Lin Longwei dropped the girl in front of the university right before the classes had started.

Xu Mei entered the classroom imprecating silently against Lin Longwei for not letting her sleep at all. She had tried to relax on the way back, but the excitement caused by the visit to Lin Longwei's secret lab hindered her rest. What was the worst, she didn't even see the bullet transport tunnels!

Mu Jian sneered when he saw the dark circles around her eyes. Xu Mei was too tired to answer to his provocation, so she decided to ignore his cunning smile. She would have gone home to rest if they didn't have a test that morning.

«I see you were busy all night,» Mu Jian said while entering the auditorium.

«I was busy writing code,» she replied. She didn't need to lie, in the end.

«So busy that you didn't change your clothes.»

«I realised the time too late.»

«Who do you think you're lying to? Simple coding can't possibly make you look that bad. You have been doing something else.»

«Think what you want,» she ended the conversation and sat on her usual place. The professor entered just in time and handed the paper tests to his assistants.

She focused on the test, trying to do as much as she could.

When time finished, she delivered her answer sheets and headed back to sleep.

«Are you already leaving?» Mu Jian asked, following the girl.

«I'm going to sleep. We'll meet after dinner as we've already agreed.»

Xu Mei went into her room and didn't have the strength to change but directly collapsed on the bed. She didn't wake up until dinner time.

She ate fast and took a shower before going out. She made sure to leave her phone in the room.

Mu Jian was waiting for her in the park near the university.

They walked in silence, both lost in thoughts. They reached a little house used for keeping tools for the park's maintenance and entered. Inside, they opened a trap-door and went down a narrow spiral staircase.

Once down, they used a torch to make light along the way. They finally reached a door with an electronic lock. They entered a code and could see the headquarters of the Insurgents.

The first room was empty and dark, but the next one was quite crowded.

The large central table was surrounded by people playing cards and drinking while, on the sides, some souls were talking in small groups.

The two youngsters crossed the room and reached the end of the lounge. They walked in a dark hallway.

«You are finally back,» a man's voice uttered with worry.

A forty-years-old man was standing in the dark with his arms crossed. He was tall and had a trained physique. He signalled with his head to enter in a small office. His dark hair was wet, and his eyes had the same shape as Xu Mei's.

«Uncle Ling, it's a pleasure to meet you ag...» Mu Jian started, intending to ease the tension.

«Shut up and go play with the others. I need to talk with the girl.»

«Understood, boss. See you later!» the boy retreated after being roared at.

Xu Mei followed the man in the office and sat sprawled on a shabby chair.

«What happened?»

«During the operation, I failed to reach the satellite dish and couldn't disrupt the signal. The security guards found me, so I fled. I was nearly out of danger when I met some underlings of Shen Peng.»

«How did you survive?»

«Well, I'm not sure. Shen Peng simply delivered me as a gift.»

«To whom?»

«Lin Longwei.»

«That's an interesting divergence,» the man considered while writing on a notebook.

Xu Mei ignored his sentences when she couldn't understand them fully, which happened quite often.

«He has a secret lab developing strange stuff,» Old Ling said while tapping his chin with the pen.

«I know,» Xu Mei answered directly.

Old Ling happened to have a lot of information at hand, and no one could guess how he obtained it, but she was used to that.

«Did you visit it?»

Xu Mei raised her eyebrows. «Does Senator Lin bring anyone there?»

«Not anyone. Consider this as an intuition, but I think you're the first person he showed his toys to.»

«How can you predict something like that? Are you an oracle?» the girl asked, getting up.

«Something of that sort.»

Xu Mei sat back and sighed.

Old Ling was a monster. Not only he could find information no one else had, but he could also predict outcomes with frightening precision.

Xu Mei had heard stories about how he guessed the lottery numbers when the Insurgents were at the very beginning and needed fundings.

«Did Xu Yanhuo already take advantage of the situation?»

«He gave me orders.»

«He'll try to pass a law that orders people to install under-skin chips. For sanitary reasons, they'll say. It cannot be approved, by any means.»

«I don't know, I didn't inquiry exactly which regulation was my grandfather talking about. He said he needed more than half for the quorum.»

«Then it's about the voting process. I'm not sure yet. It may be about increasing the number of representatives in the Senate or the conditions for eligibility. Both the reforms are in Xu Yanhuo's plan, and they may seem innocuous at first glance. However, the Prime Minister has hidden purposes. It's better to delay the approval until we find out more.»

«Why do I feel like you already know everything?»

«It's all a mask. You should learn too. It may come in handy.»

«Old Ling, you have the talent to be a politician. However, can we go back to my kidnapping for a moment?»

«Yes, what do you think?»

«We have a mole.»