Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 328 Different Perspectives

"You three are really good at playing dead." Lu Chongming said to the three little ones on his back, looking at Bai Shi and the others' backs.

Toast, who was cursing and swearing, pretended to be dead the moment Shiraishi came to his rescue. And probably because he was injured and his figure was no longer perfect, that damn charm of his didn't radiate out.

He actually managed to pass by Chief Shiraishi without being discovered, carrying three strange fantasy objects right under his nose.

"Awoo!" Only Toast was still stubborn.

It was just tired! Did you play poorly this time, Lu? Answer me!

Lu Chongming responded wearily, leading the three children forward, and sure enough, they saw the location of Banmu's office not far away. Among the surrounding ruins, Banmu's office was clearly the best preserved.

A large number of people have gathered here; they are all refugees from the surrounding area.

The coming days will be a tough time, but fortunately, Banme's agency has arranged things very well.

"Xiao Lu?"

Lu Chongming met some familiar faces as soon as he arrived at the location. They were the people from Cheng Fei's studio, which is now more commonly known as "Black Sparrow Studio".

Xiao Zhao seemed to have just returned with a group of people. Everyone wasn't as cheerful as usual, but their confident and relaxed smiles still lingered on their faces, easing the somewhat somber atmosphere of the refuge camp.

"Brother Zhao..."

"Awoo!" Toast wriggled and greeted Xiao Zhao.

"Oh? Toast and the others are here too. But we can't let them play with you today. We're a bit busy with work. Sorry." Xiao Zhao and the three little ones were already familiar with each other, so he greeted them.

The three little ones were very sensible and well-behaved at this time, and they all indicated that it was okay.

"How's Fei-ge doing?" Xiao Zhao asked with some concern.

“Over there…” Lu Chongming almost blurted out that it was none of their business, but he stopped himself and looked at the toast.

He didn't know how Lin Yilin and that illusion were doing. Was the reason for leaving these three at the firm because of the earthquake?

Toast's short legs gestured for a while.

"It's good that you're alright." That's how Xiao Zhao understood it.

"Brother Zhao, you have connections with Brother Fei and Miss Lin Yilin, right?" Lu Chongming asked somewhat uncertainly.

Xiao Zhao nodded and said, "We do."

As he spoke, he gave Lu Chongming a ride to the office, saying as they walked, "We've both been very busy lately, haven't we? It's been a while since we last saw each other."

"Well, I heard that it was Fei Ge who gave the order for you to cooperate, so there's nothing we can do about it. What did you go there to do?" Lu Chongming asked cautiously.

"Help me get Yagui," Xiao Zhao said, surprising everyone.

Lu Chongming was startled: "Is it that Ya Gui?"

"This name isn't common, is it?"

"I'm just very surprised..."

“It’s really surprising. We just did what Brother Fei told us to do. Anyway, we did whatever Brother Fei asked us to do. Life is better than before, and even breathing feels easier. This feeling of finding a future is just wonderful.” Xiao Zhao led Lu Chongming back to their studio.

This place was clearly also affected by the earthquake, but it has already been cleaned up.

Those who directly followed Xiao Zhao were basically the earliest members of the studio. Although it had only been a few months, their growth rate was astonishingly fast due to various catalysts.

Listening to Xiao Zhao's words, they were also somewhat moved.

“But going after Agui and his so-called Ash Life Clan is too much... Shouldn’t this be the job of the Disposal Bureau?” Lu Chongming said, putting the three little ones down.

"The Bureau of Investigation and Handling also helped, and Brother Fei has connections inside. They were quite cooperative, but due to the inability to fully share intelligence and some issues of differing stances, the speed was still quite limited."

Xiao Zhao sat in his usual seat as the acting head, took out a cigarette candy, and put it in his mouth.

"The result of being hampered was that Yagui still managed to find a loophole. Then, not long ago, we directly cooperated with Fei Ge's operation to deal with Yagui, and Luo Ye, that super free agent, was there too. To be honest, she was enough on her own; we were just there to take care of some small fry of similar level to us."

Lu Chongming was overwhelmed by the information, but he still listened quietly.

"I saw Yagui and Luoye fight, though it was only a couple of moves. Of course, that's just what I saw. As a gang leader, I can't possibly keep up with those two." Xiao Zhao chuckled to himself.

Lu Chongming's face immediately fell.

Dude, did you join a "gang"? If I remember correctly, before starting this studio, everyone was "powerless," and the very few who could participate in melee combat were considered small figures in the lower and middle classes.

