Chapter 66 The Deadly Killing Array: The agony of a slow, agonizing torture of the soul, the pain of a heart consumed by flames...
Even through the screen, Shu Qing could feel the tremors and terror throughout the entire Super Management Bureau, let alone Jiu Su, who was right at the bureau's headquarters. The Demon King spread his spiritual sense and clearly felt that the entire Super Management Bureau had fallen into a brief, deathly silence, with everyone stunned and speechless.
Only the Firelight Rat that was forcibly captured yesterday seemed to have been provoked, roaring and banging against the iron cage, making the containment room almost shake.
Jiu Su glanced back at the screen, and on the other side, Shu Qing's eyes widened in surprise. Two small red squares were reflected in her eyes, flashing along with the Super Management Bureau's alarm lights, like a somewhat comical warning effect.
Finally, someone from the Super Management Bureau snapped out of their slumber and started running with the others, quickly stirring up the stagnant water from several corners.
Jiu Su said softly, "I'll go find someone to discuss how to deal with this now. Don't be afraid."
“Okay,” Shu Qing finally came to her senses. She nodded with all her might, “Go.”
Jiu Su looked at her and knew that she actually had many questions—why did the second out-of-control incident break out so quickly? Would there be a third one? Where would the third one happen? Would it happen in H City? Would he be safe this time?
However, she didn't ask a single question, because she knew he probably couldn't answer, and indeed he couldn't.
"I will definitely return safely." Jiu Su gazed at the two flashing red squares in her eyes and promised, "No matter what happens, I will not let anything happen to you or your family. I can still do that."
He gave Shu Qing a final smile, ended the video call, and in a flash, darted up the corridor, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
He's a demon like him, so he doesn't really need sleep. It's just that yesterday, facing that out-of-control fire rat alone, really drained his demonic energy.
The battle to subdue it was one thing, but on the way back to the Super Management Bureau, he had to suppress it with his demonic power the whole time to prevent it from hurting others or himself. Even the specially made iron cage where it was imprisoned required him to infuse it with his demonic power to be effective.
I woke up feeling a bit better today after a good night's sleep. I was just trying to patiently finish the documents I needed to write so I could go home as soon as possible, but then another unexpected incident happened... It looks like I won't be able to go home the day after tomorrow.
Jiu Su sighed silently.
He arrived late but first, and when he entered the operations conference room, no one else had arrived yet. Only Director Yang, whose office was connected to the operations conference room, was already there.
He stood in front of the large screen, gazing up at the outline of City B marked by red light on the screen, lost in thought.
Jiu Su entered silently, but Director Yang, who had dealt with supernatural beings his whole life, sensed his presence, turned around, and silently stared at him.
The old warrior who fought against the supernatural energy and the demon king who had been resurrected faced each other coldly in a corner.
“This is not the first time in my life that I have experienced a large-scale monster out-of-control incident,” Director Yang said first. “But before this, I never thought that I could fight alongside a demon king.”
Jiu Su said calmly, "I respect you. But to an enemy, to kill them with all my might is the greatest respect I can show."
Are we enemies with the Demon King?
Jiu Su tilted her head slightly, revealing a hint of her demonic nature. "What do you think?"
Director Yang let out a breath. Although the seasoned soldier didn't have any superhuman energy, his senses were still sharp. In just a few words, he could hear the footsteps of many people approaching.
He gestured for Jiu Su to sit down, and Jiu Su did not say anything more, but sat down at the head of the table as instructed. When people came in, they still saw the harmonious scene of them getting along, and they did not know that they had been at each other's throats when no one was around.
The B City Supermarket Management Bureau still needs time to investigate and collect information. Currently, they have no intelligence whatsoever, and the only valid information is the risk level in the alert—"high risk".
The criteria for judging high risk are high energy levels and strong destructive capabilities. In other words, if not handled promptly, it could very well become another catastrophic event.
Needless to say, Jiu Su and Jin Wanli were definitely going; their names were immediately added to the duty roster. Other names were added gradually, and finally, Director Yang added his own name at the end of the list.
Several of his subordinates were taken aback and tried to dissuade him, but Director Yang pressed them back into their seats with a single glance.
Jiu Su's gaze shifted slightly, meeting Director Yang's eyes, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips.
Isn't it because he knew that behind this series of monster out-of-control incidents there must be someone behind it, and he didn't dare to trust him, so he went there in person to investigate any clues?
"Then let's go." Jiu Su thought casually, "Since that's the case, then all the investigation work will be done by Director Yang."
Director Yang personally went to the scene, so Xie Heng had to stay at the Supernatural Management Bureau to oversee things. These two were the only ones in the bureau who knew the most about supernatural beings and had the most prestige, so no one objected to this.
The selection of the personnel for the battle went smoothly, but the battle plan was not so easy to come by.
To save time, the battle plan was discussed on the private jet. Director Yang first asked Jiu Su, "Does the Demon King still insist on subduing him first before discussing killing him?"
With only a small portion of his demonic power depleted, he felt even more dizzy as the plane took off. He suppressed his discomfort and groaned.
Upon hearing this, not only Director Yang but also Jin Wanli objected, saying, "Brother, if you insist on going, then let me go. Even if your demonic power is strong, you can't withstand such consumption. What if it backfires? Besides..." He lowered his voice, "This is only the second one."
The people on the private jet exchanged glances, their expressions grim. The probability of two high-level supernatural beings going out of control in quick succession being a coincidence was too small. Almost everyone was convinced that there would be more to come, and even the private jet they were traveling on activated its highest level of defense.
It's understandable that Jiu Su, as the Demon King, wants to protect the existing demons as much as possible, but his means of controlling out-of-control demons are ultimately limited. What will he do when more demons continue to go out of control and he can't protect them all?
