Chapter 393 - 335: Huo Governor! Archbishop Hu! The Young Chu Bamboo... Drone Carrier Mishap

Celestial Capital, Fourth District.

Six Gates, Jinyi Guard Zone Four branch, inside an office.

A slender man paced back and forth, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Stop pacing! Just stand still for a second." Following the impatient female voice, the man stopped abruptly and saluted in her direction.

The woman wore a Flying Fish Suit. Her hair was jet-black, her eyes bright, and her teeth pearly. She had her sword pressed down on an archives desk, her lovely brows furrowed in a deep frown.

From outside, the faint sounds of hurried footsteps and piercing sirens could be heard.

"Sun Baihu, what are our next steps?" the slender man, Xu Yuan, asked with a slight bow to Sun Min.

Unlike Jinghai, as the core of the south and one of the two capitals, Celestial Capital was a city equipped to the standards of the Imperial Capital in nearly every aspect.

In this city... the Captain’s Office was known as the Jinyi Guard—a detail it shared with the Imperial Capital.

Moreover, the Celestial Capital’s Jinyi Guard even had its own independent offices... and wasn’t mixed in with the Police Chief Bureau.

"We wait and see," Sun Min said cautiously, stating the obvious.

Xu Yuan wasn’t surprised. A shadow crossed his eyes as he sighed softly. "The situation in Jinghai City... What a disaster."

As an intelligence agency reporting directly to the Heavenly Monarch, they had access to an immense amount of information—

Even though little time had passed... they had already pieced together most of what had happened in Jinghai City—on a macro level, of course, such as the annihilation of the Third Corps and the fall of the city. As for what happened on a micro level, that was still unclear!

Suddenly, a phone rang. Sun Min’s expression shifted as she immediately answered it. "...Households Commander!"

"...What? You’re saying... the entity suspected to be a Kunpeng is within ten kilometers of my position? You want me to... monitor it cautiously? And if possible, probe it?!"

"I... I will monitor it cautiously! Yes..."

Sun Min hung up, her expression stiff. Her pretty face was scrunched up as she fought back the urge to curse.

’Are you kidding me?!’

’Me? Fight a Kunpeng? Could I even win?’

’Besides, that Kunpeng is suspected of wielding... the terrifying power that brought down all of Jinghai City...’

’That’s Jinghai City we’re talking about!’

Although Jinghai City’s overall strength wasn’t exceptionally high, as the estuary of the Great River, a major industrial center, and a rising city specially designated by the Heavenly Monarch five years ago—its top-tier combat power was by no means weak!

One of the Jinyi Guard’s only two Governors had been permanently stationed there!

Even the God Worship Sect had, many years ago, dispatched Bishop Hu Kaikang—ranked seventh among their Bishops, the one who had resolved the Great Celestial Capital Smog Incident with an iron fist—to oversee the city long-term!

’Under those circumstances, the city was taken down without a whisper... If we went, wouldn’t it be a suicide mission? No, even if the Jinyi Guard Households Commander who called me went... it would most likely be a dead end for him too! Damn it, always issuing these completely unfeasible missions...’

"Sun Baihu, no need to worry!" Xu Yuan said consolingly after a moment of thought. "There’s no way we’d be unlucky enough to actually run into it..."

"No, based on your track record as a jinx... we can’t stay here!" Sun Min shuddered, cutting Xu Yuan off.

She shot to her feet, her expression grave. "Considering how much hatred the Jinyi Guard attracts, there’s a good chance our location is one of its targets! But... we can’t just run away!"

’So there’s no way to get into the Underground Temple!’

"What about Xiaozhang and the others?" Sun Min asked.

"They’re running all over Zone Four..." Xu Yuan wiped the cold sweat from his brow and gave a bitter laugh. "They were supposed to come back, but now... because of that thing... it’s chaos outside! Those cults love to spread confusion at times like this... Damn it, these cults just prey on the weak and fear the strong! They don’t dare cause trouble in the parishes of the God Worship Sect... they just bully us regular folks..."

"Enough!" Sun Min said through gritted teeth.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then said abruptly, "Call Xiaozhang and the others, tell them not to come back! As for us..."

"We’ll go out for now to gather intelligence... And we need to change our clothes!"

Sun Min mused. ’This way, it counts as going out to scout for intel. That should be a plausible excuse for our superiors...’

However, just as the two of them finished their preparations and walked into the main courtyard of the Six Gates, they abruptly froze in their tracks.

With a sound of rending air, a maglev car descended from the sky.

Sun Min instinctively tensed, her expression grim. People who owned maglev cars were typically either rich or noble... and definitely not ordinary officials. Officials always kept a respectful distance from the Jinyi Guard!

’Could it be... someone from the God Worship Sect?’

The next moment, a smiling young man stepped out of the driver’s seat. He looked to be only about thirteen, with a rather delicate and handsome face, but his every move carried a strange, commanding presence.

"Jinyi Guard business! All unauthorized personnel, stand down," the young man declared, his powerful voice ringing out as he scanned the surroundings.

Instantly, the expressions of the ordinary clerks around them shifted, and they quickly departed.

A moment later, the area was empty once more...

"Sister Sun, old Xu! Long time no see," Chu Bamboo greeted them.

Huo Qiming, sitting in the passenger seat: "..."

His face contorted, and he clamped a hand over his face, unable to watch. He’d been wondering why Chu Bamboo had used a Divine Technique to alter his appearance... to look like his younger self... ’So it was to act cute... Snap out of it, you’re already... uh, okay, sixteen! In that case, maybe it’s not really acting cute?’ Huo Qiming fell into deep thought.

