by <unknown>
Li Yao was dazed. "Why not?"
The Fire Ant King sighed and pointed at the light beam. "We don't have undeniable proof to link Elder Nether Spring to the whole scheme at all.
"Have you noticed that the logo of a pair of gene strands and a saber, which is the battle emblem of the Blade of Chaos, is in the bottom left corner of some of the files?"
Of course, Li Yao had noticed the battle emblem of the Blade of Chaos, but he thought that it was a watermark that the specialists of the Blade of Chaos left when they were parsing the memory unit. Was it not?
The Fire Ant King explained, "The logos were not added just now but already in the depths of the tremendous files.
"Besides, Elder Nether Spring never showed up during the experiments on the captives such as Suo Chaolong and Han Tuhu. We are the only ones who know the code name 'Nether World Watch', too.
"In fact, you will realize if you think carefully that, even if Elder Nether Spring had shown up in front of Han Tuhu and Suo Chaolong, it still would have been meaningless."
Li Yao pondered for a moment. "A faked setup?"
"Exactly!" The Fire Ant King smiled bitterly. "Even if Han Tuhu and Suo Chaolong saw 'Elder Nether Spring', how can they prove that the 'Elder Nether Spring' was not impersonated by someone of the Blade of Chaos? Even if Elder Nether Spring's personal signature were on every page of the files, how can you prove that it is not a lousy setup?"
Chapter 965: Most Wanted! |
Han Tuhu looked at Suo Chaolong and said slowly, "It was true that the staff never revealed their identity when we went through the experiments in the Nether World. As for the soldiers of the Nether World Watch who had demon cores all over their bodies, it was not like they were holding a flag pledging their loyalty to anybody. They could be Elder Nether Spring's subordinates or the members of the Blade of Chaos. As for the batch of members of the Blade of Chaos who were taken captive, how can you prove that it was not a trick to mislead us?"
"Also," the Fire Ant King said coldly, "I have no doubt that Elder Nether Spring must've left traces that were associated with the Blade of Chaos when he retreated from the Nether World, just like the inconspicuous 'proof' that he had left in the memory unit.
"Since the very beginning, he has known there was a possibility of the Nether World being discovered and been prepared to let the Blade of Chaos be the scapegoat.
"Even if Suo Chaolong and I are willing to accuse Elder Nether Spring with a lot of evidence, who will believe us?"
Li Yao rubbed his fingers somewhat anxiously. He did not know that Elder Nether Spring was as cunning as a slippery loach.
Pondering for a moment, Li Yao said, "No matter what Elder Nether Spring is up to, we should reach out to the leadership of the Pantheon of Demons right now. With Elder Nether Spring's Spore Stratagem now and the Imperium of True Human Beings' minor apocalypse later, if the Blood Demon Sector decides to wage a total war on the Heaven's Origin Sector right now, everything will be doomed!
"If possible, we must try to contact Jin Tuyi, the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons, and start a dialogue!
"As for whether or not he believes us, we will figure out the question after we meet him.
"Secondly, as the Fire Ant King said, a vaccine could be developed very quickly after the virus breaks out. Then, we must begin the development of the vaccines and antidotes for the sixth generation of the Demon God Virus right now!"
The Fire Ant King frowned. "Since the day the sixth generation of the Demon God Virus was discovered, the specialists of the Blade of Chaos have already been working on the vaccines and the antidotes. However, it will still take at least a year and a half. There is no way that we can get any faster.
"Besides, judging from the experiment data in the memory unit, there are dozens of different branches of the sixth generation of the Demon God Virus. We are not clear on exactly which branch the spores are carrying.
"Viruses can mutate very rapidly. As soon as their form changes, the old vaccine will no longer be effective. It is impossible for us to develop dozens of different vaccines and antidotes in one year!
"The only possible approach right now is to get the Divine Blood of Chaos and develop an all-purpose reduction drug.
"The Divine Blood of Chaos is a gene stabilizing drug that the Chaos Demons under Ba Yanzhi's command developed forty thousand years ago. It can restore the crazily evolving cells to their original state and stabilize them by generating a new genetic lock.
