All of us are one

Chapter 44 Physical Enhancement, Electronic Hacking

"The best sacrifice for summoning evil beings like demons is a direct offering of life, because life has a soul, a body, emotions..."

Jiang Yanming lowered his head in thought, "According to the records of the Demon Hunters, in ancient times, the battlefield was generally the place where these three things could be produced in large quantities at the same time!"

"Speaking of battlefields..."

Jiang Yanming suddenly looked up, a look of realization in his eyes, and blurted out, "I understand!"

Tira, who was checking on President Furen's condition, turned around and asked upon hearing Jiang Yanming's words, "What did you understand?"

"The Northern Continent!" Jiang Yanming said solemnly, "The offerings for summoning demons come from the Northern Continent."

Tira was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized what was going on.

"If the offerings came from the Northern Continent, then everything makes sense," Jiang Yanming said softly. "The Northern Continent has recently been engulfed in war, and even previously stable countries have been drawn into it. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have died directly from the war, and millions more have been displaced."

"The suffering caused by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions, if the demons summoned by these sacrifices were to truly descend, then the result would be..." Tira felt a chill run down her spine and did not continue.

The summoned demon was indeed terrifying, a thousand times, ten thousand times more terrifying than all the demons recorded in the Witcher's books combined!

It should be noted that, according to the records of the Witcher, most of the demons summoned required dozens or hundreds of sacrifices, and it was extremely rare for sacrifices to reach thousands.

The demon that Jiang Yanming faced was summoned by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the suffering of millions, and its terrifying nature is self-evident!

"This ritual to summon demons, was it really prepared by President Furen?" Tira asked in disbelief.

"He must have been tricked," Jiang Yanming said, looking at the still unconscious President Furen. "Don't you think the monsters arrived too quickly?"

"You mean, the monster tampered with the summoning ritual?" Tira denied. "Impossible. The fortress is guarded by witchers year-round, and the archives are located deep within the fortress. The monster couldn't have sneaked in."

"There's no need to come in," Jiang Yanming said, shaking his head. "I suspect that the summoning ritual that Guild Master Furen received was specifically given to him by a demon."

"Is President Furen really that stupid?" Tira frowned.

"This is a plan that has been in place for decades, even hundreds of years," Jiang Yanming said with some emotion. "Monsters need anchor points to summon demons, and they also need a lot of sacrifices, so they need to make preparations in advance to infiltrate the chaotic northern continent."

"When the time is right, even if Chairman Furen doesn't hold the ceremony, the monsters can still hold it themselves. At worst, the ceremony will still be held at headquarters."

"We are all anchor points, so we can't escape the final battle with the monsters?" Tira was taken aback by his words.

"Yes, the final battle will eventually come; it's just a matter of sooner or later," Jiang Yanming sighed. "The demons are not to be underestimated; I think they should have already retreated."

"Guild Master, the monster has escaped."

At this moment, Carlot rushed in, and when he saw the situation in the secret room, he was stunned for a moment.

"Teacher, have the monsters really gone?" Tira asked.

"Yes, the monster left in a hurry, not even taking its corpse with it." Carlo nodded, then asked, "What happened? Did the summoning ritual fail?"

Jiang Yanming did not answer, but raised his head to signal Tila to explain.

hiss!

After listening to Tira's explanation of the whole story, Carlot gasped and a look of relief appeared on his face.

"Will the Chairman and Mr. Aruk wake up?" Carrot glanced at the two unconscious men and couldn't help but ask.

"Their physical condition seems alright, so they should be fine once they wake up, but it's hard to say what their mental state is like..." Jiang Yanming shook his head slightly.

If it weren't for the protective jade talisman of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he might not have been able to get rid of those murmuring incantations. After all, they entered his mind without warning, and if he wasn't prepared, he might have really lost his way.

"Sigh..." Carrot sighed upon hearing this.

He knew perfectly well that, judging from the sacrifices required to summon that demon, even if Chairman Furen and Mr. Aruk woke up, they would most likely be mentally unstable.

"Staying in this secret room isn't going to solve anything." Jiang Yanming approached Chairman Fu Lun and prepared to bend down and carry him on his shoulder.

To his surprise, Chairman Furen was much lighter than he had expected, and he could be lifted with just one hand.

Seeing Jiang Yanming carrying Chairman Furen with one hand without moving, Carlot asked in confusion, "Jiang, what are you doing?"

