Volume 4: Shadows Under the Neon Lights Chapter 225: Aftermath
"Of course... But do you really not need our escort? Although the East 9th District module has been destroyed, there may still be remnants of the heretical sect lurking in the surrounding areas..."
"I've even visited their lair in the deepest part of East 9th District. Do you think I would still care about a few small fish and shrimps?" Ke Lan patted the holster on his waist and extended his hand to the officer.
"Well... well, General Maginot should find time to contact you after you return. I hope you won't leave the Ark for at least a week."
"Within a week? I won't go out. I earned a lot of commissions from the last two missions. I won't be able to spend all the money in a short time." Ke Lan frowned slightly. Forbidden to leave the Ark within a week, is this going to take some action against me? But from the tone of the officer, this request didn't seem to be mandatory. Even if I insisted on going out, they wouldn't stop me.
After receiving a positive answer, the officer did not say anything else. Instead, he simply found the key card of the armored hovercraft and handed it to Ke Lan.
The first thing Ke Lan did when he got into the hovercraft was to remove the recording camera inside the car, and then unplug the power cord of the car's wireless communication device. Although this thing could allow him to obtain some useful information from the military's dedicated communication channel, it would also record and upload Ke Lan's communication content. Even if he used his own mobile phone, this device would monitor the communication content.
Then, Ke Lan took out his cell phone and called the Hound.
As soon as the call was connected, the hound's voice burst out from the receiver: "Hello? Hello, hello? Is this Ke Lan?!"
"It's me, it's me—"
"Are you not missing any limbs? Although Maginot has told me that you escaped from the East Ninth District, he didn't say whether you escaped vertically or horizontally." The Hound spoke as fast as a machine gun, and the background sound seemed to be mixed with the shouting of two big men, Zhuo Ligetu and Layton.
"I'm fine, just have some scratches. How's the situation over there?" Ke Lan asked.
"We have left the hospital and are now staying in a safe house provided by that guy Maginot. I will send you the address via encrypted text message later... By the way," the Hound's voice suddenly paused, "Have you found Liao Zilang?"
" No." Ke Lan whispered, "The situation in East District 9 is very complicated. I don't have the chance to find anyone..."
Ke Lan thought about it and finally decided not to tell the Hound what Arasaka Yui said... The ending was already determined. If the Hound knew that Liao Zilang might have suffered such inhumane and cruel experiments, it would only increase the suffering of the survivors.
"Forget it... Actually, I also know that after things have developed to that extent, the chances of him surviving are already very... Oh, let's not talk about this. I heard that the entire East 9th District was launched into low-Earth orbit just now, and then it was hit by the Ark's main cannon. Does that mean this matter is resolved?"
"That's about it. I'll tell you the specific details in person when I get back." Ke Lan said.
"Well, that's fine... Also, what's the engagement about?" The Hound suddenly changed the subject and asked about Zofia.
If it had happened in the past, his engagement to Zofia would definitely have been on the Ark morning news the next day - after all, the heir to a large consortium choosing to marry an unknown relic hunter was simply a fantasy in the eyes of the public. To use the popular term on the Internet, it was a "melon" big enough to attract a large group of spectators to comment on it.
However, just after the engagement news was announced, even more outrageous news came out: a power outage affecting the entire Ark, the quarantine and blockade of the East 9th District, the rebellion of the entire Arasaka Group, the kidnapping of a large number of innocent people... These news were simply more shocking than the other, and as for the news of Ke Lan and Zofia's engagement, it had long been left behind.
However, as Ke Lan's teammates, Hound and the others would definitely pay attention to this information, especially Hound. He had joked several times before that Zofia might have a crush on Ke Lan, and this time the joke came true. I think even he himself must have been shocked.
"This matter... may be a bit troublesome to talk about." Ke Lan muttered, "Actually, Zofia asked me to fight against the Arasaka Group, but now the entire Arasaka Group is gone, I think there is no need for this engagement to exist..."
"Why is it unnecessary?!" The Hound immediately shouted at the other end of the phone, "If she really inherits the Soma Group in the future, do you know what this means?"
"Stop, I don't want Zofia to be tied to her chariot and die. She and I are just partners. I won't sell my life to her."
"Fuck! What the hell are you thinking about, Ke Lan? Who the hell asked you to work so hard? This is clearly giving you a super beautiful wife for free and enough money to spend for the rest of your life. Do you think everyone can get such a good thing?" The Hound couldn't help but swear.
" Let's talk about this later. I still have a big problem that I haven't solved yet." Ke Lan sighed. If the crystal problem is not solved, he won't be able to spare his attention to deal with other things.
"It's a terrible... big trouble?" The hound on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, and then his tone suddenly became serious, "What's wrong?"
"It's not convenient over the phone, let's talk in person. I'm driving now. Send me the address and I'll go over."
"Okay." The Hound said, and hung up the phone.
Within a few seconds, Ke Lan received the address he sent - the safe house was not far away, in East District 7, and could be reached within half an hour.
Then, Ke Lan called Maginot again... Instead of waiting for him to call, it would be better to call him on her own... Although Maginot might be very busy during this period, Ke Lan didn't mind causing him more trouble.
The call was connected quickly, and the person who answered the phone was not a secretary or a messenger, but Maginot himself. This shows that this number should be his personal contact information.
"Hello? Is this Ke Lan?"
"It's me," Ke Lan responded, "General Maginot, I want to ask you something."
"What is it? As long as it's answerable, I can tell you."
"You know... the undead crew would?"
The other end of the phone fell into silence for half a minute. Just when Ke Lan was about to ask again, Makino finally spoke: "I can't answer this question. I don't have the authority to do so. But since you already know of their existence, they will contact you sooner or later. In addition, you must not tell anyone else about this. Doing so will harm others."
