Chapter 952: Chapter 820: Caught Off Guard
Qu Jianlei originally didn’t intend to use a mental attack, because it’s too easy to trigger associative imagination.
But under these circumstances, not using it is also not an option, as the Patrol headquarters is heavily guarded, with monitoring, defense, and counterattack devices everywhere.
Even on normal days, these installations are active, although they haven’t reached their set thresholds.
And there are people outside who are very alert, Harman is lying on the trigger of the explosive, a slight misstep and things could escalate.
Therefore, he could only deal with these four specifically, at worst, take them all away.
The attack went smoothly, Qu Jianlei first knocked out two Modified Warriors, the slight mental wave didn’t attract any attention.
Then he knocked out Harman, finally choosing the B-level individual.
It proved that this sequence was correct, as B-level Awakened was highly tense, actually sensing the mental wave.
Unfortunately, his reaction was a bit slow, his emotions fluctuated intensely, but before his body could respond, he was knocked out.
"Just a bit off," Qu Jianlei murmured lightly, his figure twisted bizarrely a few times, and silently entered the headquarters.
If the Paranoid saw this scene, he’d know that his Body Technique has improved a bit.
Originally, cultivation was just like this, his Cultivation Level can’t be improved drastically in a short term, so he enhances himself in all aspects during calculations.
He twisted the necks of the two Modified Warriors, Harman and the B-level... he still didn’t kill them.
Qu Jianlei just followed up with two chops of the hand, making the two even more deeply unconscious.
Then he hesitated for a moment, actually a bit curious: what exactly were those powders?
But ultimately, he restrained himself, overly strong curiosity is really not a good thing.
The next moment, he carried the two and silently left the Patrol headquarters.
This time he managed to do it silently not because the opponent was lax, Harman had done everything possible to guard against it.
Unfortunately, Harman did not anticipate that the opponent would have assistance from AI, rendering the mental wave testing devices ineffective.
Qu Jianlei hadn’t gone far when he noticed something amiss, so he stopped his steps, releasing a hint of perception in surprise.
Then a figure emerged, it was Granny Jia, "Was it smooth?"
Being startled by another person can be terrifying! Qu Jianlei snorted lightly, continuing to walk swiftly, "Why are you here?"
"I actually came to assist," Granny replied softly, "Even if you didn’t say anything, wouldn’t I come?"
Qu Jianlei wanted to express, actually, I don’t need assistance, but... having a teammate to support really feels great.
The two arrived at a small forest about ten kilometers away and set down the unconscious duo.
Granny Jia didn’t hesitate either, taking out the Truth Potion to administer to Harman—next would certainly be Soul Search.
However, she was stunned next, "No mistake, you’ve been carrying a corpse?"
"Dead?" Qu Jianlei furrowed his brows, slightly sensing it, "Oh, they really are... just moments ago they were alive."
While rushing, he occasionally sensed the condition of the captives, to prevent any signs of awakening.
After all, Awakened have a variety of trump cards, it’s always good to be cautious.
During this process, there was no fluctuation in Harman’s brain—which was normal, since he was unconscious.
But his breathing and heartbeat, though faint, were somewhat present, just in rather long intervals.
This situation is quite normal for High Tier Awakened.
Many, after falling unconscious, subconsciously reduce their body’s consumption, which is an instinctual protection for individuals.
Anyway, their bodies are robust enough, with extreme tolerance to harsh conditions.
Unexpectedly, this one actually died just like that, now his body is still warm.
Then Qu Jianlei furrowed his brows once more, "This is bad, the B-level is also dead... Committing suicide by poison even while unconscious?"
Granny Jia sensed briefly, then shook her head, "It wasn’t poison ingestion, it should be a poison linked to spiritual power."
The Imperial has Truth Potion to make people disclose the truth, as well as training and related drugs to prevent interrogation.
The complicated ones are the ones where after spiritual damage, the poison automatically activates.
This was originally intended for Death Warriors, very strictly controlled, unexpectedly these two both took it.
If they hadn’t been attacked, taking the antidote on time would neutralize potential toxicity.
Even Granny Jia had only heard of such poison, she hadn’t actually encountered it.
However, she could confirm that this poison first damages the brain.
So during the rush, these two were probably already in a state of brain death.
Though a trace of breath remained, without careful inspection, it would be presumed that they entered self-protection mode.
Qu Jianlei really hadn’t expected the opponent to have such a hand, carrying two living corpses for quite a distance.
In frustration, he was increasingly puzzled, "Do I have such a deep enmity with this guy?"
Granny Jia was also a bit surprised, "Just to gain Balrog’s recognition, being this harsh to themselves?"
Qu Jianlei also found it puzzling that Balrog hadn’t even announced a bounty, yet here someone was risking their life for a gamble?
