"Nonsense." Emotions surged in Zhang Hongbo's eyes as he asked his final question: "If I hadn't co, would you have taken them away with you to make hesitate to pelt a rat for fear of smashing the vase beside it, thereby forcing to protect you?"
"How could that be possible..." Zhang Feng instantly denied it. Before he could even finish speaking, his eyes rolled back, and he simply collapsed stiffly, void of all vitality.
"Father..." Zhang Hengyu's expression was sluggish, watching helplessly as his Second Uncle collapsed.
"Father, what exactly is going on here?" Zhang Yunqing asked urgently, a bad premonition faintly rising in her heart.
"He... colluded with the Evil God Cults." Zhang Hongbo lowered his head, looking down at the body on the floor, his chest still heaving slightly.
"What?" Zhang Yunqing's heart trembled violently, only then coming to a sudden realization.
Previously, she had actually subconsciously excluded anyone related to Zhang Hongbo from suspicion.
"Was it discovered by Yang Yan and the others?" Zhang Yunqing couldn't help but ask.
"Even worse..." Zhang Hongbo sighed. "It was discovered by Elder Xia."
Zhang Yunqing's face paled, suddenly feeling waves of chill emanating from the surrounding shadows.
"I am no longer the City Lord of Nanfeng," Zhang Hongbo further added.
Zhang Yunqing didn't feel the slightest bit surprised, but Zhang Hengyu, beside her, lost his voice and murmured upon hearing this: "Father..."
Zhang Yunqing's gaze swept over. Seeing that his expression was still sluggish, an anger born from frustration at his failure to live up to expectations instantly welled up within her. "You..."
"Hengyu..." Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Zhang Hongbo.
Zhang Hengyu looked up blankly, but instead saw a kind of paternal love he had never seen before on his father's face, carrying gratification as he said, "You did well. A sincere and honest heart might not necessarily be a bad thing."
'?'
For so reason, Zhang Hengyu only felt his vision blur. It had been a very, very long ti since he had heard praise from his father's mouth.
"Build a good relationship with Su Chen..." Zhang Hongbo couldn't help saying, but then shook his head. "Forget it, just act according to your heart."
"Su Chen?" Zhang Hengyu only felt a sense of trance.
Seeing the two of them looking bewildered, Zhang Hongbo didn't hide anything either, stating straightforwardly: "Su Chen is already Elder Xia's student."
"He..." Zhang Yunqing froze, Su Chen's face surfacing before her eyes. She couldn't help but say, "How could that be..."
"Physical and ntal, Double Red Gold." Zhang Hongbo was concise and comprehensive.
"D-Double... Red Gold!?" Zhang Yunqing was left staring with her tongue tied, as if struck by lightning.
"Double Red Gold, huh? No wonder..." Zhang Hengyu instead felt a sense of sudden understanding.
"We'll end our chat here. There are still so loose ends that need handling." He looked at his younger brother again, a look of unbearable reluctance flashing through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by frostiness.
"Don't go anywhere, none of you."
Watching their father leave, Zhang Yunqing still found it sowhat unimaginable. Sitting on the sofa, it was only after a long ti that a bitter smile surfaced on her face.
Being Xia Hanshi's student indeed carried a certain curse-like connotation, but ultimately, it was still being the student of a Chief Inquisitor.
In Nanfeng, this still placed him above everyone else!
"He's quite decisive, however..."
In the shadows, Xia Hanshi's figure vanished.
...
Pinching his nose, Zhou Xian found the hidden Priest in the subterranean sewers. Seeing the latter's miserable state, he was instantly shocked inwardly:
"Priest, what happened? What happened to you?"
"What's the situation on your end?" The Priest's pitch-black pupils stared at him coldly.
Bringing up this matter, a lingering fear washed over Zhou Xian: "I initially sent two people in to probe, but things developed rather bizarrely, so I didn't dare to act. I kept watch nearby for a few hours, and sure enough, I found Zhang Hongbo's people showing up..."
