Chapter 98 - 96: Blood Salt

Chapter 98: Chapter 96: Blood Salt

Lin Biyun had just finished a busy day when she saw Red Heart 7 again.

’If I’m not mistaken, it definitely hasn’t been more than twenty hours since we last parted.’

"Did you finish reading all the files in the vault?"

If it had been anyone else, Lin Biyun wouldn’t have even asked. Other players certainly wouldn’t read through every single file; they would only pick out what interested them. But Red Heart 7 was different. The guy had such an intense thirst for knowledge, his head was a whirlwind of questions. It would be more shocking if he entered the vault and *didn’t* read everything cover to cover.

"I gave them a quick read-through. It was fairly productive."

"Do you know Everick?"

After reading the Prime Minister’s record, Chen Qi still wasn’t ready to give up. He went through all the files again, trying to find other hidden secrets. Unfortunately, it was pure wishful thinking; there were no coded messages hidden in the other documents. Frustrated, Chen Qi had no choice but to end his trip to the vault. He had originally planned to stay in the Royal Capital for a few more days, but now, he just wasn’t in the mood. The reason he sought out Lin Biyun again was to handle the handover for some follow-up matters. Even if he left headquarters, he couldn’t escape his work.

...

"Everick?"

"He’s the captain of the Second Squad. You want to see him?"

Lin Biyun gave Chen Qi a strange look, wondering why he had suddenly brought up Everick’s name.

"I just saw the name while looking through the files and was curious, that’s all."

"I have no plans to transfer to another squad."

Chen Qi was telling the truth. He had just signed a non-aggression pact and hadn’t yet figured out how to "collect the debt" from Everick. He could only put the grudge on hold for now. At least his target was identified; he no longer had to search for a needle in a haystack.

"Hmph. That guy is a notoriously sly and selfish old fox."

"He’s nothing like our friendly squad."

Lin Biyun had a very poor impression of the Second Squad, especially after the game entered its current stage, when they had really shown their true colors.

"You’ve come at a good time. There’s a matter I need to hand over to you. It’ll let you get familiar with the work ahead of time."

"Although the apprentices from the outside haven’t arrived in large numbers yet, it’s not like there aren’t any hiding within the Kingdom."

"I’ve been responsible for the trouble they’ve caused so far. Now, it’s your turn."

Lin Biyun handed Chen Qi a file. A quick glance told him the report was from the Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency.

"Our most important mission as Order Keepers is to maintain the Kingdom’s stability, so naturally, we deal with the Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency."

"In fact, to a certain extent, they work for us half the time."

"As soon as they discover any intelligence that might involve the Inner World, they hand it over to us to handle."

"This case probably isn’t that simple. The culprit’s methods are too covert; they’ve managed to stay hidden for so long."

Lin Biyun blushed slightly. If one were to assign blame, it was clearly her who had been derelict in her duty. Fortunately, they were players. As long as they didn’t cause a massive public outcry, a minor slip-up at work wasn’t a big deal.

...

"Blood Salt?"

Chen Qi began to read the report carefully. The term had successfully piqued his interest.

"Blood Salt is a drug that suddenly appeared a year ago."

"After taking it, ordinary people can remain lucid in their dreams and control them at will."

"According to users, in their dreams, their Heart’s Desire can be fulfilled; they can do whatever they want. Things they can’t get in reality, they can have just by thinking of them in a dream."

"If that were all, it would be no different from other controlled brain-development drugs, perhaps just a black market drug smuggled into the Lanyu Kingdom."

"But with increased use, users experience significant memory loss. After three months, their brains even show signs of atrophy. And after six months, users are basically reduced to a vegetative state, completely unable to care for themselves."

"The Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency only discovered the anomaly because the number of mentally abnormal patients admitted to welfare homes was far higher than in previous years."

"There have been 37 deaths so far. According to medical autopsies, the users’ brain cells have suffered massive, irreversible death."

"It is predicted that within a year, all users will die from mass brain cell decay."

"The strange thing is, no abnormal chemical compounds were found in their bodies, which is why the case was reported to the [Special Investigation Department]."

The public identity of the Order Keepers within the Kingdom’s government was as members of the [Special Investigation Department], responsible for handling bizarre and unusual cases. Because their power was so immense and virtually unchecked—even allowing them to mobilize the Kingdom’s various law enforcement agencies—they were also known in the Dark Web World as the Kingdom’s Executors. Therefore, Taruno’s initial understanding of the title "Executor" was clearly mistaken. Not all players could command the Kingdom’s power; only the Order Keepers could. Of course, Chen Qi now possessed this qualification.

...

’So the transactions aren’t made with money?’

’One hundred milliliters of fresh blood in exchange for one pill?’

’No wonder it’s so covert!’

The Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency’s control over the Lanyu Kingdom was all-pervasive. Because of the King’s Game, the Lanyu Kingdom had long since strictly prohibited the import of any drugs that could affect the human brain. Even the powerful gangs that ruled the Underworld dared not flagrantly violate this ban.

The spread of "Blood Salt" didn’t originate with the gangs who committed every imaginable evil. On the contrary, they were its largest customer base and its biggest victims. Whether due to their impoverished lives or their violent experiences, gang members were more susceptible to becoming addicted to pleasant dreams.

