Chapter 507: Perilous Alliances

Insomnia…

What kind of pollution is this?

Lu Xin knew that insomnia was excruciatingly painful.

There was a time when he couldn’t sleep for days, lying in bed as he watched the sun rise.

Day after day, it really took a toll on him.

But eventually, he managed to get by—he learned to keep his eyes closed during sleepless nights, tricking himself into thinking he had slept.

Still, even during his worst bouts of insomnia, he never imagined going half a month without sleep.

What happens to someone who doesn’t sleep for fifteen days straight?

……

“The aid request from Heichao City is urgent. All the compiled data on the pollution is right here,”

After a brief explanation, Chen Jing slid the file over to Lu Xin, then carefully lifted her cup of hot tea and said:

“Pollution this severe means that, whether it’s under the mutual aid terms set by the High-wall City Alliance or from our stance against letting pollution sources spiral out of control, Qinggang has to send some manpower to help. That’s why this mission exists…”

“……”

Meeting her gaze, Lu Xin readily agreed, nodding, “Alright, I’ll go.”

Earlier, he had worried that if the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan experiment succeeded, he might lose this part-time job…

But now, he never expected Qinggang to proactively help him break into new business opportunities…

Moreover, dealing with pollution out in the field came with far better conditions than handling it in Qinggang—especially with travel allowances in play…

“It’s not just you who’ll go.”

Seeing Lu Xin’s prompt agreement, Chen Jing smiled relaxedly. Every time they discussed business, things felt unexpectedly light. Nodding, she corrected him, “You’re the team leader; you need to take a squad over.”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin was somewhat taken aback.

Was he really expected to run a project on his own under the Special Cleaning Department?

Chen Jing met his gaze and smiled, “Now that you’re a level-six Special Talent in Qinggang, joining the Administration Hall could put you in a ministerial role in Main City management. And if you join the military, your rank would be at least that of a senior colonel. So in our Special Cleaning Department, having you lead an Ability User team to support Heichao City is only natural.”

Lu Xin was mildly surprised, then quickly nodded.

At first, it took him a moment to process that his promotion to level-six also brought changes like this.

Before, he was only concerned about the benefits of being a level-six talent.

……

“If you’re willing to represent Qinggang on this mission, there’s something I need to lay out for you,”

Chen Jing’s expression turned serious as she said, “This time, you must be extra careful.”

Lu Xin nodded quickly and replied with a professional smile, “I understand. When dealing with special pollution, caution is the number one rule.”

“And it’s not just that,”

Chen Jing shook her head lightly, “It’s not only about watching out for the pollution—it’s about being careful in Heichao City and wary of other dangers as well.”

That left Lu Xin slightly puzzled as he looked up at her.

Chen Jing let out a soft sigh, “This mission might bring variables we can’t even imagine.”

“Right now, it seems the incidents in Heichao are not entirely unexpected,”

“After all, as the major High-wall Cities begin dealing with the surrounding S-Rank forbidden zones—even cleaning them up—some mishaps were bound to occur.”

“Heichao City made some errors in both execution and judgment; facing this pollution is almost inevitable.”

“Yet, something so ordinary still leaves us with a disquieting feeling.”

“……”

Lu Xin furrowed his brows, listening intently as Chen Jing explained further.

“In fact, we’ve always felt this unease…”

Chen Jing pressed her temple lightly and said,

“Take Qinggang for example—everything seems to be unfolding exactly as expected, almost too perfectly.”

“But the fact that Qinggang acquired this critical data for the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan so easily is suspicious enough. Even more, the very data that solved our longstanding issues started circulating in the Black Markets the moment our experiment succeeded. It’s as if our experiment inadvertently advertised that data…”

“Behind every sequence of seemingly logical events, there are far too many coincidences.”

“I discussed this with Professor Bai; he shares the same concerns.”

“He even suspects that someone might be secretly manipulating these events from behind the scenes.”

“At every critical juncture, that person made slight adjustments, steering Qinggang—and even the entire Alliance and the world—toward his design…”

“……”

“Huh?”

At these words, Lu Xin couldn’t help but frown.

So all the seemingly rational progress and changes were being orchestrated by someone?

The thought was both astonishing and deeply unsettling…

“……”

“Maybe we’re overthinking, but we can’t help wondering…”

Chen Jing pinched her brow and sat up straighter. “In short, the Research Institute, in an effort to tackle the S-Rank forbidden zone issues before they worsen, shared a lot of valuable data with us—and even supplied special weapons to major High-wall Cities. Their aim was to minimize variables during the control process of these zones. But now…”

“Heh, the expected variables haven’t diminished one bit…”

She shook her head with a hint of resignation, “We can’t rule out that Heichao City may have caused this massive pollution while executing the Research Institute’s orders to clear the S-Rank forbidden zones.”

