Her hand shot toward Zhang Hengyu's shoulder — but her expression shifted abruptly. She snapped her head around. A gale slammed into her face.
The metal corridor dented beneath Su Chen's foot as he pushed off, cyan wind currents surging. Wrath of the Gale activated — compressed wind coiling around his arm — and he threw a devastating punch.
Zhang Yunqing's brow twitched. The hand reaching for her brother was forced to redirect.
BANG!
Their strikes collided. Wind howled. Both separated on contact.
"If my brother doesn't want to go, maybe don't force him." Su Chen's arm was already sheathed in blue wire, his tone perfectly flat.
'Gale Hunter...' Zhang Yunqing's face darkened. Her gaze swept over the unusual arm armor.
Her professional development far exceeded Su Chen's, but a fight wasn't what she'd come for. The bigger the scene, the more trouble it would cause.
Zhang Hengyu looked utterly helpless, unsure whose side to take — a picture of indecision.
But at that exact moment, alarm klaxons erupted throughout the branch office.
Soon enough, Hou Xu — who'd been hiding downstairs to watch the drama — steeled himself and came up. "We just received word. The Internal Affairs Hall has been attacked."
"The Internal Affairs Hall?" Su Chen's face changed. That was Zhou Xian's stronghold. He exchanged a glance with Zhang Yunqing, and both stood down simultaneously.
The woman shot him one last venomous glare and left in a rush.
............
"...Where did I go wrong raising him?" Zhang Hongbo stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, brow locked tight, gazing down over all of Nanfeng City.
The moment Zhang Hengyu went to the branch office, the fishing operation had been dead in the water. The Evil God cults wouldn't entertain even a shred of false hope now — even if Zhang Hengyu left immediately, it was too late.
Guarding against everything, and a saboteur still slipped through from within his own family.
How had he produced such a foolish son? How had he never noticed?
"Then again... maybe this isn't entirely a bad thing..."
Zhang Hongbo's pupils lost focus. Then, without warning, a flash of lightning ignited in the depths of his eyes.
"Hm?" His expression contorted. In the distance, a building erupted in a violent explosion, fire spiraling into the sky.
"That's — the direction of the Internal Affairs Hall!"
"A decoy? Or a diversion?" Zhang Hongbo's face shifted through a rapid sequence of calculations. He didn't hesitate long — he opened his wristband, dispatched a flurry of commands, and launched himself out the window.
He reached the scene quickly. The Internal Affairs building was engulfed in thick, churning smoke. Masses of personnel poured from emergency exits, crying and shouting.
The nearest patrol squads had already arrived, cordoning off the area and evacuating bystanders.
"Yang Yan?" Zhang Hongbo's gaze flickered. He spotted the white-haired man standing atop a nearby rooftop, looking back at him.
Some unspoken understanding passed between them. They moved simultaneously, slipping toward the Internal Affairs Hall in silence.
Residual elemental energy hung thick in the air. Zhang Hongbo was on maximum alert, his psychic field spread wide. Along the way, he pulled several trapped staff members to safety.
The lower floors were relatively undamaged. The confrontation had been brief. What exactly had happened?
Zhang Hongbo held his breath. Two or three floors from the top, his steps suddenly froze. His face went grim.
Through his psychic field, he sensed a life force of staggering magnitude — immovable as bedrock.
Then the presence vanished. Zhang Hongbo's pupils constricted. Every instinct screamed at him to flee — but a gravelly voice came from behind. "Zhang Hongbo."
His body locked rigid. His throat bobbed. The other's life force had been so overwhelming that he couldn't even assess basic details like height or weight.
"The people from Yingfeng have discovered us. We should pull out." The voice was heavy, grave.
"What?" Zhang Hongbo was bewildered.
"Seems like you're not one of ours..." The voice behind him sounded almost disappointed. Zhang Hongbo sensed something wrong. He turned his head with exquisite caution — and one look froze him solid.
"Elder... E-Elder Xia? Chief Inquisitor Xia?"
