Entanglements

Chen Chuan turned around. At some point, another figure had appeared inside the office. The man seemed to have stepped straight out of the shadows, standing there soundlessly. He was not particularly tall, wore a military smock, and carried a short sword in a silver-white scabbard at his waist. He had a rectangular face, slightly dark skin, a thick mop of untidy hair, and a rather sinister glint in his eyes. Judging by his appearance, he matched the outpost's personnel photo—none other than Fei Tong, the garrison commander of Fortress 285. Looking at him, Chen Chuan said, "Because from the very beginning, I knew it was you pulling the strings behind all of this, Garrison Commander Fei, and not some anomaly." Fei Tong narrowed his eyes at him. "Is that so? And just how did you figure that out?" "When I arrived at this office yesterday, I found this torn piece of paper." Chen Chuan produced the pieced-together sheet and held it up toward him. "It was ripped from your private diary. Judging by how chaotic the scribbles and characters are, you seemed intent on making us think you had gone mad." Fei Tong glanced at it. "What, was my imitation not convincing?" Chen Chuan said, "I wouldn't say it wasn't convincing, but it was merely an imitation. While your lines tried hard to look 'crazy,' they lacked genuine madness. But your biggest flaw, Garrison Commander Fei, was that after writing so much, you didn't tear through the paper even once. It is hard to believe you were truly deranged. "Furthermore, tearing it to pieces and tossing it into the wastebasket—which had nothing else inside—was practically begging someone to find it. The action was far too logical, bearing far too many deliberate traces." Fei Tong remained silent for a moment before speaking. "You pinned it on me based on that alone?" "That alone wasn't enough to be certain, of course," Chen Chuan said. "However, it at least told me someone was deliberately throwing up a smokescreen. If this had been an anomaly, given the integrity of the shielding here, it couldn't possibly have breached the facility without an inside collaborator. "And as the diary's owner, you also happened to be the one person capable of pulling it off. If not you, whom else would I suspect?" A cold sneer surfaced on Fei Tong's face. "So you didn't have any definitive evidence; you were just guessing based on your intuition?" Chen Chuan replied earnestly, "Not quite. In fact, I already knew it was you yesterday, Garrison Commander Fei." Fei Tong's expression tightened slightly. "Yesterday?" "Yes, yesterday." Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "You haven't specifically trained your field or learned field techniques, have you, Garrison Commander Fei? Last night, when you stood outside the hall, I already felt your field. "That field is unique to third-limit fighters. Combined with the earlier clues, that was more than enough proof. "By the way, when I entered just now, you trailed quietly behind me, but your field was glaringly obvious—it practically announced your presence. It was hard not to notice." He smiled slightly. "This just goes to show that without the right techniques and knowledge, even attempting a disguise falls flat." Fei Tong's face darkened. "I don't like the sound of your words. Not at all." A sharp intent to kill radiated from him, yet Chen Chuan remained unfazed and continued, "Yesterday, once my suspicions settled on you, I kept wondering: why would you do something like this? "Judging solely by what happened at the rest station, one might guess that your brains underwent activation, which drove you to commit such acts. If an outpost's third-limit fighter experienced issues, they would indeed have the ability to accomplish that. "However, I suspect..." He lifted his gaze and said slowly, "You definitely didn't suffer a sudden breakdown. You weren't a passive victim; this was premeditated, done entirely by your own choice." Fei Tong sneered, "And you figured that out as well?" "Indeed." Chen Chuan said candidly, "The field I sensed yesterday felt icy cold, yet something lurked beneath the surface. It was remarkably similar to Iron Demon, whom I encountered before. I doubt that's a coincidence; it's the exact same condition. "And I happen to have heard that this is an activation technique of the former imperial house, one currently granted to those ennobled by them." He looked at Fei Tong. "From the looks of it, you must have received favors from the former imperial house and intend to pledge your service to them." Fei Tong glared fixedly at him. Chen Chuan continued, "I gave it some thought. Even though some time has passed between what happened here and the Iron Demon incident, I checked the terrain: if their plan went awry and both escape routes were cut off, they could have crossed through a few remote areas and passed through your post, taking the long way back. That would have worked. "While doing so would still have incurred losses, it was far better than any other route. Looking at it this way, you were very likely an escape route they had prepared well in advance—or perhaps you were their mole all along. "Yet with Iron Demon disposed of, the original plan fell apart. You, on the other hand, had probably already staked everything on this and reached the point of no return. That's why everything that followed happened. "The only thing I didn't understand was: since you had already done all this, why did you stay behind instead of fleeing? "My guess is... "Iron Demon was likely your sponsor. Now