Chapter 78 - Seventy-Eight: Obsessed with Looks

The super-strong ionosphere outside the branch building was transparent. Qing Ruyan circled the building, finding it all quiet inside. As she was at her wits’ end, preparing to report and request equipment support to forcibly breach the building, she happened to see this window. She flew over, took a look inside, and—my, oh my—three bedraggled, ugly brutes scared the living daylights out of her! Chen Gu never expected that such a difficult problem would be solved so easily! Qing Ruyan’s face was a picture as she relayed the news back to the mothership. Aviloya acted swiftly, first informing the defense force at the Energy Field and then ordering her subordinates to lead a team of professional operatives to provide reinforcement. In the communication channel, Qing Ruyan requested, "Director, those three guys are blubbering, begging you to find a way to get them out." If Chen Gu had heard that, he would have surely cried foul. Only Ji Canghai was wailing! I was trying so hard to maintain my ’battle-hardened tough guy’ image in front of the beautiful woman! The wound on my stomach hurt so much it was almost killing me, and I didn’t even make a sound! At that moment, Chen Gu suddenly remembered an issue. "Director," he asked, "have all the other Mutants in the building been cleared out by your people?" Ever since Chen Gu had killed Nagano Takesakura, he hadn’t seen a single Mutant. Not even the lower-leveled ones had appeared, let alone those of higher rank. The branch director responded, "I haven’t organized manpower to clear out the Mutants. The action team members have been arranged to stay in a relatively safe conference room—perhaps you killed so many earlier that they’re almost entirely wiped out." Chen Gu thought about it and felt that was possible. Outside the window, Qing Ruyan had written a message for Chen Gu and the others to read: "Rescue is on the way." The three sighed in relief. Qing Ruyan had turned and floated away, and Chen Gu barely stopped himself from blurting out, "Don’t leave~ Stick around a bit longer~." Several ground-attack aircraft descended from the sky and, upon landing, transformed into large Mecha. Clutching special equipment, they arrived at the main entrance of the building. It took them a full twenty minutes to create a gap in the super-strong ionosphere, just wide enough for a single person to enter. The supporting troops swiftly entered. Chen Gu and the others, watching from above, breathed a long sigh of relief. 「Good news also arrived from the mothership.」 "Director-General, we were able to control the situation in the Energy Field because we arrived in time, though thirty technicians have been mutated. Thankfully, no Mutants became operatives," reported a messenger. Aviloya too breathed a secret sigh of relief. "Although the Zhaojieze City branch made a serious mistake, they can be considered to have redeemed themselves. Afterwards, we’ll punish those who deserve punishment and reward those who deserve reward." "We must not let those who err escape justice, nor let the meritorious lose their zeal." ... Inside the branch building, with special ops as the spearhead, followed by the action team and the cleaning crew, the forces quickly spread out. From the first floor, they divided into two directions: up and down. In some corners, a few ordinary Mutants still lurked, but they were soon eliminated. After finding survivors, they were quickly evacuated. Chen Gu and his two companions were the fourth batch to be rescued. A medical robot supported Chen Gu. Various injections had already begun, and highly precise robotic arm surgery was underway under the remote direction of the medical AI. Chen Gu felt the anesthetic slowly taking effect, and he drifted off into a hazy sleep. ... 「By the next afternoon.」 When Chen Gu opened his eyes again, it was already four o’clock. The girl dressed in a JK uniform, with two long ponytails, was standing facing him. Her hands, hidden behind her back, were delicately twiddling a remote control knob to turn off the injection of the stimulant drug. It’s not my fault, really! The Director-General told me to wait for him to wake up, but this pig sleeps way too much. I just couldn’t wait any longer... Chen Gu blinked. Qing Ruyan was also looking at him. Huh, how did this guy become so good-looking? The first time we met, he and his two companions were in such a sorry state, covered in blood and their faces smeared with gunpowder. Naturally, I categorized them as "ugly men" on my beauty assessment chart. A hidden gem? A promising prospect? If this handsome man had another twist to him, that would be even more perfect! "COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" Chen Gu coughed. Why is this girl staring at me so intently? Qing Ruyan’s cheeks bore the smile she had practiced countless times in front of a mirror, one she believed to be exceedingly "charming." "I am the Director-General’s assistant, and there are some questions I still need to ask you. Don’t be afraid, I’m not what you’d call a good person..." Chen Gu was taken aback. Qing Ruyan internally wailed. Idiot! How could I just blurt out what I was thinking?! "Not a good person?" Qing Ruyan squinted. "You heard wrong. I said I’m a good person." Chen Gu didn’t really care. I must have misheard, he thought. "Sorry," he said, "how could someone say they’re not a good person? Were they kicked in the head by a donkey? HAHAHA." For some reason, Chen Gu felt his laughter was somewhat awkward. Qing Ruyan discreetly gave herself a shot of stimulant. Fool, stay alert! The questioning process was very detailed. Qing Ruyan asked many specifics because most of the surveillance equipment in the building had been destroyed, and these details were needed to verify the truthfulness of everyone’s account. Chen Gu didn’t have anything to hide and shared everything. This included his idea to restart the transmitter to send out a signal, as well as his discovery that the Mutants’ true goal wasn’t the transmitter but the Energy Field, among other things. As Qing Ruyan listened, stars began to twinkle in her eyes again. So handsome and so talented! I feel like the effect of that last shot is wearing off, and I’m about to lose control and make a fool of myself in front of this handsome guy! PSSHT! Qing Ruyan discreetly gave herself another shot. Finally, I’m a bit more lucid, Qing Ruyan thought with relief. Then, looking at the interview record, she found a detail. "What about the remains of the superhuman life form?" Chen Gu said, "It’s inside my jacket." Qing Ruyan looked around. Chen Gu’s personal belongings had been organized into a sealed bag, placed to one side. She smiled sweetly, walked over, and tore open the bag. I wonder if there’s any of the handsome guy’s underwear in here... Ptooey! Qing Ruyan, you’re here to find the important superhuman life form remains! Wake up, you fool! Don’t embarrass yourself in front of a handsome man! She rummaged through it. Her heart leaped with joy. There really is underwear! PSSHT! Another shot! Qing Ruyan reluctantly put down the intimately worn garment and continued to search, her expression changing. She brought the bag to Chen Gu. "That thing, it’s gone!" Chen Gu was also stunned. "Gone?"