Chapter 97 - 96: Everyone Gathered, Five Thunder Talisman

After he left the camp and parted ways with Su Qiong, Li Jing rose into the sky towards the entrance of the base.

Liu Yushan’s health bar was as high as 5961, putting him in the late Four Realm stage.

The idea of him taking down Liu Yushan single-handedly was just not feasible.

He wouldn’t stand a chance in direct confrontation due to the gap between their cultivation levels.

Not to mention, Liu Yushan was surrounded by many associates from the Research Institute.

If Li Jing fails to neutralize him instantly, the witness casualties will be inevitable.

This task must be accomplished through a secret investigation with Li Qidao and the other patrol officers.

Liu Yushan is no longer "untouched", no one knows what he has gained from an unknown wisdom civilization or if he simply got infested by a Parasite Insect.

To ensure success, Li Jing must have a hundred percent certainty to take him down before he resists.

When he arrived at the heart of the base, Li Jing hovered in the air and looked down at the ground.

It had been less than two hours since he met Li Qidao.

Unless something unexpected happened, Li Qidao should still be around the area.

Li Qidao had pulled some strings to get a job in a patrol inspection team, not merely for health inspections but to create any plausible opportunities to interact with people, trying to investigate and find suspicious individuals.

The base’s central area, located just beneath the entrance to the Secret Realm, was the busiest in terms of coming and going personnel.

Li Qidao would not leave easily.

Unless, he got wind of something suspicious.

Just as Li Jing expected.

His quick survey of the ground soon located Li Qidao in front of a tent in the central region of the base.

By this time, Li Qidao had also noticed him.

Flights were not forbidden over the base.

There were many administrative officers coming and going in the sky.

Still, Li Jing’s stationary hovering made him somewhat conspicuous.

With Li Qidao’s insight as a major crime unit patrol officer, he would spot anything unusual in a heartbeat.

Their eyes met.

From the ground, Li Qidao looked up and sent an inquiring glance.

Li Jing responded with a hand gesture, then landed nearby and started walking in a different direction.

Seeing this, Li Qidao furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

He didn’t understand what Li Jing’s gesture meant.

However, he did understand that Li Jing was hovering in the sky looking for him.

After glancing around to ensure that no one was paying attention to him, Li Qidao followed Li Jing, walking beside him and whispering.

"You have something for me?"

"Yes."

Li Jing answered, speaking lowly.

"The mole has been found, the situation is somewhat complicated."

?

Li Qidao slowly typed out a question, exclaiming in surprise.

"We’ve not even been at this for two hours and you’ve already made a discovery? How?"

"Someone in the base supplied me with critical information."

Li Jing gave a brief response and continued.

"I will submit a detailed report to the bureau chief later. Time is of the essence, don’t ask too many questions, just listen."

Hearing this, Li Qidao’s eyebrows furrowed but he nodded without a word, waiting for Li Jing to continue.

Special times call for special measures.

If Li Jing had made a discovery, he would definitely listen.

There was also the trust he had in Li Jing. This trust was not solely based on Li Jing’s abilities.

Li Jing had once worked as a "temp" in the Major Crime Unit, and the two of them have worked together before. Now participating in a secret investigation, they were again on the same side.

In their line of work, personal heroism didn’t count for much. Success depended on the collective effort of the patrol officers.

If he didn’t even trust his own colleagues, they might as well give up on the case.

What’s more, he knew that Li Jing wouldn’t come to him without reason. If he had come to him, it meant he needed his assistance.

Seeing Li Qidao waiting for him to continue, Li Jing promptly explained that Liu Yushan was no longer "untouched" and the ground underneath the course was packed with thousands of Parasite Insects. He then briefly explained his communication and division of labor with the Management Bureau personnel, awaiting information to begin simultaneous operations.

Listening to this, Li Qidao’s expression changed dramatically.

Li Jing did not mention the process and basis of the investigation, he only stated the results. The results alone were startling enough.

Liu Yushan was one thing, but the situation of countless Parasite Insects hidden beneath the surface was a much larger problem.

If there were any missteps, the death and injury toll could be immeasurable.

