Life Game In Other World
Chapter 658: Pleasant Cooperation (Large - for Monthly Ticket)

Chapter 658: Chapter 658: Pleasant Cooperation (Large Chapter for Monthly Ticket)

Several speeding black sedans pulled up by the roadside.

"Minister, this is the box you wanted to bring."

A young man in casual plaid shirt got out of the front black sedan, carrying a small black briefcase in his hand.

"Thanks, just a second..."

YiXiya was busy gathering her fluffy brunette-gold hair with both hands, then she loosely tied it with a rubber band, letting it hang down her back.

After finishing her hair, she reached out to take the briefcase that was handed to her, "You’ve worked hard."

"No problem at all,"

The young man quickly waved his hand, then he looked toward the isolation tape behind YiXiya, "Minister, what is it this time?"

"C-level Polluted Monsters, make sure you suit up for protection when you go in,"

YiXiya said quickly, then she patted the young man’s shoulder, "This time the situation is quite serious, pay attention to your safety."

"Understood."

The young man glanced nervously behind the corridor and then turned to look at the other members descending from the cars, waving his hand, "Put on the protective gear, some of you come with me inside, and leave two at the door to guard the isolation tape."

YiXiya stepped aside to let the members of the Pollution Cleaning Department pass through the laser isolation tape.

Then she raised her wristband, browsing the information on it as she walked forward and turned into another alley.

In this alley, there was a sky-blue driverless taxi parked.

YiXiya opened the rear door and sat in, while He Ao had already been sitting in the back of this taxi.

As the crowd of onlookers grew, He Ao didn’t continue to wait at that alley entrance but instead had Jia Xi hail a driverless taxi in this alley and waited for YiXiya to finish arranging things.

"This is the device with an account, and the iris-identification invisible contact lenses and Palmprint Gloves for identity verification. After the black market’s level exceeds 1, biometric verification is required at regular intervals."

YiXiya closed the car door and handed the briefcase to He Ao, her hand pressing on the case, unlocking the clasps, "This account is level two, with verification frequency once a week. I just verified it yesterday, and the next verification should be in five days’ time."

"Thanks for the trouble."

He Ao took the briefcase, looking at YiXiya, "What are you planning to do next?"

Following two consecutive attacks, YiXiya’s current state was not particularly optimistic.

"From the current situation, the C-level Polluted Monsters and drones are collaborating, indicating that these monsters are most likely ’farmed’ by someone.

"To breed C-level Polluted Monsters, whoever is behind this must have been entrenched in Saint Joen City for a long time or found a way to bypass the City Defense Army’s inspections and brought the Polluted Monsters from other cities. The latter possibility is less likely, so I’m more inclined to the former, that the waters of Saint Joen City might be deeper than I thought."

YiXiya spoke slowly,

"I may need to stay at the Saint Joen City Pollution Cleaning Department building for a while. The chief is currently in Saint Joen City. He is a B-level strongman. After Night Hawk’s death, there has been no one in charge in Saint Joen City. He will likely stay until Saint Joen City stabilizes again before leaving."

"He came to Saint Joen City because of Night Hawk?"

He Ao asked.

"Yes,"

YiXiya nodded, "Rumors say the chief had high hopes for Night Hawk. Night Hawk was the youngest city manager in the Pollution Cleaning Department, brought up by the chief himself.

"It is said that after Night Hawk injured the Investigation Team, he personally came over to arrest Night Hawk, also to protect him. However, for some reason, when he found Night Hawk, he chose to kill him, which is one of the suspicions in the Night Hawk case.

"There’s rumor that Night Hawk went completely mad in the end, forcing the chief to kill him. There are also rumors saying that the chief found Night Hawk already dead, and with authorization from the board, the Investigation Team, in order to preserve the authority of the Pollution Cleaning Department, forcibly made it look like the chief killed him."

"In any case,"

He Ao glanced at YiXiya, "from this process, whether it was intentional or a coincidence, Night Hawk ultimately maintained ’silence’."

"Yes."

YiXiya nodded her head.

This was also one of the reasons she had developed doubts and began to investigate the Night Hawk case privately.

"Can that ’Director’ guarantee your safety?"

He Ao asked in a low voice.

No matter whether the ’Director’ YiXiya mentioned truly favored Night Hawk, at the very least, the man who had elevated Night Hawk should have a deep understanding of him. The issues that even YiXiya could perceive, he might not fail to see.

However, looking at the facts that have already occurred, during the entire Night Hawk case, he had not commented on any points of doubt, nor had he sent anyone to further investigate and reveal deeper truths.

