The three of them did not walk too far before they came to a movie theater.
Since today wasn’t a holiday, there were not many people in front of the cinema. The ticket inspector outside nodded respectfully at the cheongsam girl, and the latter also nodded in return. However, she did not stop in front of the gate. Instead, she continued walking on before turning into an alley on the side of the cinema.
There was an iron ladder facing a security door on the second floor of the theater.
The cheongsam girl walked at the front, arrived in front of the safe door, opened the door, and two men stood behind it, looking like bodyguards. Zhang Heng had a very decent physique. Ever since he started his first game, he had maintained the habit of staying fit. The strength of his arms, waist, and abdomen had significantly increased. To maintain flexibility, though, he also had to control his muscle growth. He did not want to grow too big like the two ripped bodyguards in front of him.
All they did was stand there and intimidate whoever came through the entrance.
Old Man Geng felt the same too. When he compared Zhang Heng and the two bodyguards, he thought it wasn’t worth paying Zhang Heng with the ten shellac records. On the contrary, however, Zhang Heng wasn’t affected by them.
The two brawny bodyguards searched Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng when they arrived in front of them. They were taken aback when they saw the pile of Lego bricks in Zhang Heng’s backpack.
Old Man Geng wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. He did not expect Zhang Heng to like those bricks so much that he would carry them while at work. Was he planning to play with his Lego whenever he was bored?
Fortunately, the bodyguards did not make fun of their building blocks, not when they were there, at least. “Please stretch out your hand,” the cheongsam woman said after scanning their belongings.
Zhang Heng then stretched out his left hand.
The cheongsam girl, however, looked at him and shook her head. “The other hand, the one with the bracelet.”
Zhang Heng then showed her his right hand again. The cheongsam girl then put on another smaller black bracelet on his right wrist, explaining, “Don’t worry, this is just a signal blocker. It will block all signals that originate from you. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles, please don’t take it off until you leave this place.”
After that, she did the same to Old Man Geng. Once that was done, the cheongsam girl signaled them again. Now, Zhang Heng quickly realized that Old Man Geng’s task might not be as simple as he put it to be.
According to the latter’s statement, Mr. G was the ruler of the first level. He was supposed to be the uncrowned king, at least in his territory. Hence, he did not need to worry about his safety. In other words, the purpose of the search that was conducted on them earlier was not to ensure Mr. G’s safety. From Zhang Heng’s perspective, they were actually worried that Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng would leak the news.
After putting on the bracelet, Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng walked through the entrance. Zhang Heng noticed that the poorly wired was turned on when he walked past the door. It went out after a while. He looked back at the two burly bodyguards and the cheongsam girl behind him and found that they seemed oblivious to it.
The bodyguards were still guarding the entrance, and the cheongsam girl walked up from behind to lead the way. The three of them walked for about twenty meters before the cheongsam girl told Old Man Geng, “Mr. G is waiting for you in VIP Hall 6. Just go straight to the end.”
Old man Geng nodded and glanced at Zhang Heng.
“We will make sure to treat your bodyguard well. You can meet up with him again after the meeting is over.”
“Thank you,” Old Man Geng replied.
Although he did not want to separate from Zhang Heng, he realized that it was not a good idea to let an outsider listen to what he would be discussing. Anyhow, if they wanted to harm him, they first had to take Zhang Heng into their consideration if he were here. So although Old Man Geng did not know what Zhang Heng was capable of, he, at the very least, gave him a sense of security.
He noticed how calm Zhang Heng was at all times. Even after he was told who he was about to meet, he did not see any fear shown on Zhang Heng’s face. Old Man Geng was less nervous when he saw that.
After the two separated. Old man Geng continued walking forward, while Zhang Heng took a turn under the cheongsam girl’s lead. Soon, he arrived at a screening room.
No movies, however, were being shown currently. He and the cheongsam woman were the only ones in the empty hall.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Water will be good,” Zhang Heng said.
“What movie do you want to watch?” the cheongsam woman asked again.
“Oh, that’ll be unnecessary.”
“You’d better choose something to watch because I’m afraid they might take a long time to verify all the information,” insisted the cheongsam woman.
“Okay. Do you have any recommendations?”
This time, the cheongsam girl did not speak anymore. Instead, she walked out of the screening hall. Five minutes later, the screening hall became completely dark, and the projector was turned on. A film titled “Symbolic Exchange and Death” began to play.
In this era, where holographic projection was widely used, this movie was still 2D. Its excessively dull-looking content showed a bald old man with a pair of glasses and white temple hair sitting in front of a wooden table, smoking and talking into the camera.
His speech was very random, saying whatever he wanted to say without a solid topic. His ramblings revolved around society, its organizational structure, its modus operandi, production and reproduction, consumption, and some other things.
Later, the cheongsam girl returned to the screening room with a jug of water and two cups. She sat down beside Zhang Heng and poured him a glass.
Neither of them talked.
Zhang Heng did not know why the cheongsam girl’s attitude towards him changed slightly after he passed through the door and went to the second floor. He faintly felt a sense of intimacy from her. As compared to the main character, Old Man Geng, she behaved very formally towards him.
After that, Zhang Heng turned to look at the cheongsam girl next to her. The latter was watching the movie at the moment. She seemed to notice Zhang Heng was looking at her. She then frowned and warned him, “Watch the movie.”
Although it was an imperative tone, it sounded more like a teacher scolding naughty students. However, her speech did not carry any threat or hostility.
So Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows and focused on the movie again.
The two watched the lengthy and boring movie that lasted three hours until someone walked in and informed them that the meeting was over.
