Reminiscent
I take a deep breath and calm myself.
...
It's impossible to eliminate the Blood sect with my current strength, much less find every Blood sect member.
Sneaking a Blood sect disciple in and planting a poison bomb that contains the She Du Poison. From the assassin's description, I expect the bomb to explode into a cloud of poison that spreads throughout.
"Is the She Du Poison lethal?" I ask.
"It is. Just a tiny sniff of the poison will lead to cardiac arrest, the only way to survive it is to be in the Nascent Soul realm." The assassin says.
Such a lethal poison is being used in a large amount to simply "scare" the Murim Alliance?
"Where did the Blood Sect get such a large amount of poison and how do they construct the Poison Bomb?"
"My position is not high enough for me to access that information. Only the Head Elder and Patriarch of the sect knows."
"I see. What is your position in the blood sect?"
"An inner disciple."
...
This...
It gives me a sense of nostalgia.
Sneaking a disciple in and setting the bomb off in the middle of the city, is no different than a suicide bomber.
...
This cannot be...
"They will execute the plan tomorrow?"
"Yes!" The assassin replies.
I sigh.
"Provide me with a map of the cities in Mount Hua Xi," I say.
The assassin pulls out a hidden map from his robe. It is made from the hide of animals.
"By the way, what is your name?" I ask as I check the map.
"Zhu Li, sir."
I nod.
There are 4 cities on Mount Hua Xi: XianFei, Nielong, Jin Kai, and Yin Jia.
Jin Kai and Yin Jia are both collinear with XianFei, the distance between Yin Jia and Jin Kai is closer than the distance between Jin Kai and XianFei. Each city is divided by a tall mountain.
...
"Do you know the location of the reconnaissance?" I ask.
"I... My apologies."
"It's alright. I have a grasp of it, follow me. Li Ruo stays here." I say.
I look out the window, there are People dressed in black robes from the Murim Alliance patrolling the streets. Those useless fucks.
Li Ruo nods her head before going to sleep on the bed.
-----------------
Zhu Li and I jump from roof to roof until we are out of Nielong. We climb the tallest mountain visible to Nielong and roam around.
"What are we looking for?"
"Bombs," I say.
!!
"Try to find bombs underground or hidden behind some rocks," I say.
"H-How do you know-"
"Just do it."
...
The SOP before planning a bombing, or at least my SOP, is to know more about the target. Where should I set off the bomb for maximal effect? How do I go about the operation? What time should the operation take place for maximal effect? When should it happen? All of these factors change accordingly to the main objectives.
The main objective of the blood sect is to "scare" the Murim Alliance. So Casualties must be maximized for this operation.
To do that, reconnaissance is required and it is usually done at a place where you can see the overall layout of the target, which is this tall mountain.
Since they are planning to unleash attacks everywhere, they will need to prepare beforehand and hide the bomb in advance. You wouldn't want to carry it around at all times after all.
However, all these techniques are only used by terrorists in my previous life...
"I found it!" Zhu Li shouts, pointing at the rocky mountain wall. He pulls a large rock out to reveal a device hidden.
I pry the device out of the rocks, it's a wooden sphere with a small hole.
*sniff sniff*
!!
This familiar smell...
I made sure that my hand was dry before carefully breaking the wooden shell. Disassembling the makeshift bomb, I see a familiar layout.
Is this...coincidence?
"How do you normally make a bomb?" I ask Zhu Li.
?
"I don't make bombs... Bombs are not very effective so almost nobody uses them. However, 'bombs' are made by overloading materials in a container with Demonic Qi. After introducing a subtle Qi to the Demonic Qi, it will trigger a huge detonation. However, such bombs can be easily detected and are mostly used against mortals." Says Zhu Li.
...
I...
I need more evidence before concluding.
"Call the other guy," I say.
After 10 minutes, the second assassin appears.
"I apologize for being late!" The second assassin says with his head down.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Mu Kai, sir."
"Alright, listen carefully."
I lay the map on the floor and pinch some dirt off the ground.
