Chapter 48 - Code name: Dragon Vaillant
Tang Mo's five senses have become much sharper since his physical improvement. But he really discovered Fu Wenduo's presence after the glowing stone fell from the sky. Even though Fu Wenduo was hiding, Tang Mo's sixth sense noticed that something was wrong when the stone rolled next to the pillar where he was hiding.
He pretended not to notice, and as quickly as he could, he drew his parasol and stabbed the other man as he picked up the stone.
If he had been hiding for so long without being discovered, he had definitely been here before him. After Tang Mo fought with this man, he gradually sensed a hint of familiarity. After they had made contact, a name came to his mind...
Fu Wenduo .
Half a month ago, the two had teamed up against Pinocchio in an honest card game, and Tang Mo realised that Fu Wenduo wouldn't have time to react to his first thrust, so he turned his body into a metal weapon and blocked the tip of the parasol. The familiar sound of metal on metal, followed by the crisp, sharp strike that Fu Wenduo made on the other side of the table, is the same impression that Fu Wenduo left on Tang Mo in the Pinocchio side.
However, knowing who you are doesn't mean Tang Mo can let your guard down.
He tightened his grip on the small parasol, put it around Fu Wenduo's throat and said coldly, "Mr. Fu, why are you here?"
Granny Wolf's parasol can be used as a defensive weapon when opened, and as an offensive weapon when closed, only the tip of the parasol can be used. This is the description of the parasol. Tang Mo's use of the parasol does not harm Fu Wenduo now that he is imprisoned, just as the dagger Fu Wenduo holds at his waist is unsheathed.
"Looking for someone." Fu Wenduo's voice echoed somewhat nicely in the empty car park.
The glowing stones did not allow the light to reach this far, and in the darkness the two men's breaths intertwined as if they were one.
Tang Mo calmly asks, "Looking for someone?"
Tang Mo did not take it for granted that Fu Wenduo was looking for himself. If he was really looking for him, he could have contacted him with a turkey egg. When he left the Pinocchio copy, Tang Mo told Fu Wenduo that he was in Pudong. Although he had no intention of actually meeting the stowaway after leaving the copy, it would have been logical for Fu Wenduo to assume that Tang Mo would approve of the meeting after hearing where he was.
So Fu Wenduo didn't use the fire egg to contact himself in advance and sneak into the mall, in all probability the person he was looking for had nothing to do with Tang Mo.
With a flick of his finger, Fu Wenduo's dagger against Tang Mo's belly retracted and landed with a clatter in the hidden inner buckle of his waist.
Tang Mo was silent for a moment, stood up slightly straighter and put the small parasol back.
Fu Wenduo noticed Tang Mo's movement and an imperceptible smile tugged at his lips, "I'm looking for someone that perhaps you know. Since you're here, it means you're probably a member of that organisation too."
Tang Mo's heart tightened. He understood that Fu Wenduo had mistaken him for a member of the Atak organisation. Without retorting, he said indifferently, "You mean the Atak Organisation?"
"Yes."
The Atak group has a bit of a reputation in Shanghai, and a few scattered teams of players and player groups have known about them for a long time. After they wiped out a group of heart-eating stowaways, other lone players gradually came to know their name.
Somehow an answer came to Tang Mo's mind and he asked, "Who are you looking for?"
In the dim light, Tang Mo could not see the other man's expression, but he felt that those dark eyes were now firmly fixed on him.
Fu Wenduo said the name of the man: "Luo Fengcheng, head of the Shanghai branch A team at China The black tower research institute."
No one in the entire Atak organisation knew Luo Fengcheng's true identity, only that he was a doctor at a research institute in Shanghai. Fu Wenduo's identity cannot be simple if he can tell Luo Fengcheng's identity accurately. And he was strong. He was able to sneak into Atak's base by himself without being detected by any of the members, and if he insisted on meeting Luo Fengcheng, Tang Mo could not stop him.
Tang Mo thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "I'll take you to him."
Fu Wenduo curled his lips slightly: "Good."
Tang Mo puts the small pink parasol into his backpack and turns to take Fu Wenduo to Luo Fengcheng's office. Before leaving, he picks up the stones that have rolled to the ground seemingly at random.
As the two walked up to the glowing stone, Fu Wenduo's form fell into Tang Mo's eyes.
He was tall and deep-faced, and when he saw Tang Mo pick up the stone, he looked calm and unconcerned.
Tang Mo, however, calmly said, "That was a prop just now, I got it by clearing a copy game." There are some things that would dispel some speculations if they were said directly.
Fu Wenduo nodded gently, without asking more questions, and didn't seem to be concerned about Tang Mo hitting the wall.
The two walked together to the stairwell.
Just as he was about to go up the stairs, Fu Wenduo's low voice rang out, "When you use that prop, you have to hit the wall?"
Tang Mo: "..."
You simply still see it!!!
Tang Mo ignored this man. He took Fu Wenduo, expressionless, to the third basement level of the car park and knocked on Luo Fengcheng's door. He entered the room first, where Luo Fengcheng was studying the copy of the Iron Shoemaker's reality he had found a few days before. Surprised to see Tang Mo, he said, "I thought you wouldn't come to me until Jackass and the others were out of the assembled copy?"
"That was the intention." Tang Mo didn't deny it as he said, "But there is someone who wants to see you."
Luo Fengcheng sensed a hint of something wrong: "Who." He stood up.
Tang Mo sidles up and a tall figure enters the room. He is half a head taller than Tang Mo, and when they stand together, Tang Mo looks like a sheathed sword with a sharp edge; the man is more like a heavy black sword, with a large, unrefined, hidden edge.
