Chapter 633 - 372: Fallen to Ash

Atop a distant building in Yinglu District, Director Lei looked down at the ritual pattern at his feet. It had completely extinguished and turned to ash. He then glanced into the distance. Wisps of white smoke were rising from the twelve high-rises that had been part of the ritual formation.

A subordinate said in admiration, "It’s a good thing Director Lei had us reinforce the ritual beforehand. He even set up so many auxiliary rituals to support it. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have held out."

"Yes, yes," some nearby Esoteric Bureau members chimed in, nodding.

Their original mission was simply to capture an active Consciousness Body, so in theory, they shouldn’t have needed so many materials. They only did it because Director Lei insisted. Yet many of them had been privately unconvinced, even hoping to laugh at his expense afterward.

Director Lei had only recently taken office and had not yet earned the full respect of his subordinates. Frankly, his decision had been risky. If it had proven useless, it would have been a major blow to his authority.

But he had used the outcome to prove himself right, demonstrating foresight far beyond anyone else’s. Now, in a single stroke, he had won their wholehearted admiration.

Director Lei said, "I couldn’t have done any of this without Director Qian’s full support. Also..." He gazed toward the collapsed Ferris Wheel. "Without that certain individual, this incident wouldn’t have been resolved so easily."

Everyone nodded involuntarily.

They had all seen the final blow. The enormous Ferris Wheel had been cleaved in two—a landmark over two hundred meters tall. It was unimaginable that such a feat could be accomplished by a human. No wonder Director Lei had been so confident this time. Judging by his tone, he even knew the person responsible. It seemed the new director had powerful allies elsewhere; there was clearly more to him than met the eye.

Director Lei spoke again. "Clean this up and let’s go. What happens next is no longer our concern. After so many busy days, everyone can finally get a good night’s sleep."

The same subordinate hesitated, then asked in a low voice, "Director Lei, what about the Ferris Wheel Company?"

They had contributed significantly to this success, after all. The subsequent handling of the Ferris Wheel Company involved departmental interests, and they couldn’t just let that go.

Director Lei waved his hand. "That’s a matter for Director Qian to handle. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to get involved."

It dawned on them. "Yes, sir!"

Director Qian was the official head of the bureau and excelled at securing funding. Entrusting this matter to him was the perfect move.

However, they had all heard that Director Lei was here to take over Director Qian’s position. They figured the official handover would likely happen after this incident was concluded.

Outside a warehouse in Ji Yang District, an armored vehicle pulled to a stop. The door opened and Specialist Cao stepped out. A guard at the entrance opened the main door for him. "Specialist Cao, please come in. Mr. Chu is inside."

Specialist Cao entered with two subordinates. Mr. Chu was standing in the middle of the vast warehouse. As they approached, he said with a grim expression, "Specialist Cao, you’re late."

Specialist Cao glanced at the people standing behind him. "New faces. What gives? Did you get a new team, Old Chu?"

Mr. Chu ignored the jibe. "Did you bring the plan?" he asked.

Specialist Cao held out his hand. A subordinate behind him immediately retrieved a file from his briefcase and placed it in Cao’s hand, who then offered it to Mr. Chu.

Mr. Chu took the file and glanced over it. His expression suddenly tightened. Looking up, he demanded, "A multi-department joint operation? Why wasn’t this reported sooner?"

Specialist Cao replied slowly, "Communications were down. I didn’t know where you were, Old Chu. I tried looking, but your people had all vanished. I couldn’t let the plan be shelved, so I chose to proceed with execution."

Mr. Chu stared at him. ’At the time, I was plotting against Chen Bitong and trying to prevent the General Affairs Bureau from interfering, so I cut off all communication. But I know that if Specialist Cao really wanted to find me, it wouldn’t have been impossible.’

He said in a low, stern voice, "This plan of yours is too dangerous. If it fails, there will be severe backlash from the City Council. The situation in Central City will descend into an unpredictable state. The committee has deemed it unfeasible. You must stop immediately!"

Specialist Cao countered, "The committee can obstruct the General Affairs Bureau, but it can’t stop the other departments. Besides..." He looked at Mr. Chu. "I’m afraid it’s already too late."

Just as Mr. Chu was about to say more, a brilliant flash of light erupted outside. Even inside the converted warehouse, they could feel its intensity through the open skylight.

At the same time, a notification chimed from both of their Realm Tokens. They each immediately placed a hand on their device, listening to the incoming report.

After listening, Specialist Cao glanced at him. "Project Horizon is complete." He paused, then added, "Take your time with the review, Old Chu. I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t be staying."

Mr. Chu’s expression darkened as he finished listening to the message. ’The plan is already complete, so what’s the point of a review?’ He watched Specialist Cao leave, then after a moment, picked up the file again. His gaze finally settled on the section for the recommended field operative.

"Processing Bureau Execution Captain, Chen Chuan."

Inside the command center, Specialist Liang was listening to reports from the various city districts. A moment ago, his attention had been focused almost entirely on the Ferris Wheel Company, leaving him unable to fully monitor other areas.

