Chapter 457

Chapter 457: Giving It Your All

"What are your thoughts on my proposal?"

"Although you may have noticed some things, I must emphasize again—

"Superpowers also follow the use-it-or-lose-it principle. If you wish to progress further in this regard, why not challenge yourselves?"

The small conference room welcomed two new guests, Zhuang Mian and El, who sat to the left and right, while Lin Qingliu, in the state of Arthur, spread his hands in the center.

After briefly discussing the current issues and their general arrangements, along with analyzing the stakes, Lin Qingliu delivered the choice to the two before him.

Zhuang Mian lowered her head slightly, lost in thought.

Not long after the start of the year, the former Minister of Internal Affairs officially announced his retirement.

Although the old man had not participated in any wrongdoing, he was well aware of the many dark histories of Hope City and had refrained from intervening due to a lack of power.

Once Arthur assumed power and gained more authority, it was only natural that the minister chose to step back.

This minister was not so out of touch with reality; having experienced decades of change, he knew that each turnover among council members was always accompanied by a storm of blood rain in the shadows.

Now, with all power concentrated in one person, the upcoming storm promised to be unimaginably violent.

Using his relatively clean identity, he exchanged the information in his mind for a peaceful retirement, and now that he had retired, he merely had to write some memoirs each day for record-keeping.

Arthur had not really paid much attention to this person.

The past had become history, much like how he did not care for the past conflicts in Hope City. What mattered to him was the future, and in light of the disasters ahead, humanity’s past infighting seemed trivial.

After this minister’s retirement, no new candidate had filled the Minister of Internal Affairs position, as if it were an invisible chair floating in the air.

Although it seemed there were many tasks, in reality, after the Clean-up Team completed their mission earlier in the year, they became much less busy.

It was like having done a thorough pest removal at home; after that period of action, the members of the Clean-up Team welcomed a rare holiday, and the tasks assigned to them afterward mostly revolved around monitoring tasks, with few actual capture operations.

Zhuang Mian’s teacher was also set to retire soon, and at this moment, she had basically taken command of the Clean-up Team’s power.

Every day, countless pieces of intelligence were compiled into her hands, and after being filtered, the valuable parts were reported again.

However, recently, the valuable intel had indeed dwindled, and Zhuang Mian was already contemplating her future career development.

Now, before she could make a decision, Arthur had already extended an olive branch…

El’s situation was similar to Zhuang Mian’s. After thoroughly removing certain hidden dangers in Hope City, the Ashen Security Company gradually transformed from a widely known gray organization into a more legitimate business, even starting to take on regular contracts recently.

El’s thoughts were quite simple; he was not discouraged by such changes. On the contrary, his purpose had remained unchanged from the beginning.

He still remembered why he embarked on this path, from organ trafficking, to smuggling and black markets, and then to secret investigations; he could clearly feel that he had completed a large part of his mission, and his dream was slowly becoming a reality.

The only thing that made him hesitate was another question—

Could he really be of help with his level of education?

Since Luke left the Ashen Security Company, El, Li Rui, and a series of "company employees" had stagnated in their education levels.

Most educated individuals in Hope City looked down on similar work, and added to that, his subordinates were all quite intimidating, making it easy to scare off potential tutors.

Not everyone was like Luke, who was both educated and capable.

After silently pondering for a while, the two of them looked towards Arthur together.

"Excuse me, about the Ministry of Internal Affairs…"

“Ha ha.”

Arthur suddenly laughed, his smile genuinely warm, but to Zhuang Mian, it felt as if he could see right through her.

“I know what you’re worried about, and this is also what your teacher is concerned about.

“Humans are not mycelium life; each person is an individual with their own thoughts, which sets our social structures apart from that of mycelium.

“In this world where it’s hard to truly understand each other’s hearts, dark corners will inevitably give rise to evil. Just like now, even after working hard for almost half a year, the crime rate in Hope City still hasn’t reached zero.

“So, neither you nor your teacher need to worry; the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not disappear because public order improves; it will only become more formal.”

Zhuang Mian took a deep breath and said with determination,

“I will convey your message. I also choose to accept your proposal. May I ask what I should do now? I hope you won’t laugh at me, but I have graduated for several years, and my physical fitness has declined a bit.”

“Don’t rush.”

Lin Qingliu reassured her and then looked at El:

“What are your thoughts? You are the youngest among the ‘faithful,’ and you’re still not yet fifteen. Fighting extraordinary beasts is different from your previous assassination missions; you still need to be cautious.”

El nodded in agreement and then asked the question that troubled him the most:

“Excuse me, does the military have requirements for level of education?”

“…”

This unexpected question left Lin Qingliu a bit stunned, but he recalled what Yan Ming had reported and knew that education had always been an issue for military members.

However…

“There are indeed certain thresholds, so what level are you at now? Do you recognize the signs by the roadside?”

“I do.”

“What about manuals?”

“I can read.”

“How about writing?”

“I can write letters.”

“You’re accepted.”

An expression of uncontainable joy spread across El’s face. Lin Qingliu saw his reaction and thought that when they had training sessions on battlefield regulations later, this kid might end up getting a bit twisted.

With a mischievous thought in his heart, Lin Qingliu refrained from mentioning this possibility and slowly nodded at the two,

“Go home and prepare. In three days, you will start training with a group of superpowered individuals.”

As the two left, Yan Ming quickly entered the conference room.

Lin Qingliu knew many would come to report today, but seeing his meticulous partner made it hard for him to remain composed.

“How is the plan progressing?”