Chapter 121: Mental Contamination (1)

The airport surveillance footage recorded the conflict and the pursuit of Wu Zui by the five spirit investigators. Seeing the five investigators, who had been sent flying moments earlier, springing back to their feet to pursue him, Wu Zui realized he had been set up.

"Yiqiaosi, is it? There won't be a next time!"

Darkness surged within Wu Zui's eyes beneath his sunglasses.

"Master, here is the route map. Use the spatial singularities to reach the harbor as quickly as possible!" Xiao Ke'ai replied, attaching a map of N City in the Great American Metropolis marked with red dots.

Every red dot on the map represented a stop for a spatial singularity, allowing Wu Zui to depart at maximum speed.

"Destroy the surveillance along the route! My body is having some issues, and I cannot use magnetic energy to open the spatial singularities," Wu Zui replied helplessly, staring at the map.

"Having issues? Master, are you alright?" Xiao Ke'ai asked anxiously while destroying the surveillance feeds along his path.

"I'm fine," Wu Zui replied in a low voice.

In his mind, the karmic fire was still burning the black substance to prevent spiritual contamination, leaving him with little mental capacity for conversation.

Five minutes later.

"Master, the red areas are where the cameras have been destroyed. Choose a route to the harbor; there are ships heading back to China there. Find a way to sneak onto one," Xiao Ke'ai responded after launching a massive cyber-attack on the city's surveillance system.

The new map was now mostly red, indicating that the surveillance network of the Great American Metropolis was nearly paralyzed.

"There are many people hunting you, Master. I will lock onto them as quickly as I can and display their real-time positions on the map, though it may take a little time. You must hold on!" Knowing Wu Zui could not use his magnetic energy, Xiao Ke'ai decided to minimize the number of confrontations he would face.

"Alright, don't worry," Wu Zui replied, then began navigating toward the harbor according to the map. Though he lacked magnetic energy, his heightened perception remained, allowing him to effectively avoid the local spirit investigators. However, he knew that being surrounded would be catastrophic.

Meanwhile, the head of the N City Spirit Investigator Command Center was seething with rage.

"You bunch of pig-headed idiots! If that yellow-skinned monkey makes it back home, you can all wait for the Congressional inquiry! No one kills people on the soil of the Great American Metropolis and walks away so arrogantly! Shit!"

He hammered the command console with his fist, cursing the network experts who were desperately fighting to regain control of the surveillance system. He even directed his fury at the investigators searching Green Avenue. No one dared to talk back; he was bound to take the fall for this, and no one wanted to provoke a mad dog.

"What about the person I sent to contact 'Reaper'? Why hasn't he come to help yet?" The director checked his watch. The contact sent to recruit the city's best hacker, Reaper, hadn't returned. He grabbed his communicator and cursed again, "Damn blonde, where is my man?"

"Mr. Kailin, Lord Reaper says that to ensure the operational integrity of the H City political center, he cannot provide reinforcements. He hopes we can resolve this ourselves!" A blonde man ran into the room holding an encrypted communicator and reported.

"Oh, my God! Expecting them to stop a top-tier hacker is a joke! Give me the communicator; I will contact Reaper myself!" Kailin was incredulous. He grabbed the device to make the call personally.

By now, the surveillance screens were almost entirely red, signifying a total system blackout. They were effectively blind. Even with Kailin’s personal intervention, Reaper refused to budge. In his words, the safety of H City was paramount.

Two hours later, the surveillance system collapsed completely.

With Xiao Ke'ai’s remote support, Wu Zui successfully evaded the search parties and reached the harbor. Getting past the security teams of ordinary people was effortless for him.

He quickly slipped past the outer perimeter. Upon reaching the docks, he was met with endless cargo ships, making finding a specific target like looking for a needle in a haystack. Wu Zui chose not to target a ship heading directly to mainland China, as that would be too obvious—the authorities weren't fools.

He found a freighter bound for Pearl Island, used his perception to avoid the crew’s patrols, and easily climbed into a crawlspace above the cargo hold. He secured his left hand to the railing with his magnetic protective suit to prevent falling should the ship pitch in the waves while he focused on suppressing the black substance.

