On a highway leading out of Ningcheng, inspectors and soldiers had already set up a blockade, allowing vehicles to enter but not leave.
The official cover story was a joint military exercise that required the cooperation of the citizens of Ningcheng.
Zhao Jin stood by the side of the highway, watching them from a distance.
He raised his left hand and glanced at his newly purchased watch. The hands read 12:20 AM.
His Destiny Force was surging, having already climbed from 386 to 571. Ghouls alone couldn't have generated so much Destiny Force in such a short period of time.
Clearly, Liu Wen and Tang Yongyun had made their move.
‘With such a massive jump in Destiny Force, the investigation team has likely been dealt with.’ Zhao Jin's expression remained calm, though he was curious to know the exact details.
With that thought, Zhao Jin murmured in his mind, ‘I want my brain to be able to read everything that has happened within a surrounding radius over the past twenty-four hours, with a maximum consumption limit of one hundred wisps of Destiny Force.’
Although he could obtain information through Liu Wen and Tang Yongyun, he didn't want to interact too much with others. He had to maintain his air of mystery and mystique.
Furthermore, information gathered by humans could always be prone to error. He trusted his own abilities far more than human reports.
A golden glow enveloped his head as his Destiny Force began to rapidly drain.
Zhao Jin felt a strange sensation blossom in his mind. His perception expanded outward—ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters...
At the same time, countless phantom images appeared within the range of his expanded perception.
There were humans, animals, and vehicles. These phantoms represented everything that had transpired over the past twenty-four hours, and they were all being read by him.
This peculiar sensation lasted for over ten minutes. Zhao Jin's perception radius eventually reached fifteen kilometers, completely blanketing the entirety of Ningcheng.
The actions of the investigation team, Liu Wen, Tang Yongyun, the Ghouls, Miasma, and the Opera-Robed Puppet all flooded into his mind. His remaining Destiny Force stood at 471.
Heavenly Perception: Allows you to perceive everything that has occurred within a fifteen-kilometer radius over the past twenty-four hours!
‘Interesting, truly interesting.’ Sensing what had transpired, Zhao Jin's lips curled up into a slight smile.
The investigation team hadn't been slow. They had even advanced from several directions simultaneously. Unfortunately for them, they had run into monsters far beyond human imagination.
Moreover, he noticed several peculiar changes. The Destiny Force surrounding Tang Yongyun, Liu Wen, and Peng Fei had grown significantly stronger than before.
‘Does Destiny Force increase as characters continue to grow or become stronger?’ Zhao Jin fell into deep thought.
If so, it meant his future returns would be even greater. This was an incredibly important discovery.
Looking at the description of Heavenly Perception, a panel materialized in his mind.
Zhao Jin
Status: Undying
Destiny Force: 471 wisps
Lifespan: 471 days
Abilities: Hypnotize, Random Teleportation, Heavenly Perception!
Staring at Random Teleportation and Heavenly Perception, another idea formed in Zhao Jin's mind: ‘Merge Random Teleportation and Heavenly Perception. I want to be able to appear anywhere within my perception range at any time, with a maximum consumption limit of one hundred wisps of Destiny Force.’
‘I wonder if merging two existing abilities will save some Destiny Force.’ Zhao Jin quietly waited for the transformation to begin.
Since he had plenty of Destiny Force now, he might as well spend some to strengthen himself. After all, he could easily make it back.
Following his thoughts, a faint golden light enveloped his body, and the surrounding space began to ripple.
The enhancement finished in just a minute. With his remaining Destiny Force at 371, a new ability appeared in Zhao Jin's mind.
Heavenly Domain: Perception radius of 15 kilometers. Can view events that occurred within perception in the past 24 hours. You can teleport anywhere within the perception range at will, with a one-minute cooldown! (Can teleport any target within the perception range, cooldown of half an hour!)
Zhao Jin looked at the new ability, his smile widening. With this, he would never have to walk again. Walking was far too pedestrian.
With a single thought, his figure gradually faded, vanishing into thin air.
In the suburbs, a large area was enclosed by high walls, with soldiers patrolling the perimeter.
This was the Ningcheng garrison camp.
On the right side of the camp, inside a sealed two-story building.
