Bai Xi looked at the small person. "After confirming he has fully recovered, send him back to his mother. Also, arrange for a psychological doctor to provide him with counseling."
Although she felt the boy before her was pitiable, she was never one for comforting people. It was better to leave professional matters to professionals; the results would be twice as effective with half the effort.
Shangguan Wen nodded.
Bai Xi asked indifferently, "Where is Doctor He?"
Shangguan Wen glanced in the distance. "Doctor He has been busy treating these people for the past three days. I just sent him out to get some sleep."
Actually, after interacting with them for these three days, he had begun to waver.
He hesitated for a moment and said, "Have you asked others why they were poisoned?"
Shangguan Wen nodded. "This subordinate has indeed investigated. However, they themselves do not know how they were poisoned. This subordinate also inquired with them and their families about their recent whereabouts, but there seem to be no commonalities."
Bai Xi raised an eyebrow. "Has the treatment been investigated?"
Shangguan Wen looked at a subordinate not far away and gestured slightly. "Doctor He said this demonic poison can only be contracted through ingestion, but the exact time of its activation is unclear as it varies individually. Therefore, I investigated the ten days leading up to the poisoning for each of the mutated individuals."
Shortly after, a subordinate handed over a stack of documents.
Bai Xi took the documents and flipped through them casually. "Li Zitong, nicknamed Tong Tong, in the senior class of Blue Sky Kindergarten in Haidao City. Lively and cheerful personality. Attended school on October 8th, eating the same meals as all teachers and students. In the evening, she was with her parents, eating the same food. She had a holiday on October 12th and played at Haidao City Sunshine Paradise. She ate breakfast at a small shop by her house, sharing a bowl of noodles with her mother..."
The information was extremely detailed, truly investigating the itineraries of all mutated individuals for ten days before the concert.
From morning to night, who they were with, every minute detail, showed the thoroughness of the investigation. Yet, most of the people in these documents lived very simple lives with limited movements. Occasionally, they might have crossed paths at the same location, but there were many more people present, and those people were safe and unharmed.
Now, they were completely unable to figure out where the poison came from or how it was administered to these people.
One person had only arrived in Haidao City five days prior. They came solely for tourism and to attend the evening gala held at the stadium, only to encounter such a situation.
Shangguan Wen was also anxious. "Eldest Miss, what do we do now? The investigation has hit a dead end. When can we finally catch the people from the Kui Hall?"
The Kui Hall had developed such a heinous poison. If it were to be deployed on a large scale in Haidao City, the entire city would become a living hell.
Bai Xi looked at the documents in her hand and hesitated for a moment before returning them to Shangguan Wen. "This information is not entirely useless. While we don't know exactly when they were poisoned, you can consider why these people all showed symptoms at the same time."
The same poison, affecting people from all directions, manifesting symptoms simultaneously.
If this poison were transmitted through respiration, or by some contactless method, then it would be possible.
However, if this poison could only be contracted through ingestion, then this matter became much more mysterious.
It implied that the perpetrator was either extremely knowledgeable about this poison, able to precisely control the dosage administered to each person, causing them to exhibit symptoms at the exact same time.
Or, the poison could lie dormant within people, and when they arrived outside the Haidao City stadium amidst the crowds, it was activated by something used on everyone present.
She believed the latter was more plausible, as even the most skilled poisoner could not guarantee accuracy across countless individuals. Moreover, it wasn't a certainty that these people would attend the stadium that day.
If someone didn't go, or was delayed by something, and arrived late, they might miss the moment of poisoning outside the stadium.
Yet, in the entirety of Haidao City, apart from those outside the stadium who mutated, there were no other incidents of mutation.
Shangguan Wen seemed not to fully grasp Bai Xi's meaning, merely frowning and remaining silent.
Seeing his lack of understanding, Bai Xi continued to explain, "I absolutely do not believe anyone can foresee all unknown circumstances in advance, especially when involving a total of one hundred and thirty-seven mutated individuals at that time!"
These one hundred and thirty-seven people represented one hundred and thirty-seven variables. Their simultaneous presence outside the Haidao City sports center was possible, but by no means certain.
Therefore, there must have been something else outside the sports center that induced their mutations.
Shangguan Wen suddenly understood, his expression shifting from surprise to panic. "If what Eldest Miss says is true, then the number of mutated people in Haidao City now could be far greater than those who have shown symptoms."
It was even possible that someone within the city defense forces had been poisoned, but was simply not at the sports center at the time, or was not in a specific location to be activated.
As long as they were activated, the entire Haidao City would turn into a living hell.
Perhaps even... he and Eldest Miss could be poisoned without showing any symptoms.
Thinking of this, he felt an instant chill.
Bai Xi said calmly, "Commander Shangguan, there is no need to be overly anxious. After all, a method has now been found to detoxify the mutated individuals."
Shangguan Wen gritted his teeth slightly, recalling the excruciatingly painful and psychologically scarring detoxification method.
Bai Xi stepped forward calmly, picked up a handful of the ground Frost Rock powder, and put it into the water. She then placed her own hand into it.
The water with the Frost Rock became somewhat cold and cloudy. Otherwise, there seemed to be no other difference, and she felt no discomfort.
Shangguan Wen reacted, and immediately placed his hand in as well. There was no change.
This made him relax slightly. "Fortunately, Eldest Miss and I have not been infected. This subordinate will now order people to fetch more Frost Rock. After the city defense forces conduct tests here, they will bring these liquids and check house by house to ensure everyone in Haidao City is tested without any omissions."
Bai Xi said lightly, "You can send someone to fetch the material, and your trusted subordinates within the city defense forces can conduct secret tests. However, large-scale testing should not be carried out for now, or rather, there is no great necessity to do so."
Shangguan Wen asked, "Why?"
Bai Xi looked up at him and said, "Firstly, while this mixture of Frost Rock and water can detect those affected by the demonic poison, it may not be able to detect those who carry the poison within them. Secondly, if this method is truly effective, once you conduct large-scale testing, the entire city will know. How will the Kui Hall respond? They will most likely switch to a different poison. How will we deal with that then?"
Shangguan Wen understood instantly upon hearing this.
The reason the Kui Hall always had the upper hand was because they were uninhibited.
Whether it was the people of Haidao City or the people of the Kui Hall, they were all pawns in their eyes, pieces that could be discarded or sacrificed at any moment.
It was infinitely easier to kill a person than to protect one.
Moreover, in Haidao City, with its countless inhabitants, the Kui Hall could sacrifice these ordinary citizens whenever they wished to do something.
Vivid lives were devoured by demons before their eyes.
The thought of it sent shivers down his spine.