Chapter 532: Few Are Awake, Many Are Foolish

Chapter 532: The Few Who Are Awake, the Many Who Are Foolish

The headquarters of some Mo Xuan branches is located east of Shanhe Lane in Jinling City.

From above, the entire Zhongyuan resembles a sprawling ink landscape painting, with buildings in black, white, and gray functioning like intricate joints—interconnected and orderly, forming a city within a city.

From early July onwards, the area became unusually bustling, with convoys of vehicles constantly arriving from all directions.

Pairs of anxious, numb mechanical eyes peered through car windows, hidden behind glass, staring at the steel city shrouded in heavy rain.

All Mo Jia Ming Gui stationed across southern Zhili were recalled. No matter how grand the orders sounded, an uneasy mood spread among the Ming Gui.

“It’s time for the shift change, Ao Hu. You should also go down and report.”

At the south gate of the Zhongyuan, a burly man called out to Ao Hu. Before Ao Hu could respond, the man left on his own.

When the other Mo Xuan stationed there heard the captain speak, they handed over the task of verifying identities to the personnel coming for the shift change and then dispersed. Ao Hu, standing with his gun by the gate, waited for the man’s figure to disappear from sight before the dim red light in his mechanical eyes faintly brightened.

No one could have imagined that the leader of the Mo Xuan just now was actually Ao Hu’s contract armor master. However, apart from completing tasks, there was no other interaction between them—almost like strangers.

This situation would probably not occur anywhere else outside the Zhongyuan.

For the Mo Xuan of other branches, Mo Jia was not only the best auxiliary for combat and research but also comrades and brothers whose lives were intertwined. Their relationship, while not comparable to blood relatives, was far superior to that of ordinary confidants.

But in the Zhongyuan, Ming Gui were, at best, just tools that could speak and move for the Mo Xuan.

Ao Hu shook his shoulders, letting the rainwater that had accumulated in the armor seams spill out, and walked along the edge of the gate towards the interior.

His identity in the Zhongyuan was a member of the Elder Council’s direct mobile security team, whose main task was to protect the safety of the Elder Council and the entire Zhongyuan headquarters.

According to the rules of the mobile security team, after the shift change, Ao Hu should immediately return to the team’s machine room and quietly wait for the next shift change time.

But this time, Ao Hu did not follow the rules; instead, he followed the convoy into a gray-roofed building resembling a factory.

This was a temporary armor station where all Mo Jia returning to the Zhongyuan from the outside had to rest. After surrendering all their weapons, they were allowed to return to their activity areas.

At that time, the armor station was filled with groups of Mo Jia gathered together, talking quietly.

Ao Hu’s sudden appearance immediately drew everyone’s attention.

“It’s Brother Hu!”

“Hello, Brother Hu!”

The greetings, obviously filled with joy, echoed one after another, which alone showed that Ao Hu was well-loved among these Mo Jia.

“Brother Hu!”

A slender Mo Jia rushed to Ao Hu’s side, his head raised excitedly, shouting, his voice carrying a youthful naivety.

“Little Si?”

Ao Hu patted him on the shoulder and laughed, “Haven’t we met for two years? You’re still so weak and fragile. Are you still at the ninth rank?”

“I guess this young man, Qing Si, has gotten used to a good life in Taiping Prefecture and doesn’t have the heart to advance anymore.”

“Yeah, I heard that Qing Si’s armor master is an old woman. Maybe she’s raised Qing Si like a son!”

“Pfft, that’s really a life of luxury.”

Laughter and teasing erupted like waves, and Qing Si, surrounded in the middle, glanced around with his hands on his hips, raising his head armor and saying, “You’re all just looking down on people. I already advanced to the eighth rank last year, I just haven’t updated my armor body yet. When I go back to the Feigong Academy, my height will definitely not be shorter than yours!”

Everyone burst into laughter at his words.

“Laugh all you want. I’m telling the truth!”

Ao Hu put his arm around Qing Si’s shoulder and laughed, “Advancing is a good thing. When you come back after the inspection, I’ll give you a knife as a gift.”

“Thank you, Brother Hu. But let me tell you, I don’t want ordinary stuff.” Qing Si’s mechanical eyes lit up.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”

After saying that, Ao Hu glanced at everyone one by one and asked softly, “Are you all doing well?”

“If being alive counts as doing well, then we should be okay.”

After a moment of silence, a Mo Jia with claw marks painted on his arms, who had been stained with beast claws, smiled bitterly and asked, “How are you doing, Brother Hu?”

“I’ve always been in the Zhongyuan, and life is much more comfortable than for you outsiders.”

Ao Hu laughed, but the others fell silent without saying a word.

Even the most talkative Qing Si wisely closed his mouth.

