Chapter 378: Chapter 378: An Unexpected Visitor
The coin doesn’t actually exist?
The secretary’s words made everyone gasp, and they looked at the coin with more reverence.
Except for Chen Xuan.
He had already dealt with the sources of these Forbidden Abilities several times.
Although he didn’t know where the agency got this coin from, it was certainly related to the forbidden power. The forbidden Flesh and Blood Ability seems to love consuming such things; previously, after devouring "Guess the Coin," he acquired a new ability called "Seed of Flesh and Blood." Could this black coin in front of him be fed to "Decomposition and Re-Fusion" as well?
"What’s the agency’s purpose for bringing it to Jiang City?" Lin Qing asked.
"The log doesn’t say." The stationmaster shook his head, "Maybe it’s highly confidential content, and we need more time to crack the data on the spaceship."
"This thing doesn’t seem very auspicious..." Uncle Li said with a grave expression, "My advice is not to touch it."
"I feel the same," Du Pingzhang said with a sigh, "When testing, I repeatedly urged that group of experts not to open the box out of curiosity. Conventional detection methods have no effect on it, so it might also be a creation of ability."
While others were focused on examining the black coin, Chen Xuan quietly walked over to Honglian, and whispered in her ear, "Find a chance to mark it."
She seemed slightly confused but gave a barely noticeable nod.
After both sides reviewed all the important items they had scavenged, the next step was to discuss how to distribute them. The Fireline Band obviously understood that apart from the Destiny Wedge, which was essential for them, the other items weren’t particularly useful, and carrying them might be unsafe. As long as the Binjiang Garden Subway Station offered enough benefits, it didn’t matter if they let go of the remaining items.
It was foreseeable that this negotiation would also be a lengthy process, and until a specific agreement was reached, the subway station would take care of them.
Chen Xuan had no interest in this kind of wrangling work and didn’t plan to have the Fireline Band fight for the coin, as explaining what it was used for would be difficult. As long as Honglian marked the crystal box, it could be swapped out quietly anytime in the future.
Just then, the secretary, Sasha’s face suddenly changed, and she quickly walked over to the stationmaster, whispering a few words.
"What, are you sure?" Du Pingzhang was greatly surprised, "Bring the signal here."
Saying this, he picked up the remote control and pressed it twice, and the TV screen on the wall lit up immediately.
"Excuse me... has something happened?" Uncle Li asked.
The stationmaster didn’t say a word, just stared at the screen intently.
Chen Xuan also looked — after flickering a few times in the center of the screen, it showed the scene outside the subway station. It seemed to be a view from a surveillance camera, monitoring most of the depot parking lot and the two roads leading to the band’s camp. However, the surveillance camera lifted its head, casting half its sight toward the sky: even at noon, the sky was still filled with yellow sand, making the whole city extremely dim.
Soon, everyone noticed something strange.
A blue light point appeared in the sandstorm.
Initially inconspicuous, it quickly became increasingly bright, and even the fierce wind and sand could not conceal it. In less than a minute, the light cluster split into four, resembling four rising suns at dawn.
"Is that... a flying object!?" Lin Qing exclaimed.
Chen Xuan also realized that the so-called blue light cluster was actually the scorching flames sprayed by the engines, and the shadow between the light clusters was its main body.
When the spaceship broke through the sand, everyone was captivated by its sleek body and shiny exterior, looking like an alien visitor compared to the dilapidated city. The streamlined fuselage shimmered with a pure white metallic sheen, and beneath the two rhomboid wings, clear weapon systems could be seen. Fortunately, it did not open fire on the subway station but landed steadily on the road beside the camp.
This commotion not only disturbed the band members in their tents but also attracted a large group of residents from the shelter. People curiously swarmed out but dared not approach too closely, all crowding around within the depot’s barbed wire to watch the spaceship from afar.
It wasn’t some alien visitor.
