Chapter 763 - 762: Negotiation, Containment, Awakening

Chapter 763: Chapter 762: Negotiation, Containment, Awakening

A series of rapid gunshots rang out.

The Special Service Bureau officers who rushed to the scene immediately launched an attack on the lizard monster. The powerful disintegration bullets turned the creature into a sieve in no time—monsters with physical bodies are easier to deal with; no matter how fierce or strong they seem, as long as you can make them bleed with a round, you can kill them.

With a final dying roar, the monster staggered two steps before instantly turning into a pile of crumbling gray-white rocks, debris scattering and blowing away with the wind.

At this moment, a mass-produced puppet had already rushed in front of Zheng Zhi, looking up: "Nephew, are you alright? What just happened to you? So when you usually say your great-grandmother is always nearby, you’re not exaggerating?"

"I don’t know either!" Zheng Zhi was actually more confused than Erin at this moment. While speaking, he kept glancing cautiously around as if he feared ancestors who had passed away years ago might refresh by his side at any moment, "I just panicked, then with a flick of my hand... Oh wait, never mind that! Look at that knight over there!"

He raised his hand anxiously, and the mass-produced puppet turned its head to see the figure in iron-gray armor climbing up from the ground, slowly retreating, disappearing into the mist.

As mentioned in the report, the knight refused to communicate and would quickly escape after contact.

Seeing this, several Special Service Bureau officers immediately stepped forward, and one of them raised a hand and shouted, "Wait! We just want to talk! We’re from the Special Service Bureau, and we mean no harm..."

"Oh come on, you guys and your roundabout ways are useless," the mass-produced Erin shouted as she quickly ran over with her short legs, somehow pulling out a metal device as big as her face and hurling it at the retreating knight, "This is what you need!"

The next instant, the metal device struck the knight with a bang, then exploded into a cloud of blood-colored mist.

The crimson mist quickly spread, actively covering the knight’s entire body and slipping into his armor as if it were alive. The knight’s retreating action was instantly interrupted, and he stood frozen as if trapped by invisible chains.

The mass-produced puppet who threw the blood grenade clapped her hands, a bit smug: "When it comes to these mysterious types who run as soon as they say a word, nothing works better than a little blood."

Zheng Zhi, standing nearby, thought there was something off about this remark, but he held back and said nothing.

"Hey, nephew, you still haven’t told me," another mass-produced puppet suddenly turned around, looking up at Zheng Zhi, "How did you end up here again? Wait, I got it, you ’fell’ in again?"

Zheng Zhi replied somewhat awkwardly, "I was just following Engineer Sun to fix the door at the Wutong Road Communication Station, and then I turned my head and saw my grandfather’s spirit. I was originally planning to make a quick card and leave, but then I heard something over here..."

Erin said, "We heard something over here too, we were patrolling nearby."

As the two spoke, several Special Service Bureau officers had already surrounded the knight, and the team leader started reporting the current situation back to the bureau—after so much time of exploration and construction, Mist City had become a relatively safe and stable Exotic Realm with most areas mapped out. Most parts of the city had Spirit Fox Nodes for external communication.

A mass-produced puppet pattered over, looking up curiously at the knight in front of her.

The knight had stopped struggling, just silently gazing down at the peculiar little puppet in front of him. His thick helmet had only a slit at the eye level, black and hollow, making it impossible to determine if there was anything inside.

Erin could not gauge whether the gaze through the slit was hostile—since she was currently using the cheapest "worker bee" type mass-produced body, which had terrible signal reception.

But she didn’t care what attitude others had. Seeing him looking at her, she put her hands on her hips and began to chatter arrogantly, "That’s right, as long as you don’t resist, there won’t be any problem. Don’t worry, that blood mist isn’t harmful; as long as you don’t show hostility, it won’t be lethal."

The knight remained silent.

Erin was unfazed. "What’s your name? Where are you from? Is it that Lodaxim High Wall place?"

Upon hearing "Lodaxim High Wall," the knight finally reacted, his armor clanking with metallic sounds, though he still said nothing.

"No worries, as long as you’re not deaf," Erin chuckled, unexpectedly in a good mood today. She turned to look at the Special Service Bureau officers nearby, "So, have you reported yet? What’s the bureau’s plan? Are you taking this guy to your Special Service Bureau?"

"Yes, we’re taking him back, first to the Containment Zone," the action team leader said, then glanced at Zheng Zhi, "...You’re Zheng Zhi, stationed at the Wutong Road Communication Station, right? You also need to come with us. You’ve shown signs of spiritual mutation and need a thorough check-up."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhi hurriedly nodded, "No problem, no problem. I also want to understand what’s going on with me as soon as possible."

