Chapter 233: Maritime Nation’s Answer
Chapter 233: Maritime Nation’s Answer
The pressure in the conference room soared as everyone stared at the young man who remained motionless even after being mentioned.
Mr. Su’s expression remained unchanged, though he subtly straightened his posture.
At that moment, several doors around the conference room swung open simultaneously. Squads of fully Armed Soldiers surged inside.
Each soldier wore protective headgear and carried new-model weapons.
These weren’t conventional firearms, but silver guns with peculiar threads attached to their muzzles.
Though they entered without further action, the atmosphere immediately turned tense.
Simultaneously, a tall man clad in a leather jacket entered through the small door behind Mr. Su.
The secretary seated behind Mr. Su, her makeup impeccable and pen poised for notes, lifted her head.
An invisible wind seemed to sweep through the conference room, stirring light collisions and coalescing into strange, swirling vortices.
Though the windows were shut, papers on the adjacent desk rustled and fluttered noisily.
……
……
“Don’t panic. Panicking isn’t beneficial,” Mr. Su said to the recording secretary who had just tugged at his sleeve, then turned courteously to Old Captain with a smile.
“Elder Ye surely understands it’s deeply discourteous to casually bring an S-class Ability User into another’s territory. Moreover, when you faxed us a month ago, you failed to mention having one in your expert delegation.”
Old Captain merely chuckled softly and shook his head. “Mainly because if I had mentioned it, I feared you wouldn’t agree.”
Admittedly, that was a frank truth.
Mr. Su addressed Old Captain plainly: “Elder Ye, you may now state your true purpose for coming to Qinggang.”
“I seek cooperation.” Old Captain replied openly.
“My stance remains: confronting the impending upheaval requires seamless cooperation.”
“Among the many potential allies, Maritime Nation values Qinggang.”
“You possess The Alliance’s most advanced new agricultural production chains, cultivate the finest feral strains, and your research on Spiritual Mutation ranks among The Alliance’s top five. Therefore, Qinggang is Maritime Nation’s optimal choice for returning to the mainland…”
……
Professor Bai interrupted him: “Your desire to return seems… urgent.”
Old Captain glanced at Professor Bai, gave a dry “Heh,” and acknowledged, “True. Being the earliest to take to the seas minimized our losses during the era ruled by Maniacs… though it did spawn other issues.”
“Such as a Curse that strips humanity from people?”
……
Professor Bai pondered thoughtfully, tapping his knuckles quietly. “Are you implying Maritime Nation suffers from… regression?”
Old Captain merely offered him a scrutinizing smile and stayed silent.
Professor Bai then exchanged a glance with Mr. Su and refrained from further questioning.
Mr. Su stated calmly: “Regarding Maritime Nation’s proposal for exchange and cooperation, I believe Qinggang has demonstrated ample sincerity.”
Old Captain met his gaze and chuckled. “As I said earlier, cooperation of this magnitude is clearly insufficient.”
“I recognize that Maritime Nation’s return, integrating into The Alliance or even Qinggang itself, will inevitably breed undesirable… complications. We all harbor self-interest. Genuine cooperation is impossible unless one side pays an exorbitant price.”
“Hence, I advocate an alternative form of cooperation: Maritime Nation assumes control over all of Qinggang.”
……
These nonsensical words instilled a visceral sense of distortion throughout the conference room.
Attendees were caught between indignation and incredulous laughter.
Mr. Su’s expression remained placid. He interlaced his fingers and murmured, “You are instigating a war.”
Old Captain slowly raised his eyes to meet Mr. Su’s. “Was my meaning unclear?”
“This is a war.”
……
The Helicopter’s rotor blades were spinning harshly, emitting a piercing whine.
Night had officially fallen. The uncommonly clear sky accentuated the chipped Crimson Moon, rendering it unusually bright and vivid—seemingly nearer to the city than ever before. It hung starkly behind the skyscrapers, seemingly within grasp.
Lu Xin sat in the Helicopter, thinking So this is what riding a Helicopter feels like.
He had once imagined it might be fun. Now he knew… it was fun. Just… very loud.
The Helicopter’s piercing spotlight beam swept down, illuminating a ruined sector below in East City.
Long cordon barriers ringed the wreckage, manned by rows of Armed Soldiers aiming their weapons into its heart.
Within the debris lay a temporary containment zone hastily organized by the City Defense Department.
Every individual Lu Xin had indicated had been apprehended and confined within this desolate patch.
But now, many still had not been captured.
It wasn’t that the capturers weren’t sufficient, but that everyone had hidden themselves away.
Despite repeated broadcasts urging all citizens in the city center to take to the streets for inspection—to facilitate Lu Xin in the helicopter selecting them directly—many hid for various reasons.
