Douluo Continent: The Peerless Tang Sect, Angels and Rakshasa Return

Chapter 355 399400—Technology Thief Huo Zhongxian Suffers Tragic Incident at the Sun Moon Empire's KGB Water Gauge Inspection!

"You'd better make up for what you did today with the news you brought!" Qian Renxue glared fiercely at the old men, so angry that she wanted to overturn the table, but her hand was hidden under the table to tighten her loose belt.

"Your Majesty! Mingde Hall has been attacked. It is said that it was attacked by Benji Zongqian!"

The leader suddenly knelt on the ground and stammered out what he had to say!

"How could this happen? Is Mingde Hall's defense made of paper?" Qian Renxue roared, her face contorted with rage. She slammed her right hand on the table and shouted, "Send royal guards to pursue them! Seal off Mingde Hall! Rescue the wounded! Assess the losses!"

"The Body Sect?" Qian Lingyun frowned slightly, immediately thinking of a certain unstable factor.

However, Mingde Hall currently has neither a 100,000-year-old soul beast embryo nor a giant robot. What exactly are they planning to do?

Just then, Qian Renxue pushed back her chair and paced around the room, her face full of irritation. After a long while, she finally spoke slowly:

"This matter is of great importance, so it will be handled by..."

"Your Majesty!" Qian Lingyun walked a few steps to Qian Renxue and bowed, saying, "This concubine is willing to handle this matter!"

"Very well! Then I'll trouble you, Your Majesty!" Qian Renxue nodded slightly, praising, "With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for!"

After a quick wash, Qian Lingyun, with a sour face that had been ruined, entered Mingde Hall with the Imperial Guards who had come to maintain order.

With just one glance, Qian Lingyun's face turned so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water!

This once magnificent temple of science and technology is now a scene of utter devastation!

If viewed from the air, one can see that there are huge holes with a diameter of more than ten meters at each of the four corners of the research base, and the area affected by the battle is as high as three-quarters.

Such a loss made Qian Lingyun's teeth itch with rage; it was all money!

In the center of the base, Jing Hongchen stood still, his fists clenched tightly, and drops of bright red blood dripped from between his fingers.

pain!It hurts so much!

The entire underground base was like land that had just been turned over before planting, a complete mess everywhere.

Less than a third of those expensive lab tables remain intact; the majority are completely destroyed.

Various rare metals and severed limbs were scattered everywhere, and the underground base was completely riddled with holes.

Even more frightening is that the underground base has become unstable due to the shockwaves from the previous high-intensity battle, and collapse is not out of the question.

Right now, he is directing people to reinforce the underground base, stabilizing the foundation first.

Since its founding, Mingdetang has never suffered such a heavy blow.

Leaving aside the casualties, the damage to the infrastructure alone is astronomical. Keep in mind, Mingde Hall isn't even his own!

This is the entire Sun Moon Empire's research base for soul tools!

In addition, this place also bears the important responsibility of producing high-end soul tools.

Even with his status in the Sun Moon Empire, he was still responsible for such a major accident, and he would also face enormous pressure from the royal family.

"Master of the Red Dust Hall! I have come here on His Majesty's orders to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Upon landing, Qian Lingyun immediately went to Jing Hongchen's side. Although Jing Hongchen was the person in charge of Mingde Hall, there was no trace of blame on her face. Instead, she gently comforted Jing Hongchen:

"Natural disasters and man-made calamities are no fault of the Hall Master. As a student of the Mingde Hall, I will certainly mediate on his behalf with His Majesty and the Royal Family!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you!" Jing Hongchen bowed to Qian Lingyun with gratitude.

It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow!

At this critical moment, the Empress, who could have remained uninvolved, actually took the initiative to share the responsibility with him. It truly moved him to tears.

Wiping away her bitter tears, Jing Hongchen's eyes were bloodshot. She raised her head to the sky and roared with fury, "Body Sect! I will never forgive you!"

