Arrival

Just as Wei Dong and Wu Han broke free from the trap, over at the martial arts gym in Shenwei District, Lu Fang was instructing students when his boundary credential suddenly chimed, followed by a conspicuous notification prompt. Puzzled, he paused and checked it, discovering that he had received a notice from the municipal administration department. The notice informed him that the land on which the gym stood was public property, where unauthorized construction or unapproved commercial activities of any kind were strictly prohibited. They were given a deadline of one day to vacate the premises and were required to pay back taxes and fines accumulated over the past six years; after that single day, law enforcement personnel would arrive to carry out forced eviction. Upon receiving this notice, Lu Fang immediately realized how thorny the situation was and hurriedly contacted the two seniors who were out. After getting in touch, he learned that he was not the only one to receive the notice—both seniors had received it as well. Within an hour, they rushed back one after the other. Both men were frowning deeply. They found it utterly baffling and incomprehensible. After all, the gym was situated in the neglected "undercity," wedged in the crevices between the city's towering skyscrapers—an area excluded from municipal administration, where people with formal citizen status would not spare so much as a second glance in normal times. The municipal administration department likely had no idea such a place even existed, yet had gone out of its way to issue an official notice directly to them. The whole thing seemed absurd, so they naturally began to doubt its authenticity. Could someone be deliberately targeting them? Or was it a prank by some resonist? Senior Yu turned to Lu Fang. "Junior, can you ask that friend of yours to check on this?" Lu Fang nodded. He stepped aside and contacted Number Thirteen, who had now taken the name Shi Yi. Once the call connected, he said, "Little Shi, something just came up here at the gym..." He briefly explained the situation, then added, "Can you trace where this notice originated?" Shi Yi replied, "Brother Lu, give me a moment. I'll trace the source of the message for you." After waiting about ten minutes, Shi Yi's reply arrived: "Brother Lu, the message really did come from the municipal administration department, but right now I can't trace which specific branch. However, there are no administrative notices indicating that the gym or surrounding area is being requisitioned, and the message was directed solely at the gym." Hearing this, Lu Fang was surprised at first, but then seemed to realize something. "Alright. Thank you, Little Shi." He walked back to the two seniors and explained the situation. "So it's aimed specifically at us?" Senior Yu was baffled. Senior Guo also searched his memory, wondering if he had offended some prominent figure while taking on commissions recently. That was certainly possible, but no matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind. Yet now that it was confirmed someone from the municipal administration department was targeting them, there was truly no way they could keep running the gym. If nothing else, sending a single law enforcement squad would be enough to drive them out and confiscate the building. If they dared to resist, they would instantly be branded as wanted criminals. They had been striving all these years to obtain formal citizen status. If they became wanted fugitives, that dream would be all but hopeless. Senior Guo pondered for a moment, walked aside, and seemed to contact someone else. After a short while, he returned and said, "I just asked Boss Hao and his people. They said someone originally tried to hire them to vandalize our gym, but because he felt we got along well, he didn't agree." Senior Yu scoffed internally. While these gangs claimed to value loyalty, claiming they refused out of good relations was pure nonsense. They simply did not dare to make a move because they knew they could not beat the gym instructors in a fight. Even so, this proved that someone was deliberately targeting them and did not care if they found out—and that person was very likely from the municipal administration department. Senior Guo said in a heavy voice, "Boss Hao said that if our gym gets confiscated, they can provide a place for us to teach." Then he shook his head. Doing that would mean living under someone else's roof. When the gang got into trouble later on, would they help or not? Could they really remain uninvolved? The other side had made a shrewd calculation: by merely offering a venue, they could tie all three of them directly to the gang. Senior Yu felt stifled and frustrated. They had fought and scraped here for over five years, going on six. Forcing them to give up now was something he could never accept. On top of demanding they leave, they were also ordered to pay back taxes and fines—where could they possibly get that kind of money? Right then, an idea struck him. He looked up at Lu Fang and said, "Junior Lu, you're close with Junior Chen, and he seems to hold a high position in the Disposal Bureau. He should carry some weight, right? Do you think we could seek his help with this?" Lu Fang thought it over, then nodded. "I'll talk to Junior Chen." Under ordinary circumstances, he would never dream of bothering Chen Chuan with something like this. But Chen Chuan had specifically told him to stay alert these days and notify him immediately if anything happened. Besides, given the current situation, he worried the other side was not merely trying to evict them from the gym, but had further moves planned. He immediately raised his hand to his boundary credential. Just then, however, it occurred to him that this might also involve internal political struggles within the municipal administration department. So he lowered his hand, choosing not to call Chen Chuan directly, but instead sent a voice