"Since the farce has ended," Cipher said in a flat tone as the maglev car glided smoothly through the city streets, watching the scenes blur past the window, "can we continue with the question that was interrupted halfway?"
In the driver's seat, Lin Mingyu's fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel, wondering which "question" she was referring to. But he quickly recalled the query Cipher had posed when they first met.
Understanding her intent, he subconsciously cleared his throat and replied with a trace of subtle fawning, "Of course! Ms. Cipher, the matter originated from a direct order issued by President Wu at our Apex Entertainment headquarters."
He paused to organize his thoughts. "The directive required all our branches, from District 1 to District 10, to secretly install some... special equipment. As for what exactly it is... that falls under our company's confidentiality agreement, so I cannot say."
As he spoke, he stole a cautious glance at Cipher's figure in the rearview mirror. Seeing no reaction, he breathed a small sigh of relief and continued, "After the installation, President Wu immediately ordered all employees to enter a state of high alert. The core mission is—once a target named Cifera is discovered, it must be reported immediately without delay!"
"And the incentive is..." Lin Mingyu's voice couldn't help but carry a hint of excitement, "the first employee to successfully discover and report Cifera's whereabouts can be exempted from... a whole year's KPI!"
"It seems I didn't mishear; it really is a one-year KPI exemption."
Cipher's eyebrows rose slightly as she let out a hum of ambiguous meaning. Then, her fingertips tapped unconsciously against the edge of the car window as she murmured, "As for the President Wu you mentioned... would that be President Wu Nihuang?"
She had seen advertisements for Apex Entertainment before; the current president of the company was indeed someone named Wu Nihuang.
"Exactly that President Wu Nihuang!" Lin Mingyu confirmed immediately, his tone reverent. "Although President Wu is the helmsman of Apex Entertainment, she rarely intervenes directly in the specific operations of the branches and grants a high degree of autonomy. For her to issue such a specific and urgent global directive is extremely rare," he emphasized, trying to make Cipher understand the gravity of the matter. "It proves that President Wu's focus on tracking Cifera is unprecedented! The entire headquarters is on edge because of it."
"Hmm..." Cipher nodded thoughtfully, her gaze still fixed on the flowing scenery outside. After a moment, as if striking a key point, she tilted her head slightly with a look of confusion and asked, "To make the president of Apex Entertainment go to such great lengths... who exactly is this person called Cifera?"
Lin Mingyu was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead with a look of chagrin. "Oh! Look at my memory! My apologies, Ms. Cipher! I forgot you aren't an internal member of our company. Regarding the information on Cifera..." He lowered his voice, looking clearly conflicted, "Like that equipment, it is a highly classified internal secret. I am afraid... I really cannot disclose the details here."
But seemingly fearing Cipher's dissatisfaction, he hurried to add, "It's not that I'm intentionally hiding it, but I've signed a strict confidentiality agreement. If I leak it privately, I won't be able to bear the consequences. Please understand."
"No matter." Cipher's voice betrayed no emotion, accepting the explanation calmly. "A secret is a secret. So, how much longer until we reach your company?"
"Soon, Ms. Cipher! We'll arrive at the branch building in ten minutes at most!" Lin Mingyu breathed a small sigh of relief and replied instantly.
"Mm." Cipher gave a faint response and spoke no more, turning her attention back to the window.
Silence fell over the car again, save for the low hum of the maglev engine. Lin Mingyu wisely kept his mouth shut, focusing entirely on driving.
However, not long after, the Flipping Coin on Cipher's neck moved slightly. Then, a snide voice rang out in her mind:
'I really wonder what his expression will look like when he finds out that you, Big Sis, are Cifera! Jie-jie-jie-jie...'
Hearing this, the corners of Cipher's mouth curved up slightly.
'You'll definitely see it when the time comes. After all... I'm quite curious myself.'
'But for now, I still have to play the part. It's not the right time yet.'
'I know, of course! Everything depends on you, Big Sis!'
Bartholos fell silent again after his bit of flattery.
Before long, a skyscraper covered in a vibrant holographic advertising curtain wall appeared in their field of vision. Its sharp geometric design was futuristic, and the massive Apex Entertainment logo at the top glowed brilliantly in the night sky. The maglev car glided precisely into its designated berth and came to a stop.
"Ms. Cipher, we have arrived. This way, please."
As soon as the car stopped, Lin Mingyu nimbly unbuckled his seatbelt, scrambled out, jogged to Cipher's side, respectfully pulled open the door, and bowed slightly to guide her.
Cipher stepped out of the car with elegant movements. Once standing, she looked up at the behemoth before her, her gaze carrying a hint of playfulness as she said, "Apex Entertainment... it truly lives up to its reputation. If we're talking about which of the Four Major Corporations has the most flamboyant facade, you take the crown."
"Haha, you flatter us!" Lin Mingyu straightened his back, his face showing unhidden pride. "After all, we are the leaders of the entertainment industry. First impressions are vital. We want everyone to see our headquarters and branches and immediately feel a yearning to become a part of this dream-making empire, to contribute to our entertainment cause..." He waved his hand grandly, "to add brick and mortar!"
'Add brick and mortar to the entertainment cause? Isn't that just attracting people to be coolie labor?'
She recalled Li Yan once mentioning that "the bottom-tier employees of Apex Entertainment work from 8 AM to 2 AM every single day." A mix of disgust and repulsion flickered through her heart, but her face remained rippleless. She even nodded cooperatively, as if agreeing with Lin Mingyu's "grand words."
