Free Web NovelChapter 88: Unpredictable Warzone (3)
"He is." Chenxi narrowed his eyes at the rift. "Mutated Dovos are from red zones."
Beside him, Yuzhen’s ice form faded. His blue hair slowly returned to red. His eyes shifted back to their familiar ember colour.
His cheerful expression was gone. "So that means..."
He looked toward the rift. "That’s a red zone rift?"
"Yeah." Chenxi’s answer came immediately and that alone was enough to make several nearby Espers tense.
Without another word, Chenxi jumped down from the broken concrete structure he had been standing on.
He landed lightly and headed straight toward the gathered Rift Bureau Espers.
A large Esper stepped forward immediately.
He was broad shouldered, tall, built like a tank. Though Chenxi still had a couple of inches on him.
"Where do you think you’re going?" His voice carried an obvious warning.
Chenxi wasn’t impressed. "I would like to speak to your commander."
The Esper frown deepened. "You are not—"
"It’s fine, Jun." The interruption came from the green-haired Esper.
Her forest-green eyes glowed faintly as she stepped forward. One hand moved through her hair casually. "I’m sure he isn’t planning anything that’ll make me regret letting him through."
Jun looked reluctant. But he stepped aside.
Chenxi walked forward.
The commander never looked away from the rift. Not even once.
"The rift is becoming a red zone rift." Chenxi got straight to the point. "We need a full evacuation of Sector Two."
The green-haired Esper sighed. "We have a twelve-hour observation protocol, handsome." freewebnoveℓ.com
Chenxi stared. "A what?"
"A twelve-hour protocol. "Her expression remained serious. "If we order a city-wide evacuation every time a large rift behaves strangely, we create panic."
She crossed her arms. "We waste resources and If this turns out to be a false alarm—"
"Hold that thought."
She stopped speaking.
Several nearby Espers looked surprised. Apparently people didn’t interrupt her often.
The green-haired Esper looked mildly offended.
Chenxi found that amusing. Instead of arguing, he tapped his watch.
The communication channel opened immediately.
"Hello, boss?"
Wenzhi answered at once. "What’s the status?"
The dry tone instantly made the green-haired Esper’s eye twitch.
Chenxi almost laughed. She hadn’t even met Wenzhi yet and he was already irritating her.
"The rift appears to be a red zone rift." Chenxi looked toward the hovering eye-shaped opening. "Casualties are high."
"What?" Wenzhi’s voice sharpened immediately. "Where is Xinyuan?"
Chenxi rubbed the back of his neck. "Alive, hopefully."
That answer earned several stares.
"He entered the rift." Chenxi continued casually. "Killed a Mutated Dovos and he hasn’t returned yet."
Chenxi looked toward the rift again. "So he’s probably handling something worse."
"If it’s a red zone rift then Sector Two is already lost. It needs to be evacuated." Wenzhi said, his tone a matter of fact.
The green-haired Esper frowned. "We have a twelve-hour evacuation protocol—"
"Your protocol is stupid." The response came instantly.
Chenxi immediately covered his mouth.
The green-haired Esper looked stunned.
Wenzhi sounded completely unimpressed. "A red zone doesn’t care about your paperwork. If that rift finishes stabilizing, you won’t be evacuating a city. You’ll be evacuating survivors."
"It cannot be evacuated." The green haired esper didn’t back down. "If this rift ends up stabilizing naturally, thousands of civilians will lose resources unnecessarily."
She crossed her arms. "Homes will be abandoned. Businesses will suffer. The city will suffer. And for what?"
For the first time since the discussion began, Wenzhi didn’t answer immediately.
Several seconds passed.
The Esper relaxed slightly. Apparently taking his silence as hesitation. "You can go ahead and—"
"We’ll fund everything."
The Esper stopped.
Wenzhi’s voice remained completely calm.
"The resources, losses, relocation, the reconstruction. We’ll cover all of it. We’ll even fund the Bureau if that’s what it takes."
The commander finally tore his eyes away from the rift and walked towards Chenxi, his eyes on the watch. "Who are you?"
"Lin Wenzhi." Wenzhi sounded almost bored. "Faction Leader of the Sovereign Faction. Now, are we evacuating the sector? Or are we continuing this conversation?"
The commander studied the watch carefully and looked toward Chenxi.
Chenxi simply nodded. That was enough.
The commander turned toward the green haired Esper. "You are in charge of the evacuation, Hanmei."
Hanmei frowned immediately. "Commander—"
"Take everyone you need." His tone left no room for argument. "Move now."
Hanmei exhaled sharply. Clearly unhappy. But she didn’t argue further.
She turned and began barking orders immediately.
Several Espers followed after her. Including Yuzhen, who practically launched himself off the ruined concrete structure.
Within seconds the entire area erupted into movement.
The commander looked back at the watch. His gaze sharpened. "What is the catch?"
"Your loyalty." Wenzhi answered immediately.
The commander’s expression didn’t change.
"And the Rift Bureau."
Now remaining nearby Espers froze.
The commander stared. "You want the Bureau under the Sovereign Faction."
"You can say no." Wenzhi sounded completely unconcerned.
The commander narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps if we both survive this, we can discuss it later."
To his surprise, Wenzhi laughed. The sound carried clearly through the communication channel. "Only a fool makes deals based on later."
The commander went quiet.
"This world kills people for breathing wrong." Wenzhi continued casually. "If we’re making a deal, we make it while we’re alive."
The commander couldn’t even argue with that.
"I won’t take your rights." Wenzhi continued. "I won’t strip your authority. We will grow together and you’ll have more power than you do right now."
The commander’s eyes narrowed. "Including the Disaster-Class Esper?"
Wenzhi snorted. "Well, he’s mine."
Chenxi’s lips twitched in amusement. Wenzhi sounded entirely unaware of how possessive that had sounded. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"But I understand your question. So? Are you in?"
The commander stared at the rift for a long while and looked back at the watch. "We’re in."
Chenxi’s eyebrows rose. That had been absurdly easy.
The commander simply turned back toward the rift as if he hadn’t just agreed to a partnership that could change the balance of power entirely.
Chenxi lifted the watch. "That was smooth, boss."
"Don’t call me that." Wenzhi sounded annoyed immediately and sighed. "I’m just surprised I managed to make a deal today."
Chenxi’s lips twitched. "Sovereign faction... I like it."
Wenzhi said nothing to that.
Chenxi’s expression gradually became serious again. "Aren’t you coming?"
His gaze lifted toward the rift. "He’s been in there for too long."
Silence. A long silence.
Then the communication disconnected.
Chenxi stared at the watch and slowly looked back toward the rift just in time to see something shoot out of it.
What remained of a Mutated Crawler slammed onto the road with a sickening impact.
The entire area froze.
Chenxi stared. "Bloody hell."
