The programmer in charge of uploading brainwave data to the central system, Qiao Geng, was deep in thought.

To be honest, he was somewhat of a prodigy in this field. At twelve, he hacked into major banking networks with his own system, left a warning letter about financial corruption, and gracefully logged out—crashing transfer systems for three hours without taking a single cent. He even engaged in a three-day cyber battle with the police before getting caught in an internet café.

Because he was too young, he got off with just a warning—no juvenile detention, no expulsion. Instead, he became famous overnight, and as he grew up, he naturally became a sought-after talent for tech companies.

At first, he had no interest in working with the Investigation Bureau and their bunch of freaks. But unfortunately, the bank executives from back then still held a grudge, and a bounty was placed on his head in the black market. Qiao Geng didn’t want to live his life constantly looking over his shoulder, nor did he want to endanger his family, so he voluntarily injected himself with “Gillifischer.”

Luckily, he survived the side effects and joined the Special Investigation Bureau.

The atmosphere in the Bureau was actually quite nice—it kept him away from the chaos of the outside world.

But lately, the job had become increasingly frustrating.

Last time, his boss gave him a task: “Hack into Chu Chen’s home computer.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Aren’t you the genius who hacked banks at twelve?”

“No shit—bank firewalls are like Swiss cheese. Chu Chen is a cybersecurity expert! You think the International League is just for show? I’d be lucky to hack into a smart toilet, let alone his computer.”

“Then how about surveillance cameras? Or maybe a smart toy?”

At first, Qiao Geng brushed it off.

But after a few attempts, when he actually managed to break into one of Chu Chen’s stuffed toys, he fell into deep thought.

What the hell? How did that even work?

If this weren’t so unethical—and borderline illegal—he would have loved to post on a forum:

“Successfully hacked into Chu Chen’s house. Can I walk in and out of the Pentagon now?”

And today, something even stranger happened—apart from Luo Lin’s brainwaves, none of the others could be uploaded to the cloud.

He had tried countless times, even ensuring the temperature and humidity were exactly the same as when it last worked. He was one step away from burning incense and praying over the server, but nothing worked.

It was as if the computer only recognized one person—Luo Lin.

Qiao Geng stepped outside for a cigarette to clear his mind and then reported the issue to Shen Yunhe.

Shen Yunhe knew that, compared to the International League’s tech division, Qiao Geng and his team were probably no more than amateur hour. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and find Luo Lin.

Luo Lin, well-rested after his nap, heard that the tech department was struggling and sighed dramatically, striking an old-man pose:

“The Investigation Bureau really can’t function without me.”

Then Shen Yunhe flicked him on the forehead.

…..

[Consciousness Link]

On Chu Chen’s end, it was early morning. He was sitting at a roadside café.

The sunlight was just right.

Inside the glass display case, bags of coffee beans were neatly lined up. The handsome store owner was leaning over, carefully creating latte art for a customer.

Chu Chen sat outside on a wooden folding chair with horizontal grain. A deep green sunshade umbrella stretched above him, but the sunlight still found its way through at an angle, landing on his arm.

His breakfast was simple: just two slices of plain bread and a cup of black coffee. He had specifically told the owner not to add anything extra—no eggs, no butter, nothing fancy.

The owner, though confused, obliged. To make the meal look less pitiful, he selected an ornately patterned spoon as a small touch of elegance.

“Mr. Chu, are you really not considering collaborating with our company?”

Opposite Chu Chen sat a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, seemingly a client manager here to discuss business with him.

Her English was impeccable, the kind that sounded straight out of London’s elite circles.

“I’m quite busy lately and don’t have plans in that regard for now.”

The woman smiled faintly and stirred her coffee. “I heard that you don’t have any new research projects at the moment, and the ones you were working on have wrapped up. If you want to turn me down, you should at least come up with a more convincing excuse.”

“My family has arranged an engagement for me, so I plan to shift my focus towards family. I won’t be considering business collaborations for now. Wishing you all the best.”

