The efficiency of the Blood Knight Order was exceptionally high, taking less than an hour to completely clear the foreign races outside the city.
They achieved almost zero battle damage.
Watching the human legion covered in blood-red armor, the Shell Pattern Race members inside the city were momentarily terrified, as if they had never seen such a terrifying human legion before.
The impact created by the Blood Knight Order was overwhelming.
Moreover, the Blood Knights typically do not handle external expeditions, so very few foreign races have seen them.
Just as this group of Blood Knights had finished dealing with the foreign races outside the city gates and were about to target those inside,
Baiyu appeared in time.
What followed was a long and tedious negotiation, along with various inspection procedures.
The commander of the Blood Knight Order, an Imperial Major General, knew more than Baiyu because he had been in charge of special missions for many years.
He was not surprised by the surrender of the foreign races.
After conducting a series of inspections and precautions, they shackled this group of foreign races, preparing to escort them back to the Mountain City.
"Commander, what will be the fate of these people after they are escorted back?"
On the road.
Baiyu quietly asked the commander beside him, who was clad in Blood Knight armor with only a pair of scarlet eyes exposed.
The commander replied without any emotion, "Director Bai, rest assured, we have a complete process for dealing with such surrenders of foreign races. As long as they're proven harmless and can provide beneficial assistance to the Empire, they won't be executed.
Everything is for the Empire."
After speaking,
the commander saluted.
Baiyu immediately responded, "Everything for the Empire!"
β¦
The journey back was not lively.
Having experienced several battles, both the new recruits under Baiyu and the bounty hunters who were always looking to cut corners found the time outside the city torturous.
No one had the mood or energy for jokes and laughter.
The atmosphere was quite heavy.
Baiyu and the commander sat in one vehicle, surrounded by Blood Knights both in front and behind. These people were like cold machines; unless Baiyu initiated conversation, they wouldn't say anything.
Even when questioned,
they would only respond with the simplest answers.
Getting them to start a conversation on their own was like dreaming.
Thus, the entire team advanced in silence and quietude. Aside from the sound of armored vehicles crashing through trees and rocks, clanking on the ground, no other sound was heard.
Three hours later,
the artificial sun in the sky gradually brightened.
The enormous outline of Mountain City appeared before their eyes.
From afar, Mountain City looked like a massive fortress standing on the earth, surrounded by membranes of various colors, with a gigantic, spotlight-like sphere suspended atop the city.
This was the artificial sun of Mountain City.
Although it required constant recharging, with the energy consumed each day being astronomical,
it was its presence that allowed Mountain City to flourish.
Otherwise, in the No Darkness Realm with no night, residents might go mad after a while.
Furthermore, crops inside the city couldn't grow.
The plants able to withstand the adverse weather in the No Darkness Realm were all native species.
The returning convoy did not enter through the main gate.
They entered through a side gate of Mountain City, followed the military district's route, and discreetly arrived at a location.
Baiyu had never been here before.
He was unaware that a special area existed deep within the military district.
The place was filled with buildings, all framed with full metal, clearly designed for durability.
Such buildings.
Even if hit directly by stray bullets, might not collapse, and with spirit array protection, their durability could be greatly enhanced.
The people coming and going here were also very peculiar.
They were either doctors wearing white coats, masks, and protective goggles, or strange individuals in black robes, hoods up, and carrying black long boxes on their backs.
Both the environment of this place and the people passing through it were incredibly mysterious.
As the Director of the Security Bureau, Baiyu had previously had no knowledge of such a place, completely unaware of any details.
However, being located in the military district,
and even deeply within it,
it was normal for them not to be allowed access or knowledge.
"Director Bai, the Director wants to see you."
This was the first time the commander proactively spoke to Baiyu since the beginning.
Then,
with two Blood Knights leading the way, Baiyu arrived in front of a metal building.
Inside, Yao Shuimei was sitting on a chair, carefully reading an ancient book.
Upon hearing movement,
she looked up and saw Baiyu returning disheveled, then closed the book: "It seems your mission outside didn't go smoothly."
"Indeed, there was a bit of an unexpected situation,"
Baiyu stated frankly; there was nothing to hide. For a first-time expedition, achieving this much was considered passable.
After all, no one could have known in advance,
that there would actually be two Shell People Races outside, greatly exceeding previous estimates.
Yao Shuimei put the book aside, and Baiyu noticed words on the cover in his peripheral vision: "On the Development and Growth of Religion."
Seeing her reading such a book made Baiyu a bit curious.
"Tell me all about it. I received reports about your group, but they weren't detailed. Explain the special circumstances you encountered,"
Yao Shuimei said.
Baiyu nodded and began to narrate the circumstances at the time, without omitting a single detail.
"Demons? You encountered demons?"
Upon hearing Baiyu's account, Yao Shuimei looked at him with a surprised expression.
"Yes, and there must be a mole within the Anomaly Bureau. I suggest a thorough cleansing, but it's not my place to handle it.
After all, it's within the Anomaly Bureau,
I, as someone from the Security Bureau, cannot intervene too deeply. Currently, both He Jin and Qiu Yun are on the front lines, so only you, Director, can personally address it."
Baiyu said.
Yao Shuimei nodded and said, "I will pay attention to it. How did you deal with that demon?"
Baiyu continued to recount the entire process.
Regarding the situation of the Eye of the Black Moon, he only mentioned it as a powerful lethal magical item, without going into specifics.
Anyway, the demon wasn't the type to engage in open combat.
Baiyu described the process of dealing with it in detail, focusing on his keen observations of the oddities and his bold hypotheses, cautious probing, and the strategic battle of wits.
To the extent that by the end, Yao Shuimei was bewildered.
The look she gave Baiyu seemed to say, "I never realized you were this formidable."
After Baiyu finished speaking,
Yao Shuimei fell into contemplation, her fingers tapping the table: "This mind-controlling ability seems to be possessed only by the moth-like demons."