that he's dead, you were worried that heading over to the former imperial house empty-handed would lead to trouble. That's why you stirred up so much trouble afterward—you wanted to haul back more trophies to give them an account. Am I right?" Fei Tong's expression grew increasingly grim. Chen Chuan observed his countenance and nodded. "Looks like I guessed correctly. Well, at least part of it." Fei Tong took a deep breath, resting his hand on the hilt of the short sword at his waist, his eyes brimming with murderous intent. "Spot on. Where else could I possibly go after pulling this off? My only option is the other side. But going over there requires a gift, doesn't it? "I just didn't expect you to be the one who came. "I heard you were the one who slew Iron Demon. In that case, I'm certain they would love to have your head. Perhaps it might even earn me a genuine noble title." Chen Chuan said, "You seem rather confident." Fei Tong snorted and drew the short sword with a metallic ring. Such a weapon was well-suited for fighting in this relatively confined space. At the same time, tendril-like mutated appendages sprouted across his exposed neck, rapidly weaving around it in a manner remarkably similar to what had happened with Iron Demon. "Activation has granted me formidable power and opened my eyes to so much. Both my spirit and my flesh have undergone another sublimation. Right now, I am at least twice as strong as before!" With a savage grin, he glared at Chen Chuan. "Besides, why do you think I showed myself? Just because of a few words from you? I observed everything beforehand! You sent your two squad members away, and they won't be back anytime soon. And you aren't even carrying your saber! How could you possibly be a match for me?!" Chen Chuan's deep, tranquil eyes gazed back at him. A considerable distance had separated them, yet in the very next instant, he appeared right before Fei Tong, slamming a fist into his abdomen. Realizing something was wrong, Fei Tong tried to retreat and use the mutated tissue within his body to diffuse the force. However, that power was far too ferocious, tearing rampant through his insides. Incapable of neutralizing it completely, he stumbled back several meters before dropping to one knee, retching dryly. "Why do you think I didn't bring my blade?" The calm voice abruptly sounded right by his ear. Fei Tong's heart lurched. Chen Chuan had appeared before him once more, looking down at him from above. "Because to deal with you, I don't need one." Even as he spoke, Chen Chuan swept a kick upward at him. This time, Fei Tong reacted; twisting his torso, he attempted to thrust the short sword forward. Yet the short sword was barely halfway through its thrust when the overwhelming power behind the kick smashed it back. The blade and his arm slammed violently into his own torso, and the impact sent him crashing into the wall behind him, blasting open a massive breach as bricks clattered to the floor in heaps. Chen Chuan strolled forward at an unhurried pace. He indeed had not brought a weapon, but that was because he had already gauged the man's strengths and weaknesses through his field—unarmed combat was more than enough to subdue him. Besides, had he not done so, how would the other man have sprung out so readily? Lying amid the rubble, Fei Tong coughed repeatedly. Had it been the old him taking those two blows, his bones and tendons would have shattered long ago, leaving him entirely incapacitated. Yet now, he was still able to struggle to his feet. Yet before he could stand straight, another fist came smashing in. He hastily raised an arm to block, but the punch forced his own hand into his face. With a dull thud, he stumbled backward. This burst of jin not only left his arm limp, swollen, and numb, but a formidable wave of jin also penetrated deep into his cranium, pounding through it repeatedly until his vision went black. Fortunately, he was no longer an ordinary human; his brain tissue was firmly anchored to his skull, sparing him severe concussion and allowing him to retain conscious awareness. Shock and rage surged through him as he realized he had drastically underestimated his opponent. Letting out a furious roar, his aura surged violently. The dense tendrils covering his body abruptly turned bright crimson while his flesh paled, looking as though the appendages had gorged themselves on fresh blood. Chen Chuan could sense that as the tendrils swelled, the field representing the appendages surged rapidly, while the portion representing his body diminished at an equal pace. He was pushing his life potential to extreme overdraft to amplify the strength of his mutated tissue, likely pouring all of his vital essence into it. Such a method could indeed temporarily boost combat power. It would only last for a short while, however. If drawn out a little longer, even without an active attack, the man would wear himself out until he dropped dead. Thus, if Chen Chuan had no other concerns, he could simply maintain his distance and wait for Fei Tong to defeat himself. Yet he still had other squad members outside and could not afford to take that route. In that case, he would just have to exert a little more effort. Taking advantage of Fei Tong's ongoing bodily transformation, Chen Chuan closed the distance in a single stride. He reached out and shoved. Fei Tong had barely raised his guard when an irresistible force crashed into him, lifting his feet completely off the floor and blasting him right out through the gaping breach in the office wall.