“Or perhaps they were secretly experimenting with challenging the Mental Overlord, and their failure led to this situation?”

“……”

Lu Xin hadn’t expected the events to have such complex causes.

For now, he silently studied the data before him.

“There are too many variables, which is why I had to be upfront with you,”

Chen Jing looked at him and said, “We’ll respond to Heichao’s call for help, but you must be careful not to fall into a trap.”

“So, what exactly are we supposed to do?”

Lu Xin frowned, clearly confused.

While he understood Chen Jing’s concerns, he had no experience dealing with such complex situations.

“Simply put…”

Chen Jing fixed him with a deep, serious look, and said,

“For this support mission, completing the task is not the primary objective; protecting you and your teammates is paramount.”

“?”

Her words caught Lu Xin off guard.

Though it was a support mission, mission completion wasn’t the main focus…

That didn’t quite match his usual work ethos, but he didn’t mind—in fact, he somewhat liked it.

“Understood,”

Lu Xin smiled, “I’ll do my best to complete the mission while keeping everyone safe…”

Glancing around, he asked, “So, who all is going this time?”

Earlier, Chen Jing had mentioned that she would be the leader. But if she’s the leader, what about her team?

“That’s the most pressing issue right now,”

Chen Jing smiled, “If we’re sending a support team, we need at least an Ability User team of no less than four, plus a leader responsible for information analysis, daily communications, and finalizing details. We’ve already chosen that leader—Han Bing will go with you. She’s been professionally trained in this area and has worked with you long enough to know you well.”

“Ah?”

Lu Xin was a bit surprised and turned to look at Han Bing sitting beside him.

That’s when he realized why Han Bing had been listening to Chen Jing’s briefing all along.

Noticing his glance, Han Bing gave a slight sideways look and smiled, “Mr. Lone Soldier, are you worried I might hold you back?”

“……”

“No, no,”

Lu Xin quickly waved his hand and replied with a smile, “I’d feel completely at ease with you coming along.”

Chen Jing glanced at the two of them, nodded slightly, then smiled, “The only thing left is selecting the Ability Users.”

“Besides you, we can pick three more Ability Users to assist you on this mission.”

“……”

At that, Lu Xin burst into laughter.

He had tried choosing them before, but in reality, he barely knew more than a handful…

“But before we decide, there’s one thing we need to consider.”

As if anticipating his thoughts, Chen Jing smiled, “With the accelerated pace of the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan, I know you’re close with the Drunkard and the Doll. Unfortunately, they, along with the Godly Woman, Luohan, and Watchdog, have been assigned to remain in Qinggang as part of a series of tests. Naturally, those with the highest mission completion rates have already been ruled out.”

“Is that so?”

Lu Xin felt a pang of disappointment, then, with a hint of concern, asked, “What about Gecko?”

Chen Jing’s smile deepened as she said, “Gecko is a possibility.”

“Right now, he’s busy negotiating with the Queen of Happy Town, and it seems about time for him to wrap things up.”

She added with a smile, “But since he just finished his negotiations, having him rush off with you without even a break seems rather harsh. So…”

After a pause, she laughed, “We’ll have to think of a way to persuade him.”

“……”

Lu Xin felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

When it came to persuasion, he figured it didn’t matter—if Gecko came along, everything else was secondary.

“As for the others…”

Chen Jing pondered for a moment, then snapped her fingers, “Bring it over.”

Both Lu Xin and Han Bing watched as she snapped her fingers into the air, momentarily puzzled.

Within seconds, a thick stack of data suddenly appeared on the table before her.

It was as if the documents had materialized without warning, like a magic trick performed right before their eyes.

Lu Xin and Han Bing stared in astonishment, their eyes widening.

Noticing their reaction, Chen Jing chuckled, “Did you forget about it again?”

“……”

She then looked into the empty space and offered an encouraging glance.

Just as Lu Xin sensed something was off, he felt a soft, gentle touch on his calf.

He reacted for a moment before realizing that someone—or something—had appeared by his leg…

Over a meter tall, dressed in a rumpled black suit and lacking distinct facial features,

It had two large ears and arms like soft, tentacle-like appendages, one of which was now wrapped around his calf…

Lu Xin startled and exclaimed, “Is it it?”

Before seeing it, he had no recollection, but once he did, everything about it came flooding back.

The little monster he had captured in Central City had somehow turned up here.

And it was dressed rather smartly, too…

……

……

“Remember now?”

Chen Jing smiled and said, “Ever since it was recruited, it’s been well-behaved. It’s officially become one of us.”

“It’s now handling my secretary duties.”

“There’s no way to assign it other tasks—if it were sent off, it might just be forgotten…”