novelraw Chapter 101: Artificial Souls - (28)
Chapter 101: Artificial Souls - (28)
The fragmented spatial mirrors refracted the firelight, creating an incredibly dazzling spectacle.
Kui Xin involuntarily began to ponder: Could Night Cicada’s spatial vortex break Wei Zhi’s space confinement? Does a higher level of spatial ability suppress lower levels?
Kui Xin’s “Eyes of Perception” could not discern the exact effects of Night Cicada’s ability, but it clearly revealed Wei Zhi’s. Among the few Extraordinary Ability Users she had encountered so far, A-ranked He Gaoyi and Night Cicada shared similarities; Kui Xin struggled to observe the specific impact of their abilities. As for S-ranked Wang Feichi, his superhuman ability was even more elusive—she couldn’t determine what it was at all, with its name still hidden.
When encountering individuals with significantly superior abilities, the limitations and drawbacks of the Eyes of Perception became evident.
“Not bad, your mastery and understanding of your ability are quite mature,” Wang Feichi praised Wei Zhi.
“You’re too kind,” Wei Zhi responded, “It’s just B-grade.”
If a B-grade can exert such influence, imagine what an A or S grade might achieve?
Unfortunately, Wei Zhi is past her prime age. Younger individuals tend to have an easier time enhancing their superhuman abilities. Wei Zhi has essentially reached a bottleneck, making further breakthroughs increasingly difficult.
“You have quick reflexes.” Wang Feichi then looked at Kui Xin with renewed interest and said, “Before that thing exploded, you gave a timely warning.”
“The projector’s light turned red, and I felt something was terribly wrong. I strongly trust my intuition, so I immediately raised the alarm,” Kui Xin said. “In critical situations, I prioritize following my instincts.”“You’re quite similar to me; I also greatly rely on my own intuition,” Wang Feichi remarked.
Kui Xin’s inherent talent, Absolute Prediction, may sound mysterious, but in reality, even some ordinary individuals possess comparable abilities. However, their intuition is not as accurate or keen as Kui Xin’s. The warnings from Absolute Prediction are often subtle and require careful discernment. Kui Xin could easily miss these alerts because they are intangible. Only when she faces life-threatening danger does the warning from Absolute Prediction become clear and unequivocal.
Wang Feichi tapped his head. “Tsk, it seems like this operation has failed—without a single person around, what’s there to encircle and annihilate?”
Wei Zhi pressed her earpiece to communicate with her superior and then announced, “Director Meng Jing says we should temporarily withdraw, leaving behind a portion of security officers to inspect the scene for suspicious items.”
“Well, that’s good. Let’s go,” Wang Feichi said. “I only slept for five hours last night. Your Investigation Department insisted on having me come at midnight, and then we were immediately thrown into this operation the next day, only to end up with nothing.”
“The enemy is far more cunning than we imagined,” Wei Zhi remarked.
“However cunning they may be, it doesn’t excuse your negligence,” Wang Feichi bluntly responded. “What have you been doing all these years while managing Black Sea City?”
Wei Zhi couldn’t provide an answer.
She was considered a mid-level leader within the Investigation Department, whereas Meng Jing and Lin Xinji held high-ranking positions. These top leaders both hail from influential tycoon families. Rather than working for the department to manage the city and maintain law and order, their motives leaned more towards consolidating power and improving their own resumes.
With key officials in such positions not actively performing their duties, it was inevitable that the Investigation Department would suffer inefficiencies.
Kui Xin observed Wang Feichi’s demeanor, her expression subtly changing beneath the helmet.
She sensed that trouble was looming for Meng Jing, the head of the Investigation Department.
Someone had to take responsibility following the bombing of Mooring Harbor and The Kraken’s sinking, as well as the Investigation Department’s ineffectiveness. As a result, Lin Xinji acted as the scapegoat, allowing Meng Jing to remain unscathed.
Through this incident, the Meng and Shu families established connections with each other. Initially, they could have maintained a long-term collaboration, but with Kui Xin killing Lin Xinji, the bridge between the two prominent families was severed. The Meng family’s failure to assist Lin Xinji as he perished further strained their relationship, ultimately leading to a complete rupture.
Now that the matter involving The Kraken has passed, the Investigation Department’s primary objective has shifted to wiping out Mechanical Dawn. Despite meticulous planning, the department suffered another defeat. When they mobilized forces, Mechanical Dawn had already vacated its premises, leaving behind empty buildings—a ruthless mockery of the Investigation Department’s efforts.
It truly turned out to be a futile pursuit.
With the Kraken’s sinking, Lin Xinji took responsibility. This time, after the failed crackdown, who would step forward to bear the blame?
The group leaders’ ranks were insufficient, Wei Zhi temporarily hadn’t assumed the role of Minister, and among the remaining high-ranking officials, there was only Meng Jing left.
Only Meng Jing could take the fall.
“Isn’t this what the butterfly effect is all about?” Kui Xin wondered internally.
Each event is linked to the next—without the incident surrounding The Kraken, there wouldn’t have been the Investigation Department’s current actions, nor the subsequent downfall of leadership and reshuffling of positions.
For now, Kui Xin didn’t need to worry about the Investigation Department. She was merely a low-level security officer, recently promoted to secretary, but still not firmly established in her new position. Should any issues arise, it wouldn’t be her responsibility to find solutions.
Kui Xin’s primary concern was Mechanical Dawn.
Just last night, she attended a meeting at Mechanical Dawn, and today they were already completely evacuated. Wei Haidong mentioned that the relocation had begun several days ago; the meeting was merely to notify the core members to be prepared and assign tasks accordingly.
