The Carlay Combat District was Center City's largest fighting district catering to the lower classes in Vea State, holding regular combat tournaments every day.
Built up around these tournaments were sprawling industries: gambling and entertainment, the trading of organs and mutated tissue, and the illicit trafficking of implant equipment and weapons.
Most fighters here had signed lifetime agreements. Their organs and mutated tissues were entirely mortgaged and sold off, saddling them inevitably with massive corporate debts.
They had to fight match after match to pay them off, yet the more they fought, the more they owed. From the moment they stepped foot inside, they were forced to surrender everything they had until their flesh and value were completely drained dry.
Because the tournaments catered to the lowest rungs of society, aside from a handful of star fighters, most lived in gelatinous pods constructed from biomaterials known as "ant nests."
In spaces where turning around was difficult, they rested, relieved themselves, cleaned and maintained their bodies, and injected drugs until an automated voice awakened them for their next bout—an endless, uninterrupted cycle.
Whenever the occupant of an ant nest failed to return, the vacancy was instantly filled by the next in line.
They were no longer fighters, but slaves of the arena, mere fighting machines.
Every day that they survived the ring, they were locked away inside their ant nests. Today, however, was an exception. Many fighters discovered that their pods had not been secured. Even so, it was more than ten minutes before anyone tentatively stepped outside.
Then, more and more fighters emerged. Looking out across the plaza and feeling the chilly, fresh breeze, their numb minds gradually began to awaken.
Suddenly, someone cried out at the top of their lungs. It sounded like a dialect from somewhere distant, unintelligible to most present, but the fierce, high-pitched passion bursting from it struck a deep chord. Goosebumps broke out across their skin, and a long-lost, almost absurd sense of hope stirred in their hearts.
Someone let out a roar in response. Then came more cries, rising and falling in waves. As the shouts multiplied, they instantly rekindled the embers that had never truly gone out in many of their chests.
Right then, a voice rang through everyone's implants: "Follow me!"
A figure bolted out of the crowd, running toward the exit. Behind him, several people followed without hesitation. Though others wavered, as more and more joined in, the majority ultimately surged forward, forming a roaring human torrent.
A shrill alarm immediately sounded throughout the combat district, and the behavioral control field abruptly activated.
Yet outside the fighting perimeter, numerous resonators from the resistance gripped the amplification implants on both sides of their bodies. They completely disrupted the field signals targeting the fighters' implants and overwrote them with new data. While this rendered the fighters' implants incapable of functioning properly in combat, it also meant they could no longer be manipulated at will.
Swept up in complex emotions they could barely believe themselves, hordes of fighters charged madly out of the facility. Once outside, they quickly split up. Some fled heedlessly toward the exterior, while others followed the initial leaders.
Their objective was clear: break into the other arenas and free more people, giving all of them a better chance of escaping.
At that very moment, large detachments of city guards, combat dolls, and bio-modified creatures mobilized swiftly. In the past, such armed forces could have quelled a riot like this in mere minutes, but all their coordinated operations relied entirely on the field data supplied by Center City.
Now, however, many signals grew sluggish or vanished altogether, preventing them from coordinating and establishing unified, effective operations.
This was because A'lu's backup conscious entity was in the middle of overwriting her prior consciousness, meaning public services could not be provided for at least half an hour.
Aside from A'lu, there were numerous inactive conscious entities throughout the city. But their resources had been diverted to Blockade Hall and the Ancient Museum, drastically depleting the field resources available elsewhere. Many technical measures that usually relied seamlessly on the grand field suddenly became unreliable.
A great number of armed dolls soon ran into trouble. They were configured for grand field control mode; switching them to autonomous mode without a grand field unlock required manual, one-by-one deactivation.
Even if personnel were assigned to the task, it could not be completed in short order.
As for the bio-modified creatures, they were incapable of accurately distinguishing targets from allies, mostly halting and starting or simply spinning in place.
The administrators of White Rock Hall received the reports, but they paid them little heed. Their most pressing concern remained the crisis at Blockade Hall.
They had assumed Blockade Hall could hold out for half an hour without issue. To their shock, barely ten minutes had passed before the situation deteriorated drastically. The field indicated that more and more terrifying entities were breaking their restraints, attempting to breach containment from within.
Such an outcome could never be permitted. Should those horrors break free, the devastation would be unimaginable.
Consequently, the administration poured massive field resources toward the hall while concentrating large numbers of armed forces there. All martial artists tasked with city defense were dispatched to the scene, leaving them entirely unable to attend to other areas, which were left to the ordinary public security forces to handle alone.
