Chapter 230: The Incantation
“Are you sure you want to put the combat power assessment center here too?” Chen Bo called out to Bai Mo as they were preparing to leave after the test.
“Tianqing is too crowded. As a capital, it already bears too many functions and holds an excessive population. I think it would be better placed in Tianzhong, our satellite city.”
“I didn’t expect you to have thoughts on urban planning, but minor matters like this are up to you. I’ll also hand over the military simulation system for you to handle.”
“My four avatars have already reached the headquarters of the Four Great Battle Zones respectively, in charge of installing the simulated combat systems in each zone.”
“With this, we can begin preparations for the first step of the counter-offensive.”
“I’ll soon finish writing the underwater combat simulation program. Now we just need the hardware installation to be complete. The realism of the simulation will depend on your artists’ skill, as I’m not proficient in that area.”
“We are never short of talent.”
The two quickly exchanged information and departed in different directions.
After the Spirit Energy Network project in Tianzhong was successfully completed, the Hua-Ya Federation, as planned, simultaneously commenced the network construction in three other cities as part of the second phase.
However, with Bai Mo’s current rate of Primal Matter proliferation, he could barely support the simultaneous construction costs of three city networks. He was, in fact, making a bold gamble, betting on how many cities his Primal Matter could ultimately supply.
This was because the most crucial component of the entire network was actually runes drawn with spirit fluid infused with Primal Matter. Without the control of Primal Matter, Spirit Energy simply wouldn’t flow through the network.
Of course, from the perspective of those in the control center, everything was dictated by the computers in front of them, or more accurately, by their group of people. Who would have thought that mere electrical wires could possess their own consciousness?
Bai Mo, using his own power, replicated the state of electrons flowing through a conductor, secretly supporting the operation of the entire network.
“Ten times the power?” He tested it by expending the minimal divine sense, quickly arriving at a conclusion: within Tianzhong, he could roughly wield ten times the power of his true body.
This was an incredibly terrifying amplification, meaning Bai Mo could kill anyone in Tianzhong. Even those few in the Xuanhua Stage would find it immensely difficult to last a minute against him with ten times his power.
But killing them would be meaningless. His amplification currently only worked within the network’s coverage area, and it had a fatal weakness—the nuclear power plant.
Energy couldn’t come from nowhere. To achieve such output beyond physical limits, it absolutely required the support of the nuclear power plant outside the city.
Once it was destroyed, everything would revert to its original state.
Bai Mo didn’t openly flaunt his abilities, to avoid revealing any clues. He planned to familiarize himself with this tenfold surge in power only after gaining control of the energy storage monitors.
“Fifty thousand people fell into a coma after chanting an incantation in Su Zhe City?! Wang Qiong! How did you handle this?!” After receiving his subordinate’s report, Chen Bo immediately summoned Wang Qiong, the person in charge of the matter at the time, to his office.
“Council Member Chen, I... Die!”
Wang Qiong, who had seemingly been about to explain, suddenly had his eyes glow brightly and launched a suicidal attack on Chen Bo, throwing various powerful spirit arts at him with reckless abandon.
Because the two were only a few meters apart, and Chen Bo’s protective Xuanhua hadn’t been fully activated, he suffered a slight injury when Wang Qiong suddenly attacked.
“Boom!” He parried while retreating, smashing through the office wall with his back, finally creating enough distance.
“He’s been controlled?”
“Who has the ability to control an Unmelting Realm ability user?”
...
A flurry of questions quickly flashed through Chen Bo’s mind.
And seeing that the opponent had completed his preparations and the likelihood of a successful assassination was slim, the controlled Wang Qiong detonated himself!
The self-detonation of an Unmelting Realm ability user could wipe out everything within a hundred-meter radius, but how could Chen Bo allow such an explosion to occur in the heart of Tianqing?
He used massive amounts of Xuanhua, layering it thickly around the soon-to-explode Wang Qiong, using his own Xuanhua to neutralize the explosion’s power, preventing the government building from collapsing.
“Bang!” A muffled thud came from the Xuanhua encasing Wang Qiong, which instantly regenerated.
Though the speed of destruction far exceeded that of regeneration, an explosion was ultimately a one-time burst. It was soon submerged by the endless Xuanhua, and all its power was contained within, causing no additional damage externally.
“Investigate this thoroughly! Also, have Wen Jian come here.” Chen Bo, having cleaned up the mess, was in a furious mood, making his secretary beside him tremble with fear.
Wang Qiong was one of his direct subordinates, a powerful expert. It would be a wonder if he wasn't infuriated by such an incident.
Since that particular text from Su Zhe City was made public, millions of people had come here tirelessly to chant it, driving up local accommodation and consumption levels.
Tens of thousands of people, both before and after, felt they either gained abilities or had their existing abilities strengthened. It was these continuous reports of good fortune that drew even more people into this massive trap.
Those who had fallen into a coma this time were precisely those tens of thousands who had benefited.
After this incident, Su Zhe City immediately launched a severe crackdown, prohibiting anyone from continuing to chant the incantation anywhere, and simultaneously initiated a city-wide lockdown, awaiting a full investigation by a higher-level task force.
“Although they are in a coma, their brainwaves remain incredibly active, as if they are constantly thinking at high speed.” In a hospital in Su Zhe City, several neurologists were discussing this strange phenomenon.
To treat the tens of thousands of comatose individuals, over a hundred hospitals from more than ten nearby cities were dispatched, taking them into their respective wards.
The immense funds required to sustain these tens of thousands of people daily were paid by family members who rushed in from various places. As for the small number without family to claim them, the government temporarily covered their expenses.
Since gaining the ability to interface with supercomputers, Bai Mo’s main body rarely left the transmission chamber. Relying on Tianxing-1 with its terrifying computing and simulation capabilities, his work efficiency had once again vastly improved.
Therefore, even though he was very interested in the matter, he merely dispatched an avatar, sent to observe the excitement, to Su Zhe City.
He had seen that incantation-like text months ago, but Bai Mo, who never believed in free lunches, had merely chuckled and dismissed it then.
“There’s actually such an interesting incantation? Just by continuously chanting it, tens of thousands of people can fall into a coma? Could it be alien black technology again?”
After consecutively encountering two aliens, when Bai Mo encountered something so illogical, his first thought was that aliens were behind it.
However, there was still no evidence, and he hadn’t even begun investigating, so it was premature to draw any conclusions.
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