Chapter 289

"Okay, I'll pass on the message."

After hanging up the phone, Chen restarted the engine. He crossed the intersection and headed towards the Core City.

Amiya had just overheard the phone conversation and, somewhat curious, peeked out to politely inquire:

"I didn't expect you to know Mister Zhongli too."

Chen didn't answer directly; she keenly caught the word 'also' and asked in return:

"What, you two know each other?"

"Yes, Rhodes Island has collaborated with Mister Zhongli many times. The most recent collaboration was from March to June last year."

At the time, we signed a three-month lease agreement with Penguin Logistics and hired Mister Zhongli and several Messenger as bodyguards for Rhodes Island. Although he was assigned as Medical Operator, he was a great help to us.

Upon hearing Amiya praise Shi Lei, Chen's originally stern expression softened considerably.

His friends are his friends.

Chen smiled and turned down the volume of the car music to make it easier for the two to talk.

"I knew he was away on a business trip during that time, but I didn't expect it was a collaboration with Rhodes Island. It takes about half an hour to drive to the Core City now, excluding traffic. I'm quite interested in what Mister Zhongli was doing during that period. Could you tell me about it?"

More than half of the Lungmen Guard Department members are now fans of Shi Lei. The Special Inspectorate, where Chen works, is the hardest hit, with almost all of its members being fans.

Many of these people, under Inspector Officer Chen's leadership, participated in several operations alongside Shi Lei. No matter how dangerous the missions were, they all survived.

Fans in this era aren't as fanatical as those on Earth. Besides, Shi Lei isn't a celebrity and usually keeps a very low profile. Even if police officers knew his address, they wouldn't bother him. Joining forums, support groups, or fan chat groups is the best way to show support.

The information Amiya searched online a few years ago was compiled by a Zhongli fan.

Anyway, it takes about half an hour to drive from the border checkpoint to the Core City. Compared to listening to music in silence, Chen found talking about Zhongli's legendary stories much more interesting.

"Sure."

Amiya recounted the three months of collaboration from last year with great familiarity. This included the 'Yarbing Incident,' which was later speculated to be Zhongli's doing. She also mentioned the destruction of multiple biological laboratories, helping Rhodes Island establish cooperation with Rhine Lab, and secretly stopping an avalanche, among other feats.

Chen nodded repeatedly, feeling that she could share these legendary stories in the chat group. One of the members of the Special Inspectorate was the group's administrator.

To be honest, she is a die-hard fan of Shi Lei.

If it weren't for this man, Chen wouldn't have transformed into who she is today.

Regardless of how much Shi Lei had helped the Lungmen Guard Department, the fact that he facilitated the redevelopment of the Lower City alone was a feat that even ten Chen couldn't accomplish.

She regards Shi Lei as her idol, a patient and encouraging teacher, and a role model worthy of emulation.

Chen didn't simply listen passively; she would seize any opportunity to introduce Shi Lei's past achievements. As for what to say and what not to say, she was very discerning.

"Speaking of which, Mister Zhongli deserves a lot of credit for the changes that have taken place in the Lower City today. Without him, the branch office might not have been able to get started for a long time."

"Mister Zhongli has done so much for the people of Lungmen, he is truly amazing. When he went to Columbia, he also helped many infected people escape their suffering."

Amiya also held Shi Lei in the highest esteem. This respect deepened especially after she discovered that he had secretly saved the lives of many Rhodes Island operator.

The two fans chatted animatedly and happily, completely unaware of the Doctor sitting quietly in the corner of the back row, listening intently.

He didn't say a word the whole time, and his presence was barely noticeable.

Listening to their stories, a strong desire welled up within me.

If I have the chance, I really want to meet Zhongli.

Less than two weeks have passed since the Doctor awoke from the Stone Coffin, and he has suffered extensive memory loss.

He nearly died in the park while fleeing Chernobyl with Amiya. Fortunately, Mister Zhongli's subordinate, Xi, intervened and saved all their lives.

Later, when the Doctor returned to Rhodes Island, he heard various rumors about Zhongli. Operator who had previously worked with him spoke highly of him. They were lavish in their praise, offering absolutely no negative comments.

Coupled with the events described by Officer Chen today, the Doctor had an excellent impression of Zhongli. It's no wonder that he felt admiration for him and wanted to meet him.

It seems that only Doctor Kal'tsit on Rhodes Island is always on guard against this man.

According to Amiya, it was Mister Zhongli who made her lose face at the meeting, so she has been holding a grudge ever since.

