Optimization

The smell of gunpowder and blood had not yet completely dissipated when Chen Jin flicked the sticky residue from his gun barrel and pulled out his phone.

The call connected, and the background noise was somewhat chaotic, with the faint sound of pages turning.

"Director Xu, the mission is complete," Chen Jin's voice was devoid of emotion. "I'm reporting to you now..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a middle-aged woman's voice on the other end of the line, tinged with impatience.

"Okay, okay, I know," Director Xu spoke rapidly. "You handled it... reasonably efficiently. Take care of the scene yourself, keep it clean. I have a meeting now and don't have time to listen to the details."

Chen Jin's brow twitched, almost imperceptibly.

"Listen, Chen Jin," Director Xu's voice lowered slightly, the background noise seeming to be deliberately muffled. "Your 'temporary worker' status is nullified. Prepare yourself and start your next assignment. The location... did you remember it?"

Chen Jin responded with a blank "Mm."

"As for the mission funds..." Director Xu paused. "You know, the department is extremely tight on finances right now, and the higher-ups are strict. You'll have to cover it yourself for now. Don't worry, once the department's finances improve, you'll be reimbursed in full. I'll personally oversee it."

A cold curve tugged at the corner of Chen Jin's mouth as he silently mouthed two words: "Heh."

"Alright, that's all. The meeting is about to start, I'm hanging up now." Director Xu gave Chen Jin no chance to speak further, leaving only the busy signal in the receiver.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

On the top floor of a modern office building, a brightly lit conference room.

Director Xu pushed open the door and entered. Five people were already seated around the oval conference table, and the projector cast an image of a file onto the wall.

Xu Lihua sat down in her designated seat, cleared her throat, and her gaze swept over the projection.

"Continue the report," an elder with white hair and a stern face, seated at the head of the table, spoke.

Xu Lihua nodded and pointed to Chen Jin's photo and basic information on the projection:

"Name: Chen Jin.

Gender: Male.

Inheritance: Form of Flesh-Eating Infinity 65%.

Inherited Skills: [Proliferation] [Transformation]

Specialties: Freestyle Combat 69%, Firearms 86%.

She paused, then flipped to another page of the electronic file, her tone becoming somewhat subtle: "Since joining the Special Operations Team of the Field Division, two years and six months. Yanfu Incidents: 15. Mission Execution Records: 17. Evaluation: Mediocre performance, no significant meritorious achievements."

"Record of Issues: During multiple mission executions, behavior was insufficiently rigorous, lacking organizational discipline, resulting in multiple negative impacts. Including, but not limited to: excessive destruction of mission sites, causing unnecessary civilian panic, friction with local Law Enforcement departments, and post-mission cleanup costs far exceeding the budget."

"Based on the aforementioned performance, I personally strongly recommend: removing him from the Special Operations Team and clearing him from the core sequence of the Field Division."

Silence filled the conference room, broken only by the faint hum of the projector's fan.

In the eastern district of "Rust City," a bar named "Scrap and Engine Oil." The lighting was dim, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of cheap alcohol, sweat, and engine oil. Heavy metal music blared from a corner, but it couldn't drown out the rowdy clamor of the patrons.

Chen Jin sat alone in the shadows at the furthest corner of the bar, a glass of murky beer in front of him.

He had changed into an inconspicuous old jacket, his cap pulled low, obscuring most of his face.

The phone in his pocket vibrated, breaking the oppressive atmosphere surrounding him. The name displayed on the screen was: Yang Zheng.

Chen Jin stared at the name for two seconds before slowly pressing the answer button and bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Brother Zheng," his voice was deep, hoarse even through the bar's background noise.

"Ah Jin. You're in 'Rust City'?"

"Mm. Just arrived," Chen Jin replied curtly.

Yang Zheng was silent for a moment: "...Did you hear?"

Chen Jin looked at his blurred reflection in the murky beer, a self-mocking curve on his lips, his voice devoid of inflection. "Mm. I know. I've been 'optimized'."

"That ** Xu Lihua!" Yang Zheng's voice was filled with suppressed rage. "She's treated you like livestock all these years, dumping all the dirty and difficult work on you. She takes the credit, you take the blame, and she even withholds your funds! Leaving that hellhole might not be a bad thing for you!"

Chen Jin picked up his glass and took a large gulp of the bitter liquid. The cold alcohol slid down his throat, bringing a false sense of warmth.

"It's fine," he put down the glass, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rough wooden bar top. "I can handle this."

Yang Zheng was silent for a few more seconds, then spoke again, his tone grave: "Ah Jin, I heard a rumor... your next 'Yanfu Incident' is a 'Survival Game' type."

Chen Jin's hand, gripping the glass, tightened abruptly! The hard glass wall let out a "crack" under the strain.

Survival Game type! One of the most dangerous and lowest survival rate types of Yanfu Incidents!

"I can't say too much," Yang Zheng's voice was filled with helplessness. "But I've confirmed it, the possibility is extremely high. Listen, brother, I'll send you something later. The address is your old safe house in 'Rust City.' Inside is a 'Wish Stone'."

A Wish Stone!

An extremely precious life-saving item!

It allows one to wish to Yanfu to retain only their physical fitness, lose their Yanfu Walker identity, and return to their normal life.

"If you don't think you can survive... don't push yourself," Yang Zheng's voice was extremely serious. "Use it and retire early. Living is more important than anything!"

Chen Jin did not answer immediately. He gripped his phone so tightly that his knuckles lost all color.

Earth Immortal-class Walkers could, to a certain extent, influence the content and planning of Yanfu events.

Chen Jin remembered that Xu Lihua's inheritance, [Qin Gao], was an Earth Immortal-class inheritance.

Someone wanted him dead!

A cold, icy chill mixed with explosive rage surged straight from his spine to the top of his head!

"Crack!"

With a sharp snap, the thick glass in Chen Jin's hand was crushed into pieces!

Glass shards pierced deep into his palm, and beads of bright red blood welled up instantly, dripping through his fingers onto the greasy bar counter.

However, the glass shards were pushed out by his writhing flesh, and the wounds sealed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving behind only a few faint red marks.

The clamor of the bar seemed to stall for a split second, and several nearby patrons looked toward this corner in astonishment.

Chen Jin slowly loosened his grip, letting the glass shards and blood fall onto the bar.

"Thanks, Brother Zheng. I've... received the information."

"Be careful with everything." Yang Zheng could only offer a heavy word of caution.

"Mn." Chen Jin hung up the phone, looking down at his rapidly healing palm and the glaring mess of blood and glass on the counter, his eyes as deep and dark as a cold pool.

Someone... was courting death!