Chapter 75: 75 Difficulties
A low roar, like a awakened lion. Everyone was silent with fear. The tent fell into a dead silence for a moment. The old man stared at the photo in his hand and was silent for a while before slowly closing his eyes, saying in a deep voice, “What else did Uncle Wei say?”
“Nothing else, that’s all,” Xia Feng shook his head. Uncle Wei also gave him a USB drive, but told him to keep it and not give it to Big Face Cat.
The seven captains silently looked at the photos of the girls’ heads from different angles on the table. The atmosphere was dead silent for a moment. A burly captain slid his chair open with a *zi la* sound and stood up: “Damn it, Lister, you son of a bitch! Let’s go get him!”
As he stood up, Chen Xingdao beside him also stood up: “Bureau Chief, now that things have come to this, let’s go all out!”
“Bureau Chief! Just give the word, and I, Old Guan, will fight to the death! Let’s beat that bastard Earl!”
“Count me in.” Freya smiled and stepped forward.
Four captains declared their stance. The remaining three sat in their seats with their brows furrowed, perpetually silent. Unlike the four captains, their families were held hostage by the Earl. Xia Feng had only brought a photo of the Bureau Chief’s granddaughter; they had no information about their own families. However, looking at the state of the Bureau Chief’s granddaughter, they couldn’t help but harbor doubts. Lister was completely untrustworthy. Since he could deceive the Xuanwu Bureau Chief with such a method, it was hard to guarantee he hadn’t used this method on them as well.
“Damn it!” a bald captain suddenly stood up, his face darkened. “That bastard threatens me every day, and I’ve had enough! Let’s do it!”
The refined man with glasses beside him closed his eyes and sighed, then stood up: “Count me in as well.”
Finally, all eyes gathered on the tall and imposing Bailong captain. Bailong’s face was a mixture of emotions, unable to make up his mind.
At this moment, the dead silent atmosphere was broken by Mu Qingtong’s gentle voice: “Academician Rod from the Spirit Science Institute recently published a research paper on Dream Calamity Species titled ‘The Impact of Low-Temperature Superconducting Materials on the Duration of Dream Calamity Species’.”
Seeing everyone look at her with confusion, Mu Qingtong continued softly, “It mentions a small detail: under normal circumstances, the Spirit Body created by the Soul Devouring Calamity can only exist for about 60 seconds before disintegrating. However, under the effect of low-temperature superconducting materials, it can exist for about 483 seconds before disintegrating, which is approximately eight minutes.”
“Think about it yourselves, have your family members you video call with ever talked for more than eight minutes?”
As Mu Qingtong finished speaking, the three were startled. Their pupils slightly dilated. Indeed, their calls with their families were very short, never exceeding eight minutes for various reasons. This likely meant that their family members were actually impostors created by the Soul Devouring Calamity. An impostor could only maintain its existence for a maximum of 8 minutes. Their real relatives were already dead.
Seeing the reaction of the three, Mu Qingtong closed her mouth and said no more. She originally had no interest in the Earl or the Holy Department. However, the thought of Lister colluding with the God’s Calamity Society and affecting her future life in District 51 made it imperative to deal with Lister.
Everyone looked at the black-dressed woman wearing half-frame gold-rimmed glasses. The light had been dim earlier, and they hadn’t paid much attention, but now they realized this woman was excessively beautiful. And…
“You look familiar?” one captain muttered, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Holy shit! Aren’t you Mu Shen?!”
“I’m your biggest fan, Mu Shen! Do you know that song you sang, ‘Qinghai-Tibet’…”
Seeing this thirty-something man excitedly babbling, Xia Feng’s eye twitched. Had Mu Qingtong become that famous? Even a Holy Department captain was a fan of Mu Qingtong?!
“Let me introduce them formally,” Freya said with a smile. “These two are my students. Xia Feng, adopted son of Uncle Wei, and the most anticipated genius from Weiyang Academy. This is Mu Qingtong, from the Taicang Mu Clan. She’s like Old Taoist Chen’s niece. She’s an encyclopedia; you can ask her any Spirit Science questions you have.”