In fact, everyone knew that for them, the Mo Jia of the Zhongyuan, being stationed outside was much better than staying in the headquarters.

This had nothing to do with treatment; it was because staying in the headquarters would constantly make one feel a strong sense of oppression and suffocation, never knowing when they would be taken away by the Jian Ai Team or mysteriously appear at a non-public office console.

“Brother Hu, do you know what it means that the higher-ups called us back this time?”

The claw-marked Mo Jia could no longer contain his anxiety and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.

Ao Hu did not answer but looked up at the ceiling and sighed, “It’s really good that we can meet again. After so long, do you think the Zhongyuan has changed?”

The words, which seemed to have a hidden meaning, caused the surrounding eyes of various colors to flicker.

“I guess so?” The claw-marked Mo Jia tentatively replied.

“Has it?” Ao Hu shook his head. “I don’t think so. Everything is the same as before, just the old ways.”

“If it’s the old ways, then it’s the old ways. I’m a man who is famous for being nostalgic. If the Zhongyuan ever changes, I might not be able to adapt.”

A Mo Jia who understood Ao Hu’s meaning joked, “I wonder if we’ll have another chance like this next year, to gather in the Zhongyuan from all over the place.”

“How could such an opportunity happen every year? What are you thinking about?”

Ao Hu’s words sounded like he was joking, but his tone was cold and hard, making people’s hearts feel cold.

Fearful and uneasy gazes were cast upon him, and Ao Hu felt like there were thorns on his back, his heart heavy.

These people were all close to him, and many had fought side by side before, but now he couldn’t even tell them what dangers they were about to face. This feeling made Ao Hu instinctively clench his fists.

“Brother Hu, what are you talking about? What old ways?”

Qing Si suddenly asked, looking confused.

“It’s nothing, just reminiscing.” Ao Hu patted his head, making a rustling sound.

“Brother Hu, do you want to continue serving in the Zhongyuan, or would you like to go outside with us?”

The claw-marked Mo Jia leaned close to Ao Hu, his eyes sharp.

“Yeah, with you, we feel secure.” Someone else chimed in.

Ao Hu sighed, “I want to, but there’s no chance anymore.”

As the words fell, everyone exchanged glances, their mechanical hands repeatedly tightening and loosening, and no one spoke again.

Time passed slowly, and an unbearable sense of anxiety began to grow and spread.

Just as Ao Hu was about to say something to reassure everyone, a man’s voice suddenly came from outside the gathered Mo Jia.

“Ao Hu!”

Everyone turned to look, but no one moved or dispersed. The Mo Jia stood side by side, like a copper wall and an iron wall.

“Are you blind, you Ming Gui? How dare you block the road to the Jian Ai Team?”

The black-robed man, blocked outside the crowd, had a dark expression. As he tilted his head slightly, the four Mo Jia behind him simultaneously raised their guns.

"A bunch of weaklings—only brave enough to attack their own people."

A man on the periphery, his helmet adorned with a fang-like blue face, muttered under his breath. He stood tall, stepped forward, and pressed a gun barrel against his own forehead.

"Come on, if you have the guts, shoot me today, old man."

Bang!

The deafening gunshot echoed through the vast factory, reverberating repeatedly. The fang-like blue face clanged to the ground, a twisted bullet embedded deep in its center.

"This is just a warning. If you continue to obstruct our investigation, the next bullets will pierce your core."

The man in the black robe contemptuously scanned the ink-armored soldiers and shouted, "Ao Hu, we suspect you're involved in the Qin Huai River dragon massacre. We're taking you back for questioning. Are you coming or not?"

"It seems I won't get to give you a gift after all. Qing Si, can you do something for Brother Hu?"

In the crowd, Ao Hu calmly placed an object the size of a fist into Qing Si's hand. "Please take care of this for me."

"Brother Hu, what did the Jianai Society want you for?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing."

Ao Hu gave a look to the claw-marked ink armor, who understood and immediately pulled Qing Si behind him.

"Brothers, make way for me."

The silent ink armor scattered to the left and right. Ao Hu walked out with big steps, standing in front of the man in the black robe, looking down at him with a condescending gaze.

"Come on, don't dawdle."

The man in the black robe snorted coldly, raised his hand, and made a light gesture. Two ink armor members immediately rushed out from behind, each holding a block of electric shackles surrounded by electric arcs.

The blue electric arc stained the bronze-colored armor pieces. The rising fist shadows directly knocked one of the ink armor members holding the shackles flying.

Ao Hu grabbed the other man's head with his back hand, suddenly pressed down, and at the same time, his knee jumped up and hit the other man's helmet hard.

Boom!

In an instant, two ink armor members from the Jianai Society had already fallen to the ground, unable to move.

