Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 305 - 289: Are the Ones Above in Cahoots with the Mask?

Chapter 305: Chapter 289: Are the Ones Above in Cahoots with the Mask?

The voice on the other end of the line was cold and mechanical: "The number you have dialed is currently unattended. Please try again later."

Feng Ju furrowed his brows and hung up the phone, just as the blue-and-white car he was in stopped at the entrance to the Eighth Academy campus.

The Eighth Academy, as an important test site for the Martial Arts Joint Examination, recently adopted a semi-open management model, warmly welcoming students, parents, teachers, and other outsiders to visit.

Within the campus, there was a constant flow of people. In addition to students and parents, the busy figures of TV reporters could also be seen preparing to cover this grand event.

This time, the Martial Arts Joint Examination is not just a major competition of martial arts skills for students but also an important opportunity for the school system and the Executive Government to showcase their achievements together.

It has gradually been organized as a grand event aimed at showing the public the results of martial arts education and the comprehensive strength of the school.

Starting from tomorrow or the day after, after selecting the top sixteen from each grade and completing the first round of cross-level challenges, every subsequent match in the arena will be broadcast live on TV.

This will undoubtedly elevate the current Martial Arts Joint Examination to a higher level of attention, drawing more focus.

At that time, there will be officials from the education system and influential figures from all walks of society attending as guests.

One could say that the nature of the first Martial Arts Joint Examination in Zone 9 is subtly changing, with many related or unrelated people trying to seize this opportunity to gain some fame or profit.

As for whether this deviates from its original intent, nor does it matter what students and teachers think, no one cares anymore.

Even though the Eighth Academy recently experienced a heinous series of murders, and the case remains unsolved and possibly ongoing, it still cannot hinder the grand performance from moving forward in full swing.

The many questions or dissatisfactions of the people below received only a few casual responses from above:

"Increase security measures; there must be no mistakes. Anyone who messes up will be stripped of their position."

"With so many important guests present and so many cameras around, even if there really is a murderer hiding in the school, would they dare to kill in front of the cameras?"

"In short, if there are difficulties, we must hold it; without difficulties, we must still hold it. How could such an orchestrated spectacle be stopped by a mere murderer?"

In short, the current situation is that the people above are all very calm, while those below implementing the work are not as composed.

Feng Ju didn’t even need to show his credentials; his uniform was the best pass. The security guard at the entrance took one look at him and let him through directly.

In recent days, apart from groups of students or teachers, the most frequent visitors to the school have been people from the Patrol Office and the Arresting Bureau; their uniforms were already a common sight for the security guards.

Of course, the group from the Patrol Office and Arresting Bureau that the security had seen in recent days was not the same as Feng Ju’s group.

That group was dispatched to assist with the school’s security, maintain the "performance" order, and ensure the safety of the guests in case of incidents.

That group was led by the current captain of the Patrol Office, Li Shang, and was working in conjunction with the third squad of the Arresting Bureau.

So, Li Shang is now filled with an inward panic and cursing, as he had struggled with all his might to escape the vortex of identifying the Mask, only to find himself back at this accursed Eighth Academy in a blink.

This time, he indeed did not need to delve into identifying the Mask’s true identity but instead directly shouldered the heavy responsibility of security work, ensuring this grand event could proceed safely and smoothly.

"Can it really proceed smoothly?"

Li Shang looked up at the bright banners hanging in the campus, watching the densely packed crowds and feeling a dizzy spell hit his head.

If the previous Eighth Academy was a rice jar, and the Mask was the lurking parasite within, then the Eighth Academy now had expanded into a giant rice bin. Are you testing whether the parasite inside will steal the rice?

Do you think the Mask can resist?

Li Shang vigorously shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the journalists carrying cameras and the cameras hanging motionless on walls or trees for the media to gather more "reality show" material.

Li Shang’s heart felt not a trace of warmth but rather waves of chilling sensations, and an ominous premonition welled up inside him.

Standing beside him, Chang Erbing was also surveying the surrounding cameras, feeling slightly more at ease and muttering unconsciously:

"Captain Li, I took a look; there truly are a lot of cameras. The Mask probably wouldn’t dare commit a crime here. Once he shows up, the likelihood of being captured on film is too high; he couldn’t possibly be that foolish, right?"

Li Shang couldn’t easily conclude whether the Mask would be foolish, but he could vouch for Chang Erbing being genuinely foolish with the honor of a detective.

He looked at Chang Erbing with an almost pitying gaze, letting out a cold chuckle, and then asked:

"Let me ask you, why is the Mask called the Mask?"

Chang Erbing replied almost without thinking, "Because he wears a mask?!!"

Li Shang lightly pressed his aching temples, his tone slow but firm, "Yes, he wears a mask. So, would he be afraid of cameras?"

Chang Erbing seemed to awaken suddenly, his gaze falling once more on those cameras, feeling a burst of coldness shooting straight from his spine to his head, as if the whole world had turned black and white, his head on the verge of splitting.

Chang Erbing took a few deep breaths, unable to suppress the alarm in his voice:

"No, Captain Li, we can’t take on this security work any longer. We need to go see the Member of Parliament and find a way to back out..."

Li Shang stuck his finger in front of Chang Erbing’s mouth, biting his teeth and growling in a low voice:

"How to refuse? Reenact the Secretary Hou kidnapping drama?"

Yeah, the task assigned by Shangguan was not easy to refuse. They had already turned down the special envoy; if they refused the Member of Parliament this time, they might as well strip off their uniforms at this point.

Li Shang and Chang Erbing exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with silent complaints:

"What’s the meaning of this, struggling to get our heads out of the Mask’s whirlpool, only to step back into an even deeper mire now?"

They couldn’t help but feel a bizarre, infuriating sense of being maliciously toyed with by Destiny.

Li Shang ground his teeth, seething with the urge to rush at those decision-making bigwigs and smash their heads open to see if they were filled with porridge!!

Li Shang now had to seriously suspect that those people upstairs and the Mask might really be in cahoots!

....