Chapter 380: Urgent Summons

Although he had already decided to help deal with this matter from the start Lu Xin only felt truly at ease after discussing it with his family.

In his mind there were two things that needed doing now. One concerned the orphanage or rather the Old Director. He would immediately follow up on any lead he found absolutely refusing to let anyone stop him.

The other thing was his job.

After all he was getting paid and he really liked this job.

That night Lu Xin slept in his familiar little bed treating it as a rest stop on his journey. The next morning he woke up promptly at seven as usual. While washing up he considered what matters he should tackle first today.

He should probably pay a visit to the orphanage.

Although Teacher Xiao Lu didn’t seem to be doing well when he left Qinggang she should be better after all this time right?

Also he was still on leave without pay from the business company. Should he go report back?

Or maybe just call Han Bing and ask about the house?

…Speaking of which why hadn’t Han Bing called him immediately like before when he returned this time?

Just as Lu Xin was pondering his next move his phone rang precisely at eight o’clock.

He answered it was Chen Jing’s voice: “Are you up yet?”

Lu Xin quickly wiped his mouth clean “I’m up. I usually wake up at seven.”

“Good. Your routine is quite disciplined.”

Chen Jing continued “Single Soldier I’m afraid we’ll have to interrupt your rest this time.”

“Headquarters needs you to come to the Main City immediately for an urgent meeting regarding Happy Town.”

…

“So soon?”

Lu Xin was a little surprised.

On the way here he had chatted briefly with Chen Jing. He knew that according to the Research Institute’s narrative there were still several major preparations needed before cleaning up the S-level forbidden zones around the major high-wall cities. First was sharing the information about the Abyss with each high-wall city. Then came assessing each city’s handling plan. Third was the transport of a batch of mysterious weapons. The entire process would take at least a month.

In other words according to the Research Institute’s plan this cleanup mission couldn’t possibly start within a month.

“Yes.”

Chen Jing said over the phone “Although the actual work will begin in about a month we can’t possibly wait until then to start preparing. I don’t need to elaborate on how terrifying S-level forbidden zones are. Preliminary preparations and planning must start now.”

…Even starting now feels a bit too rushed.”

…

Lu Xin paused for a moment then agreed “Okay I’ll go buy a car ticket later.”

“Buy a ticket?”

Chen Jing seemed taken aback for a second “No need to buy a ticket. Go to the Security Hall now. A helicopter will pick you up.”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin paused again. His treatment seemed to have improved once more.

…

As a former small employee who wouldn’t even dare to dream of going to the Main City now he could not only go whenever he was told but even had a helicopter from the Main City coming to fetch him. Lu Xin couldn’t help but feel a bit moved by the change and also a little excited.

He left immediately taking the subway towards the Security Hall.

When he arrived at the Security Hall it was exactly 8:30 AM. The police officers had just arrived at their posts.

The young female officer’s face lit up with pleasant surprise when she saw Lu Xin. She came up happily to greet him “What’d you eat?”

Lu Xin smiled back “What’s available?”

The female officer started counting on her fingers “There’s tofu nao soy milk youtiao xiaolongbao tea eggs…”

Lu Xin replied agreeably “Anything’s fine.”

He went up to the fourth floor first waiting in the meeting room. Ten minutes later the female officer brought his breakfast.

Tofu nao plus xiaolongbao tea eggs and even a small pack of pickled vegetables and garlic cloves.

Considering he had a meeting later Lu Xin naturally didn’t eat the garlic. He just finished the tofu nao and pickled vegetables.

About twenty minutes later at exactly nine o’clock the rumbling sound of helicopter propellers echoed above the Security Hall.

Lu Xin put the trash into the bin then carried his bag to the rooftop.

“Mr. Single Soldier?”

After confirming Lu Xin’s identity the pilot directly invited him aboard and helped him fasten his seatbelt.

*Whir whir whir.*

The helicopter spun cheerfully gradually ascending into the sky.

“These Special Action Team folks are getting better and better treatment now…”

Inside the Security Hall people listened to the receding sound of the helicopter many murmuring感慨softly.

The young female officer remarked “It’s deserved. Haven’t you noticed he’s getting busier and busier… The frequency of him coming over for meals has clearly increased.”

…

Sitting in the helicopter looking down at the Second Satellite City retreating beneath his feet was still a novel experience for Lu Xin. He used to think the Second Satellite City was already quite large always sticking to his routine commute rarely venturing into other districts.

Later after being recruited by the Special Cleaning Department he gradually became familiar with the other districts due to work.

Now looking down from the sky he realized that the Second Satellite City was actually only palm-sized.

