Chapter 384: Staircases and Sleep

With the Doll finally distracted by the monkeys, Lu Xin turned his attention to seriously pondering these questions.

How had his family suddenly appeared here?

Especially Mom, who seemed to be examining the Doll with a critical eye.

That thing she said to him… it must have been about Happy Town, right?

Did she mean that if he brought the Doll along, his chances of handling Happy Town would be much higher?

Did she think he and the Doll together could actually defeat the Queen of Happy Town?

When it came to judging the Queen’s strength, Lu Xin trusted his Mom.

She was her friend, after all.

The only snag was that Qinggang had no intention of letting the Doll leave the city with him to deal with Happy Town.

Sighing inwardly, Lu Xin’s thoughts drifted to another question.

According to the Research Institute’s evaluation, they were quite certain he was in the Third Stage.

So, according to their Pyramid Theory, what stage was the Doll in? And the Queen of Happy Town?

Although he hadn’t delved deep into the Research Institute’s Pyramid Theory…

‘Not deep’ meaning, aside from knowing the theory existed, he knew absolutely nothing else…

But even based on his own experience, Lu Xin could tell that gauging the strength between Ability Users was tricky. Beyond basic aptitude, how abilities were developed and applied, even combat awareness, played a massive role.

Take Little Nineteen back in Water Buffalo City for example. She’d practically crushed the Ability Users from Central City.

But compared to other Ability Users from Central City, was Little Nineteen really just Second Stage?

With his current ‘professional’ knowledge, making that judgment was actually quite difficult.

What Lu Xin could grasp now was that even the common D to A-level classifications used between High-wall Cities mostly just considered ability development and internal logic. This ranking didn’t equate directly to actual strength.

Take Gecko for instance. If he ran into the Drunkard, he’d probably be killed instantly.

But give Gecko some distance and a gun, and maybe the Drunkard would be the one going down.

…He shouldn’t think like that. It felt too much like imagining his colleagues killing each other.

Maybe in the future, the only way to judge the danger of Pollution Sources or Mental Monsters would be by their psychic power levels…

The Red Cloaked Apostle manifested by the Sea Country Ability User who attacked Qinggang back then reached a psychic power level of thirty thousand.

He was S-level.

The ‘God’ created by the Black Table they dealt with in Water Buffalo City peaked at a hundred thousand. Was that like, triple S-level?

Shaking off the thought—even he found it ridiculous—Lu Xin pulled out his communicator.

It seemed the most important thing for a person was still learning.

Opening the database, Lu Xin searched for ‘Staircase Theory’ within it. File after file quickly appeared.

Each file had a clear title.

Some were overviews of the Staircase Theory, others were extensions, critiques, or case studies arguing for it.

Lu Xin forced himself to focus, starting with the overview to understand the Staircase Theory step by step.

He read intently, so intently he didn’t even realize when he drifted off to sleep.

In the empty room, Lu Xin was slumped sideways on the sofa, fast asleep.

The Doll, after watching the monkeys intently for a long while, turned her head to find Lu Xin already asleep.

The remote was just on his other side.

She slowly crept closer, reaching for the remote near him.

But once she was lying partially on Lu Xin, she found it quite comfortable and forgot about the remote.

She slowly settled against Lu Xin, nuzzling her head into a comfortable spot.

Then, she too slowly closed her eyes.

…

“Oh god, they fell asleep! Should we stop them immediately?”

“Should we issue a Level 1 Alert?”

“Should we notify Professor Chen right away? Maybe call all the Special Cleaning Department leaders too?”

Outside, the Service Team members took turns peeking through the door crack every ten minutes. Seeing the two asleep together shocked them. Some scrambled to find the captain, while others were already wondering if they should grab the grenade launcher.

“Don’t… don’t panic!”

The Service Team captain was noticeably calmer, analyzing the situation carefully. “They’re just leaning on each other, dozing off. Nothing else.”

“Let them rest for now…”

“If that guy tries anything funny, rush in immediately and take him down…”

…

While Lu Xin and the Doll drifted off together on the sofa in the quiet, almost lonely courtyard, back in the Qinggang Main City’s Special Pollution Cleanup Department conference room, the woman with coiled hair in a professional suit had already put down her documents:

“That concludes this briefing on the Abyss Group ability users. The information isn’t extensive, but I trust you all understand its importance.”

“You may take the distributed materials with you, but please adhere to the confidentiality agreement.”

