This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 407: Blood Flow

Chapter 407: Chapter 407: Blood Flow

When they returned to the cafe, it had already become lively.

After arriving at the cafe, Xu Jing motioned for Chen Ke to wait outside the small room at the back.

Chen Ke leaned against the door, looking out through the window at the street, observing the diverse passersby to pass the time.

He saw an owl fly out from the yard behind the cafe, which must have been a signal Xu Jing sent to a contact.

About half an hour later, a burly man pushed the door open and handed a package to Chen Ke, who was standing by the door.

"This is what she needs," the burly man whispered.

Chen Ke looked suspiciously at the burly man, who only bowed slightly to him, then quickly left.

Driven by curiosity, Chen Ke slit the package open to look inside and found a set of clothes.

"It seems you enjoy rifling through girls’ bags," Xu Jing’s voice came from inside the room.

Chen Ke wrapped the package again, knocked on the door, and asked, "May I come in?"

"Come in," Xu Jing said.

Chen Ke pushed the door open and saw Xu Jing standing by the bed, wearing only purple lingerie, loading bullets into a strange pistol.

There was a blood-stained dagger on the floor, and the bed sheets and floor were covered with dark red blood.

Chen Ke entered the room, closed the door, and did not interrupt Xu Jing but carefully observed her body.

Xu Jing had a physique that could drive any man wild, with black hair draped over her collarbone and unevenly interlocked, muscular six-pack abs.

"Don’t make a fuss, I just went back to the foundation for a bit," Xu Jing said, having fully loaded the bullets, then finally looked up at Chen Ke.

Chen Ke tossed the package to her, ready to leave the room.

"I want to tell you two things, Chen Ke, don’t leave yet," Xu Jing called out to Chen Ke.

"Make it quick," Chen Ke said.

"We’re going to enter underneath the college shortly, if it turns out to be unrelated to Chen Ke, leave immediately. I don’t want to interfere too much with history," Xu Jing explained.

"Mm-hmm," Chen Ke nodded.

"Then regarding that Jacob, once we go in, no matter if he plays tricks or not, get rid of him," Xu Jing calmly said.

"I have no objections," Chen Ke agreed.

"Oh... I thought... you would try to ask me why I decided this," Xu Jing smiled.

"I have no ties with him, and we live more than a hundred years apart, there will be no more interactions after this job, why feel pity?" Chen Ke asked.

"Hmm... you really are an assassin," Xu Jing said.

"Who calls for my heart of stone," Chen Ke coldly said.

While talking, Xu Jing had already changed into the clothes, a dark purple trench coat, a white shirt, and black skinny jeans with long boots.

She put on the gentleman’s attire and slipped the weird pistol into the gun holster under her coat, and another revolver from this era into her waist holster.

"Is that... a foundation pistol?" Chen Ke curiously asked.

"Yes, don’t think I’ll give you one, it’s not possible," Xu Jing laughed.

"Hm... you guys are really stingy," Chen Ke huffed.

"That gun would be scrap metal in your reality; you don’t have bullets to shoot," Xu Jing explained.

"Isn’t it shooting spiritual bullets?" Chen Ke asked.

"Of course, but compared to the ’Spiritual Bullets’ of 2009, ours are as different as bullets from lead balls. I can’t just give you a gun and regularly supply you with bullets, can I?" Xu Jing shook her head.

"You’ve made me even more curious. In objective reality, how do you use ’Spiritual Energy’?" Chen Ke went with the flow, hoping to learn more.

"You’re asking quite a bit... but considering the contributions you’ll make to us, I will tell you a little something," Xu Jing said with a smile.

"All ears," Chen Ke said, crossing his arms.

"In 2009, your Administration Bureau was still injecting liquefied ’Spiritual Energy’ into the spine to use this power; it was a very primitive technique of using ’Spiritual Power,’ and it came with high risks," Xu Jing explained.

"But with us, a single injection of ’Spiritual Energy’ stimulant is enough to grant you the ability of ’Spiritual Energy’ transfer," Xu Jing added.

"’Spiritual Energy’ transfer...?" Chen Ke didn’t understand.

"Yes, it involves a machine similar to an X-ray. It scans you, and you’d have ample ’Spiritual Energy,’" Xu Jing explained.

"It sounds like the scanning before 3D printing... Is it only after getting that stimulant injection that one can acquire ’Spiritual Energy’ through this method?" Chen Ke couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes, you should understand that ’Spiritual Power’ is always regulated, and one scan doesn’t mean you’ll have this power forever. It’s set with an expiration date and ’Energy Level’... I think I’ve said too much," Xu Jing shook her head.

"It seems like your Foundation and the Administration Bureau aren’t much different," Chen Ke remarked.

"You could think of the Administration Bureau as your reality’s Foundation, only it hasn’t reached the level of control over objective reality and is still managed by national ideologies. But in objective reality, the Foundation manages humankind. It’s good for you to know this," Xu Jing said.

"Oh... sounds impressive," Chen Ke shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, let’s end the idle chat here; we have important matters to attend to. Let’s not keep Jacob waiting," Xu Jing tapped her toes on the floor to snug her boots and nudged Chen Ke’s shoulder as she walked past him.

After leaving the cafe, the two boarded a carriage. Xu Jing paid the driver to take them to Bolips Wharf.

It was Chen Ke’s first time riding a carriage, and an authentic 19th-century Langdon carriage at that. Sentimentality-wise, it was off the charts, but in terms of the ride experience, it was somewhat lacking.

Firstly, the carriage had no shock absorbers... and with the 19th-century road conditions being so poor and horses not being automated engines, a bumpy ride was inevitable.

The carriage’s wooden wheels would hurt Chen Ke’s rear for quite a while every time they ran over a tiny stone, and the only shock-absorbing measure was a thick layer of straw under the seats, barely better than nothing.

The Taist River divided Langdon into the South Bank and North Bank, with the larger North Bank further split into West Langdon, East Langdon, and North Langdon.

They were in North Langdon, a gathering place for artists, the Church, and hospitals, and also home to Langdon College.

The coachman drove them down, passing through the affluent area of West Langdon, where the renowned Royal Shakespeare Theatre was located.

Continuing forward, Chen Ke could see the slightly lower-lying East Langdon through the slopes, with towering chimneys and factories abounding, endlessly emitting black smoke into the pale sky.

Finally, after descending the slopes, they arrived at Bolips Wharf. Before even disembarking, Chen Ke could see the wide expanse of the Taist River; near the wharf, there was a small tributary colored red.

Xu Jing paid the fare, and along with Chen Ke, approached the riverside where Jacob was waiting for them.

"You finally made it, though considering a lady needed to change clothes, I can accept the timing," Jacob said with a smile.

"So... how do we get in?" Xu Jing asked bluntly.

"Oh... it seems you’re even more eager to enter than I thought. I assumed you had already noticed that thing on the river," Jacob said, pointing to the red stream.

"Is that... blood?" Chen Ke had indeed noticed it already; he looked upstream, from where the red stream was floating down.

He also looked across to the South Bank, where compared to the bustling buildings on the North Bank, there was a vast area of farmland and low-lying homes of farmers, but Chen Ke still spotted a grand white building at the end of a small hill.

"It is indeed blood," Jacob confirmed.

"All this blood flowing downstream and no one’s inquiring about it?" Xu Jing was surprised.

"That’s because upstream there’s a livestock slaughterhouse, but clearly, this isn’t blood from the slaughterhouse, even though it’s covering the drainage outlets," Jacob explained.

"What significance does this stream of blood have for us?" Chen Ke asked.

"Of course, it’s significant. It’s our guide," Jacob said.