Chapter 157: Purge Operation (1)

All nations began recruiting volunteers. According to data analysis from the reports, provided everything went smoothly, the number of ghost amalgamators within a month would be sufficient to absorb the black mist of heavenly alteration blanketing various regions. When that time came, Blue Star would remain their Blue Star.

On the other hand, Yanjing City, which had suffered catastrophic losses, had been abandoned. Under the protection of psychic detectives from other provinces, the surviving citizens began migrating toward Shanghai, the pillar of the economy. Simultaneously, elite psychic detectives from various cities were being reassigned to Shanghai to execute a new plan.

This new plan was proposed by Wu Zui and named the Cleansing Plan.

Having broken through and rediscovered his objective after the consecutive devastating blows dealt to Binhai City and Yanjing City, Wu Zui decided to report the secret of his blood. At the same time, he summoned elite psychic detectives from all cities to execute the Cleansing Plan.

The core principle of the Cleansing Plan was to utilize the restraining effect of Wu Zui's blood against ghosts, along with the black book's containment capability, to imprison the most threatening ghosts across all cities. Afterward, strike teams composed of elite psychic detectives from each city would be formed to carry out sweeps province by province, city by city, and district by district.

According to the information Wu Zui had acquired after obtaining the black book, the method of using ghost amalgamators to absorb the black mist of heavenly alteration was indeed viable. However, ghosts must under no circumstances be allowed to break through to the seven-star level, because even early-stage seven-star ghosts could suppress spatial energy.

At that time, the spatial force located at the core of a ghost would not even stir up a ripple, let alone allow for mutual destruction with the entity! The current contingency plan for this issue was that only Wu Zui could go and deal with newly breakthrough seven-star ghosts using the black book.

Before that, however, Wu Zui required a massive number of ghost cores to elevate the realm of the black book, rendering its rule power more concentrated. Furthermore, a black book devoid of spiritual intelligence would also eliminate the danger of backslash.

Naturally, the newly established research institute in Shanghai was also investigating alternative methods. Once the Cleansing Plan succeeded, China would only need to prevent newly emerged ghosts from growing in strength.

Soon, the elite psychic detectives dispatched from sixteen provinces and eighty cities had all arrived in Shanghai. Because the research institute was preoccupied with the black mist of heavenly alteration, subsequent cultivation methods had not yet been successfully developed. Consequently, every single psychic detective present was stuck at the five-star peak, unable to advance even an inch.

Inside a large conference room, Wu Zui presided from the main seat. This arrangement was made not only due to the trust of China's high-ranking officials, but also because he was the sole awakened individual who had broken through to the six-star level. Among the awakened, strength was the sole standard.

As the crowd entered in twos and threes, the conference room gradually grew noisy. Acquainted psychic detectives began chatting with one another, feeling somewhat perplexed as to why they had been suddenly summoned, and hoping to glean some information from their peers.

Because the internet was controlled by Sun Lang, they were still unaware of the events that had transpired in Yanjing City. Moreover, the transfer orders summoning them to Shanghai had also omitted specific reasons due to Wu Zui's intervention; they had merely been told to report for participation in the Cleansing Plan.

At this moment, counting one person per city, there were precisely eighty-one individuals inside the conference room. The sound of their mutual chatter was certainly no more melodic than a flock of ducks squawking in disarray.

Wu Zui, however, paid them no mind. Instead, he observed the top of each person's head, an expression of solemnity on his face as he jotted something down in the notebook at his side. The moment Wu Zui finished observing the final person, a flash of blue light instantly swept across the entire room.

In an instant, the space inside the room became as solid as an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron.

At this juncture, none of the psychic detectives could sense the existence of spatial singularities! In other words, they were trapped here. This was the prototype of a domain; although it could not contend against a true domain, it exercised a crushing supremacy over five-star awakened individuals who possessed no domain of their own.

"Ghost Domain!"

Several psychic detectives who had previously witnessed a ghost domain shouted aloud, hurling their golden weapons toward Wu Zui, whose body was radiating blue light. Evidently, they mistook Wu Zui for a disguised ghost. The golden weapons flying toward Wu Zui emitted shattering sounds the moment they touched the blue light, after which they were pulverized by the energy.

"My name is Wu Zui, a six-star awakened individual. From now on, I am responsible for the specific execution of the Cleansing Plan, as well as serving as the captain of the cleansing strike team. Those among you who have committed heinous crimes, such as illicitly trading ghost cores, betraying state secrets, and other egregious acts, step forward of your own accord!

"The cleansing strike team has no need for such scum! Get out right now; your direct superiors will decide how to deal with you." Wu Zui gazed at the elite psychic detectives staring at him, his face stern as he pointed toward the door.

The others inside the conference room remained dead silent. They were not afraid, but rather found it somewhat laughable; every single one of them assumed Wu Zui was merely making empty threats. In this era of ghost outbreaks, the law enforcement oversight of society had long since fallen short of its former standards.

Wasn't policing psychic detectives themselves a joke?

Wu Zui waited for a moment, and true to expectation, not a single psychic detective stepped forward to leave of his own accord, for doing so would be tantamount to admitting guilt! Shortly thereafter, the assembled elite psychic detectives watched as a black book manifested in Wu Zui's right hand.

