"The convergence zone..."
Wu Mian cautioned gravely, "Speaker, the Government Affairs Hall couldn't have moved against us without the garrison's cooperation. The nearest passage to the convergence zone is almost certainly blocked. Even if we reach the other side, we'll likely be targeted by armed garrison forces."
"A blockade is guaranteed."
Speaker Quan strode down the corridor and said, "However, there is a fissure here in the building that leads straight to the convergence zone. We can evacuate through it."
Hardly anyone in the council knew this fissure existed, so there was no possibility of troops waiting to seal off the exit on the other side. Furthermore, the fissure only permitted a single crossing; once they reached the convergence zone, they would have no cause to fear anyone pursuing them from behind.
While entering the convergence zone would inevitably mean dodging garrison search parties, both the Fusion and Pure Refinement factions possessed significant influence there. As Speaker, he still held strategic value. Once across, both factions would surely do everything they could to ensure his safety.
Hearing this, hope surged through everyone around him, and they quickened their pace along the corridor.
Supported by his external implant, Speaker Quan moved with astonishing speed. After sprinting for just over thirty seconds, a corner appeared ahead. Once past it, they would reach the fissure. But right at that moment, Wu Mian, flanking him, suddenly sensed something and thrust out a hand to pull Speaker Quan back.
Before the others could understand why, a resounding crash shattered the air ahead. The wall was violently blown open, sending dust, rubble, and concrete fragments bursting outward to shower across the floor.
Light spilled in through the breach, illuminating the figure of a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of a Disposal Bureau supervisor. The man surveyed the corridor and spoke calmly: "Speaker Quan, you cannot escape. Save yourself the trouble and stay here. It would be far more dignified."
"Xu Chan?"
The ocular modules of Wu Mian's external implant contracted slightly. He barked, "Stop him!"
Every security operative raised their weapons at once. Gunfire erupted violently within the corridor, sending a dense hail of bullets sweeping toward the breach.
Wu Mian had no intention of engaging Xu Chan directly. Grabbing Speaker Quan, he hauled him past the opening and sprinted toward the far end of the passageway.
Yet they had taken only a few paces when the auxiliary sensory modules at the back of Wu Mian's head picked up an invisible shockwave tearing out from the breach. Like an exploding bomb, it hurled the security guards violently against the walls and ceiling, stripping them of all combat capability in the blink of an eye.
Xu Chan stepped through and turned toward them.
The remaining two guards trailing Speaker Quan raised their weapons to fire, but Wu Mian held them back with an outstretched arm. "Take the Speaker and go. I'll hold him off."
Without a word, the two guards immediately escorted Speaker Quan away.
Wu Mian rolled his shoulders and advanced toward Xu Chan. Standing nearly three meters tall, his external implant radiated an overwhelming presence within the cramped hallway.
"Xu Chan," he said, "I've wanted to test your skills for a long time." Despite his words, he knew the man before him was likely the Disposal Bureau's most formidable investigation supervisor since Chen Chuan's promotion. He dared not take this lightly.
Xu Chan looked at him. "Wu Mian?"
"That's me!"
Xu Chan nodded. "I know of you. You're a man of principles. You only took the job to protect Quan Zengming, refused countless unreasonable demands, and never joined the others in their corrupt schemes. You still have a son and a daughter at home, don't you? You're merely an employee. Surrender your resistance. There is no need to walk a path doomed to failure."
Wu Mian fell silent for a moment before replying, "I remain loyal to my professional ethics, just as you remain loyal to your duty."
Xu Chan said nothing more. He surged forward in a straight line, driving a fist directly at Wu Mian's face—a deceptively simple strike, yet blisteringly fast.
Wu Mian barely had time to react. The narrow corridor left little room to maneuver, but the external implant amplified his reflexes and physical strength, allowing him to dodge the blow by a hair's breadth. He managed to evade Xu Chan's next two punches in rapid succession, but found no opening to retaliate and could only retreat. Yet he was still a fraction too slow. When Xu Chan's low kick swept in, Wu Mian knew he couldn't dodge in time and hastily crossed his arms to block.
With a thunderous boom, an irresistible force sent Wu Mian flying backward into the adjoining wall. The implant arms he used to defend himself cracked all over, while his biological limbs beneath trembled violently, every bone in his body feeling as though it had come unhinged.
Noticing the faint shimmer glowing over Xu Chan's knuckles, Wu Mian's pupils contracted. "Spiritual perception?"
He exhaled a long breath and murmured bitterly, "I am no match for you..." With that, his body slowly slid down, and he slumped against the wall, motionless.
Xu Chan pressed him no further and walked past. But just as he approached the corner, a sudden pressure displacement whipped up behind him. Wu Mian had closed the distance, lunging with two long spikes aimed simultaneously at the upper and lower sections of his spine.
The strike made full use of the confined space, cutting off every angle of evasion. At the very least, Wu Mian intended to force a mutual destruction.