According to the Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency’s investigation, the source of Blood Salt was the Comir Biopharmaceutical Company, a local branch of a multinational corporation in the Lanyu Kingdom. However, their stated business did not involve psychoactive drugs. They were merely a blood products company that processed human blood to produce various immunoglobulins and prothrombin complexes. Of course, that was just what such companies could publicly advertise. If that were all, these types of pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t be explicitly banned by major powers, surviving only in middle-tier nations. As for smaller countries, they were, of course, the blood banks for these biopharmaceutical companies. Even the middle-tier nations prohibited them from conducting blood trade within their borders. Thus, these Blood Ore Companies could only target smaller countries.

Tracing its origins, the company had only entered the Lanyu Kingdom three years ago, having received special approval from the late Prime Minister, Cloze Jic. But after arriving in the Lanyu Kingdom, their business struggled. There simply weren’t that many people in the Lanyu Kingdom poor enough to sell their blood, and the general public was highly resistant to their business. However, a year ago, this difficult situation was reversed. Comir’s "blood collection" business exploded, increasing several thousandfold. The root cause was their launch of a health supplement that claimed to strengthen the body and boost immunity, which they bundled with their blood purchasing. That health supplement was "Blood Salt."

...

"This is Blood Salt. I’ve examined it; there’s nothing wrong with it!"

"It’s just a health supplement from another domestic company. Those bastards at Comir didn’t even set up a factory; they just bought it and secretly repackaged it."

Lin Biyun tossed over a red pill. The moment Chen Qi caught it, he smelled the scent of blood.

Alright, so Comir’s "repackaging" consisted of rolling the purchased drugs in blood to dye them red.

A purely manual operation, likely stirred in large batches.

"Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with the blood components?"

"If it’s really just a normal drug, how do the users tell if it’s real or fake?"

Chen Qi tried various methods, even secretly drawing upon his Spirituality, but the pill in his hand showed no abnormalities whatsoever.

’It seems there are no Extraordinary methods at play?’

"I also suspected the blood was the problem at first, but lab analysis showed it’s just ordinary human blood."

"We can’t tell the real from the fake because we haven’t taken it."

"Users claim they have a kind of mystical connection with the drug and know if it’s real the moment they touch it."

"We ran comparative experiments. It’s true!"

Although she hadn’t put much effort into the case due to the recent infighting among the players, Lin Biyun had still done the basic groundwork. Unfortunately, things hadn’t gone as hoped, and she was left completely baffled. She could, of course, move directly against the Comir Company, but as long as she couldn’t pinpoint the true source, it would be a wasted effort. Comir was just a front, plain and simple.

...

"So we have the samples, but we can’t figure out their methods."

"You’ve really handed me a huge mess."

"I can only do my best and hope to find something."

Chen Qi looked resigned on the surface, but he was actually quite intrigued. The more mysterious something was, the more it piqued his interest. Blood Salt fit that description perfectly.

’Anyway, for a player, just having the right attitude is enough. As for the final result, is that really important?’

’First, I need to make sure I live until Judgment Day.’

"Just do what you think is best. The harm from this case is still controllable for now; it won’t cause too much trouble."

"The main thing is for you to get familiar with how we Order Keepers operate, to know how to mobilize the Kingdom’s various departments to cooperate."

"The real test, the big trouble, will be those guys who are about to arrive."

Lin Biyun didn’t actually think Chen Qi could solve this case either; she was just giving him something to practice on. In any case, the ones dying the most right now were gang members, which, if anything, helped increase the Kingdom’s stability. Who knows how many people were secretly rejoicing that those thugs were turning into vegetables?

Chen Qi chatted idly with Lin Biyun for a while longer before preparing to take his leave. This visit was also his farewell. Lin Biyun hadn’t expected this guy, Red Heart 7, to up and leave just like that without staying at headquarters for a few more days. But since he insisted he needed to start work immediately, she couldn’t say much. The Comir Company in the Blood Salt Case was located on the Kingdom’s coast, a full 700 kilometers from the Royal Capital. Chen Qi couldn’t possibly direct things remotely from the capital.

...

However, just as Chen Qi was about to leave, Lin Biyun suddenly remembered something. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up.

"Did you happen to pick up a Compass in the Chaotic City?"

"Someone asked me to inquire about it. If you have it, he’d like you to return it to its rightful owner."

For some reason, after saying this, Lin Biyun felt a sense of unease in her heart, which was truly strange.

"Who’s that person?"

Chen Qi turned back, his expression casual.

"I can only tell you that he’s in the First Squad. I can’t say more."

"That person is very strange. I feel like he’s hiding a lot. You’d best not get into a conflict with him."

Clearly, Lin Biyun was extremely wary of that person, perhaps even a little afraid.

"Oh? If I said I never saw it, I doubt he’d believe me."

"If he’s really sincere, he can come find me in Talin City himself!"

Chen Qi waved his hand and then vanished from Lin Biyun’s sight.

After Chen Qi had gone, Lin Biyun’s anxious heart finally settled.

A look of shame and anger crossed her face as she finally realized the source of that strange feeling.

The moment Red Heart 7 had looked at her after she asked the question, fear had risen in her heart.

’How is that possible? How could that guy be stronger than me?’

’I’m just a hair’s breadth away from advancing to LV3.’

’Give me another month—no, half a month at most—and I’ll succeed.’

’When that time comes, I’ll definitely win back my pride.’