Chapter 506: A New Dawn in Satellite City

After the fourth family meeting, Lu Xin felt a renewed sense of purpose in life.

The training manual had it spot on!

As long as you face life with earnest effort, positivity, and good health, what problem can’t be solved?

So, after the evening meeting wrapped up, he quickly reset his mindset for the next day’s work.

Time to get to work!

Come to think of it, he’d been off for a month ever since that experiment for the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan ended.

During that month, not a single minor pollution issue was handled, which meant Lu Xin didn’t earn an extra penny – he only received his basic two-thousand-dollar salary from the Special Cleaning Department.

…It used to be five thousand, but now that he’s a Level 6 Special Talent in Qinggang, he’s been upgraded.

Back when Han Bing was helping him renovate his home, the two would chat often, and she even introduced him to a lot of fundamental knowledge.

Now, Lu Xin clearly understood how his salary was structured and the reimbursement standards.

That understanding even made him feel quite fortunate.

Not doing much for a month and still getting a base salary of two thousand – plus, when he’s out on a business trip, his daily allowance is an extra thousand.

Moreover, as a Level 6 Special Talent in Qinggang, he enjoys housing subsidies in Qinggang Main City, medical insurance, and even exemptions in certain criminal cases. Most importantly, according to Han Bing, he wouldn’t even have to pay a stall fee if he sold pancakes and fritters.

That’s what having status is all about, right?

And for that reason, whether for his work or the pay, working diligently is a must.

……

……

Early the next morning at 7:30, without needing an alarm, Lu Xin got up on time.

He took care of his hygiene, folded his blankets, and ate breakfast diligently.

Then, after packing up his things, he mounted his silver motorcycle and revved off towards the Security Hall.

At the Security Hall, a helicopter was already waiting. With a clattering motion, it whisked Lu Xin away to Qinggang Headquarters in the Main City.

While flying high above, Lu Xin noticed that in just a month, the Sixth Satellite City had already emerged on a considerable scale. From above, you could see numerous building outlines neatly arranged in a grid—a truly pleasing sight.

In the other satellite cities too, towering steel signal towers shot up from the ground.

Seen from above, these satellite cities almost looked like they each had an extra antenna.

It was rather amusing.

By the time he reached the Special Cleaning Department, Han Bing was already waiting for him on the rooftop.

She wore a black turtleneck sweater, fitted black jeans, and an orange down jacket cropped at the waist. With light makeup that accentuated her delicate features, she managed to brighten up even the dreary winter day.

Seeing Lu Xin, she instinctively glanced at him a few times and said with a smile, “Mr. Lone Soldier, you look exceptionally spirited…”

Although he knew she was likely complimenting his complexion, Lu Xin treasured those four words: “spirited indeed.”

“You look great too…”

Lu Xin grinned and added, “It looks like you got a new hairstyle?”

“Huh?”

Slightly surprised, Han Bing instinctively ran her hand through her hair and laughed, “I haven’t had time to style it for a while, and once I got back I finally managed a quick fix… I didn’t expect Mr. Lone Soldier to notice.”

“You dyed it a light blonde—you can’t hide it from me…”

Thinking to himself that it was obvious at first glance—and it looked even better than before—Lu Xin smiled and replied.

“After helping you renovate for so long, I’ve never heard you praise someone like that…”

Han Bing shot him a glance and said with a smile, “Let’s go, Section Chief Chen is waiting.”

After spending a month together, she and Lu Xin had grown quite familiar with each other.

Their conversation had shed all its formality.

“Good to see you, Mr. Lone Soldier…”

“Good morning, Mr. Lone Soldier…”

……

Walking down the long corridor toward Chen Jing’s office, Lu Xin encountered many people warmly greeting him. Some had hair, some were bald, yet everyone was friendly, their eyes following him as they smiled and waved.

“Huh?”

Lu Xin found it a bit odd—why were people from the Special Cleaning Department suddenly so warm towards him?

It seemed they had always been interested in him from the start, though before they only watched him covertly.

“Mr. Lone Soldier is now the celebrity of our Special Cleaning Department…”

Noticing Lu Xin’s puzzled expression, Han Bing led the way forward, laughing as she spoke.

Hurrying a few extra steps, Lu Xin asked, “What do you mean?”

“It seems to be related to your…”

Han Bing answered with a smile, glancing at Lu Xin’s face, “It has something to do with romance…”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin was momentarily stunned.

