Deterrence

Chen Chuan came to a halt at the street corner. Just over two hundred meters ahead, across a wide avenue and a parking lot, stood the main entrance of the Tianshu Gang. The architectural style of the Tianshu Gang leaned toward the old dynasty, featuring upturned eaves, black roof tiles, and vermilion doors. Set above the six-pillared ceremonial archway out front was a bronze plaque adorned with cloud-and-thunder patterns, inscribed with the two characters: "Tianshu." Fully armed security personnel stood guard near the main gate, with patrols circulating inside and out. Gang though it was, the Tianshu Gang operated its own commission and security firm, and those handling security duties were thorough professionals. Beyond the main gate lay a martial arts practice ground capable of holding ten thousand people. At this hour, the plaza was filled with numerous tourists and pedestrians, alongside a crowd of young hopefuls who had come to study combat arts. The Tianshu Gang did not forbid visitors from touring the compound. Down at the foot of the hill, outsiders were free to sightsee as they pleased, while the gang's primary business was training fighters. They cared nothing for your background, cared nothing for your natural talent, and cared even less whether you actually developed any real skill. There was not even a time limit. As long as you paid the fees, they would teach you all kinds of techniques. Because of this, an endless stream of students arrived daily to seek instruction. Only those who proved exceptionally gifted stood a chance of being recruited by the gang's upper echelon. The gang's core fighting force, however, was cultivated entirely in-house. Chen Chuan's gaze extended farther back. Beyond the plaza ran a straight stone mountain path climbing along the central axis from the main entrance, leading all the way up to Changsheng Hall, the primary structure perched atop the peak. The hill rose roughly four hundred meters high, but with his eyesight, he could clearly make out the flamboyant, soaring calligraphy of the plaque that read "Changsheng." From his pocket, he pulled out a polished stone pebble. He held it in his hand and fixed his eyes upon the mountaintop. Turning sideways, he shifted one foot slightly back. Within his body, layer upon layer of mutated tissue twisted and stretched taut, and then, with tremendous force, he hurled the stone upward! A thunderous sonic boom cracked through the air. Accompanied by a piercing, drawn-out shriek, the pebble crossed the street and the parking lot in a flash, surged through the main gate of the Tianshu Gang, zipped over the plaza, and hurtled straight toward the back! Pedestrians on the plaza and along the street instinctively clapped their hands over their ears. The security guards started in fright, swiftly raising their weapons and falling into defensive stances. Yet before any of them could react, the streak cutting through the air had already shot up the mountain path. Shrubs, loose gravel on both sides, and even the fine dust suspended in the air were violently kicked up by the rushing shockwave. Wherever the projectile passed, the atmosphere seemed torn open into an invisible tunnel. As the wake blasted past the first structure on the hillside, windowpanes rattled violently, and several cracked apart, shattering to the ground in a noisy shower of glass. The servants inside were alarmed, clutching their ears and looking about in confusion, having no idea what had happened. Several fighters in the middle of training stopped as well, searching around in shock and uncertainty for the source of the disturbance. All they saw behind the pavilion hall were countless scorched leaves swirling in spinning rings of debris, faintly tracing an invisible trajectory climbing higher up the mountain. By then, the pebble had already arrived before Changsheng Hall. It grazed the roof tiles above the plaque, neatly plowing a furrow that flanged outward as broken tiles burst in all directions, before finally shooting into the open-air main chamber. *Clack.* Yu Hongming reached out his hand and caught the pebble firmly. His thick white eyebrows twitched slightly. He glanced at the field screen, where he could see Chen Chuan standing far below, looking upward as if meeting his gaze. Yue Hongtao, watching the scene via the field screen as well, remarked coldly, "He's greeting us." Yu Hongming nodded. "Very effective." Yue Hongtao sounded somewhat unimpressed. "Just with this single display?" Hurling a pebble from the base of the mountain to this point was hardly difficult. Never mind them—even an averagely capable third-limit fighter could achieve as much. Yu Hongming shook his head. "He *let* me catch it." Saying this, he opened his palm to reveal an intact, unblemished pebble resting quietly in his hand. Yue Hongtao froze at first, then his expression shifted slightly. Indeed, simply throwing a pebble was not difficult, nor was creating destructive force. But to cause the jin infused within it to vanish instantly at the very end, delivering it before them completely undamaged, required more than just physical jin—it demanded the attachment of a certain degree of mental power. To accomplish such a feat, the person had to be a fighter who had thoroughly mastered Mind Jin, and quite possibly possessed strength beyond even that. Yu Hongming looked down at the pebble. It was merely an ordinary polished stone, showing no sign of abrasion whatsoever. It was completely cold, devoid of even a trace of the friction heat generated during its flight. This was an exquisite display of measured control—both a demonstration of might and an admonition to them to mind their limits. He offered heartfelt praise: "Remarkable." Yue Hongtao stared at it for a moment, falling silent. Yu Hongming sighed with feeling. "Who would have thought that after Xu Chan, another such figure would emerge, not even twenty years old yet." He shook his head. "The world today is something I understand less and less." "What is there not to understand?" Yue Hongtao said coldly. "As long as we follow the one steering the helm, we won't stray off course, and we won't fall overboard." Yu Hongming