68: Chapter 68: Upgrading the Blast Shield, Silver Grey Mother Ore
68 -68: Upgrading the Blast Shield, Silver Grey Mother Ore
The next day, Li Ming and the others were summoned to a meeting room, where Qin Xiao had been waiting for them.
His eyes immediately landed on Li Ming, his smile deepening.
“Who would have thought we had such a genius among us?”
He seemed to be in a good mood, but only seemed to be.
Not long after yesterday’s banquet ended, he had learned about this incident.
However, he wasn’t happy because Professor Wu’s special treatment might give Li Ming ideas he shouldn’t have.
Originally, he had been the most influential person Li Ming could access, but now with Professor Wu in the picture, would Li Ming still regard him with awe?
“Minister is joking,” Li Ming responded without a smile.
The rest had mixed feelings; to say they were not envious would be a lie.
Qin Xiao chuckled twice and moved to the main point, “At eight o’clock, you will follow Reporter Xu and several staff from the interstellar alliance to the Star Creation Company’s branch for inspection, interviews, and to ensure her safety, making sure nothing goes wrong.”
It was time to steal something, Li Ming surmised, listening to Qin Xiao’s arrangements.
This visit to the Star Creation Company was only for a routine investigation, while the core members of the interstellar inspection team were dispersed, some staying in Silver Grey City and others heading to Star Dome City.
“Yes!” Wang Zhiheng nodded.
The sixteen of them were divided into two squads, led respectively by Wang Zhiheng and Zhao Xiong.
As it happened, Li Ming was assigned to the squad led by Zhao Xiong, which made Wang Zhiheng glance over several times.
In this whole squad, Li Ming wondered how many were Qin Xiao’s men.
The transport ship was ready, and with nearly forty people, the cabin felt quite crowded.
“Li Ming!” Xu Wei greeted him excitedly and politely interacted with the colleague next to Li Ming, swapping places with them.
Xu Wei sat down, pulled the safety strap in front of her across and buckled it at her abdomen, then inquired in a low voice, “Your injury, it’s nothing serious, right?”
“It’s just a superficial wound.” Li Ming glanced at her; her chest was pushed forward due to the safety harness, strikingly so.
“That’s good…” Xu Wei nodded and then somewhat excitedly said, “I heard you are also a promising new recruit of the city guards in Silver Grey City.”
“Yes,” Li Ming nodded, noticing that Xu Wei had already taken out a recording pen and activated the smart terminal, bringing up a virtual screen.
“I also heard that your father passed away not long ago, and prior to that, because of school bullying, you hadn’t been to school for two years.” Xu Wei’s expression changed slightly as she looked up and asked:
“What motivated you to kill a notorious criminal just a few days after joining the city guards?”
“You…” Li Ming looked her up and down, “Is this an interview?”
“Oh…” Xu Wei, who had a rather sharp look in her eyes initially, suddenly realized her mistake and hurriedly explained, “Just asking a few questions.”
After hesitating for a moment, she added, “I actually do want to do a feature on you.
Single-parent family, your father just died, and involving the sensitive issue of school bullying, it would likely attract a lot of interest.”
“Can I refuse?” Li Ming asked, his expression unchanging.
“Of course,” Xu Wei nodded, then whispered, “I understand your concerns, but don’t worry, I will embellish the aspects that are not favorable to you.”
“You are a regular city guard, a law enforcement officer by origin, and having a positive reputation can benefit you greatly.”
The transport ship had taken off, and a few people around them were subtly observing them.
Was she trying to curry favor by offering benefits?
But now wasn’t the time, Li Ming shook his head, “Reporter Xu, let me think about it.”
Xu Wei was a bit disappointed but didn’t press further.
She was a journalist from the Blue Star Times, and being able to accompany the interstellar inspection team here also represented something.
Normally, such a minor issue wouldn’t be featured in the Blue Star Times, but she could manage it.
However, Li Ming seemed somewhat resistant.
Did he not want his distressing past exposed crudely to the public?
She speculated, after all, Li Ming was now an imposing city guard, but in the past, he was a pitiful young boy who had been too afraid to speak up due to bullying.
Many famous individuals harbored such thoughts, especially someone at Li Ming’s age who still cared about his reputation.
The past was irreversible, but if it could be monetized, it would not belittle the troubles he had endured.
There was still time, and she believed she could change his mind, Xu Wei thought.
Meanwhile, Li Ming, who appeared to be daydreaming, opened the Control Bar.”
These last few days, he would activate his “Gene Radiation” ability whenever idle.
Although this gradually progressed the development to 3%, it was constantly exhausting.
Maintaining this state all day was challenging; he planned to upgrade his Explosive Shield to increase his stamina and endurance.
Three thousand units of metal energy were consumed, and the icon for the Explosive Shield became even broader, seemingly transforming into a conical shape.