Chapter 181: The Purpose of Poisoning, the White-Robed Youth

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: The Purpose of Poisoning, the White-Robed Youth

Huo An found this point quite strange as well. They could have obviously used existing poisons to directly cause mass animal casualties. Why go to the extra trouble of developing a toxin that left its victims half-dead?

"Could it be that the poisoner has another motive?"

If there really was a motive, they could only think of Liang He. After all, what the Rebel Army cared about the most right now was her existence.

"If they wanted to infuriate Liang He and force her to walk right into a trap, wouldn’t it be better to directly poison the animals to death, or even Xuan Jiao and the others?" Xu Yi asked.

Moreover, eliminating an SSS-level Beastman in the process would clearly be more advantageous for the Rebel Army. But they hadn’t done so. What, then, was the reason?

"I wonder if there are any new developments on Liang He’s side."

The Iron-eating Beast was the only animal that hadn’t been sent for centralized treatment. If it weren’t for Liang He’s special status, given his identity, it would be impossible for him to be left alone. In fact, the majority of their medical resources should have been concentrated on Xuan Jiao.

"I want to head back to Liang He’s place and give Xuan Jiao a checkup while I’m at it," Xu Yi said. If something really happened and Blue Star mistakenly believed they had neglected Xuan Jiao’s life, the misunderstanding—and the ensuing trouble—would be massive.

"Alright, I’ll send someone to escort you."

Huo An fully agreed with Xu Yi’s request. Besides, he really needed to know Xuan Jiao’s physical condition so he wouldn’t be caught completely ignorant when his superiors asked. Otherwise, it would be a dereliction of his duty as the district chief.

Unaware that Xu Yi was returning to check on Xuan Jiao, the first thing Liang He did upon waking up was examine the Iron-eating Beast beside her.

"Liang He, how is Xuan Jiao?"

Seeing her stir, Hoder—who had also been keeping watch in the animal dormitory—immediately stepped forward and asked with concern.

"About the same as yesterday."

She had no idea if yesterday’s pill had worked, or to what extent. In any case, Liang He carefully inspected Xuan Jiao. His breathing was steady, and his body showed no abnormalities, such as vomiting or discomfort. It seemed his condition hadn’t worsened.

"It’s great that he hasn’t worsened. Don’t worry too much." Hoder had been keeping in touch with Huo An’s side and heard that the ordinary comatose animals had all grown somewhat more severe than before. Perhaps because Xuan Jiao was an SSS-level Beastman with an inherently robust physique, the severity of his poisoning was different.

"Mhm." Liang He appreciated his comfort, but she refused to let her guard down.

Estimating the time, Hello Poison and Chou the Pharmacist should have both received the samples by now. Originally, Liang He had only planned to send one to Hello Poison, but to make it easier for Chou the Pharmacist to research an antidote, she sent him a copy as well. After all, developing an antidote required studying the poison itself, along with conducting experiments to confirm its efficacy before use.

"I’m going to wash up. Please keep an eye on Jiao Jiao for me."

Liang He went to the bathroom. After freshening up, she reached out to Hello Poison and Chou the Pharmacist. Once she confirmed that they had received the samples and begun their respective research, she finally felt a little relieved. Now, all she could do was wait for the results.

"Little He, are you in there?"

Perhaps because Liang He had been in the bathroom for a while, Hoder felt uneasy and asked Silver Feather to check on her.

"Yes, I’ll be right out," Liang He answered, then walked out of the bathroom. "You’re all up?"

She thought only she and Hoder had woken up early. She hadn’t expected that even Silver Shuttle wouldn’t sleep in today.

"Little Shuozi and I are going to the Main Service Area to bring back today’s meals, so you don’t need to worry about it."

Since Silver Feather had promised to help, she couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. Since Liang He felt bad about bossing her around, Silver Feather took the initiative to find tasks to do. Running errands for their three daily meals alongside Silver Shuttle was something she could easily handle.

"Alright, thank you for your hard work."

Liang He didn’t refuse their kindness. Besides, while she and Hoder could make do, she couldn’t let Silver Shuttle and Silver Feather suffer through drinking awful nutrient solutions with them—even though they had lived like that for many years.

Compared to the tense atmosphere surrounding Huo An and the others—who were working day and night to deal with the aftermath of the animal poisonings—the Rebel Army was evidently delighted by the chaos they had orchestrated upon receiving the news.

"Lord Black Wizard, your method is truly excellent. If we had known you had this ultimate weapon, we wouldn’t have had to worry."

Ever since the failed raid on Greenfield Star, General Nick had harbored deep dissatisfaction toward the Black Wizard for a long time, naturally treating him with a sour face. But now, his face was wreathed in smiles, having restored his former respect for the Black Wizard. However, his eyes occasionally darted toward the white-robed boy beside him.

"Heh."

The Black Wizard had long been accustomed to the people around him kissing up to him when he was successful and kicking him when he was down. Although he scoffed at it, he still quite enjoyed seeing a high-ranking official bow their head.

"With Number Two here, no one can stop my and the leader’s grand cause!"

Number Two was the white-robed boy’s codename; he had no real name.

"Is Number Two the one who originally helped you develop the Fierce Beast virus?"

General Nick was actually very curious about Number Two, who had seemingly appeared out of thin air. However, the leader seemed to have known about his existence for a long time, so it wasn’t his place to ask too many questions. Still, just thinking about the panic they had inflicted on the reserve allowed General Nick to finally vent his frustrations.

"Don’t ask what you shouldn’t."

General Nick’s question had clearly touched the Black Wizard’s bottom line. He cast a displeased sidelong glance at the general.

"Understood, understood."

Sensing the Black Wizard’s warning glare, General Nick lowered his eyes in dissatisfaction, deeply burying the malice in his gaze while keeping a smile on his lips.

"However, there is one thing I’m curious about. Why didn’t you make the poison stronger? Or simply destroy the entirety of Sky Shining Star?"

The doubts shared by Huo An and the others were the exact same questions General Nick had. This operation had been directly ordered by the Rebel Army’s leader. Presumably, their successive failures had made him somewhat dissatisfied with General Nick as well.

"Idiot! If we outright killed them all, how would you capture Liang He? And how would I use those Beastmen and animals as test subjects?!"

The value of the dead versus the living was worlds apart!

By poisoning the water source, if ordinary animals died, so be it. But if all the Evolutionary Beastmen were poisoned to death, he would lose his future test subjects, and the Black Wizard would be furious. After all, his goal was not merely to be a high-ranking member of the Rebel Army!

"Yes, yes, yes. I was being narrow-minded."

The Black Wizard’s unscrupulous verbal abuse made the darkness in General Nick’s eyes grow deeper. However, with the leader backing the Black Wizard now, there was nothing he could do.

"Nick, you have to understand—if we really pushed Huo An and the others to the brink, the ones in a panic right now wouldn’t be Sky Shining Star, but our Rebel Army."

In truth, compared to the excuse he just gave, the Black Wizard was secretly much more afraid that directly poisoning a massive number of animals—or even Beastmen—to death would trigger a fierce counterattack from the Federation. At that point, Huo An and his team wouldn’t need to waste time and effort researching an antidote. They would only need to secure the water sources and then launch a thunderous counterstrike against the Rebel Army to avenge the poisoned beasts.

"Lord Black Wizard, you truly are the one thinking far ahead."

Although General Nick was highly dissatisfied with the Black Wizard and even looked down on him, he did have to admit that he needed to learn a thing or two from him when it came to scheming and reading people’s minds.

"But are we just going to do nothing now and wait for them to develop an antidote?"