The East Xia Journey of Mercenary Tao’s Clone (3K)

East Xia, Yanjing’s outskirts.

Inside a massive underground base, Luoshui and "Bai Cangshu," who had been brought here with their eyes completely covered, had waited for nearly half an hour.

At last, Song Xian returned.

"How did it go, Master? Are you alright…?"

Though she could already be considered an "old employee" of the Binhai Special Affairs Bureau, this was still her first time at the Yanjing headquarters.

It was also her first time coming into contact with a battle between Ability Users.

She carefully tried to ease her own anxiety by showing concern for her master.

But Luoshui’s heartbeat and pulse were impossible to hide from Song Xian’s ears. He forced a smile and reassured his innocent subordinate.

"I’m fine, Luoshui. Someone will arrange for you to give a detailed report later, covering everything that happened during the attack. Don’t be nervous. Just treat it like taking a statement."

Luoshui nodded, then looked toward Bai Cangshu on the other side. Ever since arriving here, he had stopped speaking to her and instead wandered around, examining the metal doors, windows, and white lights.

She kept feeling that something about him had changed.

His build, appearance, and even temperament were still the same, yet something felt off.

It was like a fragrant cake with a patch that had already gone bad. The scent was too strong for her to detect it, but her intuition told her that something was wrong…

Song Xian noticed that Luoshui’s gaze toward Bai Cangshu was no longer as "infatuated" as before. Surprised by the sharpness of her intuition, he thought for a moment before leading Luoshui out of the room.

Only after entering the corridor did Luoshui realize that the room she had just been in was merely an observation room, enclosed by silver-white metal walls and one-way transparent glass.

Outside the glass wall, four men and women in white lab coats were continuously observing the interior while recording some sort of data on tablets.

"They’re… observing Bai?"

Song Xian nodded grimly. He had just obtained more information from the Space.

Because Mercenary Tao had dealt a crushing defeat to the Kill Bai Alliance in Myanmar, a great deal of information had spread among major Reincarnator factions and high-level gatherings, including the Finality Empire, Paradise of the Dead, and Blackwater.

Mercenary Tao’s true identity was no longer secret.

He had paid almost no price at all to obtain Mercenary Tao’s real information from Blackwater.

The intelligence had come from Reincarnators within Korea and confirmed that Mercenary Tao stood behind the March Group, which had announced the establishment of humanity’s first Ability User agency in Korea.

Mercenary Tao’s true identity was a young man surnamed Bai from East Xia. He had suddenly appeared in Myanmar several months ago and risen rapidly to prominence.

With that information, combined with high-level divination abilities, "Bai Cangshu’s" movements, and Su Qingqiu’s group attacking his team only to ultimately spare this "Bai Cangshu" among them—

And with the fact that he had reached a deal with Mercenary Tao through Black Butler in the Space, confirming that Mercenary Tao possessed Gantz, which could perfectly replicate living beings and super-tech items—

The whole truth now lay before Song Xian. There was no room left for even the slightest fantasy.

"Heh. Song Xian, you actually let someone that dangerous escape to Myanmar right under your nose. So the nickname Hound doesn’t entirely fit, does it?"

A cold, cutting female voice came from behind them. Luoshui frowned and turned around, seeing a woman wearing a black trench coat over a fitted combat suit.

The woman’s long black hair fell down both sides of her face, and her bangs were cut perfectly straight. Her entire presence radiated neatness and rigor, along with a complete lack of human warmth.

Song Xian offered no explanation. He had heard the discussions of other official Reincarnators as well. Yan Qiu, the direct commander of the Azure Dragon Department, was someone who hated Reincarnators intensely.

Some speculated that she had suffered some misfortune because of Reincarnators, but the Southern Heavenly Gate Project was an enormous united front organization encompassing all manner of forces. Yan Qiu, who disliked Reincarnators, and the Reincarnators who disliked her had no choice but to work together.

"No, Song Xian did not let Mercenary Tao escape. It would be more accurate to say that Song Xian protected Binhai from Mercenary Tao."

A deep male voice rang out, powerful and resolute, carrying an unquestionable authority. The man’s sideburns were streaked with gray, and his face was lined with wrinkles, but the rows of military medals on his chest made his past achievements plain.

Upon hearing the voice, Yan Qiu lowered her head slightly and said no more.

Song Xian relaxed somewhat. Naturally, East Xia’s upper ranks included those who despised Reincarnators, as well as those who supported them.

Fortunately, the upper echelons of the Southern Heavenly Gate Project and the Special Affairs Bureau were all exceptionally open-minded. Otherwise, even he would have wavered at times.

The elderly man walked over to Song Xian and patted him on the shoulder.

"I’ll request commendation for you over this matter."

With that one sentence, Song Xian’s failure to discover Mercenary Tao’s true identity in time was transformed from a mistake into a great merit.

In fact, quite a few people within the Southern Heavenly Gate Project supported this line of thinking.

Many of them were not Reincarnators and could not personally understand the fear brought by the name Mercenary Tao.

