Chen Chuan saw a large creature with malleuses growing out of the sides of its head peeking out of the gap. Then, a thin, long neck covered in shells came out. It was followed by a sturdy, large body covered in thick, gray skin.

Chen Chuan immediately recognized the creature. It was a Ring-Banded Armored Rhinoceros.

The response unit stationed in the area became nervous. The Ring-Banded Armored Rhinoceros’ large body put a lot of psychological pressure on them.

Yuan Qiuyuan, Qin Qingque, and Su Wei got ready to fight. Their expressions were tense. The creatures before this weren’t big, so killing them was easy, but they didn’t think that they could defeat this one in just a few attacks.

But Chen Chuan showed no signs of planning to retreat, despite the large creature that came out. With a single move, he appeared in front of the rhinoceros.

He clenched his fists, and his index finger jutted out as he punched the rhinoceros’ chest. Due to his attack being pumped full of refined force, his entire forearm sank in.

The rhinoceros’ movements came to a screeching halt. It let out a couple loud chuffs before it lost strength. With a loud crash, it collapsed in front of the temporary platform before the gap. Its head crashed onto the tiles on the street, and the malleuses even created a pit on the ground.

Everyone watched in wide-eyed wonder, and the area filled with sharp intakes of breaths.

Chen Chuan was much smaller than the Ring-Banded Armored Rhinoceros. The creature was around three meters tall, so their size couldn’t even be compared. After Chen Chuan got close, the difference was even greater. Yet he had managed to kill the giant with a simple punch.

This scene was so shocking that the hearts of the onlookers raced.

Yuan Qiuyuan, Qin Qingque, and Su Wei looked down. The rhinoceros was just a few paces from them, and they could see its shut eyes and thick, wrinkly skin. The sturdy malleuses alone told them just how much power it had when it swung its head.

Then, they looked at Chen Chuan, whose back was turned to them, and their expressions were filled with excitement. Admiration blossomed in their chests.

Chen Chuan acted as if he had only swatted a fly. He connected to the World Ring Defense System and said, “Chen Chuan speaking.”

A familiar and steady voice came through. “It’s me, Liang Guanghai.”

“Special Officer Liang?”

“I have another mission for you, Captain Chen,” Liang Guanghai stated.

“What is it?” Chen Chuan asked.

“A gap has opened near Chen Bitong at Roaring Victory District. There’s a propagated offspring inside it, and based on a reliable source of information, cavalrymen from the royal family are also coming out of the gap.

“We can’t exclude the possibility that the royal family has a part in this. A large group of cavalrymen have also appeared in Oceanway District, and our main forces are fighting against them there.

“Right now, the city is rather lacking in manpower. The situation is dire and dangerous, so we need you to work together with an emergency response unit to stop Chen Bitong. You can discuss the specifics with your unit.”

“Alright. I’ll head over right now,” Chen Chuan said.

After the call ended, he cast a glance at the gap in front of him. This mission was just to his liking.

Even though he was the only person here who had started practicing mental energy and could therefore monopolize the quintessence here, that wasn’t enough. His mind couldn’t grow, because he was lacking in opponents. Only by fighting against strong opponents could he push his mental energy to greater heights.

Chen Bitong...

After some thinking, Chen Chuan turned around and walked over to Yuan Qiuyuan, Qin Qingque, and Su Wei. “The World Ring Defense System has given me another assignment. The three of you need to stay here and defend the gap.”

Without a certain level of strength, they couldn’t join the mission to kill Chen Bitong. It was much better for his unit to stay here to defeat the creatures coming out through the gap.

“Understood!” the trio shouted and saluted him.

Chen Chuan checked his equipment. Then, with the people guarding the gap watching him reverently, he got into an armored car with the Frost King Saber in hand, and the driver sent him to the location marked by the World Ring Defense System.

The Realm Pass beeped. It notified him that he had received a document containing a brief outline of his teammates for the mission, but it only had their names, appearances, and ages. There was no information even about their positions.

This had to be because their identities were classified information.

Chen Chuan took out a bottle to inspect it. The World Ring Defense System’s representative had handed the bottle to him very carefully, which meant that the medicine was precious and rare. It was meant to recover his strength, so Chen Chuan hadn’t used it right after he got it. Instead, he carried it around.

Despite the urgency of the situation, the driver wasn’t able to speed up on the way to Roaring Victory District due to gaps frequently appearing and shootouts happening occasionally on the road. It took them a little over an hour to reach the area.

Once the car stopped, the driver wiped off the sweat on his forehead and said, “We’ve arrived, Captain Chen.”

Chen Chuan thanked him and got out.

He stood still for a while. It was 5:45 a.m., but the sky remained the same as it did when it was midnight. Nothing much had changed. The only difference was that the dusky light had become stronger, as if the sky had been painted red with blood.

