Li Zhange picked up the report and quickly scanned it.
His gaze lingered on the na "Chen Qing" for a mont, his brow tightly furrowed.
He put down the report and leaned back in his chair.
"The Uninhabited Zone…"
Li Zhange muttered to himself, "Satellites have captured frequent Mist incidents there multiple tis before. I've always found it strange… Why would those lunatics from the Transcendence Society waste their precious summoning opportunities on a godforsaken, desolate wasteland where not even a ghost can be found? What's the point of them summoning Mist there?"
The female subordinate standing before the desk kept her eyes downcast, her gaze fixed on her own nose and heart, maintaining absolute silence.
She knew her superior's style well;
now was definitely not the ti for her to interject.
Li Zhange didn't need an answer;
he needed a process to sort through his thoughts.
"Doing sothing utterly aningless? That doesn't match the style of those extrely goal-oriented bastards in the Transcendence Society. Unless… they have another objective? Are they testing so new summoning technique? Or is there sothing hidden in that Uninhabited Zone worth them making such a big fuss? The Transcendence Society… what new idea are they researching now?"
The female subordinate remained silent as before.
Li Zhange suddenly sat up straight, looked at his subordinate, and commanded, "Notify all Aberrant Purge Division branches in Xichuan City and the three surrounding cities. Elevate all known information and photographs of the target 'Chen Qing' to High-risk level wanted fugitive status. Issue an arrest warrant. I want him found, alive or dead! Dig him out for ! I want to see what the Transcendence Society is really up to, ssing around in the Uninhabited Zone for a year!"
"Yes, Regional Director! Understood!"
The female subordinate imdiately stood at attention to receive the order, then turned and quickly left to relay the instructions.
...
A secret hall deeply hidden underground.
Its style was bizarre and eerie.
The walls were covered with a dark red substance resembling so kind of biological keratin.
The floor was made of black stone, smooth as a mirror.
From the do hung a chandelier made of pale bones.
Several figures, all wearing uniformly styled dark-patterned black robes, sat around a massive round table.
The round table was carved from a single piece of obsidian.
They were not wearing masks, revealing varied faces.
So were aged and withered, others handso and strangely alluring.
But without exception, the aura around each was restrained, as if blending into the surrounding environnt, yet faintly emitting a pressure that made one's heart palpitate.
They were the core high-ranking mbers of the Transcendence Society.
"Everyone."
A figure with a hoarse, aged voice spoke first, his dry, thin fingers lightly tapping the table. "Over the past year or so, the total amount of Grace we have been able to successfully guide is about 0.5% lower than the projected model. Although the margin is small, it is continuous and stable. This is definitely not natural fluctuation."
A woman with a bewitchingly beautiful face beside him chid in, "This ans that so of our mbers have fewer hunting opportunities available to them. Although it doesn't affect the overall situation for now, in the long run, it will delay the growth of so outstanding seeds and disrupt our deploynts."
"Cause?"
Another burly, muscular man asked.
"We previously suspected it was due to increased interference from the Awakened individuals' side, or that the Grace itself was experiencing periodic fluctuations."
The aged figure said slowly, "But after multiple investigations, we've ruled out those possibilities. Therefore, only one explanation remains: there is an unknown existence, or an unknown thod, consuming a large portion of the Grace quota."
"Investigate!"
The burly man spat out a single word.
"That is precisely what should be done."
The aged figure nodded. "Let us jointly petition the Lord to glimpse the flow of the Grace."
The black-robed figures around the round table simultaneously closed their eyes.
Their hands ford complex yet uniform hand seals in front of them.
Vast ntal power converged among them, connecting to that supre, unfathomable existence.
The hall fell into absolute silence.
A long ti passed.
Almost simultaneously, everyone's bodies gave a slight shudder, and they opened their eyes.
"The northwest… the Gobi Uninhabited Zone outside Xichuan City?"
The bewitching woman repeated the information she had just seen, her tone strange. "Over the past year, that place… actually accounted for over seven hundred Grace responses!?"
"Over seven hundred tis?"
The burly man was also stunned. "That godforsaken place doesn't even have a few blades of grass. What idiot would waste precious Grace there? Instead of hunting humans and absorbing their essence, what's the point of summoning Mist in the desert?"
"This is completely illogical."
The old man said, "Even the most insane mbers of our Society know that Grace should be used in densely populated areas, harvesting life is the proper path. In an Uninhabited Zone… it's aningless."
"Unless…"
The bewitching woman's eyes flashed. "It's not one of our people."
"Not one of our people, yet possessing the thod to guide Grace?"
The burly man's brow furrowed tightly. "A traitor? Or… has a new faction erged?"
"Whatever it is, we must clarify it."
The old man made the final decision. "Imdiately dispatch a team to Xichuan City to investigate this matter secretly. We must find out who this person is, capable of frequently guiding Grace in an Uninhabited Zone. If it's a new faction… assess its value. Absorb it if possible. If not… then eradicate it completely."
"Yes!"
Several voices of acknowledgnt sounded from around the round table.
...
Su Zhan pushed his speed to the limit.
Only after putting over a hundred kiloters between himself and Xichuan City did he finally descend behind a desolate hill, having confird there were no signs of pursuit.
Su Zhan looked at the jacket he was wearing, stained with so blood and dust. He took it off directly and used Mist Energy to corrode it into ashes.
He retrieved a set of clean clothes from the off-road vehicle and changed into them.
Su Zhan got into the driver's seat and glanced at the face in the rearview mirror—the one he had been using for over a year.
"This face can't be used anymore either."
Su Zhan murmured to himself, his tone lacking much regret, instead carrying a sense of being accustod to it.
Over a year… for a fugitive, a fake identity and the matching appearance being usable for this long already counted as an extended battery life.
He needed a new face, a new identity.
But trouble followed imdiately.
The last ti he successfully obtained the "Chen Qing" identity and completed the disguise was entirely thanks to Lin Wei, the local snake, who made introductions and utilized the local black market channels in Lincheng.
But now, he was in the northwest, unfamiliar with the place and its people, and had just clashed with the local official forces. He absolutely could not return to Xichuan City.
Where was the next city?
Where was the black market there?
Who was capable and reliable enough to provide such services?
He knew nothing.
"This is really… troubleso."
Su Zhan rubbed the space between his eyebrows, feeling a headache coming on.
Without a legal identity, moving around in this highly informatized society was practically impossible.
Accommodation, transportation, even large-scale procurent of supplies would beco problems.
Su Zhan started the car and continued driving forward along the road.
He didn't dare take the National Highway again.
He chose so dirt roads, trying his best to avoid major checkpoints and surveillance caras.
He drove continuously for seven or eight hours.
Until the sky was completely dark and the fuel was nearly exhausted.
Su Zhan reached the outskirts of a city slightly smaller in scale than Xichuan City.
This city was called Dingyuan City.
Su Zhan stopped near an abandoned brick factory in the suburbs.
He looked at this off-road vehicle that had accompanied him for a year.
This vehicle had traversed countless Gobi deserts and treacherous terrain, now covered in scratches and dust.
This vehicle had witnessed his year of rapid strength improvent and could be considered to have rendered outstanding service.
But it was exposed.
The Aberrant Purge Division must have already recorded its model and license plate number.
Keeping it would be a massive locator beacon.
"It can only be abandoned."
Su Zhan took a deep look at this weather-beaten vehicle and used Mist Energy to corrode it completely. The car turned into ashes scattered by the wind.
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