Chapter 593: The Fall of Ashes
Chapter 593: The Fall of Ashes
In the Ying Lu District, Director Lei stood atop a building, gazing down at the ritual pattern that had completely extinguished and turned to ashes beneath his feet. He then looked into the distance, where twelve tall buildings with ritual arrangements were emitting wisps of white smoke.
One of his subordinates admired, "It's a good thing Director Lei insisted on reinforcing the ritual beforehand and setting up additional supporting rituals outside. Otherwise, we might not have been able to withstand it."
"Yes, yes," several members of the Esoteric Sect Bureau nodded in agreement.
Theoretically, they didn't need so many materials to capture the Active Consciousness Entity, but Director Lei had insisted, leaving them no choice but to comply. However, many still had doubts and even planned to ridicule him afterward.
Director Lei had only recently assumed his position and had yet to gain the trust of his subordinates. To be honest, this move was somewhat risky, and if it failed, his authority would be greatly diminished.
But he proved his approach to be correct and even surpassed everyone's expectations. In an instant, he earned the respect and admiration of all.
Director Lei said, "If it weren't for Director Qian's strong support, I wouldn't have been able to do this. And..." He glanced at the collapsed Ferris Wheel, "...if it weren't for that person, this matter wouldn't have been so easily resolved."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
They had witnessed the final strike—a massive Ferris Wheel, over two hundred meters tall, had been split open. It was hard to imagine such a feat being accomplished by human hands, which explained why Director Lei had been so confident this time. Judging by his tone, Director Lei seemed to know the person, and he must have powerful connections elsewhere, making him far from ordinary.
At that moment, Director Lei said, "Let's clean up here and go. The rest is no longer our concern. After working tirelessly for so many days, everyone can finally get some well-deserved rest."
The subordinate hesitated and asked in a low voice, "Director Lei, what about the Ferris Wheel Corporation?"
This time, they had also contributed, and there were departmental interests involved in the follow-up handling of the Ferris Wheel Corporation. They couldn't just let it go.
Director Lei waved his hand and said, "This is where Director Qian should step in. It's not appropriate for me to get involved."
Everyone realized, "Yes, sir!"
Director Qian was the chief director, renowned for his expertise in securing funds. This matter was best left to him.
However, they had also heard that Director Lei's arrival was to succeed Director Qian. It seemed likely that after this incident, the official handover would take place.
In the Jinbei Province, outside a warehouse, an armed vehicle arrived and stopped. Specialist Cao stepped out, and the guard at the entrance opened the door for him, saying, "Please come in, Specialist Cao. Mr. Chu is inside."
Specialist Cao entered with two subordinates. In the vast warehouse, Mr. Chu stood in the center, waiting. After they approached, he spoke with a solemn expression, "Specialist Cao, you're late."
Specialist Cao glanced at the people standing behind him and asked, "New faces? Did you replace your team, Mr. Chu?"
Mr. Chu ignored his question and asked, "Did you bring the action plan?"
Specialist Cao extended his hand, and his subordinate immediately retrieved the document from his briefcase, handing it over. Mr. Chu took it and passed it forward.
Mr. Chu examined the document and suddenly tensed up. He looked up and said, "A multi-departmental joint plan, why didn't you report it promptly?"
Specialist Cao replied, "Communication was cut off, and I didn't know your whereabouts. I tried to find you, but your people were nowhere to be found. I couldn't let the plan be put on hold, so I chose to proceed without further delay."
Mr. Chu recalled that he had been plotting against Chen Bitong and preventing the General Affairs Bureau from interfering, which was why he had cut off communication. However, he knew that if Specialist Cao truly wanted to find him, it wouldn't be difficult.
Mr. Chu spoke sternly, "Your plan is too risky. If it fails, the Municipal Parliament will retaliate, and the situation in Central City will become chaotic. The committee deems it unfeasible, and you must halt it immediately!"
Specialist Cao said, "The committee can block the General Affairs Bureau, but not other departments. Moreover..." He glanced at Mr. Chu, "...it's probably too late now."
As Mr. Chu was about to respond, a burst of intense light suddenly shone from outside, visible even through the modified warehouse's open skylight.
Simultaneously, both of their field domains displayed a prompt, and they quickly touched their field domains to listen to the report.
After hearing the report, Specialist Cao looked at Mr. Chu and said, "The Horizon Plan has been completed." He paused, "Take your time reviewing it. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't stay long."
Upon hearing the news, Mr. Chu's expression turned somber. With the plan already executed, what was the point of reviewing it? He watched Specialist Cao leave and, after a while, picked up the document again, his gaze settling on the recommended executor.
"The Handling Bureau's execution captain, Chen Chuan," he read.