They were within the city, yet impossible to quickly distinguish from ordinary citizens.
“The pilot program for the Pressure Relief and Dissipation course first began in the City Core and South District. If the… contamination you mentioned originated from this course, those two locations would undoubtedly be focal points. I genuinely don’t know who’s been messing with these damn things. However, I know a few who might be into such stuff. I’ve already asked them to inquire among themselves…”
Fatty Liu’s voice came over the channel, filled with urgency and what seemed like sincerity:
“Some questions you can’t ask directly—they won’t answer even if you do. But my people can get answers…”
“If they don’t talk, we beat them…”
“Those lists uncovered earlier are all suspicious individuals. Once detained, none can escape…”
“You see, I’ve been cooperating so well. After this, perhaps…”
“…”
Amidst this massive hunt, both the Special Clean-up Department and the City Defense Department had exerted tremendous effort. It was why they had managed to capture over a thousand people swiftly and send them to the Quarantine Zone. Even this Fatty Liu, through his own methods, helped identify numerous suspects. Yet even so, many Mutants remained uncaptured.
Lu Xin gazed down from the helicopter. Even if he couldn’t see them directly, he knew countless Mutants lurked hidden within the city.
“Reaching this point, we’ve hit our operational limit. For the next phase, deploying vast numbers of soldiers and Police Officers to conduct door-to-door searches would demand immense time and resources. Therefore, we must acknowledge that capturing more Mutants in the short term is impossible!”
Chen Jing’s voice transmitted through the Walkie-Talkie: “What we need to do now are two things:”
“First: Prepare in advance to respond to large-scale Spiritual Mutation incidents. The City Defense Department has already made arrangements for this.”
“Second: Identify the potential threats posed by these Mutants and devise preemptive countermeasures…”
“Lone Soldier, as you are presently the only person capable of detecting anomalies in them, this task requires your cooperation.”
“…”
“Understood,” Lu Xin agreed and addressed the pilot in the front, clad in a Protective Suit: “Set down for now.”
Beside him, Doll sat pressed close, gripping his arm tightly.
Was this due to acrophobia?
Lu Xin pondered, then shook his head. Definitely not; she couldn’t fear heights. Their first meeting? She’d leapt down from a Helicopter. People like that, acrophobic?
But given the current situation, that seemed like a secondary concern.
He began to contemplate Chen Jing’s words: what transformations would ultimately befall people undergoing Spiritual Mutation?
…
For now, they appeared entirely normal.
Even though, in his eyes, they had morphed into various Monsters.
At this stage, they still cried, protested, felt afraid—retaining their rationality and thought processes.
This clearly wasn’t characteristic of standard Spiritual Mutation.
So, when true mutation manifested, what forms would they assume?
This brought Lu Xin’s thoughts to Deputy General Manager Xiao’s stepmother—who was, in essence, the Landlady of his own company.
She was the first Mutant he’d witnessed firsthand. Her manifestation? She’d undergone mutation yet remained oblivious to it. She merely voiced a Desire: wishing Deputy General Manager Xiao would go mad. Unaware of the price exacted by such a Desire.
Just as she remained ignorant of the second head she’d sprouted.
Strictly speaking, the nightmare incident plaguing Deputy General Manager Xiao originated with her.
The Shadow Lu Xin later saw haunting Deputy General Manager Xiao and causing nightmares? Also her.
This proved it was her Mental Power that was active back then…
Afterward, she grew haggard and listless, likely due to the exhaustion of her Psychic Energy.
But she herself possessed no Ability. So who imparted that power to her?
Or rather, whose entity had harnessed her Mental Power to wield that Ability?
And what was the purpose of that entity?
…
…
“So, the Chaos consuming our city right now—this is your premeditated arrangement?”
Meanwhile, in the Conference Room of the East Sea Grand Hotel, Mr. Su inquired slowly.
“Merely some essential groundwork,” Elder Ye nodded. “None of us possess experience utilizing Ability Users in conflict. Poor control would inevitably incur massive casualties. Preparations were made to hasten an outcome, minimizing loss of life.”
Click!
Someone, infuriated, audibly tightened their grip on their gun upon hearing Old Captain Ye’s words.
An invisible tension cord stretched taut in the air.
Mr. Su and Professor Bai, however, maintained their composure.
Professor Bai thoughtfully rotated a pen between his fingers, seemingly deep in thought.
Mr. Su faced the Old Captain: “So, Elder Ye, this is your answer to us then?”
“When encircled by children unfamiliar with firepower yet clutching loaded guns…”
“…”
Old Captain Ye understood he got it and smiled, nodding. “Correct.”
“To avoid perishing by the reckless hands of these dangerous children…”
“We decided to preemptively open fire.”