Chapter 726 77: Aftermath

Over half an hour later, a procession of vehicles filed into the tunnel, followed by the sound of dense footsteps. The Processing Bureau and city security personnel had finally arrived.

As the teams entered the large, open space of the tunnel, they saw Chen Chuan sitting on a concrete pier to the side, his Long Blade laid flat before him. They also saw the corpse sunken into a bloody crater. They involuntarily held their breath, saluting him with solemnity and awe.

"Chief!"

Chen Chuan stood, returned the salute, and then ordered the men, "Proceed according to protocol."

"Yes, sir!"

The teams immediately fanned out, securing the scene. They rolled in high-powered lamps to illuminate the area. Not only did they carefully inspect Fan Mo's corpse, but they also roughly roused the surrounding gang members one by one for interrogation.

After a preliminary inspection, they quickly reported their findings to Chen Chuan. A layer of a light-brown substance had been discovered on Fan Mo's skin. It looked like greasepaint, but analysis revealed it was a special type of explosive that would detonate when triggered by a specific frequency.

He was also carrying other items that couldn't be identified on-site. Due to the limited conditions, they were preparing to take them back to the Bureau for analysis.

Chen Chuan glanced at the crime scene photos and noticed the greasepaint formed distinct patterns. While the forensics team hadn't made anything of them, he recognized them. 'This must be some kind of Esoteric Ritual pattern.'

'A rather ancient and traditional one at that.'

He thought for a moment, then ordered someone to make a rubbing of the patterns and send it to the Esoteric Buddhism Inspection Bureau to see if they could dig up anything useful.

He also instructed the intel team to use Fan Mo's residual Domain and any other traces he left behind to find his previous hideouts and residences.

'If they can find those locations, we'll likely uncover more clues. And if that leads to direct evidence linking this to Lianwei Zhongyu, then things will get much easier.'

Once things at the scene were mostly settled, he took a car out of the Lower City District. Along the way, he took out a cloth and cleaned his Snow Monarch Blade again.

He was now truly starting to appreciate the benefits of a good weapon. It provided a significant advantage in combat. Leaving aside its ability to absorb an enemy's Heart Force—a purely Defensive benefit—a weapon's true purpose was for killing.

Its real advantage should lie in offense. Tarlu's strength, for example, had increased severalfold with a staff in hand. If the Snow Monarch Blade could amplify his own Power, the boost to his combat strength would be immense.

He had previously focused his energy on unarmed Power, but he couldn't neglect his weaponry either.

For his blade, he possessed the Heavy Slash Blade Force, a technique Cheng Zitong had found for him. It was considered an Entry-Level Blade Force, but the technique had a ceiling. The amount of Mutated Organization it could mobilize was limited, and as he grew stronger, it was starting to lag behind.

Therefore, he planned to develop a new Force Technique based on his own combat style and Power. Ideally, it would have some synergy with his unarmed techniques.

He sat quietly in his seat, mulling it over for a while, and a few ideas began to form.

Just then, the world outside the car brightened. They had emerged from the tunnel and were back on the surface.

He glanced up. Chaoming was still circling overhead. Seeing him emerge, it let out a sharp cry.

Just then, a report from one of the investigators came through his Realm Token:

"Chief, per your instructions, we've inspected all the locations marked by An Shield. We did in fact dismantle explosives at several sites.

"Analysis shows they're custom-made explosives. They've been specially treated so that once the safety is disarmed, any rapid vibration or loud noise nearby will cause them to detonate."

Chen Chuan asked, "Have you traced the bombs' origin?"

"We're still tracing the source, but we're almost certain the primary materials used to make the explosives didn't originate in Jibei Dao."

Chen Chuan grunted. He knew the investigation would likely lead nowhere. Lianwei Zhongyu was a transportation and security company, after all. It would be incredibly easy for them to procure such materials through private channels.

Border checkpoint inspections were never that strict for major corporations, and that wasn't even counting the numerous other channels they could use.

He instructed, "Check again, several times. Make sure not a single explosive is left behind."

"Yes, sir!"

Six hours later. Lianwei Zhongyu Branch.

Yang Ling sat alone in the vast office. Her hands were braced on the arms of her tall chair, her toes dangling just above the floor.

Only when she was alone did she abandon her prim posture and let her true age show.

A light rain was falling outside. She watched the raindrops streak down the glass curtain wall, one trail slowly forming, then another appearing beside it.

She watched as the streaks of water flowed over her reflection in the glass, gradually blurring her image.

BEEP BEEP BEEP...

A somewhat piercing alert sounded from her Realm Token.

She immediately shot up from her seat and turned to face the office entrance. The door opened, and her female assistant walked in, stopping before her and bowing slightly. "Miss."

Yang Ling looked at her without a word.

