Chapter 720: Deterrence

Chapter 720: Chapter 71: Deterrence

Chen Chuan came to a stop at the street corner. About two hundred meters from there, across a wide road and a parking lot, was the main entrance of the Celestial Forgiveness Gang.

The Celestial Forgiveness Gang’s architecture was reminiscent of the Old Dynasty, with upturned eaves, black tiles, and vermilion gates. On the six-pillared archway out front was a bronze plaque with a cloud-and-thunder pattern, bearing the word “Tianshu.”

Fully armed security personnel guarded the area around the main entrance, patrolling both inside and out. Although it was a gang, the Celestial Forgiveness Gang had its own contracting and security company, and its security was handled by highly trained professionals.

Behind the main entrance was a Martial Arts Arena that could hold ten thousand people. The plaza was currently filled with tourists and pedestrians, as well as young people who had come to learn Fighting Skills.

The Celestial Forgiveness Gang didn’t prohibit tourists from visiting; outsiders were free to roam the area at the foot of the mountain. The gang’s main business was training Fighters. They didn’t care about your background or natural talent, nor did they care if you actually learned anything. There weren’t even time limits. As long as you paid, they would teach you all sorts of techniques. Consequently, a constant stream of aspiring students came here every day.

Only the most outstanding students might be recruited by the gang’s upper echelons, but the gang’s core fighting force was composed entirely of members cultivated from within.

Chen Chuan’s gaze extended past the plaza to a straight, stone-paved mountain path. It started from the central axis of the main gate and ascended all the way to the main building at the summit, Changsheng Hall. The hill was about four hundred meters high. With his eyesight, he could clearly see the flamboyant calligraphy of the word “Changsheng” on the hall’s main plaque.

He took a polished stone pellet from his pocket.

He held it in his hand and fixed his gaze on the summit. Turning to the side, he shifted one foot slightly back. Then, layer by layer, the Mutated Organization within his body twisted and stretched. With a sudden motion, he hurled the pellet.

A sonic boom instantly ripped through the air, followed by a long, sharp WHISTLE. In an instant, the stone pellet shot across the street and the parking lot, passed through the main gate of the Celestial Forgiveness Gang, flew over the plaza, and streaked straight toward the back!

Pedestrians in the plaza and on the street instinctively covered their ears. The security guards, startled, immediately adopted defensive stances.

However, before they could even react, the streak in the sky had already shot up the mountain path. The powerful wake kicked up bushes, gravel, and even dust particles on both sides. In its path, it was as if an invisible tunnel had been torn through the atmosphere.

As the streak passed through the first building on the mountain, windowpanes rattled. Some shattered from the shockwave, falling to the ground with a CRASH.

The servants inside, startled, couldn’t help but cover their ears and look around, wondering what had just happened.

Some Fighters who were in the middle of training also stopped, searching for the source in shock and confusion. But all they saw behind the hall were scorched leaves swirling into clouds of debris, faintly tracing an invisible trajectory that continued higher up the mountain.

By now, the stone pellet had reached Changsheng Hall. It grazed the roof tiles above the plaque, plowing a neat, outwardly expanding furrow through them and sending countless tile fragments shooting out, before finally flying into the open-air main chamber.

SNAP.

Yu Hongming reached out and caught the stone pellet firmly in his hand. His thick white eyebrows twitched. He glanced at the Domain screen, where he could see Chen Chuan standing far below, looking up. It was as if the young man was staring right at him.

Yue Hongtao, who also saw this on the Domain screen, said coolly, “So he’s come to say hello.”

Yu Hongming nodded. “A very effective one.”

Yue Hongtao was unconvinced. “Just based on this one trick? Throwing a stone from the foot of the mountain up to here isn’t that hard. Forget us—even a reasonably capable Third Limit Fighter could do it.”

Yu Hongming shook his head. “He *let* me catch it.” As he spoke, he opened his palm, revealing a perfectly intact stone pellet resting quietly within.

Yue Hongtao froze for a moment, then his expression changed slightly.

Indeed, just throwing the stone this far wasn’t difficult, nor was creating a destructive impact. But to make all the Power on it suddenly vanish at the last moment, delivering it perfectly intact, required more than just Power itself. It also required a certain amount of Spiritual Power to be attached to it.

A Fighter capable of such a feat must have mastered Heart Force, and it was even possible they had surpassed that level.

Yu Hongming looked at the pellet. It was just an ordinary, polished stone. There wasn’t a single scuff mark on it. It was completely cold, without even a trace of residual heat from the friction of its flight. This demonstrated impeccable control. It was both a display of martial might and a warning for them to know their place. “Impressive,” he praised sincerely.

Yue Hongtao stared at it for a while and said nothing more.

Yu Hongming sighed. “To think another one like him has appeared after Xu Chan… and he can’t be more than twenty.” He shook his head. “This world today… I understand it less and less.”

“What’s so hard to understand?”

