“Third one, that was easy.”
Zheng Shiduo clapped his hands and stepped out of the cramped room.
Wang Jixuan lowered his head and went in, burning the corpse of the mimic blade beast and the ‘human skin,’ watching the flickering flames.
At this moment, they were still on the forty-sixth floor, at the edge of the Happy City’s territory, in a slum made of stacked shipping containers.
Under the dim light of the street lamps, shadows of people lay and sat quietly inside and outside their ‘homes.’ They didn’t seem curious about what was happening nearby.
Wan Xiaoqi crouched down in front of a few emaciated children, taking out some emergency food and handing it over. The children reached out to grab it, but then hesitated, trembling and pulling their hands back.
Lin Bo, who was standing nearby, sighed and said softly, “It’s no use. Without the gang’s permission, they don’t dare to eat it.”
“Why?” Wan Xiaoqi’s voice trembled slightly.
“Because the lower city is outside of order, it’s an extra area for the fortress, a blood bank for the fortress.”
Zheng Shiduo scoffed and strolled forward with his hands behind his back, muttering dismissively:
“To produce more resources, the fortress has to cultivate low-cost labor.
“Because of the lower city, the fortress has enough miners who risk being attacked by blade beasts to mine and transport resources in the outer areas. The mid-city then turns these natural resources into weapons and ammunition to protect the fortress and support the front lines.
“Is this right? Definitely not. But if the fortress doesn’t do this, will it have enough firepower? Probably not. The area of the fortress and the average firepower is a complicated calculation.
“Fortress 76 is among the upper tier of civilized fortresses, with a consistently high civilization index… because most other fortresses are worse than this one.
“Many fortresses on the brink of collapse have started using extreme measures.
“Xiaoqi, you don’t need to feel guilty about this. You’ll also face the death threat from blade beasts in the future. Your life is because your parents are fighting on the front lines, and you will also walk this path… The logistics team of Ling Tong has to replace a few team members every year due to losses, so you should pay attention, enjoy life more, and find a few boyfriends or girlfriends.”
Zheng Shiduo squinted and smiled.
This was one of the rare ‘normal’ things he could say.
Wan Xiaoqi asked, “Can’t the mid-city allocate some resources down here?”
“Cannot.”
Zheng Shiduo replied calmly:
“No matter how fancy the lower city gets, it’s just added value on top of the basics. The mid-city is the central pillar of the fortress. Without the lower city, the fortress can still operate normally, supporting and protecting hundreds of thousands of people, but the resources sent out will be greatly reduced.”
“But…”
“Alright, get up. I felt guilty for half a month when I first saw something like this and even vowed to make a change.”
Zheng Shiduo raised an eyebrow:
“Later, I realized I was just too naive… We’ve taken down three mimic blade beasts, but I don’t know if the others are hiding.”
“They shouldn’t have any contact between them.”
Wang Daoshang, who had finished cleaning up the corpses and traces, called out:
“The last two blade beasts didn’t notice us coming.
“There should still be more on the forty-sixth floor.
“Let’s keep searching, and we need to move faster. Besides finding these blade beasts, the most important thing is to find out how they entered the fortress.”
“Understood!”
“Yes!”
Zheng Shiduo and Wan Xiaoqi replied.
As Wan Xiaoqi was leaving, he placed two bags of emergency food in a corner, looked down for a moment, then quickly turned and caught up with Wang Jixuan’s back.
…
On the third floor of the fortress, the Energy House.
Wei Linzheng was sitting quietly under the guiding light.
His dry, old face shone with a greasy sheen in the sunlight.
He was meditating.
This was a way for him to feel the boundary between ‘real’ and ‘illusion.’ Each time he finished meditating, his understanding of energy would improve slightly.
Similarly, meditating every day was the most important thing for him, and he didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone.
Today, however, an inconsiderate fellow showed up…
“Commissioner! Commissioner!”
Bang, bang, bang!
“Hmm?”
Wei Linzheng frowned and opened his eyes, looking at the clumsy middle-aged man in front of him, deciding to wait for him to explain the urgent situation before deciding on an appropriate punishment.
“What’s wrong?”
“Commissioner! Three of the mimic blade beasts we previously identified have been taken down! The energy signals have disappeared!”
Wei Linzheng’s frown gradually relaxed: “Who’s down there?”
“Don’t know!”
