Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Investigate! Turn Everything Upside Down
"Brother Su, thank you..." Du Yu said, his heart still pounding with fear.
"Let’s go." Yuan Chenyang gathered his team to leave, calling Su Chen to co along.
Su Chen followed Yuan Chenyang and boarded his ride, a vehicle that radiated prestige. Its deep blue-black finish was like the surface of a calm sea hiding a furious storm within.
The two of them sat in the back seat. The windows darkened, and the vehicle ran so quietly that it was almost silent.
"I can’t believe soone actually tried to assassinate you."
Yuan Chenyang finally spoke, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Su Chen pretended not to hear him, running his hand over the armrest between them. "Is there no mini-fridge back here?"
Yuan Chenyang’s face darkened. "This is just a vehicle."
Only then did Su Chen sit up straight, his voice filled with righteous indignation. "For them to make such a brazen move... They clearly have no respect for you."
"There are plenty of people who don’t respect ," Yuan Chenyang said nonchalantly.
As if he hadn’t heard, Su Chen continued, "Will you be able to find any clues by investigating the attackers?"
"I’m sure we can." Yuan Chenyang seed a little distracted. "Their leader was a Tier Two Professional. He looked vaguely familiar, so he’s probably from Southwind City."
"But you haven’t really done anything. Why would they target you?"
Yuan Chenyang seed to be muttering to himself, yet it also felt like he was questioning Su Chen. Using Su Chen as bait had just been a casual move, but the catch had been unexpectedly large.
Of course, Su Chen knew the real reason. ’It must be because of those two Space Crystals I absorbed.’ Outwardly, however, he feigned confusion. "I intercepted the Holy Word Stone, and Zhou Xian still thinks I killed his son. Isn’t that motive enough?"
"Zhou Xian is only a suspect, and he’s being watched very closely," Yuan Chenyang murmured. "Retaliation for intercepting the Holy Word Stone... Is that thing really so important?"
Su Chen scratched his head and asked curiously, "So what exactly does the Holy Word Stone do?"
Yuan Chenyang explained, "Its main purpose is to record a Professional’s information. Its secondary function is to act as a dium for communicating with a Deceitful God."
"What exactly is a Deceitful God?" Su Chen pressed.
"A Deceitful God..." Yuan Chenyang faltered. He rubbed his smooth, bald head and seed to ponder for a long mont before saying, "A Deceitful God is... a Deceitful God. It inspires worship and drives people to madness."
Yuan Chenyang couldn’t explain the true nature of a Deceitful God. Seemingly embarrassed, he waved his hand dismissively. "I added a little sothing extra to the Potions you asked Old Sun to prepare. I’ve already had him send them over to you."
This was his reward. Su Chen imdiately said, "Thank you, Teacher."
"What is it?" Yuan Chenyang asked, seeing him hesitate.
Su Chen asked hesitantly, "Does this an I can’t go outside anymore?"
"It’s not that serious," Yuan Chenyang said, shaking his head. "Southwind City isn’t crawling with a Deceitful God’s spies just yet. This banquet was planned long in advance, so the guest list was easy to leak. It presented a perfect opportunity for an ambush."
"Under normal circumstances, no one can predict when or where you’ll go out."
"That’s a relief." Su Chen sighed.
...
The banquet gradually ca to an end. As the guests left, they were all still discussing what had just happened. Zhang Hengyu followed Zhang Yunqing to see everyone off.
"What’s wrong?" Zhang Yunqing, who was still pondering whether Su Chen was a Gale Walker and thinking about his cyan bracers, glanced over and saw her younger brother frowning deeply.
"Su Chen... he’s stronger than . He’s more qualified to go to Ying Feng," Zhang Hengyu said in a low voice. The fight had been over in a flash.
He had considered it carefully. ’If that had been , it would have been difficult to escape unscathed.’
"What is Father thinking?" Zhang Yunqing was montarily stunned, then said with resignation, "That spot would be wasted on him. As a refugee, he’ll be subtly ostracized."
"But Father can change his records this year. There’s no need to wait another year," Zhang Hengyu argued, still feeling conflicted.
"And why should he?" Zhang Yunqing’s gentle smile vanished. Her voice grew icy as she stared coldly at Zhang Hengyu. "Political power is a form of strength, too. It’s just his bad luck he was born without it."
"This isn’t just about you. If you don’t have that kind of awareness, then perhaps this spot really should be given to soone else."
Zhang Hengyu stared, stunned, only to see his sister had already turned to leave. He thought he heard her mutter sothing like, "stupid little brother."
...
Back at the Inspectorate, Su Chen obediently went upstairs while Yuan Chenyang took the bodies and the sole survivor to the interrogation room. His hopes weren’t high; these guys were fanatics, and he probably wouldn’t get anything out of the survivor.
A short man with a grim expression was already waiting in the hallway. "Minister, we’ve identified the Tier Two Professional. He’s from the Exploration Departnt—Chen Wu."
"The Exploration Departnt!?"
Yuan Chenyang’s expression shifted drastically. He ordered in a low, dangerous voice, "Old Du, lock this information down. If anyone dares to leak it, don’t bla
for being ruthless."
Old Du nodded solemnly. The two entered a small observation room next to the interrogation cell. On the other side of the glass, Old Du watched the survivor, his face twisted in a ferocious, fanatical rage, screaming sothing.
He asked in a low voice, "Minister, what do we do?"
"They’ve really dumped a huge ss on my lap." Yuan Chenyang’s face was grim. "First, there’s a mole in the City Patrol Departnt. Then, soone from our own Inspectorate sneaks into Su Chen’s room. And now the assassin is a mber of the Exploration Departnt."
"Southwind City has beco a sieve! The people from Ying Feng will be here any day now. If they find out about this, we’re all finished!"
"Should we... pause the investigation for now?" Old Du asked hesitantly. "The City Lord is away with the City Patrol Minister. If they co back and find us investigating a mole in their own departnt, then..."
’What happens if we actually find sothing?’
"What a clever move..." Yuan Chenyang’s brow twitched as he paced back and forth. "But what’s the goal? This was bound to be exposed. How long can they possibly stall?"
"No!" Yuan Chenyang stopped abruptly, his eyes flashing with insight. "Perhaps their goal *is* to stall!"
"We don’t know what’s happening on the City Lord’s end. If we wait for them to return before we discuss this, who knows how far things will have escalated by then!"
"Investigate! We have to investigate!" Yuan Chenyang roared, the words torn from his throat. "Start with the relatives and friends of these guys. Put anyone suspicious under full surveillance!"
"And Zhou Xian—I want eyes on him at all tis!"
A chill ran through Old Du. He answered at once, "Understood!"
With the heads of two of the city’s three main enforcent agencies absent, there was truly no one left in Southwind City who dared to defy Yuan Chenyang.
But this action was like a stab in the back. It didn’t matter whether the investigation yielded results or not.
When the other two returned, they would be furious.
...
Unaware that a storm was about to break, Su Chen reached the top of the stairs and saw Old Sun standing at his door, smiling.
"Brother Sun, why are you waiting outside my door again?" Su Chen asked, his gaze involuntarily drawn to the tal case in the man’s hand.
"If you need sothing, you can just send
a ssage. I’ll co to you."
"Nothing much to do in the office anyway," Fatty Sun said with a chuckle. He followed Su Chen inside and, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, placed the tal case on the table.
He undid the latches, and a cloud of white, frosty mist billowed out. Inside were three rows of Potions. The top row contained ten vials of Black Fla Potion.
The middle row held ten vials of a rich, fluorescent blue liquid.
At the very bottom, however, were only three vials of a pink Potion that Su Chen had never seen before.
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