Chapter 1008: Oriole
Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
(TL: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.)
Despite having successfully infiltrated Cyberdyne Systems, Sheyan did not go to the interview area on the second floor. Instead, he went straight to the dining area on the ground floor.
Providing food to such a large number of employees was always going to be a big problem. In order to let the employees enjoy a variety of delicious food, many restaurants were allowed inside the company building. These restaurants would receive additional subsidies from Cyberdyne. Of course, the higher ups could go out to eat.
Sheyan looked around and saw a group of beautiful office ladies sitting around a table in a nearby cafe called St. Lorraine. All of them had tired looks on their faces and some would yawn from time to time. They appeared to either have just finished a night shift, or they had not been able to get much sleep last night. There were two men next to them who were talking excitedly. The non-speakers seemed lacking in interest; they were just drinking their cereals quietly.
Sheyan was not interested in the office ladies, nor was he interested in the passionate men. The only thing he was interested in was the employee tag worn by the taller of the two men, which had a red background. The red background meant that anyone wearing this employee tag had access up to the eighth floor of Cyberdyne Systems.
As for the ninth floor and above, an employee tag was no longer enough. There were fingerprint scans and retina scans.
Sheyan immediately headed towards St. Lorraine cafe. He was currently dressed in a suit that made him look bright, clean, neat and tidy, so he was quite in-tune with the atmosphere in the cafe. As such, his appearance was not that conspicuous.
He went in, ordered a cup of coffee, sat in an empty seat, and took out a proposal that he had prepared beforehand, pretending to go over it carefully.
The group of people who had just finished a night shift obviously would not stay here for long. They left soon afterwards to take the elevator that would bring them to the underground parking lot. Sheyan patiently followed them until he saw the man he was targeting get on a car and drive away.
He then spoke into the party channel, "The licence plate ends in CK77. The model is Cadillac CLS."
"Roger," replied Mogensha on the other end.
Less than five minutes later, Mogensha's voice transmitted over again.
"It's done."
Sheyan checked the party storage and saw a red employee tag that was not there before. They were within the effective range of the shared party storage so they could achieve this instantaneous transmission effect. It was very convenient.
Sheyan did not dare to make a move on the man inside the building because he had already received various insider information from Vincent. The security and surveillance here was so strict that it was impossible to find a blind spot as long as the firewall was active! That applied to the toilets too! As soon as he made a move, he would be discovered for sure!
What's that? Human rights and privacy?
Unfortunately, the police would not accept any charges against Cyberdyne Systems. If you still refused to give up on the matter, the NSA might come to you for a chat.
Therefore, Sheyan must play it safe. He first entered the company to find a target, then Mogensha would act outside.
Cyberdyne was powerful, yes, but it was impossible for them to expand their surveillance to the entire Los Angeles city.
After obtaining the employee tag, Sheyan pretended to take off his suit like he was feeling hot, but when the suit came off, his grey visitor pass had turned into a red employee tag. Although surveillance was everywhere, no one would notice such a small discrepancy unless someone was specifically monitoring Sheyan.
Sheyan spoke in the party channel.
"I'm all set. What about you?"
"I'll be done soon," replied Zi's emotionless voice.
Ten minutes later, the two of them walked into an elevator together.
Now, if you think having an employee tag means everything is solved, then you're way too naive.
According to Vincent's insider information, before pressing the floor button, they needed to scan their employee tag on the scanning screen to obtain the required permission. The visitor pass Sheyan wore before would only allow him to go to the 1st floor, the 2nd floor and the underground parking lot on the B1 floor.
If someone entered the elevator and immediately pressed the button for the 3rd floor and above without having scanned their employee tag, they would be closely monitored from then on.
Besides that, there was an infrared scanning device outside every elevator entrance. If someone followed another person to a higher floor without the corresponding authority, they would be detected and security would be alerted. The consequence was very severe. The person would be handed to the NSA.
To go to the 8th floor and above, unless you're a high-ranking executive boarding a special elevator, the mid- and lower-ranked employees would have to transfer to another elevator. There were no loopholes that could be exploited.
Sheyan and Zi went straight to the 7th floor.
