After the eting, Ai Qing assigned tasks, and the others hurried away, leaving only Huai Shi, whose Source Substance was depleted, still lying on the sofa, experiencing the weakness of Empty Blue.
Then, he suddenly had a bold idea.
If they say that it doesn't matter even if the Group Star is blown up...
"Stop dreaming. We must return the vault to the Fred Family." Ai Qing glanced at the fellow who was clearly entertaining so wild ideas, and she could tell what he was contemplating just by the way he was tapping his heel. "If you move quickly now, you might still make it in ti to see the Dwarves from the Magic Gold Bank perform the ceremony. Three minutes later, they will thoroughly deep-freeze the entire vault and connect it to be part of the Magic Gold Bank. By then, the entire vault will enter a state of enforced closure. Unless a year's term deposit expires, even the Natural Enemy won't be able to open it."
"Tsk... Why so stingy?"
Huai Shi rolled his eyes and continued gasping for air as he collapsed on the sofa.
A small bottle was placed in front of him.
"What's this?"
He propped up his head, curiously scrutinizing it.
The thumb-sized bottle appeared to contain about ten grams of liquid but had no significant weight. Inside was a very thin straw; it looked like even with a firm squeeze, only a drop could be sucked out.
"This is the Source Substance allocation we received. I didn't expect those above us to be so generous," Ai Qing said. "It's Source Substance essence extracted from the Sea of Silver, absolutely free of any side effects. It can quickly restore Source Substance for anyone. For you, about two drops should be enough. Any more could lead to you being overwheld by its potency and plunge you into Source Upheaval—"
Ohhh, a gar's favorite little blue bottle!
Huai Shi's eyes lit up.
"How do I use it?"
"Oral ingestion, injection, inhalation, and direct application are all fine, but be steady with your hands. Don't spill it," Ai Qing reminded him. "Each drop is worth eight Source Crystals."
Huai Shi's hand trembled, and he nearly dropped the bottle on the table.
"Damn, that expensive?"
A standard Source Crystal weighs four ounces, about the size of a fingertip, with a standard exchange price of more than two million US dollars. Eight would be sixteen million... How much exactly is in this little bottle...
Realizing he was holding over a hundred million US dollars, he nervously started to tremble.
Finally, Ai Qing couldn't stand it anymore. She snatched it away and deftly used the straw to place two drops on Huai Shi's face.
Instantly, Huai Shi felt a warm current spreading from within, as if he were soaking in warm water. Feeling his depleted Source Substance rapidly replenishing, the pleasant sensation made his face flush and his heart race.
Just as he was about to ask for more, he saw a gun muzzle pointed directly at his face.
Dark and cold.
He quickly cald down and shut his mouth.
Soon enough, the gun was retracted into her pocket, taking with it the Source Substance allocation that Huai Shi eyed so covetously.
"Director, don't be hasty."
Huai Shi blinked, his eyes full of reluctance. "I didn't even taste it. Could I have a bit more?"
"Say one more word, and I'll pour the whole bottle down your throat."
Ai Qing glared at him. It seed she had anticipated his shaless behavior. She took out another small, flat plastic tube and tossed it into Huai Shi's lap.
An ergency supply, well-prepared and sealed, ticulously crafted.
The front end of the flat plastic tube could be unscrewed, allowing the Source Substance allocation within to be squeezed out directly.
Unfortunately, the quantity was not substantial—probably only about two drops as well.
But that was enough.
Elated, Huai Shi pocketed the item and forced a foolishly earnest smile, as if to say, The Director is really good to .
"Alright, stop being disgusting," Ai Qing said, shaking her head. "Any questions before I start working?"
"Huh?" Huai Shi was puzzled.
"Do you really have no self-awareness?" Ai Qing sighed. "You've been giving that 'I have a question, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask' look for half an hour now."
"…Alright then."
Huai Shi shrugged helplessly. She knew him too well; there was nothing he could hide from her.
"Is it about the Group Star?"
"More precisely, about the mission," Huai Shi hesitated before asking bluntly, "Why not organize an ergency evacuation?"
While securing outside help to deal with the Night of Leisure was good, he didn't understand. Usually, for events involving 120,000 people, shouldn't evacuation be the priority? Why go to such great lengths to preserve the Group Star? A train is just a train. Even the most luxurious and expensive one shouldn't be an issue for the Astronomical Society. Just as Ai Qing said, if it blows up, it blows up. The Astronomical Society is vast and powerful; it would just be a matter of compensation. Wouldn't it be easier to deal with the Night of Leisure if there were no one else around?
Ai Qing couldn't help but shake her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose in vexation. "I should have guessed. You really haven't looked at the dossier and materials at all. What kind of Inspector are you?"
"I eat, drink water, and play gas every day. At night, I have a cup of hot milk, do so stretches, and then go to bed. Uncle Fang even says I'm very healthy. What's the issue?"
"…"
Ai Qing suddenly felt the urge to eliminate this bastard on behalf of the Astronomical Society.
She slowly shook her head. "You would definitely have a lot in common with Chai Fei."
"You know about that too?" Huai Shi was taken aback.
"…"
Perhaps it would be best to just eliminate this embarrassing fellow after all!
