I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 475: The Hidden Sword is Drawn

Annihilation was the upgraded skill of Universal Decomposition. Even in the early Galaxy Stage, Wang Lan’s Star Power couldn’t sustain it for three seconds. It was a powerful Star Martial Skill that could dissolve anything into nothingness.

Now, although Wang Lan’s strength had reached the peak of the Galaxy Stage, he still couldn’t sustain Annihilation for long. He had only managed to extend its duration from three seconds to five.

At this moment, the Demon Clan spy’s self-destruction was unstoppable, and they were in a densely populated residential area. The only way Wang Lan could prevent a tragedy was to use his Annihilation skill.

Instantly, a thick, chaotic smoke rose from Wang Lan’s hand, engulfing the Demon Clan spy’s head in a flash.

AH—

A sharp, brief scream erupted. The moment the Demon Clan spy’s head touched the Annihilation, it was engulfed and vanished. With a downward press of Wang Lan’s palm, her body and the violent Star Power raging within her were obliterated by Annihilation.

Seconds later, Wang Lan retracted Annihilation. He staggered slightly, his forehead glistening with sweat.

However, his subordinates behind him were dumbfounded. To them, those few seconds had felt like watching a horror movie. The Demon Clan spy before them seemed to have been half-eaten by the smoke; only two pitch-black, spiked legs remained where she had stood.

"Check where Zhang Zhiliang went."

"Yes, sir!"

By tracing through the Tianjian Bureau’s network, Zhang Zhiliang’s whereabouts were quickly discovered.

"Report, Zhang Zhiliang appears to have gone to the Haotian Research Institute."

"Let’s go!" Without another word, Wang Lan headed straight for the Haotian Research Institute.

Inside the Haotian Research Institute, Zhang Zhiliang was chatting and laughing with President He Yuanzhong in his office. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Zhang, you must have learned from your mentor what the Haotian Research Institute is researching, right?"

"Well... President He, I don’t actually know. I only know that the research our teacher assigned us is related to energy, mostly testing energy strength. For the past month, we were assigned to extract trans-spatial energy waves, but we hadn’t made any significant progress before our teacher was murdered."

"Hmm, we at the Haotian Research Institute are researching something called the Time-Space Gemstone. This gemstone is a treasure used by the Demon Clan to open the Time and Space Tunnel and invade our human race. If we can thoroughly understand it and find a way to interfere with it, perhaps the Demon Clan will no longer be able to invade us. This research is crucial for the very survival of the entire human race."

"It’s that powerful? Then it’s truly my honor to join the Haotian Research Institute."

"You are Professor Wen’s prize disciple. After much thought, I concluded that his research must be continued by his disciples, which is why I made an exception to recruit you. Here in this institute, you have the least experience, so remember: observe more, think more, learn more, and avoid loose talk."

"Understood!"

"Come, follow me. I’ll introduce you to the various departments and experts in different fields."

Zhang Zhiliang followed President He out of the office. Just as they entered the research area, a group of people approached them. Zhang Zhiliang’s gaze lingered on Wang Lan for a long moment, while Wang Lan walked directly toward them.

"Wang Lan, why are you here?" President He stopped and asked. Just as his voice faded, his view suddenly shifted.

In that instant, Wang Lan used the Dance of the Dark Butterfly to reach President He’s side, whisking him away from Zhang Zhiliang’s vicinity in a split second. From the flash of movement to the rescue, not even a tenth of a second elapsed.

Even though Zhang Zhiliang was right next to President He, he hadn’t even noticed how Wang Lan had spirited him away.

"Wang Lan, what are you doing?" President He, still in a daze from being suddenly dragged away by Wang Lan, frowned and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"President He, Wang Lan just saved your life... and you’re getting angry with him?" a voice said from behind. President He looked at Zhang Zhiliang in alarm, and then his expression contorted in terror.

Zhang Zhiliang’s skin was rapidly disintegrating, transforming bit by bit into the appearance of a Demon Clan member. Cold sweat beaded on President He’s forehead, and a bone-chilling sensation crept up his spine.

Zhang Zhiliang was actually a Demon Clan spy? And he had nearly invited a Demon Clan spy into the Haotian Research Institute?

"So fast, truly so fast..." Zhang Zhiliang looked at Wang Lan, shaking his head and sighing. "Three days. It took you merely three days to find me."

"I originally estimated that even if the police and the Tianjian Bureau utilized all their resources, it would take them at least a month to find me. A month would have been enough for me to complete my mission and escape unscathed."

"Since I knew you were involved in the investigation, I had already acknowledged your skill and had to advance my plans. But I never imagined I still underestimated you. How could you... how could you have been so fast?"

Not good!

Wang Lan’s heart leaped into his throat. Without a moment’s hesitation, he flickered forward and thrust his palm at Zhang Zhiliang’s chest.

"Too late! Face the explosion—"

Wang Lan clenched a high-grade Soul Bead in his left hand, and it instantly shattered. Meanwhile, a dense cloud of smoke erupted from his right hand.

"Annihilation—"

PUFF—

A soft sound, like a candle being snuffed out, was heard. Zhang Zhiliang looked down in shock at a cloud of dense fog rapidly expanding within his chest.

Zhang Zhiliang stared in confusion at his chest as the cyan fog swiftly destroyed his Star Power and all the strength he could muster.

"How can this be... Chaos Qi..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Zhiliang’s entire body was engulfed by the dense fog of Annihilation. When the fog dissipated, the Demon Clan spy had vanished from the void.

