The Sea Salamander's severed half was swimming swiftly through the seawater.
First, a thin capsule membrane sprouted over its sheared stump, tightly sealing the wound and preventing further loss of internal tissue.
Then, swelling could be seen slowly rising from within. Internal organs, bones, muscles, and all the missing parts rapidly regrew. In just a short while, two slender limbs protruded outward from the bulging mound, rapidly thickening into new legs and feet as the membrane gradually became tough and resilient.
At this rate, in just a few minutes, it would be fully restored.
Yet throughout this process, its body was steadily shrinking, and the shimmering light that had once played across it dimmed considerably. Clearly, this regeneration came at a price.
As its limbs reconstituted, its speed surged once more. But just when it believed it had slipped away from danger, its darting body suddenly jerked to a halt—its tail had been seized in a vice-like grip. Consuming vast amounts of energy to regenerate had left it somewhat sluggish, and by the time it reacted, it was already too late.
Immediately after, an overwhelming, irresistible force took hold, yanking it upward in an instant and breaching the water's surface. Even then, the momentum did not wane, hurling it once more into midair.
The Sea Salamander clearly sensed that this was a moment of mortal peril. Its eyes flushed a violent crimson, and a fierce hissing tore from its throat. Spines sprouted and bulged across the surface of its skin in rapid succession, which it then shuddered to fling downward in a barrage trailed by shimmering plumes of light.
Yet these seemingly menacing projectiles were actually feeble. As they struck the figure below, every single one was intercepted by an outer layer of platinum radiance, swiftly dissolving and disintegrating within it.
Chen Chuan stood atop the sea, luminous vapor swirling around him. With his blade held loosely at his side, his demeanor was entirely composed. Watching the Sea Salamander soaring aloft, he raised his blade and slashed upward in a feint.
This strike was merely an empty gesture; no actual force was released.
Yet the Sea Salamander above, seeing the motion, was gripped by the terrifying memory of the previous slash. Its entire body snapped taut, desperately converging the wisps of luminous haze radiating from its flesh into the path of the swing. In doing so, however, the defenses guarding the rest of its body grew momentarily thin.
Right at that moment, accompanied by a sharp whoosh, a tiny, glittering prismatic object shot in from the flank, punching straight through the side of its cranium. Upon entry it made only a small puncture, but as it spun and tumbled violently within, it burst out the other side and blew open a gaping cavity, nearly tearing away half its skull while spewing out a torrent of tissue and fluid.
The creature's massive bulk jerked violently several times before going limp. Plummeting from the sky with a heavy splash, it slammed onto the surface of the sea, sending waves of spray surging into the air.
Chen Chuan looked down at the Sea Salamander floating on the water, the luster faded from its ocular membranes. He could sense that a tenacious vitality still lingered within its flesh. With the powerful beating of its heart, the blasted-open cranium was actually slowly knitting itself back together.
This time, he did not intend to destroy it outright. Since this active conscious entity was not a pollutant, it could be preserved as evidence. As for incinerating the other half earlier, that had been a precaution against any unpredictable developments occurring while he pursued this one.
Observing these shifts, he pondered to himself. The Consortium's active conscious entities truly represented an impressive level of technology; no wonder nations around the world could rely on such things to maintain control over Center Cities.
After all, when fighting him, this creature had relied solely on physical instinct without drawing out its true potential. Moreover, it was a forcibly matured specimen. If it were allowed to grow fully or learn enough, its combat prowess would be far greater than this.
Even going by the strength it had demonstrated just now, it had met its match only because it was facing him—someone capable of using spiritual shock and other techniques to quickly shatter its outer high-energy field defenses before delivering concentrated lethal strikes. Had another martial artist taken his place, they might not have subdued it so quickly, and the beast might well have escaped.
Underwater, the creature possessed an even greater advantage. Lurking in the ocean depths, it could never be dealt with in one fell swoop, and if it carried out sporadic hit-and-run raids on land later, the devastation wrought upon Center City would be unimaginable.
Bending down, he grabbed the creature by hand, glanced at the sky, and pushed off with his feet. A towering wave exploded across the surface of the sea as he vaulted into the air. With another step against empty air, he surged across a vast distance with a booming shock. A short while later, another thunderous boom echoed across the water as he retraced his path back.
Direct flight would expend a tremendous amount of energy and was entirely unnecessary, whereas treading through the air with the aid of his field was far easier. The energy consumption was comparatively light—though it created quite a racket and was not necessarily much faster than running on land, it offered the supreme advantage of ignoring terrain altogether.
***
Meanwhile, Mr. Chi had finally boarded the overhauled submarine and navigated out through the undersea tunnel. Running at full-power mode this time, he had no need to care about wear and tear for future use, making the vessel far faster than when it had deployed earlier.
