"Everyone, Captain Xiao wants you to come over!" A logistics team member called out to the group at that moment.

The four of them walked back into the reception building. The floor here had been cleaned, and the shattered glass windows were covered with windproof cloth. It looked as if the fierce battle had never taken place.

Such a serious incident had occurred, and the entire Five Rings Mechanical Garden zone was requisitioned. The police, military, research units, and the Dimensional Limit Mechanism split the building like cutting a cake, with the mechanism’s office set up on the first floor.

Upon entering the room, they found Honglian already there, arguing with Xiao Canong over something.

"...This matter wasn’t done by us, yet now we’re being hailed as heroes online!"

"So what? Do the newcomers’ blood-soaked battles not deserve the title of hero?" Xiao Canong replied, unhurriedly.

"I didn’t say Jiang Siqi and the others aren’t worthy, but you’re manipulating public opinion, forcibly attributing credit to the Execution Team that doesn’t belong to the mechanism!" Honglian argued discontentedly.

"Sister Honglian..." Little Pigeon called timidly.

Only then did she notice the team members had arrived.

"Good timing." Xiao Canong clapped his hands, "Listen up and see if your leader’s protest is reasonable."

Honglian suddenly fell silent.

"What now, don’t you know how to say it? Then I’ll say it." He cleared his throat, "Based on post-event intelligence analysis, there were two... even three Wanderers in the park at the time. Their code names were Demon, White-clothed Immortal, and Blood and Flesh Butcher. Demon’s ability was cultivating puppets, turning nearly half of the park employees into his minions, while you stood up and blocked the enemy’s rampage."

"But Demon himself wasn’t eliminated by you; he was defeated in cooperation by two other Wanderers. Honglian witnessed the spectacle of White-clothed Immortal flying to the rooftop."

This point had, in fact, been learned by everyone afterward.

After all, when the puppets suddenly fell, there was too much mystery amidst fortune, so they’d naturally inquire to Wang Baihu and Honglian.

Their idol was truly invincibly strong! Jiang Siqi clenched a fist secretly, regretting not getting a photo with her... 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Our disagreement lies here; I instructed the logistics team to attribute the credit for defeating the Demon and rescuing survivors entirely to you, while covering up the presence of other Wanderers." Xiao Canong frankly said with a smile, "While Honglian believes the public should be informed that other just envoys exist outside the mechanism."

"The issue is, there are no video records of their battle process. I think involving the other two Wanderers would weaken our promotional force and also cause public doubt and unease: How could Jiang City have so many Wanderers, and yet the security department be completely unaware; was there dereliction involved? In other words, doing so would both dim your hero halo and place undue pressure on the mechanism’s partners, so I don’t agree with Honglian. What do you think?"

He took a sip of tea, waiting quietly for the group’s reaction.

Wang Baihu and others exchanged looks briefly.

After a period of silence, Jiang Siqi was the first to raise her hand and say, "I agree with the captain’s view."

This is a hero title she fought for with her life; how could she allow it to become dim?!

Sorry, leader, most people prefer simple symbols, and the truth isn’t that important. Besides, this truth is meaningless; it can’t revive victims or the event’s impact.

She silently bowed to Honglian in her heart.

"I also support Boss Xiao." Han Yuhao was the second to speak, "Who knows how those Wanderers got into a fight, maybe it was just a dispute over uneven division of interests. Now, promoting them as good people, what if they aren’t? Moreover, I think Wanderers don’t care about others’ views; if they wanted to gain fame, they could join the Dimensional Limit Mechanism directly, couldn’t they?"

Honglian frowned, "I also don’t care about the public’s opinion, but using the logistics team for such nakedly blatant publicity—"

Xiao Canong interrupted, "Strange, isn’t this exactly what the logistics team does? Faking, deceiving, guiding public opinion...did Captain Wan let the logistics team go on extended leave before I came?"

"Uh..." She was momentarily at a loss for words.

"It’s just that you felt at that time that covering deceitful matters was unrelated to the Execution Team, all handled by logistics, so you could stand aside. But today, the Execution Team became the biggest beneficiary, so you feel uneasy, thinking deceiving the public is wrong?" The captain smiled slightly, "Don’t forget, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism is a team, not merely one or two groups of people."