"We don't know why Chaos Demons developed the Divine Blood of Chaos.
"Perhaps, it was because they wanted to get rid of the identity as demons and regain the appearance of human beings after they discovered the scheme of the Ultimate One Demons.
"Or perhaps, it was because only the Divine Blood of Chaos could keep Ba Yanzhi in the state of shapeless cellular mucus without getting himself killed after he overly triggered the primeval force deep inside his cells and completely broke his genetic lock.
"It is also possible that, since a lot of terrible monsters, such as Skeleton Dragon, were invented during the research of the Chaos Demons, they developed the Divine Blood of Chaos to manipulate the brutes so that they wouldn't be too violent.
"Whatever the reason was, Elder Nether Spring got the last dosage of Divine Blood of Chaos that was still active in the world. He then conducted relative research.
"Elder Nether Spring wanted to develop a reduction drug for a simple reason. The Demon God Virus is too dangerous after all. Chances are that it might even attack him and his subordinates. Therefore, it was necessary for him to have antidotes prepared.
"Otherwise, if the genetic bombs exploded in his nest by accident and he ended up being an 'uncontrollable mutant' before the Spore Stratagem was implemented, wouldn't he become the greatest joke in the history of the Blood Demon Sector?
"On the other hand, Elder Nether Spring certainly did not really want an uncontainable outbreak of the Demon God Virus. The reason is simple. What he wants are slaves. If the Demon God Virus indeed killed more than 95% of human beings and demons, who in the world could he possibly enslave?
"Therefore, I think that the most effective approach is to destroy the nucleuses of mankind and the demon race before he shows up in front of the public who are threatened by the virus as a 'savior' with the reduction drug!
"At that point, both human beings and low-level demons will certainly worship him as a god!"
Han Tuhu and Suo Chaolong both gnashed their teeth. They looked at each other and noticed the same fire burning in their eyes.
The Fire Ant King continued. "However, the last dosage of the Divine Blood of Chaos somehow ended up in the hands of Jin Xinyue, saintess of the Pantheon of Demons and daughter of Jin Tuyi, after all kinds of coincidences.
"Faced with the Demon God Virus, the Divine Blood of Chaos is almost a silver bullet. If we can get the Divine Blood of Chaos and produce a large quantity of reduction drugs after unraveling its mysteries, we will be able to take away the firewood under the cooking pot and settle the threat of the Spore Stratagem once and for all!"
Li Yao's eyes were glittering. "Therefore, Jin Xinyue is the key.
"She is Jin Tuyi's daughter. Let's take a look at our identities. The Fire Ant King is the leader of rebels. Han Tuhu and I are Cultivators. Suo Chaolong is the descendant of the refugees from the Heaven's Origin Sector. None of us can win Jin Tuyi's trust.
"Although Jin Xinyue might not have her father's absolute trust, either, it is unlikely that Jin Tuyi will unsheathe his saber and slash at his daughter the moment he sees her, right?
"Therefore, if we are to start a dialogue, we will need her to facilitate the communication. Besides, she is aware of Jin Tuyi's thought pattern and the inside information of the Pantheon of Demons. She can help us get into the headquarters of the Pantheon of Demons and infer what actions Jin Tuyi will take in the next step.
"Moreover, the Divine Blood of Chaos… is inside her body, too!
After they escaped from the Nether World, Li Yao had already vaguely felt that Jin Xinyue was the key to the whole event, but they were in a rather awkward situation and had to sneak and lurk. They did not dare communicate with the outside world, nor were they aware of the situation in Void Turmoil City and whether or not it was already occupied.
Also, the three forces who hated each other's guts had only just begun working together. They were barely a group, much less a team. A lot of urgent problems had to be addressed quickly. Li Yao had no time to leave the place and find Jin Xinyue immediately.
Therefore, he could only choose to come to the Mysterious Shadow Domain first. Then, he spent more than half a month adjusting his combat ability to the peak state. During the time, he also finished the establishment of Skyfire.
