Chapter 340: The Starry Sky and the Dark Snake Staff Rises (1)
"The next mission requires at least a Seismic Level 4 combat capability. If you do not meet the requirements, please transfer the communication device to a trustworthy ally as soon as possible..."
An emotionless electronic sound rang directly in his mind. Before he could think and come to a conclusion, Ji Huaisu had already taken action.
"I am Ji Huaisu, Inspector of Huilong City, Supreme Path Sephiroth 4. Give me reason to trust you."
The interrupted electronic voice was not at all unhappy: "The Third Vein is threatened by the blood smoke bomb, and the Third Captain is trapped. The enemy hackers have paralyzed the communication network, so he cannot call for help. At the same time, the main body of the Thorns Sacred Tree is under attack by the Chaos Demon. Requesting divine power for support will be contaminated by the demon."
"Enough, enough, enough!" Ji Huaisu shouted, "I believe you. Now I'll tell you who it is and what I should do!"
"You can call me VV. Please pick up the signal."
Fander stared dumbfounded. He hadn't received any communication from the Dustless Land. "No matter how much pressure there is, don't go crazy!"
Ji Huaisu didn't have time to argue. Suddenly, a pale blue line appeared in her vision, and the light of her spiritual power formed a three-dimensional map of the third order. The map zoomed in to a location thousands of kilometers away, marked with a red dot, then shrunk back to a bird's-eye view to mark the route forward. A line segment ran through all the buildings.
Ji Huaisu switched to steel armor without a word and rushed towards the target: "I'll be there in 30 seconds. Explain the situation."
"The bombs buried throughout the Third Sequence aren't conventional 'ticks,' because setting a countdown in advance would allow the Third Captain to detect them. They've employed methods to evade detection, hiding unfinished bombs in advance and activating them with a 'fuse' sent instantly," VV said. "The bomb is only truly complete the moment the fuse is received, and it's also at that moment that it has the ability to explode. The danger posed by the bomb is clearly greater than sending a suspicious signal, so the Third Captain had no choice but to deal with the bomb immediately."
"Fuck it, I get it. As soon as Lao Cui finished dealing with a bomb, they immediately sent out a signal, and Lao Cui was unable to spare his time to save people!"
Ji Huaisu was hurtling through the air at lightning speed when she collided head-on with a group of advertising airships. Crashing directly through the airships would have caused an accident, so she made an emergency landing and, to save time, crashed diagonally through five residential buildings, crashing out of a family's living room.
A family of three, watching the water screen projection, held the remote control in their hands, their heads held high. A strong wind howled from the wall, which was now a hole. In the distance, Vander's screams were heard: "We'll pay for it later!"
The distance to the light spot was reduced to 50%. "I think there is a main station in the city that sends signals." VV said.
"Are we heading for that main station?"
"No, sending a large number of suspicious signals throughout the city would be immediately discovered, so the enemy has set up multiple relay antennas to forward the signals. These relay antennas are distributed throughout the Third Pulse and move randomly without any pattern."
Ji Huaisu gradually realized: "Those bastards who caused the riot?"
"There are still some lurkers who haven't surfaced." VV signaled repeatedly, "Please receive the information."
10% distance. Ji Huaisu soared across the Art Square like a hawk, and the painters pointed at her back and exclaimed in amazement. In the distance was the Torre del Aria, one of the Third Order's iconic buildings, a celebration of peace. People were dancing around the tower, while someone stood on the platform outside conducting a band.
The map vanished momentarily, the light transforming into a photo of the commander. Tiny lines of text appeared, providing reference material: [Particle 4] Air-supporting Wings, utilizing prosthetics for transformation, attacking with feather missiles. Once combat is triggered, it will rely on speed to stall...
3%. 1%. Ji Huaisu soared along the tower's surface, the conductor watching him. His wings spread wide, and VV's voice was clear amid the crowd's exclamations: "Time is running out. You only have 30 seconds—"
Ji Huaisu swung out his fist wrapped in lightning, and the punch, fueled by anger, directly exploded the enemy's chest. His blood plasma splashed and evaporated like a squeezed tomato, and the high fever completely carbonized Xulie's heart, which produced blood, into ashes.
