abnormal mutation

Chapter 113 Digestive Potion
Letting his consciousness drift on the endless ocean, Roland lay sprawled under a tree, feeling a sense of relaxation.

In their first encounter, he managed to put a high-sequence extraordinary individual in a sorry state, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment and boosted his confidence to the max.

'And then there's the Shadow Realm. Entering the Unknown erased my dark projection. Does that mean I have no weaknesses in the Shadow Realm either?' His thoughts wandered, and he increasingly felt that this possibility was very high.

He was too nervous to fully appreciate it just now, but now that he has calmed down, he finds his life and soul relaxed and comfortable, his extraordinary qualities and spirituality perfectly integrated, and his bloodline-related traits acting like instincts, moving with his thoughts without needing to be activated by spirituality.

The potion has been completely digested!

Perhaps it was the confidence gained from this battle, perhaps it was the enlightenment he gained in his mind, or perhaps it was the efficient use and development of his bloodline abilities; in any case, he easily passed the first level of the extraordinary path.

The abilities of each bloodline are no longer separated from oneself, as if they were innate, as natural as breathing.

The most significant change is the [infectious abnormal mutation], which makes the infection more effective, shortens the infection cycle, and becomes more insidious.

Clearly, this ability will continue to grow stronger as the number of infected people increases, and it has unlimited potential for the future.

He suppressed his excitement and returned to the real world. The scene before him had not changed, but the sky outside had completely darkened.

"Drek, is something wrong?"

“There are no new instructions on the walkie-talkie, but I hear commotion outside,” Drake replied immediately via telepathy.

“Mainly the North and West districts,” Mandy suddenly interjected, standing at the highest point of the voltage regulating station. “There are large-scale riots and gunfire…”

Roland frowned. Committee member Bag was in charge of the western district, and even the extraordinary individuals in the middle sequence couldn't suppress it. It seemed the situation was very serious.

He deduced that the reason it was the North and West districts was because the other side launched the attack rashly without having time to switch the gas pipeline. With Roland discovering the plan and the memory strains, and with [Big Mouth] spreading the news, they had no choice but to detonate it prematurely to maximize the residual value.

“A message has arrived,” Drake said again. “Commissioner Bagg requests that you lead a team to support Wald Gas Company. This is to be handled by Deacon Opa.”

“Okay.” Roland had expected this, but he decided to finish dealing with the memory strains before leaving.

They hurriedly opened the three metal cans and found that two of them contained the substance, and even the empty one had a residual scent, indicating that it had been used before.

The next second, two brightly colored tentacles shot out from his body, their ends transforming into two giant mouths that blocked the valve, swallowing all the memory strains whole in one gulp.

Then, it quietly returned to the depths of his soul, conveying to Roland a sense of joyful satisfaction.

'It seems the sixth anomalous mutation isn't far off.' He was in high spirits.

When he came out, a combat squad had already assembled and was waiting for him at the entrance of the pressure regulating station.

"Let's go." Roland took the walkie-talkie from Oppa and led his team quickly toward the North District.

Because there was no means of transportation, people couldn't move quickly.

After greeting the squad leader, Roland, along with the two wolves and Drake, headed ahead to Wald Gas Company. Their astonishing speed dealt a heavy blow to the combat squad.

Upon entering the northern district, riots and fires were everywhere. In addition to some incidents of vandalism, looting, and arson, there were also many direct clashes between residents and law enforcement officers.

The incident was full of contradictions. Lower-level law enforcement officers were unwilling to harm the public, but were forced to take action under pressure from their superiors. Some even took off their uniforms on the spot and quit.

What started as a minor conflict stemming from a loss of emotional control quickly escalated into a bloody confrontation, leaving law enforcement officers overwhelmed. Forceful suppression only exacerbated the conflict and further complicated the situation.

Fortunately, the Chamber of Commerce and the church intervened in time, preventing a large-scale gunfight. The number of deaths was not high, and the chaos did not continue to escalate.

About fifteen minutes later, Roland and his team arrived at Wald Gas Company.

A dozen law enforcement officers and two combat squads from the Northern Merchant Guild surrounded the factory, while the Wald Guard and some of its high-ranking members confronted them.

Large numbers of workers, armed with sticks, cowered in fear, not daring to confront law enforcement officers or disobey orders from higher-ups.

The most outrageous thing is that the gas plant is occupied by dozens of people controlled by memory bacteria, including some high-ranking extraordinary individuals, and gas and stabilizers are still being transported out.