"Thankfully I was cautious and didn't act rashly; otherwise, I would have been caught like a turtle in a jar."
"You were truly smart," the Priest's tone rippled.
"Then on your end..." Zhou Xian subconsciously took a step back.
"Not long after you left, Xia Hanshi brought people from Yingfeng, along with Zhang Hongbo, straight to the Central Trade Depository." The Priest spoke hoarsely, "They ca in a hurry. I didn't have any preparations, and all my subordinates died in battle. I only managed to escape by relying on the might of the Holy Statue."
"They showed up right at your doorstep?" Zhou Xian paled in fright. "How could this be? That place is an absolute secret. There must be an internal spy who leaked it."
"Yes, I thought so too." The Priest nodded. "I was just looking for you to help analyze this."
"Mmm... could it be that fellow Zhang Feng?" Zhou Xian imdiately imrsed himself in his role, pondering as he shook his head: "That's not quite right. Although he is privy to the information, he is a believer, so it's impossible for him to have leaked it."
"Then this is sowhat troubleso. Everyone who knows about this matter is a believer. Logically speaking, it's practically impossible for it to be leaked."
"Incorrect. There is still one person who isn't a believer." The Priest slowly stood up.
"Mmm..." Zhou Xian blanked slightly, his expression changing drastically. "You suspect !?"
"Who else?" the Priest countered. "According to your own analysis, the only one who could possibly have leaked it seems to be solely yourself."
"It's absolutely not !" Zhou Xian was resolute and decisive, swiftly explaining, "I have no reason to do so. Furthermore, even if I really did, why would I co back? To seek my own death?"
"I don't know." The Priest shook his head. "But I have already lost my trust in you. You only have one path: beco a believer, or... die."
Unknown to Zhou Xian, the surroundings had already been enveloped in darkness; even the foul stench had disappeared.
Zhou Xian's face turned ashen. He knew he no longer had a choice, and instantly said, "I am willing to beco a believer of the Holy Lord."
The Priest's movents paused slightly, a wave of suspicion welling up in his heart. 'Was it really not him?'
"Co forward," he beckoned.
Zhou Xian took a deep breath, stepped forward, and half-knelt before the Priest with his head bowed.
"...Our Lord within the rift, Saint of the Sevenfold Shackles, the Eye that Peeks into the Human Heart..."
Along with the low chanting, everything around began to blur. Zhou Xian involuntarily raised his head, only to find the Priest had disappeared, replaced by a black vertical pupil.
"My Lord..." he cried out involuntarily, a glint of fanaticism flashing through his eyes. "Only today do I believe in My Lord; myriad sins are difficult to wash from my body."
The Priest paid no mind to this, rely staring at him fixedly. "Zhou Xian, before you believed in Our Lord, was it you who leaked the information about the Central Trade Depository?"
"No." Zhou Xian still shook his head. "Although I had yet to recognize the greatness of Our Lord at the ti, I also did not betray you."
'It really wasn't him...' The Priest suddenly felt entirely bewildered. He had originally been certain it was Zhou Xian, but now that the other party had beco a believer, it was impossible for him to lie.
So who exactly had leaked the information?
The Priest temporarily repressed his doubts, looking down at Zhou Xian: "Right now, we need to be even more cautious in our actions. I utilized a portion of the Holy Statue's power. It is already very difficult to summon the Holy Lord's descent again; I need to replenish its power..."
"The Slums." Zhou Xian provided the answer on the very first thought. "The population there is dense, and the managent is loose. As long as we arrange things carefully and exploit a ti gap, we will have enough ti to accomplish our goal before Nanfeng discovers it."
The Priest nodded in satisfaction. Regardless of everything else, now there were only two people privy to the information, so it was safe at last.
...
【Wind and Thunder Adept: 15%】
【Psionic Adept: 10%】
【E-Grade Fierce Wind Body Forging thod — Proficient: 60%】
【E-Grade Illusory Star ditation thod — Novice: 90%】
Sweeping a glance at his panel, Su Chen erged from the gravity room and went to the washroom to rinse the sweat off his body. Standing before the mirror, azure wind currents surged from various parts of his body.
