Chapter 225: Command

Chapter 225: Command

On the day the contamination erupted at the Cleaning Center, in the underground 29th floor, where He Wenxi was detained.

In a cell only one meter wide, He Wenxi couldn't lie down, but she didn't sit either.

From start to finish, she maintained only one posture, standing against the wall with her hands cuffed.

There was no door or window here, only a faint light, making it impossible for her to tell time. It felt like she had been imprisoned for ten years, yet it could have been just two or three days.

Zhu Ning had already entered the New Century Hotel. From her intuition, this would certainly be the most brutal battle, with heavy casualties.

But before setting out, she gave Zhu Ning no hint, instead carefully selecting teammates for her.

Intuition alone couldn't change reality; those who knew too much were destined to bear more.

Suddenly, the light on the ceiling flickered, and He Wenxi frowned. Her location was used to detain high-risk individuals, with the surviving Wall-Exterior Investigators below.

If a riot broke out at the Cleaning Center, they would surely seal off the underground to prevent the detained contaminants from escaping.

An A-level contaminant wouldn't affect the underground, but now the indoor lights were flickering, followed by a piercing alarm.

"S-level contaminant intrusion, please evacuate immediately."

An S-level contaminant? The severity of the riot at the Cleaning Center far exceeded He Wenxi's expectations.

He Wenxi asked, "What's happening outside?"

Above the room was a surveillance camera, and a static sound came from above, as if someone had pressed the communication button.

"He... static... hurry... bang!" The person monitoring He Wenxi tried to speak, but he didn't finish. In the background were chaotic gunshots, as if something had struck him heavily.

Then, it sounded like a monster dragging a person, producing a sticky, nauseating friction on the ground.

Just imagining it made one's scalp tingle. What was this thing?

Had the contamination spread to the underground? He Wenxi had too little information to make a judgment.

The walls of the cell were pure white, and she couldn't see outside, except for a ventilation port above.

Drip—

A cold drop of water fell on He Wenxi's head. Was the cell leaking?

It seemed to confirm He Wenxi's guess, as more and more water seeped through, wetting her face.

Her feet were already submerged, the water covering her shoes. At this rate, she would drown soon.

The cell was completely sealed, after all, the purpose of the cage was to prevent criminals from escaping, not to consider comfort or safety.

He Wenxi pounded on the walls, but no one heard her cries for help. The sound of water grew louder, like an unturned faucet gushing.

Zhuang Lin was dispatched by He Wenxi, and every member of the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team had their own mission. If the Cleaning Center fell, no one might even think to come to her rescue.

By the time they remembered, they might only find a corpse in the underground cell.

The leader of the investigation team drowned—how ironic. The water was too deep, leaving He Wenxi no way to escape. She could only relax her body and float in the water.

Using the buoyancy, He Wenxi reached for the ventilation port above, her only chance of survival.

She hit it with her elbow, her hands still cuffed, making it difficult to apply force.

He Wenxi struck several times, but the ventilation port remained immovable. This was a cell; if it could be easily breached, the prisoners would have long escaped.

With the water level reaching her chest, He Wenxi was now breathing in a small space, constantly choking on the water.

Suddenly, He Wenxi covered her right eye, feeling something bulging under the eye patch.

Her mutated eye moved, like a small snake turning over.

She got goosebumps, a huge panic gripping her heart. For a moment, she resonated with the contaminant, even stopping her breath.

It was as if someone had grabbed her eyeball out of nowhere, making her eye part of the underground contaminant.

He Wenxi's face turned pale, her heart racing. She stared coldly downward, sensing danger from below.

Through the floor, the Wall-Exterior Investigator below had encountered some trouble. He had returned from beyond the wall, the only one who had seen the eerie red light and survived.

Contamination could induce further contamination; a person on the brink of infection needed only a slight stimulus, like a piece of wood doused in gasoline, needing just a spark to ignite.

The Wall-Exterior Investigator had found his spark, erupting into a contaminant. The contaminated area could spread within minutes, and He Wenxi, being so close, could easily be enveloped.

He Wenxi wasn't wearing protective gear, had no weapons, and possessed no offensive psychic abilities. Trapped in the cell, she had no means to save herself, only to wait for death.