Hu Kaikang, on the other hand, was calm and composed. After all, he hadn’t known Chu Bamboo for long and didn’t have a clear grasp of his personality.

"Xiao- Xiaochu!" Xu Yuan exclaimed in astonishment. He was about to step forward but was stopped by the icy-faced, grim Sun Min.

"...Households Commander Sun?"

"Who are you, and why are you disguised as him?" Sun Min snapped. They had parted ways with Xiaochu several years ago. Given how fast young men grow at that age, there was no way he would still look like a teenager!

’The fact that he looks exactly the same is precisely the proof... This is some kind of enemy plot!’

Xu Yuan: "..."

Xu Yuan almost laughed in exasperation. ’Did she think I hadn’t considered that? The problem is, the person across from us has already shown up with this face, and in a maglev car no less... The best chance we have of surviving is to play along with whatever they have planned!’

"...Knock them out! Oh, right, do you know how to get into the Nuwa Base? If you don’t, just knocking one of them out will be fine!" Chu Bamboo said calmly.

The next instant.

Huo Qiming appeared behind the two of them and flicked the hilt of his blade.

Xu Yuan’s body stiffened for a moment before he collapsed unconscious. Huo Qiming gave Xu Yuan a noncommittal glance. ’The man’s petty schemes couldn’t possibly fool me... which was why he had chosen the seemingly straightforward Sun Min instead.’

"...You!" Sun Min whipped out her sword and slashed at the person behind her, but when she saw his face, her pupils contracted sharply.

The blade was caught lightly between two fingers.

"...H-Huo Governor?!"

As a member of the Jinyi Guard, it was impossible not to recognize... the Chief of the Imperial Guard, whose position in the Jiangnan Region was among the highest.

But the problem was...

"Fake, it’s all..." Sun Min’s teeth chattered. ’How is this possible? Am I hallucinating? Wasn’t that man presumed to have fallen in Jinghai City...? How could he appear before me in such a bizarre way?’

"All what?" a smiling voice asked.

Sun Min’s expression became rigid again. She turned her head bit by bit and saw a silver-haired old man. His eyes were curved into a smile, and he radiated a peaceful aura.

Sun Min: "..."

She didn’t know Hu Kaikang, of course, but the problem was... the red coat Hu Kaikang was wearing was a Bishop’s Robe—

And here in Celestial Capital, no one dared to make a joke out of a Bishop’s Robe!

’So, he really is a Bishop!’

’A Bishop of the God Worship Sect!’

"What business... do you two have with me?" Sun Min managed to squeeze out a smile, but at this moment, it looked utterly obsequious.

Chu Bamboo walked up to Sun Min and sighed deeply. "Sister Sun, you’re breaking my heart! To think that three years ago, you were planning to take me as your child groom... I even deliberately used this face to help you relive the memory! But why is it that here in Celestial Capital, everyone, men and women alike, seems to have a thing for little boys?"

Chu Bamboo frowned. After a moment of thought, his gaze turned sharply to Hu Kaikang, and he launched a fierce accusation: "Is this because of your God Worship Sect?"

"...Slander! I’ll sue you for slander!!" At that moment, Hu Kaikang felt he had been gravely insulted. ’Although, although the God Worship Sect does have a massive number of individual cases... you can’t just use a massive number of individual cases to wantonly define the image of the entire group!!’

’At the very least, Hu Kaikang considered himself normal... While he was single, it was because he had sworn not to start a family until he had defeated the All-Powerful—it had nothing to do with his sexual orientation.’

"???" Sun Min stared blankly at Chu Bamboo, her mind a complete void. ’Wait... how do you know about that?’

’No, it can’t be... Are you really... Then why haven’t you grown up...’

’Could it be a case of being eternally youthful? The kind that never grows up... This... This is bad. Damn it, brain, stop thinking such weird things... But it’s kind of... tempting... No, no, no, brain, calm down!’

Just as Chu Bamboo was about to tease her a bit more, his phone suddenly rang.

Chu Bamboo paused, took out his phone, and saw it was a stran—oh, wait, he recognized this number. It should be Zhao Xu’s, which he had just saved recently.

After a brief silence, Chu Bamboo answered, not with joy, but with wary eyes. Leaving aside the fact he had just left... even if Zhao Xu really needed to contact him, hailing the Hive would have been a more direct method—he had stressed this before leaving. Under these circumstances, getting a phone call was very interesting.

The other end was silent; not even the sound of breathing could be heard. Chu Bamboo abruptly hung up, his face darkening. But before he could speak, the Hive issued a piercing alarm: "Warning! Warning! Captain Zhao Xu has been reported missing after going to the restroom..."

"Commencing information consolidation! Unknown personnel detected/suspected: infiltration/subterfuge/assassination!"

Chu Bamboo froze for a second, his mind racing.

"...Did something happen?" Hu Kaikang asked cautiously. ’Why is it the Divine Language again? This feeling of being out of place... it makes the excluded Hu Kaikang feel sad!’

Just as Chu Bamboo was about to say something, he heard another alert as the Hive’s phone screen turned crimson again: "Warning! Warning—Nuclear fusion power source has sustained damage! Emergency activation of secondary power source... Balance failing! Warning, balance failing..."

"?!" A shadow fell over Chu Bamboo’s eyes. He ignored Hu Kaikang and began climbing the Six Gates building.

A few breaths later, he had scrambled to the top of the three-story building and looked into the distance.

From here, he could see... a distant drone carrier, slowly falling from the sky...