Chapter 251: Leader

Finally, Zhao Yi stopped in front of Chu Muyun's clinic.

Seeing this, Chen Ling's eyes showed understanding. He realized Zhao Yi was there to see a doctor. However, he wondered why Zhao Yi had only come now, given he had been in Aurora City for some time.

Zhao Yi hesitated at the entrance for a moment before stepping inside to find Chu Muyun.

Chen Ling did not follow. Instead, he stood quietly in a nearby alley. The last time, Zhao Yi had stumbled upon him killing Old Man Ding, so unless absolutely necessary, he wanted to avoid meeting Zhao Yi again to prevent complications.

He waited at the entrance for about twenty minutes. Zhao Yi then emerged from the clinic, looking disoriented. He stood dazed at the door for a long time before finally collecting himself and walking towards home.

Witnessing this, Chen Ling frowned slightly. Once Zhao Yi was out of sight, he entered the clinic.

"What brings you here?" Chu Muyun, who was attending to patients, asked, surprised to see Chen Ling.

"I saw an acquaintance on the way, so I thought I'd drop by."

"That young man just now, he's your friend, isn't he?" Chu Muyun closed the patient file he was holding and slowly said, "Ordinarily, commoners need to make appointments in advance to see a doctor, unless they are prominent figures in Aurora City or high-ranking Enforcers with intelligence value... However, he mentioned your name, so I let him in directly."

"How is his condition?"

Chu Muyun looked at Chen Ling silently. "Do you want me to be subtle, or direct?"

"...Be direct."

"He's dying."

The four words instantly plunged the room into silence.

Chen Ling's brows furrowed deeply.

Chu Muyun adjusted his glasses. "The higher-tier calamities from the Forbidden Sea inherently possess extreme corrosive and toxic contamination abilities. His wound penetrated directly to the bone... The moment he was injured, his fate was sealed. Frankly, his willpower is astonishing to still walk around as if nothing happened with such injuries, but even so, his body has reached its limit."

"Aren't you a master of the Medical Dao? Even you can't cure him?" Chen Ling retorted.

"I do practice the Medical Dao, but that doesn't mean I'm omnipotent... For instance, I can't do anything about your delusional madness." Chu Muyun shrugged. "Humans are far more fragile than you imagine. Not everyone is as hard to kill as you and Xiao Jian."

Chen Ling fell silent.

Chu Muyun was the only Medical Dao expert Chen Ling currently knew, capable even of pulling Jian Changsheng back from the brink of death when he was reduced to a pulp. Yet, he was helpless regarding Zhao Yi's condition, which meant virtually no one in Aurora City could save Zhao Yi now.

"I've prescribed some medicine for him. While it won't heal his injuries, it will at least alleviate his suffering in his final days." Chu Muyun looked deeply at Chen Ling. "If he's a good friend of yours, you might want to go say your goodbyes in the next few days..."

Chen Ling slowly closed his eyes. "Goodbyes won't be necessary... After all, in his eyes, I'm already dead."

Chen Ling felt powerless regarding Zhao Yi's situation. Since Zhao Yi had ultimately reached this point, Chen Ling had no recourse but to secretly offer some help to Ling'er and the others.

Chu Muyun nodded slightly, glanced at the clock on the wall, and began clearing the items from his desk.

"Let's go. We need to head back early today."

"Why?"

"The Gray King sent a message." Chu Muyun's expression gradually grew serious. "You and Jian Changsheng have an important mission..."

Aurora Base.

Tan Xin walked through a dimly lit corridor, his expression tired and haggard, as if he hadn't slept for several nights. He passed through four identity verification checkpoints consecutively before finally entering a confined underground space.

The space was only about a hundred square meters, with several gray load-bearing columns cast within it. The floor and walls were almost entirely undecorated. Aside from a single incandescent light bulb hanging from the center, it was indistinguishable from an industrial shell.

Of course, this was just on the surface.

Tan Xin knew well that each of the four doors he had just passed through was made of a special alloy, thick enough to withstand a direct nuclear explosion. Combined with its location hundreds of meters underground, the entire structure was incredibly robust, ensuring its safety even if another nuclear war broke out on the surface.

Here, there was no superfluous beauty; everything visible embodied pure practicality and minimalism.

At that moment, in this impregnable underground room, a man in simple clothing was alone, hitting a ping-pong ball against the wall with a paddle.

The orange-yellow ping-pong ball bounced back and forth under the incandescent light. After fewer than three hits, the man's paddle missed, and the ball rolled with a clatter to Tan Xin's feet.

Tan Xin bent down to pick up the ping-pong ball, and a wry chuckle came from ahead.

"I truly have no talent for sports... I've been practicing here for twenty years, and I haven't improved at all."

"Your attention is dedicated to the fate and survival of humanity, so naturally, you wouldn't concern yourself with such trivial details." Tan Xin smiled slightly. "Did you need me for something, Leader?"

The Leader walked over to Tan Xin and slowly took the ping-pong ball from his hand.

"As the Deputy Director of this generation's Enforcer system, there are some matters on which I'd like your opinion."

"But I am only the Deputy Director... If it's something important, why didn't you consult Hong Xiu?"

"Her?" the Leader chuckled. "She wouldn't bother with these things. Everyone knows by now that you, Tan Xin, are the only one who truly speaks for the Enforcer system."

"I wouldn't dare," Tan Xin replied.

The Leader glanced at him, then slowly turned, holding the ping-pong ball. "I heard you've been busy at the base these past few days, checking on the Aurora Monarch's condition and the base's security vulnerabilities... Did you find anything?"

Tan Xin chose his words carefully. "The Aurora Monarch's condition is somewhat unstable... However, I don't understand science, so I can't analyze the data clearly. But from my professional perspective, there are indeed significant security risks at the base, especially with Twilight Society thugs recently infiltrating Aurora City. I believe security upgrades are necessary."

"You represent the Enforcers, so you can handle security matters as you see fit. I want to ask you about something else." The Leader paused. "In your eyes, which is more important: Aurora City or the Aurora Monarch?"

At this question, Tan Xin's eyes narrowed slightly. It was a long moment before he spoke. "Leader, I don't understand what you mean."

"There isn't much time left for the Aurora Monarch. We need to make some decisions soon."

"If, and I mean *if*..."

"If we were to recreate the scenario of the Aurora Monarch's birth, would you support it or oppose it?"

Tan Xin's expression instantly froze!