Su Mo frowned and quickly rushed to the main control room at the lowest level.

The moment he entered, the scene in front of him left the Edge Mercenaries stunned.

The control room was littered with corpses, all researchers from this facility, dead for several hours judging by the bloodstains.

In the center, a slender figure lay in a pool of blood.

It was the corpse of An Churan, tortured beyond recognition.

Su Mo walked over and looked at her, falling into a long silence.

This person called “An Churan” was one of the female protagonists of the “Dawn” game, a software engineer affiliated with the Black Domain Group, and a research expert in the field of computer viruses.

Today, November 19, is an extremely important day for the Dawn Realm.

Something of significant influence on future developments was to be completed by An Churan.

That was the Black Extinction Virus, one of the seven major clearance items of the “Dawn” game, on par with the Ancestral Blood Code and Faceless Enzyme.

The Black Extinction Virus had actually been in An Churan’s possession early on, but it wasn’t a complete version.

In the original storyline, An Churan had researched the Black Extinction Virus for years and finally made it usable on November 19, Dawn 152nd Year.

Theoretically, Su Mo could have approached An Churan earlier, but he didn’t.

Because the risk of a “worldline change” was too great.

A butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil could potentially trigger a tornado in Texas, United States.

Such is the butterfly effect.

If he approached An Churan early, even planting a covert agent by her side could trigger a worldline change, affecting the research progress of the Black Extinction Virus.

It might even directly cause this clearance item to vanish, making it impossible to obtain forever.

Thus, Su Mo had never disturbed An Churan previously to ensure the normal development of the Black Extinction Virus and keep this clearance item intact.

But now, this “female protagonist” is dead…

As an important character throughout the storyline, An Churan just died like that…

The impact on the Dawn Realm is probably even greater than the Xinghai Cinema hostage incident.

Dongdong, seeing An Churan’s body, muttered in a daze, “Wow… how big a feud did the killer have with her?”

Chu Nanyi drew a cross over his heart, his face filled with lament, and muttered, “No matter who the killer is, I curse anyone who cruelly destroys flowers and kills beauties to have no little OO.”

Su Mo carefully examined the traces inside and outside the control room.

Soon, he discovered a burnt slash mark in the corridor area.

This was clearly left by a Fire Lizard Laser Combat Knife.

Although the Fire Lizard Laser Combat Knife is a relatively common weapon, it doesn’t mean the wielder is necessarily Ou Chenyu.

But judging by interpersonal connections, the person wielding such a weapon and tormenting An Churan’s body like this can only be Ou Chenyu.

In the original plot, Ou Chenyu never attacked the Wind City Information Research Center.

This is likely another impact brought by a worldline change, related to Ou Chenyu breaking away from Dress and joining Jin Taiyu.

An Churan must have clashed with Ou Chenyu after meeting him, did something she shouldn’t have, or said something she shouldn’t, leading to her tragic death.

Su Mo quickly returned to the control room and said to everyone, “Put on gloves, turn on the computers, and check for any remaining data. Then look for any hard drives, USB drives, chips, or the like—quick!”

The group dispersed to check around and soon relayed their findings.

All data had been erased.

There were no intact electronic storage devices at the scene; all had been destroyed.

Su Mo couldn’t help but frown.

The purpose of his visit was twofold: the “female protagonist” An Churan and the “Black Extinction Virus” she was researching.

As one of the seven major clearance items of the “Dawn” game, the Black Extinction Virus is as important as the Ancestral Blood Code and Faceless Enzyme.

This is a computer virus from the old era, with significant influence on major events to come.

If obtained and controlled, his “soft power” would advance dramatically, and he would have greater leverage in future situations.

Now, both objectives are lost.

The Black Extinction Virus is gone.

The person researching it is also gone.

Su Mo silently hoped: Ou Chenyu had better have taken the source code storage device of the Black Extinction Virus, rather than mindlessly destroy everything.

If the clearance item is destroyed and disappears forever, it would be troublesome.

If the source code is still around, there’s a chance to reclaim it in the future.

