Becoming A Tech Tycoon Begins With Regression-Chapter 170: A Trap

"This feels uncomfortable."

{Didn’t you want to try the tech out?}

"Well, yes, but not for this long."

Currently in the form of a tall man with neatly arranged hair and black suit was Zero.

This looks definitely didn’t match his usual self and he was starting to hate it, but he remembered that he was the one who had willingly volunteered to do this.

He thought it’d be cool to be the one who put on the Mimic for once, and it had been...for a few minutes.

That is, until he realized that with the mission required him to completely change himself.

From his normal behavior, to the way he walked, and even the way he spoke...and he hated it all.

He sat in what looked like a traditional Chinese room, a very wide one. This was the actual safehouse of Madam Xu, one in which her men came wherever something was wrong.

The Vigilants had been able to successfully swap the new clan head with Zero on their way here, by causing enough distraction.

So now, instead of the actual boss, Zero was the one who sat stiffly on an ornate wooden chair carved with dragons, his borrowed height forcing him to slouch awkwardly so his head wouldn’t bump the overhanging lantern.

{Stop fidgeting,} Silk’s voice crackled into his earpiece. {You look suspicious.}

"I’m trying," he muttered in response before looking at the men who sat before him.

They had all been expected to gather today to greet their new acting head and hopefully discuss enough for the Vigilants to know what happened to their previous leader and who’s helping Xu and Jian.

Posing as Laohu Po who was supposed to be the leader currently seated here, Zero was surrounded by stone-faced men who seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

Their faces caused cold sweat to run down his back but he also kept the stone face facade.

The only way to get any information was to start as vaguely as possible and let them spill everything by themselves....and that was exactly what he planned to.

"So," he started in perfect Mandarin, "elders, what is the situation we currently face? You know after all that just happened?"

That was vague enough, maybe enough to get them to believe that he knew something but just enough to get them to start talking...or so Zero thought.

The four men that sat before him, maintained eye contact. These were Madam Xu’s inner circle. They were old, dangerous, and experienced enough to sense when something felt... off.

One of the elders, a man with a scar down his cheek, cleared his throat.

"Boss Laohu," he began, bowing his head slightly, "we assumed you had been informed privately about Madam Xu’s... situation."

Zero let out a small sigh.

Perfect. They thought he already knew.

"Her situation, yes," Zero said calmly. "But I want to hear your reports. Directly people I know I can trust."

The men straightened, visibly pleased.

{Nice,} Bypass said, {he’s buying it.}

Another elder spoke next, Elder Wei, the one responsible for external operations.

"Madam Xu is alive," he said immediately.

Well, that wasn’t news to them, since they already had suspicions. This just completely confirmed their thoughts.

Elder Wei continued, "though she will be... unavailable for some time."

Zero kept his face neutral which was easy enough since this was all info he already suspected.

What he was after, now, was information about who was helping them, but he knew he couldn’t rush it, else he risked them finding out that he was a fake.

Elder Wei leaned in slightly. "Our benefactor ensured she was recovered safely. He has instructed us to continue operations as usual."

"I see," Zero...or rather Laohu answered nodding his head.

By continue operations, they probably meant digging into the group that saved Lillian and OmniTech Corp.

"Can we really trust this benefactor?" Laohu asked with a raised brow, as if he was genuinely curious, "after all, he just came out of nowhere."

Elder Wei nodded at Laohu’s question but hesitated, glancing at the other three elders.

It was Elder Shen, the oldest, with snow-white hair tied into a knot, who answered.

"Boss Laohu, trust is irrelevant. The benefactor does not require it. He only requires obedience."

Zero suppressed a shiver.

’Creepy,’ Zero muttered mentally, because he didn’t dare move his lips.

Elder Shen continued, "He has resources beyond ours as is his influence, we would not have survived the attack of whoever was targeting the madam after she angered him. Her safe retrieval proves this."

Zero nodded slowly, keeping the expression stern and thoughtful.

"What about Jian Long?" He questioned again, "he was working with madam Xu during the kidnap of OmniTech Corp’s COO, do you think he might know who our benefactor is?"

"That’s not possible," Elder wei answered, "after all, even the Reaper’s resources does not seem to match whoever this benefactor is.... besides, even he is currently in the custody of our benefactor."

Again, that confirmed their suspicion, but still didn’t answer their question, who was this ’benefactor’?

Where had he come from?

And what was his goal? So he continued probing.

"Madam Xu and Jian Long didn’t seem to be in good terms," he said again, "so what if this is all his plan to take the madam out without any backlash from her clan?

"That’s impossible," Elder Shen said confidently.

"How so?" Zero asked frowning a bit and leaning forward.

"Because the Madam personally told me about our benefactor before she left," He answered, "our benefactors is—"

Before he could complete his words, a soft knock was heard from one of the doors. A young maid slid the door open, bowing deeply.

"Tea for the honored heads?" she asked politely.

Zero’s heart skipped a beat immediately but he kept a neutral expression

{Say yes,} Nico rushed. {They’ll expect it. If you say no, it’s suspicious.}

"Yes," Zero said, keeping his tone firm and authoritative.

The maid bowed and went to pour tea for the five of them. Zero forced himself to keep still, even though paranoia was crawling up his spine.

She placed a cup before him last. He lifted it, bringing it closer to his lips before taking a small sip.

The tea tasted bitter...but besides that, there was nothing else wrong with it.

With that, he took another sip and another, and another, but just before his paranoia could completely melt away he suddenly felt his eyes getting heavier by the second and the cup was the first thing to fall out of his hand.

"Wha—" before he could say anything, darkness took him and the last thing he remembered was the stone-cold faces of the elders....

They knew.

{Zero?} Spectra called out, but not response came, not for a few seconds..

Someone soon picked up the ear piece and said, "tell your boss that our benefactor sends him a message."

"Your move."