Arsenal Support

Meng Fanchen and the others were still inside the building, waiting for the elevator.

The Medical Department had three floors connected to the electric rail, in addition to the 48th.

As Tu Ran boarded the car heading to the Pandalim District, another suspended car carrying the blast-injured stopped right above her.

Several small helicopters hovered nearby, their tops flashing red and blue.

The Medical Department was about to get busy again.

Tu Ran looked away.

By the time she reached the Executive Department's branch office in Pandalim, it was already 7:15.

She was fifteen minutes late.

She quickened her pace toward the temporary meeting room reserved for the Pioneers.

Pushing open the door, she found the room packed.

Counting her, there were five official Pioneers, each leading five newcomers, making twenty-five people in total.

She was the only one missing.

The room had already split into five small groups. The first-generation Pioneers were briefing their newcomers on things you couldn't learn in training camp, emphasizing key points, and outlining what they'd be doing in the next twenty-four hours and what the main tasks were.

The room wasn't quiet; everyone was talking in low voices.

Tu Ran's lateness didn't draw much attention. They just looked up, glanced at the latecomer, and went back to listening.

The only ones who stared at her expectantly were her own five team members.

When they saw her come in, they all stood up.

Tu Ran quickly moved to the back of the room. "No need to stand. Sit."

She pulled out a chair and sat across from them, resting her machine gun on her lap.

"Sorry, I got held up," she explained.

The five said it was fine; they could spare fifteen minutes.

They sat facing each other, and Tu Ran felt she should say something.

"Well... let me introduce what we'll be doing each day."

The five sat up, ears perked.

"We don't have fixed assignments, and we don't need to patrol constantly. When the Executive Department's guards spot a gene monster, they'll notify us, and we just go."

"According to regulations, we're supposed to be on duty for a full twenty-four hours, then rest for twelve. Within those twenty-four hours, we don't have to stay here the whole time. You can wander around, or go back to the hotel and rest, as long as you stay within the Pandalim District and can reach the task when called."

The five nodded.

They'd been worried about staying alert for twenty-four hours straight, running on adrenaline until they collapsed. Hearing they could rest in between, they relaxed.

Tu Ran thought for a moment—that seemed to cover everything.

But looking at the other teams still talking nonstop, she wondered if she'd forgotten something.

She tilted her head to listen to a nearby team.

That team was led by Xiao Di.

Xiao Di had been knocked out by Min Tao at yesterday's graduation party. When the second-generation Pioneers evacuated, they'd taken him to the Medical Department on the way. He'd recovered fully by today.

He was now using his own experience to explain the difference between Aberrants and gene monsters to his five team members.

Tu Ran thought he made a good point.

She glanced at the five people in front of her—why not just let them listen to Xiao Di?

But it was too late.

A series of "ding ding" sounds came from the first-generation Pioneers' communicators.

Tu Ran looked down. It was a mission notice from the Executive Department.

A short message: "Sankar Arsenal, Eden District, requires support."

Eden District?

Sankar Arsenal?

Tu Ran remembered what Meng Fanchen had said in the Medical Department elevator—a military factory in Eden District had been attacked by gene monsters, triggering explosions and heavy casualties.

Eden District had its own stationed Pioneers, yet they needed reinforcements. The situation must be critical.

"Mission's here. We're going to Eden District," Tu Ran said, standing up and grabbing her gear.

"Eden District?" Someone behind her raised a question. "Aren't we responsible for the Pandalim District?"

Tu Ran looked back. It was the only woman on her team, Le Qin. She'd ranked tenth in the graduation assessment and specialized in close combat.

"We're going as support," Tu Ran explained quickly. "We're not limited to the Pandalim District. If neighboring areas run into tough gene monsters, we help out too."

"Oh." Le Qin nodded and immediately stood up to follow Tu Ran.

More than twenty people boarded the helipad atop the Executive Department building, splitting into two helicopters that flew directly to the Sankar Arsenal in Eden District.

Eden District was right next to Pandalim—that's why the request for help went to them.

If it were farther, not only would travel waste time, but it might also endanger the areas the support teams were originally responsible for.

Half an hour later, the helicopters landed one by one on the wasteland around the Sankar Arsenal.

Standing on the barren ground and looking up, they saw the massive black structure humans had built, with thick black smoke billowing from its southeast corner, staining half the sky yellow.

The air was heavy with smoke.

Tu Ran switched on her air purification device.

The wasteland was already surrounded by Executive Department guards and Pioneers who'd come to help from other areas.

Everyone was gathered together, discussing strategies.

To her surprise, Tu Ran spotted Xie Xu in the crowd.

What was a researcher doing here? She was puzzled.

Then she thought about it—could this factory be his family's?

That was entirely possible. The Xie family practically monopolized the Federation's weapons manufacturing.

This arsenal looked huge too. Only the Xie family could openly build an arsenal in a central city. Other families would hide theirs deep underground.

"Tu Ran, senior, shouldn't we go join the discussion?" Le Qin asked.

The Pioneers who'd come with them had already joined the crowd, but they were still standing seven or eight meters away.

"No need," Tu Ran said, glancing at Xie Xu. He stood at the edge of the crowd, frowning, giving instructions to Li Wenchuan.

Xie Xu was the real decision-maker for the upcoming operation.

Mixing in with the crowd and discussing wouldn't help.

In the end, they'd still follow Xie Xu's orders.

"We'll wait for the arrangements."

Xie Xu would take care of everything clearly.

The five exchanged glances but said nothing.

They all clearly sensed the difference between Tu Ran's style today and the way she'd cut through the graduation party yesterday.

She seemed indifferent to most things.

Like she just went with the flow.

The five started to worry.

They didn't care that Tu Ran was still a low-level Pioneer a year after graduating, because they'd seen her strength firsthand yesterday.

She had value worth following.

But now, her attitude made them question their decision.