novelraw Chapter 281: Blasted into a Mist of Blood
Chapter 281: Blasted into a Mist of Blood
Su Zhan had actually anticipated this long ago.
Even though this was an uninhabited zone, his frequent trips to purchase large quantities of supplies and his prolonged stays here were inherently suspicious behavior.
Add to that his frequent summoning of the Mist—no matter how remote the location, the energy fluctuations could still leave traces detectable by the authorities.
His original plan had simply been to hide for as long as possible.
Clearly, the one-year period of peace had come to an end.
"Tsk, it took them a full year to track me down. That means my concealment was pretty decent, or... the authorities' attention really was diverted by more serious matters, with no time to spare for a minor character like me," Su Zhan thought to himself. "To have a whole year of stable time to reach High-risk tenth rank peak is already incredibly lucky."
His gaze swept over the three people before him, assessing their strength.
Unfortunately, they had concealed their auras very well, making an accurate judgment impossible.
But Su Zhan had absolute confidence in his current power.
"Unless an Abyss Realm expert personally shows up..." Su Zhan sneered inwardly. "But figures of that level, which one isn't a big shot guarding a region, dealing with truly major crises? How could they be easily dispatched for something in an uninhabited zone that hasn't even had its threat level confirmed? Not to mention the Ocean Realm. Even Tide Realm experts are the main force handling regional incidents;
it's unlikely they'd appear in a preliminary investigation team like this."Su Zhan quickly made his judgment: "Then, the strength of these three people before me is at most Stream Realm."
Stream Realm?
Su Zhan almost laughed out loud.
With his current strength at High-risk tenth rank peak, he could take care of them with one hand.
It would be no different from chopping melons and slicing vegetables.
Moreover, Su Zhan was becoming increasingly clear about the nature of his aberrant form.
Black scales, sharp claws, a tail, golden vertical pupils, fleshy wings... These were clearly the characteristics of a dragon from Western legends.
In any culture or biological hierarchy, dragons were almost always the powerful beings at the apex.
This perfectly explained why he possessed such formidable combat power within the same rank, and could even challenge those above his rank.
"Against anyone of the same rank, I fear no one."
Su Zhan's mindset was very relaxed.
"It's best to avoid a fight if possible," Su Zhan warned himself. "Once a fight starts, my identity as an aberrant will inevitably be exposed, leading to endless trouble later. It's best if I can muddle through with explanations."
If they were just conducting a routine interrogation, even a harsh one, he could endure it.
But if they were foolish enough to insist on a fight, and their called reinforcements arrived to surround him... then he absolutely would not sit idly by and wait for death.
In that case, they couldn't blame him for being ruthless.
In this desolate wilderness, making a few low-level Aberrant Purge Division investigators disappear wouldn't be difficult.
He hoped these people would make a smart choice.
"Sir, my camera is still in the trunk, full of the photos I took," Su Zhan said with a sincere expression, pointing to the trunk. "I'm just a photography enthusiast, specializing in shooting desert and Gobi landscapes. You don't get to see scenes like this in other places, which is why I've been staying here for so long to shoot. If you don't believe me, you can check. There are over 1TB of photos and videos stored inside, all with date records."
This was the disguise he had prepared long ago.
A professional DSLR camera.
To make it convincing, he had even taught himself some photography techniques, and the things he shot did look quite decent.
The lead man gave his companion a meaningful glance.
The woman cautiously opened the trunk, checked the camera and hard drives, and confirmed they indeed contained a massive amount of Gobi landscape material spanning a long period.
She gave a slight nod to the lead man.
The evidence seemed to match.
But the vigilance of the three Aberrant Purge Division members did not relax.
The lead man stared at Su Zhan and changed his angle of questioning: "You've been in the Gobi Desert for so long. Have you seen anything strange? For example... abnormal weather?"
This question was tricky.
If he said he had seen something—like admitting he had witnessed Mist events—the next question would inevitably be, "Why didn't you report it?"
Any explanation at that point would seem weak and unconvincing.
Suspicion would increase dramatically.
Su Zhan could only brace himself and shake his head with a blank expression: "Strange things? No, sir. In the Gobi Desert, besides the strong winds and sand, the bright stars at night, and the scarcity of animals, there's nothing special."
He had to firmly insist he had seen nothing.
The lead man was silent for a few seconds. "Hmm, we're just doing our routine duty. Don't worry, if you're innocent, we will definitely clear your name. So, please come with us to give a detailed statement and cooperate with the investigation. It'll be over quickly."
As he spoke, he exchanged another knowing glance with the other two.
The short man who had been operating his phone with his back to Su Zhan earlier made a slight hand gesture behind his back.
Su Zhan's heart sank completely.
Give a statement?
Once taken into the Aberrant Purge Division's territory, the difficulty of escaping would increase exponentially.
They clearly didn't believe his story. The so-called statement was just an excuse to control him. Reinforcements were probably already on the way.
He couldn't wait any longer!
Su Zhan erupted with a fierce, murderous aura: "Since you're seeking death, don't blame me!"
His body completed the aberrant transformation within a thousandth of a second.
Black scales covered his entire body.
The three Aberrant Purge Division members' expressions turned to horror:
"High-risk grade!"
"Tenth rank peak!"
"Call for—"
The glow of their Life Souls had just begun to ignite when it abruptly stopped.
Su Zhan's sharp claws easily tore through their protective spiritual light, crushed their throats, and pierced their hearts.
His tail swept horizontally, cutting one person in half at the waist.
Violent Mist Energy instantly tore their bodies into irregular fragments.
Blood poured onto the dry Gobi Desert like a torrential downpour.
The three were directly blasted into a bloody mist with a single strike.
From the sudden outburst to the end, it took barely a moment.
Three Aberrant Purge Division elites, at least at the Stream Realm level, had met their end without even fully manifesting their Life Souls, their bodies utterly destroyed.
Su Zhan shot out several highly compressed balls of Mist Energy, corroding the corpses completely, along with the SUV.
He could no longer return to Xichuan City.
Su Zhan glanced in the direction of Xichuan City, got back into his car, and drove off in the opposite direction.
...
Western Daxia.
Jincheng.
Inside the command center of the Aberrant Purge Division's Western Regional Headquarters.
The atmosphere was heavy.
A woman wearing the crisp, high-ranking uniform of the Aberrant Purge Division walked briskly into the Regional Director's office.
She placed an urgent report on the large, solid wood desk.
Behind the desk sat a man who looked to be around fifty years old.
He was the highest-ranking official in charge of all aberrant purge affairs in the entire western region of Daxia.
The Regional Director of the Aberrant Purge Division's Western Region, Li Zhange.
"Regional Director, urgent report from the Northwestern Branch Office. The investigation team for the abnormal Mist event in the uninhabited zone of the Gobi Desert outside Xichuan City... contact lost, confirmed. Their vehicle wreckage and... traces of the team members' DNA have been discovered. Confirmed, all personnel have died in the line of duty."
The female subordinate's voice was heavy.