Chapter 131: The Order from Aurora City

Xi Renjie quickly crossed the headquarters lobby and entered the telegram room.

Inside, two enforcers were on duty. Seeing Xi Renjie, they both stood up.

"Officer Xi..."

"Did a message come from Aurora City?"

"Yes, sir."

"Does anyone else know?"

"No, we notified you immediately... and the content of this message requires your identity code to be received."

Xi Renjie frowned slightly. He waved his hand, dismissing everyone from the telegram room. Then, he locked the door behind him and walked towards the special telegram machine in the center of the room.

Han Meng hadn't returned, nor had Aurora City sent reinforcements. Yet, at this critical moment, Aurora City had suddenly sent a message to District Three—an encrypted one specifically for him. This indicated that the dense fog hadn't actually obstructed message transmission, and Aurora City knew he was currently the acting director of District Three. A moment's thought revealed that something was amiss.

Xi Renjie sat down at the telegram machine, typed in his code, and after a brief pause, a message automatically printed out. White paper slowly emerged from the top of the machine, and lines of characters appeared before Xi Renjie's eyes.

"Operation Tail-Cut..." Seeing the four large words at the beginning, Xi Renjie's heart jolted. He stared intently at the characters appearing, a shock he couldn't hide evident in his eyes. The message stated that Aurora City was about to abandon the Seven Districts, but offered no explanation. Instead, it directly ordered Xi Renjie to lead the enforcers on the list and travel swiftly by train to Aurora City. Chen Ling's guess was right. Aurora City was truly going to abandon the Seven Districts?!

Xi Renjie's mind went blank. He stared at the printed names, unable to recover for a long time. The destruction of District Three was now inevitable; it was only a matter of time. Aurora City likely provided this list to select some people from the Seven Districts to fill vacancies within the city. However, what puzzled Xi Renjie was that Chen Ling wasn't on this list. Chen Ling was an Enforcer of the Asura Path. Although only a first-tier, his potential was considerable. Even several lazy enforcers who did nothing all day were on the list, so why wasn't Chen Ling?

As if to answer Xi Renjie's doubts, after the last name on the list appeared, another solitary line of characters clicked into place:

Command Two: Before the full evacuation, eliminate the heretic Chen Ling by any means necessary!

The moment he saw that line, Xi Renjie's pupils abruptly contracted! There was no reason, no explanation. This single command was the final text in the encrypted message, like an unquestionable directive from Aurora City.

"Heretic... Chen Ling?" Xi Renjie's face was full of confusion. He didn't understand why Chen Ling would be a heretic, or why Aurora City would want him eliminated. Xi Renjie immediately used the telegram machine to send another message to Aurora City, inquiring about the reason for eliminating Chen Ling. However, he waited in the room for nearly half an hour with no response, as if contact had been lost again.

The clamor and commotion outside the window grew louder. Xi Renjie grew restless. He took one last look at the telegram machine, then stood up and pushed open the door.

"Officer Xi, why were you in there so long?" asked the enforcer who had been waiting by the door. "What did Aurora City say? Are reinforcements coming?"

This enforcer was one of Xi Renjie's trusted aides and a decent person. But now, under his anxious questioning, Xi Renjie could only remain silent.

"Officer Xi, the situation outside isn't good. Many residents have gathered at the headquarters entrance," several other enforcers reported, rushing over. "They want to know what happened in Districts Two and Four, and if District Three is in danger... They seem terrified."

"Officer Xi, residents from the south say there are strange cries continually approaching from District Four. Could it be the calamity that slaughtered District Four is coming this way?"

"Officer... what should we do now?"

More and more enforcers surrounded Xi Renjie, their faces pale. Although they had been enforcers for many years, this was the first time they had encountered such a situation. Like the people outside, they were starting to panic. Outside the headquarters gate, the clamor and knocking were incessant; inside, the faces of the many enforcers, illuminated by the flickering kerosene lamps, were etched with anxiety and fear. Xi Renjie's gaze swept over the enforcers, his hand, clutching the list, unconsciously tightening.

"Tan Ming, come with me." After a long internal struggle, he spoke in a hoarse voice, then pushed through the crowd and walked directly towards the back exit of the headquarters.

The enforcer named Tan Ming paused, then immediately followed him. The two figures opened the narrow back door in the darkness and disappeared into the dense fog, leaving the other enforcers standing in place, their eyes filled with bewilderment.

"Jie Ge, what happened?"

Tan Ming had been an enforcer under Xi Renjie for many years. He was a good person and considered Xi Renjie's trusted aide, and his name was on the transfer list.

Xi Renjie walked silently down the dim street, through narrow alleyways. Through gaps in the buildings, he could see that the headquarters' main gate was indeed surrounded by a crowd. They didn't stop but continued walking silently further away.

"Aurora City is going to abandon the Seven Districts," Xi Renjie said hoarsely.

"What?!" Tan Ming's eyes widened.

Xi Renjie handed him the message directly. Tan Ming read it carefully, a profound shock appearing on his face.

"Then... what about these people? There are forty thousand people still alive in District Three!" Tan Ming couldn't help but ask, "If we leave, are we just going to abandon them to their fate?"

Xi Renjie's steps faltered. He looked at the gradually illuminating streets, his eyes filled with guilt and internal conflict.

"I don't know... Before Brother Meng left, he told us to protect District Three... But we can't possibly hold it. If we stay, we'll only die with them..."

"Then what about this list? Most of the people on it are freeloaders and corrupt individuals! The truly capable enforcers aren't even on it... What exactly is Aurora City thinking?" Tan Ming spoke indignantly. "Are we really going to take these parasites and leave our brothers here to die?"

"...I don't know, I really don't know!" Xi Renjie clutched his hair with both hands, his eyes bloodshot, as logic and emotion raged a fierce battle in his mind.