Chapter 44: Chapter 40: The Momentum of Extinguishment
As oppressive forces arrived, the riots and rebellion didn’t cease; instead, the bloody killings fueled even stronger resistance.
Not only that, but the rebellion had spread to other areas, even reaching the heart of the City State’s central district. Photographs had been circulated, and the citizens of the City State stormed the Council, demanding the ‘big shots’ give an explanation!
The riots continued for several days and showed signs of intensifying.
The City State Council seemed to have reservations as well, fearing to suppress violently due to concerns about provoking even stronger resistance.
In a manor in the main city area of the City State, an elderly man, fifty years old, was lying in a chair, napping with his eyes closed. Not far in front of him stood a man and a woman; the man was handsome and distinguished, and the woman was youthful and radiant, sunny and beautiful, playing light music that made one feel relaxed.
At that moment, a butler dressed in black approached from a distance, stopping a bit away and bowing to the three people.
“Mr. Yi, young sir, miss,” the butler politely said.
“What is it?” the young man stepped forward and asked the butler.
“People from the Council have come and are requesting Mr. Yi attend a meeting, saying it’s about something important,” the butler said.
“Okay, have them wait for a moment,” the young man said.
“Yes, young master,” the butler bowed and then turned to leave.
The old man had been lying there quietly all along; he was a councilman of the Underworld City State, but he had already been sidelined from core affairs of power, only symbolically attending major meetings.
“Father,” the young man walked up to the old man and said, “The riots are still continuing. What is the Council’s intention by calling you at this time?”
The old man opened his eyes slowly and stood up.
“What is the Council?” the old man asked.
“The center of power of the Underworld.” The young man replied.
“No…” the old man shook his head, “It’s a puppet of the corporation.”
The young man paused, then seemed to accept this statement.
“A puppet that made a mistake, the corporation will naturally replace it,” the old man slowly rose to his feet.
The young man paused again. Was his father’s disengagement from external affairs and non-participation in disputes due to this reason?
The old man turned and headed to his room, saying, “Come with me to change my clothes.”
“Okay,” the young man nodded.
Irina stopped playing and looked at her father’s retreating figure. Her normally frail father suddenly seemed imbued with spirit, like he had gone back to ten years ago.
Was her father about to emerge again?
……
Black market, abandoned factory.
In a sealed secret room, there were many Source Power Equipments, all mechanical devices.
The concentration of energy here was very high, unlike the thin concentration outside; this was the Source Power House inside the factory and also Xiao Qi’s usual lab.
Ye Qingdie and the others placed the Source Power Block in the device, releasing the Source Power within, thus making the concentration of Source Power here extremely high.
Xu Mo had only learned of this secret upon coming here this time. If it hadn’t been for the accident that day when he killed Cobra and agreed to join the organization, Ye Qingdie would probably have let him know.
However, his first mission had ended in a very tragic way; Ye Qingdie subsequently sent him away without allowing him to join the organization.
After all, Xu Mo had completely been dragged into this affair, and it had nothing to do with him.
These past few days, Xu Mo had spent most of his time here practicing the Breathing Technique, which allowed for much faster cultivation than practicing outside, but this time Ye Qingdie and the others had also invested heavily.
The price for a Source Power Block was not cheap, costing a thousand Federation dollars—a luxury unimaginable and inaccessible to ordinary people.
Source Power Blocks are generally used in Source Power Equipment, such as Mecha, Source Power Weapons, and other devices.
In the Underworld, the vast majority of people were not even aware of the existence of Source Power.
Xu Mo opened his eyes, his mental world clearer about everything around him, enveloped in the Source Power Field, omnipresent.
Standing up, Xu Mo looked behind him — there was a metal cover with two pipes extending inside, seeming to hide something, but Xu Mo did not explore it.
Exiting the Cultivation Room, Xu Mo closed the door firmly to prevent energy from escaping.
Ye Qingdie and the others were training; at this moment, Ye Qingdie was wearing Secretary Jin’s red Battle Armor, while the man with the silver face was wearing the Battle Armor of the person who forced Secretary Jin to his death, a set of silver-gray Battle Armor, both very strong and of the same level as Secretary Jin’s Battle Armor.
Xiao Qi, who had a background in mechanics, had said that Xu Mo’s Battle Armor was even stronger than Secretary Jin’s.
The man with the silver face, codenamed Shadow, always wore a silver metal mask, showing only a pair of eyes outside. Until now, Xu Mo had not seen his true face, but Ye Qingdie and Xiao Qi trusted him very much.
On that day’s hunting mission, Xu Mo could tell that the man in the silver mask was a trustworthy teammate.
“Sister Butterfly,” Xu Mo called out, and Ye Qingdie stopped her training and asked, “How do you feel?”
