Undercurrent

Outside an unremarkable warehouse in Jiyang District, Yu Lie exchanged passphrases with a guard posted at the door. Granted entry, he stepped inside. What lay within was not the original layout of the warehouse, but an interior space that had been meticulously renovated. Passing down a high-ceilinged corridor hung with two industrial bay lights, he entered a lounge area. Two rows of sofas were arranged inside, though no one was sitting on them. Instead, four men dressed in black stood solemnly behind them. These men were plainly the very members of the ad hoc special action committee whom he had struck down earlier. Yet as he walked in, they showed not the slightest hostility toward him, nodding in his direction instead. At the same time, one of them took a few steps forward and opened the door leading toward the back. "The boss is inside." "Thanks." Yu Lie straightened his clothes and walked inside. Ahead lay another corridor. After a dozen or so paces, he reached the end, knocked on the door, and said, "Sir, Yu Lie reporting." A voice came from inside: "Enter." Yu Lie took hold of the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open. Behind a desk sat a burly man on a sofa. He wore a wide-brimmed cap, his bulging muscles straining against his clothes, his expression cold and stern. The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the faint glow of several cool-toned light strips, leaving most of his body shrouded in shadow. Behind him stood two figures wearing protective face masks and heavy rust-colored combat uniforms. Both possessed remarkably bulky frames, as though something else was hidden beneath their garments. Though standing motionless, they gave off an intense sense of threat. Composing himself, Yu Lie stepped before the man, bowed, and said, "Mr. Chu." Mr. Chu remained seated without moving, yet an innate pressure radiated from him. After a moment, just as the atmosphere began to feel oppressive, he finally spoke: "How is the situation?" Yu Lie breathed a quiet sigh of relief and replied cautiously, "I have gained Chen Bitong's trust, and he has agreed to keep me by his side. However, Fang Zhixin remains wary of me, so I cannot make too many moves." "Has Chen Bitong made any moves recently?" "Nothing unusual of late, but I constantly feel that he is concealing something." "Your intuition?" Yu Lie answered truthfully, "Yes, my intuition." Mr. Chu said, "In our line of work, intuition is very important. No shred of suspicion can be overlooked. Since you think so, keep investigating along that line." "Yes, sir!" Mr. Chu said coldly, "The breach in the Ring of the World is inextricably tied to Chen Bitong. He must not escape judgment. Though there are people shielding him in Jibei Dao Center City, with the Fumu fissioning and the fissure spreading, he won't be able to hold back from acting. From this moment forth, I want you to remain by his side and relay any movement to me immediately. "Major Yu Lie, your preliminary work has met our standards. I hereby officially transfer you into the Special Action Group. When necessary, you will assist us in taking Chen Bitong into custody. I will also have your file transferred over." Yu Lie hesitated. Mr. Chu noticed this, his gaze turning sharp as a sword. "Do you have any misgivings?" Yu Lie immediately puffed out his chest and said, "This subordinate has no misgivings. It is only that Chen Bitong's strength is formidable. If he truly makes an anomalous move, I fear I won't be able to stop him in time and may fail the trust of the ad hoc action group." Mr. Chu said, "You only need to fulfill your duty. When the time comes, someone will go stop him." He gestured, and one of the figures behind him stepped forward with heavy footfalls, setting a cylindrical briefcase before Yu Lie. Yu Lie looked at it, stepped forward, and opened the briefcase. At first, it looked dark inside, but after a moment, an unrecognizable grayish-white worm emerged. Upon exposure to the room's light, it suddenly raised its head and tore open a mouth packed with fine teeth. He drew in a breath, unbuttoned the sleeve of one arm, and reached his forearm inside. Suddenly, the worm's tooth-filled mouth snapped shut, clamping tightly onto his forearm. He frowned slightly as he felt something enter his body through the puncture wound on his arm, seeping all the way into his mutated tissue before going dormant. A moment later, feeling the grip on his arm loosen, he pulled his hand out. His arm was covered in dense tooth marks, but before he could use his vital essence to repair them, the wounds had already closed on their own. Mr. Chu said, "When contacting us, do not use your boundary credential. Use this implant bug. As long as you channel vital essence into it, it will establish a stable field frequency for temporary communication, and we will know your location. Major Yu, you may head back now. Report any issues at once." "Understood, sir." Yu Lie saluted, then withdrew from the room. After he left, Mr. Chu raised his arm, clenched his fist, and spoke into it: "Notify Old Hu. Have him enter Jibei Dao Center City tonight, and tell him to be ready at all times." *** Changsheng Hall in Fengde District, the Tianshu Gang. Gang elder Yu Hongming squinted upward. The post-rain night sky retained only a few wisps of thin clouds, yet he seemed to see something up there, his gaze holding both wariness and caution. Just then, he sensed something and said, "Is that Kuang Hai? Come in." The sliding door was pushed open slowly, followed by the heavy sound of footsteps