Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 436: House Arrest, Tripartite Deterrence, Joint Investigation_1
Within Baishan County, the atmosphere seemed somewhat heavy.
Three thousand Qiantian Iron Horse had crossed the territory, heading toward Zhenhai City. Accompanied by Imperial Guards and members of the Three Laws Department, the scale of this operation was immense.
Even the Prefectural Governor had been taken to Zhenhai City, apparently to investigate some matter.
Wang Linchi was also interrogated. After all, he had come from Zhenhai City; besides him, everyone else connected to Zhenhai City had also been questioned.
Furthermore, as a precautionary measure, anyone with even the slightest connection was placed under house arrest, unable to move freely until their innocence was unequivocally established.
Although there were only three thousand iron cavalry, these three thousand men were Heavy Armored Cavalry. Coupled with auxiliary troops, logistics, and so on, they were sufficient to fight a large-scale battle.
Such a significant mobilization had silenced all factions, whether from the Great Families or the various government departments.
No matter how powerful they were, they could not withstand the Court’s fury.
It was known that these three thousand Qiantian Iron Horse were Emperor Jing’s personal army. Each knight was a Spirit Master with official rank, meaning not only were they heavily armored, but each was also a top-tier expert in the pugilistic world.
And this was only a moderately strong one among Emperor Jing’s trump cards; he possessed even greater ones.
Otherwise, how would those defiant Great Families across the land obediently follow the various decrees issued by Emperor Jing? He wielded not only the brush but also the spear, leaving them no choice but to comply.
The Great Families could contend with Emperor Jing, but they were destined to lose, never to win.
"Recall again, the day you left the city...," an Imperial Hundred Household Honor Guard sitting before Wang Linchi asked solemnly.
"Sir, you’ve asked this question at least fifty times. My answer remains the same...," Wang Linchi said, appearing somewhat exhausted.
When answering, Wang Linchi naturally varied his responses slightly each time. Occasionally, he would omit a few details or change his phrasing; answering identically every time would have been suspicious.
"I still have the upcoming rural examination. Could you perhaps make an allowance so I can continue my studies?" Wang Linchi asked. In reality, he wasn’t worried at all, but he still had to maintain the appropriate attitude.
"I know," the guard replied. He had already reviewed Wang Linchi’s file. With imperial authorization, he naturally knew Wang Linchi was to participate in the civil examination. However, with orders from above, he was helpless in this matter.
"Do you have anything else to say?" the guard asked, glancing at the notes in his hand. He actually knew these records were useless.
Such intense interrogations naturally led to flaws and omissions in one’s answers, but these were considered normal. The overall content was largely consistent.
Therefore, the man before him was definitely not a suspect. The guard only continued the questioning out of duty.
Besides, given Wang Linchi’s situation, how could he possibly kill an Imperial Guard? Every Imperial Guard was painstakingly trained and far superior to some self-taught amateur.
"Nothing else," Wang Linchi answered honestly.
"Alright, just wait. The restrictions should be lifted in a few days," the Imperial Guard said.
The real focus was on Zhenhai City, so matters here were expected to conclude quickly.
"Thank you, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" Wang Linchi exclaimed, quickly taking an ingot of silver from his robes and discreetly passing it over. "Sir, I hope you can be lenient. If this affects my examination, I’ll lose another year."
Wang Linchi had sensed the guard intended to let him off, which is why he offered the silver. Otherwise, it would have been counterproductive.
The guard accepted it without a change in expression and said in an official tone, "Study well at home. No one will disturb you for the time being."
Once the money was exchanged, the attitude noticeably softened. This implied that unless significant new orders came from above, his matter was considered closed. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Yes, yes, I will follow your instructions, Sir," Wang Linchi chimed in.
"Mm, very good," the guard said, then rose and left.
Wang Linchi dispatched a mosquito-shaped memory body to follow the Imperial Guard. The Guard’s loyalty to Emperor Jing was still unknown, and Wang Linchi needed to ensure the man didn’t include the bribe in his report.
Who knows what he’s really thinking.
After leaving, the guard quickly returned to his temporary office and began writing his report.
