Chapter 158 - 157: Profiling

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Profiling

An "opportunist"; a "warlord-style," power-oriented personality.

Exhibits dominance and opportunism.

Lacks long-term strategic vision and a sense of responsibility.

Pragmatic, with cognitive limitations.

Shows a "patricidal-like" rebelliousness toward small-scale order, but is submissive to large-scale order.

Overall assessment: Lawful Evil. Limited cooperation is possible.

Non-combat personnel may be viewed as property and thus protected, but combat personnel may be seen as a threat.

A partnership based on a balance of power could, over time, lead to an attrition of combat personnel. As the disparity in numbers grows, it could lead to chaos, threatening the safety of non-combatants.

And Ye Qingzhou choosing to cooperate with him was also a gamble—betting that the few veterans by her side could hold out until they reached a safe zone, at which point they could just go their separate ways.

But now, a new variable had appeared.

Over an hour had passed. Although everyone was exhausted, faced with this unprecedented development, they all listened intently.

The only sounds in the vehicle were the exchange of questions and answers and the CLICK-CLACK of a stylus on a screen.

"Qingzhou, the preliminary results are here. Take a look. Ask if you have any questions..."

Even though it wasn’t hot, Hu Chen’s forehead was beaded with sweat.

It wasn’t until he handed the PDA to Ye Qingzhou that the people around him dared to pass him a towel, for fear of disturbing him.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingzhou quietly read the material on the screen aloud.

"’Composite Predator’ possessing an extremely high individual threat level, a high degree of autonomy, and a potentially complex social structure,"

Reading this, Ye Qingzhou frowned.

"Preliminary assessment of alignment: ’Chaotic Neutral’ or ’Lawful Neutral’..."

"Hiss..."

Several people around them gasped. Another veteran spoke up:

"Hu, I haven’t heard you give an assessment this intense for anyone in a long time, not even for Colonel Zhou... How do ’dangerous’ and ’neutral’ even go together?"

"Neutral? Those two ignore people when you talk to them. They’re so annoying!"

Ye Qingniao chimed in.

"Qingzhou, are you finished?"

Hu Chen looked at Ye Qingzhou. After receiving an affirmative reply, he took back the PDA and addressed the group.

"Let me read the rest to you all...

Possesses supreme confidence in his own strength but is extremely cautious around people, likely as a result of being betrayed in the past.

Even when holding the advantage, he chooses to observe from the shadows and refuses direct contact. His communication is extremely brief, indicating a strong awareness of counter-surveillance.

This is a man with an extreme need for control. He is accustomed to keeping all unknown factors within his controllable range and dislikes revealing himself before securing an absolute information advantage.

His "comfort zone" is far larger than the average person’s. Any contact that falls outside his expectations could be perceived as a potential threat.

Absolutely pragmatic and goal-driven.

Rescuing our personnel was not an act of pure goodwill. There may be some unknown affinity, but it was more like a low-cost "investment" and a "goodwill gambit," intended to pave the way for future contact.

His behavioral logic is not overly constrained by traditional morality or emotion; his primary principle is "maximizing returns."

His actions are backed by clear tactical or strategic intent.

Possesses immeasurable individual combat power and resource redundancy.

Cyan Bird said the two of them were extremely close to the site of the explosion, and that the woman was there to find the man.

This means the man might have been on-site when the explosion occurred—or that the explosion itself may be connected to him. Furthermore, this behavior suggests they may have a base of operations.

The two of them possess a high-mobility ability akin to "flight" and can casually produce difficult-to-obtain Mutated Zombie crystals.

The resources he possesses, especially the zombie crystals, have likely reached a "redundant" level, meaning the item now holds little personal value for him.

His power level is a generation ahead of the "Awakened Ones" we have encountered so far—think steam engine versus electric motor.

He has a clear emotional anchor; he is inseparable from the female Awakened One and displayed a clearly protective stance during communications.

Therefore, he is not a pure egoist; he has a "core circle" that he feels the need to protect.

This "emotional anchor" could be the source of his power, or it could be his one and only exploitable "weakness."

A person like this will never proactively submit to any faction; he will only seek "cooperation" or "annexation."

He said he would "visit" tomorrow. My guess is that he will conduct a comprehensive strength assessment and stress test of our group, at the lowest possible cost to himself.

When we make contact, I recommend we abandon any attempts to "recruit" or "absorb" him. He would see that as a provocation.

We can only guide him toward becoming an "ally" we can fight alongside by being transparent, cooperative, and demonstrating our value.

End of report."

After reading the last word, Hu Chen gently placed the PDA on the folding table.

"Qingzhou, it’s your decision..."

Having said his piece, he let out a sigh, as if relieved, and sagged listlessly against a nearby teammate’s shoulder.

The inside of the vehicle fell into a deep silence.

"Hu, are you saying that the gap between the young man and the girl who saved Wang, and an Awakened One like Cyan Bird... is really as wide as the one between a steam engine and an electric motor?"

Zhang Wenyuan found it hard to believe. Even though he was the one who had made direct contact, he still couldn’t reconcile the "calm, powerful predator" from the report with the man in the purple sequined trench coat—even if he had later changed into a jacket with a cartoon duck on it.

"If, and I’m just saying if..."

Ye Qingzhou asked in a low voice, rubbing her forehead,

"Between cooperating with him or cooperating with Zhao Cheng... which is the better option?"

"Cooperating with Zhao Cheng is a question of how long we can survive. And by ’we,’ I mean us old-timers, not you youngsters like Cyan Bird, heh heh..."

Hu Chen said with a self-deprecating laugh, followed by a ripple of dark chuckles throughout the vehicle.

"On the other hand, cooperating with this ’old friend’ of yours is certainly safer, but that depends on how much value we can offer him..."

"Zhao Cheng is playing a game we all know. We understand the rules; we just don’t have enough chips..."

a young man who had been sitting beside Hu Chen added,

"But with this old friend of Qingzhou’s, we don’t even know if we have any chips to bring to the table..."

"Sigh... Someone read me that report again..."

Ye Qingzhou’s voice was filled with exhaustion. She needed to re-evaluate everything.

"Okay, I’ll do it..."

The same young man took the PDA and began to read.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingniao, who was sitting on a cushion, stretched out her foot and kicked Zhang Wenyuan—the one who had just repeated the "steam engine and electric motor" part.

’Although she was indignant, she had to admit it might be true. After all, those two came and went without a trace, and then there were the cracks and craters on the rooftop...’

’She could only hate herself for her lack of imagination at the time. Why hadn’t she looked up?!’

’She could just imagine those two annoying characters from Zhang Wenyuan’s description, hanging up in the sky, watching with great interest as she made a fool of herself...’

...

Meanwhile, several kilometers away, Lin Fan was lying alone in his warm bed.

"ACHOO—!"

He sneezed for no apparent reason, rolled over, and pulled the blanket up a little higher, covering his mouth and nose.

The muffled sounds of two women playing and laughing in the next room were so gentle compared to the terrifying flames that had roared like a dragon, adding a rare sense of peace to the night.

His Life Value had never increased by so much at once. This time it had nearly-doubled, and that, combined with his immense exertion, made him feel exceptionally drowsy.

He had only been in bed for a moment before he drifted off into a deep sleep.