Xia Hanshi cast him a single glance. Zhang Hongbo felt as if he'd plunged into an ice abyss — followed immediately by a wave of pure relief at still being alive.
If his reaction had been wrong just now, this man would have killed him without blinking.
"E-Elder Xia, you've... arrived." Yang Yan sensed the commotion and crept over, forcing the words past numb lips.
"Useless." Xia Hanshi's rebuke was frigid. "You arrived days before me and have nothing to show for it."
Yang Yan didn't dare talk back. He scrambled to change the subject. "What happened here?"
Xia Hanshi snorted coldly. "That Zhou Xian fellow had something to hide. I'd barely pressed him with a couple of questions before he gave himself away."
"You got evidence?" Yang Yan's scalp crawled. Zhou Xian had stayed hidden for this long — there was no way a few pointed questions would crack him.
"Who needs evidence? He confessed." Xia Hanshi shook his head.
Yang Yan's blood ran colder by the second. He couldn't help himself. "You didn't just threaten to kill him if he didn't confess, did you?"
Xia Hanshi said nothing.
Zhang Hongbo felt his entire soul go numb. He'd heard the legends of this man, but this was the first time he'd experienced him in person.
"However, the bastard had some tricks up his sleeve. He actually escaped." Xia Hanshi added belatedly.
Yang Yan winced. "Nanfeng City isn't that big. If no bigger fish surfaces, and if he..."
Xia Hanshi's frostbitten gaze landed on him. "If you're so clever, why didn't you catch him yourself?"
Yang Yan reflexively retreated two steps, helpless. "Suspicion is still just suspicion. We were investigating quietly."
Besides, not everyone had this Chief Inquisitor's license to act with impunity.
"By the time you finish your 'investigation,' everyone will be dead." Xia Hanshi loathed hand-wringing. His figure blurred and vanished.
Zhang Hongbo's taut nerves loosened a fraction. Beneath the relief, suppressed fury simmered. He fixed Yang Yan with an icy stare. "The 6th Chief Inquisitor. Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
Yang Yan's gaze wandered. "He ordered us not to."
Zhang Hongbo's face was a thundercloud. His fists clenched and unclenched, frustration near bursting.
............
"What are we hiding here for?"
On the roof of a building adjacent to the branch office, two figures lay flat, wearing Supervision Department uniforms.
Zhang Hengyu was confused. The moment his sister left, Su Chen had frantically hustled him into disguises and slipped out of the branch office blended among the guards.
"Who knows if this is a diversion? Let's hope your father's smart enough." Su Chen pressed binoculars to his eyes, monitoring the branch office and its surroundings.
"Uh..." Zhang Hengyu didn't know how to respond to that.
[The Scholar and the Sage have hit it off wonderfully. The Scholar even invites the Sage to join the reeducation of the Believer of Black Buddha. The Sage is delighted, and considers you a person of great wisdom. You may advance immediately — you simply need to supply the information of one final top-tier profession within the allotted time.]
[The Sage has joined the reeducation of the Believer of Black Buddha...]
Without warning, Su Chen's expression turned extraordinary. 'They're getting along that well?'
'Apparently... I can advance now?'
Su Chen stared at the word "ADVANCE" glowing beside the Sage profession. He observed three minutes of silent mourning for the Believer of Black Buddha, then happily accepted.
"Hm? Fatty Sun's here?" Su Chen suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure. He considered for a moment. "It's been long enough. Probably not a diversion."
After a brief deliberation, he led Zhang Hengyu back to the branch office.
"Little bro — out on patrol, were you? Such dedication..."
On the top floor, Fatty Sun hadn't even knocked when he heard footsteps on the stairs and spotted Su Chen coming up.
He squinted at the figure trailing behind — looked vaguely familiar. Those tiny eyes narrowed to slits as he studied the face for a good long moment before recognition struck.
Zhang Hengyu?
Fatty Sun nodded approvingly to himself. Brother Su really was sharp — he knew how to repay a favor. The City Lord gives him a leg up, and here he is, cozying up to the man's son.