Chapter 349 - 349 229 Spreading the Net

Words : 1580 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

349: Chapter 229: Spreading the Net 349: Chapter 229: Spreading the Net On the one hand, increasing the number of reserve soldiers, and on the other hand, strictly controlling firearms, is this contradictory? This just shows that the situation is still under the control of the authorities, and they are trying to step on the brakes and strengthen security supervision. Even, it is possible that all this is part of the plan, originally intended to increase the “human resources” backup. Without even having to investigate specifically, Lu Ping’an knew that among the “superpower criminals,” the majority were those who had just come into contact with “Abnormal Abilities” and were newbies to the “professionals.” Don’t be misled by the professionals fighting in Ancient City University; most of the “Polluters” have no chance of becoming professionals. On the one hand, they don’t have the opportunity, and on the other hand, they can’t endure the hardship. Unable to practice hard for years, perhaps dabbling in books, painting, and flower planting, these “artistic” pursuits may be possible? But in fact, the reality is quite the opposite. The requirements for the latter are higher, and most importantly, most Polluters from the beginning do not have the “desire” to become professionals. “People die sooner or later.” “I have a hard time even eating properly; you want me to cultivate? Take time off for study? Who will pay me?” “I’m already forty-five, how can I practice?” “…Can you help me get a disability certificate? At least let me live comfortably for a few years.” Real-life fantasy stories are far more brutal than those in fantasy novels. Those who awaken their abilities due to a “supernatural crisis” are often not teenagers or young girls. In contrast, due to the relatively fixed living areas of teenagers and children, the middle-aged and elderly are the concentrated victims. Among the youngsters and children who are quick learners and have good prospects, thanks to the widespread smuggling and dissemination of “Taboo Knowledge” in some gray industries, gangster kids are the easiest to come into contact with. After they gain these “powers,” a terrible story often begins. Money, women, power—some people’s minds are filled with these things, and some people even cross the line of the law… When they are sure they cannot become professionals, the reality of a slow death will make them even more insane, and in order to have a good life “before their death,” they will trample on the law and other people’s lives more unscrupulously. Even more extreme, becoming a professional does not necessarily mean that one can endure such a life. The ideas and practices of “Evil Cultivation,” “Resource Cultivation,” and “Living by Fighting” are also common in the underworld; in some ways, they are more realistic… Money and resources can buy knowledge and power, and advancement can prolong life. What is the lower limit for survival? Thus, many evildoers find the “rule of the survival of the fittest,” Especially those who don’t have any awe—newcomers to the superpower gang—are the ones who need to be cracked down the most, as they don’t know how to restrain their actions. But recently, the situation has been slightly different. “Good news, the superpower crime rate has dropped by six percentage points this quarter, the first time in three years.” “Haha, that’s because those gangs and individual criminals have been scared by the big incidents, in a sense, we have to thank Fang Wen. That TV tower robot caused not only destruction but also a real deterrent. Many suddenly inflated kids have been frightened.” “Indeed, there has been a significant decline in the crime rate of young and new Polluters. It should be the ‘cooling-off period’ after the major incident. I don’t know how long it will last.” “At least two months, I guess. The higher-ups saw it too, so they wanted to take advantage of the time to do something.” Lu Ping’an himself had also been on duty and had dealt with many cases. The truly cruel and despicable blood cases often involved seemingly ordinary “ordinary people,” especially those who had just gained power but had not received proper guidance as “new superpower users.” For a truly ordinary citizen, there is no difference between a newly awakened kid and a fourth-tier person. On the contrary, the fourth-tiers will learn to fear order and greater power, but the young kids don’t know what cruelty and limits are… Some bloody crime scenes are even more horrifying than the sacrificial rituals of cultists. In such a situation, strict control of firearms is actually a good thing. There is not much difference between an armed or unarmed (quasi-polluting weapon) professional for an ordinary person, as both are powerless to resist. But for newly inflated criminals, it’s the difference between having guts and not having guts. “This is going to be a war on the black market… ” The largest steam factory in the city is inevitable, and the trading land may also be involved. The Special Service Teams in each district have completed their reorganization and expansion. Regardless of the quality of new recruits, their paper combat power has at least doubled. Perhaps, this is the fundamental reason why the Bureau of Anomaly Management now dares to make big moves. “…Let’s temporarily pause the arms trade for a while.” This is not out of fear of crackdowns or anything like that. Lu Ping’an has confidence that they will never be able to find the entrance to the courtyard, but this is an “attitude”, a choice about which way to lean. Anyway, this whole thing is just a passing fad. Completely banning “arms” and “contraband” trade? That’s something not even God can do. Demand drives the market, and Special Service Team members themselves have to buy guns on the black market (there’s always extra demand). “Maybe if they crack down on steam factories, and after some time passes, the volume of my trades will increase even more.” Lu Ping’an himself is quite open-minded about this, of course, partly because his market doesn’t have a large trade volume, and the real core selling point is not arms. He also sees very clearly that this thing can’t be suppressed; even if all the “black markets” couldn’t trade, those who communicate through the Internet and small advertisements and conduct private underground transactions would still happen. What the Bureau of Anomaly Management has to do is to increase the cost of transactions and prevent a large number of low-end pollutants from entering the market, causing further social unrest. At the same time, it will increase the issuance of “official channels” weapons and carry out a certain degree of “weapons registration”. “This is a path taken by a certain Western superpower… The prices of quasi-pollutants and taboo items are going to rise, and rise significantly. Why don’t I stock up on some goods?” When something is banned and sealed, as long as there is still demand, it will be converted into consumer expenditure costs on the market, and price increases are a common occurrence. But at the next moment, Lu Ping’an shook his head. It takes too much time, and his own costs aren’t enough. Moreover, in case it is exposed, his position in the “Order Camp” would be questioned. And more importantly, when the “conventional black markets” are cracked down upon, his own “untraceable black market” will naturally gain a lot of benefits. There’s no need to expose himself for a little profit at this time. Even if some transactions are strictly investigated later, there will still be a large number of private transactions taking place. His own trading land, which serves as a “pure communication venue where no force can be used”, would be able to attract a large volume of human traffic… Even the Special Service Bureau couldn’t arrest anyone at the trading land. Shaking his head again, Lu Ping’an didn’t need to think about these things. Doing nothing seemed to be the biggest profit point. As for his side, some work couldn’t be neglected. “A crackdown?” New tasks were issued, so it was time to start working again. The Special Service Teams got busy once more. Their first task was to liquidate some of the “evil forces” on the list… Those bastards had done a lot of messy things during the previous big events. At that time, no one could control them. Now that they had enough manpower, it was time to settle the score. In the era of “everyone carrying a gun,” these people couldn’t be completely eradicated, but hitting a few of them and creating a deterrent would make things much better for ordinary civilians. What Lu Ping’an was entrusted with was a slightly different task. “Lu Ping’an, you’re finally willing to see me.” “Professor Wen, didn’t you have a lot of classes recently? I’m here now, aren’t I?” In the not-so-large laboratory filled with messy books and culture dishes, this was just the personal room of Professor Wen from the plant science college of the Logistics Department. This time, Lu Ping`an brought a lot of “dirty things” specifically to find the Master Gardener for identification and tracking. Officially, they were tracking new biological weapons such as “carnivorous plants” and “automatic firecrackers,” but in reality, they were looking for the mastermind behind the “White Sleeping Cherry.”

Chapter 349 - 349 229 Spreading the Net

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