Chapter 206: Who is the Inside Man?

Chapter 206: Who is the Inside Man?

Aboard the cruiser, the members of the Titanium-Cobalt Dragon clan remained vigilant even though they were on their return journey. They stood in four rows, each organized by their squad numbers.

They stood tall like formidable alloy sculptures, silent and steadfast.

Ji Xinghuo sensed that many of the Titanium-Cobalt Dragons were observing him through their helmets, but there was no malice, only curiosity.

After all, he was a celebrity in his own right.

Among the Titanium-Cobalt Dragons, there were surely fans of Zhao Manying who followed his relationship with her.

"Thank you, Sergeant Liu," Ji Xinghuo said as he approached Liu Situo.

Only then did Chi Zhonglin and the others breathe a sigh of relief. They had truly believed they were going to die back there, and now, hearing Ji Xinghuo's words, they also expressed their gratitude.

"It's my duty," Liu Situo replied. He removed his helmet, revealing a youthful face framed by a close-cropped haircut. His features were sharp and carried a strong masculine aura.

However, his towering height of over eight feet was intimidating, forcing Ji Xinghuo, who stood at a mere six feet, to crane his neck to look up at him.

Liu Situo tucked his helmet under his arm and looked down at Ji Xinghuo, suddenly asking, "You've fused with the blood of the Titanium-Cobalt Dragon?"

"Yes," Ji Xinghuo nodded.

"No wonder!" Liu Situo exclaimed, a smile breaking across his face. He placed his massive palm on Ji Xinghuo's shoulder and gave it a gentle pat. "I and my brothers here all felt a sense of familiarity from your aura. It turns out you've fused with the blood of the Titanium-Cobalt Dragon. Your fame has reached even my squad, and some of them often speak of you."

The Titanium-Cobalt Dragons standing nearby let out a friendly laugh.

The teammates were surprised, only now learning that Ji Xinghuo had fused with the blood of the Titanium-Cobalt Dragon. It was extremely rare for someone who wasn't a Titanium-Cobalt Dragon by birth to obtain such an exotic.

"Before I became an Other, my greatest dream was to join the Grand Xia Summer Army and become one of you," Ji Xinghuo said.

"Oh?" Liu Situo raised an eyebrow.

"I can vouch for that," Lu Yunhai chimed in loudly. "Xinghuo worked hard for many years toward that goal."

Liu Situo glanced at him and then returned his attention to Ji Xinghuo, shaking his head but not inquiring further as to why Ji Xinghuo hadn't succeeded.

"What a pity," Liu Situo said.

"With your talent, if you had joined the Summer Army, you would have risen to at least a squad leader, maybe even a company captain. You might have ended up as my superior," Liu Situo clicked his tongue. "Who knows, maybe you would've become my boss, hahaha..."

Ji Xinghuo could tell that this squad leader of the Grand Xia Summer Army had a cold demeanor in battle but was actually quite easygoing and even lively in personality.

If it had been in the past, he would have definitely found a way to join the Summer Army.

But now, there was no need.

The Grand Xia Summer Army wouldn't accept an already famous Other. Those who joined the Titanium-Cobalt Dragons midway sometimes became a source of trouble for the legion.

This was a lesson learned through blood.

Only those who were cultivated from the very beginning could guarantee absolute loyalty!

"You all should get some rest," Liu Situo said, not elaborating further. "We'll be back in Chang'an in an hour."

Ji Xinghuo and the others sat down.

The teammates exchanged glances, each with many questions they wanted to ask, but with the Titanium-Cobalt Dragons present, it wasn't convenient to speak freely.

So they remained silent for the rest of the journey.

An hour later, the cruiser flew into the airspace of the Asia-Pacific Community in near-space, entering the protection of the space-based missile defense system, and they were finally completely safe.

The cruiser lowered its cruising altitude, and at 8:30 in the evening, it landed at an air force base north of Chang'an.

The Titanium-Cobalt Dragons disembarked one after another.

As Ji Xinghuo and his teammates exited the cabin, they saw an empty Sky Fighter parked nearby. Zhou Yishang, accompanied by three Swordbearer squads, had already been waiting for them. In addition to the regular swordsmen, there were several Chi Xiao Swordsmen and two Xuan Yuan Swordsmen whom Ji Xinghuo didn't recognize.

