Dragon Gate Swordsman

Chongxiao was stunned, but his right hand remained raised steadily in the air without moving.

He never thought that after going out with Lao Wei, he would actually unlock a whole new skill tree...

Excited, Chongxiao began to try to move the kettle in mid-air to test the specific effect of this "Source Stone Technique".

So, the poor kettle began its thrilling "aviation" journey: rising, falling, moving forward, backward, swaying left and right... Well, the last two ways of movement were because Chongxiao's control ability was not good enough.

The most unfortunate thing was that just as he was controlling the kettle to fly past the door, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"Chongxiao you are really ouch!!!"

Haoyun was caught off guard and had no idea that there was a floating kettle in front of him. He bumped into it head-on, soaking a large area of ​​his clothes.

And he naturally regarded this as a prank by Chongxiao...

"Chongxiao you are so..."

"I'll help you on the next duty."

"……make a deal."

In just 0.3 seconds, a potential conflict was averted.

But Haoyun didn't know that Chongxiao had already made up his mind to discuss with Xingxiong and try to arrange his class to be at the same time as Haoyun's.

"You finally woke up. What did you do yesterday? I didn't see you the whole day, and then at night when everyone was about to go on a mission, they found you were thrown in front of the guards' office, sleeping like a dead pig! Don't tell me you sneaked out to watch the natural disaster!"

"…I am going to visit incognito…"

"Um!?"

"Investigate in disguise! Go investigate!"

Chongxiao casually explained the matter of him and Lao Wei going out... He remembered that he lost consciousness after the primitive power awakened in his body, so it must be Lao Wei who put him there.

Since he did this, he definitely didn't want to reveal what happened yesterday.

Fortunately, Haoyun did not dwell too much on this matter, but instead mentioned the reason why he came to the dormitory to find Chongxiao.

Simply put, there are gangs instigating Longmen residents to cause trouble.

As the state of emergency from the previous day had not yet been lifted, the daily life of Lungmen had been greatly affected. To be on the safe side, even the various blocks were blocked, and the collection and mining activities at the bottom of the mobile city were also stopped.

This was not a problem. The people of Terra knew how terrible natural disasters were, and naturally understood the need to deal with them.

But this natural disaster was completely different from the previous ones. It lasted for less than an hour before it completely disappeared without a trace, as if it had never happened at all.

The investigation team of the defense command center has been dispatched, and it will take at least half a day to confirm the situation. However, some residents have asked the Guard Bureau to lift the state of emergency, using the excuse that the natural disaster has faded.

"Then isn't that the end of it?"

“If only it were that simple.”

Haoyun shook his head. "Think about it, who would go against the Guard Bureau because of this?"

"meaning is……"

"Someone is playing tricks, instigating those civilians to come forward, but the more serious problem is... the residents of that block are basically all infected with oripathy."

……

People infected with oripathy have always been a word that represents trouble and cruelty in this land.

As the most common and valuable mineral, Originium has brought modern technology to the Terrans and has also given rise to the widely used Originium Arts, but it is undeniable that it is also extremely dangerous.

Anyone who approaches an improperly processed Originium without adequate protection may be infected... Originium powder will enter the human body through the skin and respiratory tract, and gradually transform cells as it proliferates.

Most patients with oripathy will have crystals similar to Originium on their body surface. When the disease reaches the late stage, the patient will be completely replaced by the proliferating Originium and become a new source of infection.

It is true that the Originium that enters the body can amplify the effectiveness of Originium skills, but not many people want to pay the price of their own lives in exchange for this.

Therefore, most countries in this world have an attitude of rejection and even cruelty towards patients with incurable mineralogy.

Longmen is no exception.

"Why, Lao Wei is still engaging in racial discrimination?"

"Two different things. You don't know how serious this mineral sickness is... Anyway, I don't really want to get close to those people."

Haoyun, who was driving, curled his lips.

