Chapter 866: Choices at the End of Days

A doomsday multiple-choice question?

On the rooftop, Lu Xin listened to the anxious yet tentative discussions below.

A sudden mix of amusement and tenderness washed over him.

He recalled that when Qinggang built the High-wall City, they even posed such a question.

Still, this sort of philosophy was not entirely foreign to him.

In old Qinggang, they would drone on about this idea in their broadcasts—spoken to insiders and transmitted to those beyond the walls—until everyone grew weary and dismissed it as mere background noise.

After all, the other High-wall Cities spouted similar platitudes, often in even grander terms.

Now, hearing Mr. Su bring it up, he couldn’t help but feel both amused and touched.

It really came down to something meaningless, didn’t it?

Who, when faced with such a choice, would opt to expose their selfish and cowardly side?

It implied that everyone already knew the right course of action…

But how many, when actually confronted with such a dilemma, would really choose that path?

It just goes to show that being human is truly difficult…

Yet, in that moment during the meeting, hearing the question, Lu Xin felt a measure of respect.

When do beautiful words prove most valuable?

The answer is: when they are realized.

……

……

A brief silence fell over the meeting room before the final voting phase began.

Lu Xin withdrew his mental power, unwilling to listen any longer.

He already knew the answer, and he cared little to hear exactly who supported or opposed it—there was no need.

One should never probe too deeply into hearts; it suffices to appreciate pleasant moments at the surface.

Though his eavesdropping breached protocol, Lu Xin considered it worthwhile.

Qinggang’s issues were numerous. Back when he worked at the Second Satellite City, he’d often overhear complaints—and sometimes they even sounded reasonable. Yet on matters of such magnitude, Qinggang never disappointed.

Perhaps some truths had long been laid bare?

As one of the twelve members of the Northern High-wall City Alliance, since when had Qinggang begun to stand out?

Was it after they recruited him?

Or perhaps upon encountering the Doll?

No—in truth, it ran far deeper.

For instance, among the twelve High-wall Cities, Qinggang did not receive the most relics from the Pre-Civilization Era.

Yet it was the first to establish order and revive civilization;

compared to the Central City with its entirely different legacy, Qinggang boasted the second-highest number of satellite cities.

This indicated that Qinggang had absorbed the most people from the wastelands.

Within its radiation zone, the number of settlements ranked second as well.

Eliminating the Central City’s inherent status, Qinggang’s performance was undoubtedly outstanding.

Of course, there were many points to pick apart—if, for instance, you compared it with Number Eight, you could soon list a myriad of flaws.

But nitpicking is entirely separate from overall performance.

So it wasn’t that Qinggang was fortunate because it recruited the Doll or him;

rather, both the Doll and he had been lucky to encounter Qinggang.

Mulling over this, Lu Xin exhaled deeply, feeling his mood lighten and his spirits rise.

He glanced toward the distant direction of the guesthouse, signaling an OK gesture toward the classmates on its rooftop.

Then he stooped and headed toward the vertical wall.

……

……

On the guesthouse rooftop, a half-asleep Number Fourteen stared blankly at the others and asked, “What’s with that gesture?”

“Does it mean we can finally go back to sleep?”

Numbers Three and Five shook their heads in mild perplexity.

Little Nineteen let out a huge yawn.

Number Eight, noticeably excited, added, “I don’t really know what it means, but I feel oddly pumped up…”

……

……

When Lu Xin returned to the meeting room along the wall, the votes had already been tallied.

Five votes to three.

Originally, Qinggang had five gentlemen, and with Professor Bai it should have been six.

But just moments ago, Mr. Song had been stripped of his supreme authority in Qinggang and lost his voting rights.

Thus, a result without a tie was inevitable.

One could even say that was Mr. Song’s price to pay…

……

……

“Now that the outcome is clear, we must give it our all.”

Just before Lu Xin was about to step through the window, he heard someone in the meeting room rise and intone gravely, “No matter how we execute this plan, I urge everyone to proceed with caution. I do not wish for Qinggang—once capable of ensuring its own safety during this calamity—to tumble into unprecedented peril because of our actions.”

“After all, even that question merely asked if we were willing to risk going out to save lives,”

“not whether we were ready to march to our deaths…”

“……”

“It won’t be that way.”

As Lu Xin returned to the window, he immediately responded, “Because I will help you all.”

“Huh?”

The unexpected sight of Lu Xin entering caught everyone off guard.

They hadn’t expected that the usually rule-abiding Lu Xin would come so close, nor did they know if he had overheard their discussion—especially the dissenting voices. Now, those who’d spoken against were looking rather uneasy.

“Don’t worry. I understand your concerns,”

Lu Xin noticed their worry and smiled reassuringly, “Besides, I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

“Truth is, whether I’m outside the window, at the edge of the city, or even miles away, as long as I care about the meeting’s outcome, I’ll hear it all.”

