Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 91: Compromise

Shu Jun walked into the command center in a dignified manner for the first time.

If Zhu Yanchen guessed correctly, Shu Jun had caused some commotion in the surrounding area to change his mood. For several consecutive days, he had wrapped himself in erosion, and the dark emotions had almost saturated his entire being.

While his spirit endured heavy pressure, there were advantages as well. Engaging with erosion constantly elevated Shu Jun’s control over it to a new level.

For example, he could consciously change the resonance conditions and manipulate things other than the air with erosion. However, time was limited, and even if he practiced intensively, he couldn’t develop any offensive techniques.

But temporarily disabling the purifiers was achievable.

Imitating Chai Xuyang, Shu Jun interfered with several purifiers closest to the command center. Taking advantage of the weakened defense, he endured discomfort and stepped into the courtyard. Xia Yufeng had already suffered a gunshot wound, so his convulsive movements weren’t too suspicious.

Acting under the guise of a lover was quite a novel experience for Shu Jun, but he couldn’t fully let go. Just as he entered, an assistant under Zhu Sheng approached him. The young man nervously handed him a stack of documents, cautioning him repeatedly in the corridor, afraid that he might embarrass himself in the upcoming meeting.

Shu Jun accepted the documents one by one, feeling highly nervous. Wearing Zhu Yanchen’s white gloves, he had to retract his claws. Shu Jun had only recently started exploring this subtle control, fearing that a momentary lapse in concentration would puncture the gloves and expose his claws in the heart of human power. That would definitely stir up trouble.

There was also good news—Zhu Sheng didn’t even glance at him until the meeting began.

The content of the meeting was more or less as Shu Jun had guessed. Zhu Sheng remained quite calm, without any plans for a blind attack. He had focused almost all his energy on the defense of Y City. As for the chaos outside Y City, he didn’t directly respond, but rather looked meaningfully at Yi Ning.

Yi Ning remained silent.

Shu Jun watched with great interest—everyone in this room held high positions in the three major families, so they were more or less aware of the true situation regarding “Zhu Yanchen”. They saw through it but chose not to expose it, treating the silent “Marshal Zhu” as if he were invisible, which conveniently suited Shu Jun.

“The relevant departments are intensively researching the monster in the footage.” Zhu Sheng changed the topic. “We will soon have tangible data regarding its level of threat.”

Shu Jun made an effort to keep a serious expression and listened attentively.

As the monster in the footage, his emotions were quite complex—one-third nervous and awkward, one-third enticed by the extremely tempting idea of killing all the high-ranking officials here in one fell swoop.

The final one-third was his concern for Zhu Yanchen, who was sleeping in the underground bar. He hoped that no stray cats or mice would disturb his beloved, and this concern successfully diluted his restless desire to kill, keeping Shu Jun firmly glued to his chair.

“We have also had people analyze it, and that thing, along with the humanoid creature below, is the state of a heavily eroded synthetic human.”

Completely unaware that “that thing” was observing on-site, Tang Mei cleared her throat.

“Even if they retain their abilities, the current city defenses are sufficient. Why bring people into the city center?”

Shu Jun double-checked the name on the nameplate, not too surprised. The outskirts of Y City were a mixed bag, filled with businesspeople. The Tang family had significant holdings in the city center’s industries, and the outer city area was also quite lucrative. With a single order from Zhu Sheng, the Tang family had incurred significant losses.

These people had a tendency to beat around the bush in their speech, and it was quite annoying. Shu Jun made an effort to restrain the urge to bite the pen and firmly memorized the content of the speeches and the speakers, preparing to relay them to Zhu Yanchen.

“I suspect that what we see is not the whole picture,” Zhu Sheng said casually.

“What do you mean?”

“The situation with the synthetic humans is abnormal. I suspect that a third-party force is involved. Ms. Tang, the synthetic human leader isn’t an ordinary person if they can incite the Old Fourth for cooperation. Such a person wouldn’t let an Erosion Swamp easily destroy the main force, would they?”

“Interesting. I remember that Xiao Zhu is fond of speculation.”

“If I have to choose between coincidence and conspiracy, I can only choose the latter,” Zhu Sheng said indifferently. “The residents of Y City are the core of the entire city. We absolutely cannot afford any mishaps.”

Tang Mei nodded thoughtfully, her face still displaying a polite smile. “The Old Fourth are just a group of marginal players. They don’t have that much power. Besides the Old Fourth, I can’t think of anyone else outside of the synthetic humans.”

“Obtaining intelligence from mutant beasts, or even worse—similar to synthetic humans, some kind of intelligent life capable of controlling the Erosion Swamp. Based on the current information, we cannot rule out this possibility.”

Zhu Sheng swiftly flipped through the display screen, showing footage from X City, zooming in on Sweet Edge’s part. “For example, this massive Erosion Swamp. Based on various details, it is highly likely that it possesses life and consciousness.”

The old saying went, “old habits die hard”. Once there was a slight clue, this person’s imagination was no less than Zhu Yanchen’s.

Shu Jun was taken aback, almost losing his grip on the pen, which nearly fell onto the wooden table. He quickly held the shaking pen with both hands, managing to prevent any sound. Just as he heaved a sigh of relief, the little finger of his glove made a tearing sound, and the claw on his little finger punctured the fabric.

Shu Jun: “…”

He elegantly folded his hands, hiding his little finger, and desperately tried to retract his claws. Not knowing if it was an illusion, Zhu Sheng intentionally or unintentionally glanced in his direction.

