Working Records in a Weird World - 92

 

| WRIAWW | Why Are You so Angry, Lele? | 92

To be honest, Ye Yun didn't even dare to entertain this speculation at first.

Due to his outstanding performance in the initial ?-level missions, Zong Le had gained considerable fame, with his mission records and personal background thoroughly scrutinized. 

Everyone was speculating about the origins of this new talented newcomer and what his real-world identity might be.

Survivors who received a C-level novice mission right off the bat were anything but ordinary in the real world.

Qin Ye was an active-duty soldier, the Black Witch was the last descendant of a royal family, and Shu Xingwen was a wealthy entrepreneur. Although the main system blurred their memories related to the real world, it always left behind some consistent information for each individual.

Yet, when it came to Zong Le's past, there was nothing but blankness.

Of course, this can also be inferred from the fact that he is extremely low-key, aside from missions, he never made public appearances on forums or within the infinite space. 

Still, this alone was far from enough to support his earth-shattering conclusion.

So when Ye Yun first rushed out of the classroom, what crossed his mind was the possibility that this was merely an illusion created by the S-level weird, or perhaps a case of having the same name. He couldn’t jump to conclusions so hastily.

Given the gravity of the matter, he needed to find someone to verify it properly.

Fortunately, luck was on his side. The moment he stepped out, he ran into the homeroom teacher walking toward him.

The teacher was on the phone while heading to the classroom and froze for a second upon seeing the attendance register in Ye Yun’s hands. "Why do you have the roster sheet? Where is the parent committee?"

Seeing the head teacher, Ye Yun’s heart leaped with joy.

There was no quicker or more accurate way than asking the owner of the roster sheet. He immediately stepped forward. "Teacher Liu, I have something to ask. Is the parent of Liu Fu in our class really the dean of Taikang Yongle Hospital?"

Since the school had no rule against inquiring about parents’ professions, the teacher didn’t think much of the question. Still on the phone, she merely nodded absentmindedly.

"Did he come here in person?" At this point, Ye Yun no longer cared about the weird’s rules.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to ask such a borderline question. But now, he just wanted to confirm his suspicion.

His voice rose unconsciously in his excitement.

Annoyed by the noise, the teacher covered the receiver of the phone. "Yes. The dean is swamped with work but still left a private number, and I was able to contact him personally. Now, hand over the roster sheet. What exactly do you want to ask? If you’re looking to curry favor, I suggest you save your breath—"

But Ye Yun had no intention of asking further. The survivor took a deep breath and ran off without another word.

There was no doubt about it, the teacher’s response had confirmed everything.

No matter how unbelievable the speculation seemed, the irrefutable facts left no room for argument.

Then came the shattering of the weird domain. The successive turbulence left Ye Yun with a growing sense of unease.

So when he saw Joshua, it was as if he had finally found an anchor. He poured out his discovery in a frantic rush, his words brimming with panic.

"Although I know this is really shocking, you might not believe it... After all, the roster has already been collected by the homeroom teacher, but I swear to heaven, what I saw is absolutely true! And the teacher's response further supports my theory! Zong Le is most likely not a survivor, but a native of Guiyi City!"

Because of his intense emotions, Ye Yun's words were frantic, and he almost bit his tongue.

Desperate to earn 1st's trust, he racked his brains: "You know as well as I do that the dean of Taikang Yongle Hospital was eliminated by us long ago. There's no way someone could have the same name as him. So I wondered, could it be that after the survivors left, he infiltrated the hospital and stole the fruits of our labor..."

"If that's the case, Zong Le must have planned this for a long time, using layer upon layer of deception to infiltrate our ranks! Remember that question mark-level mission? How could a mere C-level find a loophole to complete it when so many S-levels failed? That must have been entirely orchestrated by him! Damn, there is also the forum! Every piece of information and every move the survivors make there is under his surveillance—"

As the conversation headed towards into conspiracy theories and wild speculation, Joshua gently raised his hand, cutting off Ye Yun's incoherent rambling. "It's okay. I never said I didn't believe you."

Hearing this, Ye Yun jerked his head up.

His eyes shone with elation: "My Lord! I knew you'd believe me!"

The reason he'd sought out 1st immediately wasn't just because the man was a brainy type who could easily detect lies, but also because something like this happened before.

The boss of the A-level dungeon "Imaginary Fortress" had once killed a survivor and took over their identity, and briefly infiltrated the survivors' communication channels. And the person who finally saw through his identity was Joshua.

"...My Lord, what should we do now?" Ye Yun pressed urgently.

His gaze brimmed with dependence and anticipation, as if awaiting orders.

Yet the silver-haired man abruptly shifted gears: "There's no need to be anxious."

