Chapter 36 The Vanished List

The day after the Blackfire Gang purge.

The thirteenth floor treatment center.

Outside the medical room, Zhou Zhengde looked through the glass at Wang Jixuan, who was lying quietly on the hospital bed.

Anyone could see that Wang Jixuan’s mental state was extremely poor.

Wang Jixuan removed the nano-mask and reverted to Mu Liang’s appearance. Before Zhou Zhengde arrived, he had already deleted the character ‘Zhou Tiantian’ from the archives without leaving any trace.

Wang Jixuan just stared at the ceiling with his eyes open.

The image of the girl in the white dress and the wronged souls floating around her kept flashing through his mind.

‘Why didn’t she shoot then? She had clearly fallen into demonic ways…’

‘Has this implyed that I’ve allowed a demon to return to the mountains?’

Wang Jixuan smiled bitterly to himself, trying his best not to think about anything else, allowing the cracks in his Dao heart to slowly heal.

The landlady, Thomas, Ban Wenying, Wen Hesen, Ye Zi…

He seemed to have underestimated the power of the human heart, believing that the wonderful methods of spiritual practice could create everything.

He began to vaguely understand the purpose of tempering the mind in the mortal world.

This is not the ordinary secular world, nor is it the cave where he secluded himself for over a hundred years. No one is obligated to follow his wishes; every living being has its own path.

The way of humanity is contained within this.

The Way of Heaven ends in the profound mystery.

‘I, too, have my own path.’

“If I am able to ascend to heaven one day, I can eliminate all the powerful demons and monsters of this world before I leave. That would make my journey to this world worthwhile. As for anything else… don’t think about it too much.”

“Regarding the matter of Ye Zi, I have regrets, but she has already fallen into the demonic path and should be eliminated as soon as possible.”

Da da, da da.

The high heels made a rhythmic thud against the concrete floor.

Zhou Zhengde turned to look at Wei Na who was walking over and asked in a low voice, “What happened to Mu Liang? Didn’t we win? He was responsible for 80% of this miraculous victory, and we were responsible for 20% of it together.”

“have no idea.”

Wei Na crossed her arms and shrugged:

“When I found him, his eyes were a little vacant. I picked him up and came back immediately.”

“Perhaps he was injured in his battle with the psychic Ansie?”

“Don’t psychic abilities have a skill called mental shock?”

“Sigh, without a doubt, Mu Liang is a hero. He single-handedly killed one-fifth of the Blackfire Gang members, eliminated a D-level psionic who violated the rules to enter the lower city, and severely injured a D-level psionic who had seriously violated the rules. It was really tough on him.”

Zhou Zhengde muttered this to himself, giving a simple assessment of the matter, before changing the subject:

“There are still some things involved that I need to ask him about.”

“Sister Ban has gone missing. Her last pulse stopped on the 49th floor. Many people have been sent to search for her. They suspect that the charred body in a car wreck is Ban Wenying and are conducting genetic analysis.”

“The Blackfire Gang’s boss died together with Old Goat Thomas, and they were burned to a crisp.”

“I have some bad suspicions—the class monitor may have been using resources to do things that cross our bottom line, and then she messed it up. My mom has already sent people to investigate the information the class monitor left behind.”

“In addition, we found the bodies of more than a dozen children in that wooden house. They had been stabbed in the heart with more than a dozen kitchen knives, and their bodies contained large amounts of sleeping pills. We don’t know who killed these orphans.”

Wei Na frowned and asked, “What about the Thirteenth Institute? Aren’t they making a lot of noise?”

Zhou Zhengde sighed: “Our informant at the Thirteenth Institute said that their leader is in a very bad mood.”

Wang Jixuan’s voice rang out in the ward:

“That person in charge has a problem… Come in, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na immediately pushed open the door and entered, their eyes filled with smiles.

Wang Jixuan added, “There’s no need to whisper among yourselves. If you want to ask, just ask. I chose to come back here because I trust the two of you.”

Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na looked a little guilty.

Zhou Zheng pulled up a chair and sat on the edge of the bed, while Wei Na crossed her arms and used her back to block the doorway to prevent anyone from suddenly barging in.

Zhou Zhengde asked, “What’s wrong with your health, Mu Liang? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“It felt like a nightmare.”

Wang Jixuan raised his hand to cover his forehead:

“Zhengde, we are accomplices, so I will tell you what happened last night. There are some things I don’t want to say, I won’t say.”