"I guess I'll have to explain it all over again," Ai Qing sighed deeply, once again coming to terms with his slacker nature. "In the Night of Leisure, apart from a few high-ranking Sacrifices, most people probably don't even know they are mbers of the Night of Leisure."
"What do you an?"
"Exactly what I said." She continued, "For many people, it might start with just a nightmare. They dream about sothing, then forget about it the next day and move on with their lives as normal. After a year or so, they'll have another nightmare, wake up, and then it happens a third ti, a fourth ti... Eventually, these drears will start to wonder if they are living in a dream or in reality.
"At this stage, the nightmares get longer, and the intervals between them get shorter. The mories from the dreams beco more profound, gradually consuming the original personality. This continues until the final stage, when the original mories and character are worn away in the long nightmares, leaving behind nothing but a walking corpse worshiping the Rotting Dream. This is the state most mbers of the Night of Leisure are in. And the Sacrifices of the Night of Leisure can even freely manipulate this progression. In most cases, these Sacrifices keep the 'Night of Leisure' part of the person separate from their normal part, as if there are two different consciousnesses in one body. Once the condition becos critical, by releasing the final restraint, the Sacrifices can imdiately complete the replacent of will, turning an ordinary person into a fervent Rotten Dream Believer."
As she spoke, Ai Qing flipped through the materials in her hand and showed them to Huai Shi. "Currently, surveillance of the Group Star shows more than seven thousand Sublimators and over one hundred thousand ordinary people from various Borders... Apart from those few Sacrifices within the managent who have been marked as suspects, we still don't know how many are infected or how many have already been replaced by the Rotten Dream and beco soone else. If we evacuate rashly, so will definitely slip through unnoticed. It might even alarm the Rotten Dream Queen, causing the Jurisdiction Bureau's subsequent operations to be in vain."
"So, we cannot retreat." Ai Qing continued, "Not only can we not retreat, but we must also maintain the train's current operational status. The mont we are ready to act, we must purge them thoroughly, or they will cause endless trouble."
Huai Shi was rendered speechless.
Screening the Rotten Dream Believers from the ordinary people on a train full of passengers, even with intelligence support from the Astronomical Society, would be no easy task. Especially while maintaining the current semblance of calm and not letting the Night of Leisure's Sacrifices detect any abnormality before the real action begins... Just thinking about it made his head feel like it was going to explode.
"Don't worry about other people's problems. You just need to complete your own mission." Ai Qing stood up and glanced at the ti. "Any other questions?"
Huai Shi shook his head.
"Then rest well." Ai Qing opened the door and added as a final instruction, "We might be busy tonight, with no ti for rest."
Seeing she was about to leave, Huai Shi instinctively called out, "Be careful."
"…"
Ai Qing's footsteps faltered slightly. She paused for a mont, then looked back at him, seemingly surprised. Soon, she nodded. "I will."
The door closed.
Since there was still so ti before the mission began, Huai Shi didn't intend to waste it.
After a brief half-hour nap, he took off the formal attire the caretaker had given him, folded it neatly, and packed it into a bag. He changed back into his own clothes, and after tidying and checking his belongings once more, he pushed open his bedroom door.
In the corridor outside, an old man holding a duster was cleaning. He turned his head and asked, "Are you leaving now, sir?"
"Yes."
Huai Shi nodded. He handed back the formal attire with both hands and then offered a piece of paper. "This is my number, in case you need it in the future…"
"There's no need." The elderly caretaker shook his head, declining. "Fate is always so wonderful, isn't it? Let's look forward to our next eting."
"I still insist you take it." Huai Shi said, "The Astronomical Society is the Astronomical Society, and we are us. Otherwise, I might need to find another way to compensate you for your loss."
The old man's eyebrows rose slightly. Soon, he took the piece of paper from Huai Shi's hands. "I will treasure it."
He stepped back and bowed in farewell.
"I wish you a triumphant success."
"Thank you."
Huai Shi smiled.
He watched as the old man and the other fixtures in the concert hall dissolved into Phantoms and disappeared.
He took one last look at the now-desolate room and stepped out the door.
In the corridor outside, twelve figures who had been waiting for a long ti all looked up simultaneously.
They were clad in high-tech black armor, with a light and agile exoskeleton covering their arms and bodies. Even their faces were concealed by sealed helts with sharp, angular designs.
Like walking statues of steel.
"Casting Iron Army, Brass Squad, reporting."
The leader of the group approached Huai Shi and saluted, his tone calm and composed. "Major Huai Shi, by order, we are to assist you as operatives in completing the upcoming mission."
"How should I address you?"
"Grid 1-1 through Grid 1-12."
"Codena?"
Huai Shi understood. "Besides that, is there any ssage for ?"
"Negative."
Grid 1-1 handed over a box. "The commander said you have full discretion."
In the box was a heavy pistol, its design completely different from any Huai Shi had seen before. When he ejected the magazine, he could see Source Crystals embedded in the bullets using Alchemy, ensuring they could be used even in the Abyss.
Huai Shi hefted it, noting its weight, then nodded slightly. He disengaged the safety and casually slid the pistol into the holster on his saddlebag.
"Then let's go."
He drew the Sword of Virtue and turned towards the exit.
"The mission begins now."
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