Chapter 316 - 311: Blatant Lies

Chapter 316: Chapter 311: Blatant Lies

The retreat order was issued again with renewed urgency. Although most people were already starting to feel the mental effects, they were still able to evacuate safely after being snapped back to their senses by those nearby.

However, a few of the soldiers in the defense force who were too close had already fallen deep into its sway.

BANG!

With the sound of a gunshot, a sergeant major, lost in a trance, took his own life.

The gunshot, however, jolted the other soldiers nearby awake. Only then did they hear the retreat order being repeated incessantly over a distant loudspeaker, while even further away, signal flags were being waved rapidly.

"Move, move, move! Get out of here! Fall back one kilometer! Fall back one kilometer!"

A captain rushed over, yelling.

Four soldiers dragged the sergeant major’s body as they fell back, while the surrounding soldiers immediately broke into a sprint, retreating frantically.

Outside the newly established perimeter, several reinforced battalions had already been deployed to take over. All the soldiers who had just been withdrawn returned to the rear encampment.

Doctors were already waiting for them there. They would need to undergo a 48-hour observation period to confirm they were free from the mental Curse.

Vansill, a level-one agent from the Super Research Department, was temporarily in command at the encampment.

’Establishing the camp five kilometers from the quarantine line was a truly wise decision. If it had been any closer, we would’ve been thrown into chaos just now.’

"Sir, the evacuation report is in. A total of 12 defending soldiers were severely affected. Of those, eight are confirmed to have died by suicide, and four are missing."

A first lieutenant entered the command tent to report.

"Sir, preparations for Plan C are complete. Should we execute it now?"

Vansill frowned, considered for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, wait. We don’t know if this will trigger some other reaction. For now, stay on high alert and keep a close watch on the reactions of our special observers!"

"Yes, sir!"

After receiving his orders, the first lieutenant ran out of the tent.

Fifty meters outside the new quarantine line, a stainless-steel trench dug into the ground had been filled with a large amount of fuel. Soldiers were performing final checks, carefully covering the trench with fire-resistant blankets.

Certain crossing points were covered with heavy steel plates to allow vehicles and personnel to be deployed or withdrawn at a moment’s notice.

"Attention, avoid all open flames. Plan C is on hold. All personnel, I repeat, avoid all open flames..."

Further away, visible through binoculars and sniper scopes, a series of cages had been placed at regular intervals just inside the new quarantine line.

The cages contained white mice, pigeons, and other small animals. Next to them, portable sensors were mounted on stakes driven into the ground.

Although the electronic equipment would likely be affected once the alert was triggered, the previous Death Maze Zone had little effect on communications. However, there was no guarantee the expanding field wouldn’t interfere with them this time. Thus, they had added these "special observers" as a backup.

Animals have exceptionally keen instincts. Due to their simpler minds, they are particularly susceptible to this kind of influence. If placed within the area affected by the Death Illusion Barrier, any changes in their behavior would be observable within a very short time.

In the sky, quadcopter drones approached the quarantine zone one after another, their feeds monitored closely by technicians in the command center.

One of the drones suddenly went haywire, flying straight ahead, indicating a loss of remote control.

"Control lost at an altitude of 100 meters. Unit Two, advance in five seconds."

A dozen or so seconds later, the second drone also lost control, continuing straight ahead on its last command. As long as there were no obstacles, a drone flying straight could often exit the affected area and be brought back under control by an operator on the far side.

"Control lost at an altitude of 150 meters. Unit Three, advance in five seconds."

...

"Control lost at an altitude of 300 meters. Continue pushing forward in five seconds."

...

"Control is stable at 850 meters. The altitude ceiling of the Death Maze Zone has been determined. Maintain a patrol every minute for confirmation!"

"Understood." "Understood." ...

...

On the special flight from Paris, Kodell received the latest intelligence from the front lines.

The affected radius was now 1.1 kilometers, with an altitude of 0.85 kilometers. It had not expanded in the last ten minutes. The strongest seismic tremor registered was magnitude 5.5, with no further tremors in the last ten minutes.

Plan B was in progress. Plan C was on standby. Plan D was locked on target...

The other agents beside him were also focused on the report.

The few Evolvers present, including Luna, read even faster, absorbing the entire situation in a fraction of the time.

They also gained a thorough understanding of the alphabetized contingency plans.

’Thankfully, the situation hasn’t continued to deteriorate.’

...

「Qingzhen Secret Place」

Seeing the two little creatures suddenly writhe in agony, Qin Xiaoxia quickly shut the box that produced the Magic Ban effect.

Just a moment ago, the two little ones had started convulsing. Their limbs had gone completely limp, and their bodies were trembling violently.

Thankfully, once the box was closed, the two of them quickly calmed down and fled back into the small, gold cage, huddling together.

"Ladies, that’s your cage, not a comfy blanket to hide under!"

"Hahaha..."

Su Su, who had been sick with worry, was immediately amused by her Mentor’s humorous tone and burst out laughing.

"See? They like it in the cage! I knew it! They should totally let me keep them!"

With two wads of wet cotton stuffed up his nose to block the surrounding stench, Doudou had somehow reappeared by the side of the cage.

He pressed his face against the gold cage, squishing his features into a bizarre shape, then suddenly pulled back, stuck out his tongue, and made a face.

"Nyah nyah nyah nyah..."

"Eek~~" "Ah..."

