Chapter 655 - 6: The Target

Although Mr. Zhuan’s face was expressionless, both Chen Chuan and Instructor Wen could somehow read the clear message: ’Don’t listen to his nonsense.’

A moment of silence descended upon the living room.

Mr. Wen chuckled. "Mr. Zhuan, please, have some tea."

Mr. Zhuan immediately picked up the teacup before him, fixing his gaze on its contents and refusing to look elsewhere.

After a moment of thought, Chen Chuan folded the wanted notice and put it away. He stood up from his seat. "I understand the assessment mission," he said. "It’s getting late, so I should be going. Mr. Zhuan, where can I find you after this is complete?"

Mr. Zhuan lifted his teacup, obscuring half his face as if to drink. He hesitated before answering uncertainly, "A hotel?"

Instructor Wen smiled. "Manager Chen," he said to Chen Chuan, "Mr. Zhuan has traveled a long way and isn’t familiar with Yangzhi yet. I’ll arrange accommodations for him. Once you’re finished, just let me know, and I’ll pass the message along." He then turned to Mr. Zhuan. "What do you think, Mr. Zhuan?"

Mr. Zhuan nodded eagerly.

"Alright. Gentlemen, I’ll take my leave," Chen Chuan said. After bidding them both farewell, he walked out of Instructor Wen’s residence.

Once outside, he took out the wanted notice, looked at it again, put it back, and then strode forward.

Instead of heading home, he walked directly out of the Patrol Bureau Family Area.

Though this was an assessment in name, it was, in reality, a piece of intelligence. A dangerous fugitive like Kenwa could not be allowed to run free.

The Jibei Dao region was simply too vast. Finding this man would require the resources of other government departments.

The Processing Bureau specialized in handling violent incidents, but they were lacking when it came to information gathering. Finding this person quickly was beyond their capabilities, so he would need to contact another special department.

A short while later, he walked out of the Patrol Bureau Family Area, found a public phone booth on the roadside, and made a call.

After waiting less than ten minutes, his armed motorcade turned the corner, its bright headlights bathing the road in white light.

His personal car came to a smooth stop before him, and an attendant quickly disembarked to open the door.

Once settled inside, he retrieved his Realm Token from a storage compartment and put it on. Then, he began searching for data stored within the vehicle’s onboard Domain Creature.

Before long, he found a communication frequency.

It was a frequency provided by the Processing Bureau. Aside from the director and deputy director, only a handful of Investigation Chiefs had access to it, and the codes were changed monthly.

He then gave an order, instructing the radio operator assigned to him to transmit on that frequency.

The operator immediately put on his headset and sent the message.

After about five minutes, the operator said, "Chief, they’ve replied."

Chen Chuan said, "Tell them I’ve received intelligence that a high-priority fugitive has appeared in Jibei Dao. He poses a significant threat to the public safety of Central City and the surrounding areas. I suspect he’s here on an important mission, so I’m invoking the emergency directive to request their intelligence support."

"Yes, sir."

The operator immediately relayed the message.

This time, however, a long while passed with no reply.

Just then, however, the nearby public phone booth began to ring, and it didn’t stop.

Upon hearing it, Chen Chuan immediately got out of the car, walked to the phone booth, and picked up the receiver. A familiar voice came through: "Manager Chen."

Chen Chuan recognized the voice. "Specialist Cao?" he asked.

"It’s me, Manager Chen," said Specialist Cao. "I’ve already confirmed the intelligence. The target has indeed arrived in Jibei Dao. My people have been tracking him. Now that his location is confirmed, how do you intend to proceed?"

Chen Chuan replied without a moment’s hesitation, "Execute on sight." He heard a brief pause on the other end, then the deep voice continued, "The target is at Yuanwang Port."

’Yuanwang Port,’ Chen Chuan thought. ’It’s a good place to hide. He could take a boat straight to Central City, or retreat out to sea if anyone tries to capture him.’

Specialist Cao added, "But I must remind you, Manager Chen, this man applied for a letter of pardon before he even entered Dashun. We’ve confirmed that it’s already been approved.

It’s currently one in the morning. The pardon is expected to arrive before noon tomorrow. Manager Chen, that gives you about a day."

After a moment’s thought, Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, Specialist Cao."

Specialist Cao’s voice was grave. "This is a cunning and conceited opponent. We didn’t find him; he deliberately revealed his own location. He’s likely emboldened by his impending pardon and is chasing a thrill. It’s also highly probable he has another trick up his sleeve."

