Chapter 320: Black Snow
"Usually, they swagger around, giving us ordinary clerks no good look. But as soon as something happens, they run faster than anyone." In a small city, Xiao Zhang complained to his colleague beside him.
Only the two of them were left in the office, working overtime, so the scope of their conversation naturally broadened.
"If you and I encountered something like that, we might run even faster," Xiao Li said, responding to Xiao Zhang while writing up the documents needed for the upcoming meeting.
"I guess even Heaven couldn't stand it anymore and decided to personally clean up these arrogant scoundrels. Otherwise, how could there be such a smart virus, specifically targeting the rich and powerful, biting one and killing one?"
This virus had arrived far too suddenly, exclusively targeting Ability Users, leaving ordinary people completely unharmed. It was almost as if it possessed its own will.
And in this decade of transformation, the powerful and privileged, and even most of the wealthy, had, to varying degrees, come into contact with cultivation. Ordinary people who gained power through fortuitous encounters also quickly amassed wealth and authority, becoming members of the upper echelons of society.
The concepts of being wealthy and powerful and possessing great individual strength constantly overlapped. Thus, in the eyes of many who harbored resentment towards officials and the rich, this virus, specifically targeting superhuman powers, was no different from a legendary retribution.
"They just left, and good riddance to them, but they dumped all this work onto us."
"Who told us to just be clerks, not officially recognized civil servants? If they don't give the work to us, who will they give it to? The deputy section chief who'll escape in a few days anyway?" Xiao Zhang scoffed.
"How could such a good thing fall to young nobodies like us, with no connections or network? Even if the section chief abandoned his position and ran, there's still the deputy section chief and a group of official section members. If the deputy section chief runs, there are still section members. Us? We'll just keep slogging along."
Staring at the computer screen and the endless pile of miscellaneous tasks, they suddenly felt their precious youth was being completely wasted on a job that offered no hope.
Every day was spent preparing for mountains of paperwork and seas of meetings, writing boring speeches and documents for their superiors.
"We have absolutely no power, but we two are certainly good for manual labor."
"With a salary of only three to four thousand a month, plus the one thousand yuan subsidy rewarded by the grandpappy Contribution Points System, how many years will it take to save enough to buy a Xuanhuang Fruit, or even a dog kennel to live in?" Xiao Li lamented, typing away with a clatter.
"With our meager salary, you're still dreaming of a Xuanhuang Fruit? Just buy some Spirit Stones, try your luck, and see if you have the destiny for it. A single Xuanhuang Fruit is worth as much as a house in a major city."
"True, they cost millions each, and banks don't offer loans for them. You can only borrow money privately and buy them outright. Millions are nothing to those people at the top, but for us, it's a lifetime's worth."
"Houses can't run away, but once you eat a Xuanhuang Fruit, it's gone. How could shrewd calculators like the banks not figure that out? If you eat it and then run off, where would they go to find you?"
"Let's just get back to work. At least now we don't have to worry about our bodies suddenly rotting away, turning into a pockmarked mess. In that regard, we live more comfortably than those leaders above us." The two recalled the censored images they'd seen in news reports, self-consolingly mustering a little bit of motivation, and continued to tackle the work piled on their desks.
"Hei Xue Ji, have you found no solution either?" In the Yamato Capital's Technology Development Bureau, a middle-aged man, radiating terrifying heat, asked the petite girl before him.
The girl was cloaked in black robes, her long, waterfall-like hair cascading down to her waist. Beneath her delicate features lay a heart as cold as ice. She was the most mysterious genius in Yamato's entire Technology Development Bureau, having risen rapidly over the past two years to become a major figure whom no one dared to treat lightly.
"No." Facing Yamamoto, who oversaw all of Yamato's eastern affairs, she remained expressionless, offering only a simple, emotionless reply.
"This disaster has significantly impacted the various towns below. Please expedite the progress; it concerns the safety of ninety million people across the archipelago." As the epidemic spread across the world, Yamato, a nation with limited land and a large population, especially one with a very high density of cultivators, was greatly affected. The frontline troops combating the Sea Race invasion had already developed significant gaps due to the epidemic.
As the highest-ranking officer of the eastern region, he usually presented himself with an image of stern authority and iron will. But facing this girl who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen, Yamamoto had no choice but to treat her as his peer.
His cautious attitude was not only due to the large number of inventions she had created over the past two years that could enhance combat power at various levels, but, more importantly, because of her mysterious strength.
No one knew how she had grown from being the lowest-tier newcomer in the Development Bureau to an entity capable of contending with Yamato's highest combat power in just over two years.
Yamamoto had once cautiously probed her strength; she could at least directly contend with him without being defeated, unequivocally ranking among Yamato's top-tier combatants.
There were once those who coveted her, and others who sought the secret behind her rise to power. However, each of them mysteriously met with accidents afterward, vanishing from this world without a trace, proclaiming to others that life was as fragile as a cherry blossom.
"Mm." Hei Xue Ji nodded. Her body transformed into a mirage, gradually fading away. In the Tenshu Great Hall, only Yamamoto remained, radiating intense heat.
"What a pity. That boy, Shishilang, is still infatuated with this cold-blooded angel. I'll have to personally set him straight and make him stay far away from that woman."
Yamamoto's adopted son, Shishilang, had been infatuated with Hei Xue Ji ever since he saw her over a year ago, immediately embarking on a pursuit. Unfortunately, he couldn't even get close to her, and his gentle persuasion attempts failed.
He then attempted a forceful approach, but if Yamamoto hadn't sensed his adopted son was in danger and stopped her in time, Shishilang would likely have become a ghost beneath her blade in the next second.
Yamamoto, being on the same level of power, had realized from their very first encounter that Hei Xue Ji was so cold she seemed utterly inhuman. His adopted son's infatuation with her was bound to lead to no good end.
He even suspected that this woman might be an avatar or puppet of some five-tier powerhouse from another country, as Yamamoto had found her to possess very little living aura.
However, she had achieved numerous accomplishments in Yamato, and many, including Yamamoto, still relied on her. Thus, they maintained an unspoken understanding, allowing her to remain as an honored guest.
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