Chapter 133: Morning Grumpiness

"Right, right, right! How could I have forgotten that? Those who are infected cannot have their bloodline detected! But this Cao Fusheng looks perfectly normal. He even passed the physical scan when entering the Heavenly Pillar. No! I must take him to the Medical Department and have him undergo a double-check here with me!"

"Knock, knock..."

Bai Qingchu pulled his thoughts back and quietly tucked the vial of blood back into his pocket. There was no conclusion yet; it was too early to make a declaration.

Perhaps this blood could still be useful. It would be too rash to simply dispose of it as if it belonged to an infected person.

"Come in."

As soon as Ruan Luoluo entered, she asked, "The blood test for Cao Fusheng didn't yield results, but what about the other two? Are the results out? We can't let one person hold up the entire process."

"Hmm... the other two are quite fortunate. Both meet the criteria for living in the upper levels. The other man has an A-grade bloodline, and the woman has a B-grade. You can arrange their placement as you see fit," Bai Qingchu said coolly.

A strange glimmer flickered in Ruan Luoluo’s eyes. She whispered, "That need not trouble you, Minister Bai. I will see to it."

Perhaps she felt a twinge of compassion, or perhaps she realized that the man was not easy to deal with, so she did not immediately finalize the arrangements for Gao Yi and Han Shuqing.

Doing so could very well cause some disturbances; at the very least, she should wait until the third person's blood test results were in before arranging them all together.

Bai Qingchu felt that the matter could not be delayed. If Cao Fusheng was truly infected, they had to take action immediately. Since the founding of the Heavenly Pillar, there had never been a case of internal mutation.

"Minister Xun, please arrange for someone to take Cao Fusheng to the Medical Department. I will notify them... never mind, I will go myself." Bai Qingchu stepped out of his laboratory and said this to Xun Xin.

Xun Xin looked bewildered. "What happened? Why do you need to bring enforcement officers to escort him?"

"It’s my fault for overlooking a major possibility earlier. There is another reason why a bloodline cannot be detected: the person has been infected!"

"What!? Then why the hell are we testing him? I’ll have someone kill him right now, contact Old Lu, and toss him into the furnace!" Xun Xin’s eyes widened in alarm as he prepared to leave. How could this be? If an infected person had infiltrated the Heavenly Pillar, everyone would be held accountable.

Especially those people doing the physical scans at the entrance! What a bunch of incompetents!

Xun Xin cursed under his breath, feeling extremely annoyed. It was nothing but trouble for everyone involved.

"Hey, wait! It’s just a guess; I haven't reached a conclusion yet. Passing judgment on a person's life so quickly would be too brutal. He just saved so many of us, after all. We can't go too far. The priority is to take him to the Medical Department for a comprehensive check, and then bring him to me for further study," Bai Qingchu explained.

"Oh, you should have said so earlier! You had me all tense—look, I'm sweating!" Xun Xin scoffed.

The two then left together; it seemed that this time, both ministers would be personally inviting their guest.

As for Ruan Luoluo, she had already left earlier. As the Minister of the Service Department, she had plenty of things to attend to.

In terms of daily life, the Service Department was the busiest branch in the entire Heavenly Pillar.

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"Knock, knock, knock..."
"Knock, knock, knock..."

Cao Fusheng, still asleep, was startled by the urgent knocking. He sat up, dazed for a moment. The bloodshot veins in his pupils had not yet fully receded, and he looked quite displeased.

Being suddenly jolted awake while in the middle of a deep sleep is a recipe for sudden death.

"Fusheng... is it the test results? Are they here to assign us our quarters..." Han Shuqing reached an arm as white as snow out from under the covers, rubbing her sore eyes as she asked instinctively.

The knocking outside continued, growing increasingly frantic. It sounded as if they would kick the door down if it wasn't opened immediately.

Cao Fusheng smoothed out his irritable mood. Just as he finished dressing and walked to the door, he heard a voice shout from outside: "Open the door!"

"..."

A nameless rage flared up like a volcanic eruption. With a grim expression, Cao Fusheng yanked the door open, only to be met by a foot kicking toward him!

"Open your mother’s..." Cao Fusheng said coldly. "Get lost!"

Without even looking, he threw a punch that collided squarely with the sole of the intruder's foot. This strike, fueled by his anger, sent the man flying six or seven meters back, followed immediately by wails of agony.

He wouldn't be thinking of kicking anyone again anytime soon.

The power of Cao Fusheng's current punch, given even a little acceleration, could send massive anomalies flying several meters, let alone a human whose weight was negligible in comparison. And even then, he hadn't used his full strength; otherwise, it wouldn't have just been a matter of the man flying backward.

"You! Seize him!" Xun Xin was furious. He had originally felt a sliver of goodwill toward this man, but upon learning he might be an infected, that final shred of sympathy vanished.

Furthermore, seeing him assault his subordinate right in front of him—how could he tolerate that? If he didn't react, what authority would he have left?

"Click, click..."

Several enforcement officers who had arrived with them cocked their weapons and aimed them at Cao Fusheng.

Bai Qingchu stood not far away. For some reason, he had not followed Xun Xin to the door, choosing instead to observe the suspected infected man from a distance of over ten meters.

Han Shuqing had already dressed, but she did not come to the door, hiding off to the side instead.

The situation outside was spiraling out of control. If she stepped out now, she would likely be treated as a target, and if a fight really broke out, she would only become a distraction for her man. It was better to stay out of sight.

Most importantly, she trusted in Cao Fusheng's abilities and combat skills; this level of conflict would not stump him.

Cao Fusheng raised his hands and chuckled. "My apologies, I have a bit of a temper when I wake up. When he kicked at me, it was pure, subconscious self-defense."

"Self-defense? Is that the kind of self-defense that hits that hard?" Xun Xin did not step forward, but spoke angrily.

The power and reaction speed the man had displayed just now were top-tier. Being too close would likely yield him no good results.

"What's wrong, Team Leader Cao?"

Gao Yi, hearing the commotion, opened his door and walked out. When he saw the standoff, he became instantly incensed, stepping out to confront the enforcement team.

As long as Cao Fusheng gave the signal, he could act immediately. He had survived storms of gunfire and forests of corpses; why would he fear a few men?

"Minister Xun, is it? So, how do you intend to deal with me now? You see, the man has been hit... how about I compensate him for some medical expenses?" Cao Fusheng's tone was casual, showing no sign of repentance.

Xun Xin sneered. "Heh, you’ve got plenty of spirit. You don't look like an infected to me."

"..."

Cao Fusheng and Gao Yi exchanged confused glances. What? Infected? Since when had they become infected?

"Minister Xun, even rumors need to be grounded in some sense of proportion. Otherwise, be careful of the trouble you invite with your mouth. If you slander me like this, I won't accept it." Cao Fusheng's face turned cold, a chill radiating from his eyes as he deliberately took a few steps forward in a show of defiance.