Yue Hongtao said coldly, “As long as we follow the one at the helm, we won’t take a wrong turn or fall behind.”

Yu Hongming sighed. “But the one at the helm isn’t necessarily the one who can actually reach the shore.”

Yue Hongtao didn’t argue the point. They had always disagreed on this matter, and he didn’t want to start an internal conflict. He simply asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Yu Hongming said, “There’s no harm in backing down for now. Is it really necessary to fight? What would we even gain?”

Yue Hongtao snorted.

Yu Hongming looked outside. They were both old men now. Back in their prime, with their fiery spirits, Yue Hongtao—to say nothing of himself—would have undoubtedly stepped forward to contest this. But now, things like face, pride, honor, and disgrace all seemed meaningless.

Over the past century, he had personally witnessed the collapse of the old era and the dawn of the new. He had weathered too many storms and seen countless people and things rise and fall in the blink of an eye. He could still pass on his experiences and insights to the next generation, but he himself was long past the point of being able to act.

Chen Chuan waited outside for a long time, but no one came out from the Celestial Forgiveness Gang, nor was there any sign of activity. So, he withdrew his gaze, turned away, and walked back to where Xu Chan was waiting. “Captain Xu, let’s go.”

Xu Chan remarked with a sigh, “That was a pretty good method.”

The gesture was tantamount to a slap in the face, but it was subtle; people below a certain level wouldn’t understand it. Those two elders, however, should have gotten the message. The fact that no one came to invite them in and there was no other response meant they had tacitly agreed not to escalate the situation. In essence, they were showing weakness.

After they both got into their own cars, Chen Chuan received a message from Xu Chan on his Realm Token: “Manager Chen, I know another good spot. I’ll take you there after I get back from the Merging Land.”

Chen Chuan agreed.

He started his Gard Car and began driving back. On the way, he looked up Yao Kang of the Law Hall, the man Xu Chan had mentioned. A Third Limit Fighter and a small team were indeed assigned to his protection around the clock.

There shouldn’t be any problems inside the Law Hall itself; the real danger was outside. If someone deliberately targeted him, many situations would be difficult to predict.

He considered it for a moment, then said, “An Shield, add this person to the protective surveillance list. I need his status at all times. Report any suspicious activity to me immediately.”

“Acknowledged,” An Shield replied.

Unlike Xu Chan, Chen Chuan, as an Investigation Chief, had far more resources at his disposal. He could easily have An Shield monitor the situation, which was much more effective than simply deploying manpower. Besides, monitoring a single person wouldn’t consume many Domain resources.

After returning to Wuding District, he found some time to check on Chen Xiaojin and give her some further guidance. Around three in the afternoon, there was news from the information team.

They sent a report stating that by following the underground tunnels and traces of the digging worms, they had found several suspected storage sites for High-Energy Nutrient Supplements. The report also highlighted several key locations, postulating a high probability that the mother worm was in the vicinity.

After reading the report, Chen Chuan knew the matter had to be resolved as quickly as possible. He immediately notified Yuan Qiuyuan’s trio and the other squad members, and also had the local city security preemptively cordon off the suspicious areas and evacuate the populace.

He arrived at the scene within forty-five minutes, and the other squad members got there around the same time. Upon arrival, they immediately dispersed to conduct their search, following the operational plan provided by An Shield.

Chen Chuan stood in an open area while Chaoming circled overhead.

This time, the objective was clear: find and eliminate the mother digging worm. In truth, the strength of Yuan Qiuyuan’s trio was sufficient to deal with the worm on its own. The real uncertainty was whether the elusive “captain” would make an appearance.

This “captain” was likely very strong—probably too much for the trio to handle. That was why Chen Chuan had to be present.

A light rain began to fall, and soon the streets were slick with water. The mouths of the excavated tunnels quickly turned to mud, which hampered the search effort. However, as combat creatures delved into the newly discovered tunnels, sounds of activity soon came from within.

Newly bred larvae were found one after another and swiftly killed by the experienced team members. This was a clear sign they were on the right track—the mother worm was very likely nearby.

Chen Chuan monitored the action in every corner through his Realm Token. Just then, Yuan Qiuyuan’s excited voice came through, “Captain, we’ve found something! It looks like a warehouse here…”

As he spoke, several photos were sent over.

Chen Chuan looked at them. From the outside, the location appeared to be a simple residence, nothing out of the ordinary. Just inside the door, the furniture and layout also seemed perfectly normal.

However, behind a set of plastic strip curtains was a separate room. It was filled with cans of High-Energy Nutrient Supplement, stacked up to cover an entire wall. Judging by the large number of empty cans discarded on the floor, there had once been even more. In the middle of the room was a massive pit.

After seeing the photos, Chen Chuan immediately issued a command through his Realm Token: “An Shield, send combat creatures in to investigate. Also, run a check on the homeowner’s identity and find the source of these High-Energy Nutrient Supplements.”