Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 647 - 517: Facing It
Fahim was finally placed into the life support pod, attempting to lower his metabolism as much as possible.
However, this was only the beginning. Not long after, another Supreme on Star No. 4 was heavily injured, which was what everyone was focused on.
Bu Shang Supreme had already issued a gag order to those in the know, but the ground-shaking noise couldn't be hidden from people.
Last time, Qu Jianlei battled Kushnier in the suburbs, but this time it was purely in the city.
Bu Shang quickly gathered all the intelligence on Panda.
After reading through it, he felt Panda's life experience... was indeed quite thrilling, so he contacted Cheng Qingshan.
Cheng Qingshan was quite familiar with him and shared everything he knew, openly admiring Panda.
Being the Guardian Supreme, Bu Shang wouldn't easily be influenced by others' opinions.
But upon hearing about Panda's decision to leave on his own to prevent any impact on the academy, he couldn't help but praise, "He's a real man!"
Then he remarked, "I want to speak with the female professor you mentioned to understand the situation."
Cheng Qingshan hesitated before replying, "Zi Jiu Immortal isn't very close with Panda, and Panda isn't a formal teacher at Green Water Academy."
Bu Shang found it strange, "If Panda isn't a teacher at Green Water Academy, how can he be responsible for the library's renovation?"
Cheng Qingshan honestly answered, "He's the official library's administrator, employed at the Old City Library."
"What?" Bu Shang couldn't help but ask, "The library in the Old City District?"
After receiving confirmation, he hung up the communication, then softly muttered, "No wonder... is he one of her people?"
No matter what, after Panda disappeared, Fengrao City experienced considerable pressure.
The pressure from Amestina didn't bother Bu Shang much—he never had high regard for Cyan Blade Commerce Association.
Fahim went out in the middle of the night looking for people and ended up causing trouble; he deserved it, and it wasn't like Panda came knocking on their door.
But that night, another twenty-some people were poisoned, two of whom had families with significant power.
The rescue plan had already been put forth, but the government wouldn't cover the related costs; victims had to resolve it themselves.
Activation Potions aren't cheap, not to mention the need to persist for quite a long period, leading to great resentment among the victims.
Then there was the military pressure—various signs indicated the person who attacked Fahim was also the one who killed Kushnier before.
When Kushnier was killed, Panda was on Star No. 3, so the Fourth War Zone didn't give him a hard time.
In fact, after Panda returned, Hals visited the academy regularly, completely unconcerned that the Third War Zone listed him as a suspect.
But this time, the Fourth War Zone couldn't ignore it—Panda had nothing to do with Kushnier's death, but people around him did!
They expressed to Bu Shang Supreme that if you can't catch the culprit, our military can dispatch someone to assist.
Even the Ministry of Agriculture applied pressure; they wanted to obtain the method of making the toxin.
Some people only saw the toxicity, but professionals wondered: might this thing be beneficial to me?
Then there was the fury of the Wood Attribute Awakened: the toxin used by Panda opened a very bad precedent!
It's one of the Five Major Attributes, accounting for about a fifth of Awakened individuals.
With so much pressure applied, even Bu Shang found it hard to handle.
However, at the crucial moment, the First Vice Planet Governor sent an instruction: regulate the behavior of external Supremes on this planet!
This directive was, of course, targeted at the dawn battle. Supremes fighting in the city is an extremely poor conduct!
At first glance, this was an impartial directive, absolutely politically correct.
But Bu Shang perceived a different tone: this was Hoyel targeting Cyan Blade Commerce Association!
Because there's no evidence showing the person harming Fahim is a Supreme, much less a Supreme from the Outer Star Realm.
Theoretically, only a Supreme can effectively kill another Supreme, but theory is theory, and the world is never short of surprises.
Moreover, with that kind of targeted toxin, an A-level can severely injure or even kill a Supreme.
That battle showed that Panda's side deployed no fewer than two A-levels: a Electromagnetic Attribute and an Earth Attribute.
If such two A-levels cooperate with a targeted poison, wiping out a Supreme is possible.
But in fact, Bu Shang knew well he intervened in that battle rather early, and ordinary A-levels truly couldn't flip a Supreme.
But this matter, as long as he's aware of it himself, Fahim can't speak anymore, and Panda's people wouldn't talk excessively.
To be honest, both Fahim and Amestina are Cyan Blade Commerce Association's Supremes, absolutely external Supremes.
In truth, Bu Shang wasn't surprised by Hoyel's instruction either; he already knew Panda was holding a document for Mansion No. 2.
He was a bit curious, how could Hoyel have such audacity to target Cyan Blade Commerce Association?
The people from Cyan Blade aren't any saints either; if anxious, they truly dare to attack government officials.
Really, Hoyel is also caught in a dilemma, compelled to take this step.
