Chapter 219: Dark Boundless Realm 74
Kui Xin raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit relieved.
She had arranged for Su Rong to go to another outpost, and they communicated using communicators. Su Rong’s ability level was also C-grade. If she happened to come across that girl, she might be read her thoughts.
Mind reading—this ability should be categorized as a mental type ability.
“State your reasons for choosing us,” Kui Xin’s voice distorted through the voice modulator as it reached the other party’s ears.
The interview materials submitted by the other party showed that her name was Wei Li, and she was quite young, twenty-five years old. She had a few experiences taking on tasks on the dark web, completing nothing major, and there were no records of criminal activity online; her background was clean. However, being a registered bounty hunter on the dark web, she could not possibly be a harmless character.
“I have a grudge against the Popov Clan,” Wei Li said. “They killed my brother.”
Kui Xin calmly replied, “Please elaborate.”
“My brother, Wei Zhou, was a signed artist at the Popov family’s entertainment company. Later, he was bullied within the company… and ended up committing suicide,” said Wei Li.
Commit suicide? Kui Xin immediately asked Augus to retrieve relevant records on “Wei Zhou.” Information from the internet indicated he was indeed a celebrity, though he had little fame, and he had mysteriously vanished six months after debuting; there were no further news about him online.
“What is it that you want from us?” Kui Xin continued to inquire.
“You deal with the Popov Clan. That’s what I want,” replied Wei Li.
Kui Xin asked again, “What do you think you can provide us? What is your value?”
“I have no value other than my life,” Wei Li responded straightforwardly. “My ability is mind reading; I haven’t reported my awakening to the Federation nor participated in testing, so I am unsure of my ability rating, but I have a rough understanding of its effects and flaws. I can’t read your mind; you must be very strong, at least B-grade. You might not need me, my value is just that, but if you let me join, I can give my all.”
“Can you fight? Can you kill?” Kui Xin pressed.
Wei Li replied, “I can do both.”
“What are your principles?”
Wei Li remained silent for a long time. “To achieve my goals, I can have no principles.”
“Alright, the interview is over; you can leave now,” Kui Xin said tersely. “Be careful of counter-surveillance once you leave here.”
Mechanized Dawn had previously targeted the first round of interviewees; although they didn’t succeed, there was no guarantee that Special Affairs Department or the Investigation Bureau wouldn’t mix in and leak information about the interview location and participants.
Wei Li hadn’t expected the interview to end so quickly. She stood up in surprise, casting a last glance at the featureless glass wall before stepping into the vortex.
“Next,” Kui Xin contacted Su Rong.
“Okay,” Su Rong replied. “The first interview went smoothly; hopefully the next few will too.”
“It will be smooth. As for the Shadowless, the Special Affairs Department and the Investigation Bureau won’t be closing in so soon; they want to catch more players using us,” Kui Xin said.
Another interviewee, guided by Su Rong, arrived at the interview location.
From the appearance, this interviewee was unremarkable, dressed simply, and possessed an ordinary demeanor, the type you would lose in a crowd. He directly wrote in his materials that his ability was light projection, capable of creating illusions through manipulating the refraction of light in the air.
Somewhat of a lackluster ability… With technology being so advanced, one could easily see through illusions with a scanner. However, this individual had a high completion rate on dark web tasks.
During the interview, he answered in a standard manner, providing “textbook answers.”
Why join the Shadowless? The name is big. What does he want from the Shadowless? Money. Any principles? The underworld does not discuss principles…
“Next…” Kui Xin sent off this interviewee and welcomed the next.
This interviewee’s extraordinary ability was slightly more interesting, named “Contact Detonation.”
The effect was the ability to change the physical properties of the material he touches, converting it into explosives. This meant as long as he had materials nearby, he could produce bombs anytime, anywhere, and this ability reached B-grade, which could be considered quite powerful.
In the routine question session, Kui Xin hadn’t even spoken her question when the person asked, “Is the Black Snake, reported in the news, the leader of the Shadowless Organization?”
Kui Xin replied, “You do not have question rights at this time. You must first answer my question.”
The individual took a breath and said, “I’m sorry, I was too eager.”
The name on his interview resume was Golden Ring, a codename, not his real name.
“Why did you choose us?”
“Black Snake,” Golden Ring said. “I traveled from out of town to White Whale City specifically because of the Black Snake. The organization is established by the Black Snake, and if I am of the same ilk as the Black Snake, then you should know why I have come.”
For every player, there were only a few reasons to attend the interview—Black Snake was an obvious banner. Whether it was Scalpel or Golden Ring, their reason was the same: “Black Snake,” because the Black Snake’s notoriety was simply too high.
“What do you want from us?”
“Seeking protection, searching for companions,” Golden Ring replied. “To not be alone.”
“Then what are your principles?”
Golden Ring stated, “Survival is the bottom line. I will protect myself while avoiding harm to innocent people, but if that can’t be balanced, I will protect myself.” After thinking for a moment, he added, “You are doing all these high-profile actions, conducting filters as well, right? To be honest, what you’re doing is very dangerous, and you will attract very dangerous enemies. Those who are afraid will stay far away from you while those who admire you will come to this interview—those who are drawn to you are not innocent sheep… I am not an innocent sheep either.”
Kui Xin subtly remarked, “Golden Ring, your codename is related to snakes.”
The young man on the other side of the glass whispered, “Because… I admire the Black Snake, so I chose a related codename.”
Kui Xin: “…?”
Fine, it’s not unacceptable; He Kangshi also thought of changing to a reptile-related codename back then.
