The hat lifted, revealing a little child with flushed cheeks, breathing evenly in sleep. The endless crying around him hadn't woken him at all.
"He's still alive," Zong Lanzhi murmured.
"Brother Zong... Brother Zong!" Jiang Ke, one of the Players who had come with him, called twice. His face was grim. "What do we do now?"
"Take the bodies to the nearest temporary shelter," Zong Lanzhi said. "And get these people somewhere safe, too. Don't leave them blocking the street."
Jiang Ke glanced back at the densely packed street and felt a chill creep up from his feet. He took a deep breath and called over his companions to help.
Meanwhile, the Special Defense Department began its emergency evacuation. The bloody examples were right before everyone's eyes, and now both Players and ordinary residents were following instructions without complaint.
After three consecutive groups had been evacuated without any new cases of suffocation, the government could finally breathe a little easier. But the thought that so many lives had been sacrificed to achieve this still weighed heavily on them.
"Players are aggressive in how they operate, but when it comes to matters of national importance, we must be gentle—very gentle," Minister Ji told Nie Xuan in private. "Even a seemingly minor policy can affect thousands upon thousands of families. You're usually cautious, but sometimes your methods are too forceful. That isn't a good thing, either. Once you're at Enforcement Headquarters, make sure you learn from this. The more forceful Zong Lanzhi is, the steadier you need to be."
Nie Xuan glanced back at him. "You're not planning to deal with Zong Lanzhi?"
Minister Ji sighed. "What else can we do? They're all Super Evolvers, and an important resource for District 014."
Nie Xuan gave a mocking smile. "There it is again—putting