Several personnel in white lab coats were dissecting a corpse before them.
The corpse was riddled with bullet holes and had pitch-black eyes. It was one of the Ghouls that had just been gunned down.
“The more I look at this, the more my scalp tingles. There are absolutely no signs of genetic modification. How on earth was this created?” a white-haired elder muttered, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
He had also been sent by the higher-ups. Upon learning of the supernatural entities in Ningcheng, he had immediately rushed over with his team, arriving a day earlier than the investigation team.
“Teacher, have you found any clues? This is already the third corpse we've dissected,” a middle-aged man holding a scalpel asked from across the table.
Wu Jingyi shook his head. “What are you thinking? Everything must be done step-by-step. It will take a vast number of experiments to yield any real results. I'm simply marveling at whoever created this thing. If I could meet them, I would love to have a deep discussion.”
“Is that so? I'm quite interested in an expert like you as well. I wonder if you will be able to get anything out of it.”
Suddenly, a male voice echoed inside the dissection room.
Wu Jingyi and the others stiffened, quickly turning their heads toward the corner. They distinctly remembered that no one had been standing there.
The space in the corner warped, and a dark silhouette materialized, solidifying into the figure of Zhao Jin.
Witnessing such a miraculous scene, Wu Jingyi's eyes widened, his breathing turning rapid. “This... this is!!!”
The other personnel stared in absolute shock. Teleporting out of thin air was far more staggering than a physical entity like a Ghoul.
A second later, Wu Jingyi's disciple's expression shifted, and he turned to run out to call the soldiers.
However, as he turned, he caught a brief glimpse of Zhao Jin's eyes. His expression instantly went blank, and he froze in place.
Aside from Wu Jingyi, the other four assistants stood frozen like statues.
Zhao Jin ignored Wu Jingyi's shocked and inquisitive gaze, walking over to the dissected Ghoul.
He looked down. The Ghoul's internal organs had all turned pitch-black, and a dark, leathery membrane had even formed over their outer layer.
Zhao Jin reached his hand inside the Ghoul's chest cavity, feeling a rough, hardened texture. “Is this why Ghouls are so resilient? With the physical flesh absorbing the impact and the protection of this membrane, they truly are difficult to kill.”
Wu Jingyi stared at the calm young man before him. Hearing those words,
his scientific curiosity was instantly piqued. “This thing is truly miraculous. It completely defies the laws of natural development. How could a creature grow this kind of membrane over its internal organs? It's as if it was evolved solely for combat and slaughter.”
With that, Wu Jingyi looked at Zhao Jin and asked tentatively, “Did you create this? If so, could I ask you a few questions?”
Zhao Jin looked up at him. There was a decent amount of Destiny Force hovering over this man's head.
However, he had no intention of altering the man's fate. These government-affiliated academics were too straightforward; changing their destiny wouldn't yield much benefit in the short term.
He replied in a detached tone, “The Ghouls are indeed my creation. But as for answering your questions, let's forget about it—unless you can use these Ghoul corpses to create something that interests me.”
With that, he walked over to a nearby equipment tray, picked up a test tube, and returned to the Ghoul.
“Something that interests you?” Wu Jingyi watched in confusion.
Zhao Jin lowered the test tube into the dissected chest cavity, filling it to the brim with black blood.
With a single thought, he vanished from the laboratory.
After his departure, the other four assistants returned to normal.
Wu Jingyi's disciple looked at the stunned elder and asked in confusion, “Teacher, why did you stop? Let's continue. We still have several more corpses waiting for us.”
Wu Jingyi stared at his disciple and the other assistants. He couldn't detect any abnormalities on their faces.
He couldn't help but ask, “Do you not remember what just happened?”
“Remember what? Weren't we just dissecting?” the middle-aged man and the other assistants replied, their faces filled with confusion.
Seeing this, Wu Jingyi's gaze turned solemn. He said nothing more, lowering his head to resume the dissection.
He planned to thoroughly understand the Ghouls first, wait for all the corpses to arrive, and then bring them back.
After all, the experimental equipment in Ningcheng was too subpar. Only by returning could he use cutting-edge equipment to conduct a comprehensive examination of the Ghouls.
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