Astride a distant building in Yinglu District, Bureau Director Lei looked down at the ritual diagram at his feet, which had completely extinguished and crumbled to ashes. Then he looked into the distance, where wisps of white smoke were rising into the sky above twelve high-rises arranged with rituals.
An admiring subordinate said, "Fortunately, Director Lei had us reinforce the rituals beforehand and set up so many auxiliary rituals outside to coordinate with it. Otherwise, it might not have held."
"Indeed, indeed." Several Esoteric Cult Bureau members nearby nodded in agreement.
Originally, they were only tasked with capturing active conscious entities, so in theory, they hadn't needed anywhere near this quantity of materials. It was only because Director Lei insisted upon it that they had been forced to comply, though many among them had remained skeptical, some even waiting to laugh at him after the fact.
Director Lei had not been in office long and had yet to win over the ranks; to be frank, this move was something of a gamble. If it had proved useless, his prestige would have taken a massive blow.
Yet the facts had proven him right—and far ahead of everyone else's thinking. Now, he had won their wholehearted respect in one stroke.
Director Lei remarked, "Without Director Qian's full backing, I could never have done this. And besides..." He looked toward the collapsed Ferris wheel. "...without that person, getting through this would not have been so easy."
The others could not help but nod.
They had seen that final strike as well. The immense Ferris wheel had been cleaved clean in two—a landmark over two hundred meters tall. It was hard to imagine that such a feat could be accomplished by human power. No wonder Director Lei had been so confident; judging by his tone, he even knew the person. It seemed Director Lei had powerful backing from other quarters as well and was far deeper than he appeared.
Director Lei spoke up then, "Clean up this place, and let's go. What follows has nothing to do with us. After being busy for so many days, everyone can finally get a good night's sleep."
The subordinate hesitated briefly and asked in a low voice, "Director Lei, what about the Ferris Wheel Company?"
They had earned merit this time too. The aftermath and fallout of the Ferris Wheel Company involved departmental interests; they couldn't just surrender their share so easily.
Director Lei waved a hand. "That's something for Director Qian to step forward and handle. It wouldn't be appropriate for me."
Realization dawned on them. "Understood!"
Director Qian was the principal director and excelled at securing funding; leaving this matter in his hands was a perfect fit.
However, rumors had circulated that Director Lei had been brought in precisely to take over Director Qian's post. Presumably, after this incident, the formal handover would take place.
***
Outside a warehouse in Jiyang District, an armored car pulled up and stopped. The doors opened, and Commissioner Cao stepped out. The guard stationed at the entrance opened the door for him and said, "Please come in, Commissioner Cao. Mr. Chu is inside."
Commissioner Cao entered with two subordinates. In the middle of the cavernous warehouse stood Mr. Chu. As the commissioner approached, Mr. Chu said with a stern expression, "Commissioner Cao, you are late."
Commissioner Cao glanced at the few individuals standing behind him and remarked, "Unfamiliar faces. What, Old Chu, you changed your crew?"
Mr. Chu ignored the remark, merely asking, "Did you bring the operation schedule?"
Commissioner Cao held out a hand. A subordinate behind him promptly drew the document from a briefcase and passed it to him. Cao took it and handed it forward.
Mr. Chu took it and glanced over the contents. His expression tightened abruptly, and he looked up. "A multi-department joint operation—why didn't you report this in a timely manner?"
Commissioner Cao said slowly, "Communications were cut off. I had no idea where you were, Old Chu. I did look for you, but your people had vanished at the time. I couldn't simply let this plan sit on the shelf, so my only option was to proceed with execution first."
Mr. Chu stared at him. At the time, Chu had been plotting against Chen Bitong and cut off communications to prevent the State Administration Bureau from intervening. But he knew full well that if Commissioner Cao truly wanted to find him, there was no way he couldn't have.
He said in a heavy voice, "Your plan is far too dangerous. If it ultimately fails, the Municipal Council will strike back without question, throwing Center City into unpredictable peril. The committee deems it unfeasible. You must halt immediately!"
Commissioner Cao replied, "The committee can stop the State Administration Bureau, but it cannot stop the other departments. And besides..." He looked at Mr. Chu. "...I'm afraid it's already too late."
Just as Mr. Chu was about to speak, a brilliant flare of light surged from outside. Even sheltered inside this converted warehouse, they could feel it through the open skylights.
At that exact moment, prompt chimes rang out simultaneously from both of their boundary credentials. Both men immediately raised a hand to their credentials, listening to the incoming report.
After hearing it through, Commissioner Cao glanced at him and said, "Operation Horizon is complete." He paused, then added, "Take your time reviewing it, Old Chu. I have other duties to attend to, so I won't stay."
Having heard the report, Mr. Chu's expression darkened. The operation was already over—what was the point of reviewing it now? He watched Commissioner Cao walk out. After a moment, he lifted the form again, his gaze finally coming to rest on the designated field for recommended operative:
"Disposal Bureau Enforcement Captain, Chen Chuan."
***
Inside the command center, Commissioner Liang listened to reports flowing in from various city districts. Earlier, most of his attention had been focused on the Ferris Wheel Company, leaving him unable to fully attend to other areas.
