Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Power of Inscriptions

"Are you saying the Purification Society appeared at the C City Fortress?" Gu Sha asked.

"It seems Mr. Gu is familiar with the Purification Society, so I won't elaborate further," Han Ze replied. "The Purification Society is, after all, a massive extremist organization. Now that the apocalypse has descended, its members are scattered everywhere, causing all sorts of trouble. The Federal Government has already issued several warning messages.

At the moment, in Longzhou, many shelters have been destroyed by the Purification Society, and the losses are severe. But to avoid panic, the authorities have kept things under wraps. Now, we need humanity to unite; we can't afford unrest at a time like this."

Gu Sha spoke slowly, "Are you able to track down their members?"

"It's very difficult," Han Ze answered. "A few days ago, we did apprehend some, but they were lunatics; they killed themselves in prison and refused to divulge anything about their accomplices."

Gu Sha said in a deep voice, "I understand. Investigate as you see fit; I'll search as well. Their purpose is clear—now that the tide of corpses and beasts is approaching and the fortress is preparing for war, they want to sabotage things so the fortress can't withstand the coming disaster."

"I understand. I've already arranged for a thorough investigation."

Gu Sha grunted in acknowledgment and hung up the phone.

He placed the remaining twenty or so corpse cores from the box into his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and went downstairs.

By then, the housekeeper Zhang Shufen had already been out for some time.

Gu Sha recalled the vision of the future he'd seen, where the bomb in his residence was hidden in the bag of groceries Zhang Shufen had brought home.

Tianhu Residential Complex housed many high-ranking fortress officials and was heavily guarded. The Purification Society couldn't simply bring in so many bombs openly; they must have used various channels and methods.

Take, for example, Zhang Shufen's groceries.

With a bit of special trickery, these people could hide things well enough to evade inspection. Now that extraordinary powers exist, technological detection has obvious flaws.

Moreover, in his memory, the bomb hidden in the groceries eluded even his senses.

This was what Gu Sha cared about most. As a ninth-tier warrior, he was among the world’s most powerful evolved humans. Yet his adversaries had managed not only to bypass Tianhu’s security but even to fool his own perception. That was truly bizarre.

Just as Gu Sha was about to leave, Zhang Shufen returned carrying a bag of groceries. Seeing Gu Sha at the door, she called out anxiously, "Sir, are you heading out?"

Gu Sha didn't answer. Instead, he reached for the bag in Zhang Shufen's hand.

She was puzzled but handed it over obediently.

Gu Sha dumped out all the groceries.

There was chicken, duck, fish, meat, and a few heads of cabbage.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But under careful scrutiny, he noticed something unusual—a faint energy fluctuation emanating from one of the chickens. It was so weak that even as a ninth-tier warrior, he would have missed it if he hadn't been intentionally searching.

Gu Sha picked up the plucked and butchered chicken, examined it thoroughly, but saw nothing amiss.

Still, he was almost certain the bomb was hidden inside this chicken.

Without delay, Gu Sha activated his Qi-guiding technique, channeling genetic energy to envelop the chicken. Soon, he found the problem—something was concealed within the leg bone.

He ripped open the chicken's leg, snapped the bone, and a micro-bomb dropped onto the floor!

Zhang Shufen's face turned pale. She didn't recognize the micro-bomb, but Gu Sha's strange behavior told her something was seriously wrong. She hastily explained, "Mr. Gu... I... I didn't know..."

Gu Sha waved her off.

He knew this had nothing to do with Zhang Shufen. In the vision he'd seen, she was blown to pieces by the bomb. If she were involved, she wouldn't have stayed to be blown up.

More importantly,

Gu Sha detected the power of inscriptions—something only a King-level warrior possessed—on the chicken bone.

It was precisely this inscription power that enabled the bomb to evade the security at the complex entrance and his own perception.

Gu Sha gazed at the micro-bomb, his expression calm, but inside, his mind was in turmoil.

Inscriptions—powers possessed only by Kings.

"This..."

"Could the Purification Society already have a Battle King?"

But in the next instant,

Gu Sha dismissed the idea. If the Purification Society had a Battle King, they wouldn’t need to hide in the shadows. A single King could wreak havoc openly within the fortress. The only technological weapons that could trouble a King now were nuclear or hydrogen bombs.

But inside the fortress,

Unless the authorities were seeking mutually assured destruction, such annihilating weapons would never be used.

If deployed, it would mean total destruction—precisely what the Purification Society would want!

"No way they have a Battle King. But they possess inscription power—that doesn't make sense!"

Gu Sha stared at the micro-bomb and stood to address Zhang Shufen: "Soon, city guards or military personnel will come here. Just show them this thing. Don't touch it. When the officials arrive, leave the complex—go as far as you can. Don’t return until tomorrow morning. Understand?"

"Ah? I understand." Though confused, Zhang Shufen didn’t ask further. She nodded anxiously, then stood upright, staring fixedly at the micro-bomb.

Gu Sha picked up the chicken and left for the vegetable market.

Nowadays, the fortress markets were nothing like the chaotic pre-apocalypse markets; each area was officially designated, and sales were managed by the community.

Gu Sha went straight to the market and found the administrator, tossing the certificate issued to extraordinary individuals onto the director’s desk.

The director, previously relaxed and sipping tea, turned pale at the sight of the certificate, shot to his feet, body tense, swallowing hard. "L-leader... Hello!"

Gu Sha sat on the sofa and threw the chicken onto the table. "Find out where this chicken was sourced from."

"Yes, yes." The director hurriedly agreed, then shouted toward the door. Soon, several staff members rushed in.

The director asked, "Which department handled the chicken delivery today?"

The employees glanced at each other. At last, a forty-year-old man with a nervous smile said, "Director Wu, I was responsible. Is there some issue with the chicken?"

Director Wu didn’t know if there was a problem, so he looked to Gu Sha.

Gu Sha turned to the middle-aged man: "Where did this chicken come from?"

"Ah?" Director Wu asked, "Naturally from the community breeding facility?"

Gu Sha’s pupils narrowed, and a murderous aura spilled forth. His tone was cold: "Are you sure?"

In the apocalypse, chicken was a luxury. The community supplied only a small amount daily—practically a special provision reserved for a select few families, all of whom were high-ranking officials. The scrutiny was strict; even the breeding process was tightly regulated, making it nearly impossible for someone to slip a micro-bomb through.

To achieve such a feat, there was only one possibility: the chicken was not from the community breeding facility.

(End of chapter)