MCL CH22

Chapter 22: Darkness pulled both of them in.

When the rifts appeared, the crowd descended into chaos in an instant.

After all, no one had expected such a sudden turn of events to occur at this funeral of the century.

When Qi Xian led the action team members in to maintain order, he spotted Lin Xi at a glance.

He was still sitting in his original spot, and he even remembered to greet him with a smile, “Captain Qi, looks like it’s going to be hard work again.”

Qi Xian: “…”

Qi Xian truly admired Lin Xi’s overly relaxed and adaptable nature, but now was clearly not the time for idle chatter.

He decisively pointed Lin Xi in a direction. “We’ve set up an emergency evacuation route. Head in that direction, and you should see our team members soon. They will guide you.”

Lin Xi gave a light cough. “Uh, Captain Qi, I’m an ability user too, after all. I should probably stay and see if I can help.”

Without waiting for Qi Xian to reply, he added with a smiling reminder, “There are still so many ordinary people on site. Arranging their safe evacuation is the top priority. You go about your business, don’t worry about me.”

Qi Xian opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but he heard someone calling his name from a distance. With no time to spare for Lin Xi, he hurried off with his team.

Not only were there officials like Mayor Zhou at the scene, but also many ordinary citizens who had come to pay their respects to Executive Lin. Every second these people remained here increased the risk of them undergoing a pathological mutation. The primary mission of their action team was to evacuate these people to a safe area as quickly as possible to minimize the crisis.

As for the rest—

Qi Xian had been organizing the intelligence he received along the way. A total of six rifts had all entered their active period the moment they appeared. The openings had already widened considerably, and according to the instrument readings, all of them were B-class or higher. In normal times, this would be a devastating event. The only silver lining was that, due to this funeral of the century, the top-tier ability users were all gathered in N City, perfectly providing a turning point for this crisis.

As he rushed past the coffin, Qi Xian didn’t forget to offer a pious prayer. “This must be Executive Lin’s spirit in heaven, blessing N City!”

Lin Xi, who happened to overhear this, thought: “?”

[Hahahahahaha, you humans really have such strong faith!]

Lin Xi reminded him in a timely manner, “If I were you, as the main culprit behind all this, I would definitely choose to lower my presence as much as possible and shut up on the spot.”

The voice in his mind immediately took on a teasing tone: [What’s wrong? Are you still feeling sorry for humans at a time like this? That action team captain told you to take shelter, yet you insist on staying here. Don’t tell me, great Executive Lin, that you’re still worrying about the country and its people at a time like this, worried that no one can handle the rifts here?]

Lin Xi: “I’m worried about you.”

[Me?]

Lin Xi raised his eyelids slightly, a faint mockery in his different-colored eyes. Instead of answering, he asked, “Can you guarantee that you won’t attract more trouble later?”

With one sentence, he successfully silenced the voice in his mind.

A long time later, Calamity spoke again, its tone dejected: […I can’t.]

Lin Xi sneered. “The United Administration and those foreign ability users are at least here. If any more problems arise, every single one of them can serve as an excellent shield. If I had actually listened to Qi Xian and retreated to the safe zone, I’d be surrounded by ordinary people with no abilities. Guess what would happen if something manipulated the rifts to chase after me…”

[Say no more! As expected of the wise and brilliant Lord Executive, you are the best!]

Lin Xi ignored this baseless flattery. Catching the sound of footsteps in the distance, he turned his head and saw the people Yan Xingzhou had taken away earlier returning to the hall.

He immediately sized up everyone’s expressions.

Yan Xingzhou’s face still showed no joy or anger. Samuel’s attention was completely captivated by the rifts outside. His old acquaintances from the Hua Country United Administration looked uglier than the last. While part of it was likely due to the sudden appearance of the rifts, it was probably more because of what had transpired inside. To summarize, he could probably draw one conclusion—although Yan Xingzhou wasn’t in a particularly good mood, he had at least achieved his goal, and the process had clearly brought immense trouble to the United Administration.

As for what had happened in the place he wasn’t privy to, Lin Xi was more inclined to believe it was related to his own death.

As if sensing something, Yan Xingzhou, who was being held in conversation by Samuel, suddenly looked over.

Caught off guard, his eyes met Lin Xi’s.

Caught peeking, Lin Xi paused for a moment but wasn’t annoyed. He immediately gave Yan Xingzhou a warm smile and a wave.

Yan Xingzhou: “…”

Beside him, Samuel noticed their exchange of glances. He looked at Yan Xingzhou, then at Lin Xi, and suddenly lowered his voice, “Yan, is this your new flame?”

Yan Xingzhou slapped the hand on his shoulder away. “I believe you shouldn’t be concerned with such matters right now.”

Samuel wasn’t the least bit annoyed by this action, merely smiling languidly. “We came to Hua Country for the funeral, so we should be considered guests. The people from your country’s United Administration are all here. It wouldn’t be right for us to steal the host’s thunder and occupy the magpie’s nest. It’s better to let you handle it internally.”

