Chapter 160: Support Team Arrives
Chapter 160: Support Team Arrives
Lu Xin, carrying the Silver Suitcase in one hand and his own backpack on his other shoulder, walked out of the boundaries of Happy Town.
Sitting on the hillside, he took out a box of cigars from his bag. These had been given to him by Elder Snake back in Blackwater Town. He opened his mouth wide and clamped one cigar between his teeth. Then he held a lighter to the tip, flicking at it for a good while, drawing hard until he finally managed to get the cigar lit.
Cough… Cough…
Lu Xin coughed a few times, tasting something distinctly musty.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. He decided to let himself slowly get used to this musty taste.
Maybe this was the flavor rich people enjoyed?
……
……
After smoking for a while, he finally picked up the Signal Flare and fired it straight into the air.
Then, puffing on his cigar, he waited for Gecko to come pick him up.
Looking up at the sky, he saw the moon in the east, as if it had just risen.
Checking the digital watch on his wrist, he found the numbers were jumbled – some showing ‘8’, others ‘A’ – completely useless for telling time. This made Lu Xin thoughtful. It looked like night had just fallen.
But when he first entered Happy Town, it was already dark.
He’d been fighting inside for so long, then walked such a long way out… why did it still seem like night had just begun?
He just slightly furrowed his brows, then let it go.
Lu Xin felt that with his Qinggang City high school diploma, he certainly couldn’t figure this out.
So he stopped thinking about it.
Anyway, all of this definitely had something to do with that mysterious Queen.
Thinking about this Queen, Lu Xin couldn’t help but be astonished. After learning the truth about Happy Town, he simply couldn’t imagine just how immense a Psychic Magnitude would be required to envelop a fifty-kilometer radius and constantly exert influence upon it.
What terrifying power could turn a Small Town into a hive?
Lu Xin shook his head slightly.
The residents of Happy Town were probably no longer people in the normal sense.
The thought that so many people had long been contaminated actually made him somewhat uncomfortable.
But he couldn’t help them.
Because he clearly understood he still couldn’t afford to offend that Queen…
After all, even Mother bid her a polite farewell, waving and saying goodbye when they left together…
He actually had some things he wanted to ask Mother, but she wasn’t with him now.
Not only was she absent, but Little Sister wasn’t beside him either.
Leaving the town, Mother had said Father was sulking, alone at home, and she was worried about him. So she took Little Sister back to keep him company first.
Lu Xin hadn’t refused. He could also tell the reason wasn’t just that. Father, forced to return, was in a very bad mood. It seemed there was some disagreement within the family; Mother and Little Sister probably needed to go back and discuss something with Father.
……
……
“It would be nice to have someone to talk to…”
Lu Xin peered into the empty, desolate Wilderness. After a long while, he gently blew out a cloud of smoke.
VROOM!
Suddenly, dazzling car headlights scanned from afar, followed instantly by the deafening, furious roar of an engine.
Under the moonlight, a hulking Iron Beast charged wildly down a distant, abandoned highway, engine pushed to its limit.
Lu Xin’s mood lifted considerably.
SCREECH!
The Iron Beast executed a slick skidding stop right in front of Lu Xin and jerked to a halt, rocking slightly. Fresh bullet holes were visible on the huge body.
Gecko’s head poked out from the driver’s window, looking around shiftily.
Lu Xin didn’t know why he was being so careful and regarded him with a peculiar expression.
Gecko lowered his sunglasses, giving Lu Xin a serious once-over for a moment. Suddenly, he asked: “Age? Name? Sexual orientation?”
Lu Xin looked at him in exasperation. “Don’t mess around!”
Gecko immediately sighed in relief, pushing the car door open. He muttered, “Can’t be too careful these days. So, what’s the word…” He scrutinized Lu Xin from head to toe, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Dealt with?”
Lu Xin nodded, giving the Silver Suitcase beside him a light pat. “Both Ability Users have been dealt with. The item they stole from Qinggang is right here. Also… the exploration of Happy Town can be considered finished…”
“Oh…”
Gecko listened to Lu Xin’s calm and casual description, his mouth forming an “O” shape.
After a while, he said: “Is… is it the kind of solution I understood?”
Lu Xin nodded: “Mm.”
Instantly, a confused expression appeared on Gecko’s face, as if he had too many emotions to express clearly.
After a moment, he suddenly jumped out of the car, jogged over to Lu Xin with a running posture, snapped to attention, and loudly declared: “Reporting to Captain, Deputy Captain Gecko reporting to you. Upon receiving your signal flare instruction, I proceeded to snipe, finding four mercenaries assaulting Qinggang City attempting to escape. I immediately gave pursuit, ultimately killing three and capturing one alive…”
“… currently bound on the back seat!”
“…?”
“Eh?”
Lu Xin was somewhat startled by Gecko’s solemnity, and after a pause, he slowly responded: “Well… that’ll do then…”
Gecko quickly stepped aside and said: “Please get in the car.”
Lu Xin gradually stood up, murmuring: “Actually, there’s no need to be so polite…”
“No, this isn’t called politeness…”
Gecko explained seriously: “This is just my respect for the Captain… You’ve worked hard.”
Lu Xin, while walking towards the car, reflexively said: “Not hard at all.”
“No, you did work hard…”
Gecko insisted on his view, then personally hurried over and opened the passenger door for Lu Xin.
