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nOn a small road near the slaughterhouse, Old Wang was forced to walk in front of the soldiers. The widow walked a few meters behind him, protected by the soldiers to prevent any accidents from happening to the witness.

nChen Yiming was also with them. They quickly arrived at a small courtyard.

nThis was Old Wang’s residence. It occupied a large area and had five rooms. However, it looked a little dilapidated, as though it had been around for a long time. The walls were covered in vines.

nAfter everyone entered, the widow quickly led them to the storeroom.

nThe storeroom was quite tidy. The tools and materials were sorted by categories, and some bedding was folded and stuffed into the corresponding containers.

nThere was no alcohol in the middle-aged man’s house, which was a rare situation.

nIt was no wonder that among his colleagues at the slaughterhouse, only the widow, his secret lover, had noticed the source of the abnormalities in Old Wang.

n“The two of them should have been quite close before, but Old Wang became a warrior overnight. This suddenly turned the two of them into people from two different worlds.”

nChen Yiming glanced around and figured out the reason why the widow had stood up to testify against Old Wang.

nThe widow was also a pragmatic woman. She knew the difference in status between warriors and ordinary people, and she did not want to be involved in any strange incidents.

n“I really don’t know anything! Even if there’s a problem, I am totally uninvolved.”

nAfter entering the storeroom, Old Wang quickly explained with a nervous expression.

nAnyone who inexplicably became a warrior would feel like they had just risen from the clouds and fallen back to the ground. It was too uncomfortable, and it would have been better if they hadn’t experienced it in the first place.

nNo one cared about Old Wang’s protests. They all focused their gazes on the widow.

n“Wait a moment.”

nThe widow understood and nodded.

nShe took a few steps to a large multi-layered storage cabinet and opened every compartment. It was filled with Old Wang’s sculptures.

nChen Yiming took a quick glance. Old Wang’s level in carving was only slightly better than that of a beginner, but he was still at the level of an amateur.

n“There’s definitely something wrong with this carving.”

nThe widow took out a piece of work that was facing inwards and placed it on the ground so that everyone could see the front.

nIt was a goat’s head with two horns missing. The surface of the bone was engraved with complicated patterns, making it look full of life even though the two horns were missing.

nIt was on a completely different level compared to the other sculptures.

nClearly, this was a mythical creature from Old Wang’s imagination that had been brought to life through his carving.

n“This is a piece that I suddenly had an inspiration for last week. I definitely carved it myself, and didn’t pick it up from somewhere.”

nSeeing that he could no longer hide his masterpiece, Old Wang quickly explained himself.

nThe booklets issued by the government emphasized that the strange incidents often involved foreign objects and abnormalities in the human body.

nFor the time being, there was no information regarding works of art like paintings, carvings, calligraphy, and so on.

nChen Yiming raised an eyebrow, and Feng Wuji was equally surprised.

nTo the surrounding soldiers, they might have seen a masterpiece, but it was strange that it was created by someone at Old Wang’s level.

nWhat the two of them saw was a mark similar to the one on the shadow tentacles.

nIt was precisely the existence of these mysterious marks that seemed to have changed the original patterns, giving the goat head the feeling of a masterpiece.

n“This is rather difficult to deal with. They can actually secretly use the unsuspecting humans to leave traces behind in the city,” Chen Yiming thought to himself.

nThe reason why they were exposed was most likely because the enemies related to the black tide had a limited understanding of humans.

nThey did not know that if an ordinary person who only had a little foundation in martial arts suddenly reached the level of a warrior overnight, it was enough to attract unwanted attention.

nAt the same time, a sense of urgency welled up in his heart.

nFrom the looks of it, the black tide was undoubtedly far stronger than human civilization.

nIf the enemy figured out the situation among the humans, their methods would definitely be more secretive, and there would not be much time left for the humans to learn more about the black tide.

nJust as all eyes were focused on the goat’s head, Feng Wuji took a step forward and stood in front of everyone to prevent the goat’s head from sensing that something was amiss and suddenly attacking or killing everyone.

nAs expected, it seemed to have triggered a trap.

nTwo red lights suddenly flashed in the empty eyes of the goat head.

nThe scene before their eyes flashed, and all of them suddenly found themselves in a world filled with red, except for the black soil under their feet.

n“Is this one of the enemy’s special abilities?”

nChen Yiming sized up his surroundings.

nIn reality, they were still in the storeroom. This was just an illusion, but other than him and Feng Wuji, everyone else was panicking.

nAt this moment, both Old Wang and the widow fell to the ground. Their mouths were tightly shut and their bodies were trembling.

nFurthermore, Old Wang himself did not notice that the handcuffs and ropes on his body had already disappeared.

