in front of Chen Ling.

The left seemed to lead to an unknown underground space, while the right led to the bottom level of Laboratory 0, which Jian Changsheng had seen—the direction of the Aurora Lord.

Chen Ling glanced to the left, then turned and walked toward Laboratory 0 on the right. Before long, a spacious area appeared before his eyes.

It was a massive laboratory filled with steel pipes, nearly three stories high. In the center, there was a glass observation platform. The pipes surrounding it all eventually connected to the exterior of a tall stasis pod, like countless blood vessels connected to a heart. One could faintly hear the ticking of machines.

Chen Ling's gaze fell on the stasis pod in the center, and his heart trembled slightly.

In the mysterious liquid filling the pod, a white-haired figure in a lab coat was floating upside down. Even after sleeping for over three hundred years, the face remained youthful, as if possessing an inexplicable magic that drew Chen Ling's gaze.

"This is... the Aurora Lord?" Chen Ling muttered to himself.

The current Aurora Lord was vastly different from the one Chen Ling had seen in photos from three hundred years ago. Except for the facial features, which remained unchanged, everything else was worlds apart... If the Aurora Lord of the past, as a scientist, had carried a heavy air of scholarly and "dull wisdom" typical of engineers, the Aurora Lord before him now possessed only a compassionate divinity and endless loneliness.

Chen Ling scanned the surroundings, lingering on the observation glass for a long time, and already had a preliminary plan in mind.

Although there was an observation window on the second floor, it was merely a peephole for the white coats to monitor the Aurora Lord, and there were blind spots in the observation of the entire lab. As long as Chen Ling was careful with his movements, he could avoid their gaze...

Besides, the group behind the observation glass seemed to be sleeping and chatting, with no one paying attention here at all.

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Ling's eyes. He knew his chance had come, and with a flash, he arrived in front of the Aurora Lord's stasis pod...

However, the moment his fingertips touched the glass on the front of the pod, a sudden change occurred!

The Aurora Lord, floating in the stasis pod, suddenly seemed to sense something, and his eyelashes trembled violently!!