Chapter 41: Inspection

After exchanging a few more words, the young man left their car.

“I’ve just discovered something. It seems like Westriver was the last province to have begun broadcasting those public announcements. It was also the last province to have implemented a curfew. They’re located at the base of Daofather Zhang’s foothold after all…”

After all, he could see that there was a large cloud of ominous Yin energy hovering over the heart of the city, just like a lid over a cauldron!

How much resources and manpower did the government have to invest in order to keep things sufficiently under wraps so that their citizens would remain oblivious and could continue leading a normal life?

“Hmm? Why do you look so puzzled?”

The traffic was finally flowing once more. Thirty minutes later, the tollbooth was finally in sight. Just then, Qin Ye’s eyes shifted and he muttered in a low voice, “Later, I want you to remain calm. Let me do the talking.”

Wang Chenghao gasped, “Is it... triggered by the people from Westriver?”

“I don’t know.” Qin Ye leaned back in his seat, “If anything comes up later, be ready to run at any moment.”

Qin Ye rolled his eyes, “What’s the link between having an unwavering spirit and making a tactical retreat?”

Are you telling me to maintain an unwavering appearance while running as fast as I can?

Bloody hell… even though everything sounds logical and prim and proper, I still can’t help but feel as though something’s wrong with this suggestion… Is this just an illusion of the mind?

The military.

It looked just like the mouth of a giant beast that swallowed up vehicle after vehicle. The huge toll booth appeared incredibly gloomy and still. The black barrels of guns encampments were followed by three sets of barriers. Nobody passing through the toll booth dared to make a scene at all.

Additionally, the toll booths which used to be largely manned by female employees were now instead replaced by men in black suits wearing stern expressions on their faces. They even wore on their chests a triangle badge with the design of an eye in the center. That said, Qin Ye refrained from letting his gaze linger on these badges for too long.

“Uncle, what’s going on?” Wang Chenghao wound down his window and asked the man in the booth.

“Yes. What’s the matter?”

Wang Chenghao shrank back to his seat in frustration and made his way to the right. It was only then that he realized all the cars in the first lane were cars from other provinces!

Those who passed by the dark, gloomy tent were all surrounded by armed policemen. However, there wasn’t a single policeman manning this lane at all.

“Haa…” Qin Ye drew a deep breath. The country was truly mobilizing its resources… As long as a sovereign nation put its mind to it, there was simply nothing that was out of its reach.

Garrisoned units were stationed every three to five paces apart within the tents, and each time the tent opened up, only one car would be allowed to pass!

After several seconds of introductions, the female voice continued, “... In light of the large-scale military exercise taking place in the City of Salvation, the City of Salvation has raised its security alert level to ‘orange’. All incoming and outgoing vehicles and personnel must be thoroughly inspected. All who refuse to cooperate shall be turned away. All who violate the rules shall suffer the consequences of their actions. Thank you once again for your cooperation…”

A man in a black suit was already waiting for them outside of their car. He nodded at them, and walked towards a small makeshift tent nearby.

The old man stared straight into their eyes, almost as though his gaze were staring straight through their souls. Seconds later, he began his routine line of questions, “What business do you have in the City of Salvation?”

Concise and straightforward.

As soon as the man spoke, Qin Ye’s fists immediately tightened underneath the table.

The officer conducting routine investigations is actually a cultivator!

His abilities weren’t even at the level of an Operative-class Emissary of Hell. Yet, the fact that a cultivator was deployed in such a routine investigation spoke volumes about the depths of the military might deployed within the City of Salvation.

“What school? It’s not even time for matriculation yet.”

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“Deputy Attorney General Zhang Baoguo?” The old man raised his eyebrow in surprise and gazed at them for several more moments, “Alright.”

There was silence in the room for a moment.

The duo did as they were told.

Yin energy detector!

The government’s research and development has already advanced so much?

Fortunately, the simple instrument before him was completely ineffective against him.

It was almost as though there was a wisp of black cloud gathered within the otherwise transparent crystal ball.

Qin Ye led the way and left. As soon as they departed, the old man immediately turned around and began typing on his computer. In no time, the image of Wang Chenghao’s vehicle showed up on the screen for his inspection along all six degrees of freedom. Wang Chenghao and Qin Ye’s headshots also appeared on the screen as well.

“Passengers: 2.”

“Yin energy readings: 52 Yin. Energy readings below 100 indicates that they might recently have been exposed to supernatural elements. Containable levels. Ordinary humans.”

“That’s far too strict.” Back in the car, Wang Chenghao wiped the sweat from his forehead as he exclaimed. He knew full well that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Yet, under the incredibly oppressive tense atmosphere in the room earlier, he almost caved and spilled everything, including the size of his crown jewels.

Qin Ye remained silent all this while, gazing meaningfully out the window as the bright lights in the tent passed him by. After driving on for approximately one kilometer, the car finally passed through the other end of the tent, and everything around them was bright and clear once more.

The sullen weather slowly faded, revealing a beautiful display on the canvass of nature. The welcome sight eased their tensed spirits and edgy hearts. It gave them a sense of boundlessness, almost as though the narrow path they had been on had just cleared up and widened into a massive road.

Wang Chenghao wasn’t very old, and he hadn’t had many opportunities to travel far and wide. It was for this reason that he began to glance about at the surrounding scenery with great interest. His mood had become far more relaxed than before as well, “It’s much more relaxed on the outside than it was on the road in. They don’t seem too strict here…”

Wang Chenghao quickly took a glance and suddenly noticed that rows of huge, newly erected electronic screens lined the sides of the national highway and extended well into the heart of the city. The screens continued to toggle between various images.

As the windows rolled down, a female voice could be heard reading out a series of public announcements, “Dear friends, welcome to the City of Salvation. Please note that the City of Salvation is presently being used as the base of operations of a level five national military exercise. What you’re seeing now is the military garrison area of the City of Salvation. Therefore, we urge you to be mindful of the following points during your stay here.”

“Secondly, please note that a curfew is in place after 6.30 p.m. in order to facilitate the military exercise. All non-military personnel are reminded not to leave your homes or places of residence after 6.30 p.m. You may continue to enjoy the sights and sounds around the city in the day.”

“Otherwise, we sincerely wish you a pleasant stay with us.”