They waited until midnight.
Grandma and Grandpa Lin supported each other as they walked to the village entrance, gazing into the distance.
Father Lin couldn’t sit still either. In his wheelchair, he searched all over the village. Were the two kids hiding in some corner?
Lin Xiaohe’s heart pounded wildly. A shadow of unease loomed over her.
When her big brother wasn’t having an episode, he was very reliable. No matter where he went, he always came home before dark.
Her second sister was a thoughtful person. Even if something delayed her, she would definitely find a way to inform the family.
It was so late, and they still weren’t back. Could something have happened?
Lin Xiaohe was restless, her gaze unconsciously shifting to the Plant Summoner System.
[Name: Xin Bao (Stellar Wheat)]
[Intimacy: 40]
[Stage: Seedling]
[Level: 1]
[Vitality: 75/100]
[Attack Power: 5]
[Skills: ① I’ll Just Rub Against It, Won’t Go In. ② Thin as a Cicada’s Wing, Pops at a Poke (Pending Activation)]
“Xin Bao, how do we activate the ‘Pops at a Poke’ skill?”
Xin Bao: “100,000 star credits, or 1 skill point.”
No money, but there was indeed one skill point available.
Lin Xiaohe let out a long breath. This skill point was originally meant to enhance her own physique.
But family came first.
“Xin Bao, activate the skill.”
[Spent 1 skill point. Skill ‘Thin as a Cicada’s Wing, Pops at a Poke’ successfully activated.]
Spending or not spending made a difference in treatment.
This time, detailed information about the ‘Pops at a Poke’ skill appeared in Lin Xiaohe’s mind.
In simple terms, it was network hacking.
Firewalls below A-grade were like a thin sheet of paper to Xin Bao. Not only that, it could also infiltrate electronic devices operating on standalone or local networks, including but not limited to mechs, spaceships…
Of course, the skill had limits. Xin Bao could only infiltrate, not modify.
Lin Xiaohe tucked Xin Bao into her green satchel and strode out of the house.
She was going to mooch off the local network of a wealthy household in the village.
If you asked who the richest person in Hengshan Village was, it was definitely Village Chief Li Mingxi.
His house was at the head of the village, the most prominent building.
The Lin family were outsiders, not favored by the village chief.
Lin Xiaohe naturally wouldn’t court trouble. She chose to hide in the stellar wheat field about eighty meters from the chief’s house.
“Xin Bao, connect to the network!”
“On it!”
Mooching off a local network was much easier than the Star Network. In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiaohe accessed the local network of Wasteland Planet No. 7.
“Xin Bao, hack into the surveillance system. Starting from Hengshan Village, track Big Brother and Second Sister’s movements.”
“Roger that!”
The planet was covered in surveillance, especially in bustling districts and government areas—so many it was outrageous.
Activating the ‘Pops at a Poke’ skill, Xin Bao found the planet’s entire surveillance network completely defenseless against it.
Sharing Xin Bao’s perspective, Lin Xiaohe quickly found Second Sister Lin Jingqiu’s figure.
Just as she was about to reach the government services hall, Brother Cheng and his men cornered her. After a beating, she was dragged into an unlicensed flying car.
Lin Xiaohe’s heart tightened. Suppressing the surging rage, she told Xin Bao to track the car.
“Xiaohe, the car finally stopped in the Phantom Shadow Grand Theater parking lot!”
Lin Xiaohe nearly spat out a mouthful of heart’s blood.
Brother Cheng had always wanted to sell Second Sister to a theater. Who would have thought that when persuasion failed, he’d resort to force.
Lin Xiaohe gritted her teeth so hard they creaked; her breath felt like it could spark flames. “What about Big Brother?”
Big Brother Lin Chiyang was in worse shape.
After being surrounded and beaten at the bus stop, he was shoved into a flying car.
The car headed straight out of the city.
Clearly, those attackers intended to dump Big Brother outside the city. With stellar pollution and many mutated plants out there, Lin Chiyang wouldn’t survive.
Security police also wouldn’t care about someone dying outside the city, naturally not investigating Lin Chiyang’s death.
Lin Xiaohe narrowed her eyes. Among the attackers was that burly man who had bumped into her!
In other words, based on the conversation she overheard in the alley yesterday, the unlucky guy they wanted to deal with was her big brother, Lin Chiyang!
Lin Xiaohe hurriedly stood up. Without saying anything else, she called the police first!
“Hello, there’s a murder-for-hire case. They are taking the victim towards Checkpoint B-476. Please intercept promptly!”
“Understood, received! We will immediately notify the garrison at Checkpoint B-476!” The safety center operator said seriously.
Lin Xiaohe: “I also want to report a kidnapping. The victim is currently at the Phantom Shadow Grand Theater.”
The operator paused briefly, then said, “Understood. We will send someone to verify immediately.”
Lin Xiaohe didn’t notice the operator’s pause.
Her heart felt torn in two, one half with her big brother, the other with her second sister.
After reporting, Lin Xiaohe called Father Lin and explained the situation. “Dad, you all go to the Phantom Shadow Grand Theater to meet the security police. I’m going to find Big Brother.”
“Okay.” Father Lin’s eyes turned sharp. He reflexively started to pull something from under the bed, hesitated for a moment, then pushed it back in.
Grandma and Grandpa Lin received Lin Xiaohe’s message and hailed a taxi flying car, pushing Father Lin towards the theater.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiaohe also hailed a taxi flying car. “To Checkpoint B-476.”
Taxi flying cars were all automated. [Route planned. Please pay 600 star credits.]
Lin Xiaohe paid promptly and kept urging, “Hurry! Give me the fastest speed!”
Whoosh!
The taxi flying car shot off like a meteor, taking the high-altitude express lane.
Xin Bao continuously linked to various local networks, monitoring Big Brother’s situation in real-time.
[Xiaohe, it’s bad! They’re about to pass through the checkpoint!]
The checkpoint garrison stopped that flying car. Both sides were talking about something.
Lin Xiaohe had never felt a taxi flying car move so slowly before.
She prayed incessantly in her heart: Stop them, hurry up and stop them!
Every second slipped by like grains of sand. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her palms grew clammy.
Lin Xiaohe stared fixedly at the surveillance feed.
The burly man said a few words to the garrison soldier and slipped something into his hand.
The garrison soldier waved his hand and let them pass.
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes widened with fury, a stream of curses running through her mind.
Damn it, this is a matter of life and death! How dare you just let them pass?!
Lin Xiaohe called the police. “I want to report! The garrison soldier at Checkpoint B-476 accepted a bribe and let murderers pass!”
Operator: “Understood. We will verify this later.”
Lin Xiaohe raged: “Later?! Any later, the person will be turned to ashes! Can you do your job or not? Can you save people or not? Tell the garrison to stop them now!”
Operator: “Understood. We will submit your suggestion.”
Lin Xiaohe was fuming: “Are you a robot?! Get the garrison to stop them now!”
Operator: “Understood, we will…”
Lin Xiaohe hung up directly.
Her face was extremely grim, so dark it could drip water.
What lousy interstellar age? The quality of the security police was completely incomparable to China’s!
Relying on them was worse than hoping for a pie to fall from the sky.
On the surveillance feed, the flying car had already left the checkpoint and was about to leave the monitored area.
[Please prepare for arrival at your destination.]
Lin Xiaohe grabbed the emergency crowbar from the taxi. The moment the taxi flying car stopped, she leaped out!