"Ao Hu, are you trying to rebel?"

The man in the black robe was furious, but his feet suddenly retreated several steps.

"Investigation is not conviction. If you want to put shackles on me, you won't be able to take me away today."

"Your current behavior is a provocation to the Jianai Society. Do you know what the consequences are?"

"Consequences?"

Ao Hu sneered, reached out and picked up the shackles on the ground, and stared at the man. "I'll ask you one question: are you going to put shackles on me or not?"

"It's the rule!"

"Are you going to put shackles on me or not?" Ao Hu spoke slowly, word by word.

The man's arrogance was extinguished. He swallowed hard and said, "No, it's not necessary."

"That's fine."

Ao Hu smiled satisfiedly, threw the shackles away casually, turned his head to look at the back, raised his right hand with two fingers to his eyebrows, and threw them forward with force.

"Brothers, see you later."

"Just now, the Jianai Society had already taken Ao Hu away."

In a secret room somewhere in the central court, Peng Ze and Mo Gu Huang sat opposite each other.

"This Ao Hu is a fourth-rank ink armor who has always been responsible for protecting Old Peng's safety. Although he has done nothing, he has also done nothing wrong. Even if he has a tendency to rebel, there are many ghosts in the central court who want to rebel. Why did Liu Xian Zhou specifically target him? The reason is worth pondering."

Unlike his cowardly and incompetent appearance at the recent elders' meeting, Mo Gu Huang now had a smile on his face, with a calm and composed demeanor—a stark contrast to his previous self.

"He did it just to save face for me."

Peng Ze coldly smiled. "But using one Ao Hu to bring about his self-destruction is worth it. There's an old saying: if heaven wants to destroy someone, it will first make them mad."

"He's not only mad, but also greedy."

Mo Gu Huang shook his head. "The deputy director of the central court, who is supposed to be noble, actually colluded with outsiders for his own selfish desires and defrauded so much money from his own people. He never thought about what a miserable fate he would face if things were exposed."

"Now that Liu Xian Zhou holds the power, how could he possibly think that he would lose?"

"What you said is right, Old Peng."

Mo Gu Huang nodded and smiled. "After all, in his eyes, we are just a bunch of cowardly and life-fearing outlaws, even worse than a self-destructive Meng Xi."

When Mo Gu Huang mentioned the name 'Meng Xi', he seemed to still be seething with anger, and a terrifying ferocity suddenly appeared on his face.

"Meng Xi, that white-eyed wolf who eats both sides, I supported him to become deputy director, but he dared to go behind my back and please the Prime Minister. He doesn't know his own strength, and it's fine if he dies without a burial place, but now he's forcing me to compromise with Liu Xian Zhou. Thinking about it, I want to pull out his consciousness and whip him day and night!"

Peng Ze looked at the furious Mo Gu Huang, couldn't help but frown, and changed the subject. "Director, what should we do next?"

"Of course, we should continue to watch the play."

Mo Gu Huang slowly calmed his anger and sneered, "He Liu Xian Zhou wants to catch traitors, so let him go ahead and catch them. This court wants to see if he can catch all these ghosts at once!"

"But what if he" Peng Ze hesitated to speak.

"There is no 'what if'. He is destined to have only one outcome: failure."

Mo Gu Huang said decisively. "Moreover, he will be executed on the spot as the culprit who incited chaos in the central court and the mastermind who has been oppressing and exploiting ghosts all along. From now on, the central court will abolish all topics targeting ghosts, revise all unfair clauses in the ghost contract, and clear the wrongs of all ghosts who have died unjustly during this period, providing sufficient compensation."

Mo Gu Huang wanted to make peace with the ghosts!

Peng Ze suddenly understood, but still asked worriedly, "Will those ghosts still believe us?"

"There are few who are awake, and many who are ignorant. Those leading ghosts will follow Liu Xian Zhou, but the rest cannot leave Mo Xu, so they can only choose to believe."

Mo Gu Huang spoke confidently and firmly, as if he held the truth in his hands.

"But with so many conditions, won't it be like drinking poison to quench thirst and raising a tiger to cause trouble?" Peng Ze still had a faint worry on his face.

"Where is the tiger?"

Mo Gu Huang's eyes were deep like the sea. He sneered, "They are clearly just a bunch of dogs."

The news of Ao Hu being taken away spread quickly in the central court. Almost all the ink armor members in the central court knew about it.

For a moment, the crowd was excited, and the voices of discontent were rampant.

At the same time, in a building called "Jiazi No. 1 Temporary Armor Point", a piece of text was being transmitted by the ink armor members in a special way using armor plate vibrations.

"Brothers and sisters, I am the Dragon Clan. Now is the time for us to rise up and resist."