Departure, Kyoto Xingyi Martial Arts Hall

So that was it. Wu Ming thought it was hardly surprising.

The RR Virus existed to promote the evolution of life. These captive animals had been fed too well for too long; they had long lost the ability to survive independently, and their will to live was exceptionally weak.

From the perspective of Gene Evolution, they were undoubtedly failures with no need to survive. The wild animals that ate poorly but possessed an incomparably tenacious will to survive, on the other hand, had far greater potential to evolve.

Having figured that out, Wu Ming relaxed slightly. If they only needed to consider wild animals, the pressure on the country would be far lower.

If they could use their advantage in conventional weapons to kill as many mutated creatures in the wild as possible before September arrived, then when September came, Huaxia's only remaining threat would be the ocean.

Compared to the simultaneous sea and land offensives described in the original work, the situation would be much better by then. Humanity would no longer have to worry about cities in the rear being threatened and could focus solely on withstanding the assault of sea beasts.

"Thank you for informing me. Please investigate the mutated creatures as soon as possible as well."

It was getting late, and Wu Ming was preparing to leave when he suddenly thought of something. "By the way, Mr. Zhao, I have a small problem. Could you help me with it?"

"What is it? Go ahead." Zhao Minghui said calmly, "Your contributions are considerable. The higher-ups will generally agree to any request you have."

Wu Ming did not stand on ceremony. "I'm about to leave for Kyoto, but I have several cold weapons that probably won't pass airport security. Do you have any channels that could help transport them there?"

"You're coming to Kyoto?" Zhao Minghui was taken aback. "What for? And why are you bringing weapons?"

"There's a Xingyi Quan martial arts hall in Kyoto. I'm going there to study for a while and practice my saber skills along the way, to prepare for the future."

Wu Ming explained, "My weapons are custom-made, and it would be hard to find replacements in Kyoto, so I wanted to find a way to ship them together."

"A Xingyi Quan martial arts hall? Wait... you don't mean the Jia Family's, do you?" Zhao Minghui's surprised voice came through the phone.

"Oh? It seems you've heard of it too, Mr. Zhao."

"Of course. Who in Kyoto hasn't heard of the Jia Family?"

Zhao Minghui said, "Old Master Jia joined the military after the founding of the nation. Three generations of his family have served in the army, making them a renowned military family in Kyoto."

"But their true base is the Kyoto Xingyi Martial Arts Hall. That's where the Jia Family teaches its younger generation martial arts. Only after graduating from the Xingyi Martial Arts Hall does the family allow them to enlist."

"Something's off. Why would the Jia Family allow an outsider to study there? Wait..." He suddenly paused. "Is this because of Jia Qinghe's son? Did you trade the special medicine for this opportunity?"

"Jia Qinghe? Isn't it Jia Qingshan?" Wu Ming did not immediately catch on.

"Jia Qinghe is Jia Qingshan's biological younger brother. He's developed his career in the military, and he's Jia Yi's father."

"Oh, Jia Yi is that teenager who was infected with the RR Virus and fell unconscious."

Zhao Minghui revealed the inside story. "Actually, Jia Qinghe already approached the higher-ups over Jia Yi's situation. But the first batch of special medicine has already been distributed, while the second batch is being rushed into production and will still take several days."

"The Jia Family probably couldn't wait any longer, so they were willing to trade this spot for the special medicine."

"I see..." Wu Ming replied instinctively, but his heart was already churning with stormy waves.

Jia Yi... Jia Yi!

A future pillar of Huaxia, a Planetary Level powerhouse, one of Earth's Five Heroes!

So the one infected by the virus and lying unconscious, the one who had the Jia Family frantic with worry, was actually Jia Yi!

He was still a teenager?

So Jia Yi was this young... Wu Ming murmured inwardly. That makes sense. Zhu Huazhi said that Old Master Jia only started a family after the founding of the nation.

By that calculation, Jia Yi's grandfather was born in the 1950s, Jia Qingshan and Jia Qinghe's generation in the 1970s, and Jia Yi would be from the 1990s—just my generation!

Wu Ming had been born in 1997. He estimated that Jia Yi had been born around 1995 at the earliest, so the two of them were not far apart in age.

