Aftermath

More than half an hour later, vehicles drove into the tunnel one after another, followed by the sound of dense footsteps. Personnel from the Disposal Bureau and city security had finally arrived. When the teams approached and entered the cavernous expanse of the tunnel, they saw Chen Chuan sitting on a concrete pedestal with his long saber resting across his lap. At the same time, they saw the corpse embedded in the bloody crater. Their breath caught involuntarily, and with solemn reverence, they saluted him. "Supervisor!" Chen Chuan stood up, returned the salute, and instructed them, "Proceed according to protocol." "Yes, sir!" The crowd immediately dispersed, cordoning off the scene and rolling in high-powered floodlights to illuminate the surroundings. Beyond thoroughly examining Fan Mo's corpse, they also roughly roused the surrounding gang members one by one for interrogation. Once the inspection was complete, they promptly reported the findings to Chen Chuan. A layer of light brown substance had been discovered on Fan Mo's skin. It looked like greasepaint, but testing revealed it was actually a specialized explosive that would detonate when triggered by a specific frequency. Besides that, the man carried several items that could not currently be identified; given the limited conditions at the scene, they planned to take them back to the bureau for further examination. Chen Chuan looked at the photographs taken on site and noticed that the greasepaint formed patterns. Although the inspection team had failed to discern anything meaningful, he could recognize that they appeared to be esoteric ritual patterns. Moreover, they were rather ancient and traditional. After a moment's thought, he ordered a rubbing to be made and sent to the Esoteric Cult Inspection Bureau to see if anything useful could be uncovered. At the same time, he instructed the information team to trace Fan Mo's residual field and the tracks he had left behind to locate his previous foothold and where he had stayed, if at all possible. If that location could be found, it would likely yield further leads. If they could subsequently uncover direct evidence tying back to Lianwei Heavy Control Company, handling matters going forward would become much simpler. Once things here were mostly settled, he took a car out of the Lower City. During the ride, he used a cloth to wipe down the Xuejun Saber again. Now he finally appreciated the benefits of having a superior weapon. In combat, it truly gave him an enormous edge. Setting aside how it could absorb an enemy's heart jin, that was merely its defensive merit. Weapons, after all, were meant for slaying foes, so their true worth lay on the offensive end. For instance, with a staff in hand, Talu's strength surged noticeably. If the Xuejun Saber could allow his jin to unleash even greater power, the boost to his combat strength went without saying. Previously, he had focused his efforts primarily on unarmed jin, but weapon arts could not be neglected either. As for saber jin, he possessed the heavy slash saber jin that Cheng Zitong had found for him. It was considered an entry-level saber jin, but the technique had its ceiling and could only mobilize a limited amount of mutated tissue. As time passed, it had begun to fall behind his current level. Thus, he intended to develop a new technique tailored to the characteristics of his own combat and jin, ideally one that could integrate seamlessly with his unarmed jin. Sitting back in his seat, he pondered silently for a while, and a few ideas began to take shape in his mind. At that moment, the surroundings suddenly brightened as the car emerged from the tunnel onto the surface. He glanced upward. Chaoming had been circling overhead the entire time; upon seeing him emerge, it let out a sharp cry. Just then, an inspector's voice came through his boundary credential: "Supervisor, as per your orders, we checked all the locations flagged by Andun, and we did disarm explosives in several places. "According to the tests, these are customized explosives that have undergone specialized treatment. Once the safety mechanism is disengaged, any rapid vibration or loud sound wave generated nearby will detonate them." Chen Chuan asked, "Has the origin of the bombs been traced?" "We are tracing their source, but we can basically confirm that the primary materials used to manufacture the explosives did not originate from Jibei Dao." Chen Chuan gave an affirmative hum. He knew the investigation wouldn't yield much. Lianwei Heavy Control was, after all, a transport and security corporation; acquiring such materials under the table was child's play for them. When dealing with major corporations, checkpoint personnel at the border inspections were far from strict, not to mention there were countless other channels to smuggle things in. He instructed, "Run several more sweeps. Make sure not a single explosive is left behind." "Understood!" Six hours later, at the Lianwei Heavy Control branch office. Yang Ling sat alone in the cavernous office, her hands braced on the high seat, toes dangling slightly above the floor. Only when she was by herself did she abandon that rigid, proper posture, revealing how someone of her true age actually behaved. Outside, a gentle drizzle was falling. She watched the rainwater streak across the glass curtain wall, slowly carving paths only to be joined by new rivulets. She watched the water trails wash across her reflection in the glass, blurring her silhouette bit by bit. Beep, beep, beep... A sharp prompt sounded from her boundary credential. She immediately stood up from the chair and turned toward the office entrance. The door opened from the outside, and the female assistant walked in, coming to a halt before her and bowing slightly. "Miss." Yang Ling looked at her without