Chapter 71: The Test Tube

When David returned to the living room, he caught sight of the alloy suitcase and remembered he had intended to examine the ability he had received from Trainer Jeremy the day before—a matter he cared about deeply. So he had casually left the alloy suitcase in the living room. Who would have thought that after integrating the psychic piercing ability, he would fall into a deep sleep and never get around to inspecting the suitcase’s contents.

He eyed the suitcase, which was secured with a code, and fetched the K2 Military Electronic Countermeasure Device. Although the suitcase’s code system was highly advanced, it was only effective against amateurs; given enough time, David could easily break through it. He paid little attention to the code system, focusing instead on the two faint signals displayed by the device in his hand.

These were location tracking devices, deeply hidden. Had it not been for the powerful signal-capturing capabilities of the K2 device, they might have gone unnoticed. While he had already cracked the code, David did not rush to open the suitcase; instead, he split his attention, sending a portion of his consciousness into Shadow Attendant, who slipped through the suitcase and began a meticulous inspection from within.

The organization was far too enigmatic for David to trust that they had only installed a code lock—who knew what other unknown measures might be in place? Shadow Attendant entered the suitcase, where darkness enveloped it, but through tactile senses, it could discern rows of slender bottles, each fixed securely in place.

As it passed through the bottles, Shadow Attendant noticed a disparity in the thickness of the suitcase’s bottom; something extra had been added. At the same time, it detected a familiar wave of energy, one David had previously sensed from those strange engravings. Of course, David himself could not perceive this energy; only Shadow Attendant could. This meant the suitcase contained some special protective mechanism devised by the organization, and if opened improperly, unknown consequences might ensue.

Following the energy flow, Shadow Attendant discovered a net of energy enveloping the entire suitcase. This made David wary of opening it directly—the contents of those small bottles were unknown, but the fact that they were treated with such caution suggested they were anything but ordinary.

Though he could not simply open the suitcase, David had his own methods. The suitcase’s security was thorough. First, its alloy construction made forced entry nearly impossible for ordinary people. Second, the code system ensured technological security. Finally, the mysterious energy web offered ultimate protection.

Now that David had cracked the code, the alloy was no barrier against his Level-2 longsword, which could slice through it like paper. Guided by Shadow Attendant’s perception of the energy, he carefully cut open the bottom of the suitcase with the sword.

As the outermost layer of alloy was peeled away, he saw those familiar, peculiar engravings, some of which extended across the entire suitcase. These mysterious patterns always struck David as profoundly unscientific.

He couldn’t decipher them, but Shadow Attendant’s perception was clear. Rather than attempt to interpret the incomprehensible patterns visually, he simply followed the energy’s flow across the suitcase, seeking its point of convergence. At the bottom, there was a complete and enigmatic glyph.

David hesitated. According to Shadow Attendant, this was the energy’s focal point; if he destroyed it, the energy web would likely collapse. Yet he did not understand the web’s true nature—would such an act trigger an explosion, destroying the suitcase’s contents?

But without taking action, he could not obtain the items within, and the organization might soon track him down through the location signals. Looking around, he carried the suitcase to the underground gym, surrounded by alloy walls—should anything go awry, the losses would be contained.

He trusted that the energy detected by Shadow Attendant was insufficient to cause catastrophic destruction; at most, it would ruin the suitcase’s contents. Resolute, David aimed his Level-2 longsword at the energy center, slicing through the glyph. He felt a trace of resistance from the energy, but at the moment the sword, glowing a ghostly blue, cut through, the resistance vanished.

Shadow Attendant’s consciousness informed him that the mysterious energy net had dissolved. David breathed a sigh of relief—he had successfully neutralized the suitcase’s final security measure.

In truth, the suitcase’s safeguards were not so easily bypassed. Even if it had fallen into the hands of another faction, cracking it would have been nearly impossible. The other measures were surmountable, but the energy web formed by those mysterious patterns was a singularly unique security method, unlike anything known to the Galactic Federation. Without Shadow Attendant’s sensitivity to such energies, one might not even recognize its presence.

He had assumed that breaking the code would trigger an energy surge, instantly destroying the contents. Within the organization itself, only those with the proper keys could open such a suitcase.

David sheathed his sword and carefully opened the suitcase. The items so highly valued by this mysterious organization were now about to be revealed.

Inside, he found rows upon rows of small, test-tube-like bottles, densely packed and secured by soft material, filling the entire suitcase. He picked up one test tube and gazed at the milky-white liquid inside, which emitted a faint glow. He realized he had no idea what it was.

Shaking his head, he thought of all the effort expended, only to end up with something whose purpose he could not fathom—a frustrating outcome. He counted the test tubes: fifteen vertical rows, thirty horizontal, for a total of 450.

He found another box and, along with the soft padding, transferred all 450 test tubes to their new home. Then, using the Level-2 longsword, he cut the alloy suitcase into small fragments, destroying the two tracking chips in the process. He packed the debris in a bag and handed it to the intelligent housekeeper, Emma, who would dispose of it with the household trash when the garbage truck arrived.

Changing his clothes, David strode out the door feeling light and unburdened. For the first time in days, he ventured out in daylight without a care. He no longer had to worry about anyone targeting him—at least not in the short term. This rare sense of ease put a smile on his face as he sat in his Gladstone Model-3 car.

Inside the car, he activated his identification bracelet and connected to the city news feed, searching for any reports on last night’s events. As expected, the industrial zone was deserted at night, with security entirely handled by automated systems. Although the battle had been loud, the sounds were muffled beyond the industrial zone, and few people would suspect anything unusual from noises emanating there. Last night’s fierce battle was as if it had never occurred for Peran City.

The Gladstone Model-3 pulled up in front of a real estate agency. David jumped out and entered.

“Sir, my name is Nellie. How may I assist you?” A golden-haired woman in a uniform greeted him with a smile, her professionalism undiminished by David’s youthful appearance.

Of course, much of her attitude was influenced by the fact that she had seen him arrive in a Gladstone Model-3. Even an older Gladstone was a luxury, marking his family as far above the ordinary.

Despite his dual lives, David still found it hard to be comfortable with the warmth of such mature women. He tried to appear experienced, but his slight nervousness gave him away.

Nellie smiled; young men like him made for easy business—no effort required.

“I need a detached house with a large yard. A spacious basement would be ideal,” David said, stating his requirements.

“You only care about the yard? No other preferences?” Nellie asked, still smiling.

“That’s right. I need something available for immediate purchase—I can’t afford to wait,” David replied.