Chapter 162: Doubt
"I am who I am. What is there to doubt?"
Bai Mo continued walking straight towards the two people blocking his path, but the superimposed, echoing voice in his words made both of them hesitate.
"Do you want me to let you dissect me for research?" he joked, then instantly teleported behind the two of them, continuing to walk as if nothing had happened.
During the strange experience he had just undergone, many new ideas had burst forth in his mind. Now, his only thought was to organize the myriad thoughts in his mind and turn them into a path, a feasible method for breakthrough.
"This arrogant, still wet behind the ears fellow doesn't even have a doctorate, yet he's managed to wiggle his way into the position of vice-director of the institute. He really hit the jackpot. This time is perfect; we can use the others in the institute, plus pressure from the military district, to take him down."
The moment Zhou Jia Wen thought of himself, already in his early forties, having toiled in the scientific research world for over ten years yet still only a senior researcher, his heart swelled with all sorts of resentment.
"Don't go yet! Bai Mo, you must stay and undergo a thorough examination at the institute before entering the military camp!"
"That's right! You are now suspected of gravely endangering public safety!"
The two began to echo each other. They were quite confident, because almost no one in the entire institute had a good impression of this fellow. It would be incredibly easy to pin some charges on him, and under the guise of an examination, they could even use the spirit-crippling flower to cripple him.
"What a pity. If this weren't currently a key monitoring location for military satellites, I should just crush the two of you to death while I'm at it. This damned voice must be 'their' last curse left behind. I'll deal with it after I've organized the insights I gained regarding breakthrough."
Such a thought flashed through his mind. He then sauntered all the way back to the war zone command center, the two behind him following closely, looking as if they wanted to act but didn't dare.
"This kid truly has something in cultivation research. From the internal data he uploaded, he must have reached Spirit Animation Perfection. The gap created by the secondary development of abilities during the Spirit Melting Stage is very wide. Even I, who just entered the seventh layer, plus Li Jia, are no match for him. If we act first, there's a good chance we'll be counter-killed. It's better to wait for the military district's people to arrive before making any plans."
Both of them were cunning individuals, masters of various intrigues, and especially adept at office politics involving using others to achieve their ends. Naturally, they wouldn't go up and court death themselves. Of course, the dirty work had to be done by the war zone.
Although they didn't have much talent in research, by greasing some palms and managing to get the specific selection personnel to let them into the institute, and utilizing the latest internal research findings, they fortunately advanced quickly to the high-level Spirit Animation Stage, becoming part of the upper echelons of the ability user pyramid.
After receiving the warning signal from the two researchers, the command center swiftly dispatched a rapid response unit composed of military ability users supported by modern weaponry to assist. They quickly arrived at the trio's location.
"What was the reason you two sent out the warning signal?" The unit's commander, Fan Li, saw only three people at the scene, and since all of them were from the institute, he found it a bit strange.
"He has been possessed by a Ghost King! The one controlling his body now is very likely no longer the vice-director himself!" Zhou Jia Wen immediately blurted this out, giving the commander a preconceived impression.
After these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the scene immediately became tense and grim.
"Then why didn't you act? Both of you are high-level Spirit Animation Stage ability users." Fan Li, also a high-level Spirit Animation Stage ability user, immediately noticed this problem.
"Because... we couldn't beat him." Li Jia very frankly admitted it.
Bai Mo still ignored the farce unfolding before him, continuing to organize the insights he had just gained in his mind. He felt he was close to paving the way forward. Compared to that, two mere clowns were nothing.
"If he really was possessed, why didn't he silence the two of you who discovered the truth?" The commander's next question was even more aggressive.
"This..." The two were speechless for a moment. "But his voice is clearly not right compared to before!"
"Vice-Director Bai, please return to the command center first."
"Mhm, thank you." Bai Mo nodded in acknowledgment to him.
"A voice doesn't prove anything. If you can't provide more conclusive proof, I will not lead my men to act against Mr. Bai." Fan Li replied coldly.
"You!..."
"Forget it. Haven't you figured it out yet? Those two, or rather, half of the Southern War Zone, are all on the side of those people, aren't they?" Li Jia tugged at Zhou Jia Wen's sleeve and transmitted a message to him telepathically.
"Reporting, Commander, there are no issues at the scene; it was just a false alarm." After the other party was left speechless, Fan Li swiftly reported to the command center, characterizing the situation.
Seeing that the situation was unchangeable, the two had no choice but to rein themselves in and return with the unit. Meanwhile, Bai Mo, not far away, continued to wander in his thoughts, pondering his own affairs, as if nothing had happened moments before.
After the Ghost King in Tianzhou disappeared, the sinister aura that had enveloped the area quickly dissipated. The first batch of search teams began to coordinate with institute personnel to enter and conduct inspections, while Bai Mo, who had always preferred to act alone, returned to Tianqing ahead of schedule, and no one was tactless enough to inquire about the reason.
Tianqing, Ziliu Sea.
"It took thirty conventional nuclear bombs to completely destroy that thing in Tianzhou."
"A monster that almost completely covered an entire city, yet could be eliminated with merely thirty nuclear bombs; that's a very low cost." A few days later, Bai Mo, having mostly finished organizing his thoughts, attended the high-level internal report meeting for this operation.
"Your voice is truly terrifying. No wonder those two in the institute thought you were infected."
"Aren't you suspicious of me?"
"Don't use those you doubt, and don't doubt those you use," Liu Zhen said with remarkable seriousness.
"There's no point in speaking such platitudes."
"Not at all; we can tell it's you from your speaking style."
"Given their personalities, without absolute certainty, how could they allow a suspicious person into such a critical area? They must have some way to confirm my identity." Bai Mo instantly processed this thought and maintained his smile.
"Did you gain anything from this?"
"No, I just watched a fireworks display up close."
"A fireworks display worth 2.1 billion. That's truly extravagant."
Huaxia's large-scale military operation naturally could not be concealed from other countries, especially the use of dozens of nuclear bombs. Although the yield of a single bomb wasn't large, the total sum was still a terrifying number.
The authorities naturally disclosed the reason for the nuclear bomb usage to the outside world, and for a time, the Ghost Kings in various locations caused panic among countries worldwide. Most people had not imagined that more than thirty monsters, each requiring dozens of nuclear bombs to be completely annihilated, were quietly lying in wait in the central regions of various countries.
Although governments worldwide had generally known about the existence of some supernatural monsters in the ruins before this, prior to Huaxia publicly disclosing the actual situation, apart from a few countries with relevant ability users who could observe spirit bodies, other countries were not clear on the actual situation of the monsters, and no one had publicly revealed the true situation.
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