Chapter 158.1 – Key (1)

◎ Crime Record Plus ◎

Northern Base, General’s Mansion.

First time clueless, second time familiar. This time, they didn’t need Bai Qi to pick them up; Song Ke and the other six went on their own.

After passing the security check in the villa area, Ye Zimei stood at the door from afar to welcome them… oh no, to question them with righteous anger.

She had a day off today and wasn’t wearing the Awakener Department uniform. Instead, she casually put on a summer outfit with her hands in her pockets. Seeing Song Ke, she scolded with a stern face, “Captain Song, first stealing a starship, then blowing up the laboratory. What kind of demolition team is your V587?”

Song Ke rubbed her hands nervously, “Mistake, it was a mistake.”

Ye Zimei roared in frustration, completely ignoring that she was facing an S7-level capable of single-handedly killing a level 5 beast, “I stayed up for three nights! Looked through thousands of documents! Selected laboratories carefully! Right after passing the household registration, you ruined it for me. Does that make any sense?”

“N-no sense,” Song Ke’s tone weakened, and after a few seconds of silence, she uncertainly asked, “Do you want me to compensate?”

As soon as the words were out, she immediately painedly covered her money bag. Her watery eyes looked at Ye Zimei, calculating how much it would cost. They had just become a bit prosperous, and now they had to go back to pre-liberation times?

Seeing her acting stingy, Ye Zimei chuckled, “No need for compensation. I still have some damage budget left. Can you please be more careful next time?”

“Got it, I understand.” Song Ke heard that she didn’t have to pay, and her eyes curved into crescents.

The group walked inside and met Bai Qi on the way, who nodded at them tersely.

In the artificial garden, Ye Zheng set up a glass water tank in front of him. The old man was in high spirits, playing with a turtle. The turtle was upside down, stretching its neck out from the shell, trying hard to reach the ground. Slowly and leisurely, it turned over with Ye Zheng’s slow and leisurely help.

Turtle: ?

Xu Xing, being a child at heart, couldn’t help but snicker first, “Pfft.”

Ye Zheng seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, knowing it was them. “You’re here.”

Song Ke subconsciously stood at attention, greeted with proper etiquette, “General Ye.” The others also followed suit in greeting.

Ye Zheng waved his hand, indicating they didn’t need to be so formal, “I watched the naval battle video of the Elderly People’s Nation. Not bad, calm under pressure, brave and strategic. You are all promising fighters, especially Xiao Song.” He pointed at Song Ke, “A born ‘War God,’ even my best adjutants back then couldn’t compare to you.”

Who was Ye Zheng? He was a seasoned general forged in the battles of half a century, and the number of people in the entire Alliance who could earn his praise was few. Song Ke blushed slightly, scratching her head in embarrassment.

“Bai Qi, you also watched the video. As a practitioner of ancient martial arts, what do you think of Xiao Song?”

“Very strong,” Bai Qi straightforwardly replied. Song Ke’s combat style was clean and efficient, without any fancy or cumbersome moves. Coupled with her exceptional physical fitness, even Bai Qi admitted that he might not be able to match some of Song Ke’s combat skills.

“Your techniques, are they from the orthodox school?” Bai Qi rarely spoke more than a sentence.

Song Ke honestly shook her head, “No, my master is named Zhang Ting, and we belong to the Yue Mountain Sect.”

Zhang Ting was once a renowned martial arts master in the Alliance, but he retired too early, and Bai Qi, being under thirty, was unfamiliar with the name.

Bai Qi nodded slightly, not pressing for more information.

Ye Zheng casually rolled up his sleeves and beckoned to Song Ke, “Xiao Song, since you’re here, how about a little sparring?”

Both being S-level, Song Ke didn’t think much and readily agreed, “Sure.”

Ye Zimei, standing beside them, exclaimed in shock, “Grandpa!!”

Bai Qi’s expression changed slightly as he stepped forward, “General, it’s not advisable.”

Ye Zheng glanced at them lightly, and his imposing aura forced the two to retreat, “What’s the fuss? It’s just a friendly match. I’m not allowed to do this and that all day long. If I don’t move my old bones a bit, they’ll rust sooner or later.”

The old man was determined to have a little bout with the only S7 in the Alliance, and no one could dissuade him. Ye Zimei huffed to the side.

Ye Zheng then winked mischievously at Song Ke, “Xiao Song, I’m old, and my martial arts skills are not as good as yours. Can I use some abilities?”

Lin Youyou used her ability to secretly transmit her voice to her, “Song Ke, Princess Zhuang advises you to be careful. He says General Ye is an early awakener.”

Early awakeners referred to those who awakened their abilities before the apocalypse. Usually, such awakeners would experience a significant improvement in their strength due to the secondary stimulation of the apocalypse radiation, easily overpowering others of the same level.