Pain shot through He Wenxi's right eye. She covered it, feeling a trail of blood stream down her eye and mix with the water.

He Wenxi forgot that she also exhibited mutation symptoms, making her a potential contaminant. Just like the Wall-Exterior Investigator, she was not immune to infection.

She had unfinished business; she shouldn't die now, not in this moment, not to become a contaminant.

He Wenxi's mind raced, her body motionless, staring coldly ahead.

All four walls of the cell were identical, yet He Wenxi accurately focused on the one in front of her, sensing something was about to happen.

Gunfire and the smell of gunpowder came from outside, heavy footsteps approaching, indicating someone was attacking the contaminant.

Bang! Bang! Bang!—

Suddenly, a knife pierced through the white wall in front of her, its blade cold, nearly stabbing He Wenxi in the face.

In the confined space, the sudden appearance of a knife was enough to instill fear, but Huo Wenxi didn’t even furrow her brow.

The blade slashed downward, drawing a brilliant spark and instantly cutting a two-meter-long gash.

Water gushed out like a flood, and Huo Wenxi fell to the ground.

A pair of hands reached out from the crack, forcefully pulling it wider. Outside stood a person in a Demon Hunter protective suit.

A voice called out, "We’ve found Team Leader Huo!"

At this moment, ten Demon Hunters appeared; someone placed a helmet on Huo Wenxi, and a female Demon Hunter quickly wrapped her in a protective suit, not daring to waste a second.

In such chaos, with the end of the world looming and no one in charge, people naturally thought of Huo Wenxi first.

They weren’t fools; their minds were clear, knowing that things were about to go downhill.

They needed a leader.

Huo Wenxi was the best choice; her Psychic abilities suited decision-making, and her public speeches often left many convinced.

During this rescue operation, six people had already died on the way to see Huo Wenxi, and the injured hadn’t been counted yet, but they all felt that sacrificing their lives for hers was worth it.

The Demon Hunters led the way, with some guarding the rear, while Huo Wenxi was protected in the middle.

The elevator was out of service, so Huo Wenxi was guided up the stairs. Behind her, screams of agony, gunshots, and explosions echoed continuously.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood, and Huo Wenxi shuddered, knowing without thinking how severe the casualties were. Instinctively, she wanted to look back.

One of the Demon Hunters guarding her said, "Team Leader Huo, don’t look back."

There was nothing to see; behind them were only casualties. People needed to look forward, not be slowed down by the sacrifices.

All those who died for Huo Wenxi had made their peace; they weren’t there to burden her.

"Team Leader Huo," someone behind her said, "keep moving forward."

Huo Wenxi’s body stiffened. She had grown up in an era of advanced technology and rarely climbed stairs. This was the heaviest path she had ever walked.

She wasn’t an overly emotional person, but at that moment, she couldn’t see the steps clearly in front of her.

Gunfire erupted behind her, followed by the sound of a body rolling down the stairs, thudding heavily.

Huo Wenxi stepped onto the next step, and with each step she took, another gunshot rang out behind her.

As she moved forward, people had already died for her, and the sacrifices didn’t even need her to remember their names.

Huo Wenxi continued walking, feeling as if she was treading a bloody path. After a long time, they finally reached the surface.

Only six of those escorting her remained, and the heavy anti-contamination iron door behind them slammed shut.

"We’ll handle it from here," the Demon Hunters waiting on the surface said. "First, we need to take Team Leader Huo to the Medical Department for treatment."

Several floors of the cleaning center were still operational, but most were in bad shape, with five floors destroyed and fires taking a long time to extinguish.

The 103 District Cleaning Center had suffered unprecedented damage. The first time was when ghostly shadows emerged from the hotel, the second was the pollution brought by Zhu Ning, and the third was when the underground investigators’ collapse formed an S-level contaminated area.

Huo Wenxi removed her helmet and patiently listened to the mission report.

Many things had happened in her absence, and Huo Wenxi fell silent when she heard about the sacrifices of Xu Meng, Cao Wei, and Fu Bai.

Though she had anticipated it, hearing it was different.