message. Chen Chuan was currently waiting for the outcome at the residence. Hearing the incoming message chime, he checked its contents and instantly knew this situation had to be instigated by the people from the Grey Shell Agency. It seemed anyone who had frequent contact or close ties with him was currently facing suppression and pressure. He sent a reply to Lu Fang: "No need to worry. If all goes smoothly, it will be resolved past noon." After sending it, he checked the time on his boundary credential: 10:19 AM. Just over an hour remained until noon. Right as he sent the message, a giant white airship sailed in all the way from the continent's hinterlands, arriving just outside Center City. Yet this airship did not enter the city; instead, it hovered motionless in the airspace beyond the perimeter. The pure white envelope gleamed strikingly beneath the sun, adorned with several minimalist silver lines that faintly traced the contours of a face with closed eyes, striking awe and dread into anyone who looked upon it. With the arrival of this airship, the entire upper echelon of Center City seemed to be thrown into an uproar. The Government Affairs Hall and the Municipal Council immediately dispatched personnel toward the airship to initiate contact. At the same time, the density of field communication within the city jumped by an entire order of magnitude, and waves of emergency radio signals radiated outward in all directions from Jibei Dao. Simultaneously, the military forces in Jiyang District received alert orders, while large numbers of security personnel began converging toward Weiguang District. The active conscious entities of various international corporations were also activated, warily observing the unfolding situation. Half an hour later, the liaisons sent by airship finally relayed their report back, and Center City's upper leadership convened an emergency meeting without delay. This meeting was unprecedentedly efficient; a decision was reached in a mere ten-odd minutes. Immediately after, a team of functionaries rushed to the Disposal Bureau at top speed. Because prior arrangements had been made, the group encountered no obstacles and directly brought Ji Xinmin and his two companions out of the holding cells. Ji Xinmin and the other two looked quite relaxed as they emerged. Although they had been locked up, none of them had ever doubted they would be released. Though nothing had seemed to happen over the past few days, legal counsel had come and gone continuously, keeping their contact with the outside unbroken. They knew pressure was still being applied to that supervisor; similar incidents had occurred in the past, and no one had ever held out for very long. In their view, today was just about time for the whole ordeal to end. When they saw that the person who had arrived was a man wearing sunglasses with a sharply defined jawline, their expressions turned to one of "just as expected." This was the Grey Shell Affairs Agency's liaison responsible for communicating with higher authorities. For a figure of such weight to appear, things outside really must have shifted. The three sat down with easy expressions. One of them even found the leisure to joke, "Mister Lin, over such a minor matter, why trouble yourself to come in person? A single phone call letting us walk out on our own would have been enough, wouldn't it?" Mister Lin's face behind the sunglasses revealed no emotion. He reached out, took a document from the legal counsel behind him, and pushed it across to the three men. "Certain procedures still must be observed. Sign here." The three smiled. This was presumably the paperwork for their release. So what if they had been detained? Weren't they being let out just the same? They pulled the documents closer. At first they were rather nonchalant, but upon seeing the contents, they froze. Drawing the papers right up to their eyes, shock, rage, and disbelief washed over their faces. One of them slammed the document heavily onto the table and growled, "Mister Lin, what is the meaning of this?" Ji Xinmin's brow furrowed tightly as well, his eyes fixed on Mister Lin. "Mister Lin, what does this mean?" Mister Lin looked at him and said, "It means exactly what it says." Ji Xinmin stared at him, his fists clenching tight on the desk. "I want an explanation." "An explanation?" Mister Lin took off his sunglasses, revealing cold, indifferent eyes. "Why didn't you inform the faction before acting? Why take matters into your own hands?" Ji Xinmin drew a breath and said, "I think you should know very well that we received a call from that lord earlier. It was his instruction for us to do this." Mister Lin pointed his sunglasses at him. "Watch what you say. This matter was solely your own unauthorized decision." He gestured toward the three documents on the desk. "Sign them. This is the will of the faction, and it is the best possible outcome. Your families will be protected. If you're unwilling, I can help you." Furious and bewildered, Ji Xinmin demanded angrily, "Why? Is a mere Investigation Supervisor really worth such fear from all of you?" "An Investigation Supervisor?" Mister Lin let out a sigh. Leaning forward, he fixed an intense glare on the three of them. "Do you have any idea? Two martial artists from the Purist Faction are currently aboard the airship outside Center City." Veins bulged on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. "Two martial artists—do you even know what that means? Right now, the fucking high-ranking officials from the Government Affairs Hall and the council members are all staring at me! The faction's high command even sent a telegram ordering me to settle this properly! "And more importantly, the Purist Faction obtained evidence. Evidence, understand?! You three idiots! "If this isn't resolved within the time limit they set, an all-out clash could erupt between our two factions—it could even lead to war! "You three dying is the best possible outcome!" …… ……