Fortunately, since a large portion of the mercenary and corporate forces had been depleted earlier, cleaning up the remaining threats was not as difficult as it had been.

Moreover, with the threat of the Ferris Wheel eliminated, the emergency units stationed in Yinglu District could be redeployed to handle issues elsewhere. The forces under his command had, in fact, become more plentiful.

After reviewing and responding to the reports from each district, he pinched the bridge of his nose, took a pill from his pocket, and swallowed it, forcing himself to focus.

Just then, a communications officer ran up to him and reported:

"Specialist, we have a report from Canglong Company. About ten minutes ago, they sank a submarine in the coastal waters, believed to have departed from the Ferris Wheel Building. They sent in Modified Creatures to investigate and found armed personnel, as well as several individuals believed to be from the Ferris Wheel Company. However, it appears they were already dead before the submarine was sunk."

Specialist Liang immediately took the report and read it. ’Based on the previous analysis from the observation post,’ he thought, ’the entity was likely possessing one of the Ferris Wheel Company directors. In that case, these people were most likely killed by that entity.’

He turned to his female assistant and said, "Send a team to take over immediately and secure this evidence." The female assistant promptly replied, "I’ll see to it at once."

Specialist Liang’s expression relaxed slightly. He tapped the report. With this evidence in hand, they had another justification for eliminating the Ferris Wheel Company: collusion with an entity from the Outer World.

If it had just been a matter of dealing with the Ferris Wheel Company, the City Council might have required some compromise and appeasement. But now, with this leverage, no one could raise any further objections.

In the current climate, confronting and eliminating such entities was an absolute political necessity. Even if one were to engage in collusion, it could never be brought into the light.

In front of the Ferris Wheel Building, Chen Chuan emerged from the large crater step by step, blade in hand. Faint, fragmented arcs of light still danced across his body, an aftereffect of traversing the Rift.

This time, as he traversed the Rift, using his Flying Dragon Fist Strength seemed to have given him a flicker of insight...

The thrum of propellers echoed from above. He looked up to see several airships passing overhead, flying out toward the sea. Only then did the crimson silhouette enveloping him begin to slowly dissipate.

He turned to face the direction in which the crimson silhouette was fading and gave a slight nod.

’During the final descent, I had planned to use my Second Self to absorb the impact,’ he thought, ’but Hong Fu’s power shielded me from the damage.’

Just then, he looked up and saw a group of armed personnel emerge from a breach in the building. There were about a dozen of them, and their leader was none other than Guan Shangjing, the head of security for the Ferris Wheel Company.

They had been caught in the psychic blast from Wu Qi’s Spiritual Power. Even though they had been in a shielded room, they couldn’t escape the impact. The weaker ones had died instantly, leaving only these few, who were relatively strong, still alive. Now, upon seeing Chen Chuan, they grew tense and raised their weapons.

Chen Chuan’s gaze fell upon them. Through his Domain, he could clearly sense a kind of corruption within their bodies. They wouldn’t live much longer.

’This must have been caused by the entity when it emerged.’

With the Celestial Gate open, there was no longer any shielding from above. At this range, even a Third Limit Fighter would be unable to resist its encroaching influence without sufficient Spiritual Power.

Guan Shangjing glanced at the collapsed Ferris Wheel, its exposed wreckage still visible in the distant sea, and his heart sank. Just as he started to walk toward it, his throat suddenly tickled, and he was seized by an involuntary, hacking cough.

He wiped the corner of his mouth and found he had coughed up a significant amount of black blood, within which seemed to squirm countless, minuscule black insects.

The men around him began to fall apart. One man’s hand, still gripping his weapon, suddenly dropped to the ground, the stump a pitch-black void as if the flesh had vanished. Another fell stiffly, his body inexplicably shattering into several pieces upon impact. The fate of another was even more grotesque; he had merely tried to move a little faster to outflank Chen Chuan, and his head simply rolled off his shoulders.

Most of the others took only a few steps before freezing in place, turning into a collection of statues in various poses.

Guan Shangjing’s breathing grew labored. He felt an increasing tightness in his chest as his limbs grew progressively weaker.

If he could have seen himself, he would have discovered black blood seeping from his eye sockets, with tiny black insects crawling in and out.

Just then, he heard the rhythmic stomp of military boots approaching from the distant plaza. He knew reinforcements were arriving. He looked up at Chen Chuan one last time, and with a sharp SHING, drew his saber.

However, he did not charge. Instead, he knelt facing the sea, placed the blade against his own neck, and sliced. As a spray of black blood arced through the air, his head slowly slumped forward.

Chen Chuan glanced at him, then at the ruined Ferris Wheel Company building. With the Ferris Wheel gone, the building stood alone and desolate. It was now covered in drifting, gray ash, resembling a broken gravestone. As the sea breeze swept in, the gray dust drifted away toward the surging ocean tide in the distance.

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