“I’ll be damned, Old Taoist Chen, are you talking about Mu Qingtong when you mentioned your niece?!” Old Guan exclaimed.
Chen Xingdao smiled and nodded. “Wait, you also said your niece is engaged, and her fiancé is…” The young man looked at the silent Xia Feng beside him, and his excited mood instantly deflated like a deflated balloon. Damn it!
*Zi la—*
While a few people were interjecting, the chair was gently pulled open. Bailong silently stood up, indicating his stance. Seeing this, everyone stopped talking.
The Xuanwu Bureau Chief silently looked around at everyone and tapped the table, saying in a deep voice: “Since everyone has made up their minds, let’s not delay. We will begin strategic deployment immediately. Li Sheng, you first go and gather the personnel from each team.”
“Yes!” Li Sheng, standing to the side, left in a deep voice. The old man continued, “As long as Lister is alive, he will eventually betray District 51 again. Therefore, our only goal this time is to kill Lister! Lister has seven Third-stage and two Fourth-stage subordinates under him. I can deal with two Fourth-stage experts alone, and the remaining Third-stage will be handled by you.”
“Bureau Chief, you’re going to deal with two Fourth-stage experts?” Bailong was stunned and said in a deep voice, “I’m afraid that’s not appropriate. Fourth-stage isn’t that easy…” Halfway through his sentence, the man with glasses beside him pulled his arm and whispered with a shake of his head, “The Bureau Chief was once a Tier 5 Spirit Master. During the ‘Qiu Sheng Battle,’ he was cursed, resulting in the amputation of his legs and severe damage to his soul, which is why he fell to Tier 4.”
“So that’s how it is…” Bailong’s eyes widened. If the Bureau Chief was once a Tier 5 Spirit Master, then even if he had fallen to Tier 4, his strength would still be far superior to that of a normal Tier 4. After all, only his Spirit Pressure had decreased; his combat experience, the number and proficiency of his Spirit Robes, and the unsealing state of his Spirit Artifacts would not have changed. Dealing with two Tier 4 experts working together should not be difficult; the only fear was the recurrence of his old injury.
Xia Feng, who overheard their conversation, nodded thoughtfully. In terms of combat power, the Holy Department and Lister were actually evenly matched. The reason the Xuanwu Bureau Chief was unwilling to act before was likely due to the threat to his family. That’s why Uncle Wei had planned that surprise attack at the banquet, with the aim of finding evidence of the Xuanwu Bureau Chief’s granddaughter’s death, to completely convince the Xuanwu Bureau Chief to make a decision.
“Thus, there remains one last difficulty,” the Xuanwu Bureau Chief said in a deep voice. “According to the information provided by Uncle Wei in the previous few times, the surroundings of the birth ritual are protected by a small Boundless Field Barrier. If the Earl encounters danger, he will directly hide within the barrier.”
“As expected, that guy actually dug up so many Boundless Stones!” Old Guan gritted his teeth in anger. It should be known that constructing a Boundless Barrier, even a small one, required a terrifying amount of Boundless Stones.
Upon hearing the words “Boundless Stone,” Xia Feng’s eyes immediately lit up reflexively. Although he already had 500g of Boundless Stones, which was enough for him to live comfortably for several years, who would dislike having more Boundless Stones?
“So, how do we break through the Boundless Barrier, which can only be resolved by a Venerable?” Bailong frowned and said in a deep voice, “Or, how do we kill him before the Earl activates the barrier? But that’s incredibly difficult. Activating the barrier only takes an instant.”
“And we haven’t factored in the Earl’s combat power. Although the Earl doesn’t have much combat experience, he is still a genuine Third-stage Spirit Master.”
Everyone fell silent. Amidst the dead silence, Xia Feng coughed and spoke, “Actually, I have a plan. I wonder if you’re interested in hearing it?”
