Chapter 381: Leading the Charge

“Thank you all for attending.”

Chen Jing strode into the meeting room, looking sharp and serious. Her gaze swept over everyone before she placed a stack of freshly printed documents on the conference table. “Before we begin, let me reiterate the rules. This meeting is highly confidential. All information shared here must be memorized thoroughly, but you are forbidden from disclosing anything to unauthorized personnel without permission!”

“Now, I’ll announce the topic of this meeting: Information Sharing on Abyss Group Ability Users and the Mysterious Organization, Vacuum Hometown.”

“I will now distribute a document. Please familiarize yourselves with it within the next ten minutes.”

…

With that, she placed the stack of documents on the table and began distributing them one by one.

Lu Xin noticed that most people in the meeting room seemed familiar with this type of meeting.

Their movements were practiced. As soon as they received the documents, they opened them and began reading without prompting.

However, their reactions were split. The researchers sitting opposite him wore serious, focused expressions. Some eagerly opened the files, their faces showing surprise, realization, or doubt. Then, they either put on glasses or rubbed their temples and began reading intently, devouring every word as if trying to absorb the information instantly.

Those seated in his row, however, looked distinctly lethargic.

They gave off an air of disinterest, forced into pretending to study diligently.

The contrast was stark…

Lu Xin didn’t particularly want to be grouped with the ‘slacker’ side, but the documents had arrived. He had no choice but to open one. A quick glance at the title and contents revealed it was an explanation and introduction to the concept of the “Abyss”—mostly things Doctor An had told him before. This document, however, contained significantly more technical jargon and arguments.

…He didn’t quite understand it.

Lu Xin glanced sideways at the person next to him and saw the same blank, uninterested expression.

He felt a little more at ease and adopted a posture of serious study.

He might not grasp the purely academic material, but he could at least read the case studies, right?

He didn’t expect Chen Jing to approach him after distributing the files.

“Come with me for a moment.”

…

Lu Xin had no choice but to close the file and obediently stand up. He walked out of the meeting room under everyone’s gaze.

Chen Jing led Lu Xin across the corridor into a simply decorated office.

This appeared to be her regular office; she moved around with familiarity.

She went straight behind her desk, placed a pink pen holder into a drawer, then turned, poured Lu Xin a glass of water, and said, “This meeting is intended to help Qinggang’s Ability Users understand the Abyss ability group and to form a special working group to handle the Happy Town situation. That’s why I felt it was crucial for you to attend.”

“However, asking you to jump right into this work immediately after returning from Central City…”

She trailed off, pausing slightly, a hint of apology in her tone.

“It’s fine,” Lu Xin replied with a smile. “Actually, I haven’t gone back to my old company yet, so I didn’t need to ask for leave again.”

“Besides, isn’t there still some work-related handover to do?”

Chen Jing took a moment to process his words. The key point was that since he hadn’t reported back to his old business company, her calling him for this meeting saved him the step of requesting leave.

Yet, his tone held no resentment about being thrown into an S-level forbidden zone meeting immediately after returning from Central City.

She mentally adjusted, adapting to Lu Xin’s rhythm, before asking with concern, “What handover?”

“You know, from when I was visiting family in Water Buffalo City…”

Lu Xin took a densely patterned cube, a Rubik’s Cube, from his bag and placed it in front of Chen Jing with a smile.

“On the way back from visiting family, I dealt with some monsters and happened to pick up this little gadget. Then I went to the Research Institute, and after leaving there, well, things got busy. I drank a bit too much that night, and only remembered this when I got home… What should I do with it?”

He asked laughingly, “Turn it in, or should I just toss it somewhere?”

“This…”

Chen Jing stared at the Rubik’s Cube, her scalp tingling.

She suddenly remembered—this was the thing that had turned all the monsters in the courtyard into geckos.

If Little Monster hadn’t been there, this thing could very well have killed her.

…This was, at the very least, a high-tier Sequence Two parasitic item!

Lu Xin had actually forgotten about it and now just casually tossed it onto her desk.

Worst of all, she had forgotten about it too.

“Put it away first.”

She took a slight step back, her expression strange. “This is a very powerful parasitic item, technically spoils we collected during a cleanup mission. Logically, it should have been handed over to Central City back then, but since we forgot…”

Her mind raced to clarify the situation. “No, wait. Since you picked it up on your way back from visiting family…”

“Right?”

“We were officially requisitioned by Xia Chong *after* you found this, weren’t we?”

“In that case, it could technically be considered personal property. You could keep it for yourself or hand it over to the Special Cleaning Department…”

“If you hand it over to the Department, Headquarters will assess its value, give you corresponding payment, and credit you with Contribution Points. Alternatively, you could give it to the Department first, let the researchers figure out its function, and then have it returned to you.”

“Oh, okay…”

Lu Xin thought his Director made sense. Seeing her slight tension, he quickly picked the item back up.

He mused, “How much money could I get for turning it in?”

Chen Jing glanced at him. “That depends on its specific function and safety.”

Lu Xin understood. “Okay, I’ll think about it some more.”

