Doomsday Stewed Salted Fish C35.2

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. ๐Ÿ™‚

Chapter 35. (2/2)

After meeting the family, Lu Ya didn’t require Gu Fan to participate in any social events for now. Gu Fan continued her alchemy and cultivation while Lu Ya maintained a routine of staying at her place every three to five days.

The Xinghe team departed with the Li family army on September 11th and returned to the base on October 2nd. As soon as they reconnected their communication, Fenghuo eagerly contacted Gu Fan.

While multitasking her alchemy, Gu Fan was delighted, “You’re back so soon? Weren’t you expected to return on the 6th?”

Fenghuo replied, “The Li family army got lucky. Xing City was a third smaller than An City, and there weren’t many high-level monsters. We finished in four days.”

Gu Fan asked, “Is everyone okay? No injuries?”

Fenghuo reassured, “Don’t worry, everyone’s fine. Stay at home and wait. We’ll cook you a big meal for lunch.”

Gu Fan smiled, finishing her batch of pills, and drove to Villa No. 2.

Having the keys to the villa, she cast a dust-removal spell, instantly cleaning the entire place.

Xinghe, Qingteng, and Taishan returned first. Fenghuo and Meng Lianying went grocery shopping, returning an hour later.

After washing up, Xinghe sat on the sofa reading newspapers. After catching up on the latest issues, he asked Gu Fan, “Did you hear any special news while we were away?”

Gu Fan shook her head. Noticing Xinghe’s slight frown and apparent concern, she felt uneasy, “What happened?”

Xinghe looked at her and quietly said, “We’ve accompanied the army many times. This time in Xing City it was unusually smooth.”

Meng Lianying, coming from the kitchen, overheard and laughed, “You overthink things. It was smooth because Xing City is smaller, so there were fewer A-level monsters.”

Xinghe countered, “Xing City has a lake comparable to An City’s, with similar A-level monster distribution. With normal water to land ratios, there shouldn’t be such a significant difference.”

Qingteng directly asked, “What are you implying?”

Pushing up his glasses, Xinghe gravely said, “When the three major bases first decided to gradually clear out monsters by region, some monster researchers predicted that, with such a plan, high-level monsters would eventually form alliances for self-preservation. It’s been thirty years, and the extermination missions have been carried out many times. Haven’t the high-level monsters noticed humanity’s plans?”

Gu Fan felt a chill, “Are you saying the A-level monsters in Xing City escaped early?”

Xinghe explained, “Every time the army decides to clear a region, they first send S-level powerhouses to verify the presence of S-level monsters. Marshal Li confirmed that Xing City showed no traces of S-level monsters.”

Meng Lianying interjected, “So what? S-level monsters are rare. Out of ten cities, only one or two typically have S-level monsters.”

Xinghe responded, “Statistically, cities without S-level monsters should have more A-level monsters.”

Meng Lianying fell silent, then reluctantly admitted, “Fine, fine. If there’s really something amiss, the military will detect it before us. I’ll reach out to my cousin tomorrow for more information.”

Xinghe glanced at Gu Fan and smiled gently, “Perhaps I’m overthinking. The military has more comprehensive data. If they find Xing City’s situation normal after discussions, we have nothing to worry about.”

Meng Lianying sighed in relief.

Gu Fan knew Xinghe was trying to comfort her, fearing she would worry about the base’s safety.

Indeed, Gu Fan was affected. She thought when Lu Ya visited in a few days, she would ask him in detail.

At the same time, in the mayor’s meeting room of the central government building in the inner ring, the five S-level powerhouses of the Jiangnan base and government officials were gathered.

Mayor Sheng Ming asked Marshal Li Zhen to summarize the monster situation in Xing City.

Li Zhen, a fire element S-level powerhouse, was short but muscular, exuding immense strength. Li Zhen’s small stature belied his formidable power, unlike the tall and commanding Lu Sheng.

The Li family army’s recent mission was exceptionally smooth, with nearly zero casualties. Li Zhen was initially satisfied but called this meeting after hearing Lu and He’s families’ concerns about the battle process.

“What’s there to question? On my first visit, I found no S-level monsters in Xing City and few A-level ones. Do you think they predicted the mission and fled early? That’s ridiculous. No matter how smart, high-level monsters can’t defy logic.”

The family’s young leader, He Qing, used a projector to display a map of Jiangnan’s base and surrounding areas slated for clearance. The map was color-coded: a small white area in the center representing the base, an orange zone occupying a fifth of the map indicating cleared regions, and a large red area covering nearly three-fifths marked for future clearance.

He Qing highlighted Xing City and its neighboring areas to the east, south, and west, saying, “These three cities have been cleared. If I were a high-level monster in Xing City, it wouldn’t take much intelligence to foresee imminent danger.”

Li Zhen snorted, pointing to An City, recently cleared by Lu Ya, “By your logic, why didn’t the wind bears and black snakes in An City react?”

Lu Ya calmly replied, “Even among humans, different individuals make different choices when facing the same danger.”

Li Zhen scoffed, “Ha, you two are at it again, performing in front of everyone. Old Lu, are we close to a wedding?”

Unfazed by the mockery, Lu Ya remained expressionless, and He Qing continued studying the map, ignoring the jibes.

Elder Wang from the Wang family, wearing a Zhongshan suit, remarked, “Old Li, you’re behind on news. Lu Ya and Xiao Qing are just friends. His girlfriend is someone else, and they’ve been inseparable lately. I bet we’ll hear good news soon.”

Lu Sheng interjected, “Enough with the gossip. Back to Xing City. If high-level monsters can predict our actions, we’re not afraid of them banding together for defense but must prevent them from amassing and launching a unified attack on the base.”

Everyone’s expressions grew serious.

A beast tide had never occurred but had been predicted by scholars.

The base’s powerhouses could repel one or two S-level monsters attacking the base. But if several attacked together, it would be disastrous.

Mayor Sheng said, “That seems unlikely. Monsters have strong territorial instincts and rarely leave their domains.”

Lu Sheng responded, “Exceptions exist. During critical times, we must prepare for the worst and do our best.”

Mayor Sheng asked, “Should we cancel the base’s establishment celebration scheduled for the 15th?”

Lu Sheng shook his head, “No, the military will quietly prepare. We can’t disrupt public morale.”

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