nAlthough the soldiers accompanying him also had panicked expressions on their faces, they were well-trained and immediately acted on their instincts.

nThey formed teams of three and stood back to back in a defensive formation. Each of them monitored one direction to ensure that there were no blind spots in their line of sight.

nAt this moment, a black vortex appeared out of thin air in the distance. It spun and expanded, and a goat walked out of it.

nThe goat’s body was wrapped in black chains, and its missing horns had grown back. Almost all the mysterious marks were focused on its horns, and it was staring at everyone with its red eyes.

n“Ah!”

nThe moment the goat appeared, Old Wang, the widow, and the soldiers sighed.

nEveryone seemed to have entered a meditative state. They lost their energy and interest in everything.

nFeng Wuji looked over and asked, “Should we make a move now?”

nThe crystal shadow talent had automatically activated, preventing the red light from invading his body. A small portion of the real world was revealed due to this. However, the people around him who were affected by the red light did not seem to be able to see any of this.

nChen Yiming also noticed this.

nHe realized that the most effective way to deal with this situation was to further optimize the crystal meditation technique and lower the threshold for its cultivation.

nAt the very least, the power of purification could allow one to keep a clear mind. Only by doing so could one have a chance to put up a stronger resistance. Otherwise, everything would fall apart if one fell under the control of the black tide.

nOr perhaps the Daxia Kingdom could be forced into an era of warriors. After all, the power of purification was considered a supernatural power. If ordinary people could master it, they would no longer be considered ordinary people.

nSoon, Feng Wuji, who had received Chen Yiming’s signal, took the lead and charged at the goat.

nThe goat let out a roar, and black ripples spread out towards Feng Wuji, enveloping his entire body in the blink of an eye.

n“Die!”

nUnder the enhancement of the crystal shadow, Feng Wuji was not affected by the black ripples at all.

nHe forcefully broke through the obstruction and kicked the goat. In the real world, Feng Wuji took a step forward and kicked the goat’s head.

nThe power of purification exploded inside the goat’s body.

nWith a crack, the red world shattered like a mirror, and the real world appeared from the crack. The scene flashed again, and everyone returned to the storeroom.

nAt this moment, the goat head had split into two, with a crack formed between its eyebrows. It also revealed its original form and became similar to the other carvings around it, which were all at the level of an amateur.

nChen Yiming turned to Old Wang, the widow, and the soldiers.

nTheir faces gradually turned from pale to rosy, and their eyes lit up again. They were quickly recovering.

n“It seems that the goat appeared and absorbed our human emotions.”

nHe could be sure that what it absorbed was not spiritual power. This was because if an ordinary person’s weak spiritual power was damaged, at best, they would have a mental breakdown, and at worst, they would go completely crazy.

n“Could it be that the enemies related to the black tide can gather information about humans from our emotions?”

nChen Yiming couldn’t be sure either. He could only temporarily note this down as another special ability of the enemy.

nHe had resolved the source of the abnormality in Old Wang, but no one could confirm if they had any other hidden tricks up their sleeves.

nTherefore, the soldier took the broken goat’s head and brought Old Wang away with them.

nThe widow heaved a sigh of relief.

nIt was just as the booklet had described. Nothing good would come out of it. If she had been pulled into the red world when she was alone with Old Wang, they would have been doomed.

nNow, the matter had been resolved, and Old Wang would definitely be detained and monitored. She did not have to worry about what Old Wang would do to her, even if he was already a warrior.

n…

nIn the office of the department dealing with the abnormal events in Chengdu City, Chuan province.

nMore and more information was gathered and analyzed.

nAt the moment, it was almost certain that the enemies related to the ‘black tide’ were using strange methods to gather information about the human world.

nThe purification power brought about by the crystal meditation technique was the most direct and effective means of resistance.

nAt the same time, the idea of all citizens becoming martial artists also became popular.

nIt was not only the provinces in the southwest that placed high importance on it. It was the same for the provinces in the east and north of the Daxia Kingdom. No one thought that the black tide would be limited to the no man’s land in the southwest.

nEarly in the morning, Chen Yiming pushed open the door to the information room.

n“You’re here!”

n“It’s you on duty, Xiao Min!”

nA female secretary with a curvy figure smiled when she saw Chen Yiming.

nThe information room in the department had three female secretaries assigned to it to ensure that there would always be someone there at all times to organize the information that was sent over.

nChen Yiming wanted to refuse it, but he couldn’t possibly sort them all out by himself. He didn’t have the time, so he could only agree to let the three female secretaries help him.

nWhen it came to work, he knew his priorities and would definitely not mess around.

