Chapter 277 - 229: The Truth Behind the Great Smog Incident

After a moment of thought, Chu Bamboo shook his head. "In that case, the temporarily missing person is now the least suspicious of the three."

’The logic is very simple. If he were really colluding, he’d be trying his best to act normal at a time like this.’

’With an attitude like that, are you afraid people *won’t* find out you’re involved?’

’Besides, if I really put myself in All-Powerful’s shoes, at a critical moment just before stirring up major chaos, they should have eliminated any uncontrollable elements in advance! That way, when the great upheaval begins, the people they support can better control the overall situation.’

"...But Governor Su and Governor Lu!" Huo Qiming was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I personally don’t think they could be moles for All-Powerful! All-Powerful simply isn’t qualified... Even at their peak ten years ago, they couldn’t have managed it!"

"Now is not the time to discuss who’s involved!" Chu Bamboo pulled the conversation back on track. "Just explain the previous points that confused me."

"...Celestial Capital. It was indeed related to All-Powerful at the time. But I can’t give you the specifics! That’s top secret, the highest level of classified information," Huo Qiming stated adamantly.

If it were truly confirmed that All-Powerful was causing trouble now, he might have revealed some limited information. The problem was, right now, it was all based on Chu Bamboo’s word alone.

He did trust Chu Bamboo, which was why he was even considering things from Chu Bamboo’s perspective and daring to question two Governors. But ultimately, trust couldn’t completely replace evidence.

Meanwhile, Li Kang was completely dumbfounded, breaking out in a cold sweat. He simply couldn’t understand... why did Huo Qiming and Chu Bamboo share such a high level of mutual trust? He felt that if he were in Huo Qiming’s shoes, he could never have achieved such a rapport with Chu Bamboo.

’At the very least, I’d have to ask Chu Bamboo exactly what he’s discovered.’

’It makes no sense... Based on the last time Chu Bamboo and Commander Huo met, wasn’t that their first meeting? How could they establish such deep trust from a single meeting? It’s not like I time-traveled or something...’

"But if they’re really pulling something like this again," Huo Qiming finally gave a veiled warning, "it might be related to... the proliferation of the Extraordinary!"

Huo Qiming opened his mouth several times but ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say more. He changed the subject, "Alright, regarding the drone situation, I’ll check for other suspicious points... Just give me a specific time..."

"One o’clock this afternoon will be fine." Chu Bamboo fell into thought. Realistically, no one would be looking into it after noon, but considering he might take action soon—which could potentially delay the great smog phenomenon—he decided to leave a little buffer.

He focused on Huo Qiming’s warning.

The proliferation of the Extraordinary...

Wait!

’A Cultivator’s resources are other Cultivators and all sorts of monsters... thrown into nuclear facilities to have their blood and cores continuously extracted!’

’The proliferation of the Extraordinary... means letting ordinary people know about the Extraordinary! But that’s a huge taboo... However, this rule was very likely Engraved by Nuwa at the dawn of civilization!’

"..."

"Old Huo!" Chu Bamboo suddenly spoke, his expression blank and his voice more serious than ever. "Tell me, the government’s resource allocation! Is it getting more and more stretched thin?"

"...N-No, that’s not the case!" Huo Qiming’s voice clearly wavered.

"I understand." Chu Bamboo nodded, then added, "Take your time with the investigation."

He hung up the phone, a chilling look on his face.

He was gradually piecing together the blueprint of the current shantytown incident.

Known: Cultivation Resources are becoming scarce! And the resources are Transcendents themselves...

Answer: The number of Transcendents must be increased at all costs.

Known: The attack on him, and even the union, was to usurp control of the shantytown. But in the past, they never showed interest in the shantytown! Clearly, they didn’t care about the power that came with it.

Answer: They have some kind of plot concerning the shantytown that isn’t about power!

Known: The prohibition against the spread of information about the Extraordinary is an iron law set down by the Great Goddess Nuwa! And the Great Goddess Nuwa resides in the Grand Ancestral Temple. As the founder of the Human Race, she holds an unimaginable position within the entire Dynasty’s system! Even when dynasties changed, no one ever thought of removing Nuwa from the Imperial Capital’s Grand Ancestral Temple.

Answer: Because of Nuwa, it’s forbidden to increase the number of Transcendents at all costs!

Known: Many Transcendents currently hold high-level positions in the Empire!

Answer, hmm...

Combining this series of seemingly contradictory conditions...

’Are they using the shantytown... as an experiment?!’ Chu Bamboo’s thoughts were in turmoil.

’Does that dense black fog involve the Extraordinary, or perhaps information pollution?’

’Continuously killing the million residents of the shantytown to screen out a large number of Transcendents... or perhaps, to screen out a batch of monsters?’

’And then, throw them into nuclear facilities, or hunt them directly as resources!’

’At the same time...’

’No... this could also be a test. A test of Nuwa, to see where her bottom line is.’

Chu Bamboo’s brow gradually furrowed.

’If Nuwa doesn’t directly intervene afterward, will they become even more brazen? Will those high-ranking Transcendents treat the entire world as their pasture, continuously harvesting it?!’

’And even, without the threat of Nuwa, do more things that she might have forbidden!’

