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Chapter 99: A Little Spark

Ai Xiaoxiao had been very busy lately.

The chaos had pushed the already overwhelmed healthcare system to the brink of collapse. Today, another forty to fifty thousand people flooded in from the east of the city, nearly depleting her medical reserves that the United Government’s team bought out. As a doctor, she had to take care of patients while conducting research on synthetic human drugs in the underground clinic. Over time, she almost emptied her stock of coffee and candy.

When she started the video communication at 2, her dark circles startled the other person.

“What’s wrong!” Ai Xiaoxiao yelled irritably. “I barely have time to catch my breath. Go bother that ‘temporary one’ if you need something!”

“But that person trusts the synthetic humans too much, and we don’t know their true intentions. I admire their methods, but I don’t trust them.” The other person, Two Dots, was quite straightforward. “The Old Fourth has connections with you, Ai Jie. I’ll be honest—I suspect the synthetic humans are planning to rebel.”

Ai Xiaoxiao remained silent as she bit hard on her candy, making a crackling sound.

“Lately, some people have been coming to the Old Fourth’s place to purchase supplies, but they’re buying strange things. I followed Four and Six for a while and discovered that they are planning a large-scale protest.”

“So what? Get to the point.”

“We followed them for a few days before we caught the main characters. They had a secret meeting in Five’s territory. It was difficult for us to find the clue—it was that fake Zhu Yanchen and one of Yi Ning’s assistants.”

“If you don’t get to the point soon, I’ll hang up.” Ai Xiaoxiao remained composed. “I have a surgery in twenty minutes. Hurry up.”

“Afterwards, Yi Ning’s assistant returned to the command center, and the fake Zhu Yanchen disguised himself and infiltrated the immigrant group in the eastern part of the city. He secretly met with Hu Yan from the synthetic humans’ side. Ai Jie, the synthetic humans must have sneaked in from the west of the city. If they genuinely wanted to cooperate, there would be no need to cause chaos at this time.”

Ai Xiaoxiao swallowed the crushed sugar residue. “Time and place? Don’t tell me you haven’t found out anything.”

“Tonight at 8, the inauguration ceremony celebrating Zhu Yanchen’s election. Should I notify the others?”

“No need. Don’t worry. Since they specifically planned at Five’s place, the synthetic humans have no intention of hiding.” Rather, this could be seen as a signal from Shu Jun. Otherwise, with Shu Jun’s vigilance, he could effortlessly find a more secretive location.

But this signal was mostly meant for Zhu Yanchen, to put Marshal Zhu’s mind at ease.

“Why?” For Two Dots, who was unaware of their relationship, Ai Xiaoxiao’s decisive response was confusing.

“Why ask so many ‘whys’?”

“You asked me about the time and place.”

“What kind of peaceful protest do you expect from those people in the city center? I guarantee someone will get hurt. I need to prepare in advance.”

Calculating the time, there should be some movement soon. The synthetic humans and the human military had been in a standoff in the city center for long enough. If things continued like this, forget about leaving any strength in Y City; just avoiding internal collapse would be considered a success.

“Tell Three Dots not to sell out all the medical supplies. Keep some for emergencies. As for the boss’ side, I’ll report it personally.”

Two Dots didn’t ask further. “Anyway, I’ll be prepared to escape. You should be careful too.”

After the communication ended, Ai Xiaoxiao drank a glass of water and began to contact Dong Lao. Recently, Zhu Yanchen was still serving as marshal, so there shouldn’t be any suspicious communication. Dong Lao’s value finally became evident. The Old Fourth was ultimately a civilian organization, with good business and connections, but when it came to military tactics, Zhu Yanchen’s trusted allies were more skilled.

“Causing trouble at the inauguration ceremony?” Dong Lao’s tone was a bit strange. “Led by Xia Yufeng?”

“Yes, and behind the chaos is Shu Jun.” Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t hold back, reporting the intelligence in detail.

