Chapter 158.2 – Key (1)

◎ Crime Record Plus ◎

“Xiao Song, in the recent period, it’s better not to go too far.”

Song Ke was slightly stunned, feeling that there was another layer of meaning in Ye Zheng’s words.

Ye Zheng’s old eyes fell on the pass, with a faint gleam of sharpness, “No matter what those above decide, I can see that there are already people below who can’t sit still.”

“Cough, cough!” Ye Zheng suddenly started coughing violently while speaking. Ye Zimei hurriedly went over to gently pat his back.

Apparently, the recent sparring had placed a considerable burden on him.

Suddenly, Song Ke remembered what Ning Rong had said last night, “It’s all thanks to S-level physique holding up.” Worriedly, she asked, “General, we have an A5-level healer. Would you like him to have a look?”

In fact, her suggestion was somewhat impolite. As the highest authority figure in the Northern Base, Ye Zheng undoubtedly had a well-equipped medical team by his side, and there was no need for their “unconventional” team to be concerned. However, Ye Zheng didn’t mind and sighed slowly, “Xiao Fang, right? The doctor from Tongwan in District C60. I visited there when I was young.”

Zhuang Qingyan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Ye Zheng was a rare magistrate who could remember the names of lower-level districts.

Fang Zhixu, aged 38, was called “Xiao Fang”, blushed with embarrassment amidst the teasing of his teammates.

He put on the stethoscope, focused all his attention, and released his awakened energy. His expression became increasingly serious, and he didn’t immediately propose a treatment plan.

Ye Zheng understood and smiled, “As one gets older, the organs inside the body start to malfunction. I apologize for the embarrassment.”

Song Ke’s heart sank involuntarily.

Fang Zhixu pondered silently for a while, carefully choosing his words, “General, why don’t you consider replacing with bionic organs?”

For ordinary organ transplants, one would have to consider issues like compatibility and rejection. However, with the advanced technology today, high-quality bionic mechanical organs were already widespread. As long as it wasn’t a brain turned into mush, nearly every part of the body could be replaced, similar to what they encountered with the “Anna Knights” during the Throne Race in Ferrara, even Punk’s eyeballs were mechanical.

Ye Zheng remained indifferent, “Since you are a doctor, you must know what bionic organs entail, right? It’s not worth it to gain a few more years at the cost.”

Fang Zhixu fell silent for a moment.

Lin Youyou and Xu Xing exchanged puzzled glances. Similarly confused, Song Ke tugged at Zhuang Qingyan’s sleeve, signaling the all-knowing one to take action.

Zhuang Qingyan explained in a soft voice, “If an awakener replaces their organs with bionic or mechanical ones, it will disrupt the original awakened energy magnetic field, leading to the solidification of their level. This means… giving up the possibility of a second promotion.”

Song Ke slightly widened her eyes, reflexively looking towards Lu Xiaoyu.

No wonder… no wonder he would rather have two empty legs than “stand” up again.

The more proud a person, the less they can accept solidification. If one can instantly see their limits, every day they live will be painful.

Ye Zheng was like that, and Lu Xiaoyu was no exception.

…

After leaving the villa area, Lu Xiaoyu revealed the information he had previously cracked using the B-level terminal:

“General Ye is currently S1, but judging by the trend, he is about to break through to S2 soon.”

“Bai Qi, S5 level mysticism, specific ability unknown, he has never used it in public.”

The crowd sighed for a moment, then discussed where to go next. Anyway, they planned to take on some missions in the vicinity, so they had plenty of time to spare.

“Let’s go shopping!” Lin Youyou said with her hands on her hips. “I’ve been in District B for so long, and I haven’t had a proper shopping spree.”

“I want to go too,” Xu Xing shouted along.

“You guys go, we have some things to attend to,” Song Ke thought for a moment and said, “Do you all have money?”

“I have money!” Xu Xing happily raised his terminal.

“I don’t,” Lu Xiaoyu openly reached out for some pocket money.

Zhuang Qingyan glanced at him, “Just give him some casually.”

Lu Xiaoyu: “?” Was he being treated as a beggar?

Fortunately, Captain Song was still generous. She allocated one hundred thousand Alliance Coins to him, and Lu Xiaoyu walked away contentedly.

When the teammates left, Song Ke faced Zhuang Qingyan, tiptoed, and walked up and down in a cat-like manner. Since she manifested the genes of a wildcat, she unconsciously brought some habits of feline animals with her. “You seem not in a good mood today.”

Anyone tormented by a clingy cat for a whole night wouldn’t be in a good mood. Zhuang Qingyan rubbed his forehead and didn’t want to say much, “Let’s go buy some flowers first.”