"Zhu Li, I need you to travel to Jin Kai on foot and search for bombs around this area." I use the dirt to mark the area I want him to search.
"For Mu Kai, go to Yin Jia and search for bombs around the mountains surrounding Yin Jia. Find beneath rocks or attempt to find it underground, try to use your sense of smell, the components blend in with the smell of dirt but have a subtle difference. Cultivator's five senses are enhanced so I expect everyone to find it."
Yin Jia has elevated terrains all encircling it, why is a city constructed around terrains that give attackers an advantage?
"Meet me back here latest by midnight."
"Understood." And both disappear.
...
I should get to XianFei myself and find the bomb.
--------------
I ran on foot to XianFei and managed to find a similar wooden sphere. It was hidden under a tree trunk this time.
It's getting dark, by the time I arrive back at Nielong, it is already close to midnight. Zhu Li and Mu Kai are already here waiting.
They pass to me the bombs they find and I disassemble all of them.
All of the chemicals, components, and layout are the same.
"You have to be fucking kidding me..."
I take the three vials of green powdery liquid, the smell of the vial is enough to initiate nausea.
Fuck...
Zhu Li and Mu Kai stare at me in confusion.
All of these are made by terrorism from my original world, there is another reincarnated terrorist?!
Tch.
...
I create multiple holes in the dirt and pour the chemicals in, keeping only the vial of poison and the wooden covering.
"Both of you can return."
Zhu Li and Mu Kai bow before disappearing instantly, leaving behind a few particles of black energy.
This...
I need to be careful.
-----------------------
"What... It's gone!" A man in a ragged robe exclaims after he pulls out the rock from the mountain.
"No no, please be here! Please be here!"
A Blood sect disciple appears behind him. "Hehe, is it gone?"
"Here as well huh." Another Blood sect disciple shows up.
"What should we do with this bastard?"
The man in a ragged robe kowtows on the floor. "Please let them go! My wife and daughter, you promised!"
"Eh? But there isn't even a bomb there."
"How is that my fault? I am begging you! Please let them go-"
The disciple mercilessly decapitates the man.
They sigh. "The entire Mount Hua Xi have it lucky. How are we going to explain to the higher-ups?"
One of the disciples smirks. "We will just have to blame it on her, our supplier for the bombs."
"Keke... You are right, I don't know which fuck ass found our bombs and judging by the movements of people in Hua Xi, the culprit hasn't been revealed to us. Let's go."
And they disappear.
They reappear in a dark, red room. At the end of the room is a large man sitting on the throne chair with his head rested on his arm.
The room is too dark to see the face of the man, only an overall silhouette is seen.
"Why is the meaning of this?" The man asks.
"W-We tried to find the bombs but all of them were dug out and disappeared. The culprit didn't seem to report it yet and is probably keeping the bomb for himself."
The man clicks his tongue and emits a deadly intent.
"Are you lying?" He bluntly asks.
"N-No! We wouldn't dare!" Both of the disciples tremble in fear.
...
"Leave!"
"Yes!" And both disciples disappear out of sight.
The man throws his glance at a woman in the corner of the darkroom.
"You said no one would find it, explain to me what this is?" The man says.
The woman sighs and walks closer to the man. "Mount Hua Xi is the only area where the bombs were dug. Nobody can guarantee 100% success for a plan, there will always be one variable you cannot predict."
After clearer lighting, the woman is seen to be a young woman in her 20s, having very long black hair down to her hips. She has 2 dark eye bags and wears a ragged white robe.
...
"I see... Mount Hua Xi got lucky. That is what you are trying to say?"
The man flicks his finger and a sharp shockwave pierces the air beside the woman. The floor and ceiling rip open, creating a deep slit in the room.
...
"I won't tolerate another mistake in the future, Yue Hua." The man says.
"Yeah yeah." Yue Hua says as she steps over the slit, leaving the room.
Someone managed to find my bomb?! Yue Hua thought.
"Is it an expert cultivator... Or is it a fellow..." Yue Hua mumbles.
Thinking of the possibilities, Yue Hua smirks. "Interesting..."