Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Chapter 590 - 574: Hidden Sect, Special Operations Unit

[Graveyard Tree] belongs to Destiny?

One of our own?

Feng Mu felt a sense of absurdity rise within him.

It wasn’t absurd to have killed one of our own; after all, in villainy, killing your own is a basic operation.

Even if you knew someone was one of your own, killing them regardless wouldn’t matter. After all, if their secrecy work was so good that it fooled their own, what else could you expect?

What Feng Mu found absurd was that the ideology displayed by [Graveyard Tree] was that of an idealistic... revolutionary.

[Destiny], a revolutionary? That’s utterly preposterous!

[Destiny] was created by him, and the core color of the organization was never about saving the world. Where’s the idealism? It’s only fanaticism, alright?

Most importantly, from what Feng Mu recalled from his interactions with Ma Bin or Chen Ya, neither of them harbored any world-saving feelings.

Obsessive, insane, ruthless, unscrupulous... If given a choice, they would more likely press the button to destroy the world.

The flavor of [Destiny] was still pretty genuine!

Feng Mu mulled over this for a while and concluded:

"Two possibilities: either there was an unimaginable issue with [Destiny], or [Graveyard Tree] had a massive problem!"

For a moment, Feng Mu wanted to resurrect [Graveyard Tree] but failed.

[System Notification: Interference detected... Gift failure!]

[...] Some words were obscured.

Feng Mu was briefly stunned and then looked down at the body of [Graveyard Tree], his gaze as murky as a deep pool, muttering to himself:

"Heh—are there still fourteen thousand three hundred and fourteen more?"

Feng Mu did not care about saving the world or destroying it, but he would never tolerate those with sinister intentions infiltrating into Destiny, even if they might be noble... saviors.

"Minister?"

Liu Yi, still holding that piece of tongue, cautiously asked.

Feng Mu exhaled, temporarily suppressing his suspicions. He wasn’t in a hurry to solve the mystery.

Currently, Second Prison’s control had reached 86%, and it was not far from 100% to deploy the Base Vehicle. Once the Base Vehicle was deployed and [Destiny]’s higher authority was unlocked, the answer might surface by itself.

Feng Mu smiled and said, "Put away the tongue and return to prison."

Liu Yi not only placed the tongue into a frozen container but also thoughtfully extracted [Graveyard Tree]’s heart, placing it into the container as well.

Returned to Second Prison.

Feng Mu returned to his room and only then leisurely took out the iced heart.

There weren’t any formidable skills, as the combat power shown by [Graveyard Tree] was only marginally better than an ant.

Out of three options, he chose to copy the [Level 3 Keyboard Warrior] skill.

Feng Mu had no idea what use this ability had, as he didn’t enjoy online confrontations and was better at seeking things out physically.

This skill was really a bit of a waste for him, but on the principle of not wasting resources since the person was dead, Feng Mu still copied the skill.

Nothing happened overnight, and he continued training with his symbiote.

[You were focused and intensely trained for 10 hours!]

[Your symbiote followed you in training for 12 hours!]

[Your training results are as follows:]

[Seven Kills Fist•Blood and Flesh Three Solutions]

Skill Proficiency +1441

Rank Up: Intermediate→Advanced (466/5000)

[Seven Kills Fist•Blood and Flesh Two Solutions]

Skill Proficiency +1441

Rank Up: Intermediate→Advanced (401/2500)

[Soul-Seeking Step•Blood and Flesh Three Solutions]

Skill Proficiency +817

Current (1516/2500)

[Soul-Seeking Step•Blood and Flesh Two Solutions]

Skill Proficiency +817

Current: Beginner→Intermediate (1401/2500)

[...]

He upgraded two skills overnight again. This feeling of hard work yielding returns is truly addictive.

Feng Mu also took some time to practice with Venom for a bit, considering it as a break, but unfortunately still couldn’t coalesce the skill icon he wanted.

It just means he needs to work harder and incubate more diligently.

Oh, some keen-eyed folks might ask why Venom trained two more hours than Feng Mu.

Those two hours were Feng Mu’s sleep time. As a father, he’s older and needs rest; as a son, Venom was just born, so at that age, who’s thinking about sleep with work to do?

.....

Zone 9 edge, Investigation Corps district.

The entire military base was built along a mountain, with the mountain hollowed out. Thick alloy gates were set at the entrance, with concrete defensive works on either side.

Machine gun turrets stood menacingly, with soldiers patrolling back and forth.

Entering the cave, the cold white lights cast down from above, illuminating the straight tunnels below.

The tunnels were extremely wide, enough to accommodate armored vehicles side by side, with walls and ceilings reinforced with high-strength alloy plates, their surfaces coated with anti-corrosion white paint.

An embedded explosion-proof light was installed every few meters, making the entire passage as bright as day.

The tunnel extended deep, passing through multiple checkpoints, eventually reaching the most core area—the Hidden Sect.

It wasn’t a traditional door, but a massive "mirror" embedded in the deepest part of the mountain, as if it were organically grown from the rock wall.

The mirror’s surface was rough, with countless repaired cracks, and the edges permanently missing a few chunks, revealing an ominous darkness behind.

The darkness was not static but slowly squirming.

It was as if the entire mountain was in motion, and the mirror became its mouth. Passing through the mouth would lead to some indescribable... Otherworld.

At this moment, the mirror rippled with a nauseating, mucous-like wave.

Several figures were "expelled" from it.

They wore matte tactical suits, leaving no inch of skin exposed, with identical masks on their faces.

The masks were bone-white, smooth as porcelain, without any decorative patterns, just sheer whiteness with two black eye holes.

Special Mobility Department of the Hidden Sect!

This was the official name, but colloquially, they were called "White Mask," while the Investigation Corps soldiers preferred calling them the "Anti-Traitor Squad."

Since there is the Hidden Sect and the Otherworld, naturally there is infiltration and counter-infiltration, with traitors to humanity.

One of the main tasks of the Special Mobility Department of the Hidden Sect is to root out traitors.

As for how the Anti-Traitor Squad determines its targets, the Special Mobility Department of the Hidden Sect has its own process, highly confidential, with outsiders not permitted to inquire or interfere.

Otherwise...

The Investigation Corps soldiers nearby, with their glances sweeping over, immediately retracted their necks, looking away, fearing they might be accused of being traitors and... rooted out in the next second.

"Move!"

The lead White Mask said lightly.

Before the words finished, the White Masks were tapping their feet on the ground continuously, disappearing one by one from the mouth of the Hidden Sect.

Half an hour later.

Below the residential area for employees and their families of Hong Guang Pharmaceutical, a white van was parked, engine still running with a low hum.

"Is this where the officer said the extra meal is?"

Lin Yi pushed the mask to his forehead, revealing a face covered in burn scars, licking his lips.

"This isn’t it. This is merely a pre-dinner dessert, just stopping by to ask him a few questions; the extra meal is someone else."

The lead White Mask replied blandly, his fingers tapping on a secured terminal, transferring two files simultaneously to each team member’s phone.

Lin Yi looked down at his phone and opened the two photos....