After destroying the propagated offspring, Chen Chuan drove back. Once he left the tunnel, he met up with Lan Shennan. In about an hour, she led him out to the surface.

The exit was close to the edge of Deep End District. It was not far from the place where Chen Chuan had killed Phantom Form.

Chen Chuan sent a message to the command center that he had destroyed the propagated offspring, regardless of whether they had detected it or not.

Soon after he sent the message, he heard a voice. “Hello, Captain Chen, Special Officer Liang thanks you for your service. Please rest for the time being. If we need your help again, we will notify you.”

Chen Chuan leaned against the back of his seat. After some thinking, he put a hand on his Realm Pass and contacted his team members. The gap had closed, and the trio had been sent elsewhere to a defensive battle.

Even though they were his team members, Central City was lacking manpower, so the command center wasn’t going to let them stay idle.

Chen Chuan considered checking in on his other friends, but communication resources were limited right now. Only people fighting at the front line could use them, so he decided to contact them after things settled down.

So, Chen Chuan opened the car door and got out. The insects avoided him with loud buzzes, as if he was something dangerous.

Chen Chuan looked up. An airship in charge of relaying information was suspended in the sky. Behind it, red light lit up the world.

Based on the information he had received, the Fu-Mu Entity had just gone through its seventh split, and it was showing no signs of stopping. By the looks of it, it was going to split more than ten times.

Since he might still have to fight, this was the perfect time to recover and catch his breath.

Just then, Chen Chuan remembered that his mind had crossed the threshold, and he should be able to check the mental mark Chen Bitong had given him.

Once he dug into it, he saw what was left behind.

Aside from survival experiences and memories in the merged space, it contained two refined forces. One was Chen Bitong’s main refined force, the Void String Force, while the other was the Flying Dragon Force.

Aside from how to use them, he had also left behind the specifics on which mutated tissue group Chen Chuan was supposed to use, what medicine he needed to take, and even how to deal with the various situations he might encounter during training.

If a person’s mutated tissue was suited for it and they happened to have practiced Sanshou-type refined force, they could practice these two refined forces.

Chen Chuan thought of Chen Xiaojin. These two refined forces might not just be for himself, but also for the boy.

Chen Bitong had only left behind the two refined forces that had nothing to do with mental energy. He didn’t pass anything related to mental training at all.

Chen Chuan could understand this. A martial artist could only rely on themselves to complete their mental training journey. Other people’s experiences might not be of any help to them. They might end up as an obstacle or even corrupt the martial artist’s mind.

Hence, Xue Shou only ever taught him how to train and never showed him the details.

Besides, at Chen Chuan’s level, his attacks used the Heartbound Force. Everyone’s mental energy was different, so their thoughts and combat habits were different as well. Hence, even if two martial artists used the same refined force, their effects would be different. Each would have their own unique quality.

Chen Bitong had the Void String Force, Lao Hu had the Severance Force, and other people had their own unique refined forces, but Chen Chuan lacked something unique to himself. What he had been doing all this while was to copy other refined forces.

Chen Chuan already had an idea of what he wanted to do, but he needed some more time to flesh out the idea and test it.

***

At the eastern bank of Central City was a small port. Beyond it was a ship anchored in the sea. Guanshang Jing, security director of Ferris Wheel, stood on the deck staring at the city.

They had given the stolen propagated offspring to United Might and asked them to send it to this port within the set time.

Even though they were at each other’s throats before, it didn’t stop them from conducting business with each other. Besides, it was precisely because of this previous conflict that other people wouldn’t immediately think that they had anything to do with each other.

Song Zicheng, his vice director, was in charge of liaising with United Might at the port. Just then, he seemed to have received some piece of news, because his expression turned grim. After giving the other side some instructions, he contacted Guanshang Jing.

“Mr. Guanshang, United Might’s motorcade has left the lower city district and is headed toward us, but it has been intercepted by the Resolution Department. The lockdown is really strict, and by the looks of it, they’ll have a hard time breaking through.” 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Guanshang Jing’s expression changed. “Did word get out?”

“I don’t think so. Based on the information we have, the Resolution Department stationed some of their forces on the roads leading to the port a while ago, and they have officers at the important junctions of every road.”

Guanshang Jing narrowed his eyes. If the Resolution Department had set up checkpoints at important junctions, it meant that they were wary of Ferris Wheel.