speaking. The assistant picked up a telegram and handed it to her. "A telegram from headquarters." Yang Ling took the telegram. The assistant said, "Captain Fan's implant resonance object lost contact several hours ago, and his handler has also lost all communication with him. "According to intelligence sent by the handler, he had previously laid plans to ambush Investigation Supervisor Chen Chuan. The last report received stated that he was shaking off pursuers. Five hours ago, Supervisor Chen returned to the Disposal Bureau. "Although no definitive confirmation has come from the Disposal Bureau yet, they carried back a body. Synthesizing reports from various channels, we can conclude that the corpse is Captain Fan. "Thus, this dispatched armed team no longer exists. "We have already transmitted our analysis report to headquarters via covert radio, and headquarters has issued new instructions. They require our branch to commit no internal mistakes during this period, give the enemy no exploitable openings, and await the arrival of replacement personnel." Yang Ling put down the telegram and said, "I understand." "Miss," the assistant said, "having lost the other dispatched team, our departure overseas may need to be adjusted. It is inadvisable for you to leave before the team provided by head office arrives." Yang Ling said seriously, "Then the company's business here would likely have to be abandoned. Moreover, we have already completed our preparations. If we suddenly call off the plan, it will only draw greater vigilance and suspicion from the Disposal Bureau." Seeing her persistence, the assistant remarked, "Miss makes a fair point. However, if headquarters cannot dispatch reinforcements in time, then Miss must shoulder her due obligations rather than keep her focus here." Yang Ling gave a silent nod. "I hope Miss can understand. Everything is for the company." With that, the assistant bowed and turned to leave. Left alone, Yang Ling stood in place and looked back at her reflection on the glass wall, against the backdrop of towering skyscrapers submerged in the gray rain. After concluding his official business, Chen Chuan returned to his residence in Wuding District. A portion of the seized high-energy nutrient solution had already been transferred here. Looking at the cans of nutrient solution that had already been opened and neatly arranged on the floor, he drew the Xuejun Saber and pointed it toward them. At first, nothing happened. But after a brief wait, wisps and strands of luminous mist began to seep from the blade, drifting down toward the high-energy nutrient solutions. The nutrient solutions were swiftly drawn into the luminous mist, dwindling at a remarkably rapid pace. He could sense that the mutated tissue inside the Xuejun Saber was becoming exceedingly active, showing an exceptionally high affinity for this batch of nutrient solution. After all, even Fumu required high-energy nutrient solution to maintain its prolonged existence; it was hardly surprising that the entity within the Xuejun Saber, which shared similarities with it, welcomed this sustenance. Nevertheless, high-energy nutrient solutions came in various grades and types. What Fumu used was undoubtedly different from what he had seen before, likely possessing far greater potency, though that was not something he could acquire. After a little over ten minutes, all the nutrient solutions on the ground had been absorbed, and the Xuejun Saber lapsed into a brief slumber. It seemed it would take some time to digest everything. Yet this was a good thing. Every time the Xuejun Saber finished digesting, it showed some degree of improvement. He looked forward to seeing its performance next. Sheathing the Xuejun Saber, he checked the report the inspectors had just sent over, which basically confirmed Fan Mo's identity. With that established, he pulled up the summary report he had drafted earlier, made a few additions, and submitted it. With this, the Lianwei Heavy Control squad originally intended to enter the Melded Land had essentially been wiped out. Although Lianwei Heavy Control could send more people, various factions would enter the Melded Land one after another over the coming days. They would already miss the initial window—and in matters like this, seizing the initiative was paramount. Unless they had branch personnel take over the assignment. But two Black Steel-tier fighters, while perhaps formidable elsewhere, would likely be useless in the contest for relics. Even though the branch possessed an active conscious entity, it was currently nothing more than an embryo. Even as this thought occurred to him, something clicked. He felt as though something had been overlooked. He pondered for a moment, immediately pulled up a report, and summoned Andun. "Andun, are the quantity and energy-supply grade of high-energy nutrient solution reported by Lianwei Heavy Control normal?" Andun responded: "Supervisor Chen, nutrient solutions used to cultivate the growth of active conscious entities are typically formulated internally by corporations. The energy-supply grade is classified, and under our protocol, we cannot pry into it. "Taking average energy-supply grades as a reference, if one were cultivating a small-to-medium active consciousness, this quantity would be normal. However, Lianwei Heavy Control's active conscious entity is merely an embryo, making this quantity somewhat high. "That said, Lianwei Heavy Control may also be preparing in advance. Prices for high-energy nutrient solutions are currently climbing steadily, and various corporations are stockpiling them, so preparing a supply ahead of time falls within reasonable operational parameters." Chen Chuan thought it through carefully. An idea forming in his mind, he said, "I understand. Andun, connect me to Director Wu."