Rising to the Surface

"Does this blood serum have anything to do with the plague?" Mo Fan pressed.

"Whether it does or not, we'll find out by looking. I stole a badge — you impersonate its owner and we get into the storage facility together. After the outbreak, Bai Town went into lockdown and banned the transport of goods and cargo, so that tainted batch of blood serum has to still be somewhere inside the town." Lingling explained.

"Azure Sky Hunting Firm in action — justice gets served today!" Mo Fan said with gusto.

The blood serum depot in Bai Town was housed inside a military supply compound. With credentials in hand, Mo Fan simply strolled right in.

He remembered that the compound had been heavily guarded the last time he visited Bai Town. Since the White Demon Eagle Legion's arrival, most of the sentries had been reassigned to the Safe Zone border, leaving this place noticeably short-staffed.

The infiltration went off without a hitch. It didn't take Mo Fan long to spot a cluster of people in white uniforms bustling about inside the warehouse, hurrying back and forth as though moving something.

"Soldiers at the front are wounded — we're here on orders to requisition blood serum. You've got an entire warehouse full of the stuff. Why won't you let us take it?!" A military officer stood outside the warehouse doors, jabbing a furious finger at the white-uniformed custodians.

"I've already told you — what's in that warehouse isn't blood serum. The front-line supplies you need are already being delivered by someone else." The guard in white held his ground without flinching.

"Do you think I'm blind? I've served in the military and in medicine for years — don't tell me I can't tell blood serum when I see it. You black-hearted merchants are hoarding stock, aren't you? Trying to cash in while the White Demon Eagle Legion is attacking?" The officer let loose a righteous barrage.

"Don't throw wild accusations around. We're acting on orders, same as everyone else." The white-uniformed guard's face flushed crimson.

"Hmph. Acting on orders — you lot have some nerve, privately stockpiling critical strategic supplies. I'm clearing out every last drop of blood serum from this warehouse today. I'd like to see who dares lay a hand on Military Commander Ming Kuo. Men — move everything out!!" A black-bearded man stepped forward. The medals on his chest marked him plainly as a Military Commander.

The guards had held their own against the officers well enough, still carrying a measure of defiance — but the moment a Military Commander appeared, every drop of it drained away.

Ming Kuo was not a man who wasted time on ceremony. With a squad of Military Mages at his back, he kicked the warehouse doors open without a word.

The gates swung wide. Row after row of neatly packaged white bottles stood arranged throughout the warehouse. Inside each one, vivid drops of crimson blood shimmered with a faint, peculiar glow.

"Tell me that's not blood serum!" Ming Kuo bellowed.

"These... they're..." The uniformed guard's face went ashen.

"Not another word. Say one more thing and I'll finish you where you stand. Our soldiers are fighting and bleeding at the front, and you people are sitting here delaying military supplies?!" Ming Kuo's voice thundered off the walls.

The guards didn't dare breathe. Only one man broke the silence — a sharp-featured military medic who stepped forward with an oily smile: "By all means, take them if you wish — but please allow me to notify Deputy Chief Adjudicator Wang Yi first. These healing resources belong to the Magic Association's Tribunal. Proper procedure still needs to be observed..."

"You're pulling out a Deputy Chief Adjudicator to stop me?!" Ming Kuo let out a scornful laugh.

He waved a hand, cutting off any hope the sharp-featured medic had of negotiating further, and ordered his men to begin loading the cargo.

The Military Mages moved in organized columns. Though the guards were not few in number, none of them dared openly resist a military force. They could only stand by in helpless silence as the entire warehouse was emptied crate by crate, trading bewildered glances.

The sharp-featured medic looked increasingly stricken. He dialed his phone with frantic hands, and the panic written across his face made it plain that something had gone very wrong.

*Deputy Chief Adjudicator Wang Yi?* A faint smile tugged at the corner of Mo Fan's mouth. He had just locked onto a key player.

It was becoming clear that something was wrong with this batch of blood serum — otherwise, why keep it hidden rather than putting it to use? With the front lines ablaze, supplies like these should have been the first thing sent to the fortress.

Mo Fan had entered the compound posing as a military medic. Seeing that Ming Kuo's men were about to haul away every last crate, he rushed forward.

"Commander, sir — a moment, please." Mo Fan called out.

"And who are you? Let me guess — another person about to drop a big name to stop me?" Ming Kuo replied with cold mockery.

"No, no, nothing like that. Some of my men were wounded coming back from the field. I've searched all over Bai Town and can't find blood serum anywhere. I only just arrived hoping to requisition a bit, and now you're taking all of it." Mo Fan explained.

Ming Kuo looked him over, then glanced at the credentials hanging from his chest. Satisfied that Mo Fan was military, he gave a wave and ordered one of his officers to set aside a crate.

Mo Fan thanked him repeatedly and was about to pay when Ming Kuo dismissed the gesture with a wave of his hand. "Save it. We're all bleeding for this city."

A crate of blood serum was no small expense. Those words stirred something unexpected in Mo Fan. Whatever the man's brusque, near-plundering conduct, there was no mistaking it — Ming Kuo was a genuine soldier, one who truly stood watch over this city.

With a crate of the specially stored blood serum in hand, Mo Fan wasted no time leaving the compound.

Lingling had been waiting outside. When she saw Mo Fan walk out lugging an entire crate, her mouth fell open.

"Take your time going through these — figure out whether this is the tainted batch." Mo Fan handed the crate to Lingling.

Lingling had a knack for compounds and reagents. Given even the most rudimentary equipment, she could break down the composition of any blood serum — it would just take a little time.

"Anything else to report?" Lingling asked.

"Do you know someone called Deputy Chief Adjudicator Wang Yi?" Mo Fan asked.

The sharp-featured medic had invoked that name in desperation, hoping to stop Ming Kuo. If someone had reached for a name that high up, it stood to reason that Deputy Chief Adjudicator Wang Yi himself was the one who had ordered this batch hidden away in the warehouse.

"Sis should know." Lingling immediately passed the information on to her sister, Leng Qing.

Silence stretched from Leng Qing's end. When she finally spoke, her voice was heavy.

"It seems we're getting closer and closer to the truth behind this plague." Her tone was grave.

"So what's our next move?" Mo Fan asked quickly.

"Mo Fan, Lingling — get yourselves into the Western Fortress right now. Follow that blood serum wherever the military takes it. I'm convinced someone is about to surface." Leng Qing said.

"Understood. We're moving now." Mo Fan gave a nod.

This whole affair was getting more and more interesting. With any luck, it wouldn't be long before they knew exactly who was responsible for this plague.