Chapter Fifty: Reporting to the Authorities

Before long, the main police force arrived, beginning their investigation of the scene, questioning witnesses, and tending to the wounded security guards.

Li Yunfei, not being a member of the police, knew better than to linger. He quietly left the premises, sparing Zhang Ziying any awkwardness.

The awakened perpetrator, still unconscious, was carried away after being injected with “N2 cholinergic receptor blocker.”

The N2 cholinergic receptor blocker, also known as “skeletal muscle relaxant,” acts on the N2 receptors of the motor nerve endplate membranes, blocking nerve impulses from transmitting to skeletal muscles. The result: complete muscle relaxation, rendering even the greatest strength useless.

This awakened individual would be delivered to the enforcement agency of Zixiao for trial, and there was little doubt he would receive the death penalty.

His crime was simply too heinous—committing murder in public, and even killing in front of the police. This was a direct affront to Zixiao’s most sacred line.

For the death of the wealthy heir, he might have pleaded that he’d only just awakened, unable to control his strength, and killed by accident.

But to murder a woman right in front of Zhang Ziying, there could be no excuse—no matter how he tried to explain.

Once Zhang Ziying had revealed her identity as a police officer, and he still killed with impunity, boasting that the law could not touch him, he had overtly challenged the authority of Daxia’s laws.

From the very beginning, Zixiao had set its principles: those who joined would enjoy privileges and benefits unavailable to ordinary people, even possessing certain special rights.

Yet all of these privileges were predicated on one absolute, unbreakable requirement: the law of Daxia must never be violated. This was the ultimate, inviolable line.

The law is sacred and solemn—no one may stand above it, not even the extraordinary.

For those who had no respect for the law, who wielded extraordinary power to break it as they pleased, Zixiao would not accept them; they would even be prosecuted to the full extent of their crimes.

This was the foundation upon which Daxia could maintain social stability amid an era of great change, and it was a rule that all, from the highest in Ziwei to the lowest-ranked Zixiao member, were required to uphold.

Given Daxia’s national circumstances and social character, the existence of “superheroes” as in the West was simply unsuitable.

To rule the nation by law and maintain order in all things—this was the only path to stable development.

…

After descending the building, Li Yunfei spent a few moments chatting with his friends. Once Zhang Ziying came down to give some instructions, they dispersed in different directions.

The facts of the case were clear, and the police soon announced its conclusion.

Naturally, the criminal was handed over to Zixiao, leaving Zhang Ziying with nothing more to do.

Liu Bin filed his report, and soon after, an official helicopter from Yuzhou arrived to escort the perpetrator from Yudong.

Liu Bin led a small team—twelve members including himself—divided into six groups, each with two people, stationed in six neighboring county seats.

Given Liu Bin’s capabilities and background, he should have held a higher position than mere group leader.

But he had asked specifically to serve at the grassroots level for some hands-on experience. Before joining Zixiao, he’d never held a position of authority—his only leadership role had been as president of his university’s martial arts club, which hardly counted.

A flower raised in a greenhouse cannot withstand the wind and rain. Lacking experience at the front lines, one is unprepared for greater responsibilities.

Thus, his father and grandfather both supported his decision without hesitation, and were deeply pleased.

His example led to other disciples from the six great sects and various martial families also being sent to the grassroots, starting from the rank of group leader.

Currently, Zixiao was short of personnel. Since the first batch of members needed to mature quickly, resources were concentrated on those with at least C-rank aptitude after the organization’s founding.

Excluding those dedicated to resource collection and logistics, there were only about 23,000 usable Zixiao members, more than 4,000 of whom were awakened individuals.

Daxia consisted of 34 provincial-level divisions, 334 prefectural-level divisions, and 2,851 county-level divisions.

When spread out, each location received only a handful of people. Thus, county-level divisions usually had only two assigned members, prefectural-level divisions a complete group, and provincial-level divisions three groups.

Additionally, Daxia had 681 prisons, with two members stationed in each.

This already accounted for more than 12,000 people; the remaining members were organized into seven special regiments.

Five regiments were stationed across the five major military zones, serving as the main force against foreign extraordinary individuals.

Of the remaining two regiments, one provided instructors for various cultivation academies, and the other was stationed in the capital as a mobile force available to headquarters at any time.

They only needed to hold out for a year or two. Once the first batch of qualified individuals had matured, manpower would finally become adequate.

In the future, the state would organize annual physical examinations for the entire population, because cultivation aptitude was not fixed.

As spiritual energy continued to revive, the concentration on Blue Earth increased, and over time people living in such an environment would gradually improve physically.

Someone who lacked aptitude last year might possess it the next.

If spiritual energy’s decline could be reversed, perhaps in a century or so, Blue Earth would enter an era of universal cultivation, and the grand spectacle of ancient times might be revived.

The future of global affairs would no longer be a contest of military strength and technology, but of the number and quality of extraordinary individuals.

In this, Daxia’s vast population and unparalleled national cohesion would grant it an undeniable advantage.

…

After Li Yunfei and his companions had departed, Liu Bin went to the monitoring room to check the surveillance footage, but found nothing.

Influenced by preconceived notions, he overlooked certain details.

For instance, the time Li Yunfei entered the stairwell from the third floor, or when the armored figure emerged from the eighth floor.

Based on the timing, Li Yunfei should have reached the eighth floor well before the armored figure appeared.

Furthermore, Li Yunfei had clearly entered the left-side stairwell from the third floor, yet emerged from the right-side stairwell on the eighth.

Had he paid closer attention to such details, the inconsistencies would have become apparent.

But Liu Bin was a martial artist, not a professional detective. Flaws that would leap out at a trained investigator could easily escape his notice.

He merely searched the footage for any sign of the figure clad in scales, but how could he possibly find one?

That armored man had only appeared on the eighth floor, bursting from the stairwell and exiting through the opposite side.

On no other floor did his image appear, as if he had materialized from thin air, then vanished just as mysteriously.

Unfortunately, there were no cameras inside the stairwells, only at the entrances and exits; otherwise, his headache might have been spared.

Few buildings installed cameras inside stairwells since it was unnecessary—monitoring the entrances and exits sufficed.

No matter who entered the stairwell, they had to come out somewhere, and this was common knowledge.

As long as the entrances and exits were monitored, there should be no loopholes.

In the end, Liu Bin could only surmise that the person had entered through a stairwell window, and left the same way.

After all, even they could use lightness skill to scale the exterior walls from the first floor—a feat others could surely replicate.

However, Liu Bin doubted that, clad in armor weighing sixty or seventy jin, he could land unscathed from so high a fall.

This only proved that the person was an expert more formidable than themselves.

The appearance of a master exceeding Green-rank in Yudong County was reported truthfully by Liu Bin.

Yet Zixiao’s response would take some time, and in the meantime, all they could do was heighten their vigilance.