87: Section 87

"L-Leader, I'm just a Dust Citizen. How could I possibly deal with someone like Captain Marc?"

Charles said dismissively, "Marc's eyes have only ever been on Phage Beasts. To him, a Dust Citizen isn't a threat at all."

4068 was terrified. He wanted to become an Upper Citizen and was willing to give everything for it, but to kill someone—especially Captain Marc—was something he couldn't do.

Charles continued, "Get rid of him! And I will grant you the status of an Upper Citizen!"

"Leader, I really can't do this!"

"Is it that you can't, or that you won't?"

Before 4068 could answer, the Light Bearer Vandy entered, bringing in a woman with her head covered.

The woman had her hair in a braided ponytail. 4068 recognized her as 4277 at a glance.

"4277!" 4068 shouted.

Charles ignored him. A Law Enforcer nearby handed him a sword. Taking the sword, Charles walked over to the woman.

"If you follow my instructions, I can not only arrange Upper Citizen status for you, but for her as well. I can even arrange for you both to enter the Hall of Dawn for a Breeding Mission. However..." Charles pointed the sword at the woman, "if you refuse, there is only one outcome..."

"Leader, I don't want to be an Upper Citizen anymore..."

*Slash!*

The longsword pierced the woman's chest, and blood flowed freely.

"4277!" 4068 was completely stunned. He wanted to beg Charles for mercy, but he didn't even get the chance.

"I gave you a chance, but you chose wrongly!"

At that moment, 4068 felt despair and regret!

He regretted not agreeing to Charles, which led to 4277's death.

At that moment, he thought to himself countless times that no matter who it was, if he could trade their life for 4277's, he wouldn't hesitate.

Unfortunately, there was no more chance.

But just as 4068 was in despair, Charles pulled back the cloth covering the woman's head.

"It's not 4277!"

4068 felt a sense of relief, but he also understood that if he didn't agree to Charles, this would be 4277's fate.

It would be his fate as well.

For Charles, killing a Dust Citizen was like killing a dog—no pressure, no guilt, and no punishment!

Charles said indifferently, "I'll give you one more chance. This time, you know what to choose, don't you?"

"I know!"

"Good! On the next mission, you will follow the Wasteland Hunters to the ground. Your primary target is to kill Marc. Second, if you get the chance, kill Jing Yuan as well."

"Why must Jing Yuan be killed too?"

"If he doesn't die, how can you be with 4277? Or... do you not want to kill him?"

"No! That's not it!"

"Remember, your primary target is Marc!"

...On the outer ring of the Lighthouse, Jing Yuan and Chu Feng met.

Chu Feng whispered into Jing Yuan's ear, "Someone saw the Light Bearer take a Dust Citizen into the Law Enforcement Office."

"Was it 4068?"

"The witness only recognized him as a Dust Citizen; they didn't know his ID number."

"I see."

Jing Yuan had a rough guess; 4068 must have been taken into the Law Enforcement Office.

It seemed Charles still intended to use 4068 to carry out the mission to assassinate Marc.

However, this time, Jing Yuan would not let that happen.

"By the way, 3855 asked me to tell you that the person you asked him to find has been located!"

"Good, I'll head to the Lower Citizen District. You keep an eye on the Law Enforcement Office for me."

Chapter 89: These Belonged to Us in the First Place

Lower Citizen District.

3855 led Jing Yuan to one of the Hoisting Areas.

"He is 4205. He's specifically responsible for cleaning for Director Melissa."

Jing Yuan looked in the direction 3855 pointed and saw a young man.

At first glance, this young man looked different from other Dust Citizens. His clothes were neat, and his skin was smooth. Both his mental state and nutritional condition were much better than the average Dust Citizen.

If not for his ID badge, Jing Yuan might have even mistaken him for an Upper Citizen based on his appearance alone.

Jing Yuan felt it was strange and stood there lost in thought.

"Captain Jing Yuan, what do you need him for?" 3855 asked, pulling Jing Yuan back from his thoughts.

"Oh, nothing! What time does he usually go to clean?"

"Usually three times a day—morning, noon, and evening. There will be one soon at noon."

Jing Yuan asked curiously, "Is Melissa's room always left for him to take care of?"

"It seems so. This guy only seems to be responsible for cleaning; I rarely see him doing any other work."

Jing Yuan nodded, a suspicion forming in his mind.

"I understand. You go back first! I'll go have a chat with him."

"Alright." 3855 nodded and then took his leave.

After 3855 left, Jing Yuan didn't go to find 4205 immediately. He stood to the side and watched him. When 4205 set off for the Upper Citizen District, Jing Yuan followed.

Dust Citizens' activities in the Upper Citizen District were very limited; they weren't allowed to wander around except for work.

With people from the Law Enforcement Office patrolling at all times, 4205 walked very quickly.

Since Jing Yuan himself was an Upper Citizen, no one bothered him for walking in the Upper Citizen District.

The tracking went very smoothly, and he wasn't noticed at all.

4205 arrived at the door of a high-end residence, entered the code, and hurried inside.

Jing Yuan arrived at the residence, looked around, and hid in a corner.

Jing Yuan focused his Mental Power to scan the inside of the residence. He could clearly sense two presences and hear faint voices.

"Child, you're here."

"Mom!"

Hearing this form of address, Jing Yuan's spirit jolted. His guess was correct—this guy was Melissa's son.

Originally, Jing Yuan had 3855 look for the Dust Citizen who cleaned for Melissa just to use him as a lead to find Melissa's son.

But the moment he saw 4205, he realized something was wrong.

How could a Dust Citizen be so clean and well-nourished?

He had guessed then that 4205 might be Melissa's son, and following him here had confirmed it.

Through his Mental Power, Jing Yuan sensed that the two seemed to be eating.

Presumably, Melissa often stole Upper Citizen food for her son, which was why 4205 didn't look sallow and emaciated like other Dust Citizens.

These were actually natural human feelings, but on the Lighthouse, it was an illegal act.

For all these years, Melissa hadn't been discovered, likely because Charles was covering for her.

No wonder she worked for Charles.

After eating, 4205 rested in the residence without doing any cleaning at all.

After finishing her meal, Melissa left the residence, leaving 4205 alone to rest inside.

Seeing Melissa leave, Jing Yuan followed her. He needed to find an opportunity to talk to her.

Melissa's workplace was right next to the Hall of Dawn, called the Gene Optimization Institute.

Previously, it was used for research; now, it was only for reproductive matching.

At the entrance of the Gene Optimization Institute, Jing Yuan stepped forward quickly.

"Director Melissa!"

Melissa turned her head when she heard someone calling her.

Looking at the young man before her, Melissa had no memory of him and asked, "And you are?"

"I am Jing Yuan, a member of the Wasteland Hunters."