Chapter 193 – Arsenal Assistance
Meng Fancheng and the others were still inside, waiting for the elevator to go up.
Aside from the 48th floor, the Medical Department had three other floors connected to the rail system.
After Tu Ran boarded the train heading to the Pandalin District, another suspended train carrying explosion victims stopped directly above her.
Several small helicopters also arrived, hovering in the air with red and blue lights flashing on top.
The Medical Department had more work to do.
Tu Ran looked away.
She arrived at the Pandalin District’s Executive Department at 7:15.
She was fifteen minutes late.
Tu Ran quickened her pace and headed to the temporary meeting room prepared for the pioneers.
She pushed open the door to the meeting room, which was already full of people.
Including her, there were a total of five official pioneers, each leading five newcomers, making a total of twenty-five people.
Now, only she was missing.
The meeting room had already formed into five small groups.
The first-generation pioneers were explaining various pieces of knowledge to their teams that couldn’t be learned in the training camp, emphasizing key points and introducing what needed to be done over the next twenty-four hours and what the main tasks were.
The meeting room wasn’t quiet; everyone was discussing in low voices.
Tu Ran’s lateness didn’t attract much attention; they merely glanced at the latecomer before returning their focus to the first-generation pioneers’ explanations.
Only the five people in her group were eagerly watching her.
Seeing her enter, they all stood up.
Tu Ran quickly moved to the back of the meeting room. “No need to stand, sit.”
She also pulled out a chair and sat opposite them, placing her machine gun on her lap.
“Sorry, I got held up by something earlier,” Tu Ran explained.
The five of them said it was fine; they didn’t mind the fifteen-minute delay.
The six of them sat facing each other, and Tu Ran felt that she should say something as well.
“Um… let me explain what we’ll be doing each day.”
The five of them straightened up and listened attentively.
“We don’t have any fixed tasks, nor do we need to patrol around. When the guards from the Executive Department find a genetic monster, they will notify us, and we can go directly to the site.”
“According to the rules, we are supposed to be on duty for a full twenty-four hours before we can rest for twelve hours. During these twenty-four hours, you don’t necessarily have to stay here. You can move around, or return to the hotel to rest. As long as you stay within the Pandalin District and can respond to a task in time, that’s fine.”
The five of them nodded.
They had originally been worried about staying awake for a full twenty-four hours and the strain it might put on their bodies, but realizing they could rest during the shift relieved them.
Tu Ran thought for a moment. It seemed there wasn’t much else to explain.
But looking at the other teams, who were still talking non-stop, she started to wonder if she was forgetting something.
She tilted her head to listen to what the nearby team was discussing.
The team next to them was led by Xiao Di.
Xiao Di had been knocked out by Min Tao at the graduation party yesterday, and when the second-generation pioneers withdrew, they sent him to the Medical Department. He had fully recovered today.
He was now using his own experiences to explain to his team the differences between mutants and genetic monsters.
Tu Ran thought he was doing a good job.
She glanced at the five people in front of her. Should she just let them listen to Xiao Di instead?
But there was no time left.
Several “ding ding” sounds suddenly echoed from the first-generation pioneers’ communicators.
Tu Ran looked down to check—there was a task notification from the Executive Department.
A brief message.
“Eden District, Sankar Arsenal needs support.”
Eden District?
Sankar Arsenal?
Tu Ran recalled what Meng Fancheng had mentioned in the elevator at the Medical Department: a genetic monster had attacked an arsenal in the Eden District, resulting in an explosion with many casualties.
Even though the Eden District had its own stationed pioneers, the fact that they still needed support indicated how dire the situation was.
“A task just came in; we’re heading to the Eden District,” Tu Ran said as she stood up and grabbed her gear.
“Eden District?” someone behind her questioned, “Aren’t we responsible for the Pandalin District?”
Tu Ran turned to see the speaker—it was Le Qin, the only woman among the five, who ranked tenth in the graduation assessment and was skilled in close combat.
“We’re going to provide support,” Tu Ran quickly explained. “We’re not confined to just the Pandalin District. If neighboring areas encounter difficult genetic monsters, we have to help out as well.”
“Oh.” Le Qin nodded and immediately stood up to follow Tu Ran.
The group of over twenty people headed to the helipad on top of the Executive Department Building, splitting into two groups to board helicopters, which would take them directly to the Sankar Arsenal in the Eden District.
The Eden District was adjacent to the Pandalin District, which was why the call for help was sent to them. If it had been farther away, it would not only waste time traveling back and forth but also risk compromising the safety of the area they were originally assigned to protect.
Half an hour later, the helicopters landed one after another on a barren field surrounding the Sankar Arsenal.
As they stepped onto the barren ground, they could see the massive black structure built by humans, with thick black smoke billowing from the southeastern corner, staining half the sky a yellowish hue.
The air was thick with the smell of smoke.
Tu Ran activated her air purifier.
The area was already surrounded by guards from the Executive Department, as well as pioneers from other regions who had come to assist.
Everyone was gathered, discussing strategies.
Tu Ran was surprised to spot Xie Xu among the crowd.
Why would a researcher like him be here? Tu Ran wondered.
Thinking it over, she considered the possibility: could this factory belong to his family? It seemed likely, as the Xie family nearly monopolized the Federal weapons manufacturing industry.
This arsenal looked massive, and only the Xie family could build such a facility openly in the heart of a Federal city. Other families would rather hide their arsenals underground.
“Senior Tu Ran, aren’t we going to join them in the discussion?” Le Qin asked.
The other pioneers who had disembarked from the helicopter with them had already joined the group, while they remained about seven or eight meters away.
“No need,” Tu Ran replied, glancing at Xie Xu. He was standing on the outskirts of the crowd, frowning as he discussed something with Li Wenchuan.
Xie Xu was the true decision-maker for the upcoming operation.
It wouldn’t matter how much they discussed if they mixed into the crowd.
In the end, they’d still have to follow Xie Xu’s orders.
“We’ll just wait for instructions.”
Xie Xu would handle all the arrangements.
The five of them exchanged glances but said nothing.
They clearly noticed that Tu Ran’s approach today was worlds apart from the fierce demeanor she had displayed at the graduation party the previous day.
She seemed indifferent, going with the flow.
This made the five of them uneasy.
They hadn’t been concerned about Tu Ran still being a junior pioneer a year after graduation, because they had witnessed her strength firsthand yesterday.
She had seemed worth following.
But now, her current behavior made them start to question their decision.
