: The Opportunity Has Arrived

That night, Qiao Yuan ate something casually at the hotel. The food was alright, but not very fresh; it was probably leftovers from before the catastrophe.

The baby was still in a meeting and looked very busy. The other Ember members at the resort hotel on the island were also in a hurry, just like those in the bureau.

The rehearsals for new recruits, mentioned in the news during the day, were in full swing in the hall, with survivors from Joyful State and Begonia District undergoing one rigorous trial after another.

The requirements have been relaxed considerably this time, lowering the bar for interns to the second-tier advancement level, whereas previously only the first-tier advancement level was required. However, it has been stated that one of the hard criteria for becoming a full-time employee is advancement to the first-tier advancement level.

In the current environment, even though they know that the Embers members suffered heavy casualties in the previous catastrophe, participants continue to arrive in droves.

The best perks outside the city: everyone who joins gets a mecha combat suit worth millions. For the vast majority of ordinary people, this is paradise!

Qiao Yuan was currently in a room with Hu Tu, discussing matters concerning Caesar's men, while his uncle was in the next room having a video conference with other shareholders of the company.

Looking out the window at the bustling Ember Selection on the coast, he felt a strong sense of melancholy for the first time, because he was about to head to the main city and would no longer have to struggle outside the city.

In fact, just as he was eating, he received a video call from the admissions office of Galaxy University. It was said that many students admitted from outside the city had died in this catastrophe, and the admissions office was recounting the quotas and arranging the start of the semester.

They also rescheduled their entry time into the main city to 7 p.m. on the 19th, which was a few hours later than originally planned.

He didn't ask for the specific reason, but when he asked Hu Tu and several other students who went to the main city, he found that they all had the same reason, and the latest announcement for this year's freshmen was also published on the official website of Galaxy University.

This incident even made it to the media.

His gaze gradually returned to Hu Tu, who was connected to the computer via a brain-computer interface, and he said with a smile, "If it doesn't work out, then so be it. It's a good thing that the main city didn't open up the refugee acceptance program this time."

Hu Tu's eyes glowed with a faint green light, which was the code data stream synchronized with the holographic screen. With the authorization of the female captain of the third squad, and since the Ember Bureau was short-handed, he and Hu Tu were fortunate enough to borrow the Ember's backend access to conduct an investigation into the Zero Clan.

Hu Tu, unwilling to give up, said, "Damn it, what discouraging things are you saying? This is the first time I've ever used such a large amount of official authority. Let me show off a little more."

Qiao Yuan chuckled subconsciously: "Okay, I'm going to drink the impurity filtering medicine first. Do you need any?"

"I don't need it, haha. I just used it before the catastrophe broke out last night, and I'm fine now, but the pollution outside is really serious," Hu Tu muttered. "Hey, where did you buy it? The price has skyrocketed. All the medicine warehouses and sterile production lines outside the city are gone. You can't buy it even if you have money. I just don't understand. Can't they just airlift some over from the main city? It's really speechless."

"Who knows? These are extra spare medications I bought beforehand," Qiao Yuan said without trying to hide anything. "Remember the explosion at the class reunion on the 8th?"

Hu Tu was taken aback: "Wow, you're amazing, buddy. You're really planning ahead. I had thought about it before, but I didn't take it seriously."

After a while, Qiao Yuan went to the bathroom to detox shortly after drinking the medicine. His complexion was noticeably better. Looking at his friends' posts on Xingliao, he found that many of them were wearing gas masks when they went out.

Ouch.

Hu Tu finally found a clue. He raised his hand and tapped twice on the green holographic screen. Two windows popped up, one showing the surveillance video and the other showing a slightly disturbed audio clip.

As he connected with the female captain—as requested earlier when he was using her access—he waved to Qiao Yuan, saying, "Come quick, I've got it!"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yuan quickly walked over from the sink, as both the surveillance video and audio recordings entered his senses.

The video showed a blurry, gaunt old man. Hu Tu wasn't sure, but he recognized him at a glance as the 55-year-old third-tier high-ranking official, Xia Linfei. The scene next to him looked like a laboratory.

The audio recording is the dialogue from the video, but it's extracted separately and includes another person's voice, seemingly intentionally meant to be known by others.

"Oh, what are you trying to do? You can't do this, my daughter is still studying in the main city."

"Shut up, Dwight! You're just an assistant researcher. Black Moon Labs is doing more research right now. Don't forget why the company sent you here."