Everyone involved in the secret investigation, including him and Li Jing, will be implicated.

Knowing that Li Jing had communicated with the staff of the Station Management Bureau, Li Qidao’s face showed a slight improvement.

After a brief silence, he spoke in a low voice.

"Give me five minutes, I’ll gather everyone."

"Okay, I’ll be waiting for you in the camp area of the Research Institute."

Li Jing responded, saying,

"Management Bureau needs time to prepare countermeasures against the Parasite Insect. Once everyone is assembled, we can discuss our plan of action."

"Understood."

Li Qidao nodded and soared into the sky.

Li Jing chose to walk towards the camp area of the Research Institute.

It doesn’t matter if he went anywhere else in the camp by air.

But to get to the Research Institute, it would be better to be more unnoticeable for safety’s sake.

Better safe than sorry.

If anything was detected by Liu Yushan, the situation could take a turn for the worst.

...

After nearly ten minutes, Li Jing crossed the camp and arrived at the Research Institute’s camp area.

Not going to the center of the camp area, he stopped at the border.

Li Qidao had said that it would only take five minutes to gather everyone. By now, everyone should be gathered and gradually moving towards the Research Institute.

Li Jing was not in a hurry, standing silently at the crossroads waiting.

On the way over, he had noticed.

Many of the Management Bureau staff moving through the camp hurried their pace, showing signs of being hasty.

It seems that Su Qiong has already communicated with the upper levels of the Management Bureau, and arrangements have begun to be made in secret to deal with the Parasite Insect, involving only a portion of the staff.

Most people are still in the dark.

Management Bureau are wise.

An announcement to the entire camp could risk leaks.

Only those involved in the arrangements need to know the truth, too many people being informed might backfire and cause unnecessary trouble.

After waiting for about five minutes at the intersection, Li Jing caught a glimpse of Li Qidao appearing on a nearby path.

There was no one else by his side.

Seeing this, Li Jing looked back over his shoulder.

There were quite a few Management Bureau members coming and going on the road, the rest of the people should be mixed in among them.

Without giving it much thought, Li Jing walked towards Li Qidao.

Soon, the two met.

With a confirming attitude, Li Jing asked,

"Is everyone gathered?"

"Hmm."

Li Qidao responded, saying,

"Let’s find a place to talk. It’s too conspicuous to gather on the road."

That being said, he walked straight towards the nearest tent.

Seeing this, Li Jing was slightly stunned.

He had been standing near a crossroads not far away and had noticed this tent.

The reason for his attention was because there were faint sounds of water and laughter from women coming from inside.

Whatever they were doing inside, Li Jing could guess without looking.

Now, the tent was quiet.

But there was no sign of anyone coming out!

Watching Li Qidao stride forward, Li Jing’s face changed and he hurriedly followed.

Unfortunately, he was one step too late.

Before he could catch up with Li Qidao, the latter had lowered his head and gone straight into the tent.

Faced with this situation, Li Jing’s mouth twitched violently.

While he was hesitating whether to stay out of it, Li Qidao’s calm voice came from the tent.

"Patrol is working on the case, kindly keep quiet the two of you. Get dressed, I need to use the tent."

Would you believe it?

When Li Qidao spoke, there was not a sound from inside the tent.

Without waiting for Li Jing to react, two women in disarray with flushed faces walked out of the tent.

Upon coming face-to-face with a certain someone standing in front of the tent, they paused briefly before quickening their pace and walking away.

Li Jing turned his head in a daze, his mind slightly muddled.

Was this also possible?

While he was still in a daze, a "passing" Management Bureau member walked over, nodded at him and promptly crawled into the tent.

Seeing this person, Li Jing managed to regain his senses and crawled into the tent.

As soon as he entered the tent, he saw Li Qi standing indifferently, dropping a threatening glance inadvertently.

Li Jing laughed awkwardly.

With other people present, he would definitely keep quiet.

After all, discussing this matter, he somewhat was to blame.

In the blink of an eye exchange between them, another person crawled into the tent from outside.

After that, five more people came in successively.

"Everyone’s here."

Li Qi Dao spoke up, his gaze swept over everyone.

