Chapter 544: The Setup
Chapter 544: The Setup
In the heart of Central City, Chen Bitong's convoy navigated through multiple checkpoints, smoothly exiting the Radiant Light District and heading northwest.
The convoy drove through the Victory Zone and entered the Deep Void Zone, eventually coming to a halt in front of a deserted commercial building complex.
Coincidentally, this location wasn't far from where Chen Chuan had previously arranged to meet Su Wei.
Fang Zhixin spoke up, "We've arrived. Let's get out."
The car doors opened, and Yu Lie stepped out, his hands in his pockets, casually waving away the surrounding flying insects. He then scanned the area.
Although it was still before 5 a.m., the sky had been bright since the middle of the previous night.
All around, there were abandoned commercial buildings and dilapidated streets in disrepair. About a hundred meters away, a massive billboard, mostly damaged with only its metal frame remaining, advertised a cosmetic brand. Faintly visible was the brand's logo, a lotus flower, now faded.
Above, several birds preened their feathers, but upon noticing Yu Lie, they fluttered their wings and flew away, startled.
After surveying the area, Yu Lie turned to see the personnel from the convoy quietly exiting their vehicles. They silently dispersed, efficiently setting up equipment and weapons from the trucks.
First, they built bonfires, adding medicinal incense from the boxes, which quickly dispersed the dense swarm of insects with its rising smoke. Then, they dug trenches and set up wire mesh barriers.
Some team members entered the abandoned buildings for inspection and set up firing positions at higher levels.
These individuals seemed familiar with the area and had specific tasks, communicating little as they worked. The entire scene was silent, leaving Yu Lie with a sense of oppression.
He tugged at his collar, wondering what they were doing and who they were preparing to face.
Just then, he noticed two people unloading long boxes from the last transport truck, each containing tall stakes.
Iron Cloak Jade Stakes?
In the old era, these were common war tools used by the former imperial court. According to historical records, these stakes were "clad in iron, containing gold and jade within. When struck, they would ring with the sound of gold and vibrate with the resonance of jade, their brilliance reaching a hundred li." They were used on the battlefield to transmit military information.
In the new era, they became ceremonial objects, but with technological improvements, they were replaced with biological materials, becoming a special type of field creature. These creatures could substitute for field interference creatures, and when arranged in arrays, they could cover a wide range, effectively disrupting the field.
However, it was unclear if they had any other uses.
Unfortunately, Yu Lie couldn't relay this information. Not only was the field interference creature still active, but any slight movement he made would expose his position.
So, it was best to remain still and serve as a coordinate marker for now. He believed that once he stopped, the action team would arrive.
Inside the Defense Department Command Center, Liang Zhuanyuan watched the large screen above. The fourth wave of splits had occurred, and this time, there were as many as twenty-seven split bodies.
Various teams rushed to the locations where the split bodies appeared, following the previous deployment plan. The situation was more severe than before, as more mercenary teams learned about their activities and joined the fray. In addition to hindering the response forces, these teams occasionally exchanged fire with each other.
The female assistant placed her hand on the interdimensional link and waited. After a while, she spoke, "Commissioner, the Government Hall is under great pressure. The response teams are facing significant delays, and it's possible that multiple units won't complete their recovery tasks within the designated timeframe. They're requesting support from the Defense Department's airships."
Liang Zhuanyuan considered this and firmly replied, "Refuse."
If only a few airships were dispatched from the Radiant Light District and Martial Stability District, the situation would improve significantly. Even a portion of the airships from Mount Mo Tie and White Bird District would be sufficient.
Yet, they chose to remain idle rather than provide even a single airship for support.
Of course, Liang Zhuanyuan's refusal wasn't due to stubbornness. He had more far-reaching considerations. He wondered about the possible existence of the former imperial court's special forces and their location and timing of appearance. Furthermore, he was aware of the presence that had been hiding since its arrival and was likely waiting for the right moment. Liang Zhuanyuan needed to hold several cards to play at the critical moment.
The female assistant seemed to receive another message and spoke up, "Commissioner, forty-five minutes ago, Chen Bitong left the Radiant Light District and is currently suspected to be in the Victory Zone."
Liang Zhuanyuan frowned and asked, "Why wasn't this reported earlier?"
The female assistant replied, "The Administration Bureau sent a message, but it was intercepted by the Temporary Special Action Committee. The message we received just now was their second attempt."
Liang Zhuanyuan shook his head slightly. One of the Temporary Special Action Committee's responsibilities was to restrict and supervise the Administration Bureau during specific actions, often leading to the Bureau's constraints.
