Chapter 46 - 43: Side Quest

Chapter 46: Chapter 43: Side Quest

When Yin Zhen stepped out of the Saint Group building, White Phosphorus was already waiting at the entrance with the car running.

It was an obnoxiously eye-catching yellow supercar — a modified flying vehicle — its paint job gleaming under the neon lights with a blinding, almost aggressive sheen, like a lemon about to explode. The thing was so flashy it gave Yin Zhen a headache.

Lucia was arrogant and over-the-top, qualities that ran completely counter to Yin Zhen’s own nature. That was the hardest part of playing the role.

"Captain! Let me take you home first — everyone’s waiting for you there. We’re throwing you a party!"

White Phosphorus pulled the car door open with an eager grin. The captain looked completely different now, sure, but the vibe was still unmistakably the same.

That look — the one that regarded every living person like a piece of garbage — put White Phosphorus at ease. She’d fully come to terms with who the captain was now.

Yin Zhen climbed in, expression darkening. "West Coast. Now."

"Huh? That urgent?" White Phosphorus’s eyes slid away evasively.

Yin Zhen shot her a sidelong glance.

White Phosphorus shivered and came clean. "Miss Adeline has been personally overseeing operations at the West Coast these past few days. If you show up right now..."

She left the rest unsaid, but the implication was obvious. Lucia and Adeline couldn’t stand each other — every time they’d met over the past six months it had turned into a fight, and Lucia almost never came out on top.

Now Adeline was the Inspector General appointed by the Council on top of that. Even the captain had to answer to her. How humiliating was that.

"West Coast."

White Phosphorus gulped and hurriedly started the flying car, firing off messages to Lighthouse and Tuner along the way: Get here fast. Bring your gear.

*

The West Coast at night was the same as it ever was.

Cannon fire raged without pause along the shoreline, the thunderous boom of kinetic energy cannons and the strobing flash of explosions trading off in a relentless rhythm.

The β-type Biomass Aggregation had retreated slightly from where it had been seven days ago, but there was still no sign of it returning to the deep sea. It drifted in the water like a wounded leviathan, heaving and writhing in slow, grotesque undulations.

Yin Zhen arrived at the command post with White Phosphorus in tow. They hadn’t even reached the door when they heard Adeline slam her hand on a table.

"...Since when did I tell you to take your sweet time? Blood City’s cruise ships are still stranded at sea, unable to dock — and with efficiency like yours, how am I supposed to answer to Blood City’s nobility and the Council? Get me a heavy Mecha. Outfit it with a Laser Cannon. I don’t care what any of you say — I’m going in myself today!"

Yin Zhen let out a dry, amused scoff. Now that she knew Adeline was Bai Qiang, everything Adeline had done last round made perfect sense.

A Council candidate in reserve — if Bai Qiang actually made it to the end and secured a seat on the Council, she would become Yin Zhen’s top assassination target. And that went double for the other Players.

Lucia’s whereabouts back then had almost certainly been leaked to Naming is Too Troublesome by Adeline.

The public Event Card this round was "Slaughter." Massacring the Blood Clan en masse wasn’t realistic, which made the Mutants along the shoreline and the Fallen Species at the city’s edge the obvious targets. Of course Adeline would throw herself into the fight.

Those Mutants happened to be Yin Zhen’s objective too. If she could take down that β-type Biomass Aggregation — the thing was as massive as an offshore drilling platform — she’d likely walk away with the top score outright.

Inside the command room, Adeline finished her tirade and spun around — and locked eyes with Yin Zhen.

Her gaze dropped to the Night Song holstered at Yin Zhen’s hip, and a smile spread across her face. "Still carrying my gun. What, are you here to be my bodyguard again, Miss Lucia?"

White Phosphorus audibly gulped beside them, sneaking an anxious look at Yin Zhen.

But Yin Zhen didn’t explode. Instead, she drew the Night Song from her hip, racked the slide with a sharp click, and leveled the muzzle at Adeline.

"Captain!" White Phosphorus had already started trembling.

Adeline crossed her arms, tilting her head with an air of total composure.

Yin Zhen said, slowly and deliberately, "Miss Adeline, fighting Mutants is a very dangerous business. If you’re unlucky enough to get wounded and mutate, I plan to use your own gun to send you straight back into Moon City Lilith’s arms. How does that sound?"

The words had barely left Yin Zhen’s mouth — before Adeline could respond — a system notification chimed through her mind.

[Silver Event Card Triggered: Guardian Night City]

[Event Objective: Cooperate with your enemy to eliminate the β-type Biomass Aggregation on the West Coast and fight to defend Night City!]

[Event Rewards: attribute points ×10, 5,000 words, Skill Upgrade Book ×1]

[Special Explanation: A secret is hidden inside the β-type Biomass Aggregation. Do you want to know what it is?]

Adeline’s brow furrowed. For the sake of appearances, she covered it with a disdainful roll of her eyes.

Yin Zhen turned her head to the side and spat. "Bad omen."

White Phosphorus shrank behind Yin Zhen, not daring to breathe.

Yin Zhen walked over to the command table to get a briefing on the battle situation, her mind already running at full speed.

A Silver Event Card meant that when the β-type Biomass Aggregation was finally destroyed, someone important would show up. Could be a Player, could be one of the Red Corpse World’s major supporting characters — either was possible.