"Besides me, all of you are meeting Li Jing for the first time. However, you all know Chen Yuran, he is Chen patrol officer’s boyfriend."

???

Li Jing.

Including him, a total of nine people sent by Chen Jing came in.

Except for Li Qi Dao, he didn’t recognize any of them.

Therefore, he voluntarily handed over the conversation to Li Qi Dao.

After all, he was only an assistant investigator, and it would not be appropriate for him to give orders directly.

Who could imagine Li Qi Dao would say something like this as soon as they met?

Seeing the seven patrol officers in the tent looking at him in sheer surprise, Li Jing had a headache.

Pondering whether to explain, Li Qi Dao spoke up again.

"Li Jing is temporarily an assistant investigator, but he is not short on skills. The traitor we are investigating has been determined and the target has been identified by him. With the current urgency, there’s no time to explain in detail. Everyone will follow Li Jing’s orders in the following operations, any objections?"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

Under normal circumstances, if they were to follow an assistant investigator’s orders, they would not be happy.

The key was that Li Qi Dao found them without giving detailed explanations, only saying that the case had a significant breakthrough and needed assistance.

Not to mention Li Jing, even if Li Qi Dao personally took action.

Assuming an unknown situation, they would never cooperate unconditionally.

But with what Li Qi Dao had just said, the situation was different.

Chen Yuran, everyone in the North City Patrol Branch knew who he was.

It was not because of the powerful influence of Chen Yuran, a second-level patrol officer, but because her father was simply too powerful!

A Six Realm Expert!

The head of the North City Patrol Branch!

Who would dare to say they did not know him?

Looking back.

Their current covert investigation was personally arranged by Chen Jing.

Li Qi Dao directly pointed out Li Jing’s "identity", could they not follow the command?

Whether they were patrol officers or not, it didn’t matter.

If anyone could participate in the operation in the Secret Realm, it demonstrated that their ability was recognized by Chen Jing himself. Moreover, Li Jing did indeed find some leads?

Seeing that none of the seven people on the scene raised any objections, Li Qi Dao shifted his gaze to Li Jing.

"Li Jing?"

"..."

Li Jing moved his lips.

He could taste the "hard work" of Li Qi Dao.

Without a detailed explanation of the situation, it was indeed difficult to make the patrol officers who participated in the operation obediently follow orders.

He had thought of this beforehand and had considered it.

Originally, he was hoping for Li Qi Dao.

As a serving member of the Major Crime Unit 6, Li Qi Dao would surely carry some weight.

With him to preside over, at the worst, it would be a waste of words.

In the result, Li Qi Dao kicked the ball back to him directly in this way...

Furrowing his brows at Li Qi Dao, Li Jing did not say anything superfluous. He briefly summarized the situation he had previously explained to the former.

What needed to be made clear still had to be clarified. They couldn’t leave the others completely in the dark.

Upon learning about the general situation, everyone became serious.

Seeing that everyone had realized the gravity of the situation, Li Jing began to speak.

"The issue of the Parasite Insect can be left to the Management Bureau. Our target is Liu Yushan. The conservative estimate of his Cultivation Level is the later stage of the Four Realm. There are quite a few Research Institute academicians around him. Direct confrontation would inevitably result in casualties. We need to establish an action plan. Before he has the chance to resist, we must kill with one blow."

With that, he scanned the crowd.

"Confirm one thing, besides me being in the Three Realm, is everyone here above the Four Realm in terms of Cultivation Level?"

Everyone nodded in affirmation.

On receiving confirmation, Li Jing asked another question.

"Anyone in the late stage of the Four Realm?"

The crowd exchanged glances and silence ensued.

Seeing that no one in the room spoke, Li Jing was somewhat troubled.

Due to the special nature of the Spiritual Power and the perfection of various skills, for him personally, as long as there wasn’t a large difference in the realm, an initial stage could fight the late stage without much difficulty.

Li Jing was not boasting.

If he didn’t have some special abilities, he wouldn’t dare to claim that he was unrivalled in the same realm.

But these patrollers, they’re different.

With their combined forces, taking down Liu Yushan should be no problem.

