Chapter Ninety-Three: Cleaning Up the Mess

The sharp sting of disinfectant flooded Qi Chen’s nose, and he stirred awake in a daze, his gaze landing at once on the blindingly white ceiling.

His mind was a total haze. He lay stupefied for quite some time before a flood of memories surged back into his head.

“Damn... am I really this strong?”

Thinking back to the final battle with Amber, Qi Chen could still vaguely recall the overwhelming power that had answered his call after he had completely let go.

That was true unity with the uncanny. That was the real unleashing of the Overlord’s full strength.

So that was it: the Overlord’s ability was simply to hit the uncanny harder... No wonder, from the very beginning, when he had first seen the high-heeled uncanny, he had felt such a fierce urge to destroy it.

Gathering his thoughts, Qi Chen also realized he was likely in the medical center now, probably brought here by Warmheart or Fu Ying.

He struggled to sit up, but his whole body felt weak and hollow, as though it had been drained dry.

“Stop moving around. Rest properly.”

Warmheart came into the ward carrying a fruit basket and sat down in the corner of the room.

“You’re bold, kid. Going into Minsheng Mall all by yourself—what, you think handling a few uncanny incidents makes you invincible?”

Qi Chen gave an awkward smile. Of course he understood what Warmheart was trying to say. He was just trying to tell him not to be so reckless in the future.

That made sense, but he couldn’t exactly promise it.

“How bad is the situation in the city now?” Compared to being lectured, Qi Chen wanted more than anything to know what was really going on in Third City.

At that, Warmheart let out a long sigh. “What do you think? Multiple uncanny incidents broke out at once, and then there was a large-scale event like the Candy Uncanny. The losses were considerable. But the Administration Hall has already started the full cleanup. They know more about civilian affairs than we do, so I’m sure they’ll handle it well.”

Qi Chen nodded slightly, then hesitated before asking, “The losses... how many people were sacrificed?”

Warmheart, who had been peeling an orange, stopped all at once. After a moment of silence, he said, “A lot.”

He did not give an exact number, but that was enough to say everything.

Even the casualties Qi Chen had personally witnessed in Third City were far from small; this outbreak of uncanny events had caused damage that could only be described as the worst in recent years.

And that was after they had already cleared out most of the uncanny weapons in advance.

“These things, don’t dwell on them. Someone will take responsibility for them.”

Warmheart went back to peeling the orange, not even looking at Qi Chen as he spoke. “I know what you’re thinking. You want to find out who was behind it all. But right now, we still haven’t truly confirmed who the mastermind is.”

Investigation was never easy, especially when the trail likely ran from the bottom all the way to the top. That made the difficulty of uncovering the truth absurdly high.

“As for the details, when you’ve recovered, go ask Captain Fu yourself. She knows more than I do. And honestly, I really thought you’d lost control to the uncanny back then. Thank goodness it was just a false alarm.”

Qi Chen smiled faintly. He could vaguely sense that Warmheart seemed a little tense.

Perhaps he had not, as he claimed, completely set aside his worries about Qi Chen, but was still anxious about the possibility of a loss of control.

It sounded harsh, but it was perfectly normal.

From Third City’s point of view, Qi Chen had accomplished an unprecedented feat. Yet they could never afford to lower their guard against the possibility of danger.

Allowing Warmheart to visit him instead of locking him straight into the research lab was already a huge compromise.

“Oh, right—the treatment fees at the medical center...” A pained expression appeared on Qi Chen’s face.

“That’s nothing you need to worry about!”

Warmheart’s voice suddenly rose. “The department is covering everything! And there’s a bonus too! A bonus so big you’ll grin till your face splits!”

After that brief exchange, the atmosphere unexpectedly eased. Warmheart lifted his head and, for the first time, looked directly at Qi Chen. Seeing the pallid face before him, he broke into an understanding smile.

Good. He was still the same familiar fellow.

“Qi Chen, next time I’m not there, don’t you dare go off and take risks on your own again. At the very least, I’m your partner and senior—could you show me a little respect?” Warmheart quickly slipped into a lecturing tone, walking to the bedside and placing the peeled orange in Qi Chen’s hand. “From now on, even if Captain Fu orders you to do something, you still need to tell me first. What she pulled this time was really underhanded. You have no idea how angry she made me.”

“Still... don’t blame her too much. She has to consider things from a higher vantage point.”

“Who said I blamed Captain Fu?” Qi Chen narrowed his eyes as the sweet-and-sour juice spread across his tongue. Where the hell did Warmheart buy these oranges?

After swallowing and catching his breath, Qi Chen went on from where he had left off. “I was the one who asked Captain Fu for the investigation. Everything she did afterward was perfectly reasonable. I actually think it was pretty good. She trusts me... It’s just that I seem to have hung up the communication again...”

“Then you hung it up. Big deal. If she asks, just tell her I taught you to do it. What are you looking at? Someone’s come in... Captain Fu, hello!”

Turning around to face the frost-cold figure at the door, Warmheart snapped instinctively to attention. He felt a little dangerous right now.

Fortunately, Fu Ying had no intention of making trouble for him. She walked straight to the bedside and looked at Qi Chen.

“Sorry, Mask.”

In an instant, both Qi Chen and Warmheart were dumbstruck.

But Fu Ying did not continue. Instead, her expression turned grave as she changed the subject. “I came here not only to apologize to you, but also to leave you with a few things.

“For the time being, I may have to leave the Uncanny Response Department and accept an investigation.”

“What?” Warmheart was stunned. The news clearly caught him off guard.

“There’s nothing surprising about it.”

There was no ripple in Fu Ying’s eyes, as though she had long since anticipated what she was about to face.

“The highest power structure in Third City consists of Elder Li and the other four administrators. My authority comes from Elder Li. Now that he isn’t in the city and the crisis has passed, by the rules, I do need to undergo some investigation.”

Qi Chen and Warmheart both understood Fu Ying’s words very well. Though neither of them felt anything but resentment in their hearts, they also knew that with just the two of them as members of the Uncanny Response Department, they could never shake the city’s highest power structure.

“Still, you don’t need to worry too much. I’m only leaving my work in the department temporarily. Perhaps this is also a better opportunity for me to find out who the true hand behind all this is.

“And compared with me, you two should pay more attention to your own safety. Especially you, Qi Chen. I think the person behind this will soon realize that you turned the tide, and that you’re only a newcomer. He’s very likely to try recruiting you first, or else choose some other way to eliminate you. In short, be careful.

“Barring accidents, there should be a special investigative team coming to question you in the next few days about the uncanny outbreak. Stay safe.”

Having said this, Fu Ying also took out a delicate little fruit basket from behind her and set it on the table beside Qi Chen’s bed, then turned to leave.

“Wait, Captain Fu! You... should be careful too.”

Fu Ying paused at the door and looked back with a bright, cutting smile.

“Remember this: I still haven’t settled the score for you hanging up on me without permission!”

...