Lord of Prayer - Chapter 109 - 93: Interception
Chapter 109: Chapter 93: Interception
“I’m having such a hard time…”
Zhou Chen couldn’t help but sigh.
’Being targeted by the Gentleman was already a huge headache, and now I have another enemy who hates my guts…’
’He felt like he was doomed. If he left the Star Association, he’d probably have to be on high alert for an assassination attempt even while taking a dump in a public restroom.’
Composing himself slightly, Zhou Chen asked, “Can you detect where she teleported to?”
An Essence Fluctuation of this magnitude couldn’t possibly go undetected by the Star Association’s devices.
Nearby, a technician quickly pulled up a map of Jinzhu City. Two conspicuous red cursors were on it: one at their current location, Blue Diamond Manor, and the other at Jinzhu Pier.
“She teleported to Jinzhu Pier…” Just as the technician finished speaking, another cursor appeared on the map at a location in the southern part of Jinzhu City. After that, the cursor didn’t move again.
The technician stared at the fluctuating values on the screen and said, “Li Xiaoxiao’s Essence Fluctuation is rapidly decaying. She can no longer perform spatial transfers, but she’s been corroded by Abyssal Power and turned into a Corrupter. Her threat Level needs to be raised by two units.”
’Corroded by Abyssal Power and turned into a Corrupter… It seems Li Xiaoxiao accepted the Power granted by the King of Chaos and fully embraced corruption, which is how she temporarily gained the Ability to use an Abyss Curse to open a Space Gate… She must be going to retrieve that thing. Since she can’t open another Space Gate, she won’t be able to escape Jinzhu. I hope the Star Association can catch her without a hitch…’
Zhou Chen’s mind raced. It would be best if they could capture Li Xiaoxiao immediately to avoid further complications and prevent her from becoming a persistent threat.
Suddenly, Jiang Che’s calm voice came through the communication channel:
“Zhou Chen, I need you to help me with something. You can refuse, and there will be no penalty to you. Or you can accept, and I will compensate you accordingly.”
’She wants me to help with something?’ Zhou Chen muttered to himself before asking, “Is it difficult? I’m pretty mentally drained right now.”
“Not difficult.”
“Then I’ll take it. What is it?” Zhou Chen agreed readily.
Jiang Che glanced indifferently at the burning vehicle beside her, and at the corpse that had been tortured beyond human recognition, before responding calmly:
“Come help me destroy the body and erase the evidence.”
·
·
The flames burning in the ruins gradually died down, and thick smoke billowed into the night sky, drifting into the distance.
After the dust settled, all that remained was to clean up the battlefield.
Tending to the wounded, taking the Cultists into custody, cataloging the seized goods, conducting a deeper investigation… everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
On the outskirts of the city, news vans sped toward the scene, only to be stopped by a blockade.
The massive commotion was already public knowledge. Local Jinzhu City forums were nearly crashing, and the topic reached millions of engagements on major social media platforms within half an hour, breaking into the top ten trending topics. This naturally alerted the news media, but a two-kilometer radius around the area was completely sealed off. Not even a fly could get in.
No matter what tricks the veteran reporters pulled, they couldn’t dig up the slightest bit of information. They could only pace around anxiously outside the blockade like ants on a hot pan.
Countless intelligence professionals were burning with impatience. If they could get their hands on firsthand information, they could absolutely ride a wave of popularity and make a killing.
Unfortunately, the Star Association’s lockdown was too tight. No relevant information could be found on any intelligence channel, including the dark web. However, this only caused the incident’s popularity to skyrocket, with countless people eagerly waiting for someone to reveal the inside story.
After all, the events of the night were too monumental. The Star Association had moved against the Eternal Commerce Association while simultaneously bombarding Blue Diamond Manor in the suburbs with rocket-propelled grenades. Even a fool knew something big was happening.
Far across the ocean, the chairman of the Wei Group was in disbelief when he first learned that his family’s manor had been bombed…
However, less than two minutes later, his Secretary confirmed the news was true. His home had really been blown up.
Not only was the manor gone, but so was his son.
The elderly chairman’s blood pressure shot through the roof, and he nearly stopped breathing. Once he recovered, he angrily called the president of the Jinzhu City Star Association to demand an explanation.
