100 Beautiful Wishes (Part 1)

No matter how much Du Zexin denies it, as a man, being able to reach this position undoubtedly means he is a second-generation official.

His arrival surprised Doctor Anna, because these officials' relatives would not personally leave the political center of Gemini City unless it was something very important.

More importantly, he called himself a 'professor'.

She didn't mention the professor's death, but Frostplate not only already knew, but also used Du Zexin to convey her congratulations on taking office.

She secretly guessed that this was probably an attitude that Frostplate was conveying:

All we need is a Nethermark Humanity who can continue to advance research; who leads the Nethermark Humanity is not important.

Her heart tightened for a moment, then she relaxed.

She was nervous because the rulers of Frostplate had already learned that she had accidentally killed the professor. This showed that there was no secrecy within the Nethermark Humanity, and who knows who might already be the president watching her.

But there's nothing to be afraid of; companies and businesses always have to follow government orders.

On the contrary, Frostplate's attitude demonstrates their recognition of the Nethermark Humanity. They don't care about the internal power struggles within the Underworld; as long as they provide research results, Frostplate will continue to provide assistance.

"See that, teacher? This is the real world. You've been immersed in the world of science for too long; you've forgotten that people live in reality!"

Anna's thoughts were in turmoil:

"You've gone down the wrong path, Professor. Nethermark Humanity can only continue in my hands. Since we've already used so many human lives for experiments, why can't we push the boundaries a little further?"

While technology is inherently human-centered, some technologies require significant capital investment.

'I will prove it all. Without the theory of Malefic Calamity, the commercialization path of the Nethermark Humanity will be much smoother. What Frostplate needs is not humanity, but the Nethermark Humanity.'

What the professor could never achieve in his lifetime—developing the Nethermark Humanity into a large-scale organization under his leadership—will sooner or later be easily accomplished.

Du Zexin remained indifferent. After handing a list to Anna, he turned and walked into the Armored Train at the back—only at this moment did Anna realize how terrifying this Armed Machine Beast was.

Thick alloy shields tightly protect the train, each car is equipped with six Autonomous Machine Cannon, and the front of the train features a red hammer and wrench emblem, symbolizing the Subway Brotherhood's adoration of technology and industry.

This is an armored behemoth bearing many traces of the Old Era, with a menacing 480mm Train Cannon towed behind it. A single glance from it would evoke a deep-seated fear of war in the bones of an ordinary person.

Before Du Zexin could even get into the car, a man and a woman stepped out. They were wearing thick leather jackets and mechanical exoskeletons, and their cold appearance and pale skin testified to their origins from the outside world.

The man, a train driver, had a face as dark as a storm cloud. He puffed on a pipe and coldly looked at Du Zexin, saying:

"Frostplate Citizen, you have 20 minutes. The train will depart in 20 minutes. Not a second more."

"Mr. Zhou Lie Feng, didn't we agree to talk for 50 minutes?" Du Zexin frowned.

"The 50 minutes is for transporting you to a normal place, not for the Nethermark Humanity." Zhou Lie Feng sneered, "If the Brotherhood hadn't signed a cooperation agreement with you, you wouldn't even have the right to step onto this vehicle."

"In that case, we should abide by the spirit of the contract..." Du Zexin's face darkened. The other party was clearly making things difficult for them on purpose.

The amount of supplies brought by Law Enforcement Division Three was so large that 20 minutes was simply not enough to unload them. In his opinion, the Subway Brotherhood did this because they didn't want them to finish unloading the goods.

"No, no, no, you're mistaken, sir. The contract states that we brought you here, but we have the right to decide whether to bring you back intact if we encounter danger."

The female member of the Subway Brotherhood said with a smile:

"I'm telling you now: Mutated Beast will be attacking the subway tracks in a moment. For your safety, I'm giving you 20 minutes to unload the cargo. That's the limit."

"Seria is right, this is for your safety," Zhou Lie Feng said squintingly.

Du Zexin was helpless.

If it were any other organization, given Frostplate's size, they could simply be crushed—but not the Subway Brotherhood.

As the largest of the three major rogue organizations in the Outland, with the most members and an influence covering most of the Outland, their mobilization and transportation capabilities are considerable.

Frostplate is not like Red Arrow or Zhengxu; its infrastructure is only average. If it wants to quickly penetrate into the Outland, it can only rely on the transportation capabilities of the Subway Brotherhood.

