Chapter 170: Thief's Laboratory

After finishing today's tasks, Chu Cheng felt like he'd gained a lot of new fans—fans in more ways than one.

First, there was the Spider-Man craze in Jiangdu. Spider-Man's heroic deeds spread all over the city in a single day. Not only did Spider-Man gain a huge following, but Chu Cheng also figured his stunt of stopping a train with his bare hands probably sent the people at the madhouse (Secret Service) into another panic.

Their superhero team (The Justice League) seemed to be constantly sprinting in the wrong direction, doing something outlandish every few days that left the higher-ups and experts in a sleepless frenzy.

Then came the pressure from the underworld and the hitmen in Harborview City. Batman and Daredevil had only been active in the city for a few days. Although they were making headlines with urban legends about fighting street crime, nothing major had happened—until the six Black Sun assassins came after them. In the end, though, the credit (and the blame) for everything was dumped on the newly appointed Chief Li Shou.

Chu Cheng had a feeling this was just the beginning of Li Shou's long journey of being constantly targeted. He could almost smell the "experience points" piling up.

So, when Chu Cheng swapped out Batgirl for Daredevil and kept farming for experience points, he decided to make sure the action route included the regular paths between Li Shou's office at the police department and his home.

At this point, Li Shou had basically become bait. His role was like a piece of cheese in a mousetrap, or like a hunter luring in prey. All Chu Cheng had to do was wait, and top-tier assassins from around the world would come after Li Shou. 

For Chu Cheng, this was "easy money."

Earlier that day, while Daredevil was farming, Chu Cheng intercepted some intel and triggered a side mission. He learned that a few assassins were planning to ambush the police chief.

Realizing that Li Shou was probably getting all the credit for his own actions, Chu Cheng was a bit amused. He also told Friday to make a note in his schedule to remind him about the evening ambush so he could swoop in and deal with it.

When night came, Chu Cheng logged off his main account, switched back to Batgirl, found the location, took down the assassins in no time, and then switched back to Daredevil to keep farming before logging off again.

The whole process took no more than five minutes, and Chu Cheng easily collected four valuable hits, earning him a nice chunk of points and experience. It was a quick side task in the middle of his main mission, but it didn't slow down his work.

While all this was going on, a group tied to the pharmaceutical factory claimed there were some shady dealings happening in the Secret Service. Chu Cheng only half believed them—given how shady the Secret Service always seemed to him, it wouldn't have been a surprise if there were some insiders. Still, there wasn't any solid proof to back it up.

Chu Cheng had already gotten familiar with the Secret Service, so the first thing he needed to do was check how clean the pharmaceutical factory really was. He had Friday look into it, and, sure enough, they weren't lying. Hidden within the pharmaceutical companies was an actual official government agency.

The last few days, the Ninth Division of the Secret Service had been in talks with these people. The results weren't clear yet, but it seemed like things were more complicated than expected. The agency behind the pharmaceutical company? It turned out to be an old friend—the intelligence and investigation bureau, a group known for pulling scams with fake documents.

But it wasn't the Bureau of Intelligence itself, exactly. It was a special division under them called the Bureau of Special Intelligence and Investigation, set up to handle supernatural occurrences like haunted relics and ancient artifacts. The Grove Group was just one of their fronts.

Chu Cheng figured the agency had probably been inactive for a while since supernatural events had been rare before the recent outbreak. But now, the Grove Group had taken on a life of its own.

In any case, Chu Cheng couldn't help but feel that the name "Grove" was unlucky. When read backward, it seemed to be a bad omen, like the company had put a curse on itself.

If it had just been a group of drug dealers, that would've been one thing. But now it seemed like they were actually intelligence agents mixed up with supernatural stuff. Chu Cheng suspected they were probably just as shady as the Secret Service, if not worse. He even joked that they might as well rename themselves "ICU" because, rounding things up, they seemed like the psych ward's brother department at the Secret Service.

Now that the Bureau of Special Intelligence and Investigation's identity was confirmed, Chu Cheng realized he needed to take their accusations a lot more seriously.

It's clear that the Secret Service has its issues—no one can deny that. Ever since Phantoms started appearing, the Secret Service's approach to handling these non-human entities has mostly been to sit back and hope someone stronger steps in to fix the mess.

But even though it feels like they're playing for the other team sometimes, Chu Cheng can't outright say they're all traitors. After all, it's possible some of them are just really good at their jobs.

Ever since Chu Cheng got a backdoor into their systems at the Secret Service, he's been torn about what he should and shouldn't have seen. He hasn't found any clear evidence to prove that someone inside is working against them. But if the insider is careful, they wouldn't leave traces on the main server. So Chu Cheng's plan is to investigate key people within the organization to see if anyone's hiding something.