Chen Chuan agreed with this assessment. The wanted notice detailed Kenwa’s past crimes; the man was clearly audacious, and his actions were often brazenly provocative. Behavior like this was not surprising.

Besides, plenty of Third Limit Fighters had personality flaws and psychological problems. Normal people did too, of course, but the not-so-normal ones were far more common in their ranks.

Besides, for all his audacity, the man still showed a hint of caution. With his back to the port, a veteran Third Limit Fighter could easily escape if he’d made prior arrangements.

"I’ll handle it, Specialist Cao," he said.

"I’ll have my people monitor the target and feed you intel until the pardon arrives," Specialist Cao said. "Manager Chen, have your radio operator maintain contact with my team."

Chen Chuan agreed, thanked him again, and hung up the phone.

He gazed outside. Yuanwang Port was about four hundred kilometers from Yangzhi City in a straight line. By taking the East Line National Path, his personal car could make the trip in about half a day. However, that didn’t account for the time it would take to actually capture Kenwa. He also had to consider that his target was unlikely to stay put for long, meaning the entire operation could take much more time.

Furthermore, the port was hardly a deserted area. Once he made his move, he would have to account for a whole host of factors. But most important of all was the entity lurking behind Kenwa.

He wasn’t concerned about the pardon.

’So what if the pardon had been issued? As long as he hadn’t officially received notification, it didn’t exist. Procedurally, there was nothing wrong with that.’

He laid a hand on his Realm Token and sent a signal to Chaoming, who was sleeping at home.

He planned to bring Chaoming along. Through the vehicle’s onboard Domain Creature, he could link to the Realm Token on Chaoming’s head. This would give him an aerial view of the ground, a huge advantage for the coming operation.

Only a moment passed before Chaoming flew out from the direction of the family area. It landed before him with a soft CHIRP.

He gave Chaoming a pat, then turned and got back into the car with the bird. "Yuanwang Port," he said.

"Yes, sir!"

The motorcade set off, leaving Yangzhi City behind. Half an hour later, they were on the East Line National Path, heading straight for their destination. By the time they neared Yuanwang Port, it was noon the following day.

Yu Xiao and the other security team members were in perfect condition, as they had been resting in shifts.

However, they were all armed personnel fitted with advanced Implants. Even without rest, emergency drug injections would allow them to maintain combat readiness for days and nights on end.

Chen Chuan opened the car door. With a powerful FLAP of its wings, Chaoming shot out of the vehicle. In the blink of an eye, it soared high into the sky and flew toward the port ahead.

Meanwhile, in a container yard at Yuanwang Port, over twenty armed men stood guard over a cleared area. Beyond their perimeter was the main loading dock, and the sea was clearly visible through the gaps between the shipping containers.

Kenwa was currently sitting in an empty space in the middle, gnawing on a half-raw leg of lamb.

His muscles were solid and powerful, his arms especially thick. He had high, wide cheekbones that broadened his face, full lips, and a large, straight nose—all typical features of the First Race. His skin was coarse, his stiff black hair tied back, and his face was smeared with what looked like war paint, giving him a wild, rugged appearance.

He wore a set of combat fatigues, and wrapped around his torso were tendril-like appendages that seemed to writhe at a glance.

It was an External Implant, a piece of technology from the Lynx Federation. These devices could attach to a Fighter’s body, taking over some of the functions of their Mutated Organization during combat. The result was smoother power exertion and greater overall strength.

He sank his hard teeth into the leg of lamb, tearing off a chunk of bloody meat. In just two or three bites, he had chewed it to a pulp before swallowing it down.

Normally, Nutrition Paste was all a Fighter needed. They might enjoy a gourmet meal on occasion, but he had a distinct craving for bloody, raw meat. He couldn’t say when the predilection started. ’Was it after I came into contact with that... thing?’

But he didn’t care. As long as it gave him power, he didn’t mind these little changes in the slightest.

Just then, he froze mid-motion. His gaze drifted upward, spotting a black dot in the sky. It looked like a bird.

As a Fighter, he could clearly make out its magnificent plumage. ’I’ve never seen a bird like that before. Is it some special species from Dashun? Or...’

Whatever it was, he felt an unexplainable dislike for it. He quickly finished the leg of lamb, tossed the bone to the ground, and waved over to a nearby gunman. He mimed raising a rifle, and the gunman immediately unslung the long gun from his back and tossed it over.

He caught it with one hand, gave it a quick inspection, and flicked off the safety. Raising the muzzle toward the sky, he put his finger on the trigger.

After aiming for a moment, he squeezed the trigger.

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