People in Yu-Gi-Oh! The hyper-converged audience is also integrated

Chapter 346 My name is Li Guanqi

“There are a total of seven strongholds of black car gangs and cults in the East Seventh District.” Chu Chan’s finger swept across the light screen map, and the seven red dots stood out against the gray city grid.

Latia is a lost city from a thousand years ago. Over the past few centuries, many bigwigs have engaged in 'real estate development', establishing some semi-finished industries and forming a small stronghold.

However, overall, Latia remains a no-man's-land.

“Abandoned power plants, underground parking lots, canneries… these are all places where filth and corruption lurk.” His tone was calm, yet tinged with a bloodthirstiness. “Our primary objective is to eliminate the two most threatening locations: point A, the abandoned power plant; and point B, the cannery.”

"The power station is the largest place for black market car gangs to sell stolen goods. It is controlled by a guy called 'Iron Head' with more than 20 men. They have firepower but no high-level magic cards."

“The cannery at point B is even more troublesome. It’s the meeting place of a cult, and the area around here…” Chu Chan pointed to the light screen, “and refugees pass by from time to time. They are all targets of the cult’s brainwashing.”

“The mission—” he paused, his eyes filled with struggle, “does not include rescue.”

Li Guanqi, Luli, and the others were taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly regained their composure.

The Soul Reapers Division is different from the police in the traditional sense. The purpose of this force was to eliminate 003. It does not have a rescue mission. Threatening the lives of refugees to prevent them from shooting is not feasible.

Chu Chan raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the five young faces that were not immature.

"Now divide into groups."

"Qin Feng, Luli, you two are in team one. Target point A, the abandoned power plant."

"Yes! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" Qin Feng immediately straightened his chest and spoke in a loud voice. He glanced at Luli beside him, his eyes carrying a hint of assessment.

Luli simply nodded slightly, her expression unchanged, as quiet as a deep pool.

"Li Guanqi, Tsukishima Chizuru, you two are in charge of point B, the cannery."

"Yes, sir!" Tsukishima Chizuru stood at attention abruptly, nodded emphatically to Chu Chan, her posture textbook perfect. "I will never betray the trust of my superior!"

“Received.” Li Guanqi calmly gazed at the map, seemingly constructing a battlefield in his mind.

Finally, Chu Chan's gaze fell on Xia Sheng, and he paused for a moment, struggling with his choice of words.

Everyone present noticed the brief silence.

“Xia Sheng…” Chu Chan carefully chose his words, “There are instructions from above that your actions are not restricted by the group, and you are free to act as you see fit.”

Without any surprise or objection, everyone assumed Xia Sheng was a mercenary hired by the Spirit Control Bureau, based on his attire.

"Is there a problem?" Chu Chan asked in a deep voice.

"No problem," everyone responded in unison.

“Very good.” Chu Chan continued to arrange, “Group A, Qin Feng and you, I will be responsible for following up, but I will not take action during the mission unless you are about to die.”

He turned to look at the refined-looking Bai Shu beside him: "Group B, you follow up on this."

"OK." Bai Shu made a gesture, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, and his gentle gaze swept over Li Guanqi and Tsukishima Chizuru, a warm smile spreading across his face.

Just then, Qiqi, who had been relatively unknown, slowly raised her hand, like a student daydreaming in class.

"And what about me?" she asked expressionlessly.

Chu Chan was taken aback by the question, clearly having forgotten about his colleague who was just there to get points, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.

“You…” He opened his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the dilapidated buildings around him, as if he were looking for a temporary job, “You… are also free to move around and keep watch on the perimeter.”

Upon hearing this, Qiqi slowly lowered her hand and gave a thumbs-up with the same expressionless face.

"receive."

"Anything else you want to ask? Ask now," Chu Chan said in a deep voice. "The black market car gangs and cults are colluding with each other. The East Seventh District is a mixed bag. No matter who you see, always stay calm."

“Those seven of the Pope’s cronies,” Xia Sheng interrupted rudely, “are now being followed up by the Dark Division.”

"If we accidentally get involved, how do we identify the people in the shadows and what their physical characteristics are?"

Upon hearing this, Li Guanqi wondered to himself, "Was this accident intentional or just a genuine carelessness?"

