Chapter 98

**Chapter 98: Artificial Soul 25**

“What part do we need to sacrifice and abandon?” Kui Xin turned and asked, “We have so much here; can all the projects still under development be completely moved? We also have many non-powered members in our auxiliary teams. Although they are ordinary people, they are all combat elites.”

“Unfortunately, it’s impossible to completely relocate the research projects, and not all auxiliary team members can be withdrawn.” Kui Haidong said calmly, “This is what I mean by necessary sacrifices.”

Red murmured, “This is quite the sacrifice…”

The decades-long foundation destroyed overnight—what a heartbreaking loss. Yet, Kui Haidong’s current attitude can only be described as nonchalant, as if he were indifferent to these losses.

Kui Xin thought to herself, “This old man is quite good at pretending.”

The bartender’s heart was bleeding: “I lost the Ruby Red Bar, and now a new nightclub is about to be lost too; that place isn’t even remodeled yet…”

“Once the situation stabilizes, the boss will surely allocate you a new gathering spot to manage. You’ll still be the manager,” Red said. “Don’t be sad, brother.”

“Red is right; losing Rick Technology Company isn’t a big deal. We can rise again,” Kui Haidong said. “You have to give something to gain something. Faced with such a situation, we can only make drastic cuts; remaining here means we will be hunted down.”

“I never thought the Federation would send an S-rank Awakened to deal with us.” Black Obsidian tilted his head slightly. “I thought a few elite Awakened squads from the Organization would be enough.”

Kui Haidong said, “Don’t underestimate the vengefulness of those in power. Because they are in power, they can’t tolerate their failures and being plotted against. The arrival of that S-rank Awakened is a result of various forces pushing forward; the Federation is showing its claws at us.”

“Do they already know where our headquarters is?” Ambereye asked next.

“Not for now, but I suspect it’s not far off,” Kui Haidong said lightly. “Python Sphere, this traitor has brought us a huge problem. He may not disclose key information, but he could hint at it, for example, suggesting that the Investigation Bureau’s Mechanized Dawn headquarters is hidden within a major company in Hei Hai City… With the capabilities of the Investigation Bureau, it wouldn’t even take a week to investigate every company in Hei Hai City. We are definitely among their suspects.”

Thorn Rose impatiently asked, “When will that S-rank Awakened arrive? Tomorrow? The day after?”

“The information I have is that he will arrive in Hei Hai City tomorrow night,” Kui Haidong said slowly. “Actually, I’ve already been preparing for the relocation these past few days. I called you here today to formally inform you. There’s no need to panic; we have contingency plans for this. The core research projects have already been transferred to a small shell company we prepared long ago. As soon as the personnel are in place, we can start operations immediately, and we can gradually recover to our previous scale.”

“You all should trust the boss,” Night Cicada said lightly, sitting to Kui Haidong’s right. “The Federation has emergency plans for various situations, and we do too. Mechanized Dawn has existed for twenty years; we won’t fall that easily.”

The expressions of those in the conference room eased a bit.

“Is there anything the leader needs us to do?” Silverface volunteered.

“There is indeed,” Kui Haidong said, giving Silverface an appreciative look, pleased with his dedication to the Organization. “Some large research instruments need to be transported. Night Cicada can’t activate such a massive spatial vortex transporter, and disassembly won’t work either. With so many parts, just the transportation will take a long time, and having Night Cicada continuously open the spatial portal for too long will overexert him.”

“Do we need manual transport?” Silverface asked.

“Yes, that’s very important. We need to transport things, including Eden’s core data boards. Just these can fill two trucks,” Kui Haidong said. “This important task needs to be entrusted to you. You must ensure that what we transport arrives at its destination without any damage.”

“Understood. We will complete the task,” Red replied.

“As usual, divide into two teams to protect the two transport routes,” Kui Haidong said. “Of course, my transport route is completely confidential. If all goes well, you won’t encounter any skirmishes. Team One consists of Red, Thorn Rose, and Ambereye. Team Two consists of the bartender, Silverface, and Black Obsidian. Night Cicada and Lady Fortune have other tasks planned and won’t participate in the transport.”

“When does the mission start?” the bartender inquired.

“Tomorrow during the day,” Kui Haidong said. “Now you can leave the conference room to rest on standby. I’ll have Eden send the transport routes to you, and you’ll follow the planned schedule. Lady Fortune, stay behind.”

Everyone got up and left the conference room without saying a word.

Before leaving, Silverface waved at Kui Xin and said, “See you in a few days.”

Kui Xin coldly nodded at him.

Now only three people remained in the conference room: Kui Xin, Night Cicada, and Kui Haidong.

“Have Tang Guan and Reynir been settled?” Kui Xin asked.

“Yes, they are the first batch to be relocated,” Kui Haidong said. “This time I won’t assign you any additional tasks; your primary task now is to stay hidden, to lie low, and not expose your identity.”

Night Cicada said, “Your situation will be dangerous from now on. Our new headquarters has been arranged in another city; Hei Hai City will at most only have a branch, and the help we can provide you may be limited.”

