Hearing Room 401's words, He-Gu felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
"Where on earth does 111 get his information from?"
Just last night, 111 had mentioned he got wind of 369 planning to take advantage of the situation to strike at him, so he had arranged for 401 to take out 369 in advance.
Tonight, 111 had 401 deliver a message that 449 would make a move against him ahead of time?
Where was his intelligence coming from?
Everyone was wearing blue, was 111 really that well-connected?
Faced with He-Gu's question, 401 simply shrugged and said indifferently, "I don't know about that."
He-Gu kept his guard up internally but didn't dwell on the issue, instead asking, "Is there any other information?"
401 shook his head and added, "Actually, you don't need to worry. It's not even midnight yet, which means you're not in your weak period. The average person in green can't possibly be a match for you."
Hearing this, He-Gu glanced at 401, "You made your move before midnight last night too, didn't you also take out 369?"
At this, 401 gave a mysterious smile, "That was me, not every green-clothed person has that ability."
With that, 401 waved his hand, "Anyway, just do what you need to do, don't worry too much. If it really comes down to it, aren't I here? I'll step in when you need me."
He-Gu nodded slightly upon hearing 401's words, but a trace of unease grew in his heart.
Yesterday's 369 might have agreed to help him on the surface, hoping to benefit from the situation, so what about today's 401?
Even 111 might not be sincerely helping him!
After everything that had happened, of course, He-Gu wouldn't trust others so easily anymore.
It's always right to be cautious, especially in a world of strange tales!
However, given his current predicament, He-Gu really had no choice. Even if he couldn't fully trust 401, he couldn't refuse his help.
Seeing He-Gu's worried look, 401 patted his shoulder and said, "Relax, the help I can offer you is definitely greater than you imagine!"
He-Gu nodded, not wanting to continue the topic, and changed the subject, "By the way, do you have a phone charger? The common Android type."
401 was taken aback by the question and laughed, "In this place, you might not even make a call once a month, it's almost like carrying bricks, you still use that thing?"
He-Gu shrugged, "At least it can serve as a flashlight."
401 laughed, "I haven't used my phone for days, the charger is still here, I'll give it to you."
With that, 401 went back to his office, took a charger out of the drawer, and handed it to He-Gu.
He-Gu nodded, "Thanks."
He also felt a little relieved, at least he didn't have to worry about his phone running out of battery.
After chatting for a bit, 401 returned to his office.
***
He-Gu sat in his office, deep in thought.
If 111's information was reliable and 449 really planned to act before midnight… then he might have some other reliance?
Otherwise, acting before the weak period seemed like an unwise choice.
What kind of reliance could give 449 the confidence to deal with a blue-clothed person not in their weak period?
And how exactly did 401 manage to take out 369 last night outside of the weak period?
What about 401? If 401 also had designs on him, what if he turned on him at the critical moment?
The more He-Gu thought about it, the more he felt a headache coming on. The current situation was really very unfavorable for him!
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
As He-Gu was pondering, a few crow caws suddenly came from outside the window.
He-Gu tensed up and stood to look out the window.
It was nearly nine o'clock, and it had already grown dark outside, with nothing but darkness visible through the window.
He-Gu pressed his forehead against the glass and shielded the light from both sides with his hands to see better. He spotted a black cat crouched on the asbestos tile roof not far away, looking up in a pouncing posture as if ready to kill its prey.
Following the cat's gaze upward, He-Gu saw a crow flapping its wings in mid-air, struggling.
The crow seemed to be tangled in an invisible string, desperately flapping but unable to fly away.
As He-Gu watched, he suddenly heard footsteps in the corridor outside.
Turning around, he saw the manager walking towards him from the other end of the hallway.
He-Gu thoughtfully sat back down in his chair.
From last night until now, every time he heard the cawing of crows, the manager would come to check on him shortly after.
Could this be some kind of hidden mechanism?
Was the cawing of the crows a warning, alerting the blue-clothed that the manager was coming?
However, the manager would appear less than a minute after the crows finished cawing, making this warning quite short-lived.
If one really wanted to leave their post to do something, by the time they heard the crows, it would be too late!
And if He-Gu took advantage of the night to go to the security department… would he still be able to hear the crows if he was too far away?
As He-Gu was contemplating, the manager had already arrived at his office.
At this moment, He-Gu noticed that the manager still had the same pouch around his waist from last night!
The manager stood at the door and glanced at He-Gu, seemingly just to make sure he was at his post.
After looking, he didn't speak and turned to leave.
Through the glass wall, He-Gu watched the manager go through the motions, glancing at the door of each office before leaving at a leisurely pace.
Watching the manager leave, He-Gu felt somewhat uneasy and quickly went to check on Storage Room 44.
Inside Storage Room 44, 449 looked at He-Gu with indifference, as if his arrival was expected.
He-Gu ignored him and without a word, thoroughly inspected the entire storage room, including 449 himself, but still found nothing.
***
Soon, it was almost ten o'clock.
He-Gu arrived early at Storage Room 44, first inspecting 449's medicine, then watching him take it.
At the same time, He-Gu also took a "fake pill" he had prepared in advance in front of 449.
And so, He-Gu and 449 were at a standoff.
In the following time, He-Gu checked Storage Room 44 almost every half hour.
However, after several visits, He-Gu still came up empty-handed.
Time passed by, second by second, and before he knew it, it was 23:55.
He-Gu glanced at the time, it seemed that the other party wouldn't act before midnight.
But this wasn't necessarily good news. 449's "unchanging" behavior made He-Gu increasingly uneasy and anxious.
"Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Just then, the window once again transmitted the urgent cawing of crows, this time even more frantic than usual.
He-Gu's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively turned his head towards the end of the corridor.
Before long, the manager's figure indeed appeared there.
This time, He-Gu noticed that the manager had slung that pouch around his waist again.
He-Gu's heart leaped, and he stood up to walk out.
If the manager intended to deliver tools to 449, then by being in Storage Room 44 ahead of time, the manager couldn't possibly hand over a bunch of "contraband" to 449 in front of him, right?
This was a contingency plan He-Gu had come up with on the fly!
However, He-Gu had just reached the office door when the manager's voice came from behind, "444! Where are you going?!"
He-Gu didn't stop, turning his head to shout, "I'm going to check the storage room."
But the manager snorted coldly, "Come back here! Why haven't you turned in yesterday's attendance sheet and duty report?"
Attendance sheet? Duty report?
He-Gu's heart sank, cursing inwardly, Damn it, you never said I had to turn those in!
Of course, He-Gu knew this wasn't the time to quibble, and casually replied, "Ah, I didn't know. I'll make up for it tomorrow morning after my shift."
In the few moments of this exchange, He-Gu had reached the stairwell, ready to go downstairs.
But then the manager's cold voice came, "Either you come back now and make it up to me, or later, you go to the 2nd floor of Building 3 yourself to submit it!"
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan