Chapter 173 - 170: Respective Gains
The woman in the lead glanced back at the tall and short figures behind her.
Then, she let out a soft "hmpf" in the direction of Tao Xingzhi and his team.
The oppressive Magic Power was instantly withdrawn into her body, and everything in the hallway returned to normal.
It was her response to the reminder from the person behind her.
"Let's go see those two poor patients first."
Inside the hospital room, Cui Ying and the others were completely unaware of the major commotion outside, as if the thin door could block out the sounds of a raging battle.
They were still puzzled by what Tao Xingzhi had just said.
Spreading the news via the media to lure someone to their doorstep meant they had been unreachable before.
And who could this person be, to make the Special Security Team go to such great lengths?
Though her arm was half-useless, her reporter's nose for news hadn't dulled one bit.
Coupled with having witnessed the incredible monkeys from the Monkey King incident and a few other stories, Cui Ying had already formed several bold theories.
As the few people in the room were discussing this amongst themselves, the door opened again—only this time, it opened on its own.
Under the confused gazes of the four, the first to enter the room was a person dressed in a black robe and cloak.
Or rather, a mysterious woman, whose smiling red lips were impossible to ignore.
The hospital's air conditioning kept it from being hot, but wearing a full black cloak at this time of year still seemed far from normal.
But this couldn't possibly be some kind of prank. After all, this place was under the control of the Special Security Team!
"Interesting~ So you're the reporter with the special constitution?"
There was one thing Su Su didn't say aloud: for an ordinary person, such a constitution would likely be fatal.
While Cui Ying was still dazed by the voice, the mysterious cloaked woman was already standing right in front of her.
With a gentle wave of her hand, Cui Ying's arms lifted on their own, and the bandages on them floated off, unraveling themselves layer by layer.
"Th-Th-This is…!!!"
This wasn't some special effect, nor were they watching a magic show. The four people in the room stared wide-eyed at the scene.
They then looked toward the other two mysterious figures who had entered the room and the members of the Special Security Team standing a short distance away, as if searching for an answer.
'Are these the people we were waiting for? What special constitution do I have?'
Remembering Tao Xingzhi's earlier warning, Cui Ying didn't dare make a sound to disturb them, and her little sister, who had just gasped in shock, quickly covered her mouth as well.
Bandages that would take a nurse two careful minutes to remove were completely unwrapped in two or three seconds before the mysterious person's eyes.
A foul stench spread through the air.
The woman had yet to speak, but the shortest of the three was the first to let out a sound.
Contrasting with his small frame, his voice was that of an incredibly old man.
"As expected, it's a toxin from the Corpse Shadow Qipero World. They must have been sprayed with unformed Plague Blood. Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived two hours before turning into zombies."
'Corpse Shadow Qipero World? Plague Blood?'
Tao Xingzhi and his team were now burning with curiosity, but they knew this wasn't the time to ask questions. Besides, the woman looked like she despised them.
The mysterious man who had spoken to the woman in the hallway walked over to Mo Shaoge's bed and gave a light wave of his hand.
Mo Shaoge's entire body floated up from the bed. The bandages wrapped around his chest and arm rapidly unraveled, revealing an even more severe state of decay.
"Can you tell what kind of Demon it is?"
He posed the question to his short companion, who stood between the two hospital beds.
"Many beings can cause this kind of condition. A Demon Corpse, a Dead Demon, or even a powerful Ghoul could do it. It's impossible to be certain for now."
Su Su scanned the members of the Special Security Team, who were watching with expectant eyes, and then the two patients in the room.
Her pink tongue darted out, lightly licking her smiling, fiery red upper lip.
"This is simple~ Once I slaughter it, we'll naturally know what it is!"
"Oh, but let's heal these two first."
As she finished speaking, the mysterious woman took a few steps back and sat on a stool by the wall. The short "old man" also stepped back to stand beside her, both of them assuming the posture of spectators at a play.
Only the man in the black robe remained in the center of the room.
Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge felt a faint, scorching wind blowing toward them, wrapping around their wounds layer by layer, just as the bandages had.
The two of them floated up from their beds together.
Tiny, orange sparks began to appear in front of Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge, gradually forming rings of starlight visible to the naked eye.
The woman by the wall, as if just remembering something, offered a reminder, her voice laced with amusement.
"Your wounds are probably numb right now, but after the toxin is extracted~~"
She seemed to leave the sentence unfinished on purpose.
"Karon~"
The instant the word of Magic Language was spoken, all the sparks flared brightly.
"TSSSSSS~~"
A sound like meat sizzling on a hot griddle suddenly erupted from the two of them.
"AHHHHHH—!" "AHHHHHH—!"
The utterly unbearable pain caused the two of them to let out bloodcurdling screams.
The sparks, as if they had found their target, all converged on the wounds of the two patients at once.
The sound of searing flesh was accompanied by a burnt smell. The two patients screamed until their throats were raw, their bodies drenched in sweat.
"Endure it. This is a pain of the soul; anesthesia is useless."