The string of idioms left Yan Xingzhou in a rare moment of silence.

Just then, under Gu Beiqiu’s direction, the members of Nation Hua’s United Administration had finished assigning tasks and headed toward the A-class rift outside without hesitation.

Including Gu Beiqiu, a total of five heads of the twelve administrations were present, plus Su Qiuyin who had arrived earlier. This made it perfect for one person to lead each team to clear the five A-class rifts that were about to be fully activated.

Samuel watched as the members of the United Administration walked away, a hint of surprise in his eyes. “The Administration heads are leading the teams personally? Even Gu Beiqiu went himself. He’s unexpectedly down-to-earth.”

At the same time.

Lin Xi’s gaze also rested on the departing figures of the United Administration.

The voice in his head sounded surprised: [Huh? Those people have to personally handle A-class rifts?]

“In terms of strength alone, any one of the twelve administration heads is capable of single-handedly handling an S-class rift crisis. Sending them to clear A-class rifts is indeed a gross overuse of talent.”

Lin Xi stood there as figures came and went around him, his expression distant as he looked into the distance, as if his gaze had no focal point. “But this time, the rifts appeared too close to the city center, in an area densely populated by ordinary people. Every extra second increases the future risk. Gu Beiqiu has always been able to provide the optimal solution with precision during sudden incidents. This was the main reason I chose him as my deputy from among so many people back then.”

[Even though he viciously backstabbed you, it feels like you still admire him a lot.]

“I have always admired Gu Beiqiu,” Lin Xi said with a silent smile. “Besides, the one who backstabbed me wasn’t him.”

[Huh? You mean… Oh crap, it’s happening again!]

Lin Xi: “.”

The moment the voice in his mind suddenly disappeared, Lin Xi vaguely sensed something.

As expected, when he turned around, he found himself looking straight into Yan Xingzhou’s emotionless gaze. “…Hi, President Yan.”

Yan Xingzhou: “Why didn’t you retreat to the safe zone?”

The question was a bit too direct.

Lin Xi blinked slowly, putting on a sincere and gentle smile. “Captain Qi mentioned it to me earlier, but I feel that as a citizen of Hua Country, since I was fortunate enough to awaken an ability, I should bear a certain responsibility. With such a major incident happening at the funeral, there’s bound to be a shortage of personnel. Having one more ability user stay behind might be of some help. Don’t you agree?”

Yan Xingzhou’s eyes lowered slightly, clearly unmoved by Lin Xi’s explanation. After a moment, he slowly parted his lips and asked, “Help? With that fire ability of yours that, at best, can be used to make a barbecue?”

Lin Xi: “.”

He cleared his throat softly. “That’s a bit discouraging, President Yan.”

Yan Xingzhou let out a laugh. “Heh.”

[He’s mocking you! That expression, he’s clearly looking down on you!!!]

Lin Xi forcibly ignored the voice that had suddenly popped into his head.

Just as he was about to say something else, he heard Yan Xingzhou speak again. “It’s fine that you didn’t go to the safe zone. I’ve already had Ju Ze bring the car over. You can go back with him in a bit.”

Lin Xi: “But here…”

Yan Xingzhou cut him off. “There are enough people here. Besides, everyone is very busy. There shouldn’t be any need for a barbecue.”

Lin Xi managed to maintain a smile, at least on the surface. “Understood, President Yan.”

This guy’s sharp tongue really hasn’t changed in a hundred years.

Not far away, Ju Ze could be seen getting out of the arranged car and walking over.

Although Lin Xi had specifically chosen to stay because he was worried something else might happen, so far, it seemed there were no additional incidents.

Just as he was about to walk toward Ju Ze, his steps faltered as he sensed something. He caught a flash of sudden panic in Ju Ze’s eyes.

As Yan Xingzhou’s personal assistant, Ju Ze had always been unflappable. Yet in that instant, he instinctively rushed forward, his eyes wide. “President, be careful! A rift! A rift has appeared behind you!”

Lin Xi’s reaction was even faster.

The two had been standing face-to-face. Turning around, he saw a rift opening behind Yan Xingzhou as if the void itself had been torn apart.

In an almost subconscious reaction, he dashed forward and yanked the man back from the rift’s opening.

The next second, an invisible force surged out from the rift, pulling him straight in.

You really are a pain in the ass, Calamity!

Everything happened in less than a second. Lin Xi only had time to voice a silent scorn in his mind.

However, before he could be completely dragged into the rift, the figure he had just pulled from his line of sight reappeared, covering him.

The familiar embrace brought a rare flicker of astonishment to Lin Xi’s eyes. He looked up and met Yan Xingzhou’s gaze, who was also looking down at him.

However, there was no time to explore any more emotional fluctuations. The encroaching darkness enveloped both of them, and they were pulled straight into the rift by this force.