He had also donned an external implant diving suit and ingested pressure-resistant medication, allowing him to abandon ship and flee at any moment should the submarine run into trouble.
Over an hour later, the submarine intercepted a ferry, and he was brought aboard. It was an ordinary ferry that regularly plied these waters, typically carrying cargo north toward Yuanwang Port.
This time, he planned to hide in the cargo hold and head north first, laying low in a safehouse there for a while before finding a way back to the Linax Federation.
Yet not long after boarding, he was seized in the iron grip of two powerful arms. At the same time, an invasive force penetrated throughout his entire body, paralyzing him so thoroughly that he could not even move his eyes.
A moment later, however, Mr. Chi's body went completely limp, his head lolling forward. The operative restraining him changed countenance. After a thorough inspection, the operative left with a somber expression, heading straight to the cabin to have the telegraph operator transmit an outgoing message.
In the subterranean zone of Jiyang District, the telegraph operator received the report and rushed immediately to Commissioner Cao's office. "Commissioner, the target lost all vital signs on the spot."
Commissioner Cao showed no expression. Taking the telegram and glancing over it, he said, "Understood. Tell them to bring the corpse back intact."
"Yes, sir."
Commissioner Cao looked down at his desk, where detailed files on every member of the Consortium delegation lay spread out. Mr. Chi had been one of his primary targets of interest.
The man's sudden death was actually within expectations. Corporate representatives privy to classified secrets carried specialized implants, and possibly even spiritual bodies attached by the company's martial artists; once confronted with an inescapable threat of capture, the mechanism would instantly end their lives.
There was no hope of squeezing concrete intelligence out of such a person, but that did not matter—the man himself possessed value. While it was currently impossible to take action against Yuanren Company or the Consortium directly, this corpse could be used as a hook to trace the domestic tendrils entwined with them and pull them up by the roots!
***
In Weiguang District, within the Council Building, Speaker Quan sat inside his office, flanked by frantic assistants and tense security personnel.
The assistants were drenched in cold sweat. Their boundary credentials were dead, phone lines did not connect, and telegrams could not be sent. Just moments ago, the armed perimeter guards had collapsed, and large numbers of armed operatives were breaching inward.
Just then, another assistant rushed in, crying out in panic, "Speaker, it's the Disposal Bureau! They've gone mad! They're locking down the Council Building and arresting council members!"
Speaker Quan, however, grew calm at this moment. In a deep voice, he said, "They haven't gone mad. They are merely doing what they have always wanted to do." Gazing through the glass curtain wall, he remarked softly, "It seems we've lost after all."
His personal bodyguard, Wu Mian, walked in from outside at that moment. Stepping before him, he spoke steadily: "Speaker, the Disposal Bureau has deployed top-tier elites this time. Even with the defensive terrain advantage, the forces inside the building can hold out for ten minutes at most. I will escort you out through the escape passage."
Speaker Quan looked around at them. Seeing every eye in the room fixed upon him, he gave it thought and nodded. "Let us leave, then. Take my private elevator."
Wu Mian stepped up to support him by the arm. "Speaker, pardon me." Lifting him slightly, he swiftly exited the hall and arrived before the private elevator, where six security guards were waiting.
After passing a field verification, everyone boarded the elevator. Once engaged, the cab plunged rapidly into the subterranean depths along this concealed, reinforced safety shaft.
Upon reaching a certain level, the elevator doors slid open to reveal a secret passageway. Crouched on either side with their backs turned were two tall, humanoid external implants. Their surfaces displayed textures resembling muscle fibers, with bone-like structures providing support and armor over the joints and vital points.
Speaker Quan had purchased these at great expense from Yuanren Company, custom-made for himself and Wu Mian. This external implant was the furthest extent of implantation he was willing to accept.
As the two approached, the two external implants automatically detected their matching life fields, and the spines slowly split open.
Speaker Quan cast aside his cane and stepped forward. Enduring a wave of nausea, he opened his mouth and watched a vascular tube slide into his oral cavity. With Wu Mian's assistance, he climbed into the chassis, and the fissure slowly sealed shut behind him.
He stood upright, instantly transformed into a figure over two meters tall, his legs and feet suddenly full of vigorous mobility.
Wu Mian had also donned his external implant by then. Layers upon layers encased him; unlike Speaker Quan's, however, his was not designed for mobility assistance, but purely for combat. Threads of energetic radiance flowed across its surface—high-energy nutrients injected within, capable of vastly enhancing his combat power.
Equipped with this, he was confident he could break through and asked, "Speaker, where to? White Bird District?"
Speaker Quan's buzzing voice issued from within the implant chassis: "Not White Bird District. It should be under lockdown by now. We are going to the Melded Lands."
Chapter 914