At this time, Xiong Kang’s confidants had arrived at the laboratory to begin cleaning up the aftermath of the battle.
Xiong Kang simply reached out, picked up Lu Zixun, and headed toward the elevator,
and answered at the same time, "The Gongsun Family excels at Arrays, able to inscribe the Array into a Compass and unleash its full power..."
As Xiong Kang was explaining, Lu Zixun raised a paw and patted his arm, complaining, "I know all this, get to the point."
Xiong Kang gave Lu Zixun an annoyed look.
Xiong Kang raised a hand and gently patted Lu Zixun’s head, "Can you be a little more patient? No wonder Elder Wang didn’t take you as a disciple."
"The Array Formation Plate is so widely used that Tan Ye has already set their sights on it. If it wasn’t for Elder Wang arriving in time today, the Gongsun Family would have been done for."
After a pause, Xiong Kang looked down at Lu Zixun, puzzled, and asked, "What were you doing at the Gongsun Family’s place? Did you also receive a message from a woman?"
"I went to get an Array Formation Plate to protect Si Yin," Lu Zixun replied and then asked in return, "What message from a woman?"
Pressing the elevator button, Xiong Kang recalled, "The reason Elder Wang went to the Gongsun’s was because a fortune-teller family member had informed him in advance, which allowed him to arrive before Tan Ye succeeded in wiping them out."
Hearing this familiar title, Lu Zixun involuntarily thought of Si Keke.
"But there’s also good news."
With a slight smile, Xiong Kang spoke with a hint of amusement, "After this near extermination, the Gongsun Family has come to realize the power of Abnormal Creatures and has decided to join STO to fight against them together."
That was indeed good news.
Lu Zixun nodded in approval; after all, the Gongsun Family’s Array Formation Plates were quite impressive.
Upon reaching Xiong Kang’s car, Lu Zixun thought of the poor stray cats.
Lu Zixun looked at Xiong Kang and asked, "What will happen to those stray cats?"
Xiong Kang corrected Lu Zixun’s phrasing and thought for a moment, "We’ll check if any of them are infested by Parasitic Beasts. Pet cats will be sent back, and strays can stay with STO."
That was a fairly good solution.
Lu Zixun, knowing his way around, found the chips Xiong Kang had stashed in the car and tore open the bag.
Eating the chips, Lu Zixun inquired, "Has the internal issue of STO been resolved?"
"You little shit, how did you know I had chips in my car? They’re expensive."
Xiong Kang winced as he looked at Lu Zixun, then grabbed a chip himself, "Based on the information you provided, Elder Zeng immediately realized something was up. The instruments programmed to detect Abnormal Creatures had been tampered with by the Creatures themselves."
"After fixing it and conducting thorough checks, with Ninth Brother overseeing operations, all anomalies were entirely eradicated."
Xiong Kang threw a chip into his mouth.
Mumbling with his mouth full, Xiong Kang said, "Now with this breakthrough, those who were in positions of power within Lingchuan City’s STO have been demoted to the grassroots. Those in control of STO now are exclusively Ninth Brother’s trusted aides."
Lu Zixun nodded thoughtfully, a glint in his eyes, "If that’s the case, does it mean I’m a cat with a big backing?"
Xiong Kang couldn’t help but laugh and shook his head, "You could see it that way, but if you become a bully using your influence, Ninth Brother probably won’t let you off easily."
Spitting in Xiong Kang’s direction, Lu Zixun said irritably, "Am I the kind of cat that bullies others using borrowed power? I’m just glad I don’t have to be as cautious and always on guard like back in Chunhua City."
"Ding—Detecting incoming Heartache Value from Xiong Kang: +7000."
Hearing Lu Zixun’s words, Xiong Kang’s body stiffened for a moment and he reached out to pat Lu Zixun’s head, revealing a smile, "This time it won’t happen again. Just hit back anyone who bullies you!"
"I got it, I got it."
Moved inwardly, Lu Zixun blinked and swatted Xiong Kang’s hand away, "Just talk normally, there’s no need to be so melodramatically sentimental."
"Fog Grass, damn it, I’m teaching you how to fight back, how is that being melodramatic?"
"Ugh, I’m not an idiot. If someone bullies me, of course I’ll fight back!"
Arguing and fussing with Xiong Kang all the way, by the time they finished their chips, they had successfully arrived at the majorly revamped STO.
Lu Zixun pressed his face against the car window and looked around at STO’s building.
He noticed that not only had the personnel inside changed, but the STO building itself had also undergone a significant transformation.
With the help of superpower technique, redecorating was an effortless task.
At this moment, the STO building emerged with a new, cold black style.
This style was clearly the handiwork of Long Jiuri.
Lu Zixun thought that if Long Ya said she didn’t like the color, Long Jiuri might turn the outside color of the STO building pink.
The probability seemed quite high. Imagining the soft pink STO building, Lu Zixun couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"Little brat, what are you laughing at?"
Xiong Kang looked at Lu Zixun with surprise and asked, puzzled.
Just as Lu Zixun was about to give a serious reply, he remembered the cat-bodied attack Xiong Kang had repeated in the car and retorted with annoyance, "Can’t I even laugh now? You’re so nosy!"
"From now on, I won’t call you Orange Cat, I’ll call you Petty Cat."
Not annoyed by Lu Zixun’s tone, Xiong Kang shook his head with a smile, "Let’s go, I’ll show you the STO of today."
Stepping on Xiong Kang’s shoulders, Lu Zixun looked closely at the STO building.
He then saw its differences: not only had the color changed, but the security system had also improved by who knows how many times over the previous one.
He could feel the cycles of spiritual energy fluctuation flowing around each window, which likely meant defensive superpower technique had been inscribed on them.
Entering the STO building, a sense of oppression came from below, almost suffocating Lu Zixun.
"Ding—Detected apology value from Xiong Kang +7000."
Noticing Lu Zixun’s discomfort, Xiong Kang finally realized what was happening and quickly hung a silver tag around Lu Zixun’s neck.
The oppressive feeling immediately disappeared.
Lu Zixun gasped for air, "What the heck was that just now?"
"If you don’t have an identity card, the gravity array inscribed by the Gongsun Family will regard you as an enemy."
After explaining briefly, Xiong Kang stretched out his hand and pointed to the silver tag on Lu Zixun’s neck.
"This tag has been modified by the Gongsun Family. Inside there’s a small detection array that can discern whether the wearer belongs to abnormal creatures."
As soon as he finished speaking, the silver tag on Lu Zixun’s neck flashed red,
The oppressive feeling that had just subsided returned with even more ferocity, pressing Lu Zixun to the ground so he couldn’t move.
A sharp alarm sounded inside the building as red lights flashed frantically.
Lu Zixun knew without thinking that this turn of events was due to the small detection array that Xiong Kang had just mentioned.
In this moment, Lu Zixun just wanted to curse Xiong Kang to death.
Knowing he had done more harm than good, Xiong Kang was about to reach out to remove the silver tag.
When a woman appeared beside Lu Zixun, raising her delicate hand and lightly tapping the tag.