Such behavior itself was a form of ’acquiescence’, an agreement with the actions of the investigation team, as well as with the final investigation report.

It could be due to a balance of interests or the result of higher-level games within the Pollution Cleaning Department, but the end result was that he and the upper echelons of the Pollution Cleaning Department had reached a consensus, sealing Night Hawk’s ’crimes’ once and for all.

So, considering his position, he was more likely against reopening the investigation into the Night Hawk case.

And the ’fatal trouble’ that YiXiya was now facing had come about precisely because she was investigating the Night Hawk case privately.

Whether he would protect YiXiya or not now depended on the Director’s ’magnanimity’ and whether there was an ’objective necessity’ to protect her.

He Ao did not understand the Director’s personality or the internal power structure of the Pollution Cleaning Department, which is why he had asked this question.

The question seemed to ask ’can it be done’, but it was actually asking ’will it be done’.

"It can,"

YiXiya naturally heard the deeper meaning in He Ao’s words, and she first responded to his question before further explaining,

"Currently, another colleague and I have been transferred here to take over Night Hawk’s duties. According to the Director’s plan, the two of us are to replace Night Hawk’s work. That’s why I’m now considered a half in charge here.

"Those people hiding behind the scenes and nurturing Polluted Monsters, sending monsters to assassinate me, are actually challenging the Pollution Cleaning Department.

"So, in order to maintain the Pollution Cleaning Department’s deterrence, the Director will definitely provide me with protection.

"Although he won’t be able to protect me all the time when I am running around, he will surely prevent the Polluted Monsters from approaching the Pollution Cleaning Department as long as I stay there.

"Not to mention all the staff working at the Pollution Cleaning Department."

She paused, then continued, "And from what I’ve observed of the Director, he is a person of considerable magnanimity. As long as I hide away in the Pollution Cleaning Department and stop investigating the Night Hawk case openly, he won’t bother with what I might have done before.

"Similarly, those nurturing the Polluted Monsters want to kill me because I’m investigating the Night Hawk case,

"But right now, I haven’t actually uncovered any particularly useful clues, so as long as I return to the Pollution Cleaning Department, they are unlikely to force their way in just for me."

"Sister, you weren’t that foolish after all."

Jia Xi, who was sitting in the front row chewing gum, suddenly turned her head back, peering at YiXiya with her little head.

"Do you think your sister is very foolish?"

YiXiya raised an eyebrow and reached out to ruffle Jia Xi’s little head.

Then she realized something and looked down, pinching Jia Xi’s cheek, "Do you understand what we’re talking about?"

"Not really."

Jia Xi’s plump little cheeks were pulled flat by YiXiya, and she reached out her small hand, grabbing YiXiya’s palm, "But you said a lot and it seemed to make a lot of sense."

YiXiya found that this little girl possessed surprisingly great strength, which, while still far from matching her D-level Transcendent physical fitness, had already surpassed that of an ordinary adult.

She retracted her hand and gently rubbed Jia Xi’s small face, "What a quirky child."

Then she sat back in the rear seat, looked at He Ao, and continued speaking,

"Once this bout of rumors subsides, I’ll resume investigating along the previous leads, just need to be a bit careful..."

"Pass on the leads you’ve got now to me."

Sitting next to her, He Ao, who had been quietly listening to her story, suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?"

YiXiya was taken aback, momentarily unable to grasp what He Ao meant, then she lowered her head to look at He Ao, "Elder sir, this is a vortex..."

The person who attacked her, up till now, had sent two C-levels to kill her, and although both C-levels were dealt with by the Elderly man before her, if the other party could send two, they could naturally send more.

Unlike her who could still rely on the Pollution Cleaning Department for buffering, this Elderly gentleman seemed to be all alone, with a little granddaughter by his side.

"We may be facing the same issue,"

He Ao shook his head, his hand gliding over the suitcase standing on the seat with stars on it, "I’m already in the center of this vortex now. Taking over the investigation from you could allow us to find clues to unlock the truth more quickly, and since you’ve also given me your knife, it’s a fine weapon, which will help me deal with more situations."

"You..."

YiXiya opened her mouth, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to utter the next syllable. She looked at the suitcase beside He Ao and finally, slowly closed her lips.

It was she who had urged He Ao to accept the Butterfly Knife just before, and now the knife had ironically become the point He Ao used to persuade her to hand over the leads.

She was very aware of He Ao’s current situation and knew that what He Ao was saying was right. If they were indeed facing the same issue, then He Ao, once he got her valid leads, would certainly speed up the investigation.

