Chapter 636: The Fall of Jiangning City
Chen Xiaoxiao's analysis had Zhang Yi nodding along the whole time.
He completely agreed with her perspective.
"Exactly! Thatâs what I think too!"
These superhumans from Neon may all be Delta-level,
but compared to Zhang Yi and Chen Xiaoxiao's crew, they weren't all that differentâ
mostly freelance superhumans without formal combat training.
Maybe there was a skill gap compared to those who fought in the first battle.
But this current batch, over a dozen of them,
were all elite-level talents from the outer zone of the Jiangnan District.
Zhang Yi didnât think they were any weaker.
In fact, aside from falling short in team coordination and discipline,
on an individual level, their power wasn't beneath your average investigation team memberâ
some might even rival a team captain.
Chen Xiaoxiao was clearly pleased Zhang Yi shared her viewpoint.
"Thatâs why, if we keep fighting this way and avoid letting them use the intel gap against us,
our chances of winning are actually really high."
Zhang Yi leaned back on the couch, glanced at Liang Yue beside him, then said casually,
"Well, if thatâs the case, this mission might actually be pretty simple!"
"After all, being bait and wasting other peopleâs time is what I do best!"
As long as he didnât throw himself into certain death,
no oneâbased on what they currently knewâcould kill him.
Just then, Peng Li, who had been quietly taking notes, suddenly looked up.
She stared at Zhang Yi with surprise and a hint of disdain.
"But our goal isnât just to play bait, you know."
"Donât forget, if we rack up enough merit on this mission, we could take over all of Linhai City!"
Zhang Yi frowned. "So what?"
"So what?" Peng Li was visibly shocked.
"Linhai City is loaded with resources! If we take itâheck, even just part of itâ
our factionâs strength would skyrocket!"
Chen Xiaoxiao chimed in calmly,
"Even though the Jiangnan District Headquarters established a federation
and strictly forbade inter-faction conflicts within its regionsâŠ
Letâs be real, they canât actually enforce that."
"Sure, Jiangnan Districtâs strong. No one dares provoke them.
But they canât fully govern the whole region either."
"Thatâs why faction wars in Jiangnan will definitely become the norm going forward.
The only way to avoid being pushed around is to grow stronger."
Zhang Yi nodded. "That does make sense."
"But Iâm not interested."
Peng Li scoffed. "Youâre supposed to be the big boss of Tianhai City,
but with that kind of mindset, donât be surprised if someone steals your turf one day.
You canât live too comfortably, you know!"
Zhang Yi just smiled.
"But I donât think thereâs anything wrong with living comfortably."
Chen Xiaoxiao frowned and exchanged a look with Peng Liâ
this was starting to get complicated.
Their goal was to earn merit this time and cash in on the Jiangnan Districtâs mission rewards,
which included getting territory in Linhai City.
But now, two people on their team werenât on board with that plan.
How were they supposed to compete with the other two squads now?
Clearly, they'd be at a power disadvantage.
Chen Xiaoxiao took a deep breath.
"Zhang Yi, think about it againâ
Linhai City is right next to Tianhai City.
If you secure the land and resources there,
itâd be a perfect extension of your territory."
Zhang Yi didnât want to argue anymore. He waved her off.
"Did you forget what we agreed on from the start?"
"In this team, Iâm the captain. You all follow my lead.
If thereâs ever a disagreement, youâre free to leave.
I wonât stop you."
Chen Xiaoxiao was momentarily speechless.
That was trueâtheyâd agreed on this.
No matter how many ideas she had,
if Zhang Yi didnât give the green light, there was nothing she could do.
On paper, Zhang Yi was their captain.
"You really are a strange one," she said helplessly.
Any other team of superhumans wouldâve jumped at the chance.
Zhang Yiâs lips curled into a subtle, meaningful smile.
He didnât say more, just knocked on the table.
"Alright, letâs move on!"
There was still a lot to go over.
For example, how to come up with tailored countermeasures
against each member of the Moon of Corrosion.
While Zhang Yiâs group was busy analyzing intel on the Moon of Corrosion,
a new message came through from the intelligence division
at the Operations Command Center and landed in Commander Zhu Zhengâs hands.
When Zhu Zheng read it, he couldnât help but furrow his brow deeply.
Because the message clearly stated:
The Xingyun satellite system had detected
that the Moon of Corrosion had begun pulling out of Linhai City
and was heading northwestâtoward Jiangning City.
"We canât wait any longer!
Those psychos really want to push into the Central Plains!
B**tards!"
Zhu Zheng clenched his fists, his face grim.
The Moon of Corrosion was way more audacious than heâd expected.
"You think just because you won one skirmish,
you can act like the Jiangnan District is nothing to you?"
A blade-sharp gleam flashed in Zhu Zhengâs eyes.
An intense killing intent radiated from him.
Jiangning City, located northwest of both Linhai City and Tianhai City,
was a bustling second-tier metropolis.
The Moon of Corrosion rolled into town in stolen vehicles,
cruising past the border and straight into downtown.
Jiangning Square, one of the cityâs most vibrant commercial zones,
used to be held by the largest superhuman faction in Jiangning.
But now, as the Moon of Corrosion walked its streets,
hundreds of corpses lay sprawled across the roads.
Crimson blood stained the entire areaâ
then froze into icy red sheets before it could even flow far.
At the front was the miko, Takeuchi Mayumi.
Phoenixin Ren walked along with his hands in the pockets
of his gray suit vest, casually whistling.
"We need to find a well-stocked place first."
"Rest up a bit, resupply, then keep heading inland.
I think the next stopâs that place called Lingdu."
He looked down at a device in his hand.
The screen showed a full map, detailed down to each road.
Of course, after the apocalyptic blizzard hit,
most of those roads were no longer usable.
It was a pre-apocalypse mapâ
useful now only as a reference.
A few steps behind him to the right was Shinguuji Seiichiro,
slicked-back hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and a perpetually sour expression.
"Things arenât going to go as smoothly as we thought."
"That last battleâit was clear those werenât
official Jiangnan District headquarters personnel.
Just some freelance groups."
"After we wiped them out, we sent out a signalâŠ
but Jiangnan hasnât responded at all."
He exhaled a cloud of white breath, visibly irritated.
"That means those guysâŠ
are still dead set on fighting us to the end."
Author's Note