Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 116: A Besieged City (Part 2)
The test specialists immediately reported the results. After sacrificing a total of six testers, they finally had a conclusion.
The key to eliminating a Sound Hunter was to attack it with Psychic Power items or abilities at the same time it attacked the person who made a sound.
Furthermore, the attack’s intensity had to be sufficient to kill it. If it was only injured, it could still teleport away.
Additionally, this method of hunting came at a cost: the life of the person who made the sound.
Currently, there was no way to eliminate a Sound Hunter while sparing the vocalizer’s life... This meant that killing a single Sound Hunter required the sacrifice of at least one person.
If they wanted to eliminate Sound Hunters in large numbers, a corresponding number of people would have to die.
Who would choose these people? Or would they just do as before—wait for certain people to call, then sit back and wait for the pickup teams without asking where they came from?
Gao Liangwei read the specialist’s summary report, his heart heavy.
Just then, there was a knock on his office door.
He pressed the touch-sensitive button on his desk to open the door. It slid open automatically, and a staff member in charge of the terminal market entered.
She placed a report in front of Gao Liangwei. He glanced at it and frowned.
The report stated that the market department staff had recently seen someone selling a [Communication Secret Scroll] on the terminal market. The quantity was extremely limited, and despite the exorbitant price, it was bought up quickly.
This meant that someone—either among the civilian populace or abroad—had figured out how to kill Sound Hunters and was selling the Secret Scrolls they dropped.
The person from the market department typed a question: (Sir, if more Secret Scrolls appear on the market, should we buy them?)
(You can buy if the price is under thirty thousand,) Gao Liangwei typed back. (Any more than that isn’t worth it. We’ll soon be able to get our own Secret Scrolls by eliminating Sound Hunters ourselves.)
(Understood. I’ll inform the traders.)
After the staff member left, Gao Liangwei thought for a moment before sending out several notifications.
(Item Coordination Department, immediately cooperate with Dr. Gao, who is in charge of the Sound Hunter experiments. Search the personnel database and allocate more suitable offensive items. Prioritize instantaneous and cutting-type items.)
(Dr. Zhang, have that girl from Squad Four come to the underground base immediately. The Power Sword on her "Snow White Traceless" Mecha might be especially effective against Sound Hunters.)
At the same time, Gao Liangwei also sent a message to the network department: (Have you found anyone with hacking abilities or items yet?)
He needed to find out the origin of the "Ascender’s Home" website and the identity of its administrator.
He believed that if the administrator could eliminate Sound Hunters alone, it meant they possessed extremely powerful offensive capabilities. The authorities needed talent like that right now.
Moreover, many in the research lab suspected that the site’s administrator was likely connected to Shadow, the winner of the tournament. It was either Shadow themselves or someone Shadow trusted; otherwise, they wouldn’t know information about the Holy Grail.
It wasn’t just the research lab; the higher-ups were also eager to find Shadow and had repeatedly urged the lab to make progress on that front. That was why Gao Liangwei wanted to use this website to see if he could uncover Shadow’s identity.
The network department replied quickly: (We found someone with the relevant abilities, but upon inquiry, we learned that this person had already tried to use their own power to hack the "Ascender’s Home" website and failed.) freewebnøvel.com
Gao Liangwei frowned at the reply: (Why did they fail?)
(Our preliminary assessment is that it’s just as the theory summarized by Zheng Kexue suggests: Psychic Power items and abilities with similar effects may have a superior/inferior hierarchy. When similar abilities or items interact, they are divided into ’superior’ and ’inferior’ based on the wielder’s Psychic Power limit. The inferior cannot affect the superior.)
When Gao Liangwei saw the name Zheng Kexue, he recognized it. He was one of the academy’s three great lecturers, specializing in the course "Research on Psychic Power Power Items."
Besides teaching students how to recognize, use, and combine various items, Zheng Kexue had also formulated a set of theories about items and abilities. The "superior-inferior theory" was part of it.
(So you’re saying the person who created that website has a high Psychic Power limit, making their ability or item superior? And the person you found has a low Psychic Power limit, making theirs inferior? And that’s why they couldn’t breach the site?)
(That is our assessment, but we cannot be certain. If you approve, Sir, we can allocate an item that raises Psychic Power limits for this person to use and try again.)
(No!)
Gao Liangwei immediately rejected the network department’s proposal.
Items that raised one’s Psychic Power limit were the most precious and rarest of all. Even as the head of the Strategy Research Room, he had to go through a formal meeting and secure a majority vote to allocate such an item.
He couldn’t bear to part with such a valuable item merely to test the superior-inferior hierarchy. Even if he agreed, the proposal would certainly be vetoed during the group vote.
(Have that person keep trying. Also, allocate any items related to hacking or infiltration to assist them.)
(Understood.)
After sending off the string of messages, Gao Liangwei leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples to relieve his fatigue.
As the head of the Strategy Research Room, he was under immense pressure. He could barely get a full night’s sleep during each Rule Stage.
When his superior had first appointed him to this position, he had clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Liangwei, do a good job. I’m confident you’re the man for this role." Back then, he had resolved not to let his old commander down.
But these last few months had been more exhausting than all his years in the military combined! If he had a choice, he would rather be shouldering a rifle and fighting a bloody battle on the front lines than dealing with these damnable Apocalypse Rules.
He knew better than anyone that the weight on his shoulders wasn’t something he could simply cast aside. After taking a moment to compose himself, he opened his eyes. A reply had already arrived on his computer.
Dr. Zhang: (I’ve notified Bai Xuewu. She’s on her way to the base now. Also, there is one other matter I need to report to you, Sir.)
Gao Liangwei: (What is it?)
Dr. Zhang: (It’s about Gu Fei, the former captain of Squad Three. After he was removed from his position, he refused to continue working within the official departments and left in anger.)
(Shortly after the Blood Plague rule was announced, a young girl went missing in Yunhua City. She had special abilities and was taken away in a vehicle by an unknown faction to participate in some kind of selection process. A later investigation by the local public security bureau revealed that the same vehicle was also seen near Gu Fei’s residence in Yunhua City. It’s possible Gu Fei’s disappearance is also related to this unknown faction.)
Gao Liangwei frowned as he read Dr. Zhang’s message and typed back: (An unknown faction? Didn’t all cities complete the registration process? Any unknown factions should have been exposed by now.)
Dr. Zhang: (If this faction’s base is located somewhere outside the city, they could have evaded registration and remained hidden. Therefore, I propose we send Squad Two and Squad Five out of the city to investigate. They can also get a better understanding of the current population dynamics outside the walls.)
