Class A Mission, Blood Issues

Wen Taiquan looked at Li Qing, his expression grave as he said, "The Refugee Camp outside the South Gate just erupted in a riot."

"At least two hundred people are dead, all refugees who fled here."

Hearing this, a flash of surprise appeared in Li Qing's eyes. "How could this happen?"

"Because there's no food," Wen Taiquan sighed slightly.

"No food? How is that possible? I heard the Government Office was serving porridge."

Wen Taiquan shook his head slightly, a strange look appearing on his face.

"One meal a day, thin and watery—that's hardly enough to save lives."

"The refugee camp was established just to let them die, anyway."

Li Qing was stunned upon hearing this. "What?"

Wen Taiquan shook his head and said, "The waters here run very deep."

"There are more and more refugees outside now, the number has even reached tens of thousands."

"They can't be saved."

Hearing this, Li Qing felt a chill from head to toe, his eyes revealing a complex, indescribable emotion.

"Are they really treating human lives like grass?"

Wen Taiquan patted Li Qing on the shoulder. "Look at it this way: this isn't something we can manage."

"The Great Tang Dynasty has never been short of people."

"These refugees only disrupt the stability of other cities, and the places they come from are scorched earth for hundreds of miles."

"It will take at least three or four years before those lands can recover."

"I heard it might have been caused by some kind of Anomaly."

"We also have to guard against such Anomalies sneaking into the city among them."

Li Qing heard this and shook his head slightly.

"When the state prospers, the people suffer; when the state perishes, the people suffer."

It seemed to be the same everywhere. He couldn't help but think of his former self as a corporate slave, and these ten years of life as a servant—it was all the same.

Hearing Li Qing's words, Wen Taiquan's eyes lit up. "I didn't expect you to have such a talent for literature."

Li Qing shrugged. "It's nothing special."

He felt slightly uncomfortable; after all, he was a man from modern civilization.

Seeing such inhumane things in this ancient era, he felt a sense of empathy for his own kind.

Suddenly, a man walked into the Mission Hall, wearing a suit of unique armor.

He said in a booming voice, "I need three people to go to the Mass Grave to supervise the gravediggers."

"Since it will last for a full day and the situation is quite special—there may be two or three mutated corpses—this mission is classified as Grade A, with 10 merit points per person."

Wen Taiquan jumped up immediately. "I'm in! We have two here."

As he spoke, he grabbed Li Qing and rushed in front of everyone else to reach the armored man.

The man looked to be in his forties or fifties, with a face full of thick beard and an aura of restrained vigor.

Looking at Wen Taiquan, he couldn't help but smile. "Wen Taiquan, you fellow are always so fast. You rush over the moment you smell a bit of profit."

At this moment, the others finally reacted.

They looked at Wen Taiquan and Li Qing with resentment; their speed had been simply too fast.

Eventually, amidst the agitated crowd, one more person managed to snag the mission.

The three of them followed behind the armored man, received the mission assignment scroll, and under Wen Taiquan's lead, headed toward the Mass Grave.

On the way, Li Qing asked in a low voice, "Is this mission not dangerous? You're so eager, even though it's a Grade A mission."

Wen Taiquan whispered, "This kind of mission is preventive in nature, and the location is quite special."

"The Mass Grave is where those who died unjustly are buried, and the resentment there is extremely heavy."

"Anomalies often appear there, but they are usually of the Ghost variety."

"They basically don't appear during the day, but sometimes they pop up at night."

"The gravediggers have to work until dusk to finish burying the bodies."

"During this process, it's very easy to disturb some Ghosts, and they will come out to stir up trouble."

"Furthermore, some corpses are filled with resentment; if things go wrong, they might undergo a corpse transformation."

"These things aren't too dangerous, but they are mostly just a huge hassle. There are many gravediggers, and if an incident occurs, many people will die, so we need to be careful at all times and protect the lives of the gravediggers."

"That is why it is classified as a Grade A mission."

"But the probability of it happening is very low; for us, it's actually an easy job."

"At the very least, situations where we encounter life-threatening danger will be rare."

"That's why I took it on for you; we can make a tidy profit."

Hearing this, Li Qing smiled. "Many thanks to you. I really have been quite short on merit points lately."

At this moment, the other person executing the mission with them was a middle-aged man with a gloomy complexion.

His name was Ying Taihua, and he looked like a Daoist, dressed in a black Daoist robe.

The three of them soon arrived at the West Gate, and a mile outside lay the Mass Grave.

At this time, there were already some corpse collectors on the road pulling flatbed carts.

These corpse collectors held the lowest-ranking job in the city; only those with a "hard" fate would take on such work.

There were quite a few of them, at least seven or eight.

However, they were legitimate officials, belonging to the Corpse Burial Bureau under the Government Office.

They were specifically responsible for clearing away all kinds of corpses.

The group soon arrived at the Mass Grave, a desolate and barren wilderness.

Looking out, one could only see rolling mountain peaks three miles away.

The ground was uneven and pitted, with many earthen mounds—these were the corpses buried here.

At this moment, the seven or eight corpse collectors had already chosen a plot of land and were digging the soil.

Li Qing watched as they lifted the corpses, which were piled onto the flatbed carts.

It was currently hot weather, and these corpses were already emitting a bloody stench.

Li Qing frowned slightly as he watched these corpse collectors dig pits to bury the bodies.

These corpses were all people in rags, skin and bones, their faces deathly pale.

Their dead-fish eyes stared hollowly at the sky, and there was no longer a shred of life in their bodies.

Li Qing looked into the eyes of these dead, and a trace of fear inexplicably rose in his heart.

He felt as if he saw his future self in these people.

If I am not strong enough, perhaps in the future, I will end up just like them.

Lying here like a dead dog.

He let out a heavy breath, his eyes filled with gravity.

But just as he was thinking, his brow suddenly furrowed.

His gaze fell upon the wounds of these corpses.

He discovered a problem, a very strange problem.

He walked over in a few steps, stood beside the corpses, and examined their wounds.

There was congealed blood there, but this blood was somewhat blackened.

From the moment he saw the blood's essence burst forth until now, at most half an hour had passed.

The blood shouldn't have turned black. Could there be a problem?

A trace of gravity appeared in Li Qing's eyes.

Wen Taiquan, who was nearby, had been watching Li Qing; seeing him standing by the flatbed cart loaded with corpses, he looked surprised and quietly walked over.

"Is something the matter?"

Li Qing silently glanced at Ying Taihua in the distance; the man was monitoring the surroundings and had not noticed him.

He cast a glance at Wen Taiquan, and the two walked to the side.

Li Qing whispered, "How long does it take for a corpse's blood to turn black?"

Hearing this, Wen Taiquan frowned. "At least a full day."