**Chapter 496: Recite the Full Text Please**
Katerina spoke in broken sobs, her words coming out in fragments.
"The White Shark has a lot of influence in the E State. Every year, they go to orphanages to pick kids with good potential to train!"
Katerina herself came from an orphanage and joined the White Shark that way!
For her, the only things she truly cared about in her heart were the orphanage and Teacher Linda, who had raised her with her own hands!
Over the years, much of the money she had earned in the White Shark was donated back to the orphanage.
Even though she had explained the whole situation in just a few sentences, Jiangnan could sense how hard these past few months had been for Katerina!
Jiangnan grinned, crouched down, and opened his palm: "Look! What's this?"
Katerina stared blankly at the encryption key lying in Jiangnan's hand!
"This... the encryption key? The one you gave to the Sakura Group was fake?"
Even Mountain Cat looked utterly stunned—how could there be two keys?
Jiangnan chuckled: "It's real! The one in my hand is also real, but I modified a string of command characters, so the key can't unlock the security program anymore!"
"I've got plenty of these!"
He pulled out a whole handful more!
Katerina was dumbfounded. So you really are a wholesaler!
How did they multiply like that?
And more importantly, can the characters in a security key just be modified that easily?
Could you sound any more casual about it?
Mountain Cat hadn't expected Jiangnan to have prepared so much before coming here!
"But what if they find out it's fake..."
Jiangnan looked a little smug: "Until they get the curse engraving analysis data, they can't even use it. Who's to say it's fake?"
"If I say it's real, then it's real!"
"Besides, even if they figure out it's fake, what can they do to me? Now *I'm* the only one who can unlock the curse engraving analysis data!"
Mountain Cat's eyes sparkled as she looked at Jiangnan. A living encryption key—how convenient!
Katerina's eyes were full of hope: "Then can we trade the key with the White Shark for Teacher Linda and the kids? They promised me..."
Jiangnan cupped Katerina's face with his hands and said sternly: "Don't be naive, Beautiful Babe!"
"You've worked this industry—you know better than anyone! Grabbing people to use as leverage is standard practice!"
"If you walk up to the White Shark with the key and try to make a deal, what do you think happens? The moment they get the key, they'll kill you on the spot, and as for Teacher Linda and the rest, forget about it!"
Mountain Cat nodded: "Concern clouds judgment! Don't lie to yourself!"
Katerina bit her lower lip so hard it turned pale, completely unconsciously!
How could she not know?
But as long as there was even a glimmer of hope, she was willing to try!
Jiangnan pulled Katerina up and held up one finger: "First rule of doing bad things—always keep the initiative in your own hands!"
"Let the White Shark accept my terms, not the other way around. Leave this to me!"
Katerina hugged Jiangnan's arm tightly, her eyes gleaming: "I'll listen to you!"
Mountain Cat lunged forward in one stride and immediately placed her hand between their faces, shooting Katerina a fierce glare!
Don't think I don't know you're about to turn into a woodpecker again!
But Jiangnan seized the opportunity, leaned his little head over, and started pecking at the back of Mountain Cat's hand!
"Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!"
Startled, Mountain Cat yanked her hand back like lightning, quickly wiped it on her clothes, and her gaze turned murderous!
[From Luo Tianhong: Resentment +1000!]
An hour later!
At the entrance of a high-end apartment in the back city district, Jiangnan knocked on the door with a pattern of nine light taps and one heavy one.
A low voice came from inside:
"Odd and even?"
Jiangnan grinned confidently: "Look at the quadrant for the sign!"
Silence from inside...
"Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron! Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon!"
Jiangnan: (≖_≖٥)
"Sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus! Sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium!"
Another moment of silence, accompanied by the faint rustle of pages turning.
"Can you recite the full text of the Memorial to Chu Shi?"
Jiangnan: (̿▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿̿ꐦ)̄
"I'll recite your sister! If you don't open the door, I'll beat you senseless!"
The door was suddenly flung open, revealing a young man who looked like a scrawny monkey, grinning cheerfully, with a textbook in his hand.
"Haha! That's the vibe—it's Nan Shen all right! You're finally here!"
Jiangnan's face darkened. What kind of insane password code is this?
Inside the apartment, a burly man with a scruffy beard, two meters tall, wearing a cap, his skin bronzed and his face rugged, was smoking a cigarette.