Thinking that this person from the original work, who would risk his life for the country, was actually the same age as him gave Wu Ming an indescribable feeling.

"Logically speaking, since Jia Yi could survive until after the Grand Nirvana, then whether I save him this time or not, he should be able to survive."

"But nothing is absolute. I've already changed too many things. With such an enormous butterfly effect, if Jia Yi truly doesn't pull through, the loss would be too great."

To Huaxia, Jia Yi was an indispensable fighting force of the future. Besides, Wu Ming had liked this character when reading the novel in his previous life, and he had already promised Jia Qinghe.

With those three reasons combined, he had no reason to give up, whether emotionally or rationally.

Realizing it was getting late, Wu Ming asked again, "So, Mr. Zhao, is there a way to help me check my weapons in?"

By then, Zhao Minghui had already received approval from the higher-ups. "No problem. Tell me your flight number, and I'll arrange an exclusive security-exempt passage for you."

Wu Ming was delighted. "Thank you so much, Mr. Zhao. My flight is..."

"Hm? It leaves in an hour and a half?" After checking the flight information, Zhao Minghui froze for a moment. "Student Wu, your flight is that soon? But the personnel I've arranged to retrieve the items may need to wait a while longer."

"It's fine. My fiancée's elders are all there. Villa No. 081 belongs to their family."

Wu Ming said, "I'll have them wait there and hand everything over to your people when they arrive. Don't worry."

"That's good." Zhao Minghui breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, I've opened an exclusive passage for you. Once you reach the airport, you won't need to go through regular security. Someone will contact you."

"Understood." Wu Ming said, "It's getting late, and I need to catch my flight. I'm hanging up now."

After ending the call, he returned to the riverside. "Uncle Ruan, could you get us a car? We need to leave for the airport immediately."

"Also, please find a large box. I'll put my weapons inside and check them in through the security-exempt passage."

"I called a driver from the group to take you. The car will be here shortly." Ruan Zaixing said, "As for a box, I do have a large suitcase. I just don't know whether it can fit your armor."

"It should be fine."

Zhu Huazhi added from the side, "That suit of armor is detachable. If it's all folded and stored away, a one-meter suitcase will be enough to hold it."

"As for the Flying Sword and combat saber, just use their original packaging."

"That's good." Wu Ming nodded. Using telekinesis, he lifted the armor from the rack and folded it piece by piece in the order Zhu Huazhi instructed. In the end, it fit perfectly into Ruan Zaixing's suitcase.

The two girls did not take any luggage. Instead, each picked up one of the boxes containing the combat saber and Flying Sword. When the car arrived, they placed all three pieces of equipment into the trunk.

Fortunately, the Ruan Group's business vehicle had been specially modified and had an extremely high load capacity. Otherwise, an ordinary sedan really would not have been able to hold so much.

Even so, the three pieces of equipment made the vehicle sink sharply. The armor alone weighed over four hundred kilograms; with the combat saber and Flying Sword included, the total weight was probably close to six hundred kilograms.

"It's getting late. Get in the car, everyone."

While Wu Ming and the other two got into the vehicle, Ruan Zaixing gave the driver several instructions before walking over. "I'll wait here for the relevant personnel to come and take over, so I won't be seeing you off. Besides, this car can barely carry any more people."

He was not referring to the number of seats, but to the vehicle's insufficient load capacity. Those three pieces of equipment alone added six hundred kilograms, and with the five people in the car, the load had already reached eight or nine hundred kilograms.

It was only because the vehicle had been modified that it could bear such a heavy load at all.

At that moment, Zhu Huazhi came over as well. "I've already sent Jia Qingshan your flight information. He said he'll send someone to pick you up. Watch for the pickup sign after you leave the terminal."

"Understood." Wu Ming and the others nodded.

With time pressing, the elders did not say much more. They had the driver set off, and around forty minutes later, the three of them finally arrived at the airport.

They quickly completed check-in procedures. Just as they were about to check their luggage, an airport staff member hurried over and said that the luggage would receive special handling without going through security procedures. He also led them to wait in the VIP departure lounge.

Half an hour later, the three boarded the plane, and it took off.

Destination: Kyoto City!