70: Section 70

If I don't do it, I'll be exposed!

Not only would the benefits of the Hall of Dawn be gone, but Jing Yuan would also become someone Charles wants to kill.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jing Nan stared at Jing Yuan. "Even if you don't want to go to the Hall of Dawn, you could have pretended to know nothing."

Jing Yuan certainly had his own motives, but looking at Jing Nan's tear-streaked face, he felt a momentary wave of pity. "Perhaps I just don't want to see you go to the Hall of Dawn with someone else after I'm gone."

Jing Nan's eyes froze.

"If you don't want to perform Breeding Missions with anyone else, I suggest you investigate how Charles manipulated the mission assignments for the Hall of Dawn."

After saying this, Jing Yuan prepared to leave the room silently.

"Wait!" Jing Nan suddenly said. "If they continue to arrange for you and me to perform Breeding Missions together over the next two days, then let's continue! Anyway... we've already done it several times."

Jing Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright!"

Chapter 71: Speak Plainly

Jing Yuan left Jing Nan's room and returned to his own residence.

Unsurprisingly, the lights in his room were on; 4277 had been forced to stay again.

"You came back so late today!" 4277 spoke up, her mood seeming a bit low.

"Uh, because I had things to do."

"Is it the Breeding Mission in the Hall of Dawn?" 4277 suddenly looked at Jing Yuan. Her hair was loose, and her large eyes were watery.

"How did you know?" Jing Yuan was a bit surprised.

"They told me!"

"Who are 'they'?"

"People from the Management Department."

"Those guys!" Jing Yuan was really getting annoyed by them lately. Tormenting 4277 like this all day wasn't a sustainable situation.

"I really envy you Upper Citizens for being able to perform Breeding Missions!" 4277 suddenly said, her voice gradually trailing off.

"What's there to envy?" Jing Yuan didn't notice anything and said bluntly, "This isn't a good thing for you."

"Do you like her?"

"Like?" Jing Yuan began to wonder why 4277 would ask such a question, but he still replied, "Emotions are not allowed on the Lighthouse. Even when going to the Hall of Dawn, everyone wears masks. It's... just a mission."

"I like you!"

"Huh?" Jing Yuan was stunned and said, "Well, thanks!"

"Then do you want to perform a Breeding Mission with me?"

Jing Yuan frowned. He would certainly be willing to do such a thing, but he found it strange that 4277 would have such a thought.

As she spoke, 4277 took off her coat, revealing only a sexy camisole underneath.

4277's face was very beautiful, her eyes large and cute. Though her figure was slender, she was delicate and petite.

As she leaned in close to Jing Yuan, he noticed she had even taken a bath, and a fragrance wafted from her body.

If he hadn't just finished a mission in the Hall of Dawn, Jing Yuan probably wouldn't have been able to control himself when 4277 leaned in.

Jing Yuan smiled slightly and placed his hands on her shoulders, gesturing for her to sit down.

This action was essentially a rejection of 4277.

She asked in confusion, "Is it because I'm a Dust Citizen?"

"Of course not," Jing Yuan said. "In the time we've spent together, have you ever seen me look down on you for being a Dust Citizen?"

4277 thought back; indeed, he hadn't.

"Did you meet someone today? Or did someone say something to you?"

4277 stared blankly at Jing Yuan, looking timid as if she had been seen through.

"How did you know?"

"Who was it?"

"It was..." 4277 whispered, "It was the Leader!"

Jing Yuan gave a helpless smile. Right, who else but him would be pulling these kinds of stunts all day?

"I'm sorry for dragging you into the vortex of these matters."

"What do you mean?" 4277 seemed very confused.

Charles had someone bring 4277 to the Law Enforcement Office. Without saying much else, he had been guiding her, asking if she liked Jing Yuan! If she liked him, she should fight for it! She should take the initiative to offer herself!

"Leader Charles wants me to become his subordinate, so he needs to find a weakness to control me so that I'll listen to him," Jing Yuan said with a smile. "Since we've been close lately, he probably thinks I'm interested in you. So he deliberately arranged for you to come here, wanting us to strengthen our relationship. That way, he can use you to threaten me."

4277 was clever; she understood as soon as she heard it.

"But in reality, you don't like me!"

Jing Yuan waved his hand and said, "Even if I didn't, if Charles used you to threaten me, could I just stand by and watch you die?"

4277 was stunned; the matter had now become complicated.