The three of them did not walk too far before they came to a movie theater.
Since today wasn’t a holiday, there were not many people in front of the cinema. The ticket inspector outside nodded respectfully at the cheongsam girl, and the latter also nodded in return. However, she did not stop in front of the gate. Instead, she continued walking on before turning into an alley on the side of the cinema.
There was an iron ladder facing a security door on the second floor of the theater.
The cheongsam girl walked at the front, arrived in front of the safe door, opened the door, and two men stood behind it, looking like bodyguards. Zhang Heng had a very decent physique. Ever since he started his first game, he had maintained the habit of staying fit. The strength of his arms, waist, and abdomen had significantly increased. To maintain flexibility, though, he also had to control his muscle growth. He did not want to grow too big like the two ripped bodyguards in front of him.
All they did was stand there and intimidate whoever came through the entrance.
Old Man Geng felt the same too. When he compared Zhang Heng and the two bodyguards, he thought it wasn’t worth paying Zhang Heng with the ten shellac records. On the contrary, however, Zhang Heng wasn’t affected by them.
The two brawny bodyguards searched Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng when they arrived in front of them. They were taken aback when they saw the pile of Lego bricks in Zhang Heng’s backpack.
Old Man Geng wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. He did not expect Zhang Heng to like those bricks so much that he would carry them while at work. Was he planning to play with his Lego whenever he was bored?
Fortunately, the bodyguards did not make fun of their building blocks, not when they were there, at least. “Please stretch out your hand,” the cheongsam woman said after scanning their belongings.
Zhang Heng then stretched out his left hand.
The cheongsam girl, however, looked at him and shook her head. “The other hand, the one with the bracelet.”
Zhang Heng then showed her his right hand again. The cheongsam girl then put on another smaller black bracelet on his right wrist, explaining, “Don’t worry, this is just a signal blocker. It will block all signals that originate from you. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles, please don’t take it off until you leave this place.”
After that, she did the same to Old Man Geng. Once that was done, the cheongsam girl signaled them again. Now, Zhang Heng quickly realized that Old Man Geng’s task might not be as simple as he put it to be.
According to the latter’s statement, Mr. G was the ruler of the first level. He was supposed to be the uncrowned king, at least in his territory. Hence, he did not need to worry about his safety. In other words, the purpose of the search that was conducted on them earlier was not to ensure Mr. G’s safety. From Zhang Heng’s perspective, they were actually worried that Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng would leak the news.
After putting on the bracelet, Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng walked through the entrance. Zhang Heng noticed that the poorly wired was turned on when he walked past the door. It went out after a while. He looked back at the two burly bodyguards and the cheongsam girl behind him and found that they seemed oblivious to it.
The bodyguards were still guarding the entrance, and the cheongsam girl walked up from behind to lead the way. The three of them walked for about twenty meters before the cheongsam girl told Old Man Geng, “Mr. G is waiting for you in VIP Hall 6. Just go straight to the end.”
Old man Geng nodded and glanced at Zhang Heng.
“We will make sure to treat your bodyguard well. You can meet up with him again after the meeting is over.”
“Thank you,” Old Man Geng replied.
Although he did not want to separate from Zhang Heng, he realized that it was not a good idea to let an outsider listen to what he would be discussing. Anyhow, if they wanted to harm him, they first had to take Zhang Heng into their consideration if he were here. So although Old Man Geng did not know what Zhang Heng was capable of, he, at the very least, gave him a sense of security.
He noticed how calm Zhang Heng was at all times. Even after he was told who he was about to meet, he did not see any fear shown on Zhang Heng’s face. Old Man Geng was less nervous when he saw that.
After the two separated. Old man Geng continued walking forward, while Zhang Heng took a turn under the cheongsam girl’s lead. Soon, he arrived at a screening room.
No movies, however, were being shown currently. He and the cheongsam woman were the only ones in the empty hall.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Water will be good,” Zhang Heng said.
“What movie do you want to watch?” the cheongsam woman asked again.
“Oh, that’ll be unnecessary.”
“You’d better choose something to watch because I’m afraid they might take a long time to verify all the information,” insisted the cheongsam woman.
“Okay. Do you have any recommendations?”
This time, the cheongsam girl did not speak anymore. Instead, she walked out of the screening hall. Five minutes later, the screening hall became completely dark, and the projector was turned on. A film titled “Symbolic Exchange and Death” began to play.
In this era, where holographic projection was widely used, this movie was still 2D. Its excessively dull-looking content showed a bald old man with a pair of glasses and white temple hair sitting in front of a wooden table, smoking and talking into the camera.
His speech was very random, saying whatever he wanted to say without a solid topic. His ramblings revolved around society, its organizational structure, its modus operandi, production and reproduction, consumption, and some other things.
Later, the cheongsam girl returned to the screening room with a jug of water and two cups. She sat down beside Zhang Heng and poured him a glass.
Neither of them talked.
Zhang Heng did not know why the cheongsam girl’s attitude towards him changed slightly after he passed through the door and went to the second floor. He faintly felt a sense of intimacy from her. As compared to the main character, Old Man Geng, she behaved very formally towards him.
After that, Zhang Heng turned to look at the cheongsam girl next to her. The latter was watching the movie at the moment. She seemed to notice Zhang Heng was looking at her. She then frowned and warned him, “Watch the movie.”
Although it was an imperative tone, it sounded more like a teacher scolding naughty students. However, her speech did not carry any threat or hostility.
So Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows and focused on the movie again.
The two watched the lengthy and boring movie that lasted three hours until someone walked in and informed them that the meeting was over.