"Alright! We can talk tough later. I'll definitely save the chance to annihilate the Body Sect for you in the future."

"But now... it's the Imperial Guard! Save them!"

At a command, the Imperial Guards deployed in an orderly manner in batches, some joining the people reinforcing the foundation, and others joining the rescue and healing teams.

"Your Majesty, Master."

Lin Jiayi approached the two with a trembling voice, not daring to lift his head.

"How is the situation?" Jing Hongchen tried her best to calm herself down.

Lin Jiayi lowered his head and said, "The situation at the warehouse is fine. Nothing is missing, and all the high-level soul tools stored there are still there."

"That's good!" Jing Hongchen wiped the sweat from his forehead. This unlucky day had finally brought some good news.

"But..." Lin Jiayi's next sentence sent chills down Jing Hongchen's spine: "The hundreds of blueprints in Warehouse No. 4... are gone!"

"!"

Jing Hongchen stared at Lin Jiayi, his face pale, his eyes filled with astonishment.

If the attack on Mingdetang caused significant damage...

He was able to suppress the matter with difficulty by relying on his prestige in the Sun Moon Empire and the mediation of Qian Lingyun.

But the theft of those blueprints would be a major incident with far-reaching consequences!

Because these blueprints all bear the mark of Mingdetang, if even one of them were to fall into the wrong hands, his lifelong reputation would be completely ruined!

Taking a deep breath and barely suppressing the surging blood within him, Jing Hongchen whispered, "Who else knows about this?"

"I sealed off Warehouse No. 4 immediately. Currently, only you, Her Majesty the Empress, and I know about it!"

Jing Hongchen forced a bitter smile and said, "Well done. No one should know about this."

"Yes," Lin Jiayi quickly replied. Jing Hongchen's face flushed red and then turned pale; he hated the Body Sect to the core.

"No! The roughnecks of the Body Sect have always looked down on soul tools. Even if they opened the warehouse, in this critical moment, they would only violently destroy the blueprints, not steal them!"

"These petty thefts... I feel like I've seen them somewhere before..."

Qian Lingyun stared blankly at Jing Hongchen, her eyes occasionally glancing to her side, seemingly hinting at something.

"!"

Hearing Qian Lingyun's veiled insult, Jing Hongchen seemed to suddenly remember something and asked urgently, "How are the exchange students from Shrek Academy? Where are they?!"

"The Shrek Academy students were all outside the experimental area, so the initial explosion didn't affect them. They were all very cunning, retreating to a safe zone as quickly as possible without engaging in combat, and they weren't even scratched."

At this point, a hint of helplessness flashed across Lin Jiayi's face as he said:

"However... Huo Yuhao is among those injured. Our medical soul master examined him, and although he is unconscious, his body has not suffered a severe blow. He was probably stunned by the shock, and he will recover after a period of rest."

"Where is Huo Yuhao located? How far is he from the battle zone?" Qian Lingyun asked coldly!

"It seems to be... in that spot!" Lin Jiayi circled the location of Huo Yuhao's lab table amidst the mess, based on her memory.

That was one of the few lightly damaged areas within the Mingdetang base…

"Given his personality, would he really volunteer to fight for our Mingde Hall?" Qian Lingyun sneered, disdainfully saying, "It's only a few dozen steps from here to the safe zone. Do you really think the people from the Benti Sect would target a Four-Ring Soul Sect that's so far away?"

"So, Your Highness means that Huo Yuhao should be investigated?" Lin Jiayi's eyes lit up, then dimmed again.

"You don't need to trouble yourself with this matter; leave it to my men! Master, for now, hand over the investigation into those Shrek academy students to my Internal Affairs Inspection Department! Don't worry, I'll give you an answer as soon as possible!"

After speaking, Qian Lingyun temporarily handed over command of the Imperial Guards to Jing Hongchen, summoned her informant Tuoba Xi, and went with him to "care for" Huo Zhongxian...

