Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Sea Without Light 09

“You’re different from what they say,” Silverface said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wardrobe.

“Is that so?” Kui Xin appeared indecisive.

She couldn’t directly respond to that; any answer would easily expose her. It was better to remain vague in her response.

Silverface continued, “They say you’re as cold as machinery and as precise as a computer, an exacting enforcer, though you haven’t awakened extraordinary abilities, you’re an essential strategist for the Organization.”

“Hmm.” Kui Xin let out a laugh.

But her laughter carried no joy, nor any air of arrogance.

The pale pink eyes of Silverface met her deep black ones for a long while before he uninterestedly remarked, “No reaction at all.”

“What kind of reaction do you expect?” asked Kui Xin. “I can make any response appropriate to the role I play currently.”

“Are other undercover agents as devoted as you?” Silverface frowned. “Not even showing their true selves to their comrades?”

Kui Xin calmly stared at Silverface until he looked away.

“What’s next?” asked Silverface, his ghostly fingertips conjuring a small splash of water which he idly tossed around. “Remember, we only have less than half a month.”

From his scattered remarks, Kui Xin knew that during this mission duo, she held a leader and dominator position, while Silverface was an executor. In the Mechanized Dawn, Kui Xin’s status also surpassed Silverface’s, and fellow members had favorable opinions about her.

“You need to go to the port and investigate where the explosion occurred,” Kui Xin instructed him.

She believed giving such instructions were quite fitting after much contemplation.

From the documented information and intel Kui Xin had, the port was riddled with factions and chaos, where explosions had taken place multiple times. The explosions might have resulted from factional disputes or other factors… For instance, the Mechanized Dawn may have chosen to destroy the port to prevent the Kraken from landing, thereby blocking ships from docking.

It was crucial to gather fundamental information about port explosions before executing them, thus Kui Xin decided to instruct Silverface to investigate.

Silverface did not object to Kui Xin’s instruction; instead, he meticulously inquired, “Investigate what? Person flow, the site inspection of the explosion, or monitoring suspects? There’s more than one incident of explosion in the port.”

“All of them,” said Kui Xin.

“You’re being overly cautious,” complained Silverface. “Alright, I will. Give me a temporary instruction if needed.”

He put on the silver mask and pulled down the hood, then walked out onto the balcony and opened the window. His body silently transformed into transparent water, merging with the pouring rain outside and vanishing amidst the night.

Kui Xin went over to close the window to prevent rainwater from splashing into the room.

By delegating tasks to others, she could think quietly alone.

Kui Xin was skilled at planning learning schedules and managing time. Her high school homeroom teacher praised her for organizing study tasks efficiently.

Now, she wanted to use the time management skills honed in her grueling high school days to plan her future goals.

Kui Xin walked into her bedroom and took out a sheet of white paper and a nearly depleted ink pen.

This was her habit; writing things down clarified her thoughts, and the friction of pen against paper helped her focus.

Currently, two major dangers faced Kui Xin.

“First, Mechanized Dawn. Second, Investigation Bureau,” she wrote on the paper.

Infiltrating the Investigation Bureau was hazardous, but she had organizational documents supporting her. She planned to read through these extensive documents overnight to fully understand the federal department. Particularly detailed notes would be required regarding her alter ego ‘Security Officer Kui Xin’, including her biography, network, lifestyle, etc., without error. Faking memory loss was a temporary measure, but definitely not a long-term solution.

As an intern security officer, Kui Xin had not been part of the Bureau for long, making unfamiliarity reasonable; it didn’t necessitate her feigning familiarity with her teammates or superiors.

Compared to the Investigation Bureau, Mechanized Dawn induced greater anxiety in Kui Xin.

At least the Bureau had extensive documents, which could be a reference. But there was nothing about the Mechanized Dawn. She knew nothing about its origins or its leader. The role she played within the organization still needed to be figured out.

Her team colleague ‘Silverface’ was tightly bound to her; luckily, he had never interacted with her original identity. Based on his actions, he seemed somewhat inexperienced, like a naive youth, easier to deceive, allowing her to bypass smoothly.

But others might not have been able to deceive her so easily.

Her pen paused, and Kui Xin pondered deeply.

For her infiltration career in the Bureau, she aimed for caution. She adhered to six principles: stay out of conflict, avoid contention, maintain a low profile, listen more, observe carefully, and learn continuously.

The Mechanized Dawn, however, posed a more complex challenge. As a secret agent tasked with a mission, her contact with other organization members was minimal. The main trouble came from Silverface. Deceiving him would keep her safe in the short term.

After strategizing crisis solutions, Kui Xin scratched off the words “Mechanized Dawn” and “Investigation Bureau” with her pen.

Next, she was planning her “mission.”

She had two missions at the moment.

Mission One: Investigate the history behind the port explosion, assigned by the game system.

Mission Two: Prevent the Kraken from docking in Black Sea City, issued by the Mechanized Dawn organization.

She marked a cross next to Mission Two.

The investigation of the port explosion might yield some clues; intentionally blowing up a port to sink a cargo ship, however, was suicide.

This was a real game, without a save feature; losing one’s life might mean permanent loss. She couldn’t risk her life on such dangerous tasks. A hundred save points wouldn’t suffice.

Kui Xin bit the end of her pen and frowned, analyzing her first mission.

The reasons behind the dock explosion seemed more complex than factional conflict; there were likely connections to the arrival of the Kraken.

Did the Investigation Bureau sense anything unusual about the explosion?

Moreover, Kui Xin suspected there was a “third party” at play.

Multiple organizations wanted the port destroyed.

She laid down a map of these parties.

Party One: Investigation Bureau. Aim: Guard the port, apprehend criminals.

Party Two: Mechanized Dawn. Aim: Destroy the port.