Just then, he heard rustling from the Realm Pass, and a communication signal was sent to him. He immediately connected to it, and a mature, cold voice entered his ears. “Walk straight, then turn south in two hundred meters. Head into the first building on your left and go to the thirteenth floor.”

Chen Chuan looked in the direction and walked over with the Frost King Saber in hand. When he arrived at the designated location, he saw an abandoned commercial building.

Once he was inside, he went up to the thirteenth floor and saw two people waiting for him on a spacious, almost entirely deserted floor. He walked over, but after just a few steps, he sensed a biofield from one of the two men coming at him.

This was quite rude. There was no need to test him to make sure that he was strong enough when they could sense his biofield the moment he got close enough. By releasing it and making it intentionally intimidating, the man was trying to knock Chen Chuan down a peg.

Chen Chuan remained calm, as if he didn’t sense a thing. He just continued walking until he arrived in front of the two.

When Nie Guanshan and Yang Shen saw Chen Chuan withstand the attack without batting an eyelid, they were surprised but also pleased.

This meant that Chen Chuan was in control of mental energy and could be their support. He wasn’t unqualified to stand in front of Chen Bitong.

Yang Shen was stationed permanently in the merged space and didn’t pay any attention to the affairs in Central City, so he didn’t know Chen Chuan.

Meanwhile, Nie Guanshan was the security guard of an important member in the Department of Administrative Affairs, so he was aware of the world around him. He had watched Chen Chuan’s fight against Wei Wusheng, but it hadn’t been impressive to him, since he was almost at the peak of the Third Limit.

So, when he saw Chen Chuan’s name, it conjured up the image of him from when he fought against Wei Wusheng. By the looks of it now, Chen Chuan had improved exponentially.

When Chen Chuan got close, Yang Shen cut to the chase. “Since you’re here, let’s start discussing the mission. We’ll tell you what your job is. We’ve confirmed that Chen Bitong has the ability to move into gaps to dodge attacks. This means that as long as he’s in front of a gap, it’s impossible to catch him or land a solid attack on him.”

Upon hearing that, Chen Chuan couldn’t help but recall what Astrid had done. Perhaps it could also be counted as moving into gaps to dodge attacks.

Yang Shen stared at Chen Chuan as he said, “That’s why we need someone to attract Chen Bitong’s attention and withstand his attacks during crucial moments.

“You should know that a martial artist usually reveals an opening when they think that they’ve seized a chance to attack. We hope that you can withstand that attack from him. We’ll kill him before he hurts you too much, understand?

“If you have no other questions, we’ll proceed with this plan.”

Chen Chuan met their gazes squarely. “I don’t think it’s a good plan.”

“What about it is not good? This is the plan, and there’s no room for changing it. Since the World Ring Defense System sent you to work with us, you need to listen to our orders, understand?” Yang Shen snapped impatiently.

“What are your positions?” Chen Chuan asked calmly.

Yang Shen narrowed his eyes and observed Chen Chuan for a good while before saying, “Yang Shen, World Ring Defense System development squad member.”

“Nie Guanshan, head of high-rank security guards in the Department of Administrative Affairs,” Nie Guanshan answered grimly.

Chen Chuan nodded, then said, “Chen Chuan, squad captain of the Resolution Department.”

Yang Shen and Nie Guanshan were stunned. Squad captain?

Based on rank, Chen Chuan was on the same level as they were.

They hadn’t seen any specific details or his rank when they received Chen Chuan’s information, but they hadn’t paid much attention to it. By the looks of it now, it was because of this.

He became a squad captain before twenty?

Upon realizing that Chen Chuan was no regular person, the two men exchanged glances. It seemed like the World Ring Defense System had sent them a powerful partner.

They discussed it in private through their Realm Passes.

Yang Shen: What do you think? Should we request a switch?

Nie Guanshan: We can’t.

Nie Guanshan was from the Department of Administrative Affairs and was more sensitive to politics. If they had requested a change before this, things would have been fine, but Chen Chuan was already in front of them. Setting aside his abilities, he was of the same rank as they were, which meant that the World Ring Defense System had respected their request.

If they requested a change at this point, the higher-ups would think that they were causing trouble deliberately and trying to skip on their responsibilities. If they failed the mission on top of that, they would make Nie Guanshan and Yang Shen the scapegoats, or at the very least, hold them partially accountable.

Nie Guanshan: Let’s concede on the surface, but once the fight starts, things won’t go according to what he wants.

Even though they couldn’t order Chen Chuan to do anything, he would have to rely solely on his abilities and experience to stay alive once the fight started.

Chen Chuan may have been talented enough to catch up to them in terms of strength, but he was young and couldn’t compare to them in terms of experience. They had multiple ways to create situations beneficial for themselves.