“First, find me someone. Her name is Xiao Yezi. She’s a girl who’s twelve or thirteen years old. She’s wearing a white dress and carrying a suitcase… She’s extremely dangerous. If she has a weapon and resists, shoot her immediately.”

“Okay,” Zhou Zhengde immediately agreed, taking out his communicator. “I’ll have the purging troops go find them directly.”

Wang Jixuan said, “My Dao mind was in a state of confusion at the time, and I made a mistake by not eliminating her directly, which may have left some hidden dangers.”

Is she a psionicist?

“No, she was responsible for the deaths of those orphans. She was well-educated and very intelligent. I don’t really understand her motives…”

“That’s good,” Zhou Zhengde breathed a sigh of relief, “as long as he’s not a psionicist.”

Wang Jixuan sighed slowly, “Let me start with the part about Thomas…”

He decided to tell the truth.

A few minutes later.

You could hear a pin drop in the infirmary.

Wei Na was utterly shocked: “Our Minister of Biology at Fortress 76, the representative of the Thirteenth Institute, and the big-mouthed Hua I killed are biological brothers?! This is incredible!”

Zhou Zhengde suddenly stood up, like an enraged lion, turned and rushed towards the bathroom, his roar soon echoing from inside:

“Mom! You have to give me an explanation! What’s with all these cameras around me?! You love me? I’m over thirty! I have my own life! Mom, you’ve gone too far! You’ve really gone too far! We’re not seeing each other again for a while! Ban Wenying colluded with Thomas; she wanted to escalate factional conflicts to create political opportunities for herself! Yes! Found her! That charred corpse was her! Ban Wenying had a falling out with Thomas! Thomas killed her! Thomas had a falling out with the Black Fire Gang boss! Thomas killed the Black Fire Gang boss too! Thomas was ultimately killed by my men! Mom, how dare you say Ban Wenying was your man… You can’t even see what your own secretary did! That’s human nature! Human nature includes the part that’s easily corrupted by power! Deal with it yourself! Don’t let Ban Wenying’s matter bother us on the thirteenth floor! If you can’t handle it, I’m going to find my grandfather!”

Bang!

Zhou Zhengde kicked open the bathroom door and rushed out of the ward.

“Search my office! Find all the cameras! The gangsters installed cameras in my office!”

Several security team members ran away.

Zhou Zhengde let out a soft breath and squeezed his eyes hard after returning to the ward.

He walked dejectedly to the bedside and smiled apologetically at Wang Jixuan.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was being used by Ban Wenying. My mother also bears a lot of responsibility in this matter… Remember, it wasn’t you who killed Ban and that old woman, it was Thomas. You only killed Thomas, which will save a lot of trouble later.”

“good.”

Wang Jixuan sighed softly:

“I am currently confused and unable to distinguish between right and wrong, truth and falsehood.”

“Mu Liang, Ye Zi’s matter has been a big blow to you, hasn’t it?”

Wei Na keenly noticed this and said softly:

“Think about it, who did your landlady raise?”

“A certain researcher, Thomas, and Wenhesen should also be related to her.”

“This old woman is the black hole of the lower town, the black hole of humanity. The closer you get to her, the easier it is to be distorted by her. Xiao Yezi is just an extension of her evil thoughts… This kind of distorted personality is clearly and in detail described in the Fortress Psychological Disorder Handbook.”

The latest novels are first published on 69shuba!

Wang Jixuan smiled and said, “I’m not that fragile. I just couldn’t accept it for a while. This is also my first time experiencing these things.”

Zhou Zhengde hung his head: “Okay, I was played by Ban Wenying the whole time. I even called her’sister’ and was thinking of helping her out in the future to get a position as a member of the council.”

Wang Jixuan asked, “How is the Black Fire Gang doing?”

“The overall problem is solved,” Zhou Zhengde said, perking up. “I still have things to do afterward, these are the things.”

Zhou Zhengde slightly pursed his lips:

“My mother is actually just an excellent accountant and coordinator. She has been able to get to where she is today thanks to the help of many people.”

“But my mom is too domineering. She only calms down when my grandpa scolds her a few times.”

“I can foresee that because of Ban Wenying’s matter, my mother will be in a passive position, and so will we. I need to find a way to turn the situation around.”

