He Ao looked at the young man before him and smiled, "How has she been feeling lately?" "She’s still able to move about healthily; ever since we followed your instructions and prepared protective equipment for her, she hasn’t suffered from that illness again," The young man’s tone was slightly low as he spoke slowly, "But her health has continued to be not so good..." "Is it because of malnutrition?" He Ao gazed at the young man before him, straightened up a bit, and asked in a low voice. In Linen’s memory, the elderly woman’s illness wasn’t serious, just seasonal flu. However, she suffered from severe malnutrition, and with her advancing age, her body couldn’t fight off the virus. Linen had instructed her family to provide the elderly woman with sufficient nutrition, but that wasn’t something her family could decide on their own. Upon hearing He Ao’s inquiry, the young man paused for a moment, then slowly nodded his head and quickly added, "But it’s already much better. The pay from the city guard is quite high; I can now afford to buy her some nutritional supplements." "Are you still an intern?" He Ao covered his mouth and coughed lightly, looking at the young man before him. "Sena just retired from the City Defense Army and has been recruited into the Mayor’s Guard, still undergoing an internship evaluation." The man standing next to the young man spoke slowly; he was the deputy captain of the guard and Sena’s direct superior. "Mm, the young man is doing very well." He Ao straightened up and gently patted Sena’s elbow, "Things will get better." The young man looked up at He Ao and nodded vigorously. He Ao covered his mouth and coughed again; he glanced at the fresh blood in his palm, swept his gaze over the guards surrounding him, and smiled, "You’ve all done very well, thank you for your hard work." The deputy captain immediately clenched his hand into a half-fist and placed it across his chest, a traditional military salute, then looked at He Ao, who was covered in blood, "And we haven’t really done anything, Mr. Lin En, I have already contacted your personal doctor; we should go to the hospital right away," He Ao shook his head gently; he stood up completely, freeing himself from the support of those around him, "Has there been any news from Fren? How are things?" Fren was the commander of the entire Mayor’s Guard; in the recent fierce battle, Linen’s wristband had been damaged. While asking, He Ao’s gaze swept across the entire street. On the other side of the street, there were several sedans overturned by the roadside, flames billowing from the vehicles that Linen and his group had just been in. His gaze shifted to his side: besides the two Electromagnetic Cannons loaded on a truck, there were many multifunctional family cars around, several of which had tipped over by the roadside, bursting into roaring flames. Most of these vehicles were brought by the attackers, with the rest belonging to ordinary citizens parked nearby. However, since this road was relatively secluded and no citizens were passing by at this time, those who heard the commotion nearby simply took a detour, meaning no civilians were harmed in the attack. He Ao’s eyes lingered on the attackers’ vehicles—most of the doors were open, riddled with bullet holes, and inside some, one could see the materials left behind by the attackers. "Just now, on our way back, we received a message from Captain Fren through the radio communicator; he has broken through the encirclement and is moving rapidly towards us," The deputy captain spoke promptly, "He has also established contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City Police Station; they’re on their way here as well." He Ao withdrew his gaze and looked towards the deputy leader, "Could you find me a few bottles of water? It’s best to get more." The deputy leader was taken aback, unsure why He Ao made such a request, but still nodded, "Of course." Several team members immediately went to look for water, while Sena was left by He Ao’s side. He tried to support He Ao but was refused with a wave of He Ao’s hand. "Is your wristband still functional, can I borrow it for a moment?" At this time, He Ao glanced at Sena and asked softly. Sena immediately raised his hand, took off the somewhat old wristband, unlocked it, and then he realized the screen was completely shattered, feeling slightly embarrassed, "I don’t know where it got hit." He Ao smiled and shook his head, taking the wristband, "Thank you." Federation smart wristbands’ screens are used to display simple information; as long as the projector and somatosensory sensors were not damaged, it could be used normally. Sena saw He Ao turn on the wristband and quickly dial a number. In the silent busy tone, he watched He Ao holding the wristband, turn around, and slowly walk towards those burning sedans by the roadside. He immediately followed He Ao. Then he realized that He Ao’s seemingly slow actions were incredibly fast, he had to run to keep up with He Ao’s pace. Soon, they arrived next to a burning sedan in the middle with a huge rupture, the interior seats were all destroyed, and the chassis was aflame. This was Linen’s Mayor’s official vehicle. He Ao looked at the overturned sedan in his field of view and slowly extended his hand, touching the edge of the sedan. The Mayor’s motorcade’s sedans were all specially made bulletproof vehicles, made of sturdy materials, especially Linen’s, with the entire car weighing nearly ten tons, it could easily block the continuous fire of Gauss Guns and rocket launchers. However, the attackers had buried high-explosive mines under the road beneath the sedan. The explosion flipped the entire car, shrapnel broke through the weakest armor on the undercarriage, igniting the top-layer high-performance electromagnetics, and before the vehicle’s fire extinguishing measures could take effect, the attackers’ military electromagnetic cannon pierced through the whole car. If Linen hadn’t been a C-level Transcendent, pulling the driver and running out the instant the car overturned, he would have died right then and there. "Mr. Linen, be careful!" Seeing He Ao reach out to touch the burning vehicle, Sena immediately called out a warning. But before his voice completely fell, he saw He Ao grasp the edge of the sedan and lift the ten-ton vehicle as if it was a piece of thin plywood, flipping it halfway in the air, and it landed wheels down again. The roaring sound of the vehicle landing brought Sena back to his senses from his stunned observation. By this time, He Ao had already walked to the position of the vehicle’s trunk, with the vehicle’s warning lights still on. Even in such damaged condition, parts of the car were still operational. Sena’s gaze quickly followed He Ao’s movements. The