The Second Prohibition

"Xin Ya, well done!"

"Leave Wang Yang and Wesker alone for now. Our priority is still to keep the information contained!"

"Lu Zhan is admittedly a little troublesome, but there's no need to rush."

"As far as I know, the Training Center shouldn't have any alchemical knowledge related to the [Wide-Area Information Detector]."

"In that case, even if Lu Zhan guesses that the Mutant Beast might be a person in disguise, it won't matter."

Although the mess Xin Ya had made gave Ouyang Hao quite a headache,

they were still on the same team-or, rather, all in the same boat.

He still had to take Xin Ya's feelings into account.

As of now, only three outsiders knew about the "Blood-Red Antenna."

Limited by their knowledge, neither Wang Yang nor Wesker nor Lu Zhan had realized the importance of the "Blood-Red Antenna."

Under normal circumstances, Ouyang Hao and his team should not have taken any action at all.

As the saying went, the more you did, the more mistakes you made.

Doing nothing, on the other hand, was less likely to attract "attention."

Yet although he understood the reasoning, the involvement of the inner city left Ouyang Hao no choice but to be excessively "cautious."

Of course, this also had to do with the fact that all three people in the know were nobodies whom they could easily control.

Take Wang Yang and Wesker, for example. Although they were public officials, neither had clean hands.

Any excuse would be enough to lock them up for a while.

As for why he had not killed them to silence them,

the situation had not yet reached the point where that was necessary.

Even now, Ouyang Hao had not figured out how to wrap up the "bloodshed."

Although the "Mutant Beast" had never appeared again after that night,

even if they wanted to find a scapegoat, this was not something an ordinary person could take the blame for.

If he truly had no other choice, Ouyang Hao could only report the matter of the "Blood-Red Antenna" to his superiors.

When that happened, people in the know like Wang Yang would become witnesses.

"Captain, this time I'll follow your instructions to the letter. I absolutely won't cause any more complications."

"Wang Yang has shady ties with the Wutu Gang, and Wesker is in collusion with other gangs too."

"That alone is enough to isolate them for investigation."

"As for the Training Center, I investigated it long ago. They only teach basic alchemical knowledge, nothing involving the [Wide-Area Information Detector]."

"Even their library has no books on the subject."

"Under normal circumstances, Lu Zhan really wouldn't know the true nature of the [Blood-Red Antenna]."

Having learned her lesson, Xin Ya no longer dared to take any liberties with Ouyang Hao's instructions.

Although Xin Ya felt deeply wronged and unfairly blamed over the "Blood-Red Antenna,"

she still had to show the proper attitude of "admitting her mistakes" if she wanted to stay on the team.

"Under normal circumstances?"

"Xin Ya, does someone at the Training Center recognize the [Wide-Area Information Receiver]?"

Ouyang Hao had already set his concerns about Lu Zhan aside for the moment, but Xin Ya's words made him frown.

When it came to alchemy-or, more specifically, the [Wide-Area Information Receiver]-he really did not know as much as Xin Ya.

"Captain, the Training Center's current alchemy instructor is Lu Guanhong."

"I happen to know a little about him."

"He was once a Third-Level Researcher at the Eighth Research Institute, with profound expertise in alchemy."

"Although his primary field was life alchemy, his clearance as a Third-Level Researcher would have given him opportunities to learn about the [Wide-Area Information Receiver]."

Xin Ya gave a detailed account of Lu Guanhong's background.

Although Lu Guanhong only potentially knew about the [Wide-Area Information Receiver], the importance of the "Blood-Red Antenna" had still led Xin Ya to flag him.

"The Training Center is a backwater posting, practically a place to retire."

"This Lu Guanhong is only forty-seven. He's in his prime, at an age when he should be making his mark in life alchemy."

"Why did he fall from a Third-Level Researcher at a research institute to an ordinary alchemy instructor?"

After hearing Lu Guanhong's background, Ouyang Hao frowned.

It did not take much thought to realize that this man had a story behind him.

People like that were the most troublesome!

"Captain, Lu Guanhong wasn't merely relegated to a backwater post. He was even banned from conducting any life alchemy experiments."

"That's because Lu Guanhong was implicated in a violation of the [Second Prohibition]."

"The second law of life alchemy states: [Life originates from the motion of matter, or, in other words, is a product of the motion of matter]."

"But that law was written by Matter Alchemists. Life Alchemists have always regarded it as a humiliation-or, to put it another way, refused to accept it."

"All along, Yero City and the other city federations have forbidden Life Alchemists from challenging the [second law], even issuing explicit legislation."

"This is the shackle hanging over every Life Alchemist's head: the [second prohibition]."

"Anyone who violates it is stripped of the right to conduct life alchemy experiments."

Xin Ya's revelations gave Ouyang Hao an even worse headache.

This Lu Guanhong was not merely trouble; he was a troublemaker.

Ouyang Hao did not dare imagine how things might develop if Lu Zhan joined forces with him.

"Captain, there's really no need to worry too much."

"Lu Zhan is overly cautious. Or, to put it another way, he doesn't want to take any risks at all."

"When I questioned him earlier, I issued a gag order, strictly forbidding him from disclosing any details of the case."

"Even setting aside what he owes me, the deterrent power of our Inspection Office alone is enough to make him think twice about violating the gag order."

"In the short term, he definitely won't dare talk carelessly and bring trouble down on himself."

Xin Ya was still confident in her assessment of Lu Zhan.

But that confidence would weaken as time passed.

After all, people changed.

"Sigh, as for Lu Zhan, let's leave things

as they are for now!"

"Next, you should also shift your focus to searching for the Mutant Beast."

"Once we deal with the source of the problem, even if Lu Zhan does leak something, it won't have any effect."

"After all, we're the ones writing the final case report. Our words are the truth."

After considering it for a moment, Ouyang Hao ultimately decided that, when it came to Lu Zhan, doing nothing was better than taking action.

Neither the Military nor the Training Center was something their Inspection Office could afford to provoke.

Xin Ya's assessment of Lu Zhan was quite logical.

Besides, even if Lu Zhan wanted to get into Lu Guanhong's good graces, it would probably be impossible.

Having been punished, Lu Guanhong was now like a bird that startled at the twang of a bowstring. If Lu Zhan shamelessly tried to approach him, he would most likely be taken for an undercover agent sent by the authorities.

Given Xin Ya's sincere attitude in "admitting her mistakes," along with her considerable professional ability,

the short-staffed Ouyang Hao planned to bring her back into the fold.

After all, what they lacked most now was time. They had to make every second count.