Chapter 17: The Nefarious One
Chapter 17: The Nefarious One
Ji Xinghuo sat within the cabin of the Sky Fighter, with two Sword Bureau knights seated beside him, their eyes fixed on him intently, not relaxing for even a second.
Ji Zongbang's corpse lay on the floor before him, while Min Chongwu crouched nearby, examining the body with great interest, letting out occasional clicks of his tongue.
He stood and pulled out an arrow from Ji Xinghuo's quiver, inspecting the somewhat blunt arrowhead before shaking his head.
"You killed Ji Zongbang with this training arrow?"
Ji Xinghuo remained silent.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the surveillance footage myself." Min Chongwu sat down across from Ji Xinghuo in the cabin. "Judging from the body alone, I wouldn't have doubted you if you told me a Super Ranger killed him."
Ji Xinghuo still didn't react.
"When did you become an Other?" Min Chongwu asked, suddenly turning and cursing. "What are the people in the Information Department eating? Why hasn't the documentation been transferred even after all this time?"
One of the knights replied, "They said they just got the authorization and are accessing it now."
Min Chongwu turned back, "Hey, why aren't you talking?"
"Didn't you just say to be cautious with your words?"
"That's for other people."
Min Chongwu slapped his hand impatiently. "I know you're not happy. But if you want to get back the rotating magnetic field, you need to be nicer to me. Just answer my questions."
Ji Xinghuo nodded slightly but emphasized, "The ownership of this Other species is mine. Even the Sword Bureau has no reason to confiscate it."
He dared to say this because of the "spoils of war principle."
This principle originated in the Starry Realm.
The Starry Realm was extremely dangerous, but people had to venture there to obtain valuable resources. When one was weak or faced a target they couldn't defeat alone, cooperation was necessary.
After a successful mission, a rule was gradually formed for distributing the spoils.
In summary: whoever contributed the most in battle had the right to distribute the spoils.
If one single-handedly killed a target, even if the target had been weakened by others, as long as they were unaware of this, it was still considered a solo kill, and they could claim all the spoils.
On Earth, this principle was also adopted.
Countries never coexisted harmoniously; there was always competition and hostility, with activities like infiltration, espionage, and assassination never ceasing.
When powerful Others were involved in such dirty work, it became extremely difficult to guard against them.
Therefore, non-official Others had to be brought in to help.
To encourage their participation, most countries tacitly approved of the "spoils of war principle," applying it to spies, assassins, and criminals from other countries killed within their borders.
The same was true for the Asia-Pacific Community.
Since Ji Xinghuo had single-handedly killed Ji Zongbang, according to the spoils of war principle, he owned everything Ji Zongbang possessed, including his body!
Of course, this was a principle, not a law.
Principles had to give way to laws; for example, if an item was important evidence in a case, it would have to be returned only after the case was concluded, which could take a long time.
Or if the item didn't belong to the deceased in the first place and was stolen or robbed, it must be returned to its rightful owner.
Ji Xinghuo's concern was the former.
As for the second possibility, judging from Min Chongwu's reaction when he saw the Other species, he didn't know about the rotating magnetic field beforehand, so it was likely that it originally belonged to Ji Zongbang.
Unless someone stepped forward to claim it.
"That's true, but rules are dead, and people are alive," Min Chongwu toyed with the refrigerated test tube. "What if someone bypasses the rules and takes the Other species by force? What will you do then?"
"Who dares to take it?"
Ji Xinghuo had already sensed something before boarding the fighter jet and deliberately provoked, "Are you suggesting something, Officer?"
"Of course not me." Min Chongwu scoffed. "I'm a Halo Warrior. The rotating magnetic field is of no use to me, no matter how strong it is."
The star power of Halo Warriors transformed entirely into light energy, and light energy had a strongly repulsive nature.
It repelled not only other energies but also most Other abilities.
Therefore, Halo Warriors could fuse with very few Other abilities, and any ability that altered the body couldn't be fused with.
The rotating magnetic field fell into this category and was incompatible with Halo Warriors.
However, just because they couldn't fuse with it didn't mean they couldn't sell it.
Ji Xinghuo didn't know how much "rotating magnetic field" was worth because this Other species had never been traded on the market. It had been intercepted or traded even before it reached the sales stage.
If he had to guess a price, it would be at least fifty million starting! Enough to tempt even Super Others.
However, Ji Xinghuo could tell that Min Chongwu truly had no interest in the rotating magnetic field. This man might seem carefree on the surface, but he had his principles and was relatively upright.
At least, that was the impression he gave so far.
"Do you want to know who would covet 'your' rotating magnetic field?" Min Chongwu emphasized "your" and put on an act, as if Ji Xinghuo had to beg him for the information.
Ji Xinghuo said quietly, "Some nefarious individual?"
Min Chongwu was taken aback.
The faces of the knights in the cabin changed as well. They finally dared not underestimate Ji Xinghuo, and a hint of wariness appeared on their faces.
Now it was Min Chongwu's turn to fall silent.
But after a few minutes, he couldn't hold back and asked, "Why do you guess that?"
Ji Xinghuo glanced at the corpse.
In fact, it was quite obvious. Even before he shot Ji Zongbang, he had already discovered some clues.
And then there was the nerve toxin.
