Post-Operation Review Meeting

Post-Operation Review Meeting

That night, 9:45 p.m.

Inside a concealed underground base, staff dressed in all manner of outfits bustled back and forth. Some operated enormous, complex instruments; others fiddled with talisman paper, golems, formation arrays, and the like. Still others had no tools at all, simply standing hand in hand with their eyes closed and heads raised, utterly motionless...

If an uninformed person had wandered in here, they might have taken it for a secret gathering of anime enthusiasts... There were simply too many elements. Those bizarre outfits and objects could hardly be anything but cosplay props.

In truth, this was the headquarters of the Ningdong Branch of Dawnland's largest Mysterious Organization, the Vital Energy Cultivator Association—known for short as the Yuan Cultivation Society. It was a legitimate organization officially recognized by the government.

In the base's conference room, six people sat around the table, including the four who had captured Windbreaker Man at the mall that day.

At the head of the table sat an Old Man in his sixties, partially bald and carrying an imposing air. Beside him sat a capable-looking man in his forties.

The balding Old Man gave the report in his hand a cursory glance, then tossed it onto the table.

"Nothing but empty platitudes. Hao Yong, report the specifics of today's incident. Get to the point!"

"Understood." Muscular Man, who had led the capture of Windbreaker Man, Stood up. Gone was his flamboyant outfit from earlier that day; he was now dressed in a formal suit, though it was somewhat too small and stretched out of shape by his muscles.

"If your artifact doesn't fit, there's no need to stand on ceremony. Sit and speak." The balding Old Man waved a hand. Only then did Hao Yong sit down and begin his report. His posture was proper and his tone cautious, utterly at odds with his exaggerated appearance.

"Here's what happened. This afternoon, we received a tip that a suspicious Vital Energy Cultivator had appeared at Qianyuehui Mall, showing suspected signs of contamination."

As he spoke, he glanced at the middle-aged man beside the Old Man. "Captain Cheng sent our Third Squad to investigate. Old Yuan, you know that Old Yang from our group was injured during the Last Time mission and is still recuperating, so Captain Cheng temporarily arranged for a powerful outside helper to join us."

He looked toward Ling Xin, who was seated nearby.

"Though that didn't quite comply with procedure."

Captain Cheng, seated beside Old Yuan, nodded. "It was indeed I who asked Xiao Xin for help."

"I already know all that." Old Yuan tapped the table. "Get to the important part! The details of the capture!"

"Understood!" Hao Yong gathered his thoughts. "By the time we arrived, the informant had lost track of him, but he was certain the guy was still in the mall. So the three of us split up to search..."

"Three?" Old Yuan raised an eyebrow, his expression turning grim.

"Sorry..." Ling Xin raised her hand. "I was delayed by Have Matters and didn't arrive immediately."

Seeing that it was her, Old Yuan's expression softened somewhat. "You're not official staff. The fact that you came to help was already a kindness; there's no need to apologize. Hao Yong, continue."

"Then, Just As we were searching, we suddenly heard someone on the Fifth Floor shouting about a Human Trafficker. I was the closest, so I rushed over right away. From a distance, I saw a Young Man get kicked by the Polluter and fall from the Fifth Floor."

"Then I charged in and fought the Polluter. That guy had a solid Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation, but his physique was inferior to mine. After exchanging two moves, he flipped over the railing and fell. I followed him down, and together with Xiao Meng and Sha Sha, we surrounded him. Seeing that he couldn't escape, he used the child as a threat. During the standoff, Ling Xin finally arrived, found an opening, and Cut Off one of the Polluter's hands from a distance. The child fell as well."

"Just As that happened, the kid who had been kicked down earlier suddenly crawled out from the Pile of Clothes behind the Polluter. He took the child while the Polluter was distracted, dodged the Polluter's consecutive attacks, and then..."

"Wait!" Old Yuan interrupted him. "You're saying that Young Man was kicked by the Polluter, fell from the Fifth Floor, not only survived, but then jumped out to snatch the child—and could even evade the Polluter's attacks?"

"Absolutely true!" Hao Yong Nodded.

Old Yuan frowned. "Could he be a Rogue Cultivator hidden among the common folk?"

"No." Ling Xin spoke, Shook her head with certainty. "He's my classmate. I've never sensed even a trace of vital energy fluctuations from him."

"He really doesn't Looks Like someone who has cultivated." Captain Cheng added from the side. "We later pulled the mall's surveillance footage. After the kid was kicked down, he happened to crash into one of the mall banners. He slid down it, then fell into a Pile of Clothes. You could say he survived purely because his life was big."

As he spoke, he handed the tablet in his hand to Old Yuan and continued explaining.

"The same went for how he dodged the Polluter's attacks afterward. Though danger lurked at every turn, accidents always happened at just the right moment. That Young Brother rolled and crawled about. He was indeed a bit more agile than the average person, but he escaped mostly by luck."

Watching the surveillance footage on the tablet, Old Yuan's brows twitched. "No... It wasn't just luck!"

The others were Stunned, but Old Yuan projected the video onto the screen and slowed it down. "Look. While in High Altitude, he tried to grab the chandelier. After failing, he turned and tried to grab the banner instead. When the banner hook snapped, he used the reactive force to change his falling direction and deliberately dove toward the Pile of Clothes."

With Old Yuan's explanation, they finally saw what Luo Jun had done.

"It wasn't a coincidence? Even in that desperate situation, he was still fighting to survive?" Hao Yong looked astonished. Xiao Meng, the Tracksuit Youth beside him, could not help but praise him. "Good heavens, there was still room to maneuver in that kind of situation? Forget an Ordinary Person—even if it had been me, I'd only have remembered to cover my head and try to make the fall hurt less..."

As for Ling Xin, she stared at Luo Jun's figure in the footage. Her eyelashes trembled faintly, as though she had gained a new understanding of this old classmate.

"Still, his later evasion of the Polluter's attacks really was luck." Old Yuan watched the second segment of footage. "There was no helping it. The gap was too great. Other than luck, there really was nothing else he could rely on."

"And then? That Polluter activated the World Tree Leaf?"

"Yes!" Hao Yong Nodded. "Ling Xin arrived at that point and killed the Polluter, but that Young Brother could no longer get away. At the final moment, he pushed the child out."

After hearing Hao Yong's account, Old Yuan Nodded. Looking at Luo Jun in the surveillance footage, a faint light flickered in his eyes. "Brave, kind, clever, calm, physically capable, and most importantly, extraordinarily lucky... Young people like that are far too rare!"

"We must find him!"

No sooner had he spoken than someone knocked on the door. After being told to come in, a young staff member entered carrying a report.

"Old Yuan, the detection results are out..."

Old Yuan's eyes lit up at the news. "Where does the Black Hole lead? [Martial World]? [Wilderness]? Or [Paranormal]?"

The researcher Shook his head. "It's... [Chaos]."

Everyone in the conference room drew in a sharp breath.

In the corner, Ling Xin's eyes twitched faintly.

Old Yuan frowned and considered it for a moment, then Stood up. "Let's go to the scene! Xiao Cheng, check for any recently issued Chaos Missions on the way."

(End of Chapter)