Ji Xinghuo sat inside the cockpit of the Sky Fighter.
Two Swordsmen from the Sword Bureau were seated beside him, their gaze fixed on him without a second of relaxation.
The corpse of Ji Zongbang lay on the floor in front of him, while Min Chongwu squatted there, examining the body with interest, occasionally clicking his tongue.
He stood up, pulled out an arrow from Ji Xinghuo's quiver, glanced at the not-so-sharp arrowhead, and shook his head.
"Was it with this kind of training arrow that you killed Ji Zongbang?"
Ji Xinghuo responded with silence.
"I still can't believe it without seeing it on the surveillance first," Min Chongwu returned to his seat across from Ji Xinghuo. "Just from looking at the body, if you told me a Super Ranger killed him, I wouldn't have any doubts."
Ji Xinghuo still had little reaction.
"When did you become a Mutant?" Min Chongwu asked, then suddenly turned his head and cursed, "What are those people in the Information Department doing? It's been so long, why haven't they brought over the documents yet?"
A swordsman replied, "They said they only just obtained the permissions and are currently retrieving them."
Min Chongwu turned around, "Hey, why aren't you speaking?"
"Didn't you just suggest being cautious with our words?"
Min Chongwu slapped his hand in irritation and changed the subject, pulling out an Alien Species preserved in a refrigerated test tube with a laugh, "I know you're very unhappy. However, if you want to take back the Rotating Magnetic Field, you're going to need to treat me better. Whatever I ask, you answer."
Ji Xinghuo nodded slightly but emphasized, "The ownership of this Alien Species belongs to me, even if you are from the Sword Bureau, you have no reason to confiscate it."
He dared to say so because of the "Battle Spoils Principle."
This principle was first formed in the Star Realm.
The Star Realm is very dangerous, but people must go there to obtain various precious resources. When weak or facing targets that can't be killed alone, cooperation is necessary.
How to distribute the spoils of success gradually formed a set of rules.
It can roughly be summarized as: the person who contributes the most in battle has the right to distribute the spoils.
If it is a solo kill, even if the target has been weakened by others, but without prior knowledge, it is still considered a solo kill, and all the spoils can be taken.
This principle was also introduced on Earth.
Nations have never been harmonious, competition and hostility have always existed, and covert operations like infiltration, espionage, and assassination have never ceased.
Thus, unofficial Mutants are needed to participate and put in effort, making defense particularly difficult when dealing with powerful Mutants carrying out these dirty tasks.
To encourage participation, most countries have recognized the "Battle Spoils Principle," which includes spies, assassins, and foreign criminals killed on their territory.
The Asia-Pacific Community is no different.
Since Ji Xinghuo single-handedly killed Ji Zongbang, according to the Battle Spoils Principle, he owns everything on Ji Zongbang, including the body!
Of course, this is a principle, not a law.
Principles must give way to the law, for instance, if an item is important evidence in a case, it must be handed over after the case is closed, which could take a long time.
Or if it never belonged to the deceased in the first place, if it was stolen or robbed, then it must rightfully be returned to the original owner.
Ji Xinghuo was worried about the former point.
As for the latter possibility, judging from Min Chongwu's reaction when he saw the Alien Species, he also didn't know about the existence of the Rotating Magnetic Field beforehand, making it very likely Ji Zongbang's own property.
Unless someone steps forward to claim it.
"That may be true, but rules are dead, and people are alive,"
Min Chongwu toyed with the refrigerated test tube, "If someone circumvents the rules and steals the Alien Species by force, what can you do?"
"Who dares to steal?"
Ji Xinghuo had already picked up on some clues before getting on the fighter, and provocatively asked, "Commander, do you have an idea?"
"Of course not me." Min Chongwu sneered, with a disdainful look, "I am a Halo Fighter, the Rotating Magnetic Field is useless to me no matter how strong it is."
The Star Power of a Halo Fighter is all transformed into Light Energy, which has an extremely strong repulsive nature.
It repels other energies as well as most Abilities.
Therefore, the Abilities that a Halo Fighter can fuse with are very few; any Ability that causes bodily changes cannot be fused with.
The Rotating Magnetic Field falls into this category of Abilities that are incompatible with Halo Fighters.
However, being unable to fuse does not mean it can't be sold for money.
Ji Xinghuo didn't know how much the "Rotating Magnetic Field" could fetch because this Alien Species had never circulated on the market, having been intercepted or traded before it even reached the selling stage.
If one had to guess a price, at least fifty million to start!
Even Super Mutants would be tempted.
However, Ji Xinghuo could see that Min Chongwu indeed had no interest in the Rotating Magnetic Field; the man appeared carefree on the surface but actually had strong principles and was relatively upright in character.
At least, that's how it seemed from his current dealings.
"Do you want to know who might be coveting 'your' Rotating Magnetic Field?" Min Chongwu emphasized "your" as he spoke, seemingly expecting Ji Xinghuo to ask for his help.
Ji Xinghuo quietly said, "An Evil Wind Guest?"
Min Chongwu was taken aback.
The faces of the Sword Bureau's swordsmen in the cabin all changed, no longer underestimating Ji Xinghuo, showing a bit of fear on their faces.
Now it was Min Chongwu's turn to be silent.
But after a few minutes, he couldn't help but ask, "Why would you guess that?"
Ji Xinghuo glanced at the body.
Actually, it was quite obvious. Even before he had shot Ji Zongbang, he had already found the clue.