This is a long-term project, Frostplate won't break ties with the Subway Brotherhood over something like this.

"I will submit the report truthfully," was all he could say.

"19 minutes," Zhou Lie Feng Liefeng said leisurely.

"You're going too far."

"18 minutes." Seria chuckled. "What did you just say?"

Du Zexin turned around and began directing people to move supplies.

Anna witnessed this scene.

'It seems this privileged son of Frostplate official isn't anything special,' Anna thought. 'He looks too young and is still a novice in interpersonal relationships; I could try to win him over.'

Under her leadership, the Nethermark Humanity is to embark on a path of commercial transformation. In that case, having some connections in the capital would allow her to be informed of any developments in a timely manner.

Having made up her mind, Anna went to Du Zexin's side, her face unconsciously revealing a smile identical to the professor's:

Is this your first time visiting the Outland?

Du Zexin ignored her.

Anna wasn't annoyed. She glanced down at the list and the tablet, and casually mentioned, "The reputation of the Nethermark Humanity isn't very good in the eyes of Outland People. They have many misunderstandings about our cause."

Du Zexin glanced at the other person, his eyes instantly conveying a sense of 'Are you serious?' If he weren't Well-Trained, he almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The Nethermark Humanity believes that Outland People have many misunderstandings about their "cause," just like capitalists complaining that they have no money and are not interested in money, which is somewhat self-deceptive.

"You can fool us, but don't fool yourself."

Du Zexin casually said, "The fact that you can exist here now is Frostplate's recognition of Mingji. Don't let the taxpayers' hard-earned money go to waste."

"Don't worry," Anna smiled. "The teacher has focused most of his energy on researching the theory of the Esha Virus, which has added a lot of burden to the Frostplate People. I can assure you and the Frostplate Republic behind you that the Nethermark Humanity will be dedicated to enhancing the Frostplate Citizen's sense of security, and the greatest sense of security comes from strength."

"I hope so," Du Zexin said calmly.

Anna's words suddenly piqued his interest.

Although Frostplate knew that the Nethermark Humanity had conducted some experiments that could not be made public, it was ultimately under the banner of Daoism. At present, the only practical applications of these experiments, apart from the military-grade Esha Armed, were psionic communications.

What else? It's not surprising that Du Zexin was curious—after all, the goods and personnel he brought, including all kinds of medicines, totaled five tons, which was no small amount and was more than enough to support a local warlord.

Anyone who has been to a research institution knows that projects and such can easily become a means for academic cliques to swindle funding and enrich themselves.

But the Nethermark Humanity is different from that of humans.

Professor Anna only asked for supplies, weapons, medicine, equipment, and manpower, without mentioning any actual money.

Even in the field of Frostplate, there aren't many research institutions as dedicated as this one.

If it were only these two secret weapons, the noble ladies of Frostplate wouldn't have been willing to pay such a high price to support a research institution.

'Is this woman hiding some kind of research project? Or is the higher-up's interest in the Nethermark Humanity motives?'

Du Zexin was a political novice, but he had indeed worked his way up from the bottom, and he easily noticed the unusual aspects of the Nethermark Humanity.

While Anna was still figuring out how to ingratiate herself with him, Du Zexin suddenly said:

"Time is a bit tight, I'd like to take a general look at the environment of the Nethermark Humanity, is that convenient?"

"Well..."

Anna glanced at the tablet; the surveillance footage showed that Li Aoz group had already reached the third basement level and were beginning to search for the entrance to the subway station.

"That woman Ze Xi is really useless," Anna clicked her tongue inwardly, while also feeling puzzled—but how come Li Aoz's Combat Power is so strong?

Just as Du Zexin spoke up, Anna's heart skipped a beat, and she deliberately asked:

"Excuse me, what is your rank?"

Du Zexin glanced at her, his gaze indifferent.

"The Combat Power within the Nethermark Humanity is weak," Anna explained. "If you suddenly unleash your power without saying a word, I'm afraid you'll frighten the nurses. It would be best to notify them in advance..."

Anna's statement is not without merit. Superhumans usually disdain to hide their strength; in fact, hiding it would only cause trouble.

Generally speaking, superhumans at the Alpha Rank (α, the first Greek letter) or higher will give advance notice before contacting ordinary people.

"I am Beta-rank [Mechanic]. (β, the second Greek letter)" Du Zexin said calmly, "Is that alright?"

I've made a slight revision; there should be another update before 3 PM.

I will be updating until midnight today.