Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Chapter 381 !

After Qin Xiao finished speaking, the study fell silent.

It is pushing the door open.

After those four words were spoken, no one responded.

Zhang Yan looked at the last frame of the image on the tablet.

The handprint, with its long knuckles, pressed against the other side of the black circular outline. It didn't penetrate, but it caused a subtle ripple to appear on the surface of the door.

The system's red alert is still visible.

The external contact strength of the second door increases.

Continue pressing.

The rate at which shielding efficiency decreases increases.

Nie Qingcheng stood by the desk, her face pale, but her voice was clear.

"Zhang Yan".

"Um."

"Is this all you've been saying for three days?"

Zhang Yan glanced at her.

"besides."

Qin Xiao's eyelids twitched.

"besides?"

Nie Qingcheng didn't look at Qin Xiao, but only at Zhang Yan.

"That's all."

Zhang Yan nodded.

He put down the tablet, turned on the projector in his study, and pulled up the scanned image of the black sphere underground in Shennongjia, its seven coordinates, synchronous pulsation curves, and external contact statistics.

"The first gate is located below Shennongjia."

"The North Atlantic is the second one."

"Sahara, the third route."

"Antarctica, the fourth route."

"Andes, the fifth route."

"Siberia, the sixth route."

"The seventh abyss of the Pacific Ocean."

"Seven gates form a shielding network, separating this world from the outside world."

Qin Xiao's throat bobbed.

"Where is 'outside'?"

Zhang Yan said, "The system didn't give a name, it only gave a judgment."

He paused for a second.

"Not of this dimension".

Qin Xiao remained silent.

Nie Qingcheng asked, "Where is Xu?"

"The Ruins are not the strongest thing outside the gate."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiao's face froze completely.

Nie Qingcheng also slightly withdrew her fingers.

Zhang Yan continued, "The Ruins are foreign objects that seeped in through the cracks in the door. They devour this world not entirely to destroy it, but also to hide from something more dangerous outside."

Qin Xiao cursed under his breath.

"So we just sealed off a refuge?"

Zhang Yan said, "That's one way to understand it."

Qin Xiao looked up.

"What's that pushing the door open from the outside?"

"unknown."

"Better than a ruin?"

"have no idea."

Qin Xiao remained silent for a few seconds.

"It's impossible to assess, which is very troublesome."

"Um."

Nie Qingcheng closed the documents on the table.

"How much shielding efficiency does the door have left?"

"41% overall."

"And the first door?"

"The main control gate is slightly more efficient, but the three breaks have already affected the entire network."

"In the worst-case scenario, how long will the door last?"

After asking this question, Zhang Yan did not answer immediately.

Nie Qingcheng looked at him.

"I want real numbers."

Zhang Yan retrieved the system data for calculation.

The data unfolds line by line.

External contact frequency.

Thirty-four times.

The second and third doors provide synchronous feedback.

Shielding efficiency decreasing curve.

Critical threshold.

20%.

Zhang Yan said, "At the current rate of increase, the shielding efficiency of the first gate will drop below 20% within four to six months."

Qin Xiao immediately asked, "What happens if it's below 20%?"

Zhang Yan looked at the screen.

"Entities can be projected into this dimension from outside the door."

Nie Qingcheng asked, "Not infiltration?"

"no."

"Like a ruin, with only a little pollution?"

"no."

"Should we just come in?"

"Yes."

Qin Xiao couldn't sit still any longer.

"Brother Yan, don't tell me you can just stick your hand in here."

Zhang Yan said, "They're already pressing the door button."

Qin Xiao shut up.

Nie Qingcheng picked up the pen on the table and pulled over a sheet of white paper.

"continue."

Zhang Yan looked at her.

Nie Qingcheng looked up.

"I didn't collapse."

Zhang Yan said in a low voice, "I know."

"Then let's continue. What's needed to repair the door?"

"The first fracture requires Stardust."

Nie Qingcheng wrote the first line on the paper.

I. Obtaining Stardust.

She wrote four words in parentheses.

Sahara meteorite.

"The second place?"