Lin Mingyu failed to notice the fleeting coldness in Cipher's eyes. He continued to act as an enthusiastic guide, incessantly introducing the company's glorious achievements and unique culture. Cipher only gave an occasional "mm," following his lead with unhurried steps.
Soon, following his introduction, Cipher took a high-speed elevator to the tenth floor. Lin Mingyu stopped before an office door with a plaque that read "Legal Consulting Office" and knocked gently.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The door opened almost instantly. Standing behind it was the young lawyer who had taken Manager Liu away earlier. He was still wearing the same sharp deep-gray lawyer's robe, and the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses remained as sharp as ever.
"Manager Lin, you've arrived." The lawyer nodded to him, then his gaze passed Lin Mingyu to land accurately on Cipher. A professional smile immediately appeared on his face as he stepped aside to clear the way. "Ms. Cipher, welcome. Please, come in and have a seat."
He pointed to a set of comfortable leather sofas inside the office.
The two entered the simply decorated office and sat down under the lawyer's guidance. The lawyer sat across from them composedly, hands crossed over his knees in a steady posture.
"Before you arrived, I urgently retrieved all the surveillance footage from the VIP passage and conducted a detailed retrospective analysis." The lawyer got straight to the point, his voice steady and clear. "Synthesizing the video frames and the preliminary facts, it is clear: the conflict was entirely caused by Manager Liu making improper and highly insulting verbal provocations toward you."
"Your subsequent actions, including displaying your strength with a dagger and repeating the dialogue as 'proof of hearing,' were primarily intended to respond to the other party's doubts and establish your own point of view. The entire process caused no substantial physical harm to Manager Liu. Therefore, the accusation against Manager Liu for malicious slander and public insult of an A rank powerhouse is clearly established on a factual level."
He paused slightly, looking directly at Cipher with an indistinguishable look.
"However, Ms. Cipher, to make this accusation equally flawless in legal proceedings and achieve the 'total resolution' you requested, we still need one critical prerequisite."
"A prerequisite?" Lin Mingyu's brows furrowed instantly. Before Cipher could ask, he questioned with some impatience, "The surveillance footage captures it in black and white; aren't the facts clear enough? You can't even handle a small matter like this smoothly?"
"Manager Lin, please be patient." The lawyer's expression showed no ripple, and his voice remained as steady as before. "This prerequisite is very simple, merely for the sake of procedural rigor and absolute integrity of the chain of evidence."
He turned back to Cipher, his tone respectful. "We need you to produce the badge that proves your identity as an A rank powerhouse. Because the clarity of the surveillance footage is limited and cannot accurately capture the details of the badge, I need to take a clear photograph to serve as irrefutable proof of identity in subsequent legal documents—a piece of 'absolutely powerful evidence'."
"'Absolutely powerful evidence'... heh." Cipher repeated the words softly, a faint laugh escaping her lips. She didn't bother to speculate if there was any further testing behind his words. Without hesitation, she casually took out the badge representing an A rank powerhouse from her pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table before the lawyer like flipping a coin.
The so-called "absolutely powerful evidence" was not actually "evidence" in itself, but merely an item used to prove identity and strength... As for why this could be called "evidence," Cipher understood perfectly.
Seeing this, the lawyer's expression didn't change at all, though his movements became more cautious. Wearing white gloves, he carefully picked up the badge and inspected it against the light for a few seconds, seemingly confirming its texture and luster. Then, he took a small professional scanner from his briefcase and performed high-precision photography and spectral recording of both sides of the badge. The faint "beep-beep" sounds were exceptionally clear in the quiet office.
The entire process was meticulous, filled with procedural ritual. Only after confirming the collection was complete did he respectfully hand the badge back to Cipher with both hands.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Cipher. Identity verification is complete. Here is your badge."
Cipher reached out with two fingers, elegantly pinching the badge before retracting it into her palm. But after doing so, she didn't immediately put it away. Instead, she looked at the lawyer with interest, a trace of a smile on her lips.
"That simple? I thought you would employ more 'thorough' means to verify my authenticity?" She paused intentionally on the word "thorough," her gaze sharp. "After all, theoretically, this thing... isn't impossible to be 'stolen,' right?"
"Ms. Cipher, you must be joking." The lawyer pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, his gaze behind the lenses calm, and his standardized smile didn't change in the slightest. "First, the overwhelming strength you displayed in the passage is the most powerful proof in itself."
"Second, your genetic characteristics are very distinct—a top-tier feline gene modification user. Looking at the entire world, I cannot think of any other organization besides the core technology of Genesis Tech that could develop technology in this area to such a level of strength."
Then, he leaned forward slightly, his tone carrying a nearly self-evident certainty.
"Furthermore, you mentioned it yourself—the correspondence between a badge and its owner is extremely easy to verify through the company's internal database. I believe no organization would be so foolish as to assign an A rank powerhouse with such distinct characteristics and supreme strength to carry out a... well, theoretically 'flaw-ridden' action."
He skillfully parried the edge in Cipher's words while expressing his own judgment.
'Heh, flaw-ridden?'
Looking at the lawyer's confident and logically self-consistent manner, Cipher found it somewhat comical for a moment. After all, she was currently carrying out exactly this kind of "flaw-ridden" action.
And the source of this badge was that feline gene modification user she had killed back in Chaos Capital—the one who had tried to assassinate Hyacine and was forced back by Hong Guoguo.