The "Dimensional Limit Mechanism" emblem printed on the spaceship already indicated its origin.
"Excuse me, it seems I must leave for a moment," Du Pingzhang turned to Uncle Li and the others.
...
Outside the subway station, the stationmaster was already engaged in conversation with the group of Mechanical Officers descending from the spaceship, both sides displaying considerable rapport, showing no sign that this was the first visit from the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.
The onlookers were much the same, eagerly discussing the new spaceship and the agency’s purpose here, as if no one remembered that the world had become this way because of the war between the agency and the Evangelical Association.
If Lin Qing had been here earlier, she would have angrily cursed it as disgusting.
However, Chen Xuan could understand the mindset of the residents in the depot.
If they wished to survive a bit longer in Jiang City with nano-living bodies running rampant, they couldn’t do without the agency’s technical support. Regardless of what they thought, on the surface, they would treat the other party as an important partner.
"What do you think?" Chen Xuan asked Honglian.
"They’re probably here for the spaceship wreckage," she said seriously, "The agency has been monitoring this area, the spaceship wasn’t forgotten."
"That’s what I thought too." Chen Xuan gladly agreed, "Their timing is just too convenient."
Four days ago, the spaceship wreckage was moved, and four days later, the agency dispatched a new spaceship; it’s highly unlikely this is a coincidence. Moreover, since Jiang City was sealed by the Celestial Patrol, sending forces here became a losing proposition, leaving only information or intelligence that could enter and exit without loss.
The question then is, what treasure in the spaceship wreckage is so important that the agency would risk another ship for it?
Don’t be deceived by their easy entry; if they want to leave, they will have to face the Celestial Patrol’s interception.
"Wait!" Honglian suddenly widened her eyes, "Did I see it wrong? Is that a shield-shaped badge on the leader’s shoulder?"
Chen Xuan used the Divine Eye Technique to magnify and scrutinize it, "Yes." He remembered Lin Qing’s introduction, "Could that mark belong to an Arbitration Court Ability User?"
Honglian nodded, her expression turning serious, "Yes, they are people from the agency’s Arbitration Court. In a sense, they are more precious than the spaceship itself."
This meant that the agency not only lost a spaceship but also left an Arbitration Court Ability User stranded in Jiang City.
"What on earth... is that coin?" Honglian frowned at Chen Xuan, "You must know its use; otherwise, you wouldn’t be interested in it."
This was precisely why he didn’t want the Fireline Band to strive for the coin. Chen Xuan shrugged, "You think these people are here for the coin?"
"What else could it be?" she retorted, as if it were obvious.
"Honestly, I don’t know what that coin is used for."
As Honglian began to voice her doubts, Chen Xuan continued, "But I’ve seen a similar ability, which can decide a person’s life or death with a few coins, what Shixin calls a Forbidden Ability."
He then briefly introduced the Guess the Coin ability.
"Both abilities and lives can be wagered, where a wrong guess results in losing everything?" Honglian was dumbfounded, "That’s too unreasonable!"
"It is indeed domineering. The last person with this ability was called Fei Wuniang, a Wanderer. She appeared just outside Jiang City’s third ring..." he spoke half-truthfully, "The agency had their eyes on her, but unfortunately, you were late."
Honglian immediately recalled, "Did you... kill her?"
"She wanted to kill me, and I had to choose self-defense," Chen Xuan spread his hands, "But there’s no difference, really. To prevent the spread of Forbidden Abilities, I reclaimed it as per Shixin’s request, which in her view meant stripping her of her forceful power, hence the inevitable conflict."
"I asked you to mark the box just to reclaim another forbidden artifact."
After a moment of silence, Honglian chose to trust this explanation, "I hope you can truly seal it, and not use it for some clandestine deeds."
"Of course, I can assure you of that," Chen Xuan promised without a hitch. After all, feeding it to the Flesh and Blood power wouldn’t leave even a trace; it was more reliable than ordinary sealing.
Comments