Waterway

The armored car drove through the tunnels of the Lower District. Without the large escort of armored vehicles following along, and with members of Lutong Logistics guiding and escorting them, it drew far less attention, making the journey quite smooth. Lan Xinnan said, "Even though Lianwei Heavy Control's convoy has been taking detours, judging by their direction, they're probably taking an emergency passage that our Lutong Logistics left behind in the past. Only a handful of people know about this passage. I only found out it existed later on when Old Bian mentioned it." She turned her head and added, "This is all thanks to you, Brother Chen. If you hadn't intimidated Old Bian, he never would have told us any of this." Chen Chuan turned the thought over in his mind and asked, "Do many people know about this route?" "Not many," Lan Xinnan replied. "Old Bian said only a few former higher-ups in Lutong Logistics knew. Even the people in the Iron Fist Society didn't know. So with Lianwei Heavy Control's convoy heading there now, we suspect the person guiding them is most likely an old acquaintance of ours." Chen Chuan nodded. In his view, Lianwei Heavy Control's operation was probably not some spur-of-the-moment decision, but something planned and arranged well in advance. However, none of that had anything to do with him, nor did he need to figure out the inner workings. He only needed to know where they were and how to deal with them. Meanwhile, Che Gaoyi had already led his convoy back to the checkpoint that had blocked them earlier. He ordered the men behind him to wait in place, got out of the vehicle alone, and walked forward. Guarding that checkpoint ahead was a third-limit fighter. Since the two convoys had split up and most of the force he brought along had been assigned to that other detachment, he had no choice but to handle this himself. When he reached the front, he saw a row of roadblocks bathed in the light of the sun vines. Behind them stood fully armed Disposal Bureau personnel, while the third-limit fighter stood at the very front. This man wore a zippered jacket on top, though his trousers were the uniform of an enforcement officer. His hair was dyed blond, and he was chewing gum as he sat atop a roadblock. Watching Che Gaoyi approach, he said, "Oh? Looks like you want to fight? Just a friendly reminder: the road ahead isn't easy. It's not too late to turn back now." Che Gaoyi did not stop, continuing to walk toward him. "Guess you're not giving up, then." The Disposal Bureau fighter hopped down, pressed one hand over the knuckles of the other, and slowly cracked his fingers, popping each joint with a sharp snap. As for Che Gaoyi, the dossier sent to him by the bureau contained a brief introduction: this man was adept at free-hand sparring and seizing techniques, but his most formidable skill was actually his leg techniques. Although the dossier couldn't cover everything and the opponent might still be hiding something, it was good enough to give him a general idea. Che Gaoyi started off at a relatively slow pace, but his steps picked up as they drew closer. The moment they entered range, he struck out with the first punch. The fighter spat out his gum with a "ptooey" and met it with a punch of his own. When their fists clashed, a surge of jin rushed into Che Gaoyi's body. Before he could completely disperse and redirect it, the fighter's other arm gave a tremor, his shoulder shoved forward, and another wave of force surged up instantly, jolting Che Gaoyi several steps backward. He originally possessed a continuous hand routine capable of generating an unbroken flow of offensive jin, but this single counter had shoved him right back, preventing him from bringing it to bear at all. The fighter, however, remained rooted to the spot without budging an inch. Spreading his hands, he lowered his stance and extended both arms outward from low to high with a crisp crack of popping bones. Against the nearby tunnel walls, the rushing howl of swirling air currents could be heard; his body seemed brimming with ferocious, pounding power, and cracks even fractured across the ground beneath his feet. "Chuantong greater jin..." Che Gaoyi recognized it immediately. This was a renowned jin technique from the northern lands of Great Shun during the old era. The jin throughout the entire body was interconnected, drawing strength from every part. Once mastered, the jin could be layered and stacked atop itself, making it an exceptionally fierce and formidable discipline. He stared at the man for a few moments. As expected, the people from the Disposal Bureau were not to be underestimated. But... He shook out his fist and closed in again, throwing the exact same punch once more. "Not convinced? Come on then!" The fighter charged forward with a punch. With a sharp crack, their fists met. Only this time, when he unleashed his jin again to blast Che Gaoyi back, he found that Che Gaoyi withdrew his hand, sliding backward right along the path of his jin. As a result, despite releasing his jin, the space ahead was entirely empty—an intensely awkward and jarring sensation. He gave a sharp shout, using it to steady his breathing while following up with his subsequent wave of jin. Che Gaoyi was driven back repeatedly by his blows, left with only enough room to defend himself for the time being. Yet after trading more than a dozen moves, the situation gradually began to shift. The fighter discovered that his strikes consistently failed to land solidly. Every single time, Che Gaoyi managed to neutralize them, and gradually, Che Gaoyi became increasingly difficult to suppress. Che Gaoyi's true strength lay not in his jin, but in his observational ability. Whenever he exchanged blows with an opponent and witnessed their moves and release patterns, he could devise