Chapter 3：A Chance Meeting at Midnight

The night sky above Stellaris Harbor resembled an inverted sea of stars, with countless neon lights flickering and dancing through the steel jungle. Roy piloted a Buzzer "borrowed" from the mining district, weaving between the towering skyscrapers.

"Damn outdated positioning system." He glanced at the weak signal indicator on the dashboard, his mechanical prosthetic fingertips tapping lightly against the control panel. The Buzzer's tracking module was designed to locate workers in mine shafts, proving inadequate against the port's complex electromagnetic environment.

But he had other methods. Roy activated his prosthetic's built-in energy spectrum analyzer, beginning to search for energy fluctuation frequencies matching those from the underground laboratory in the mining district.

"NSRU wouldn't transport this kind of 'discovery' too far away," he calculated quietly. "At least not until they confirm its value—they'd choose a nearby research facility."

The aircraft circled above the port's industrial district for half an hour before Roy's scanner finally locked onto the target. Within a cluster of seemingly ordinary buildings, one structure emitted unusually intense energy fluctuations.

"Found it."

Roy landed the Buzzer on the rooftop of a vacant office building for rent. The location was approximately four hundred meters from the target building with an open view, but there was a problem—the seven-story fortress was surrounded by numerous scanning devices. Any object remaining at an elevated position for more than three minutes would be flagged as suspicious.

He needed a more concealed observation point.

Roy climbed down the stairs to the lower floors of the office building. Here, a window faced the target at an angle that avoided most of the scanners' detection range. More importantly, the building's internal steel reinforcement could shield the electronic device signatures from his equipment.

Through binoculars, Roy carefully observed the outwardly mundane research center.

On the surface, it appeared to be an ordinary "Stellar Alliance Industrial Materials Processing Center," but closer inspection revealed telltale signs: energy shield generators around the building's perimeter, scanners disguised as lighting equipment, and "janitors" whose seemingly casual patrols followed strict military-style routes.

Roy counted the "janitors'" shift changes and patrol patterns, discovering they rotated every twenty-three minutes while carrying "cleaning equipment" that was obviously military-grade weaponry.

After an hour of observation, Roy realized that external reconnaissance alone couldn't provide sufficient intelligence. He needed to get closer to the target.

Roy packed his equipment and climbed down the building's fire escape to ground level. He circled the area, searching for a suitable approach route.

Around the Stellar Alliance facility was a ring of seemingly ordinary shops and restaurants, but Roy noticed these establishments had unusually sparse customer traffic, and their staff behavior patterns were suspicious—they seemed more like surveillance operatives.

However, across from the facility stood a 24-hour "Night Owl Internet Café" whose position and angle provided perfect observation of the NSRU fortress's main entrance and partial side views.

More importantly, the café's sign advertised "High-Speed Fiber Network," which gave him an idea.

Roy entered the internet café and paid fifty credits to rent a machine in a corner position. The café was filled with cigarette smoke, with several night-shift workers playing games—no one paid attention to him.

He appeared to browse news websites while actually analyzing the café's network architecture. As an experienced engineer, Roy quickly discovered the café used the industrial district's shared fiber network—the same infrastructure the Stellar Alliance facility was connected to.

While he couldn't directly penetrate NSRU's internal systems, Roy could analyze network traffic and monitor communication protocols to gather useful intelligence.

Over the next two hours, Roy pieced together an incomplete but useful picture through technical analysis:

The target facility's network activity increased dramatically during late-night hours, with massive data uploads to an external server

The building contained at least three independent network tiers, with the underground sections using completely isolated systems

Regular video call signals indicated important meetings or briefings inside

But this technical analysis couldn't tell him about Ling's specific situation.

Just as Roy felt frustrated, an unexpected development occurred.

At 3 AM, a black aircraft stopped at the research center's side entrance, and two women emerged from the vehicle.

The older one made Roy look twice. Golden hair arranged in an elaborate updo, an extremely exaggerated figure—jaw-dropping voluptuous curves paired with a slender waist, plus a pair of clearly non-human pointed elf ears. She wore a white lab coat, walking with a languid yet wildly charismatic gait, as if she didn't take the entire world seriously.

The other, younger woman followed behind her—blue hair, curvaceous figure, wearing a relatively conservative coat. Her posture was cautious, but her eyes held a deep attachment to the golden-haired woman.

Both walked directly toward the side entrance, where the guard seemed to recognize them and respectfully stepped aside.

Roy recorded the timestamp and their physical characteristics. These two women clearly held special status within the Stellar Alliance, and judging by their late-night arrival time, they were likely connected to Ling.

At 3:30 AM, Roy witnessed a sight that made his blood freeze.

A team of medical personnel in protective suits wheeled various medical equipment into the research facility. Among the equipment, Roy recognized several surgical robots and biological specimen preservation devices.

"Vivisection..." Roy silently gritted his teeth. Based on the scale and type of equipment, they were preparing for genuine dissection research, not simple blood sampling.

He unconsciously clenched his fists.

