Chapter 734: Directive

Chapter 734: Chapter 85: Directive

Chen Chuan looked up. The large bird wasn’t flying too high; after all, the long rope hanging from it had a limited length.

Its wingspan was four to five meters, and its wingbeats were incredibly powerful. From the rhythm of its movements, it surprisingly felt like a Fighter.

He immediately determined that this was a bird with a Mutated Organization, and it wasn’t one that had been implanted but was innate.

This must be a creature from the Merging Land.

As he watched, he grabbed a handful of polished stones, then twisted at his shoulder and flung them into the sky.

Instantly, a volley of projectiles shot toward the large bird, whistling through the air.

Qi Qianyang, already in the air, seemed prepared. The moment he saw the attack, he tore off his training uniform. Bare-chested, he swung it through the air, channeling a surge of Heart Force through the fabric. The incredibly durable uniform instantly stretched taut, catching most of the stones.

A series of muffled thuds erupted at the point of impact. Although many stones pierced the uniform and continued on to strike the great bird, their remaining force was blocked by its tough feathers and Mutated Organization, causing no serious injury.

Qi Qianyang had already reached a higher altitude. Since he was traveling by air, he had been prepared for such an attack. Chen Chuan’s throw was simply too powerful to ignore. Otherwise, even ordinary bullets would have had little effect on the creature.

However, the uniform had blocked his vision for an instant. When he flung it aside, he suddenly found that Chen Chuan’s figure had vanished from below. His expression tensed.

At the same time, a shadow fell over him from above. He snapped his head up to see Chen Chuan, who had somehow appeared above him. Silhouetted against the sun, his body poised like a soaring dragon, he threw a punch straight down at him.

Qi Qianyang roared, his powerful muscles tensing in an instant. He let go of the rope, pressed one hand over the back of the other, and thrust them diagonally upward to block the descending fist. BANG! A visible shockwave of air erupted from the point of contact.

On the arm Qi Qianyang used to block Chen Chuan’s fist, the flesh suddenly tore open in stages. It started at the back of his hand, then ripped up his forearm to his bicep, and finally reached his shoulder, accompanied by a series of sharp, cracking sounds of breaking bone.

Blood sprayed out in a spiral, forming concentric rings in the air around him.

Chen Chuan felt a surge of Heart Force rush toward him as well, but he was currently using his Flying Dragon Fist Strength. Even without a Rift to teleport through, he could convert the Power into a force for leaping through the air.

Thus, the collision of their Heart Force, combined with the power of the punch, sent both men flying apart on the exploding shockwave.

Chen Chuan leaped and spun, his body arching as he soared high into the air. But just as he twisted to strike down again, Director Wu’s deep, commanding voice came through his Realm Token. “Manager Chen, do not pursue. Let him go.”

“Hm?”

Director Wu added gravely, “I’ll explain when you get back.”

Chen Chuan glanced at Qi Qianyang’s position. His opponent had just grabbed the long rope again with his good hand. During their exchange of blows, however, Qi Qianyang had managed to transmit a spiritual message to him.

He had seen it in the message: an open, empty field. He understood. It was Qi Qianyang’s proposed location for their final battle.

He considered it. Director Wu had used the emergency channel, and he was definitely not the type to let an enemy go deliberately. There had to be a reason. So, he didn’t press the attack. He retracted his Power, did a flip in mid-air, and let himself fall, landing with a soft TAP on the ground.

When he looked up again, he saw that Qi Qianyang had quickly clambered onto the large bird’s back and was already flying far away.

He touched his Realm Token. “Director Wu?”

Director Wu’s grave voice replied, “Come back to the bureau first.”

Chen Chuan first checked on the armed squad behind him. He took out some special medication and had each of them inhale it. After a moment, they began to recover, but they still seemed dazed, and most of them complained of splitting headaches.

A Spiritual Shock like that would have been instantly fatal to an ordinary person. It was only because they were all trained Fighters that they had some level of resistance.

Even so, only Captain Yu Xiao recovered quickly. When he heard Chen Chuan needed to return to the bureau immediately, he insisted on driving him.

Seeing that he was indeed all right, Chen Chuan agreed. He had the others continue to rest while he got into the back seat of his dedicated car. After the vehicle started moving, he took out the envelope Haverford had given him.

A sharp glint flickered in his eyes. He looked inside. It was a set of photographs showing Manager Wen meeting with several people in what looked like a private room. The two parties appeared to be exchanging something.

He raised an eyebrow. Instead of using his Realm Token to identify the people in the photos, he thought for a moment and then stuffed the pictures back into the envelope.

The return trip was quick. In less than forty minutes, they arrived back at the Processing Bureau headquarters in Wuding District.