nThe female secretary, Xiao Min, walked around the room in her high heels. She took out tea leaves from the cabinet and skillfully brewed a pot of hot tea.

nChen Yiming sat down at the desk and flipped through the information that had been gathered overnight.

n“October 14th, at 10 am, at the Hurun supermarket in Chengdu City, a salesperson was arguing with a customer when flames suddenly appeared on her body, causing a stampede in the supermarket.

nAfter the soldiers arrived, they tried to communicate with the salesperson. The salesperson’s mood suddenly changed drastically, and she got into a conflict with the soldiers. With her ability to control flames, she created a chaotic situation and escaped from the city.”

n“October 14th, at 2 pm, a guest checked into the presidential suite at the Hongsheng Hotel in Sanjiang City. While being served by his personal housekeeper, he started to have designs on her.

nAfter the housekeeper used a trick to appease the guest, she secretly pressed the alarm button. When the guest realized that he couldn’t get his way with her, he directly kidnapped her and fled outside the city.”

n“October 14th, at 9 pm, De An City was attacked by a beast tide. The mutant beasts’ actions were reckless and they were not afraid of death or injury. They are suspected to be under someone’s control.”

n“October 14th, at 3 am, in the no man’s land in the southwest, the sentry post was ambushed by an unknown creature. At the moment, there are no survivors.”

n…

n“How eventful!”

nChen Yiming felt a headache coming on.

nThese were all news that had been received a while ago. The military had already sent out martial arts experts to resolve them.

nHowever, the temptation of power was not something that could be achieved just by keeping a clear head. As long as they could obtain power, some people were willing to pay any price.

nEven though the enemy was only testing the waters, the resources of the human cities were already stretched thin. Not only did they have to face the enemies from outside the city, but they also had to guard against the chaos caused from within.

nHowever, the hidden enemy had yet to reveal itself.

nEven if Chen Yiming wanted to fight his opponent head-on, he didn’t have the chance.

nThe only fortunate thing was that the ‘black tide’ that the female spirit mentioned would not appear so soon. This could be seen from the enemy’s actions.

n“Have some tea first!”

nSeeing Chen Yiming’s troubled expression, the female secretary, Xiao Min, handed him a cup of hot tea.

n“Thank you!”

nChen Yiming took the teacup and took a small sip.

nThe taste was not bad. Having practiced brewing tea, the taste was indeed different.

n“It’s not long before your shift ends. Xiao Min, you can go back first,”

nChen Yiming said when he noticed the other party’s dark eye circles.

nUnder normal circumstances, she would have to work the night shift until 8 am and wait for the next female secretary to take over before leaving.

n“Xiao Fang has something on today and took half a day off. I have to work until noon before I can leave,” the female secretary, Xiao Min, explained with a smile.

nIt was naturally not a problem for Xiao Min to leave 10 minutes early or half an hour early after receiving permission, but she did not dare to skip half a day of work. The head of the department was not so easy to deal with.

n“Oh! I see!”

nChen Yiming continued, “You’ve been working all night. I’ll read the information myself. Go to the lounge and lie down for a while!”

n“Can I?”

nXiao Min didn’t finish her sentence. The lounge wasn’t prepared for the secretaries, but for Chen Yiming, although he hadn’t used it even once.

n“Go on!”

nChen Yiming waved his hand.

n“Then if there’s anything, just call for me.”

nXiao Min nodded and stood up to walk to the lounge in the information room.

nThe reason Xiao Min didn’t reject the suggestion was because she felt that Chen Yiming was a kind and understanding person from their work together. In addition, the head of the department was always very respectful of him.

nTherefore, it was fine to slack off to a reasonable extent as long as she was not caught by the department head.

nNot long after, Chen Yiming was flipping through the information gathered, trying to find a way to break out of the situation.

n“Crack!”

nThe door to the lounge suddenly opened a crack.

nThe reason was that the female secretary, Xiao Min, had closed the door very lightly so that she wouldn’t disturb Chen Yiming, so it had not been closed properly.

n“…”

nChen Yiming looked up and saw Xiao Min lying on the bed through the small opening.

nThe other party had taken off her suit jacket, and half of her shoulder was revealed from under the blanket. On it was a pink strap.

nIn addition, as she breathed, her red lips parted, and the blanket rose and fell repeatedly.

n“Gulp.”

nChen Yiming subconsciously swallowed.

nDuring this period of time, he had been troubled by the matter of the black tide. He had been pent up and he felt a need to find his release.

nHowever, he instantly thought of the enemy who was continuously testing the humans.

nWork was more important! Work was more important!

nHe immediately emphasized it twice in his heart and retracted his gaze. At most, he would steal a glance from time to time.

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