Why are you so eager to try? It doesn't seem like an 'accident', buddy.

Chu Chan glanced at Xia Sheng with a complicated look in his eyes. After thinking for a while, he replied ambiguously, "If the people in the Dark Division need our help, they will show us their badges."

"Help if you can, but don't help if you feel there's danger. Do what you can."

"I see," Xia Sheng nodded.

"Keep in touch. If things get really bad, call for backup," Chu Chan instructed, then led Qin Feng and Luli into the shadows of a street.

Li Guanqi and the other two walked to the other side.

Only Xia Sheng and Qi Qi remained as "free agents." Xia Sheng hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow Li Guanqi's team.

……

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them stopped at the same time and hid on the second floor of an abandoned shopping mall, looking across the street through the broken floor-to-ceiling window.

It was a huge cannery, with rusty iron walls riddled with bullet holes and graffiti, and a massive chimney that looked like a broken bone, pointing diagonally at the gray sky.

In the open space in front of the factory gate, hundreds of ragged refugees gathered, lining up with a numb piety on their faces.

A dozen or so figures dressed in black robes and hooded hats were distributing food and water to them.

Bread and water.

The scene was eerily quiet, with only the howling of the wind through the ruins and the faint murmurs of the refugees as they received food.

“Inquire.” Chizuru Tsukishima knelt by the window, her posture like a cheetah poised to pounce.

She turned her head to look at Bai Shu, who was standing behind her, looking quite composed.

"Commander Baishu, may I ask for your guidance?"

"This sect gives alms to the poor and helps the weak, which seems... inconsistent with the word 'cult'."

Her tone carried a hint of confusion; clearly, the orderly and benevolent scene before her was quite different from her impression of "madmen" and "scumbags."

“The difference between a regular church and a heretical church is their robes.” Bai Shu smiled gently, pointed to the group, and said softly, “Miss Chizuru, do you see the purple ouroboros on the black robes? Those with that symbol are heretical.”

"A heretical cult of spirit possession."

“A cult of spirit possession,” Chizuru Tsukishima repeated, then asked in confusion, “Why don’t they remove the symbols and pretend to be a regular church? Wouldn’t that avoid conflict with the Spirit Control Bureau?”

"That's a good question, Miss Chizuru," Bai Shu said with a slight smile.

"It's obvious that you are a normal person with normal thinking."

"But clearly, they didn't."

“That’s the kind of thing the church is; they’d rather die under the barbarian’s gun than tear off that symbol.”

“But—” Tsukishima Chizuru still felt something was wrong, and frowned. “Why would they do these things?”

Li Guanqi did not participate in their discussion, his gaze fixed on the faces of the refugees who received the bread.

After those people ate their bread and drank some water, the numb expression on their faces would instantly tighten, and their hands holding the bread would tremble.

That's not the reaction you'd expect from someone who's just had a full stomach, and refugees would never complain about the taste of the food.

It's more like drinking poison to quench thirst.

“The bread and water are not clean,” Li Guanqi suddenly said, his eyes filled with a hint of anger.

"Wow," Bai Shu said, raising an eyebrow. "Such keen observation skills. No wonder you're a chess observer."

“That’s right,” he shrugged and continued.

"Both the bread and water contain an activator, which will activate the symbiotic card and lower the sanity rate."

Upon hearing this, Chizuru Tsukishima's fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword, and a crack appeared on her usually taut face.

Suppressing her anger, she forced out the words through clenched teeth: "Such behavior is no different from that of a beast!"

"Stay calm." Bai Shu's smile remained gentle, as if it were none of his business. "The black market will spread rumors that there are churches in Latia that provide free food and water, or, to be more direct, they will use violence to drive an entire block of homeless people here."

They call this 'herding sheep'.

"If they can attract enough 'sheep,' they can get more food and supplies from the church."

"Sheep," Li Guanqi murmured softly.

“The refugees who ingest the activator will have their sanity levels collapse, going completely insane or falling ill,” Bai Shu continued. “They will be taken to the ‘wards’ deep inside the factory… I don’t need to say more about what happens next.”

"Why not just kill him and take the card?" Li Guanqi frowned and suddenly spoke up. "Why go through all this trouble and use so many fancy tricks?"

“Because—” Bai Shu was about to explain.

