Chapter 50

In the pitch-black night, a small truck was driving on the overpass, while about two kilometers in front of and behind it, three black armored vehicles were secretly guarding it.

This place used to be one of the main roads connecting S City and B City. The reason it was "used to be" is because many years ago, the outskirts of S City were attacked by pollutants, and the citizens urgently moved to the central area, so this place was abandoned.

Fortunately, the viaduct survived the attack and, apart from a thick layer of dust on the ground and some scattered building debris, it is still usable.

This mission is very risky. The main problem is how to ensure that the True Knowledge Society members will come. Secondly, they need to make the arrests without harming ordinary residents. Finally, they must ensure that the other party is unaware that this is a trap.

The transport route was chosen to be on a sparsely populated abandoned overpass, and there were vehicles from the operations unit five kilometers away that could arrive to provide support in a short time.

The True Knowledge Society members would never have imagined that the real purpose of this scheme was to find out Shen Yao's whereabouts. To save a girl, they mobilized more than twenty Awakened Ones, which can be described as a grand gesture.

“I think you should be resting in the hospital or working in the lab right now, instead of carrying out a mission with us in the middle of the night.”

Xiao Shengyun was somewhat helpless. Logically speaking, Zhou Zhi should not have participated in this operation, but their mission was to obtain information from the other party's mind, which required a talent for mind control as an aid.

Moreover, Zhou Zhi's personal presence would increase the other party's trust.

"My physical indicators have returned to normal and will not affect the mission. In addition, I also need to get some information from them."

Zhou Zhi pursed his lips and explained.

I'm not doubting your abilities, what a blockhead!

Xiao Shengyun was somewhat helpless. He once again deeply felt how energetic this person was. However, continuing the conversation seemed to cross the line of friendship, so he changed the subject: "Why do you think they kidnapped that girl? Is there anything special about Shen Yao?"

"There are too few clues at the moment, making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions, but we can start from two directions. One is that their target is Shen Xiuping and Shen Yao. The circumstances of their deaths are very strange, and there may be hidden stories behind them, or they may want to lure out the person behind them. The second possibility is that their target is Shen Yao, who is special in herself," Zhou Zhi analyzed.

Unlike the Rosary Church, which was a cult that caused chaos everywhere, the True Knowledge Society was actually a neutral organization. In the very beginning, scholars would choose to join either the Research Institute or the True Knowledge Society based on their own beliefs, and the two organizations even held several academic exchange activities.

The acquisition of truth should not come at the cost of trampling on human morality and law.

This is a consensus in academia.

However, a few years ago, some problems seemed to have arisen within the True Knowledge Society, leading to a complete break in communication between the two sides.

"In the eyes of you researchers, is life so cheap?" Xiao Shengyun thought of the rows of polluted corpses on the top floor of the research institute, and the thousands of people struggling in the hospital.

"No, science serves humanity. If we abandon human emotions to pursue science itself, we are putting the cart before the horse."

Zhou Zhi's face was blurred in the darkness, with only sharp lines and eyebrows vaguely visible.

"Just as the power of the awakened comes from pollution, but is used to protect."

"You should know that the bodies used for research are used in accordance with agreements signed before their death, and the researchers carry on their legacy. I saw a donor's notes a long time ago, left over from the time of the Great Cataclysm, when the night was more dangerous than the day, so people would be in a state of high tension every evening. The notes were filled with the recorder's fear, which came before death, like a bone-deep infection, always there. Researchers have been seeking ways to eradicate contamination, and our wish is probably to allow everyone to enjoy the sunset, instead of fearing the coming of the next dawn."

This statement doesn't sound like it came from a scholar; it sounds more like it came from a poet.

Xiao Shengyun remained silent. In the world of pollutants, only the strong prey on the weak. They do not care about the lives and feelings of their own kind. Even if he had no previous memories, his first reaction upon seeing his own kind was only to kill and devour.

Human empathy is like a flame to them, warm yet burning.

To allow everyone to enjoy the sunset... a good wish.

Xiao Shengyun always felt that Zhou Zhi was a very tightly strung string. He had almost no private time. Besides being busy with the research institute, he also occasionally had to take on orders from the action department. He finally got to go to the hospital to recuperate, but then he got another mission. He was like a match that was about to burn out.

He had always wondered how anyone could be so passionate about their work, but now he had stumbled upon some answers.

"And you? If there were no pollution one day, what would you like to do?"

"I guess it's just about living a good life."

"oh-"

"What's with that expression? I mean, life is already pretty good."

Xiao Shengyun felt that being an ordinary person was good enough; being a pollutant meant fighting and killing every day, searching for food everywhere—it was too tiring.