Mechanical Dawn had been preparing for their evacuation for a while. It’s possible that even when the Kraken sank, the evacuation plan was quietly underway. Wei Haidong managed to keep this secret not only from herself but also from the other core members of Mechanical Dawn, informing them only at the very last moment.
The Investigation Department personnel departed as swiftly as they arrived. Wang Feichi, expressionless, boarded the helicopter with visible impatience, shifting restlessly.
The helicopter took off from its spot, heading back to the Investigation Department.
However, midway through the flight, Adam suddenly sent an urgent message.
“There has been an unexpected incident on the highway northwest of Black Sea City,” it said. “An aerial surveillance stealth drone is en route, capturing live images… Capturing… is complete.”
A high-resolution image captured by the drone was transmitted directly to Kui Xin’s monocle. When she saw it, she froze. Clear within the picture were two figures incredibly familiar to her—one was Red, and the other was Silver Mask. They appeared to be engaged in combat with another group.
“Upon comparison, the individual wearing the silver mask on the left was previously seen at the port and engaged in direct conflict with our security officers. Kui Xin is one of the eyewitnesses to that incident,” Adam succinctly stated. “Based on our analysis and assessment, this person is highly likely to be a member of the Mechanical Dawn.”
“Oh wow.” Wang Feichi suddenly perked up and asked, “Is there work for us?”
“On Minister Meng Jing’s orders, please change your flight route to head towards the northwest outskirts and halt the fighting. Capture the key members involved and bring them back for interrogation by the Investigation Department,” Adam said. “The new flight path has been planned.”
“I have a vivid recollection of this incident; I personally reviewed the field operation records and watched your duty footage.” Wei Zhi shifted her gaze towards Kui Xin. “The Silver Mask’s superhuman ability is water manipulation. He broke Security Officer Jiang Ming’s leg, and he should have had a teammate—a woman equipped with transforming mechanical hands. Her initial assessment rating for her superhuman ability is B.”
“Yes, he’s highly dangerous,” Kui Xin said. “I haven’t seen the person accompanying the Silver Mask before. Do we have any related information about them?”
Adam responded, “Currently, there is no matching data available.”
Wang Feichi asked, “Can we match the profiles of the group who engaged with the Silver Mask? How peculiar. Why would these two groups fight each other, especially on the outskirts’ highway?”
“Unable to determine the identities of the targets,” Adam stated. “Please remain vigilant, everyone.”
“The situation seems to be getting interesting,” Wang Feichi remarked.
“I still hope it doesn’t become too ‘interesting,'” Wei Zhi said. “It’s best if matters exceeding the Investigation Department’s scope do not arise.”
Kui Xin concurred, “I wholeheartedly agree.”
Indeed, anything surpassing her capacity should ideally never exist.
“W-Why would we be attacked?” Silver Mask, panting heavily, snapped the neck of the last enemy with confusion evident in his pink eyes.
“What else could it be? There must be a traitor among us,” Red said, exhausted as he sat atop a pile of corpses.
“A traitor?” Silver Mask echoed, bewildered. “Didn’t we already identify the traitor? Wasn’t Ball Python… Could there be someone else besides Ball Python who is a traitor?”
Red grew weary of dealing with him, rolling his eyes.
Silver Mask continued, “The number of attackers wasn’t large, but the truck’s wheels are damaged now. What should we do?”
“Nothing to be done about it.” Red stood up and forcefully kicked open the crooked cargo compartment door. It was completely empty, devoid of anything. “Haven’t you noticed? From start to finish, we’ve been escorting an empty truck. The people who attacked us were just the vanguard, hence their small numbers. After confirming there was nothing inside, they withdrew; they didn’t want to waste unnecessary force.”
“…What? What did you say? Why can’t I understand? Why did the leader want us to transport this empty truck?!” Silver Mask exclaimed, perplexed.
Red glanced at Silver Mask, then gave him a kick on the rear while berating him, “If you can’t figure it out, don’t ask! All these questions are irritating me! Your brain is meant for thinking, not for being vacant!”
Silver Mask shrank back, feeling wronged. “If you insult and hit me, I’ll tell Rich-Rich Lady.”
“How long have you been with her to already learn to tattle on me?” Red retorted.
“I’m now Rich Lady’s subordinate, not yours,” Silver Mask replied weakly.
Red said, “Once we complete this mission, you better get lost.”
“Can I really leave? That’s fantastic!” Silver Mask exclaimed happily.
Red fell silent… This kid was irredeemably foolish.
“What do we do now?” Silver Mask asked.
“We wait for Night Cicada to free up and come pick us up.” Red detached the communicator from his body, fiddling with it briefly. “Without a signal from him, we can’t move. Perhaps the escort team he’s with is under attack, just like we were earlier. Without Eden maintaining communications, our interactions become more difficult. Phew, I didn’t expect the traitor to act so hastily here; it caught me off guard. I wonder if the leader anticipated this… Hopefully, Night Cicada wraps things up quickly over there.”
“Will waiting here risk drawing attention from the Investigation Department?” Silver Mask queried.
“Theoretically, yes, there is that danger,” Red acknowledged. He then turned around and said, “Let’s go. We’ll hijack a passing vehicle.”
“Ah!” Silver Mask suddenly let out a startled cry, pointing into the distance, “A helicopter!”
The helicopter appeared on the horizon, its black dot growing larger as it approached them, and the faint sound of rotor blades reached their ears.
Red turned to look, his face turning pale with fear.
He bolted immediately, cursing while running, “Damn it, what’re you waiting for? Run!”