Behind him, his great-grandparents, and childhood pet, Big Yellow, also appeared, nodding in agreement, "Yes, yes, let’s figure it out and rest easy."

All the Special Service Bureau officers at the scene immediately broke out in a cold sweat, even the knight couldn’t help but turn his head toward them...

...

Special Service Bureau Headquarters, inside the director’s office, Baili Qing stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, contemplating matters.

As usual, she wore her iconic white suit, her gray-white long hair simply tied in a single ponytail, exuding a cool and aloof demeanor—yet those familiar with her would notice today her aura was notably more serious and oppressive than usual, observing the small scales still fading on her neck and the unsettling illusions constantly emerging in the mist outside the window.

"Never expected a second rift to appear... even larger than the first," Baili Xue murmured, floating by the window glass, nervously muttering to herself, "It’s the first time I’ve seen the chairman’s face look so grim."

Baili Qing slightly furrowed her brows: "...The temporal structure in the central axis area of the Council Tower has started to destabilize, and the mutation of the ’Fault’ is gradually seeping into the real world. Normally, when a change occurs in the Fault, the Requiem system can effectively suppress it, but this time even the Requiem’s effects are considerably less effective."

"Heard Red is returning soon?" Baili Xue blinked, "Seems like her battle over there is pretty much settled..."

"Only a few resisting exiled believers remain, at this point she doesn’t need to personally pursue them across the universe," Baili Qing nodded, "At this time, Boundary Land needs all the council members to return and take charge."

Baili Xue: "...Hopefully, once she’s busy, that vampire old aunt won’t have time to nag me."

Baili Qing slightly raised an eyebrow, but just as she was about to say something, she caught a glimpse of a phantom door suddenly appearing in the center of the office space.

Then Yu Sheng entered through the door with Erin and Hu Li.

Baili Qing remained composed, evidently accustomed, while Baili Xue floated over to greet them.

After Yu Sheng greeted Baili Xue, he turned to Baili Qing: "Was the Knight sent over here to you? I’ve come to check on the situation."

Baili Qing quickly gathered her thoughts, nodded seriously: "He has already been sent to the unknown entities containment zone, I’ll go with you."

The group left the office, guided by Baili Qing, and boarded the headquarters building’s elevator, heading towards a special containment area Yu Sheng had not previously visited.

On the way, Yu Sheng began to inquire about the current situation.

"The process of transferring the target to the containment facility went smoothly," Baili Qing spoke calmly, "As we had previously assessed, the ’Knight’ is a rational and communicable entity, carrying a friendly attitude towards humans. Upon realizing he had no other choice, he cooperatively entered the containment zone, even... spoke."

"Spoke?" Yu Sheng was taken aback, "Wow, the previous sightings reports said he refused to communicate, guess you have a way. What did he say? Did he explain his origins?"

Baili Qing shook her head.

"He refused to disclose any information pertaining to himself, including explaining the meaning of ’Lodaxim High Wall.’ He merely stated he understood our non-hostile attitude and said little else."

"That’s practically no different than not speaking at all," Erin, sitting on Yu Sheng’s shoulder with one hand on Yu Sheng’s head, commented, "What about that big nephew? What’s his situation?"

"Still under observation at the Spiritual Ability Detection Department," Baili Qing’s steps slightly paused, "Including him... and his ’ancestors.’

Yu Sheng: "..."

"Strictly speaking, they are merely illusions created by spiritual energy, embellished partially by the summoner’s memories," Baili Qing continued, "Creating illusions is a common ability among spiritual ability users, but it’s the first time we’ve seen something so bizarre... Apologies, my adjectives are limited."

Erin triumphantly patted her chest: "No worries, I often feel my adjectives are limited too!"

Baili Qing didn’t seem pleased with the little one’s words.

Yu Sheng continued to curiously ask: "How did he suddenly summon... um, spiritual illusions?"

"The principle is unknown, just based on the current observation results..." Baili Qing paused, solemnly said, "Zheng Zhi... seems to be a powerful spiritual ability user."

"What? A powerful spiritual ability user?" The Little Puppet was shocked, "Before his appointment, you guys examined him, right? He just had higher sensitivity than normal, how did he suddenly become a powerful spiritual ability user now?"

"...We suspect, actually, from a long time ago, he already possessed a spiritual talent, just these abilities were always dormant, actively avoided and rejected by him, therefore appearing merely as exceptional intuition beyond others," Baili Qing patiently explained, "As for now... has he recently been stimulated by anything? Or come into contact with any external factors that might lead to awakening his spiritual abilities?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment: "...Why don’t you ask him which day he hasn’t been in contact with such things?"

"...That is indeed the case."