"Of course, we should take them out." Jiang Yanming pointed at Mr. Aruk and reminded him, "The two of them planted high explosives in the fortress, and the detonator is on Mr. Aruk. Be careful."

"So, besides the summoning ritual, they were also preparing to perish together with the monster." Carlot knelt down beside Mr. Aruk and quietly searched him.

Jiang Yanming carrying Chairman Fu Lun out of the secret room with one hand immediately attracted the attention of all the demon hunters.

"President Furen is unconscious and will probably not wake up for a while. You can ask Carlot and Tira about what happened inside." Jiang Yanming didn't want to explain anymore.

He found a long bench, placed President Furen on it, and then sat cross-legged to the side, slowly circulating his spiritual energy to recover from his injuries.

About an hour later.

Carrot sat down beside Jiang Yanming, looking dejected. "Jiang, Chairman Furen and Mr. Aruk have woken up. They've developed mental problems."

"What symptoms?" Jiang Yanming asked, opening his eyes.

"It's very strange!" Carrot didn't know how to describe it, and after thinking for a while, he said, "It's like those very devout believers who keep praying and praising their gods, but the problem is, they're praising the abyss!"

Jiang Yanming fell silent upon hearing this; he had almost become one of them.

"What are you planning to do?" Jiang Yanming asked softly after a moment.

"What else can we do but let them stay at headquarters? We can't just let them fend for themselves," Carrot said, feeling both frustrated and helpless.

"Whatever you say." Jiang Yanming thought for a moment, then sighed, "I'm preparing to leave the Demon Hunter Guild, and I won't be coming back after this departure."

"You..." Carrot was taken aback upon hearing this, perhaps not expecting Jiang Yanming to be so decisive.

"You should know that President Furen used us demon hunters as bait in order to complete the ritual," Jiang Yanming said calmly.

Carrot paused for a moment and nodded: "I know, that's why you left the guild?"

"You could say that," Jiang Yanming added, "There are also some personal reasons."

"Alright," Carrot sighed. "Besides you, I reckon others will choose to leave the guild, since Witchers are already outdated."

Jiang Yanming didn't respond. He had an inexplicable feeling in his heart, as if he didn't want to see the Demon Hunters perish, but he suppressed this emotion.

"When are you planning to leave?" Carlot asked, turning his head.

"Let's talk about it after we've cleaned up the mess on the island," Jiang Yanming said after thinking for a moment. "We can leave together then, depending on the situation."

"I'm not leaving." Carrot shook his head. "I have no children, and after being a witcher for most of my life, it's better for me to stay on the island."

"Hmm." Jiang Yanming nodded slightly, offering no words of advice.

"Let's go, everyone's injuries have been mostly treated." Carrot stood up and said with a self-deprecating smile, "We Witchers are tough. Those who didn't die mostly had penetrating wounds. A bandage, some medicine, and they'll be fine after a while."

"How many people are left?" Jiang Yanming asked softly.

"Including the three apprentices, the two madmen, and you, that makes a total of 19 people," Carrot sighed. "The Serpent Faction is down to just one person; the next generation will likely be wiped out."

"If magical energy doesn't return, the extinction of the Witchers is only a matter of time," Jiang Yanming said, standing up. "It's better if they perish sooner, so that fewer people will suffer."

"Give me a hand. Tonight, move the monster corpses out of the fortress, but leave the fallen comrades inside," Carrot said softly, his words carrying a hint of pleading.

"Okay." Jiang Yanming nodded in agreement.

After a short period of recuperation, his injuries were successfully suppressed, and they would not recur as long as he did not mobilize his spiritual power excessively.

……

Before we knew it, it was late at night.

Jiang Yanming carried the monster corpses in both hands and threw them to the other side of the ditch outside the fortress.

"Finally, it's over." Carrot threw down the monster corpse he was carrying on his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He turned to look at Jiang Yanming, and seeing the latter's relaxed expression, with not a drop of sweat on his forehead under the moonlight, he couldn't help but sigh, "Am I a bear, or are you a bear?"

"You're from the Bear faction," Jiang Yanming said calmly. "Besides being a demon hunter, I've also practiced martial arts for a few days."

"Alright." Carlot nodded helplessly. "Let's go, get some rest, we'll be busy tomorrow."

Jiang Yanming nodded slightly and followed Carlot across the drawbridge back to the fortress.