“Don’t you think you should investigate a bit before coming to report to me?” Wei Linzheng’s voice turned colder.
The man’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he spoke quickly:
“Commissioner! We’re being watched closely! Earlier, we wanted to support the battle in the desert, but the defense army rejected us. Everyone’s actions are completely restricted… But how can they find the mimic blade beasts? Considering the intel from headquarters, the Black Storm has the ability to identify the mimic blade beasts…”
Wei Linzheng narrowed his eyes slightly: “Is that E-level energy user down there? Interesting.”
He thought carefully, his body floating up, his feet landing, hands behind his back, and said slowly:
“Everyone gather. When the time is right, issue a warning about the mimic blade beast attack on the fortress to legally gain intervention rights.
“I will go with Feng Bangjie to intercept the half-machine armor. You select three or four capable C-level energy users to go down and eliminate the mimic blade beasts, capturing the Black Storm alive. This way, we’ll have some leverage.
“Remember, eliminating the mimic blade beasts comes first. This is our primary job. Even when dealing with E-level energy users, we must not be careless… This is a very interesting sample. If we can’t capture them alive, we still need them to collect enough cells, making it look like the dead were controlled by the mimic blade beasts.”
The middle-aged man shouted loudly: “Yes! Commissioner!”
“Watch your volume. Energy users must maintain elegance. Always remember, we are all-around evolution.”
…
Meanwhile;
The fourth mimic blade beast was discovered in the territory of the Silver Party on the forty-sixth floor.
With the help of Lin Bo and Lin Chong, they had already checked various places on the forty-sixth floor, and according to previous rules, they could go directly to the forty-eighth floor.
— During the exploration of the forty-sixth floor, Wang Daoshang’s energy sense had already checked the forty-seventh floor vertically.
“Let’s go directly to the bottom floor. I’ll check the forty-eighth floor as well.”
Wang Daoshang explained:
“I feel that the last few blade beasts are more likely to be on the forty-ninth floor, and the fortress’s defense gaps might also be at the deepest underground.”
“Yes!”
“Boss,” Zheng Shiduo quietly asked from the back of the vehicle, “how did you find them?”
“I… have a kind of telepathic connection with the blade beasts, like a predator and its prey.”
Wang Daoshang casually made up an excuse, and in his heart, he solemnly reaffirmed that they cultivators didn’t have the concept of ‘not telling lies.’
Zheng Shiduo leaned back, his eyes full of admiration, wisely not asking more questions.
They had a gang convoy escorting them, and after entering the forty-ninth floor, the cleaning team sent out several armored vehicles. Lin Bo and Lin Chong transformed from drivers to assistants, carrying backpacks and guns.
Wang Jixuan carefully sensed around, maximizing his energy sense.
Zheng Shiduo looked at Lin Bo and Lin Chong, grinning as he said: “You two, brothers?”
“Yes,” Lin Bo replied with a strong voice, “Same test tube! Same nursery, same training academy for soldiers!”
Zheng Shiduo raised his eyebrows: “Hehe, usually brothers, but in an emergency at night?”
“Uh,” Lin Bo quickly explained, “We’re not that kind of relationship! We strictly follow the normal breeding values advocated by the fortress and are quite interested in women who can bear children.”
Wan Xiaoqi complained from the side: “Captain Zheng, stop teasing them!”
“Hahaha!” Zheng Shiduo chuckled, “Can’t help it when I see a handsome guy.”
Wang Daoshang suddenly said: “Stop the vehicle.”
Zheng Shiduo’s face turned pale; he thought he had made an inappropriate joke and was about to be kicked out!
Fortunately…
Wang Jixuan got out of the armored vehicle, frowning as he looked at a residential area.
Wang Jixuan was very familiar with this place.
Every time he set out from the wooden house to raid the Black Fire Gang’s territory, he would pass through here. This was the edge of the Wanlijin Gang’s territory, where he could see a few men and women sewing clothes under the light in front of the door.
What made Wang Jixuan frown were the faint fluctuations coming from these people.
Demonic energy.
Humans slightly tainted by demonic energy?
Wang Jixuan made a gesture: “Xiaoqi, request more troops to come over, at least three hundred people.”
“Understood! Xiaoqi will take care of it!”
