Chapter 158: The Case
Bai Mo recalled how, years ago, when he was working with ceramics, he seemed to have shaped and sculpted them slowly with his hands, bit by bit, until they finally took form.
Only, in the past, he used a pair of hands; now, he used a far more intricate and versatile psionic power to simulate a complex mold, allowing the liquid plastic to cool and solidify within it.
"It's a shame my control precision still isn't enough. I can only construct models of these Spirit Energy machines magnified a hundredfold. I'm still quite far from true, high-precision 3D printing at an equal scale."
After it had thoroughly cooled, Bai Mo handed the confirmed models to the waiting staff outside, then re-sealed Black Crow's treatment pod.
"Xu Li, Spirit Animation Stage Four, Abilities: Accelerated Thought, Steel Skin, Combat Record: Top two thousand, defeated in the two-thousand-to-one-thousand elimination round. (Required Spirit Hub: Thought-Leap Spirit Hub for accelerated thought)"
As part of his planned targets, Bai Mo had already used his authority to conduct thorough investigations into each individual long ago. Moreover, while they were in the recovery pod for treatment, he had implanted a miniature transmitter in their bodies, allowing him to pinpoint their location at any time.
"Thankfully, five out of the six don't have a Life Field, so they couldn't detect the foreign object in their bodies. I can locate them with such a simple method, and my avatar can handle it easily."
"The last one is a bit troublesome. It's not easy to silently and discreetly deal with a Spirit Animation Stage Seven fellow; I'll probably need to handle that one personally."
Due to a sponsor with ulterior motives, the competition prizes were distributed immediately, or even in advance, leading many eliminated contestants to take their prizes and return home early. Among the more than ten thousand participants, nearly eighty percent had already left the competition area.
As Xu Li walked down an alley less than a hundred meters from his home, he suddenly felt a gust of wind beside him. Then, his mouth and eyes seemed to be covered, plunging him into darkness. Even though he struggled with all his might to scream, he could only emit faint whimpers; his mouth simply wouldn't open.
He felt as if every part of his body was fixed in place. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't move an inch, unable even to turn his head to catch a glimpse of his attacker's face.
Then, as a specially prepared syringe pierced the skin of his arm, Xu Li quickly felt his consciousness begin to blur, and slowly, he seemed to lose control even over the contraction and relaxation of his muscles...
After quickly subduing Xu Li, the avatar carried him and slipped into a small inn in town.
Through the small window on the balcony, Bai Mo tossed the now limp-as-a-discarded-rag-doll Xu Li onto a bed padded with a white towel. He took out the pre-prepared simple surgical equipment and began the Spirit Hub Thought-Leap excision surgery.
He expertly completed the operation, even leaving him with about a fifth of his Spirit Hubs, with his own peculiar sense of ethics. Before suturing, he removed the locator he had previously inserted, and finally, unceremoniously left the now-stitched-up Xu Li in the small inn.
According to Bai Mo's research, the general limit for Spirit Hub regeneration is between ten to fifteen percent. This means that as long as no more than eighty-five percent of the Spirit Hub is removed, there's still a chance for regeneration, though he estimated this recovery process would take one to two years.
Behind these cold figures, naturally, lay the sacrifices of a large number of prisoners used as test subjects. The one-to-two-year estimate was derived from their average recovery of roughly fifteen percent over two months.
In just two short days, the avatar carried out ten roving crimes, quickly drawing the attention of relevant authorities. The police established a special investigation team, but no matter how they investigated and collected evidence, they couldn't deal with the perpetrator who left no fingerprints, no footprints, whose face no victim had ever seen, and who had no eyewitnesses.
Ten cases occurred across the country in two days, with almost identical methods but separated by thousands of kilometers, leaving the criminal investigators helpless. They could only categorize them as Ability User crimes and hand them over to the military and the Dragon Group for investigation and handling.
News spread across the entire Huaxia Federation via the internet within a day, and the media began to sensationalize the atmosphere of terror. However, writers who produced such socially disruptive content were quickly "invited for tea" by the relevant departments.
Through media propaganda, the entire Huaxia Federation now knew of this "Spirit Hub Thief."
Furthermore, because a summary revealed that all ten victims were Ability Users below Spirit Animation Stage Five and without a Life Field, many relatively weaker Ability Users began to grow anxious, worrying they might become the next victim.
With the intentional push of certain individuals, this incident became linked to the previous Xuanji Fruit leak.
The main raw material for Xuanji Fruits included the Spirit Hub component. The Spirit Energy Research Institute had already faced questions immediately after the leak a few days prior, with many questioning the legality of the raw material sources for the first batch of Xuanji Fruits. The spokesperson for the News Department had barely managed to explain away the Spirit Hubs' origin, and now this new incident had occurred.
"In the confidential information theft incident a few days ago, the Huaxia Federation government ruthlessly used multiple missiles on its own territory for pursuit, and we lost four excellent intelligence personnel. Everyone should take this as a lesson going forward." At a routine meeting, Fischer summarized the previous events for his subordinates.
...
"...Now, let's hear your thoughts on this matter."
"I don't think this could be an official act by the Huaxia Federation."
"Of course, given their control here, if they were truly behind this, it wouldn't have been discovered and widely reported."
"If the perpetrator is someone else, then it must be a powerful Ability User group. Only then could they manage to harvest Spirit Hubs in multiple locations simultaneously."
"But at black market prices, a single Spirit Hub costs approximately fifteen to two hundred thousand US dollars. An Ability User group with such power wouldn't need to confront the Huaxia Federation government for just one or two million US dollars."
At the same time, the special investigation team formed by the Huaxia Federation was discussing similar questions.
"There are too many anomalies. From the surgical incision and suturing style, the operations on all ten victims appear to be by the same hand. This person has extremely high surgical skill, and the suturing is very proficient."
"However, the victims are separated by significant distances. To complete all the cases in two days, the perpetrator would need at least the ability to move at supersonic speed."
"But according to internal military data, even the most elite Ability Users currently cannot reach supersonic speeds. Could there truly be such a powerful Ability User hidden among the populace, who is also proficient in surgery?"
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