The black book turned its pages of its own accord.

A line of text subsequently appeared upon its surface.

"Zhao Dongjue."

At that moment, a psychic detective sitting in his seat with his legs crossed suddenly changed color. His body directly disintegrated, transforming into a wisp of resentment energy. The resentment energy flew straight into the black book, and moments later, it formed a writhing black human figure upon one of the pages.

The atmosphere instantly turned freezing cold!

The other elite psychic detectives present had no idea why this resentment energy belonging to ghosts could be manipulated by an awakened individual. At this time, news regarding ghost amalgamators had been entirely sealed, so none of the detectives had received any wind of it.

"Damn it! This bastard is a ghost in disguise!"

A sharp-featured individual with darting eyes rolled his gaze, immediately drawing a firearm and pointing it at Wu Zui with a slanderous accusation.

Anyone with sense knew how a ghost could possibly care about human crimes and felonies? They simply weren't that idle! Even among ghosts, the laziest one, Lai, was only ever busy sleeping. In its eyes, different treatment was merely accorded to its own keeper.

However, instigated by this person's cry, several others with guilty consciences also stood up and drew their weapons. Five or six golden handgun barrels pointed directly at Wu Zui. The ammunition consisted of golden bullets; aside from inflicting damage upon ghosts, they were equally capable of killing humans.

Click.

Bang, bang, bang.

Blue radiance flared across Wu Zui's body. Upon colliding with it, the incoming golden bullets flattened directly into small golden discs, clattering noisily onto the floor one after another.

"Wu Da, you sold ghost cores obtained from your municipal detective bureau at low prices to four nations including the United States and the United Kingdom, earning approximately four hundred million US dollars in profit. This has now been converted into gold and stored in your home, where a gold-lined isolation room is currently under construction."

"Zhang Ming, you abused your authority to swallow up four enterprises in your city, three of which had market values exceeding one hundred million. Simultaneously, you maintained contact with the remnants of the United States Purification Society, providing them with required intelligence in exchange for benefits."

"Sun Xianzhong..."

As Wu Zui pointed his finger at an individual and recounted his misdeeds, that person's name materialized on the black book beside him. The targeted psychic detective possessed zero ability to resist; his entire body directly began to disintegrate, and the resentment energy into which he transformed was imprisoned within the black book.

Restrained by the rule power of a seven-star ghost, those whose names had been inscribed were utterly incapable of mobilizing even magnetic energy.

Wu Zui named sixteen individuals in succession, and sixteen five-star peak psychic detectives were imprisoned within the black book. By this point, those who remained were struck dumb with fear; clearly, they too harbored guilty consciences, yet if asked to make a move, they lacked the daring.

At this moment, the might of the six-star tier was fully displayed!

Wu Zui, however, did not strike at the rest of them. Instead, he stated: "Among those remaining, there are likewise plenty who have violated laws and committed crimes, though in view of the lesser severity of their offenses, you may go explain yourselves to your direct superiors. Those who still believe they have committed no wrongdoing may remain."

The moment these words were spoken, the situation instantly diverged sharply from before. A large crowd of the remaining individuals stood up all at once, filing out in a sparse and scattered group. Moments later, only forty people remained inside the room.

Wu Zui gazed at the remaining group and stated: "Shortly, I will impart the process of my breakthrough to you, granting you two days' time to break through. During this period, the detective bureaus of various cities will compile a risk-level ranking of ghosts.

"Once you break through, the first four to achieve advancement will serve as strike team leaders, with ten members per team. Starting from the four provincial capitals of Yanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Binhai, you will sweep outward into the surrounding areas. If you discover a suspected seven-star ghost, blockade the vicinity immediately and report it; I will handle it personally."

Following this, forty yellowed pages detached themselves from the black book, fluttering autonomously toward the forty remaining individuals.

"Whether ghosts or anomalies below the seven-star level, all can be contained using these pages. Used in conjunction with the solution (my blood) that will be given to you shortly, even if you encounter an early-stage seven-star ghost, it will afford you an opportunity to transmit word back.

"Once any page has contained a ghost, you are required to return immediately to exchange it for a fresh one. Do you all understand?" Wu Zui swept his gaze across the crowd and asked.

"Understood!" the remaining psychic detectives replied in unison.

Subsequently, Wu Zui began recounting his personal experience of breaking through. Although the cultivation method Wu Zui practiced was self-created, all paths of cultivation ultimately led to the same destination. His breakthrough experience held immense value for awakened individuals practicing alternative methods.

As Wu Zui concluded his explanation, the psychic detectives who practiced the inner elixir method were the first to react. One by one, they closed their eyes, calmed their minds, and entered a marvelous state. At this point, the other psychic detectives were entirely incapable of perceiving those who had entered this specialized state.

Next were the psychic detectives practicing body-tempering methods, followed lastly by those studying artifact-based methods. In less than half an hour, this entire cohort vanished entirely from Wu Zui's perception as they entered the state of breakthrough.

Immediately afterward, Wu Zui instructed those in charge of base defense to turn the magnetic energy concentration inside the conference room up to its maximum. Wisps of blue lightning formed from magnetic energy darted continuously back and forth across the room, absorbed time and time again by the psychic detectives to transform into their own strength.