Chapter 779: A Price for Return

No matter how much trouble his sister gets into, as her brother, he’s expected to cover for her, right?

Besides, his sister is so sensible…

…what trouble could she possibly cause?

……

……

Just as Lu Xin, feeling a bit guilty, replied to his sister and forcefully hugged her back into the tent, Doctor An and Chen Jing received word of his return. The two rushed over, both seemingly eager to say something.

Doctor An, sporting his stylish rimless glasses, casually glanced past Lu Xin.

In a single look, it was as if he understood everything. Without a word more, he quietly removed his glasses.

With a soft nod directed at Lu Xin, he said, “It’s good that you’re back.”

“You’re right on time – we have less than two hours until our scheduled meeting.”

“All the items needed for the investigation have been prepared. In two hours, you can join us on the departure.”

……

“Less than two hours remaining?”

Lu Xin was somewhat surprised; he felt that the entire trip had barely taken three to four hours.

“Walking through the Abyss for a long time can really distort one’s sense of time.”

Seeing his confusion, Doctor An nodded gently and explained, “Besides, the place you’re headed to isn’t exactly ordinary.”

“Alright.”

Having checked the time, Lu Xin simply nodded, “We just need to leave on schedule.”

Since Mom had already told him to handle these matters, there was nothing more to say about what had been agreed upon in advance.

“However…”

Just as Doctor An nodded and prepared to leave, Lu Xin suddenly remembered something he needed to mention.

Meeting Doctor An’s slightly questioning gaze, Lu Xin tentatively said, “About the two hundred million reward we agreed on…”

After some serious thought, didn’t Mom mention that if he didn’t take on Father’s responsibilities, then the two hundred million wouldn’t be given?

Certainly, it wasn’t mentioned.

These are two completely different matters.

Even Doctor An paused for a moment before his face broke into a smile as he nodded, “You need to be sure…”

She straightened her chest slightly and added, “Do you want the two hundred million, or do you want me?”

Lu Xin’s face flushed from her clever remark. Embarrassed, he glanced over to Chen Jing, who had been waiting nearby to speak.

Resolutely, he replied, “The two hundred million.”

Following his gaze, Doctor An looked at Chen Jing, her pupils momentarily widening.

After a pause, her expression turned somewhat disinterested and her demeanor suddenly grew cool.

“Then the two hundred million is set.”

With that, she turned away in an irritated manner, leaving without so much as a proper goodbye.

“Take care…”

Lu Xin called out politely and warmly after her.

“What two hundred million?”

Chen Jing had patiently listened to them finish speaking. Although she deliberately didn’t avoid the topics of the ‘Abyss’ and ‘reward,’ everything sounded hazy until the phrase ‘two hundred million’ stood out clearly, leaving her begrudgingly displeased.

Coldly, she glared at Doctor An’s retreating back, “I can’t stand the Research Institute; they always disrupt the market…”

“Back then, a mere eight thousand would have been enough to keep a Single Soldier happy handling a pollution incident…”

“And now, the reward has reached two hundred million…”

……

……

“Section Chief Chen, did you hear that…?”

With his characteristic enthusiasm and courtesy, Lu Xin saw Doctor An off and then smiled at Chen Jing, “In two hours, I have to set off again. I already accepted the Research Institute’s invitation to serve as a special advisor on their investigation team.”

“So…”

……

“Oh, I see…”

Only after his reminder did Chen Jing quickly snap back into work mode. Clutching a file folder, she turned and closed the door, nodding hurriedly, “You’re cleared to go.”

After a brief pause, she added, “No need to write another leave request.”

What a thoughtful leader…

No wonder everyone lights up and aspires to be around the boss when he’s in charge…

Lu Xin mused that if he had to write another leave request, it would be hard to drag both Father and Mom to sign it again.

“Your return is perfectly timed.”

Reacting swiftly, Chen Jing shifted back into work mode, a file folder clutched in her arms as she turned and closed the door.

She then said earnestly, “We’re already aware that you’re heading into the wasteland with the Research Institute team for an investigation. That wasn’t an issue, but we’ve just made a discovery. We were worried you might not return on time to receive it.”

“Now that you’re back, we’ll let you see it first.”

……

“What discovery?”

Seeing her focused expression, Lu Xin paused for a moment.