"The advanced profession of Gale Hunter, 'Hurricane Warrior,' is only a mid-3rd-tier. The intensity is too low." Su Chen's train of thought wandered; this was information he had learned after inquiring with Yang Yan.
"Even if I use Evid God Power to interfere, if the promotion requirents appear, the difficulty will definitely be harder than upgrading from Advanced to Top-Tier. Yingfeng should have better professions; I'll check if there are any substitutes when the ti cos."
Before long, his body had been blown clean and refreshing. The physique reflected in the mirror had grown increasingly muscular and robust. Su Chen took a few satisfying looks before cautiously switching to the 'Black Buddha Cultist' status and perceiving carefully.
"Why does that Statue of Black Buddha keep moving around?"
After fleeing from Old Xia's hands, the coordinates of the Statue of Black Buddha had been constantly shifting over these past few days. The ti it stayed in any interdiate location never exceeded half an hour each ti.
"There's no way to inform Old Xia about this either..." Su Chen felt quite conflicted about this.
Locking onto it the first ti could still be smoothed over with an excuse, but chasing after the other party as if he had planted a tracker on them was simply too much.
"According to what Yang Yan and the others said, the Statue of Black Buddha suffered heavy depletion last ti. Furthermore, summoning Black Buddha definitely requires it to be fixed in one location. They should still be searching for a suitable spot right now."
"Hurry up and stop in one place already, so I can spout so nonsense." Su Chen complained inwardly. He opened his closet and picked out a set of decent clothes.
It was barely noon, yet he had already finished his training, all because Old Yuan was returning today.
Azure scales slithered across the surface of his skin, soon covering his entire body, before he draped an outer shirt over himself.
...
In the mid-level parking lot of the Supervision Departnt, a hovercar slowly ca to a halt. Yuan Chenyang, wearing a solemn expression, stepped out and looked up at the still-magnificent building.
Although he had only been gone for about two months or so, he couldn't be certain whether the current Supervision Departnt remained loyal to him.
He had deeply experienced Zhang Hongbo's thods and finesse firsthand.
"I also don't know what urgent matter it exactly is, for Zhang Hongbo and the Yingfeng Special Envoys to jointly issue a dispatch summoning back." Yuan Chenyang speculated inwardly.
The information he had gathered was all official news. He only knew that the Exploration, City Patrol, and Supervision—all three departnts—were currently conducting an extensive joint operation in the city, making a huge commotion.
"Minister?"
A patrol guard spotted Yuan Chenyang and called out a few tis in disbelief. Yuan Chenyang waved hand and walked into the building.
"Minister..."
"Minister..."
Greetings rang out incessantly along the way. Yuan Chenyang responded to them one by one, heading straight for the top floor.
anwhile, Sun Tai, who was sweating profusely, had just arrived at the parking lot only to hear that the Minister had already gone up. He couldn't help but sigh mournfully, "And here I wanted to personally tell him this piece of good news first."
But then, he thought of Su Chen, and his expression changed slightly again. "Forget it, it's better to let the Minister find out for himself."
...
"Are you all here?"
Yuan Chenyang didn't even knock on the door, pushing it open and walking straight into his forr office. He then discovered Zhang Hongbo standing by the porthole window, as well as Yang Yan and Gu Bing sitting on the sofa.
He instantly grew vigilant, a series of ominous predictions surfacing in his mind.
An urgent recall, heavily guarded and waiting in full array—no matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like a good thing. Perhaps, any mont now, soone would walk in and pin him down.
"You're back. It must have been a rushed journey," Zhang Hongbo turned around, an all-too-familiar, gentle smile on his face.
"I didn't dare to delay your joint ergency dispatch with the Special Envoys for even a second." Yuan Chenyang adopted a strictly business-like deanor: "Exactly what is the matter?"
"You two, will you handle the announcent?" Zhang Hongbo looked toward Yang Yan and Gu Bing.
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