CHAPTER 325: CHAPTER 85: CHAIN REACTION

The news of a city commissioner in Lingquan City being attacked and killed shocked the entire United Government. The committee took this opportunity to contact all the media in Lingquan City, instructing them to widely report this incident, ensuring all Lingquan City residents were informed.

In the news reports, the committee solemnly pointed out that this incident was the work of Abyssal Believers, as they aimed to prevent support for the Abyss strategy war and hinder them from eliminating the hidden threats in Lingquan City.

As soon as the news broke, it caused a massive uproar.

All Lingquan City residents confirmed the news through various channels and then engaged in heated discussions about it.

Some felt terrified, as the Abyssal Believers even dared to kill a commissioner. To stop the Abyss strategy war, would they resort to kidnapping citizens to force the Lingquan City Government into submission?

Others felt outraged, as the Abyssal Believers were willing to go as far as attacking a commissioner to prevent the Abyss strategy war and eliminate the threat to Lingquan City, showcasing how vile this group was.

The Forbidden Demon Abyss is a significant threat. As long as it remains in Lingquan City, the city can never be entirely safe.

Who knows when the demons within the Forbidden Demon Abyss will charge out of the Abyss and wreak havoc on the city once more?

Many citizens know that the reason so many Hunters are now gathered at the Forbidden Demon Abyss is due to Yan Luo donating his blood, along with rewards from the Lingquan City Government.

Together, these can only allow the Hunters to stay in the Forbidden Demon Abyss for three months.

Now, over a month has passed, and the contracts of the first batch of Hunters who arrived at the Forbidden Demon Abyss are nearing expiration.

When the contracts expire, the Hunters can leave the Forbidden Demon Abyss, consequently weakening the human defense forces there.

The weakened defense could lead to a situation where demons break through the lines and charge into Lingquan City.

For this reason, the Lingquan City Government decided to eliminate the Forbidden Demon Abyss and support the Abyss strategy war.

And yet, the Abyssal Believers aim to sabotage this war, essentially driving Lingquan City citizens to their deaths.

Everyone knows that once the Hunters from all over the world withdraw from the Forbidden Demon Abyss, the likelihood of demons breaching the Abyss Entrance and entering Lingquan City will significantly increase, making the city unsafe.

Should citizens move away from Lingquan City to protect themselves and their families, or continue to work in the city despite the greatly heightened danger?

For many, this is a difficult choice.

The citizens of Lingquan City would prefer to stay, but this choice hinges on the elimination of the Forbidden Demon Abyss.

As a result, after the Lingquan City Government publicly released the news, the city was filled with public fury, and countless citizens called for the purging of Abyssal Believers to return them to a safe Lingquan City.

......

"Who the hell did this?!"

Huyan Guang roared in the Abyssal Believers’ internal communication channel, appearing extremely angry.

He is the ’Commander’ that Wu Zechuan and the Lingquan City Government are searching for, dispatched by the top to command efforts to halt the Abyss strategy war. However, because of this explosion, most of their preparations need to be scrapped.

Huyan Guang was so furious that he cursed loudly into the internal communication channel.

The channel was silent; no one answered Huyan Guang’s question, intensifying his anger. He continued to shout, "Aren’t you all usually fond of speaking? When dealing with your enemies, you always find excuses to frame them—who the hell isn’t aware of this? What now? Why can’t any of you say a word?"

Upon hearing that Huyan Guang seemed intent on revealing their scandals, someone immediately responded: [It might be Lillard and his group. They’ve been missing since yesterday.]

Lillard? Kate Lillard?

Huyan Guang furrowed his brow, yet another fool from the Believers’ faction?

Huyan Guang remembered the names of all the Abyssal Believers in Lingquan City and who belonged to the Watcher Sect or the Believers’ faction.

Though the Watcher Sect and the Believers’ faction had merged, the latter often caused trouble.

If it weren’t for the Watcher Sect needing the Believers’ faction’s financial support, they would have long since split!

In a fit of anger, Huyan Guang called his superior to voice his grievances.

His superior patiently listened and then comforted him: [Huyan, bear with it a little. We all know the Believers’ faction is a bunch of fools, but we have no choice. Without their help, our Watcher Sect couldn’t operate. Do you recall why we decided to collaborate with them in the first place? Not only did we share common goals, but we also lacked the funds and couldn’t find suitable manufacturers for our equipment.]

[You are young and haven’t experienced those hard times. Back then, the United Government pursued us relentlessly. Without the Believers’ faction’s assistance, we wouldn’t exist now. I’ll inform their higher-ups to restrain their people. At least this time, in the action to stop the strategy war, all the Believers’ faction members in Lingquan City will obey your orders and not act on their own initiative. Is that acceptable?]

Huyan Guang made the call to obtain absolute command authority. Now that he secured it, he had no more complaints.

After hanging up, Huyan Guang couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Why did Kate Lillard act and precisely kill the commissioner they were in contact with?

The commissioner was afraid of being caught for corruption and thus contacted Celestial City.

Although it wasn’t overtly stated, many knew that Celestial City was the Abyssal Believers’ stronghold; his contact with Celestial City naturally linked him to the believers.

Upon arriving from Celestial City to the surface, Huyan Guang used leverage to approach the commissioner, coercing him into cooperation.

After all, the commissioner intended to flee eventually, so how Lingquan City turned out in the future didn’t concern him.

Faced with threats and inducements, the commissioner didn’t give in directly but subtly indicated he could cooperate, though not openly, he could provide some information in secret.

Huyan Guang was confident in his abilities; as long as he could get insider information about the strategy team, he could thwart the strategy war.

Now, without a high-level government insider, many of Huyan Guang’s plans were rendered useless.

"...Wait, was this really done by Kate Lillard?"

At that moment, a lightbulb went off in Huyan Guang’s mind.

Thanks to the government’s publicly released information, Huyan Guang subconsciously assumed it was an internal act, and that Kate Lillard and others hidden away due to sabotaging his plans, fearing his wrath.

But is that really the case?

......

[Kate Lillard, born in Abyss Calendar year 35, 36 years old, male, orientation: male, formerly a Hunter in the Blazing Abyss, transferred to the Scorching Sun Abyss after the Blazing Abyss was eradicated...]

Kate Lillard’s weary eyes opened, the mechanical voice broadcasting his resume echoed throughout the room.

Again and again, over and over, even if he didn’t want to hear it, he couldn’t stop the sound from invading his ears.

Five days had passed since his capture...how did he know the time?

A screen projection was cast on the wall opposite Kate, looping news reports of ’Abyssal Believers attacking the commissioner to death’ from various Lingquan City media outlets.

In these five days, Kate hadn’t had a full night’s sleep, often fainting for a few minutes only to be awakened by the smart machine standing in the corner of the room.

He was tied to a chair, forced to eat, drink, and relieve himself there, the room now reeked of a stench emanating from his pants.

At that moment, the resume broadcast stopped, and Kate’s eyes moved slightly.

It’s begun again...

[Kate Lillard, tell me, who is your superior?]

The thrice-daily routine inquiry, always at the same time, had become familiar to Kate.

He showed a weak smile, whispering, "You are more evil than us..."

[Oh, you do realize your own wickedness?] scoffed the interrogator.

Undeterred, Kate continued, "To murder a commissioner, then frame us for it... Wu Zechuan, you’ll be punished by the gods!"