Based on the pharmaceutical factory's intel, the mole is high-ranking—someone who can influence big decisions. Some of the top executives have private servers, and Chu Cheng figures that's where the real secrets might be stashed.

His first target? Old Thief Miyazaki.

Chu Cheng didn't need the pharmaceutical factory to point fingers. If anyone looked shady enough to be the traitor, it was Miyazaki. The guy never seemed trustworthy from the start. His obsession with research always seemed more intense than his pursuit of justice. Plus, the fact that he survived being shot in the head by a Phantom with just a scratch? Yeah, that smelled suspicious.

The private homes and labs of top executives in the Secret Service are highly classified, even within the organization. But that's not a problem when you've got Friday on your side—there's no such thing as "classified" to her.

They quickly tracked down Miyazaki's secret underground lab, which was guarded by a top-tier security system and hidden so well most people wouldn't even know where to look.

But for Chu Cheng, who had Batgirl's abilities, entrances weren't needed at all.

Like a real bat in the moonlight, Chu Cheng swooped down using his detective mode to pinpoint the lab's location. With a swift glide to the marked spot, he pulled his cape and rolled smoothly upon landing.

"Alan mode activated."

The vibration pierced through the ground, and Chu Cheng, moving like a blur, broke through the metal barriers. As he cut through the thick walls, his cloak flared out, slowing his descent right at the last second.

As Batman stood at the elevator, cloaked in Miyazaki's holographic disguise, the situation required precise execution. The elevator had scanned his fake face and verified the retina, but the voiceprint verification was the final hurdle.

The artificial intelligence's greeting, "Good evening, Professor Miyazaki," was more than a pleasantry. The AI awaited a vocal response—a crucial final layer of security that operated independently from the hacked sensor system. If Batman failed to respond correctly, the lab's security would lock down, alerting Miyazaki and triggering a cascade of countermeasures.

But Batman, prepared for this challenge, had anticipated the voiceprint trap. He activated a small device in his glove—a voice modulator that had been synced with samples of Miyazaki's voice, which Chu Cheng had gathered through prior surveillance.

The modulator clicked into action just as the AI expected a response. With perfect timing, Batman's altered voice responded in Miyazaki's deep, composed tone, "Good evening."

The elevator doors slid open smoothly.

He stepped inside, and the descent began—straight into the heart of the secret lab, where Miyazaki's darkest research and secrets awaited. The lab was likely filled with layers of traps, hidden files, and the very evidence Chu Cheng sought to expose the old thief.

As the elevator hummed downwards, Batman's mind raced through scenarios, preparing for anything. This was the moment to uncover the truth behind Miyazaki's involvement—and possibly the key to dismantling the entire corrupt infrastructure within the Secret Service's Nine Departments.

The descent continued in silence, the faint hum of machinery the only sound in the steel cage, as Batman prepared to face whatever lay ahead.

As Batman accessed the files on Miyazaki's server, a treasure trove of data unraveled before his eyes. Project after project appeared on the screen—each encrypted folder quickly cracked open by the universal hacking tool. Chu Cheng, watching through Batman's visor, couldn't help but admire the sheer scale of Miyazaki's operations.

The projects tied to the Secret Service's Ninth Division were extensive. Some focused on bioengineering, advanced weaponry, and even a few strange experiments related to mind control—deeply unethical and disturbingly detailed. But it was the private research that intrigued Chu Cheng the most. Hidden in these folders were the personal obsessions of Professor Miyazaki—experiments he was conducting without the official sanction of the Secret Service.

One project involved reverse-engineering ancient artifacts with paranormal capabilities, an effort to harness supernatural powers and fuse them with modern technology. Another research file explored ways to enhance human soldiers with regenerative capabilities, similar to the techniques used by the superhuman entities Chu Cheng had encountered.

What caught Batman's eye, though, was a folder labeled "Project Phantom." This was it—the key to unraveling the mysterious events surrounding the lunatic asylum and the growing phantom threats in the city.

"Interesting indeed," Chu Cheng muttered under his breath, knowing this might hold answers to the supernatural occurrences that had been plaguing Huicheng.

He initiated a rapid download of the files, all while keeping his guard up. Despite the silence in the lab, Batman remained on high alert. Miyazaki's facility was known for its traps, and the deeper he delved into the old thief's work, the more likely something—or someone—might try to intervene.

As the download neared completion, Chu Cheng knew this information could be explosive. Not only could it expose Miyazaki's corruption and the shady dealings of the Secret Service, but it might also reveal the hidden hand behind the phantom events.

With the files securely downloaded, Batman prepared to make his exit. But something about the stillness of the lab felt off—too quiet, as if he were being watched.