Chapter 175 - 174: Suspended Death Sentence

Chapter 175: Chapter 174: Suspended Death Sentence

Li Qing’s heart sank.

If his theory was true, it meant a group of players was systematically and deliberately trying to destroy the Inspection Bureau.

And defeating the elite warriors the Bureau was most proud of was, without a doubt, the most effective and direct method.

Moreover, when they first entered the forest, they had found a corpse with a parasitic eye. Therefore, the players targeting the Inspectors most likely belonged to the Star Association.

’It’s chaos. Complete chaos...’

’What in the world is the Star Association trying to do? Do they really have to plunge the world into chaos?!’

Li Qing’s expression was incredibly grim.

"Haven’t you chosen yet?" Feng Ling said anxiously. "Hurry up! I can barely hold it down!"

The monster’s back was like a ticking time bomb, ready to detonate at any moment.

Li Qing said hesitantly, "...The Undead Spider and Black Goat have the highest Pollution Values."

Feng Ling urged, "I can’t see! You choose the Cards for her!"

Li Qing took a deep breath and grabbed the monster’s left hand. He selected the Undead Spider and Black Goat from the available Cards, forcing its hand to complete the action.

The moment the two Cards were set, the smiley face on the table spoke:

"Ooh, those are two excellent Cards. Are you sure you want to proceed with the draw? Perhaps you’d like to reconsider?"

[Confirm Draw]

[Choose Again]

Gripping the monster’s hand, Li Qing used its finger to tap [Confirm Draw].

The slots holding the Cards flashed with white light.

The white light vanished. A Card was still in one slot, while the other was completely empty.

The system had taken the Black Goat.

A message appeared on the virtual screen:

[Current Pollution Value: 48%.]

The monster’s struggles lessened, and the burning-hot bones and flesh on its back began to cool.

Perhaps it was no longer right to call it a monster, but to call her by her name: Ye Zheng.

"Did it work?" Feng Ling asked uncertainly. "Why doesn’t she look any different?"

Li Qing silently watched the humanoid Pollution Body pinned down by Feng Ling. He felt no sense of relief.

Ye Zheng’s Pollution Value was simply too high.

Before they removed the Black Goat Card, her Pollution Value had already reached a staggering 63%.

That was a lethally dangerous level—tantamount to a death sentence.

In other words, even if Feng Ling didn’t kill Ye Zheng, she would have died from genetic collapse before long—within half a month at most.

A value of 48% was like a stay of execution; the only difference was that it delayed the inevitable tragedy.

"Her Pollution Value is too high. Removing just one Card has a limited effect," Li Qing explained slowly. "Unless we can lower her Pollution Value to below 30%, the remaining Cards will eventually fuse with every cell in her body."

Feng Ling frowned. After a few seconds of silence, she asked Li Qing, "To get it below 30%, how many more Cards do we have to draw?"

"At least two more draws," Li Qing replied. "The main Card is fixed. As for the rest, ordered by their Pollution Value from high to low: the Undead Spider is 13%, the Hyena is 8%, the two moth Cards are also high at 7% each, and the rest are the Squirrel at 4%, the Heavenly Horse at 2%, and the Knight at 1%."

Li Qing sighed and continued, "Another 6% of her Pollution Value comes from an unknown Card. It’s probably one related to a Tiger Beast, but it has already fused with her body, so we can’t extract its information. So... if we’re going to save her, we have to find the next Divine Statue immediately. Once these other Cards fuse with her body, we won’t be able to extract them for a draw, even if we find a Divine Statue."

Feng Ling understood.

Ye Zheng’s body was like a washing machine. The Cards were plastic bags filled with different colored dyes. As the machine churned, any bag that broke would release its dye, contaminating the entire load of water.

And the spin speed of this washing machine was determined by her Pollution Value.

Clearly, 48% was too high for Ye Zheng to be considered safe.

Li Qing had said they needed at least two more draws, which meant entering two different Mazes. The risks involved went without saying.

Feng Ling fell into silence.

’How could it be this difficult...?’

—The majestic Blazing Angel, the holy Heavenly Horse, and the valiant, fearless Knight.

Even though she had never seen Ye Zheng fight, she could tell from those three Cards that they formed a set with perfect synergy.

Su Yuqing had said that the key to Cards wasn’t quantity, but combination. He probably said that because he had witnessed Ye Zheng’s power firsthand.

And yet, such a perfect set of Cards... undone by a single, tiny Squirrel...

Feng Ling closed her eyes, forcibly pushing down the loathing that churned within her.

Li Qing tried to reason with her. "I know you want to save her, but if the outcome is truly irreversible, it would be better to end her suffering now. Let her go, Feng Ling. You can’t keep a monster with a 48% Pollution Value with you. Not only will it put you in danger, it will endanger all of humanity."

Feng Ling slowly opened her eyes and looked down at Ye Zheng, who was bound tightly by her tentacles.

’It was a sad, strange thing. Nearly every part of the body had mutated, except for the left hand...’

’...The left hand, the one that had worn a ring, still looked perfectly human.’

Though the ring itself was long gone, a faint indentation remained on her ring finger.

’How strange.’

’If it were just any Inspector before me, I might have acted already. But the moment I thought about this Inspector being missed, longed for, and loved by someone else... why did my heart soften?’

’It was as if killing Ye Zheng now would be like killing two people at once.’

Feng Ling hesitated.

Huangfu Miaomiao looked from Li Qing to Feng Ling. When neither of them spoke, she grew anxious but couldn’t think of a good solution.

Finally, Huangfu Miaomiao burst out in a somewhat naive tone, "So... what about perfume? Would that work?"

Li Qing shook his head. "It’s no use. Genetic pollution is occurring inside her constantly. Unless her Pollution Value drops below 30%, nothing can save her."

Huangfu Miaomiao retorted defiantly, "Feng Ling’s Pollution Value was once 29%, which is pretty much 30%! And my perfume always worked on her!"

Feng Ling: "..."

’It wasn’t really the perfume that worked. To be precise, I just developed a conditioned reflex back then.’

’The moment I smelled the perfume, my brain would snap to attention, checking if I was having an emotional outburst, and I’d subconsciously suppress it.’

Li Qing frowned. "Feng Ling is different."

’Feng Ling’s case is too unique. Her Pollution Value isn’t a valid reference point!’

"Wait a minute..." Feng Ling raised a hand to her forehead. "Let me get this straight..."

She asked Huangfu Miaomiao, "Little Skeleton, you told me before that there’s a risk of losing control once your Pollution Value goes over 20%, right?"

"Right," Huangfu Miaomiao nodded.

"But the figure the Inspection Bureau gave me was 22%. So, is it possible..." Feng Ling looked at Li Qing. "...that we humans have a slightly higher tolerance for a Card’s Pollution Value than Alien Species do?"

As Feng Ling spoke, her breathing slowed without her realizing it. Her gaze drifted down to the struggling Pollution Body. "Maybe... she doesn’t have to die."