Chapter 52: The Return of the Erosion

"That's really quite impressive," Chen Xuan muttered silently.

"Indeed... How else could they have firmly grasped the vast majority of abilities in this world without some true capability?" Lin Qing sighed softly. "To be honest, I felt quite guilty yesterday when I said those things. It always feels like a betrayal of my own past. There is no shortage of pure and kind-hearted people within the Boundary Limitation Agency, and some members are even survivors of intrusion events. If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to fight them."

She wasn't saying this out of future regret.

Chen Xuan could see the unshakable willpower in the young woman's eyes. The subtext of her words was clearly that as long as that future could be reversed, she would forge ahead even if it meant making an enemy of every single member of the Agency.

"Then, in the history you know of, how did the Boundary Limitation Agency end up exposed to the public eye?" he couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

"Intrusion points will only become increasingly numerous, and the Agency's control will gradually wane. It started with capability-related crimes getting out of hand; various bizarre cases sparked social concern, and state forces stepped in. Then, capability users who cracked down on capability crimes began to appear among the common people. After that, individuals with extraordinary talents were discovered across all walks of life, and behind every major achievement stood those specific corporations. Only then did the Boundary Limitation Agency step from behind the scenes onto the front stage, bit by bit."

"It sounds like a natural progression of events," Chen Xuan murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. Especially regarding those capability users fighting capability crimes... Considering that the Agency had constantly been monitoring the awakeners in the city, could it be that these eagerly stepping-forward "heroes" had received their tacit approval?

"I know what you're thinking, but this exposure is definitely not part of their plan," Lin Qing said with absolute confidence.

The two of them had already discussed this step-by-step diffusion strategy many times. As things stood currently, the Boundary Limitation Agency's odds of winning were less than ten percent.

It wasn't because their capabilities were lacking, nor because they weren't powerful enough, but rather because this disparity was reflected in decades of accumulated intelligence.

"What worries me now is whether too many people will come flocking here, giving the Boundary Limitation Agency an excuse to pressure us into closing the park," Chen Xuan said as he organized the sequence of events. "Although that wouldn't necessarily hinder our plan, it might somewhat diminish the impact."

It was already evident from the afternoon interviews that the people stirred by this news were far beyond just the residents of Jiangcheng; quite a few tourists had hurried over from other regions, excitedly gathering in front of the zoo.

Especially for those professional vloggers, this overwhelming wave of traffic was something they simply could not afford to miss.

"I bet the Boundary Limitation Agency won't do that. Closing the park and dispersing tourists would be tantamount to tacitly admitting to the truth, which is equivalent to surrendering to the masked woman. That is not their style," Lin Qing said dismissively. "Once they decide to make a move, they must do it in a way that leaves everyone speechless."

"A so-called head-on confrontation?"

"Exactly. Only by making everyone realize that the masked woman is a complete fraud can this wave of public opinion be truly quelled." Lin Qing suddenly lowered her voice. "Thank you."

"Why the sudden expression of gratitude?" Chen Xuan asked, somewhat surprised. "This hasn't even been accomplished yet. And even if we can muddy the waters and force the Boundary Limitation Agency to surface, that's merely the curtain-raiser."

Making this colossal behemoth completely collapse was certainly not something that could be achieved with just one or two minor stratagems. If it were a skyscraper, what they were doing right now was merely chipping away a single brick from the first floor.

"That is still the beginning of all change, isn't it?" She put down her coffee cup and looked straight at Chen Xuan. "Even if you refused to help me, I would still go through with it alone. But that is by no means an easy goal to achieve, and just thinking about it is enough to make one despair. I might die in some neglected corner, and the future would not change in the slightest..."

"How could that be? Even if I didn't help you, I wouldn't turn you away," Chen Xuan shrugged. "As long as this shop has found you, you will always have a place to belong..."

He suddenly paused.

What stopped him from continuing was not anything else, but a pair of warm and soft lips.

Lin Qing leaned forward and pressed against him.

Perhaps for a second, or perhaps two or three, she quickly pulled back. "Still, I prefer having you fight alongside me. Alright, don't take it to heart; this is how the future expresses its gratitude. I'm heading back to my room to take a shower first."

With that, she ran up to the second floor with a giggle, leaving Chen Xuan standing alone behind the bar.

...

...

At one o'clock the following afternoon, the area in front of the panda pavilion at the zoo was packed to the brim with people. To maintain order, the local police station had even mobilized the majority of its police force to guide the crowd at various intersections to prevent accidents.