After pondering for a moment, Su Mo said to everyone, “Withdraw, we’re heading back to New Moon City.”

Dongdong was stunned: “Huh? We came all this way, and now we’re leaving?”

Su Mo led the way out: “The thing we’re looking for is gone; staying here is pointless. If we encounter the forces of the Black Domain Group, it will be troublesome. Withdraw!”

Su Mo and the others returned to the surface and hurried back to New Moon City overnight.

The incident at the Wind City Information Research Center didn’t cause any ripples externally.

On one hand, the Black Domain Group had sealed off the information and wouldn’t easily publish the scandal of their facility being blown up.

On the other hand, similar destructive acts between the three major corporate giants were too common, happening every moment, and such a low-level facility being destroyed wasn’t worth attention.

Yet no one knew that beneath the seemingly calm surface, an undercurrent had already started to surge, and the course of history was completely changed that dark night.

For Su Mo, Ou Chenyu’s raid on the Wind City Information Research Center and taking the Black Extinction Virus started to make the situation unclear.

Now, this “protagonist” also possessed a clearance item.

Though the Black Extinction Virus can’t enhance a person’s “hard power,” if used well, it’s far more terrifying than most extraordinary powers.

Regarding this plot change, Su Mo needed some time to sort his thoughts, make a plan, and not act rashly.

The next morning, he sat in front of his computer checking emails.

During this period, thousands of emails had accumulated in his inbox, mostly resumes from mercenaries eager to join Edge.

In this sensitive period, Su Mo didn’t trust handing over the resume screening to others, so he had to go through them personally.

After several hours of reading, his eyes became bloodshot. He applied some eye drops, then casually opened the next email.

At this moment, he fixed his gaze, wiped away the excess eye drops with a tissue, and looked at the resume on the screen from someone named “Cao Yilin.”

Su Mo chuckled shortly, muttering to himself, “Ou Chenyu, I haven’t even gone to find you, yet you’re sending yourself to my doorstep?”

In the resume, Cao Yilin claimed to be an independent mercenary, never having joined any Mercenary Corps, with various experiences well-documented and seamless.

But Su Mo knew this guy’s true identity as a secret intelligence agent of the Tiger Fang Mercenary Corps.

When Su Mo used to play games choosing the “Mercenary Corps Leader” origin, he was deeply impressed by this subordinate, Cao Yilin.

This guy always found ways to forge identities and infiltrate other forces, bringing back crucial intelligence without fail.

Ou Chenyu sending Cao Yilin to Edge this time was clearly to plant him as a spy, working from within and coordinating an attack.

This also signaled that Ou Chenyu planned to target Edge.

Su Mo sneered, “You like playing double agents? Then let’s play.”

He placed Cao Yilin’s resume on the “approved” list and scheduled an interview for the afternoon.

To avoid giving away his intentions, Su Mo also scheduled interviews with a dozen other excellent mercenaries.

At 2 PM, Cao Yilin arrived at Edge Mansion as planned.

Su Mo personally escorted him into the meeting room, where the two engaged in friendly dialogue.

Cao Yilin was not only articulate, answering various professional questions with ease, showing no flaws in his fabricated background, but also knew how to provide emotional value to others, making conversations with him very comfortable.

If someone was unaware of his true identity, they might inadvertently allow him to infiltrate the organization.

However, Su Mo found it amusing, knowing the person was a spy yet having to pretend not to, nearly laughing during the interview… He realized he had no talent for acting.

The interview concluded with an on-the-spot contract signing and immediate hiring.

“Director Su, thank you for your trust. I look forward to working with you!” Cao Yilin bid farewell to Su Mo with a big smile and left Edge Mansion.

On his way home, Cao Yilin called Ou Chenyu using an encrypted phone: “Leader, the task is done, it all went smoothly, I’m now an Edge Mercenary.”

“Heh heh heh, don’t worry, it’s impossible to be exposed; if you don’t trust others, surely you trust me? Watch how I’ll mess with that Su guy!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep