Corpse Recovery Diver

Liang Yan: "Not funny."

Liang Li: "Very childish."

Zhao Yi tapped his forehead: "We sent someone to gauge the situation, but the other party directly demonstrated instead. This is to lay the groundwork for future cooperation, with the aim of overpowering us to gain the initiative, and even leadership."

The other party surely knows me, is clear about my background, and even has some apprehension towards me."

Liang Yan: "Here we go again."

Liang Li: "Still trying to salvage his dignity."

Zhao Yi ignored the sisters' sarcastic remarks and murmured to himself, "Who could it be?"

There are many who know his name in the Jianghu, and the fame of Jiujiang Zhao Yi has long spread.

Not to mention the past; just during that escape holding broken jade in Lijiang while ambushing the attackers, one can't say how many enemies were made.

The guy with the surname Li, even during the siege at the inn, didn't reveal his background but instead asked him to shout out the name.

"Sigh, truly envy that guy with the surname Li, how simple and swift it must be to pick out enemy targets."

...

The guesthouse.

Li Zhiyuan had just finished reading the files of those three patients, along with Wu Xin's first-person account of the incident.

The files of the three patients weren't anything unusual, their family background was ordinary and clean.

Wu Xin's account of the event...was also quite average.

In terms of strangeness, it wouldn't rank high in the eyes of old hands in engineering.

The cause was during construction, the machine excavated some black liquid. At first, everyone was pleasantly surprised, thinking they had struck oil by luck.

Even though geological surveys were done before the project, it's unlikely that oil would be found so shallow without prior discovery.

Yet dreams are something everyone likes to have.

Unfortunately, while the "oil" spurted high, it only lasted a short while before stopping, and the black liquid dissipated swiftly, as if it had entirely evaporated.

Everyone was puzzled by this but didn't take it seriously, soon restarting construction until it was time to hand over duties, leading to response misalignment with those three patients.

According to Wu Xin's guess, when the "oil" erupted, these three people were the closest, nearly drenched by the black liquid—as if affected by some toxin, they inhaled an excess amount causing a reaction.

Li Zhiyuan didn't see it that way, believing that for ordinary people, this special substance doesn't depend on quantity, as even a few drops can't be resisted.

Coupled with the symptoms of the three patients, Li Zhiyuan had a bold hypothesis.

That all present who were splashed by the "oil" actually underwent changes.

It's just that, unlike those currently hospitalized, their original memories were erased and replaced with another person's memories, whereas others seemed normal because their erased memories were replaced with their own.

This is the most extreme and worst-case scenario, meaning even if they resemble normal people without illness, they are actually marked.

Such thinking, after weathering many waves, has become a habit for Li Zhiyuan: laying out all clues, first linking the worst-case scenarios with the smallest probability.

The youth decided that tomorrow, when Wu Xin comes to take him to the hospital, he must thoroughly check Wu Xin to see if his memory shows signs of remodeling.

If his speculation proves correct, then all these workers could become carriers used for resurgence in the deepest part, striking back when he believes victory is achieved, or simply slipping away quietly.

Li Zhiyuan got out of bed, went to the bathroom to rinse his face, and while wiping with a towel, he gazed at himself in the mirror.

The ability to alter memory isn't incomprehensible; his mastery of Wei Zhengdao's Black Skin Book secret technique could accomplish that.

But simultaneously modifying several, dozens, hundreds, or more…is truly chilling.

What kind of existence could possess such terrifying consciousness-controlling ability?

...

Deep in Qingcheng Mountain, in a gloomy ravine, two Taoists, one large and one small, were advancing.

"Master, the mountain has been lively recently."

"It's normal, some things manifest, causing such celestial phenomena."

"Is this the celestial phenomenon? It doesn't match what I've read in books."

"Emanating from the Heavenly Dao Will, what else could it be but celestial phenomena? People are also manifestations of celestial phenomena."

The master and disciple stopped in front of a frozen black pool, with crackling sounds coming from the ice, growing fissures and protrusions, revealing an eerie aura.

"Disciple, this location, Master discovered by chance as a child after falling into the crevice. After so many years, it finally awaits awakening. Now, it's both Master's and your opportunity."

"But father..."

"Hmm?"

"Master, if the Heavenly Dao doesn't favor it, are we defying destiny by doing this?"

"Are you afraid?"

"I...am indeed afraid."

"Do not fear, because the one sleeping within was once the most recognized by the Heavenly Dao in an era."

"The most recognized by Heavenly Dao person...who is it?"

"Come, disciple, let's pay respect together with Master."

The young Taoist followed his master, bowing down when the master's reverent voice echoed by his ear:

"Salute to the Dragon King!"