Ji Huaisu grabbed his clothes, flew over the tower, and continued to fly, like an eagle swooping down and soaring into the sky. The people below the tower didn't even react. They only saw a flash of lightning, and the conductor disappeared from the world.
"And then?" she cried.
"...You killed him." VV's response was a beat slow.
"Fuck, you should have told me earlier if you wanted to catch him alive! He detonated a bomb in the crowd, okay? Isn't it okay to let him live for the New Year?"
VV marked the next location, and Ji Huaisu immediately turned. "Well done. However, I need to improve my assessment of your combat capabilities. I was worried that your high moral standards as an inspector would hinder the operation."
"I'm laughing. You Wuchendi are still righteous when dealing with evil ways."
"Obviously not. From now on, I'll treat you as the assassin's commander. Please be prepared." VV popped up a new symbol, resembling a remote control, an antenna, and a wooden cylinder. "Look for any similar items he carries."
"Yes!" Ji Huaisu pulled out a cylindrical connector made of black iron. "What is this?"
"A special kind of joint. Long ago, a certain island of dust used this structure to join wood, assemble buildings, and mechanical puppets. I'll reverse-analyze the signal while you're on your way. Please inject energy into the badge. Electricity or mental power, the more the better."
"Be careful, don't let this thing burst..." Ji Huaisu pulled Fander out, "Fander, come and help me recharge my mental strength!"
"You've signed a contract with some kind of map-wide cheat demon, haven't you?" Vander muttered. "Tell it if it can give me a signal as well?"
“Okay.” VV responded.
"oh!"
As his spiritual power poured into the badge, Vander also heard VV's voice. It immediately became alert: "Ultra-long-distance real-time communication across Dust Island? With just this little energy... You're crazy! You used Imperial technology!"
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," VV said unfazed. "Analysis complete. Reverse signal sent. Please observe your surroundings."
·
At the same time, somewhere in the third meridian, Trek, who was a step late due to serious injuries, was looking at the balloon in the distance that was about to explode.
"sorry……"
With a puff, the balloon deflated and turned into a piece of rag that fell into the crowd.
"Wow." Trek exclaimed, turned around and threw another bomb beside him into the sea.
·
High in the sky, Ji Huaisu concentrated and waited for a second: "Nothing happened!"
"Good, this means the bomb has been defused," VV said. "Please proceed to the next target."
·
Dust-free headquarters, VV laboratory.
All unused experimental equipment was teleported to the warehouse, freeing up space for virtual maps and verification equipment. A panoramic map of the Jingsha city-state occupied most of the laboratory. Light beams indicating the scanning progress streamed across it, marking the third venation section with densely packed red dots.
Velvet Velus stood in the center of the laboratory holding a staff, operating the satellite above the thorny shackle with her authority. People were constantly teleported into the laboratory and came to the operating table, and began to act hurriedly according to the instructions they were instilled.
The secretary rushed in hurriedly: "Boss, the Supreme Council has strongly condemned our hacking into the satellite. They believe that this will cause a serious diplomatic incident and demand that we immediately stop using public equipment to infringe on the sovereignty of other countries--"
"The Supreme Council seems to have forgotten that I designed this satellite. They're only responsible for providing the money and materials," Velvet said. "Now they can't leave the council room. Tell them that if they dare to touch the equipment, I'll send confidential intelligence about the Dustless Territory to the Empire. Then we can negotiate diplomacy with the True Machine."
Secretary Hill looked at the completely offline review room and opened his mouth wide: "Okay... okay..."
A scholar in front of the Big Data Missing Person module blankly read the information. He was one of the instructors in the building next door, originally on vacation, but had been unreasonably transferred here by someone with high-level authority to do odd jobs. He overheard the ridiculous conversation behind him and whispered to his secretary, "Your boss..."