As people age, they supposedly become more afraid of death, "Could it be... directed by a superior?"
He had considerable understanding of "rigid hierarchies," but here in the Imperial... was it the same?
Granny Jia couldn’t answer, thinking for a moment before asking, "The one from the Mountain Fortress, is he a ’living dead’? Would there be an antidote?"
Qu Jianlei thought of how the Fourth Master used to be military personnel, thinking maybe there was a way to save these two, so he reached out to the other party.
However, regrettably, the reply was straightforward, the living dead represented those who shouldn’t be alive, unrelated to this poison.
But the Fourth Master also mentioned that once this poison acted, there was no cure, only a solution if neutralized beforehand.
"Unlucky," Qu Jianlei sighed, then found an incinerator and directly threw the four bodies into it.
On the way back, he still pondered what kind of person could find death warriors of this level.
Suddenly, Granny Jia spoke up, "How about I go over all the Supremes on this planet one by one?"
Officially, there are four Supremes on this planet currently, but how many there actually are is hard to say.
Furthermore, Supremes are also fluid, coming and going, making it hard to grasp, and the workload is notably large.
Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you have that much time?"
"I’ve reached a minor bottleneck at the moment," the old lady replied casually, "feels like releasing more Inner Breath might help."
Qu Jianlei blinked, then sombrely asked, "Is it converting Spiritual Qi?"
This notion was proposed by the Paranoid, who believed Jia Shuqing should convert as much of her internal Water Element into Spiritual Qi as possible.
This guy is not only paranoid but indeed has some wild ideas.
Granny Jia was very interested in this notion, and the two of them studied it for a long time, finally involving Qu Jianlei.
Qu Jianlei was not very confident about it, though his intuition told him that Spiritual Qi was indeed more beneficial for breaking through to Nascent Soul.
However, if the assumption was wrong, or if the operability was poor... the old lady would not have another opportunity to break through again.
What made Qu Jianlei most helpless was that even Little Lake couldn’t calculate right or wrong for this speculation.
Big Head Butterfly truly was a counter-heavenly existence, even helping him to calculate and perfect the cultivation technique.
But with this mix of superpowers and cultivation, there was just no lead to take action!
If Little Lake could truly deduce such a cultivation technique from nothing, it could start a sect in the Cultivation Realm.
So Qu Jianlei’s suggestion was: after thinking it over, why not give it a try, only wearing the shoes will tell if they fit!
Granny Jia really did try it, later stating the results were excellent.
With her helping to verify, Qu Jianlei could also make some calculations, and the ultimate inference was: replace as much Elemental Inner Breath with Spiritual Qi as possible.
This inference couldn’t be 100% guaranteed to be correct, but there was at least an eighty percent certainty.
The old lady thought that eighty percent was already enough, there was no need for him to dwell any further, planning to follow this path to the end.
It showed that the Supremes were really willing to risk it all to break through new bottlenecks, not only the Paranoid dared to gamble.
The problem now was that her Spiritual Qi supplement was about sufficient, but there was still quite a bit of Elemental Inner Breath remaining within.
That’s why she thought of finding some work to consume the Inner Breath, then replace it with Spiritual Qi.
Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment before speaking up, "Since you want to consume Inner Breath, why not stay in the manor?"
Granny Jia showed a slight frown, then nodded, "That’s true, better to use stillness to overcome motion... saves me from running around."
By the time the two returned to the manor, dawn was breaking, having labored through an entire night.
Others were also curious about their overnight achievements, and as they saw the two return, they promptly stepped forward to inquire.
Not only were they concerned about this matter, but in the morning, the landlord also came to find out the latest news about his son’s family.
This turned out to be quite a tragic affair, Xiao Qin did not hide anything, directly informing the other party that the entire family had been killed.
The landlord’s tears immediately welled up, but amazingly, he managed to restrain his emotions, choking as he asked where the bodies were.
Qu Jianlei was genuinely a bit curious about the emotions of the Imperial people; he ultimately couldn’t quite comprehend their detachment from life here.
Could it be that the other party had already anticipated that his son’s family might meet a violent end?
He had to admit, this supposition was rather in line with Imperial thinking.
Two hours later, the landlord drove to the destination, but unable to find the bodies, used his wristwatch to ask.
Xiao Qin straightforwardly told him that the bodies had been buried on the spot.
Because there were Awakened among the killers, the workload for burying the bodies wasn’t very large.
Simultaneously, she coldly told the other party, you’d better consider how to explain to others how you learned the location of the burial site.
Even though there were deaths in the other party’s family, her words subtly carried an undertone of threat...
Yet, such is the Imperial; she believed the other party would make the correct judgment.
Reality proved so as well; the landlord first found people on his own to come and excavate, only after seeing the bodies did he notify the City Guard.