"Why? He's Xia Linfei, an accomplice in creating the End of Days, Caesar's right-hand man! This kind of guy is too dangerous."

"I said shut up! This is Supervisor Simon's order. It's none of your business. You can leave early and go to the main city to spend time with your daughter tomorrow."

"Continue. Quickly inject the drugs and implant the chips into these test subjects, then pack them up and transport them to the fourth main city. From now on, they will all be Level 3 contract workers of the Twilight Group. Remember to replenish their oxygen supply."

Qiao Yuan's heart couldn't help but race. Experimental subject, implanted chip, level three contract worker, transported to the main city... Damn!

Hu Tu took a sip of coffee beside him: "It is said that the Twilight Group's experimental subjects are all slaves, illegal immigrants who sacrificed their freedom to go to the main city."

"But what I'm wondering is, with Caesar dead, why would Xia Linfei willingly become a slave?"

At that moment, Qiao Yuan's eyelids twitched twice, and he pursed his lips, pondering, "Caesar might not be dead yet."

"Sigh," Hu Tu finished his coffee in one gulp after another, then unplugged the brain-computer interface. "The information has already been synchronized with the third squad leader, but everything else is gone. What are you planning to do?"

Qiao Yuan said with a hint of certainty, "It sounds like this assistant researcher named Dwight is worried that Xia Linfei will cause another catastrophe after he goes to the main city, affecting his daughter. And it seems that he is also from the main city, but was sent by the company to work outside the city?"

Hu Tu nodded: "That's right. Shall I look up Dwight's information for you again?"

"That's great," Qiao Yuan said with a smile.

At the same time, the captain of the third squad sent a voice message: "You guys are excellent. You've obtained crucial clues for us. The arrest operation has now begun. Xia Linfei can't escape."

Qiao Yuan felt much more at ease listening to this. The only regret was that he couldn't use this to advance his progress as a first-tier pioneer, but it was still a good thing.

He soon received another call from his baby.

"Hu Tu is not bad. The captain asked you to ask him if he wants any reward. After all, this is a great achievement. I'm heading out with the captain now to capture Xia Linfei. Wait for me to come back."

"Aha, okay." After hanging up the phone, Qiao Yuan asked Hu Tu.

Hu Tu had just torn open a bag of potato chips and was eating when he suddenly perked up: "Is there really such a good thing? I'll have to think about it carefully, hehehe, let's say it's okay later?"

"They're on their way to arrest them. You can talk to them when they get back," Qiao Yuan smiled.

Time passed slowly. Qiao Yuan practiced the Spirit Crane Scattered Hand in the guest room for a while and successfully raised his physique to level 6. Although it was useless for sublimation now, the improvement of strength and ancient martial arts was the real strength.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. As an Ember hovercar landed outside the hotel, Yan Baobao and several of her female team members who came down looked rather dejected, as if something had gone wrong with the capture mission.

Qiao Yuan opened the door and saw the four employees of the Twilight Group being escorted still trying to deny it: "We really don't know! We're just transporting goods. What does it have to do with us that Xia Linfei was switched out and is a clone?"

Yan Baobao frowned beside her and said, "Shut up."

The female captain, squinting, gave the order: "Lock them up first. A psychologist just checked, and some of their memories have been deleted. This is troublesome."

Qiao Yuan's eyes immediately lit up.

The breakthrough has arrived!

Even the psychologists and ascendants with telepathic abilities are helpless against what the embers cannot find.

[Anchor point: deleted memories.]

[Time: Two and a half hours ago.]

In an instant, time reversed before his eyes, and he found himself inside a dimly lit transportation base, the size of two stadiums. Workers with implanted prosthetics were coming and going. A six-story corridor surrounded the base, with a spacious center and a gray-blue titanium alloy finish.

The scarlet lights on the walls and pillars rotated slowly, creating a very oppressive atmosphere.

As one large transport hovercraft after another started up, a continuous rumbling sound filled the air.

But Qiao Yuan's gaze was completely fixed on an office next door, where a gaunt old man wearing a baseball cap and a black robe was standing. Although he was well disguised, Qiao Yuan recognized him at a glance. The man was Xia Linfei.

At this moment, the other party slowly spoke: "The Yu Jin gang is very cunning. Xia Linfei's clone can be used to create a smokescreen. As for me... hehe... as long as you can help me destroy the Legalist Heavy Industry, I will do anything you ask. I don't care."

He felt a sudden jolt in his heart as he listened.

This is clearly Xia Linfei's body, but the words spoken are Caesar's voice!