With slightly better eyesight, one could guess that Ji Zongbang had most likely encountered a 'Dark Wind Walker', a profession template with the core ability of 'Air Manipulation', complemented by the 'Green Mamba Poison Gland', which secretes a deadly toxin from their respiratory system, spreading it through the air and making it impossible to guard against.
Dark Wind Walkers were very powerful, but they had a terrible reputation, especially among ordinary people, striking fear into their hearts.
Min Chongwu's view of him changed instantly.
After about ten minutes, the Sky Fighter flew into the Qinling Mountains south of Chang'an and descended towards a hidden valley.
Ji Xinghuo's gaze swept through the porthole, scanning the mountain ranges, and in just a few seconds, he spotted over a dozen camouflaged dense arrays and artillery platforms, as well as a "Superconducting Shield Array" composed of dozens of bases.
A crack opened up in the valley, and the gates slid open to reveal a landing platform.
The fighter jet landed on the platform.
Boom!
A dull thud reverberated as the spacious platform sank into the ground, rapidly descending through a vertical passage. After about ten seconds, a spacious underground space appeared before them.
A massive, brightly lit underground facility lay before them, divided into multiple levels, resembling the decks of a battleship.
"This is just a subdivision of the Sword Bureau."
"Let's go."
Min Chongwu stood up and instructed his knights to carry Ji Zongbang's body. As he passed by Ji Xinghuo, he cautioned, "Be careful of Yan Xiao. He's not as easy to deal with as I am."
Ji Xinghuo's heart sank.
This 'Yan Xiao' was most likely the Dark Wind Walker who had severely injured Ji Zongbang. From Min Chongwu's tone, it was clear that Yan Xiao held a significant position within the Sword Bureau, at least on par with Min Chongwu.
And he, Ji Xinghuo, had just taken Yan Xiao's spoils of war.
Escorted by the two knights, Ji Xinghuo exited the cabin and glanced around. There were over a dozen Sky Fighters nearby, and outside the cabin doors stood more individuals wearing black combat uniforms and bearing the 'Sword' badge, indicating they were also 'Others'.
His gaze landed on the leading knight.
A tall and slender man clad in a green robe with an ancient style, his appearance was rather peculiar, especially his eyes, which were green with vertically slit pupils. A single glance from him would make one's hair stand on end, as if they were being stared down by a venomous snake.
Not only did his eyes resemble a snake's, but his skin also concealed a layer of greenish scales that seemed ready to emerge. If they did, he would look just like a towering snake standing upright.
These physical traits clearly indicated the man's profession template.
Dark Wind Walker!
Many profession templates, upon reaching a certain level, would manifest corresponding physical characteristics. For example, the baldness associated with Halo Warriors.
And the Dark Wind Walker gave off the aura of a venomous snake!
"Min Chongwu, you've got quite some luck."
The Dark Wind Walker's voice carried a chilling, sinister air, and his speech was slurred, each word accompanied by a subtle tremor, creating a hissing sound, like a snake's tongue flicking in his mouth.
As he spoke, his green eyes fixed on Min Chongwu, and he extended his pale hand, "Where's the Other species?"
"What Other species?" Min Chongwu frowned.
"Hiss... " Yan Xiao let out a cold laugh, "You may not be the brightest usually, but is there any point in feigning ignorance now?"
Min Chongwu's expression turned sour, and he glanced back at his knights.
He hadn't reported about the Other species yet, but Yan Xiao already knew. This meant that either someone in his team had reported it without his knowledge or there was a spy among them working for Yan Xiao.
"The Other species has nothing to do with you. It belongs to Ji Xinghuo." Min Chongwu ignored Yan Xiao's outstretched hand.
"Who's Ji Xinghuo?"
Yan Xiao's gaze swept over, finally noticing the presence of an outsider. However, he only glanced at Ji Xinghuo briefly before looking away, his tone filled with disdain, "A novice ranger killed Ji Zongbang? Do you expect me to believe that? I've checked his file; he only became an Other three weeks ago."
"The surveillance footage determines who the spoils belong to." Min Chongwu didn't want to waste any more words, "I'll go report to Director Zhou now."
Then he looked at a female knight, "Xin Feng, take Ji Xinghuo to the interrogation room to prepare a statement."
With that, Min Chongwu left.
Yan Xiao watched Min Chongwu's departing figure, his eyes flashing with green light, and then he, too, followed with his team in tow.
From start to finish, he hadn't spared Ji Xinghuo a second glance.
"Mr. Ji, please come with me." The female knight, Xin Feng, led Ji Xinghuo through a corridor and past several metal gates until they reached an empty room.
This was the interrogation room.
But in the Sword Bureau, the interrogation room could also serve as an interrogation chamber.
Xin Feng left after bringing Ji Xinghuo in, leaving him alone in the room. He sat at the table and surveyed his surroundings. A camera was installed in the corner of the ceiling, and one of the walls was one-way transparent, allowing those outside to observe him without being seen.
Ji Xinghuo remained calm; he had anticipated this situation during the journey.
He sat quietly, closing his eyes as he focused on the table.
With a flash, the interface of the Myriads Star Pupil appeared, and his attention turned to the 'Spiritual Source Energy'. Its value had changed from 0 to 137.
Ji Xinghuo thought, "Now, I can research what this Spiritual Source Energy can do."
(End of Chapter)
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