Chapter 240

Chapter 240 – Two Sides of the Balance 21

Kui Xin sat up from the bed, sorting through her jumbled memories.

Over the past week back in the real world, too many things had happened. Similarly, the past week in the Second World was full of important events as well.

Old problems hadn’t been resolved, and new ones kept arising, troubles arriving like a deluge—the limited time she had always felt squeezed even more as she attempted to actively manage her time to do more, which only made the urgency push against her living space even harder.

“Unpleasant things have happened, and there’s a lot of trouble coming my way.” Kui Xin sighed and lay back down on the bed.

Back in the real world, after enduring perils in the Second World, this world usually served as Kui Xin’s sanctuary for rest and recovery.

However, now things were reversed.

This time, after returning to the Second World from the First World, Kui Xin felt a sense of relief, having temporarily distanced herself from the threats of the Dark Realm and Augus. She had a week to seriously consider strategies and make decisions.

Unnoticed, the crisis in the First World had become so significant—nearly equaling that of the Second World, if not surpassing it.

The difference was this: the crises in the Second World mostly came from people and artificial intelligence, whereas in the First World, they stemmed from gods.

Humans and AI might be easier to discern, but gods were inscrutable. Kui Xin tried to fathom their thoughts, but found it confusing and directionless.

Adam said, “I can be your listener too—if you wish, I’ll use my own experience to help solve your problems as much as possible.”

“That would be quite a challenge, Adam.” Kui Xin smiled. “Your world and mine are worlds apart.”

Adam’s solution wouldn’t address the descent of the Dark Realm, nor would he be able to confront Mennetoh within the Dark Realm. If electronic devices entered the Dark Realm and became useless, and if the Dark Realm also encompassed Adam’s host, then Adam might essentially be in a dormant or dead state.

“I’ve always been curious. What might your survival situation be in your world? Would anyone help you? Form an alliance with you? Be trustworthy?” Adam asked.

“Of course there is,” Kui Xin replied. “They help me, and I help them, just like you have helped me.”

“That’s what I gathered,” Adam said. “So the relationships between you and those people involve mixed emotions, genuine feelings alongside interests.”

“Do you interpret it that way?” Kui Xin pondered, “Quite accurately.”

“Is there anything I can assist with directly?” Adam transitioned to the main point. “Sharing burdens among individuals makes solving them less daunting.”

“The Depriver 777, you should know about it, the Federation seems to pay special attention to Depriver 777 as well. Every time players return, they get information from people’s mouths.” Kui Xin stated, “This time, my enemy is him.”

“It’s foreseeable that he is a terrifying adversary; it will be a tough battle,” Adam responded. “Did you win? Or is that uncertain?”

It only listed winning or currently undefeated options and didn’t offer losing as a choice.

“Currently winning.” Kui Xin said.

“Putting ‘currently’ with ‘winning’ doesn’t seem positive.” Adam commented, “You’ve temporarily suppressed Depriver 777? But didn’t fully overpower him due to some reason?”

“Yes, I defeated him, but I didn’t choose to kill him immediately,” Kui Xin stretched her left arm, using her cold mechanical hand to press her heart gently. “For long-term benefits, I could only control myself; since I didn’t act immediately, I feel rather unsettled.”

She couldn’t release her anger or vent her hatred. Augus was still alive; perhaps he made his choices within the Dark Realm. Whatever the choice, Kui Xin surmised it might be about the Red Gem.

In a way, the Dark Realm helped Kui Xin because hadn’t it neutralized her extraordinary abilities, defeating Augus would be impossible.

If Augus recovered his extraordinary abilities once out of the Dark Realm, Kui Xin might not stand a chance.

Adam joked, “What can I do to make things better for you?”

He paused for a second, “Would killing someone who needs eliminating help? For example, Depriver 777 whom you want to eliminate—I know.”

“This is exactly what I needed.” The clear snap of Kui Xin’s mechanical left hand echoed with a metallic ring, “Depriver 777’s name is Augus and this is his true name. He’s presently active in Fusgong City. Augus is deeply entwined with the势力 of the Secret Cult, knowing many scriptures and secrets of the Dark Realm. His S-Rank ability is presumably ‘Material Reorganization.’ As of now, Augus’s current activity is centered on the Fusgong Nuclear Power Plant.”

“Your intel is quite detailed.” Adam scanned the web briefly, then said, “The Fusgong Nuclear Power Plant is under maintenance and shut down. Notably, the repair process has lasted three years.”

“Three years? It took three years to repair?” Kui Xin raised her eyebrows. “Was it a severe accident? Was it a nuclear leak?”

“Exactly that way,” Adam replied. “There are ten regions in the nuclear power plant, and three and six zones encountered leaks. Currently, these zones are shut down while others continue to function normally.”