Judging from this situation, someone must have switched the gas pipeline, deliberately avoiding the pressure regulating station. I just don't know how large the delivery area is.

There were more than a dozen bodies lying outside the factory gate, clearly the price of a failed attempt to seize control.

Roland immediately saw the situation clearly. The stupidity of the Wald Company's senior management was unbelievable; they would rather the matter escalate than allow law enforcement officers to get involved.

Upon reflection, their motives become understandable. By waiting for their superiors to arrive and clean up the mess, there would still be room for maneuver.

But if law enforcement officers and competitors were allowed in, and the evidence was irrefutable, then Wald Gas Company would be doomed, and all those involved would likely be executed. Roland was extremely disappointed with the law enforcement officers. The Chamber of Commerce's combat team had no law enforcement authority, and if the officer in charge gave a decisive order, he didn't believe that those Wald executives would dare to violently resist the law.

He feigned extreme anger, unleashing a wisp of dragon soul energy, and roared, "Do you know that gas is poisonous? Do you know how many people died tonight?"

The sound was so loud it was deafening. People around were intimidated by its power and, filled with fear, unconsciously made way for it.

Roland strode up to the group of law enforcement officers, grabbed the leader by the collar, lifted him up like a flagpole, and pointed at the gas plant, berating him:

"Do you realize how serious this is? Are you going to just stand by and watch tens of thousands of residents be poisoned by gas because of your dereliction of duty, cowardice, and hesitation?"
The entire imperial legal system will be disgraced because of you. Would dying a hundred times be enough to atone for your sins?

The sound reached everyone's ears clearly. Thinking of the terrible consequences, everyone's emotions tensed instantly, their jaws clenched, their fists clenched, and their breathing became heavy.

Almost everyone present was a local, and with the fate of their family and friends uncertain, it would be strange if they didn't get angry once someone pointed out the consequences.

The officer, who had been trying to struggle, felt his head buzzing and let his arms fall limply to his sides: "I...I..."

Roland casually abandoned him and did not press him further.

If the law enforcement officer weren't there, he could have just stormed in and made up any excuse afterwards. But now that the officer is here, he can't give the Northern Merchant Guild any ammunition to criticize him.

The lead law enforcement officer staggered to his feet, looked up at his subordinates' murderous gazes, felt a chill run down his spine, and quickly took a deep breath:

"Charge in! Shoot anyone who violently resists!"

Everyone, armed with weapons, stormed into the gas plant, looking menacing and ready to devour people.

Most workers chose to back down, and to avoid suspicion, they also left their weapons on the ground.

Wald's guards instinctively glanced at several high-ranking officers, one of whom stepped forward and raised his hand in a gesture of obstruction: "No search warrant, private area, no..."

"Bang bang bang-"

The sound stopped abruptly as several executives had half their heads blown off and fell backward into the air.

The others hesitated for a moment, but did not stop. They pushed past the guards and rushed into the factory area.

On a distant rooftop, Mandy lowered her spear and saluted Roland from afar, looking dashing and heroic.

"Drek, you guys go help. Kill the high-ranking officers directly, and subdue the ordinary people." Roland waved his hand.

“No problem.” Drake gripped his double axes, grinning smugly.

Roland strode up to the workers and said loudly, "The lives of tens of thousands of residents are in your hands. Now I need people familiar with the factory to shut off all the gas pipelines."

Also, I need a guide to take me to all the gas stabilizers.

"I I I..."

"..."

The workers were very enthusiastic. Roland sent two senior executives, each with a team, to shut off the gas supply, and then led a middle manager responsible for adding stabilizers into the factory.

The battle in the factory area was nearing its end. Several controlled extraordinary individuals were dealt with one after another by Drake and Sterburn, and the remaining ordinary people were quickly subdued.

However, due to the heightened emotions of the crowd, many people were unaware that these individuals were being controlled, and the attack was carried out with excessive force, resulting in significant casualties.

Roland was more concerned about the stabilizer situation, and he led the workers to dismantle and seal all the tanks in the warehouse.

There were more than a dozen metal cans, most of which were empty. Only two of the six cans containing stabilizers contained memory strains.

He placed the two metal cans aside and marked them with a red pen. Then, when no one was around, he let the Rune Seed devour one of them.

These things will definitely be destroyed, and the Vald Merchant Guild's crimes won't be lessened just because there's one less can of evidence. In that case, it's better to let the Rune Seeds eat their fill.

“Cough…” Drake quietly approached Roland, carrying a box containing five lumps of limp, strange tissue.

Roland gave him an approving look.

(End of this chapter)