Hill's expression was even more devastated than his: "Our boss is always like this."
"No, I mean, should I ask the Chief about your boss..."
"The chief said he's having a brain fever and is staying home to recuperate today... The boss is taking over his routine duties..."
“Original Spirit,” he muttered in despair, sharing the analysis results on the big screen. Human portraits appeared next to about 2/3 of the red dots.
"Analysis complete. 762 individuals have been identified. Most are extreme political activists, ordinary citizens with criminal records, and merchants moving between lines. This is consistent with your assessment," the identification expert reported. "However, approximately 200 individuals remain unidentified. We're requesting access to the Jingsha City-State citizen database."
“I’ve already done the comparison. They’re not citizens of Jingsha.” Velvet pointed to her temple, pulled out a mental list from her mind and threw it over. “Try this.”
The expert frantically received the input. Less than three seconds later, he exclaimed, "Recognition successful! 90% of it is in this list! But this... what is this?"
New portraits emerged, colored blood red and enlarged at Velvet's behest. Their strange auras made the researchers' backs glow; in the photos, they resembled strange beasts cloaked in human skin. Above their names, numbers, resembling rankings, took up even more space: No. 15… No. 26… No. 62…
"A list of killers." Velvet gave her secretary a new task. "Get all the data on Ji Huaisu from Huilong City."
At the same time, her mental power was transmitted via satellite to the badge on Jingsha's chest. The girl's slightly loud voice rushed through her mind: "You're insane! How did you deduce that? I didn't find any trace of them at the scene!"
"I guessed," Velvet told her.
"So it was... what you guessed?!"
"Simulate this from the planner's perspective. This is what I would do if I were planning an attack. The first mark you headed for was the signal source I determined to be the most suspicious during the initial scan. Your success confirms my suspicion."
She could almost imagine the girl's exasperated face in the distance: "So you were just guessing, right? And you guessed right!"
"If I had more time, I could guide you remotely in unraveling the mystery or personally go to the scene to collect evidence. Unfortunately, the time I have left is only enough to gain a preliminary understanding of the current situation in Jingsha City-State. There's no time for rigorous logical deduction, Miss Ji."
Hill ran over with a stack of printed papers, and the real Velvet took the files. The adopted daughter of Ji Qiufeng, the Lord of Huilong City, had long served as a detective within the city, possessing extensive combat experience and a valiant skill. The Sephiroth III, "Pure Fire,"...
It was an obvious forgery. She put the file aside and said, "Using my own authority."
"Boss, this isn't a permission issue. We don't have any information about this person in our database. I just sifted through satellite scans!" Hill said hurriedly. "If there really is hidden intelligence, I'm afraid only the Chief himself can mobilize it!"
Unexpected good news, the temporary partner's status is higher than expected. In the current situation, a capable person with secrets is much better than an obedient mediocre person.
Velvet continued to speak in her mind, and the sticky voice replaced Ji Huaisu: "Let's not talk about evidence for now, just make sure it works! VV, your speculation is correct. Tell us your plan of action and we'll see if you have anything to add."
"Destroy the relay antennas one by one. I'll use the reverse signal to disarm the bombs and locate the main station," she said. "The more samples you obtain, the greater the probability of finding the main station, but the chance of the enemy finding you also increases. Unfortunately, this time the enemy is a professional. There are currently over two hundred professional assassins in the Third Pulse, and there may be more than three Seismic Fives among them."
"So your crappy plan is to let me go to find an antenna that is nowhere to be found while being besieged by 200 killers and 3 particle 5s in the city, right?" Ji Huaisu said.
"It's indeed challenging. I usually give this kind of task to the person I trust most."
"Really?" Ji Huaisu was very moved. "This is the first time we've ever met. I'm glad you trust me so much!"
Velvet choked for a rare moment, and felt as if there was a big sun rolling around in her head and shining brightly.
"I said that just now to put some pressure on you to improve your efficiency," she said. "But your way of thinking is also very good."
(End of this chapter)
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