Chapter 120: Unexplainable

“He intends to head out alone to track down those Ability Users?”

Qinggang City, Main City, High-Level Administrative Hall, Conference Room.

The summary and handling meeting regarding the recent attack by Ability Users from outside the city was in progress.

For Qinggang, this Special Contamination cleanup had inflicted immense damage, leaving countless matters demanding consideration.

Issues such as the impact of this event on the populace; stabilizing public sentiment; providing recovery and cleanup efforts… and so on.

Furthermore, news had arrived that the pursuit of the Knights Order who had breached the city to steal paintings had failed.

Therefore, Qinggang City naturally faced many subsequent problems: they needed to ascertain the true origins and identities of that Knights Order; investigate whether other forces lurked behind them; as well as reflect on the defense vulnerabilities within Qinggang Main City and the Satellite Cities…

Originally, this should have been a lengthy and weighty meeting, but now an unexpected development occurred.

Everyone’s attention was abruptly drawn to something else.

It was a work application report.

This report originated from Lone Soldier, an auxiliary member of the Special Operations Team stationed at Satellite City No.2 under Qinggang Special Contaminant Cleanup Division.

The purpose of this application was to seek Headquarters approval to go outside the city to pursue the Ability Users who had launched the attack inside the city.

With the Knights Order having wreaked havoc, absconded, and the Qinggang upper echelons collectively reeling, this application…

Seemed quite reasonable!

……

“Is this sheer recklessness?”

Minister Shen from the City Defense Department silently finished reading the application, then suddenly slammed it forcefully onto the table. He spoke in a somber tone, “During this Special Contamination attack incident, he exposed many secrets we were previously completely unaware of. Subjecting him to certain investigation and inquiry is precisely what should happen next. Yet, at this juncture, he suddenly applies to leave the city…”

He paused, his voice heavy, “…There must be a problem!”

“…”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As these words landed, numerous gazes turned towards him in the conference room.

Among them were four bald professors, a female doctor wearing black-framed glasses, three military officers of field rank in uniforms with high insignia, a slightly portly middle-aged man, and an elderly man wearing a white suit, whose eyes held a calm and wise intelligence.

Facing so many eyes, Minister Shen’s face flushed crimson.

After a brief hesitation, he added, “I know he rendered great service during this incident and saved many lives. But we must separate merit from scrutiny. I have no objection to him being commended for his merits. However, this concealment regarding his own abilities has always been the most critical issue for our Special Contaminant Cleanup Division in Highwall City. It represents a hidden threat. That is exactly why I proposed he undergo an inquiry!”

Intentionally or not, he placed heavier emphasis on the word “inquiry”.

The faces of the others relaxed slightly upon hearing this.

“So it wasn’t an interrogation after all…” chuckled a bald professor wearing glasses. “You should have made that clear earlier. I thought you were driving out the hero once he’d served his purpose…”

“Exactly,” echoed a corpulent bald professor beside him. “Well, technically, the job isn’t even done…”

“Hmph!” Minister Shen snorted heavily and turned his face away, unwilling to address them.

“I also find it rather peculiar,” said a round-faced, slightly plump middle-aged man seated at the center of the conference table, smiling. “A necessary inquiry can certainly be conducted. After all, our primary goal from the very beginning has been to maintain safety and order within the High Wall. Lone Soldier is part of Qinggang Special Cleanliness Department. If he were suddenly to develop problems… well, that would undeniably spell disaster for Qinggang.”

“Therefore, I want to know: what is his true purpose in wanting to leave the city?”

He rapped his knuckles lightly on the table, looking around at the others. “To evade the impending inquiry? Or… to leave?”

He listed several possibilities, each striking a chord with many in the room. Several heads nodded in agreement.

“Also,” the middle-aged man continued, turning towards the bald contingent, “have we achieved any definitive results regarding the study of his abilities?”

He smiled with humble frankness. “I am neither an Ability User nor a relevant researcher, so I don’t fully grasp the level of capability he demonstrated during the cleanup of Special Contamination Source 094. But what chiefly concerns me is this: are the abilities he displayed this time… explainable?”