“……”

“Ugh…”

Several of the gentlemen gasped, their apprehensions deepening.

At the same time, Professor Bai turned to Lu Xin in astonishment and asked, “Did you put on makeup?”

“How could that be?”

Lu Xin blinked in surprise, “I’m a man—not receiving an award or getting married. Why would I need makeup?”

“This…”

Professor Bai’s expression grew even more startled, “Then… does this mean your power has increased?”

“…Yes.”

Lu Xin almost lost track of his own thoughts and simply nodded.

“By how much?”

Professor Bai immediately stepped forward, anxiously inquiring.

“Not much!”

Lu Xin answered candidly, “Just two points.”

“Oh.”

Professor Bai nodded calmly, accepting the result.

Lu Xin couldn’t help but wonder inwardly, “Does he not understand the significance of two points?”

……

……

“Ladies and gentlemen, as announced by Director Xue Jia of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute and decided upon by our Qinggang leadership, the ‘Extermination-Level Mental Pollution Incident’ will now be thoroughly discussed in terms of execution and measures in this room.”

Professor Bai’s face grew grave as he rose and approached the whiteboard.

“Now, I present the initial draft…”

“……”

At these words, Lu Xin and the few remaining gentlemen in the room instantly straightened up, ready to listen intently.

Time was of the essence.

The horror of mental pollution lay in its unfathomable destructive and injurious power.

Every second, thousands could be transformed into mindless husks under a blood-red moon.

Thus, they truly had to fight for every second.

……

……

“First, we must understand the current global situation.”

Professor Bai, his thoughts seemingly well-organized, declared, “Now, with a massive influx of abnormal mental power into reality, our networks, radios, long-distance communications, and information channels are bound to suffer a widespread collapse. Perhaps some specially protected signals will remain, but they’re simply incapable of handling the emotional and informational overload from everywhere.”

“Moreover, the intelligence network we once had in Qinggang has now been largely severed, leaving us unable to obtain timely feedback.”

“Therefore, we need vast amounts of the freshest, most up-to-date information—to know which areas have been struck by mental pollution, how severe it is, which places have fallen, which should be abandoned, and where reinforcements or alliances can be formed…”

“……”

Silence instantly engulfed the meeting room—a silence that itself was headache-inducing.

With the chaos unfolding outside, how could this problem possibly be solved?

Should we send in the support team to answer phone lines?

“Perhaps I can help you resolve this…”

At that moment, Lu Xin paused thoughtfully before speaking, his gaze drifting toward the door.

Just earlier, due to the urgent secret meeting called by the Moon Eclipse Research Institute, the undercover units who had delivered Director Xue Jia’s message had not left immediately after their delivery but had quietly exited the room. Now, they sat on the benches outside, their small feet dangling in mid-air and their faces displaying earnest yet well-behaved expressions.

At first, Lu Xin hadn’t understood why they stayed behind; now he did.

As expected of the ever-cunning Director of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute—always so thorough in planning.

“The undercover units of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute…”

Under the influence of Lu Xin’s mental power, Professor Bai also noticed these little fellows and exhaled in relief.

Even in these tense times, a smile broke across his face, “With their help, this issue will be easily resolved.”

“After all, it isn’t our first cooperation.”

“……”

Lu Xin agreed inwardly but then recalled something:

Every time the undercover units act, they must be compensated.

He had already exchanged smiles, handshakes, and even a playful head-pat with them—so this time…

Before he could decide, he saw the obedient figure on the bench: the Red Hat leapt forcefully to the ground.

It came to him, removed its hat, pressed it to its chest, and bowed respectfully.

Then, it raised its head, tiptoed, closed its eyes, and puckered its lips at him…

……

……

“What on earth is that about?”

Lu Xin was nearly dumbfounded by the act and immediately refused in no uncertain terms, declaring that the compensation would be deferred for now.

Was it asking for his first kiss? That was just too much…

……

“Saving the world is really hard—now even the Single Soldier must display such charms?”

Professor Bai glanced over, feigning not to notice the Red Hat’s demand for recompense and Lu Xin’s awkwardness.

Composing himself, he continued, “The second step is the second phase of the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan that we just decided to implement.”

“In other words, it’s the direction pointed out by that genius researcher.”

Worried that Lu Xin might not be familiar with the plan, he turned to him and remarked, “It’s actually quite simple.”

“In a single phrase, it can be summed up as follows:”

“In Qinggang, we have a Little Princess. Under her umbrella, Qinggang is protected.”

“Even as countless mental monsters inundate reality, Qinggang remains unscathed—and that’s the reason.”

“Our job is to expand that umbrella to protect even more people.”