The Doctor couldn't comment much on this.

The more stories I heard about Zhongli, the stronger my desire to meet him in person became.

"Huh?"

Amiya was getting into the conversation when she suddenly noticed a Clay Sculpture in front of the passenger side window.

Judging from her appearance, she bears a striking resemblance to Zhongli.

She peeked out and pointed, saying:

"Commander Chen, that's..."

Chen glanced at it sideways and replied:

"Hehe, this is a Clay Sculpture that my subordinate bought on the street last year. Because it looks a lot like Mister Zhongli, people use it as a talisman. However, the vendor only set up the stall for two or three months and then stopped. It hasn't appeared since."

"Oh, I see."

During that period, Mudrock had just moved into the Cat Gang's base and didn't have the money to buy Warehouse One in Taiheng Road.

These Clay Sculpture were taken to the city and sold by the non-infected Sarkaz to earn a living. Later, Mudrock worked for the Rat King and stopped making Clay Sculptures.

"We've arrived. Time really flies."

Chen felt like they hadn't been talking for long when they unknowingly drove to Wei Yenwu's residence.

"Let's go, I'll take you up."

She knew Amiya was envious of the Clay Sculpture, but she only had one and couldn't possibly give it away. These things were all discontinued; you couldn't buy them even if you wanted to.

After registering at the male secretariat, the three of them went to the elevator. Chen looked up at the gradually shrinking elevator floor numbers, then turned to look at Amiya:

"We had a good chat just now, so let me add a few more words. The Lower City is almost at its limit in terms of the number of refugees it can accommodate. We cannot take in any more. When you negotiate with the Governor, remember not to bring this up, or you will easily fail."

"I understand, thank you, Commander Chen."

As the elevator doors opened, Amiya and the Doctor stepped inside, waving goodbye to Chen.

By now, Kal'tsit should have arrived.

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"Bite!"

As the elevator doors opened, the male secretary accompanying him respectfully addressed the room:

"Your Excellency, I have brought two representatives from Rhodes Island with me."

Wei Yenwu was sitting on the sofa, his pair of red dragon eyes exuding an imposing aura. It seemed that as long as his wife, Wenyue, was not by his side, he could regain his former governorship.

"You've worked hard, you can go now."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Kal'tsit was also present. She turned around at the sound and saw the two of them, showing a rather surprised expression:

Amiya? And the Doctor?

"Don't stand, sit anywhere."

Wei Yenwu, acting like a host, extended an invitation to sit down. After Amiya and the Doctor were seated, his gaze returned to Feline:

"Then let's continue, La Signora. Kal'tsit."

Kal'tsit nodded, not letting the two's sudden visit disrupt the existing rhythm.

Her current negotiation strategy is not to humbly request entry into the city. Instead, she first positions the Rhodes Island, an infected organization, as an enemy that needs to be faced together with Lungmen. Then, she will try to persuade the Governor to agree to a cooperation plan by appealing to their interests.

"Mr. Wei, you have long held a high position. Like Great Eagle soaring freely in the sky, you will not notice those ants struggling for survival. The energy they can unleash will far exceed your imagination."

Sometimes we need more patience to understand seemingly obscure information. We must remember that danger is never lacking on this land. Some impending man-made disasters often reveal themselves in subtle, easily overlooked details.

Faced with unpredictable risks, we should help each other. Allowing Rhodes Island operator into the city would be entirely beneficial for Lungmen.

Besides alleviating your medical burden, this would also help identify members of the Rhodes Island hiding among the refugees. If Mr. Wei insists on maintaining the current policy, he is likely to suffer significant losses in the future.

During his decades as governor, Wei Yenwu had heard countless seemingly serious threats. Kal'tsit's imagined dangers alone were not enough to convince him.

Talulah, the leader of the Rhodes Island, has been secretly arrested and is being protected under a different guise. Wei Yenwu has fabricated some charges against her, sending her to prison to reflect on her actions.

This matter has not yet been officially announced, and very few people know about it. Unless Ursus finds Talulah's address, it will no longer be possible to hide it.

At that point, Wei Yenwu would use the pretext that she had committed a crime in Lungmen to continue imprisoning Talulah. After all, Lungmen was his territory, and he could convict her of whatever crime he wanted.

Kal'tsit repeatedly emphasized the threat posed by the Rhodes Island to Lungmen and wanted both sides to strengthen cooperation. But what threat could they pose without a leader?

These undisciplined infected individuals are nothing more than a bunch of thugs running amok on instinct.

