Then let the witch offer her loyalty

But with each passing second, the risk increased for Mo Zeyuan.

Mo Zeyuan didn't know the working principle of the bald man's gun, but he himself was genuinely using spiritual energy.

Every time a bit of spiritual power is used, the rampant erosion within the witch who has formed a spiritual pact with him increases by one point.

If psionic energy is used excessively, causing the witch's internal energy level to exceed the danger threshold, not only will the witch be held accountable by the Inquisition afterward, but the witch will also be placed in a dangerous situation.

He had been acting as the witch's proxy for eight years. Although there was no romantic feeling between them, they had trusted each other for so many years and had long been each other's steadfast comrades.

He didn't want to put his witch at risk of going berserk just to deal with a scapegoat from the Demon Alliance.

The man with the spiky hair, under the influence of delusions, had already become mentally distorted. He fired his gun indiscriminately while laughing wildly.

"Isn't that great? Doesn't it feel good to be tortured like this?! I'm going to blow your head off, and then—"

"Pfft!"

Without any warning, a spurt of blood erupted from the bald man's brainstem at the back of his head, as if he had been pierced by some invisible blade.

His eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground, convulsing before becoming still.

Behind the bald man's corpse, the space began to distort irregularly, and finally a human figure emerged.

Chen Moxin snapped out of her refracting state, flicked the blood off the dagger, and raised an eyebrow: "What's this guy doing, all that fancy stuff?"

Seeing that Chen Moxin had stabbed the enemy to death from behind, Mo Zeyuan breathed a sigh of relief, released his spiritual power, and walked over.

Chen Moxin picked up the strange gun from the ground: "What is this thing?"

Mo Zeyuan shook his head: "I don't know, I've never seen it before. Keep it safe and take it back to the technical department for research."

After saying that, he squatted down and groped the bald man's body, quickly finding a cube-shaped object that resembled a Rubik's Cube.

Its texture is some kind of strange metal, which has a flowing luster under light. It has no seams, buttons, or interfaces, only intricate grooves and patterns covering its surface.

Mo Zeyuan took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh: "No matter what, I finally got the 'Cube'."

Chen Moxin looked at the creation called a cube: "What is this thing?"

Mo Zeyuan shook his head: "I can't explain it to you in a short time. I'll have someone explain it to you later. Let's go and meet up with the main group first."

He put the cube into the inside pocket of his clothes and led the way toward the alleyway exit.

The two arrived at the temporary command post on the outskirts, where the situation had been brought under control.

The wreckage of the armored vehicle destroyed by the aftershocks of the beam still lay in the rain, surrounded by a long cordon, and even special forces members dared not approach it.

At this moment, only Yang Jie was holding the instrument for detecting madness contamination, searching around the wreckage of the armored vehicle.

Madness is extremely deadly to ordinary people, but it is ineffective against psionicists, so both witch hunters, Chen Moxin and Mo Zeyuan, crossed the cordon and walked over.

"Captain Yang, the target has been killed by Chen Moxin, and the cube has been obtained. What's the situation here?"

Yang Jie stared intently at the red data on the screen and said gravely, "I've checked it several times, there's no mistake, this car has a small amount of toxic pollution."

Mo Zeyuan looked at the bizarre gun in his hand, his brows furrowed: "So it really was this gun that caused the contamination... The target also showed signs of rampant corruption when using it."

Yang Jie said in a deep voice, "Yes, the same here. After the special forces subdued the driver, the medical team took him to an isolation facility for testing. It was a very typical case of madness and erosion."

Mo Zeyuan asked in bewilderment, "What's going on? I've been a hunter for so many years and I've never seen anything like this before."

"To be honest, I don't know either, but one thing is certain." Yang Jie raised his head and looked at the overcast sky. "Some things in the future may be beyond our control."

Chapter 128 Future Chief Engineer

The cool-toned lighting cast a glaring glow on the long table in the conference room, making the spread-out action reports appear even more glaring.

Yang Jie had already changed into his work uniform and was standing in front of the projection screen. He used a laser pointer to draw on the marked areas on the map while explaining the combat operation that had just ended.

The bureau's leadership sat below the stage, the blue light from the projection screen casting varying shades of shadow on their faces. Some looked up at the screen, while others scribbled in their notebooks; the atmosphere was very somber.

After Yang Jie finished his report, he said in a deep voice, "That concludes the full details of this operation."

A bureau leader frowned and said, "Without the appearance of a witch, how could a single weapon cause such a massive contamination? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Yang Jie, who was naturally defiant, retorted coldly, "So you mean I'm lying? Why don't you go check out the medical area yourself? That guy who was corrupted is still lying there under deep anesthesia."

