A Change in Circumstances

Night. The lights in the special investigation team's office remained on. The members were growing drowsy, but as long as Lin Zhiyan did not leave, no one dared to be the first to go. Lin Zhiyan was preparing for tomorrow's joint operation. The operation was codenamed "Thunder 021"; twenty identical operations had already unfolded across various parts of Nanhai before it. The risk level of their encirclement and suppression operation was not high. With only two enemies, they wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble. However, they had to be careful that the cornered Greenwood bandits did not cause casualties among ordinary citizens. This was the hardest part of counter-insurgency and policing: protecting the lives and property of the people took precedence over killing the bandits. Often, the authorities were hampered by fear of collateral damage, allowing the criminals to escape. The assistant placed two dossiers on the desk and said, "This is the newly compiled information on the Greenwood bandits. One is Shan Yong, an intelligence operative for Greenwood and a third-class wanted criminal. His life-force development falls between twenty and thirty points. He possesses an earth-nature divine power that grants him the ability to burrow underground. "The other is Lao Gao, a Greenwood combatant and a second-class wanted criminal. His life-force development is between thirty and fifty points. He has a metal divine power, capable of controlling and bending metal, rendering firearms useless against him. "According to the files, they left Shenzhou back in Year 38 and hid in the Miye Sanjiang region. Their risky return this time is likely to rendezvous with the fugitives." The assistant paused, then produced another document from the folder and presented it. "Platoon Leader Lu is a frontline commander and thoroughly understands the situation at the forward outpost. Since we may trade fire with forces from Miye Sanjiang down the line, he could serve as our temporary advisor. "His abilities are outstanding, making him irreplaceable in the Ant Ridge area." Yesterday, Zhang Like had approached the assistant, who was also the deputy leader of the special investigation team. Though these deputies had no decision-making power, they were responsible for the concrete execution and deployment of the mission. After seeing Lu Zhao's detailed dossier, the deputy leader of the special investigation team needed no promises of favors from Zhang Like to decide that Lu Zhao had to be brought onto the team. Because he had real capability. As long as Lu Zhao proved useful in this operation, it would earn the deputy extra points in his year-end evaluation as well. The work of the special investigation team was, in essence, to come down to the local level and use higher-level authority to select operational mainstays. Lin Zhiyan swept her gaze over it and gave a slight nod. "When he comes later, I'll accept him." The deputy leader breathed a sigh of relief. Although this eldest young lady of the Lin family had quite a temper, she was at least pragmatic—unlike certain veteran leaders who had little ability yet possessed fouler tempers by the day. At ten in the evening, Lin Zhiyan finished all the work at hand. Twisting her wrists, she leaned back against her chair and said casually, "Send him in." "..." The assistant didn't answer, looking rather stiff and awkward. "Team Leader Lin, Platoon Leader Lu hasn't arrived yet." Lin Zhiyan's brows knitted. Keeping his abilities and track record in mind, she held back her temper and said, "I'll give him one hour." At midnight, Lin Zhiyan slammed the door as she stormed out, furiously intending to track down Lu Zhao, only to be held back by her assistant. ----- June 3. The special investigation team coordinated the Ant Ridge border defense armed police, the Fangnan City Traffic Police Brigade, and the Cyber Surveillance Bureau to carry out an operation to capture the roving terrorists. As the early morning sun barely peeked out, fifty personnel from the border defense station assembled in the open ground before the gate, fully armed with live ammunition and ready for action. Lu Zhao leaned against a hallway window on the fifth floor of the dormitory building, gazing down at the neat formation and faintly hearing Zhang Like delivering his pre-mission mobilization address. Zhang Like had already explained the opportunity to him. The plan was divided into three fronts: assault, intelligence, and cordoning. The assault was handled by the Municipal Special Rapid Response Detachment—referred to as Special Counter-Terrorism. Intelligence fell to Cyber Surveillance and the traffic police, while cordoning landed on the border defense station. One portion of the personnel guarded the passages leading to Miye Sanjiang, while another assisted Special Counter-Terrorism with perimeter security and cordoning. Overall, the danger was low; even Liu Qiang had been dragged in to pad his record. "Move out!" As Zhang Like's shout fell, all personnel boarded the vehicles and rolled out of the camp amid the roar of engines. Lu Zhao turned and walked back into his room, sitting cross-legged on the floor with closed eyes to refine spirit and cultivate qi. The cordoning operation had earned him three days of leave. As idle personnel, it was inappropriate for Lu Zhao to continue mountain patrols and get in the way of official duties. If the fugitives were not captured after three days, his leave could be extended even further. The free time was perfect for practicing the cultivation method passed down by the old Taoist. Last night, he had learned from the old Taoist that both methods—refining spirit and refining qi—could be advanced, and that perseverance would always yield results. As for what those results would be, the old Taoist, as always, smiled without answering, shifting the conversation back to history. The old Taoist was very interested in events after the Ming dynasty, while Lu Zhao, by contrast, preferred discussing the Ming era. The closer history was to the present, the thicker the fog became; most of what he knew was veiled in the selective, diplomatic phrasing of official records. From unifying Shenzhou amid a century of strife to expanding from a regional enclave into receiving tribute from ten thousand nations, the founders of the Federation had not relied on benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust, but had reestablished the tributary system through foreign war after foreign war. In the era before he turned thirteen, society preached Eastern unity and equality for all. The Central Plains Hua race and the peripheral vassals and outer barbarians were treated like brothers and sisters. When the Cataclysm arrived, the Federation had initially accepted refugees. Later, realizing that a counter-offensive was hopeless, it ceased fulfilling its promises of equality. The distinction between Hua and barbarians; graded hierarchies into nine ranks. Distinctions of status based on race were not written into law, yet the Federation's household registrations recognized only the Hua race. All of this had been suppressed by propaganda guidelines, but having lived through that era, Lu Zhao felt the reality with exceptional clarity. Many things could never be laid out on the table. Matters of the Han and Tang dynasties were only spoken of clearly in the Ming, and matters of the Zhu Ming dynasty had not yet been fully told even today. As an outstanding student of Dijing, the political courses given by the academy had explicitly pointed out: The current Federation was different from what existed before the Cataclysm. They were now the Second Federation—an empire without an emperor. When they governed a region in the future, they had to keep in mind that the empire's glory did not need to shine upon outer vassals. Shenzhou's productivity could not sustain equality for so many people. The current system had emerged from internal struggles a decade or so ago; it was not the best, but it was the most stable and viable. ----- Fangnan City, Ning County. 18:00. The sun set. Zhang Like sat inside a light passenger van known as the "Nanhai troop carrier." Inside were fully armed border defense soldiers whose life-force development averaged twenty points. This was the most elite force of the border defense station, tasked with coordinating with the Special Counter-Terrorism detachment in direct firefights against the criminals. Among them, only seven possessed divine powers, and nearly all were of the weak rank—powers that possessed neither direct nor indirect lethality. Divine powers were not uncommon. Some people possessed innate divine powers and were known as spirit children. Throughout history, many historical figures had also possessed innate divine powers, and their powers were still being passed down today through inheritance. However, because inheritance caused a drop in rank, divine powers of the moderate rank or higher were not widespread. Even the city's Special Rapid Response units could only ensure that each team had one person with a strong-rank divine power. Zhang Like glanced at the time—ten in the morning, two hours before the operation. "Captain Zhang, circumstances have changed. I need your team integrated into the assault squad."