Sakura Prayer Country, Andu City Peace Officer Station.
In the evening, Yoshino, who was in charge of investigating the explosion case, was answering a phone call, standing ramrod straight.
"Yoshino, how is the investigation of the explosion case progressing?" A voice full of authority came through the phone.
"Reporting to the Director, the DNA data has been collected, and the evidence department is currently running comparisons. Additionally, all Peace Officers from the station have been dispatched and are conducting city-wide patrols. We will not let a single suspicious individual slip through."
"You must produce results as soon as possible. This is the first major case since we, the Sakura Prayer Country, relocated to this land. The fact that so many people were killed and injured has a very negative impact. Entrusting this to you shows the importance placed on you. Do not let us down."
"Yes, sir!" Yoshino said loudly, "I will absolutely not betray the trust my superiors have placed in me!"
After hanging up, Yoshino took a deep breath, feeling the weight on his shoulders and the immense pressure.
The call had come from the Director at the Bandzhen Headquarters of the Peace Officer Administration, the highest official within the Sakura Prayer Country's Peace Officer system.
The Director personally inquiring about the progress indicated that even higher officials, perhaps even the Divine Child, might be paying attention to this case.
This was no small matter... because he had heard through the grapevine that the Divine Child was very angry about the sinking of the homeland island and some internal personnel cultivation issues, and had dealt with many people.
Yoshino knew that if his handling of the case was ineffective, he would likely meet the same fate of being 'dealt with'.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Come in."
A Peace Officer entered to report: "Officer Yoshino, we have completed the patrol of the northern district. No suspicious individuals were found."
"Continue to patrol the southern district. Do not miss any corner of the entire city. Any enclosed space that could hide a person must be searched thoroughly, understood?"
"Ah... Yes, sir!"
The Peace Officer seemed dazed for a moment before replying with an unusually loud voice. Yoshino immediately frowned and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"Apologies, Officer Yoshino! I might be... a bit overexcited because of the spores."
"......"
Yoshino knew that because the Peace Officer Station did not stop working during the rule period, and officers had to be out on patrol constantly, it was inevitable that every officer would inhale the spores.
"Remember to remind yourself to resist at all times. Don't get addicted," Yoshino cautioned.
"Understood!"
After the Peace Officer left, Yoshino thought to himself that he needed to be careful too.
Not long after the rule was announced yesterday, he had felt the effects brought by the spores: increased energy.
That's right, he hadn't slept since yesterday. In the past, staying up like this would require coffee or similar stimulants, but right now he wasn't tired or sleepy at all. On the contrary, he felt full of vigor.
He knew this was the effect of the spores.
"I need to be careful myself, not to become addicted to this feeling of 'limitless energy'... It's just a little sweetness the spores offer."
Yoshino thought to himself, planning to force himself to sleep after a few more hours of work.
With that thought, he immediately headed to the evidence department, intending to urge them about the DNA comparison data.
Meanwhile, in the eastern suburbs of Andu City, a Peace Officer vehicle stopped in front of a deserted warehouse.
The driving Peace Officer glanced at it. Seeing the warehouse dilapidated and covered in dust, he wasn't very interested.
"Is there any need to check this? It's obvious no one has been here for days."
The Peace Officer in the passenger seat opened the door and got out. "Don't forget Officer Yoshino's orders. Even if it's a hole in the ground, if it can hide a person, we have to crawl in and check. Let's go."
"Sigh... What a hassle..."
The two Peace Officers got out of the car and walked to the deserted warehouse.
The iron door was closed. The two pulled on it and found it wouldn't budge, as if locked from the inside.
Locked from the inside?
The two looked at each other. One returned to the car to fetch portable door-breaking tools.
Inside the warehouse, within the shelter, Guan Tong heard the noise from the warehouse's iron door outside and sighed helplessly.
He had been worried in the morning that someone might come, but he hadn't expected people to actually arrive before evening.
Once the people outside came in, they would see his shelter, and that would be troublesome.
"It seems my premonition when the rule was announced was correct. There will indeed be unexpected twists and turns during this rule period, preventing me from staying peacefully for a month like before..."
Since things had come to this, Guan Tong could only get up and walk to the door to open the shelter.
The moment it opened, the shelter immediately lifted its complete sealed state. This also meant that the protection against the alien spores was completely lost at this moment.
"Thud!"
A dull sound echoed as the two Peace Officers forced the warehouse iron door open.
They shone their flashlights inside, finding nothing but some clutter.
"Told you," the one who drove said. "There's nothing in here."
"Strange. If no one's here, why was the iron door locked from the inside?"
"Probably broken. Let's go, check somewhere else."
The two talking Peace Officers didn't notice at all that, above their heads, Guan Tong was suspended by a shadow line, looking down at them.
As for the shelter, he had already retracted it into the [Wordless Book].
If they had shone their flashlights directly overhead at that moment, they might have spotted Guan Tong. But neither had that thought, only shining their lights around before turning to leave.
After the Peace Officer vehicle drove away, Guan Tong walked out of the warehouse.
Since his strategy of seeking stability had been disrupted by the sudden situation, his subsequent plans naturally needed to change as well.
But before that...
