The Many Faces of Life

Standing under the neon lights, Chen Zhuoqu waited for her team members to quickly assemble.

Qing Chen and Kunlun's seven days of hard work paid off, and no one took the matter lightly.

So many people at the Time Walker Academy have given them encouragement and support; if anyone still doesn't take this to heart, then they are truly foolish.

However, while Chen Zhuoqu was waiting, all the lights in the city went out.

Explosions could be heard in the distance; it was the sound of someone destroying the power plant.

Her expression turned serious; everything happening before her eyes was confirming the young dean's prediction.

However, the power went out too quickly; they didn't even have time to assemble.

Chen Zhuoqu observed quietly and was surprised to find that the city did not descend into chaos due to the power outage. The pedestrians on the street were just cursing and swearing, guessing that perhaps a transformer had exploded somewhere.

The citizens of the Federation have been living in comfort for too long; even small-scale wars between conglomerates have never affected the cities.

Therefore, the citizens' response was sluggish.

Soon, her vice-captain and team members assembled. Chen Zhuoqu solemnly said, "Now let's start collecting supplies. Our mission is to buy medicine."

After speaking, Chen Zhuoqu opened her phone and recorded a sentence, then started looping it at maximum volume. "A disaster is about to erupt in City No. 10. The Kamishiro Corporation's missiles have locked onto this area, and the power plant has also been destroyed by the Kamishiro Corporation. Everyone, please escape to the outskirts of the city or the Lower Three Districts as soon as possible!"

She didn't mention biocontamination because it had been so long since anything like it had happened in the Federation that the residents here wouldn't even understand what biocontamination was.

Instead of wasting time explaining, it's better to use more direct methods to scare passersby, making them panic and run away immediately!

At this moment, a Time Walker said, "Now that the power is out, the pharmacies can't process payments, so they won't sell us the medicine."

"Then take it. Remember not to hurt anyone. We'll only take the antibiotics and leave," Chen Zhuoqu said firmly.

"Rob?! That's not right. We're good people, how can we do something like that?!" said one of the Time Walker.

Chen Zhuoqu hesitated for a moment, then became resolute again. "If anyone asks, just say I was in charge. I'm the team leader, and I'll take responsibility. Remember, you must tell the shopkeepers that disaster is coming; it's the only thing we can do."

Although robbing a pharmacy is wrong in itself, Chen Zhuoqu didn't want to waste any more time making other choices.

As she spoke, she grabbed a trash can from the roadside, smashed it against the glass window of a nearby pharmacy, and led the way inside.

The shop assistants were in a panic, Chen Zhuoqu's phone, hanging around her neck, was still playing a voice message on a loop.

At this moment, pedestrians on the road were staring at them in shock. No one knew what had happened, and no one took Chen Zhuoqu's warning to heart.

They just thought someone was taking advantage of the power outage to loot.

However, this is Zone 3, and such robbery will inevitably be severely punished by the PCE Security Committee. Many passersby stood still and waited for the PCE to arrive.

A Time Walker yelled at the pedestrians who had stopped in their tracks, "Run! Either go to the Lower Three Districts or to the immigration gates. Don't wait here!"

However, the people remained unmoved. Seeing that they had not taken out any weapons, they gathered around and began to whisper among themselves.

However, the PCE agents they were waiting for did not arrive in time, and they had no idea what had happened.

At this moment, more than forty people looted the antibiotics from the pharmacy. One of the team members said, "Let's go. We've completed the task given to us by the young director. Let's go to the immigration gate."

Chen Zhuoqu shook her head firmly. "We're not going there. We're heading straight to the Lower Three Districts! Activate Plan B!"

The Time Walker were stunned. What they didn't know was that Qing Chen had spent two days arranging Plan A and Plan B, and then for the remaining five days, the dean of the Agricultural Academy was still racking his brains to figure out all the loopholes.

One of the loopholes was raised by Chen Zhuoqu: "What if the other side acts faster than us, giving us no time to react, and starts attacking immediately after we travel through time?"

At that time Qing Chen asked her, "Why would Shendai do this?"