One Main City plus five satellite cities that was the entirety of Qinggang.

Looking down at the dense high-rise buildings below the parallel intersecting streets and the neat layout it seemed no different from the old Civilization Era the Old Director always mentioned completely unlike Lu Xin’s own experiences traveling through the Wasteland.

“It really is better in the city…”

Lu Xin mused inwardly.

However as the Main City drew closer in his view he did notice some changes in Qinggang’s layout.

To the south of the Main City near the coastline rows upon rows of steel fences had been erected at some point.

Inside many tents could be vaguely seen interwoven into a vast area covering a huge expanse of land.

From high up he couldn’t see clearly what was inside but Lu Xin felt somewhat curious.

Such a large area was Qinggang preparing to expand again adding another satellite city?

Forty minutes later the helicopter landed on the rooftop of a building on the east side of the Main City.

Lu Xin stepped off the helicopter finding himself in a very large building complex. The buildings in the Main City generally looked newer and cleaner than those in the satellite cities and this complex was even cleaner and brighter surrounded by large clusters of greenery.

“This place is…”

Lu Xin paused slightly suddenly realizing.

This must be the headquarters of Qinggang’s Special Pollution Cleanup Department right?

He had never been here before. His first visit was directly to the rooftop.

“Mr. Single Soldier please come this way!”

Just as Lu Xin was reflecting a female voice sounded nearby.

Lu Xin turned to look and saw a woman in a professional suit with her hair tied up wearing black-framed glasses. She looked very capable. Lu Xin quickly nodded then quickened his pace walking down from the rooftop helipad with her.

“Please come in. The meeting will start in five minutes.”

The woman led Lu Xin to the door of a meeting room pushed it open for him and spoke softly.

Lu Xin nodded walked in and then paused slightly.

Just outside the door it had sounded very quiet inside. He hadn’t expected it to be completely full.

This meeting room was quite large at least seventy square meters with a long table inside.

Now both sides of the long table were filled with people. One side mostly consisted of people in white coats wearing glasses many with receding hairlines. The other side was mostly dressed in casual attire some wearing casual suits others in loose sportswear.

There was even someone wearing a school uniform among them.

…Lu Xin recognized her and smiled greeting her “Hello.”

The Drunkard chuckled looking amiable “Little Soldier quick sit down. Come sit next to me let’s chat uncle and nephew style.”

…

Lu Xin instantly felt a bit awkward.

He suddenly felt that just saying “Hello” seemed a bit impolite.

Perhaps he should have called him “Old Man” or something.

After sitting down Lu Xin finally had a moment to briefly observe the people around him. Based on their aura and attire he could roughly tell that the side of the conference table sitting more neatly with less hair mostly consisted of technical personnel. His side with the Drunkard likely consisted mainly of Qinggang’s Ability Users. Among them were several he had met before.

At the opposite extreme from the Drunkard almost on the other side twisting his head and stubbornly refusing to look this way was Gecko.

He actually didn’t greet him.

…Oh right supposedly he was most afraid of the Drunkard.

Two seats away from him tall even when sitting towering over others when standing and wrapped up tightly was the Watchdog.

Additionally there was someone in a black trench coat puffing away on a pipe oblivious to everyone else.

There was also someone slumped over the table secretly eating breakfast.

And someone holding a small mirror constantly examining their face occasionally touching up their makeup and lipstick.

…

Lu Xin suddenly felt that compared to the opposite side his side felt more like the troublemaker camp.

“Hehe Little Soldier…”

The Drunkard looked kindly at Lu Xin his collagen-filled little face full of benevolence “Heard you went to the Central City a couple of days ago?”

Lu Xin quickly nodded “Yes I just got back yesterday.”

“Hehe how was it? Did you have fun?”

“It was okay okay…”

“Young people should get out more. Reading ten thousand books isn’t as good as traveling ten thousand miles right…”

…

The Drunkard asked a question Lu Xin answered.

There was a distinct feeling of his seniority steadily dropping.

*Clack clack clack…*

Just then the crisp sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.

The meeting room suddenly fell silent. The one secretly eating breakfast quickly stuffed the last piece of oil pancake into his mouth. The one doing makeup in the mirror quickly drew the last stroke on their eyebrow and put the mirror away. Even the Drunkard nonchalantly tightened the lid on his thermos cup. Then everyone simultaneously sat up straight and looked towards the front entrance of the meeting room.

Chen Jing dressed in a black casual suit walked in holding a stack of files.

Her gaze swept across the meeting room taking in the group of people sitting bolt upright their aura strongly resembling that of a class teacher.