On the sofa by the coffee table, a curly-haired girl with heavy dark circles under her eyes was organizing documents, her hair a mess, face pale, and her pupils actually blood-red!
As soon as Jiangnan entered, they all immediately stood up and saluted him.
"Reporting in, Colonel Jiang! Colonel Luo!"
Katerina looked at Jiangnan in utter shock. No way?
Back in Suka, you were still just a grunt!
How long has it been? And now you're already a colonel?
Jiangnan grinned: "No need to be so formal outside. Just call me Nan Shen."
Mountain Cat pointed at the skinny monkey: "Liu Ming, codename Skinny Monkey. His Lone Wolf Squad is responsible for local intelligence gathering. Elite squad of the Dark Night, all Platinum level."
Jiangnan looked at Liu Ming and nodded with satisfaction.
Then his gaze shifted to the burly, bearded muscle man, and his eyes lit up.
His muscles, forged like iron, looked even more robust than Wu Liang's. His pectorals were so big they strained his shirt tightly.
He exuded an intense sense of pressure—clearly the perfect candidate for chugging some "Great Strength" potion.
Jiangnan stepped forward and punched him in the chest. The elasticity was astonishing.
"Tsk! Solid! You've trained well!"
The muscle man suddenly covered his chest, his face flushed, and started twisting shyly.
A soft and cute female voice came out: "Oh, Nan Shen! You're so annoying!"
She then raised a fist the size of a sandbag and thumped Jiangnan's chest, producing a *dong* sound!
The smile on Jiangnan's face instantly froze—partly from the blow, and partly from sheer shock!
Skinny Monkey roared with laughter: "Lin Miaoke! Our squad's tank! Codename Iron Bull. And yes, she's a girl!"
The blood-eyed girl covered her mouth, giggling.
"(∗❛ั̫❛ั∗)～Wow! Nan Shen's so bold!"
Jiangnan: !!!
What the durian kind of "girl" is this?!
Your entire aesthetic is completely different from anyone else's, you know?!
Drawn as a guy but claiming to be a girl? And where did that soft and cute voice come from? It's definitely dubbed over, right?!
"S-sorry... I didn't recognize you without shaving!"
Even if you shaved, I still wouldn't recognize you!
Mountain Cat was trying not to laugh. Serves you right for not reading the briefing carefully!
The blood-eyed girl smiled: "Ji Shuang, codename Platelet."
"And there's Black Crow, out on a stakeout, not back yet."
Jiangnan sat down on the sofa and his expression turned serious: "The reason I'm here is mainly to stir things up. Tell me about the local situation."
Ji Shuang handed him the documents she had just organized.
"Half a month ago, a Bose Body appeared in the industrial district of the Metropolis. It only showed up briefly."
"But the Sakura Group's spatial-type Qian Benying, the Bright Society's spatial-type Magician, and the US's spatial-type Dao Heaven Piers all showed up, and they still couldn't catch it."
"Counting you, there are now four spatial-types here."
Skinny Monkey added: "The Bose Body hasn't appeared since. All the major factions have shifted their focus to the encryption key. Word is it's in the hands of a woman named Katerina."
"Then a few days ago, Qian Benying captured her. Not sure about the specifics."
Jiangnan said: "She's Katerina. And the encryption key is now with me."
Skinny Monkey: (๐･᷄口･᷅) Huh?
Not just Skinny Monkey—Lin Miaoke and Ji Shuang were all staring at Jiangnan in disbelief.
Wait... what's going on?
She... I... huh?!
Just then, a shadow suddenly emerged from a dark corner in the room, his face full of excitement.
"Let me tell you! Something huge happened at the Sakura Group! Not sure if they fought or what—"
"Half of the Royal Hotel collapsed! I snuck a peek inside; the room was full of people lying everywhere!"
"Qian Benying was furious, stomping her feet in the room, going 'Shinde! Shinde!'... Oh? Nan Shen?"
At that moment, Skinny Monkey and the others instinctively turned their gazes to Jiangnan, utterly shocked.
Could it be...
Jiangnan said: "No need to talk about what happened there. I took a little stroll through the Royal Hotel before coming here. Tell me about the White Shark."
Everyone's eyes widened.
Confirmed! Nan Shen definitely did the deed!
He just got here and went straight to the Sakura Group alone? And already got his hands on Katerina and the encryption key that everyone was searching for?
Skinny Monkey smiled bitterly: "Now I know you really came here to stir things up."
——
Author's note: