Translator: CinderTL
Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Training Room.
After hanging up Mu Qing's call, Feng Qi fell into deep thought.
He hadn't known much about Lu Changkong before, only that he was the founder of the Wolf Domain Battle Group.
However, Lu Changkong's presence in historical records was surprisingly faint.
According to the normal course of history, he would be killed by the Lord of the Mist within a few years, thus exiting the stage of history.
It was only after receiving Li Xingchen's mission schedule that Feng Qi made a point of researching Lu Changkong.
After accessing classified files, he could roughly guess the reasons behind Lu Changkong's betrayal of humanity.
Mu Qing's call earlier had only confirmed his suspicions.
Based on Lu Changkong's records, there was no logical reason for him to betray humanity.
As a distinguished graduate of Winterfrost Academy, his resume was impeccable.
His combat records from the front lines further demonstrated Lu Changkong's unwavering conviction. He had repeatedly risked his life to shield his teammates from domain creature ambushes.
In one particularly harrowing incident, Lu Changkong carried a wounded comrade for over a hundred miles across the Domain Field, nearly losing his own life in the process.
Even in such dire circumstances, Lu Changkong refused to abandon his severely wounded teammates.
This demonstrated his fundamentally good nature, making it impossible for him to be manipulated by the Domain Force.
In fact, it could be said that even if it meant certain death, Lu Changkong would never betray humanity.
After analyzing the detailed records, Feng Qi concluded that the only thing that could have changed Lu Changkong was his sister's mysterious and severe illness.
He suspected that during his sister's illness, the Black Shadow Faction had bewitched Lu Changkong into pledging allegiance to them.
Faced with a choice between his family and the greater good of the human race, Lu Changkong had clearly chosen his family.
After reviewing the detailed information, Feng Qi immediately thought of Le Ping'an.
A similar situation had occurred with Le Ping'an's parents, who had made the same choice as Lu Changkong.
This method of manipulating human hearts reminded him of the Lord of the Mist.
However, Lu Changkong's betrayal was clearly unrelated to the Lord of the Mist. The Black Shadow Faction behind the Technology Research Institute was the true culprit.
He even suspected that the Black Shadow Faction had caused Lu Changkong's sister's illness in the first place.
His suspicions stemmed from three points:
1. After the Cataclysm Era began, humanity entered a new age infused with spiritual energy.
Although this era was fraught with peril, the spiritual energy permeating the world subtly enhanced the physical capabilities of the new generation of humans. Even ordinary people who never cultivated were physically superior to elite athletes from five hundred years ago.
2. He reviewed Lu Changkong's sister, Lu Xiaoli's, medical records from when she fell critically ill.
The condition described by Future City Hospital at the time was unprecedented in historical records.
In other words, it was a completely novel case.
3. Lu Xiaoli had been in perfect health before suddenly falling critically ill.
This point was the most glaring.
Lu Xiaoli attended Middle School No. 3 in Future City. While the school's physical examinations weren't as frequent as those in the academy, they were conducted every three months to assess students' bloodline strength and overall condition.
Lu Xiaoli fell ill just over two weeks after her last examination.
Considering these three points, Feng Qi had reason to suspect that the black shadow had orchestrated Lu Changkong's betrayal from start to finish, leading him down a path of no return.
As for why Lu Changkong was chosen...
After reviewing Lu Changkong's detailed profile, Feng Qi formed a rough hypothesis.
Lu Changkong's personal growth trajectory was undeniably exceptional.
Graduating with honors from Winterfrost Academy was just one facet of his achievements.
During his time on the front lines, Lu Changkong was hailed as one of the ten rising stars of the supply zone.
Had he not been killed in action, he would have almost certainly been awarded the Humanity's Distinguished Service Medal.
During that period, Lu Changkong was still rapidly developing, making him a prime target for the Black Shadow Faction lurking behind the Technology Research Institute.
Lu Changkong did not disappoint the Black Shadow Faction.
From scratch, he built the Wolf Pack Battle Group, the third battle group under the Technology Research Institute, into a truly elite force.
In a previous timeline, he had served as the Wolf Pack Battle Group's leader. However, when he took command, the entire high command had already been slaughtered by the Lord of the Mist. Despite this, the Wolf Pack Battle Group remained remarkably powerful.
After careful analysis, Feng Qi couldn't help but sigh.
He understood Lu Changkong's motives, but his actions were still wrong, and he would have to pay the price.
This might also be why Lu Changkong had always been unwilling to reveal the truth to his sister.
He was her silent guardian, yet also a hidden executioner within human society.
Thinking about this, Feng Qi asked himself: If he were faced with the same choice, what would he do?
After only a second of hesitation, he shook his head with a bitter smile.
Putting himself in Lu Changkong's shoes, he realized he had no sister. So, he substituted the resurrection of his parents for Lu Changkong's choice when confronting the Black Shadow Faction.
Even disregarding whether the black shadow could truly resurrect his parents, if he chose to betray humanity to revive them, the resurrected parents would likely send him back to be reincarnated.
His parents would undoubtedly suffer more than they had in death.
Therefore, the question was essentially a free point.
But everyone approaches problems differently. Feng Qi understood Lu Changkong, but he couldn't forgive him.
As for whether he could change Lu Changkong's future, after careful consideration, he decided to abandon the idea.
The Lord of the Mist could be saved for two crucial reasons: first, Feng Qi possessed the ability to help Human Civilization rise rapidly; second, the Lord of the Mist in the main timeline had never harmed a single human.
At the same moment, Lu Changkong's hands were stained with the blood of countless comrades.
He had no right to forgive Lu Changkong on behalf of those who had died so tragically at his hands.
His ability to traverse timelines could only alter the future, not change the past.
With a sigh, he pushed the matter from his mind.
The operational report Li Xingchen had sent clearly stated that a portion of the Wolf Pack Battle Group, led by Lu Changkong, would surge into the Beast Heart Domain Field with the objective of annihilating a domain combat team.
Feng Qi found this utterly baffling.
He couldn't fathom the Black Shadow Faction's motives for such an action.
While dispatching Mu Qing to deal with Lu Changkong, he also instructed her to investigate the matter.
During their earlier phone call, Mu Qing reported that she had questioned the Blazing Fire Battle Group, the team targeted by the Wolf Pack Battle Group.
The Blazing Fire Battle Group's response was equally clueless; they had no idea why they were being targeted.
The trail of clues ended there.
Yet Feng Qi suspected that the Blazing Fire Battle Group had stumbled upon some secret, prompting the Black Shadow Faction to urgently move to eliminate them.
However, the members of the Blazing Fire Battle Group seemed unaware of this secret.
Still, he could understand why the Black Shadow Faction would resort to such measures.
As a human hidden force seeking to shape the future within human society, secrecy was paramount.
Whether or not they had actually been exposed, the mere possibility of exposure would trigger their vigilance.
Even if the Blazing Fire Battle Group had discovered nothing, the black shadow would perceive them as a potential threat and eliminate them.
This was strikingly similar to Old Mist's approach.
During his time overseeing the Tiger Soul Research Institute, Old Mist had operated under the same principle.
For instance, the Dark God Cult had been targeted for elimination the moment it was deemed a potential threat, even though it was now completely harmless.
Having pieced together the entire sequence of events, Feng Qi rose from his seat before the jade statue.
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------
📖 You are reading [694] Chapters behind with [164] Free Chapters available on site.
🔥 Read up to Chapter [1132] now, only on ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀᴛʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ.
📚 Read upto [14,100+] Chapters on Site with [10,900+] Free Chapters!
---------------------------