In fact, oripathy is not highly contagious. On the contrary, it can be said to be relatively weak. Even most normal contacts are not a route of transmission... But no matter what, it is an incurable terminal illness and is extremely painful in the later stages, so ordinary people naturally want to stay away from it.

However, Terra's industrial and technological development cannot be separated from Originium, which has resulted in the number of infected people increasing instead of decreasing even though they will be rejected.

A few minutes later, Haoyun finally brought Chongxiao to a blockade line.

This is the security cordon between the E-2 edge block and the core block. Many police officers from the Guard Bureau are stationed here, blocking civilians who want to enter or leave.

Or to be more precise, there is no "out", only "in", because the infected people still need to do some work to survive, and the healthy Longmen citizens definitely do not want to "seek death" in the place where they live.

Not far away, you can see a group of people holding signs to protest. They are all mildly infected with oripathy, and their physical fitness and spirit are no different from ordinary people. As for the severe patients... it is likely that most of them can no longer get up.

Lungmen has a special team responsible for cleaning up the bodies of patients that may become sources of infection, but it is not under the name of the Guard Bureau.

After parking the car, the two came to a three-story building that was temporarily requisitioned as a command post.

Xingxiong and several other members of the special inspection team had arrived here a long time ago, and were listening to a man dressed as a civilian describing the internal conditions of the infected settlement.

It was obvious that, except for her, the other members had more or less reluctance on their faces.

"What's wrong with you, Chongxiao?"

As soon as I entered the door, Xingxiong started asking questions.

"...I slept."

"At a time like this? You'd better hope that our mission today can be successfully completed."

Xingxiong is not actually a very serious person, but the heavy responsibility of a leader lies on her shoulders. If she doesn't show some expression, the special inspection team won't be able to manage it well.

As for the specific task, it is to enter the area where the infected people live and find out the gang members who instigated them to march and demonstrate here.

Because of the exclusion and even discrimination, the lives of those infected with the oripathy have always been difficult. It is understandable that they would ask the Guards to lift the emergency blockade. However, it is too suspicious that they would come together to protest in less than a day.

The senior superintendent in charge of the area then contacted the Guard Headquarters and requested the assistance of the Special Inspectorate to catch the instigator behind the scenes.

The man dressed as a civilian is the informant that the Guard Bureau frequently contacts here, and he is responsible for introducing the situation inside the infected area.

Although he could not confirm the identity of the instigator, the starting point of the demonstration was a factory that had just stopped production not long ago. Some people said that a group of sneaky people entered a few days ago.

"Pay attention, the difficulty of this mission is not to capture people...it's to protect your own safety."

Chongxiao heard someone mutter that if they wanted to protect their safety, they might as well not go in. Xingxiong did not respond.

"Remember the terrain. The number of unauthorized constructions in the infected area is far beyond our imagination. The target must be familiar with the environment here. After confirmation, notify the teams before taking action."

"Sir, don't you have any more detailed clues? For example, the characteristics of the suspect..."

"No, that's why we need to dispatch our special inspection team."

Xingxiong looked around at all the team members present and said, "Everyone, it's time to use your genius brains."

……

Naturally, Chongxiao was assigned to the same group with Haoyun again.

This is not good news, because as a typical Kuranta reckless man, Haoyun's brain function is probably comparable to that of Yu Shou, except when it comes to improvisation in battle.

But Chongxiao also discovered that his skills seemed to have been "upgraded".

It wasn't a newly developed telekinesis, but a skill to read other people's thoughts... Now, he seemed to be able to launch it against a fixed target, instead of judging who it belonged to after passively reading it.

"Commander Xingxiong is really amazing. She even obeyed such a ridiculous order..."

"That person wants to pee anywhere!"

Haoyun was halfway through his words when he nearly choked to death on his own saliva.

After coughing violently a few times, he turned around and looked at Chongxiao angrily: "What the hell is wrong with you, kid!?"