"It's easy for officials to talk when they're not in the situation. Do you understand the situation on the ground better than I do?"

Yang Jie, a veteran hunter with 20 years of experience, has served longer than many leaders have been in office. He himself has no hope of promotion or salary increase, making him an invincible person.

There was nothing the leader could do when he scolded him; he could only watch helplessly.

As the top leader, Director Yue Zhenyun naturally stepped in to mediate: "Yang Jie, Lao Pan is also raising reasonable questions. Don't be so impatient, speak properly."

After helping his colleague find the missing pieces, Yue Zhenyun asked sincerely, "In your opinion, what's the deal with that weapon?"

Yang Jie shook his head: "This is the first time I've ever seen that thing, and I'm not a technician, so I can't give you professional advice. I can only reconstruct the scene for you."

Yue Zhenyun rubbed his temples in frustration: "The technical department has taken a preliminary look, and they also said they've never seen anything like it before, so they don't know where to begin their analysis."

"This won't do; it's too passive. We need to come up with a solution."

Yang Jie pondered for a moment, his gaze inexplicably becoming profound: "If it's just a technical issue, I do think of someone."

"Who?" Yue Zhenyun asked.

Seeing that Yang Jie didn't speak but was just staring at him, Yue Zhenyun seemed to understand, and his expression turned somewhat grim: "You mean, you want to bring 'that person' back?"

Yang Jie shrugged: "Anyway, whenever you mention encountering technical problems, I think of her."

Yue Zhenyun looked rather gloomy for some reason. He got up and walked to the window, where he stood for a while.

He pondered for a moment, his voice very low: "But this could easily lead to a political mistake."

Yang Jie put the laser pointer on the table: "Anyway, I'm just giving a suggestion. We have people keeping an eye on her whereabouts, and we can find her anytime we need to."

"Whether or not to bring that large Buddha statue back to our small temple is a headache for all the leaders."

The leaders present began whispering among themselves. Some seemed to disagree, their brows furrowing more and more as they listened, shaking their heads incessantly. Others unconsciously rubbed the rim of their teacups, as if considering the feasibility of the proposal.

After exchanging opinions with everyone present, Yue Zhenyun made a decision.

"I need to go to court to ask the higher-ups to make a decision on this matter."

Outside the office window, the wind and rain blew the leaves off the trees, causing them to sway and flutter.

The swirling leaves, accompanied by rain, fell onto the flooded streets of the outskirts.

A boot stepped over the leaves, splashing water along with it.

Holding an umbrella, Yang Jie arrived at a sewer manhole cover and stood there silently.

"That old bastard Yue Zhenyun is definitely messing with me on purpose."

He spat angrily, used a crowbar to pry open the manhole cover, and then crawled into the sewer.

The Twin Cities, as mega-metropolises, have sewer systems that are just as complex as their surface streets. Even professional maintenance workers wouldn't dare venture deep into them without a map.

Yang Jie continued downwards, going deeper and deeper, until he could even see some white bones.

These were usually outlaws from the border regions who, chased by enemies, hid in the sewers, ran too deep in their panic, and eventually lost their way and never made it out.

Following the map, Yang Jie continued to travel through the area until he reached the lowest level.

Logically speaking, apart from rats, no one would probably come down to this place for more than ten years.

However, in the corner of the wall ahead, there was a surveillance camera, and judging from the faint red light, it was in operation.

Yang Jie walked down to the bottom of the monitor, pressed his index and middle fingers to his temples, and then waved at the camera as a greeting.

But there was no response.

He looked somewhat helpless and reached into his pocket...

He took out a thick, bulging red envelope.

"Boom—" Almost instantly, a crack appeared in the middle of the wall in front, splitting into two pieces that opened to the sides, revealing the passage hidden behind it.

Yang Jie walked into the passage, and the wall quickly closed up again, restoring it to its original state.

If someone were traveling with him at this moment, they would surely be extremely astonished.

Hidden behind a wall at the bottom of the sewer, where even rats wouldn't go, was a surprisingly spacious area.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of formaldehyde, mixed with the musty odor caused by long-term lack of ventilation. Old-fashioned in situ hybridization instruments and centrifuges were piled on a dusty workbench, and next to them, a neatly arranged shelf of glass jars was filled with specimens. The ink on the labels had long since faded, and only a few illegible numbers could be vaguely made out.

This is clearly an underground laboratory.

Moreover, the large static culture tanks in the corner of the laboratory clearly indicate that the owner of this laboratory is definitely not someone who adheres to scientific ethics.

It houses all sorts of deformed and distorted creatures—

A rat the size of a large dog, covered in tumors.

A crow with a head larger than its body and eight compound eyes.