A few months later, Brother Zhao was already at the gang level? He even jumped over the "cluster" in the middle?

Lu Chongming looked at Xiao Zhao, who was dangling a cigarette and candy, his face still so honest, his eyes so clear. This was the kind of protagonist you'd read a novel about!

Even though Lu Chongming had activated the illusion factor from that illusion back then, he was only at the level of an average mech fighter now, and because it wasn't a very powerful illusion factor, his combat strength was quite mediocre.

Xiao Zhao ignored Lu Chongming's expression and continued, "In just a few moves, Ya Gui was no match for Luo Ye. She was riddled with holes. Luo Ye's goal was to chop him into mincemeat, and she certainly succeeded in doing so. At the time, we thought we had succeeded, but Ya Gui quickly unleashed her counterattack."

"White papers were thrown out like they were free, and there was a strong smell of blood..."

"We didn't have time to react before the violent earthquake struck. A corner of that illusionary realm opened up, engulfing many people, and some of our brothers disappeared. Ya Gui was among them. That's when we realized the situation was escalating. After struggling to climb out of the pit, we couldn't contact Fei Ge and Lin Yilin. We talked with the Bureau of Handling the Situation, shared information and the situation, and then came back. I just happened to run into Chief Shiraishi and we talked about it."

It turns out that the chief came for this very reason.

Although the group is small, it has direct contact with Yagui and his group, so it is indeed necessary to get to know them.

Just by listening to it, Lu Chongming could vaguely feel the oppressive atmosphere, combined with the tragic situation outside.

"So that's it."

At that moment, a cold voice came from the studio door. In this agency, the only person who could be so arrogant, besides Toast, was the handsome Japanese guy Kiyono Kazuji.

"Boss Qingye." Everyone greeted him immediately.

Black Sparrow Studio's primary loyalty is to "Brother Fei," but they have no complaints about Kiyono Heji. Kiyono Heji treats them well, and after officially taking over the agency, the agency's situation has steadily improved without any disagreements. Where can you find such a good boss?
"Thank you for your hard work." Kiyono approached to offer his condolences, and then saw Lu Chongming, nodding to him.

Lu Chongming was flattered and felt that he was sitting there rather inappropriately.

"Is it because their connection to the earthquake ten years ago is so close that people get involved...?"

"The processing bureau has confirmed the deduction, and it's basically correct."

Through their question-and-answer session, Kiyono realized that Lin Yilin had probably been drawn into the situation as well.

The girl never recovered from that earthquake.

He knew about this as well.

The reason why his once peaceful childhood friendship with Lin Yilin suddenly soured was because of this sentence he blurted out in a moment of panic.

And then you'll probably be disliked.

And now, Lin Yilin has ultimately been unable to escape.

Kiyono Kazuji clenched his fists and frowned.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly, Kiyono felt a tightness in his calf. Looking down, he saw that Toast had somehow run over and given him a bite.

"..."

They immediately lost heart.

He squatted down, touched the toast he was biting into, and looked somewhat helpless.

"That's true. With that person around, I wouldn't have to worry about these things at all."

After saying something that was meaningless to others, he finally pulled the restless toast off his lap, and sure enough, his pants were torn.

Kiyono didn't pay attention and used his airflow to blow the toast far away.

"You guys should rest first. You, I remember you've been in private contact with Zero One Advisor, right?" After saying this to Xiao Zhao, Kiyono Kazuya suddenly turned to Lu Chongming.

Lu Chongming reacted quickly: "Yes, yes."

“There’s no one there right now. Take these three things and you’ll be the representative of Zero One Agency. This is an emergency. On behalf of Banmo Agency, I’m requesting assistance from Zero One Agency to help maintain this shelter camp. Do you agree?” Kiyono Goji’s tone was very formal, which made Lu Chongming a little flustered.

He's just an unofficial, imaginary babysitter!
But he calmed down.

"Is the pay good for this job?"

"...What do you think about working directly with the processing bureau?"

“I can do it. Physical labor, cooking, electronic equipment repair, vehicle repair, personnel management, public speaking, reconnaissance, driving all types of vehicles, piloting aircraft... In short, I can do most of the jobs,” Lu Chongming replied.

Kiyono raised an eyebrow: "You're so young and you know so many skills, do you have enough time?"

"Time is a bit tight, but personnel changes are frequent. I'm quick-witted and learn fast." Lu Chongming didn't expect that he could actually show off like this in front of Kiyono Heji, but he just said it naturally. This was one of the few things he was proud of.

(End of this chapter)