Chongxiao did not answer, but stared at the man wandering on the street.

Restricted by many factors, the infected people who are ostracized by society have no chance of building beautiful streets and facilities. Their lives are inseparable from dirty and messy communities, so it is common for them to find an unnoticed corner to relieve themselves.

But even if Chongxiao was having a seizure, he didn't want to care about such things. Instead, he wanted to verify whether the thoughts he had just read were correct.

The results are obvious...

"Sorry, it was just a joke, Haoyun."

After seeing that the man indeed ran to the corner and started to untie his belt, Chongxiao turned around and perfunctorily dealt with him calmly.

It seems to be true...my abilities have indeed been upgraded.

"Don't choose such a cheap joke next time!"

"Okay... the factory ahead should be what the informant mentioned. Pull over."

The two men did not change into casual clothes, but continued to wear the uniforms of the Imperial Guard.

This is because the two of them are relatively strong, so Xingxiong arranged them as targets of "attracting hostility" and was responsible for activities outside the factory... or in other words, showing up in public, while other members of the special inspection team disguised themselves as civilians and sneaked into the factory to look for instigators who might still be gathering there.

Chongxiao and Haoyun were not the kind of people who cared about trivial matters, so after getting off the car, they began to wander around the streets as if they were on routine patrol.

This also allowed Chongxiao to see the living conditions of the infected for the first time...

If the desolate streets and dilapidated buildings were not too much, then the ragged and frightened infected people could not help but move him.

Moreover, after he unconsciously used his mind-reading ability, a large number of negative thoughts and emotions emerged, piercing his soul like a sharp dagger...

It's the Guards! Are they here to chase us away?

Can I ask them for some money? My brother can hardly walk.

Mom, I'm so hungry...

Suddenly, Chongxiao stopped.

"Hmm? What did you find?"

"No... not that..."

He shook his head slowly, turned and walked towards a house on the street… The ceiling on the second floor seemed to have collapsed, and it looked like no one had lived there for a long time.

But through the window whose glass had long been shattered, Chongxiao saw a mother holding her daughter.

It was obvious that both mother and daughter were suffering from oripathy, and it was no longer in the early stages... Black Originium crystals had appeared on the mother's neck, and on her daughter's forehead.

"...Don't think too much, Chongxiao, you...you can't help them."

Haoyun, who originally didn't understand what was going on, followed and also let out a heavy sigh.

Then, he took out the chocolate that he always carried with him and threw it into the house through the window...Haoyun always said that eating chocolate would make him refreshed and his mind more flexible.

When the surprised mother ran out of the door with her daughter in her arms, the two had already left the place via a side path.

"Ore disease, is there really no cure?"

"Not necessarily. I heard that there are some special medicines that can maintain the condition, but the prices are astronomical and not many companies can make them."

Chongxiao nodded and said no more.

In fact, when he saw the Originium crystals on the mother and daughter just now, he felt a hint of...disgust rising in his heart.

Of course, it’s not hatred for the infected, but hatred for the Originium crystals themselves.

This makes sense. Just like normal people don't like to see things like ulcers and tumors, the residents of Terra certainly don't want to see Originium crystals that will devour the infected.

But Chongxiao felt that things were not that simple...

"Huh? Chongxiao, look over there!"

Haoyun raised his hand and pointed to the other end of the narrow street.

There were about seven or eight adults carrying banners and signs and walking by, cursing at the same time. The only words that could be heard were "Guards Bureau", "natural disaster" and "business".

There is no doubt that these are just a few incited protesters.

Chongxiao and Haoyun ran quickly and stood in front of these people.

In the past, the Guard Bureau had little appeal to the residents of various marginal blocks, but things are different now. The special inspection team that has taken strong measures to rectify the outer security has raised the reputation of the Guard Bureau to a higher level.

Therefore, these people were obviously nervous.

"Are you planning to join the parade at the blockade?"