Chapter 669: Climb Upward

"Your brother is completely different from you......"

The elder seated on the main seat spoke, and Yang Yichen immediately shifted his gaze toward him.

"Yes, my brother, uh... he's a bit more mischievous, but please believe that he's certainly not some anti‑social element—"

Yang Yichen hurriedly replied; although his words seemed unconvincing in the face of Ying Duo's splendid battle record, he felt he still had to work hard to earn his brother some favorable impression.

"Hmm...... I think no one would disbelieve that."

The elder smiled kindly and nodded.

No... that's not certain either......

Those seated in the lower position dared not say it aloud, only muttering silently in their hearts.

Whether blowing through Tianmian City or inciting unrest throughout Heavenly Dome City, all this shows that Ying Duo is an entity capable of turning order into a chaotic mess.

Especially in Heavenly Dome City, he cooperated with Entropy Increase... no, it should be that video released by Entropy Increase, which is a textbook case of mud‑slinging; even if the Dome could produce countless proofs of its innocence, the populace long‑bearing resentment toward the Dome only needs a spark to erupt.

Spreading rumors always costs the least, and those who try to prove their innocence end up crippled, unable to return to how things were.

Not to mention, the Dome itself isn't exactly spotless.

Such actions are certainly unacceptable in a civilized society, but in the chaotic game world of the Wasteland, when the target happens to be the Dome......

Even though it feels a bit immoral, it is indeed quite satisfying.

After all, although for various reasons they now have to cooperate with the Dome, that doesn't mean they've completely forgotten the time the Dome used players for human experiments.

Even if they shifted all the blame onto Fang Zhiyan.

The elder seemed to notice the doubts below, merely smiled and explained.

"If that child truly had any intention, whether assisting us in dealing with Aberrant Species across the city or obediently cooperating with us to stage a 'being arrested' act, none of that would be necessary."

If Yang Yixie wishes to stay hidden, those little robots he placed throughout the city could casually turn this peaceful yet fragile world into a landscape of scars, and his recent actions further prove that conventional means simply cannot restrain his actions.

Moreover, there's the massive mech mentioned in the report......

These are all entities far beyond modern technology; even the authorities possess many powerful weapons, but they could never target crowds.

Protection is always far more difficult than offense.

Even though he clashes with the authorities, Yang Yixie, at least in reality, has not taken any extreme actions and has even provided them with considerable assistance.

Even if the authorities wish to impose constraints, Rune energy is an inscrutably mysterious pathway; Yang Yixie is already far ahead of them on it, so rather than turning hostile and leaving both sides dissatisfied, continued cooperation is preferable.

——————————————

Pei Ci stared at the handcuffs Yang Yixie had casually taken off, his pupils briefly constricted before returning to normal.

"Now you can speak, right? No more jokes like before," Pei Ci warned.

He is fundamentally unsuited to dealing with Hua Jian Lei and Yang Yixie; people often say he's too 'serious.' Though he himself sees no fault in seriousness, he becomes impatient when faced with certain completely out‑of‑place individuals.

"Hmm....." Yang Yixie pondered for a moment, as if deciding where to begin.

"First, answer me a question."

"For those with excessively high Mutation Values, does the authorities currently have a way to suppress them? How far has the research progressed?"

——————————————

"Boom—!" To the lower right of the elder, a person in a lab coat slammed the table and stood up.

He had originally been in the laboratory, but the incident had escalated so much that a researcher well‑versed in Mutation was needed to explain the current research status.

At this moment, he seemed to recall something, his face alight with excitement, and he rushed toward the elder.

"By the way! The Dome said that Ying Duo is Fang Zhiyan's student! He might know how to let those with excessively high Mutation Values retain self‑awareness, or even transform into humanoid Aberrant Species!"

His remark prompted the person opposite to immediately rebut.

"What kind of joke is that? If they become Aberrant Species, even regaining self‑awareness, are they still human?!"

"At least this way, they have a means to survive! Moreover, aren't there already such examples?"

"You saw it too: this Aberrant Species uprising caused two large‑scale riots, both triggered by those humanoid Aberrant Species running amok; even if they survive using this method, doesn't it still pose a risk of losing control at any moment?"

"But some didn't lose control! Moreover, it now seems more likely that both of those individuals were tampered with."

"Tampering? Where's the test report? Show the evidence before speaking."

"We‑are still testing, because that person with horns has been watching from the side; we only took blood samples, which may need some time to analyze......" The assistant beside them was again innocently drawn into the argument.

"If you ask me, those Aberrant Species don't need to be treated politely like that kid before! They're all former cult members of that organization!"

"But they also made contact with Entropy Increase; now, who knows if pressuring them might cause even worse repercussions......"

On that side, Pei Ci briefly explained the laboratory's progress to Yang Yixie, but he wasn't a specialist, so could only give a rough overview.

Meanwhile, on this side, while Pei Ci was speaking, the argument had already escalated into a full‑blown clash.

Yang Yichen, expression unchanged, shifted toward a corner, watching the spittle‑filled scene; perhaps this is the negotiation setting Pei Ci imagined?

Suddenly, he saw the elder beckon to him.

"Not used to this kind of setting, huh?"

The elder asked with a smile, clearly already accustomed to such situations.

But since both sides are still merely debating, and Pei Ci over there hasn't finished explaining the situation, a bit of arguing is fine.

"It's... okay......" Not merely unfamiliar.

Yang Yichen truly had never seen such a scene.

"This is quite normal; here, everyone has their own concerns, different lines of thought, varying factors they weigh, and all these internal considerations lead them to make completely different choices."

"Some can accept continued cooperation with Entropy Increase, while others are quite resistant; everyone needs to continuously articulate their ideas and viewpoints, eventually reaching a compromise that all can barely accept through discussion."

Yang Yichen had never dealt with this before; after entering the Anomalous Division, he was purely a combat role.

But...

"If you want to protect your brother, then at the very least you need the authority to sit at the same table with them."