But why were they still engaging in departmental struggles at this time?
Moreover, the Temporary Special Action Committee was not only overly aggressive but also willing to use any means and disregard the consequences to achieve their goals. In this situation, they clearly wanted to take charge and prevent others from getting involved.
He hoped that the Special Action Committee would be capable of handling the situation without any mishaps.
In the Victory Zone, near the abandoned commercial buildings, a series of iron cloak stakes were erected, forming a horizontal and vertical array, shimmering with golden light under the sky's radiance.
Fang Zhixin inspected the setup and communicated with his team members before approaching Chen Bitong. "Teacher, everything is ready. Is there anything else we need to do?"
"Nothing else is required. Just wait here," Chen Bitong replied.
"Okay."
Yu Lie felt like the two of them were playing a guessing game, but in theory, for Yu Lie, who idolized Chen Bitong, his routine was to follow Chen's instructions without question. So, at that moment, he could only keep quiet.
After waiting for about seventeen or eighteen minutes, Yu Lie noticed that the rifts around them had become more numerous and dense, a stark contrast to the previous situation. His heart skipped a beat. "This is..."
In front of Chen Bitong, the flickering rifts gradually began to converge, eventually merging into a larger rift.
Yu Lie's heart raced. It seemed like Chen Bitong had anticipated the appearance of a rift here. How did he know? Could it be...
He glanced at the jade stakes. Could they have something to do with this?
Fang Zhixin approached and said, "Major Yu, you seem to have some doubts."
Yu Lie feigned nonchalance. "I do have some doubts, but it's nothing major. I'll support whatever Teacher Chen decides."
"Anything at all?"
Yu Lie replied without hesitation, "Anything."
Fang Zhixin smiled. "No wonder Teacher Chen wanted to bring you along, Major Yu. Please stand over here." He indicated a spot.
In a 1-9-1-2-1-0 version, there is no mistake!
Yu Lie took a look. It was right next to Chen Bitong. Without asking why, he walked over and stood firmly, asking, "And then?"
Fang Zhixin smiled and said, "Don't worry. When the time comes for you to take action, Major Yu, I'm sure you'll have the patience, right?"
Yu Lie clicked his tongue and took out the coin, starting to flip it.
Standing before the gradually expanding rift, he didn't know what would happen, and he couldn't help but feel a bit tense, but his expression remained nonchalant.
Soon enough, he felt a slight tremor under his feet. Initially, he thought it was a minor earthquake, but then he realized—was this the fifth wave of Mumia's splitting?
How much time had passed since the last split? Why was this one coming so quickly?
Suddenly, he noticed a crack appearing on the ground, from which a tiny, miniscule object emerged. It was about the size of a fingertip, and as it floated upwards, it gradually rolled and grew. It resembled a curled-up, sea-like object, surrounded by a layer of transparent liquid.
Was this... a split body?
His unease grew. Even though he wasn't part of the Central City government, he knew that the location of each split body was hard to pinpoint. At most, they could only outline a general area, or else they would have sent someone to guard the spot, and there wouldn't be any problems. But what was going on now?
There was a rift right here, and a split body appeared right on it?
He glanced at Chen Bitong, standing at the side. No one present was doing anything about the split body, but whatever they were planning must be bigger. Why hadn't the action team arrived yet?
At that moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.
After the split body appeared, it entered the rift's light, and the rift became more stable.
Inside the command center, the tower reported, "A stable rift has been detected in the fifth abandoned commercial area of the Victory Zone, with a split body entering it. It is recommended to deal with it as soon as possible."
Li Zhuanyuan glanced at the marked area on the light screen. The Victory Zone... could this be a coincidence?
The place Chen Bitong had gone to was the Victory Zone.
He spoke in a deep voice, "Dispatch an additional dispatched response force and..." He paused, "...send the 'Second Team' to stand by there."
The female assistant looked and then, after seeing the authorization from Jie Pingli on the interdimensional link, she began to notify the team.
For the previous dispatch teams, direct orders were sufficient, but this team was special because it was composed of capable members selected from the Handling Bureau and the Defense Department.
The team members were exceptionally powerful, the main force for handling critical issues. Even during the third wave of rifts, when problems arose, Li Zhuanyuan didn't mobilize them, but now, facing the possibility of encountering Chen Bitong, he had no choice but to deploy them.
However, after thinking it over, he added, "Send a stamina recovery potion to Captain Chen Chuan."
The female assistant was slightly surprised but didn't ask further, nodding and beginning to issue orders to Jie Pingli.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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