...
"Old Qi, what do you see?" He Yuxiu lifted the skull of a Boundless Camp member, tossing the corpse aside, and stared at the sky above the street ahead, a beam of light falling from the heavens.
Li Banfeng was very familiar with this light: "Heavenly Light."
He Yuxiu nodded: "It looks like it to me too. Who’s the unfortunate one to be illuminated by the Heavenly Light?"
Li Banfeng walked with He Yuxiu towards the direction of the beam.
At Shuiyun Road, beside the pavilion, Liao Zihui was shouting for people: "Quickly, bring the Guidance Agent, hurry!"
With his last bit of strength, Mengzi placed the Red Lotus on the stone table of the pavilion.
Immediately, his body stiffened, and he lay on the ground, motionless.
Li Banfeng looked from within the crowd, astonished, as the Red Lotus on the stone table appeared identical to the one in the Portable Residence.
Could this Red Lotus also attract Heavenly Light?
Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat.
Underneath the brim, his face was full of confusion and bewilderment.
The Guidance Agent was brought over, a syringe filled with yellow-green liquid.
No one dared to approach Mengzi, so Liao Zihui picked up the syringe and personally injected the Guidance Agent into Mengzi’s vein.
This was Li Banfeng’s first time seeing the Guidance Agent from the Outside Provinces, and its effect seemed not too different from the Peddler’s Medicinal Powder.
Liao Zihui propped Mengzi up, constantly saying: "It’s okay, child, it’s okay now."
Mengzi gasped for a moment and said: "Chief Envoy, it was my fault, I was wrong, I feel much better now."
"You’ll be fine soon." Liao Zihui supported Mengzi and called for a stretcher.
Mengzi said: "I feel like I can move, I probably won’t need a stretcher."
Liao Zihui replied: "Don’t move around, take it slow, after being illuminated like this, you should rest for a few months. For now..."
Bang!
Mengzi exploded, blood and flesh splattering all over Liao Zihui.
The Guidance Agent from the Outside Provinces was clearly not as effective as the Peddler’s Medicinal Powder.
Blood flowed down the hair, Liao Zihui stood there stunned, a group tried to protect the Chief Envoy, but was scared.
The Red Lotus on the stone table slowly bloomed, engulfing Mengzi’s blood and flesh into the Lotus Heart.
The Lotus Leaf closed, beams of light haloed upwards from the Lotus Flower.
Liao Zihui was speechless with surprise.
Li Banfeng was equally astonished.
He Yuxiu remarked: "My heavens, it’s the Mysterious Red Life Lotus, Old Qi, we better stay far away from this thing, definitely shouldn’t touch it. Old Qi, what are you thinking?"
Li Banfeng turned to He Yuxiu and said: "Xiuer, let’s go home."
He Yuxiu glanced at the Red Lotus again before following Li Banfeng.
...
In the Defense Agency, Liao Zihui sat in his office, listening to Zheng Siyi’s report.
"Chief Envoy, we have sealed the Mysterious Red Life Lotus in a Stone Box using machinery."
"Will that work?" Liao Zihui doubted that tools could block the Red Lotus’s negative effects.
Zheng Siyi replied: "The personnel handling the machinery have not shown any abnormalities, and are under professional medical monitoring in real time."
Liao Zihui nodded: "Is the report submitted?"
"It’s been submitted."
"Is there any response from above?"
"I checked, they’re still in meetings and studying the case."
"They’ve been studying for such a long time?" Liao Zihui chuckled, "What do you think they’re studying?"
Thinking it over, Zheng Siyi said: "They must be studying how to transfer the Red Lotus out of Puluo State."
Liao Zihui shook his head: "That’s not the main issue."
Zheng Siyi was surprised: "That’s not the main issue?"
Liao sighed: "To you and I, it’s paramount, but to them, it’s never the key issue,
deploy more personnel, keep tabs on the Red Lotus, and once there’s news from above, inform me immediately."
At two o’clock in the morning, Zheng Siyi knocked on the office door.
Liao Zihui hadn’t slept, aware that news would surely come tonight.
"Director Du called."
Liao Zihui went to the Communications Room, adjusting his breathing before picking up the receiver and the phone.
"Director Du, we’ve been waiting for your news." Just with these words, Liao Zihui’s breath faltered several times.
Director Du expressed concern: "Old Liao, what’s wrong with you? Are you too tired? You need to take care of your health. We just finished the meeting, we hope to quickly transport the Red Lotus to the Outside Provinces, but also need to manage Bridge Yesong’s post-event cleanup,
the secrecy measures in this operation were inadequate, we’re worried it may adversely affect Bridge Yesong and even the entirety of Puluo State, so both tasks must be highly prioritized."
Though the words were vague, Liao Zihui understood them clearly.
They wished to send the Red Lotus over, but preferably not by Liao Zihui.
They hoped Liao Zihui would handle the post-event work at Bridge Yesong, work comparable to toilet paper.
They desired to leave the more valuable work to more valuable people.
This matter caused a great stir, Director Du had already pinpointed the issue, the secrecy measures had not been well handled.
Those handling the post-event might strive hard, but impossible to avoid some ripples, much like some places, toilet paper never cleans completely and would leave a lingering taste.
Safely getting the Red Lotus back to the Outside Provinces, unlike any other matter, if properly presented, could even supersede the merit of discovering the Red Lotus.
Director Du worried Liao Zihui might decline, trying to further persuade and guide.
Clearly aware, Liao Zihui decided not to vie for credit, nor would he become the toilet paper, he coughed twice, saying: "Director Du, please handle the remaining issues,
I was impacted by the Dark Matter stream, my body is still somewhat stiff, may need to return to the Outside Provinces for treatment."
Director Du was quite shocked: "Old Liao, you were injured in this operation? Why didn’t you report this earlier?"