Xia Sheng spoke first, his voice colder than the wind in the surrounding ruins.

"Because of a normal death, the soul goes to the underworld."

The people present paused at the same time and looked at him.

"After death from the onset of double vision, the soul will be sucked into the sky to recharge 003."

"Disrupting the order of life and death."

When he uttered his last few words, a rare, chilling murderous intent flashed in his usually calm eyes.

As beings of the underworld, they hold the highest level of reverence and faith in the God of the Underworld. 003 forcibly severed the cycle of reincarnation and sucked away the souls of the dead who should have entered the underworld, which is the most direct provocation to the God of the Underworld.

This tumor that has taken root in our lives must be removed!
Li Guanqi noticed the anger in Xia Sheng's eyes and was quite surprised.

This guy... actually cares about "the order of life and death," which sounds like a noble and righteous principle.

It's a pity Yu Wanyin isn't here, otherwise she would definitely have had the chance to see Xia Sheng who is no longer expressionless.

It is indeed rare.

In comparison, Li Guanqi felt that his perspective was somewhat narrow. He never cared about grand principles, love or hate; his target was always a specific person. For example, right now, he disliked the church in front of him, but not because of any order of life or death.

It's a very pure, psychological and physiological aversion.

I despise them for treating people like livestock, and I despise the hypocritical compassion on their faces.

It's that kind of pure, unadulterated urge to twist their heads off one by one.

“The black market car gangs want symbiotic cards, and the cults want souls; this is their cooperation.” Bai Shu smiled knowingly, making a dark joke. “The homeless people would never have imagined they were so useful.”

"Sir!" Tsukishima Chizuru turned around abruptly and bowed deeply to Bai Shu. "Please give the order to attack!"

Bai Zhu spread his hands and said, "There are no instructions for the graduation operation. You are in complete control. Call me if you feel any danger."

"However, points are deducted every time I am called."

"Li-san!" Tsukishima Chizuru turned to look at Li Guanqi, filled with righteous indignation, "Let's go!"

Li Guanqi's lips twitched slightly as he reluctantly accepted the title 'Li Sang'. He looked down at the instrument in his hand and said, "The drone didn't detect any heavy weapons, so it's not a big problem. We can go straight in."

“Sigh—this is such a dangerous operation, how could we let an intern do it?” Bai Shu said leisurely.

"It's not that dangerous, it's just—" He paused, leaving the audience in suspense, "...you guys go and experience it for yourselves."

"Be mentally prepared."

Li Guanqi and Tsukishima Chizuru exchanged a glance, puzzled, but still gave each other a firm nod.

Without further hesitation, Chizuru Tsukishima vaulted over the windowsill, her lithe figure tracing an arc in the air before landing silently, like a feather.

Li Guanqi followed closely behind, his feet making a soft thud as he stepped onto the gravel.

The sudden arrival of the two people instantly tensed the atmosphere at the outpost.

The dozens of gang members who were parked around the hideout as "security" immediately reacted, cursing and raising their weapons, pointing their guns and knives at the two men.

The crowd queuing for food froze in place, their hands trembling slightly as they held the bread, their numb faces showing terror.

"boom!"

A gunshot pierced the oppressive atmosphere.

Li Guanqi fired a shot into the air, the muzzle emitting blue smoke. He shouted in a deep voice, "Those who don't want to die, get out of here now."

Strangely, when the refugees heard the gunshots, they only trembled but did not move. Instead, they instinctively shrank back, clutching their bread to their chests, as if afraid that the two intruders would snatch the food from their hands.

The black-robed cultist distributing the food showed no sign of panic even when facing the gun barrels.

He slowly raised his head, his face obscured by the hood, but his voice was surprisingly gentle, carrying a nauseating pity.

"Do not be afraid, we are God's children."

"They are the lackeys of power and the claws of order. They cannot bear to see us doing well, nor can they bear to see us receive God's protection."

These words were like a spell, making the already hesitant refugees' eyes even more complicated. Their gazes toward Li Guanqi and his companion slowly shifted from fear to hostility and hatred.

"Scum! What nonsense are you spouting!" Tsukishima Chizuru gritted her teeth, gripping the hilt of her sword and pointing it at the cultist. She had never seen anyone so blatantly twisting the truth.