He genuinely loved keeping interesting pets. It was just that pranks and mischief were in a Mischievous Elf’s nature, which resulted in a rather harsh living environment for his companions. Ordinary animals usually couldn’t withstand his torment. If they were to unfortunately meet a "heroic" end, the edible ones would be repurposed for his culinary experiments.

The two tiny creatures were instantly terrified, pressing themselves flat against the far side of the cage.

’Looking at these special cages, they apply the Technique in tiers based on the prisoner held within.’

’This kind of technology is quite convenient. The Magic Pattern Scrolls Pipi collected contain the foundational knowledge, but the actual product engineering is like the difference between a theory and a patent. I’ll have to arrange for my own R&D.’

The wooden box’s sealing properties were even more impressive. It was small but exquisitely crafted, capable of completely sealing the eight pairs of wings within it.

’To think that a technology I consider revolutionary was called the "Slave Technique" by its creator, Akenis, and used merely for making cages and taming slaves. What a criminal waste.’

When Qin Xiaoxia had been organizing the information earlier, he had decisively established a new baseline, renaming it the "Sealing Technique."

Right now, however, his concern was the incident in Eastern France.

He had, of course, long heard of the infamous "Death Illusion Barrier." Both Huang Jiutian and Baru had experienced it up close, but neither had made any key discoveries.

These two little creatures his student had "shipped" back from the Otherworld this time were definitely connected to it somehow.

Soothed by Su Su, they had fled the cage and were now on Sister Su’s arm, clinging to her affectionately and refusing to let go, putting distance between themselves and the terrifying Great Demon King Doudou.

Qin Xiaoxia stroked his chin, deep in thought about the Death Maze Zone.

He had originally assumed it was some unknown, natural catastrophic phenomenon. But for these two little creatures to trigger such a massive reaction... it was proof that neither the phenomenon nor the creatures were simple.

"This name, Jilian... shouldn’t you two explain it to me? Hmm?"

Earlier, while the two little creatures were convulsing in pain, they had kept muttering this strange-sounding name.

Hearing Qin Xiaoxia’s question, their bodies went rigid. Then, trembling, they looked up at him.

That recent bout of pain seemed to have triggered something, causing fragmented memories to surface in their minds.

...

「Several hours later, at dawn, in a rural village in Eastern France」

The members of the Super Research Department who had arrived at the quarantine zone began another round of investigations.

As the country’s only known Perception-type Evolver, Luna was kept at a safe distance under heavy protection.

An aerial ladder truck raised a platform high into the air. Accompanied by two Evolver agents, the little girl gazed toward the distant quarantine zone.

But from the moment the ladder began to rise, Luna’s entire body had gone rigid.

Once they reached the optimal height, the agent beside her finally noticed something was wrong.

"Luna? Luna! What’s wrong? Are you seeing something?"

The other agent, a woman, shook Luna gently while trying to cover her eyes.

"B... Bodies... No, that’s not... I don’t know... AHHHHHH!"

The little girl suddenly screamed, her voice filled with terror and despair. Her hands flew to her own throat, choking herself as she looked helplessly at the agents beside her.

"I... I can’t breathe... I, *cough*, I..."

"Calm down, Luna! Calm down! You’re going to choke yourself!"

The two agents desperately grabbed Luna’s hands, prying them away from her neck.

The crew below scrambled to lower the platform. Luna was the Super Research Team’s treasure; if she weren’t too young to be separated from her parents, she would have been recruited for special training long ago.

Back on the ground, Luna remained distraught, speaking incoherently.

Kodell was on edge for some time. Only after a doctor administered a sedative did the little girl finally quiet down, allowing everyone to breathe a small sigh of relief.

After ordering that an Evolver watch over the girl 24/7, the Super Research Department team could only try to piece together information from Luna’s broken words.

She had mentioned bodies, but seemed uncertain. She was terrified, and had seemingly been affected by the power of the Death Illusion Barrier from a great distance.

Were there actually bodies inside, or had she seen a vision of everyone dying?

This sense of helplessness in the face of something that defied conventional science was deeply unsettling.

「Local time, approaching noon.」

Amid the thrum of rotor blades, several helicopters approached the encampment from the distance. Observers sent by other World Alliance nations had arrived.

However, accompanying the observers were two mysterious, robed figures.

Kodell, having been notified in advance, took time out of his busy schedule to personally greet them at the landing zone.

"Hello, friends from Dawn! I am the head of France’s Supernatural Research and Response Department. My name is Kodell!"

Kodell took the initiative, politely greeting the members of Dawn as he extended a hand and stated his identity.

The observers from other countries were just that—observers, and he had the distinct feeling they were here to watch France make a fool of itself. The Dawn Association, however, wouldn’t waste their time on such things. If they had come, it could only mean they were here to help.

The leading robed figure nodded at Kodell and reached out to gently shake his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Kodell. I am the current Sage of Dawn."

The surrounding clamor died down instantly. Everyone was thinking the same thing, sharing a moment of disbelief. Even the observers from other nations who had arrived with the robed figures hadn’t expected the Dawn Sage himself to appear in person.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

The tremors returned, causing the stunned crowd to sway.

"Jilian’s seal... as expected, it’s finally failing..."

The sighed words snapped the surrounding people from their stupor, their faces a mixture of speculation and sudden realization.

PS: First Chapter for Saturday.