“I knew it. With Xia Yufeng’s courage, what kind of chaos can he lead? Yi Ning’s assistant… Most likely Xia Yufeng noticed that something was wrong with him and actively joined forces. Yi Ning is probably unaware.”

“Unaware?”

“Yi Ning is capable, provided that it’s during peacetime. His weakness lies in his lack of understanding of war and his excessively high moral expectations of the people. I’ve met his assistant—a child from the settlement. He’s clever but overly logical in his actions. Yi Ning had intentions of grooming him, but to be honest, his personality isn’t suitable for a deputy… Doing something like this is probably to avenge Yi Ning.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to understand all these twists and turns in the three major families. Just listen to the results—their goal with this chaos is probably to prove that ‘Zhu Yanchen’ is a fake and push Yi Ning into the leadership position.”

Ai Xiaoxiao remained silent for a long time, then said dryly, “You must live quite exhausted, constantly pondering these messy power struggles.”

“You still don’t understand?”

“What? I’m not interested in these things.”

“Then let me simplify it for you again—prepare what you need to prepare, because there’s a good show coming up.”

“What kind of show? I have no idea how much stuff I need to prepare. It’s about time you took action too, right? I haven’t seen you on the front lines recently.”

“I’ve been busy lately, and I’m guarding against fires starting from the rear. Zhu Sheng lacks intelligence, and Yi Ning lacks courage. Someone has to keep an eye on the city.”

“Fine, will you be there tonight? Let me make it clear first. My people will only deal with the wounded, not the chaos, and we might flee at any time. I can’t control it.”

This time, Dong Lao remained silent for a long time. “…I’ll be there.”

“That’s good. After this mess is over, let’s have a drink together. Shu Jun is really good at causing trouble, so there’s no reason to add to the chaos.”

“No. Honestly, I’m glad he’s not our enemy. He played this move beautifully, and his choice of candidate was accurate—Xia Yufeng doesn’t have much popular support, and if he secretly does things like this, we can’t defend against it. The number of sacrifices on the battlefield is fake, but Zhu Yanchen and him are truly fighting with real tactics. If he really comes with a cold gun, what do you think will happen?”

“…” Thinking about the chaos in Y City these past few days, Ai Xiaoxiao broke out in a cold sweat.

Recent days had been too difficult, so the two of them chatted casually to relax for a while before hurriedly ending the contact.

Night quickly arrived.

To divert people’s attention, the entire inauguration would be broadcast on the square’s screens. Having been besieged for so long, people no longer believed the flowery words on the screens, let alone the fact that Zhu Yanchen, a worthless person, was elected. If there was anything worth looking forward to in this ceremony after several days of boredom, it was the quite attractive program—rumor had it that Xia Liang would be present, performing a new song to soothe people’s hearts.

The first half consisted of tedious speeches and reports.

As the incumbent leader, Zhu Sheng spoke as usual about a bunch of new policies and discoveries. Unfortunately, the people’s stomachs were empty, their heads in a fog, and they barely registered a word, only knowing that this hellish life would continue.

However, when it was time for Zhu Yanchen’s speech, something went wrong.

Zhu Yanchen, who should have taken the stage, was late to appear. The host had no choice but to make a few jokes and play some video clips to buy time.

These were purely inserted recorded images. Even if Zhu Yanchen didn’t like to show himself, these images could still set the atmosphere. However, not long after the recorded footage began playing, the expressions of the people present changed.

It wasn’t a record at all. A person wearing a protective mask appeared in the footage, and their voice had been thoroughly modified.

“The real Zhu Yanchen has long been dead. The person currently commanding the battle on the front lines is just a puppet that Zhu Sheng had someone undergo plastic surgery to resemble…”

As soon as the first sentence came out, backstage personnel received orders and tried to cut off the broadcast. However, someone had tampered with the broadcasting program, and they couldn’t shut it down no matter what they did. Even if they severed the transmission line, someone would connect it again.