It’s just a small realm gap; if eight can’t beat one, they could quit and go farming tomorrow.

But as for killing Liu Yushan in one strike, I’m afraid no one on scene could do it.

From a personal perspective, Li Jing didn’t mind letting everyone squabble with Liu Yushan. He could seize an opportunity to stab him.

If he could land the final hit, then that would be 5961 experience points!

But he had to consider the safety of those from the Research Institute...

While he was in a dilemma, Li Qidao spoke up.

"I have a way to instantly kill someone in the late Four Realm, but I need you all to create an opportunity for me."

"Huh?"

Li Jing looked up.

The others also turned their attention to him.

Under everyone’s gaze, Li Qidao casually took out a talisman paper exuding a heavy aura.

"A fourth-grade Five Thunder Talisman, crafted by a Fifth Boundary Talisman Master. One strike is equivalent to a late Four Realm releasing the Great Perfection of the Five Thunder Righteous Method. Assuming there is little to no defense, a late Four Realm individual would surely die on the spot if hit."

Listening to Li Qidao’s explanation, Li Jing’s eyes widened.

A fourth-grade Five Thunder Talisman, Li Qidao was really willing to part with it!

A fourth-grade talisman, at a minimum, was worth tens of millions.

The one he had been crafted by a Fifth Boundary Talisman Master, and its power was equivalent to a late Four Realm releasing the Great Perfection of the Five Thunder Righteous Method.

Just this one piece of paper may be worth more than his fifty million bounty.

Placed in the hands of a typical Four Realm practitioner, who wouldn’t treat it like a treasure?

A high-grade product of talisman crafting was equivalent to a one-time high-grade treasure.

Such items were harder to purchase than high-grade treasures.

You’d need to find a talisman master with a high enough realm to custom make it for you.

Whether they were willing to make it depended on what you were willing to offer.

Money was something they definitely wouldn’t want.

Talisman masters had very little need for money.

What they lacked were resources related to talisman crafting.

When the others saw Li Qidao pull out the Five Thunder Talisman, they didn’t react as strongly as Li Jing.

Losses from official patrol duties were reimbursable.

As long as there wasn’t any false reporting or making mountains out of molehills, the cost would be reimbursed accordingly.

However, seeing the Five Thunder Talisman in Li Qidao’s hands, some of them couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.

Access to a talisman that could unleash a full attack at their realm boundary could indeed be a lifesaver in a critical moment!

"With my mid-four realm cultivation, to perfectly utilize the full power of the fourth-grade Five Thunder Talisman, it would take five breaths."

Li Qidao continued speaking.

"During my activation of the Five Thunder Talisman, someone needs to hold off Liu Yushan. Additionally, someone else needs to get the members from the Research Institute off the scene. Otherwise, everyone will surely fall under the Five Thunder Righteous Method."

Li Jing frowned upon hearing this.

Five breaths. Not too long, not too short.

Just a few dozen seconds.

They had to hold off Liu Yushan, and also extract people...

That was a slightly tall order.

Once conflict starts, Liu Yushan would undoubtedly fight desperately for a way out.

After some consideration, Li Jing said.

"I’ll distract Liu Yushan. The rest of you will extract people."

?

Everyone had the same question in their minds.

Li Jing was only a Three Realm arealm, where did he get the confidence to say that he could stall a late Four Realm?

In the face of everyone’s gaze, Li Jing spoke calmly.

"Before Li Qidao is done, we have to prevent Liu Yushan from reacting too violently. When it comes to bluffing, I have a method."

Before he could say more, a voice rang in his communication earpiece. It was Su Qiong saying,

"Lu Yangcheng, we at the Management Bureau are ready. You may start anytime."

Upon receiving the message, Li Jing activated his earpiece.

"Copy that, look for the spiritual strike signal, and initiate action once you see it."

After responding to Su Qiong, Li Jing looked at everyone else.

"Management Bureau is ready. There’s no point in continuing the discussion, proceed as I have instructed."

"Understood."

Li Qidao responded first.

Seeing him acknowledge, and after mutual glances at one another, the rest nodded in agreement.

...