Wei Na added from the side, “Aunt Zhou is actually a nice person. After all, Zhengde was taught by her. But you know, fortress, everyone might be a little bit abnormal at some point.”

Zhou Zhengde said earnestly, “I entered the Shangcheng Law Enforcement Team through my own abilities and passed a completely anonymous exam. I solved several major cases and became the deputy captain.”

“Yes, your ability,” Weina scoffed, “is as if an ordinary person could take that exam.”

Zhou Zhengde was at a loss for words.

Wang Jixuan’s thoughts shifted slightly.

He laughed and said, “Then can I quietly cultivate myself, let my temperament prevail, and return to a peaceful life?”

“sure!”

Zhou Zhengde rubbed his nose:

“But before that, I want to make one thing clear: we’re friends now, right? Comrades-in-arms, friends, brothers.”

“Yes,” Wang Jixuan replied affirmatively.

The main reason is that he owes this guy too many favors.

“How about we celebrate tonight? It’ll be over at my dorm. Wei Na and one of her female colleagues will be there too. We can have a small get-together to celebrate the operation that wiped out the Blackfire Gang.”

Zhou Zhengde laughed:

“There’s still a lot going on in the lower city, but I assure you, they will never threaten you again. The purge forces will be stationed in Blackfire Gang territory for three months.”

“I have submitted a proposal for the standardized operation of the blood products industry, which is to treat the supply of blood products to the Joint Defence Force as an open business, directly managed by the government. The governor’s secretary said the feedback was very good.”

“Although this can only play a partial role, it is better than doing nothing.”

“Also, Mu Liang, I’ve already sent the large-caliber sniper rifle and the remaining grenades back to the army. As for the other items, such as pistols, protective suits, and helmets, which have limited firepower, I’ve put them in your new dormitory for you.”

“You are now the ‘Deputy Patrol Team Leader of the Thirteenth Floor Security Team,’ with a weekly salary of 45 for general rations, 40 for food rations, and 10 for medical rations, plus the legal right to bear arms.”

“There’s another crucial point here, which is your landlady’s secret accounts and list… Do you remember them?”

Accounts and lists?

Wang Jixuan nodded slightly: “I’ve heard of the landlady’s list.”

“Yes, it’s the criminal record of those old men in the upper city and the Thirteenth Division of Fort 76,” Zhou Zhengde sighed. “With this, I can send them to prison.”

Wang Jixuan thought for a moment and said, “I can go down and find this thing, as a way of repaying your favor.”

“Don’t go! The psionicists from the Thirteenth Institute have already rushed down. They’re also looking for that list. All sorts of people have rushed into the forty-ninth floor.”

Zhou Zhengde shook his head:

“Your safety is more important.”

“That dirty list will definitely be of utmost importance. Three high-ranking officials have already secretly questioned me about it, otherwise I wouldn’t have noticed it. It will probably cause some ripples later.”

“During last night’s fierce firefight, all the high-ranking and mid-level members of the Blackfire Gang were killed without leaving any survivors, including that Wen Heisen… This was intentional on the part of the purging forces. The 13th Institute of Psionicists took action to eliminate some of the Blackfire Gang’s thugs.”

“If only one or two of them could survive.”

Wang Jixuan laughed and said, “I didn’t consider that list before; I went too far.”

“That’s good, you’re doing the right and just thing!”

“Don’t blame yourself for these things. We are not gods. Your efforts have played a positive role and successfully contributed to the revival of human civilization.”

Zhou Zhengde claps his hands:

“I’ll keep an eye on things, and then prepare a small party, a very proper party, just to celebrate taking down the Blackfire Gang.”

After saying that, he hummed a cheerful tune and strode away.

A party?

Wang Jixuan now only wants to find another blessed place for cultivation similar to the Wanlijin Greenhouse Area.

Wei Na muttered from the side, “May I ask, if I were to invite a female colleague, would you personally prefer her to wear a long skirt or a short skirt, black stockings or white stockings, younger or more mature? Conservative or open-minded? To be more precise, do you think a waist-to-hip ratio is more important, or longer legs or a fuller bust? My younger colleagues wouldn’t refuse to start dating a young officer from the security team.”

Wang Jixuan answered earnestly: “The soul, the purity of the soul is the most important.”

Before leaving, Wei Na secretly gave him the middle finger.

From an angle that Wang Jixuan couldn’t see.