He was very clear that Kushnier was killed by Panda's hired personnel, followed by Fahim sharing the same fate.
Moreover, there was considerable involvement between Fahim and Kushnier, and on this point, he trusted Panda's information.
The reason is simple, no one would voluntarily offend the Cyan Blade Commerce Association after having already offended the military.
With this understanding, Hoyel realized that, in the current situation, he must take a side.
For most people, if they can avoid it, they won't easily pick a side, the risk is just too high.
But Hoyel is different, working in the government, taking a side is routine operation.
Unlike Blue Star Divine Land, here, government officials can switch sides for profit without staying loyal.
Overall, in the empire's government, sitting on the fence is very dangerous, here assassinating officials is quite common.
Hoyel is certainly worried about assassination from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association, but are the Panda people easy to provoke?
The fact is, Panda is dealing with Cyan Blade Commerce Association and currently has the upper hand, if Cyan Blade wants revenge, their first target should be Panda.
Compared to Blue Star people, those in the empire act much simpler and more directly.
If they haven't dealt with Panda, targeting the first Vice Planet Governor would not only provoke laughter but also completely anger Panda.
— Do you take me for a fool, forsaking the main target to deal with a secondary one?
This is a society that exalts the law of the jungle, and is also rife with emotional disputes.
Hoyel knows that doing nothing is in fact the most dangerous choice.
Once something happens, his family wouldn't even know who to seek revenge against, so he can only unswervingly support Panda.
Bu Shang doesn't know that the first Vice Governor has such considerations, he even slightly suspects: is this force related to Hoyel?
As for the potential conflict between Hoyel and Kushnier, he has heard people talking about it, but... such rumors are a bit trivial.
Anyway, the pressure Bu Shang faces is much less with the first Vice Governor's directive giving support.
The leader of Star No. 4 threw a fit earlier, then continued to ignore the matters, and Blais has also kept a low profile recently.
Ke Zhenshan is a bit popular lately, but currently, Hoyel is still the one whose words hold the most sway on the planet.
Hoyel doesn't directly oversee public security, which Ke Zhenshan is more focused on, but the Vice Governor fully assists with managing the planet.
So, theoretically, if Ke Zhenshan doesn't want to appear too aggressive, it's best for him to remain silent.
And indeed, Ke Zhenshan's reaction is like this, he is young and has already surpassed Annette, becoming the de facto fourth in command.
Blais's recent status is not good, so it's possible for him to advance to third in command.
At this juncture, if Ke Zhenshan steps forward to confront Hoyel, it would not only seem reckless but also give an impression of immaturity.
So he remained silent, despite having had some dealings with the Cyan Blade Commerce Association.
Precisely because of this, even though Amestina has been clamoring, Bu Shang Supreme withstands the pressure and hasn't issued a wanted order.
The empire's wanted order process operates from bottom to top.
Only when the lower levels can't take it any longer and the criminal is wicked beyond suppression, possibly committing transgressions across territories, they report wanting to the higher-ups.
If there's no wanted issuance below, theoretically, upper-level governmental authorities won't pay attention, which is the necessity of the process.
What Amestina says about "the empire's highest level of wanted" is merely her wishful thinking.
Despite the fear the Cyan Blade Commerce Association inspires, they are merely a social organization, not part of the ruling system.
The volume of their activity may not be small, and their lobbying power is strong.
However, wanting to bypass Star No. 4 and pursuing a higher-level wanted of Panda, the operational difficulty is rather high.
Five days later at the river mouth, Qu Jianlei finally climbed out from the river, soaking wet, grabbing onto a large tree on the bank.
After entering the water, he dispersed Rock Armor and re-applied Ice Armor to himself, simultaneously deploying Water Attribute affinity.
It was the depths of winter, and ice crusted both sides of the riverbank, with flowing water only in the center and occasional ice blocks from upstream.
The complex water conditions greatly obscured his presence.
When he broke away from the most dangerous spot, he could have chosen to come ashore, even using Earth Attribute Techniques to tunnel his way out.
But he stubbornly didn't do so, choosing instead to continue swimming in the water, because he just didn't feel secure.
In fact, he was somewhat resistant to knowing how things would develop once he left.
It undoubtedly wouldn't be good!
Setting aside other things, just mentioning the effect of Paraquat would cause immense harm to ordinary people, it's an unavoidable disaster.
The manifestations of Asperger's Syndrome are many, with one developmental aspect being the sensitivity to external stimuli.
Actually, even those without this disease, knowing they might have made a considerable mistake, would be unwilling to face reality.
He spent five days and only came ashore near the estuary, not just out of a sense of security.
What he thinks is: regardless of what impact has been caused, now it's a foregone conclusion, he only needs to face it.
Simply waiting for the process of definition, truly is torturous, he doesn't want to endure that torment. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
(Third update arrives, during double time, seeking base monthly ticket support.)