Fortunately, because a significant portion of the mercenaries and company forces had been depleted earlier, dealing with the aftermath was actually far less difficult than before.
What was more, now that the threat of the Ferris wheel was gone, the emergency response forces stationed in Yinglu District could be dispersed to handle problems elsewhere, leaving him with an abundance of operational strength at his disposal instead.
After reviewing and replying to reports from every district, he pinched the bridge of his nose, drew a pill from his pocket, swallowed it, and rallied his spirits once more.
Just then, a communications officer hurried over and reported to him:
"Commissioner, Canglong Company just sent in a report. Approximately ten minutes ago, they sank a submarine in offshore waters, suspected of having launched from within the Ferris Wheel Building. They sent modified bio-forms inside to inspect it and found that besides armed personnel, there were several individuals suspected to belong to the Ferris Wheel Company. However, they appear to have died before the submarine was even sunk."
Commissioner Liang immediately took the report and looked it over. Reflecting on Watchtower's earlier analysis, that entity had likely possessed one of the Ferris Wheel Company's directors. If so, there was a high probability that these people had met their ends at that entity's hands.
He turned to the female assistant beside him and said, "Send people immediately to take over and secure that evidence."
The female assistant responded at once, "Right away."
Commissioner Liang's expression relaxed slightly. Tapping the report, he realized that with this evidence in hand, they had another reason to eliminate the Ferris Wheel Company: colluding with an entity from the beyond.
Originally, if they were merely moving against Ferris Wheel, they might have needed to compromise with the council or offer appeasements. But with this leverage secured, no one could raise an argument.
Under the present grand scheme of things, confronting and destroying an entity from the other side was an absolute, unquestionable imperative. Even if someone truly colluded, it could never be brought into the open.
***
Before the Ferris Wheel Building, Chen Chuan strode out of the massive crater step by step, blade in hand. Tiny, scattering sparks of arc-light still flickered across his body, remnants of his shuttling through fissures.
Traversing the fissures this time while channeling the Flying Dragon fist force seemed to have allowed him to grasp a subtle inkling...
The thrum of propellers echoed overhead. He looked up to see several airships gliding above, flying toward the sea. Only then did the wisp of red shadow draped over him slowly drift away and disperse.
He turned toward the direction where the red shadow had dissipated and gave a nod.
During the final plunge, he had originally intended to use his second self to bear the impact of the fall, but Hongfu's power had shielded him from it instead.
Just then, he looked up and saw armed personnel emerging one after another from the breached opening of the skyscraper. There were roughly a dozen of them, and at their head was none other than Guan Shangjing, head of security for the Ferris Wheel Company.
Under the psychic shockwave unleashed by Wu Qi earlier, even those sheltered behind barricaded rooms had been unable to avoid the impact. Those lacking sufficient strength had perished on the spot; only these few with decent capability remained alive. Catching sight of Chen Chuan now, every one of them tensed up and raised their weapons.
Chen Chuan fixed his eyes upon them. Through his field, he could distinctly sense a certain corruption within their bodies; they would not live much longer.
This was likely caused by the emergence of that entity.
Because the Heavenly Gate had been opened, there was no longer any barrier above. Even a third-limit fighter, unless possessing a certain level of mental strength, could not resist such invasive penetration at close range.
Guan Shangjing cast a glance toward the collapsed Ferris wheel and its wreckage jutting out of the distant waters, his heart sinking. Just as he moved to head that way, an itch caught in his throat, and he broke into a fit of sharp coughing.
He wiped the corner of his mouth, only to find he had coughed up thick black blood, crawling with what seemed to be countless indiscernible tiny black worms.
Among the men around him, one man's arm holding a weapon suddenly dropped to the ground, the severed stump pitch-black as if all flesh and blood had ceased to exist. Others pitched straight forward onto the ground, their bodies inexplicably snapping into several segments. Even more bizarrely, one operative who seemed merely intent on flanking Chen Chuan took a slightly brisker step, and his head tumbled directly off his shoulders.
Still more took just a few steps before freezing solid on the spot, looking like statues frozen in various postures.
Guan Shangjing's breathing grew ragged. His chest felt increasingly stifled, and the strength was steadily draining from his limbs.
If he could see himself right now, he would have noticed black blood oozing from his eye sockets, with tiny black worms squirming in and out.
Just then, the hurried clatter of military boots echoed from the distant plaza, signaling that the main force was advancing. Looking up at Chen Chuan once more, Guan Shangjing drew his saber with a sharp clang.
Yet he did not charge forward. Instead, he dropped to his knees facing the sea, aimed the blade at his neck, and drew it forcefully across. As a spurt of black blood sprayed outward, his head slowly drooped forward.
Chen Chuan glanced at him, then turned his gaze back to the battered Ferris Wheel Company building. With the Ferris wheel fallen, only this lone structure remained standing. Now blanketed in drifting gray flakes like a dilapidated monument, it watched the sea wind surge, carrying the gray dust and cinders toward the rolling ocean tides beyond.
Chapter 592