Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Purifying District 9

Seeing that Lu Jingyu hadn’t noticed anything, Xu Qingsui breathed a sigh of relief.

"No, I think I was just dreaming. I got confused! Where are the others? Is everyone alright?"

Afraid Lu Jingyu would press the issue, Xu Qingsui quickly changed the subject. She casually glanced at the time and froze.

There was a time limit for being in the deep sea. When she had reminded Lu Jingyu and the others to leave, she had gone up ahead of everyone else to catch her breath, creating an opportunity for herself.

She had checked the time when she re-submerged and when she arrived at the Deep Sea Abyss.

But when she devoured the small contamination source, it had felt like a very long time had passed in her mind.

Yet now, only a minute had passed since she first arrived.

The shock was so great that she couldn’t register what Lu Jingyu was saying.

"Guide Xu, what is it now?" Lu Jingyu noticed Xu Qingsui had stopped listening and was zoning out again, so he quickly tried to get her attention.

Xu Qingsui snapped back to her senses, hastily shaking her head to cover her lapse in composure.

"I’m fine. I’m just a little dazed... I don’t know how I ended up here."

A worried expression crossed Lu Jingyu’s face. He made a mental note to have He Sheng give Xu Qingsui a thorough check-up once they left the instance.

After checking on Xu Qingsui, Lu Jingyu finally noticed the massive object behind her.

It was the same large, nuclear-reactor-like object, but unlike when Xu Qingsui had first arrived, the aura surrounding it had vanished completely.

The large object just sat there as if it were a mere decoration.

Lu Jingyu had a nagging feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Finally, Chen Yunfei arrived with the other team members. "So this is the Deep Sea Abyss?" he asked, surprised. "Is this the thing we’re looking for?"

Lu Jingyu snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "This should be it."

"So what do we do with it?"

"Destroying it should do the trick."

With Chen Yunfei’s question, Lu Jingyu no longer had time to dwell on what felt so off.

He immediately drew Tan Lang and aimed it at the object.

Seeing this, Chen Yunfei shouted to the team, "We’re almost there! Let’s give it one last push and take this thing down!"

At Chen Yunfei’s command, Lu Jingyu was the first to act, swinging Tan Lang.

A flash of black and red light shot straight toward the nuclear reactor. Before the others could even charge forward, they heard the sound of something cracking in the air.

Before everyone’s bewildered eyes, a dense network of cracks spread across the nuclear reactor. Then, with a loud BANG, it crumbled into dust and vanished into thin air.

The nuclear reactor was destroyed in a single blow, leaving everyone in disbelief.

The strange feeling in Lu Jingyu’s gut intensified.

Everyone stood frozen, wondering if this was really the object from the Deep Sea Abyss mentioned in the fourth rule.

If so, it was all a bit anticlimactic.

First, there were the luminous phantom fish, then the mutated deep-sea Tentacle Monster, and they even lured out the ruler of the abyss, the Giant Octopus.

And in the end, the nuclear reactor was dealt with so easily? It felt like a whole lot of thunder for just a little bit of rain.

But only Xu Qingsui knew the real reason it had been so easy: only an empty shell had remained.

She had devoured its essence before they arrived.

Of course, she wasn’t about to mention any of this. Instead, she hid among the others, putting on the same confused and bewildered expression as everyone else.

"Is that it? It’s over?" Chen Yunfei’s voice broke the silence.

His words seemed to trigger something, as a mechanical voice once again sounded in everyone’s ears.

[Congratulations on successfully clearing the SSS-level instance, destroying the contamination source in Zone 9, completely eliminating the pollution, and successfully completing Purification Zone 9.]

[Based on your performance, the clearance has been rated SSS level. Individual and team rewards will be distributed to your Storage Space shortly.]

It was really over, and with the highest possible rating. The team’s confusion gave way to cheers.

A vortex then appeared and teleported everyone out of the instance.

Back at the chemical plant, a brilliant, multi-colored light appeared along with the team, bathing the land of Zone 9.

The light scattered the dark clouds that had long oppressed the skies over Zone 9. All across the zone, the Mutants showed signs of decay, their lives extinguished within moments.

The people of Zone 9, who had long forgotten the sight of blue skies and white clouds, finally saw them once more.

Everyone ran outside to celebrate. The crisis in Zone 9 was finally, completely over.

The team members emerging from the instance watched this scene with proud expressions.

Even though their individual contributions inside the instance were limited, they had still been a part of it, and that earned them a share of the credit.

The people of Zone 9, along with other personnel, rushed out and swarmed the returning team.

The team members basked in the crowd’s adoration, but two people weren’t in the mood to celebrate.

Lu Jingyu still felt that something was off. But now that they were out of the instance, there was no way for him to investigate. Still, the feeling weighed on his mind, preventing him from feeling any joy.

The other was Xu Qingsui, but her attention was focused on Tan Lang.

"Yun Fei, you said Captain Lu’s weapon is called Tan Lang. What’s its story?"

Chen Yunfei explained while waving to the cheering crowd, "Now that you mention it, I don’t remember all the details. I just know that Tan Lang is a Top Grade weapon, forged by a Weapon Master who poured immense wealth, resources, and effort into its creation."

"Back then, countless people beat a path to the Weapon Master’s door, trying to buy Tan Lang, but he refused them all. He said he was looking for its fated owner."

"For a long time after that, there was no word of this fated owner appearing. But just as everyone was starting to forget about it, a rumor spread that Tan Lang had been claimed by the young master of a prominent family in the Imperial City."

"But the rumors about this young master were vague. No one had ever seen him in person, so his true identity became a popular topic for gossip."

"As time went on, people stopped paying attention. If I hadn’t enjoyed studying my grandfather’s old books since I was a kid, I wouldn’t have recognized that what Brother Lu is holding is Tan Lang."

Xu Qingsui nodded. She was beginning to get some answers.

’It seems highly likely that Lu Jingyu is that rumored young master. That would explain how he was able to get his hands on so many medical supplies.’

Her heart tightened. ’Could it be? Is Lu Jingyu really from the Lu Family of Capital City? Is he the fiancé from my forced marriage swap?’

Xu Qingsui stole a glance at Lu Jingyu. Her heart began to race, and soon, she could feel a flush creeping up her cheeks.

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