Commissioner Liang raised a hand, and map markers of major Center Cities manifested across the desk. He tapped several locations, his expression turning solemn.
"Just last year, a breach formed in the Ring Curtain. It affected multiple Center Cities, including our Jibei Circuit. We lost a great deal of personnel because of it. Not only that, but numerous blind spots beyond surveillance emerged across our territory, leading to many unpredictable situations.
"To this day, that breach hasn't been completely sealed, and certain entities have definitively crossed over from the other side into our world.
"For example, Meng Huang of Convergence Boundary Company, whom you dealt with before, was very likely possessed by one of them. We've eliminated quite a few so far, but it's hard to say whether any slipped through the net.
"The main personnel over at the Disposal Bureau are still tasked with tracking this matter down. And as for how the breach appeared in the Ring Curtain in the first place, we suspect there was an internal problem."
He raised his hand and waved again. A light screen materialized behind him, displaying a man.
Chen Chuan looked over. The man wore a half-face mask and a protective trench coat. His cheeks were gaunt, deep wrinkles creased the corners of his eyes, and his gaze was profound and sharp. He appeared to be around forty-five or forty-six.
"Chen Bitong, a third-limit fighter, and an expert approaching the level of a martial artist.
"He was nearby when the incident occurred. He commands a squad that has long been stationed at the forefront of the Ring of the World, boasting considerable past achievements, and he possesses a certain amount of background himself.
"An investigative team has already looked into him and found nothing amiss, yet he cannot be entirely cleared of suspicion. According to analytical reports, even if he wasn't personally involved, someone close to him is very likely tied to the incident."
Commissioner Liang looked toward Chen Chuan. "Enforcement Officer Chen, your record is clean, your background reliable, and your combat strength sufficient. Therefore, we will temporarily assign you near the area he frequents.
"You don't need to do anything specific, nor do you need to go out of your way to contact anyone. If you happen to deal with him, simply observe from close proximity and record whatever you see and hear."
Chen Chuan looked at the man's image and nodded. "Understood."
Liang Guanghai said, "I know you still have an unfinished assignment at present, so I'll give you some time to wrap it up. Report in before the end of the month."
He issued an instruction via his boundary credential, and the woman walked back into the conference room carrying a box.
After setting it on the table, she opened it to reveal a boundary credential resting inside.
Liang Guanghai said, "This boundary credential was specially manufactured by the Defense Department. It possesses exceptionally strong anti-jamming and self-repairing capabilities, adaptable to diverse combat environments.
"A substantial amount of data is stored inside, including various precautions and detailed information on Chen Bitong. You can take it back and review it at your leisure. When taking part in the defense, use this boundary credential."
With that, he looked at Chen Chuan. "Enforcement Officer Chen, do you have any questions?"
Chen Chuan thought it over. "None for now."
"In that case, let us conclude today's talk here."
The woman stepped aside with an inviting gesture. Once Chen Chuan picked up the boundary credential, she escorted him out. After seeing him off, she returned to the conference room.
Liang Guanghai looked at her. "Well?"
A faint black mist receded in the woman's eyes. "No issues. He is very clean, and his field is exceptionally stable. It is certain that he has suffered no corruption or infection."
Liang Guanghai said in a deep voice, "That might be true now, but it doesn't mean it will stay that way. I hope once he gets there, he won't be swayed by those Convergence faction people."
The woman said, "Since you hold him in high regard, Commissioner, wouldn't it be better to let him settle and develop for a year or two?"
Liang Guanghai shook his head. "I too wish we could nurture talent slowly. But after that previous incident, we lost a vast number of personnel, and those traitorous organizations have been running rampant. Although we've transferred people from various quarters to replenish our ranks, it's still not enough. The situation is extremely grim right now, so capable talent must step up to the plate."
He considered for a moment, then instructed, "How about this: send a recommendation to the Disposal Bureau to be as generous as possible regarding his compensation and promotions."
The woman complied, "Understood, Commissioner."
***
After Chen Chuan walked out of the Disposal Bureau and returned to his car, he received a message from Wu Bei.
"Brother Chen, I kept an eye on that building you mentioned and spotted two suspicious people. I intended to track them down, but their trail was deliberately shielded. After tracking them to Shenwei District, I couldn't follow their whereabouts any further. I tried tracing the jamming signal, but came up empty-handed as well."
He raised his voice. "Those people on the other side are very capable. But I've set up some responsive beacons around you, Brother Chen. If they show up again, I should be able to detect them."
Chen Chuan felt a slight stir in his thoughts. "Thank you, Brother Wu."
He pondered. Even Wu Bei, equipped with a resonance nest, couldn't track down these two. They definitely possessed both expertise and equipment; people like that certainly had no ordinary background.
His first thought was that warning from the Lower District, but he quickly dismissed it. He hadn't told anyone when he would return to the Upper District, so there was no way they could have stationed lookouts here in advance.