Guan Tong felt his own breathing. He knew that he should have already inhaled the alien spores that could attach to any physical form and were almost omnipresent.
What changes will this thing bring me?
Three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes...
Time passed. Guan Tong waited a full half hour, yet found no difference between himself and before.
This undoubtedly made him feel somewhat strange. Because according to the information he saw online, many people had reactions just a few minutes, or over ten minutes after the rule started.
"Could it be because I lack nothing? Probably not."
Compared to others, Guan Tong indeed didn't have overly strong desires.
His psychological state wasn't absolutely healthy, but it was relatively calm, not needing spores to stabilize his mood; moreover, he was quite satisfied with his steadily improving strength and had no desire to enhance it through risky methods.
Could it be related to my excessive vigilance?
For this entire half hour, Guan Tong had been strictly monitoring his own body. This in itself was a process of "continuous self-inspection." Perhaps this state could also reduce or delay the activation time of the spores.
It's like drinking alcohol. Many people drink too much and get drunk because they are having such a good conversation they unconsciously down many glasses, and by the time they realize they've had too much, it's too late.
Guan Tong's approach was like stopping to check his body after every drink, even every sip, to see if there were any signs of intoxication. Drinking like that, getting drunk would be difficult...
"Even if there are no changes for now, I must remain vigilant at all times and conduct self-inspections frequently."
After pondering for a moment, he decided not to summon the shelter to go back inside.
"Now that I'm out, going back into the shelter doesn't have much meaning. I might as well go directly to Bandzhen."
He decided not to waste any more time and go straight to Bandzhen, the capital of Sakura Prayer Country, to try and find news about Yamata no Orochi.
...
Beixing Academy.
Lu Cheng, who had been sitting cross-legged on his bed meditating, opened his eyes. The excitement in his heart was almost overflowing.
"Succeeded!"
His low exclamation made all three people in the dormitory look over.
"Lu Cheng, what are you suddenly shouting about?"
Unable to suppress his desire to show off, Lu Cheng said, "I just completed two full cycles of Mind Power Flow, one clockwise and one counterclockwise, without making a single mistake."
"Oh?!"
"Holy crap, that's strong!"
The three roommates were greatly shocked. One of them found it hard to believe: "Lu Cheng, before you could only manage one clockwise cycle at most, right? How can you do a counterclockwise cycle so quickly, and without any mistakes? Are you cheating?"
Lu Cheng smiled slightly but didn't explain.
Another roommate suddenly said, "Lu Cheng, is it the effect of the spores?"
The smile on Lu Cheng's face froze for an instant before disappearing.
Hearing this, the other two roommates first had a moment of realization, then seeing Lu Cheng's expression, felt they had guessed correctly.
"Is it really because of the spores? That... is that okay?"
"Since the rule was announced yesterday, the academy has notified us several times, telling everyone to psychologically resist any benefits brought by the spores to avoid addiction. Lu Cheng, you should know this!"
Facing his roommates' concern, Lu Cheng felt somewhat resistant in his heart. He said to the three, "The spores might have had some effect, but that's not important. The hidden intelligence in the publicly announced rules mentions that as long as you control the dosage to a non-addictive level, it's fine."
"Control the dosage? How do you know what dosage is the non-addictive limit? There's no clear numerical value!"
"Lu Cheng, your grades are already good enough. Why take the risk? It's unnecessary, right?"
"Yeah. Actually, I felt something was off yesterday. Aren't you severely nearsighted? After the rule was announced yesterday, I noticed you weren't wearing your glasses. It must be the effect of the spores, right?"
Although the three roommates' words were out of concern, Lu Cheng inexplicably grew more and more irritated the more he listened. He jumped off the bed. "Can't get through to you. Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing. I'm going to the study room."
Having said that, he habitually picked up the glasses on his desk, but suddenly realized his nearsightedness was already cured. He put the glasses back down and quickly left the dormitory.
The three roommates looked at each other, each frowning, very worried about Lu Cheng's situation.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"He doesn't seem quite right, not like his usual self. He doesn't usually get angry so easily."
"Should we notify the academy leadership?"
"Okay, I think we should notify them. He's our roommate after all, can't just watch him mess things up on his own!"
After discussing it, the three immediately contacted their counselor to explain the situation.
After listening, the counselor immediately showed great concern, saying she would report it to the lecturers and the department head, and would go talk to Lu Cheng.
So, just a few minutes after Lu Cheng arrived at the study room, still somewhat angry about his roommates' questioning, the counselor followed closely behind and also came to the study room.
Seeing who it was, Lu Cheng asked in surprise, "Counselor Qin, are you looking for me?"
Their counselor was none other than Qin Qing, Fang Qian's good friend. After Fang Qian left the academy, she had stayed on as a counselor.
Qin Qing nodded. "Lu Cheng, I'd like to talk to you about the alien spores."
Hearing this, Lu Cheng instantly flared up, but he didn't explode. He just clenched his fists, his voice becoming somewhat low. "Counselor Qin, did the guys from my dorm contact you?"
"Yes. Your roommates are very concerned about you. They—"
"They're mistaken." Lu Cheng interrupted before Qin Qing could finish. "Thank you, Counselor Qin. But I don't think I need any talk."
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