Monster Dismantling Company

"Who are those people?"

Although Lin Zhiqing's aunt's appearance here was rather abrupt, Li Lin's gaze was focused on the soldiers behind her—

The soldiers Li Lin had seen earlier, including the [Fenfeng Force] from Xin'an Prefecture, all had some decorative elements on their bodies. For example, the entire [Fenfeng Force] was painted red, making them extremely conspicuous in the dark green miasma swamp.

However, these soldiers adhered to a pragmatic design style from head to toe, without any decorative elements on their bodies, and not even an inch of skin was exposed from head to toe, making them even more covered up than Li Lin was when he was working.

The only thing that could be considered "decorative" was the overcoat they wore over their armor, as if the armor were their bodies. The overcoat concealed the outline of the armor, tucking the soldiers' figures inside. The overcoat had the insignia "[17]" on its shoulder, which was the unit number.

"The unit number is 17, that must be them..." Lin Zhiqing recognized their identities. "They are the 17th Guard Special Operations Brigade stationed at Yushuchuan."

Yushuchuan, together with the ancient Fanchuan, forms the moat of Shenhe Plain.

Shenhe Plain is a plateau that rises above the ground. This type of terrain is called "Yuan" in Guanzhong, such as Zhouyuan, where the Zhou people rose to power, or Bailu Plain, which left an important mark on literary history.

Due to its elevated location and proximity to the old Chang'an, Shenhe Plain was chosen as the headquarters of the United Government. The 17th Guard Special Service Brigade, stationed at Yushu River, is the United Government's elite force.

Unlike the troops of the "feudal lords," their unit numbers were two digits, not three digits.

Their presence here indicates that Shenhe Plain is paying attention to this matter.

Can you smell anything?

Li Lin nodded in response to A Ren's words—he smelled a familiar scent: the scent of his kind, the scent of a dragon.

The source of the flavor was the soldiers who were fully armed, with not an inch of their skin exposed.

The other party seemed to have noticed this as well.

However, they didn't notice Li Lin, but rather Lin Zhiqing standing next to him.

Safety supervisor Lin Ling noticed his niece.

Across several platforms, a fleeting look of unease crossed her eyes—after regaining her composure, she turned and spoke a few words to one of the soldiers before immediately going upstairs to the adjacent platform.

"Auntie, it's been so long..."

"What are you doing here?!" Lin Ling strode up to her. "Didn't I book another train for you? Wasn't your train cancelled now?"

"Ah...it was cancelled. But Colonel Liu from Ningzhou is such a kind person! Not only did he help me change my ticket to this train, but he even got me a seat!"

"He..." Lin Ling's lips twitched slightly, "He's really good, he did a great job, he did a great job."

She glanced at the boy next to Lin Zhiqing—Li Lin. Their positions made it clear who they were.

"You are... Li Lin?"

"It's me. You remember me?"

"I vaguely remember seeing you a few times... You've grown so tall! I always thought you were a few years younger than Qingqing back then. Are you going to take an exam this time too?" A hint of joy appeared on her face.

She was delighted that someone had accompanied her niece all the way here. It meant that the two were kindred spirits.

Lin Zhiqing's path leads to Shenhe Plain, and her family has only produced one such talent in this generation. Those who walk this path are all extraordinary. This is someone Shenhe Plain has selected, and she knows without asking that they are very satisfied. Moreover, the other party is a child she has personally met—this is double happiness.

But then she suddenly remembered something—

"Were two people from Ningzhou selected to participate in the imperial examination in the capital this year?"

She seemed to remember only one, her niece.

The imperial examinations are held every year, but the number of "feudal lords" available each year might not even reach one. If she remembered correctly, Ningzhou only sent this one talented person this year.

"Ah, I'm not going to take an exam," Li Lin replied. "I'm taking my monster dismantling company to Raize."

"..." Lin Ling's expression suddenly froze. "You're so young, why do you want to go?"

"Auntie, have you forgotten? I told you. His father passed away, and he inherited the company. So if there's work, of course he'll go himself."

"This isn't a place for you...neither of you should be here." She glanced back at the soldiers from the 17th Special Operations Brigade still standing there, hesitated, and then continued, "Listen, you two go home right now. I'll go see if there's a train heading south."

"Auntie! What are you doing? We finally made it here. Isn't the bridge almost finished?"

Lin Ling was momentarily at a loss for words—something big was about to happen here. Earlier, Lin Zhiqing had said she wanted to take this car to her exam, and although she was worried, she hadn't intended to stop her. But if Li Lin was going to participate in the campaign against Thor, she would stop her no matter what.

Her opinion remained unchanged: those who could board this bus, whether going for an exam or simply to work, were at least useful to the United Government and to the world. Therefore, even if they weren't going for an exam, her fondness for Li Lin wouldn't change. But precisely because of this, she knew that sending Li Lin to a dangerous place now was absolutely out of the question.

But she couldn't say.

—Even if she didn't say it, Li Lin could tell her unease from her expression and the smell in the air.

Is something going to happen in Raize?

"Definitely." This was something Li Lin had anticipated, but he hadn't expected that this matter would involve Shenhe Plain.

Even a senior security executive like Lin Ling remained silent, which clearly indicates that this matter has involved the upper echelons of Shenheyuan.

This indicates that Shenheyuan's internal structure is not monolithic; they are fighting amongst themselves.

A group of people issued an order, demanding that all the feudal lords in the land come to the aid of the king.

Another group of people, in an effort to stop the operation, used various means to prevent the troops coming to the king's aid, and may even have blown up the bridge in the process.

What are these people doing...? What's wrong? Can't they just come out and fight to settle things?

"Humans are just that complex. Going out to train alone is very rare; fighting without breaking down is the norm. Because humans try to seek consensus."

The so-called consensus is just something that leaves everyone dissatisfied.

"Sometimes, it is precisely when everyone feels they have been taken advantage of that the consensus reached is truly fair."

Now, the power struggle between the two sides seems to have reached a fever pitch, with one side having sent out its spies to investigate the current situation.