Chapter 710: Apprehension

Chapter 710: Chapter 61: Apprehension

The young man froze when he saw Chen Chuan catch the Throwing Pill bare-handed, a look of utter disbelief on his face.

He had thrown it with such immense power. Simply blocking it might have been possible, but that would have certainly damaged the Throwing Pill. Yet Chen Chuan had caught it, perfectly intact, which meant he had completely neutralized all the force behind it.

Moreover, Chen Chuan had done it while steadily walking forward. This shocked the young man to his core. Even his older brother, who could also meet his throws head-on, could never have done it so flawlessly.

Chen Chuan clenched his fist, and the Throwing Pill instantly shattered. The pieces clattered to the ground as he continued walking forward.

Seeing Chen Chuan continue to approach, the young man’s skin prickled with goosebumps. With a few rapid kicks, he sent most of the metal Throwing Pills on the platform flying. He then turned, leaped back, and bolted. Long-range attacks were his specialty, and close combat was his weak point. Overcome with fear of the advancing Chen Chuan, he now focused all his energy on escaping.

Faced with the shower of Throwing Pills raining down on him, Chen Chuan glanced up before surging forward. As he charged, an invisible Power formed in front of his body, causing any Pill that struck him to disintegrate on impact.

He crossed the long distance in an instant, crashing straight through the structure where the young man had been standing. The remaining Throwing Pills scattered with a loud CLATTER. In the space of a single breath, he appeared behind the fleeing man.

The man was startled, but he reacted quickly. He leaped, planted a foot on a nearby wall, and spun around, whipping his arm in a wide arc. Even though it wasn’t a proper throw, the motion unleashed a thunderous crack.

This counter-strike was a Secret Transmission of his family, designed specifically to deal with pursuing enemies. Thanks to its speed and the element of surprise, it could typically shatter a foe’s skull in a single blow.

This time, however, Chen Chuan simply raised his arm and swatted the attack aside. As their arms met, there was a loud CRACK. The young man’s forearm exploded in a shower of blood mist, sending mangled flesh and bone fragments flying. The force of the blow instantly destroyed his balance.

He had been moving at high speed, so the impact sent him tumbling forward. But before he could even fall, a hand shot out and gripped his shoulder. Instantly, a Capturing Force permeated his body, running from his neck down to his tailbone. His entire body went limp as he was hoisted into the air, paralyzed. Only his eyes could still move, and they were filled with a terror that had completely replaced his earlier arrogance.

As Chen Chuan captured the young man, a sniper was aiming at him from a distance. His head was centered in the scope’s crosshairs.

But just as he was about to pull the trigger, a hand pressed down on the rifle’s barrel. He looked up in surprise to see the man with the clawed rope standing beside him. He had no idea when he’d arrived. The man shook his head and said, “You won’t get a second chance. Firing that shot will only draw them to our position.”

The sniper frowned and slowly took his finger off the trigger. Still, he couldn’t help but protest, “But it doesn’t look like he’s noticed a thing.”

Many skilled Fighters get an uncanny premonition of danger when a gun is aimed at them. He had kept his sights locked on Chen Chuan, but the man showed no signs of dodging, nor did he even glance in their direction. It was as if he were completely oblivious, which was why the sniper felt so resentful.

The clawed-rope user’s expression was grim. “It’s not that he doesn’t sense the danger. It’s that even if you shot him, the bullet wouldn’t penetrate his skull. Your shot is absolutely no threat to him, so of course he isn’t going to waste his time on you.”

He glanced outside. “This Investigation Chief from the Processing Bureau has definitely cultivated some incredible Horizontal Training Strength. Today’s operation is a bust. Let’s pull out. If we don’t go now, we might not get away at all.”

The sniper asked, “What about Radon Jian?”

The clawed-rope user didn’t answer directly. Instead, he started walking away, saying, “Let’s worry about saving ourselves first.”

Just then, a small Airship flew in and dropped a rope ladder. The two men grabbed hold and were immediately whisked away into the distant sky.

Chen Chuan’s gaze flickered up to the Airship. He spotted one of the dislodged Throwing Pills at his feet, picked it up, and weighed it in his hand. Then, with a powerful twist of his waist and back that engaged every layer of his Mutated Organization, he hurled it toward the man.

The clawed-rope user immediately sensed something was wrong. He instantly let go of the ladder, grabbed the lower end of his Soft Rope, and pulled it taut against his other hand, forming a cross-shaped barrier in front of himself.

An instant later, the Throwing Pill slammed into the barrier. He felt a tremendous, straining force through his hands, making the bones in his arms creak. His knuckles felt ready to shatter, and the impact sent him flying backward.

But even so, the Throwing Pill relentlessly pushed forward, finally striking his chest with a heavy THUD. He was knocked out of the air. Just before impact, he managed to flip himself over, landing with a solid THUMP. He had to bend his knees and brace himself with one hand to stay upright.