The assistant held up a telex. "A message from headquarters."

Yang Ling took the message.

The assistant said, "We lost the signal from Captain Fan's Implant resonator several hours ago. Our contact has also lost touch with him.

"According to intel from our contact, he had planned an attack on Investigation Chief Chen Chuan. The last message we received said he was evading pursuit. Five hours ago, Manager Chen returned to the Processing Bureau.

"We don't have definitive confirmation from the Processing Bureau yet, but they did retrieve a body. Based on reports from various sources, we can conclude the body is Captain Fan's.

"That means the dispatched armed team has been wiped out.

"We've already sent an analysis report to headquarters via a secure channel. Headquarters has issued new instructions. They demand that our branch make no mistakes during this period. We are not to give the enemy an opening and are to wait for new personnel to be dispatched."

Yang Ling lowered the message. "I understand."

"Miss," the assistant said, "with the loss of the other dispatched team, our plans to go overseas may need to be adjusted. It would be inadvisable for you to depart before the team from the main office arrives."

Yang Ling replied seriously, "Then we would have to abandon that business operation. We've already made all the preparations. If we suddenly cancel our plans, it will only make the Processing Bureau more vigilant and suspicious."

Seeing her insistence, the assistant said, "What you say has merit, Miss. But if headquarters cannot dispatch more personnel in time, then you must fulfill your proper duties, rather than keeping your focus here."

Yang Ling nodded silently.

"I hope you understand, Miss. Everything is for the good of the company."

After saying this, the assistant bowed once more and turned to leave.

Yang Ling stood there alone. She turned her head to look at her reflection on the glass wall. Behind her, a forest of high-rises stood shrouded in the gray, rainy gloom.

After finishing his business, Chen Chuan returned to his residence in the Wuding District. A portion of the confiscated High-Energy Nutrient Supplements had already been transferred there.

He looked at the opened canisters of nutrient supplements arranged neatly on the floor. He drew the Snow Monarch Blade and pointed it toward them.

At first, nothing happened. But after a moment, faint wisps of glowing mist began to seep from the blade, drifting down toward the High-Energy Nutrient Supplements.

The supplements were quickly enveloped by the glowing mist and began to deplete at a remarkable rate.

He could feel the Mutated Organization within the Snow Monarch Blade becoming extremely active. It was clearly very receptive to this batch of supplements.

After all, even the Fumu required High-Energy Nutrient Supplements to sustain itself. It was no surprise that the entity within the Snow Monarch Blade, which shared similarities with it, would welcome them.

However, High-Energy Nutrient Supplements came in various grades and types. The kind the Fumu used was surely different from what he'd seen before; he was certain it was far more potent. But that was something beyond his reach.

After ten minutes or so, all the supplements on the floor had been absorbed. The Snow Monarch Blade fell into a brief slumber, apparently needing some time to digest.

This was a good thing, though. Each time the Snow Monarch Blade finished digesting, its power grew to some extent. He looked forward to seeing its new capabilities.

Sheathing the Snow Monarch Blade, he reviewed the report the investigators had just sent over. It essentially confirmed Fan Mo's identity.

With that confirmed, he pulled up the summary report he had previously drafted, added the latest developments, and submitted it.

With this, the Lianwei Zhongyu team that had been assembled to enter the Merging Land was essentially wiped out.

Lianwei Zhongyu could send another team, but the other factions would be entering the Merging Land over the next few days. They had already lost their chance to be first, and in matters like this, seizing the initial advantage was often everything.

Unless they had the branch office personnel take over the mission.

But two Black Steel Level Fighters, while perhaps useful elsewhere, would be practically useless in the struggle for a Lost Object.

Even if the branch possessed an active Consciousness Body, it was still just an embryo.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly realized something. He felt like he was overlooking something.

He pondered for a moment, then immediately pulled up a file and summoned An Shield. "An Shield, are the quantity and energy grade of the High-Energy Nutrient Supplements reported by Lianwei Zhongyu normal?"

An Shield responded, "Manager Chen, the supplements used to cultivate a growing, active Consciousness Body are typically custom-formulated by the company. The energy grade is considered confidential, and per our agreement, we cannot inquire about it.

"Based on standard energy grades, this quantity would be normal for cultivating a small to medium-sized active consciousness. However, since Lianwei Zhongyu Company's active Consciousness Body is only an embryo, this amount is slightly excessive.

"However, it's possible Lianwei Zhongyu is simply preparing in advance. The price of High-Energy Nutrient Supplements is on the rise, and many companies are stockpiling them, so preparing a batch ahead of time falls within a reasonable scope of operations."

Chen Chuan thought it over carefully. An idea began to form in his mind. "I see," he said. "An Shield, contact Director Wu for me."

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