"You don’t necessarily need to completely stop your investigation,"

He Ao continued, "While you’re with the Pollution Cleaning Department, you can also use its resources to collect information through the network of relationships. I, on the outside, can make use of this information to further investigate on the ground. This is also beneficial for me in investigating my own case."

With this arrangement, YiXiya would become He Ao’s remote support. Using the influence of the Pollution Cleaning Department, she could get hold of a lot of information from Saint Joen City Police Department and even from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which He Ao couldn’t access through normal ways.

YiXiya gazed at He Ao. She didn’t distrust him, having realized after these past couple of days that the Elderly man was a reliable ’partner’.

She just didn’t like the idea of seeing He Ao take on risks that were initially hers to face.

"The head of the Pollution Cleaning Department can’t stay in Saint Joen City forever, and you also can’t truly stop investigating this case forever,"

He Ao turned his head to look at YiXiya, his other hand resting on a cane, propped against the floor of the cab, "Do you want to find out the truth, or are you just enjoying the thrill of the adventure?"

Currently, YiXiya nearly lacked real allies, with the only reliable and potentially aligned force being He Ao. Relying solely on her D-level strength, without any help, the prospect of uncovering the truth behind the Night Hawk case was nearly impossible.

Meaning, without He Ao’s assistance, she was essentially walking a repeated path to a dead end.

From her perspective, cooperating with He Ao and leveraging the strength he had shown so far, gave her a real chance to investigate and discover the truth.

She stared blankly at He Ao before her, observing his aged yet upright figure, the white strands of hair, his calm and serious expression.

In an instant, it was as if she had returned to her naive years, sitting beside her grandfather, listening to him kindly pointing out the direction for her future.

Eventually, she gave a light nod, "Alright."

Like the ice breaking on the surface of the water, merging into the quiet depths below.

In that moment, certain impediments that had always troubled her vanished.

She took a deep breath and started organizing the current issues,

"Those investigation materials are on my personal computer. I haven’t stored them in the cloud. I might be able to send them to you after I go back. As for your son’s case files, I’ve already contacted friends at Saint Joen City Police Department. They haven’t responded yet; it might be late."

"Okay,"

He Ao nodded and twisted his wrist, lifting his right hand, "I’ll send you a private cloud software. Just transfer the data into this software."

This was a private cloud software developed by Eve, especially for the transfer of secret data.

"Got it!"

YiXiya nodded and opened the chat window, choosing to receive and install the software.

"Sister, I feel like you’ve changed."

Lying in the passenger seat, Jia Xi looked at YiXiya, blinking.

"Changed in what way?"

YiXiya smiled, put down her bracelet, reached out her hand as usual to pinch Jia Xi’s face, but Jia Xi dodged with a retreat.

The entire vehicle shook because of the little girl’s collision.

"It’s just," Jia Xi pondered for a moment, "you seem more mature."

"Hmm,"

YiXiya, not upset by the miss, revealed a smile and rearranged her hair that had been disheveled by the leaning forward motion, "I’ve come to understand some things and embraced this world."

"Is that a good thing?"

Jia Xi blinked her eyes.

"Should be, right?"

YiXiya sat up straight, glanced at He Ao next to her, then looked out at the street through the window, took a long breath, and revealed a shallow smile.

She didn’t like the shadows outside the window; in the past, she relied on intuition and sentimentality to try and change these shadows, like a dreamer who imagines windmills as giants and charges with a club pretending to be a knight.

She wasn’t terribly afraid of death, she just wanted to die in this battle.

But now, after He Ao’s words, she had chosen to accept these shadows and tried to change them with a rational attitude.

She knew she was still foolishly flailing at windmills, but she was no longer charging blindly; she started to plan and search for partners to coordinate with, truly wanting to take down that windmill.

She began to truly be like a ’Knight’.

"Elderly sir, I’ll go take care of the Polluted Monsters over there now."

After a brief moment of calming her emotions, she pushed open the car door and spoke to He Ao.

"Wait a second."

This time, He Ao called out to her.

She looked at He Ao in confusion, observing this determined and composed elderly man.

He Ao’s right hand, previously resting on the briefcase, was raised towards her, extending a hand with a smile, "Pleasure working with you."

YiXiya observed that face carved by the years, reached out her own hand, grasped his, and smiled in response,

"Pleasure working with you."

The sun was now directly above the gaps between the high-rises, and the golden sunlight shone through the narrow crevice, illuminating this dim corner.

The warm radiance filtered through the sunroof atop the car, passing between the cheeks of both individuals, and fell upon the hands tightly clasped together.