Its momentum finally spent, the Throwing Pill dropped from his chest and clattered onto the ground.

But before he could even take a breath, the wall across from him exploded outward. Rubble scattered across the ground as a figure in a protective mask emerged from the dust.

His heart leaped, and he discreetly tightened his grip on his long rope.

As Chen Chuan walked toward him, the man’s gaze remained locked on him, not daring to waver for an instant. He had witnessed the previous fight; this man’s power was something he could not hope to match. ‘If it were possible, I would surrender right now.’ However, the high-priced mercenary contract he had signed ruled out that option. He had to fight with everything he had.

As Chen Chuan closed the distance, the pressure he radiated grew immense. The man couldn’t bear to stay idle any longer. With a sharp grunt, he leaped up from the ground and whipped the long rope outward. Fueled by his Power, the rope suddenly extended, lashing out like five long whips.

The length of this type of rope was controlled entirely by the infusion of Power. It could be as hard as steel or as soft as silk and was notoriously difficult to block. Once he entangled an opponent’s limb, he had special techniques to either pull them to the ground or throw them off balance. From there, they would be at his mercy.

Chen Chuan waved a hand, and his Heart Force repelled the attack from a distance, preventing the rope from landing. But the rope suddenly fanned out, forming the shape of an open claw. Its ends were fitted with small metal hooks that, upon contact with an opponent’s body, could instantly dig in and rip away chunks of flesh and Mutated Organization.

But before the rope could fall, he drew the standard-issue Investigation Chief’s pistol from his waist with his other hand and aimed it at his opponent, who was a mere four or five meters away.

The clawed-rope user was startled and immediately dropped into a crouch, but the muzzle of the pistol tracked his movement. BANG! A shot rang out, followed by another, and then another…

Chen Chuan fired six shots in total. At such close range, every bullet found its mark. Although his opponent managed to avoid any fatal hits, the Investigation Chief’s sidearm was designed specifically for use against Fighters, right down to its custom-made bullets. Each impact made his body shudder violently. After six shots, six bloody holes gaped on his torso and limbs, revealing glimpses of bone and organs. The bone in one of his legs seemed to be shattered.

The clawed-rope user staggered a few steps to the side before collapsing to the ground with a THUD. He considered stimulating his Essence Blood to heal, but then thought better of it. ‘It would be pointless, just more torture. I’ve done enough to earn my pay.’ So, he simply spread his limbs, lay on his back, and stopped resisting.

The sniper, watching from the Airship above, felt a chill run down his spine, followed by a wave of immense relief. ‘If I hadn’t escaped when I did, I would’ve met the same fate.’

But just at that moment, there was a sharp WHIZZ as something sliced past from above. The rope ladder was severed mid-air, and he plummeted from the sky.

He was stunned. As he fell, he saw combat creatures swarming in from the perimeter. The fierce sounds of a firefight erupted from the location of their rearguard.

Before he could get a clear look, he crashed through the roof of a building below with a loud BANG. Immediately, combat creatures began leaping toward his position.

Chen Chuan glanced over. ‘This was all arranged before I arrived.’ He had mobilized all the combat creatures in the vicinity, along with a portion of the Ji Yang District Processing Bureau’s members and the city security force, all under the command of Yuan Qiuyuan and two others.

To ensure no information leaked out, he had also instructed An Shield to block all Domain signals in the area and strictly forbade anyone from sending external communications.

Because the key targets had already been dealt with, the perimeter guards were unable to mount any meaningful resistance and were taken down one by one.

Afterward, security personnel led by Processing Bureau members stormed in. They used special manacles to restrain the mercenaries who were down but not dead, preparing to take them all back for interrogation.

Chen Chuan stepped to the side, tapped his Lower Realm Token, and contacted Director Wu directly to report the situation.

Director Wu’s voice was grave. “Understood. Bring them in first. We’ll talk later.”

Chen Chuan nodded.

Director Wu then asked, “That Fang Zhixin… he’s Old Chen’s assistant, correct?”

“Yes,” Chen Chuan confirmed.

“I’ll leave this in your hands,” Director Wu said. “Just make sure you tie up all the loose ends.”

“Yes, Director Wu,” Chen Chuan replied.

Fang Zhixin was currently being investigated and pursued by the Temporary Special Action Committee. However, as far as the Processing Bureau was concerned, they had dropped all charges against Fang Zhixin long ago, right after Chen Bitong’s death was officially ruled a sacrifice. Therefore, the Bureau had no mandate to capture Fang Zhixin, and they certainly had no intention of doing the Temporary Special Action Committee’s work for them.

After ending the call, Chen Chuan went back inside the small shop. Fang Zhixin was still there; he hadn’t taken the opportunity to leave. Chen Chuan looked at him and asked, “What was it you wanted to say earlier?”