Chapter 624: Sharing a Room

Chapter 624 – Sharing a Room

At the Cipher Bar, Zhang Yi was casually chatting with Baili Changqing, learning about some of the recent changes in Linhai City.

He had already done some mental calculations. For this operation, his top priority was still his own safety.

While ensuring his own well-being, he would eliminate as many of the Ronin as possible.

After all, Moon of Corrosion only had thirteen members. Zhang Yi knew very well that the only reason they were able to stir up chaos in Linhai City was because no local forces had held them in check.

Jiangnan District’s territory was too vast to concentrate a large number of troops just to deal with them.

Otherwise, if the Six Investigation Teams and five thousand Yan Yun Guards took action, even if Moon of Corrosion doubled in size, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

So, the end of this farce was inevitable—the only unknown was what the process would look like.

Moon of Corrosion couldn’t possibly be stupid enough to go head-to-head with Jiangnan District.

If they chose to flee, or kept hopping from city to city within the district, that would be the real headache.

Aside from Blizzard City, the headquarters of the district, there weren’t many cities in Jiangnan that had the strength to face them.

That said—Tianhai City was an exception.

If they dared step foot on Zhang Yi’s turf, they wouldn’t gain an inch.

But Zhang Yi didn’t want things to come to that.

By the afternoon, Zhang Yi received a message from Lan Xincheng.

He was informed to report to the Operations Center the next morning to attend a strategic meeting.

Seeing the message, Zhang Yi chuckled softly.

“I thought Commander Zhu might want to speak with me privately. Guess I was overthinking it.”

He shrugged toward Baili Changqing.

Which was a good thing—it meant Zhu Zheng didn’t consider him a special focus. Zhang Yi was just as happy not being the center of attention.

Baili Changqing laughed, “All the people summoned from the Outer City this time are top-tier experts. It’s not just you!”

“There’s no way Commander Zhu can meet with each of you individually—it’s much more efficient to brief everyone together.”

His eyes glinted, “This time involves some very important and complicated matters. There’s a lot of intel you all don’t know yet, so it needs to be explained in full.”

Zhang Yi nodded, “That’s fine too.”

He was actually quite interested in meeting the top experts from the Outer City.

There were too many people last time, so he couldn’t gauge who was strong and who wasn’t.

But this time, because of the mission’s nature, those who came had to be elite fighters.

It wouldn’t be bad to talk with them a bit.

As Zhang Yi was thinking about this, he unconsciously forgot something:

His own strength was already top-tier across the entire Jiangnan District.

It was an old habit of his.

His overly cautious mindset made him always take others seriously.

But since Zhu Zheng wasn’t seeing him today...

Zhang Yi tapped his fingers against the black acrylic table and smiled at Baili Changqing,

“Then let’s have a few drinks together.”

Baili Changqing grinned and pressed the service bell, “Sure! Tonight we’re drinking to our heart’s content!”

Zhang Yi had always been a good drinker. That night, he and a few others emptied bottle after bottle.

Meng Siyu’s cheeks were flushed bright red, and she was swaying so much she could barely walk straight.

Wu Di came over carrying two bottles, his eyes blazing—he was dead set on avenging his earlier defeat at Zhang Yi’s hands.

Though he had lost in a fight, he thought maybe he could win back some pride at the drinking table.

But this time, he lost even harder.

Even the normally quiet and reserved Liang Yue was coaxed into drinking a little by Meng Siyu.

It wasn’t until late into the night that Baili Changqing drove them to the apartment arranged for the Outer City superhumans.

Whether it was on purpose or by accident, Baili Changqing only got them one room.

Liang Yue had drunk less, so her head was still fairly clear.

When she saw Zhang Yi lying on the bed, she realized the two of them were sharing the same room. Her face instantly flushed.

Just as she was thinking of going to get another room, Zhang Yi suddenly sat up in bed.

Though his eyes were a little unfocused, his mind was still sharp.

That amount of alcohol wasn’t enough to get him drunk.

And knowing Zhang Yi’s character, there’s no way he’d let himself get wasted in unfamiliar surroundings.

“Did everyone else leave?”

Zhang Yi yawned as he spoke.

Liang Yue bit her lip, set her long blade aside, and said calmly,

“They left. Were you pretending to be drunk?”

“Not quite.”

Zhang Yi replied indifferently,

“Even if I’m drunk, my head’s still clear.”

He had indeed drunk a lot—but only in the beginning.

Later, even when Wu Di was desperately trying to outdrink him, Zhang Yi quietly used his spatial storage ability to dump most of the alcohol away.

He took out a bottle of milk from the spatial space and handed it to Liang Yue, asking her to warm it up using the electric kettle.

Then Zhang Yi sat on the room’s sofa. With a wave of his hand, Hua Hua jumped up and curled into his lap.

Zhang Yi gently petted Hua Hua while leaning back and processing the information he had gathered today.

His eyes were crystal bright, flickering with a sharp gleam of insight.

“This time, the district summoned top-tier superhumans from the Outer City—not representatives from various factions like last time. That means the strategy has changed.”

“We’re no longer relying on numbers to carry out siege tactics. Now, it’s elite-focused teams.”

“In other words… numbers don’t matter anymore?”

Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.

This was indeed the right move.

Once a superhuman reached Delta-level, especially combat-types, their strength already surpassed the limits of normal human understanding.

They could even shrug off most light firearms.

At that point, lower-level superhumans and regular humans—even trained soldiers—were essentially useless.

After ten superhuman organizations were wiped out, Jiangnan District finally realized this and began changing its combat strategy.

Next, Celestial Squad would lead the charge, and the Outer City superhumans would likely serve as auxiliary support.

So then, what was the role of Zhang Yi and the other Outer City elites?

“Cannon fodder?”

Zhang Yi murmured the words softly.

But he quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea.

If cannon fodder were needed, they’d just bring in large numbers of regular superhumans or elite troops.

And the people summoned this time were definitely stronger than the first batch from those ten organizations.

“We Outer City superhumans might not match Blizzard City’s elite teams in coordinated operations. But when it comes to personal combat ability—we’re not necessarily weaker.”

“From the intel I’ve gathered, Moon of Corrosion only has ten combat units.”

“So maybe the district’s plan is for us to tie those enemies down… and create opportunities for the Celestial Squad?”

Liang Yue handed him the now-warmed milk.

“I was thinking… maybe our job is just to make sure the Ronin don’t escape.”

“Once they sense something’s off, they’ll probably try to flee. And chasing them down is way harder than taking them out.”

Author's Note