If he can't have both, will he continue to cooperate with the Super Management Bureau, or will he side with the out-of-control monsters?
His supervisor wasn't someone from the Supermarket Management Bureau; in fact, it was his mistress...
Several people were watching Jiu Su, some openly and some covertly. Jiu Su glanced at Jin Wanli indifferently and flatly denied it, saying, "No, your demonic power is different from mine. If I go in person, it will only cause more trouble."
After all, he once ruled the demon race, and his demonic power has a certain suppressive effect on all demons. He is also good at manipulating cold air, and if all else fails, he can freeze the opponent, making him suitable for controlling the situation.
Jin Wanli is different. Although he is also powerful in demonic energy, the raging winds he creates are uncontrollable. He can kill demons, but it would be difficult to suppress them. He might just "escort" back a cartload of flesh cut by wind blades.
This time, Jin Wanli remained silent, but the remaining people chimed in, saying, "That's not appropriate!"
Normally, the people from the Supermarket Management Bureau would maintain a polite facade with him regardless of what they thought, but this was the first time they had collectively voiced their opposition to him. Jiu Su raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
“City B is a major city in the north. Leaving aside factories and historical sites, its total population is nearly ten million,” Director Yang said. “But its medical facilities cannot compare with those of the capital. If an accident were to occur, the losses would likely be no less than those of the fire at the capital’s airport, and the injured would not receive the same level of medical care as those in the capital. This ‘a little more trouble’ is not just a little trouble.”
One of his subordinates said, "That's right, hundreds of lives are at stake. This needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. What if another airport fire happens?"
Another person added, "And with the incidents happening one after another in the capital and B city, how can we appease the public? If things get chaotic, it might escalate into something even bigger, which is beyond our ability to handle."
“I only said ‘a little more trouble,’ I didn’t mean to let this matter escalate into disaster.” Jiu Su listened quietly to their statements before revealing a mocking smile. “I’m more afraid of trouble happening again than you are.”
The demon race and humans are finally able to coexist like this, something he and Ashu could never have dreamed of in their past lives. If similar calamities were to occur one after another, what would happen in the future…
Jiu Su forced down her worries about the "future," lifted her eyelids to look at the group of people in front of her, and continued, "Following the same tactics as last time, we'll still force it back to the no-man's land, and I'll deal with it. A little more trouble just means it will take me a little longer to subdue it."
“It’s a bit difficult,” Director Yang said. “The fire rat appeared at the airport, which is near the mountains, so we could handle it that way. But this one, look—according to the updated energy fluctuation map, it appeared in the city center. No matter which direction we drive it, it will inevitably pass through densely populated areas, which is very risky.”
Jiu Su frowned slightly. Jin Wanli, listening, also felt something was amiss. "Even if we were to take direct action to kill, to directly deploy weapons, we couldn't just drop ammunition on the city center. Or is there some other method?"
Director Yang suddenly fell silent for a moment.
The head of the weapons research department next to him had a complicated expression. He looked at Director Yang, then at Jiu Su, and hesitated, unsure of how to speak.
Jiu Su glanced at him. "Minister Chen, please speak."
“Yes…yes,” Minister Chen said hesitantly, “there have been cases of supernatural beings going out of control in densely populated areas. Director Yang at the time instructed the Weapons Research Department to develop a weapon that is effective only against supernatural beings and ineffective against ordinary humans…”
Jiu Su's pupils contracted slightly—he had experienced such methods before. In his previous life, after taking the poison given to him by Ashu, he didn't die immediately, but nine-tenths of his demonic power was lost. Kunlun Immortal Capital pursued them, and he fought desperately, protecting the remaining demons as they fled into the snowy mountains.
Finally, the immortals had no choice but to use a deadly array to shred the souls of the demon race.
Therefore, since this formation only works on those with demon bloodlines, it is ultimately not so righteous and honorable. Moreover, those caught in the formation suffer terribly. Even the creator of this formation felt it was too vicious and specifically stated that "this technique damages one's virtue and should not be used lightly unless absolutely necessary." Even historical records dare not state it directly, only vaguely saying that it was to prevent the dead from being resurrected and to have someone chant incantations to suppress and kill the soul.
Could this be what Minister Chen was talking about?
"Later, we found such a deadly formation in the records left behind in Kunlun Immortal Capital," Minister Chen said, unsurprisingly. "The person who left the formation said that this formation only kills demons and does not harm ordinary people. However... it will gradually erode the soul of demons, and the process is extremely tragic. Therefore, this formation is too insidious and is not the righteous path of Immortal Capital."
Jin Wanli wasn't present at the time and didn't know that Jiu Su had died in this battle in her previous life, so he didn't feel much. But after hearing Minister Chen's description, he still laughed in anger, "But you still found it and used it so that you could only kill monsters and not people?"
Minister Chen tacitly agreed.
“People in ancient times, during wartime, all felt this wasn’t the right way! You keep talking about ‘fairness and justice’ and ‘harmonious coexistence,’ but what’s the result? This is how we ‘coexist’?”
Surprisingly, Jin Wanli's outrageous remarks this time were not met with a barrage of criticism. Director Yang said, "Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures, and this is the best strategy at present."
Jin Wanli wanted to argue something more, but suddenly, Jiu Su chuckled softly.
“You know there’s another culprit behind this, and those out-of-control demons are actually innocent,” Jiu Su said softly. “You also know that there’s not only that one out-of-control demon in the city center, but also many other, even more innocent, lower-level demons…”
"But you still decided to use such a cruel method, to subject them to the agony of their souls being slowly sliced apart and the agony of their hearts being burned by raging fire, all for... to 'save people.'" He said this with a smile in his eyes, his tone almost gentle, "Is that so?"
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