Chapter 245
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Chapter 245: Use What Works Until It Breaks
At this moment, Shadow Master felt a bit uneasy. Although he was a legitimate captain of a top ten squad, recent events made him feel like he was being underutilized.
Whether it was encountering members of the Nian team while capturing suspected followers or facing isolation and scrutiny after the disappearance of the five from the Nian team, he had sensed a strong feeling of distrust.
Now he was being assigned to investigate and arrest a councilman…
Shadow Master couldn’t help but wonder if he had angered someone he shouldn’t have, leading to being inexplicably set up multiple times.
But that wasn’t the case; generally, the top five superhero teams wouldn’t be assigned to such tasks. For those elite members, even if a deployment were necessary, it would only happen with the agreement of all council members.
With the sixth squad currently unaccounted for and the eighth squad, which included Ink Drench, out on a mission, naturally, this seemingly important yet not urgent task fell to Shadow Master.
Looking at the furious councilman in front of him, Shadow Master maintained a calm demeanor, though he felt anxious inside.
After all, being middle-aged meant that even with low emotional intelligence, one could still learn something about human relationships from past experiences.
Councilman Bordeaux managed to calm his anger, allowing reason to take over.
He snatched the investigation order from Shadow Master’s hand and glanced at the final signatures.
Nia, Zhong Ding, and Sharma—these three names caught his eye, and Bordeaux quietly let out a sigh of relief.
As members of the same faction in the Hope Council, they shared the same “enemy,” and there was no need for infighting among them.
Thus, upon seeing these names, Bordeaux believed something genuine had gone awry rather than an attempt by rival factions to seize power…
The redness on his face from anger gradually faded, replaced by a calm and indifferent expression:
“I’ll go with you. Does my family also need to come?”
Shadow Master, somewhat reluctant, nodded:
“Anyone who interacted with Mr. Vine at the last dinner needs to undergo investigation and questioning. This is the list of you and your family, along with several domestic workers here. Please check it for any omissions or issues.”
Bordeaux took the other form and scanned it,
“No problem, we’ll go with you.”
He had clearly regained his composure, calmly explaining the situation to his wife and children. The family and several servants, feeling a bit confused, were escorted away from the mansion by armed superpowered individuals.
Many members of the Purger team and superheroes were also visiting such a core area for the first time.
As they took in the rare greenery and streams seen even in the inner city, everyone momentarily could not take their eyes off the scenery.
—
As Councilman Bordeaux’s family was brought to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ exclusive high-security cell, Shadow Master and his team’s initial task was considered complete.
The subsequent investigation would be jointly conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the research institutes, while Shadow Master received a new assignment:
Suspicious traces of Fresnel team members were found outside the northern city wall, with a decrease in their numbers and significant equipment damage or loss. Shadow Master’s team was needed for support.
This was the second squad returning from phase two of the exploration mission. With information brought back by superpowered individuals like Ink Drench, a feeling of panic was beginning to spread among the upper echelons of Hope City.
With a potential reduction in members and evidence of a battle, if they closely approached the city wall, it could result in unimaginable damages.
Thus, there was a need for a squad that had versatile capabilities yet strong enough to overpower the Fresnel team on paper—
Wait?! Wasn’t this referring to—
Floating above Hope City with the temporary buff "Weightlessness," Shadow Master’s squad had no time to enjoy the scenery below as they flew straight north.
At this moment, the sun began to set in the west, and soon, the potential of Shadow Master’s abilities would expand significantly.
The group flew to the northern city wall of the outer city, where city defense troops were already lined up, countless dark gun barrels aimed at figures in the distance.
Among them was even a military officer familiar to Shadow Master…
“You’re here too…”
“After all, they used to be teammates; I came to see if they were safe.”
Standing among the ordinary people, Obscure showed no sign of guilt, solely displaying concern for his former partners.
“Yeah, I’ve heard some things. You might want to go to the command center and ask Ink Drench about it.”
Shadow Master decided not to continue that topic, shifting the conversation to other matters.
It was no secret that Obscure had shifted from the front lines to logistics among the superheroes. To balance team abilities, there were some superheroes with lacking powers who were well-suited for collaboration with those possessing distinct strengths and weaknesses.
Most of these individuals had superpower grades of only C, some even D, but this did not undermine their ability to pair effectively with others of different abilities.
With Obscure as an example, many superheroes began to see their own potential outcomes in old age, though at least it was better than dying.
Hope City’s history was just over fifty years, with even shorter regular selection and training of superpowered individuals. Therefore, there weren’t established processes for ensuring superpowered individuals could enjoy a proper end to their journeys.
Obscure nodded in a somewhat dazed manner, seeming to understand the underlying meaning in his former colleague’s words, then fell silent, quietly observing the distance.
Shadow Master pulled a pair of binoculars from a nearby officer’s neck and looked north, faintly spotting four humanoid figures drawing closer to Hope City, one of whom was even…
Not wearing a shirt.
That was just too brutal, wasn’t it?
Shadow Master couldn’t help but click his tongue internally, feeling increasingly that his decision to protect the squad was the right one.
As the sun set, the shadows cast by Hope City’s tall walls began to spread slowly, but these shadows extended east to west without providing any real benefit to the current situation.
Shadow Master exchanged glances with his teammates, his entire body transforming into a shadow, merging into the faint shadows cast by the wall.
Receiving the captain’s signal, one teammate’s arm muscles bulged, and he hurled a fist-sized solid orb forcefully ahead.
Under the glow of the setting sun, the solid orb flew rapidly forward, its shadow appearing much dimmer than usual.
The orb traced a long parabolic arc before landing a few dozen meters ahead of the Fresnel team.
Having traversed for twenty-four hours and driven by exceptional will and a thirst for life, the Fresnel team had painfully crossed approximately one hundred kilometers of wilderness.