treading upon the floorboards. Then a tall silhouette approached not far behind him, dropping to his knees with a thud and bowing with deep respect. "Master, disciple has come to request Master's permission." Yu Hongming did not turn around, merely saying, "You have made up your mind?" "Master, this is a rare opportunity. Disciple wishes to give it a try." "And your opponent? Have you chosen your opponent?" "Kuang Hai" said, "I have looked into it. The person who killed Junior Brother Wei Wusheng should be qualified to be my opponent." As he spoke, his fists slowly clenched, producing a sound like rebar twisting together. Yu Hongming said in a low voice, "'Open the Heavenly Gate, receive heaven's forgiveness.' If you can cross over, I can pass this burden to you in the future." "Master, you know disciple doesn't care for this." Yu Hongming said, "When you have earned the right to say those words, come say them to my face." "Yes, Master." "Go find Ah Duan. He can assist you with the technical aspects." "Kuang Hai" bowed to him once more, stood up, and backed out of the room, gently sliding the door shut before leaving. Yu Hongming continued looking upward, seemingly pondering something. *** Inside Convergence Boundary Company. Chen Chuan did not return directly to his dormitory that evening. Instead, he stayed at the company to handle matters, mainly reorganizing the company's security forces and determining the personnel to coordinate with the government. According to the materials submitted by the company, not only Convergence Boundary, but all state-owned enterprises and companies deeply tied to state contracts had to allocate a portion of their security forces to the Center City government for deployment this time. This force was by no means small. If smoothly put to use by the Center City government, it could indeed ensure the safety of many areas. The Center City government took this very seriously, but how much effect it would have was hard to say. The situation this time was exceedingly unusual: beyond the breach in the Ring of the World, many conflicts that were normally kept suppressed could easily surge up in the chaos. Once that matter was settled, he reviewed the few fighters funded by the company. Aside from Wei Dong, there were two other Wuyi students. However, those two had limited potential and received rather modest packages. Since they might end up fighting in the ring anyway, the funding was merely a wide-net approach on the off chance one proved exceptional. The company was also cultivating its own fighters, though that initiative had a much longer cycle. It was hard to see results in fewer than three to five years, and it might take eight or ten years just to see progress. Moreover, once trained, the company might be reluctant to risk them, treating them only as core reserves. The fighters currently needed were primarily recruited from outside, so any losses would not be mourned. Recruiting these people served not only security purposes but also the formation of teams dispatched to the Confluence in search of relics. This had also been the company's original intention when recruiting Chen Chuan. Relics were one of the sources driving the company's technological advancement. In the new era, many new technologies also originated from research on relics, making them crucial to corporations. Often, a single relic could trigger a technological breakthrough. In this era, to maintain competitiveness, companies had no choice but to invest heavily in exploring the Confluence and even its far reaches. Yet he felt that, judging by what he currently knew, simply going to the Confluence was likely not enough. Certain powerful megacorporations and organizations might well seek to proactively open the Heavenly Gate to extract even greater benefits from within. Corporations capable of doing so would inevitably grow even more powerful and perhaps block latecomers, monopolizing and controlling technology—which would simply be treading an old path once more. By the time he sorted through the company's affairs, two days had already passed. Only then did he leave the company to head back to his dormitory. On the way, he received several messages on his boundary credential. They were expressions of gratitude from Deng Xin, saying Tu Nai had come to visit her, though considering that the gang had only just stabilized, she was temporarily remaining at the Disposal Bureau. He sent a reply, then couldn't help thinking how useful Deng Xin's precognitive ability was. Such a natural talent allowed one to avoid many dangers in advance. Yet he did not envy it. For some reason, he felt that kind of ability was somewhat insubstantial, lacking a grounded sense of reality. The strength acquired through one's own cultivation remained the most dependable. Besides, wasn't Wu Qi, the active conscious entity of Ferris Wheel Company, essentially possessing an ability of this kind when judging threats to the company? Active conscious entities were biological organisms at their core. If fighters continued to cultivate, they might well develop similar capabilities. Even if they didn't, once a fighter grew powerful enough, such abilities would become superfluous. Only possessing absolute, overwhelming power could keep one free from constraint. The Jiade car now returned to Xuangong Building. He looked up at the magnificent structure that seemed to pierce directly into the sky, his gaze following it all the way into the depths of the cloud-filled heavens. From here on, everything had to be prepared for the arrival of that hour.