Chen Jing gently rubbed her temples, feeling a sense of helplessness. She felt like she was becoming a bit abnormal herself.

Watching Lu Xin casually handle a parasitic item of unknown danger level, talking about turning it in without feeling the sting, and carelessly tossing it back into his bag… she actually found it strangely normal.

…It seemed she subconsciously didn’t think it was a big deal.

…When did she become so nonchalant?

…

She sighed, collected herself, and said, “It’s probably best if you hold onto it for now. Assessing it will take time anyway.”

“Besides, we’re about to get involved in the cleanup operation for the S-level forbidden zone. We don’t have time for these minor things.”

…

“Starting now? I thought we were just going to discuss it.”

Lu Xin looked up at Chen Jing, surprised. “Are we in such a hurry?”

“It’s not a matter of being rushed.”

Chen Jing shook her head gently. “Handling an incident involving mysterious creatures from an S-level forbidden zone isn’t that simple.”

“We’re responsible for the nearly ten million residents in the High-wall City. We can’t just rush into conflict.”

“Before taking real action, there’s important preparatory work to do: defining our objectives.”

…

Lu Xin didn’t quite understand and looked up at her.

Chen Jing said softly, “When I was in Central City, I asked Xia Chong. Her understanding is that the Research Institute’s stance on S-level forbidden zones isn’t entirely clear. Their only requirement is to prevent the pollution from spreading. The autonomy rests with the High-wall City.”

“So, what we need to do now is first decide on our approach towards that Queen.”

“There are basically a few options:”

“First, eliminate her directly and completely clean up the pollution.”

“Second, suppress the Queen and weaken her power.”

“Third, attempt to communicate with the Queen and see if we can reach an agreement.”

…

Listening to this, Lu Xin felt that his Director truly thought things through meticulously.

He quickly asked, “So, which option do you think is best?”

“I can’t determine the specific course of action right now.”

Chen Jing smiled. “It depends on several other factors.”

“First, a comparison of our strengths versus theirs.”

“Currently, our High-wall City doesn’t have great odds against an S-level forbidden zone. However, the Research Institute has promised to provide assistance to the major High-wall Cities regarding this matter. I’ve spoken with Dr. Mo, and this help might come in the form of new weaponry… So, the priority is to determine what these weapons are and how much of a power advantage they give us.”

“Furthermore, we need detailed information on Happy Town. For example, the Queen’s exact psychic power level, the type of her pollution ability, whether she’s even capable of communication, if she can compromise, and so on…”

“Simply put, know yourself and know your enemy. Only with sufficient strength to make the other side back down will the choice truly be ours.”

…

Lu Xin nodded, deeply impressed. The Director’s words made perfect sense.

After a pause, he asked, “So, how do you plan to arrange things this time?”

Chen Jing smiled, looking at Lu Xin. “Not ‘you’. It should be ‘we’. And this mission… will be led by you.”

“Huh?”

Chen Jing’s words genuinely startled Lu Xin. He wondered if he had misheard her.

Seeing the confusion in Lu Xin’s eyes, Chen Jing sighed softly. “It really does have to be you leading.”

She paused, then explained, “While the Research Institute will share information and possibly provide new weapons, we can’t just wait for them. The investigation into Happy Town needs to begin now. Time is critical.”

“Anything recognized as a forbidden zone must have its polluting nature and threat level taken extremely seriously.”

“Any mistake in decision-making could have severe consequences for Qinggang. Faced with such a monumental challenge, gaining a deep understanding of the opposing side is our only option. But aside from the materials you submitted earlier, we know almost nothing.”

“Fortunately, we held a meeting yesterday. Both the Administrative Main Hall and the City Defense Department are very supportive of our work.”

Chen Jing continued with a soft sigh, “Actually, Qinggang itself is going through a turbulent time right now. Professor Bai is still in the Sea Country, and about a third of Qinggang’s Ability Users went with him and haven’t returned. Of those remaining, at least half must stay garrisoned in Qinggang to guard against potential special pollution incidents. That doesn’t leave many people…”

“However, we’ve managed to secure quite a bit of manpower to help. The Special Cleaning Department currently has ten investigation teams available for the task. Mr. Su has also agreed to authorize a two-thousand-strong armed force if we need military support.”

“In fact, many of the Ability Users attending this meeting aren’t part of the Special Cleaning Department.”

“To show his support, Minister Shen even sent over the ‘Watchdog’ who originally belongs to the City Defense Department…”

…

Here, she paused slightly, looking at Lu Xin. “And all these personnel… are yours to command.”

*Swish…*

Hearing this, the color drained slightly from Lu Xin’s face.

His heart skipped a beat.

So many people, such a huge undertaking… entrusted directly to him?

He’d been working for years, always just following orders from his superiors. When had he ever been responsible for such a massive project…?

Forget managing so many Ability Users and investigation teams, let alone a two-thousand-strong armed force.

Back at the company, even managing just Brother Zhang and Sister Sun was a struggle…

After being stunned for a moment, he stammered nervously, “But I… I really don’t know how to do this.”

“It’s alright.”

Chen Jing smiled. “I’ll help you.”