Undoubtedly, this was done by someone within the command center. This person not only had a good understanding of the inauguration proceedings but also had high-level access.

“The research conducted by Zhu Yanchen has yet to be fully understood. We have collected testimonies from relevant researchers as well as internal notices about research direction adjustments. These are ironclad evidence—if Zhu Yanchen is still alive, why would there be such a big fuss to have people interpret his papers?”

In the footage, photos of documents with signatures and seals were shown one by one, and the handwriting was quite clear. Whether it was related to Marshal Zhu or the subordinates of Marshal Yi, all the documents were there.

Then came the interviews with researchers. It was evident that these scenes were secretly filmed. The identities of the researchers and the environments they were in couldn’t be faked. These interviews, just like the documents, featured numerous prominent figures, whether they were researchers from the command center or the Tang family.

[To be honest, these papers startled me. The theories inside are too advanced. I can say with certainty that Mr. Zhu must have studied for at least ten years to reach such a high level.]

[We neglected the field of erosion substance research for too long. The security of the player system is far from sufficient. If we had researched related topics earlier, the synthetic human issue might not have reached this point.]

[Mr. Zhu didn’t conceal his discoveries. These papers were entered into the system a long time ago. However, due to different research directions and my personal negligence, no one took the time to read them carefully… As the leader in his research field, I owe him an apology.]

[If possible, I hope to have a face-to-face discussion with Mr. Zhu. The relevant application has been submitted, but it’s been days and we haven’t received any response from higher-ups. I can’t understand why the most important thing now isn’t to research more effective strategies?]

……

The intermittent playback ended, and that voice resounded once again.

“After Zhu Yanchen ‘returned’, he never published any research findings again. With the synthetic humans about to invade, the most reasonable approach would have been for Marshal Zhu to lead the research, while Marshal Yi followed Zhu Sheng’s instructions and went to the front lines to face the enemy. However, everyone has seen the current situation.”

“Zhu Sheng is consumed by power and rules with an iron fist. His tenure has come to an end, and to hold onto power, he didn’t even spare his deceased son. After Marshal Zhu’s accomplishments were exposed, he didn’t clear his son’s reputation but instead found someone to replace him, allowing Zhu Yanchen to continue being despised.”

“This footage should be clear enough—Zhu Sheng has buried his own biological son. Now he is forcing Marshal Yi to be his deputy and manage the chaos in the city center, making you redirect your anger at Yi Ning. Are you truly at ease with such a person leading the war?”

“It’s not too late for the three major families to wake up now! Even if we are destined to be managed by the three major families, we need more selfless leaders!”

After these words were spoken, Zhu Yanchen finally arrived, walking onto the stage. The flustered host, as if grabbing a lifeline, reached out and handed him the microphone—

However, this “Marshal Zhu” didn’t clarify the claims made in the footage. Instead, he fidgeted nervously, wiping his sweat and adjusting his breath before tremblingly uttering his words.

“Those words are true,” he stammered, his voice slightly altered. “My real name is Xia Yufeng. I used to be Zhu Yanchen’s assistant, so I know him quite well. Zhu Yanchen did indeed start researching the Erosion Swamp since his early teens, and I can testify… Some time ago, Zhu Sheng found me and had me undergo plastic surgery to resemble Zhu Yanchen, continuing to play the role of this ‘Marshal’, taking orders only from him.”

“Just now, many of the things shown in the footage were accessed with permission granted by me. I… I’ve had enough. The situation is dire now, and I must reveal the truth.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xia Yufeng instinctively shrank his neck and hastily fled, fearing being chased by the guards who had caught on.

Before exiting the stage, he took a deep breath and shouted loudly, “I’m not Zhu Yanchen! I don’t know how to fight at all!”

Following that, the live broadcast on the screens finally went blank. With the absence of the illuminated screens, darkness enveloped the square.

The crowd fell into complete silence.