On the other hand, the Fire Ant King had already sent an intelligence squad made of smart soldiers, who were under the command of Yuchi Ba, to investigate the current situation of the outside world, especially that of Void Turmoil City.
If possible, they would also sneak into Void Turmoil City and pick up Li Yao's 'sister'.
The Fire Ant King shook his head. "To ensure the absolutely security of the Mysterious Shadow Domain, I asked Yuchi Ba to reduce the long-distance communication with us as much as possible. I haven't received any updates from them in the past couple of days.
"However, if everything goes well, they should be back in a day or two, hopefully with Jin Xinyue."
Li Yao rubbed his temples and said, "When Jin Xinyue is here, we will make three moves simultaneously.
"Firstly, study the Divine Blood of Chaos profoundly and try to develop the reduction drug as quickly as possible.
"Secondly, contact Jin Tuyi, the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons, through Jin Xinyue and talk to the leadership of the Pantheon of Demons directly. We will introduce the Spore Stratagem and the Imperium of True Human Beings to them and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the decisions that they can possibly make, in the hope that the leadership of the Pantheon of Demons makes a sensible choice!
"Thirdly, Furious Flame, Wild Tide, and Electric Shock, the three Skyfire squads, must not go easy on their training. If the communication fails, they might get to play a more important role. For example… find a chance and take down Elder Nether Spring directly!"
Li Yao had always believed that talks and communication were important.
However, he did not really care whether the medium of the talks and communication was words or weapons.
Right then, the antennae on the Fire Ant King's forehead slightly shivered. He was refreshed and said, "The intelligence squad is back!"
Yuchi Ba, the master of the Skeleton Island, appeared in front of everyone wearily.
There was no one with him. No Jin Xinyue at all.
The moment they saw Yuchi Ba, all the four of them felt their hearts turn heavy.
Yuchi Ba had the bloodlines of rhino demons. What he had been most proud of was the large horn at the center of his big face. The horn was also the most fatal weapon on his body.
But right now, the horn had been cut in half, and only part of it was still standing on his wrinkled face.
Yuchi Ba took out a few glamorous golden beetles from his pocket. He triggered a stream of demonic energy and released the golden beetles to the air.
Bo! Bo!
Strange brilliance spread out from the bellies of the golden beetles, which condensed into more than ten vivid pictures that were the 3D photos of the Fire Ant King and Suo Chaolong.
Another few pictures were just words that described the appearance of certain suspects.
The ruthless words were enough to sting Li Yao's and Han Tuhu's nerves.
They were all… arrest warrants.
"Our organization has experienced a destructive strike. Many bureaus that have been inactive for more than ten years have been uprooted!"
Yuchi Ba scratched the fracture of his horn while his small eyes were jumping up and down, as if he could still feel the excruciating pain. "The identities of the leader and me have been exposed, too. The Pantheon of Demons has officially issued the arrest warrants and kill orders of the highest degree!"
Suo Chaolong slapped the table and bellowed, "Why am I on the list, too?"
"Because you've betrayed the Blood Demon Sector, too."
Yuchi Ba pointed at Suo Chaolong's arrest warrant and said, "Your crime is stated very clearly here. Your Blood Lion Battalion was crushed and captured by the Star Glory Federation at the end of the Battle of Dawn, and you surrendered because you could not resist the interrogation and the allurement of benefits."
Chapter 966: Immaculate Trap! |
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Suo Chaolong slapped the table and rose up, his neck bulging suddenly like a cobra that was about to launch an attack. His fury almost burnt a hole through the ceiling while he shouted, "Everybody in the entire Blood Demon Sector knows the grudge between the refugees and the Star Glory Federation! The Star Glory Federation destroyed our home, murdered our ancestors, and drove us to the Blood Demon Sector. Never has one second gone by without us forgetting to march back to the Grand Desolate Plateau and our hometown! How in the world will I surrender to the greedy, shameless, and hypocritical Star Glory Federation?"
In an awkward position, Li Yao and Han Tuhu remained silent.