"La Signora. Kal'tsit, we are fully prepared for the hypothetical crisis you raised. Even if the infected riot, we can handle it."

Currently, the Upper City and Lower City areas, as well as the areas inside and outside the city, are in a very delicate balance. Allowing Rhodes Island operator to enter would only introduce unnecessary variables. Once you set a precedent and successfully enter the city, other organizations will follow suit and keep submitting applications, increasing the workload of the Lungmen Guard Department's staff.

The implication is that Lungmen can handle things on its own and doesn't need Rhodes Island to interfere.

Kal'tsit frowned slightly upon hearing this, as this outcome was far from what she had expected, and tried to reason with him:

"So far, does Lungmen have any experience in confronting organized groups of infected thugs? If you take the Rhodes Island as your hypothetical enemy, but find that it is completely different in actual contact, you will suffer a great loss."

Wei Yenwu was a shrewd politician and wouldn't follow up on that statement. Because whether he answered yes or no, it would give the other party another opportunity to pressure him.

The correct approach is to step outside the box, ignore the problem altogether, and introduce a completely new topic:

"What is your main basis for saying that members of the Rhodes Island will incite riots in Lungmen?"

Seeing that the Longmen Governor wouldn't take the bait, Kal'tsit remained silent for several seconds before finally managing to explain:

"Supplies, they need a lot of supplies. These Rhodes Island members will disguise themselves as refugees and infiltrate the Lungmen Lower City. If they launch an attack at the same time, it will have very serious consequences."

In the end, it's still just a hypothetical scenario.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yenwu shook his head slightly, unconvinced by these subjective and conjectured pieces of information. He directly seized control of the conversation, throwing the entire question back to the other party like a ball:

"If these tens of thousands of Rhodes Island members want to storm into the Upper City, their only option is to force their way through the checkpoints. I just need to arrange for several times the number of guards to be stationed there in advance, hold the line, and wait for reinforcements."

You say we consider the Rhodes Island as our hypothetical enemy, but aren't you the same? You say the Rhodes Island will attack the Upper City, but can you provide any concrete evidence?

"La Signora. Kal'tsit, why don't you show me your hand? If you can't offer me a convincing reason, then there's no need for cooperation."

As Saria and Dobermann had anticipated, Kal'tsit's negotiations failed to achieve their goal.

This worried Amiya greatly. She bit her lip and began to think about how to salvage the situation.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade the Longmen Governor, Kal'tsit's green eyes narrowed sharply and turned serious:

"There is a plot of land that is heading towards Lungmen."

Wei Yenwu, having not received any relevant information before, became intrigued and inquired:

"Oh? Tell me about it."

The Longmen Governor before her was a cunning hunter; he wouldn't release his prey until he had his own. Kal'tsit could only achieve her goal by presenting concrete evidence:

"There is a Core City area that has broken away from Chernobyl and is moving towards Lungmen. At the current speed, it is expected to collide directly with the urban area in about 72 hours."

The impact itself won't cause much damage. However, it will connect to Lungmen city, facilitating the influx of Rhodes Island members hidden among the refugees. Furthermore, the political significance of the impact is self-evident. In other words, your time is running out.

Wei Yenwu's dragon eyes narrowed, and his expression finally turned serious. He wasn't worried about the authenticity of the information, because he would find out soon enough. Rhodes Island wanted to cooperate with Lungmen, so they wouldn't lie about something like this.

But how could he, the dignified Longmen Governor, be at a disadvantage against any woman other than Wenyue?

"In that case, I'll give La Signora. Kal'tsit a chance. If Rhodes Island can enter the Core City area within 48 hours and bring it to a stop, I can consider sending your Operator into the city. If Rhodes Island fails, Lungmen will take other measures. In other words, you don't have much time left."

In an instant, they turned the tables.

After listening to Wei Yenwu's proposal, Kal'tsit for a long time but could not come up with a way to refute it.

Lungmen is, after all, their territory. If they resolutely refuse to let Rhodes Island into the city, they don't have a better option. But if they force their way in, the situation will completely change.

The crisis in the core area of Chernobyl needs to be resolved in order to gain access to the city. There is likely no other way.

Just as Kal'tsit was about to compromise, Amiya read her thoughts and spoke up:

"No problem, Your Excellency. We will send Operator to investigate and intercept the movement of the Core City as soon as possible. This is not only for the refugees in the Lower City and outside the city, but also for the people of Lungmen."

Seeing that Amiya not only responded but also added two more sentences, Kal'tsit didn't say anything more.