While standing in front of the gradually stabilizing gap, Fang Zhixin checked his watch and said, “The Department of Administrative Affairs and the World Ring Defense System should have detected the situation by now. In at most twenty-five minutes, the response unit should arrive.”

He then turned to Yu Lie. “Lieutenant Colonel Yu, we’ll leave these people to you, okay?”

Yu Lie scoffed at that and said nonchalantly, “Sure.”

After being assigned to the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee, his superiors had given him the right to use certain extreme methods during the mission, so he wouldn’t be held accountable under martial law later.

This meant that in order to ensure the mission’s success, he could kill or get rid of a problem according to how much of an obstacle they were to the success of the mission. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Based on what Yu Lie was seeing right now, Chen Bitong’s case had definitely risen to the state where it threatened Central City, so he had full right to exercise his authority.

Hence, even if he had to kill everyone here in order to complete the mission, he would do it.

“Lieutenant Colonel Yu, I’ve always wanted to ask you why you worship Instructor Chen so much,” Fang Zhixin said.

“Do I need a reason to idolize him? Everything that Instructor Chen does is worthy of admiration, and he has done so many things that I can’t count them anymore, alright?” Yu Lie stated matter-of-factly, just like any rabid fan.

“I remember the Military Police trying to recruit you before, but you rejected the offer. Was that place not good enough for you?”

Yu Lie’s heart skipped a beat, but he made himself look unbothered. “Don’t lump me in with those people. Even joining the National General Affairs Bureau would be better than being a glorified security guard.”

“But what we’re doing today is similar to what a security guard does,” Fang Zhixin pointed out.

“If it’s to serve Instructor Chen, then I’ll do it without complaint,” Yu Lie answered resolutely.

Just then, a response unit of around fifty people rushed to the marked location.

When they were about to enter the area, they noticed a few cars parked horizontally on the road to block their path. A man in a tophat stood near them, and his presence made them wary.

On their way there, they had been attacked multiple times by unknown forces, so they had been delayed for quite a bit.

Just then, they heard a beep and received a document that the National General Affairs Bureau had taken over this region.

The unit captain was shocked. The stamp was really from the National General Affairs Bureau.

While he remained wary, he had his duty to step forward to confirm things, so he got out of his car alone to talk to the man in the tophat.

The man was surprisingly cooperative. At his request, he showed his ID and said, “You should go back. What’s happening ahead isn’t something you can handle. This place has been handed over to another department.”

Even when he was sure that the man was from the National General Affairs Bureau, the unit captain didn’t immediately leave. While the National General Affairs Bureau’s name struck fear in his heart, his unit had come here on orders. “I’m sorry, but we need to ask our superiors what we should do next,” he said tentatively.

The man cast a glance at him and said, “Go on.”

The unit captain didn’t contact the Department of Administrative Affairs but instead went straight to the World Ring Defense System and asked them what they should do about the situation.

Upon hearing the question and linking all the information he received before this, Liang Guanghai figured out that Chen Bitong had gone to the place where the response unit was headed.

This was not something a normal response unit could handle.

“Wait at the perimeter. Don’t leave. Pay attention to everything going on inside. Lock down the area and receive the emergency response unit that’s going to come later,” he ordered.

Upon receiving official orders, the response unit retreated and began setting up defenses.

***

After the response unit stopped pressing in, Mr. Chu drove to a location near that of Chen Bitong by taking another road. There was a base they had set up a long time ago there.

In truth, the committee had multiple similar bases in every district in Central City. Once he was inside, he climbed to the top and used a pair of binoculars to check the almost completely stabilized gap in the distance.

With a cold, stern expression, he said, “I knew there was something off about Chen Bitong. This time, we’ll attack before the National General Affairs Bureau and kill him. Lao Hu, can you take him down if you bring a unit with you?”

Lao Hu was wearing a black trench coat and was almost two meters tall. His shoulders were broad, and his upper torso resembled that of a compressed trapezoid, which made him appear short.

He wore a pair of black leather gloves, while the lower half of his face was covered by a mask. His eyes were sunken in, and his skin was pale. He wore no hat, and his hair was prickly and messy. Since he hadn’t cut it over a long time, it reached his back.

In a hoarse voice, he said, “We’ve known each other for a long time, boss. You know I can kill him.”

“Bring A’Han with you,” Mr. Chu ordered.

Lao Hu didn’t reject it. He just asked, “What crime should we put in the report for Chen Bitong?”

