The next morning, it was raining heavily. The boundless raindrops spread out like a dense fog and covered the entire planet.
It was a dark night for murder and a windy day for arson. In fact, it was the best day for murder and arson.
At five o 'clock in the morning, the entire camp of the Purgers was ablaze with lights. All the Children of Holy Light got up and began their routine training.
Today was the last day.
Having survived the test for six days and the temptations of the extraterrestrial devils, they were all the best students in the Holy Light Academy. At least, they thought so.
If they survived today, they would become real Purgers, one of the most important soldiers in the Holy League.
Therefore, everybody was excited. Their eyes were full of expectation, and their pores were emitting the light of hope. Even their footsteps on the gravity exercise machines were much more vigorous than before. Those teenagers were completely immersed in their dreams and did not realize that their excitement and dedication to their dreams had violated the great taboo of the Holy League.
It was six o 'clock in the morning, the time for morning prayer.
As if to celebrate the perfect success of the "ultimate test", more and more mentors and big shots of a higher level came to the camp today. Most of these people were standing in the shadows in the corners with stiff smiles on their faces, looking at the ignorant teenagers with unfathomable eyes.
Not far away, the purge troop was mobilized more and more frequently. Now and then, supersonic armed shuttles flew over their heads, making the alloy roof of the camp clatter.
The gargantuan floating aerial firepower platform within the atmosphere descended to less than a hundred meters from the ground. Its altitude was so low that the young people could clearly see the black, shining barrels of the cannons and the electric arcs that were spluttering on the rails. They even felt that the platform would collapse at any moment and crush everything on the ground into smithereens.
The mentors told the teenagers that if they could pass the ultimate test, they would be able to enter the aerial fortress, receive the "recruit training", and become a member of the purge troop.
The teenagers were all very happy. After a quick breakfast, they could not wait to embark on the final journey.
At seven o 'clock in the morning, the remaining hundreds of young men and women were scattered in various areas of the abandoned city.
The rain gradually became heavier, but the thick fog was not dispersed by the raindrops. Everything around was shrouded in an illusory white, so bleak that it did not seem like the real world. It was as if the world would be riddled with holes and mottled with mottled spots if one gently tore it with their hands.
Just like the first day of the defection, this kind of rain and fog gave people an illusory sense of security and even more illusory hope. It seemed that as long as the drizzle and fog were parted, a new path would appear in front of them. Even though they knew it was not true, it still tempted the naive youths to give it a try.
Perhaps a moth flying into a flame was the same.
At eight o 'clock in the morning, all the teenagers were focused on the purification mission — at least on the surface.
At nine o 'clock in the morning, a small accident happened in a supermarket in the downtown area in the south of the city.
"Hua la hua la, hua la hua la!"
"Bang bang bang, bang bang bang!"
"Boom, boom!"
First, there was the sound of the iron fence being shaken. Then, there was the sound of someone desperately banging on the door. Finally, there was the sound of the magnetic bomb directly blowing the door into pieces.
"Ta, ta, ta, ta!"
Two mentors and a team of soldiers of the purge troop, who were fully armed, barged into the supermarket aggressively. The one leading the way for them was, as it turned out, Liao Meng, the vice monitor of Thangka's class!
"This is the place. Chu Zhiyun and Thangka have been sneaking around here for a few days. There is no telling what they are up to. Yesterday, I even heard the laughter and cries of a child in person. It was a very, very small child. They are hiding a child in this place!"
Liao Meng's face was shining with grease, and his voice was so high-pitched that it did not match his brawny appearance at all.
"I suspect that they have been invaded by extraterrestrial devils. A few days ago, I even saw colorful lights beaming out of the supermarket. Who knows what they are doing exactly? Those two … those two are 'corruptors of extraterrestrial devils'!"
Liao Meng continued talking ferociously and led the mentors and the soldiers of the purge troop to the deepest part of the supermarket.
They dashed forward at an extremely fast speed. It only took them ten seconds to reach the depths of the supermarket, where the video and entertainment area was.
But the scene that unfolded in front of his eyes greatly surprised Liao Meng. He was dumbfounded and found it hard to believe his eyes.
Chu Zhiyun and Thangka were not as panicked as he had imagined. They were not wearing clothes that they should not be wearing, watching things that they should not be watching, or listening to music that they should not be listening to. On the contrary, the two of them were still wearing the flawless antiseptic suits without even taking off their gas masks. They had piled up tremendous light beam projectors, virtual photo albums, and crystal chips and jade chips together, shattering them into pieces first and then setting them on fire. They were carrying out the standard purge procedure meticulously.