There was also a giant, scarlet spider lying there feeding, and it was gnawing on a piece of human thigh.

Yang Jie approached the culture tank containing the giant spider, and it immediately bared its sharp fangs and lunged at him, finally crashing into the glass wall with a "thud," leaving behind a large patch of sticky saliva.

Yang Jie looked at the ferocious spider in front of him and said slowly, "You still like to study these strange things."

In the darkness not far away, a bolt of lightning crackled and flashed, illuminating for a fleeting moment a slender figure.

Yang Jie walked over and placed the thick red envelope on the table illuminated by the dim lamp.

A hand reached out from the darkness.

It was a very strange hand, with slender and long fingers that were elegantly arched like a pianist's, and nails that were trimmed smooth and rounded, gleaming with a cold, mother-of-pearl-like sheen, full of beauty.

But the garment was covered with dark red stitching, from the wrist bones exposed under the sleeves to the finger joints, densely packed everywhere, like a centipede winding and coiling, extremely ferocious.

The hand took the red envelope, and the sound of paper rubbing together quickly followed, accompanied by a low laugh.

Yang Jie looked into the darkness ahead and said with a smile, "It's been more than twenty years since we last met. When you left, I was just a newcomer who had recently been promoted."

"It's a pleasure to see you again, future chief engineer."

A crackling electrical current flashed again, illuminating the girl with huge electrodes on both sides of her head in the darkness. She grinned at Yang Jie, the sutures on both sides of her lips making it seem as if her face had been torn in two.

A bizarre laboratory, bizarre creatures, a bizarre girl... everything here is strange.

One thing is certain: this girl named "Mirai" is definitely not human.

No human being has stitches all over their body and electrodes crackling with electricity on either side of their head.

At this moment, holding the banknotes he took out of the red envelope, he counted them one by one, teasingly saying, "Little Yang, how come you've gotten so old? Back then you were at least one of the most handsome guys in the bureau. Look at all the wrinkles on your face now."

Yang Jie smiled and said, "You're over forty years old. Everyone gets old. Do you think everyone is like you, able to replace any part of their body that gets old anytime?"

After counting the money, he didn't seem very satisfied with the amount. After all, no matter how thick a red envelope is, even if it's full of hundred-yuan bills, it can't hold much money.

"I still have drawings to draw. I'll give you three minutes. Get to the point."

In the future, she stuffed the red envelope into the drawer, turned around, and without even turning on the light, she could hear her scribbling and drawing.

Yang Jie said directly, "My colleagues and I went on a mission at noon today and encountered a member of the Witch Alliance. The other party had a weapon with tremendous power."

"The most terrifying thing is that it leaves behind a trail of madness when it is used. The member of the Demon Alliance and the driver of the armored vehicle that was shot were both corrupted by the madness and turned into undead."

"Hmm." The voice from the future was completely calm, as if it were simply listening to something mundane. "And then?"

Yang Jie shook his head: "That's it. We handed the weapon over to the technical department, but they had no idea how to use it. They couldn't understand how such a weapon could exist."

A short laugh came from the darkness, as if mocking: "Ha, what can't you figure out? We can regard psionic energy as a kind of energy, and it is not fundamentally different from mechanical energy, molecular energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, atomic energy, internal energy, etc."

"The Demon Alliance simply uses psionic energy as a medium to create special weapons."

“Psionic energy and madness are symbiotic. When this kind of weapon uses psionic energy as its energy carrier, it will naturally leave behind madness contamination. Isn’t it that simple?”

Yang Jie nodded thoughtfully, then asked eagerly like a student seeking knowledge, "How was this weapon made?"

Future said casually, "I've never disassembled this kind of weapon, so how can I tell you?"

Yang Jie quickly replied, "I'm here on behalf of the Twin Cities Witches Management Bureau to ask you to return to your post."

After a moment of silence in the darkness, a cold laugh came from the future: "You guys are quite interesting. Back then, you were so eager to dismiss and fire me, and now you're begging me to come back and reinstate me."

Yang Jie crossed his arms, his tone rather helpless: "If you insist on talking like this, then I'll have to have a serious talk with you. Tell me yourself, were the things you did back then humane?"

"You caused a national uproar and astonished our friendly nations. The people at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs almost died trying to clean up your mess. In the end, the organization only dismissed you from your post, so you should be secretly happy."

Future scoffed: "I was just sharing my opinion; I didn't put it into practice. There's no point in serving a country that can't even tolerate ideas."

Seeing the other party's stiff attitude, Yang Jie took the initiative to soften his tone: "Chief Engineer, although the bureau had no choice but to dismiss you back then, they have still taken good care of you over the years."