Liu Situo stepped forward and saluted Zhou Yishang, immediately handing over Kaminda.

The two Xuan Yuan Swordsmen took charge of the situation, restraining Kaminda, who had woken up from his unconscious state. They put on specially made handcuffs and shackles before escorting him onto the Sky Fighter.

The sight intimidated Ji Xinghuo's teammates.

"Director Zhou," Ji Xinghuo greeted him.

"Well done!" Zhou Yishang said with a smile. "This time, your plan to lure the snake out of its hole was quite risky, but it was much more successful than the last attempt. At least we've captured a live one, and he's a big fish at that."

However, Ji Xinghuo wasn't overly happy.

Previously, in the rift valley, Kaminda had hinted that he wasn't directly under the command of the Qian Yuan Association. Instead, there seemed to be a layer of separation, similar to how Ghost Wolf had been hired.

Kaminda wasn't the snake that Ji Xinghuo had expected to lure out.

In fact, the moment Ji Xinghuo had seen the giant lizard video, he had suspected that something was amiss and that it might be a trap specifically set for him.

Even though the Sharp Sword Bureau had cleared Jing Ji of any wrongdoing, and the giant lizard had first appeared a few years ago, he still hadn't completely trusted that it was a coincidence.

The giant lizard's appearance and the video might have been mere happenstance.

However, the enemy could use this video as bait to lure him away from Chang'an.

It wasn't a secret that his profession was that of a Magnetic Field Rogue.

Furthermore, over a month ago, he had openly stated his desire for the electrostatic field exotic at the Emperor Star Club. As long as the enemy played along, designed their scheme subtly, and covered their tracks, they might have a chance to trick him into leaving Chang'an without his Purple Electric Sword.

Ji Xinghuo's idea at the time had been to turn the tables on them.

On the day he had returned the Purple Electric Sword, he had secretly discussed this plan with Zhou Yishang.

Of course, Zhou Yishang didn't have the authority to mobilize the Grand Xia Summer Army, so Director Li Hui had stepped in. She had made a request to the Summer Army to borrow a near-space station, which happened to be located above the East African Kingdom in the equatorial region. This meant that the station didn't need to change its orbit, and it wouldn't attract the attention of other countries, allowing for an orbital airdrop at any time.

These past few days, the Titanium-Cobalt Dragons of the Second Company, First Platoon, had been on standby.

The weather in East Africa had also cooperated, with no cloud cover, allowing the satellites to continuously track their movements and monitor the situation on the ground.

A War Eagle-class cruiser had also stealthily entered the atmosphere to support the Titanium-Cobalt Dragons' operation.

However, there was one question that Ji Xinghuo still couldn't figure out.

How had the enemy located them?

Ji Xinghuo's gaze swept across his teammates, and he could tell that they had their suspicions, especially Chi Zhonglin, who had voiced them earlier. Yet, everyone maintained a calm demeanor, and even with Ji Xinghuo's microscopic perception, he couldn't discern any signs of guilt.

"Xinghuo, you don't suspect me, do you?" Chi Zhonglin said with a smile.

"No," Ji Xinghuo replied, slightly troubled.

Lu Yunhai chimed in nonchalantly, "I definitely wouldn't betray everyone. With my abilities, I couldn't even if I wanted to."

Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen nodded in agreement.

The group's gaze shifted to Zhuoligetu, the newest member, who had the highest suspicion.

"The innocent have nothing to fear," Zhuoligetu shrugged, "I'm willing to undergo a mind inquiry."

"Zhuoligetu, don't misunderstand. I don't suspect any of you," Ji Xinghuo quickly clarified. "Perhaps the problem doesn't lie with us but has another cause." The hunt had yielded great results, and his teammates had been very supportive. They were friends, and he didn't want to sour their relationships with suspicion.

"How so?" Jing Ji asked.

"Maybe our electronic devices were being tracked," Ji Xinghuo said as he took out his phone, now a brick, useless.

His teammates followed suit, only to find that their devices were also broken.

"What's going on?"

Ji Xinghuo didn't elaborate further. When he had killed the hunting team with five shots in a second, he had released an electromagnetic pulse, frying the electronic devices on themselves, including phones, translators, and electromagnetic rifles, turning them into scrap metal.

