The Overworked Beta and the Paranoid Alpha 17

Chapter 17: I Admit I Have Some Selfish Motives

The black van sped along the road like a giant longhorn beetle.
RV and Klin sat in the front, while Wen En, Della, and the others sat in the back.
The front and back seats of the van were separated by a one-way, transparent, bulletproof, and heatproof tempered glass partition. Those in the back could see the front, but those in the front couldn’t see the back. This was to facilitate observation of the outside.
“Can I smoke?” Klin asked.
“Of course,” RV said. “Give me one too.”
The red light came on, and Klin stepped on the brake, coming to a stop.
He fished a pack of cigarettes out of the cup holder, put one in his mouth, and gave another to RV.
“Sorry, I don’t have a lighter,” Klin said with a smile.
“I do,” RV said.
RV took a thumb-sized lighter out of his pocket. The lighter was square-shaped, its surface covered in a wine-red, matte velvet leather. RV opened the lid, revealing a gold-plated interior. A small flame bloomed on the gold.
“After all these years, you’re still using this?” Klin asked in surprise.
“I’ve gotten used to it. I’m too lazy to get a new one,” RV said.
Klin held out his cigarette. The tip touched the flame and quickly lit up, emitting a pungent white smoke. RV lit his as well, put it in his mouth, and just as they had taken a few puffs, the red light turned green.
“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Klin said.
“Faster than I thought,” RV said.
“These kids seem pretty outstanding,” Klin said with a smile.
“Of course, they’re all very talented,” RV said with a smile. “But a group of twenty-somethings can’t really be called kids anymore.”
“You’re still such a stickler for words,” Klin said.
“Haha.”
“Look at our ages. Combined, we’re no different from mummies. Compared to us, they really are a bunch of tender kids,” Klin said.
“Alright, you’re not wrong,” RV said.
“Seeing you still running around on the front lines really fills me with emotion,” Klin said with a sigh. “Today is my last day on Capital Star. Tomorrow at 6:20 in the morning, I’m heading to Planet O78.”
RV looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?” He took a sharp breath. Planet O78 was known for its medical technology. Could it be that Klin…
RV said with difficulty, “Could it be that you’re already…”
“Could you please not overthink things?” Klin said, exasperated. “My daughter works and is married there. Her partner recently had a baby. Can’t I go and take care of them?”
RV was a little disappointed. “Oh.” He had thought Klin was on his deathbed. He had even decided what kind of flowers to bring to the funeral.
“That’s great news,” RV said with a smile. “Congratulations on the new addition to your family.”
“We’re here,” Klin said, looking at the apartment building outside the window. That was the destination for RV and his group.
Klin handed the car keys to RV and said, “Then I wish you a successful mission.”
“Hey, wait,” RV said, seeing Klin get out of the car. “If we take the car, how are you going to get back?”
Klin looked at him strangely. “RV, have you been on field missions for so long that you’ve forgotten how to live on Capital Star?”
“Of course, I’m taking the bus back.”