Wait, this wasn't like him. Roy had never been the type to feel righteous indignation for strangers. He'd always believed in equivalent exchange—take money, do the job. Meddling in others' affairs only brought trouble.

But...

He remembered the despair in those eyes, her words: "I don't want to see anyone else die in front of me." And her body, so weak she could barely stand, yet still trying to protect others with stubborn determination.

"Damn, when did I become so sentimental?" Roy smiled bitterly and shook his head, but his gaze remained fixed on the building complex.

Twenty minutes later, Roy observed more details.

The black-clothed middle-aged man who had captured Ling the night before emerged from the main entrance, talking loudly on his phone. Roy concentrated and caught fragments:

"...Yes, the doctors are in position... starting at 8 AM tomorrow... complete extraction of all samples... Risk? What risk? She's just a weak alien girl..."

Roy's heart sank. Less than five hours remained.

But then he heard more interesting content:

"...Riko Doctor? She does have some objections... What? She says this would destroy the research value? Hmph, these people from the Symbiote Cosmos are always so self-righteous... Just make them cooperate—they don't have a choice either..."

"Symbiote Cosmos? Riko Doctor?"

Roy's mind raced. The older of the two mysterious women he'd seen earlier must be this "Riko Doctor." And from the conversation, she seemed to disagree with the Stellar Alliance's plans.

Roy left the internet café and returned to the rooftop. Looking at the brightly lit fortress, he rapidly analyzed every possible breakthrough point in his mind.

From geographical position to personnel deployment, from security systems to weapons configuration—the conclusion was discouraging: a frontal assault was virtually impossible. The building's defense level far exceeded his expectations, and he was only one person.

However, Roy began to realize a possibility: if this Riko Doctor truly opposed the Stellar Alliance's plans, if she and her sister were also controlled subjects, then...

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Roy looked at the flickering neon lights in the distance as a bold plan formed in his mind.

He needed to find a way to contact this Riko Doctor, needed to confirm her true position. Most importantly, he needed to act before 8 AM.

Roy started the aircraft, contemplating strategy.

"If everything goes smoothly, maybe I won't need to face this fortress alone."

Meanwhile, at the NSRU underground facility.

Riko stood in her first-floor underground office, looking down through a one-way glass window at the experimental area below. She had just completed preliminary scans of the Tear of the First Dragon—the seemingly simple necklace's internal energy structure had shocked her.

"Sister, how are the scan results?" Keiko asked softly, organizing the data they'd just collected.

"More complex than I imagined." Riko's tone mixed excitement with concern. "This isn't just an energy storage device—it's more like some kind of... life information carrier."

She turned around, golden pupils gleaming dangerously, and said quietly: "Keiko, if my speculation is correct, the secrets within that dragon girl's body are far more important than we imagined. And these fools plan to destroy everything tomorrow."

"Then we..."

Riko reached out to caress Keiko's face, the gesture both tender and possessive: "We need to make a choice, my dear sister. Continue waiting to die in this cage, or take a gamble?"

Just then, the office door was roughly pushed open. The black-clothed middle-aged man strode in with a grim expression.

"Riko Doctor, I need to confirm something." His words were cold and hard. "Do you fully understand tomorrow's mission requirements?"

Riko slowly turned to face the intruder, a professional smile appearing on her face, her languid posture tinged with allure: "Of course I understand. Vivisection, complete sample extraction, then destruction of the remains. The company can rest assured."

"Good." The middle-aged man nodded. "Remember, you sisters' value lies in this professional skill. The company has given you considerable freedom, but that doesn't mean you can question the company's decisions."

Riko maintained her smile, but Keiko could feel her sister's body trembling slightly—not from fear, but suppressed rage.

"Of course, I understand." Riko's voice was terrifyingly calm.

The middle-aged man left, satisfied.

After the door closed, Riko confirmed he had gone far enough, then suddenly punched the desk with a dull thud. This office was the only private space Riko had earned for herself after years of working for the Stellar Alliance. Only here could she vent her fury against the desk.

"Sister..." Keiko gripped her hand with concern.

"Keiko," Riko lowered her voice with dangerous undertones, "we can't wait any longer."

She reexamined the Tear of the First Dragon's analytical data on the desktop: "If they want to destroy such precious research material, then don't blame me for being ruthless."

Riko walked to the office safe and entered a complex code. Inside were several small bottles containing unknown liquids that glowed eerily under the light.

"Our insurance." Riko picked up one bottle containing a small, writhing creature and said to Keiko: "Cultivated symbiotic parasite samples. If the situation deteriorates, at least we can show these fools what true symbiotic science means."

Keiko looked at the bottle in her sister's hand, concern flashing in her eyes: "Sister, isn't this too dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" Riko laughed softly, stroking Keiko's head. "Sister, I've had enough. Rather than wait for these self-righteous fools to slowly drain our value and then discard us, better to take initiative. Don't you think?"

She placed the bottle in a specially designed portable container: "Besides, who knows? There might be a turning point."