Chapter 713 64: Discovery

A few minutes later, Chen Chuan opened his eyes. His spirit detached from the Lost Object, and a light flickered in his eyes for a moment before gradually fading.

After his Second Self merged with him, his strength hadn't quite doubled, but the increase in speed and power brought the most direct change. This time, he had easily killed the opponent he had once considered exceptionally dangerous.

He lifted the Snow Monarch Blade and could feel a faint vibration from it. This clearly meant it had gained significant benefits, proving he was on the right path. But it was also an incredibly perilous path, because each entity he had to face would be progressively stronger. A single failure could result in spiritual collapse and death.

Merging with his Second Self had indeed boosted his strength, but there was a limit. In contrast, there was no telling what the limit was for the entities on the other side. 'I have to carefully gauge and manage the risk,' he thought. 'At my current strength, I probably have about three or four more chances.'

However, as his training progressed, his Spiritual Power would continue to strengthen, so it wasn't impossible to seek new breakthroughs.

He took a few steps back, raised his blade slightly, and then swiped it downward. In an instant, a shimmering Rift appeared there.

He could now open a Rift with ease, and this one was far more stable than before. He had learned from experience that a wider, shorter Rift was better for his training. This one was the perfect size for him to sit in front of.

The only issue was that this might allow more things from the other side to seep through. However, perhaps because the Rift was still relatively small and not permanent, most of what came through were the same insects he had encountered before, along with a few unidentifiable things. So far, nothing had appeared that was too threatening.

He placed the Snow Monarch Blade on the ground, sat upright before the Rift, and adjusted his breathing. Facing the buffeting currents and light pouring from the Rift, he began using the Spiritual Reflection Method to guide the essence and refine his spirit.

Initially, the Rift could only last for about an hour. But through his recent efforts, he had extended its duration to nearly two hours.

Soon, two hours passed, yet the Rift stubbornly remained. The Snow Monarch Blade had clearly received a significant boost this time, adding another twenty-some minutes to its usual duration.

But he knew very well that it would only get more difficult from here. Even in the most ideal scenario, it probably wouldn't last more than four hours.

But that was actually enough. In fact, if it lasted any longer, the things coming from the other side might become even more troublesome and difficult to handle. Unlike the Rifts of the Single Stream Sect, which were protected by seniors, he had to deal with everything himself. A longer duration would just end up wasting more of his time.

As the Rift slowly vanished before his eyes, he rose from the ground. For a moment, his mind felt exceptionally sharp, and strange sounds and visions surfaced around him again, but he suppressed them in an instant.

These were the unavoidable side effects of his spiritual advancement.

The spirit was housed in the body. The growth of his Spiritual Power was inseparable from the development of the Mutated Organization in his brain, which in turn relied on the strength of his entire physical form.

He had previously built a sufficiently strong and stable foundation, which was why he could continue to progress. Otherwise, even with ample resources, he would have stagnated. And because his foundation far surpassed that of an ordinary person, the upper limit of his Spiritual Power was also very high. He might encounter problems that his predecessors never did.

He was very mindful of this. Besides, he had his Second Self to bear the brunt of phenomena never before recorded.

Just as the last wisp of the Rift in front of him dissipated, a soft knock came from outside. He looked over and saw a paper telegram translation being slid under the door.

He walked over, picked up the telegram, and glanced at it. The message said that Huang Weiyi was looking for him. It didn't specify why, but he knew it had to be a lead in the Lianwei Zhongyu investigation.

He immediately put the telegram away and tidied up. Fortunately, no strange insects had appeared this time, so there wasn't much to clean up.

About ten minutes later, the Airship changed course and headed back toward Central City. As they passed over the port, he glanced down and saw warships from the Lynx Federation docked there, the sea mist having cleared. There were two Distant Mountain Level Battleships and one Snowfield-class Main Battle Ship.

There were likely some powerful Fighters on board. As he looked down, he could feel several gazes looking up at him as well.

He glanced outside. Besides his own Airship, there were a few others flying between the White Bird District and Central City. However, he didn't see the Airship carrying the Federation Fighting Master from Lynx. That person was probably staying on a nearby outer island.