Chu Chen lifted his coffee cup to his lips and took a small sip.

A coffee-colored stain clung to his lips, glistening under the sunlight.

Luo Lin was momentarily dazed just from watching.

So much so that when he cut off the link and reported to Shen Yunhe, he was still somewhat out of it.

“Did you gather any intelligence this time?”

“Chu Chen declined a business collaboration.”

“Why?”

“He’s getting engaged.”

“To whom?”

“Me.”

…Huh?

Shen Yunhe looked at Luo Lin with an expression that was somewhere between laughing and crying.

Luo Lin immediately realized his slip-up. “No! His fiancée isn’t me! I mean—yeah, it’s not me!”

Shen Yunhe didn’t buy it for a second. He had known Luo Lin for years—long enough to witness his talent for deception and theatrics firsthand. Without hesitation, he called Luo Lin’s sister, Luo Jing, to confirm the news.

“You turned down an engagement with Chu Chen?! Do you even realize what you’re rejecting? That’s the love of a scientific genius!”

Luo Lin’s head was buzzing. “Can you stop watching those romance cartoons with your granddaughter?”

“Do you have any idea how important Chu Chen is? If we can bring him in, our country’s research capabilities could advance by leaps and bounds.”

Luo Lin couldn’t argue with that.

Chu Chen was, without a doubt, brilliant—so brilliant that even the word “prodigy” felt insufficient to describe him.

Seeing that Luo Lin had fallen into contemplation, Shen Yunhe patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically. “Look, Chu Chen is floating around overseas, and now you have this perfect opportunity. Can you lure him back home?”

“How?”

“Get engaged to him.”

“That’s not gonna work.”

“I’m not joking. Look at the field report you submitted,” Shen Yunhe pulled out a thick stack of documents from the drawer. “You wrote it yourself—Chu Chen has an eight-pack, and if he weren’t a scientist, his face alone could make him go viral on Twitter. And his—um, you even noted that! You were practically drooling all over the paper! Marrying Chu Chen wouldn’t be a loss for you.”

Back then, Shen Yunhe had instructed Luo Lin to write his report in great detail to show due diligence. So, Luo Lin had gone all out in vividly describing Chu Chen’s appearance—only to dig himself into a hole today.

“Besides, we’re not asking you to actually marry him. Just get him to the Investigation Bureau first, then we stage a ‘prison break’—no, a wedding heist! AK-47s, Gatling guns, we’ll fight our way from Penghu Bay to the Liuyang River! Even if I have to sacrifice the entire Investigation Bureau, I’ll make sure we get you out of Chu Chen’s clutches!”

Shen Yunhe was getting so worked up that he looked on the verge of high blood pressure.

Luo Lin told him to calm down.

But now that he thought about it, the idea wasn’t half bad. After all, Chu Chen had treated him that way back then—it was only fair to get some payback.

Running away from the engagement would be the perfect way to humiliate both Chu Chen and the Luo family.

“It’s not impossible, but boss, aren’t beauty traps a bit outdated in this era?”

“You don’t even count as a beauty,” Shen Yunhe said, then quickly added upon seeing Luo Lin’s expression darken, “I mean, look at our bureau—it’s full of straight men. To them, you’re definitely not a ‘beauty.’ Plus, if you’re engaged, they’ll stop worrying about you using personal connections to climb the ranks.”

“I’m a bottom!”

“No one believes that but you.”

Luo Lin was done with this conversation. He yawned. “Fine, I’ll do it. But what’s in it for me?”

Shen Yunhe knew his apprentice too well—he might act easygoing, but he was always calculating behind the scenes.

“Alright,” Shen Yunhe lowered his voice and leaned in, making sure no one else was around. “I’ll reimburse you for that box of toys—from my own budget.”

Luo Lin raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“But you have to list them as office supplies, got it?! Last time, you wrote the real item names, and the finance department thought this old man was having some kind of midlife crisis!”