"Regarding this...who else have you shared this with?"

"Only you, My Lord," Ye Yun answered truthfully. "I just discovered it myself and rushed out of class to find you immediately. I didn't run into anyone else along the way. I was lucky to bump into you on the way."

"Ah, is that so? How fortunate, it saves me the trouble of tracking them down one by one."

"Fortunate? My Lord, what do you mean? I don't quite follow..."

Ye Yun was utterly bewildered by these words, standing frozen in place with a nearly visible question mark hovering above his head.

"You don't need to understand." Joshua adjusted his cuffs with elegant precision, his silver hair glinting coldly in the darkness.

He said slowly: "Forget everything in this mission, especially the memory of 'Zong Le"

Seeing Ye Yun stand motionless under the influence of the Eros code, his pupils gradually dilating, Joshua sighed softly after successfully averting another crisis.

"You really know how to make trouble for me, Lele."

Not long ago, Joshua had performed an impressive act of coercion and temptation before Xiao Fu. 

Step by step, pressing relentlessly with repeated interrogations, he not only shattered the psychological defenses of the seven-year-old but also found irrefutable evidence for his suspicions that had sprouted during his last mission.

Zong Le wasn’t a survivor, he was a native of Guiyi City.

This truth was like a key, instantly unlocking all the mysteries: the superhuman strength, why he had never appeared in the Infinite Space, the repeated failures of tracking devices... Every puzzle was solved in that moment.

After casually erasing Xiao Fu’s memories, Joshua, adept at destroying evidence, strolled toward the classroom.

Along the way, he pondered how to maximize the benefits of this huge discovery.

He originally intended to keep this secret as a trump card to play at a critical moment, he hadn’t expected some reckless survivor to nearly expose it. As a hunter, he naturally had to step in and cover for Zong Le.

Of course, this wasn’t without its price.

The man gently rubbed the surface of the authority ring on his finger, his blue eyes dark and unfathomable.

Once he successfully controlled this humanoid walking weapon, he would collect every ounce of debt back from him with interest.

"But it seems someone has managed to provoke him now?"

At this thought, Joshua glanced up at the sky.

The weird domain that had once enveloped the entire school had already shattered without a trace, leaving only a blood-red moon hanging in the night sky. In his perception, the once-overbearing presence of the S-level weird, which had flaunted its existence at every opportunity, had weakened to the point of near dissipation.

Considering everyone present, it wasn’t hard to guess whose handiwork this was.

It was rare to see him get so angry.

Joshua thought with amusement.

What kind of chilling sight would it be when someone accustomed to disguising himself with gentleness and kindness finally shed that mask?

He was looking forward to it.

......

Meanwhile, in the school parking lot.

Zong Le casually tossed the bound people into the back of an ambulance, his movements rough and unceremonious.

Several hundred pounds of weight crashed into the vehicle with a heavy thud.

These members of the inspection team, who were still high and mighty a few minutes ago and used the rules of the weird domain to turn themselves into black shadows have now returned to their normal appearance. 

With a swollen nose and face, they were knocked unconscious, they no longer had any of their former arrogance.

Zong Le dusted off his hands, coldly eyeing the pile of bodies in the ambulance.

Under the bloody moonlight, the lines of his profile looked particularly cold and hard, a stark contrast to his usual gentle appearance.

Just moments earlier, Zong Le had knocked on the door of the principal’s office, with a steel table leg he’d snapped off in one hand.

At the time, the inspection team had been enjoying fine liquor offered by the principal, dancing and discussing how to squeeze more money from their assignment at Sunshine Experimental Elementary School while adding their resumes with impressive achievements.

Knock, knock, knock.

Amid the blaring background music, the sound of knocking went unnoticed.

After knocking politely three times, the inspection team members who were close to the door suddenly heard a series of creaking sounds.

In the midst of the grating sound of tearing metal, the group turned in shock, only to see the black-haired young man resting one hand on the doorknob while the entire heavy security door, frame and lock included, was ripped clean off the wall.

The twisted door frame was ripped opened like a beast's maw, revealing the cold face of the dark-haired young man behind it.

What happened next didn't need an explanation.

When dealing with criminals, Zong Le had never learned the meaning of "showing mercy."

With each swing of the desk leg, the weird domain hovering over the school shattered into pieces.

Not long after infiltrating Sunshine Experimental Elementary School, the once-arrogant inspection team had been completely wiped out. Now, all of them lay unconscious in the back of an ambulance, waiting to be transported to Ankang Prison for interrogation and sentencing once the parent-teacher meeting concluded.

After confirming that the number of people was correct, Zong Le slammed the ambulance doors shut with a resounding bang.