Luo Fengcheng's hand was slightly heavier on the paper. He was a very unfit reservist, but at the moment he sensed that this man was just as dangerous as Tang Mo. Maybe even more dangerous (in terms of force) than Tang Mo.
Tang Mo looked at Luo Fengcheng's wary expression and realised that he didn't know Fu Wenduo at all. After all, he had known Luo Fengcheng for days and Tang Mo took the initiative to help Luo Fengcheng gain the upper hand: "He's Fu Wenduo."
Luo Fengcheng's expression became very rich for a moment.
Tang Mo watched his expression change from surprise to disbelief, and finally he smiled, with a look of recognition. Luo Fengcheng said, "Mr. Fu, it's been a long time since I've heard of you. I think it's time for everyone in China to hear about it when Earth comes online."
Tang Mo's eyes stared and caught that key word: Major.
Fu Wenduo stood beside Tang Mo and said, "You knew I would come to you?"
"I thought if anyone was still alive, they would come to me." Luo Fengcheng said, "So when I left the Institute, I deliberately rearranged my office. If someone came to the Institute looking for information, with a little effort they would be able to tell I was still alive. Unfortunately I didn't know you were still alive at that time, Mr. Fu. If you had opened the ground floor of The black tower a little earlier, I would have been able to make a better arrangement."
Tang Mo stood calmly to one side, as if he was just casually listening to them, without interrupting.
Luo Fengcheng looked over at him and said, " Tang Mo, it looks like you have known Mr. Fu School for a long time?"
Tang Mo: "I think all the players in China remember his name. I met him through some chance, when he and I were both in the game during the Christmas benefit copy." Tang Mo did not reveal MOMO's existence.
Luo Fengcheng nodded: "So that's it. The reason your game is so difficult is because the other player is Fu Wenduo. No wonder."
Fu Wenduo was the first player in China to clear the first level of The black tower, and with him, it's sure to get harder.
Tang Mo has done his job by bringing Fu Wenduo here. It seems that Luo Fengcheng and Fu Wenduo have known each other for a long time, or at least are not complete strangers. With his work done, Tang Mo is ready to leave, not interested in eavesdropping on their conversation.
Luo Fengcheng said, "Mr. Fu, I can probably guess what you came to Shanghai for."
Fu Wenduo raises his eyebrows slightly.
Fu Wenduo blocked the door to death. Tang Mo wanted to get out, but found that the man had only left himself a ten centimetre path, so he could not get out at all. He was about to ask the other man to give way when Luo Fengcheng said, "Tang Mo, I think with your strength you may have been through something similar. Would you be interested in staying to hear about the only discovery we made at The black tower research facility in the Shanghai branch before Earth went online?"
Tang Mo's feet hit the floor and he turned back, "You said you hadn't worked out anything."
"Yes, we haven't worked out anything that would change The black tower." Luo Fengcheng admits honestly, "But we have discovered a strange phenomenon. This phenomenon does not affect The black tower, nor does it stop The black tower game."
Tang Mo: "What is the phenomenon?"
Luo Fengcheng lifted his head and looked at him steadily, "Before Earth came online, did you feel irritable and your heart ... beat faster?"
Tang Mo was shocked and he was silent for a long time, withdrawing his desire to leave the area.
Luo Fengcheng smiled, " Tang Mo, Mr. Fu School, come in and sit down."
When he heard Luo Fengcheng mention his name together with Fu Wenduo's, Tang Mo felt something strange. He glanced up at the man beside him and walked to the chair in the room and sat down. Fu Wenduo glanced at him, curled his lips and went to sit in another chair.
A bright desk lamp lights up the small room. Luo Fengcheng tidies up the mess of papers on the table and puts them in a drawer, he sits on one side of the table, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo on the other.
Luo Fengcheng laughed, "Since you stayed, Tang Mo, it seems that you too had a rapid heartbeat before you came online on Earth. In the Atak organisation, only Nie Fei had this phenomenon. Unfortunately, Nie Fei is no longer with us, so I assume Mr. Fu's school has had a similar phenomenon besides you?"
Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng turned their heads together to look at Fu Wenduo.
Fu Wenduo looked calm and nodded.
Luo Fengcheng: "On the 15th of November, The black tower announced the launch of Earth, giving three days to select players. On the night of the 17th, we found four patients with rapid heartbeats in three hospitals in Shanghai. Their symptoms were very similar - rapid heartbeat, irritability, moodiness and inability to calm down."
Tang Mo thinks about his own experience of those three days.
Luo Fengcheng looked at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo's unchanging expressions as he said, "The time left to study the symptom after the discovery of the anomaly was so small that we hadn't worked out any clues before the 18th arrived and the game officially started. But after the official start of the game, I've had time to take my time to study the phenomenon. I met Nie Fei, who gave me a lot of research material and direction. In the end, before his encounter, I came up with some ideas for a phenomenon I call - "
"The black tower selection."
Tang Mo's heart skipped a beat.
Luo Fengcheng's voice stops and he looks to Fu Wenduo.
"Mr. Fu School, you seem to have known each other for a long time, perhaps you know each other better than I do, so I don't need to introduce you to Tang Mo." He looked at Tang Mo again and smiled, " Tang Mo, let me introduce to you. Code name Kingpin, captain of China's Southwest Military Region's Special A Team, China's current youngest Major - Fu Wenduo."
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The author has something to say.
Tangtang: And you say you didn't see it! You obviously saw everything and you still say that! You still say that!!!
Mr. Fu: ... #what should I do if my daughter-in-law wants me to play dumb?