Wan Xiaoqi replied cheerfully, taking out a mini terminal he always carried and quickly sent a message to Sister Wan at the supply station, requesting to use some combat team permissions.
Wang Jixuan led Lin Bo forward, climbing over the winding and shabby metal stairs, stopping in front of a middle-aged woman.
“Big sister?”
Lin Bo smiled and greeted her:
“What do you do for a living?”
The woman timidly glanced at the handsome security team member, raised the basket in her hand, but didn’t answer.
Lin Bo was about to say more when Wang Daoshang raised a hand to press down on his shoulder.
“I’ll handle this myself.”
Wang Jixuan took out a few happy coins from his pocket and smiled: “Sister, I’d like to ask something.”
“Please, sit.”
The woman quickly offered her chair.
“No need, no need. You sit.”
Wang Jixuan waved his hand and smiled, asking:
“We’re investigating a fugitive who escaped from the mid-city. Have you seen any unusual people recently? Or anyone who has changed suddenly? Cosmetic technology is very advanced now; a person’s face and body can be completely altered.”
The woman looked at the happy coins.
Wang Jixuan pressed one coin into her basket.
The woman immediately smiled: “I have indeed seen some unusual people recently; they are the soldiers from the cleaning team. They often patrol in their cars and occasionally give us snacks and medicine; they’re quite nice.”
Wang Jixuan shook his head with a smile, placing two more happy coins in her basket.
“If you want to talk about someone who suddenly changed their temperament, there is someone, but I’m not too sure about saying this; it might bring us trouble.”
A total of six happy coins appeared in her basket.
The woman glanced around and whispered:
“Actually, just in the last couple of days, near the sixth distillery over there, two people who are said to have superpowers showed up. Those guys are amazing; they can not only float in the air but also make people fall asleep instantly. If someone is sick, they go over there and get cured!
“Yesterday, they wanted to worship some ancient deity, claiming it could bless us and help us forget our pain.
“I went to watch for a bit, but since I had water boiling at home, I hurried back… That place is quite eerie. In just these two days, many people have been acting crazy, worshipping and kissing the drawings carved on the metal boards.
“The big brothers who manage our street also went to see; two of them even believe in them!
“It’s quite scary!”
Lin Bo asked: “Why didn’t you report this to the cleaning team?”
“How could we dare to talk to them? Besides, this kind of thing isn’t rare. Many people claim to be some god or lord, tricking people for food and drink, and it usually turns out to be fake.”
Wang Jixuan raised an eyebrow and said softly: “Can you point us in the direction of that distillery?”
“Well, it’s over there. Just don’t tell them I said anything…”
“Thank you.”
Wang Daoshang looked in the direction the woman pointed, temporarily retracting his energy sense, then moved closer to that direction.
Such rich demonic energy.
One strong, one weak.
It seemed more complicated than just ordinary mimic blade beasts.
This means…
A crystal core that is slightly higher than basic blade beasts?
Wang Jixuan looked at Lin Bo: “Bring people over later; I’ll go ahead and scout the path.”
Lin Bo was about to speak when Wang Jixuan took the club bag from his hand, leaped onto a rooftop several meters away, and vanished after a few jumps.
The woman shivered: “Oh my! He, he, he!”
“You didn’t see anything, didn’t hear anything, and never saw us.”
Lin Bo took out a communicator from his pocket, pulled up a photo, and handed it to the woman, threatening her softly:
“The boss of Wanlijin, Brother Heilin, had dinner with me.”
“Understood,” the woman trembled, wanting to return the happy coins.
“Just keep them; spend them in two months. Otherwise, you might get into big trouble.”
“Okay, yes.”
Lin Bo glanced at the iron shed behind the woman, where there were two pairs of children’s shoes mixed among several adult shoes, then left with peace of mind.
On the other side, Wang Jixuan had landed in front of a tavern with a sign that read ‘Fiery Red Snake.’
Behind the tavern was that distillery.
The source of the demonic energy was underground in this tavern.
Wang Jixuan had already sensed that about sixty to seventy people were underground, very close to the locations of the two sources of demonic energy.
If it were him two months ago, he would have likely pulled out his gun and prepared explosives;
But now…
He took out a few happy coins from his pocket, adjusted his law enforcement uniform, lowered his hat, and kicked open the door, projecting a magnetic voice.
“Upper City Law Enforcement Team, routine inspection!”
(End of Chapter)