Suo Chaolong glanced at them, his chest was still fluctuating. "I am sorry. It's nothing personal. I meant that everybody of the federation is—"
"It doesn't matter. We totally got it." Li Yao hurried to interrupt him.
"That being said, it is also universally known that the descendants of the refugees of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the locals of the Star Glory Federation haven't always been in the best relationship," the Fire Ant King analyzed calmly. "Although your ancestors were driven out of the Heaven's Origin Sector by the Star Glory Federation, and it seems to be a good reason to hate them, it is also evident enough that, same as Li Yao and Han Tuhu, you are also from the Heaven's Origin Sector, if you change your mindset. You are also a native of the Heaven's Origin Sector, of a sort.
"As the saying goes, water and people from the hometown are the sweetest. It is not out of the question for you to work with the Star Glory Federation, is it?"
Suo Chaolong felt that his brain was exploding. "Hey. Don't just throw out random sayings. Who comes from the same hometown as those wretched Cultivators?"
The Fire Ant King casually said, "I am just trying to understand the event from the perspective of the leadership of the Blood Demon Sector.
"The war that we are faced with is both one between the demon race and mankind and one between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven's Origin Sector. Then, since the Star Glory Federation and you are both rooted in the Heaven's Origin Sector, is it really hard to imagine forming an alliance driven by the mutual benefits?"
Suo Chaolong gnashed his teeth. "What 'mutual benefits' are you talking about?"
"For example," the Fire Ant King said, "the federal government could promise that, as long as you help the federation demolish the Pantheon of Demons, you will be allowed to come back to the Grand Desolate Plateau after the two worlds merge."
Suo Chaolong sneered. "You are insulting not only my loyalty to the demon race but also my wisdom! Without the demon race behind me, it would be a miracle if the sordid Star Glory Federation abided by their promise!"
"However, what if your Blood Lion Battalion was indeed crushed and captured?" the Fire Ant King said. "You don't have a choice. You either remain loyal to the Blood Demon Sector and die with all of your brothers, or you cooperate with the Star Glory Federation for the lives of your brothers!"
Suo Chaolong was lost for words. He grinded his teeth so hard that they were cracking.
The Fire Ant King sighed and pointed at his own arrest warrant. "Am I not the same?
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"According to the arrest warrant, the Blade of Chaos has also surrendered to the Star Glory Federation and become the vanguard in the federation's invasion.
"The reason is also very simple. Since I failed to enter the center of power of the Blood Demon Sector and become one of the twelve demon emperors, I had always been discontented. Therefore, I established the Blade of Chaos in secret to get more benefits for myself.
"Fearing that my ambitions would be exposed one day, I decided to go further and joined hands with the Star Glory Federation, turning into a dog of the federation willingly!
"Look. Even the liaisons that the Star Glory Federation sent to us have been listed clearly!"
The Fire Ant King glanced over the other warrants. "It is clearly stated that the Star Glory Federation has sent a lot of liaisons to sneak into the Blood Demon Sector with Suo Chaolong's help for the purpose of a closer communication with me. The liaisons even include an expert in the Nascent Soul Stage!
"The Nascent Soul Stage expert obviously refers to Li Yao.
"As you can see, they have assigned the perfect roles for every one of us. Suo Chaolong turned traitor after being captured, I had been ambitious all the time, and Li Yao had snuck into the Blood Demon Sector on purpose to instigate trouble!
"Now that such arrest warrants have been published, how do we explain ourselves to others when they discover that we are hanging around together? Are we really going to tell them that we are a bunch of readers who love history and we only gather to share books or play sports?"
"This is too sordid!" Cold sweat coating his forehead, Suo Chaolong gnashed his teeth. "This must be Elder Nether Spring's scheme! Elder Nether Spring was scared that we would tell the secrets of the Nether World, the Mausoleum of Chaos, and the Spore Stratagem. Therefore, he made a move first and dug an immaculate trap for us!
"Right now, a large basin of dirty water has been poured over us. Nobody is going to believe us whatever we say!