Chapter 213 Jing Hongchen's Tears Behind Bars.
"When the safes in Warehouse No. 2 were built, Elder Zhang, wanting to profit from them, didn't use any special alloys for the underground construction. The Body Sect members who came to steal from the various warehouses are extremely skilled at digging; they dug through the ground and stole all the fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells."
"Damn it, that bastard Elder Zhang, you're trying to kill me! My eleven level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells!" Jing Hongchen roared, his face contorted with rage.
"Hall Master..." Lin Jiayi's slightly open mouth made Jing Hongchen's heart clench again.
He suddenly turned to his capable subordinate, "What else is missing? Don't stammer, explain clearly."
Lin Jiayi gritted his teeth, his voice trembling, "Experimental Subject No. 1 in Warehouse No. 2, and the strategic soul-guided devices stored in Warehouse No. 4 are all missing..."
"What?" Jing Hongchen felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, his body swaying as he nearly fell. Lin Jiayi quickly stepped forward to support him.
Jing Hongchen felt as if the sky had collapsed, his chest tightening as if he were about to die.
"You...you say it again." This time, even his voice trembled.
Lin Jiayi wore an expression of immense pain and stammered, "They're all gone...Hall Master."
Jing Hongchen coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed into Lin Jiayi's arms.
What did Subject Number One mean? It meant the highest achievement of the entire Mingde Hall in the research of soul tools, equivalent to the culmination of thousands of years of research on soul tools by the Sun Moon Empire!
What did strategic soul tools mean? They were the ultimate trump card that every major soul tool legion needed! If these linked soul tools were introduced into the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, it was unimaginable what kind of blow the Sun Moon Empire would face; unifying the continent would become nothing but empty talk.
Jing Hongchen stared at Lin Jiayi, his face pale, his eyes filled with fear. While he could suppress the significant losses caused by the attack on Mingde Hall using his prestige within the Sun Moon Empire, the complete looting of Mingde Hall's warehouses was something he could never afford. This was a matter of national importance. If the emperor found out, not only him, but the entire Hongchen family would be finished.
Taking a deep breath, barely suppressing the surging blood within him, Jing Hongchen whispered, "Who else knows about this?"
Lin Jiayi quickly shook his head, saying, "I personally went to the underground warehouses to investigate. After discovering that several warehouses had been robbed, I immediately sealed off all the doors leading to them and reported to you."
Jing Hongchen managed to calm himself, saying, "Well done. This matter must not be known to anyone."
"Yes," Lin Jiayi quickly agreed.
Jing Hongchen's face flushed red and then paled, his heart filled with intense hatred for the Body Sect.
The theft of so many strategic-level soul tools, while not of great value, and not difficult to manufacture... Fortunately, Mingde Hall has a high degree of autonomy. As long as the linked soul tools are quickly replenished and the matter is not exposed, there is still hope to salvage the situation.
Forcing himself to stand upright, Jing Hongchen's previously volatile eyes calmed down in the face of danger.
"Jiayi, relay my orders: everyone present today is to remain silent. Anyone who dares to spread the word will be executed without mercy."
"Send men to all the major mines to buy up large quantities of rare metals. Then, in the name of Mingde Hall, issue kill orders to all mercenary guilds and assassin guilds. Offer a high bounty on the heads of all members of the Body Sect."
He paused slightly before continuing, "Except for the injured Mingde Hall disciples, all healthy Mingde Hall members are to be put on emergency mobilization. Repair the underground base as quickly as possible, at all costs. Tell the elders that they need to rebuild Mingde Hall's defenses. There can't be any more blind spots. Understand?"
"Yes," Lin Jiayi quickly agreed. Seeing that Jing Hongchen had regained his composure, he felt relieved.
Jing Hongchen seemed to suddenly remember something and asked urgently, "How are the exchange students from Shrek Academy? Especially that Huo Yuhao. Were they injured or killed in this battle?"
Lin Jiayi was also a meticulous person and had already guessed that Jing Hongchen would ask this question, having already done some investigation.
"As for Shrek Academy, Fan Yu and He Caitou went out to test their soul tools and are not in the base. The other students are also on the outskirts of the experimental area, and the initial explosion did not affect them. They are all very cunning and retreated to a safe area as quickly as possible, without participating in the previous battle. A few people were injured, but the injuries were not too serious. Huo Yuhao was among those injured. Our medical soul master examined him; he suffered a heavy blow to the chest and was probably knocked unconscious, but he should recover after a period of rest."
"That's good. If anything else happened to the Shrek Academy students, it would be adding insult to injury. Give the order to take good care of them and not let anything go wrong." Jing Hongchen was panting heavily, his fat forehead covered in cold sweat.
Within minutes, the once young Jing Hongchen seemed to have aged twenty years.
"Now it seems I have to choose sides. Only the Crown Prince can save me. I hope it's not too late."
Even though Mingde Hall was trying its best to suppress the news, how could such a major event be kept secret?
Although Jing Hongchen promptly ordered the sealing off of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, news of Mingde Hall's surprise attack and heavy losses spread throughout Mingdu in less than a day.
The Sun Moon Emperor was furious upon learning of this, and his already poor health worsened. At the emergency court meeting that day, Jing Hongchen, the head of Mingde Hall, was severely punished; his dukedom was stripped, and he was immediately imprisoned. If it weren't for Crown Prince Xu Tianran's intervention, he would likely have been executed on the spot.
This judgment was made without Xu Tianran and the Sun Moon Emperor knowing that a large number of level eight and nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells, a large number of mid-to-high-level soul-guided weapon blueprints, and the entire set of linked soul-guided weapons had been lost. If they had known, Xu Tianran would probably have wanted to kill Jing Hongchen.
After the court assembly, under the watchful eyes of many Mingdu citizens, Jing Hongchen was escorted to prison. Although Crown Prince Xu Tianran accompanied him along the way, it was still inevitable that the reputation of Jing Hongchen and the entire Hongchen family would suffer a devastating blow.
Now imprisoned, how could Jing Hongchen possibly care about Yang Xuan, who was invincible in the arena?
Although the Sun Moon Empire's official authorities did not reveal who was responsible, the fact that Mingde Hall immediately issued a kill order against the Body Sect clearly indicated their target.
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