"Perhaps, because I hired you to work, gave you Upper Citizen food, provided an Upper Citizen's working environment, and gave you enough respect, you've come to like me. But this kind of 'liking' is actually built on an unequal status. If you were an Upper Citizen, you would realize that what I've done is actually very common and basic. It's far from the level that should make you like me."

"So, the key issue is still because I'm a Dust Citizen?"

"No, the key issue now is to prevent Charles from hurting you in order to threaten me."

Jing Yuan said earnestly, "4277, I like you too, but this liking is more of an appreciation. If you were to perform a Breeding Mission with me, I would certainly be willing. But it wouldn't be fair to you. You've seen too few people and experienced too little. Just because someone is slightly nice to you, you like them; there's really no need for that. One day in the future, when there's no longer a distinction between Dust Citizens and Upper Citizens, and when talking about emotions is no longer forbidden, you can re-examine your feelings and decide whether you like me or not. You might reach a different conclusion then."

"Will that day ever come?"

"Of course. It definitely will."

Jing Yuan looked at 4277, believing that with her intelligence, she could understand his intentions.

"Tomorrow, I'll go find the Leader and tell him to stop arranging for people to make things difficult for you. However, we still need to be on guard against him making a move on you. I need you to think about this problem with me."

"The reason you asked me to make a locator last time was to deal with this kind of situation?"

"Yes!"

"I understand." 4277 suddenly smiled. "Don't worry! I'll protect myself."

Jing Yuan sighed and said, "We're in the same boat now. If anything happens, you must not make decisions on your own; come and discuss it with me. Rest assured, I do have the ability to protect you. What I'm worried about is a stab in the back."

4277 looked at Jing Yuan. If taking off her clothes earlier had been an impulse, she still couldn't control her feelings for the man in front of her now.

4277's change was unexpected for Jing Yuan. He had been startled just now and had no plan prepared in advance.

However, Jing Yuan had learned a lesson: stories that end in tragedy are often accompanied by situations where people don't speak plainly!

For example, Marc likes Ran Bing, but he doesn't say it directly, waiting until the mission in the Hall of Dawn starts to barge in!

If he had spoken up sooner, and they had found a solution together or gone down to The Surface earlier, maybe all those subsequent events wouldn't have happened.

So Jing Yuan did the opposite. Whether it was Penny, Jing Nan, or 4277, he told them the truth about the situation.

The night passed.

Before Jing Yuan could take the initiative to find Charles, Charles sent someone to find him.

Inside the hall of the Law Enforcement Office.

Charles was eating breakfast, and he had specially prepared a portion for Jing Yuan.

"Vice-Captain Jing Yuan, are you satisfied with my arrangements?"

"Satisfied!" Jing Yuan answered readily. "But... what did the Leader mean by arranging that Dust Citizen girl in my residence? If that were discovered, wouldn't I be sent to the stake?"

"Don't you like this Dust Citizen girl? Since she can't go to the Hall of Dawn, I arranged a cleaner's identity for her so she can enter and leave your residence openly."

"Then I must thank the Leader. However, I have my own plans for this Dust Citizen girl, so I won't trouble the Leader further."

"I was just afraid the girl wouldn't know any better and wanted to give you a hand! Since you've already made arrangements, I won't interfere." Charles looked at Jing Yuan with a smile. "Just as you said at the beginning, it's just a deal between us. Are you satisfied with my sincerity?"

Jing Yuan knew that Charles wouldn't come looking for him for no reason, so he asked directly, "What mission does the Leader have for me this time?"

Seeing Jing Yuan being so cooperative this time, Charles said directly, "Now that Jing Nan has changed the reconnaissance personnel, I can't tamper with the intelligence. So in the next mission, Captain Marc will likely return with a full load. I want you to intercept his credit."

Charles smiled slightly and said, "When the time comes, Captain Marc will be heavily injured and unable to fight the Phage Beasts, while Captain Jing Yuan will turn the tide and secure the supplies. Your prestige, Jing Yuan, will soar once again."

"Understood!"

Charles laughed heartily. "You truly are a smart man."

Jing Yuan just smiled. After finishing breakfast, he left the Law Enforcement Office.

Jing Yuan went straight to the edge of the Outer Ring, found a deserted spot, and began practicing according to the methods in the 'Psychokinesis Object Manipulation Method'.

In just a few days, if he could learn new techniques, he could raise his attack power by a level!

Later, Jing Yuan was again arranged to go to the Hall of Dawn, and the partner was still Jing Nan.

This time, Jing Nan was much more open and seemed to enjoy the process during the mission...