Thangka had turned the power of the Vibration Blast Gun to the maximum. Deafening noises were echoing everywhere, which explained why they did not hear the sound of the door being smashed violently.
Although the mentors and the Purgers were surrounding them, the two of them were still as calm as before. They finished a batch of destruction work unhurriedly. Then, they took off their gas masks and stared at everybody emotionlessly.
"How — how is it possible?"
Liao Meng was at a loss. He mumbled, "Where are the children?"
"What children?"
Chu Zhiyun did not look at Liao Meng at all. She simply stared at her mentor peacefully.
"Liao Meng said that he heard children crying here yesterday."
Her mentor explained.
"Okay."
Chu Zhiyun did not care why Liao Meng was eavesdropping outside of the supermarket at all. She said casually, "We destroyed a batch of toys yesterday. Some of them seemed to be human-shaped dolls that could mimic children's laughter and cries. It was probably because their control chips were triggered when we were burning them. Is there a problem?"
"That's impossible!"
Liao Meng shouted, "I also saw colorful brilliance through the ventilation window. How do you explain that?"
"We are using the incineration method. Of course, the objects that contain abundant impurities will emit all kinds of brilliance. What kind of problem is that?"
Chu Zhiyun was as emotionless as before. She did not even frown. She only felt that Liao Meng's stupid interrogation was a waste of their time.
"Then, if you are not doing anything clandestine inside, why did you lock the gate?"
Liao Meng's face couldn't have been more gloomy.
"There are a lot of animals in the city. Some of them are even biochemical beasts that have been injected with strengthened genes."
Chu Zhiyun said, "Maybe there are also war puppets that can automatically search for and attack the enemy. They might not have run out of energy and ammunition after only half a month.
"We don't want to be targeted by those things. Even if we are, the locked gate will buy us some time."
Liao Meng was dazed for a long time, lost for words.
At this moment, the soldiers who had been sent to search the supermarket returned and reported that everything was normal. They did not find anyone or anything that should not have been there. There were only a lot of traces of incineration, including the warehouses and the freezers. It was a normal procedure of the purification operation.
However, the temperature in most places was extremely high. It seemed that the incineration operation had just been completed.
"Look, this is the evidence!"
Liao Meng shouted again. "You just finished burning a large area. Why? What are you trying to destroy? What are you trying to cover?"
"Today is the last day of the 'ultimate test'. Everybody wants to finish more purification work and get a higher score."
Chu Zhiyun still explained unhurriedly, "Everybody will try their best to shatter and burn as much as possible. You are the only one who ignored your mission and brought the mentors and the Purgers to this place. Mr. Liao Meng, what's your problem exactly?"
"I … I … You … You!"
Liao Meng's face was dark at first, then red, and finally pale. "I saw it clearly. I heard it clearly. You … You hid them somewhere. Something must be wrong. Something must be wrong. You can't fool me!"
"I don't know who you are talking about. I only know that extraterrestrial devils can sneak into one's brain and control one's visual and auditory nerves, making one see all kinds of illusions."
Chu Zhiyun paused for a moment and finally looked at Liao Meng. "Mr. Liao Meng, are you sure that you have not been possessed by extraterrestrial devils and indulged in your imagination so much that you wasted so much manpower and precious time to put on such an absurd farce?"
"You are talking nonsense!"
Liao Meng burst into fury. "My loyalty to the gods is unparalleled. You were the one who was invaded by extraterrestrial devils. You —"
Beep! Beep!
"This seems to be the third time that you have lost control of your emotions, Mr. Liao Meng."
Chu Zhiyun scratched her hair softly and said casually, "Also, you exceeded the warning line by a lot each time. If my memory serves me right, you will be immediately expelled from the examination room if you lose control of your emotions three times."
Liao Meng was dumbfounded as if he had been struck by lightning.
"It's impossible. It's impossible. It's impossible. It's impossible …"
His breathing was more and more rapid. Every pimple on his face seemed to be exploding. There was no telling whether his face was filled with fury, fear, or desperation. "I am a Purger. My loyalty to the gods is unparalleled. How can I lose control of myself? It can't be. It's you! It's you!"
"If your loyalty to the gods is unparalleled, I suggest that you have your brain examined. I believe that the gods will save you, Mr. Liao Meng."
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