Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 721
Elder Nether Spring had clearly never taken the Divine Blood of Chaos before. Therefore, even if he was transformed into a human being and a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, it would be a new experience for him, too!
Then, during the period of adaptation, he was perhaps the weakest Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator in the entire Heaven's Origin Sector!
How could the Children of the Nether World and Abyss, who were mostly in important posts, be willing to listen to the command of such a weak Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who had lost all his forces?
Perhaps, Elder Nether Spring knew their secrets, but such secrets could only force them to find a shelter for him at best.
To plan a shocking operation to assassinate the Speaker and to frame up Li Yao with the most delicate trap would be too large a scheme for Elder Nether Spring right now to accomplish.
"You were right," Li Yao said calmly. "The enemy behind curtain is definitely not Elder Nether Spring but someone in the leadership of the federation. Why?
"They don't have any reason for betrayal. The federation is stronger than ever right now. It's impossible that the leadership would betray the country. Even if they did, they would not join Elder Nether Spring's cause whose prospect is nothing but gloomy.
"Come here. Since you are shameless, cunning, and sordid enough, why don't you walk in the shoes of the dark side of the leadership of the federation and tell me what their reason is for doing all this? What are their motives?"
The mental devil thought for a moment and clapped its fists. "That's very simple. When the birds are shot down, the bows will be hidden. When the rabbits are hunted, the hounds will be cooked. 'Raising a war' is not just beneficial for Elder Nether Spring. It is very helpful for a lot of other people, such as the federal army and the intelligence agents!
"If the three Sectors are going to collaborate, the federation will no longer need to maintain such a large regular army in the decades to come. Instead, the tremendous resources would be dedicated to construction and development. Won't that put the military in an awkward situation?
"Same goes for the Secret Sword Bureau. It is unlikely that the agency will be completely canceled, but there is no need to keep it on such a scale anymore. After all, they can never infiltrate the Imperium of True Human Beings and get their intelligence!
"Also, after the collaboration of the three Sectors, there will be the problem of who is the boss and who is the lackey. But whoever makes the final call, they will be affected by the forces of the other parties. There will certainly be a lot of hindrances at the early phase, which could even jeopardize the independency of the federal army and the Secret Sword Bureau.
"Taking away other people's fortune is like killing their parents. The peace of the three Sectors is certainly not in the interests of the federal army and the Secret Sword Bureau. Is it strange that they assassinated the Speaker in order to raise a war so that their benefits can be kept?"
Li Yao was silent.
"Was my analysis wrong?" the mental devil asked.
"Wrong. Wrong. Greatly wrong. Such an enormous scheme must be backed by experts in the Nascent Soul Stage. For every Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, their belief has been tested by themselves, and their soul is most solid. I don't believe that they would betray the federation for the petty benefits!
"If they did, they would've have survived the interrogation of their belief. Before their betrayal, their belief would've crumbled and made them mentally deranged!
"Their endeavor must've been supported by some sort of firmest belief!
"Also, something is quite weird!"
Li Yao scratched his head hard and mumbled, "Elder Nether Spring had the Demon God Virus. His purpose of raising the war was to release the virus so that his so-called 'third life form' could be created. But during the process, most of the victims would be killed!
"Let's assume that some of the radicals in the federation insist that the only way to save the federation is to conquer the Blood Demon Sector and enslave all the demons to collect resources.
"However, judging from the progress of the scheme, it must have something do with the Secret Sword Bureau. The leadership of the Secret Sword Bureau must know a thing a or two about the Demon God Virus, too. It is not hard to guess that, once the federal army attack on a large scale, the Blood Demon Sector will certainly be ruined, and most of the demons will be killed!
"Here comes the question. Where will the slaves for mining be if all the demons are dead? Without the slave miners collecting resources on a large scale to facilitate the rapid development of the federation, won't the federation still be doomed when the Imperium of True Human Beings arrives in a hundred years?
"This is a suicidal approach. I don't believe that the leadership of the federation is so stupid. There must still be a critical point that we don't know yet."
The mental devil snapped its fingers and said, "The scheme will be cracked as soon as the critical point is found!"
"Exactly!" Li Yao pondered for a moment and watched Ding Lingdang's interview again with the portal crystal processors that he had picked up earlier.
Before she lost control of her emotions, Ding Lingdang told the reporters that she was working with the Secret Sword Bureau and that she would certainly catch the criminal who had committed the gruesome massacre.
Ding Lingdang is working with the Secret Sword Bureau? Got it now. She is creating an opportunity for us to meet!
I don't know the first thing about the leadership of the federation, but Ding Lingdang must know a lot. So, my first step will be to meet her!
Li Yao had stayed in the temporary medical camp long enough. The stinging pain at the back of his head was becoming ever sharper.
The mysterious sniper was drawing closer to him; it was no longer safe there.
He had to found a place, one where the role of a sniper was the least important!
He piled up the blanket painted with the teddy bear neatly on the ground. Glancing at the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag flapping against the night wind for the last time, he muffled himself up with the ragged cloak and disappeared into the vast darkness.