“It’s about you!”

Chen Jing’s face grew serious as she whispered.

Then, pulling out the file folder she held, she hesitated before explaining, “I need to brief you in advance.”

“After you joined the Special Cleaning Department, we conducted a background check on you as per protocol.”

She stressed the words “as per protocol” before continuing, “However, apart from noting your old apartment building, the high school you attended, and certain links with the Red Moon Orphanage, no special clues were found.”

“Later, when you handled several pollution incidents and crises in Qinggang, Professor Bai suggested it.”

“They upgraded the confidentiality level of all your materials to the highest possible, leaving no room for prying eyes.”

“From that moment on, any further investigation into your background was completely halted.”

……

At that point, she paused briefly before continuing:

“Until recently, when you decided to cooperate with Qinggang and underwent an ability assessment, we resumed our investigation into your background to better understand you.”

“And just two days ago, we finally got some results.”

……

As she spoke, she intentionally slowed her pace, making sure Lu Xin grasped the motivations behind Qinggang Special Cleaning Department’s actions.

Having dealt with many Ability Users, she understood well.

Most Ability Users dislike being tightly controlled by official institutions.

Background investigations are one of the clearest signs of such control.

However, Lu Xin didn’t seem too bothered; after listening to Chen Jing’s report, he simply nodded.

He didn’t mind others looking into his background because he had always been investigating it himself.

As for everything else, he carefully maintained a righteous path, unafraid of scrutiny.

On the contrary, he was more interested, “What exactly were the results you mentioned?”

……

……

“It’s all in this file.”

Chen Jing placed the Blue Folder in front of Lu Xin. The cover bore a seal marked “Confidential.”

“Investigating your background is no simple task,”

she explained slowly, her eyes on Lu Xin. “When High-Wall City was first built, it was in utter chaos for quite a while. In fact, Second Satellite City only got online a few years ago, so records back then were patchy at best. Not to mention, many documents related to you have been deliberately erased.”

“I know,”

Lu Xin nodded.

As far as he knew, the old security guard at Red Moon Elementary School had already wiped much of his trail.

“That’s why we dispatched a large team to comb through every database. It was all a blank slate. Even when we visited the high school you attended, we observed one peculiar phenomenon. The teachers and classmates vaguely remembered your name, but couldn’t provide any specifics.”

……

Lu Xin drifted into thought for a moment.

Strangely, he didn’t find it odd at all.

He knew he had attended that high school, yet discussing those days felt hazy.

His memories only began to clear on that rainy night when he met Teacher Xiao Lu…

“But our investigators, examining every angle, still managed to uncover some clues.”

Chen Jing paused to let Lu Xin digest the information before continuing:

“And those clues all point to your old apartment building.”

……

“?”

Lu Xin snapped back to attention, his pupils steady as he looked at Chen Jing.

He’d always been puzzled by that old building.

Chen Jing let out a soft sigh and slowed her tone, “We investigated you from every angle. We know that even the best erasure methods leave behind traces. One team started with your old apartment building, checking everything from its appearance to utility payments and resident registrations…”

“At first, nothing was found – the records were as clean as if washed away by water.”

“Until…”

Her voice deepened as she continued quietly, “We found an old employee who once worked at the resident registration office.”

Lu Xin’s nerves tightened slightly.

“Although that employee wasn’t an Ability User and likely remembered nothing, once we verified he had worked around Moon Terrace for such a long period, we decided to take it seriously. We then dispatched a ‘Doctor-type’ Ability User to extract and read his memories.”

“Eventually, in his almost forgotten past, we uncovered a scene…”

……

As she spoke, Chen Jing carefully opened the folder and revealed its contents to Lu Xin.

The documents detailed the old employee’s age, name, and former address.

They even included an assessment of his mental state to verify the memories’ authenticity.

But what caught Lu Xin’s eye was a detailed sketch – so exquisitely drawn that every nuance and feature seemed almost lifelike…

In the corner of the sketch, he saw a man with a child at the counter registering their details.

He recognized both figures.

That man looked exactly like him, albeit in a denim jacket.

And the child was none other than his own younger self, shortly after leaving the orphanage, known by the codename “Tyrant.”

Adult Lu Xin and his younger self were depicted standing in line, going through the registration process…