busy tone from the wristband continued to beep. Sena saw He Ao reach out and press the electronic switch of the trunk. The trunk opened a crack, then seemed to get stuck by the deformed outer shell. He Ao didn’t seem surprised at all; he reached out and with a heavy ’thud,’ he pried open the sturdy trunk. A clutter of firearms, a folded mecha, and some sundry items appeared in Sena’s field of view. At this time, the eighth busy tone also sounded from the bracelet on He Ao’s wrist. Yilan City’s telephone busy tone goes off eight times; there’s a brief four-second pause after the eighth tone, and if there’s still no connection, it’s followed by a message that the call can’t be made. Right as the eighth tone finished, the call finally connected, and a girl’s voice with a hint of coolness came through the phone, "Hello, who is this?" He Ao’s slightly furrowed brows relaxed as he scanned over the items in the trunk and spoke casually, "My previous bracelet broke, are you busy right now?" "I am working on a project at school, what’s the matter?" There seemed to be a moment of recognition from the other end of the call, a quiet questioning voice. "It’s nothing serious, just try not to leave the university and don’t go wandering around." He Ao’s gaze landed on the folding mecha on the exterior side; his voice was slow and steady, as if it was just a casual greeting. The folding mecha bore the emblem of Nolanka Group’s Stars City; it was the ’Cain Mecha · Deluxe Edition’ specially ordered from Nolanka Group by Yilan City Government. It was based on the mass production model of the Cain Type mecha but with increased comfort, optional comfort fittings while ensuring defense, and enhanced flight and maneuvering capabilities. It also included Eve’s developed automatic firmware which handled fire control targeting and aerial evasion automatically, simplifying the operations. This product was currently favored by the higher-ups in the Federation, mainly for providing a way for some of the less combat-capable authorities to protect themselves and escape during crises; once the destination was set, it could fly out on its own. Regrettably, since the vehicle was damaged from the start and then faced a heavy assault, Lin En had had no chance to use this mecha. However, with a B-level combat ability and anti-air electromagnetic cannons on the opposing side, this mecha wouldn’t have been much use anyway. "Alright, I hardly leave the campus." The girl on the phone quickly responded. He Ao nodded slightly, "Let’s leave it at that then." Lin En’s daughter, Lin Na, was now studying at Dawn University. When Lin En left Dawn City, he specially mentioned this to Christos, who had said he would arrange for protection at Dawn University. The vicinity of Dawn University still fell under Christos’s influence. Plus, since Dawn University itself was a semi-enclosed institution with strict gatekeeping, as long as Lin Na stayed within the school, she was generally safe for the time being. "Is something happening there?" The conversation suddenly shifted, as the voice on the other end slowly asked. He Ao answered quickly, his blood-stained arm reaching out to lift a silver metal box next to the mecha, "Everything is under control for now." There was a moment of silence on the other end, then slowly the voice said, "I’ve heard things are unsettled at home, be careful, and don’t push yourself too hard. If it comes down to it, don’t fight over it." "Alright, I will be cautious." He Ao nodded gently, "And don’t you go wandering off either." A response came from the phone. Then He Ao hung up the phone, handing the bracelet back to Sena, "Thank you." Sena took the bracelet back, looking at the elderly man in front of him, whose gaze held a hint of kindness despite being soaked in blood. He Ao asked casually, looking at the luggage in his hand. Thanks to the durability of the car, the items in the trunk were mostly undamaged. Sena shook his head, pausing for a moment, "It just reminded me of my father." "Most fathers tend to think alike." He Ao glanced at the young man next to him, sighed softly, and then opened the box directly. A gray high-end tailored suit, a foldable brass cane, and a small can of no-rinse spray, a small box of hair wax, and some grooming items came into view. Beside these items, there was a small wooden box. He Ao opened the wooden box to reveal a brand-new silver bracelet. He put the bracelet on his wrist and reached out to quickly assemble the brass cane. Just then, a loud roar of engines came from the sky, A police floating warplane descended slowly from the air, followed by a man in the Mayor’s Guard jumping down from the warplane. He shouted upon seeing He Ao, "The Mayor’s Mansion has a doctor ready for you; the situation is very dangerous, we must return at once." He Ao looked up at the man and the FBI agents running out from behind him, glanced at the floating warplane next to him and continued assembling the brass cane in his hand. "The situation is extremely dangerous," The man walked up to He Ao quickly, breathing slightly heavily, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation received a report that the Commander of South City is very likely to take action tonight, you’ve just been attacked, we must go back to the Mayor’s Mansion immediately and send a message to General Coster of North City to bring troops over to protect you." Seeing that He Ao remained unmoved, the man continued, "If you wait any longer, by the time General Corvey of South City is ready to deploy troops, we’ll be out of time." Then he glanced at Sena beside He Ao, paused for a moment, and continued, "We have a private plane prepared for you, the Mayor’s Mansion has a hidden passage to the airport, once back at the Mayor’s Mansion, even if General Coster does not support you, we can leave immediately." Sena, somewhat bewildered, listened to the man speak at length; he knew this man was Fren, the Captain of the Mayor’s Guard, his superior. The man seemed to have linked up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and gotten some special intel. From Fren’s words, it seemed the current ’Mayor Lin En’ was in a very precarious position. He turned his head, somewhat lost, to look at He Ao next to him. At the moment, the man at the center of the storm, who should be in mortal danger, looked exceptionally calm, simply screwing the threads of the cane together. Everyone’s gaze converged on him, watching as he finished assembling the brass cane in his hand, and then he looked up at Captain Fren, "Can I use this floating warplane?" Captain Fren immediately nodded his head, "Have you decided to go with us to the Mayor’s Mansion?" He Ao lifted the cane, shook his head, "We’re going to the South City Defense Command Center."