Hearing Li Xie's words, Counselor Pei remained composed, keeping the same polite smile on his face. "I am sorry, but if I recall correctly, most contamination screenings handled by the Crisis Affairs Center are submitted through our Defense Department. Even if your side made the discovery, it would still require verification and evaluation by our Defense Department.
"After all, we are the ones who face these dangerous matters firsthand.
"As of now, I have not seen any such new contaminant listed in the Defense Department's catalog, so whether such a thing even exists remains to be confirmed. Until then, we do not acknowledge it. If your side has any objections, you may first submit a discovery and verification report to the Defense Department."
With that, he lifted his wrist to check his watch. "Excuse us, but we have official business to attend to and cannot linger here. Please clear the corridor and do not obstruct our passage."
Li Xie cursed silently at how thorny the situation was. Still, he did not want to give up so easily. Their main objective today was to hold this group outside, which meant dragging things out as long as possible.
Yet just as he was about to speak, Captain Lyu stepped up from behind. Lyu reached out and shoved Li Xie aside with a sweep of his hand, sending him staggering.
"Cut the bullshit! To hell with your Crisis Affairs Center! Where the fuck were you when I was putting my life on the line at the front? Now that I'm back, you have the nerve to inspect me? Get the hell out of my way!"
The moment Lyu made a move, the armed personnel instantly grew tense, their hands darting to the holsters at their waists. That gesture alone caused dangerous glints to flare in the eyes of the squad members who had just returned from the Confluence.
Seeing this, Li Xie panicked and shouted, "Stand down! Nobody move!" He raised both hands to show he had no hostile intent and ordered his men, "Clear the path. Let them pass."
He knew very well that these armed guards were merely ordinary security personnel. They stood no chance against combatants who had just come back from a battlefield. If a clash truly broke out, they would be wiped out in minutes.
They had only come here to go through the motions of procedure. If the other side agreed, there was one way to handle it; if they refused, there were other measures to take. There was no need for him to stick his neck out—that was not his job.
Once Li Xie cleared the way, no one bothered him further. Everyone knew he was merely a subordinate following orders.
Counselor Pei signaled for the Defense Department guards present to step in and separate the two groups, then nodded toward Chen Chuan and the others.
Chen Chuan returned the nod, straightened the brim of his hat, and led everyone toward the exit bathed in bright daylight above.
Li Xie watched them leave. Once the Defense Department guards had departed as well, he swiftly touched his boundary credential and spoke to the other end: "Mr. Yan, they refused the screening. Everyone has now exited through the corridor."
"Understood." The other side dropped that single line and promptly terminated the call.
***
When Chen Chuan and his group reached the outside, Defense Department vehicles were already waiting. He took a seat inside an extended armored vehicle. Only after the car set off did he find time to check the messages on his boundary credential, which was flooded with dense notifications and communiqués.
Two of them stood out. He opened the first to listen to a voice message: "Greetings, Supervisor Chen. We are the Coast Legal Office. We have been retained by the Consortium delegation to formally accuse you of attacking delegation members who entered the Confluence during the operation..."
He swiped it away before finishing and tapped on the other message.
It was a diplomatic letter submitted to the Foreign Affairs Department by the Linax diplomatic mission, claiming that a new eyewitness had surfaced in the attack and murder case involving their personnel, and requesting his cooperation and dialogue.
After reviewing them, he immediately tapped his boundary credential and contacted Gao Ming.
"Cousin, you're back?"
"Just arrived," Chen Chuan said. "There are two matters I need you to handle for me first." He forwarded the two notices and attorney letters.
Gao Ming said, "Leave it to me, Cousin."
"Stay safe during this period," Chen Chuan cautioned.
Gao Ming caught his drift at once. "Understood. I'll handle communications with them strictly through the boundary credential."
Chen Chuan nodded. After ending the call, he tapped his boundary credential again. "Andun, report on the situation since my departure. Focus on the main points, and give me the specifics of what happened over the last day or two."
Andun promptly provided a concise overview of recent developments, then transitioned quickly to the present. It detailed the chain of events that had unfolded today, mentioning that the long-absent Wang Weiguang had had his charges dismissed and had returned to the bureau with a group of men.
Hearing this, a faint glint flashed in Chen Chuan's eyes. "Head back to the Disposal Bureau first."
***
Meanwhile, at an intersection ahead, more than a dozen armored vehicles sat parked across the road. Yan Zhiwen of the Crisis Affairs Center sat inside the command vehicle, his boundary credential displaying the approaching convoy.
He issued an order. Several armored vehicles surged forward from the flank, sealing off the junction. Heavily armed elite operatives disembarked with live ammunition, raising their weapons and aiming directly ahead.
Yan Zhiwen pushed open his door and stepped down alone, walking to the front of the entire blockade.
