Chapter 107: The Arrangement

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Zhao Lu was dead.

It happened just after Yao Lun and Zhou Ze joined the battle.

This strange mutation had increased Zhao Lu’s strength far less than it had Pang Weiwei’s. The combat power he displayed was only a few notches above that of an ordinary second-order ability user.

After a bitter struggle, he took a blade from Zhou Ze straight through the abdomen. Then Huang Long’s whistling arrow bored into his brain from beneath the ear.

Finally, Ji Cheng delivered an overpowering upward slash that cleaved from the chest cavity all the way to the heart.

He was dead beyond any doubt.

“Leave this place at once. The sounds of battle may attract mutated animals!”

“Move!”

The once-prosperous street was choked with abandoned vehicles, handbags dropped in the panic, shoes kicked off in flight, and civilians trampled to death.

The four men steadily increased their pace, moving almost at full speed.

Ever since passing that intersection, they had not seen a single mutated animal, and so they gradually stopped holding back.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ji Cheng was like an arrow, darting swiftly through the obstacles scattered across the road.

Whether it was a first-order injected bobcat or a second-order injected ghost vine, both had greatly enhanced the body’s physical attributes. Their speed in particular was formidable; compared with several veteran councillors, Ji Cheng was not inferior in the slightest.

Tap.

After vaulting over an advertising frame that had crashed into the middle of the road, Ji Cheng came to an abrupt halt.

“What is that?”

In the direction he pointed stood a four-story building facing the street.

He had seen it before when visiting the council. If he remembered correctly, it was a department store: a supermarket occupied the first and second floors, while the third and fourth sold discounted clothing.

Through the gray smoke, one could make out the brightly colored shop sign and the facade covered in broad ceramic tiles. It was deserted, and at first glance seemed no different from the surrounding buildings.

But what sent a chill down the spine was this—

The steps of the department store were covered in blood vessels as thick as bowls, twisted together in red and black.

Looking inward along the steps and through the entrance, one saw something dark, viscous, slick, and ceaselessly writhing, like the bowels of a demon. Red, ulcerous swellings covered its surface like pustules, each more than a meter in diameter.

Glug. Glug.

The surroundings were so quiet that they could hear the noises coming from within. They sounded like the gurgling of gastric juices digesting food, but were fainter and far more uncanny.

“Those blood vessels look very much like the things on Zhao Lu.”

Zhou Ze was currently encased in a damaged modular composite power armor, his face completely hidden behind a visor fitted with specialized visual instruments. Yet the armor components around his waist, left leg, and both arms were missing.

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This damaged power armor, which could be stored and deployed at will, was the equipment that had made him famous.

“There are more over there!” Huang Long pointed toward a nearby street.

Everyone turned to look. The road there, along with several shops and residential buildings lining the street, was likewise covered in enormous pustules. They looked as though the structures had fallen ill and begun to fester.

But these were buildings—things made of reinforced concrete. How could they possibly become sick?

“I have a bad feeling about this…”

Just as the several second-order ability users were growing uneasy, sharp-eyed Ji Cheng saw a scene he would never forget.

With a muffled boom, those pus-filled pustules suddenly burst apart. A monster sprang from each one, so densely packed that it was impossible to tell how many there were.

Red-and-black blood vessels coiled across their various limbs. Pairs of numb, icy eyes turned toward them.

Evil. Horrifying. Twisted. Enough to make one tremble.

…

Gray Zone Guard Station, Operations Conference Room.

The ability users sat in a circle inside the room that had originally belonged to the head of the guard station. The station chief himself had been driven downstairs to sleep on the floor of the main hall.

“So, Ji Cheng had anticipated this matter long ago?”

Fu Ting’s voice, rendered through an electronic synthesizer, was slow and measured as he held a sheaf of documents in his hands.

They were still not quite accustomed to calling him Councillor.

“Yes, sir. My employer said that all of South Harbor New City may already be beyond saving.”

Chen Qian lowered her head dejectedly.

Her parents were officials in South Harbor, and their offices were in the council building. Judging from Ji Cheng’s deductions, there was certainly no chance that they had survived.

But she had to force herself to be strong now—Ji Cheng had given her a task.

“How did he reach that conclusion?”

Centipede looked perplexed, all the scars on his face twisting together.

Chen Qian recalled what had happened. Lowering her voice, she moved her lips lightly and recounted the matter.

It was, unmistakably, his conjecture regarding Councillor Zhang.

“…That is why he concluded that the main urban districts—especially the council building—must have become extremely dangerous, filled with hidden threats.”

“You suspect the councillor based on nothing more than a slight overlap in timing?” a rough voice challenged.

The speaker was Qiu Ding, a short, stocky man and a member of Zhou Ze’s team. He had crossed paths with Ji Cheng several times.

“What does he want us to do? Just say it plainly.”

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“Green Lantern” Liu Fangjian interrupted Qiu Ding’s challenge.

Fu Ting nodded in agreement. “The crisis is everywhere, and we cannot inject the second-order gene prototype anyway. We have nothing better to do, so we may as well take action. Even if his conjecture proves wrong, it will do no harm.”

“My employer hopes that Lord Lu will first retrieve the Osprey airship.” Chen Qian took out a note. “This task is crucial. He may also need the assistance of another ability user.”

Lu Shangbai nodded. “No problem. But my home is not exactly nearby, so it may take quite some time.”

He promptly activated the virtual projection function of his wrist computer, displaying a map.

His finger moved from one point to another more than two feet away, pausing at the destination.

According to the map’s scale, the distance was roughly fifty kilometers.

“Considering the presence of those mutated animals, I think it will take at least… well… an entire day?”

“My employer said that nineteen hours should be sufficient for you.” Chen Qian gave a slight bow.

Centipede rose and ordered, “Qiu Ding, accompany Little Lu.”

He was more senior and immensely powerful, and with the councillors absent, his words carried considerable weight.

“Are you kidding me? Look at how many mutated animals are outside! You want us to travel that far right now? Aren’t you afraid of dying? I barely made it out of the hive alive. Only an idiot would go out there now.”

Qiu Ding knew that every ability user present except himself already possessed a second-order genetic prototype. In terms of status, he was naturally a head shorter than the rest, but when it came to life and death, he was still unwilling to yield.

Besides, he was more than a little envious.

“You can take the subway line. There should not be too many mutated animals underground. Go down through the nearby station and follow the tracks all the way to Sailor Road. From there, you only need to travel seven kilometers southeast. As long as you are careful, there should be no problem.”

Chen Qian finished in a single breath, then added, “Those were my employer’s exact words.”

Centipede nodded. “His arrangements are quite thorough. Subway Line Two passes right near the Gray Zone Guard Station. As long as you are sufficiently cautious and do not get entangled with the mutated animals, it should indeed be manageable.”

“Understood.” Lu Shangbai was unusually solemn.

For the sake of that second-order genetic prototype—an item of almost incalculable value—he could say that he owed the Lu family’s life by half.

No matter how unserious he usually was, if Ji Cheng was in trouble, he would have to step up for real.

“What other arrangements did he make? Tell us all of them.”

Centipede looked at Chen Qian.

A trace of tension appeared on her face, but her excellent professional composure kept her voice calm and steady.

“He said that if matters truly are as he anticipated…”

“Councillor Yao will certainly move to kill him!”

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