But they knew very well that Ability Users already possessed the potential to surpass conventional force. An individual capable of becoming someone feared by the overwhelming majority within such a group—

Compared to taking the risk of capturing him in a densely populated city like Binhai, allowing him to remain overseas was the more prudent choice.

Song Xian was about to explain further, but the elderly man raised a hand to stop him.

He then spoke gently to Luoshui for a few moments before arranging for her to leave.

Luoshui pressed her lips together. In the end, she gathered the courage to ask the elderly man, who could be considered an elder to her.

"Grandpa Li, Bai… he’ll be alright, won’t he…?"

The elderly man surnamed Li smiled and shook his head.

"He’ll be fine. We’ll still need to rely on him."

Luoshui left half-convinced, half-doubtful. Song Xian, however, frowned deeply and only spoke after confirming that Luoshui had truly gone.

"Elder Li, I don’t agree with the plan to hypnotize this clone."

He swept his gaze across the room. There were top researchers and scientists here, high-ranking military and political officials, as well as Reincarnators like himself.

"Now that we know that man’s original body is Mercenary Tao, we should understand that he deliberately sent this clone back!"

"Mercenary Tao is a monster, a madman who absolutely cannot be judged by common sense!"

"He… I believe Mercenary Tao knows that we are trying to hypnotize people and send them into that place. That is why he deliberately sent his own clone here, intending to use our hands to send another version of himself inside!"

Although the concept of Ability Users had gradually gained public acceptance and Reincarnators could now use certain abilities before ordinary people without being punished—

Directly discussing concepts related to the Space before ordinary people would still violate the rules. Thus, Song Xian and the others used pronouns as substitutes.

These people had long since grown accustomed to communicating this way.

Elder Li, Yan Qiu, and the others all understood that "that place" was somewhere capable of turning ordinary people into Ability Users in batches.

Yan Qiu’s face remained cold. She acknowledged the destructive power of Ability Users, but she did not believe that this group possessed intelligence beyond that of ordinary humans.

"You mean he wants to create another version of himself there?"

"I recall your report stating that apart from possessing physical attributes and a soul completely identical to the original, the clone has no connection whatsoever to the original body."

"Even if the clone becomes an Ability User, what meaning would it have if he cannot control it?"

The others were equally puzzled.

But when Song Xian had returned to the Space just now, he had already obtained more intelligence about Mercenary Tao from Jin Ruohai and other Information Brokers.

He had also come to better understand Mercenary Tao’s past actions.

He shook his head.

"For someone like Mercenary Tao, perhaps he does not want control at all…"

"He simply knows that every version of himself, even a clone, as long as it can enter that kind of place and become an Ability User, will turn into someone extremely terrifying and difficult to deal with."

"And he enjoys chaos. He enjoys slaughter…"

"He might even grow stronger by hunting down his own clones after they mature, while taking pleasure in it…"

After hearing Song Xian’s words, everyone exchanged glances.

Even Elder Li frowned and fell into thought.

Such a description indeed painted a highly troublesome figure—powerful, twisted in mind, and extremely difficult to handle.

"Could someone like that really exist? Don’t tell me he’s frightened you, Song Xian."

Yan Qiu objected, but other Reincarnators soon echoed Song Xian’s words.

"Commander Yan, you have never encountered someone like him, so naturally you do not understand. His Excellency Mercenary Tao… ahem, Mercenary Tao is no ordinary person!"

Someone spoke, unconsciously using the honorific "His Excellency."

Only then did Elder Li understand that Mercenary Tao had likely already become an Ability User on another level…

"We’ll discuss this matter later."

Elder Li temporarily postponed the decision to place Bai Cangshu’s clone into the hypnosis plan.

Song Xian did not relax upon hearing this. Elder Li had personally recruited him, and he knew very well that such wording meant Elder Li still wanted to win Bai Cangshu’s clone over.

But… how could someone like that be won over?

Inside the white room, "Bai Cangshu" walked over to the opaque glass and stared straight outside.

He was certain that it was one-way glass and that people outside were observing him.

And those people recognized his value—or rather, they highly valued the original body he came from!

The corners of Bai Cangshu’s mouth rose. The gentle smile on his face gradually faded, while the muscles across his body loosened one by one.

Since his most important value at present was his similarity to that original body—

Then naturally, he no longer needed to follow the settings previously imposed on himself and imitate ordinary people by living a mediocre life.

He could fully display his value… his ability.

If necessary, he could even display… loyalty.

Ha~

Through the glass, Elder Li watched as the clone seemed to deliberately display every detail of his body, continuously making all sorts of movements.

The researchers beside him kept exclaiming in amazement.

This was a terrifying body that surpassed the overwhelming majority of humans.

If possible, it might also become a powerful weapon of East Xia!

"Song Xian, go retrieve that sword. I want him to personally meet this clone."

Elder Li spoke. Song Xian did not react at first, but in the next instant, his pupils contracted as thoughts raced through his mind.

Phantom Sword Chu Qi!

Bai Cangshu’s childhood friend!

Having faked his death to escape, he truly seemed like the most exquisite arrangement at this moment!