Han Bing chuckled, “Earlier, our colleagues were all curious about Mr. Lone Soldier. Many had secretly asked me about what kind of person you are. But because your profile is highly confidential, no one dared discuss it until not long ago, when someone mentioned your romance with the Doll. Suddenly, everyone became enthusiastic and the chatter went wild…”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Taken aback, Lu Xin’s face flushed as he exclaimed, “That’s just a scandal—who started it?”

Han Bing laughed and replied, “Who do you think would say such a thing, Mr. Lone Soldier?”

After a moment’s thought, Lu Xin muttered, “It’s probably Gecko again.”

Han Bing giggled, “I’m not going to snitch on Mr. Gecko.”

“But it’s a good thing—ever since this rumor spread, everyone has felt that you’re much more approachable. You used to be so untouchable; now people are even lining up to chat with you…”

……

That was indeed true; he could feel the warmth of everyone around him.

But what was the whole story behind this?

While pondering this, Han Bing led Lu Xin to Chen Jing’s office. She closed the door behind them, then picked up a paper cup to pour a drink for each of them. She sat down at the desk and showed no sign of leaving.

Chen Jing, who had apparently been waiting for Lu Xin, greeted him with a smile, “I heard you bought a new house?”

“When’s the warming-up party?”

……

“Well…”

Lu Xin felt a bit embarrassed under Chen Jing’s questioning.

In Qinggang, it is customary to throw a housewarming feast after buying a new home—to introduce the place and to see if any neighbors might be troublesome, all while having a good time…

But the key was, this house wasn’t even his primary residence…

So he could only laugh and reply, “There are too many kids there, and it’s hard to keep things quiet. How about you all come over to my old apartment instead?”

……

Chen Jing’s expression instantly turned strange, though she quickly regained her smile and said, “No rush—let’s talk after this busy period.”

“Alright, alright.”

Taking advantage of the moment, Lu Xin asked, “Is something wrong? What made you call me over in such a hurry?”

“Yes,”

Chen Jing nodded as she pulled out a drawer and sifted through some documents, speaking,

“Actually, we anticipated that something like this might happen. Even when you’re mentally prepared, events still manage to catch you off guard—and these recent events have been exceptionally bizarre…”

Hearing her, Lu Xin felt a twinge of curiosity.

For the past month, Qinggang had been unusually calm; there hadn’t been any reports of special pollution incidents…

“This time, the issue is related to the emergency rescue in Heichao City…”

As Lu Xin pondered this, Chen Jing handed him a stack of documents, her face growing increasingly solemn.

“You probably remember the S-level Forbidden Zone cleanup plan that the Research Institute mentioned when we were in Central City, right?”

……

Lu Xin paused briefly and nodded.

It was precisely because of those things mentioned in Central City that they had rushed back.

“This incident is connected to that plan.”

Chen Jing began her explanation directly, “Handling the surrounding S-level Forbidden Zones is currently the top priority for the major High-wall Cities.”

“We in Qinggang are indeed lucky… or perhaps unlucky…”

“It’s just that the Technology Church has locked onto Happy Town, and by disrupting their plan, we inadvertently forged a connection with the Queen of Happy Town. This has laid a good foundation for our current peace talks.”

“But while we’re fortunate, other High-wall Cities aren’t as lucky.”

She sighed and continued, “Over these past days, the twelve High-wall Cities in the Alliance and some other major factions have started engaging with their surrounding S-level Forbidden Zones. Their attitudes differ, and the outcomes vary considerably.

Some have resorted to ruthless measures to forcibly clear these zones, while others have tried various ways to cooperate with the mysterious creatures therein. However, in at least three or four places, these efforts have led to enormous disasters.”

“Heichao City is one such example,”

“…”

While speaking, she opened the documents for Lu Xin and said, “Two days ago, we received an emergency call from Heichao City. They informed us that during their interactions with the surrounding S-level Forbidden Zone, a mishap had inadvertently triggered a bizarre kind of pollution.”

“Now, both the main city and its four satellite cities in Heichao are suffering from a wild spread of contamination.”

“Unable to stop it, Heichao City has sent out emergency calls to all the major High-wall Cities and Central City, including Qinggang.”

“After some discussion, we in Qinggang have decided to dispatch a team of Ability Users to help them tackle this pollution problem.”

……

“Is that so?”

Lu Xin was rather surprised.

Although Chen Jing’s tone was calm, after some thought, it all sounded vaguely awe-inspiring.

A main city plus four satellite cities, all contaminated…

How dire could the situation be?

He furrowed his brow slightly before asking, “What kind of pollution characteristics do they have?”

“Sleep!”

Chen Jing replied, “The people of Heichao City have had their sleep stolen by a mysterious force…”

“So far, some of them have gone nearly half a month without sleep…”