Chapter 251: The Leader

Finally, Zhao Yi stopped in front of Chu Muyun's medical clinic.

Seeing this, a flash of realization appeared in Chen Ling's eyes. He guessed that Zhao Yi was there to see a doctor. But logically speaking, he had been in Aurora City for a while now; why was he only coming now?

Zhao Yi hesitated at the entrance for a moment before stepping inside to find Chu Muyun.

Chen Ling did not follow. Instead, he stood quietly in a nearby alleyway. The last time he killed Old Man Ding, he had run straight into Zhao Yi. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to cross paths with him, or things would get very troublesome.

He waited at the entrance for about twenty minutes. Zhao Yi walked out of the clinic with a dazed expression, stood at the door for a long time, and only after regaining his senses did he start walking toward home.

Seeing this, Chen Ling frowned slightly. Once Zhao Yi was far away, he entered the clinic.

"Why are you here?"

Chu Muyun, who was in the middle of a consultation, looked up and asked in surprise.

"I saw an acquaintance on the road, so I stopped by to take a look."

"That young man just now was your friend, right?" Chu Muyun closed the patient file in his hand and spoke slowly. "Logically speaking, unless they are a dignitary of Aurora City or a high-ranking Enforcer with intelligence value, ordinary people need to make an appointment in advance to see a doctor... However, he mentioned your name, so I let him in directly."

"How is his condition?"

"..." Chu Muyun looked at Chen Ling quietly. "Do you want me to be tactful, or direct?"

"...Be direct."

"He's dying."

As soon as those two words were spoken, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Chen Ling's brow furrowed tightly.

Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses. "High-level disasters from the Forbidden Sea inherently possess extremely strong corrosive and toxic properties, and his wounds have penetrated straight to the bone... The moment he was injured, he was destined not to survive."

"I should say, the fact that he can still walk around as if nothing is wrong while carrying such injuries shows an astonishing willpower, but even so, his body has already reached its limit."

"Aren't you a practitioner of the Medical God Path? Even you can't cure him?" Chen Ling countered.

"I do walk the Medical God Path, but that doesn't mean I'm omnipotent... For instance, I can't do anything about your delusional madness." Chu Muyun shrugged. "Humans are far more fragile than you imagine. Not everyone is as hard to kill as you and Xiao Jian."

Chen Ling fell silent.

Chu Muyun was the only expert of the Medical God Path Chen Ling knew, capable of pulling Jian Changsheng back from the brink of death even when he was reduced to a pulp of flesh, yet he was helpless against Zhao Yi's condition... This meant that in the current Aurora City, almost no one could save Zhao Yi.

"I prescribed him some medicine. Although it won't heal his injuries, at least it will reduce the pain in his final days." Chu Muyun gave Chen Ling a deep look.

"If he is a friend you care about, you might want to go say goodbye while you still have these few days..."

Chen Ling slowly closed his eyes. "Goodbye won't be necessary... After all, in his eyes, I am already a dead man."

Chen Ling was powerless regarding Zhao Yi's situation. Since Zhao Yi had reached this point, Chen Ling had no other choice but to provide some secret help to Ling'er and the others.

Chu Muyun nodded slightly, checked the time on the wall, and packed up the items on his desk.

"Let's go. We need to head back early today."

"Why?"

"The Gray King has sent word." Chu Muyun's expression grew serious. "You and Jian Changsheng have an important mission..."

……

Aurora Base.

Tan Xin walked through the dim corridor, his expression weary and haggard, as if he hadn't closed his eyes for several nights... He passed through four identity verification checkpoints in succession before finally entering a sealed underground space.

It was only about a hundred square meters, with a few gray load-bearing pillars cast into the structure. The floor and walls were almost entirely devoid of decoration. If one ignored the single incandescent light bulb hanging from the center, it was no different from an industrial shell of a room...

Of course, that was only on the surface.

Tan Xin knew very well that each of the four doors he had just passed through was forged from a special alloy, thick enough to withstand a direct nuclear blast. Combined with the fact that it was located hundreds of meters underground, the overall structure was incredibly sturdy; even if another nuclear war broke out on the surface, this place would remain unscathed.

Here, there was not a shred of useless aesthetic; everything in sight was pure utility and minimalism.

And at this moment, in this impregnable underground room, a man dressed in plain clothes was holding a ping-pong paddle, hitting a ball against the wall by himself...

The orange ping-pong ball bounced back and forth under the incandescent light. It hadn't even bounced three times before the paddle in the man's hand failed to keep up, and the ball rolled to Tan Xin's feet with a series of tapping sounds.

Tan Xin bent down to pick up the ball, and a bitter laugh came from ahead.

"I truly have no talent for sports... I've been practicing here for twenty years, and I haven't made any progress at all."

"Your attention is entirely on the fate and continuation of humanity; of course, you wouldn't care about such details." Tan Xin smiled slightly. "Is there something you needed me for, Leader?"

The Leader walked up to Tan Xin and slowly took the ping-pong ball back from his hand.

"As the Deputy Chief of this generation's Enforcer system, there are some things I would like to hear your opinion on."

"But I am, after all, only the Deputy Chief... If you have important matters, why not consult [Red Sleeve]?"

"Her?" The Leader chuckled. "She wouldn't bother with these things. Who doesn't know by now that you, Tan Xin, are the only one who truly calls the shots in the Enforcer system?"

"I wouldn't dare."

The Leader glanced at him and slowly turned around, holding the ping-pong ball. "I heard you've been running around the base these past few days, checking on the status of the Aurora Sovereign and the base's security vulnerabilities... Any findings?"

Tan Xin spoke after careful consideration. "The status of the Aurora Sovereign is not very stable... However, I don't understand science, and I can't analyze the data clearly. But from my professional perspective, there are indeed significant security risks in the base, especially with the recent infiltration of Twilight Society thugs into Aurora City. I believe it is necessary to upgrade security."

"You represent the Enforcers; handle the security matters as you see fit. I want to ask you about something else." The Leader paused for a moment.

"In your eyes, which is more important: Aurora City or the Aurora Sovereign?"

As soon as this question was asked, Tan Xin's eyes contracted slightly. After a long while, he spoke: "Leader, I don't understand what you mean."

"There isn't much time left for the Aurora Sovereign. There are some decisions we must make as soon as possible."

"If, and I mean if..."

"If we were to recreate the scene of the Aurora Sovereign's birth, would you support it, or oppose it?"

Tan Xin's expression froze instantly!