"Congratulations to the host for annihilating an entire Demon Clan spy group, rewarding fifty thousand experience points and five thousand skill points..."

As the prompt sounded in his mind, a faint smile touched Wang Lan’s lips. It seems the brothers at the Tianjian Bureau have finished their work too.

It was a pity they couldn’t capture Zhang Zhiliang alive and uncover the spies backing him, but in that situation, a trade-off had to be made. He Yuanzhong had been too close to Zhang Zhiliang. Even if Wang Lan could have reached Zhang Zhiliang instantly, he couldn’t guarantee He Yuanzhong wouldn’t be harmed.

The positioning of Zhang Zhiliang and He Yuanzhong at that time clearly indicated that He Yuanzhong was being used as a hostage.

However, investigating the matter to this point could be considered a resolution, albeit not a perfect one.

After returning from the Haotian Research Institute, Wang Lan immediately reported to Eld Di.

"The President already knows about the previous case. We got the latest intelligence from Chen Shijie’s girlfriend, which led us to suspect that Chen Shijie might not be a Demon Clan spy.

"Acting on a hunch, we dredged Haoyun Lake. Indeed, Chen Shijie hadn’t escaped; he had been silenced and killed at the bottom of the lake. Since Chen Shijie wasn’t a Demon Clan spy, the person who called him had to be.

"Therefore, we focused on Chen Shijie’s senior brother, Zhang Zhiliang. Through him, we uncovered an entire Demon Clan spy group, totaling fourteen individuals."

"I knew I could count on you for this kind of thing; you never disappoint me," Eld Di said with satisfaction, listening to Wang Lan’s report.

"Then, Eld Di, may I close the case?"

"Yes! Also, don’t run around for the next few days. I’m going to send you to White Eagle Country in a couple of days."

"White Eagle Country? Why?"

"To escort the Time-Space Gemstone to White Eagle Country for a quantum collider experiment."

"Wasn’t it supposed to go to God’s Country?"

"The wise Bishop of God’s Country and Professor Dai were good friends. Now that Professor Dai has been murdered, God’s Country may not agree to our request. Moreover, God’s Country isn’t one of the five permanent members of the United Nations, so transporting the Time-Space Gemstone there would involve some risks. Plus, Qian Shihua has connections in White Eagle Country and has secured an opportunity to conduct another experiment there."

"I see... But isn’t there a quantum collider in the Imperial Capital? Why go so far for the experiment..."

"Can’t you do the math? A single collider costs tens of billions, and it’s wrecked after just one use. Do you think the people’s money grows on trees?" Eld Di looked at Wang Lan with a helpless smile and chuckled.

"Does White Eagle Country know about this?"

"Would we let them know?"

Looking at Eld Di’s sly, fox-like smile, Wang Lan solemnly gave a thumbs-up. "President, you’re remarkably astute!"

After bidding farewell to Eld Di, Wang Lan returned to his home in Phoenix Plaza. That very night, a news item suddenly broke, stirring up waves of shock.

"Breaking news: The Modu City police and the Modu Tianjian Bureau have just released a new statement. The case from three days ago involving the murder of a Zhenhua University professor, which provoked national outrage, and the subsequent killing of an honorary professor from the Demon Emperor Engineering College in his dormitory, has been solved.

"The killers of the two professors were covert Demon Clan spies in Modu. They committed these acts because Professor Wen Wen’s research represented a monumental contribution to human civilization, a development the Demon Clan spies were desperate to prevent.

"Fortunately, Wang Lan, a senior student at the Modu Star Martial Academy—also known as Colonel Wang Lan, the nemesis of Demon Clan spies—personally established a special task force. Within three days, this task force successfully apprehended the Demon Clan spy group, killing fourteen spies and bringing justice for the two murdered scientists..."

Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu were eating when they heard the news. They both froze. What in the world?

According to past practice, the Demon Clan spy cases that Wang Lan cracked would typically be briefly mentioned, or sometimes his involvement wouldn’t be reported at all.

Unlike this time, Wang Lan’s name was directly revealed, and they even listed all the major cases he had solved.

What was the intention? What happened to the security classification? Had it been thrown to the dogs?

Wang Lan instinctively picked up the phone and dialed Ming Baiye’s number. As soon as the call connected, Ming Baiye’s hearty laughter boomed from the other end.

"Hahaha... I knew you, kid, couldn’t sit still and would be the first to call to ask. But I didn’t expect you to call me first instead of Eld Di."

"The higher-ups must have a reason for doing this, so there’s no need to question it. I called you because it’s easier to get the full picture from you."

"What’s happening? Remember what the Director told you before, about you being the country’s dark sword?"

"I remember. And?"

"The dark sword is buried deep, only to be unsheathed when blood must be drawn. From now on, it’s time for the dark sword to be unsheathed. Wang Lan, you have matured. The Five Emperors are aging. The country needs to turn a new page, and the people need a new hero. And you are that hero!

"Moreover, you killed Sony of Paradise Bird. Your name is already infamous among Paradise Bird and the Demon Clan spies. Since the enemy already knows who you are, there’s no longer any point in keeping you hidden.

"From now on, you will be the new guardian deity of Jade Country, the War God! This is Number One’s directive."

"Understood!" Wang Lan responded calmly.

"Hey? So calm? Shouldn’t you be howling to the heavens and making some grand pronouncements?"

"Maybe two years ago, but now... I’ve already died once. How could I still be so immature? Always ready!"

"Always ready!" Ming Baiye said in a deep voice on the other end, and the two hung up the phone in tacit understanding.