Chen Zhuoqu replied, "What if Shen Daichihachi knew that you were in City No. 10? You've already ruined countless of their plans. If they knew you were there, no extreme action would be too much for them. At least if I knew you, this variable, had returned to City No. 10, I would nip all your struggles in the bud and kill you, the one who trampled on Shendai's dignity, right here in this city. Maybe they're just waiting for you to return, then travel through time, using their strategy of waiting in ambush to crush your plan based on information asymmetry."

After a long silence, Qing Chen offered the supplementary conditions for Plan B: "Attention all squad leaders and vice-leaders: if the city experiences a power outage, it means that Shen Daichihachi is fully prepared and the border crossings must be closed. All squads must immediately change course and head to the Lower Three Districts! Chen Zhuoqu, add 20 points."

Battle plans are a variable that can change constantly due to various factors.

What Qing Chen needs to do in the remaining five days is to take all the variables into account as much as possible.

At this time, gathering the elites of the Time Walker Academy to brainstorm ideas is his best option.

Each Time Walker team has replaced Plan A with Plan B.

99% of the vehicles in the city are new energy vehicles powered by Cloud Flow Tower. At this time, the city's traffic has been paralyzed, and people get out of their cars and stand next to them cursing and complaining.

The Time Walker traversed the bustling streets, constantly reminding people that City No. 10 had been attacked by the Kamishiro Corporation.

Even if no one believes them.

However, before they could go very far, they discovered that rats had already appeared on the streets.

Rat Tide has taken to the streets.

Chen Zhuoqu looked at the team members behind her and said coldly, "Anyone who hasn't eaten a single piece of the Longevity Sky, give me your backpack! Everyone who has eaten the Longevity Sky, cultivated, or received gene-enhancing drugs, please help your teammates carry the load. Don't let any children under 12 carry anything. We must quickly break through the city center!"

One of the team members looked at the suddenly appearing rat and muttered, "Is it too late?"

PCA (CIA)

The building, which was originally brightly lit due to overtime work, has now turned dark.

However, the CIA is a special case; its backup generator will automatically start in 5 minutes, at which point order will be restored here.

Qing Yi sat alone in the dark office, quietly listening to the commotion caused by the power outage in the large office outside.

The boy with the watermelon-head haircut has cut it off and now sports a buzz cut like Li Ke, making him look much more capable.

At that moment, a PCE agent walked in. "Boss, a woman named Si Nianhua has come and says she has an appointment with you."

Qing Yi raised his head in the darkness, the moonlight from the window casting a shadow on his eyes.

The boy stood up. "Bring her in, and quickly."

Si Nianhua walked with a graceful cat-like gait, wearing high heels and carrying her expensive handbag under her arm.

Qing Yi smiled as soon as he saw her, "How have you been, sir?"

Si Nianhua said, "There's no time for pleasantries. The power outage was caused by Kamishiro. They placed Shen Daichihachi's body in a sewer, causing biological contamination of City No. 10. Now they intend to destroy the city. Please act quickly; he'll be waiting for you in the Lower Three Districts."

Qing Yi nodded and decisively told the PCA agent, "Qing Hua, go and inform the Li family's agents to come with us. Tell them it's an order from their independent director. Yang Xuyang, go and retrieve that item."

With that, he turned and walked towards the door. "Everyone, come with me."

In just 5 minutes, the team trained by Qing Chen, led by Qing Yi, quickly left the PCA building.

Immediately afterwards, Li's detectives also came out.

Qing Yi walked into the night, and Si Nianhua followed behind him with a smile on her lips.

Qing Yi pressed the remote control in his hand, and the building behind him suddenly turned into a fireball, along with the agents from the Chen family, Kamishiro, and Kashima, all perished in the sea of fire.

The item he sent Yang Xuyang to retrieve was a high-performance explosive packaged in a sealed metal box.

That was originally Qing Yi planned to use to perish together with others when forced to, but now he used it to destroy all life in that building.

Qing Yi smiled and looked at Si Nianhua: "Did the gentleman say anything else?"

Si Nianhua was somewhat surprised. The young man's methods just now certainly lived up to the title of "Living Yama" of the Intelligence Department One, but when he mentioned Qing Chen, his smile was so innocent and naive.

"The boss told me to notify you to evacuate immediately and to find a way to inform all members of the Secret Intelligence Department."