As he walked, he thought to himself, "It's not that Chairman Furen is lightweight, but rather that my physique has improved again."

Jiang Yanming looked down at the palm of his left hand, where there was a red mark, the so-called "blood" left by the demon.

"My physical strength has increased, which must be related to this mark. The fever and burning sensation I experienced back then were part of the strengthening process..." he comforted himself. "It seems that being targeted by a great demon is not all bad."

"But you want to kill me? Let's see if you have the guts!"

Jiang Yanming narrowed his eyes slightly. The enhancement of his physique would allow him to travel to the Divine Martial Kingdom more quickly, systematically learn the profound mysteries of martial arts, and step into the Qi and Blood Condensation Realm above the Ming Martial Realm!

"Jiang, make do here for now." Carlot led Jiang Yanming to an empty room, where the damp, musty smell still lingered.

"Okay." Jiang Yanming looked around the room; a bed and clean blankets were enough.

In a place like the Witcher's Fortress, having such accommodations is already quite good; at least there's no strong smell of blood here.

"Get some rest." Carrot closed the door and left.

Jiang Yanming took off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the bed, and continued to circulate his spiritual energy to heal his injuries.

……

Two days later, in the afternoon...

After two days of hard work, the corpses on the headquarters island were finally cleared away. The fallen witchers were buried in the cemetery, and the monster corpses were buried together in a less frequented place.

A makeshift temporary dock.

"Goodbye, Jiang." Carrot led several demon hunters to see Jiang Yanming and the others off.

"Goodbye." Jiang Yanming boarded the ship.

Tira, who smelled strongly of medicine, waved to Carlot with her uninjured hand, "Goodbye, teacher."

"If you meet the right person, you can consider settling down and living a good life," Carlot advised. "You're not getting any younger."

"I know." Tira nodded calmly, but no one knew what she was thinking.

"Goodbye, Carlotta. This may be the last time we meet."

"Goodbye, buddy."

Besides Jiang Yanming and Tira, there were also three Witchers who had left the guild and were about to leave their Witcher identities behind.

The ship sailed away from the dock and arrived at the island where Milin City is located.

"Then it's time to part ways."

Jiang Yanming bid farewell to the demon hunters.

"Jiang, it's an honor to fight alongside you."

"Thank you so much. Without you, we would probably be dead already."

"Jiang, you saved my life. If you need anything, you can call me."

The four Witchers, including Tira, all held Jiang Yanming in high esteem.

After all, Jiang Yanming single-handedly stopped the powerful demon from descending, saving their lives, so they naturally owed him this debt of gratitude.

"If needed, I will." Jiang Yanming took the note and casually put it in his pocket.

"Alright, goodbye." Jiang Yanming waved and hailed a taxi, heading straight for the nearest luxury hotel.

In a country like Ramos, luxury hotels mean safety and avoid unnecessary trouble.

Jiang Yanming booked his flight back to Xinyue City at the hotel for tomorrow and then went back to his room to rest.

……

The next day arrived.

Jiang Yanming woke up from his sleep with a groggy head. This feeling made him quite uncomfortable, yet it also had a familiar quality to it.

"Here we go again..."

This situation immediately led Jiang Yanming to wonder if he had acquired another identity.

Thinking this, he got up and looked around. He found that he was still in the hotel, but he still noticed something different.

As was his habit, he would keep his belongings in his storage ring. His suitcase only contained some changes of clothes, and when he went to the Witcher headquarters, he would also keep that suitcase in his storage ring.

But now, he discovered a black box in the room, quite large, big enough to fit an adult.

Upon seeing the box, Jiang Yanming was immediately flooded with memories, causing his head to feel dizzy and unwell once again.

"Am I a cyber hacker?"

After receiving the memories, Jiang Yanming was momentarily stunned, mainly because the memories were too vast, with knowledge about various electronic hackers coming one after another. Nearly two hours had passed since he finished receiving the memories.

Fortunately, his flight was in the afternoon; otherwise, he might have missed his flight back to Crescent City.

"Traditional cyber hacking..."

Jiang Yanming rubbed his temples, feeling quite relieved.

Simply put, as a traditional cyber hacker, he had not undergone any modifications; all his hacking was done through computers and supercomputers, and for this purpose, he even carried a miniature supercomputer with him.

"So, how did I bring this supercomputer with me?" Jiang Yanming muttered to himself.