Almost simultaneously, alarms rang in every city of North County.

Lin Jingxuan abruptly opened his eyes, his usually calm face showing an instant of incredulity.

"Clearly the Heaven and Earth Array is still operating, how is this possible?"

Even the River Map and Luo Book couldn’t suppress it, which led Lin Jingxuan to think of one possibility.

That is, the Empire also possesses an Original Dao Soldiers of similar status to the River Map and Luo Book!

Following this line of thought, Lin Jingxuan soon thought of an imperial supreme treasure, the Knight’s Code!

"So, the mountain of corpses and sea of blood seen in the hexagrams will begin like this."

"The development pattern of all things cannot escape those two words of fate; even if a divination master glimpses the heavenly mechanism, it cannot be recklessly blocked or attempt to change fate."

"With my current strength, the only thing I can do is control the loss to an acceptable level."

Thinking of this, Lin Jingxuan sighed.

No longer keeping his seated posture, he stood up.

With his movement, bits of starlight scattered from between his fingers, condensing into golden profound texts the size of beans.

The River Map and Luo Book appeared before Lin Jingxuan.

Countless golden profound texts transformed into a golden torrent, surging into it.

At the same time, throughout North County, symbols from eight different directions suddenly lit up.

Buzz——

The ears of every North County resident heard this deep hum.

They didn’t know what was happening; soon, the Celestial Net used various virtual network methods to convey the latest news representing North County:

"Attention all North County residents, attention all North County residents."

"Please proceed immediately to the nearest refuge point for emergency evacuation."

"If you do not know the specific location of the refuge point, please open your Celestial Net navigation for guidance."

"The notice is being emphasized once again..."

Emergency evacuation!

When they heard these four words, those still sleepy and confused awoke instantly.

They hurriedly dressed and, following the guidance from the Celestial Net, opened the Celestial Net navigation and quickly headed to the refuge points for evacuation.

In the virtual meeting room, the virtual images of everyone appeared once more.

The only difference was that their faces were now filled with seriousness.

"We were just about to inquire about the empire’s purpose, but the controlled refugee self-destructed." Ye Qiu’s face was somewhat grim.

He was mainly responsible for these matters, about to succeed only to end in failure.

"Not just yours, all controlled refugees self-destructed, including Wang Agui, who successfully escaped to Jubei Pass, also perished."

"They are all part of the empire’s plan."

"We still do not know what the empire’s ultimate purpose is."

"It is the Fallen Chapter, the last page of the Knight’s Code. It wishes to drag the entire North County into the abyss of corruption, causing all North County residents to sink." Lin Jingxuan, recently joined, spoke.

"Second Senior Brother, you know?"

Lin Jingxuan nodded slightly.

The things a divination master can foresee are numerous, but what can be spoken is very little.

Only after the dust settles can a part be conveyed.

"Fortunately, we had prepared refuges in advance, not expecting a day they would truly be used."

"Refuges can only temporarily stall the time; the empire’s subsequent actions are likely not so simple."

In the midst of everyone’s discussion, the figure of Little Dragon Man Bob appeared before the meeting room.

As it appeared, one by one, the latest analysis reports were posted on the virtual light screen.

"Regarding the action trajectories of these refugees, I have completed the screening through the Celestial Net system. Each city has at least fifty people. The action trajectories are complex, with many overlapping locations that require you to conduct on-site investigations and confirmations."

On-site investigation and confirmation, in the current environment, is unquestionably not an easy task.

Shen Zheqi appeared as if he hadn’t considered the risk at all, merely nodding.

"This will be dangerous." Bob warned him.

"I know." Shen Zheqi’s tone was calm, "But as the Great Xia Corps Commander, defending the Great Xia is a necessary responsibility."

Sacrifice is inevitable; every Combat Spirit Contract Master of Great Xia North County, from the very first day they joined, already prepared for this realization.

"Aside from needing to investigate the overlapping trajectory points, I think Legion Commander Lin has also perceived something?"

Bob looked at Lin Jingxuan, "With the River Map and Luo Book as Original Dao Soldiers, combined with Heaven and Earth Array, within this grand array, any environmental change cannot escape your monitoring."

"That’s correct, some strange auras have increased."

"Those are not strange auras; it is the Breath of Corruption. Having had many encounters with Fallen Knights in the City of Extreme Evil, I am more sensitive to sensing the Breath of Corruption."

"However, compared to the Fallen Aura of the Fallen Knights, the methods used by the empire this time are noticeably much more sophisticated."

The empire seeks to use the Breath of Corruption to drag the entire North County into an abyss of corruption.

The refugees they controlled weren’t undertaking any mission but embarking on a one-way trip to Hell.

From the day they agreed to undertake missions, chose to serve the empire, and betray Great Xia, they had no retreat.

...

Wang Agui died.

Died from bodily explosion.

At the time of death, black ink splattered all over the caretaker nurse, the scene so terrifying, she had nightmares for several days.

Fortunately, the high tech level of Great Xia Civilization Level 5 allowed her promptly go through a deep cleaning and purification, removing impurities and providing psychological counseling.

That day, she continued her nursing work as usual.

Though the emergency evacuation moved many ordinary people, the work of treating and caring for patients in the hospital continued.

While walking midway, this nurse suddenly felt an unbearably intense swelling pain from head to toe.

Her entire body inflated like a balloon.

In an instant, there was a loud bang.

She, like Wang Agui, died from bodily explosion.

The same dark ink sprayed on surrounding nurses, doctors, and patients.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang loudly.

"The Breath of Corruption is highly infectious; once contaminated, it explodes the human body."

"The Breath of Corruption that disperses into the air upon death will circulate into bodies once more, but its activation speed will slow compared to direct contact."

"Damned empire, they actually developed such wicked things!"

Due to the Breath of Corruption, the inspectors responsible for checking suspicious locations in various cities, along with intelligent mechanisms, couldn’t escape infection by the Breath of Corruption and lost their lives.

This is almost like filling, using lives to fill, to uncover the truth.

The persistence of the Breath of Corruption far exceeded their countermeasures; even Shang Siteng’s Heaven’s Origin was a drop in the bucket.

The crisis in Great Xia deepens.