Chapter 117

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Chapter 117: Setting Off Again (Part 1)

The patient looked at Lin Qingliu with fear, his mind still haunted by the previous incident, prompting his family to send him to the mental health clinic.

“No, you’re fine,”

Lin Qingliu said, patting his shoulder with a mix of truth and reassurance:

“Order has been fully restored. We must trust that Hope City won’t abandon anyone; such things won’t happen again.”

Though his words failed to fully calm the patient, Lin Qingliu was no ordinary psychologist. When words alone didn’t suffice, he resorted to his superpowers to provide genuine comfort.

Meanwhile, Luke confirmed that the shield now enveloped all of Hope City. He slowly unclenched his fists and rose from the operating table.

He could distinctly feel the change in his body.

It was as if a heavy stone pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe.

Yet, this weight also gave him a sense of grounding, as though he was carrying the tangible embodiment of his father’s hatred—a burden he would never forget.

He nodded toward the direction of the transport vehicle’s sound, regardless of whether Nia could see him or not.

“You’ve done well. Just five seconds ago, we received word that the mycelium stored in the research institutes has all perished, and the shield is now fully operational.

“Luke, in the name of the Hope Council, I hereby declare that your code name is now ‘Holy Shield,’ and you will inherit your father’s Superpowered Individual ID, 00005.

“Now, it’s time to move on to your next task.”

With that, the hatch of the transport vehicle slowly opened, revealing stacks of documents beneath.

These were all the intelligence Nia had gathered with her Highest Permission Level regarding the “Believers,” including three of Zhuang Mian’s inflated reports.

Two of the reports detailed how the “Butterfly” squad had captured suspected “Believer” members and dismantled a forgery operation, while the last one recounted the capture of an assassin who had been moving between the inner and outer cities.

In short: a lot of action, but little to show for it.

However, Luke couldn’t afford to dwell on that now. He was determined to honor his agreement with Nia and began meticulously reading through the documents.

—

Inside the Clean-up Squad office.

Zhuang Mian sneezed out of nowhere.

“Captain, are you alright?”

A concerned team member asked.

After the incident at the south second gate, the squad’s admiration for their captain had only grown.

Her willingness to charge ahead of everyone was reason enough for them to follow her without question.

Hearing Zhuang Mian sneeze, an enthusiastic team member quickly voiced their concern.

“I’m fine; focus on your work,”

Zhuang Mian waved them off. She wasn’t the type to fall ill easily. After all, she had survived being shot multiple times and drenched in a downpour without succumbing.

Though her survival had little to do with her own abilities, she still carried a certain confidence in herself.

But with that thought, Zhuang Mian found herself puzzling over another matter.

Perhaps realizing his own ineffectiveness, Teacher Wayne suddenly issued a notification to Zhuang Mian two hours ago.

“All events related to the ‘Believers’ have raised their confidentiality level, and Team 25 will no longer conduct related investigations.”

Upon receiving this order, Zhuang Mian initially let out a long sigh of relief, but then confusion arose:

“Why can’t I investigate anymore? Am I really going to be exposed? That doesn’t make sense.”

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, especially the Clean-up Team’s regulations, if an unfinished task is canceled, a special investigation would probably be arranged for her as the team leader.

Seeing the troubled expression on the student’s face, Vice Minister Wayne smiled and reassured her:

“It’s not your fault. This blood rain incident has involved the ‘Believers.’ By the way, this organization is now called the ‘Believers.’

“A special investigation team has been formed above, and you don’t need to worry about it anymore. Anyway, you and your team have already grown close enough; the Clean-up Team is always short on tasks, so just stay on standby.”

Hearing this, the heavy weight in Zhuang Mian’s heart finally lifted.

She quietly gathered all the documents related to the ‘Believers’ and handed them over to the specialist responsible for the handover.

Then Zhuang Mian and her teammates received a new mission, and everyone was studying the documents in the office.

“Captain, why are these documents all related to factories and production lines?”

Hearing her teammate’s question, Zhuang Mian looked up and explained:

“The aftermath of the mycelium infection is too severe. Those who control the production lines are hardly clean. We must select a group with more serious issues to quell this incident.”

The team members understood Zhuang Mian’s words, and the light in their eyes dimmed a little as they lowered their heads to continue their research.

—

In the outer city, El sat in the main seat of the Ashen organization’s stronghold, while “Daoge” Li Rui stood beside him like a respectful servant.

These two no longer concealed their identities; the Ashen organization was left with just the two of them.

As the initial outbreak point of the infection, El had suffered devastating losses.

The young man suddenly felt that he lacked the ability to lead others.

His intelligence was merely clever, adequate for disguising an identity, but he truly lacked judgment for major matters.

“Li Rui, do you think it’s a pity?”

The middle-aged man suddenly trembled.

The last time he heard El speak in such a tone was when he recovered him in the alley.

He composed himself and replied earnestly:

“It is indeed a bit regrettable. Although you are the boss, I have played my part for so long…”

Though speaking like this felt risky, El, strangely, seemed like a real peer—cold but without any killing intent.

“Managing so many people is beyond me; let’s just focus on the two of us. Are you still willing to follow me?”

How could I dare to refuse?

Li Rui smiled faintly, as if battling with his own fear:

“Since you helped me reattach my arm, my life is yours, Boss.

“Just, Boss, what should we do now?”

Li Rui’s meaning was clear; with no subordinates and no rivals, as gang members, they felt shamefully idle.

“The gangs in the outer city have only suffered significant losses, but they haven’t disappeared completely. Let’s turn them to ash.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Just the two of us.”

—

In the headquarters building of the superpowered individuals, Fresnel mysteriously walked into the activity room of Team 25:

“I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which one would you like to hear first?”

Everyone’s gaze gathered around, and Fresnel showed no signs of hesitation.

“Let’s hear the bad news first. I prefer to get the bitter before the sweet.”

Obscure sat on the bed, daydreaming, responding nonchalantly.

“The bad news is that it can be confirmed that Mr. ‘Holy Shield’ has passed away.”

The activity room fell silent for a few seconds, and even sighs were distinctly audible; Holy Shield was indeed a respected superpowered individual, and anyone who knew him or had heard of him would not hesitate to praise him.

Only the carefree Puppet Master asked:

“What’s the good news then?”

“I received a fairly reliable piece of information: they plan to restart the ‘Exploration Plan.’”