In the history of the park's operation, such an overwhelming turnout had probably only occurred when the pandas were first transported here.

Yet today, no one had come for the pandas.

"Time is almost up," Wang Baihu climbed onto the roof of the reptile exhibit a hundred meters away and took out his binoculars to observe. "No suspicious activity detected for now."

"Can you see Red Lotus?" Captain Wan's voice came through the earpiece.

He scanned left and right, quickly locating a familiar figure in front of a small convenience store. Red Lotus had deliberately disguised herself today, wearing a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses. A string of ear studs glittered beside her ear, and combined with her uniquely rebellious red hair, she looked the spitting image of a delinquent girl.

This convenience store was less than twenty meters away from the panda pavilion; no matter where the masked woman appeared, she was guaranteed to instantly displace herself right beside her.

"I can see her, she's in position."

Red Lotus could obviously hear their conversation as well. She turned her head to glance toward the reptile pavilion. "I want to know, have the two reinforcements sent from above also taken their positions?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Someone will tell you who to capture later," the captain said.

"We've reached this point, and we're still not allowed to be told the names and abilities of the reinforcements?" Red Lotus was clearly somewhat dissatisfied with this.

"This is for security reasons. Your abilities are treated the same way by members in other sectors," Wan Chongshan placated her. "Focus on the mission. Move the moment you hear the command, and don't hesitate for a second, no matter how unlike the real target she may look."

At that moment, the crowd suddenly surged into a commotion.

"Excuse me everyone, please make way so I can get to the front," a woman wearing a mask said in a dainty voice.

"She's here, she's actually here!" The crowd instantly erupted, eagerly aiming all kinds of long and short camera lenses at her.

Wang Baihu naturally saw her as well—an "alternative" whose clothing and appearance were nanometrically replicated from the masked woman. This was still a favored trick of the logistics team: going with the flow and passing off the fake as the genuine article. This masked woman was greedy and shortsighted, willing to use any means necessary to attract traffic. She possessed virtually no abilities whatsoever; it was simply that she happened to have an older brother working at the telecommunications bureau, and the two of them had coveted the hype generated by the Shajiang Bridge incident, thus cooking up this grandstanding farce.

She would make a fool of all the viewers under the gaze of the public, nailing every supporter of the masked woman into their coffins. Once she herself was reduced to a clown, her whole set of theories would naturally become a laughingstock.

Rather than overthrowing the truth, it was better to smear the person who spoke the truth—a tactic the logistics team employed with infallible success.

Of course, the prerequisite was that they had to catch the real masked woman.

Wang Baihu guessed that one of the two reinforcements probably possessed a similar ability, allowing them to rapidly locate their target within the crowd. As for whether it relied on locking onto the target's ability or other characteristics, that remained unknown.

He glanced at his watch. It was exactly 1:30 PM, leaving thirty minutes until the masked woman's scheduled time of 2:00 PM.

However, the substitute was already running out of time.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

At that very moment, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Wang Baihu took it out and looked, his eyes widening in astonishment. The Agency had actually sent them a Class-C normal intrusion warning!

"Warning: Class-C normal erosion detected. Location coordinates have been determined."

Why did it have to be right now?!

"Ignore it, prioritize the task at hand!" Captain Wan commanded decisively. "It's only Class-C, going half a day late won't be a problem."

"Understood—" Before Wang Baihu could finish his reply, his phone vibrated again!

"Warning: Class-C normal erosion detected. Location coordinates have been determined."
"Warning: Class-C normal erosion detected. Location coordinates have been determined."
"Warning: Class-B normal erosion detected. Location coordinates have been determined. Please proceed immediately to handle it."

Intrusion events occurring consecutively within just a few seconds? And escalating rapidly from Class-C to Class-B—how was that even possible?! Wang Baihu instinctively tapped on the location coordinates, only to discover that the positions of these intrusion points were quite close to him—all of them located in the adjacent botanical garden!

No way... Monstrous waves instantly surged in his heart. Theoretically, there was only one situation that could cause this phenomenon: a wanderer repeatedly traversing between two worlds, causing the Agency's machines to continuously capture the same waveform. Such behavior would indeed cause intrusion points to expand rapidly!

Wang Baihu shouted an internal curse and was just about to inform Red Lotus of his deduction when he discovered that his colleague had already vanished from in front of the convenience store.