Upon entering the headquarters, he went straight to Director Wu’s office. Once he was seated, the director began, “Ten minutes before your fight with that Fighter, three high-ranking officials from the Administrative Affairs Department were attacked.

Two of the attacks were successfully thwarted by our people. However, in the third case, the official involved was too stubborn and insisted on leaving the Administrative Affairs Hall. He was attacked and taken hostage on the road, along with more than a dozen innocent bystanders, including a child.

At first, they ignored our attempts to communicate. But after Qi Qianyang appeared at your location and attacked the Lynx Federation’s foreign affairs officer, they immediately stated their terms: Qi Qianyang must be allowed to leave safely, without any interference.”

He looked at Chen Chuan and said gravely, “Even if I hadn’t given the order, the Administrative Affairs Hall would have relayed it to you via emergency channels. If you had refused, the blame for the death of that civil servant, not to mention the surrounding hostages, would have been pinned on you.

Then, even if it didn’t greatly affect your official position, you would certainly have faced a procedural inquiry. For a period of time, at least, you would have been unable to involve yourself in the bureau’s affairs.”

Chen Chuan’s mind raced as a few things clicked into place.

‘Normally, if this happened, even if I killed Qi Qianyang on the spot, the subsequent inquiry would be no big deal. At worst, I’d be off bureau business for ten days to half a month. I’d just treat it as a vacation.’

‘But things are different now. The timing is too delicate. All sides are preparing to enter the Merging Land to vie for the Lost Object. Is this an attempt to take me out of the game ahead of time?’

However, from the looks of it, letting Qi Qianyang go also created problems.

A foreign affairs officer from the Lynx Federation died on the scene. That could easily be turned into a political issue.

And he also wondered, why was Haverford there at that exact moment? And why was he the one killed by Qi Qianyang? And why did the hostage situation occur just moments before? This chain of events didn’t seem like a coincidence.

He voiced his thoughts to Director Wu, who replied gravely, “Yes. But this has nothing to do with you, Manager Chen. It was my order; you were merely carrying it out.”

Chen Chuan looked at him. “Director Wu, will this affect you?”

Director Wu said, “No major impact, but there will still be a procedural inquiry. For a while, I may not be able to oversee the bureau’s affairs as closely as before, but I will make some arrangements in advance.”

Chen Chuan thought for a moment, then took an envelope from his pocket and handed it over. “I received this earlier. The foreign affairs officer from the Lynx Federation gave it to me.”

Director Wu took it, slid the contents out, and glanced at them. His expression suddenly grew serious. “Was anyone nearby when you received this?” he asked.

Chen Chuan replied, “Yes, my squad. But they didn’t see the specific contents. I also used my Spiritual Power to disrupt the surrounding Domain for a moment, so even the An Shield couldn’t have recorded anything.”

‘With intelligence from an unknown source like this, how could I not be cautious? Without a concrete record, what’s inside is whatever I say it is, not what someone else claims.’

“Well done,” Director Wu said. He quickly put the photos away and warned, “Don’t mention this to anyone.”

Chen Chuan nodded.

“Wait here a moment,” Director Wu added.

He stood up and went into the secure room next door. A moment later, he returned with a key in his hand, which he handed to Chen Chuan.

“Take this and keep it safe.” He then whispered a few instructions.

Chen Chuan took the key. After listening to Director Wu’s instructions, he nodded slightly. He was now beginning to feel the complexity of the situation.

After giving his instructions, Director Wu tapped his Realm Token, and a map appeared on the light screen beside him.

“Captain Xu will lead a team into the Merging Land at five o’clock this afternoon. The specific route will be determined at the last minute by the Defense Department, so even I don’t know it.

But within two or three days at the latest, armed personnel from the Lynx Federation and the Federation will certainly follow them inside through their own special channels.”

In the months since the Fumu’s division, the garrisons in the Merging Land and the forces of the Old Imperial Family have been engaged in sporadic combat. The large-scale firefights, combined with strict controls on anyone entering the Merging Land, have largely prevented non-military personnel from getting in.

The news about the discovery of a level-three Lost Object also came out around that time.

Now, in late September, the large-scale battles have ended, and things have moved to a stage of small-squad confrontations. Both sides are trying to find that Lost Object.

“Old Xu is shouldering a heavy burden this time. I hope he can handle the pressure and find the object. But nothing is ever certain, so we must also prepare for failure.”

Director Wu looked at the map and said in a low, serious voice, “A level-three Lost Object has major implications. It absolutely cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Lynx Federation or the Federation. If necessary, we must take some drastic measures. Manager Chen, you will await my orders.”