“You can leave now, and wait for notification,” Kui Xin said. “Be careful of counter-surveillance.”
Golden Ring seemed slightly taken aback, nodded, and turned to step into the spatial vortex.
The next few interviews went smoothly as well; the interviewees varied in gender, strength, and abilities. Kui Xin observed and questioned each in turn, then sent them off.
The last interviewee’s materials indicated her ability was “Far Vision,” which meant she could see far-off scenes clearly with the naked eye.
The spatial vortex opened, and the eighth interviewee entered the room.
Kui Xin looked up at her; her heart skipped a beat. Not asking her pre-set questions, she directly inquired, “What is the specific effect of your ability?”
“My eyes work like a telescope, able to see distant scenes,” the interviewee replied.
Kui Xin asked again, “Anything else?”
The interviewee hesitated, seemingly picking up something off from Kui Xin’s words. She took a step back, a look of suspicion and fear appearing on her face.
In Kui Xin’s view, the eighth interviewee’s ability was not “Far Vision” at all; it was “X-ray Vision”!
She lied! From the moment she entered this room, she could see right through the glass wall and the mask on Kui Xin’s face to discern her true appearance, yet the interviewee concealed her ability for some purpose.
“I thought all those with ulterior motives were masters of disguise, managing to hide their identities well under my observation…” Kui Xin remarked, somewhat gloomily.
If not for Kui Xin’s Investigative Eye, which exposed the other’s lie at a glance, she might genuinely have been deceived. Manipulating extraordinary abilities to remain undetected was very difficult, as only the individual themselves knew the conditions and effects required to activate their powers. Perhaps Far Vision was an additional trait of X-ray Vision.
Kui Xin reached out, pushed open the dark door in the glass wall, and stepped in front of the interviewee, swiftly knocking her out with a chop and administered a sedative.
“Maotoufu, is there a problem?” Su Rong anxiously inquired over the communications channel.
“Minor issue,” Kui Xin said as she scanned the interviewee’s entire body with a scanner. “Luckily, no locator…”
The scanner continued downwards, before an alarm sounded.
“A device has been implanted in her heart; it seems to be a bomb…” Kui Xin’s eyelids twitched.
This could not be removed easily; triggering the special sensor might cause it to explode. While she could detain the person for questioning at the outpost, the implanted bomb was definitely a significant hassle that could explode at any moment.
Augus said, “Take her to the black market clinic to see if they can remove it. She must have connections…”
He hadn’t finished his sentence when a sudden alarm bell went off in Kui Xin’s mind; she took a step back and immediately entered Shadow Transition.
At that moment, the person on the ground had an abnormal heave in her chest, forming a blood hole the size of a bowl. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and a large spray of blood splattered onto the ceiling and walls.
Kui Xin exited Shadow Transition, frowning.
She could have captured this individual, but the enemy did not want to give her that chance.
It was the same situation as the metal skull implanted in her head; forceful removal would trigger a device. Perhaps the bomb embedded in this interviewee’s heart also had a similar sensor, which would trigger the bomb upon detection of abnormalities in the implanted person’s body.
“We need to leave quickly,” Augus urged.
Kui Xin hurriedly tidied the scene, remembering to collect a vial of blood from the corpse, before finally opening a portal to leave. She decided to abandon the temporary outpost as it was no longer safe.
“Fortunately, she drew the last spot; had there been an issue during the interview, I would need to change outposts on the fly,” Kui Xin said.
“She displayed very unprofessional behavior, as if she had been hastily trained. If she were a professional, she should have remained calm during your second question,” Augus noted. “Is it possible she is a player? A player brainwashed or controlled by the Federation or Mechanized Dawn? They could have implanted a bomb in her heart, sending her to test you.”
Kui Xin’s mood soured slightly. “Maybe… Once I read her blood memories, I’ll know.”
She glanced down at the time; it was already two in the afternoon. The return day was approaching.
Having not rested the previous night and conducting interviews for half the day, her mental state was not good and was not apt for reading blood memories.
Before the return day arrived, Kui Xin needed to rest sufficiently; the First World might still be descending into the Dark Realm, with monsters potentially appearing. The most dangerous situation would be facing combat immediately upon her return, and she had to ensure her condition was good enough.
Kui Xin clenched her fist and said through the communicator to Su Rong, “Come meet me; we’re heading back to the Safe House.”
“Received, I’m on my way,” Su Rong replied.
…
Night at 23:50.
Kui Xin woke up due to the alarm, took a breath to gather her focus, and prepared for the return.
23:59:00.
Augus said to Kui Xin, “See you in one minute.”
“See you in seven days,” Kui Xin replied.
00:00:00.
Darkness surged like a tide, engulfing Kui Xin.
However, this time, the world transition felt somewhat different from before.
In a daze, Kui Xin spotted a large, indistinct shadow standing before her, holding up a balance scale. On one side of the scale rested a red gem, and on the other side, a blue gem.
It said, “Red gem or blue gem, which do you choose?”
Kui Xin was astonished and bewildered, but then the darkness receded, and she found her feet on solid ground, nearly losing her balance.
Looking up, she realized she had returned to her familiar world, with sparse buildings on the outskirts of Tonglin City, and a distant old factory loomed ominously under the night sky.
She was drenched in cold sweat, and the timer on her mobile phone started playing its alarm tune.
The song played on, having reached the fifth lyric. The voice echoed through the desolate night, sounding somewhat eerie.
Sweat filled Kui Xin’s palms as she turned off the alarm, shivering.
Time truly began to flow…
