Chapter 27: Permanent Level One Access

“A bit of light teasing can help ease their constantly tense nerves,” Chu Zhu explained calmly. After a brief pause, he continued, “Well, I should be going now.”

“...Huh? You—wait,” Lu Moxue snapped back to herself and made a decision, “Let’s exchange phone numbers.”

It wasn’t just out of gratitude for saving her life—Lu Moxue genuinely felt comfortable chatting with him. Even if none of today’s events had occurred, she would still be happy to talk to him.

“I don’t have a phone!” Chu Zhu pouted, muttering inwardly—more precisely, he didn’t have a phone in this dream world.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t get one... but in this world, phones looked like fancy smartphones but were only useful for making calls.

Online? Sorry, that feature didn’t exist! So he had no need for such things.

“Ah? Then... how about this?” Lu Moxue hesitated for a long moment before blurting out, “I’ll give you my phone?”

“You’re way too easy to fool!” Chu Zhu gave her a deep look and shook his head. Who would do something like that?

Although Lu Moxue’s phone was expensive, price was the least important aspect. What truly mattered was the status it represented, and the string of contacts stored within—

This phone could even directly reach the private line of the old governor.

Chu Zhu didn’t take advantage of such an obvious convenience. With a firm step, he shot forward like an arrow, leaving Lu Moxue standing silently, lost in thought.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She was startled, then answered.

“Mom... you already know? Hmm... It’s okay, it’s okay... I was saved... I don’t know... I thanked him! I wanted to give him my contact info, but he didn’t have a phone... Yes, Mom, I did something really foolish... He left... I’m scared. It probably wasn’t the act of giving the phone that hurt his pride—I thought about that, so I didn’t give him money directly, but... yes! The Special Operations Unit of the Third District Police Bureau might be able to contact him... His title? Yes, yes, I think I heard those people call him Mr. Zhu?”

A look of confusion crossed Lu Moxue’s face, because immediately after she said those three words, her previously frantic and worried mother suddenly fell silent.

Is that name... famous? Lu Moxue was puzzled.

...

The Third District Police Bureau.

Chu Zhu entered composedly as a familiar alarm blared.

“Who’s there? Damn it!” The guard on duty’s expression shifted dramatically. Drawing his sidearm without hesitation, he aimed at Chu Zhu and barked, “Now! Immediately! Put your hands where I can see them! Stand—”

Susan, sitting nearby, narrowed her eyes sharply. Seeing the guard aim at Chu Zhu, her expression changed even more, and she scolded, “It’s not him! There’s someone else.”

The guard flinched, visibly more panicked, nervously aiming elsewhere. Susan scanned the windows and doors but found no one other than Chu Zhu, tensing up further.

Both were like startled birds, utterly on edge.

“Susan, this time it should be my fault!” Chu Zhu began to explain smoothly, “Turn off the alarm. Uncle Li knows what’s going on. If you don’t trust me, you can call Uncle Li! You should have a way to contact him, right?”

Inwardly, Chu Zhu grumbled about the guard’s reaction—tsk tsk, he looked like an American cop who just saw a black man. How sensitive were these wild superhumans? Or rather, how uncontrollable were they to cause such chaos that the police were so easily triggered?

Susan was clearly stunned, scrutinizing Chu Zhu suspiciously. After a moment, she entered an inner door, and shortly after, the alarm ceased.

“Ah Zhu, you’re joining our police bureau? That’s great!” Susan rushed out, clearly having spoken with Captain Li, her face alight with excitement and barely holding back her words. “I kept saying, you should have joined long ago! Captain Li always acts so awkward about it—I don’t get what the big deal is.”

Chu Zhu just smiled. To Susan, he was someone well-connected in the redevelopment district. If the bureau had cases involving that area, the union was the most effective contact. The reason the Third District Police Bureau had links to the redevelopment union was thanks to Chu Zhu’s efforts.

“Well, I’ll go in and wait for him,” Chu Zhu said, waving as he entered through the inner door.

“Alright, I checked, and Captain Li and the others will take a while! Please wait,” Susan called after him. Even as Chu Zhu disappeared, she spun around excitedly on the spot.

“Really, is that necessary?” the guard muttered to himself but said nothing, standing rigidly by the door. Duty hours meant no interruptions.

...

“Oh no.”

Chu Zhu flipped the switch to open the door at the end of the women’s restroom, then suddenly remembered something.

“Li Kang still hasn’t returned, so he definitely hasn’t registered my identity! Otherwise, the alarm wouldn’t have gone off as soon as I entered... So, is it even useful for me to go in now?”

Chu Zhu chuckled bitterly but stepped inside anyway—after all, he had come this far.

As for whether Li Kang would be surprised that he had accessed the third base—well, if so, he could just leave before Li Kang got back! If they crossed paths, all the better; let Li Kang puzzle over it himself. Chu Zhu felt he still had some face to keep. If worse came to worst, he could always reset things. No big deal.

“Alarm! Alarm!”

The moment Chu Zhu set foot inside, a shrill siren sounded. The silvery walls of the base glowed with a blinding red light.

“Nuwa Seventeen! Verify my identity! Name: Chu Zhu, Gender...” Chu Zhu snapped his fingers dexterously and spoke in fluent Chinese. His eyes flickered, as he noticed the alarm ceased automatically after he spoke.

This was intriguing... Remember, his identity hadn’t been verified yet!

In other words, the underlying logic of Nuwa Seventeen considered anyone fluent in Chinese not a suspicious individual.

Then...

“Verification successful! Identity reconstruction complete!”

“Welcome back, Permanent Level One Clearance Holder: Chu Zhu.”

“Hm?” At that moment, Chu Zhu’s expression changed.