Chapter 147: The Blood Tribe's Infiltration! Flush Out the Rats!

Yishen had a very clear understanding of how to identify the Bloodline.

Back when he was inside the barrier, it was the Lord of Moonlight who had instructed him on how to recognize the Bloodline, knowledge he ultimately used to purge both their true bodies and their thralls.

This aura was quite similar to that of mutated beasts and the Emperor's Tomb, yet distinct, carrying an even more aggressive edge!

If his earlier links between mutated beasts, the Emperor's Tomb, and the Bloodline were merely suspicions, stepping into this command room allowed Yishen to conclude with absolute certainty: Bloodline entities existed right here in this room, or had spent a significant amount of time lingering here!

"These are all dispatched staff members. If you want to review detailed files, you can just enter your account on the tablet over there. These documents haven't been fully uploaded yet; they probably won't be decrypted until the mystic realm closes."

Shen Shimao was still smiling as he introduced the layout of the command room to Yishen, entirely unaware of the latter's sudden shift in demeanor.

Several staff members around them glanced over, though most remained engrossed in their own tasks.

Yishen released the power of moonlight within his body, sweeping it across every individual present. It was only then that Shen Shimao sensed something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" Shen Shimao asked, picking up on Yishen's movements.

Without answering, Yishen reached out and made a grasping motion. Two staff members who were debugging equipment in entirely different directions were instantly pulled right in front of him.

The entire command room fell dead silent. Every single gaze locked onto them, and the surrounding guards immediately swarmed forward, triggering the alarm. Shen Shimao was startled by Yishen's abrupt action.

The next moment, as Yishen's power enveloped the two individuals, the immense pressure caused their bodies to swell rapidly, transforming them into peculiar red giants.

Immediately afterward, shadowy figures emerged from within their bodies, only to be firmly suppressed and controlled by Yishen's grasp.

"There's something wrong with these two," Yishen stated flatly.

In truth, even without his words, Shen Shimao had seen it for himself, and his expression was now one of utter disbelief.

"Old Tong? Team Leader Qi?"

The two individuals snatched by Yishen were both veterans belonging to the Hanzhong branch of the General Administration of Investigation.

In fact, out of everyone in this command room, only a dozen or so belonged to the General Administration; the vast majority were researchers from either the Hanzhong or Zhengyang Safe Zones.

"Are these your people?" Yishen asked with a hint of surprise, not expecting Shen Shimao to recognize both of them.

The two Bloodline entities caught in Yishen's grip attempted to struggle, but they were locked down too tightly, completely powerless to resist.

"Yes," Shen Shimao replied, his face darkening heavily.

Yishen had previously submitted reports regarding the Bloodline to the General Administration. In fact, the General Administration's archives already contained records concerning them, though they had only been brought to the public eye for the first time back in the Jingmen Safe Zone.

"Let's take them outside first." Shen Shimao had previously paid attention to matters concerning the Bloodline and knew they possessed "shadows," but with so many people crowding around, he was losing face. He wanted to drag these two freaks out for interrogation.

"No rush." Seeing several people gathering around, Yishen reached out once more, pulling out another six researchers. These individuals were no longer members of the General Administration; they could only be classified as thralls whose auras leaked out and were captured by Yishen once their masters were subdued.

With nearly ten people suddenly hauled out, panic began to ripple through the command room. Some representatives from other guilds who had initially intended to step forward and voice their complaints prudently shut their mouths and stayed silent.

These individuals were quickly escorted to a temporary interrogation area. Along the way, Yishen smoothly fished out another four or five Bloodline thralls.

It was evident just how deeply this place had been infiltrated by the Bloodline. The more he uncovered, the uglier Shen Shimao's expression became.

As the first member of the General Administration to arrive here, he never expected that after working for so long, he would fail to notice such a massive nest of hidden vermin beneath his nose. If this matter were reported upward, it would inevitably deal a blow to the internal reputation of the General Administration!

Before long, the entire combat command headquarters and the major guilds stationed nearby were thrown into an uproar.

Though it should have been mealtime, nobody had any appetite left. The heads of various guilds all rushed over to assess the situation and make their stances clear.

Even a few individuals had already slipped away, too terrified to show their faces. Many of these runaways were Bloodline members who realized Yishen possessed the ability to root them all out directly, and they no longer dared to lurk in this area.

"What on earth are these things?" Shen Shimao asked, staring at the captured individuals and the malevolent auras permeating their bodies, unable to comprehend the sight.

Quite a few of them were people he had been working alongside day and night these past few days, yet they had transformed into monsters in the blink of an eye.

"The Bloodline," Yishen answered. "Their bodies have been altered and assimilated. The two General Administration guys you mentioned were the primary hosts, while the rest are thralls. I can't rule out the possibility that there are still Bloodline members hiding among the guilds that arrived here, but I can't sense their auras at the moment; they may have already fled."

Yishen could sense that this group of Bloodline entities possessed some sort of mechanism that shielded them from detection, allowing their auras to be perceived only when he was within extremely close proximity.

That critical distance was roughly fifty meters, forcing Yishen to conduct his inspections step by step.

Shen Shimao attempted to interrogate the captives, but having had their blood nature forcefully stimulated by Yishen, they had completely lost their consciousness.

"I will report this news upward as soon as possible. Thank you, brother." Shen Shimao expressed his gratitude to Yishen. Had it not been for him, he truly would have remained oblivious to the deep trouble brewing within their ranks.

"It seems the Bloodline is also very interested in the Emperor's Tomb."

Yishen made no comment on that, though his perspective on many things had already diverged from that of ordinary explorers.

Shen Shimao convened an emergency meeting in the name of the General Administration, mandating the attendance of all guild leaders and high-ranking figures. In the end, six high-ranking figures failed to show up under various pretexts—likely because they were also Bloodline members who simply hadn't been caught on the spot.

Having taken a brief stroll and finding nothing pressing left to address, Yishen left the rest for Shen Shimao to handle.

His actions instantly plunged the entire defensive perimeter into an atmosphere of hyper-paranoid self-investigation.

Yishen paid no further attention to the subsequent events; a specialized team would soon arrive to take charge of this batch of Bloodline captives.

Standing at a vantage point overlooking the Emperor's Tomb, Yishen fell into deep thought.

Right at that moment, the Emperor's Tomb erupted with a violent surge of energy, forming zones of three distinct colors before slowly dissipating into nothingness.

"I still need to go in and take a look." Yishen stepped closer to the Emperor's Tomb once more.

Had the Bloodline not shown up, Yishen might have chosen to wait and observe for a while longer, or headed off to his next destination. But now, with so many Bloodline members gathering here, his curiosity had inexplicably been piqued.