Chapter 1499: Law Enforcement and Audit Department

"Got it, thanks." Xia Qing, who had been listed as a retaliation target by those Fierce Fire lunatics, naturally wouldn't refuse the base commander's goodwill. After reporting the location of the gunner's corpse, she waited on site for the specialists to come take over.

The doors of C-9 opened, and the body recovery and decontamination squads quickly came up the stairs. Accompanying them were two law enforcement and audit personnel wearing yellow armbands.

The Law Enforcement and Audit Department is a subordinate unit of the base commander's office, responsible for conducting post-hoc audits of disaster-response personnel's law enforcement actions, preventing disaster-response forces from degenerating into violent gangs.

Someone died here, so the Law Enforcement and Audit Department staff had to arrive at the scene with the body recovery team as quickly as possible to record video and gather evidence.

After the other party identified themselves, they looked at the gunner lying on the collapsed wall bricks, wearing a one-way light-transmitting protective mask, with his head drooping at an eerie angle, and asked, "Director Xia, have you confirmed the gunner's appearance and identity?"

Xia Qing answered calmly, "No. I only searched him to confirm he wasn't carrying a bomb."

The auditor continued to ask, "You didn't remove his protective mask either?"

Xia Qing understood why the auditor was asking this: the gunner had already been pinned under the wall bricks, so in principle Xia Qing could have captured him alive, but she still killed him, and in the extremely brutal method of breaking his neck. Therefore, the Law Enforcement and Audit Department had to clearly inquire about her reasons for doing so.

Xia Qing answered calmly, "No. This is a dangerous zone. Without being able to confirm the opponent's combat strength, abilities, and equipment, direct elimination is the fastest and most effective way to eliminate risk."

The gunner wearing the one-way light-transmitting protective mask's identity, who sent him, how he entered Building C-9, and who sent him Xia Qing's location information—these matters indeed needed to be investigated, but not now. Now was the disaster-response period, and the only task at this stage was disaster response.

Xia Qing, the sniper who had been seconded here, was merely following disaster-response procedural requirements and carrying out her mission.

The auditor nodded, "Alright, thank you for your hard work."

"Besides this wall, the wall of the underground power distribution room is also damaged; please register and tag the equipment on this person's body—these are my spoils of war." After explaining what other locations in this building needed repair, Xia Qing also had the body recovery team carefully note down the shoulder-fired rocket launcher's serial number and attach a tag. This was her spoils of war, to be taken with her when she left the safe zone.

After the explanation was complete, Xia Qing turned and went downstairs. Her excellent evolved hearing ability allowed her to hear the low-voiced discussion coming from upstairs.

"One-hit kill! Same technique as when she eliminated the bounty hunter a couple days ago—amazing!"

"Not the same. That one used a fist, this one used a brick."

"How did she know there's a passage in the basement here?"

"Didn't you know? She used to be the captain of the outer city construction team…"

Xia Qing walked out of Building C-9 through the main door and saw the eight special forces team members who had come to protect her, wearing Hui-3 Special Forces protective suits.

The captain of this eight-person squad raised his hand in a salute, "Special Forces Second Battalion, First Squad Captain Zhu Zhenming, ordered to come escort you to the base commander's office."

During the disaster-response period when manpower was needed everywhere, the base commander had actually pulled an elite squad from the Special Forces Second Battalion to protect her—showing considerable regard for her.

Xia Qing nodded, "Sorry to trouble you, Brother Zhu."

Zhu Zhenming, the special forces squad captain who had teamed up with Xia Qing to intercept the invading Hui-5 Phantom Squad, and who had also teamed up with Xia Qing during this year's Qiangxue disaster to intercept the beast tide, revealed a brilliant smile, "No trouble at all, it's our honor. The danger hasn't been completely eliminated yet—shall we get in the car now?"

Xia Qing had come here not only to see the explosion situation on this side, but also to see Liao Wendong's corpse with her own eyes.

However, the retaliation against her was still ongoing. Safety came first; everything else had to be pushed back.

Xia Qing entered the armored vehicle under the protection of the special forces squad. When passing the obstacle-clearing vehicle at work, Xia Qing didn't greet or thank Zheng Kui. She was now a dangerous target; greeting Zheng Kui would bring him unnecessary risk.

The armored vehicle stopped in front of a patch of ruins. After He Zhongzhen, who was hiding inside, got in, the armored vehicle rolled over the road Zheng Kui hadn't yet had time to fully clear, heading toward the base commander's office building.

He Zhongzhen quickly reported the latest situation to Xia Qing, "Azure Dragon Squad vice-captain Xie Yu has been appointed as the research institute's disaster-response commander. The captain of the First Disaster-Response Squad hasn't come back online since we were attacked. Our mission area has been taken over by other squads. Your master has returned to the safe zone from the territory and begun executing sniping missions."

Hearing that Brother Luo had come, Xia Qing nodded expressionlessly, took out her phone to report safety to Brother Luo and her idol, but her heart began to thump.

If she hadn't been distracted considering things unrelated to the mission, the moment the target hidden in Building C-9 showed his head, even if she couldn't directly eliminate him, she could have used a sniper round to hit the shell he fired, preventing the building she was hiding in, C-6, from being damaged by the shell and causing unnecessary property damage and casualties among personnel inside.

This was Xia Qing's mistake.

After returning this time, Brother Luo would not only increase her focus training volume, but would also tell Yanlong about her mistake. When Yanlong came to take her and Tan Qi for special training, he would definitely use extremely painful methods to make Xia Qing firmly remember this mistake and never dare to make it again…

The armored vehicle stopped outside the Agriculture Department. He Zhongzhen, who had been sitting beside Xia Qing, got out, and He Hui got in to take her seat.

Xia Qing inquired, "What's the situation at the territory now?"

He Hui immediately reported the latest developments in Northern Zone One and from the allies who had flown over, "As of now, among the five territories outside the safe zone, only the Southern Territory has suffered a bombing attack. According to the latest instructions and requirements issued by the relevant departments, our center, the inspection teams, and all territories have strengthened patrols and danger inspections. Lord Zhao Ze of Territory Four, Hearing Zhu Li of Territory Six, and Lord Shi Zhong of Territory Ten, who flew over, are currently in the Tang family restaurant and are uninjured. Lord Huo Lei of Territory Eleven and Lord Wen Nengjie of Territory Seventeen are in the outer city with minor injuries. Captain Tan has rendezvoused with the five people from Territory Fifteen; Ye Shiyi has minor injuries. Lord Xu Cunchao of Territory Twenty-Three is out of contact."

"How did Eleven get injured?" When Xia Qing had passed by earlier, she had seen Eleven being held by Ye Yang and had thought she was asleep—she hadn't expected it was an injury.

However, neither Ye Yang nor Eleven had sent her a distress call, so the injury probably wasn't serious.

"Captain Tan said the administrative hall was crowded, Ye Shiyi got startled and bumped into Ye Yang's wheelchair handle, breaking her nose." He Hui, not only expressionless like her director, also strove to maintain inner calm, not letting any magnetoceptive evolvers who might be present in the vehicle sense her mental activity.

In August of this year, Xia Qing had her replace Ye Shiyi's blood sample during the school entrance physical examination. He Hui hadn't mentioned this matter to anyone—not even her husband.

Now this child's nose was broken—could it trigger some danger?