Chapter 34: Resolution
Yu Lanfeng finally got a proper look at this strange Ability Beast.
However, after noticing Yu Lanfeng approaching, the beast knew it couldn't outrun him. Since escape was impossible, it directly released a huge amount of red gas in one go. The concentration was so high that the mist had become almost bright scarlet.
If an Ability User with weak resistance entered that area, their Mental Contamination might reach S-rank in just one or two seconds.
But Yu Lanfeng had finally managed to face this Ability Beast head-on. If he let it escape this time, he might never catch it again, so there was no way he would give up.
He carefully looked at the special Ability Beast. Before, he had only ever caught distant glimpses before it disappeared, but now he could finally see it clearly.
It resembled an ordinary domestic pig, but both its upper and lower jaws had tusks. Its pink vertical pupils were especially striking. Its body was covered in backward-pointing spikes, and although it wasn't large, standing on all fours it was about half the height of an average person.
Nan Yu looked over.
This was his first time truly witnessing Yu Lanfeng's fighting style.
Yu Lanfeng was currently the strongest Ability User in the Empire, but his ability type was actually the most common fire element. Rumor had it that it had undergone some sort of mutation, though there had never been any concrete evidence.
But now, Nan Yu saw it with his own eyes.
Golden-red flames wrapped around Yu Lanfeng's entire body, completely isolating the red gas outside and preventing it from affecting him.
Under Liu Cheng's command, the surrounding soldiers retreated from the battlefield while simultaneously ordering people to repair the damaged protective barrier as quickly as possible.
If the Ability Beasts discovered that there was a problem with the military base's protective barrier, the consequences would be disastrous.
After all, Ability Beasts possessed intelligence too.
Nan Yu had never known whether Yu Lanfeng's fire ability had truly mutated, but now that he had seen it personally, he knew it was indeed mutated.
This was the first time he had ever seen golden-red flames.
Even from far away, he could feel the terrifying heat. Simply getting close made him feel as though he might evaporate on the spot.
He noticed that the nearby soldiers all wore expressions of deep respect and instinctively kept their distance, not daring to approach.
Previously, Yu Lanfeng had been helpless against this thing only because he couldn't find it, not because he couldn't defeat it. Now that it stood right in front of him, and with his flames said to be capable of burning anything, he had absolutely no fear of the bizarre gas.
With old grudges and new scores settled together, he proceeded to mercilessly beat up the pig-shaped Ability Beast.
Had he not wanted to capture it alive and add a new specimen to the military laboratory, the beast would already have become roasted pork.
The battle ended quickly.
All the creature's strengths lay in its strange red mist. In every other aspect, it was completely lacking.
Soon, Yu Lanfeng subdued it and sealed it inside a special container.
Since he had always intended to capture this creature, he had kept the container in his spatial button, so now he simply took it out and used it.
The beast had been captured, but the extremely concentrated red mist it had released continued to spread throughout the military base.
Looking at the red fog, Yu Lanfeng unleashed his flames and formed a gigantic sphere, wrapping up most of the mist and burning it away completely.
The entire sky above the military base was dyed with a dense golden-red glow.
Everyone watched the breathtaking scene in shock.
Only after the golden-red flames disappeared did Nan Yu look at Yu Lanfeng with mixed emotions.
As expected of the Marshal...
His strength truly wasn't exaggerated.
Most of the red mist had been burned away, but a small amount still remained. If left untreated, it would still cause problems.
Fortunately, the military base possessed a basic ventilation system.
Everyone returned indoors and sealed all entrances and exits before carrying out a complete air replacement inside the protective barrier.
The process lasted about half an hour.
Yu Lanfeng handed the device containing the Ability Beast to someone behind him before walking over to Nan Yu.
"I'll leave those with severe Mental Contamination to you. No problem, right?"
Nan Yu paused slightly before reacting.
"No problem. Leave it to me."
Now that the special mutated beast had been captured, everything else became much easier.
First, they had to clean up the military base. Then they needed to investigate when the beast had entered, where it had come from, and how much damage it had caused through controlling An Mi.
In addition, they had to determine how many others besides An Mi had been controlled, or had been controlled previously.
Under Nan Yu's examination, anyone who had ever been controlled—even those who had not completely broken free—still possessed traces of red contaminants within their Mental Seas.
Naturally, detecting these required extraordinarily powerful mental power.
And throughout the entire military base, no one could compare with Nan Yu.
As a result, although he had originally planned to leave in two days, his departure was delayed by another week.
Still, he had no complaints.
He had to examine every single person in the military base before leaving.
Otherwise, not only others, but even he himself wouldn't feel at ease.
In the end, sixty-one people were identified.
These were individuals who had once been controlled, heavily influenced, or were still under control. It was only because the mutated beast had been captured that they could no longer carry out actions harmful to the military base.
After repeatedly confirming the results, Nan Yu finally let out a sigh of relief.
"That's all. Everyone else only has slight Mental Contamination. The other Mental Power Users can disperse it. As for these people, leave them to me. Right now, besides me, no other Mental Power User can do it."
As for An Mi...
He might be able to do a little himself, but he had already been placed under supervision.
Although he had been controlled before, no matter what, he had still done those things.
Naturally, he could no longer continue in his previous position.
Not to mention that among everyone, his Mental Sea had suffered the most severe contamination from the red mist.
However, Mental Power Users possessed much stronger resistance than Ability Users.
Thus, An Mi himself wasn't in any danger and could even slowly remove the red mist on his own.
Because of that, everyone temporarily left him alone.
Nan Yu also set him aside for the moment, prioritizing the treatment of everyone else's Mental Contamination before finally going to see An Mi.
An Mi's treatment wasn't too bad.
After all, he hadn't done those things of his own will.
Moreover, the investigation wasn't over yet.
They still needed time to determine exactly how much damage had been caused before deciding on appropriate punishment.
And yes, besides An Mi, there were others imprisoned here.
Several cells contained soldiers who had been controlled just like him.
Even the person who had attacked Nan Yu earlier had already been caught.
Nan Yu had gone to see him before.
He was just an ordinary soldier. Nan Yu had even seen him a few times in the cafeteria.
There was nothing special about him.
He looked just like any other soldier—a true military man.
To be honest, Nan Yu sympathized with them.
These people had endured countless hardships to obtain everything they had today, only to lose it all because of the schemes of a single Ability Beast.
Anyone would probably collapse in such circumstances.
No wonder everyone locked up here looked utterly devoid of hope, as though they no longer wished to live.
"You came?"
An Mi looked surprisingly calm, as though he had already accepted reality.
Nan Yu found it somewhat strange.
"Don't you feel unwilling?"