"The Four Spirits Energy Matrix requires the simultaneous connection of the Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger, and then calibration by the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship."

Nie Qingcheng paused for a moment while holding the pen.

"risk?"

"high."

"How high?"

"If the door rebounds, the Four Spirits will be overloaded, and I will also suffer a shock to my consciousness."

Nie Qingcheng looked at him.

"Same as that time at the Sealed Ruins?"

Zhang Yan said, "Similar."

Nie Qingcheng wrote the second line on the paper.

II. Repair of the second fracture of the first gate.

In parentheses, she wrote: High risk, contingency plan required.

"The third place?"

"It cannot be dealt with directly at this time. The first two areas need to be repaired first, and the door maintenance protocol needs to be activated before the third area of ​​damage can be analyzed."

Nie Qingcheng wrote the third line.

III. Analysis of the third fracture.

She wrote a fourth line.

IV. Positioning assessment of the remaining six doors.

Write the fifth line.

Fifth, in collaboration with Guantiange, historical information was supplemented.

Looking at the paper, Qin Xiao couldn't help but say, "Sister-in-law, you're too fast!"

Nie Qingcheng ignored him.

She put down her pen.

"Division of labor."

Zhang Yan looked at her.

Nie Qingcheng said, "You will be in charge of technology and combat."

"I'm in charge of resources and intelligence."

"Qin Xiao is in charge of the military interface and perimeter control."

"Guanxing is responsible for the data, rune translation, and ancient book verification of Guantian Pavilion."

"Same as last time."

Qin Xiao immediately sat up straight.

"clear."

Nie Qingcheng continued, "Heng Xingchen is the top priority."

She pushed the document from that morning to Zhang Yan.

"Three years ago, a meteorite fell in the uninhabited area of ​​western Sahara. The official record states that it was an iron meteorite, but the site was sealed off for 26 days, and the samples were transferred to the French military research system."

Zhang Yan flipped to the transfer list.

"Prometheus Laboratory?"

"Um."

Qin Xiao frowned.

"I've heard of this name before. It's a semi-military French project involving materials, energy, and deep space exploration; it has a very strong background."

Nie Qingcheng said, "No matter how powerful your background is, you still need money."

Qin Xiao was taken aback.

Nie Qingcheng continued, "Its parent company, Helios Group, has had major cash flow problems over the past two years."

"The aerospace materials division is burning through cash, civilian projects are slow to generate revenue, bank credit lines are being reduced, and some members of the board are already preparing to sell non-core assets."

Zhang Yan looked at her.

"You've already gotten this far in your investigation?"

"You've kept this from me for three days, I can't just be angry."

Zhang Yan remained silent.

Nie Qingcheng looked at him.

"Now is not the time to settle scores."

"Um."

"But the account is still there."

Qin Xiao looked down at his tablet, pretending he didn't exist.

Nie Qingcheng said, "I will take the legal path."

Zhang Yan asked, "Acquisition?"

"First, acquire a stake in Helios's materials science subsidiary in exchange for joint research rights."

"What if they don't provide samples?"

"Then you can go in."

Qin Xiao looked up.

"Sister-in-law, what you said sounds even harsher than what Brother Yan said."

Nie Qingcheng said calmly, "A legal route is enough to get him to the perimeter of the facility."

Zhang Yan said, "I will handle the core warehouse myself."

Nie Qingcheng looked at him.

"You can handle it, but send me the solution as well."

"it is good."

Qin Xiao immediately said, "I'll go and get the facility blueprints, guard configuration, satellite images, and shift change patterns."

Nie Qingcheng added a sentence.

"While you're at it, check all the unusual incidents that have occurred at Prometheus Lab over the past three years."

Qin Xiao nodded.

"clear."

Zhang Yan stared at the seven door curves on the projection.

Nie Qingcheng suddenly asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Zhang Yan looked at her.

"Not at the moment."

Nie Qingcheng's eyes were calm.

"Zhang Yan".

"Um."

"I believe you now."

Zhang Yan remained silent for a second.

"I know."

"Don't let me regret it."

"Won't."