146: The dust has settled

It was a sweltering August day, when a sudden cold wind inexplicably blew through.

Hot air from the air conditioner's outdoor unit visibly transformed into scattered frost, falling to the ground.

Shi Sheng raised his hands, glowing with a blue light, and pressed them firmly onto the ground.

"Earthquake Ice Heart!"

As he dramatically shouted the Move name, Shi Sheng also looked up and raised an eyebrow at Yang Dian.

White frost began to spread from his palms, and countless ice spikes shot up from the earth, piercing through the bodies of the red-eyed rats.

In the blink of an eye, frost covered the entire hotel plaza.

Countless red-eyed rats were either frozen solid or impaled on ice shards.

The world seemed to return to the Ice Age, becoming completely white.

Feeling the chilling cold emanating from the frost-covered ground, Yang Dian looked at Shi Sheng, whose face was pale, cheeks sunken, and eyes deeply hollowed, as if he hadn't slept for three days and three nights and had hired thirty courtesans. His eyes were filled with disbelief:

"Brother Shi, did you use a cheat?"

"Not long ago, you were struggling just to freeze He Qing."

"How did you suddenly unleash such a massive burst today and freeze such a large plaza?"

"Damn it, did you secretly use a cheat without me?"

Shi Sheng took two breaths, then clasped his hands behind his back, acting like a master.

He was very pleased with Yang Dian's surprise:

"Hmph, don't think you're the only one getting stronger, kid."

"I'm telling you, the Captain and I aren't pushovers either."

"If you don't quickly improve your strength, in a few more months, you won't even see our dust."

Yang Dian blinked, then reached out and broke off an ice spike.

Feeling the real, tangible cold that could even freeze his hand, he looked at Shi Sheng again:

"Did you really use a cheat?"

Shi Sheng waved his hand:

"A small cheat doesn't count as cheating."

Yang Dian found it a bit hard to believe.

What kind of cheat could elevate Shi Sheng to this level in such a short time?

One-on-one, Yang Dian was sure he could easily defeat Shi Sheng.

After all, Shi Sheng needed to gather Qi for his ultimate Move, and that amount of Qi Gathering time would be enough for Yang Dian to crush him dozens of times.

But when it came to clearing out small monsters, Shi Sheng was indeed much stronger than him.

With just one wave of his ultimate, he had frozen at least a thousand rats to death.

'These large red-eyed rats, I wonder if they count as mutated, but even if they are, they look like they carry a lot of germs.'

'They probably wouldn't make us eat rat meat, right?'

As he thought, Yang Dian suddenly noticed a key point in Shi Sheng's words:

"Brother Shi, you just said that you and the Captain aren't pushovers either."

"Did the Captain also use a cheat?"

"No, didn't Uncle Mo Awaken Eagle Eye? What good is it if his eyes cheat? Can he 'pew~ pew~ pew~' lasers or something?"

Shi Sheng blinked:

"Ah? Did I say that?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh, I'm so tired, I'm going to die from exhaustion, let me rest."

With that, he sat down on the ground again.

After sitting down, he gasped, taking a sharp breath.

There was a small ice spike on the ground that he hadn't noticed, and it poked his butt.

Just then, the distant "woo-woo-woo" finally arrived nearby.

More than thirty Policemen got out of their cars and, seeing the inexplicable ice on the plaza and the rats frozen within it, immediately began to disperse the surrounding crowd who were taking photos with their phones without a word.

They didn't mind the photos, as the authorities had completely relaxed information control with the approaching announcement date.

What they feared was whether more large rats would rush out.

If more rats did rush out and cause numerous casualties, they would be held accountable.

Watching the Policemen begin to busy themselves, Yang Dian again surveyed the frozen plaza and the frozen rats.

"There seem to be quite a lot of rats under the city."

"Shouldn't there be a major cleanup?"

Shi Sheng nodded:

"There will definitely be a cleanup."

"In fact, not just here, but all over the country, wherever there are people, a major cleanup will likely take place."

"Besides that, I also heard that the higher-ups are discussing large-scale migration and high-wall construction plans."

"That is, to Move residents from remote rural areas into cities, and then build high walls around the cities to prevent attacks from abnormal creatures."

"The large-scale migration plan will probably pass, but many people oppose the high-wall construction."

"After all, once that's done, it means we've abandoned a large amount of wilderness land."

"Unless absolutely necessary, this plan probably won't be approved."

Yang Dian looked at Shi Sheng, who was speaking eloquently, and felt increasingly that he was extraordinary.

Could ordinary people know these things?

