Chapter 69: Self-Inflicted

Xiao Fen’s intention was to indicate to the Trialist beside the young councilor that he had recognized the other party, and that they were both Trialists, so don’t continue to play tricks.

However, as soon as his words fell, the councilor’s face suddenly changed greatly, and he repeatedly said, “It’s not me, it’s not me.”

When Sabova and Ilyenko heard Nusyanov’s irrelevant answer, their faces also changed, without doing too much action, a group of soldiers wearing navy blue uniforms had already surrounded the scene.

Xiao Fen also realized that this councilor probably had a problem, and asked with a sneer, “If it’s not you, then who else could it be?”

“Palyuka, he is the Infected one, I haven’t been infected yet, really, I haven’t been infected, you can check me, my body hasn’t shown moldy changes yet.”

Xiao Fen suddenly raised his head, looked at the councilor’s surrounded subordinates, and asked loudly, “Where is Palyuka?”

Those subordinates looked at each other in dismay; not a single one knew where this so-called Palyuka actually was. As for that Trialist, he looked even more bewildered.

Sabova suddenly shouted: “I know who Palyuka is. Comrade Ilyenko, start the full city lockdown. We must find that guy before the situation gets any worse. I only hope his infection hasn’t officially started yet.”

Xiao Fen gave a bitter smile and said: “No, I’m afraid the infection has already begun.”

Then, he casually flung the young councilman, who was limp with fright, to one side. He opened his right hand, and several white moldy flagella slowly extended from his fingers.

That was the mold on Nusyanov’s wrist; although there wasn’t much, it was enough to prove that he was infected.

Ilyenko’s expression also changed drastically. He turned his head and signaled the soldiers: “Clear an open space. No one is allowed to enter. Take them inside. Also, notify Major Karboka to seal all exits of 33rd Komsomolsk. If anything abnormal is found, kill on sight.”

Sabova likewise ordered the security team waiting for her outside the prison: “15 minutes. I want Palyuka’s photo to appear in every important location in the city. We must stop the situation from deteriorating further.”

The prison scene immediately became chaotic. The soldiers resolutely carried out their orders, driving the councilman’s subordinates into a corner of the prison’s remaining wall, while the security team members rushed toward their respective vehicles.

Just at that moment, those dejected subordinates suddenly became restless. One by one, they charged at the surrounding soldiers. This sudden impact caught the guards off guard, and for a moment, they didn’t know how to respond.

Just then, the bang of a pistol rang out in the center of the grounds. Everyone froze for a moment, only to realize that Ilyenko had already pulled the trigger. One of the councilman’s subordinates at the very front made a gurgling sound in his throat and slowly fell to the ground.

“Take one more step, and you will be killed on the spot.”

The bearded commander ordered coldly, then turned his head to look at Xiao Fen and asked: “Are you sure you can smell the scent of those guys?”

A single gunshot was only a brief interruption.

After a slight pause, the councilman’s subordinates seemed to be stimulated by something and launched a new round of charges. However, this time, what they faced was no longer passive defense.

The guard soldiers mechanically raised their automatic rifles and opened fire on every guy attempting to cross the line.

In a matter of seconds, the dozen or so subordinates brought by the councilman were all lying in pools of blood.

At this moment, the most conspicuous figure in the field was not those dead subordinates, but a guy wearing sunglasses.

He stood at the very back and hadn’t charged forward. Everything happening before his eyes seemed impossible for him to bear.

A soldier turned his head to glance at Ilyenko. The indifferent commander turned his head away, as if nothing had happened before him.

Having received the signal, the soldier raised his rifle again and aimed at the surviving guy.

Having already killed so many people, one more or one less didn’t make a difference. In fact, leaving a living witness would be very troublesome.

The only one who needed to survive was the already infected councilman.

“You can’t do this, you can’t kill me! Do you know who I am?”

That survivor suddenly roared, pointing his finger at Xiao Fen as if he wanted to say something more, but a crisp gunshot cut off his shout. A large amount of blood suddenly spurted from his chest.

The survivor froze for a moment, looked down at his wound, then slowly raised his head to look at Xiao Fen. He mouthed a word without making a sound, then just fell to the ground and died.

“Save me.”

This was the last silent plea of that Native with special abilities.

Xiao Fen watched all this coldly. The other side had initiated the attack from the start, yet now, as he was dying, he hoped Xiao Fen would provide aid. This kind of thinking and action, never considering the consequences, acting only according to one’s own wishes, and shifting all responsibility onto others, truly made Xiao Fen feel disgusted.

“Let’s go. The situation here is under control. There are more important things to do over there. Palin, regarding finding the pollution source, do you have any opinions?”

Xiao Fen thought for a moment and said: “Let’s stick to the original route. Take me to see those places where abnormalities occurred first. I must know what happened there before I can make a rough judgment about where these pollution sources actually are.”

Sabova nodded and said: “Same as what I thought. Alright, let’s go now.”

As she spoke, Sabova took the backpack handed to her by her subordinate, rummaged through it a few times, tossed the handgun to Ilyenko, then turned her head to ask Xiao Fen: “How many daggers do you need?”

Xiao Fen replied: “At least six. Apart from the daggers, leave everything else to me.”

Sabova nodded, threw all the extra daggers onto the ground, tossed the entire backpack to Xiao Fen, turned her head and asked Ilyenko: “Are you still coming with us? Comrade Ilyenko, or will you wait here for new news?”

“Someone must be responsible for resolving things at the City Council. I can help you better from here. Move quickly, Comrade Sabova. Once the pollution source splits or spreads, our city could fall into a true doomsday at any moment.”

“Don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for, and that’s what I’m working for. Leave the internal security work of the city to me.”

Xiao Fen checked his backpack; sure enough, everything from before was still there, including the clothes he had changed out of after entering this world. He thought for a moment, picked out a dagger, and handed it to Sabova, saying: “Use this for self-defense. Those guys might be harder to deal with than we imagined.”

Sabova glanced at the dagger, which looked unchanged and incredibly fierce, whistled, and said: “Your backpack is truly magical; it actually couldn’t even be pierced by a dagger like this.”

The corner of Xiao Fen’s mouth twitched slightly; he really couldn’t explain this kind of magic.

This was the magic unique to the World Tree.