Outside the ward, Tuoba Xi changed into a crisp blue military uniform and wore a gold badge engraved with the four characters "Internal Affairs Inspector." Finally, he gently knocked on the ward door.

Squeak!

"Oh, it's the Inspection Department! What's up?" The medical staff member who was on duty opened the door and saw Tuoba Xi's crisp uniform and purple spider embroidery. A relaxed smile instantly appeared on her face.

He can take paid leave when the Internal Affairs Inspection Department is dealing with troublesome matters! Yay!

"Thank you for your hard work, teacher. I'm just asking a routine question! This is an exchange student from Shrek Academy named Huo Yuhao, right?" Tuoba Xi took out an investigation warrant from her briefcase.

"Yes! This is his ID card!"

After handing over to the medical staff, he sat down by Huo Zhongxian's window, looking at Huo Zhongxian, who was 'sleeping,' with a serious expression.

Whether intentionally or not, Huo Zhongxian slept until the next day. Tuoba Xi didn't object to this and called two colleagues to take turns keeping watch, showing a tendency to stay until he woke up!

And in fact, that's exactly what they did!

This mission was a private task assigned by Qian Lingyun.

Tuoba Xi and his group were on a mission here, and with the extra night shift allowance provided by Qian Lingyun, they weren't worried at all. But Huo Zhongxian couldn't afford to delay.

The longer he delays, the better the order in Mingde Hall will be restored. The longer he delays, the more energy Mingde Hall will have to thoroughly investigate this "accident"!

On the third day, Tuoba Xi replaced his colleague who was on night watch, intending to continue his duty sitting in a chair.

In the blink of an eye, he noticed that Huo Zhongxian on the hospital bed seemed to move slightly.

Persistence pays off; the person he had been waiting for for several days finally woke up.

He stepped forward and looked at Huo Zhongxian, who was slowly 'awakening' and looking dazed. A smirk appeared on his lips as he said mockingly:

"Long time no see, Huo! Let me introduce myself! I am Tuoba Xi, an officer in the Internal Affairs Inspection Department of the Sun Moon Empire!"

"So you've come here to..." Huo Zhongxian frowned, seemingly implying something.

"Yes, I received the highest level of authorization to investigate you!" Tuoba Xi explained calmly.

"Don't be surprised, this is a big deal. Not only have you exchange students been investigated, but even those of us on the inside have been put under investigation!"

Tuoba Xi didn't bother asking the most basic questions; he knew this guy had received interrogation training at Shrek Academy.

So, he decided to get straight to the point and take a hard line…

Before Huo Zhongxian could argue with him, Tuoba Xi took out a metal rod from the storage soul tool on his wrist and said, "I need to conduct a thorough examination on you. Please put all the soul tools on your body into the storage soul tool, and then hand it over to me. There can be no omissions."

Huo Zhongxian's face darkened, and he said, "I'm sorry. This is my personal privacy, and I cannot let you inspect it. I am an exchange student at Shrek Academy, and even if I weren't an exchange student, I am still a student here. You have no right to inspect my personal belongings."

"Tsk! Classmate! You don't seem to have heard me!" Tuoba Xi scoffed, leaning closer and repeating with disdain:

"I told you! I have the highest level of authorization for this operation. Don't even mention you! Even if it were the Red Dust Hall Master, as long as he's on the list, I have the authority to investigate!"

"I advise you not to refuse a polite offer and then suffer the consequences! If things fall apart, don't blame me for not giving you face!"

Huo Zhongxian's face flushed red with indignation. "Fine, let's investigate. Please tell Hall Master Jing Hongchen that I will report this matter truthfully to Shrek Academy. Pray that your academy's exchange students won't receive the same treatment at our academy."

As he spoke, he placed all the soul tools on his body into his replica of the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moonlit Night and the storage soul tools on his wrists, and handed them to Tuoba Xi.