“That’s a good wish, at least it’s easy to achieve,” Zhou Zhi added.

"But even if you're busy, you need to take care of your health. For example, in a situation like today, you really didn't need to come at all—"

Xiao Shengyun suddenly sensed a strange aura approaching.

"Attention, the target has appeared."

They've arrived.

A powerful force came from behind. "Fasten your seatbelts!" Xiao Shengyun stepped on the gas, and the vehicle sped forward. The two black cars behind were unable to dodge in time and were stopped by two flying boulders.

There was nothing ahead, and the truck, used as bait, drove smoothly.

The bridge is dozens of meters above the water, with no place to land on it.

To everyone's astonishment, the cargo truck swayed precariously in the air, slowly rising upwards.

It's the same awakened individual whose talent was gravity from last time.

A small plane suddenly appeared at an altitude of 100 meters, landing silently in the clouds like a bird.

"Xiangyang, can you hurry up? One of them is a really good aerial fighter!"

"If it weren't for your talent limiting you to things within fifty meters, it wouldn't be this complicated."

Guan's other talent is teleportation, a spatial talent that allows an item to be moved directly from one location to another.

The differences between people are greater than the differences between people and dogs, and the same is true for talents. It is said to be related to space, but apart from being able to transfer items by ignoring space, it has no other use.

Holy crap, how did this car fly?!

The truck driver slammed to the ground, watching helplessly as the truck flew into the air.

The operations team anticipated the enemy's route of action, even considering blowing up the bridge, but they did not expect the enemy to choose the most difficult air combat.

Even with their talents awakened, very few Awakened individuals can fight in the air, and using aircraft makes them extremely vulnerable to being shot down, so aerial combat is generally not considered.

The goods are rising slowly, we'll be receiving them soon, and the customs officers are on standby, ready to assist at any moment.

However, golden flames swept in, and the terrifying temperature of up to a thousand degrees was enough to destroy the aircraft's power unit.

Huang Yu spread his wings and flew into the sky. This was his home turf. However, the injury he suffered last time had not fully healed, and the roots of his wings still ached slightly when he flapped them.

The plane swiftly evaded the flames, but its bulky fuselage was far less agile than the flames.

The two collided directly, and a huge explosion resounded through the sky.

"You're utterly pathetic. You deserved to have knocked me to the ground last time." Huang Yu laughed smugly.

"Huang Yu, what are you doing? I already said we were to capture him alive!"

Ye Ting's angry roar came through the communicator.

It's over.

Concentrating on settling a personal grudge, he forgot about the mission objective and flew quickly toward the wreckage of the plane, but he didn't hold out much hope; even an Awakened would be blasted to dust in such an explosion.

"Cough cough!"

Amidst a sea of ​​flames and smoke, a man with long blue hair, holding a companion by the hand, lightly landed on the bridge. Their clothes were tattered, and patches of their hair had been burned off.

It's an ambush!

The sound of engines from the vehicles behind them carried through the air to their ears. They quickly assessed the number of vehicles; it was three times the size of a normal escort team. Since it was a trap, the bait might not be real.

Armored vehicles gradually formed an encirclement in the middle of the bridge, and fine black lines silently covered the bridge under the cover of night.

A small spatial rift opened, and Guan Bie quickly transferred his companions. He couldn't teleport several living people several kilometers away with his abilities, so his location was under the bridge.

Their gravity ability allows them to levitate on the river surface, expanding their range of movement from the bridge line to a flat plane, making it easier to escape under the cover of night.

Silently, the surrounded people disappeared into thin air one by one.

"Stop them!"

Ye Ting's voice came through the communicator. Xiao Shengyun stepped on the gas pedal to the maximum and narrowly missed the spatial rift. At that moment, Zhou Zhi's talent came into play.

A member of the True Knowledge Society suddenly stopped in his tracks; his mind was being controlled by invisible threads.

It was a success.

This relieved the two men; at least their efforts hadn't been in vain.

But the next second, a bullet from who-knows-where pierced the member's chest, his body paused, and he fell to the ground.

There was even a third group of people.

All of this happened within minutes, but the member's death quickly overwhelmed his mind, and in that instant, Zhou Zhi obtained the information he wanted.

Where is Shen Yao?

"Kyohai University."

His eyes had lost all their luster, as if they were only filled with instinct.

The overpass was a mess, but fortunately, they had obtained a clue. The others got out of the car looking bewildered; no one had expected this outcome.

Xiao Shengyun turned his head and saw Zhou Zhi staring quietly at the woman's corpse, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know why, but I always feel like something's not right."

As dawn broke on the horizon, the long night finally came to an end.