Chapter 248 | The Apocalypse Landlady

Pei Su’s mind flashed with images of the wiped-out 3rd Mobile Brigade and the missing Level 4 hidden operative.

“She wouldn’t appear here for no reason,” Pei Su said, his voice raspy and tinged with the exhaustion of days of overwork.

“And she certainly wouldn’t walk into the Inner City completely unprepared.”

Zhuang Heng remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“Since she dares to come, she must have something to rely on.” Pei Su’s fingers tapped the desk twice in a slow, deliberate rhythm. “Level 4? Or even higher combat power? Or perhaps some trump card we don’t know about?”

He thought of the Butcher.

A Level 4 Dark Department assassin had vanished without a sound, unable to even send a distress signal.

If the Terminal Station didn’t possess combat power beyond Level 4, such a thing would be impossible.

“Regardless, we cannot act rashly.” Pei Su’s voice dropped, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

Zhuang Heng nodded slightly, understanding Pei Su’s meaning.

If this woman dared to walk into the City Defense Force’s territory alone, she was either insane or completely secure in her backing.

And based on their previous encounters, she couldn’t be the former.

“Treat her with courtesy,” Pei Su ordered.

“Welcome her in first. See what she actually wants to do, feel out her intentions, and then we’ll make our plans.”

Zhuang Heng took the order and left.

This was Su Wan’s first time entering the Inner City.

The sight of this drastically different world made her pause for a moment.

Ahead of her, the straight asphalt road was so smooth it didn’t have a single crack. The sidewalks on both sides were paved with neat tiles, and simple, stylish streetlights stood every few dozen meters.

The buildings lining the streets ranged from three to five stories tall. Their exterior walls were painted in uniform light gray or beige, their windows were bright and clean, and some even had potted plants on the windowsills.

There were pedestrians on the road, though not many, walking in groups of twos and threes.

They wore clean, thick winter clothes. Some carried briefcases as they hurried past, some held children’s hands while taking a slow stroll, and some queued at small shops to buy goods.

Their faces didn’t show the numbness and despair found in the Outer City; instead, there was a plain, everyday... composure.

Su Wan stood there, momentarily feeling as if she had returned to Blue Star.

This Inner City looked very much like the second or third-tier cities back on Blue Star.

Behind her, Chen Shijie approached and spoke to her.

“The permanent population of the Inner City is less than fifty thousand. Most are dependents of the City Defense Force, employees of various corporations and their families, staff from the Inner City political institutions, people from the Research Institute, and some merchants who do business here.”

“Only those with residency permits can live here permanently. Everyone else must use temporary entry permits or employment permits to enter and must leave once they expire, or they face severe punishment.”

Su Wan didn’t respond, simply stepping forward.

Shops along the street began to appear in her field of vision—a grocery store had several crates of fruit outside, the bright red apples looking particularly striking under the dim sky.

Steam rose from a noodle shop, and through the glass window, she could see several customers sitting inside eating.

Chen Shijie had no intention of going to the City Defense Force headquarters with Su Wan. He waved down a passing freight trike.

It was a common small transport vehicle in the Inner City, powered by clean energy left over from the Old Era—quiet and non-polluting.

Chen Shijie first handed his High-level Pass to the driver and gave a few instructions.

Then he ran back to Su Wan and whispered to her,

“It’s not convenient for me to go to the City Defense Department with you. I have to go back to the Research Institute...”

“My research materials and all the core data are in the Research Institute’s encrypted server.”

“I can’t leave those things for others; I must take them with me.”

“Once you’ve finished your business, go directly to the Liaison Office between the Research Institute and the Outer City. I will move your men there.”

“The security facilities there are much laxer than at the Research Institute headquarters. It will be much easier for us to leave from there...”

Chen Shijie paused, his expression looking a bit unnatural.

“If... I mean if, you get to the Liaison Office and I’m not there—”

“Then it means I’ve been detained.”

“My status in the Research Institute is high, but that’s because of my ability and the benefits I bring them.”

“The premise of my high status and power is built on the foundation of my loyalty to the Research Institute.”

“Once they discover I want to defect with my research results—”

He didn’t finish, but the meaning was clear.

“So, if I’m not at the Liaison Office, come to the Research Institute to rescue me.”

“I will do what I promised you. I will definitely succeed in developing the Awakening Potion!”

Chen Shijie got onto the trike, his gaze still lingering on Su Wan’s wrist. As the trike started moving, he said nervously,

“Miss Su, when you take your men and leave, you must bring me along!”

“You promised me you would take me to the Terminal Station...”

Chen Shijie knew exactly what would happen to him if his betrayal was discovered.

However, his desire to research new technology ultimately overcame all his concerns.

The trike puttered away, and Chen Shijie’s voice dissipated in the cold wind.

Su Wan sighed softly and shook her head with some helplessness.

She didn’t take a vehicle, choosing instead to walk.

She wanted to see for herself what this mysterious Inner City actually looked like.

The City Defense Force headquarters was in the northeast corner of the Inner City, about a twenty-minute walk from the gate.

Su Wan didn't walk fast, her gaze scanning every building and pedestrian along the road.

An old man was walking a dog at a street corner. The dog’s fur was glossy and its body well-proportioned, far superior to the skeletal stray dogs in the Ruin Zone.

A young mother pushed a stroller past her. The little one in the stroller sucked on a pacifier, staring at her curiously with wide, dark eyes.

It was much as Chen Shijie had said. The Inner City’s population was less than fifty thousand, but these fifty thousand people lived with more dignity than the hundred thousand-plus in the Ruin Zone and Outer City combined.

This was the wasteland apocalypse.

One city, three worlds.

The silhouette of the City Defense Force headquarters appeared ahead.

It was a six-story gray-white building—square, solid, and completely devoid of aesthetic appeal.

Several thick stone pillars stood at the front of the building, with the City Defense Force emblem embedded above the porch.

Four guards stood at the entrance, their backs straight, muzzles pointing down, looking straight ahead.

Su Wan stopped, her gaze falling on the entrance.

Several people were standing there.

Leading them was a man in his fifties with a square face, a broad forehead, and thick eyebrows. His eyes were half-closed, and the corners of his mouth were turned slightly downward.