344: Chapter 142: A man must keep his word 344: Chapter 142: A man must keep his word In the mountains without tigers, monkeys proclaim themselves kings.
Ever since the Red Lantern Society fell from power and the Qianjin Church began to keep a low profile under the pressure of public opinion, the social status of women in Tianmen City plummeted rapidly.
In just a few short days, there were as many as twelve cases of young women disappearing in Nantong District alone.
This figure does not even count those families who, out of shame, moral consideration, or other reasons, chose to conceal and not report such incidents.
All sorts of schools and factories began to see female students dropping out and female workers resigning.
When asked for reasons, they were nothing beyond “going home to get married” or “their family disliked them showing off outside.”
On June 7th, two female workers at the Jinlan Cotton Textile Factory died due to improper operation of the factory machines.
As soon as the news broke, public opinion was in uproar.
The family members of the female workers blocked the factory’s gates, crying injustice, and the entire textile factory had to shut down.
If it were not for Third Master Ding’s warning, Wang Yunxiao would never have noticed any inevitable connection behind all this.
All seemed peacefully timeless.
He had no understanding of the theory of the imbalance of yin and yang, and as a member of the garrison soldiers, all he could do was handle problems in the way a garrison soldier would.
The night he sent Old Third Ding away, he visited the Sea Red Mansion again and hauled out Boss Cui to stab him seven times.
A man must keep his word.
If Liu Xiaohui and the others’ testimonies were not to Wang Yunxiao’s liking, then Boss Cui simply had to suffer.
They had agreed on eight stabs for eight people; first, he would give you seven, sparing your life, with the final stab added to your tab.
Throughout the entire process, no matter how Boss Cui cried and begged on his knees, even his “goddaughters” ran out clinging to Wang Yunxiao’s legs, pleading for mercy at the end of his knife, but Wang Yunxiao did not waver a single bit from start to finish.
Because Su Jianqing was right there, watching with a cheerful smile, without making a move to stop it.
As they locked eyes, each had their own calculations.
Wang Yunxiao’s stabbing was a show for him, intended to convey the message not to think that just because the kid had figured out his moves, he could threaten him at will.
This son of a bitch could freely give me information about Cold and Liu, maybe one day he might leak my information to others as well.
And Su Jianqing’s attitude was also very clear, indicating, “Commander Wang, you’re overthinking it, I have no intention of making things difficult for you.”
After stabbing Boss Cui seven times, he lay on the ground like a dead dog, but Wang Yunxiao had not hit any vital points.
Boss Cui was still breathing, and as long as he was promptly sent to the hospital for treatment, he wouldn’t die.
Liu Xiaohui looked at Wang Yunxiao with tears in her eyes, wanting to say more but stopping herself, yet Wang Yunxiao did not say another word to her.
Stabbing you seven times is my attitude, making you understand that I am a man of my word.
If you don’t strive for yourself, I can’t save you either.
……
Veronica brought back a batch of special equipment from the Church, which looked like the kind of goggles worn by early propeller aircraft pilots.
“These are the low-end version of the Multi-Dimensional Periscope.”
Wearing the goggles, Veronica introduced them to Wang Yunxiao, “This equipment was first issued to the Dragon Cavalry Corps serving under the Emperor, for hunting the wizards of the Dark Council and the Hell Demons…”
“Which Emperor?”
Wang Yunxiao was not good with history, let alone foreign history.
“The Dragon Cavalry Corps only recognize one Emperor, that of the sacred Frank Empire who united Europe.
Don’t ask too much, I am not French, and I am not good at history either.”
Veronica shrugged and continued, “The last glory of the Dragon Cavalry Corps was buried in the Commune Movement, and after that, the Carmelite Holy Clothes Society, now known as the Qianjin Church, inherited the legacy of the Dragon Cavalry Corps…”
“Do you also raise dragons?”
“…Don’t interrupt!”
“Alright, alright, go on with what you were saying!”
“The legacy of the Dragon Cavalry still contains a lot of good stuff, for example, the equipment I applied for you.
A real Multi-Dimensional Periscope has seven lens groups and can peek into most of the Outer Dimensions, but the manufacturing cost is also quite hefty.
Without any exaggeration, just one lens group can equal half a year of your salary,”
“So I only requested this low-end version with a single lens group, and I’ve put up the money for it myself for now, I’ll have to get reimbursed by Director Qin later.”
“So how exactly do we use this thing?”
“Why don’t you put it on and see for yourself!”
Wang Yunxiao copied Veronica’s motions and put on the glasses—though in actuality, it was something you wore over your head.
When he opened his eyes, he felt dizzy and nauseous, almost throwing up the breakfast he had eaten.
However, having experienced dimensional travel multiple times, he quickly adapted, squinting his eyes and beginning to reassess the world through the lenses.
The world in front of him became fragmented and disjointed.
If you could say the normal world was like a photograph, then what he saw now was like several torn-up photographs that had been pieced back together again.
This was almost equivalent to a “Chess Herald’s” point of view; he had only heard about it from Chen Yan before, and this was his first time experiencing it.
The Real World, as well as the various dimensions overlapping with it, looked like layers of curtains scattered around.
When he looked toward Veronica, he saw a sacred halo hovering above the white-haired girl’s head, along with two blazing golden wings of flame behind her.
Huh?
Wang Yunxiao thought to himself that she had kept these things well hidden.
Of course, that being said, he had never seen Veronica go all out, so he couldn’t claim that she had concealed anything from him.
“You see me, right?
I’ll give you a demonstration next.”
Since Veronica could bring these glasses here, she didn’t care if others could see through her guise.
She snapped her fingers, turned around, and walked out the door.
It was only when she walked away that Wang Yunxiao realized the true function of the glasses.
Although she had left, through the lenses, Wang Yunxiao could still see her afterimage in the room, the traces of her departure, and he could even see through walls to track the path she walked.
It was a path of flame that travel through the fragmented world.
Or, to put it more professionally—it was her Echo!
So this is what Echo Erosion looks like to the naked eye.
Wang Yunxiao suddenly understood; now he finally knew where all those bizarre cases of Echo Erosion on him came from.
They were all rubbed off like this.
You have to say, this thing is indeed useful.
If combined with his notebook, wouldn’t it make things much more efficient?
Only, he wasn’t sure if regular people could use it.
He had felt dizzy and disoriented just putting it on, and the side effects for his sworn brothers might be even worse.
“How is it?
It’s quite practical, right?
With this, those Demons and Evil Spirits will no longer be able to hide,”
Veronica walked back in from outside and said, “But it’s better not to use it for extended periods, as it can be quite taxing on the brain.
Humans are accustomed to observing the world with two eyes, and seeing too much at once can overload the brain.”
“Also, the new recruits have all arrived.
Director Qin wants you to go downstairs and organize the second round of tests.”