Chapter 92 Seeking Oneself

Qi An also felt that, given the previous statement, "Kill it," Mao Anlin might feel awkward speaking to him.

But she underestimated the composure of these important figures. Mao Anlin remained calm, even smiling, and said to her:

"Lieutenant Colonel Qi, thank you for saving the freshman base."

The form of address might have been intended to convey goodwill, and Qi An simply responded with an "Mmm".

"What are Qi Zhongxiao's plans next?" Mao Anlin asked.

Qi An: "Back to North Base 1."

She stared at Mao Anlin's expression on the high-definition screen, but couldn't discern anything.

“Welcome back,” Mao Anlin said.

Qi An raised an eyebrow: "If I were to reside at the North 1 Base for an extended period, wouldn't you be restless day and night?"

“If I said no, you probably wouldn’t believe me,” Mao Anlin said, also using a respectful term for Qi An.

"Hmm." Qi An nodded frankly: "I don't believe it, but if I insist on going, there's nothing you can do to stop me."

The only weapon you can use against me is one of mine.

Mao Anlin's smile seemed to turn into a bitter one, but he said, "As long as you relax, the sky will still be blue and the clouds will still be white."

"Good magnanimity." Qi An finally showed a genuine smile and said directly, "As long as my free will remains, I will stand on the side of humanity."

In exchange, you must protect my friends.

Xiao Fu can have a neural network access device and can go online at any time.

Mao Anlin was not surprised by this request, but remained silent for a while.

After a long pause, he finally said, "I agree."

He glanced at the time in the corner of the screen. It was 10 p.m. on May 1, 2056, just over half a month after their last negotiation at 10 a.m.

Half a month ago, Qi An negotiated terms with him, and the only cards she had up her sleeve were the life and death of herself and Tan Fu.

Half a month later, Qi An held the life and death of the base in his hands.

Mao Anlin was momentarily lost in thought, and then Qi An left as well.

She wondered how many Ash Priests were left on the continent. One or two at most. How long would the war last?

After regaining his composure, Qi An asked, "Will you still vigorously develop the 'White Tower' project?"

"Yes," Mao Anlin replied, then asked, "When you say you don't pollute the people at the new student base, is it because you've deliberately concealed your polluting aura, or is it because you truly cannot pollute them?"

"He's toned it down," Qi An said.

Actually, she can't, or perhaps she could if she really "wanted" to? She has to experiment.

Mao Anlin's exceptionally clear eyes swept over her face, and he seemed to smile as he said, "Then I must thank you again for standing on the side of humanity. If possible, please continue to explore the causes of your uniqueness, as this should help us better understand pollution."

One last question: When will you return to Base North 1? What are your requirements for living conditions at Base North 1?

Qi An knew she could make almost any request, but he didn't answer immediately.

"We'll see," she said ambiguously after a moment of silence.

After hanging up the video call, Qi An nestled on the sofa for a while and saw Xiao Zhang and Professor Shi.

Qi An has taken over someone else's room again; she's currently in the room that originally belonged to Xiao Zhang in the hotel building.

The old man, Professor Shi, hid behind the 1.8-meter-tall Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang, also 1.8 meters tall, didn't dare to take even half a step into the doorway, but he also didn't dare to retreat under Qi An's watchful eye. He just stood there at the doorway, frozen like a wax figure.

Qi An glanced at the two of them and asked, "Are you both alright?"

Xiao Zhang, like a robot that hadn't been maintained in a long time, twisted his neck and made a "creaking" sound: "N-nothing, we ran downstairs, there was a bunker nearby, we squeezed in with the crowd."

This area is in the city center, surrounded by key units and high-class residents, so it's safe.

But Qi An learned from Tan Fu that Ding Ze's team had lost two people.

When Qi An was forced to sprout wings and wreak havoc on the base, the guards who had retreated from this floor also took Ding Ze's team with them.

Li Heng only drugged Ding Ze's team to test Qi An's "hidden" identity as a Fallen Insect, in order to prevent interference. He didn't intend to kill them.

However, the subsequent invasion of "real" Fallen Insects caused chaos in the base, and the barracks where Ding Ze's team was located were invaded by Wisps.

The effects of the drug on Ding Ze's team wore off somewhat, and some of them woke up during the crisis, dragging their unconscious teammates into battle and hiding.

Even so, two people were still lost.

An unexpected disaster.

Qi An saw the commander-in-chief of the new base behind Xiao Zhang and the other two, and thought that the loss of these two people would become political capital for the North 1 Base.

Why did Base 1 send over a second "Weaver Girl" without even discussing any conditions? Or did they take advantage of the chaos to get the new base to sign some agreements to submit to the central government?

The commander-in-chief and the base director of the new base have both arrived.

Without even reading micro-expressions, Qi An could tell that there was an undercurrent between the two.

When two wolves fight, the one who controls the military has a greater chance of winning, but it also depends on which powerful figure outside is on their side. Qi An believes that the annexation of the New Life Base by the North 1 Base is already a foregone conclusion.

After the two sat down, she didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "Li Heng must die. I'll go see him in a bit."

Before Qi An made his move, he had already stated the condition that Li Heng must die. Neither of the two opponents objected. The base commander said softly:

"If possible, please don't deliberately torture me..."

Qi An remained silent, and the Commander-in-Chief also stood with a sullen face, arms crossed, and remained silent.

The base commander did not retract his words, but placed his hands on his knees and asked seriously:

"What are your plans for the clones? We will perform bomb removal surgery on all surviving clones as agreed, but what are your arrangements for their fate after the surgery?"

Qi An said, "I'll go to the hospital and see them all at the same time."

She got up, and the two people opposite her, who had only been in the room for less than five minutes, had no choice but to get up as well.

However, both of them were extremely busy, so Qi An didn't beat around the bush and directly stated that she did have ideas about how to deal with the clones, and also said that she wouldn't stay at the new student base for long, which was actually a kind of consideration.

Qi An walked away, and the base commander and the commander-in-chief parted ways downstairs.

Only after they had all gone their separate ways did the base commander, who had been so humble, manage a smile that was tinged with resentment and cynicism.

"There are still more than sixty surviving clones, all of whom are adults who have already started taking on missions."

Such a large sum of money...

"After decades of hard work, it's all been for someone else's benefit!"

The secretary said, "This incident proves that clones are unsafe and can have serious backlash."

The base commander's smile faded. "Indeed, cloning can backfire, but..."

He then mocked, "A corrupted insect with that kind of power shouldn't be afraid of backlash. Once it's corrupted, it'll become obedient."

The clone certainly chose a good employer!

There were indeed many clones gathered at the hospital, as many as 45 people.

The new base roughly counted 69 surviving clones, some of whom were on missions or at satellite bases.

Some people died in this battle, and the number has not yet been counted.

“Three of them were girls on reproductive missions who mutated because they couldn’t control their contamination levels; the other three died fighting the Fallen Insects,” Lin Jiaran said, then added in a low, complex voice:

"Two people, Chen Fang and Zhou Ling, slipped away on their own while we were rescuing the pregnant girl."

Chen Xigang sent people to search for them in the laboratory and the bunker, and they found Zhou Ling's body.

He died in a fight with the guards; they killed many researchers…

Qi An paused, feeling surprised, yet not quite so surprised.

She sighed, removed her hands from the two pregnant girls' abdomens, and asked the boys outside the ward, "Where do you want to go?"