"The very first time?" Qing Yi's smile widened.

City No. 10.

The Lower Three Districts were also plunged into darkness due to a power system malfunction.

It was as if this place had never been bright.

"Let me do it! Lao Luo said that as long as I can open the Key Gate to that place, he'll be my matchmaker," Xiao San said, spitting out the Golden True Sight Eye she had recently acquired. "Don't worry, I've never been in a relationship before, so I'm sure I can open it there."

"Don't drive into Forbidden Zone," someone said in the darkness.

"No," the Xiao San chuckled, "I'm afraid of dying, I would never drive there."

The Key Gate is one of the most widely used spells in the wizarding tradition and is the foundation of wizarding.

Its principle is that you place the Ferrero-sized True Sight Eye on a door and turn it clockwise ten times, and then that door will take you anywhere you want to go.

That must be the place you most want to go in your heart, without any concealment.

This was originally a sorcery used by wizards to directly verify their true nature. When you feel lost and confused in life, not knowing where to go, the Key Gate will tell you the answer.

A person can only open the Key Gate once in their lifetime.

However, the Key Gate, which has been around for nearly a thousand years, has been ruined by the Bystander organization.

Luo Wanyai promised all the energetic and strong young men that as long as they drove in the wilderness, no matter where they drove, he would definitely introduce them to potential partners.

As Xiao San gently twisted the True Sight Eye, the iron door in front of her seemed to be melted by the True Sight Eye, leaving red marks, just like molten iron.

The True Sight Eye slowly slid into the door, and with a click, the Key Gate opened.

The Xiao San took a deep breath and then stepped forward.

Before me lay a desolate wilderness and starry sky, while the vast Milky Way overhead shone exceptionally brightly and magnificently.

The Xiao San retreated back inside the door. "I didn't fail you... I was really afraid I'd accidentally opened the Key Gate to the Fourth District's Entertainment Street... Come on, next!"

The Kunlun Organization gifted the Parent's Association five True Sight Eye, giving them five opportunities to open the Key Gate.

Ten minutes later, four out of the five doors opened in the same place, which meant they had succeeded!

All the family members were under immense pressure because they knew they were responsible for countless lives.

At this moment, more than forty family members filed in through the Key Gate, seemingly making some preparations.

Xiao San used a knife to remove the iron gate. "Alright, carry the gate downstairs and start arranging the evacuation of the residents of the Lower Three Districts."

"How should we persuade them?" Qin Shuli asked curiously. "Shall I prepare a script?"

Although Qin Shuli had become a Golden Family and was in City No. 10, Luo Wanyai did not take him to the island, so Qin Shuli was unaware of the specific arrangements.

In the darkness, someone lit a torch in the corridor. The Xiao San laughed, "The question you asked me, I've asked my parents too. I remember clearly, they looked at me with disdain and asked: 'What kind of law-abiding citizen are you? Don't you recognize your place now?'"

The Xiao San continued, "That's when I realized... yeah, I'm a gang member. Even though we collect protection money and crack down on the Lower Three Districts to do good deeds, it's because of our intimidation power that we can carry out those good deeds, isn't it? Now, we're going to continue being brutal gang members!"

It's better to scare the residents away than to leave them here to die.

The identity of the community is a protective shield when Parent's Association meet with ordinary residents. The residents may not understand what the Parent's Association doing, but as long as they are afraid of the Parent's Association, that's enough.

At this time, the 120 liaisons of the Parent's Association had already taken advantage of the darkness and set off on diesel motorcycles to gather the families scattered in various corners of City No. 10.

If it weren't for the fact that many places were scattered during the expansion, the Parent's Association meetings would be even larger now.

It's important to understand that City No. 10 and City No. 18 are the bases of the Parent's Association, and also the heart of the Parent's Association's expansion and funding.

For the Parent's Association to flourish across the country, the talent pool from these two cities is indispensable.

The family members here are not ordinary family members; they are no different from the coaches.

Family members who leave these two cities tend to have a higher social status.

Now, some family members quickly built sandbag fortifications on the Lower Three Districts and rapidly filled all the sewers with quick-drying concrete for construction.

Some family members also brought out all the weapons and medicines they had stockpiled during this period.

