A silent uproar rose from the crowd, yet none dared to offer any objections—none except for a single fool. A rugged woman with a large tattoo spanning half her face tried to hold her companion back, yet the fool took a few steps toward the assembled drones, striking away her hold.

  The man was large; his shoulders easily doubled Ning Shan's width. His muscles easily bulged out of his clothes, preventing his vest from fully closing up and exposing his hairy chest. His arms were covered in what seemed like tribal tattoos, yet what caught Ning Shan's eyes was their size, almost as if two small children clung to his shoulders.

  Large pistols were on his hips, and a massive heavy war hammer was on his back. He seemed ready for war, yet he didn't seem that out of place, as many more residents were armed. In fact, it would have been faster to count those who were unarmed than those who were. Still, his attitude made him stand out above the rest.

  “If you think I’m going to relinquish my babies to you pigs, then you’ve got another thing coming!” the man spat.

  His voice was deep, resounding within the hall. The room grew so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Only the sound of shuffling feet remained as people desperately tried to distance themselves from the man. Even his companions took a few steps back. The woman gave an exasperated expression as she looked away, almost as if she had given up all hope.

  The man looked around, confused by the stare filled with fear coming from the audience. Yet the yellow drones only hovered near the door for a moment, completely passive. Still, the man wasn't a complete fool. He noticed the sudden change yet couldn't grasp the implications—at least not until it was already too late.

  Resistance Detected...

  Initiating Countermeasures...

  “What..." the man uttered, yet that was the last word coming out of his mouth.

  A ray of yellow light came from one of the drones, bathing the entirety of the man's body in its glow. There was no scorching heat nor cries of anguish, only dead silence spreading through the room until some patrons looked away and others collapsed on the ground in shambles, dread clear in their eyes. Only Ning Shan looked at the light with glitter in his eyes, almost as if he had just seen the most astonishing sight.

  Once the light receded, the man's body was completely gone. In its place was now a void that the surrounding atmosphere quickly filled, creating a small implosion as the air collided but also created a wave that spread outward, prompting people to take another step back.

  Threat Neutralized...

  Silence hung onto the air as the audience held their breaths, carefully watching the four spherical drones hover near the exit, blocking their paths, only the eerie yellow light staring back at them.

  “You fool,” the tattooed woman muttered as she banged her fist against a nearby stone wall. "I warned you, but you never listened..."

  From the scene itself, Ning Shan could infer two things. The first was that the man was most likely dead, or the audience believed him to be, yet Ning Shan believed otherwise. He was well-versed in many techniques and had seen something similar countless times before. The presence of a void shortly after his disappearance hinted that this light wasn't meant to destroy him but to act as a boundary for some sort of transfer.

  Obviously, this was merely his conjecture based on the information he had at present, yet it fit with what he knew. After all, transfer arrays were quite common back in the Nine Abyss Realm. As for what they needed that man for, Ning Shan didn’t know nor cared.

  The second was much more concerning. The Cradle's government had no qualms about using force to achieve its goals, ignoring the opposition of its people. Yet even that wasn't what concerned Ning Shan. It was the fact that no human interaction was needed to do so, almost as if these constructs were completely automated to hold their lives in their hands and could unilaterally choose to end them.

  This reminded him of a story from his younger years. Back then, a necromancer had risen in a backwater area of the then-ruling Empire. As he was merely a small character and the area he operated in was inconsequential, the Empire didn’t take him seriously, only offering a pittance as a bounty for anyone who would take care of him.

  Unsurprisingly, only the weak rogue cultivators and those in dire need of money chose to take on the task. As expected, they were swiftly dealt with and added to the necromancer’s army of the dead. The more his army grew, the more his fame would rise, as would his territory. Still, the Empire had yet to care, as they were now in a growing conflict with a few of their neighbours.

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  And so, the man was allowed to grow without restraint, absorbing village after village, desecrating the very land itself until all that remained were the corpses of those they had slain, only for them to rise once again. Catching wind of the necromancer's rise, many sought to rid themselves of his existence, only to be added to his army, repeating the cycle.

  Within a few years, the necromancer's army began to rival the small countries that were now at war with the Empire, creating a new front of conflict. The Empire couldn’t ignore the necromancer any longer, so it sent its own troops to rid itself of this threat, only to be added to his army. If left unchecked for much longer, he would, sooner or later, threaten the very foundation of the Empire and even swallow it whole.

  It was then that Ning Shan chose to take matters into his own hands. It wasn't as if he did so for the good of the world but merely that the necromancer was a threat to his own plans. Let's just say that he wasn't entirely unrelated to the conflict between the Empire and the several nations surrounding it. Having an unexpected factor suddenly barge in was something Ning Shan couldn't tolerate.

