Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 53: The First Shot

Upon seeing Luo Duan quietly reading a book, Yi Ning was somewhat astonished.

The command center was in chaos all night. As the only player in the command center, Luo Duan was supposed to stay in the ward.

“It’s nothing major.” Luo Duan saw through his thoughts and casually closed the book. “It’s too noisy outside, so I went in first. Do you mind?”

“What…?” Yi Ning took a deep breath, not knowing what the guard outside the office was doing.

“I found your belongings and informed the guard.” Luo Duan continued as if reading his mind. “I’ve been coming here often recently, so he let me in.”

With that, Luo Duan flicked his hand on the coffee table and placed Yi Ning’s access card on it.

Yi Ning immediately regained his composure. “Where did you find it?”

“It was on my level.” Luo Duan’s expression was unreadable. “I heard some commotion outside and happened to come across two figures. They were all covered up, not like people from the command center, so I stopped them out of instinct. They managed to get away, but this thing fell to the ground. It had your identification number on it, and it seemed important, so I thought… it’s better to hand it over to you personally.”

Yi Ning broke out in a cold sweat. What happened in the underground was probably related to the missing access card. He always carried it with him, hidden in the most inconspicuous pocket of his coat. But it was so small that he didn’t bother to check it constantly. If someone could secretly take it without him noticing…

Yi Ning’s thoughts circled around, from his assistant who organized his clothes to every person who came and went in the office, and finally his gaze settled on Luo Duan.

‘It’s a bit absurd,’ Yi Ning thought. Luo Duan had brain shock to prevent him from learning, so even if he used the access card and saw the brain control, he might not know its purpose. Not to mention, this person didn’t run away but returned the key himself.

It would be better to first verify the existence of those two strange individuals. For now, it seemed that Luo Duan wasn’t highly suspicious.

“You’ve been working too hard these past few days. Take a good rest.” Luo Duan picked up the chilled tea in front of him and approached Yi Ning. “By the way, what exactly happened outside?”

“Just a research accident. Nothing major.” The other person’s tone was quite gentle, but Yi Ning had already become cautious. He discreetly took the teacup and set it aside. “Regarding the two individuals you saw, do you remember any other details?”

“They were both men with tall stature, over 1.8 meters. That’s all.” Luo Duan glanced at the neglected tea.

“Understood. Thank you for your assistance. We will have someone follow up on this matter.” Yi Ning stood upright politely. “The security alert in the command center has been heightened recently, so please refrain from coming here again.”

Luo Duan sat back on the sofa with a smile on his lips. “Alright, this is my last night. Now that there are people everywhere outside, I’ll take this opportunity to find some peace and quiet here.”

At this point, Yi Ning didn’t feel it was appropriate to rush Luo Duan. The recent upheavals had exhausted him, and having a living being to accompany him in the room was actually a good thing.

Yi Ning slumped in his chair, vigorously massaging his temples. His headache felt like being stabbed with a needle.

“How is Zhu Yanchen’s condition?” Luo Duan asked, intentionally or unintentionally. His voice was extremely pleasant, like warm spring water, and not at all annoying to the ears.

This point struck a chord with Yi Ning. He had been holding back a lot of emotions, with nowhere to vent. Although this matter had nothing to do with the players, he couldn’t help but respond.

“Zhu Yanchen?” Yi Ning continued to press on the side of his head, forcing a bitter smile. “I’ve had a few conversations with Zhu Yanchen before, and in terms of aura, it’s like comparing heaven and earth. But if we put that aside, I can’t find fault with him in other aspects.”

“A substitute, huh.” Luo Duan continued reading, flipping through the pages. “It seems to be Zhu Sheng’s method, and the substitute is probably from the Xia family.”

“Most likely.” Being able to discuss this together made Yi Ning feel much better.

Unconsciously, the two of them continued talking late into the night. It had to be said that Luo Duan was truly a pleasant person to be around, exuding a reassuring charm in every movement.

If only he were truly human.

After seeing Luo Duan off, Yi Ning was momentarily stunned. He was a commoner and only learned the truth about the player system after reaching adulthood. However, the explanation given by the military academy was quite convincing—considering synthetic humans as “specially trained animals in human shells”.