The true list of casualties was still being compiled, and some had died without anyone knowing.

Fang Ying’s death surprised Huo Wenxi, but not too much.

Huo Wenxi’s intuition immediately grasped the truth. Zhu Ning was called a demon, and theoretically should have stayed away from the cleaning center, yet she risked returning to kill Fang Ying, an assistant.

There was only one possibility: Fang Ying was the superior responsible for contacting Cheng Mofei. Huo Wenxi had promised Zhu Ning to help investigate, but it was too late.

Events unfolded too quickly, spiraling out of control. Now, Huo Wenxi was trying to get everything back on track.

Huo Wenxi entered her familiar office, which, surprisingly, hadn’t been contaminated. It was just a mess of scattered documents, looking like a ruin.

An employee saw Huo Wenxi and opened his mouth wide. She was followed by a group of people, all Demon Hunters.

He slapped his head, remembering that he had forgotten about the team leader! He completely forgot to rescue Team Leader Huo. Thankfully, the Demon Hunters intervened; otherwise, Zhuang Lin would have torn him apart upon his return.

"Team Leader Huo," the young employee said, holding a file. This was the task Huo Wenxi had assigned him, and he had gathered all the materials.

Huo Wenxi didn’t have time to change her clothes. Despite her disheveled appearance, her expression remained unchanged, and she was already in work mode.

"Everyone, into the meeting room," Huo Wenxi said.

These people usually had no dealings with the Anomaly Incident Team, let alone entering their meeting room.

The meeting room was small, with only twenty chairs, but it was packed with people, and more had to stand outside in the corridor.

They stretched their necks to see inside, and no one chatted; they desperately needed someone to take charge.

Outside the window, it was pitch black. The sky dome was closed, and the indoor lights seemed like the only source of light.

Huo Wenxi conducted the meeting as usual, except she didn’t smoke.

Facing her were people who had come to seek refuge, unable to resist looking at her. Huo Wenxi’s mental strength was truly remarkable. She sat in her chair, water still dripping from her, her long braids undone and hanging wetly, looking like a drowned woman, yet she could hold a meeting without flinching.

Such a mess, and Huo Wenxi was actually going to clean it up. Lu Qiqin wouldn’t even touch it; whoever failed would be a sinner for eternity.

Huo Wenxi didn’t care about being a sinner or not. If people died, they would turn to ashes, all the same.

Huo Wenxi issued several orders in quick succession. Zhu Lin probably encountered an ambush on the way back and needed someone to come to his aid.

The data must be protected at all costs; it was obtained with lives on the line.

"Compile a list of all available personnel and give it to me," Huo Wenxi said. "For departments willing to cooperate, have their current heads report to me."

She referred to the current heads because the situation had changed, and internal turmoil was likely in each department.

"Huo Wenxi, take me to see Xuan Qing later."

Control of the Operations Department still rested with Xuan Qing, and the Demon Hunters were the strongest armed force in the Clean Center.

"This..." The person responsible for execution hesitated. Xuan Qing was still in treatment and might not be cooperative.

Huo Wenxi knew Xuan Qing must have backup weapons. As the leader of the Demon Hunters, she could mobilize more people than Huo Wenxi herself.

"Notify her that I will come to talk personally later," Huo Wenxi said.

She needed to rally every possible ally, and Huo Wenxi required Xuan Qing's Psychic abilities.

"Where is Zhu Ning?" Huo Wenxi asked.

"Lost track of her," he replied, somewhat awkwardly. His feelings toward Zhu Ning were complex; he didn't believe the demon rumors but also didn't particularly like her.

Some in the Clean Center had attempted to locate Zhu Ning for negotiations, at least to gather more information.

Zhu Ning was being hunted by extremists; only a fool would show themselves. Finding Zhu Ning now was extremely difficult.

Huo Wenxi paused for a moment, then looked up and said, "Find her."

She must be found at any cost. Zhu Ning was a crucial part of the original plan. With the truth about Divine Descent uncovered, Huo Wenxi couldn't afford to lose her waste purifier.

Huo Wenxi still remembered the alliance between her and Zhu Ning, one of eternal loyalty.