Chapter 718: The Countdown Begins

After hanging up his phone, Lu Xin let out a deep sigh. He then took a shower, changed into a clean set of clothes, and grabbed the luggage he hadn’t yet unpacked in the cabinet along with the materials Professor Bai had given him from the training session. Exchanging a knowing look with his family, he stepped out of the old building, calmly ate breakfast, and hopped into the truck parked at the back.

This truck was brought back from Heichao City, destined for use at Red Moon Elementary School, but he never had the time to deliver it.

Today, however, seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Driving the truck along the road, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority.

Every car beside him looked diminutive in comparison, fueling his sense of superiority.

Lu Xin couldn’t quite understand it—how could a truck look so imposing when so many people preferred sedans?

It’s like how everyone in the wasteland still needs a vehicle with strong hill-climbing ability to get around, yet within High-wall City, sedans fetch a higher price. The most outrageous part: there are people who even favor those low-to-the-ground sports cars…

…Bah, they even dare call them sports cars. Out in the wasteland, they wouldn’t get very far.

……

With that air of superiority, Lu Xin nonchalantly drove the truck right up to the entrance of Red Moon Elementary School.

Just as the towering front of the truck nearly pushed against the school’s iron gate, the old security guard inside was taken aback.

He hurried out, and upon recognizing Lu Xin, swung open the gate.

He shouted toward the truck, “What’s going on here?”

“You show up so often lately—why is it that every time you come, you’re in a different car?”

“…”

The old guard seemed to have misunderstood something, but as Lu Xin listened, an involuntary smile spread across his face.

No explanation was offered.

Simply, with a smile directed at the old guard, he said, “This is the truck I drove in from somewhere else. I figured it’d be handy for the school since you often go out to pick up groceries or buy textbooks, desks, chairs, and sports gear.”

The old security guard looked mildly surprised as he walked around the massive vehicle.

His gaze lingered on the heavy weapon slots mounted on both sides of the truck’s body, and his expression grew even more astonished.

“It can even carry that stuff? What, are you afraid someone will steal our groceries?”

“…”

“You really know your stuff…”

Lu Xin shot the guard a glance as he drove the truck into the school grounds, parking it at the corner by the western wall of the courtyard.

He then opened the truck door and got out, leaving the old guard to eye the vehicle while he strode into the security booth.

Settling into the tattered computer chair that the guard usually occupied, the old guard slowly spun around, letting out a contented sigh. Ever since moving to this villa, his treatment had improved—though it was still a security booth, it now had a table and chairs.

On the table sat an old radio, with a small bed placed behind it.

Glancing to his left, he was pleasantly surprised to see four flowerpots positioned against the wall, their blooms thriving beautifully…

…No wonder he hadn’t noticed them in previous visits—it turns out he had been nurturing them inside his booth.

“What is this…”

The old guard appeared outside the glass window, curiously eyeing Lu Xin who was seated inside.

He even glanced at the flowerpots by the wall with a hint of concern.

Although those flowerpots had been planted at Lu Xin’s suggestion during his last visit, he still couldn’t help but feel a bit protective.

“The school’s security has really been a bit lacking,” he remarked.

Lu Xin nodded lightly and replied, “That’s why I’ll be keeping an eye on things here for the next few days.”

“This…”

The old guard was taken aback, clearly a bit anxious, and managed a strained smile, “Are you here to steal my job?”

“What are you thinking?”

Lu Xin shot him another smile and said, “I’m here to be a teacher.”

“I might have worked as a security guard before, but now that I have a college diploma, there’s no way I could go back to that job,” he joked.

“…”

The old guard was momentarily stunned.

He’d been joking around, but Lu Xin’s serious look caught him off guard.

Besides, where on earth did he get his college degree?

After a moment, the guard glanced anxiously toward the small building where classes were in session, then pushed open the door and walked in. Seeing that Lu Xin had already claimed a seat, he had to settle on the small wire bed at the back and lowered his voice, “Have you found out anything?”

“I only know who’s involved,” Lu Xin replied, shaking his head and with the smile fading away.

He added, “Everything else is about as clear to me as it is to you.”

“Then her…”

The old guard looked troubled, hesitating as if to speak.

“She’ll be alright,” Lu Xin answered with a light laugh that left no room for doubt.

The old guard fell silent, asking no further questions.

Both the old guard and Teacher Xiao Lu accepted Lu Xin’s new role at the school with a sense of quiet astonishment, though he was never really assigned any classes—he’d just end up getting an extra serving at mealtime.

Meanwhile, the old guard, perhaps finding Lu Xin exceptionally boring, kept staring at his flowerpots.

Eventually, he found a moment to bring over a stack of homework for Lu Xin to review, all the while shooting skeptical looks from the side.