Sitting in the car, Lu Xin glanced back and saw a man dressed in the makeshift uniform of mercenaries, tightly bound and dumped on the back seat. He wore an Ability User suppresser on his face, appearing mentally unclear and dazed.
Gecko chuckled and explained: “To avoid trouble, I let him sleep deeply first. Oh, by the way…”
He suddenly recalled something and said gravely: “Should I toss him into the trunk, to make space for Uncle, Auntie, and Little Sister?”
Lu Xin was a bit amazed at how comprehensively Gecko considered things, and after a pause, he shook his head and replied: “No need.”
Gecko double-checked several times before starting the car with relief.
As the large Iron Beast began driving away from Happy Town, both Lu Xin and Gecko breathed a slight sigh of relief.
As if by an unspoken understanding, neither mentioned Lu Xin entering Happy Town to complete the task for now. It was only when the car smoothly drove onto the main road that Lu Xin remembered one thing: “What about their loot?”
“Don’t worry!”
Gecko said proudly while driving: “Four submachine guns, a handgun, bullets, and a few Little Apples.”
“Little Apples?”
Lu Xin looked at Gecko with confusion.
“Yeah…”
Gecko pulled out a round object with a pull ring from by his feet, tossing it once in his hand: “This.”
Lu Xin instantly felt his scalp tingle: “Put that away quickly.”
“No way, Captain! Someone who can wrap up thousands of Spiritual Contamination levels without leakage, and you’re worried about this?”
Gecko muttered, tossing the grenade back into the bag near his feet, which contained a few more.
That action again made Lu Xin’s heart jump.
It seemed the situation was genuinely resolved; Lu Xin slowly sighed and leaned back against the seat.
It appeared his Deputy Captain was quite reliable—handling those mercenaries, capturing plenty of spoils—stronger than himself indeed.
Right after the battle ended, he knew Qin Ran likely had a lot of supplies, even a truck, left somewhere in the small town. But Mother was eager to return, and he himself…
Lacked the nerve to go ask the Queen for those items back without his family present.
What a pity…
Sighing inwardly, Lu Xin suddenly recalled something and turned to Gecko with a serious look: “What about the wheels?”
Gecko was baffled: “What?”
“The motorcycles…”
Lu Xin said sternly: “Didn’t they ride off on four motorcycles when they fled?”
“Ah…”
Gecko stammered before answering: “Left… left them back there…”
Lu Xin’s brows furrowed: “Four of them…”
“I know…”
Gecko also looked puzzled at Lu Xin: “Captain, no, Brother Lu, do you think we could bring them back?”
Lu Xin thought about the size of the car he was in, the roof, and the trunk space, and didn’t speak.
He didn’t wish to trouble Gecko, so hesitatingly, he suggested: “What about calling the Support Team?”
Gecko was utterly confused: “Brother Lu, we’re in The Wilderness—where in The Wilderness would a Support Team come from?”
Lu Xin remembered what Mother said as she led Little Sister back, so he still nodded and stated: “There is.”
Under his persistence, Gecko stopped the car doubtfully, then set up the Signal Receiver, took out the Satellite Phone, and dialed.
It was noticeable that his voice was a bit tense: “Yes, Lone Soldier has already come out from Small Town…”
“It’s nothing, very normal, limbs are all intact…”
“Mental state normal, I’ve already checked…”
“Yes, he has cleared out Knights Order’s Ability Users and retrieved the things they stole…”
“I’m calling now to request the Support Team to enter…”
“…”
“Don’t ask me how he resolved it, and don’t ask me why I requested the Support Team to enter…”
“He is Captain, I am Deputy Captain.”
“A qualified Deputy Captain would not question Captain’s orders!”
“Fine, fine, I’m waiting…”
“…”
He awkwardly put down the phone and mumbled to Lu Xin: “They agreed…”
“But I still don’t know, where does this Support Team come from?”
“…”
Lu Xin did not answer his question, but thoughtfully looked toward the surrounding dark Wilderness.
After a while, from deep within the Wilderness, a whole row of piercing bright lights suddenly swept over, immediately followed by deafening engine roars. One by one fully armed Off-road Vehicles loaded with capable soldiers appeared in their view.
Immediately after, the sound of spinning propellers came from the air, and two Helicopters appeared in the sky, their crisscrossing lights illuminating the Wilderness.
Gecko was completely stunned, and the Satellite Phone in his hand dropped to the ground.
“Swish” “swish” “swish”
Three persons wearing all-black Combat Uniforms, with specially made Glass Helmets on their heads, jogged toward them from the Task Force.
They stopped three meters away, saluted them, and said loudly: “Qinggang City Defense Department, second, fourth, seventh Special Dispatch Teams reporting.”
“We have received orders from City Defense Department’s highest authority and can carry out all rescue and elimination missions.”
“Await orders!”
“…”
Looking at the three Task Force captains, whose ranks were clearly not low, Gecko couldn’t say a word and awkwardly glanced at Lu Xin.
Lu Xin was actually stunned too.
These people didn’t really look like the Support Team…
But their presence seemed to bring a stronger sense of security than the Support Team…
…
Calming himself, he slowly said: “Over there… that direction…”
As he pointed toward the spot, the three Task Force captains were immediately alert and looked over.
One of them nervously gulped.
Farther away, many armed soldiers instantly turned their rifle muzzles, rattling as they pointed over.
Then Lu Xin spoke out: “There are four Motorcycles, please find them for us…”
“And… help us transport them back…”
…