While Ji Zongbang was hiding under the bridge pier, he had been seriously injured. The wounds on his body were fine and long, and he had been poisoned with a nerve-paralyzing toxin, which greatly reduced his strength to less than a third of his peak condition.
The blade that caused these wounds was extremely thin, and the attacks had been very dense.
On top of that, the nerve toxin.
With decent eyesight, one could guess that Ji Zongbang had more than a 90% chance of encountering an "Evil Wind Guest", whose core ability of the professional template is "Control Air Flow". Combined with a "Green Mamba Poison Gland", the guest's respiratory system secretes deadly poison that spreads through the air, making it nearly impossible to defend against.
The Evil Wind Guest is a very powerful profession, but their reputation is terrible, especially among ordinary people—they are utterly terrifying.
Min Chongwu couldn't help but regard Ji Xinghuo with a new level of respect.
A dozen minutes later.
The Sky Fighter flew into the Qinling Mountain Range to the south of Chang'an and descended into a concealed valley.
Ji Xinghuo's gaze passed through the porthole, scanning the mountains, and in a few seconds located more than a dozen camouflaged dense arrays and cannon emplacements, as well as dozens of bases making up the "Superconductive Shield Array".
A section of open ground in the valley cracked open, the gates sliding to either side, revealing a landing platform.
The fighter landed on the platform.
A muffled sound, and the spacious platform sank into the ground, rapidly descending in a vertical shaft. After a dozen seconds, the view suddenly opened up.
A vast and bright underground space unfolded before his eyes, divided into multiple levels like the decks of a warship.
"This is just one of the Sword Bureau's sub-bases."
Min Chongwu stood up and signaled his Swordsmen to pick up Ji Zongbang's body. As he passed by Ji Xinghuo, he suddenly cautioned, "Be careful with Yan Xiao, he's not as easy to talk to as I am."
Ji Xinghuo felt a chill in his heart.
This "Yan Xiao" must be the Evil Wind Guest who had seriously injured Ji Zongbang. Judging by Min Chongwu's tone, Yan Xiao held a high rank in the Sword Bureau, at least equal to Min Chongwu's own.
And Ji Xinghuo had just robbed Yan Xiao of his prize.
Under the "escort" of two Swordsmen, Ji Xinghuo stepped out of the cabin and looked around. There were more than a dozen Sky Fighters nearby, and outside the hatch, even more mutants dressed in black combat suits and bearing the "Sword" insignia were already waiting.
He saw the leading Swordsman at a glance.
A tall, thin man dressed in an antique-looking blue robe with somewhat odd features, especially his green eyes with vertical pupils. A single glance could make one's hair stand on end, as if being targeted by a venomous snake.
Not only did his eyes resemble a snake, but beneath his skin lay a layer of blue scale-like patterns. If they surfaced, the man would look like a snake reared up on its tail.
These facial features clearly indicated his professional template.
Many professional templates reveal corresponding characteristics in appearance once a certain point is reached, like the bald heads of Halo Fighters.
As for the Evil Wind Guest, they gave off the feel of a venomous snake!
"Min Chongwu, you're in luck," said the Evil Wind Guest, his voice carrying a chilling malevolence, his words unclear and each syllable accompanied by a slight tremor and a hissing sound, like a snake flicking its tongue inside his mouth.
As he spoke, his green eyes were fixed on Min Chongwu, as he extended a pale hand, "Where is the Alien Species?"
"What Alien Species?" Min Chongwu frowned.
"Sssss..." Yan Xiao let out a cold laugh, "You're usually slow-witted, but now you're playing dumb with me. What's the use?"
Min Chongwu looked displeased and glanced back at his Swordsman subordinates.
He hadn't reported the Alien Species yet, but Yan Xiao knew about it beforehand. This meant that someone in his team had either reported it up the chain without authorization, or someone was a spy for Yan Xiao.
"The Alien Species is none of your concern," said Min Chongwu, disregarding Yan Xiao's outstretched hand. "It belongs to Ji Xinghuo."
Yan Xiao's gaze swept over, finally noticing the outsider present, but after a brief glance, he looked away with disdain, "A Primary Level Ranger killed Ji Zongbang? You believe that? I've already reviewed his file, he became a Mutant just three weeks ago."
"The surveillance footage will show who the spoils belong to," Min Chongwu didn't want to waste words, "I'm going to report to Director Zhou."
He then turned to a female Swordsman, "Xinfeng, take Ji Xinghuo to the interrogation room, prepare to record his statement."
After speaking, Min Chongwu left.
Yan Xiao watched Min Chongwu's back, the green light in his eyes flashing. He then followed with his team.
Throughout, he didn't consider Ji Xinghuo worth his attention.
"Mr. Ji, please follow me." The female Swordsman named Xinfeng led Ji Xinghuo through a long corridor, past several metal gates, and into a spacious, empty room.
This was the interrogation room.
But at the Sword Bureau, an interrogation room could sometimes double as a torture chamber.
Xinfeng left after bringing him there, leaving Ji Xinghuo alone, sitting in front of the table. He scanned the room; a camera was installed in the corner overhead, and one of the walls was one-way transparent; he couldn't see out, but the people beyond the wall could see him.
Ji Xinghuo wasn't panic-stricken; he had anticipated this situation on his way there.
He sat calmly, looked down at the table, and closed his eyes.
In a flash, the interface of the Wanxiang Star Pupil appeared, and he focused his attention on the [Spiritual Origin Ability]; its value changed from 0 to 137.
Ji Xinghuo thought to himself, "Now, I can study what uses the Spiritual Origin Ability might have."