"It's a pity that our Internal Affairs Inspection Department, in order to relieve the burden on our superiors, has acted first and reported later, with the special permission of the Emperor! Even the head of the Mirror Red Dust Hall doesn't come to our Inspection Department."

"So, I don't care about what you're saying!" Tuoba Xi smiled as he took the soul tool from Huo Zhongxian's hand. As he turned around, his playful gaze swept towards a certain spot in the room.

Huo Zhongxian's heart skipped a beat when he saw Tuoba Xi's inexplicable glance. He thought, "Has he been discovered? But Tuoba Xi is only a Soul King; he can't see through my ability to simulate soul skills!"

Yes, his simulation soul skill was actually always active, but he didn't simulate anything himself. Instead, he used the simulation soul skill to cover up a storage soul tool that was placed in the corner of the room but was in the open.

Who would have thought he would just leave things lying around like that?

If it were an ordinary person, they might have been completely fooled by him!

Unfortunately, this time he encountered the most nitpicky person in the inspection department. He sighed and said calmly, "Student Huo, I suggest you stop trying to cover your tracks! It's not too late to confess honestly now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Huo Zhongxian stubbornly refused to admit it.

"Hehe!" After chuckling, Tuoba Xi turned around again, but this time, the polite smile on his face had disappeared.

And on his forehead, there was a semi-transparent, illusory crown!

Qian Lingyun's fourth soul skill, "Shared Origin," allows her to lend her abilities to others.

After the Soul Ring level was raised to 100,000 by the hard-working Qian Lingyun, this Soul Skill can last for up to a week and ignores the strength of the recipient, retaining 60% of its power!

Judging from Qian Lingyun's total spiritual energy, 60% of her power is already a terrifying level!

In front of Huo Zhongxian, Tuoba Xi slowly walked to the corner of the wall and reached out to grab something from the empty ground.

He seemed to pick something up, then calmly placed it on the table, shrugged, and said, "How do you explain this? You can't exactly say someone deliberately stuffed it in your room and helped you cover it up, can you?"

For once, a look of panic flashed across Huo Zhongxian's face. He hadn't expected that this random person sent by the Internal Affairs Supervision Department would have the ability to see through his simulated soul skills.

And this person had been his roommate for so long; I can't even imagine how much he'd exposed over the past year...

"Don't think of yourself as a genius, and don't treat others as fools! Even the most cunning fox is no match for a good hunter!"

Tuoba Xi took out all the items from the storage soul tool one by one.

Besides the stolen soul tool blueprints, there were also some soul tool parts damaged in the Body Sect raid.

"Speak! What are your conditions!" Huo Zhongxian said fiercely, hoping for the best. "You could have just called for people to take me away when you found out, but instead you've said so much to me! This isn't to catch me red-handed, is it? Tell me your conditions!"

Tuoba Xi was slightly taken aback, and his eyes became unfocused. He remained silent for a long time, seemingly considering Huo Zhongxian's terms.

Huo Zhongxian was also pleasantly surprised, but inwardly he sneered: After saying so much, he still can't be bribed in the end. This Internal Affairs Supervision Department isn't all that great after all!

"This is a huge matter, I can't handle it, so you have to find me a scapegoat!" Tuoba Xi looked at the composed Huo Zhongxian with a half-smile, and said, word by word:

"You're given the choice. It's up to you: will you admit it yourself, or will your partner take the blame?"

"Why can't you frame this on yourselves..."

Huo Zhongxian was stunned, and he couldn't utter the remaining five words "student of Mingde Hall" for a long time.

Because Tuoba Xi told him directly:

"I am only responsible for vetting the people from Shrek Academy; I have no authority to interfere with others."

"Furthermore, you slept for so long before waking up. Three days is plenty of time for our people to submit their work logs. The review of Mingdetang was already completed at nine o'clock last night!"

After speaking, Tuoba Xi leaned back lazily in his chair, waiting for Jing Hongchen and Qian Lingyun to discuss the next steps.

(End of this chapter)