Chapter 1096: Gift |
In the command center of the Demon Execution Division of the Secret Sword Bureau, the hunt for the Blood Devil was still on.
Because of the exposure of the tremendous evidence, the hunting group had been fully upgraded. Including Ding Lingdang, many tough Cultivators at the peak of the Core Formation Stage had joined the team. Even many well-respected battle-type Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were willing to give them a hand and ready to take action.
In the vast command center, thousands of light beams were floating. Every light beam was changing three times per second, displaying all the pictures captured by the hundreds of thousands of surveillance cameras in the entire capital city.
Such a high velocity made the light beams an ocean of colors in the eyes of ordinary people. Only the eyeballs and brain cells of the Cultivators could process such enormous data.
Li Yao had disguised himself in a hurry. Therefore, his traces were finally found after a few hours of analysis.
"The face of a citizen appeared at two spots at the same time!
"One of them has been captured and passed the blood test. He is verified to be the citizen. So, the other one must be a disguise!
"All the crystal cameras, search for the traces of the fake!"
During his escape, Li Yao changed into another two fake identities, but they were soon found out, too. He was chased all the way to the entrance of the underground district!
All the major cities in the Star Glory Federation had districts from the air to the underground. In the history of the federation, to resist the super large-scale beast tides, all the cities had dug deep underground to build fortresses. For many cities, their underground space was even larger than that on the ground.
It was particularly so for the capital city. For five hundred years, air-raid shelters, underground fortresses, magical equipment warehouses, emergency shelters… all kinds of facilities were jumbled together, constituting a complicated maze of almost a hundred floors!
The underground district boasted a regular population of almost ten million. There were also a lot of tourists, passersby, and workers from the ground. After today's explosion, the government had activated the emergency plan. Too many civilians were hiding in the safe areas underground right now.
Underground, other than the living quarters, there were tube tunnels, garbage dumps, and abandoned areas that had not been maintained for a long time. Even the local Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who had lived for more than two hundred years would not be able to tell how many secrets were buried below the ground.
The biggest headache that the Secret Sword Bureau dreaded became reality. Li Yao had escaped underground!
The underground world had limited space and zigzagging pathways. There were also too many tubes and ravines that were absolutely dark. It was difficult for the snipers to lock onto their target. Even the autopiloting crystal cameras could not be unfolded easily, either. There were a lot of fixed surveillance cameras, but Li Yao could avoid them effortlessly with his cunningness.
There was nothing but silence in the command center.
"Chase him!" Guo Chunfeng gnashed his teeth.
"Should we invite the few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators?" Mosquito, his subordinate, asked.
Guo Chunfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Of course. However, the environment of the underground district is too complicated, and too many citizens are living down there. If the Blood Devil was pushed into a fight with the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, it is definitely not going to be a joke. If a few neighborhoods are blown up, there might be hundreds of thousands of casualties!
"Therefore, ask the few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators to set up an ambush at the main exit of the underground district. Our men will keep an eye on the inconspicuous entrances and exits. Get a squad of tough warriors and force him out of the place!
"Remember, the safety of the civilians matters most. Don't push him too far. He is a panicked bird now, and his actions are utterly unpredictable. The capital city has just been devastated today. The citizens are still in shock. There's no way that they can withstand a second strike!"
Just before Mosquito nodded, Ding Lingdang walked up to Guo Chunfeng and gritted her teeth. "Supervisor Guo, put me in the vanguard. I know him better than anybody else does. I will certainly find him!"
Guo Chunfeng narrowed his eyes and eyed Ding Lingdang somewhat suspiciously.
Ding Lingdang widened her eyes and stared back at him in anger.
After looking at her for a long time, Guo Chunfeng suddenly smiled and nodded. "Alright. Fellow Cultivator Ding will lead the vanguard. We are going to catch the Blood Devil!"
…
Because of the chaos caused by the accident today, the underground district was packed with refugees who had gone down there for shelter. The thousands of elite agents of the Secret Sword Bureau were like salt sprayed into seawater after they dispersed in the place.
The surveillance cameras at the turns of the pathways could only send back fuzzy pictures occasionally.
"The target has appeared in the commercial area on the minus sixth floor!"
"The target vanished. He reappeared in the hospital on the minus eighth floor!"
"The target is gone again. Ah. Appearing in the reconstruction area on the minus twelfth floor. Ready to capture him. Wrong. Wrong guy. He is not the target!"
There was no telling whether Li Yao was lucky or simply baiting the Secret Sword Bureau, but he was like an unpredictable ghost. Occasionally, he revealed his tracks in one of the surveillance cameras, but when a huge batch of Secret Sword Agents lunged at him in a hurry, he simply vanished into thin air!
Ding Lingdang was wearing a fiery combat suit as if she was worried that she was not eye-catching enough. With a bright glow spreading out from her body, she turned into a scarlet streak and rushed in the underground world.
It was her favorite battle clothing. Other people did not have anything to say.
