Within ten meters of the Whisperin Erosion, Jinzhou civilians one after another could not withstand the mental pollution of the murmurs and collapsed unconscious.
"Too cruel."
Taoqi stared fixedly at the Whisperin Erosion, her silver teeth clenched tightly, boundless indignation nearly overwhelming her reason.
"Shh."
Yuanwu patted her shoulder, signaling her not to act rashly, but his slightly trembling body also revealed that his heart was not as calm as it appeared.
Gradually, within the Whisperin Erosion's range, the last civilian fainted and fell.
Scar frowned deeply, pressed the remote to shut off the high-voltage netting, and waved casually:
"Take this batch away and bring in the next. Also, test that newly converted Tacet Discord to see if it has normal human cognition."
As his words fell, a group of Fractsidus members stepped into the Whisperin Erosion's range and began dragging out the unconscious civilians one by one.
One of them stopped in front of the freshly converted Judgment Warrior Tacet Discord, held up his palm, and asked:
"How many is this?"
Judgment Warrior: ...
The Fractsidus member turned, saluted toward Scar:
"Report to Overseer Scar—this Tacet Discord has no cognitive ability."
"Another defective product. Trash technology—can't even achieve a one-percent success rate."
Scar flicked his hand impatiently: "Dispose of it."
"Yes!"
The Fractsidus members moved quickly. In half a minute, more than half the civilians within the Whisperin Erosion had been dragged away.
Outside the range, long queues of Jinzhou civilians still waited. Taoqi and Yuanwu pretended to be Fractsidus members supervising the lines.
Yuanwu carefully gestured, asking Taoqi whether they should quietly withdraw. Taoqi nodded.
The two moved unobtrusively, slowly stepping toward the rear of the queue.
"Hey! Where do you two think you're going? Can't you see everyone's working?"
A tall, heavyset man who seemed to be a leader shouted angrily, striding over to them and ordering imperiously:
"Fractsidus doesn't keep useless dead weight. You two—go in now and carry out those unconscious Jinzhou natives!"
The two exchanged a quick glance, eyes communicating rapidly.
Yuanwu: He didn't recognize us as fakes?
Taoqi: Probably not.
Yuanwu: So what now?
Taoqi: Don't alert them—do as he says for now.
The two walked toward the Whisperin Erosion. Behind them, the heavyset Fractsidus member watched their backs suspiciously.
"Stop!"
The heavyset Fractsidus member suddenly shouted.
The abrupt noise made Yuanwu and Taoqi both flinch, muscles tensing as they stiffly turned around.
Were they… discovered?
"You two idiots—not even wearing your Veil-Proof Bracelets? Aren't you afraid of being polluted into puppets?"
The heavyset Fractsidus member scolded while pulling two black-purple stone bracelets from his pocket and motioning for them to come take them.
Hearing this, both Yuanwu and Taoqi had the same thought.
Neither was stupid; they keenly realized the connection between these bracelets and the black-purple eyeball nearby.
It seemed that wearing a black-purple stone bracelet granted immunity to the Whisperin Erosion's pollution?
"Why aren't you two saying anything?"
The heavyset Fractsidus member handed the Veil-Proof Bracelets to them. His gaze suddenly fixed on the bulge under Taoqi's uniform:
"Hey, you skinny little guy—how'd you train such developed pecs?"
He laughed mockingly and lightly punched toward Taoqi's chest, only for his fist to be caught mid-air by a powerful hand.
"Friend, that's not something a gentleman should do."
Hearing Yuanwu's deep, unfamiliar voice, the heavyset Fractsidus member's pupils contracted. He immediately swung his other fist at Yuanwu while shouting:
"Intruders!"
In an instant, the entire Sonoro Sphere fell silent. All Fractsidus members turned their attention.
"Damn it—exposed after all."
Yuanwu cursed inwardly, dropped the disguise, threw a heavy punch that sent the heavyset man flying, ripped off his mask, and turned to Taoqi, shouting low:
"Go—I'll cover you!"
