Seven years after transmigrating, he was cornered at the head of the bed by a cold and aloof empress

Chapter 99 Mysterious Phone Call: Old Seven, the Organization Needs You Back

The night breeze was a bit chilly, and it felt like a knife scraping my face.

Lin Zhou looked down at the old, jet-black Nokia candybar phone in his hand. In this era of ubiquitous smartphones, this thing was practically an unearthed artifact. It had no touchscreen, no camera, and couldn't even play Snake; it was only good for cracking walnuts.

But at this moment, it felt like a beating heart, vibrating wildly in my palm.

The string of garbled characters on the screen flickered with a faint blue light, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

Lin Zhou took a deep breath, his thumb hovering over the worn-out green answer button, hesitating to make a move.

Answer or not?

Reason told him that these seven years of peaceful life were hard-won. He had a wife and children, a warm bed, and was enjoying his life with a wife. Answering this phone call at this moment would be like throwing a bomb into a calm lake.

But the body's instincts reacted first.

That ingrained, conditioned reflex to danger and the unknown made him press the answer button as if possessed, and then slowly put the receiver to his ear.

No sound.

There was only a sickening electrical static in the receiver, a crackling sound, like countless ants made of electricity crawling on my eardrum.

Just as Lin Zhou thought it was just a prank and was about to hang up...

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

The static suddenly subsided, and then a deep, metallic male voice, processed with a voice changer, seemed to crawl out of the abyss of hell and into his ears:

"Seventh Brother, are you still alive?"

These two words are "Old Seven".

It was like a rusty key that was suddenly inserted into the sealed door deep in Lin Zhou's mind and then twisted hard.

"boom--!!!"

Lin Zhou felt a sharp pain in his brain, a sensation a hundred times more intense than when he recalled Su Qingge's rainy night proposal. Countless fragmented images, accompanied by the smells of gunpowder, blood, and the frantic pounding of a keyboard, swept over him like a tsunami.

What kind of family decline? What kind of parents are both dead?

That's all fake background information written in the file folder!

In my memory, it was also a night with torrential rain.

However, it wasn't in a rented room in Beijing, but in an abandoned factory in a foreign country. Flames soared into the sky, explosions rang out one after another, and bullets whizzed overhead like raindrops.

Wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a modified military laptop, he was rapidly typing away, hacking through the last line of defense.

"Quick! Seventh Brother! Thirty seconds left!"

"Retreat! Cover Seventh Brother's retreat!"

"Did you get the code?"

The screams, the cries, and the images of comrades falling in pools of blood are so vivid, as if they happened just yesterday.

It turns out that the reason he was willing to be a "useless person" for the past seven years and remained unmoved by all the ridicule from the outside world was not because he was really useless, but because he was "lying in wait".

Or rather, they are "retiring".

"What? Seven years have passed, and you can't even recognize the boss's voice?"

The voice on the other end of the phone interrupted Lin Zhou's recollection. In the background, there were faint sounds of muffled explosions and rapid typing; the sense of urgency was palpable, as if one could smell gunpowder even thousands of kilometers away.

Lin Zhou's fingers, which were holding a cigarette, suddenly trembled.

The scarlet cigarette butt, having remained lit for so long, had burned down to the fingertips.

"Sizzle—"

The pain of being burned came instantly.

Lin Zhou didn't even flinch. He casually stubbed out his cigarette on the railing, his voice unusually hoarse, carrying a strange chill:

"You must have dialed the wrong number. There's no Seventh Brother here."

"My name is Lin Zhou, and I'm a stay-at-home dad. My job now is to do laundry and cook for my wife and kids."

"Oh……"

A short, cold laugh came from the other end of the phone, tinged with helplessness and urgency:

"Stop pretending. Your file may be sealed away, but no one in this world can imitate your skills."

"Listen, Seventh Brother, I will never activate this emergency contact code unless it is absolutely necessary."

The other person's voice suddenly turned serious, and the sounds of gunfire in the background became increasingly clear, as if the flames of war had already reached right under their noses.

"The organization is in big trouble. An S-level crisis."

"That firewall, codenamed 'Pandora,' has mutated. Someone is trying to force their way into the core database. If they succeed, you should know the consequences... Not only will our lists be leaked, but our entire cybersecurity will collapse."

"Those incompetent tech guys have been holding out for three days and three nights, and they've completely collapsed. Now, only you can crack that code."

"Get back to the team, Seventh Brother."

"Your brothers are all waiting for you. Your place will always be reserved for you."

Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking Lin Zhou's heart.

S-level crisis.

Pandora.

These familiar words instantly awakened something long dormant within him. It was passion, fighting spirit, an instinct belonging to the strong.

His fingers unconsciously began tapping on the railing at a rapid pace, a habitual gesture he made when thinking about code.

go back?

Returning to that world full of danger, excitement, and exhilaration?

With just a nod, he would no longer be the gigolo being talked about behind his back, but a top hacker feared by countless people, the legendary "Ghost".

but……

Lin Zhou slowly turned around and looked into the room through the floor-to-ceiling window.

On the large bed in the master bedroom, Su Qingge was sleeping on her side, the blanket covering her completely, revealing only her peaceful sleeping face.

On the small bed next to her, Nuonuo was sleeping soundly on her back, hugging her little pig doll, with a sweet smile on her lips, as if she was having a sweet dream.

Warm and peaceful.

This is the warmth and life he has preserved over seven years.

If he leaves, if he gets caught up in that vortex again... how long can this peace last?

Will those enemies hiding in the shadows follow the clues and find their way here?

"Feel sorry."

Lin Zhou withdrew his gaze, the struggle in his eyes gradually subsiding, replaced by a resolute determination called "father" and "husband".

He spoke into the microphone, his tone as calm as still water:

"I've already retired."

"The seventh brother from before died in that explosion seven years ago. The one who's alive now is just an ordinary person trying to earn money for his daughter's milk powder."

"For such a world-saving task, you should find someone else more capable."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

A full five seconds passed before the voice sounded again, carrying a complex emotion:

"Ordinary people?"

"Seventh Brother, you can fool others, but can you fool yourself?"

"Your blood is warm. Didn't your hand tremble when you heard the gunshot?"

"and……"

The opponent paused for a moment, then threw out their last chip:

"The forces that made this move are the same group as those from seven years ago..."

"Don't you want to know who betrayed us back then? Who forced you to hide behind this woman for seven years, living in anonymity?"

Lin Zhou's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints.

A chilling killing intent erupted from him instantly, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze at that moment.

The truth from seven years ago...

traitor……

This was indeed a thorn in his side.

But just then, Nuonuo suddenly turned over in her sleep and let out a soft, sweet murmur:

"Daddy...hug me..."

This call was like a clear spring, instantly extinguishing the hostility in Lin Zhou's eyes.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then suddenly opened them, his eyes becoming clear again.

"beep."

Without any hesitation, Lin Zhou hung up the phone.

The world fell silent again.

Only the rustling sound of the night wind blowing through the treetops remained.

Lin Zhou looked at the Nokia phone in his hand, its screen already black, and tightened his grip slightly.

"Click."

He folded the SIM card that had been with him for seven years into two pieces.

He walked to the balcony and raised his hand.

The two halves of the chip traced a parabola in the air and disappeared into the vast night.

"it's over."

Lin Zhou muttered to himself, as if saying goodbye to the past, or as if hypnotizing himself.

He didn't want to be a hero, nor did he want to seek revenge.

All he wants to do now is be a good husband to Su Qingge and a good father to Nuonuo.

That's it.

Lin Zhou turned around, pushed open the balcony door, and stepped back into the warm bedroom.

The cool air from the air conditioner dispelled the smell of smoke and the chill from his body.

He tiptoed to the bedside, lifted the covers, and slipped inside.

Su Qingge seemed to sense the movement beside her, and groggily leaned closer, habitually burying her head in his chest and snuggling against him in a comfortable position.

"...Where did you go? I feel so cold," she muttered.

"I went to the balcony to smoke a cigarette."

Lin Zhou reached out and hugged the woman in his arms tightly, as if he was afraid she would disappear at any moment.

"Wife."

"Um?"

"Tomorrow... let's go buy Nuonuo a piano."

"Why did you suddenly decide to buy a piano?"

"Because I want to hear it."

Lin Zhou rested his chin on the top of her head, his gaze fixed on the unfathomable night outside the window, his voice low and firm:

"I want to spend my whole life listening to your music."

Su Qingge didn't say anything, but simply wrapped her arms around his waist and nodded in his embrace.

however.

Lin Zhou did not see it.

Just a few hundred meters away in the woods outside the window, a red dot flickered slightly.

The lens of a high-powered telescope was fixed on the window on the second floor of Cloud Top Manor.

In the darkness, a soft shutter clicked, followed by a man's deep report:

"Target confirmed."

"Seventh Brother... refuses to return to the team."

"Activate Plan B."