Song Ke, displeased, extended her claws, about to speak. However, her footsteps abruptly stopped, and she turned her head to look around.

Silence surrounded them.

“There’s—an—awakener.” She formed the words with her lips, one by one.

Less than two kilometers from the Governor Mansion, under the bright sunshine, a faint and fleeting awakened energy was detected.

If their senses weren’t S-level sharp, and if they hadn’t coincidentally passed by this area, it could easily be overlooked.

The awakener hidden in the shadows remained still, but the residual awakened energy in the air told the two of them—the person was nearby.

Zhuang Qingyan closed his eyes and opened them again. His awakened energy swept out, but he found nothing unusual.

There must be surveillance in the villa area. If there was a strange awakener, the security here wouldn’t be silent.

Unless… the other party’s ability was “invisibility.”

He took Song Ke’s terminal and calmly sent a message: “Within two kilometers, an unidentified awakener has intruded, estimated level between B and A.”

Song Ke’s face turned cold. She slowly released her pressure in place. The two sides didn’t know how long they were in a stalemate, and the invisible awakener couldn’t bear the burden any longer. Their awakened energy suddenly fluctuated, darting in a certain direction.

Song Ke, following the direction, sprinted, and the opponent bypassed the high wall of the garden, disappearing in a flash. Song Ke supported herself with one hand, brown spots appearing on her skin. The leaping ability of the wildcat was brought to the extreme, and she leaped five or six meters high, flipping over the wall. The two were within arm’s reach!

At that moment, pale zombie faces appeared out of thin air, countless and creepy. Each face was filled with more than a dozen eyes of varying sizes, fierce and terrifying. They reached out, grabbing Song Ke’s neck, arms, thighs, attempting to hold her back.

For someone with slightly weaker mental endurance, they would be frightened on the spot. Song Ke immediately realized that there were illusion-type awakeners around!

Her palm swept over the wall, and a phantom blue Yanling knife flew through the air, carrying the momentum of thunder, fiercely slashing forward. It shattered all illusions in an instant. The other party’s level was obviously not high, estimated to be only B level. Emerging from the zombie heap, she stumbled into view. Song Ke made a backhand slash, piercing through his chest. The man’s heart shattered, and large amounts of blood overflowed from his mouth. He fell to the ground, lifeless.

However, due to his intervention, the trace of the invisible awakener disappeared again.

Song Ke carefully sensed with her awakened energy, confirming that the person hadn’t left and was hiding within a hundred meters.

Zhuang Qingyan’s voice came through the earpiece, “Song Ke, leave one alive and hand him over to Bai Qi.”

Song Ke thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea.

She pulled out a portable speaker from her space and placed it on the ground neatly. Then, she took out a pair of special earplugs, inserted them into her ears, and thought twice before adding another pair. Afterward, she approached stealthily and pressed play.

A strange particle waveform was triggered.

Everyone who heard it experienced nerve disorder, a sense of disintegration, as if the world had plunged into nothingness, and their internal organs had completely decayed.

If this awakener had been fortunate enough to visit the Alliance’s F180 District, Sin City, he would know that there was something in this world that could lead to irreparable destruction, called the “Crime Record.”

The speaker now in Song Ke’s possession was a modified version by Lu Xiaoyu, equivalent to the “Crime Record Plus.” It indiscriminately swept through, more powerful, stronger, and fiercer.

Thirty seconds later, a slender figure clutched his head, wailing incessantly as he tumbled out of the shadow. Song Ke grabbed him and slammed him to the ground.

The man still wanted to resist, but Song Ke dislocated his wrist joints. She remembered to capture him alive and deliberately left some strength.

The awakener on the ground convulsed incessantly. His pupils dilated rapidly, and he was on the verge of turning into a walking corpse—

Suddenly, a bizarre expression appeared on his face, and he shouted towards the sky, “杀すぜ (I’ll kill you)!!”

In his struggles, the collar of his clothes loosened slightly, revealing a crimson glow around his neck. It was a miniature bomb implanted in the subcutaneous tissue!

Song Ke’s pupils contracted abruptly. She leaped onto a nearby tall tree like a cat with an exploding tail, swiftly hiding in the highest branches.

BOOM—!!

A mist of blood exploded, like cherry blossoms in full bloom, fluttering down. The man’s head was shattered on the ground.

Luckily, she moved quickly, or else it would have splattered on her.

Song Ke silently jumped down and gently kicked the corpse. The awakener died gruesomely, and the only living captive was gone.

She puzzledly turned off the speaker and looked at it. Was this thing so powerful? What kind of death song was it playing that made people commit suicide?

Also… Song Ke scratched her head. Although her foreign language skills weren’t great, wasn’t that person shouting in the Tokushima dialect just before he died?

**TN

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