Chapter 225: Chapter 182: Rescue and Buff
"Perhaps Headquarters’ decision was the right one."
Having listened to Ding Yang’s account, Lin Qi offered his own opinion.
The decision from Headquarters was made from the perspective of human civilization; in their eyes, the sacrifices made at this stage were merely numbers.
"Perhaps. But a decision like that is too cruel."
How could Ding Yang not see through Headquarters’ intentions?
If they didn’t do this, human civilization couldn’t survive.
But as one of the individuals being sacrificed, Ding Yang couldn’t help but feel a profound sadness.
Looking at Lin Qi, Ding Yang actually felt somewhat fortunate.
If not for the Mo University Camp, if not for Lin Qi, the Hongshan Camp probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on for much longer.
Just like the Changpu District Camp, a single Tier Three Monster would be enough to bring about the threat of annihilation.
Ding Yang stood and bowed to Lin Qi at nearly a ninety-degree angle. "I sincerely hope you can lend a hand, Lin Qi, and save the survivors of Changpu District. In this apocalypse, mutual support is the only way for civilization to endure."
"Too many people have already died in this apocalypse. Humanity truly cannot afford any more unnecessary sacrifices. A civilization without people is meaningless."
Ding Yang spoke with immense sincerity. Although Hongshan Camp was not the one in peril, the sorrow and powerlessness of watching another camp on the brink of destruction was suffocating him.
The idiom "when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold" had never felt more true.
Lin Qi stood up, helped Ding Yang straighten his posture, and said, "Director Ding, say no more about a rescue."
Hearing Lin Qi’s words, Ding Yang’s heart sank.
But Lin Qi’s next sentence brought tears to the tough man’s eyes.
Lin Qi continued, "Tier Three Extraordinary Items are something I need as well! Director Ding, rest assured. From now on, you can give me the coordinates of all Tier Three Monsters. I will do my utmost to eliminate them and acquire their Crystal Stones."
"Furthermore, I will be developing a new technology to get the Mo University Camp’s squads to sufficient combat strength as soon as possible. I will enable the Mo University Camp to hunt Tier Three Monsters in short order."
"From now on, any monster no one else can handle will be handled by our Mo University Camp!"
"We aren’t doing this for humanitarian reasons, nor is this a rescue. Our only demand is to acquire the monsters’ Crystal Stones!"
Lin Qi had agreed to the rescue, but he framed it differently.
While his words were true, they were also a way to avoid trouble for himself.
After all, to Headquarters, Lin Qi’s actions might seem like he was overstepping his authority.
Lin Qi didn’t know how magnanimous the higher-ups at Headquarters were. This was a parallel world, after all, not the country of his past life.
At this moment, Ding Yang’s tears were uncontrollable. His own little, carefully prepared plea now seemed like a case of a petty man judging a gentleman by his own low standards.
In Ding Yang’s heart, Lin Qi’s image had grown incomparably grand.
Ding Yang immediately made a promise, "Don’t you worry, Lin Qi. From now on, any Tier Two Extraordinary Items that Hongshan Camp acquires will be sent to the Mo University Camp immediately. If Headquarters comes looking to place blame, I alone will bear all of it!"
Ding Yang had made his decision. This was by no means a betrayal of Headquarters, much less a betrayal of his beliefs.
Rather, it was about taking responsibility for the lives of every survivor in Hongshan Camp and every survivor in the entire Modu Region.
This was an act of survival, pure and simple.
Lin Qi cupped his fists and said, "There’s no time to lose. I’ll make a trip to Changpu District first. As for the Tier Two Extraordinary Items Director Ding brought, I’ll inspect them when I get back."
After saying this to Ding Yang, Lin Qi looked over to Wang Ziru and instructed, "Take the briefcase to the sixth-floor conference room. No one is to enter without my permission."
Wang Ziru immediately responded, "Understood."
Then, under Ding Yang’s grateful gaze, Lin Qi left the conference room. He first ran up to the sixth floor to install the S-Class Oriented Energy Release Device, then returned to the first floor and tinkered with the M-Class Mecha for a bit. Finally, he entered the Mecha and set off.
Wang Ziru, carrying the briefcase for Lin Qi, stood with Ding Yang before the main Door.
"Student Lin Qi is truly a righteous person. He’s a credit to the new generation of university students."
Ding Yang’s eyes were still welling with hot tears, which he wiped away with the sleeve of his camouflage uniform.
"It’s good that you understand, Director Ding. Every member of our Mo University Camp is like this. As long as it’s within our ability, we university students are more than happy to help others."
Wang Ziru added a few words, playing along with Ding Yang.
"I’m so envious..." Ding Yang murmured to himself.
It was unclear whether he was envious that Mo University had produced someone like Lin Qi, or that the Mo University Camp possessed so many high-caliber people.
Just as Ding Yang was muttering to himself, Wang Ziru suddenly added, "Director Ding, as Junior Lin just said, our Mo University Camp needs to fully upgrade its equipment. This is also to help all the major camps deal with Tier Three Monsters."
"After all, with great power comes great responsibility."
"But our current capabilities are limited. To gain that power, we still need more resource support."
"Under Junior Lin’s leadership, we have a significant technological lead, but the real challenge for the Mo University Camp is our lack of production resources. About those non-ferrous metals the Hongshan Camp promised us... shouldn’t we speed things up a bit?"
As one of the camp’s direct administrators, Wang Ziru was perfectly clear about the camp’s situation.
Even if the scene was touching, even if Ding Yang was overcome with emotion, it didn’t mean he would miss an opportunity.