“In other words,” Yi Ning finally spoke with an unusually dry voice, “the current synthetic humans may only be the vanguard.”

“Based on my speculation, that seems to be the case.” Zhu Sheng shifted his gaze to Yi Ning.

Shu Jun could sense Yi Ning’s pain. Compared to the Yi Ning in the promotional videos for , the current Yi Ning had lost at least ten pounds and had a few strands of silver in his hair. Marshal Yi’s eye sockets were sunken, and he appeared anguished and exhausted.

Since the start of the meeting, Yi Ning had been surprisingly quiet, and Shu Jun almost thought it was Zhu Sheng’s solo performance.

However, even after that, Yi Ning still didn’t say anything. Next came the details of Zhu Sheng’s defense plan, which were tedious and fragmented. Shu Jun felt like he had a headache from all the information, and his claws almost punctured the fabric on all ten fingertips of his gloves.

Now it seemed that playing the role of Xia Yufeng wasn’t so easy.

Finally, the lengthy meeting came to an end. The participants had various expressions as they slowly left their seats, leaving only Zhu Sheng and Yi Ning sitting in their original positions. Shu Jun had already lifted his buttocks off the chair, but Zhu Sheng gave him a piercing look, so he reluctantly sat back down, moving slowly.

He really couldn’t handle these sophisticated matters. The meeting was truly too long, and as an Erosion Swamp, even he felt his ass going numb. Zhu Yanchen was right; he wasn’t good at acting. If he had to impersonate the real Zhu Yanchen, he would probably have been exposed by now.

Shu Jun couldn’t understand when and how Zhu Sheng and Yi Ning had reached an agreement and coincidentally stayed behind. But in order to be a good relay, Captain Shu sat with a stern face, making an effort to conceal the sadness on his face.

“Changed your mind?” Zhu Sheng interjected randomly.

Yi Ning took several deep breaths, and at one point, Shu Jun suspected he was trying to exhale his lungs through his nostrils.

“…I promise to cooperate,” Yi Ning finally said with difficulty. “But I have one condition.”

“Hmm.”

“The area near Settlement γ-31329 has suffered heavy losses, and the residents…” Yi Ning gritted his teeth and didn’t continue. “For the remaining residents of those settlements, I hope you can take in a group and let them temporarily reside in the vacant outer city.”

“Based on the current situation, most likely those settlements have been infiltrated by synthetic humans. The testing process will require a significant amount of manpower and resources.”

“I understand. I’m not asking Y City to provide additional resources. The settlements themselves have some supplies, and there are also remaining resources in the outskirts of Y City. Regarding the issue of synthetic humans, I can accept the military’s supervision over them, and they can avoid contact with the citizens.”

Zhu Sheng wearily looked at Yi Ning.

“If you agree, I’m willing to help you with publicity to stimulate the relationship between synthetic humans and the settlement residents. Currently, the top priority is to fight against synthetic humans, I admit that. But at least…at least give the settlement residents a way out.”

Yi Ning struggled to slightly arch his back and lowered his head.

If they were to become enemies at this critical moment, it would likely end in disaster. It was better to yield for now and temporarily unite towards a common goal. Otherwise, he could only watch his hometown burn to ashes.

Shu Jun could see through this layer, but he also sensed the fresh blood seeping from Yi Ning’s clenched fist.

“I can understand that you won’t disclose the situation of ‘Zhu Yanchen’, and—”

“I won’t withdraw from the election, but as of today, I will stop all election campaigns. Marshal Zhu’s election is beyond question. If I am elected, I will also obey you.”

Zhu Sheng remained silent and only lowered his eyes.

“This is my guarantee.” Yi Ning closed his eyes and placed both hands on a record card. Zhu Sheng briefly glanced at the contents, and his eyebrows raised slightly. The footage showed Luo Duan’s activities in the command center, interspersed with many scenes of Yi Ning and Luo Duan’s conversations, all time stamped after the chaos of the Reunion Festival.

“Even if I become the leader, as long as you make good use of this, I will inevitably resign.”

“Mm.” Zhu Sheng took the chip. “I indeed don’t want to waste energy on election meetings anymore. Let it be this way. I will arrange for your request. However, you should have a realistic expectation—considering the workload of our soldiers, I won’t allow too many people to enter.”

“…I understand.”

“Alright. Xia, come with me. You heard everything just now. I have something to tell you about the upcoming election.”

This was going to be a one-on-one conversation, and Shu Jun’s hair almost stood on end.

It was indeed the right choice to let Zhu Yanchen go to sleep. Taking advantage of Zhu Sheng’s lack of attention towards him, Shu Jun lowered his head and thought despondently. He had come after getting a good night’s sleep, but now his brain felt like it was being pricked by needles.

“The next phase is a protracted battle.”

As they walked through the corridor, Zhu Sheng spoke softly.

“The synthetic humans are likely to attack when the election results are announced, and the celebrations are coming to an end. At that time, you might be the leader, and you need to project the image of a leader in terms of momentum.”

After saying that, he stopped at the entrance of the Zhu Rong Memorial Hall. With his back facing Shu Jun, Shu Jun couldn’t see his expression clearly.

“Come in.”

“Zhu Lao, can we go to the office to talk?” Shu Jun glanced at the gloomy memorial hall and swallowed his saliva.

“No, I have something very important to say.”

…Perhaps replacing Zhu Yanchen wasn’t such a good idea after all.