Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Best MVP Settlement Time

While some rejoiced, others despaired. As Shi Jin endured a harsh scolding from Councillor Nia, on the opposite side of Hope City, the MVP of a sweeping battle was being settled.

With the Heart Snatcher shot more than ten times and killed, the bane that had plagued everyone from the ten councilors to the small office heads in the factories finally dissipated completely.

The body was confirmed to be that of Li Rui, an unregistered resident who had disappeared over a decade ago.

It seems this man, unwilling to be conscripted as a superpowered individual in Hope City and equally unwilling to live as an ordinary person, went into hiding after awakening his superpowers.

Over a decade is ample time for a superpowered individual to hone even a modest ability to perfection.

For most of that time, his thefts likely targeted ordinary people in the outer city, where reporting such crimes was deemed unnecessary.

Only months ago, having mastered his abilities, Li Rui embarked on a series of crimes.

Thus, this man, who was not actually dead and whose abilities did not match the description on the Wanted Notice, naturally became the prime suspect in fifteen murder cases in the outer city and nine theft cases in the inner city.

He also faced charges for evading summons, illegal organization, group fighting, organ trafficking, and a dozen other crimes.

As for any contributions he supposedly made to the outer city’s security bureau, who witnessed them? All fabricated.

In some ongoing case files, Li Rui was portrayed as a model criminal, busily stealing precious items in the inner city during the first half of the night, organizing street fights in the latter half, and finding time to kill a couple of people in the opposite direction district, as well as tripping elderly people on their midnight strolls.

Such a dedicated criminal brought tears of joy to the peace officers in the outer city and a smirk to the lips of the Clean-up Team members overseeing the operations.

In summary, the details are unnecessary. The death of Li Rui, this demon of balancing accounts, injected new vigor into the Public Security Team of the outer city, and everyone quickly prepared to combat crime once more.

As for whether they witnessed the fierce gunfight the previous night, that seemed a trivial matter.

After all, they didn’t want their superiors to know that they, as informants, were taken down without even properly wearing gas masks—this would sever their paths to promotion.

So, when everyone awoke from In Dream and saw that the battle had ended with just one unknown Young Man dead, the truth was clear.

Was the gunfight intense? Of course, it was intense.

Were there many enemies? Absolutely.

What was the situation on site? Sorry, the enemy threw smoke bombs, and they couldn’t see clearly.

What? You say someone collapsed? Did you see it?!

“At 0:30 AM on November 6, Year 52 of the New Era, the Clean-up Team led by Zhuang Mian encountered the enemy in the western section of the inner city sewer. In the chaotic gunfight, the rookie deputy captain Tang Qing was tragically killed by a ricocheting bullet.”

The old man emotionlessly finished reading the report and looked at Zhuang Mian, who was about his height:

“Is this true?”

“True.”

“Are you sure it’s true?”

“The student confirms it’s true.”

The old man and Zhuang Mian exchanged glances, their gray eyes deep and unfathomable like a bottomless pool.

“Sign here to confirm it’s true. This operation went well: one dead, three people seriously injured, nineteen lightly injured, the Heart Snatcher killed, and four possibly related gangs eliminated.”

Zhuang Mian lightly nodded and signed her name at the bottom right of the report.

“Do you confirm you want me to submit this document?”

Zhuang Mian nodded again.

The old man sighed and said,

“Being too hasty isn’t always a good thing.

“Without even mentioning the backing of those gangs, Tang Qing’s death alone is enough to make you grieve in secret.”

“Teacher, I am deeply saddened by my junior’s tragic fate.”

Zhuang Mian’s face showed a mix of anger and sorrow, as if she was clenching her teeth to hold back tears:

“If I had known this would happen, I would never have agreed to his request to join the team.

“This mission was extremely dangerous, and my junior lacked experience. I tried to dissuade him multiple times…

“But he still… I’m sorry, Teacher.”

“There’s no need to say such things.”

The old man reached up to scratch his ear:

“It’s all in the past now. What’s the point of dwelling on it?

“I’ll submit the documents, and you should start preparing yourself.”

“Understood, thank you, Teacher.”

As she watched the old man walk away, Zhuang Mian bowed deeply.

It was already the morning of November 6th, and after a sleepless night, Zhuang Mian and her team, with the assistance of the external reserve unit, had nearly completed the cleanup of last night’s battlefield.

Judging by the results alone, it was a highly successful operation.

Not only did their side suffer minimal casualties, but the spoils of war alone made it a resounding victory.

Zhuang Mian and her Clean-up Team had systematically swept through one-sixteenth of the inner city’s sewers, dividing into six separate units.

Since the area above was home to several factories, it was a hotspot for corruption.

This led Zhuang Mian to discover four guarded supply depots in addition to Heart Snatcher’s.

Most of the items were factory products labeled as defective, which should have been destroyed or recycled.

This area is undoubtedly where such incidents occur most frequently in Hope City; if the other fifteen districts are in a similar state, then Hope City is truly doomed.

Fortunately, in terms of sheer quantity, the supplies seized this time weren’t overwhelming. The only issue was finding some weapons in Heart Snatcher’s warehouse that should have been decommissioned.

Compared to items like nutritional paste, these weapons were the real prize.

This also explains why Heart Snatcher could hold his own against ten opponents.

A large arsenal of weapons, combined with basic assumptions about Heart Snatcher’s abilities and the cover provided by smoke, created a perfect storm of factors that led to the highly satisfying outcome achieved today.

Watching her teacher’s retreating figure, Zhuang Mian knew that her toughest challenges were just beginning.

Without a doubt, this achievement would secure her a significant promotion as the Captain of the Clean-up Team.

But at the same time, more eyes would be on her.

As a newcomer at a higher level, even without the overt and covert obstacles her teacher had hinted at, she would soon be handed nearly impossible tasks.

This is the price of climbing higher; Zhuang Mian had already experienced similar trials in her dreams.

She could roughly guess that soon, those daunting cases would land on her desk, and only by solving them could she earn further opportunities for advancement.

Zhuang Mian stood still for a moment, her gaze inevitably falling on Tang Qing, now wrapped in a body bag.

“I hope your family doesn’t let me down.”