'I wonder what they're hiding from me.'

'My current clearance shouldn't be low. If Brother Shi won't say, then I'll find someone to ask when I get back.'

As he pondered, more police cars, medical vehicles, and dayun heavy trucks roared up.

Yang Dian helped Shi Sheng to the newly arrived convoy and waved to a young nurse who had just gotten out of the car:

"Get two bottles of glucose over here first."

The young nurse, seeing the emaciated Shi Sheng, paused for a moment before frantically waving at the ambulance:

"Stretcher! Quick!"

"Someone's about to kick the bucket!"

Shi Sheng was stubborn:

"I just used up a lot of energy, two bottles of glucose will be enough to replenish me!"

"Are you the doctor or am I the doctor?"

The young nurse scooped up Shi Sheng and pressed him onto the stretcher:

"Take him away, take him away."

Watching Shi Sheng being directly taken away by the ambulance, Yang Dian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It was good to have him checked at the hospital.

Given Shi Sheng's emaciated appearance, he was really afraid that he might not be able to catch his breath.

'Who should I ask about what happened to Shi Sheng and them later?'

As he pondered, Uncle Xiao, the captain of the fifth team, ran up to Yang Dian with his team members:

"Damn it, how did you guys make such a huge commotion?"

"And how did you and Shi Sheng improve your strength? Did you use cheats? How did your strength grow faster than bamboo shoots?"

"If the Sky Net hadn't captured your battle footage, I really wouldn't believe that this grand scene was created by you two."

"You two are truly freaks."

Yang Dian spread his hands:

"Uncle Xiao, I'm a martial artist. My strength was gained through diligent Cultivation, one step at a time, one punch, one drop of sweat."

"Brother Shi is the one who used a cheat."

Uncle Xiao curled his lip:

"You think I believe that."

With that, he circled Yang Dian twice:

"Not hurt, are you?"

"How can you and Shi Sheng be so reckless? Two people daring to cause such a big incident."

"If something happened to you two, how would I explain it to your Captain?"

"It's fine, isn't it?" Feigning a silly grin, Yang Dian then pointed to the gap on the ninth floor that Clayton had crashed through:

"Tian Xin and her mother should still be alive, in room 907 of the Xizi Hotel."

"During that time, Benjamin hypnotized a young man named Wang Zihan to order takeout for them. I lost Wang Zihan, and I don't know where he is now."

With that, Yang Dian pointed to the five people lying on the ground:

"Clayton underwent Gigantification and is now in a critically injured, unconscious state with a brain hemorrhage. If he's not given emergency treatment, he'll likely die."

"Charles, Romu, and Benjamin were just knocked out by me and could wake up at any time."

"These frozen rats were summoned by Romu's berserk Rat King; it's best to finish them off with a shot."

"There's also a Night Owl under Romu's body, but it has no combat power."

After briefly explaining the situation, Yang Dian clapped his hands:

"That's pretty much the situation now."

"Oh, right."

"During the fight, several cars were damaged, and I promised to buy them new ones."

"Uncle Xiao, can you arrange that for me?"

Seeing Yang Dian's feigned pitiful look, Uncle Xiao glared at him irritably:

"You brat, you caused such a big mess, and now you're in a hurry to slip away."

"What? Are you treating your Uncle Xiao like a janitor?"

"Oh, Uncle Xiao, why do you say such unpleasant things?" Yang Dian put his hand on Uncle Xiao's shoulder:

"I'm young and don't have much experience. There might be omissions in such a big task."

"Don't you need an experienced person like you to clean up after me?"

Looking at Yang Dian's shameless demeanor, Uncle Xiao pointed at him irritably:

"You brat."

"Go on."

"Your Uncle Xiao will handle things here for you."

"But there won't be such good fortune next time."

"Next time you need sweeping, bring those newcomers from your Group Seven."

Thinking of his impending promotion in two days, Yang Dian smiled even more brightly:

"Alright, Uncle Xiao, next time I'll definitely bring my subordinates."

With that, he waved to the rest of the fifth team:

"See you guys."

"Don't be polite with me if there's a chance to earn merit."

Uncle Xiao feigned a kick at Yang Dian:

"Get going."

Yang Dian waved to everyone again, then turned and left.

He and Shi Sheng had already taken the bulk of the merit; giving the small remaining merit to others was no big deal.

Compared to this last bit of merit, he was more looking forward to the nine glass bottles of plum blossom, a wondrous item, and the martial arts traits that would be grinded out once he had enough energy.

'Nine-colored plum blossom, plum blossom of nine colors, I wonder if they have different effects...'

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