The black-robed cultist ignored her, gently stroking the refugee's head: "They came to steal our last hope, to condemn us to eternal slavery in cages."

"They... they deserve to die..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the refugees' cloudy eyes bulged out and their pupils dilated suddenly, like puppets being controlled by invisible strings.

Their expressions turned ferocious and blank, and they let out beast-like growls as they approached Li Guanqi and his companion step by step.

Chizuru Tsukishima's anger was completely ignited. Pointing at the black-robed cultist, she retorted sharply, "Wake up! They are the ones who harmed you!"

But these words were like a stone sinking into the sea.

"You...damn it!"

The frenzied refugees could no longer hear anything, roaring and rushing forward like madmen.

Amidst the chaotic clamor, Li Guanqi felt a profound sense of calm. He gazed at the crazed faces and the smug smiles beneath the hoods of the black-robed cultists, recalling the words of Chu Chan and Bai Shu.

"Mission. The mission does not include rescue."

"Be mentally prepared."

Oh, that's what it meant.

The last trace of warmth in his eyes faded, leaving them cold.

His arm slowly rose, very slowly, with a steady, unwavering movement. The black live ammunition gun seemed to be an extension of his arm, pointing precisely at the crowd.

boom!
A gunshot rang out, exploding in the ruins.

The head of the first refugee exploded like a watermelon, splattering red and white matter all over the faces of those behind him. The headless body swayed and fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

There were no screams.

The refugees, their faces splattered with blood, merely stopped in fear; not one retreated. Some continued to roar, preparing to charge forward again.

boom!
Li Guanqi fired a second shot expressionlessly, and another refugee charging at the front was accurately shot in the head.

The frenzied crowd stopped again, but still did not retreat.

“Li-san.” Tsukishima Chizuru looked at Li Guanqi in shock.

Without offering a single explanation, Li Guanqi stepped forward, his gun steadily aimed at a trembling refugee in the front row.

A cold gaze met those eyes filled with fear and madness.

Time seems to stand still.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

The three seconds were long enough, like a silent trial.

The madness in the refugee's eyes overcame his fear, and he let out a roar and waved his arms.

boom!
Li Guanqi pulled the trigger again, killing him instantly.

Chizuru Tsukishima was completely stunned; her hand holding the knife trembled.

Li Guanqi indifferently moved the muzzle of his gun, the dark muzzle locking onto his next target: a thin woman.

His cold gaze remained fixed on the other person's eyes.

In those eyes, madness and fear were locked in a fierce battle. The woman's body trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind, her lips quivering, yet she could not utter a sound.

Time passed second by second, feeling as long as an eternity.

Three seconds passed.

The madness in the woman's eyes was finally overwhelmed by fear, and a sliver of clarity returned. She let out a piercing scream, threw down the bread in her hand, and scrambled away into the distance.

This time.

Li Guanqi did not fire.

He simply pointed his gun at the next homeless person, a man holding a child.

A silent gaze met, and the meeting began again.

The man holding the child trembled violently, sweat streaming down his thin face and dripping onto the bewildered face of the child in his arms.

The child neither cried nor made a fuss; he simply stared with his clear eyes at the man holding the gun.

one second.

The madness in the man's eyes is fading, replaced by another, more primal emotion.

two seconds.

He glanced at the child in his arms, then at Li Guanqi's emotionless eyes.

three seconds.

"what--!"

The man let out a mournful cry that sounded inhuman, slammed the bread in his hand to the ground, and, clutching the child, scrambled backward.

The first domino fell.

Once one person takes the lead, there will be a second, and a third.

Suppressed cries and screams erupted from the crowd. They threw down their food and scattered like a tide, fleeing in terror into the depths of the ruins, never daring to look back.

The once bustling open space was now completely empty, leaving only a pile of bread and trampled food.

Chizuru Tsukishima breathed a sigh of relief, loosened her grip on the knife, and stared blankly at Li Guanqi, unsure of what to say.

Li Guanqi remained silent, seemingly in a bad mood. He didn't say a word, only repeatedly raising his gun and pointing it at the black car gang and cult members.

My name is Li Guanqi.

My mom told me since I was little that I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up.

Go get it treated.

What a damn world.

(End of this chapter)