Chapter 121: I, Who Should Be Abnormal, Am Perfectly Normal
Chapter 121: I, Who Should Be Abnormal, Am Perfectly Normal
“I can answer a few of Mr. Su’s questions!”
Amidst the many mixed voices of teasing and discussions, some earnest, some not, Chen Jing, seated opposite Minister Shen, lifted her head slightly and looked towards the middle-aged man with the round face. Her complexion appeared somewhat pallid, her vitality seemed poor. Following Professor Bai’s suggestion, she had released the influence she held over herself. As a result, the burden of a recently undergone surgery became fully apparent on her.
Before speaking, she gently pressed a hand to her lower abdomen, lending a greater strength to her voice:
“I am quite certain that Lone Soldier’s purpose for leaving the city was not to escape.”
“And as for delaying the imminent interrogation, that was even less possible. He is very rational; he knows delay is useless. Therefore, there are only two possible reactions he could have given to our questioning: either he would refuse to speak if he didn’t want to say anything, or he would inform us truthfully.”
“…”
At this point, she instinctively glanced toward Professor Bai.
Some things she did not intend to say at such a meeting, just like the problem Professor Bai had discovered.
Thus, pausing only slightly, she continued with her suggestion: “Regarding Lone Soldier, I have always trusted him. I can understand Minister Shen’s concerns, but I do not believe maintaining excessive vigilance against an Ability User who devotes himself wholeheartedly to serving Highwall City, especially demonstrating distrust towards him, helps us maintain Highwall City’s order. On the contrary, I believe this is a very dangerous thing.”
“Before this attack occurred, I handled an abnormal incident together with Lone Soldier. The specific circumstances are known to you all. This was stirred up by Mr. Xu from the Inner City, who is fond of collecting antiques. When I arrived on the scene, Mr. Xu demanded I give him an explanation. Usually, such matters are difficult to resolve; you all know how the unique nature of Ability Users often leads to unnecessary trouble…”
“Sometimes, we even need to deliberately grant special permissions, or resort to hidden clauses, to resolve these issues.”
“But in this particular instance, I handled it extraordinarily easily.”
She paused briefly, adding emphasis: “Because in how Lone Soldier handled the matter, every step along the way, not a single rule was broken.”
“…”
Only after saying this much in one breath did she stop, lifting her head to regard everyone present.
At that moment, all gazes turned towards Chen Jing, including Minister Shen and Mr. Su.
Meeting so many eyes, Chen Jing straightened her posture slightly, preventing the pain in her abdomen from affecting her. Her voice emerged calm and firm: “Therefore, my opinion is: why don’t we just take this application report at face value?”
“…”
Chen Jing’s words brought about a strange moment of silence within the conference room.
Many guesses had surfaced in the discussions, but Chen Jing’s proposal—that it was genuinely just an application—sounded somewhat preposterous.
An Ability User such as this, at a time like this, submitting such an application…
…Could it really just be an application?
Moreover, concerning the example she cited—someone who does everything absolutely according to the rules—seemed worthy of trust, right?
So why did it instead make those present feel even more uncomfortable inwardly?
Minister Shen was the first to furrow his brow, preparing to speak.
“By the way, I have one more thing to add.”
Chen Jing spoke before he could, her voice soft: “If Lone Soldier truly forced his way out of the city, we likely couldn’t have stopped him.”
The conference room fell utterly silent.
……
……
Lu Xin, who had been sitting leisurely in the conference room, basking in the sun, eating candy, and leafing through the unfinished Special Contamination Classification and Level Training materials earlier, sat up perfectly straight the moment the satellite phone rang.
It was Chen Jing calling. Lu Xin always understood the need to maintain basic respect when dealing with leadership.
“Hello…”
Chen Jing’s clear, firm voice came through the phone: “I’ve seen your application report. You want to leave the city?”
Lu Xin nodded hurriedly, saying: “Yes.”
He instinctively lowered his voice slightly and looked around. The conference room was completely empty, save for himself and Gecko.
However, hearing him on the phone, Gecko showed no intention of leaving. Perhaps he simply didn’t realize Lu Xin was on a very important call. He was leaning on the fourth-floor window ledge, his eyes gleaming as he watched the pedestrians passing by on the street below.
