Eyes

Night passed, and day broke.

But the brief departure of darkness did not take away the shadows.

If Song Sijia hadn't contacted him through various means, Ren Yisheng would never have known that his daughter had also fallen into a coma in such a short time.

Ning Que also fell into a coma, as did Jin Shixue, who was experiencing a headache and dizziness.

Meanwhile, Wang Ziming and others seemed to have lost their minds, chanting incessantly beside the crater from the explosion, while Ren Wuyang repeatedly recited the same words over and over on his communicator.

In just one morning, many people seemed to be acting strangely.

Ren Yisheng was both shocked and furious.

A makeshift hospital was set up in the thorny area, but these medical measures did not seem to make much of a difference.

Looking around at the rising smoke, he knew very well that this seemingly endless battle had likely escalated to another level.

After examining Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Yisheng examined Ren Anran, then Ning Que, and finally Wang Zimo and the others who were unable to communicate.

He cursed Ren Wuyang several times over Ren Anran's communicator, but Ren Wuyang's voice remained unchanged, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Manqian, have you noticed anything?" Ren Yisheng asked anxiously.

"No," Zhang Manqian shook her head and said, "If Song Sijia hadn't informed me, I wouldn't have known that Sister An Ran had also developed these symptoms!"

"Where is Huang?"

"Huang had taken my body before, and he was exhausted, so he probably didn't notice anything!"

"It's over!"

Ren Yisheng murmured to himself, looked around, and then looked at the last half-mad man.

"Mr. Jin, you..."

"Vitiligo, black spots, golden spots, what's wrong with my eyes?!"

Jin Shixue, standing beside the bomb crater, tightly covered his eyes.

For a researcher like Jin Shixue, he was very eager to figure out the sudden abnormality in his eyes.

But the more he studied it, the more headaches he found himself facing.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he felt that when he looked at Zhang Xuezhou and the others, various light spots kept flashing, which constantly drained his mind and made him dizzy. He felt as exhausted as he had been when he came from the tomb of Emperor Luowu.

Zhang Xuezhou and others fell into a coma, and Jin Shixue did not leave the crater from the explosion.

With a pained expression, he pushed past the medical staff who had come to take care of him, stood in front of the crater, stretched out his hands covering his eyes, and opened his arms as if he wanted to fly away.

Why can't I see clearly?

Jin Shixue reached out and unfolded his hand. He felt that the golden light surrounding Zhang Xuezhou contained the alternation of night and day, while the black spots on Ning Que's body contained mottled golden light, and the white light on Ren Anran's body was like white clouds floating in the sky, visible yet intangible.

Before Jin Shixue's eyes, the shimmering water in the crater resembled what he had seen in Dongshan a couple of days ago, and seemed to be related to the radiance emanating from Zhang Xuezhou and the others.

But the golden light of Dongshan made Jin Shixue feel comfortable and dispelled the shadows in his heart, while the golden light in the water of the bomb crater made Jin Shixue feel cold, as if he would be shattered to pieces and his soul would perish if he stepped into it.

He chanted aloud, his muddled mind driven by desire, constantly peering into the light.

"White spots, dark spots, golden spots? Around the eyes?"

Jin Shixue spoke incoherently and unclearly, and it took Ren Yisheng several tens of seconds to understand him.

He suddenly remembered some things that happened before Zhang Xuezhou set the trap with the bronze tortoise statue.

"Eyes, eyes... Jin Shixue must have possessed the kind of eyes that Xuezhou described!"

Ren Yisheng murmured to himself.

He quickly grabbed the communicator and called Li Yingbo.

"Anyone originating from Luo'an Province will be thoroughly investigated!"

"Any Lineage members originating from Changqing City or Pan'an City will be directly arrested, followed by physical examinations and interrogation!"

"I need all the people in this area who have lost consciousness, whether they are dead or alive, seriously ill or healthy. You need to verify this as quickly as possible and get them to the shell craters where the shells hit!"

Ren Yisheng spoke out repeatedly once again.

Many of the things mentioned were old stories, but he emphasized the third sentence, which was also the most important one.

Compared to previous checks, Ren Yisheng focused particularly on checking those who were also unconscious this time.

Whether they were alive and sleeping, had died of old age, or were suffering from illness, anyone who had lost consciousness needed to be taken to the bomb crater.

If any of these individuals were presented to Jin Shixue and identified as having 'spots', Ren Yisheng felt that this might be the root cause of the problems involving Zhang Xuezhou and others.

"Professor Ren, we found Zhao Changqing in room 414 of the lakeside hotel near Wangnan Lake!"

Ren Yisheng hung up Li Yingbo's communicator, only to hear it ring again, with Committee Member Zhong Zhenzhen's polite voice coming through.

"Xiao Ren, Zhao Changqing was sitting in a wheelchair, his eyes, nose, and mouth were full of blood, and there were various blood-stained talismans scattered in the room. His body must have been cold for several hours. Was he a key person last night?"

Before Zhong Zhenzhen could finish speaking, Zhong Rang's voice came through the communicator.

"He has a hole in his head, not a hole caused by shrapnel, but a hole as if something inside his head forced its way in!"

Finally, Zhong Rang added a sentence, his voice somewhat unsteady, clearly showing his discomfort with Zhao Changqing's manner of death.

"Do you think he's got a bean planted in his head?" Zhong Rang asked.

"Perhaps," Ren Yisheng said in a deep voice, "Since you've found Zhao Changqing at Wangnan Lake, investigate further and see if there's anyone else unconscious!"

"The explosion caused severe shaking in the buildings. More than twenty people are unconscious due to the blast and are currently receiving medical treatment..."

"Bring them all here, quick, quick, quick, you have to be fast!"

The results of the investigation into Huian Road are not yet available, but the general situation regarding maintaining order in the Wangnanhu area has been largely resolved.

Without waiting for Li Yingbo to relay the message, Ren Yisheng quickly made his own demands.

Zhao Changqing may have been a powerful spellcaster, Ren Yisheng couldn't control whether Zhao Changqing's manipulation was disrupted, resulting in a severe backlash, or whether he simply lost his usefulness and thus died in the hotel.

His immediate concern was whether any of the unconscious individuals were suspicious.

Time was of the essence, and he urged Zhong Rang several times.

Zhong Rang on the other end of the communicator was not hesitant at all. For people of the older generation like Zhong Rang, let alone dragging away twenty unconscious people, even if he were asked to execute them on the spot, Zhong Rang's hand would be very steady.

"If I had any suspicious clues, I would have killed those twenty-odd people on the spot. You're still too indecisive!"

As if he had some dissatisfaction with Ren Yisheng, or perhaps he believed that Ren Yisheng's way of managing the committee was flawed in the next ten to twenty years, Zhong Rang n't help but offer a reminder.

This made Ren Yisheng open his mouth, and then fall silent for a moment.

He once thought that Zhong Rang and others were ruthless in targeting the Ren Household, and they were members of the group he disliked. However, Ren Yisheng discovered that ruthlessness also has its advantages.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou acted decisively in shelling Wangnan Lake, the Scarlet Alliance State really needs people skilled in warfare.

However, Ren Yisheng could not accept that killing and ruthlessness were the mainstream ideology at the top level of the committee.

"No one is perfect. Perhaps Xuezhou and the others can make up for what I lack!"

He muttered it to himself.

When Ren Yisheng's gaze swept over the unconscious Zhang Xuezhou and the sitting, unresponsive Ren Anran, he felt as if the world before his eyes had been tinged with a faint crimson hue, and a sense of savagery suddenly surged within his calm mind.