The calm, melodious voice of the mysterious man, the "Therapist," reminded Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge, seeming to possess a magical power that calmed the heart and eased their suffering.
This was, in fact, a crude application of the Sound Illusion Ability learned from the Red Demoness, used to deceive human Perception and make them forget a portion of the pain.
"So slow~ Can't you just use a bit more Magic Power?"
The woman watching the show stretched lazily, expressing her impatience.
"My lady, please be patient. Their souls are too fragile; I dare not use too much Magic Power."
"Tsk, tsk. How troublesome. If it were me, I would have finished this in a second!"
Hearing this, Tao Xingzhi and the rest of the Special Security Team, as well as Little Sister, Mo Qingxue, and even Huang Jiutian inside the room, all had the exact same thought.
'Yeah, if it were you, you'd probably kill them both in a second...'
The camera in the room faithfully recorded everything, but the people in the monitoring room seemed not to notice. Not that anyone was concerned about that right now.
By the time the two, now so exhausted from the pain they could no longer scream, floated back onto their beds, exactly two minutes had passed.
"If it had been within an hour of being tainted by the foul blood, a simple scan would have been enough. But they're lucky to be alive, having held on this long."
The mysterious man by the bed opened his left hand, and two white objects floated up from his palm.
"These are petals from the Flower of Life. When they wake up, have them chew on these but not swallow. They should keep them in their mouths until they are tasteless, then spit them out. This will restore their bodies to their original state."
Having done all this, the mysterious man returned to the mysterious woman's side.
"Alright, alright, that's settled. Now it's time to get down to business. Hand over the original carrier of the Plague Blood,"
The mysterious woman said, a constant smile on her face. Her gaze, hidden in the shadows of her hood, was now fixed on Tao Xingzhi.
"We can, but I hope your party will answer some of our questions in return."
None of the expected evasions or feigned ignorance occurred; Tao Xingzhi agreed quite readily.
About the changes to the world, about the mutations, about the "Magic Power" they spoke of…
They had too many questions that needed answers. This time, they had to achieve something, no matter the cost.
Especially after the Forestry Bureau had confirmed the unsettling growth patterns in the vegetation!
"Humanity is, after all, a single entity. The individual heroism of ancient times is not the most appropriate way to handle things now. I believe the Master Sage of the Dawn Association would not have overlooked this point!"
The mysterious woman's smile vanished. She stood up, tilting her head up slightly. The other two mysterious figures standing beside her also slowly turned to look at Tao Xingzhi.
THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP.
His heart was pounding violently.
Even with Tao Xingzhi's mental fortitude, he was under immense pressure. The gazes of the three opposite him seemed to freeze the very air—this wasn't just a feeling, but a tangible force.
"When did you find out?"
The woman's voice had lost its high, teasing tone, becoming a low, emotionless drone. But an intense sense of crisis now enveloped everyone inside and outside the hospital room.
This time, even the other mysterious man beside her remained silent.
"CRACKLE... CRACKLE..."
A wave of cold washed over them as white frost began to slowly form on the floor and walls...
At this tense moment, Tao Xingzhi, by contrast, remained calm. He looked directly at her, enduring the oppressive feeling with an unyielding gaze.
He knew that their guess had been correct!
"Not for very long, to be precise. Our knowledge of you is limited to some ancient texts and murals. I believe that what you did throughout history is very similar to what we are doing now."
"The difference is that today, we have the backing of a powerful and enlightened nation, whereas back then, you likely fought alone. Or perhaps… something even worse happened."
Tao Xingzhi thought of the execution stakes depicted in the murals at those ruins in France, of the horrifying portrayals of twisted humanity.
"I can understand you, and I sincerely admire you!"
"But this is no longer an era for fighting alone. If possible, please convey our goodwill to the Master Sage of Dawn! Trust isn't built from nothing, and this is but the first step!"
Frankness and sincerity!
With Qin Xiaoxia's current sensitivity to Magic Power, enhanced by the techniques he had learned from the Red Demoness, grasping these emotional fluctuations wasn't difficult.
He had no Magic Power, no superhuman physique, and no powerful soul, but Tao Xingzhi's aura was powerful nonetheless.
This was the direct impression he gave to Su Su, Doudou, and even Qin Xiaoxia.
...
The wild boar from Research Lab No. 3, which had turned into a monster and was ramming the isolation door, was incinerated on the spot. The Monkey King, who had been feigning unconsciousness, was now held aloft in one hand by Qin Xiaoxia.
The powerful aura radiating from him kept the Monkey King from daring to move a muscle.
As they were leaving, Tao Xingzhi received several Sound Transmission Flower seeds and a promise that his words would be relayed to the inner circle of the Dawn Association.
Qin Xiaoxia, in turn, got a Great Macaque for his troubles.
On a Secret Realm Technique formation tucked away in a corner of Kyoto, Doudou was yanking on the Great Macaque's fur with great interest.
"Hey, Big Bro, can I raise this monkey?"
For no apparent reason, a bone-chilling shiver shot from the tip of the Monkey King's tail all the way to the top of his head.