From a DNA perspective, synthetic humans couldn’t be considered the same species as humans. The reason synths had a human appearance was simply because the mixed genes were too uncontrollable, and researchers were afraid they would turn out too strange looking, so they were uniformly guided during the embryonic stage.

…But the physical resemblance made it too easy to empathize. For a few seconds, he almost mistook Luo Duan for a genuinely compatible friend.

Sure enough, perhaps it was better not to have further contact.

Yi Ning first jotted down his insights from the conversation, then opened the screen and began adjusting the arrangements in the medical department. Based on their relationship during this period, he had to arrange the best doctors for Luo Duan.

Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t like working at the command center.

After being hired by the command center, she had to run around in three directions—sitting in the command center, checking on the condition of the synthetic humans at the base, and managing Ai’s Clinic in her remaining time. When she was absent, the clinic employees would at most sell medicine, but they wouldn’t treat patients.

Not long after sending those two troublemakers away, Yi Ning specifically called Ai Xiaoxiao to the command center. This was an arrangement outside of work, completely disrupting Ai Xiaoxiao’s rest plans. However, the overtime pay was too generous, so she could only secretly be annoyed.

“Come in.” Putting on temporary attire, she shouted toward the door and opened the patient files along the way.

Then Ai Xiaoxiao froze.

“Dr. Ai.” Luo Duan, dressed in a patient gown, politely nodded at her.

…Didn’t Luo Duan merge with a small Erosion Swamp? Why is he still here?

Ai Xiaoxiao quickly controlled her expression, straightened her face, and nodded towards Luo Duan. “Please have a seat.”

“I heard that you were called here temporarily. Thank you for your hard work,” Luo Duan said politely. “I will cooperate fully.”

Due to personal reasons, Ai Xiaoxiao had a great deal of respect for players. If she didn’t know the truth, based on his attitude alone, she could have developed some favorable impressions. Unfortunately, the gentler Luo Duan appeared, the colder the chill she felt down her spine.

As someone who had also fused with an Erosion Swamp, there wasn’t a trace of the “vitality” on Luo Duan that existed on Shu Jun.

“Let me see your wound.” Ai Xiaoxiao decided to swiftly resolve the matter.

Luo Duan obediently unwrapped the bandages. The previous injuries had healed well and didn’t seem to be a problem.

“No major issues. However…” Ai Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and stared intently into Luo Duan’s eyes. “Go to the second-floor laboratory and have some blood drawn.”

According to the regulations, she had to do this. God knew how nervous she was—this person had merged with an Erosion Swamp, so it would be strange if his blood test results were normal. But if she didn’t ask, this cunning fox might sense something, leaving her in a dilemma.

Luo Duan didn’t move.

Ai Xiaoxiao tried to appear nonchalant. “What?”

“I have a small question I’d like to ask.” Luo Duan smiled. “Have you heard of ‘Gentle Breeze’ from the Blackbirds… Captain Xu?”

Ai Xiaoxiao stared at the screen. “I won’t answer questions unrelated to medical treatment. If I tell you to go, then go.”

“I just suddenly remembered.” Luo Duan still didn’t budge. “Captain Xu is the player with the longest combat career in history. I think he retired at the age of thirty? But it’s said that he spent his final days at the command center, and I’m quite curious about this place. To be honest, I’m almost thirty as well, but my character’s physical condition is nowhere near as good as Captain Xu’s.”

Upon hearing this, Ai Xiaoxiao slowly clenched her fists, and her words got stuck in her throat.

Seeing her reaction, Luo Duan’s smile grew wider. “I want to break that record as well. Consider it my final wish. But if my character’s health condition is too poor, I might be advised to retire. Since there’s no problem with the wound, please be lenient, Miss Ai, and postpone the examination for later—at least until my external injuries have healed.”

He leaned in slightly.

“Recently, I came across some interesting stories—apparently, the people Captain Xu helped are also documented in the command center. One of them was ‘Xiaoxiao’ who was sent to the Ai’s Clinic, and she looked quite familiar. Is that you?”

“That’s enough.” Ai Xiaoxiao interrupted coldly. “As I said, I won’t answer questions unrelated to medical treatment.”