However, they could be repaired for investigation.

"Let's hand in all our electronic devices," Ji Xinghuo suggested, taking the lead by giving his phone and translator to a swordsman.

"Okay."

Everyone followed suit.

Zhou Yishang clapped his hands and said, "Until we figure out what's going on, you'll have to remain here temporarily."

The teammates exchanged glances, understanding that they were being softly detained.

They all boarded the sky-vessel, which soon descended into the Qinling Base. Ji Xinghuo and his teammates took a separate passageway into the interrogation room within the base.

"I apologize for the inconvenience," Ji Xinghuo said, his face filled with guilt.

"It's fine. As long as we can get to the bottom of this, it's no big deal even if we stay here for a few days," Chi Zhonglin waved it off casually.

Jing Ji couldn't help but ask, "Xinghuo, what's going on? From your conversation with Director Zhou, it sounds like someone wants you dead?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to him.

Back in the rift valley, Kaminda had mentioned, "Someone has offered a high price for your lives," and now, in hindsight, it seemed that Kaminda's target had been only one person—Ji Xinghuo.

Previously, during the Super League's opening battle, Ji Xinghuo had been the target of an assassination attempt.

And then there was the attack on the road.

Three consecutive times, legendary beings had made a move, each time stronger than the last, as if someone held an irreconcilable grudge against him.

"It's confidential; I can't say," Ji Xinghuo shook his head helplessly.

"Alright," they replied, not pressing further.

The investigation results came back much faster than expected. A swordsman notified Ji Xinghuo, and less than a minute later, he returned with a disassembled phone in his hand.

"This is my phone," said a startled Yuan Chongzhen.

All eyes turned to him.

Ji Xinghuo opened the phone's casing and pointed to a tiny component, no larger than a few grains of sand, welded onto the circuit board. Unless one was very familiar with the phone's internal structure, it would be nearly impossible to notice, mistaking it for an original part of the phone.

"This is a locator," Ji Xinghuo explained, "it sends out a signal at a specific frequency every minute."

"Ah?" Yuan Chongzhen's face fell, "I didn't know there was this thing in my phone. You have to believe me!"

Ji Xinghuo nodded, "I do."

The enemy had gone to great lengths to target Yuan Chongzhen.

The first time Ji Xinghuo had gained fame was when he, together with Jing Ji, Yuan Chongzhen, and Alex, had slain a legendary Dagonnan in the Starry Realm's frontline. A simple search would reveal this. Later, at the Sword Valley Fortress, they had often interacted, and many bounty hunters knew that Yuan Chongzhen was his friend.

In the Starry Realm, phones couldn't be used, and bounty hunters usually entrusted their phones to be kept safe. If something happened to them, the phones would be sent to their families or designated heirs along with their inheritance.

This provided the perfect opportunity for the enemy to tamper with the phones.

On Earth, everyone kept their phones with them at all times. Whether it was Ji Xinghuo, Jing Ji, or Chi Zhonglin, their phones were rarely out of their possession, making it difficult for others to access them.

Thus, Yuan Chongzhen became the weak link.

"I was too careless," Yuan Chongzhen said guiltily, "I'm sorry, I almost got you all killed."

Ji Xinghuo patted his shoulder, "It's not your fault."

Yuan Chongzhen's face was filled with gratitude.

He took a deep breath and said, "Please arrange a mind inquiry for me through the Sword Bureau. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain myself to everyone."

The group was taken aback.

"Are you sure?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

In fact, Zhou Yishang had already suggested this earlier, but he had been hesitating.

"I must clear my name and prove that I truly didn't know about the locator," Yuan Chongzhen said firmly, self-deprecatingly. "Even if you believe me, the leaders of the Sword Bureau might not, and I don't want to be secretly monitored by swordsmen in the future."

Ji Xinghuo remained silent for a few seconds before finally nodding, "Alright."

Yuan Chongzhen pushed open the door and left.

Jing Ji suddenly spoke up, "I also want to undergo a mind inquiry. After all, I was the first one to see the giant lizard's video, and I was the one who recommended it to Xinghuo."

With that, he followed Yuan Chongzhen out of the interrogation room, where swordsmen were already waiting.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end