“Do you need me to give him a ride back?” Wen En asked, watching Klin’s retreating figure.
“No need. He’s taking the bus,” RV said.
“Alright,” Wen En said.
He hadn’t expected there to be buses here.
This place was on the very edge of the main city, near the lower district, separated from it by only a river. It was filled with short, old apartment buildings. But at least it was still part of the main city. Mechanical police officers could be seen patrolling the streets from time to time. Although the facilities were old, the public security was decent.
A mechanical police officer passed by the van and greeted them friendly, “Hello, gentlemen.”
Wen En waved back at them friendly. Otherwise, the facial displays of these robots would show a crying emoji.
Watching Della and the others get out of the car and close the door, RV pressed the lock button and pointed to an apartment building to the left of the van. “Let’s go. We’ll go up first.”
The apartment building looked old, with peeling paint on the walls and small advertisements for plumbing services stuck to the staircase handrails. But the doorknob was a sleek, black, advanced keypad lock.
RV entered the password, and the door opened. He went in first, and the others followed behind him.
Too bad, I didn’t see the password, Romeo thought, following behind.
The apartment building had no elevator, and the lights in the stairwell were broken. Fortunately, it wasn’t a tall building. Their room was on the fifth floor, which was also the top floor.
Romeo frowned, looking at the door with its peeling paint.
This was not like in the movies. The safe houses of agents in the movies looked extremely advanced and futuristic, a world apart from this place with its peeling paint and broken lights.
Alright, he admitted he was disgusted by this kind of place. He used to live in high-end apartments in the main city. Unless a client requested it, he would never set foot in such a dilapidated place…
Thinking of this, Romeo curiously turned his head and glanced at Wen En behind him. Wen En was still very calm, as if he was already used to this kind of place.
“Is there a problem?” Wen En asked, feeling Romeo’s gaze and looking into his eyes.
“No,” Romeo averted his gaze.
Wen En didn’t say much, just glanced at Romeo again.
The peeling door was also fitted with an electronic lock. RV placed his fingerprint on it, and the lock quickly opened.
An idea struck Romeo. A fingerprint lock. Couldn’t he make a copy of the fingerprint key?
Before he could think it through, he felt a pain at the back of his head. “Ow! What was that for!” He turned his head and saw Wen En with his fist raised. That damned Beta, what right did he have to hit him on the head?
“A reminder not to let your mind wander. Get inside,” Wen En said.
“Tch!” Romeo glared at him with displeasure, then followed the others into the safe house. Wen En was the last to enter. After making sure no one was following, he closed the door.

To be honest, the inside of the safe house looked much more futuristic than its exterior.
There was a 1.6-meter-wide electronic display screen, and next to it were several blue-light 6D projection screens for use.
The dustproof, bulletproof glass cabinets along the wall were filled with countless weapons, far more than were in that beetle-like black van.
Alright, this looked more like a movie. Unfortunately, there were only cold equipment and weapons here, no champagne. If there was champagne, it would have more of a movie feel.
“Is this a device for making IDs?” a voice suddenly said. It was Claire’s voice.
“Wait, don’t touch it!” Della’s surprised voice followed immediately.
Then, a flash of lightning-like light filled the entire safe house. The machine on the table in front of Claire buzzed to life. Within seconds, the surface of the mannequin head in the middle of the machine was covered with a layer of skin-colored coating, one shade lighter. Then came the hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and even the pores on the tip of the nose and the lines on the lips were replicated one-to-one.
“My apologies,” Claire said, blinking her eyes, looking very innocent.
“Wow,” this time, even Romeo was surprised. He had never encountered this when he was a con artist. He wanted to try it too.
Before his hand could reach the button Claire had just pressed, he felt another pain at the back of his head.
“Why did you hit me again?!” Romeo cried out, clutching his head.
“Are you a child? Why are your hands so restless?” Wen En didn’t give him a good look either.
Romeo glanced at Claire next to him. Della had pulled her aside and was saying something to her with a grim face.
Claire: “I know, I know.” But she looked like she was smiling, with no remorse at all.
Romeo was even more dissatisfied. “Why did she do it, but I’m the one who gets hit?”
Wen En: “She’s not under my watch. If she were, I’d slap her first, then give you two slaps.”
No, why does he have to get two extra slaps?!!
Romeo’s eyes widened. He began to suspect that Wen En didn’t care who caused the trouble at all. Wen En just wanted to find an opportunity to hit him.
That’s right, he just wanted to find an excuse to slap him. Of course, Wen En wouldn’t say such a thing out loud. He just looked expressionlessly at Romeo, who was stomping his feet in anger in front of him.
“Alright, alright, stop fooling around,” RV stepped in to smooth things over. “Violence is not the answer, but you can’t just touch things either. Otherwise, our organization will not be responsible for the consequences.”
RV said, “Time is tight. Let’s get down to business. Della, you and Claire send out the message that ‘the Vulcan gem that was anonymously traded a few years ago was a fake, and we hope to re-trade with the anonymous trader’.”
“Understood,” Della nodded.
“Are we really sending it?” Claire said, pursing her lips.
Della looked at her without speaking.
“Alright,” Della shrugged and said, “If my enemies rush in here and kill everyone, you can’t blame me when you’re all wandering in hell.”