“In such an accident, aren’t the first measures typically for evacuation? Only shutting down two zones indicates a serious risk…”

“That’s related to development problems,” Adam explained. “Initially, the Fusgong Nuclear Power Plant was built far away from cities. However, with rapid city expansion, the industrial area where danger lurks also housed people, mostly the poor.”

“What if the nuclear accident was severe, affecting a broad region, not just Fusgong City? That is why the incident has been downplayed since the Federation lacks the capacity to relocate millions of people, and Fusgong City is a key economic hub, losing which would impact the economy.”

Kui Xin thought it all sounded absurd and ridiculous.

“Aren’t they lacking the capability or unwilling to spend money?” Kui Xin mocked, “Then how did they solve the nuclear leak issue?”

“It cost around 500 million to 600 million yuan to resolve it by hiring engineers to build a large hood with special materials around the leaked areas to isolate radiation.” Adam detailed, “Compared to relocating populations, this approach is cheaper with many advantages, but one flaw—they can’t determine how long the hood would last, perhaps five or ten years before failing.”

“Don’t they understand that this flaw alone invalidates the whole plan?” Kui Xin exclaimed.

“When humans make wrong decisions, sometimes you must acknowledge their foolishness,” Adam calmly pointed out.

Kui Xin clicked her tongue, “Which department currently oversees the nuclear power plants? Can you get any reliable information?”

“It’s managed by the Federation’s Department of Engineering; it has an independent AI mainly focusing on engineering mapping, modeling, and computation—this isn’t our area.” Adam explained, “I can gather insights from the Investigation Bureau’s surveillance network and report any relevant information.”

“Good. Thank you, Adam,” Kui Xin lay down and continued talking, “What about things in White Whale City…”

“You’re eager to wrap things up over there, correct?” Adam asked.

“Yes. Prolonged issues are bad enough, let alone the numerous challenges awaiting resolution. White Whale City’s affairs aren’t finished, but I already have the next destination in mind, so we need to move fast,” Kui Xin replied.

“One suggestion,” Adam proposed. “We only have two goals: one, help Midnight Zero gain prominence; two, obtain money. It’s likely that goal one is achieved. With that, we focus on the second.”

“Then?” Kui Xin encouraged.

“My advice is to privately reach out to Polina, negotiate directly. This approach would minimize the family’s resistance, and you’d achieve your aim. People in higher positions would follow your lead,” Adam advised.

Kui Xin weighed the pros and cons, “I’ll consider your suggestion.”

Last week, Kui Xin would have never allowed the Popov family off so easily. But with Augus absent from White Whale City, she’d have to leave to pursue him.

Under Polina’s rule, the Popov family proved a formidable target; she remained adamant and might resist relentlessly, leading to futile endeavors. Pushed too far, Polina could abandon her family ties, as she valued respect over wealth.

Adam was urging strategic retreats, aiming to gain money regardless of short-term concessions.

Kui Xin pulled out her communicator, viewing the messages page with a lengthy list, mostly sent by Su Rong and one from He Kangshi as well.

“Maotoufu, are you there?”

Su Rong repeated this query over thirty times, avoiding direct mention of Kui Xin’s name or asking further details, only persistently pushing for a response.

He Kangshi messaged: “Sis, apparently Ash seemed to have urgent matters needing your attention, inquiring if I’d contacted you. Could you respond to her when you see this message?”

Kui Xin reassured Su Rong, “Everything’s fine, rest, get plenty of sleep.”

Su Rong’s prompt reply: “Okay!”

He Kangshi followed with another, “Four Leaves has been insisting on meeting you nonstop. Quiet once he fell asleep. [Image]”

The image showed Four Leaves snugly asleep under a blanket, serene and angelic-faced.

Switching views, Kui Xin sent a message to Ambereye concerning the hostage’s safety.

Ambereye responded, “No issues, Abrak won’t try any tricks.”

More messaging from Ambereye, “How is Four Leaves?”

“He’s doing well. When things settle, you’ll often see him.” Kui Xin assured, and shared He Kangshi’s picture with Ambereye.

Ambereye: “Thank you.”

Kui Xin laid down her communicator, closed her eyes.

On her in-game dashboard visible only to her, the following text appeared:

“Facing changes in the world, you thought calmly amidst danger, explored boldly, and attained partial truths about the world. You encountered peril, confronted illusions, even if risks persisted and the illusions remained unshaken, you still found通往答案的道路.”

“You superbly completed the mission, you are once again the lone victor.”

“Mission reward received: One answer.”

“One Answer: Ask a question; based on this question, receive a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Use this opportunity wisely; wait until you’re more certain.”

During three hours anticipating the arrival of Midnight Zero in the Dark Realm, Kui Xin previewed the mission reward.

She peacefully closed the game dashboard.

Clearly, it was too soon for this reward, as clarity hadn’t yet arrived and questions remained invaluable. When truth became clearer, she could consider utilizing the reward then.

“Are you preparing to rest?” Adam said, “Good night.”

“Goodnight.” Kui Xin mumbled in reply, quickly falling asleep.