West City Uprising

Over the following week, as Jiang Mian gradually adapted to life here, she felt time passing noticeably faster.

However, the mission intensity was nowhere near as high as she had imagined.

Come to think of it, Team Five was an elite team after all. Ordinary cleanup missions would never fall to them.

Only situations like Outpost 14, where even [Radiance] Awakened could not send out a signal in time, required a team of their strength to investigate.

That left Jiang Mian feeling a little uneasy.

After all, one of her main reasons for coming here was to encounter more Calamities and fill her core.

Yet she had not once run into another chance to eat her fill in a single wave like before.

Looks like it still depends on luck.

Though it was a little immoral, she still hoped that Heart Eater that had escaped before would stir up some more trouble.

After a week, her advancement progress had only barely reached four-fifths. She was still some distance away from the third tier.

Even though that was far faster than an ordinary Awakened, it still was not enough for her.

During this time, Jiang Mian had also gotten to experience communal living again after a long while. Her roommates were all good people, and the pressure brought on by her constant caution had eased somewhat.

Of course, she was getting paid too. Once she went back someday, she would have to indulge herself properly.

That day, her shift ended early. Before night had even fallen, Jiang Mian informed Su Wanning and Qin Wu before setting off for home.

The reason was simple: tomorrow was a rest day, and with her ability being used so frequently lately, the Suppressor was starting to lose its effect again.

Though she had not yet reached the Second stage and could suppress it through sheer willpower, unease still faintly stirred in her heart.

The effect seems to be getting worse and worse...

At present, she was powerless against this problem—or rather, she had no way to solve it at its root. She could only tough it out or rely on new Suppressors.

If she reached the third tier, then wouldn't that mean...

Jiang Mian did not dare dwell on it, but the facts were right in front of her. She had fallen into another vicious cycle.

She needed power, and if she did not "feed," hunger would gnaw at her unbearably; she might even go out of control or "starve to death."

But if she ate enough to advance, her body's metabolism of the Suppressor would also accelerate, shortening the time it remained effective...

For now, she could not think that far ahead. Until she found a way to overcome the erosion, she could only find ways to use Suppressors to maintain her "normality."

So Jiang Mian chose to head out today, planning to stock up in advance.

City Defense Awakened were paid daily. It was somewhat troublesome, but fortunately there were not many people, so the process was reasonably efficient.

Combined with the various subsidies she received as a newly awakened "Awakened," her wallet had filled out a little. All told, at the previous price, she could buy two Suppressors and still have half her money left.

Only...

Jiang Mian looked over the surrounding streets.

North City had always been desolate, sure, but it should not have been completely devoid of people, should it?

Something was wrong...

At this hour, even though this area was relatively remote, there would usually be scattered people returning home at night or a few street stalls.

But today, the streets were far too empty, like a city of the dead.

She could not help but wonder. Calamity activity outside the city was still normal, so how had the city turned into this ghostly state after only a few days away?

No one answered her doubts.

Jiang Mian simply quickened her pace and returned to her residence.

After locking the door behind her, she logged into the secret communications channel from last time and sent a message to the dealer she had traded with before.

[You there? What's the market like lately?]

This time, the other party did not keep her waiting long and replied quickly:

[Down. Twelve thousand a dose.]

The price had dropped?

Though it had not fallen by much, such a situation was exceedingly rare in underground trading.

Suppressors were practically necessities of life for Aberrants, and their prices had always remained quite firm.

Every change indirectly reflected the occurrence of some unusual event.

Jiang Mian immediately connected it to the abnormality within the city. Though she was puzzled, a Black Market dealer like this was not an appropriate person to question.

A name immediately popped into her mind.

That person worked at the Public Security Bureau and should know something about the situation.

With that thought, Jiang Mian temporarily exited the encrypted channel and opened a green messaging app instead, finding the contact saved as Chili Fried Pork.

In a residential complex on the outskirts of South City, Du Biao held a cigarette between his fingers and stared at the message that had been read but unanswered in the chat window, his brow tightly furrowed.

Some time ago, several idiots had been too poor to afford Suppressors, so they had run into a busy district and blown themselves up in retaliation, causing quite an impact.

Their own deaths were secondary.

The higher-ups had already been cracking down hard lately, and then they pulled this stunt, dragging all the other Aberrants down with them.

Those Cops and the Containment Bureau's stars of misfortune were rounding people up everywhere like rabid dogs, stirring up such panic that every Aberrant was in danger.

The batch of goods in his hands had been stockpiled before this happened. He had originally planned to make another killing before his competitors emerged, but then this happened.

His "clients" had either been arrested, were too afraid to show their faces, or couldn't withstand the pressure and had simply fled to West City to band together.

But everyone knew what sort of temperament those Aberrants had. Rumor had it that the struggle over resources within that pack of lunatics alone had already spilled plenty of blood.

Trade with that lot?

Du Biao figured that although he wanted to unload this batch as quickly as possible, he wasn't done living yet.

That place was a powder keg right now. If he went over, he would either be robbed blind by criminals or run into an official purge—either way, it was a dead end.

This buyer... although his underling had angered her last time, she hadn't ultimately made a move.

Among Aberrants, that counted as a rare good temper, and she was even a fairly high-sequence [Wildfire].

If possible, he truly didn't want to lose this client.

But why had she stopped replying?

No matter how Du Biao racked his brains, he couldn't figure it out.

After hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth and sent another message. His tone was even more deferential now, carrying a hint of earnest pleading.

[If you're not satisfied, we can discuss it again. If you want it, act quickly. There isn't much stock.]

Jiang Mian looked at the conversation on the screen, her gaze settling on the final sentence.

[There's been a Joint Sweep Operation lately, targeting certain special groups. Try not to go to West City. Be careful.]

Just now, she had gotten a rough grasp of the situation from Ye Chenyang.

Likely because of the unrest, most ordinary people had cut down on going out. Other than work, they didn't even dare leave their homes.

A group of "Awakened" of wildly varying strength banding together was no different from rebellion.

Besides, none of them were known for their good tempers. West City had already become a complete mess.

She couldn't quite make sense of what the authorities were thinking.

Things had been stable for so long before this, so why insist on implementing measures now that would so obviously intensify the conflict?

After this happened, it probably wouldn't be easy for her to keep getting Suppressor steadily anymore...

She should find a way to stockpile more.

Jiang Mian reopened the encrypted channel. Seeing Du Biao's new message, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

It seemed the other party was now desperately eager to unload his goods and get out. This was the perfect chance for her to make use of the situation.

She thought for a moment, then typed out a number.

[Eight thousand.]