“Chen Bitong can’t have any crime attached to him. Once you kill him, we’ll find a suitable reason to justify his death,” Mr. Chu declared.

“Got it.”

When Lao Hu saw that Mr. Chu had no other orders for him, he turned around and left.

“Follow Lao Hu and listen to his orders,” Mr. Chu said to the four men Yu Lie had once defeated.

“Got it, sir.” The four men bowed to him and went after Lao Hu.

There was a mercenary group led by a burly man waiting outside the building. After Lao Hu exited the building, the burly man went up and said, “Uncle Hu.”

Lao Hu cast him a glance and said, “Come on. We’re off to kill Chen Bitong.”

He started walking, and the four men plus the mercenary group followed closely behind him.

***

Chen Bitong stood in front of the gap and stared at the flashing light with thoughts that no one knew.

He was wearing the trench coat he got when he was stationed in the merged space and a wide-brimmed hat. A mask covered half his face, and he stood straight and tall. The wind coming out of the gap was strong, but it only made his coat flutter. It didn’t manage to make him budge in the slightest.

Yu Lie was staring at his back when he noticed something. Something flickered at the upper section of the gap, as if something was moving there. It made Yu Lie wary.

After waiting for a while, he saw multiple black dots at the top of the gap. Then, a flock of large, fierce birds rushed out.

A large number of small, aggressive creatures had exited the gap before, but they had gotten rid of all of them. This batch was different. They seemed to be running from something, since they ignored them. They just flew into the sky the moment they got out.

Yu Lie was certain there was something behind the birds.

He fixed his gaze at the top of the gap. After a while, a black shadow slowly appeared in the gap. Then, a horse with its tack popped its head out. Its sturdy hooves stepped on the tiles with clear and firm thuds.

As the horse walked forward, a tall cavalryman revealed his full form.

Yu Lie was shocked. Was he... from the royal family’s cavalry unit?

Could it be that Chen Bitong had done this so that the royal family could come? Was he in cahoots with the royal family?

He didn’t know that something similar had happened outside Oceanway District. Otherwise, he would have been even more shocked and wary.

But even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.

“What do you think, Lieutenant Colonel Yu?” Fang Zhixin asked.

Yu Lie composed himself and pretended to be cold as he said, “I acknowledge Instructor Chen alone. He must have his reasons for what he’s doing.”

“Are you ready then, Lieutenant Colonel Yu?” Fang Zhixin asked.

Since the cavalryman wore a helmet, Fang Zhixin couldn’t see his face. He only saw a pair of sharp eyes.

Once the man was out, he tightened the reins of his horse and cast a glance at the stakes in front of him. Then, his gaze wandered about until it landed on Chen Bitong. After watching him for a moment, he gave Chen Bitong a nod and reached his hand out.

Fang Zhixin took out a metal plate from the bag he had been carrying. The pattern of clouds and lightning on the surface and sides screamed of a classic style.

He then walked over to hand the plate to the cavalryman, who appeared to be really arrogant, because he didn’t get off his horse even when Fang Zhixin handed the plate to him. After taking a look at the plate, he patted his dragon-nose horse, and the horse let out a neigh that could be heard several kilometers away.

More movement could be heard from within the gap. Another cavalryman rode out, and he was followed by others. Once twelve of them got out, they formed a standard imperial cavalry assault unit.

Upon seeing the cavalrymen, Fang Zhixin gave the cavalry unit captain a nod and turned around to leave. He then drew his weapon, and a sharp light passed by the body of the cavalry unit’s captain.

The cavalry unit captain was still holding the metal plate when the attack happened. After a brief pause, the dragon-nose horse and the cavalry unit captain’s upper torso slid down.

“Attack!” Fang Zhixin shouted.

Yu Lie didn’t know what was going on. He couldn’t understand why they were attacking, even though they had appeared to be friends a moment ago. Even so, he didn’t have the time to figure out the reason. The moment Fang Zhixin shouted, Yu Lie stomped on the ground and charged at a cavalryman.

The cavalrymen didn’t panic because their captain died. Instead, the ones in front quickly moved into a battle formation. They provided cover for their team members at the back to retreat into the gap.

Fang Zhixin moved in a flash and was the first to arrive in front of the gap. His weapon was in full display at this point. It was a longsword as flexible as a whip that was two meters in length. With a swing, it drew several bloody arcs in the air.

The cavalrymen intending to charge at him or past him had their heads severed after passing him. Their bodies fell before the gap.