“Colleagues with questions or needing further clarification can contact their intel specialists directly. They’re currently busy receiving and processing data files transmitted from Central City to Qinggang and will absorb this information as quickly as possible.”

…

With a slight bow, she stepped aside.

Chen Jing stepped up to the head of the conference table, rapping lightly on its surface. “Drunkard, Gecko, Bear Child, and Godly Woman, stay behind.”

“The rest of you are dismissed.”

…

At the same time, on the wide road heading towards Happy Town, convoys of trucks from Qinggang rumbled along.

Some trucks carried double rows of fully armed soldiers. Others were filled with members of the Investigation and Support Teams. Bringing up the rear were several vehicles hauling large equipment, their heavy tires churning over the rough ground.

In the lead truck, a team leader barked orders into a walkie-talkie:

“As the intel-gathering unit, we need to reach the Happy Town outer observation post at top speed and set up a collection point.”

“This is a collective A-level mission. Nobody drops the ball.”

“We must arrive before dark!”

…

Mr. Lone Soldier had already agreed to lead the effort to repair this S-level forbidden zone. His helpers had been identified too… Hmm, it seemed a few of those helpers were throwing tantrums, resisting the mission somewhat, but Chen Jing would handle it.

Elsewhere, Mr. Su was on a video call with Professor Bai.

Mr. Su reported, “Additionally, the personnel tasked with setting up the observation base and the armed security detail have departed. Within three days, they’ll establish an observation base thirty li from Happy Town to serve as the command center.”

“What we need to consider now are the various settlements surrounding Happy Town. If it truly erupts like a volcano, it won’t just affect us. Those settlements are much closer.”

“Admittedly, as the largest High-wall City in this region, Qinggang will bear the primary responsibility.”

“But I think it’s time we sent people to mobilize those secondary cities and settlements too. Everyone should contribute what they can!”

…

Professor Bai responded, “The situation in the Sea Country is rather grim, but it’s still considered under control.”

“I can’t just drop everything here and rush back, but I’ll do my best to return to Qinggang by the time formal contact with Happy Town is initiated.”

“This is the preparation phase. Just handle things based on previous experience.”

“By my estimation, if it’s just about making contact with Happy Town, not necessarily eliminating it, Qinggang has a strong chance. With Mr. Lone Soldier involved, plus the Research Institute’s shared data and support from new weapons, our odds are quite good.”

“Of course, caution is warranted. Communicating with that Queen is a major hurdle…”

“What I’m actually more concerned about now is the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan…”

…

Mr. Su gently raised a hand, cutting Professor Bai off. “The Doll and Mr. Lone Soldier are both candidates for the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan.”

“We both know their issues are apparent.”

“One has problems plain for all to see, while the other seems perfectly normal, yet somehow feels wrong.”

“Regardless, having two options is better than none…”

“I’m not worried about Mr. Lone Soldier or the Doll.”

Professor Bai said softly, “I’m worried about… the North.”

“The Research Institute… they’ve presented all the major High-wall Cities with a terrible challenge…”

“So, pushing forward the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan really depends on the outcome of this forbidden zone cleanup operation.”

…

A lazy afternoon nap might just be the most wonderful thing in the world.

But waking up from one? That’s when loneliness hits hardest.

Maybe it was because he’d been constantly on the move lately without proper rest. Or maybe it was the Doll’s place – so quiet you couldn’t even hear birdsong. Whatever the reason, once Lu Xin leaned back on the sofa, he fell into an unusually deep sleep.

He startled awake, jolted by a sudden sense of unease. It took him a moment to remember where he was.

The sparse, simple decor came into view.

Outside the window, night had fallen. The distant Red Moon hung silently amidst a sea of brilliant stars.

He realized he’d been dreaming, but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall what it was about.

A profound exhaustion radiated from deep within him. Lu Xin remained lying down, unwilling to move.

He felt a soft weight on his leg. The Doll was curled up, her small face pillowed on his thigh.

In his dream just now, he’d wanted to run but couldn’t. Was it because of her?

Letting out a soft sigh, Lu Xin lay on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘What should I eat tonight?’ he wondered quietly.

‘I’m hungry… but I really don’t feel like moving…’

…

“Click, clack, clack…”

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.

A moment later, there were a few soft knocks on the door before it creaked open a crack.

Someone called out, “Mr. Lone Soldier? Team Leader Chen Jing is waiting for you on the phone.”