Sudden Rain on a Dark Night

At the Municipal Council Building, Chairman Quan sat in his office with a cane, watching the torrential rain outside through the glass curtain wall. Beneath the dim sky, flickering, hazy neon lights shone across the towering buildings.

At that moment, he shifted somewhat awkwardly and coughed twice. His assistant immediately stepped forward, first feeling the teacup before dropping two pills into the tea and carefully handing it to him.

Chairman Quan took the cup and drank a sip. His spirits improved slightly, and his thoughts became more active. He asked, "Still no news from that side?"

"Not yet, Chairman," the assistant said quietly.

Chairman Quan gazed ahead. Before the operation began, they had communicated with him in advance and told him that operating in the Convergence Zone and searching for people would be extremely difficult. It was estimated to take one to two months.

And if the target had fled far enough or proved particularly troublesome, it might take even longer. By his reckoning, only half that time had passed. It might be another month before results came in.

He did not ask whether they might fail. Once the Municipal Council had decided to open the Convergence Zone passage, they could only accept one outcome.

In truth, even as chairman, he had been unable to stop this from moving forward.

Because this was the hope of the entire council, the will of the Union. Origin Company in particular was now vigorously promoting a biotechnology park in the Central City, drawing in a great many companies and enterprises. Origin Company had also given the council tremendous support regarding the Active Consciousness Entity matter. In a sense, this had hijacked the Municipal Council's will. They could only follow this force forward. Even if they knew it was inappropriate, there was no turning