Besides, according to what that person had said, now that he had left, there was even less reason to provoke him. Therefore, with high probability, this was some faction native to the Upper District.
He reflected carefully. He seemed to have a lead, yet couldn't be entirely certain.
Still, he felt there was no need to dwell on it excessively. Their watching him came down to just two possibilities: monitoring his movements, or making a move against him. For now, he merely needed to stay vigilant.
Getting into the car, he drove the Jiade toward Lulan Lake.
Last time, Officer Qiu had told him that Xu Xianwen had a hideout concealed within the subterranean river channel nearby. Since he was out anyway, he might as well go check it out.
Originally, because he was passing by Mount Motie, he intended to pay a brief visit to Senior Cao. However, upon arriving before the manor gates, he saw quite a few luxury vehicles parked in the clearing and evidently many guests. He hadn't sent advance word of his visit, so after taking a glance, he simply drove away.
After driving north for a stretch and crossing past Mount Motie, he arrived before Lulan Lake. Because the location lay somewhere across the lake, driving along the shore would take too long; traversing directly across the water's surface was actually fastest.
So once there, he simply stepped out of the car, quickened his pace, quickly parted the reeds along the shore, and stepped out onto the lake surface. Cleaving a wake behind him, he moved swiftly forward.
Six or seven minutes later, he neared the spot. His body dipped downward, and with a soft splash, he plunged straight into the depths, then adjusted his posture and swam toward the target.
Guided and matched by his boundary credential, it wasn't long before he spotted an underwater cave, though the current grew exceptionally swift here.
This posed little obstacle to him. He followed the current straight inside. Though he bumped against rocks along the way, it couldn't inflict the slightest harm on his formidable constitution.
After swimming for more than half a li, he headed upward along the subterranean river. As he neared the upper section, patches of light appeared. Knowing this was likely the place, he accelerated upward and finally surfaced from a small pool.
As his feet touched solid ground, white steam rose from his body, his clothes rapidly drying. He looked around. It was a cave, though a mining lamp hung overhead, casting a glaring, baking light. Clearly, a generator was still running, likely stocked in advance with sufficient algae oil.
He walked a circuit around the cave. The place wasn't large, roughly fifty square meters, partitioned into five chambers—three larger and two smaller. A path at the rear led outside, appearing to head into a patch of woods. Perhaps because of this, several lizards bred specifically to prey on bugs and ants were kept here.
Inside the largest chamber stood a wardrobe, a bed for resting, and a nightstand. Shelf planks fashioned from long wooden boards were affixed to the cave wall.
A few medicine bottles and a box of nutritional paste rested on the shelves. There was even special medicine, though only two bottles—unclear whether Xu Xianwen had received few to begin with or these were what remained. Judging by their appearance, they belonged to the batch from Convergence Boundary Company, most likely provided by Meng Huang.
He inspected the nightstand and wardrobe. Valuable belongings and identity cards were kept inside, along with some cash—roughly two to three hundred thousand—a Wansheng Financial Group gold draft, a spare dagger, and a handgun.
It seemed this was merely a transit stop, so it was unlikely to hold anything of great value.
However, he soon made another discovery.
Behind the wardrobe, after removing a movable panel, there was a rudimentary hidden compartment. Opening it, he pulled out a thick set of books wrapped securely in moisture-proof cloth.
He peeled back the cloth to reveal the books themselves. They were three tomes of the Secret Snake Cult, appearing somewhat aged, yet every corner and edge remained neat and flat, clearly preserved with meticulous care.
Chen Chuan flipped through them and saw that every page was crafted entirely from a specialized animal hide. The characters were carved into the surface and filled with a pigment resembling cinnabar.
The first tome contained the doctrines of the Secret Snake Cult. He skipped it directly; such relics of the old era could easily be searched on modern network platforms, nothing rare at all, and nowadays even cultists themselves barely read it.
The second tome held somewhat more substantial material, full of diagrams of Secret Snake esoteric rituals. He glanced through it briefly; in broad scope, it did not exceed the reference dossier Bureau Director Lei had given him.
The third tome, unsurprisingly, concerned martial arts techniques, containing descriptions and training methods for multiple secret jin of the Secret Snake Cult, even detailing Xuan Snake Jin.
Yet this was merely for reading.
It only touched upon surface-level concepts. How to guide the breathing technique, which areas to focus mutated tissue upon, which medicines to take throughout the process—none of this was mentioned at all.
The true secrets were simply not here. Even if this tome were lost to the outside world, no one could ever hope to master the art relying on it alone.
What the book did describe, however, were the characteristics of each limit and the capabilities attainable within them. And after turning past the descriptions of the first three limits, he noticed that a considerable thickness still remained in the back of the tome.
A thought stirred in his mind: Could there be more?
Chapter 414