After marking several assignments in red ink, Lu Xin closed the workbooks and sank into deep thought.

It wasn’t the errors in the problems that bothered him—it was pondering how someone could calculate three times three as eight…

…Absolutely illogical!

……

Of course, his primary purpose wasn’t to correct homework; it was to observe the changes in Teacher Xiao Lu.

As his mom had said, once she’s been polluted, certain behaviors and emotions inevitably change.

So, by analyzing her actions and mood, it should be possible to gauge the extent of her contamination.

But the observations weren’t clear-cut. Lu Xin noticed that Teacher Xiao Lu seemed mostly normal, albeit looking a bit haggard.

Moreover, even though she was clearly in a bad state, she worked relentlessly—organizing class schedules for the orphans, filling out Qinggang’s registration forms, recording details for each child, and preparing applications for middle school enrollment…

It was as if she felt time was slipping away.

Lu Xin even saw her interviewing new teachers, insisting they have at least a high school diploma…

A faint suspicion of what she was up to crept over him.

He couldn’t help but chuckle silently at the thought of a high school diploma.

But Lu Xin didn’t intervene or press her for more details.

He had noticed that whenever he got close to her, the countdown numbers in her eyes started ticking down rapidly.

Was it that his mere presence intensified her contamination?

Lu Xin mused helplessly.

The countdown in her eyes now showed only seventeen hours and thirty-six minutes remaining.

He wasn’t sure what would happen when the timer hit zero, but he was prepared for it.

Matters in Qinggang had already been arranged.

Even though Lu Xin could clearly feel that, with those watchful eyes from the sky appearing again this week, the atmosphere in Qinggang was growing increasingly tense.

Those eyes had been seen by many.

Despite Qinggang’s best efforts to explain, certain doubts still lingered.

Rumors spread like wildfire through every street and alley.

Some people were even losing control and trying to flee Qinggang…

A pair of eyes watching over Qinggang from above was enough to trigger a collapse in social order.

But with the orphans and others in place, Lu Xin believed they could handle it.

The only change he truly noticed was the steep rise in vegetable prices when he went truck shopping for groceries.

He made a mental note to file a complaint with the higher-ups.

……

……

Whether in tension or at ease, the moment when the countdown reached zero was inching ever closer.

Lu Xin sat in the security booth bathed in the setting sun, slouched in the computer chair with his legs draped over the table, lost in thought.

Unlike the homeless, agitated old guard pacing outside, he exuded a profound calm.

From his vantage point, he could clearly see Teacher Xiao Lu’s office.

There, seated by the window at a desk, she was diligently writing something. But every so often, she would crumple the paper into a ball and throw it into the trash bin. Occasionally, she’d look up at Lu Xin in the security booth before quickly lowering her gaze again.

Eventually, she even closed the curtains completely.

“Hmph…”

Seeing her draw the curtains, Lu Xin shifted his chair indignantly, turning to face the outside of the school.

If she didn’t want to be seen, so be it—did he care?

……

……

On the same day, as the sun was about to set, a man in a suit—his hair impeccably styled and carrying a silver briefcase—slowly walked along the winding main road through the wasteland.

He arrived at the high wall of Qinggang Satellite City No. 2 and came to a stop.

Draping his suit jacket over his arm, he looked up at the towering wall, his eyes filled with bloodshot fatigue…

…A look that spoke of exhaustion and helpless resignation.

He stood silently before the high wall of Qinggang, yet he didn’t enter.

It was as if he were hesitating.

During his moment of indecision, night had already fallen. A deep red moon rose in the distant sky, its cold gaze fixed on the world below.

Under the dim moonlight, another figure emerged on the wasteland road—a man in a black suit, also carrying a silver briefcase. His polished leather shoes clicked as he walked, his posture straight and his expression one of calm confidence.

He joined Number Eight, and together they looked up at the high wall.

Number Eight glanced back at him, as if to speak, but then fell silent and turned his gaze toward the distance.

Beneath the red moon, one after another, men in black suits with silver briefcases began to arrive.

Each road seemed to teem with them—hundreds, maybe thousands—emerging from the wasteland.

They gathered confidently and calmly before the wall of the Second Satellite City, then slowly looked up at it.

Number Eight’s lips twitched slightly.

Suddenly, he turned and glared fiercely at a man beside him who looked distinctly different, whispering,

“Are you here to help me or to rush me along?”

“…”

“It’s just that the court fears you don’t have the capability to carry out the execution…”

Numerous faces around them turned toward Number Eight. In unified unison, near and far, they declared, “You know it…”

“Those who plead guilty must be sentenced…”

“No matter who stands trial or what obstacles we face…”