“…”

His words cast a slightly more oppressive mood over the conference room. Many lowered their heads to look at the documents in their hands.

“Unexplainable,” declared a burly man wearing a toupee, taking the lead to respond seriously. “We also received the submitted files, along with oral reports from the City Patrol Army and other Ability Users. Together, they roughly reconstructed the events of that time and allowed us to piece things together…”

“It’s truly strange that precisely at the most critical moment, all our personnel withdrew. None directly witnessed Lone Soldier’s specific actions while dealing with that Ultra-Level-2 Psychic Entity. Subsequent examination of the scene yielded no additional concrete traces—everything was handled exceptionally cleanly. We only know a Psychic Magnitude nearing 3000 occurred…”

“As for the rest…” He flipped through his file again before pushing it aside regretfully. “…Nothing. Zilch.”

“Hmm…” mused the middle-aged man. “Lone Soldier was the one who proposed the withdrawal? Meaning he acted intentionally?”

“We can postulate several reasons,” interjected a cultured, refined, bald professor wearing glasses, speaking softly. “One possibility is that Lone Soldier knew what he needed to do and didn’t wish to be observed, hence suggesting the withdrawal. This would indicate he genuinely was concealing something…”

Hearing this, the stern-faced Minister Shen immediately opened his mouth to speak.

But the spectacled, bald professor raised a hand slightly, halting him, and continued, “However, there is another reason: that Lone Soldier believed what he was about to attempt was extremely perilous. He didn’t want to endanger his colleagues; thus, he proposed they withdraw. In other words, at that moment, he lacked confidence in his ability to defeat that Psychic Entity. But to save the over thousand contaminated people…”

He slowly lifted his head, tapping a knuckle lightly on the table. “He still rolled the dice.”

Many in the conference room nodded implicitly. Even Minister Shen held his tongue momentarily, not pursuing his earlier point further.

The two differing interpretations painted entirely distinct pictures.

The middle-aged man at the center smiled faintly. “So, what we can ascertain… is truly minimal?”

“To be honest, yes!” A professor wearing a tang suit sighed, pushing his glasses up, “Defeating a Psychic Entity nearing a Psychic Magnitude of 3000 is not inherently difficult. Whether deploying our specialized weapons or sending out Doll, either could potentially achieve it. However, accomplishing this task while simultaneously rescuing over a thousand individuals present at the scene, and without allowing that Psychic Entity to release its final wave of radiation…”

He shook his head slowly. “I simply cannot speculate.”

His face clearly showed deep regret. He sighed, lamenting, “The analyzable data is far too scarce. We are not gods; we’re not even Ability Users ourselves. Confronted with such indeterminable matters, surely we cannot rely purely on conjecture?”

He added somewhat self-mockingly after a pause, “…Though, admittedly, guesswork often propels our research forward.”

……

“Come to think of it, it’s somewhat odd…”

At this point, a bespectacled woman with permed hair and a gentle aura, though surrounded by colleagues who subconsciously sat at a slight distance from her, adjusted her glasses and remarked with a wry smile, “Minister Shen, why were you so uncharacteristically obedient? He tells you to withdraw personnel, and you just… withdraw?”

She then adopted a hint of a knowing look. “Wouldn’t it have been valuable to leave a few behind… for discrete observation?”

The professors nearby immediately chimed in, nodding vigorously:

“Exactly! Old Shen seems reformed…”

“Weren’t you the one constantly suspicious before, tailing everyone?”

“Right! Didn’t you even have people tail Old Chen back then?”

“Mentioning that still irks me— Wasn’t it just a few defective Plasma Bullets I took home as fireworks for the little grandson?”

“Ah, you reminded me; he also seized our research funds that time…”

“Do be less harsh, you lot! Old Shen meant well. And besides, he seems to have learned better lately, hasn’t he?”

“…”

As they continued their bantering remarks, Minister Shen’s face visibly darkened. Yet, he remained silent, offering no rebuttal.