Enforcer Manual
Chapter 374: Director Lu, You Must Hang in There_1

Chapter 374: Chapter 374: Director Lu, You Must Hang in There_1

On the afternoon when Obena Lionheart’s body was returned to the core district, the Review Council convened an emergency meeting.

Normally, the loss of a four-star rescuer would hardly catch the Council’s attention, but Obena had brought back a series of important intelligence.

Indeed, a string of recent incidents in District 17 completely disrupted the Council’s strategic planning.

After the Foster Family withdrew, they also covertly pulled out significant investments of major corporations from District 17, essentially treating it as a forward operating base against the Rebel Army.

Everyone knew that a war between the United Government and the Rebel Army was inevitable, but who could have anticipated that, before the conflict could start, a mysterious force from the Void would suddenly emerge? And particularly in District 17, which seemed to have some kind of close connection to the Void.

The withdrawal of agents from Military Intelligence Section Seven, the AI crisis, and the death of Obena Lionheart thus brought this sharp issue to the forefront, forcing the Review Council to confront it.

Much evidence suggested that the widespread AI crisis affecting half the United Government was related to a shadowy figure from the Void known as "King", whose will, manifested as a virus, affected the androids in the factories, sparking the dramatic artificial intelligence strike.

That was the crux of the issue.

The previously cold approach had been proven to be a failed decision. The idea of kicking the problem of the Void over to the Rebel Army might seem appealing, but it overlooked the subjective initiative of the Void.

Whether it was the AI crisis or the fog that swept across District 17 the day before, both proved that if no appropriate measures were taken, the Void’s influence on the real world would continue uncontrollably. Today it’s artificial intelligence; who knows what might be affected by the Void’s "corruption" tomorrow.

At this rate, they wouldn’t have to wait for the Rebel Army to deal with the Void; they would first be overwhelmed by these "corruptions" from the Void.

But that brought up another problem.

Who would they send to deal with it?

Faced with this tricky question, the representatives of the Review Council looked at each other, lost for words.

According to the information they had so far, everyone who got involved with the Void ended up either dead or on the run, with almost none coming to a good end.

The death of Obena Lionheart was bad news, and he brought an even bigger bad news.

The "Concerned Citizen" most likely died in the battle against the Void.

At the mention of this name, the representatives felt a gnawing irritation—when this person was alive, he stirred up such turmoil in District 17 and became a thorn in the side of the Foster Family and many other families and companies; now that he was dead, he still wouldn’t let the entire United Government have peace!

In the past few months, the intelligence department of the United Government had been secretly investigating the "Concerned Citizen". Considering the crater he had kicked out at the Barrosa branch, rivaling the power of a tactical nuclear bomb, they had confirmed that the "Concerned Citizen"’s combat ability was at the level of a Six Stars rescuer, and his capacity for destruction ranked among the top even within Six Stars rescuers.

In other words, even those families and companies who hated him to the bone had to admit one thing—he really could fight.

That was precisely why, after the Foster Family pulled out of District 17, although they talked tough, they never dared to send anyone else there again.

If a person capable of kicking a tactical nuclear bomb crater were truly pushed into a corner, a nuclear blast on "Libra" could become more than just a movie plot.

During the investigation, the United Government had also prepared for contact with the "Concerned Citizen".

But before they could make a move, the "Concerned Citizen" had already died in the process of investigating the Void.

Your death might have settled the matter for you, but who else could they send to District 17?

They had already found the defeat of Wild Bone quite mysterious, and now, with the death of the "Concerned Citizen", it became irrefutably clear that Six Stars rescuers were no match for the Void.

What’s worse is that after losing two rescuers of the Six Stars level, they still knew nothing about the enemy in the Void.

This made the Council realize that no matter who they sent next, the outcome would probably be no different from that of Wild Bone and the "Enthusiastic Citizen."

Even to the United Government, Six Stars rescuers were an extremely scarce resource, and an important force for maintaining balance with the Rebel Army. They couldn’t afford to keep losing lives in such an unclear manner.

The representatives of the Council brainstormed an entire morning and yet couldn’t come up with any viable strategy.

Even if they decided to dispatch several Six Stars rescuers, that would also require a clear understanding of the truth of the Void, and a definite identification of the enemy before considering the issue.

"Lu Xiang."

In the midst of silence, someone mentioned this name, "Regardless, she is the only person who has been in contact with the Void for so long without perishing. From the investigation conducted by Obena, it seems she has known about the existence of the Void even longer than most of us here."

"But she’s just a one-star rescuer."

Someone immediately raised doubt.

To entrust the Void, which the Six Stars rescuers couldn’t handle, to a one-star rescuer—wasn’t that deceiving oneself?

"Indeed, she hasn’t been particularly impressive on the combat front; however, this precisely indicates that she has found some way to survive under the influence of the Void. Obena specifically mentioned that before the ’Enthusiastic Citizen’ disappeared, they had sought her out privately. She must have information that we are not privy to, and this information is the key to helping us understand the Void."

The representative continued, "Of course, her power alone is far from sufficient. We can assign people to ensure her safety, to make up for her shortcomings in combat... If protection is the primary concern rather than investigating the Void, there are indeed many suitable candidates."

...

That afternoon, as Lu Xiang was in her office dealing with the backlog of case files from the past few days, she received several phone calls.

First, it was a personal call from the Chairperson of the Council.

This was her first conversation with the Chairperson, whose warm and caring attitude on the phone even made her wonder if it was a phone scam.

She had just incomprehensibly listened to the praise from the Chairperson herself, and then she received a notification from Military Intelligence Section Seven.

After detailed discussion, Military Intelligence Section Seven decided to make an exception and induct her into the organization. From now on, all matters related to District Seventeen were to be reported directly to the intelligence center of Section Seven.

Ivan had once mentioned that this was a privilege only a select few agents could enjoy.

Latter came the call from the core area rescuer management bureau; due to the unexpected death of Director Obena, the position of district rescuer manager was vacant. They believed that in light of her excellent performance in recent events, Lu Xiang was the best choice. The bureau also took into account that her status as a one-star rescuer might cause dissatisfaction, so they broke the norm and promoted Lu Xiang three levels, directly awarding her the Three Stars Rescuer Medal.

From this series of phone calls, apart from sensing the United Government’s earnest expectations, she also detected their concern for her safety in their words.

Lu Xiang, you must hold on, don’t you die!

?

After hanging up the last call, Lu Xiang’s heart remained unsettled for a long time.

She didn’t know if the Council had misunderstood something, but she never had any intention of seeking death.