  Skipping most of the details, the necromancer was much more challenging than Ning Shan first expected. Still, he fell in the end. Yet, what surprised Ning Shan was that his armies didn't fall with him. They continued their march toward the Empire's capital, spreading death in their wake, continuously adding to their numbers.

  Faced with wave after wave of the mindless dead, the Empire used most of its forces to combat the onslaught, even forming treaties with its former enemies if only to rid itself of these hordes. The battle lasted over a hundred years, leaving the Empire and the surrounding nations in ruins and allowing Ning Shan to swoop in with his own forces.

  While things didn’t go according to plan, he still profited in the end. Still, the image of a once prosperous empire being reduced to rumble from the constant waves of mindless hordes would never leave his mind. He now knew the dangers of things men couldn’t control.

  “Ladies and gentlemen! If I may have a minute of your time."

  A voice originated from the other side of the room, prompting all those within to turn as if in unison toward the four drones. While some seemed still shaken by the events, most were now carefully listening to the voice, ensuring they wouldn't miss any of its words.

  “Who are you?” a man near the front asked nervously, yet the voice ignored him completely.

  Still, Ning Shan noticed some things. Unlike the drone's mechanical voice, this one was undoubtedly coming from a sentient being. Yet, it seemed to ignore all external stimuli, almost as if it was prerecorded.

  “While we are aware of the confusion this incident has caused you, please remain calm as we require your full cooperation in our investigation,” the voice added. “As you witnessed, resistance will not be tolerated. The sooner you allow us to proceed, the sooner you may return to your own lives. Thank you for your understanding!”

  Ning Shan could feel the tense atmosphere suddenly deflate, almost as if the people were used to such measures. They calmly formed a line, patiently awaiting their turns. Still, it was easy to see how forced it all was; their expression reflected as such, yet most tried to hide it. They smiled outwardly, yet their body language betrayed all of it. Only a few openly showed scorn for the voice from beyond the machines, yet even they hadn't the guts to act on it.

  As Ning Shan and his group remained near the back wall, they had a complete view of the process. The first to be examined was the tattooed woman who accompanied the man who disappeared. Two of the drones positioned themselves on each side of her, while the other two floated in the air as they disappeared within the building, one rising through the elevator shaft while the other using the staircase. Their objective was clear; they wouldn't let a single mouse slip away.

  Report All Weapons, Name and Association...

  The woman grimaced, yet she still opened her leather vest before pulling out two metallic knives carefully hidden within. She then kneeled, pulling out two more slim ones from the soles of her boot and a small pistol attached to the side of her calf, hidden by her pants. She did something similar twice more before finally relinquishing the last of them.

  "The name's Nixx. Hunter. I'm with the Blood Crows..." she replied, yet there was a slight sadness in her voice as she looked at the pile of weapons next to her, almost as if she had been separated from her child against her will.

  Then, a white light emerged from both drones as they positioned themselves on each of her sides. It rose up and down on her body, almost as if scrutinizing every inch of her flesh. Ning Shan could see a look of disgust on her face, and even her body shuddered slightly under its touch. She even dug her fingernail into her palm, if only to resist the urge rising in her core. After a few seconds, the light receded, and the woman finally let out a long breath.

  Identity Confirmed...

  No Anomaly Detected...

  Next...

  The woman took a few steps forward, longingly looking at the pile of weapons she had left behind. Ning Shan saw her hesitate, struggling, but finally relent as she spun on her heels, leaving them behind as she exited the building.

  Then, many others went through the same process. Some sported the same emblem as the woman, but they, too, had to endure the shame of being deprived of their weapons. The pile grew much more. Despite feeling the pain of loss, most only showed relief when allowed to leave.

  While those were the majority, others were just citizens. For them, the process was simpler. They only had to state their name and employer before passing a rudimentary scan, and then they were allowed to leave.

  As the line slowly grew shorter, Ning Shan noticed Sera growing more anxious. While unsure what prompted this, he could infer a reason. In fact, her reasoning was clear. She was worried about himself, as he didn't possess any identity. Ning Shan had a plan for this; even if all else failed, he also had a way out.

  As more and more were allowed to leave, a few more would arrive at the lobby, taking their places behind Ning Shan's group. Looking at their expression, they seemed less than pleased, yet did their best not to show it. Clearly, they had been left with no choice but to comply.

  Suddenly, one of the drones sounded an alarm, its light immobile of a specific part of a man's body. Without warning, the white light suddenly turned yellow, prompting the man's pupil to dilate completely.

  “WAIT!” the man screamed, raising both hands in protest. “I DIDN’T MEAN TO...”

  But his words were cut short as his body disintegrated, leaving nothing behind but the familiar sound wave Ning Shan had experienced some time prior. Silence reigned once again in the room as people grew uneasy. Some of the new arrivals even collapsed on the ground, unconscious, yet none of the drones seemed to pay any mind, only continuing their search with the next one in line as if nothing had happened.

  And soon, it would be Ning Shan’s turn...