Inside the command center, Specialist Liang listened to reports from various districts. Most of his attention had been focused on the Ferris Wheel Corporation, leaving other areas unattended.
Fortunately, the situation was manageable because most of the mercenaries' and the company's forces had been exhausted, making it less challenging to handle than before.
Moreover, with the threat from the Ferris Wheel eliminated, the emergency response units stationed there could be deployed to address issues in other locations, providing ample resources for handling the situation.
After reading and replying to the reports from various regions, he pressed the bridge of his nose and took out a pill from his pocket, swallowing it to reinvigorate his spirit.
Just then, a liaison officer rushed up and reported, "Specialist Liang, Canglong Corporation has sent a report. About ten minutes ago, they sank a submarine in the coastal area, believed to have emerged from the Ferris Wheel Tower. They sent in modified aquatic creatures to inspect, and besides armed personnel, they found some suspected Ferris Wheel Company employees. However, they were likely already dead before the submarine was sunk."
Specialist Liang immediately took the report and thought about it. According to the previous analysis from the watchtower, the existence was likely attached to a director of the Ferris Wheel Company. If that were the case, these people were most likely killed by that existence.
He turned to his female assistant beside him and said, "Send someone to take over immediately and secure the evidence." The female assistant promptly replied, "I'll go right away."
Specialist Liang's expression relaxed slightly, and he patted the report again. With this evidence in hand, they had one more reason to eliminate the Ferris Wheel Company—their collusion with an existence from the opposite realm.
If it were just a matter of dealing with the Ferris Wheel Company, the Municipal Assembly might have compromised and appeased. But with this evidence, no one could argue against it anymore.
In the current situation, opposing the existence from the opposite realm was absolutely the right thing to do. Even if you had colluded, you couldn't openly admit it.
Before the collapse of the Ferris Wheel Tower, Chen Chuan emerged from the large pit, step by step. At that moment, he still had some subtle scattered arcs on his body, remnants of his rift traversal.
During his last rift traversal, as he channeled the Flying Dragon Fist Energy, he seemed to have caught a glimpse of a lead...
The sound of propellers came from above, and he looked up to see several airships flying overhead, heading towards the sea. At that moment, the crimson mist on his body slowly dissipated.
He turned to look in the direction where the crimson mist was dissipating and nodded.
When he landed, he had originally intended to use his secondary self to withstand the impact, but Hong Fu's power shielded him from the damage.
Just then, he looked up and saw several armed personnel, each carrying weapons, emerging from the broken entrance of the tower. There were about ten of them, led by Guan Shangjing, the security supervisor of the Ferris Wheel Company.
Under the spiritual impact of Wu Qi's power, even though these people were hiding, they couldn't escape the impact. Those with insufficient strength died on the spot, and only these few with somewhat decent strength remained alive. Seeing Chen Chuan, they tensed up and raised their weapons.
Chen Chuan's gaze swept over the group, and he could clearly sense from the field domain that their bodies were infected with something. They probably wouldn't live much longer.
This was likely caused by that existence.
With the Celestial Gateway open, there was no longer any protection. Even a third-limit fighter without a certain level of spiritual power would be unable to resist the invasion and infiltration at close range.
Guan Shangjing's throat suddenly felt itchy, and he began coughing uncontrollably.
He wiped the corner of his mouth and found that he had coughed up a lot of black blood, with countless tiny black bugs inside.
One of the armed personnel's weapon-wielding hand suddenly dropped to the ground, the cut end pitch-black as if all flesh and blood had been removed. Some stood stiffly, then fell straight to the ground, their bodies inexplicably broken into several segments. Others were even more exaggerated, as if they had just tried to flank Chen Chuan, and their heads directly fell off their bodies as they walked too fast.
Many more of them froze in place, turning into sculptures with various poses.
Guan Shangjing's breathing became rapid, and he felt his chest tightening while his limbs gradually lost strength.
If he could observe himself at this moment, he would probably discover black blood seeping from his eyes, with tiny black bugs crawling in and out.
Just then, he heard the sound of marching boots approaching from the distance, knowing that the main force was coming up. He looked up at Chen Chuan once more, then drew his sword with a clang.
However, he didn't charge forward but knelt down facing the direction of the sea, aiming his sword at his own neck. With a forceful slash, a spray of black blood shot out, and his head slowly drooped.
Chen Chuan glanced at him, then at the broken tower of the Ferris Wheel Company. After the Ferris Wheel fell, only this building stood alone, now covered by dancing gray snowflakes, like a broken monument. With a surge of sea breeze, the gray dust flakes blew towards the distant, surging ocean tide.
(End of Chapter)
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