***
Inside the Great Shun delegation's quarters, Luo Weina signed her name on the final document. As she quietly laid down her pen, a tangle of complex emotions showed in her eyes.
The negotiator in charge said, "Ms. Luo, rest assured, we will take good care of your dojos. In accordance with our agreement, you and your mother will permanently retain your status as founders. That will not change."
Luo Weina let out a soft sigh, seeming somewhat relieved. She stood up and bowed toward Delegation Leader Xie and Chen Chuan, who sat nearby. "Then... I leave it in your hands." She added, "I've disturbed you all today. I think it is time for me to take my leave."
Delegation Leader Xie stood up and smiled warmly. "Ms. Luo, some issues seem to have arisen in Center City, and it's quite chaotic outside. We do not advise leaving right now. You are welcome to stay here longer and depart once it is safe."
Luo Weina said, "Thank you, Delegation Leader Xie. Allow this old woman some time to consider it."
She curtsied to Delegation Leader Xie, Chen Chuan, and the others, then walked out. The moment she and her team exited the doorway, Chen Chuan looked up and glanced toward where A'lu was present.
After returning to her private room, Luo Weina suddenly said, "A'lu, did that Section Chief Chen see you?"
A'lu replied, "Beside him, there may exist one of my kind."
"One of your kind...?" Luo Weina's expression grew solemn. "Then what should we do? Now that he has noticed, is there danger? Should we leave immediately?"
Back in the negotiation room, Delegation Leader Xie, possessed of an observational acuity far exceeding that of an ordinary diplomat, turned to Chen Chuan once the guests had left. "Section Chief Chen, was something amiss just now?"
Chen Chuan nodded slightly. His superior spiritual power had allowed him to clearly see A'lu standing behind Luo Weina. He recognized her appearance and knew she was the active conscious entity of Center City in Vea State.
Yet the delegation's compound was equipped with field interference devices. It should have been impossible for her to enter, yet she had not only appeared, but had also attached herself to Luo Weina in a unique state.
He was very familiar with this state—it was much like how Hongfu had initially accompanied him.
Considering the numerous anomalies that had erupted tonight, he suspected this matter was connected to them. He also had an inkling that the resistance organization's recent string of activities might be tied to it as well.
Now that Delegation Leader Xie asked, Chen Chuan did not conceal what he had observed and directly stated his thoughts.
After listening, Delegation Leader Xie's expression grew serious. Rather than taking an immediate stance, he pondered for a moment and said, "Section Chief Chen, please wait a moment. I must step out briefly." With that, he rose and left the room.
Chen Chuan knew he was likely contacting the homeland or the secret service. Involving the opposing side's active conscious entity was a matter that required instructions from home before taking any action.
After a short wait, Delegation Leader Xie returned from outside. He closed the door, sat back down, and said, "Section Chief Chen, regarding this matter, I advise that we refrain from interfering too much. I'll let you in on something as well—"
He paused briefly. "The resistance organizations here in the Federation receive long-term funding from our Great Shun. However, this is not merely to have them oppose the Federation; there are far-reaching considerations."
He looked at Chen Chuan. "Among them, many are our own people. Certain actions and plans of theirs are known to our higher-ups, and some of our people even provide them with convenience."
Chen Chuan acknowledged this with a nod, then glanced toward the window. "So, some of the commotion outside right now might be driven by our people behind the scenes?"
Delegation Leader Xie pondered and said, "As for specific operations, the higher-ups naturally cannot micromanage everything. Besides, if the resistance's actions never conflicted with our interests in any way, it would make it harder for us to remain concealed behind the scenes. But so long as their actions do not encroach upon our core interests, we can tolerate them, and there is no need for us to stand up for the Federation.
"Furthermore..."
He stood up and looked out the window. "Even if we wanted to help, the Federation might not appreciate it."
Chen Chuan nodded. "I understand."
He could roughly piece it together: if Great Shun's leadership was involved, and what he had seen was indeed A'lu's conscious entity, then the higher-ups were very likely after A'lu herself.
Vea State was renowned as the fighting capital of the world. As the central active conscious entity, A'lu had gathered an untold amount of invaluable intelligence over the decades, likely including vast troves of experimental data. That was an immense fortune; securing it would save tremendous amounts of time in technological adaptation and upgrading.
As they were speaking, a communication chime rang from the boundary credential: "Report, Delegation Leader Xie, Section Chief Chen. The vehicles to pick up Ms. Luo and her party have arrived. They wish to depart and are requesting permission to leave. Should we clear them?"
Chapter 1142