Chapter 237: Appropriate Disclosure

The commander took off the isolation helmet; this location is farther from the Aberrant Species' death point, and he thought that only this way could they express their gratitude to the fullest.

"Thank you all for your assistance; otherwise our troops might have suffered casualties in this battle."

His gratitude was sincere, showing no hint of condescension despite the others being "non‑regular personnel".

The authorities now have very limited means to suppress the Mutation; if any team member is wounded by an Aberrant Species, they simply cannot stop the spread of the Mutation.

And if the Mutation Value becomes too high, his teammates will also turn into such monsters.

A few Special Ability Practitioners, including the woman, felt a bit embarrassed.

They had never received any training before; although they came with the army to assist, they were fundamentally uncertain.

It was originally assumed that only a few days had passed in reality and the army might not know how to subdue Aberrant Species, but in fact the army not only launched specialized actions against them but also coordinated extremely well.

In the earlier battle, the other few participants were more or less unsure how to intervene.

"Commander, you're being too polite; we didn't do much…." a young male Special Ability Practitioner said, scratching his head.

"Indeed, seeing how well you coordinated, we didn't know how to step in." another added.

"Mainly it's thanks to you."

The woman who emitted the Wind Blade also spoke; her voice sounded muffled through the protective suit's filter, but she was young and spoke earnestly.

"It's all thanks to you taking the front line that we had a chance to act."

The commander waved his hand and said in a serious tone.

"The courage you showed in coming here is itself worthy of respect."

After all, they were all innocently drawn into this; having barely struggled back from another world, they now had to face danger again with them.

His peripheral glance swept over the many lit apartment windows nearby; many people, either openly or furtively, stood at the windows watching, and a good number were even recording the scene on their phones.

Through his earpiece he whispered several orders, urging the team behind him handling the Mutation to speed up, and assigning people to expand the alert zone so residents would stay home and avoid contact with the Mutation.

The female Special Ability Practitioner followed the commander's gaze around, and felt a sinking in her heart.

The previously dim building was now brightly lit; one by one, windows glowed, and some people held up phones, their lenses greedily capturing the sci‑fi scene below.

"…Is the authorities not planning to block the news?" she whispered to the commander, pointing at the brazenly filming windows.

"At this scale, the authorities can't suppress it, can they? Moreover, ordinary citizens seeing this…"

The commander gave her a look; perhaps because she had stood out in the battle, he was willing to say a few more words.

He let out a slight sigh and lowered his voice.

"Public opinion control isn't our unit's duty, but this operation wasn't ordered to be absolutely secret; in fact, we were hinted that a certain degree of 'exposure' is permissible."

"Exposure?" the female Special Ability Practitioner was startled.

"Hmm." the commander nodded, his eyes complex.

"Perhaps the higher‑ups also think that constantly covering it up isn't a solution; I don't know the details, but we only need to do everything to prevent ordinary citizens from contacting the Mutation."

This answer left the Special Ability Practitioners exchanging uneasy looks.

The authorities had previously tightly controlled the leakage of related information; even the way they summoned players was to claim the game they were drawn into involved fraud, thereby hinting they could seek official assistance.

Fortunately, they arrived in time, and the family of three was unharmed.

"Doctor, how is my husband?"

The lady of the house, seeing the medical staff's increasingly grim expression, couldn't help asking, while she was still soothing the child she had cruelly locked outside.

The leading medical staff turned to her and tried to speak in a calm tone.

"The gentleman's external injuries are not severe; we have performed preliminary treatment, and there should be no major issues." He paused, seeming to choose his words.

"You also saw it; the creature that attacked you is extremely… special, it may carry contamination that we understand only partially. For safety, we need to take your husband back for a more thorough examination."

"Observation? How long? Is it dangerous?" the lady asked anxiously.

"Please rest assured, we will provide the best medical support. The Observation Key period is mainly to ensure there is no latent infection or abnormal reaction. Your husband's vital signs are currently stable, which is a good sign."

The medical staff could only try their best to soothe her.

At present they have no means to measure the Mutation Value, so they can only watch for side effects that might arise from its increase in the husband.

The authorities can only isolate, observe, and research as much as possible, while praying that the worst does not happen.

The female Special Ability Practitioner who emitted the Wind Blade silently watched the scene, her heart a mixture of emotions.

In the game world they rarely confront Aberrant Species directly, let alone have more information about the Mutation.

The male medical practitioner beside her glanced at the family of three surrounded by medics and whispered a sigh.

"Fortunately they reacted quickly and reported to the authorities immediately; otherwise…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Had they arrived even slightly later, that father would likely have lost his life.

Speaking of the emergency call, the commander's expression grew even more solemn.

He glanced at the area beside a trash bin not far away, where two personnel in protective suits were using tools to place an unidentifiable corpse into a body bag.

That was the original victim, an unlucky passerby who had been killed before the Aberrant Species attacked that household.

"The first emergency call we received was from a young man; he sounded panicked, spoke quickly, only said that a monster was killing people, and then hung up abruptly."

The commander said slowly, noting that their technical staff were still verifying who made that call, and now they could only hope the reporting young man had not been killed.

The male Special Ability Practitioner fell silent at those words.

He had just been grateful for the timely report, but now suddenly realized that an innocent had already died before the call, and the caller's own fate was uncertain.

As the atmosphere grew tense, the unit door on the first floor of the adjacent building was pushed open.

A silver‑haired elderly lady, wearing a coat, stepped out, her face full of confusion as she stared at the flashing police lights, unable to grasp what was happening.

"What are you all doing? Playing ghost and god, making such a big commotion?"

The lady spoke in the local dialect, completely oblivious to the fresh bloodstains and Aberrant Species residue still uncleaned on the ground nearby.