“……”

Lu Xin furrowed his brow suddenly.

He understood Professor Bai’s meaning.

In fact, at that moment, if he didn’t deliberately restrain his mental power, any conversation with anyone would allow him to immediately grasp the other’s thoughts—even if they only spoke halfway.

After a brief pause, he asked, “The Doll has her limits.”

“If those limits are exceeded, she might suffer a backlash on the mental plane.”

“……”

“Yes.”

Professor Bai, who had planned to explain further, abruptly swallowed his words and answered Lu Xin’s question directly, “We understood what to do the moment we received the materials from Director Xue Jia.”

“It’s time to build a palace for our Little Princess.”

“And it’s also the perfect opportunity for me to update you on Qinggang’s recent research achievements.”

“After all, you’re a stakeholder as well.”

“Right now, right beside the Second Satellite City in Qinggang, in a Mental Power Research Base that has gathered some of the world’s leading research teams and lab personnel, we have deciphered many principles and techniques through the Mind Palace left behind by the Sword-Bearer.”

“We’ve even grasped a preliminary method to utilize this palace—it’s the key to the plan.”

“The Doll’s endurance has its limits, but with the Sword-Bearer’s Mind Palace, those limits can be pushed infinitely higher.”

“So for us, by leveraging the logic chain cultivated by the Sword-Bearer to train our executors, and by building a Knight Orders for our Little Princess, her influence will extend—anyone in its range will be protected.”

“……”

Lu Xin nodded slowly, “That works.”

He assessed the risks and realized that regardless of any danger, he could always rush in to help.

Professor Bai, seeing Lu Xin’s nod, felt a bit more reassured.

Meanwhile, the others in the office grew quietly anxious listening to their nonchalant decision.

Were they being too hasty?

Though the heart of the plan lay in its latter half, making money wasn’t as simple as just announcing one was going to do business and then raking in cash…

Now, with Qinggang facing its third descent, confronting countless mysterious creatures and mental onslaughts—even the Ultimate being among them—the combined force of these horrors and bizarre incidents was unimaginable. Was the Doll’s power enough?

His mind swirled with questions he couldn’t fully voice.

But thinking of those discussing the issue—a man who understood mental mutations best in Qinggang and the strongest Ability User—he could only steal a glance back.

……

……

“Third, and most importantly…”

Professor Bai seemed to grasp their underlying worries. After a brief pause he looked at Lu Xin and said, “Mr. Single Soldier, are you interested in forming a small team?”

“……”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin, intrigued, looked his way.

Then, as Professor Bai’s gaze confirmed his curiosity, he continued, “During the rollout of the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan, countless obstacles are bound to arise. Some of the pollution escaping from the abyss might vanish like smoke when the Knights arrive, while others will attempt to fight back—monsters that, given the Doll’s current strength, she might not be able to overcome, even provoking a counterattack.”

“We must admit…”

“In a situation where even the Ultimate might go out of control, our current strength is insufficient to clear all the pollution.”

“Thus, we need a violent team.”

“……”

After a brief pause, he added, “A team mighty enough to pull out every last nail—any opposition from mental creatures or pollution sources must be crushed in record time.”

“Only then can our plan proceed uninterrupted.”

“So we intend to recruit the most powerful Ability Users from Qinggang, the Alliance’s High-wall Cities, and even from around the world, forming the strongest Special Pollution Cleanup Team ever assembled.”

“And only you, Mr. Single Soldier, are capable of assembling such a team.”

“……”

Instantly, everyone in the room understood his meaning and stared at Lu Xin in a mix of astonishment and hidden excitement.

“This…”

Lu Xin listened with surprise.

Then, weighing the feasibility of the plan, a subtle thrill emerged within him.

After a brief pause, he suddenly grinned and asked, “Is there any compensation?”

Professor Bai laughed too, setting down his pen and extending his hand toward Lu Xin, “According to the rules!”

“……”

Lu Xin immediately relaxed and grasped Professor Bai’s hand.

For this matter, he needed no further questions.

If every single mental monster were to be settled by the old compensation standard, then considering all these years of camaraderie—and with Qinggang even getting a small discount—it would certainly be a project worth no less than several billion.

Perhaps, if these mental monsters stepped up even a bit, the figures could even reach a hundred billion?

Professor Bai looked at Lu Xin’s satisfied expression and felt equally pleased.

What he didn’t say was that his own confidence in executing the plan stemmed from having Mr. Single Soldier before him.

Qinggang’s Little Princess might just hold the key to fulfilling the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan.

But what reassured him even more was that behind that Little Princess stood a Tyrant as a bulwark.

If only they were married…

Then the two could pool their funds…

……

……

“In that case…”

After firmly shaking hands, Professor Bai turned with a confident, excited smile and declared, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s together…”

“…save the world, shall we?”