Scar near the Whisperin Erosion noticed the disturbance immediately. Surprise flashed across his face:
"So it's those two rats that sneaked in!"
"They're still alive?"
"Interesting."
Watching the two evade interception by numerous Fractsidus members, a playful curve hooked Scar's lips.
A deck of cards suddenly appeared in his palm, flipping rapidly—each card harboring explosive energy.
Perfect. The experiments had grown boring; he would personally deal with these two rats.
"Frost Bloom!"
A cold, clear voice rang beside his ear. Scar's legs were suddenly encased in ice. He turned in shock to see a woman with icy eyes.
Jinzhou Magistrate's guard—Sanhua. She had been hiding among the civilian queue all along, waiting for the right moment.
Now, the moment had come.
Sanhua said nothing. Killing intent filled her red eyes without concealment as she pushed her resonance power to the limit.
"Grand Red Lotus!"
Her resonance ability formed a massive glacier that completely encased Scar in ice.
The commotion instantly drew the attention of many Fractsidus members, who turned their guns toward Sanhua.
Pressure on Taoqi and Yuanwu suddenly eased.
Just as Sanhua prepared her next move, the glacier exploded. Scar broke free.
The blast turned the ice into swirling snow mist.
A playing card shot through the shattered ice and snow toward Sanhua. She slashed it with her sword—only for it to detonate violently.
The massive explosion forced Sanhua back several steps.
Sudden applause rang out.
"With all of Jinzhou's civilians reduced to idiots by pollution, I didn't expect someone to still retain reason."
Scar clapped as he emerged from the frost and snow mist, his gaze a mix of appreciation and mockery.
"You seem to have great potential as a proper test subject."
"Fractsidus lapdog—invading our Jinzhou, harming our people, and conducting such cruel experiments. What exactly is your goal?"
Sanhua wiped dust from her face, staring fixedly at Scar as she slowly retreated. He shrugged indifferently:
"Of course—for the continuation of Solaris civilization."
At this, anger flared even hotter on Sanhua's face. Scar continued unhurriedly:
"Think about it. When The Lament invades civilization once more and Threnodians across Solaris awaken, only to find the beings here have already transformed into Tacet Discords ahead of time…"
"What did you say?" Sanhua cut him off, furious.
Scar suddenly laughed maniacally:
"At that time, everyone will merely have changed their skin, yet civilization can continue to exist in another form. What's wrong with that?"
Cards shot out lightning-fast, aimed straight at Sanhua:
"We Fractsidus already have a preliminary plan for this project. Capturing Jinzhou's citizens is merely to provide more samples for the experiments."
Sanhua had experienced the power of those cards and dared not block them directly—she could only dodge, her figure retreating further.
She was not unaffected by the Whisperin Erosion; endless murmurs echoed in her mind. She maintained her sanity only through sheer willpower:
"If civilization must continue through such humiliating compromise, it would be better to perish together with the Threnodians."
While evading the cards, Sanhua shouted: "Moreover—why should Jinzhou's people become fodder for your cruel plan?"
Scar's onslaught grew fiercer, his expression fanatical:
"This is necessary sacrifice! Once successful, all humanity will benefit. Why resist? Come—join our glorious transformation."
"Necessary sacrifice? Why don't you sacrifice yourself first!"
In constant evasion, Sanhua finally neared the Whisperin Erosion's range.
Her gaze briefly fell on Jinhsi, covered in dragon scales, a flash of sorrow in her eyes that quickly turned to vengeful fury.
Eternal Frost!
She frantically pushed her resonance ability, freezing two nearby precision instruments. A sharp blade flash followed, shattering them into quartered ice blocks.
"Better to be shattered jade than an intact tile."
Seeing the instruments destroyed, the mockery on Scar's face instantly froze.
"You're courting death!"
He flew into a rage, his body swelling as he transformed into a horned devil and lunged fiercely at Sanhua.