The memory body watched from beginning to end. The report made no mention of money and was even biased in Wang Linchi’s favor. It just goes to show that money makes the world go round.
That ingot of silver he gave was One Hundred Taels of Silver, a full ten jin (five kilograms). It was fortunate the Imperial Guard was a Spirit Master; otherwise, he might not have been able to pocket it so discreetly.
Only after observing the guard submit the report did Wang Linchi withdraw his gaze.
He seems trustworthy. But are the Imperial Guards’ wages really that low? Wang Linchi pondered.
It was a bit strange that One Hundred Taels of Silver could make an Imperial Guard so attentive.
Perhaps it’s my perspective on money, Wang Linchi thought, recalling his liberal use of counterfeit currency. His previous silver notes were hand-drawn, and his current silver was disguised by memory constructs. For him, there was virtually no cost, leading to his extravagant spending habits.
More importantly, neither silver nor silver notes were particularly useful to him. Anything that could be bought with money, he could just as easily steal or rob. He generally only used money to maintain his identity.
Having settled this, he resumed perfecting and passively upgrading his semi-developed system.
This was a rather lengthy process.
Once the system I’m working on is completed, my Potential should be further elevated.
Wang Linchi had faintly discerned his current growth limit. His spiritual power would likely plateau after reaching one hundred billion.
To advance further, there were two paths. The first was to complete his system, using the perfected system to balance his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, ultimately achieving comprehensive self-improvement. The second, simpler path was to merely wait for time to pass, allowing his embryonic world to mature into a fledgling or young world, which would, in turn, elevate his Potential.
Naturally, Wang Linchi chose the former method. A world’s development would take hundreds of millions of years at a minimum to show progress, and he didn’t have that kind of time.
However, the first method was not easy. The Soul Resemblance and Game systems, which served as foundational resources, both had their own upper limits and Potential and were not simple constructs. To perfect his system, he would need a substantial amount of resources from other systems, making the endeavor quite difficult.
I’m close to my Potential limit now. Three more days at most, perhaps, Wang Linchi felt somewhat stifled. Despite his immense power, he couldn’t fully utilize it.
He was helpless against the Calamity of the Last Law, giving him the feeling of wearing brocade at night—possessing great power he couldn’t display.
However, frustrated as he was, he had no intention of shouting "Break!" and confronting the Calamity of the Last Law head-on.
Even complete worlds were no match for the Calamity of the Last Law. If an embryonic world like mine dared to act so arrogantly, death would be the only outcome.
I may be the protagonist now, but protagonists aren’t omnipotent. If they were, Bai Changsheng wouldn’t have died, Ye Tian wouldn’t have had to sacrifice himself to mend the heavens, and Yan Ming King wouldn’t have been so utterly helpless before the Great Ruins.
Not courting trouble, but not fearing it either—this was one of Wang Linchi’s principles.
Of course, when faced with benefits and great profits, Wang Linchi would readily discard this principle; he was a remarkably flexible person.
Perfect. After reaching max level and acquiring the Lifted Person title, my Potential will probably increase a bit more, Wang Linchi mused; he was always improving.
His plans were, in fact, very thorough.
While he might not have been able to plan three steps ahead for every one he took, when it came to his future and survival, he would think before acting and rarely be impulsive. If it was time to flee, he would do so without the slightest hesitation.
After the examination, I’ll head straight to the Prefecture to avoid being embroiled in more trouble, Wang Linchi thought. He knew well that the affair in Zhenhai City was far from over, so the farther he got from it, the better.
As for resolving it? What business was it of mine? I can’t just kill everyone involved, can I? That would only blow things out of proportion.
Although he had been caught in the crossfire, he hadn’t suffered any actual loss. So, Wang Linchi didn’t give it much more thought, especially since, in a way, the whole affair had started because of him.
Once I reach the Capital, I should be able to evade any residual problems. Especially if I manage to clinch first place, the Imperial Guards will be more wary of me.
At that point, unless they genuinely found something on me or Emperor Jing himself issued an order, they most likely wouldn’t come looking for trouble.
Wang Linchi was quite confident about this.