But it had to be said, this was a good opportunity to take advantage of*. Luo Duan wanted to maintain superficial peace, and Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t want to be silenced. Cold sweat formed on Ai Xiaoxiao’s back, and she stared directly into Luo Duan’s eyes. “On that note, I was never an official member here to begin with. If you want to delay the blood test, then delay it” ‘…Anyway, you can’t die,’ Ai Xiaoxiao added in her mind.

*Borrow a slope and descend with a donkey. Idiom referring to taking advantage of a favorable situation or making use of an opportunity to achieve one’s goal with less effort or risk.

“I’ll sign for you, and you can go for some basic tests.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Once Luo Duan left, Ai Xiaoxiao’s clothes were suddenly soaked with sweat. She let out a sigh of relief and stared at the closed door.

The people from the Old Fourth were still searching on the outskirts of Y City, completely mistaken about their target—Luo Duan was indeed cautious, but not as crazy as they had imagined.

She had to report to Zhu Yanchen quickly.

Zhu Yanchen was busy.

To be precise, both he and Shu Jun were busy. The goods from the Old Fourth wouldn’t arrive so soon, but Young Master Zhu was ambitious. He directly picked up a debris-cleaning machine from the market. After being tinkered with for two hours, the cleaning machine started to work erratically.

In less than half a day, it had cleaned out a buried house.

To conceal their activities, Zhu Yanchen didn’t touch the mud around the house. Although the interior had been cleared out, the entire house remained buried under the black mud, becoming a perfect underground base.

Everything was covered by the mud, adding a touch of funerary atmosphere.

Hu Yan lay motionless on the table in the center of the room while the purifier hummed in the background. For a moment, the room looked even more like a burial chamber. Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen stood by the table, quietly examining Hu Yan, perfectly playing the role of a tomb robber.

“Hey—” After a few seconds, Hu Yan moved. He struggled to turn over and immediately began to vomit.

Shu Jun quickly stepped forward and held a basin to catch the vomit.

“What kind of gameplay is this?” Hu Yan weakly asked, wiping his mouth. “Shu Ge, stop keeping me in suspense. Oh, I feel so dizzy, blergh!”

Before he could finish speaking, he vomited out another half basin.

“Drink something.” Zhu Yanchen had prepared fluids in advance. He supported Hu Yan’s head and let him drink slowly.

“Where does it hurt?” Shu Jun glanced at the handheld scanner and nervously asked. After becoming proficient in the procedure, removing the brain chip wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined. But a comrade was always a comrade, and he couldn’t help but worry.

“It doesn’t hurt, but I feel… how should I put it… like the dizziness after staying up all night.”

Shu Jun breathed a sigh of relief—when he experienced the pain, it was as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, but Hu Yan’s reaction wasn’t as intense, which was a good sign.

“I will arrange for further testing,” Zhu Yanchen reassured as he placed a hand on Shu Jun’s back. “Don’t worry.”

The muscles on Shu Jun’s back tensed, and he managed to maintain a steady tone, saying, “Alright, I’m counting on you.”

“Enough with that, both of you. Answer my questions quickly,” Hu Yan said weakly as he wiped his mouth and sat down at the table. “Shu Ge, what did you call me here for?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, tell me, just say it.”

“First, let me introduce this person here. He is indeed ‘Smoke’, my ‘Smoke’.” Shu Jun gritted his teeth. “He’s not some relative of your sister-in-law. He’s the one you’ve been referring to as ‘sister-in-law’.”

Zhu Yanchen: “…”

Hu Yan was left perplexed. “Ah? No? This…?”

“And there’s more.”

Shu Jun closed his eyes, finally understanding Zhu Yanchen’s initial feelings.

“This world is not a game. Our world is.”

Hu Yan remained seated on the edge of the bed. Despite the pain, he didn’t collapse or continue vomiting. Under the warm glow of the light, he appeared even more bewildered. “…Shu Ge, what are you talking about? What do you mean it’s not a game?”

‘Success,’ Shu Jun thought. He should have felt jubilant, but his heart gradually sank.

He had taken the first step into war.

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Hu Yan, the poor soul shaken by the real world (?