Chu Bamboo paced back and forth, his steps growing faster and faster. This was his current theory, but he felt it was the most plausible one so far.

Only this could satisfy... both Huo Qiming’s mention of the proliferation of the Extraordinary and the government’s certain degree of indifference.

And only this situation could explain... why high-level officials from Jinghai City might be involved, yet they weren’t the least bit worried about being implicated and dismissed after such a major incident...

’Because this matter probably isn’t just a Jinghai City problem!’

’It’s a certain school of thought in the Imperial Capital, perhaps even among the entire upper echelon of Daqian.’

’As for the shantytown residents who might die... that’s just a necessary sacrifice! If the final result satisfies the masterminds, they might even be rewarded for their meritorious service.’

Analyzed from this angle, the mastermind on the surface is Eleven, but the true mastermind might be a major figure in the Imperial Capital, or even...

"No!" Chu Bamboo’s steps came to a sudden halt. He stared north with a blank expression, as if seeing the abyss hidden within the Imperial Capital.

He took a deep breath and made another call. "Zhang Hai! Where are you?"

’The government can’t be trusted right now... at least, not completely. Even with someone like Huo Qiming, if the other side really decides to show their hand... it’ll be good enough if he just doesn’t get in my way. Though the chances of them showing their hand are probably slim.’

’After all, if they really dared to do this openly, would they need to use a black glove like All-Powerful to do their dirty work now?’

"...I’m on my way to get your Forbidden Artifact for you!" Zhang Hai sounded bewildered. ’Did he time-travel or something?’

"That’s not important!" Chu Bamboo said, enunciating each word. He precisely relayed the intelligence he had, then concluded, "Right now, immediately, call Bishop Hu! At the same time, you personally go to the First District Church! Urgently mobilize the church’s forces."

Since the government’s credibility was in doubt... it seemed the only option right now was to borrow the church’s power.

Chu Bamboo had indeed known of many instances where the church provided disaster relief in the past.

The church could be hard to describe at times, with endless scandals like priests who liked to play with little boys. Chu Bamboo even occasionally took jokes about the Soviet Union from the Real World and adapted them into jokes about the God’s Church back in the shantytown... But on the surface, they were indeed a major force for maintaining order.

This included ladling out congee for the poor and treating the sick.

You could only say that every organization has its merits at its founding; otherwise, it would never be accepted by the people and spread. Even Christianity in the Real World followed the same pattern... But the problem is, they all corrupt over time... The main thing is how well that corruption is ultimately controlled.

It was very obvious that the God’s Church’s control of its corruption, while not flawless, was at least above average.

"...I understand!" Zhang Hai’s attitude was completely different now. He didn’t ask why Chu Bamboo wasn’t calling Bishop Hu himself—it was obvious that Chu Bamboo couldn’t personally go to the First District Church right now.

He hung up the phone again.

Chu Bamboo closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then made another call. This time, it was to Mo Ban, to whom he explained the same situation.

"...Mm! Mr. Xiao Zhu, I really want to believe you." Mo Ban sighed softly. "But the problem is, I can’t do it!"

"?" Chu Bamboo’s brows locked tight.

"According to the religious treaty signed at the founding of the nation between the Giant of the Mo Family of that era, the various teachings, and the Grand Ancestor Emperor," Mo Ban’s slow voice came through the phone, "the Moisture Teaching can only mobilize its main force under two conditions."

"One is when we accept an official commission! The other is when we discover large-scale destruction at a site... We are required to enter the scene unconditionally to carry out large-scale repairs! Under such circumstances, we possess a certain ’power of self-preservation’..."

Chu Bamboo’s expression turned subtle. ’This "self-preservation"... the more you think about it, the more interesting it gets! Does it mean that in a chaotic situation, the Mo Family actually has the right to enter, maintain order, and take control?’

After a slight pause, Mo Ban continued his unhurried speech, "Speaking of Celestial Capital... heheh, during the great smog back then, the Celestial Capital Industrial Park was almost completely pulverized... The reason that place was able to be restored to usable condition in just three days was thanks to our efforts."

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’What the hell? It was pulverized... and you repaired it in three days?’

’And an industrial park... no matter how you calculate it, the area can’t be small!’

’Forget about this era; even the Real World would have to bow down to that kind of efficiency.’

’They’ve dropped all pretense! If they’re human, I’ll eat my shoe.’

Chu Bamboo quickly came to terms with it. ’If they can repair electronic products from at least a thousand years ago, then being able to do this seems understandable... right?’

"So..." Mo Ban said suggestively, "you can’t just destroy a city block yourselves to lure us into the city, can you? Therefore, in this situation, we are truly powerless! I am very sorry... Or, you could wait until another great smog phenomenon really occurs, and we will enter the city immediately!"

"I understand." Chu Bamboo got the hint and hung up the phone.

"...Wait a minute!" Li Kang was drenched in sweat, hesitating to speak. How could he not understand what Elder Mo Ban was implying?

He was worried now. ’Chu Bamboo isn’t really planning to go out and wreck the place, is he?’

Outside was all shantytown... He didn’t believe Chu Bamboo would harm the people under the union’s protection, who were already living very difficult lives.

’So where are you planning to do the wrecking?’

’The Third District Government Office?’

’Or... the rich district?’