Chapter 80 Return Trip

"The sub-bureau suffered heavy losses: four hundred and eighty-seven ordinary staff members were killed in action. The number of those who mutated can no longer be accurately counted, estimated to have exceeded three hundred." "Thirteen special agents were killed in action. Originally, there were four special agent teams in the sub-bureau, totaling twenty professionals. Now, only seven remain. Moreover, two of them are seriously injured and unlikely to fully recover, rendering them unsuitable for frontline combat in the future." "A Delta Level (4th level) Mutant used its ability to turn its body into energy. It infiltrated the city’s Energy Field through an energy transmission channel, killed four guards, and contaminated thirty technicians. This has made the Energy Field extremely dissatisfied with our Bureau of Mystic Security, and they have been continuously lodging protests for the past few days." The team leader spoke painfully, "The Director bears an inescapable responsibility this time and will have to shoulder the primary blame!" Chen Gu remembered how everyone had fought together, besieging the ghost woman Mutant. The Sub-Bureau Chief was not a coward and had sufficient strength, but judging from his combat style, his thinking was somewhat old-fashioned. Regarding the Sub-Bureau Chief and Nagano Takesakura, Chen Gu’s feelings were the same: he felt a certain degree of sympathy for them, but he didn’t consider them innocent. Those who made mistakes had to take responsibility. Was Nagano Takesakura to be pitied? Thinking about it, she truly was pitiful, but how many killings had she caused? Was the Sub-Bureau Chief to be pitied? Mutants were cunning and unpredictable. He wasn’t directly to blame, but as the Chief, he had enjoyed the privileges of the position and naturally had to bear the corresponding responsibility. Because of his oversight, the entire Zhaojieze City sub-bureau was nearly wiped out. "The contaminated area is too large. The Director-General brought people, but they weren’t enough, and we had to request military assistance." The team leader said with some resentment, "These past few days, those soldiers have been strutting around in front of us." He seemed to feel that constantly speaking of such depressing matters was inappropriate, so he changed his expression to a smile and clapped Chen Gu forcefully on the shoulder. "You’re impressive, kid! ’Radiation Missionary,’ tsk tsk. I heard from the cleanup team that in your battle with Nagano Takesakura, you blew the Mutant to smithereens. The radiation damage was extremely severe; when they went in, the Mutant’s tissues had already melted." Chen Gu smiled modestly, then sighed with lingering fear. "This time... it was truly a narrow escape from death." ... Chen Gu wanted to visit the Sub-Bureau Chief but was refused. He was informed that the Sub-Bureau Chief was being held in strict detention, and no one was allowed to visit. Regretful, Chen Gu left. Without using up his three days of leave, he applied to return to Empire River Star the next day. Qing Ruyan processed his application and said, "Leaving in such a hurry...?" Chen Gu was somewhat bemused. What does she mean? I’m not here visiting relatives. Why is she being so polite? What’s going on? Qing Ruyan cursed inwardly, Idiot, stop being so infatuated! You’re embarrassing yourself! She squeezed out a smile. "Alright, I’ll arrange that for you right away. Hmm, let me check... Civilian flights have all been restricted recently, but I can use my authority to help you board a military transport ship to leave Yinglong Star." After finishing, Qing Ruyan regretted it. Idiot, why are you being so eager to please? If there’s no civilian transport, just let him stay a few more days. Such a handsome guy; even if I can’t have him, it’s nice just to have him around to look at. Chen Gu flashed a bright smile. "Thank you, sister," he said. Tsk! He really has a silver tongue. Qing Ruyan silently gave herself another dose of stimulant; otherwise, she really couldn’t have endured it. Qing Ruyan arranged a "special commute" for Chen Gu, allowing him to depart Yinglong Star on a transport ship at three-thirty in the afternoon. Chen Gu first went to the military camp. He had company when he arrived, but he left alone. The military port was primarily a cargo port, with numerous transport ships docked. A lieutenant received him; this man was all business. He ushered Chen Gu into a cabin, ordered him not to wander around, and then left. It wasn’t until ten o’clock at night that Chen Gu returned to his apartment on Empire River Star. There wasn’t much luggage to deal with. Although this trip to Yinglong Star had yielded great rewards—he had finally become a professional and would obviously soon be credited with a large amount of merit points—Chen Gu wasn’t the least bit happy. Having lived two lifetimes, this was the first time Chen Gu had experienced such a devastating toll of death and injury. During the fight, the primal fear of death had spurred him on. Now that it was over, he was slowly processing everything and inevitably felt a sense of unease. Forcing himself to eat dinner, Chen Gu sat despondently for a while, then decided to take a hot shower. He fussed about until midnight before remembering something that required his immediate attention. Chen Gu logged into "Infinite." Sure enough, Zhao Zhenhuai had sent many messages. Chen Gu opened them. During this cycle, the researchers at the institute had been diligently and honestly conducting their research. The compiled results were quite substantial, and the problems they raised were indeed difficult. Drawing on Griffin Wester’s memories, Chen Gu still took some time to fully answer them. The trip had taken four days. Without a response from Chen Gu, Zhao Zhenhuai had felt a vague sense of excitement. It would be best if that guy disappeared completely! He hadn’t expected to be woken up by the game’s notification tone just as he had fallen asleep this evening. Almost everyone would block game notifications, since a game was, after all, just a game. But Zhao Zhenhuai couldn’t. His work was maintained in-game. He got up grumpily to look. That old codger actually replied! How are you still alive?! He was tempted to be lazy, pretend he hadn’t seen it, and deal with it tomorrow. But his account was now practically a public one; Bai Xianya had his password, and so did several senior experts at the institute. Moreover, earlier today, the senior experts had already asked several times, "Has the director responded yet?" If he dealt with these problems tomorrow, those old experts would see the timestamp of the director’s messages in the account and would surely give him an earful, pulling rank. Gritting his teeth, Zhao Zhenhuai made himself a cup of coffee to perk up, then began to categorize and summarize the director’s responses to these problems. These problems weren’t too difficult for Chen Gu, but for Zhao Zhenhuai, almost every one was an ultimate challenge! It took him three full hours to complete the work, and he collapsed, exhausted, into his chair. He tilted his head back, looking at the cold, empty apartment. Thinking of his wife and children still in Wuzhaoyin City, a wave of sorrow suddenly washed over him. I’m past forty, yet I still have to live alone, working away from home in the capital, burning the midnight oil on paperwork... This is truly a miserable life; I could almost cry these old tears! "What exactly did I do wrong—" Zhao Zhenhuai let out a soul-deep howl.