The fact that such a large number of officers had been stationed here during the Fu-Mu Entity’s propagation indirectly told them the plans of the Resolution Department, the Department of Administrative Affairs, and the World Ring Defense System.

Guanshang Jing felt threatened, but once the company’s plans were successful and they got the Union’s support while also clearing the marine route, none of it would be a problem anymore.

“Should we try to liaise with them, Mr. Guanshang?” Song Zicheng asked.

The propagated offspring was just one step away from being delivered into their hands. If they lost it when they were just one checkpoint away, that would be a great waste.

Guanshang Jing’s expression was grim. They had to get the propagated offspring. After all, it concerned the Union’s assessment and even whether the plan would succeed or fail.

They had hired mercenaries to grab the propagated offspring for them. If they had gone themselves, it would have been the same as them openly declaring that they were standing against Jibei Road’s Central City.

But they didn’t have a backup plan. Since they had taken this step, they had to see it through.

Besides, even if they didn’t do anything, would Central City cease its attacks on Ferris Wheel? Judging by the current situation, after Central City dealt with their current problem, their next step would be to take them down.

“Mr. Song, take a team with you to liaise with United Might. Make sure to bring the propagated offspring back,” he said firmly.

“Got it,” Song Zicheng answered and immediately gave some orders. Multiple armored cars drove out of the port to where United Might’s motorcade was intercepted.

***

Flames caused by several explosions lit up the area less than ten kilometers from the port, and black smoke rose to the sky. Most of the cars from United Might were toppled over while full of bullet holes and dents from cannonballs. Almost all the security guards had been killed.

This motorcade had most of the elites and hired martial artists Che Gaoyi had brought with him when he joined the company. Among them were three outstanding Third Limit martial artists from the headquarters. One of them was a combat puppet custom-made by Proto-Being. They led all the hired martial artists.

They should have been strong enough to break through the seemingly weak defense, but most of them had died despite only one person standing in their way.

The officers looked at a tall, lean man in a military trenchcoat. Their eyes shone with respect and awe.

The man was Xu Chan, a squad captain from the Resolution Department.

Liang Guanghai had personally asked him to come here. At that moment, no signs of combat could be found on him. There was not even a speck of dust on his uniform.

The battle ended sooner than expected. After Xu Chan killed the enemy Third Limit martial artists, the remaining enemies couldn’t put up much of a resistance.

If the propagated offspring were taken out of the city, they would enter the mainland and still be within the Great Shun Republic, so the command center could retrieve it with certain technology.

But once the propagated offspring escaped to the sea, it would be really hard to catch it. They also needed to intimidate Ferris Wheel to prevent them from causing trouble. That was why, even though they were lacking manpower, they stationed a strong force on the road leading to the port.

Just then, a search operative noticed something and took it out to check it before bringing it over to Xu Chan. After saluting him, he said, “Found it, Captain Xu.”

Xu Chan cast it a glance and was sure that this was the propagated offspring the motorcade had taken with them. “Destroy it,” he ordered.

If propagated offspring were brought out of the gaps, they were corrupted and couldn’t be put to use.

“Captain Xu, we detected Ferris Wheel’s motorcade in the rear. Should we stop them?” said a voice from his Realm Pass.

“As long as they don’t try to barge through the checkpoint, ignore them,” Xu Chan ordered coldly.

This wasn’t the time to get rid of Ferris Wheel. Even if the higher-ups wanted to do something, they were, at the very least, going to wait until the propagation ended.

***

Ferris Wheel’s motorcade stopped in front of the checkpoint, and Song Zicheng observed the situation ahead with a pair of binoculars. Then, he immediately reported the situation to Guanshang Jing.

“Mr. Guanshang, United Might’s motorcade has been defeated.”

“So soon?”

“The Resolution Department’s Xu Chan took them down.”

Guanshang Jing fell silent. After a while, he said, “Got it. Bring the guys back.”

He checked the sky. Even though the motorcade had been defeated, the situation wasn’t unsalvageable.

The Fu-Mu Entity should have gone through the seventh propagation by then. Judging by the situation, it was likely going to propagate more than ten times, so they could try again.

He was confident in their chances, because up to this point, a certain existence still hadn’t done anything.

When a gap opened in the World Ring, at least two existences had crossed it. One of them had been killed at Meng Lai’s mansion.

As for the other one, it had contacted Ferris Wheel, and it was definitely going to do something during the propagation. When that happened, they would get their chance.