Yet faced with the ambush, Xu Chan took a sudden sidestep without even looking back and leaned into the wall. His body sank effortlessly into the solid surface, the wall yielding and parting around him like soft dough. The moment the twin spikes thrust through the empty air before him, Xu Chan stepped back out, vaulting to Wu Mian's flank. His hands clamped onto Wu Mian's helmeted head and gave a gentle twist.
With a sharp crack, the neck completed a full turn before Xu Chan lightly touched down.
A faint sigh drifted into Wu Mian's ears. "You and I... neither of us makes a very good father."
His head, twisted completely around, watched Xu Chan swiftly move away. Wu Mian's body stiffened for a second, then collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
The external implant on his frame seemed to attempt an emergency rescue, but after a few spasms, a chorus of faint, brittle cracks sounded, and it fractured into pieces across the floor. Before departing, Xu Chan had channeled a surge of internal force into the unit, completely shattering its internal biological tissues.
By this point, Speaker Quan had already passed through the blast door and reached the fissure. He yanked the lever, causing the heavy metal door behind him to grind downward from above. But just as it dropped halfway, an outstretched hand caught it with brutal firmness. Amidst a screech of groaning metal, the door was steadily pushed back up.
The two guards inside panicked and raised their weapons to fire. Xu Chan swept an arm out, a hand glowing with faint light effortlessly batting the volley of bullets down to the floor.
Flexing his arm muscles, Xu Chan shoved violently upward. The entire metal blast door slammed up against the ceiling. Stepping inside, he swung his arms left and right, dropping both guards instantly.
He walked toward Speaker Quan, who was scrambling backward in terror. Before the man could dive into the fissure, Xu Chan reached out, locked a grip onto his chest and abdomen, and channeled his force inward.
Amidst a chorus of snapping mechanical clicks, the external implant shuddered violently until its spine split down the middle. With a choked gasp, Speaker Quan tumbled out of the rupture, his upper body collapsing onto the floor in a splash of spilled nutrient fluid.
In a frantic daze, he ripped the breathing tube from his mouth with both hands. He retched violently several times, then lay prostrate, gasping for air. A sudden chill seemed to take hold of him, and he curled up on the cold floor, clutching himself tightly as he shivered.
Xu Chan said in a low, steady voice, "Speaker Quan, by order of the Government Affairs Hall, you are under arrest."
Lying there, Speaker Quan cast a pair of clouded eyes toward him. "You wanted me to lead you here, didn't you? You knew about this fissure all along? Let me think who leaked it... Councilor Ai? It had to be him. He was always the most pragmatic, always knew how to read the wind. He tipped you off in secret, didn't he?"
Xu Chan offered no response. Stepping forward, he hoisted Speaker Quan onto his shoulder and said calmly, "Mr. Quan, save your strength for when we get back. There are many matters waiting for your full cooperation and testimony." With that, he carried him out.
At the same time, Chen Chuan had already returned to the waiting airship with the severed half of the active conscious entity, withdrawing high above White Bird District.
Numerous anti-aircraft emplacements dotted the district below, but not a single one dared open fire.
What a joke. Even if they managed to shoot the airship out of the sky, doing so wouldn't inflict the slightest harm on a true martial artist.
By now, they had clearly recognized that the man who had obliterated six airships in an instant was none other than the Director of Center City's Defense Office, Chen Chuan. The memory of him bringing down that monster airship with a single punch remained etched vividly into their minds.
Meanwhile, the foreign media correspondents stationed below were ecstatic. Everything that had unfolded tonight was monumental news, more than enough to dominate the front pages of newspapers across the world.
However, they soon discovered that every urgent photograph they rushed to develop came out as a blurry smear, showing nothing more than a glaring white patch of light, as if severely overexposed.
Still, they found a way around it. They hurriedly commissioned sketch artists to recreate the scenes from memory, preparing illustrated records to dispatch back to their respective nations.
Once the airship cleared White Bird District and crossed back into the Center City region, Chen Chuan tapped his boundary credential, connecting to a dedicated channel. "Principal Yao?"
Yao Zhiyi's voice came through: "The vast majority of the targets have been apprehended. Only a few minor figures remain at large. I haven't detected any anomalies on my end."
Chen Chuan gave an affirmative hum. This time, Yao Zhiyi had not stayed in the convergence zone; he had returned to Center City and remained on standby near Weiguang District.
This was partly to guard against unexpected developments, given that numerous figures from both the Fusion and Pure Refinement factions were among those targeted in the crackdown. On the other hand, they knew the greatest threat they faced tonight was not the Municipal Council, but a certain entity that had crossed over from beyond the Ring of the World.
Counselor Pei had told him earlier that this presence was almost certainly somewhere within Center City, yet it had eluded discovery to this day.
Drawing from their past encounter with Director Yingwei of the Ferris Wheel Company, Chen Chuan had initially speculated that the entity was either parasitizing a councilor's body or waiting to seize control of an active conscious entity while they were occupied fighting it.
Yet even after two active conscious entities had been eliminated in succession, that entity had never shown itself.
Chen Chuan looked down at Center City veiled in mist and rain. If there was nothing amiss with the councilors either, where was this thing hiding right now?
Chapter 915