Wu Zui informed Xiao Ke'ai of the ship he had boarded, asking her to book him a flight from Pearl Island to Yanjing. He then began his meditative visualization, hoping to suppress the black substance so he could regain the use of his magnetic energy.

As Wu Zui had anticipated, the investigators searched every ship bound for China. Yet, even as his ship weighed anchor and set sail, they found no trace of him.

When the sun rose the next morning, Kailin slumped in his chair. He knew he was finished. An entire night had passed, and he had failed to find the Chinese man. With the added fallout from the surveillance blackout, Congress would surely need a scapegoat, and he fit the bill perfectly.

By this time, Wu Zui had entered the Pearl Strait; he was almost home. As the ship docked, Wu Zui regained consciousness. After the suppression, the black substance was calmer, but unlike last time, it showed no signs of receding. It was incredibly stubborn.

Wu Zui sighed inwardly. He unfastened his suit, put it back on, and slipped off the ship unnoticed. Just as he wondered why Xiao Ke'ai hadn't sent him the flight details, a voice called out from behind.

"Mr. Wu, the plane is this way!"

Wu Zui turned to see a familiar face. "Are you A-Xiang?"

After a moment, he remembered—this was the man who worked as Zhang Zhenbang's bodyguard.

"Yes. Miss Xiao borrowed a private jet from our boss to ensure you wouldn't have any trouble leaving Pearl Island," A-Xiang said with a slight nod. Behind him sat a large, luxurious private jet.

"That is a great help."

Wu Zui did not stand on ceremony. The jet was clearly coated in a mixture of magnetite and gold, ensuring his safety. If he encountered any spirits on his way back, he was in no condition to fight; if he absorbed any vengeful energy, he would surely die.

Inside the jet, Wu Zui chose a room and resumed his visualization, hoping to subdue the black substance. Half an hour later, the plane arrived at the Yanjing airport. After boarding a car already arranged by A-Xiang, they headed straight for Xiao Anguo’s underground office.

...

After dropping Wu Zui off, A-Xiang left to report back. Wu Zui approached the security checkpoint of the underground office. After handing over his contraband, he walked through the magnetic detection room. Suddenly, sirens blared throughout the entire facility, and guards rushed toward his location.

Wu Zui felt the magnetic field intensify several times over, causing the black substance in his mind to tremble. He quickly sat on the floor and began his visualization, hoping to use this surge of energy to suppress the entity.

Outside the detection room, a crowd of spirit investigators gathered. The alarm indicated that a spirit of at least five-star rating had entered the room, but the true cause was the spiritual contamination within Wu Zui.

The five-star investigator tasked with protecting Xiao Anguo arrived, scanned the area, and asked, "Who brought this spirit in?"

"Report, sir! It was brought in by Investigator Wu Zui. We haven't detected any abnormalities yet, but the magnetic sensors show a negative energy level equivalent to a five-star spirit, currently dormant in the chamber," a nearby investigator replied with a salute.

"Increase the magnetic output!" The five-star investigator watched Wu Zui through the monitor for a moment before giving the order. He knew from Wu Zui’s stillness that he hadn't lost control of his body. Under such intense magnetic pressure, even a five-star spirit could be destroyed.

Unfortunately, what Wu Zui carried was far more than a simple five-star spirit. The contamination from Zi Tong and Han Bo contained the power of the black skull—a manifestation of the world's fundamental laws that far exceeded what magnetic energy could resolve.

"Yes, sir!" The investigators surrounded the room, and one of them increased the magnetic output.

While in his meditative state, Wu Zui heard a piercing hum. The black substance inside him trembled violently. Under the dual pressure of the karmic fire and the magnetic field, it finally showed signs of shrinking. As time passed, the substance was pushed back to the chest of the blue figure, glowing with a faint, dark luster. Yet, no matter how much Wu Zui pushed his karmic fire, it would shrink no further.

Soon, the investigators outside watched as Wu Zui slowly stood up.

*Click-clack... Click-clack...*

The spirit-restraining nets and gold-infused grenades in the investigators' hands were primed and safety catches were disengaged.