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Chapter 579 - 576 - "...City Lord.

Chapter 579: Chapter 576 - "...City Lord.

"Sir, Deputy Leader Philo of Hawk Hound invites you as a guest," the man in the military cap said, taking off his hat and bowing slightly.

"...Then let’s go," Su Ming’an did not refuse.

He was here to make contact with the three big organizations, and Hawk Hound was one of them.

They left the checkpoint and headed east.

During this time, Su Ming’an observed the situation in the Third Ring District. The surrounding buildings were predominantly multi-story structures made of metal, often accompanied by the sounds of hammers forging and the slight click of gears.

Although the Third Ring District still harbored many lower-grade personas, the Type II personas had become the main workforce.

Fifteen minutes later, Su Ming’an saw a tall building enclosed by iron fences with enlisted soldiers holding firearms outside. Soldiers were often followed by squads of robot armies. This was the Hawk Hound’s armed force stationed in the Third Ring District, responsible for collaborating with the Dawn System to apprehend criminals.

The man in the military cap invited Su Ming’an into a reception room and then left.

On the table in the reception room, fresh fruits were placed. An apron-clad maid android brought a tray and, after Su Ming’an indicated he didn’t need a drink, she purposely leaned close to him, seemingly suggesting something.

Su Ming’an withdrew his hand, not touching the beautifully made android a bit, nor the food on the table. He always remained vigilant in unfamiliar environments.

A moment later, with a "squeak," the glass door automatically slid open to both sides.

A middle-aged man in a woolen military uniform, draped in a white furry cloak, with a square, stern face and deep-set eyes, walked in. He wore the emblem of Hawk Hound on his chest and three golden stars on his shoulder. He was the Deputy Leader of Hawk Hound’s military branch, Kaskining Feiluo.

Hawk Hound controlled the robot armies, advocating for the complete transformation of humans into mechanized beings, pursuing the fusion of flesh and mechanics, to let the more rational machines dominate the world. They believed that if one day civilization fell and Ta Wei invaded the human world, humanity could preserve the fireseed.

Their first army, the Starfire Army, suggested the idea of starfire blazing through the world, conveying that the glory of humanity was eternal and endlessly self-renewing.

Kaskining Feiluo, as the Deputy Leader of Hawk Hound, acted while the main leader was stationed in the Core Area, far from here, hence only Feiluo could arrive promptly.

Feiluo settled himself on the armchair opposite Su Ming’an. Behind Feiluo followed a young man and a woman, both in military uniforms, looking slightly younger.

Feiluo’s gaze lingered on Su Ming’an’s wheelchair, then glanced at the comfortable large sofa next to it, and instructed the young soldier behind him, "Help Mr. Lewis to his seat."

"No need," Su Ming’an immediately declined. He wouldn’t leave his wheelchair, which was the greatest direct force he currently controlled.

Feiluo’s brows furrowed slightly, but quickly relaxed.

His deep black eyes reflected Su Ming’an’s features, like a pair of deep pools:

"Mr. Lewis, I don’t wish to delay you any further. I merely want to ask about your ’intention,’"

"Intention?" said Su Ming’an.

"—Why did you leave Central City?" Feiluo opened the thin computer in his hand.

...Was I discovered?

The first reaction that crossed Su Ming’an’s mind was that Feiluo had recognized his identity as the Lord of Acto City, but if that were the case, Feiluo’s demeanor would not be so casual.

He recalled the temporary identity Xike had crafted for him.

"I am not from Central City." Su Ming’an’s posture relaxed slightly: "I reside on Pulaya Street in the Core Area and serve at Constantine University. Mr. Feiluo, I do not understand the reason for your sudden blockade of the outer ring and inviting me here. I am just an ordinary psychology professor."

Philo lifted his eyelids, a trace of contemplation passing through his eyes. He turned the computer in his hands around, displaying surveillance footage of the interior of an airship on the screen.

"Yesterday afternoon, on the ’Tuzhou No.3’ air-drop airship, there was a fluctuation of spatial technology. According to surveillance, a man in a wheelchair used high-end spatial technology to teleport into the airship, and thus smuggled himself into The Fringe."

As Philo spoke, he clicked the play button, bringing up the footage of Su Ming’an suddenly appearing in the airship, alongside the descending supply crate.