The Mechanized Dawn tasked her with “destroying the port.” This was the task she received last night, and they assigned her a teammate, codename ‘Silverface’. But before she officially crossed over to the Second World and accepted the task, the dock had already suffered an explosion.

Which party carried out that attack?

Factional clashes, common in the Black Sea City, usually didn’t warrant a special game task from the system; whatever unique circumstances caused this explosion triggered the task.

Kui Xin jotted on her note:

Third Party: Undetermined. The explosion appears linked to the Kraken’s arrival.

There’s another hypothesis, though:

Second Hypothesis: The Mechanized Dawn dispatched multiple task groups. The earlier explosion was perpetrated by a separate group from the Mechanized Dawn, who failed.

Silverface said, “It doesn’t matter if we die; our comrades will complete the mission by August 11th.”

The Mechanized Dawn couldn’t pin hope on just one group to carry out this task; multiple groups were deployed. Thus, the perpetrators of the earlier explosion might still be tied to the Mechanized Dawn.

Kui Xin added under “Third Party: Undetermined”:

“Third party seems affiliated with Mechanized Dawn.”

Staring at her concise yet thoughtful note, Kui Xin pondered extensively.

The turbulent waves of Black Sea City, the frequent port explosions, the orders from the Mechanized Dawn, and game tasks issued by the system—all these elements centered on one core issue: the Kraken, the massive cargo ship due to dock in Black Sea City.

The Kraken was the eye of the storm, carrying mysteries and hidden intentions.

Kui Xin snatched the sheet of paper and tore it into unrecognizable fragments, throwing the shredded pieces into the toilet for flushing.

The paper had to be destroyed to ensure no one else could read it.

She now understood the key to completing the task:

—Kraken.

Clarifying the cargo aboard the Kraken and why the Mechanized Dawn feared its docking in Black Sea City might resolve everything.

Kui Xin returned to her room and sat down, reflecting. She connected her bracelet to browse the web for information about the Kraken.

A window popped up displaying data about the Kraken:

“Kraken, a giant bulk carrier built in 2086, currently entering its first operational year. The maximum deadweight tonnage of the Kraken is eighty thousand tons, making it the largest bulk carrier in the world.”

Bulk carriers typically transported goods unsuitable for containerization, such as sand, oil, coal.

What cargo was the Kraken transporting?

Kui Xin searched extensively but found very little information, leaving her empty-handed. Opening the file provided by the Organization, she discovered the remaining details were similarly vague.

She browsed all the material but found no specifics about the cargo loaded onto the Kraken. The situation was troublesome indeed.

Kui Xin’s mind wandered, and a light screen appeared from the game system.

She blinked, surprised to see that the investigation progress for the port blast had unknowingly advanced.

“[Task Progress]: 5%.”

The slight rise confirmed that her investigative direction was correct, prompting her to continue along this line.

Kui Xin sighed in relief.

Seeing the task progress increased gave her the same sense of accomplishment as solving a difficult math problem… maybe even more fulfilling, second only to earning money through work.

Leaning back, Kui Xin lay on her somewhat uncomfortable bed, feeling exhausted as she rubbed her eyes. Not having slept, she switched the display on her bracelet to another content and reviewed the life data on “Kui Xin” and information on the Investigation Bureau with the zeal one would use to memorize ancient poetry.

From dusk to dawn, the downpour outside showed no signs of abating.

Just after nine in the morning, the balcony windows were rudely pushed open.

Silverface stumbled in, drenched to the bone with a bloodstain on his cheek, revealing injuries.

Seeing Kui Xin emerge from the bedroom, Silverface muttered, “Hey! You…”

“I’m not ‘hey’; you’d better call me by my codename,” Kui Xin appraised his dripping tracks. “You’ve made a mess of the floor.”

“Rich lady… you…” Silverface’s expression twisted as he called out the codename, then swiftly shut his mouth, resigning himself and saying, “Doesn’t matter what I call, I’m injured. Do you have a medical kit?”

Kui Xin returned to her room and retrieved a medical box from beside the bed.

Silverface casually removed his mask, his pure white hair clinging to his forehead, and his lips, already pale, became even more colorless. He carelessly discarded his coat on the floor, his chest bearing three large gashes. Despite these severe wounds, he hadn’t bled out or died.

Kui Xin glanced at the ground; the transparent water trail from the balcony contained no blood mixed in, and only a small stained area on his shirt bore any trace of blood.

“There are more creatures lurking in the darkness,” Silverface grimaced as he took off his shirt, opening the medical box, and applying disinfectant from a bottle of hydrogen peroxide with a deft hand.

Kui Xin responded subtly, “More?”

“Yes, more than before; I encountered three last night,” Silverface, after finishing bandaging, panted for a moment. “They landed amid the storm. They prowled among the containers at the docks, looking for hosts…”

Creatures? What kind of creatures?

Kui Xin anxiously wanted to bite her lip.

The Second World possessed too many elements beyond her understanding. Last night, she learned how to properly use facial recognition payments, get in and out of public areas, shop online, and use personal devices… she also crammed knowledge on the history of this world, from the founding of the Federation up to humanity’s attempts at creating colonies on other planets and significant historical events.

Xiliang’s appearance reminded Kui Xin to be more vigilant, not risking the elementary mistakes he had made.

Kui Xin was already overwhelmed, but what Silverface mentioned again exceeded her cognitive boundaries.

To conceal her anxiety and unease, Kui Xin told Silverface, “You brought in too much water, clean up the balcony and living room.”

Silverface: “…”

“Had it not been for my ability to control liquids, I’d have died from blood loss. You didn’t help me bandage up, and blamed me for dirtying the floor.” He angrily gathered the water into a ball and threw it at the kitchen sink.