Inside Chen Chuan's convoy, a voice broadcast through everyone's boundary credentials: "This is the Emergency Deployment Squad of the Crisis Affairs Center. You have been detected as unscreened personnel returning from the Confluence. For the security of Center City, please step out of your vehicles immediately and follow us to the center for screening.
"If you fail to comply, we will employ coercive measures."
Over the comms, Captain Lyu remarked, "Supervisor, Captain Xu, it's Yan Zhiwen. The Municipal Council's pet dog."
Lyu had never liked Yan Zhiwen, a man who threw his weight around under the Council's backing. But personal dislike aside, he respected the man's strength. Anyone valued and entrusted with major responsibilities by the Municipal Council was by no means simple.
Xu Chan's voice came through Chen Chuan's boundary credential: "Supervisor, Yan Zhiwen is an old acquaintance of mine. Let me handle this."
Chen Chuan said calmly, "Old Xu, feel free to act. I will take full responsibility for whatever follows."
Xu Chan gave an affirmative hum. Ever since he had boarded the martial artist's airship and stepped off the train, he had harbored some guesses. Hearing Chen Chuan's words gave him complete reassurance.
He pushed the car door open and stepped out. The three squad captains and the remaining members followed suit. All of them wore protective uniforms, many with visors concealing their faces, exuding a chilling, formidable presence.
Yan Zhiwen ignored the others, fixing his gaze solely on the figure walking toward him. "Xu Chan?"
Xu Chan looked at him. "Yan Zhiwen, clear the road now, and you still have a chance."
Yan Zhiwen said expressionlessly, "Captain Xu, please cooperate with our investigation. The security of Center City takes precedence over everything else. The Crisis Affairs Center must answer to all Center City citizens. If you refuse the screening, I will have the authority under the security handling regulations ratified between the Municipal Council and the Government Affairs Hall to enforce compulsory measures against you. Please consider your decision carefully."
Xu Chan said nothing more. Reaching down to his waist, he whipped out a rapier with a single flick, then snapped his arm to flick the blade outward to his side. At the same time, a faint gleam began to shimmer at the weapon's tip.
Yan Zhiwen's expression darkened. He swiftly drew two long spikes from his waist, their tips similarly pulsing with faint light. He declared sharply, "Xu Chan, you are openly defying the laws of Center City. Therefore, I shall exercise the authority granted to me by Center City."
Xu Chan replied, "I'm giving you the chance."
With that, he snapped his arm and whipped the rapier upward.
Yan Zhiwen raised his hands instantly, clashing his twin spikes against the blade. He was highly experienced: when countering a flexible rapier, he used one spike to intercept the shaft while the other parried the curving tip. His movements were so rapid that both contacts seemed to occur at the exact same instant.
Moreover, having two points of contact allowed him to deliver his spiritual perception power in dual waves into the opponent's weapon. Yet upon contact, he found that Xu Chan had anticipated him completely—spiritual perception power manifested simultaneously at both points.
The instant the rapier met the dual spikes, Xu Chan lunged forward, closing the distance between them in a flash. Both of his fists slammed forward toward Yan Zhiwen, each glowing with a faint sheen of light.
This maneuver was highly unusual. A rapier had superior reach, allowing its wielder to fight from a distance and circle the opponent from outside.
Yan Zhiwen had never expected Xu Chan to close the distance of his own accord. It ran completely counter to Xu Chan's usual combat style of biding his time to find an opening before delivering a decisive blow.
Though startled, his reflexes were razor-sharp. Close-quarters combat was his forte, and he welcomed it. With no time to retract his spikes, he punched forward without hesitation, weapon-gripping fists meeting the charge as faint light flickered across his knuckles.
When their fists collided, the faint glows extinguished simultaneously, followed by the violent crash of their colliding internal forces. A thunderous shockwave erupted, causing the surrounding vehicles to shudder.
The exchange appeared dead even; neither man yielded an inch.
Yet Yan Zhiwen sensed that something was amiss. Suddenly, a cold chill of dread seized him. Under the momentum of the forward rush, Xu Chan's rapier had ridden up along the back of his arm into the air above. Then, driven by some redirected force, it snapped downward in an arc, its faintly glowing tip plunging straight toward his back!
Xu Chan's forward rush had not been aimed at striking him directly, but at pinning his movements while using the forward momentum to whip the rapier overhead!
This was a technique Xu Chan had devised after observing Qi Qianyang's whip forms: the Scorpion Tail Thrust. This was the first time he had ever used it in battle.
Locked in place by Xu Chan's force, Yan Zhiwen could not pull away in time. He could only watch in horror as the rapier's tip whipped down like a lash and struck the back of his head. With a sharp crack, his skull shattered, and the burst of spiritual perception power reduced the brain tissue within to mush.
Chapter 776