Ye Zheng, having awakened his abilities after the apocalypse, was now over 90 years old, and even if he was S-level, his level wouldn’t be too high.

Song Ke belatedly realized that she had agreed too casually but now was in a dilemma, “Oh.”

Ye Zheng lowered his center of gravity, suddenly lifted his knee and sent a straight punch towards her throat. A domineering surge of awakened energy gushed out, causing Song Ke’s legs to feel like a thousand pounds, freezing her in place. She was slightly surprised—was it a gravity-based ability?

The glass water tank next to them shook, and the turtle, which was struggling to flip over, was impacted, spinning rapidly like a top.

Turtle: ??

As the fierce punch wind approached, Song Ke gritted her teeth, lifting one leg with difficulty and delivering a mid-air side kick!

Ye Zheng, with excellent awareness, immediately shifted from offense to defense, blocking with both arms. After Song Ke completed her move, the gravitational ability erupted again, sweeping her lower body.

The tilted glass tank spun, and the confused turtle fell to the ground. Bai Qi picked it up and casually placed it aside.

This time, Song Ke was prepared. With a sly smile, she treated it like lifting a few hundred kilograms of sandbags, agilely jumped up, entered Ye Zheng’s proximity, elbowing him in the solar plexus, and subconsciously attempted a shoulder throw—only to notice Lin Youyou shaking her head nearby.

Song Ke suddenly realized and changed her approach, disarming Ye Zheng’s force and gently pushing him away.

Ye Zheng took a few steps back, steadying himself, and Song Ke also stopped in time.

In just a few moves, she was drenched in sweat, and her limbs felt as heavy as if they were filled with cement. Gravity-type awakeners were indeed formidable.

Ye Zheng, rubbing his sore right arm, laughed heartily, “How fun! You went easy on me, right?”

Song Ke modestly replied, “You also went easy.”

An S-level gravity-type awakener undoubtedly possessed far more energy than a mere few hundred kilograms.

Ye Zheng wiped his sweat with a hot towel, casually saying, “I remember you are of the Metal element. The Tang sword you brought in last time was an ability manifestation, right?”

A light bulb lit up in Song Ke’s mind, instantly understanding the social subtleties behind his words.

She enthusiastically approached, “Do you like it? I can give it to you.”

Sweeping her eyes around, she reached for the tilted glass tank with her magic, a blue light flashed, and a sharp Tang sword with a biting chill appeared in her palm.

The turtle, slowly crawling to the edge of the tank, was utterly confused: ???

Ye Zheng, not expecting her to change things so easily, fell silent for a second, “Did this… not pass the security check?”

The next moment, a deafening alarm sounded throughout the entire mansion: “High-risk weapon detected, initiating Level 1 alert.”

Followed by a flurry of footsteps, “Intruders? Assassins? Quickly, protect the General!”

Song Ke unsheathed her sword, looking around in confusion, “??”

Assassins? It wasn’t her fault! Didn’t she bring it in last time without any issues? Oh, she remembered… Bai Qi had informed them last time.

Song Ke silently sought help from Bai Qi.

“…” Bai Qi silently went to deal with it.

Ye Zheng, not wanting to see her embarrassed, took the sword with a smile, “You’re thoughtful. I’ll accept the sword.”

Zhuang Qingyan coughed lightly, reminding from the side, “Captain, don’t forget about the main business.”

“Grandpa, you’ve had your fun. You need to rest now,” Ye Zimei scolded.

Several people returned from the garden to the study, and Zhuang Qingyan spoke frankly, “General, we would like to seek your advice on the matter of Utopia.”

Ye Zheng didn’t answer directly but opened a drawer and took out an exquisite letter, resembling an invitation.

Song Ke opened it and found it was a pass from Utopia, delivered two days before the appearance of the floating city.

Innocently, Xu Xing asked, “Huh? Grandpa, don’t you qualify? Why aren’t you going up? They’ve all gone.”

“They” naturally referred to the privileged class in the Elderly People’s Nation.

Ye Zheng, highly esteemed and respected, had once made immortal contributions to the New Asia Alliance. It was not surprising that he could obtain a “ticket” to Utopia.

Ye Zheng shook his head slowly, “Even the magistrates in District B don’t all receive this pass. The slots for magistrates are so limited, let alone ordinary people? In the end, we all go through selection.”

“Now, most voices on the Star Network believe that the residents of Utopia have abandoned the world, seeking their own pleasures. But if you think about it carefully, if a person loses the foundation of survival and can only rely on the breath of others to live, is it a blessing or a disaster?”

Ye Zheng sighed deeply, “I won’t live much longer. If I go up, what about the tens of millions left in the Northern Base?”

“This old man can’t let go. I have guarded this piece of land all my life. So I’d better stand my ground and finish my last duty.”

Ye Zheng, like the anchor of the Northern Base, even if he didn’t show up often, as long as he was alive, District B10 would remain stable.