Chapter 180 - 179: Clones, Clones, Clones

Chapter 180: Chapter 179: Clones, Clones, Clones

When Pei Xianjue received Feng Ling’s call, her first reaction was to be both surprised and flattered!

Because Feng Ling had actually called her "Little Yu"!

Friendships between girls often start with affectionate nicknames. She had told Feng Ling her nickname long ago, but Feng Ling still called her "Deputy Pei" most of the time, a fact that had always bothered Pei Xianjue.

But unexpectedly, today—right now, at this very moment—Feng Ling had called her "Little Yu."

"What’s up, Xiao Ling?" Pei Xianjue asked, carefully controlling her tone to sound gentle and sweet.

On the other end of the line, Feng Ling cringed at her tone and silently rubbed the goosebumps on her arm.

"Can I borrow Baozi for a bit?" Feng Ling said. "I’ve captured a Pollution Body over here and need to get some clues out of him, but his emotions are very unstable. I need Baozi’s help."

"Of course!" said Pei Xianjue. "Just tell me when you need him, and I’ll have Baozi head over."

Feng Ling did a quick mental calculation. "I’ll be back in Qingjiang City in about ten hours. Have Baozi go to the Qingjiang Financial Center Building in ten hours. We’ll meet there."

On the other end of the line, Pei Xianjue was stunned. She hadn’t expected Feng Ling to need him so urgently.

"You’re coming back to Qingjiang City today? Is the cleanup operation over?" Pei Xianjue couldn’t help but ask. "I haven’t received any notification that it’s finished."

"There are still some odds and ends left in the Maze over there, but it’s nothing major, so I came back early," Feng Ling replied.

Pei Xianjue grew anxious for her. "They award Contribution Points after the cleanup operation ends! If you come back early, you’ll get far fewer Contribution Points than the other Hunters!"

Feng Ling didn’t care about fame and fortune as much as Pei Xianjue did. In her view, nothing was more thrilling than wrecking Alien Species.

"Aren’t Contribution Points just for exchanging for money and weapons? As long as I have enough, it’s fine," Feng Ling said nonchalantly.

Then she added with emphasis, "When you send Baozi over, have him pack a bag. He’ll probably need to stay in Qingjiang City for a few days."

"Understood..." Pei Xianjue sighed faintly. "I’ll arrange it."

"Thanks, Little Yu~"

Feng Ling thanked her and hung up the phone.

She looked up at Ye Zheng, who was in a corner of the train car. He wasn’t having a breakdown at the moment, just staring blankly out the window, his expression wooden. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

Feng Ling didn’t plan to offer any words of comfort. She believed that what Ye Zheng needed most right now was time.

Time would soothe everything and help Ye Zheng come to terms with the reality that he had become a Pollution Body.

The train sped along the tracks, and the distant fields looked exceptionally beautiful under the sunlight.

’Nature seems to have a natural power to heal the heart,’ Feng Ling thought. ’Maybe I should put some more green plants in my place. It might help a little.’

The train still had a long way to go before reaching the station. Since she had to keep an eye on Ye Zheng, she couldn’t sleep or rest. So, she picked up her phone again and started shopping for plants online.

Li Qing walked over to her and said in a low voice, "I’ve finished checking all the coordinates of the administrators who went offline abnormally."

Feng Ling’s movements paused for a fraction of a second before she resumed her shopping. "Are there any within the country?" she asked.

Li Qing replied, "There are currently two Mazes in the country where pollution is spreading. Besides Daling Forest, there’s one other Maze."

Feng Ling added a few plants she liked to her shopping cart and said, "Send me the coordinates."

Li Qing opened a map of the country on his phone, marked the location, and sent a screenshot to Feng Ling.

"Should we notify the Inspection Bureau?" Li Qing mused. "...But since your research institute was able to discover the pollution source in Daling Forest, it means they’ve already mastered Maze detection technology. They’ll probably find the new pollution source themselves in a few days."

"I’ll think about it after I get back," Feng Ling said as she switched apps to look at the map Li Qing had sent. "I have a feeling there’s a mole for the Alien Species inside the Inspection Bureau or the research institute. Otherwise, pulling off that Squirrel sneak attack wouldn’t have been so easy."

"They were definitely targeting Ye Zheng. The Undead Spider and Black Goat Cards, in particular, are both of the Dark Death Attribute; the targeting was too specific. Additionally, the Imperial Moth is highly toxic and clashes with Blazing Angel and Heavenly Horse. Hyena is better suited for an assassin type and clashes with Knight." Li Qing paused, then continued, "However, the Heavenly Horse, Hyena, and Imperial Moth Cards all provide a speed bonus, so Ye Zheng will be very fast."

Feng Ling looked up at him, feeling a slight sting from his words.

Li Qing didn’t understand. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing." Feng Ling looked back down, closed the map, and went back to her plant shopping. "Help me think. Is there any Card that can distinguish between humans and Alien Species? I want to find this mole."

"The Eye of All-Knowing," Li Qing said immediately. "The ability of the Eye of All-Knowing Card includes some administrator privileges. It can view a person’s information panel."

Hearing this, Feng Ling smiled and looked up at him. "Then we don’t have to go through all the trouble of searching. I can just take you for a tour of the Supervision Bureau and the research institute, can’t I?"

Li Qing said seriously, "That is indeed one way to do it, but it would also expose my identity to the other players. If I become a public target, your situation will also become very dangerous. We still don’t know the scale or member structure of the Star Association. It’s best not to reveal our trump card so easily."

Li Qing considered himself to be Feng Ling’s trump card.

"So much trouble..." Feng Ling put her phone away, annoyed, and gazed out the window at the vast green landscape and the sky.

She hated this feeling of having her hands tied.

’I have to get stronger.’

’Keep getting stronger.’

’Power is control. When I’m strong enough to decide the fate of the Alien Species with ease, I won’t have to be so cautious anymore.’

Feng Ling glanced at Ye Zheng out of the corner of her eye. ’No matter what, being able to rescue him this time is a good start.’

At that thought, her mood brightened slightly.

...

The Hunter Special Train had only two stops: first Yanjing City in the north, then Yunhai City in the south.

Feng Ling got off the train in Yunhai City. Just as she was about to rent a car to go back to Qingjiang, she saw Su Yuqing waiting on the platform with a serious expression.

It was the white-haired version of Su Yuqing.

Feng Ling froze when she saw him, her mind in a knot. ’How did Su Yuqing get back even earlier than me?’

Then it hit her— ’Oh, this is a clone.’

"So he can do that..." Feng Ling muttered, walking up to him and greeting him with a bit of dry humor. "Captain Su’s clones are everywhere, huh?"

Su Yuqing remained expressionless. His gaze swept over Huangfu Miaomiao, Li Qing, Ye Zheng, and the two Pets standing behind Feng Ling.

"Follow me. I’ve arranged a private car to take you back to Qingjiang City." His gaze didn’t linger on Ye Zheng for even a moment. After speaking, he turned and headed for the platform exit.

Feng Ling followed him happily, not holding back her praise. "Thank you, Captain Su. You’re as thoughtful as ever."

Su Yuqing walked on without a word, leading her to the underground parking garage where an enclosed van was parked not far away.

Su Yuqing turned to face Feng Ling. "I’ll be waiting for you at the Qingjiang Financial Center Building. We’ll talk about the Pollution Body then."

This time, Feng Ling understood immediately. Su Yuqing had another clone in Qingjiang City.

Feng Ling grumbled to herself, ’He really doesn’t miss a beat, does he...’