“I am progressing quickly. Cultivating here is dozens of times more effective than outside,” Xu Mo began, “But I can’t digest that much source power by myself, so the actual effect isn’t as strong, but still, it’s much better than outside.”
Xu Mo couldn’t precisely gauge how much stronger, but a day of cultivation here could at least equal more than ten days outside.
Such cultivation was simply burning money.
Therefore, he didn’t dare to waste a moment these days.
Normally, Ye Qingdie and the others couldn’t afford to cultivate like this since they didn’t have many source power blocks to burn; last time it was Xu Mo who had won a sum at the casino.
“Yes,” Ye Qingdie nodded.
“Sister Butterfly, what’s going on outside?” Xu Mo asked.
“Qin Zhong has deeply infiltrated the black market. The suppression teams have failed several times, and they can only blockade the black market,” Ye Qingdie replied. They had rarely gone out these past few days, and outsiders couldn’t get in unless they used heavy weaponry.
“If it continues without success, there should have been stronger forces sent to suppress, unless, they are too busy themselves,” Xu Mo speculated. “This rebellion must be having a significant impact, even the big shots of the Underworld might be feeling the pressure.”
“So, it does have significance?” Ye Qingdie said to Xu Mo, “So what exactly is Qin Zhong’s aim?”
She still hadn’t figured out Qin Zhong’s motive. If it was to change the Underworld, why would he treat them like this? Their goals were the same, so, Qin Zhong must have other plans.
“We should know soon,” Xu Mo replied.
“I’m also curious. Now that the black market is sealed and stronger suppression forces are coming, wouldn’t they want to kill Qin Zhong first? How will he survive?” Xiao Qi’s voice came from not too far away as he was fiddling with a mecha. As source power blocks were fitted into the panel, the mecha started up, and instantly light flowed across its steel body.
Xu Mo looked over there, only to hear Ye Qingdie say to Xu Mo, “Xiao Qi’s parents were mechanics; he has had this talent since he was young.”
This surprised Xu Mo somewhat; it seemed that Xiao Qi’s childhood must have been quite affluent. Mechanics in the Underworld were likely to hold a high status. Xu Mo wondered what had happened later, but he didn’t take the initiative to ask.
“Sister Butterfly, someone is coming,” Ying spoke up, seeing the visitor outside through the surveillance equipment. It was indeed Qin Zhong, just as they were discussing him.
Qin Zhong approached the exterior door. He couldn’t come in, but he knew Ye Qingdie could see him.
“I’ll go out and see, tell him to step back,” Ye Qingdie said, and Ying spoke in front of a device, “Step back.”
It seemed Qin Zhong heard her; he retreated to the steps outside, and Ye Qingdie walked out after taking off her battle armor.
What they discussed wasn’t audible from inside, and it wasn’t long before Ye Qingdie returned.
“What did he want?” Xiao Qi asked. He had never met Qin Zhong before; it had always been Ye Qingdie who dealt with him. Therefore, the young Xiao Qi only knew that Qin Zhong had caused the deaths of Seth and Fang Ze.
If not for Brother Xu Mo, they all would have died on Stran Street.
Ye Qingdie’s expression seemed somewhat troubled.
Looking at everyone, she said, “He asked if I wanted to continue being loyal to him, to follow him, saying it was the last opportunity.”
Xu Mo revealed a thoughtful look and asked, “He can leave?”
“What does he mean?” Xiao Qi also left what he was doing and came over to ask.
Qin Zhong, he actually had a way to leave?
Would the Underground City let him go?
He was the one who exposed the secrets of Valen Factory.
“I don’t know,” Ye Qingdie shook her head.
“Perhaps, we will see the result soon,” Xu Mo said quietly. Since Qin Zhong had come to find Ye Qingdie, it meant he was ready to make his next move.
In this regard, Qin Zhong seemed to highly value Ye Qingdie, still somewhat reluctant to let her die.
As Xu Mo cultivated in the abandoned factory, chaos persisted outside, and significant news had already arrived from the city.
The City State Council decided, accusing the Councilman of poor oversight that led to the Valen Factory incident, to officially revoke his status as Councilman and launch a full investigation into the Valen Factory incident.
At the same time, the City urged the public to remain rational and not let riotous acts disrupt the order of the City. The City State Guard would coordinate with the Law Enforcement Team to curb the riots.
After the news spread, the Underworld was shaken.
The citizens began to hesitate; with the City State Guard forcefully suppressing some of the rioters, more and more people went back to wait for news, and the massive revolt started to die down.
The area containing Valen Armory was the most riotous, having occurred right beside them, so the emotional impact was the strongest. As other areas gradually calmed down, this area was still resisting.
Until the City State Guard and Law Enforcement Team were dispatched to the scene!