countermeasures and identify their flaws in an extraordinarily short time. He was, in essence, a purely technical fighter. The fighter felt deeply frustrated. The opponent's raw strength was clearly inferior to his own, yet the man unfailingly seized upon gaps and crucial junctures, keeping his offensive momentum and jin from flowing smoothly. Forced to ramp up the power of his strikes, he achieved some temporary results, but in doing so, certain flaws were inadvertently magnified. After tangling for more than half a minute longer, Che Gaoyi suddenly darted a hand out and snapped his grip onto the man's wrist. "Huh?" The fighter froze. Under normal circumstances, if someone skilled in seizing jin managed to lock onto an opponent, the victim would have virtually no power to resist. But he was different—Chuantong greater jin was specifically capable of countering such techniques. With a shout, he immediately detonated his jin, intending to blast the fingers off his wrist. Yet the instant his jin surged, Che Gaoyi seemed to have anticipated it completely. He voluntarily released his grip, only to lay a hand back on him immediately afterward. The fighter's pupils contracted. He intended to burst his jin again, but Che Gaoyi gave him no opportunity. Before he could unleash it, the seizing jin had already seeped in first, locking him firmly in place with a sharp snap. The fighter hastily channeled follow-up jin to resist once more, but this time Che Gaoyi didn't let go. Gripping him with unyielding force, Che Gaoyi suddenly whipped up a kick from below, thrusting into the man's throat with a sickening thud. The kick came soundlessly and with blazing speed. Suffering this blow, the fighter's eyes bulged, his face flushing crimson as he tried to cough but couldn't make a sound. Immediately after, another kick snapped against his neck. With a sickening crack, his neck snapped, and he slumped lifelessly to the side. Che Gaoyi reached over and popped his dislocated arm back into place. In terms of raw capability, this man had been superior to him, but in a real fight, things rarely came down to that alone; one's tactical execution under combat conditions mattered just as much. Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunfire erupted ahead as the Disposal Bureau personnel behind the roadblocks opened fire after realizing things had gone wrong. He instantly lunged forward, braving the incoming bullets as he tore into their ranks. His silhouette seemed to weave back and forth among them, and in just a few fleeting moments, the gunfire fell entirely silent. After glancing around and confirming that no one remained standing, Che Gaoyi returned to the front of his convoy and instructed, "Everyone, continue escorting the cargo forward. I'll hold off any pursuers from behind." "M-Mr. Che, what... what about me...?" Mr. Pan poked his head out of the car window, suddenly panicking. Che Gaoyi glanced at him and said, "You go with them." Only then did Mr. Pan breathe a sigh of relief. He hurriedly scrambled down from his vehicle and switched to another car. Che Gaoyi waited as the vehicles drove past one by one. Once they had cleared, he walked toward his lead vehicle alone. But before he had taken more than two steps, a tightness suddenly seized his chest. He slapped a hand against the vehicle's frame to steady himself, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. During the clash against the Chuantong jin, his internal organs had suffered shockwaves that only erupted now, completely undetectable beforehand. In the middle of battle, this would indeed have been lethal. But now, as long as he hadn't died, it was nothing fatal. After a brief period of regulation, he quickly recovered. He wiped the blood from his mouth and walked to the rear of the car. Popping open the trunk, he lifted out a heavy crate. Setting it on the ground, he ripped away the iron chains binding it, gripped the edges, and threw it open. Lying inside was a muscular burly man clad in black protective gear. As the light shone down upon him, the man's eyes snapped open. He sat up from within the crate and stared straight at Che Gaoyi. Che Gaoyi said, "Number Nine, follow me." Hearing his order, the burly man stood up from the crate. His frame, over two meters tall, loomed well above Che Gaoyi, yet his movements seemed astonishingly light and agile. This was an advanced combat doll customized by Lianwei Heavy Control from Yuanren Company. In life, he had been a renowned third-limit fighter, who had reportedly signed himself over to the corporation as compensation for heavy debts to undergo biological modification. Not only had his martial strength been fully preserved, but numerous mutated tissues had also been grafted onto his original body. Stripped of all emotion, he knew only how to fight to the bitter end when confronting an enemy. After giving his instructions, Che Gaoyi returned to the vehicle. Once Number Nine entered, he started the engine and drove back in the opposite direction. Before long, he arrived at the spot where he had first sent scouts ahead to probe the checkpoint. Stopping the car here, he stepped out, walked over to the wall, and threw a punch. With a booming crash, the wall collapsed, revealing a rushing subterranean river behind it. When he passed by earlier, he had heard the faint sound of flowing water. Judging from his experience and the flow of the current, it likely led outside the city. However, the river looked murky and foul, laden with floating debris and suspicious objects of unrecognizable origin. He returned to the vehicle, put on a protective mask, grabbed a briefcase from the back seat, turned, and leaped into the water, wading downstream along the current. Behind him, with a loud splash, Number Nine jumped in with an emotionless expression, following him forward.