"According to the information transmitted by the Hawk Hound Third Ring M Unit before their signal was completely lost, it was an uninvited guest in a wheelchair who used high-explosive weaponry to eliminate them in seconds. Moreover, during the first identity scan conducted on you, the result displayed was ’unable to scan.’"

"If you are not from Central City," Philo clicked the pause button and looked at Su Ming’an, "how did you acquire secret technology that is tightly sealed by the city?"

Su Ming’an’s right eyelid twitched violently.

At this moment, he had begun to suspect Xike, who intentionally used this sealed technology.

Should he confess?

His original plan was to use his own Missionary Halo to gain recognition from the three major organizations without revealing his real identity.

However, it was quite clear that this plan was somewhat idealistic; not everyone would have the patience to listen to him talk for more than ten minutes. The pervasive surveillance of the City of Measurement had long since exposed his presence.

After a brief moment of thought, he removed the mask from his face. Since his identity was already the highest, there was no need to always hide. The Hawk Hound was the main armed force of the City of Measurement, and Philo, as a Morality-type Personality, possessed a strong sense of justice and morality. It was unlikely that there would be a problem.

Upon seeing him remove his mask, Philo stood up with a "swoosh":

"Lord of the City?"

The young men and women behind Philo exchanged glances.

"You’ve come to The Fringe for...?" Philo no longer felt like sitting on the comfortable sofa; he stood up straight.

"Inspection," Su Ming’an said. "As well as to claim a spot in the Caius Tower."

"I will arrange for a squad of Guardians for you," Philo raised his communicator.

"No need. It’s a private inspection, and there’s no need to disclose my identity," insisted Su Ming’an.

Of the five Dawn Codes, one was on Dong An’an, and one was on Luo Kylstia. Dong An’an and her sister, both living in hardship, surely loathed Acto to the core.

If his identity was exposed, not to mention the Dawn Code, Dong An’an’s favorability towards him might plummet to zero instantly.

His identity should only be known by the upper echelons of the three major organizations. All three would send representatives to participate in the selection for Caius Tower, and he needed their covert support.

Hearing Su Ming’an say this, a glint flashed in Philo’s eyes. He put down the communicator, "I will follow your command. But... Lord of the City, with my current level of clearance, may I inquire about something?"

"Mm."

"Why is Central City..." Philo pondered for a moment, "in a state of lockdown?"

Su Ming’an frowned slightly.

Central City was indeed in lockdown. He could only leave through spatial technology yesterday, and the other researchers didn’t have the clearance to leave either. However, he did not know the specific reason for the lockdown; it might have been that Central City was preparing for the selection for Caius Tower.

He looked at his right wrist, where a beam of blue light emerged, and the image of a beautiful woman with golden hair and blue eyes appeared.

"Kaskining Philo, MAN-type personality, emotion assessment green zone (safe), Hawk Hound deputy leader, current clearance Level A," Xike’s slightly indifferent voice came through, "The reason for Central City’s lockdown falls under SS level clearance, which you are not entitled to know."

"Ah, is this Miss Xike? Indeed, as beautiful as the rumors say," Philo recognized the City Lord’s personal AI. He shrugged his shoulders with some regret, "Well, it seems that the reason behind Central City’s lockdown remains an unsolved mystery..."

Philo moved on from the topic, while Ming’an listened to him talk for a bit more. Philo’s conversation mainly revolved around the current state of the City of Measurement and he was indirectly probing for military funding.

The top hierarchy of Hawk Hound was divided into six pairs of chief officers and strategists. Even as a Vice Leader, Philo couldn’t avoid being restrained by these few, and it was obvious that the man had grand ambitions—he wanted to secure more benefits for his troops so as to challenge the distant leader in the Core Area.

...Even those reputed to have the most moral Morality-type Personality could exhibit such a thirst for private gain. Persona could only preliminarily assess a person’s character but could not sever all the possibilities of their development.

Once immersed in black, no paper could remain pure white.

Ming’an responded to Philo noncommittally and wrote a few blank checks. After a moment, Philo connected the communication.

The helicopter had been arranged; it could take Ming’an directly to the Eden headquarters in the Core Area. Eden was one of the three major organizations, responsible for bionic people, Artificial Intelligence tuning, assisting with the Persona Test for Type-Eight personalities, among other tasks.

Before boarding the helicopter, Ming’an asked Philo why Hawk Hound was trying to kill Dong An’an.

"The specific reason... we’re not sure," Philo’s explanation was somewhat vague: "The robot army responsible for the pursuit is mostly directly under the control of the Dawn System."