The longer they chased, the deeper they moved. Finally, they were in the bottom part of the underground district.
The place was unpopulated, but it was dominated by dense tubes. Hundreds of underground drainage canals and ventilation tubes led outside the city. Those tubes were responsible for transporting wasted water and gas generated during the life and work of almost ten million people. Tremendous garbage had been stacked there, too. There was even an enormous underground magical equipment graveyard!
"We've got him!"
"He is wearing a blue-and-white crystal suit and pretending to be a police officer of the underground district!"
"Hurry up. Agents near him, stick to him now. Reinforcements are on the way!"
Thousands of Secret Sword Agents, like sharks who had smelt the stench of blood, rushed toward the garbage area in the deepest part of the underground city as fast as they could!
However, maybe it was a coincidence, but the one closest to Li Yao was Ding Lingdang.
Right above the stinky underground magical equipment, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang, who had not seen each other for ten years, confronted each other in silence.
In that second, time seemed to have stopped—the world was gone, and the sea of stars had melted. The only thing that existed in the infinite darkness was a man and a woman with their pounding hearts and heavy breaths.
Their eyes entangled each other like four hungry and thirsty vipers, exchanging information that other people could not realize at all.
Enjoying the long and yet brief one second, and glancing at the exhaust flames of countless crystal suits not far away, Li Yao withdrew his eyes in pain and said calmly, "Listen to my explanation."
"I don't want to!"
"In fact, I had my reasons."
"No, you didn't. Accept my punch first!"
She thrust herself close like a cannonball. Equipped with a crystal suit that looked like crimson fire in midair, she punched Li Yao heavily without any mercy!
Li Yao crossed his arms to block the attack, but the crystal suit on his body, which was the most fundamental version for police officers, had too poor a performance. It became worthless now instead of protection and was smashed into pieces by the punch. Li Yao was blown away and waved his hands crazily in midair, struggling and shouting, "Ding Lingdang, trust me!"
"Of course I trust you!" Ding Lingdang roared crazily. "But let me blow up your head first, jackass! I waited for you for ten years, and you went to some other woman behind my back!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ding Lingdang was like the main gun on a super heavy warship. She bombarded hundreds of times in a row. The unstoppable fireballs and blasts rained upon Li Yao's face and body. His crystal suit was shattered, and his face was swollen!
In the command center, Guo Chunfeng, who was observing the fight through Ding Lingdang's crystal camera, shouted, "No. He is playing a trick!"
But there was no time.
"Asshole. Go to hell now!"
Ding Lingdang turned into a shooting star as she stomped on Li Yao's chest with all her strength, blowing into directly into the mound of garbage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The crystal bombs that Li Yao had planted below the garbage earlier were detonated immediately. The explosion displaced almost half of the magical equipment graveyard. All kinds of bizarre-shaped scraps of magical equipment were flying in midair, jamming the vision of all the Secret Sword Agents!
When the dust finally settled, the Secret Sword Swords who had come in a hurry finally discovered that, covered by the magical equipment graveyard, there was a newly-dug hole.
The hole was connected to the underground drainage network that could lead anywhere.
All the Secret Sword Agents looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what they should say.
Huchi! Huchi! Huchi! Huchi!
Ding Lingdang breathed hard, the flames around her bouncing higher and higher. She turned around and glared at everybody brutally, "What's wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong. Sister Ding is truly… marvelous. Incredibly marvelous!"
…
Deep inside the drainage tubes, in the stinky, dirty water, Li Yao rushed forward with a bruised, swollen head. He finally could not help but laugh. The more he laughed, the louder he became!
"It has come to my attention that something is wrong with you." The mental devil frowned. "She beat you to a pulp the moment she met you. She punched you hard every single time without showing any mercy. If your head weren't sturdy enough, it would've been blown up already! But you are still laughing so giddily? Do you have some sort of clandestine quirks, you know, sexually?
"That's not right. I know everything about your quirks. In the past, you liked to use your hand. But after you advanced and were able to condense the air with spiritual energy, you could run dynamic simulation and didn't even need your hands anymore!"
Pu!
Li Yao opened his hands and spat out a mouthful of bloodstained saliva. In the middle of the saliva was a glittering Cosmos Ring!
Ding Lingdang had punched it into his mouth during the glamorous, awe-inspiring attacks!
"Do you see this?" Li Yao waved the ring and proudly declared, "That's my wife!"
Chapter 1097: The Patriots Partnership! |
Half an hour later, deep inside the underground drainage tubes, in an abandoned area that was an utter mess, Li Yao released Neltharion and Black Wing and deployed dozens of alarm rune arrays before he opened the Cosmos Ring carefully.
There were three objects in the Cosmos Ring. The first one was a mini light beam projector, in which a video clip was stored.
It was the top-secret meeting hosted by Lu Zui, the director of the Secret Sword Bureau, recorded by Professor Mo Xuan in secret.
Li Yao watched Lu Zui's setup in silence and felt even more confident.