Now that he was within the Domain, he put his Realm Token back on and contacted Huang Weiyi. A response came almost immediately. "Manager Chen, Huang sends his greetings."

Chen Chuan asked, "Mr. Huang, do you have news?"

"Yes, Manager Chen. I wouldn't dare bother you if I didn't," Huang Weiyi said. Remembering from their last call that Chen Chuan didn't like small talk, he got straight to the point.

"Following your instructions, Manager Chen, we found three suspicious individuals at the junction of the Hong Sheng and Deep Unexplored districts. They match your description perfectly. The location is here..."

As he spoke, he sent over the location data.

Chen Chuan looked at it. The place wasn't too far from Lu Fang's Fighting Hall—only about five or six kilometers to the northwest.

This area was also a gathering place for many people without citizen status. Its location was right in the center of numerous such zones. He also recalled that there should be an entrance to the Lower City District within a few hundred meters, making it convenient for both excursions and escapes.

After looking it over, he asked, "Is this the only location you've found?"

Huang Weiyi quickly replied, "For now, this is the only place we've found the suspicious individuals you mentioned, Manager Chen. We're still investigating other areas, but I didn't want to delay, so I reported this lead to you immediately."

'Lianwei Zhongyu probably wouldn't gather all their personnel in one spot,' Chen Chuan thought. 'Still, Huang Weiyi is certainly capable to have found these people so quickly.'

He asked, "Anything else?"

Huang Weiyi said, "Also, we have a few pictures. Please take a look, Manager Chen." As he spoke, he sent over more than ten pictures.

Chen Chuan looked at them. The first picture was of a man with a sinister gaze, peeking out from behind a window. His face was mostly obscured by the curtain, but one could still make out his gaunt features, the faint outline of a powerful physique, and the unique aura of a Fighter.

The second picture showed a different person. This man had a stockier build with thick limbs. He wore a special, heavy-duty protective vest, and some of its metal buckles had a matte finish. That detail alone proved these people weren't from the Lower City District; they had a significant background.

The third picture was of yet another person, a woman. Her body was extremely muscular, even broader than the previous two men, and she was at least a head taller. She had a short buzz cut, and her gender was only discernible from her bone structure.

The remaining dozen or so pictures all showed these individuals in motion. Just from these images, he could roughly discern each person's movement rhythm and their respective combat specializations.

He asked, "How did you get these pictures?"

He could tell the postures depicted in the images were from different times. An ordinary person couldn't have surveilled these individuals. A few extra glances would have aroused their suspicion, let alone long-term observation.

Huang Weiyi hurriedly explained, "I have a man under me who can, with a single glance, imprint everything within his three-kilometer line of sight into his mind."

"For everything he sees, he can remember every single detail. He's a skilled artist and can draw what he remembers with near-photographic accuracy, without a single mistake."

"That's not all. For anyone he sees, he can also reconstruct in his mind a few seconds of their movements—before and after the moment he saw them—and draw them on paper."

'This is clearly an extremely rare Spiritual Talent,' Chen Chuan thought, rather surprised. He looked at the pictures again. Some of them must have been the man's own reconstructions.

You couldn't fake something like this, especially the details. The unique rhythm of a Fighter's movements was simply not something one could casually imitate.

'An ability like that is incredibly useful for reconnaissance.'

He said, "Are you still watching them?"

"Yes, we're still keeping an eye on them."

Chen Chuan said calmly, "Then keep watching. They've probably already noticed you. If you suddenly stop, they might think you're preparing to make a move."

"They've noticed us?"

Huang Weiyi was shocked.

Chen Chuan said, "These aren't ordinary people."

If those people also possessed Spiritual Power, then even from a great distance, they could likely sense someone repeatedly observing them.

"This..."

A chill of horror shot through Huang Weiyi, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He had never even considered the possibility of being exposed, but he knew Chen Chuan wouldn't lie to him about something like this.

'I know the people the Processing Bureau targets are never ordinary—the drawings made that clear. But I went near the location myself. If they had suddenly attacked back then...'

Chen Chuan's voice was calm. "Don't panic. Just act as usual. They haven't made a move, which most likely means they're trying to confirm where the surveillance is coming from, or they simply don't consider you a threat. Either way, just maintain your current state. I'll be there shortly."

...

...