sighed again. "Yet the one steering the helm may not necessarily be the one who reaches the shore." Yue Hongtao did not argue the point with him. They had always differed on this matter, and he had no wish to foster internal friction within the gang. He merely asked, "What do you plan to do?" Yu Hongming said, "Yielding for the time being does no harm. Is there any need to fight over it? What could we possibly gain?" Yue Hongtao snorted. Yu Hongming looked toward the outside. Both of them were old now. Given their fiery temperaments in the past, never mind him, Yue Hongtao would definitely have insisted on stepping forward to contest it. But at their age, things like face, stubborn pride, honor, and disgrace felt utterly meaningless. Over the span of nearly a century, he had witnessed with his own eyes the collapse of the old era and the arrival of the new. He had seen far too many storms and observed countless people and things rise rapidly only to perish just as fast. Nowadays, he could pass along his past experience and insights to the younger generation, but as for taking action himself, he had long since lost the capacity. Chen Chuan waited outside for a long while, but no one ever emerged from the Tianshu Gang, nor was there any movement at all. He withdrew his gaze, turned away, and walked back over to Xu Chan, who was waiting there. "Captain Xu, let us go." Xu Chan said with feeling, "This method is quite good, after all." The gesture amounted to a slap in the face, yet it was subtle enough that anyone below a certain level could not grasp it. However, the two elders would certainly understand their meaning. Now that no one had come to invite them in, nor had there been any retaliation, the gang was choosing to swallow it in silence—which was, in truth, an admission of weakness. Once both men had boarded their respective vehicles, Chen Chuan received a message from Xu Chan through his boundary credential: "Supervisor Chen, I know another good spot. Once I return from the blending ground, I'll treat you again." Chen Chuan agreed. He started up his Jiade car and drove back. On the road, he pulled up the file on Yao Kang of the Government and Legal Affairs Hall, whom Xu Chan had mentioned. At present, a third-limit fighter was indeed leading a team to provide round-the-clock protection. Inside the Government and Legal Affairs Hall, problems were unlikely to occur. The danger lay outside; if someone deliberately targeted him, many situations would be difficult to foresee. After a moment of consideration, Chen Chuan said, "Andun, place this individual under protective monitoring. I want continuous updates on his information. Report any suspicious circumstances to me immediately." "Andun acknowledges." Unlike Xu Chan, as an Investigation Supervisor, Chen Chuan had far more resources at his disposal. He could easily have Andun keep an eye on the matter, which was far more effective than simply deploying manpower. Moreover, monitoring a single person consumed negligible field resources. After returning to Wuding District, he made time to visit Chen Xiaojin to offer further guidance on his training. By roughly three in the afternoon, news finally arrived from the intelligence team. They transmitted a report stating that, based on the underground passages and the traces left by the burrowing worms, they had located several sites suspected of storing high-energy nutrient solution. They had also singled out a few high-priority locations, believing with a high probability that the mother worm was somewhere nearby. After reading the report, Chen Chuan knew the matter needed to be handled as swiftly as possible. He immediately notified Yuan Qiuyuan's trio and the other team members, while having local city security cordoned off the suspect area ahead of time and evacuate the civilians. He arrived at the scene within forty-five minutes, and the other team members reached the location around the same time. Upon arrival, they dispersed immediately according to the operational plan provided by Andun to commence the search. Chen Chuan stood in an open clearing, while Chaoming circled in the sky above. The objective this time was very clear: locate and eliminate the burrowing mother worm. In truth, if it were only the worm itself, the strength of Yuan Qiuyuan and his companions would be more than enough to deal with it. However, it was hard to say whether that unseen "Captain" might make an appearance. That person was bound to be formidable, far beyond what the three of them could handle alone, which was why Chen Chuan had to be present in person. A light drizzle began falling unnoticed from the sky, soon coating the streets in a sheen of wetness. The freshly excavated pit mouths quickly turned into muddy quagmires. While this hampered the search, as combat creatures pushed deeper into the newly discovered tunnels, sounds of activity soon emerged from below. Newly spawned larvae were flushed out one after another and swiftly executed by the experienced team members. This confirmed that they were searching in the right direction; the mother worm was very likely nearby. Chen Chuan monitored the movements in every corner through his boundary credential. Just then, Yuan Qiuyuan's excited voice came through. "Captain, we found something! This looks like a warehouse..." With that, several photographs were transmitted over. Chen Chuan looked them over. From the outside, the place appeared to be a simple residential house with nothing remarkable about it. Upon opening the door, one was greeted by ordinary furniture and domestic arrangements. However, behind a row of flexible plastic door curtains lay an inner partition stacked with cans of high-energy nutrient solution, lining an entire wall from top to bottom. It was clear there had originally been far more, as numerous opened cans had been discarded on the floor, alongside a massive burrow hole gaping in the ground. Having seen the pictures, Chen Chuan immediately pressed his boundary credential and instructed, "Andun, send the combat creatures in to reconnoiter. In addition, run a check on the identity of the homeowner and trace the source of this high-energy nutrient solution."