He whistled occasionally, letting out sounds like “Heh heh heh,” or “Tsk tsk tsk.”
……
……
Chen Jing’s voice dipped slightly over the phone: “I advise against it.”
Lu Xin was taken aback: “Why?”
Chen Jing paused before answering: “The Wilderness holds many dangers and unforeseen events. As someone who grew up within Highwall City, there’s no telling whether you could adapt once outside, or what unknown troubles or changes you might encounter.”
“Additionally, this Knights Order you wish to pursue isn’t easy to deal with.”
There was the sound of papers rustling on the other end, as if Chen Jing was looking through files. After a moment, she continued: “We’ve conducted a preliminary investigation into this Knights Order. Though their background, origin, and exact numbers remain unknown, based on the traces they left within the city, we can determine they have at least three Ability Users…”
“The first is Qin Ran, the key figure in Special Contamination Incident No. 041.”
“His specific abilities are unknown, but he is suspected to possess capabilities analogous to duplication, or even resurrection.”
“The second is that Puppet-Type Ability User. Previously, he manipulated Psycho-modified Humans to ambush our investigative convoy… Although you saved me then, I think you are well aware of how perilous the situation actually was.”
“Then there’s another one—the instigator of Special Contamination Incident No. 093, which recently impacted the entire Satellite City No.2. It remains uncertain whether he utilized some sort of Source of Contamination or executed an evolved application of his personal ability, but the sheer magnitude of the Chaos he was able to create already proves his strength. This individual’s Psychic Magnitude must be significantly higher than that of ordinary Ability Users.”
……
After saying so much in one breath, Chen Jing lowered her voice: “You were recruited by me not long ago, haven’t completed basic training yet, and up to now have only handled a few Special Contamination Incidents without any experience confronting Ability Users. Therefore…”
“…pursuing them outside would be extremely dangerous for you!”
……
Lu Xin listened quietly to Chen Jing’s words, noticing an unusual stillness on her end.
After pondering a moment, he replied thoughtfully: “It’s true I’ve never faced other Ability Users before.”
Chen Jing seemed to faintly release a sigh of relief.
Then Lu Xin added: “But they probably have no experience dealing with me either.”
Chen Jing’s expression appeared to stiffen.
After a pause, Lu Xin heard her ask slowly: “Tell me the real reason you want to pursue them.”
“Well…”
Lu Xin hesitated briefly before answering: “Didn’t you say it yourself? Anyone who does wrong must face consequences…”
……
Back in the Main City’s Special Clean-up Department Conference Room, a room full of people stared at the Satellite Phone Chen Jing placed on the table.
The speakerphone transmitted Lu Xin’s earnest voice clearly.
His words resonated around the room, leaving everyone murmuring among themselves, finding his logic sound and perfectly reasonable.
Yet precisely because it seemed too reasonable, an unspoken unease settled over them.
Gradually, the atmosphere began shifting into something peculiar.
Chen Jing, facing the phone, remained silent briefly before suddenly asking: “Have you heard about the Bounty?”
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Countless pairs of eyes instantly snapped towards Chen Jing in the conference room.
Discussing such critical matters, yet bringing up something as trivial as a bounty?
……
After Chen Jing posed the question, Lu Xin’s delayed voice crackled through the line, noticeably flustered: “No, really not! I simply thought… they barged into the city, caused all those deaths… their actions were just too extreme…”
“So I intend to bring them back, ensure they pay for what they did in the Satellite City…”
“As for the Bounty…”
He paused before quietly adding: “Isn’t that something to discuss later?”
……
The voice emerging from the phone sounded slightly distorted.
Yet the shift in Lu Xin’s tone and tension remained unmistakable, vividly painting the expression they imagined on his face.
Thus, everyone in the conference room exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions turning odd.
Chen Jing, however, looked as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Lifting her head, she turned her gaze towards Mr. Su seated at the center.
A thoughtful hint of a smile appeared on Mr. Su’s face.
He met Chen Jing’s eyes and gave a brief nod.
An eased expression finally settled on Chen Jing’s face as she spoke into the phone: “I can approve this request…”