...So it was the Dawn System that wanted to kill Dong An’an.

Could it be that it had realized the password was on Dong An’an?

Then even if she fled to The Fringe, she might not be safe.

Ming’an realized that after finishing his business here, he needed to return to The Fringe as soon as possible. Although the Dawn System’s control over The Fringe was a bit weak, it could still redeploy its army to pursue Dong An’an.

"Pat-pat pat-pat—"

The helicopter parked on the open ground, its propellers generating a violent wind noise. Ming’an squinted and raised his head, looking at the sunlight scattered through the propellers.

This was his first time traveling in such a mode of transport.

The barrage watched this scene with cheer, jokingly claiming these past few days had been like a holiday, having never seen a more mundane start:

["...The current death rate is less than 5%, right? Looking at the total number of live viewers, it’s basically unchanged from three days ago."]

["Sparrow, after all, there’s basically no danger inside the city, and even gunfire is rare. As long as you don’t run to the outside Danger Zone, you won’t encounter spatial and temporal turbulence."]

["It’s hard to imagine what kind of crisis this world could face... Caius Tower should be one. I heard that all participants would be transported to another dimension then. It should be similar to a battle royale, with many people dying."]

["Caius Tower is postponed? Wasn’t it supposed to be on the fifth day? Now it’s moved to the eighth day??"]

["Brother, didn’t you watch Ming’an’s meeting with the nine bigwigs at night? They discussed and decided on the postponement."]

["I regret it, I regret it. Ming’an’s been on vacation these days, I feel like entering the fray..."]

["..."]

A robot squad of six, together with Philo himself, followed Ming’an onto the helicopter. The large modified helicopter utilized an Autopilot system, preventing any unexpected malfunctions, and was very safe.

The helicopter closed its doors and emitted a "beep beep" sound. The aircraft vibrated slightly as it began to ascend.

Ming’an sat in his wheelchair, propping his chin, watching the sinking scenery and floating clouds outside the window.

Flight had always been a human dream. When he was a child, he had many dreams of flying between high-rise buildings in the city. Unfortunately, since the beginning of the world game, he had never acquired the ability to fly or any flying pets.

His few experiences with flight were when he boarded Noel’s crow in Pulaya and was then pushed off and fell to his death...

...Better left unmentioned.

The helicopter gradually ascended to high altitude, nearly level with the clouds.

The area of the City of Measurement was impressively large; it would take some time to fly from the Third Ring District to the Core Area.

As Ming’an admired the view, Philo’s voice came from behind:

"Lord of the City, what do you think... is the concept of ’Ta Wei’?"

Ming’an pondered for a moment: "It should be... the greatest crisis at present. If it weren’t for the existence of the ’Safe Zone’, the turbulence brought by the invasion of other dimension worlds would eventually destroy us."

"I understand," Philo was silent for a moment:

"You have upheld the ’Safe Zone’ in the City of Measurement, protecting us... But, the very essence of the ’Safe Zone,’ isn’t it also an act of retreat where humanity relinquishes nine-tenths of its territory, only to preserve a sanctuary? We are helpless in the face of the invasion from Ta Wei, capable only of a passive escape... akin to a humiliating concession of our planet’s land..."

Ming’an raised his eyebrows.

He realized that what Philo was bringing up was rather sharp and seemed to be targeting him.

He turned around, ready to chat with Philo.

"You..."

He didn’t speak.

He saw rows of robotic soldiers, all uniformly raising their guns, the cold barrels already aimed at him.

Philo, still wearing a military cap, stood beside him, a small handgun already aiming at his forehead.

The helicopter continued its flight, the buzzing noise of the propellers resonating.

Ming’an stared into Philo’s eyes, confronting him silently.

Ming’an lowered the hand that had been propping his chin.

"Ah, so that’s how it is." He said indifferently:

"It’s not just the world’s turbulence that ’Ta Wei’ invades, but also... people"

He saw Philo’s originally deep black pupils now filled with strange red patterns, as if borne from some ancient and bizarre method.

Behind Philo, the normally strictly programmed robots had somehow broken free from the control of their programming.

Life-like red light flowed through their eyes, a mark from another dimension, alien to this world.

"—’We’ all wish for you to die, Yasa Acto, Lord of Acto City."

Philo with crimson eyes, his finger on the trigger, judged from a position of superiority.

Within those deep eyes twisted the bloody patterns of Ta Wei.

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