Kui Xin looked at Kui Haidong, half-joking and half-serious, and said, “I feel like I’m being abandoned.”

“No, child, you’ll never be a pawn,” Kui Haidong softened his tone. “Our move of the headquarters is an unavoidable choice, but you’ve just gained a foothold and cannot leave Hei Hai City. You must stay. This arrangement can also keep you away from danger. Staying in the Investigation Bureau will help you avoid this round of purges; you are also one of the live forces of Mechanized Dawn. If we do suffer a catastrophic blow this time, you will bear the responsibility of rejuvenating the Organization.”

“Wow.” Kui Xin expressed her emotions blankly, “Thanks for thinking of me, ‘dad’… Upon further thought, this isn’t too bad. I’m already exhausted during the day at the Investigation Bureau, and Mechanized Dawn sometimes gives me extra work. If this continues, I’ll either go bald or worse, die suddenly.”

Kui Haidong was momentarily speechless.

Night Cicada couldn’t help but chuckle before quickly straightening his expression.

“Have you been very busy and tired lately, Xiao Xin?” Kui Haidong asked with concern.

“Very busy. Training in the morning and physical training in the afternoon. If my training officer hadn’t happened to die, I would definitely have collapsed today. And after collapsing, I can’t rest, and I need to rush to participate in meetings at midnight,” Kui Xin said. “My life is really fulfilling, ‘dad’.”

Kui Haidong replied, “That won’t happen again.”

“It’s best if it doesn’t.” Kui Xin said. “By the way, I was promoted temporarily; I’m now the secretary of the Field Operations Team leader.”

Night Cicada glanced over, “Impressive, you got promoted so quickly.”

“Getting promoted too quickly isn’t necessarily a good thing; you might become a sacrificial piece in the power struggle at any moment. Not to mention I’m still not settled in this secretary position,” Kui Xin said.

“You have a clear understanding of your situation, and I believe you can handle things around you well,” Kui Haidong said. “You should be quite tired, right? Let Night Cicada take you back. You should rest.”

Kui Xin stood up from her seat and said, “You can’t take Silverface away; after the relocation is completed, have him return to Hei Hai City. I can’t be without available people by my side.”

Kui Haidong seemed to ponder this for a moment before agreeing, “Alright, he will continue to stay with you.”

Night Cicada snapped his fingers, activating the spatial vortex. “Goodbye.”

Kui Xin walked into the vortex without looking back.

Passing through the spatial vortex, she returned to a dark alley.

The night breeze was a bit chilly, and a raindrop fell on her face; it had actually started to rain.

Kui Xin ducked into a convenience store to buy some food, had a late-night snack, and then returned to the Employee Dormitory.

She entered through the main door, and if she encountered anyone on the way, she would say she was hungry and went out to buy something to eat, as the Employee Dormitory had no curfew, and she could return at any time.

As soon as she walked into the hall of the Employee Dormitory, she unexpectedly ran into someone—He Gaoyi.

She walked through the glass automatic doors, looking tired and holding a plastic bag containing food bought from the convenience store.

Kui Xin hesitated for a moment and greeted her, “Secretary He, you’re back so late?”

He Gaoyi was taken aback, looking up at Kui Xin, and said, “Oh, just finished overtime… You are… Kui Xin?”

“It’s me. I was just appointed the secretary to Team Leader Wei Zhi,” Kui Xin replied in a casual tone. “I live in Room 3066 on the third floor.”

“I live in 3067. We’ll be neighbors from now on,” He Gaoyi said politely. “If you have any questions about work, feel free to ask me.”

“Thank you,” Kui Xin nodded.

Unintentionally, neither of them chose to take the stairs but went to the elevator to wait for it to descend. They were too exhausted even to walk the short distance to the third floor.

They kept silent in the elevator as well and nodded at each other when they reached their respective doors before entering their rooms.

Kui Xin casually tossed the food she bought onto the table and irritably rubbed her forehead.

Red was going to follow Kui Haidong to relocate the headquarters, which was very bad news. Once Red left Hei Hai City, it would be difficult for Kui Xin to find an opportunity to kill him.

“It seems tonight’s meeting content has made you quite anxious,” Augus said. “What happened?”

“Mechanized Dawn is about to run; they’re abandoning the shell of Rick Technology Company. They know the S-rank Awakened is coming, and they’ve been preparing for the relocation for several days. Now the move is almost complete, and they’ll start transferring core members and research equipment tomorrow during the day,” Kui Xin said softly. “I can’t bear to see something I dislike disappear, which makes me very unhappy.”

“There will be opportunities. The S-rank Awakened has actually already arrived,” Augus replied. “He arrived in Hei Hai City just fifteen minutes ago. He Gaoyi’s overtime is precisely because of this matter.”

Kui Xin froze. “He’s here?”

“I won’t do nothing, Kui Xin. I can’t let the information leak, allowing Eve to find an opportunity,” Augus said. “The one responsible for liaising with the S-rank Awakened is the Investigation Bureau—this is my job. The information Eve received from the government is that he will arrive tomorrow, but this is actually a deliberately released smokescreen—false intelligence.”