Right at the moment they reached the 7th floor, a man arrived outside Cyberdyne Systems.
The man constantly wore a faint smile on his face. If one were to stare at him for a while, the smile would seem a little fake, just like the expression on a mannequin or a doll.
He was wearing sunglasses so no one could see what his eyes looked like. If his eyes were exposed, they would cause quite a shock.
That's because his two eyeballs had been dug out! Even the eyelids were cut away. The blood-red skin rolled outwards but there was no bleeding, only two dark, horrible holes!
In the depths of those two holes, a strange light would occasionally shine.
The lobby of Cyberdyne Systems was clean and spotless, and no trace could be seen on the shiny marble floor that had been trampled on by thousands of people, but Zi's footprints from more than ten minutes ago were clearly imprinted in this man's vision, as if she had walked through a layer of snow. In his vision, the footprints were deep and clear, and they were even emitting a steam-like white vapour.
Every step he took happened to be right on the spot that Zi had stepped on.
If someone were to X-ray the man, they would find that his head was actually hollow. A blood-red tumour resided inside. The tumour was constantly beating and its surface was full of twisted, protruding blood vessels. A large number of choroidal ligaments spread out like a spider web with the tumour as the core.
Approximately a hundred meters behind him, two people walked side by side. They looked no different from the rushing office workers around them, but the content of their conversation had absolutely nothing to do with life inside the city.
"The target has appeared in this place just as we expected. Her strength is shocking. She had left for quite some time, but the remnant of her power is still easily detected by your filth-devouring puppet."
"Of course! As if a weak person could make Boji suffer such a heavy loss! Even the top quality specimen to be made into a familiar was taken away. Boji had even used her final trump card, but when the miasma from the realm of death hit the target, it could not erode the magic barrier on her in the slightest!"
"She's that strong?"
"Uh-huh. The magic barrier on that woman is quite special. There seems to be an inner layer of net supporting it. Also, based on Boji's injuries, it appears that she's a practitioner of the Force from the Star Wars universe, which is a very troublesome neutral energy."
"Sounds like a real hassle. By the way, do we really have to go into the headquarters of Cyberdyne to complete this mission?"
"We have to. Cyberdyne had been granted the permission to test their weapons on death row criminals as early as two years ago. All these criminals would display a strong ferocity before they died. Before their tests, in order to get the best test result, Cyberdyne would lie to them and told them that they could go home if they could pass the test. Their grievances must linger there still after they died. There's no doubt that this is the place to gather vengeful spirits of the highest quality in the entire city of Los Angeles! This is an important part of our mission to upgrade to an Awakener, Corina. We must not fail!"
"I know."
Meanwhile, the 'Filth-Devouring Puppet' they were controlling had reached the main entrance of Cyberdyne Systems. He stared at the guard outside the entrance.
The guard looked at his chest and found no employee tag. He blocked the path of the puppet and asked coldly, "What business do you have here, sir?"
At that moment, the crimson tumour inside the head of the 'Filth-Devouring Puppet' suddenly contracted in a weird way. A pair of greyish-white eyes popped out from his empty eye sockets. The strange thing about the pair of eyes was that they were compound eyes composed of multiple tiny eyes, like the eyes of a dragonfly!
Fortunately, his sunglasses hid the eyes, or the guard would have fainted on the spot.
They silently stared at each other for about five seconds.
The puppet then said in a calm voice, "Sorry, I took a wrong turn."
After which, he turned around and left. The guard simply let him walk away. This was not an uncommon occurrence at the main entrance of Cyberdyne Systems.
The guard went back to his spot without saying anything. His expression was a bit dull, but other than that, there was nothing unusual.
That afternoon, the guard suddenly fell dead in the toilet. He was foaming at the mouth and his pupils were reduced to the size of needles. The cause of death on his death certificate was heart rupturing due to overdose, but in reality, the forensic doctor could not explain how he died.
At the moment he fell dead, Corina, who was a distance away, suddenly trembled. She opened her hand to reveal a bead which was filled with some kind of black mist. The black mist rolled non-stop, but it could not escape from the bead.