Code as proof
Yundu International Convention and Exhibition Center·Underground Parking Lot
When the elevator stopped at the B3 floor, Charlotte's pearl earrings began to heat up - this was the emergency signal set by Alexander. Nineteen seconds ago, he transmitted a code to the microchip in her earrings, and the rolling hexadecimal numbers cast a faint blue light on her earlobes.
"Turn left to the seventh column." She read the coordinates on her skin, and her high heels tapped out the rhythm of Morse code on the epoxy floor. The daytime running lights of the Mercedes-Benz S600 lit up, and the on-board AI greeted her in her father's voice: "The risk factor of driving at night is 72%, it is recommended to turn on the armed mode."
In the rearview mirror, three figures wearing gas masks poured out from the fire escape. Charlotte slammed the steering wheel, and the tires scraped against the concrete pillars, sparking. The passenger seat suddenly tilted back automatically, revealing a silver-gray suitcase embedded in the headrest.
"Authentication passed." A mechanical female voice sounded. On the black velvet inside the box, there lay a USB flash drive with the Morningstar logo, and a sketch of a "super refrigerator" she had drawn on her father's workbench when she was seven years old - the fresh-keeping layer was painted with ice cream wearing a crown, and the freezer was marked "bad guy prison".
The sound of the pursuer's modified electric motorcycle engine approached. Charlotte bit open the USB flash drive protective cover and pushed the interface into the hidden slot under the steering wheel. The dashboard suddenly lit up with countless red warnings, and the AI switched to Alexander's recording: "Hold the steering wheel tight, baby."
The whole car suddenly made a mechanical reorganization sound. Four sets of titanium alloy gripping spikes extended from the chassis, and the sunroof slid open to raise the miniature electromagnetic turret. The rearview mirror popped out a holographic sight, and Charlotte's pupils were locked by the iris recognition frame.
"This is not my father's design." She stepped on the accelerator, and the onboard computer automatically calibrated the trajectory.
"It's ours." Alexander's real-time communication was connected, "You draw the prison, I make weapons."
Amid the buzz of the electromagnetic gun charging, she heard the sound of fighting in the background. After a loud noise of something heavy hitting a metal cabinet, Alexander's panting was bloody: "Find the safe at No. 23 Jinli Lane. The password is the date of your first birthday to me."
"Are you injured?"
"Less seriously than the night at Imperial College."
The holographic sight suddenly locked onto the leader of the pursuers. Charlotte recognized the snake tattoo on the man's neck - two months ago, in the Morningstar North American branch's leak case, this pattern appeared on the photo of the engineer who was silenced.
"Don't kill him!" she shouted anxiously.
"Yes, sir." Alexander chuckled.
The electromagnetic gun switched to anesthesia mode, and the blue arc accurately hit the charging ports of three electric motorcycles. The pursuer twitched and crashed into a ball, and the gas mask cracked to reveal the purple corners of his mouth - it was Lawyer Wang who was supposed to be recuperating overseas.
The phone vibrated wildly, and the financial APP pushed breaking news: "Morningstar Group is suspected of violating military technology regulations, and the exchange urgently suspended trading." The accompanying picture is a screenshot of the surveillance camera in the underground garage: Charlotte leans over the weaponized Mercedes-Benz, her profile overlaps with the photo of her in her father's laboratory when she was a teenager.
A video request pops up on the car screen. Alexander's face fills the entire center console, blood dripping down his chin onto his untied tie. Behind him is the server room with sparks, and next to him lies the remains of a disassembled robot. The Thor's Hammer logo on the chest makes Charlotte gasp - this is the private security model of Thunder Appliances.
"Dear," he held up half a charred circuit board, "on the back of your father's 1998 patent application, there is a marriage agreement."
The tire friction sound suddenly became sharp. Charlotte braked in front of the cast iron door of No. 23 Jinli Lane, and the USB flash drive suddenly began to automatically play the recording:
"On November 7, 2002, Lin Jianye and Zhou Weimin jointly signed a technology sharing agreement..." His father's voice was torn apart by electromagnetic interference, "...if the children of both parties within ten years..."
The explosion came from both the mobile phone and reality. Charlotte turned her head and looked towards the exhibition center. The night sky had been dyed amber by the fire, just like the dusk of the laboratory accident.
The access control system suddenly lit up the face recognition frame. Alexander's injured face appeared on the scanning screen, and the fire in the distance was reflected in his eyes: "The fingerprint lock is burned, use this."
He ripped open his shirt in front of the camera, revealing the skin on his chest. There was a binary code tattooed there, rising and falling with his breathing in the firelight - it was exactly what Charlotte wrote in the graduation yearbook that year:
01000110 01101111 01110010 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010
(Forever)