The remaining group of Xiao San, carrying the four Key Gate, split into four groups and stormed into the four buildings, driving everyone downstairs.

Xiao San mistress fired several shots into the air from downstairs, startling the residents who had been driven down the building.

The Xiao San laughed arrogantly, "No one is allowed to sleep. Search every house, and everyone bring their own food into this room."

The residents were surprised; the Xiao San and the members of the Association of Societies looked completely different from before.

Although the family members used to be fierce, they were still kind and gentle to ordinary residents. Now it's different; they all have ferocious expressions on their faces.

In the crowd, someone whispered, "I knew the club couldn't possibly be that good. They were just pretending before, and now they're showing their true colors!"

"What are they going to do? Why are they going through that door? Are they going to sell us all off somewhere?"

Hearing their words, the Xiao San's expression remained unchanged. "Stop fucking dawdling! Line up in two long lines, two people side by side, and walk into the door. Anyone who's slow, I'll break their legs! Hurry up!"

The members of the Parent's Association brandished short knives with fierce expressions, forcing the residents to walk inside one by one, as if the knives and guns would be used against anyone who hesitated even slightly.

Moreover, the family members were not polite at all; whenever they encountered a grumbling old man, they would kick him.

Just then, a middle-aged couple led a little girl cautiously over. The Xiao San's eyes lit up, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few pieces of candy. "Xiaoxia, here's some candy for you."

This is a little girl he just met in the Lower Three Districts. She's very cute, and despite her young age, she says she wants to join the Association of Societies so that they can help the residents of the Lower Three Districts and fight against evil...

However, Xia, who usually smiled sweetly whenever she saw him, suddenly burst into tears. As she walked into the Key Gate, she said, "Uncle is so annoying."

The Xiao San froze, slowly closing her hands as she watched the little girl's tears fall drop by drop, a heartbreaking sight.

Xiaoxia's parents quickly covered her mouth, trying to take the little girl away before the Xiao San got angry.

But as Xiao San watched their figures disappear through the Key Gate, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

The next moment, he glared menacingly at the residents again. "Hurry up, all of you! Who's dawdling here? Do they want to die?"

Behind the Key Gate, the residents of the Lower Three Districts originally expected to see a scene of purgatory.

Once inside, everyone tumbled down a "slide" down a hillside. At the bottom of the hill, family members were there to help them up one by one, and then help the next person who had been fished out of the Key Gate.

The family members who had previously entered the Key Gate were to dig a slide on the hillside Key Gate to help the residents.

This was also the method Qing Chen explained, which greatly improved the efficiency of passage.

At the end of the slide stood a sign. "Hello everyone, we are the Association of Societies. We apologize for disturbing you in the middle of the night. However, there is no other way. City No. 10 is about to face a terrible disaster. It is a biological contamination incident orchestrated by the Kamishiro Corporation, which has caused all the rats in the city to mutate. Tonight's power outage and explosion are also related to this. Therefore, we have no choice but to evacuate everyone. Everything will be clear in 24 hours. Please be patient and wait here for a while. Water and supplies will be transported out later... Announcement from the Association of Societies."

Below the explanation, someone drew a heart and a smiley face.

The residents were stunned for a long time.

There were no black market dealers to buy them, nor were there gang members threatening them with weapons; only an endless wilderness.

Four doors and four slides continuously transported residents out without stopping.

The family members on the Key Gate side haven't been taken care of since they were taken in; there are simply too few people.

... This is completely different from what they imagined!

Some residents wanted to run away, but then they remembered their recent interactions with the Association of Societies and stopped in their tracks.

This is the foundation of trust.

This is the reward that Parent's Association receive for their efforts.

Xia couldn't read yet, so her parents read the words on the sign to her. The little girl immediately burst into tears, wanting to go back to find her uncle.

The parents comforted her, saying, "It's okay. Let's apologize to your uncle after this is all over, okay?"

Xiaoxia nodded vigorously. "Okay."

In the Lower Three Districts, a family looking out at the street suddenly shouted, "The Rat Tide is out!"

Before their eyes, swarms of rats were crawling out of the manholes outside the Lower Three Districts, pushing open the manhole covers and gushing out like a tide.

A 5,500-word chapter; another chapter will be released before 11 PM tonight.