"Sorry, Honglian...I also think the captain makes sense." Wang Baihu rubbed his nose, "The mechanism’s relationship with official departments is still very fragile now; let’s not complicate things unnecessarily."

Little Pigeon finally spoke, "Little Pigeon thought it over, but Little Pigeon can’t figure it out, so whatever you all decide is fine."

Honglian sighed deeply, "Fine, I understand, majority rules."

"That’s more like it." Xiao Canong nodded with satisfaction, "The enemy is eliminated, you gain honor, it’s a win-win situation. Additionally, I’ve contacted headquarters; for the families of the victims in this incident, headquarters will provide a substantial compensation, hoping to soothe their sorrow."

"Is this okay?" Han Yuhao questioned, "All their deaths were caused by the Demon; the mechanism has no fault, right?"

"Though that’s the case, pretending a false life is still life...before we launched the operation, these people could at least speak, accompany their families, even if they had long become Demon’s puppets." Xiao Canong seemed to hold a different view, "We burst this bubble, so we can’t say there’s no relationship. Besides, compared to the image of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, this amount of money is negligible, but for the victims’ families, it’s a lifetime of financial security...it’s still that phrase: everyone’s happiness is best."

Hey, hey...how much money are they planning to give?!

Jiang Siqi mused inwardly, if this keeps up, as long as Ability Users commit crimes, won’t victims instantly think of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism?

Wait, could this be the captain’s aim?

"You all must have guessed; I kept you here for this purpose." Xiao Canong continued, "Starting today, the Jiang City branch will conduct multiple phases of large-scale investigations into the Erosion Zone and publicly release true recorded images to the public. Even if we find Elorie, we won’t close this entry point."

"Won’t Ability Users’ repeated access to the erosion area exacerbate the erosion?" Honglian asked worriedly.

"Yes, but the growth is controllable and much smaller than the impact caused by Wanderers. Besides, with so many deaths, do you think whether it opens or closes doesn’t ultimately depend on us?"

"Could it be..."

Xiao Canong nodded, "That’s right, the very case. The development of the Botanical Garden erosion world has already sweetened those people."

Bam bam bam bam—

Suddenly, gunfire erupted!

"It’s coming from upstairs!" Honglian immediately identified, "Has the enemy returned?"

"Don’t rush, there are police and armed police upstairs, Wang Qianduan is there too. If the situation is urgent, he’ll notify me." Xiao Canong remained composed.

Ten seconds later, someone hurried into the room, "Captain Xiao, Director Fu wants you to go to the top floor immediately!"

Judging by his attire, this person should belong to the police.

"Let’s hault the meeting and head up together." Xiao Canong stood up and proposed.

The group arrived on the rooftop, where a steel frame staircase had been erected at the center of the cleared building, with the top of the staircase connected to a platform that passed through the erosion area.

Below the staircase lay a construction worker, clearly dead, riddled with bullet holes, blood seeping out to form a small pool beneath him.

The shooter looked grim, appearing completely unprepared for the occurrence.

"This person’s eyes...look strange..." Under the reflection of several spotlights, Honglian keenly noticed that the worker’s eyes were much larger than normal, almost triple in size.

"Director Fu, what happened?" Xiao Canong asked as he stepped forward.

"Gong Qiang from the construction team mutated, suddenly attacking other workers with incredible strength, forcing us to shoot in defense." Director Fu’s expression was notably grim, "Someone mentioned that while installing the platform, Gong Qiang briefly entered the erosion zone."

"For how long exactly?"

"No one can say for sure, possibly as short as half a minute, no more than about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette. The safety officer clearly reminded them that while installing the upper structure, they should circumvent and avoid crossing the erosion zone casually!" Director Fu furrowed his brows, seemingly already contemplating how to write the report, "What on earth happened? Can you explain it clearly?"

"Hard to say, but it’s likely to be harmful radiation, bacterial infection, mental contamination, or ability influence among these four." Xiao Canong replied confidently, "Rest assured, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism has ample experience in exploring such worlds...and our agents are more than willing to lead by example."