Perhaps due to the entire inspection team being taken away, the scheduled education bureau visit could no longer proceed. As Zong Le finished his work, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

[S-level mission 'Sunshine Experimental Elementary School' completed]

[Team mission evaluation: Good]

[Personal mission evaluation: Perfect]

At the same time, the other survivors receiving this notification were utterly dumbfounded.

"Wait, what? The mission is over just like this?"

"How is that possible? We haven’t even seen the inspection team yet! Is this a bug?"

Just moments ago, the survivors had rushed to the first-floor office in teams, hoping to find the inspection team and uncover the reason behind the sudden collapse of the weird domain.

But by the time they arrived, the office was already empty. All they found was a stainless steel door torn clean off its hinges, discarded like scrap metal, and the chaotic aftermath of a brutal fight inside.

"This door... looks like it was ripped right out by someone."

An experienced survivor examined the broken door frame, swallowing hard.

While everyone was still piecing together the clues to figure out where the inspection team had gone, the system notification declaring the mission complete left them all frozen in shock, completely baffled.

"My god, it's only been two hours! This has to be the fastest S-level mission completion on record..."

"The problem is, we still have no idea what actually happened. Did we just... win by doing nothing?"

If the previous A-level mission, Matchmaker, could at least be attributed to the 1st involvement, this S-level mission was utterly perplexing, offering no leads whatsoever.

"Could it have been the 1st or the 10th acting alone?"

Someone immediately disagreed. "I doubt it. This was a mid-level S-level mission, the difficulty speaks for itself. Those two are strong, but not this overwhelmingly powerful."

While everyone else had been cautiously navigating the mission, carefully avoiding the domain’s rules, they hadn’t even had the chance to showcase their skills before it all ended.

Among them, only two people likely knew the truth.

Zong Le turned and saw the silver-haired man leaning against a tree in the distance.

His expression remained calm, he’d already noticed the white-robed priest standing there, watching silently as he tossed the unconscious bodies into the ambulance.

"Why are you so angry, Lele?"

Zong Le didn't answer, instead asking calmly, "If a survivor dies during a mission, will their remains be brought back to the Infinite Space by the main system?"

Faced with this question, Joshua was stunned for a moment.

But his terrifying insight and sharp mind quickly grasped the underlying meaning behind this seemingly abrupt question.

"Wait, are you angry because of that dead A-level survivor?"

Zong Le's jawline tensed visibly. His mood was terrible, and he had no intention of answering this question.

Yet Joshua already knew the answer from the young man's tightly pursed lips.

Even though he prided himself on understanding eighty percent of Zong Le's personality. he still felt an indescribable shock at this moment.

Yes, he'd long known this black-haired youth was lawful good to his core. But to go this far for a complete stranger... Joshua's fingers unconsciously rubbed against his authority ring as he suddenly chuckled softly.

Come to think of it, wasn't this something Zong Le would do?

The black-haired youth seemed to possess a peculiar magic, he always managed to refresh one's understanding in the purest way possible. 

It was like the most dazzling beam of light in the darkness, so blinding one couldn't look directly at it, yet impossible not to be drawn toward.

"Ah... my apologies, I'm not laughing at you. I just have one question."

Because of his excitement, Joshua had to deliberately suppress his tone, making his voice unnaturally soft, as if mixed with honey, so sweet that you could almost pull out a silk string: "Deaths like these happen several times daily in Infinite Space. I admit you're strong, stronger than I imagined, but you can't expect to save everyone."

"So, could you answer me this?"

The man leaned closer, as his silver hair cascaded like a waterfall: "Would you try to save and avenge every person you encounter like this?"

Watching that handsome, almost demonic face enlarge before him, Zong Le frowned in discomfort.

"Yes."

The expected answer.

Yet Joshua didn't stop there. He took another step forward until the silver eyeglass chain at his side tangled with the black hair at the youth's cheek. His blue eyes still locked onto his every movement: "Even if the person to be saved is already dead? Even if they don't care?"

"You're not them. How could you know they don't care?"

Faced with such pressure, Zong Le remained unmoved, countering with a question of his own.

Just then, following the system announcement, it was time for the main system to recall all survivors.

Across the eternal night sky, dozens of luminous white lights suddenly descended, instantly engulfing the two in their glow.

Amidst the growing intensity of the light's descent, Joshua heard a decisive reply:

"There's no need to test me, this isn't some unspeakable secret that cannot be told. I'll tell you clearly that if I witness any suffering with my own eyes, and if it is within my ability, I will definitely lend a hand."

"Even if it's me?"

"Yes." The young man stood still, his eyes as clear as the first snow: "Even if it's you."

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TL: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Sorry I just wanted to vent how I felt on the latest chapter, I really wish you guys were caught up ( ; ω ; ).