The response he received was to contact the new leader of the Special Operations Team, and he was given a phone number.
So, he then dialed the number for the new leader of the Special Operations Team.
The call was immediately rejected.
After hovering on the verge of a cerebral hemorrhage for a long time, the Wei Group chairman saw the announcement the Star Association had just released.
The words “Eternal Fire” in the announcement made his heart tremble. He had a bad feeling.
Then, he saw a passage that nearly gave him a heart attack:
[The gathering place for Eternal Fire was Blue Diamond Manor, a property of the Wei Group. Wei Zifang, the heir to the Wei Group, secretly joined Eternal Fire five years ago and has long provided venues, funding, and various conveniences for Eternal Fire’s activities…]
“That monster!”
The old chairman’s breathing grew ragged, his face flushed red, and his body suddenly shuddered. Overcome with rage, he passed out. The piercing sound of an alarm immediately blared through the hospital room as several medical staff rushed forward to perform emergency aid.
But the ripples caused by the announcement didn’t stop there.
[Fu Qing, president of the Jinzhu City Eternal Commerce Association and agent for Jinzhu City’s Southern Shipping, colluded with Eternal Fire, secretly shielding and enabling the development of smuggling operations, using violence, threats, and other means to illegally detain others, unlawfully Deprive them of their personal freedom, illegally coerce others…]
[Upon being exposed, Fu Qing fled with his Secretary and bodyguards to escape justice and was killed by Star Association Operators.]
The announcement listed dozens of Fu Qing’s crimes in detail, enough to make one’s skin crawl. It was hard to imagine that the outwardly glamorous Fu Qing had been involved in so many sordid dealings behind the scenes.
The Eternal Commerce Association and Southern Shipping immediately issued public statements, declaring they were completely unaware of Fu Qing’s actions. They expressed their willingness to cooperate with all related investigations by the Star Association, stripped Fu Qing of his positions on the spot, and strongly condemned and criticized his behavior.
In an instant, Fu Qing became a public enemy, despised by all.
·
「Twenty minutes before the announcement was released.」
An inconspicuous vehicle drove carefully along a remote path leading to the pier.
The road was overgrown with weeds and deserted, flanked by factories and warehouses that had been abandoned for years. At night, not a single light was on, giving it a sinister feel.
The vehicle proceeded down the pitch-black road. One of Fu Qing’s Ascender bodyguards was driving, with the female Secretary in the passenger seat. Fu Qing sat in the back, his expensive suit replaced with casual clothes and a baseball cap.
Thanks to the many Ascender and ordinary bodyguards he had controlled over the years with brainwashing devices, he was able to use them as cannon fodder to buy time, giving him a chance to escape through a secret route.
Fu Qing’s expression was so dark it looked like it could drip water. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was a hint of savage madness in them.
To go from being on top of the world to having nothing overnight would make anyone collapse, not to mention that everything he’d done over the years had been exposed. He was now a wanted criminal with no chance of starting over…
“No, there’s still a chance… There’s still a chance…” Fu Qing clenched his fists, the veins on his arms bulging.
’As long as I can escape Jinzhu, escape to another major state… with my abilities, I’ll make a comeback someday, and I’ll make that woman pay…’
THUD!
The vehicle slammed to a halt. Caught off guard, Fu Qing crashed into the back of the front seat. Before he could even shout in anger, he saw a silhouette slowly emerge from the darkness illuminated by the headlights.
It was a woman in her early twenties, wearing a white dress shirt and a black tie. The hem of her shirt was tucked into the waistband of her black trousers, outlining a slender waist, and she wore leather shoes. Over the shirt was a black suit coat. Her hands were tucked into the coat pockets, the hem of which fluttered slightly in the evening breeze.
The car’s headlights illuminated a face full of indifference.
——Jiang Che.
“Run her over!” Fu Qing roared, his eyes bloodshot.
The bodyguard driving said in a panic, “Boss, I’ve already floored the accelerator…”
A moment ago, the car had been stopped by an invisible force, unable to move an inch. The engine roared and the tires spun furiously against the dirt road, kicking up a thick cloud of dust, like a beast in an impotent rage.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Suddenly, all four of the car’s tires exploded. This was followed by another loud bang as the engine blew out, and the entire vehicle lost power.
