Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 986 - 686: Inspection Team

Bai E looked at the briefing, his brow slightly furrowed.

Loss of control over Spiritual Energy is not uncommon, especially in situations of high pressure or when mistakes occur during practice.

But the frequency, dispersion, and the intense contamination and aggressiveness of these occurrences are indeed suspicious.

"What are the investigation results?" Bai E asked.

"Investigation?" Xing Zhuo smiled wryly, "After each incident, the involved member countries or powers conducted internal investigations, but the results... were either 'improper personal practice leading to demonic possession,' 'interference from unknown Star Domain radiation or Spiritual Energy fields,' or 'possible contact with unpurified ancient Spiritual Energy relics.' In short, there is no consistent conclusion, and no common external triggers were found. The Alliance tried coordinating cross-analysis of the data from various parties, but progress has been slow, as the data provided is not detailed enough due to concerns of safety and confidentiality."

He looked at Bai E, with a hint of probing in his tone: "Mr. Bai Er, you are a top expert in Spiritual Energy, having experienced countless battles and witnessed all kinds of... anomalies. From your experience, are there any... specific commonalities in these incidents? Or, have you sensed any unusual disturbances in the Spiritual Energy background of the recent Star Domain?"

Bai E remained silent for a moment.

His "Insect Race Killer" perception primarily targets the Bug Race, and although he is also attuned to a broader Spiritual Energy environment, such large-scale subtle changes are difficult to grasp without intentional scanning or tracking.

Moreover, after the Karian campaign, his own condition had not fully recovered, and his perceptive acuity had somewhat diminished.

"I have not been continuously monitoring the Spiritual Energy environment of the entire Star Domain," Bai E stated truthfully, "These incidents appear to be isolated individual losses of control, but if there is indeed a connection behind them, it is likely not just simple Spiritual Energy interference or contamination."

Since coming into the universe, he had never heard the humans in the universe speak of the dangers of those high-dimensional demons... Even back when he was on the planet, they had their share in posing the greatest threats to humanity.

"Is it possible... that it's an influence from a higher dimension?" Bai E proposed a possibility.

Based on the knowledge he brought from the planet and his experiences walking through high-dimensional space, high-dimensional demons are most skilled at and fond of tempting intelligent lifeforms to fall.

They distort their will, ignite the negative emotions within them, ultimately leading to loss of control or even mutation.

Spiritual Ability Users, due to their keen spiritual sense and close connection to higher dimensions, are often the primary targets.

Xing Zhuo's expression grew more somber upon hearing this. "Higher-dimensional influence... we have considered it. There is a department within the Alliance dedicated to the study and protection against higher-dimensional phenomena. But the problem is, according to the current monitoring methods, there has been no detection of large-scale higher-dimensional energy tides or significant demon activity peaks recently. Furthermore, if it were the proactive erosion by high-dimensional demons, there would usually be more clear ritual characteristics, energy traces, or... objects of corruption often are those of weak will or malicious intent. Yet, many of these recently out-of-control Spiritual Ability Users are ordinary members with good records and clean backgrounds, some even newly awakened novices with relatively simple minds."

"Most importantly... the higher-dimensional space has been calm for a long time, and those mythical demons have not been active in the world for quite some time."

He sighed, "Precisely because there is no rational explanation, this kind of causeless disaster is more unsettling. Panic is quietly spreading among some of the middle to lower-level Spiritual Ability Users and related institutions. Some are beginning to fear using their Spiritual Energy, worried that the next loss of control might be their own. This is a significant blow to the overall use and development of Spiritual Energy for the Alliance."

Bai E nodded, he could understand the fear brought by such uncertainty.

He then thought of himself and dialed Catherine's communication, "Has there been any Spiritual Ability User losing control recently on Mine Star?"

"Spiritual Ability User losing control?" Catherine paused, seemingly searching the records, "Yes, but there's only one case, not a big deal."

Xing Zhuo, beside her, agreed, "That should be expected. First, there aren't many Spiritual Ability Users on Mine Star, aside from you and a few core members, there are only a few low-level Spiritual Ability Users discovered or naturally awakened from pirates and miners, sparse in number. Second, Ms. Catherine seems to be very concerned with monitoring the mental state of the Spiritual Ability Users, having established a basic regular check and psychological counseling mechanism."

This was indeed true.

Catherine, managing the Mine Star, deeply understood the importance of stability.

She had arranged relatively simple regular tests and interviews on Spiritual Energy stability for all registered personnel with Spiritual Energy potential or those already having it.

Though rudimentary, they at least provided a certain degree of warning and reassurance.

Even though Bai E's own state had not fully recovered, his powerful Spiritual Energy presence itself had an invisible stabilizing and purifying effect on the Spiritual Energy environment within the range of the Mine Star, which might be another unspoken protection factor.

"For now, we can only remain vigilant and enhance monitoring and protection," Bai E said, "If it's truly a higher-dimensional issue, passive defense won't suffice, and... their methods of infiltration might be more covert than we imagine."

He recalled those hidden deep among people and could even disguise flawlessly—the Chaos believers when he was still on the planet.

The Four High-Dimensional Gods' enticement always targeted the heart, leveraging desires, fears, pride, and despair.

Any weakness in people's hearts could easily be magnified under Their deliberate targeting.

The toughest battle he faced before growing was the first time confronting the Demon of Fear...