Chen Chuan took a look at the ID. He had seen someone from this committee before, back in Yangzhi City. The people from the committee had also interfered with the matter regarding Chen Bitong.

Based on what he understood, this committee had great supervisory and inspection power, and they liked having a tight hold over the cases that came into their hands.

“Sorry, but I’m not free now and can’t answer your questions,” Chen Chuan said with sincerity.

“Then, I need to remind you that the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee requires all relevant personnel to cooperate without question in cases that threaten the safety of the country,” the committee member said coldly.

“I went to solve the problem on orders from the World Ring Defense System. I’ve already submitted my report to them, so before they give me permission to do so, I can’t reveal any details,” Chen Chuan shot back.

“If you really want to know, you can get my report from them. You’ll find what you want to know there. If you have any further questions, you can then ask me. Once I’m given permission by the World Ring Defense System, I will cooperate with you.”

The other committee member glared at him with animosity. “We’ll get your report, but we need you to tell us certain things. Why are you refusing to cooperate with our investigation? Are you hiding something?”

Chen Chuan swiped his sheath lightly and said calmly, “All I can say is that I can’t tell you.”

When the committee member’s eyes were drawn to the saber, his eyelid twitched. Just as he was about to continue, someone shouted, “Where did you two come from?!”

An emergency response unit in charge of patrol jogged over and pointed their guns at the two committee members. Both of them immediately showed their IDs.

“We’re from the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee.”

The emergency response unit didn’t react to that. They kept their guns raised.

What National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee? They had never heard of such a group.

The leader of the unit didn’t even check the IDs and just said firmly, “We don’t know any National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee, but we do know that we’re currently on duty, and all unrelated personnel aren’t allowed to interfere. Leave now, or we’ll shoot.”

The committee members’ expressions changed. They were highly intimidating to certain departments, but it was also true that not many low-ranking people knew about them. The bottom-level soldiers would indeed kill them if they did not leave.

Just then, one of the committee members received a call, and a stern voice entered his ears. “Come back.”

He sighed in relief. “Understood, Mr. Chu.”

Then, he said to his companion, “Let’s go.”

Before leaving, though, they cast another glance at Chen Chuan. “Captain Chen, you—”

“Enough talk!” One of the soldiers shoved at him, causing him to stumble.

Frustration burned in him, but when he saw the gun practically shoved in his face, he shut his mouth and left the place. They got chased out by the soldiers.

The leader of the squad turned to Chen Chuan and smiled. “Captain Chen, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Thank you,” Chen Chuan said.

“No need to thank me. Just rest, Captain Chen. No one’s going to bother you anymore.”

Then, he shouted at his unit. “Hear that?! Keep a closer eye out!”

The soldiers shouted a response.

They had heard that Chen Chuan was the one who killed the active biosentient entity who could knock them out and kill them with just a twitch. Without him, none of them would have left unscathed. Some of them might have even been unlucky enough that their families would have needed to claim compensation from the government.

As for the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee? They had never heard of it. Once their leader brought them over, there was no reason for them to cow before them.

Chen Chuan returned to his car and thought of something. If the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee could come to him, they might approach his unit too.

He used the car’s channel and contacted his squad members to ask whether they had run into any problems.

Yuan Qiuyuan was the one who answered the call. Everything was normal. They were on their way to deal with a gap that seemed to have stabilized.

Upon hearing that, Chen Chuan nodded and warned them to be careful of the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee. If they encountered any problems, they were to immediately hand them over to the World Ring Defense System. They were not to face them head-on.

“Got it. Don’t worry,” Yuan Qiuyuan assured him.

After giving the instructions, Chen Chuan ended the call. He had written the report about the Chen Bitong incident and handed it to the World Ring Defense System after he left the gap.

But Chen Bitong hadn’t worked alone. Multiple parties were tied to the event. It was best to wait for the higher-ups to discuss and decide how to deal with this issue.

Chen Chuan returned his attention to the other world and devouring the pure essence. No one bothered him anymore.

Time ticked by. Since Ferris Wheel had been destroyed, many emergency response units became available, so the government departments had no problems carrying out their tasks over the next ten or so hours.

The Fu-Mu Entity propagated for a total of fifteen times. At around 2 p.m., it finally ended. Practically all the propagated offspring were retrieved or destroyed.

The gaps all over the city vanished one by one, and the insects lost their energy. They fell on the ground like toys.

Chen Chuan felt a clear barrier appear between him and the other world. It also became harder to capture pure essence.

This meant that the Gate to Heaven had closed.

If he hadn’t gained spirit sense, he might have lost all sense of the other world.

But now, he had increased the depth of his mind to a sufficient degree and placed his mark deep in the other world. As long as the gap in the World Ring was open, he could continue devouring pure essence.

There was no telling how long this situation would last, though. The government and companies may have noticed the situation already and started taking action.

Chen Chuan got out of the car and looked up. The gap above was slowly closing up, and the red light was fading away. The sky gradually returned to a pure blue hue, as if nothing ever happened.

Chen Chuan received a message. When he saw that it was Advisor Pei, he answered the call.

“Captain Chen, we finally got through the Fu-Mu Entity’s propagation safety. We thank you for your service. Rest for now. We might have another task for you in a few days, but we’ll tell you the details then.” Advisor Pei sounded relaxed and excited.

“Okay,” Chen Chuan answered.

While the operation only lasted for two days, it felt like a long time had passed. Even so, he didn’t feel tired. He did, however, want to go back, take a shower, drink a warm cup of tea, and sleep.

Before that, though, he needed to give some instructions.

He tapped his Realm Pass, but the domain signals had not fully recovered. He had to go back to his car and use the equipment inside to contact Yuan Qiuyuan, Qin Qingque, and Su Wei.

After asking some questions, he learned that they had finished their mission and were packing up. “Since you don’t have anything else to do, go back to my place and rest. I’ll treat you all to a meal on another day.”

“Got it, Captain,” Yuan Qiuyuan agreed.

“By the way, is Mr. Sancheng with you?” Chen Chuan asked. He had heard that Sancheng Huang had been working with them and helped them a lot.

“He’s here,” Yuan Qiuyuan replied.

“Ask him to come too.”

There was a brief pause before Yuan Qiuyuan said, “Mr. Sancheng says he’s grateful for the invite and will definitely come.”

“Okay,” Chen Chuan said.

“By the way, we’ve taken that sword for you. I’ll bring it to the house. I also sent the flag to the World Ring Defense System, just as you asked,” Yuan Qiuyuan added.

“Alright. That’s settled, then,” Chen Chuan replied with a nod.

After he hung up, one of the emergency response unit soldiers walked over and saluted him. “Captain Chen, the higher-ups have ordered us to pack up. Are you going somewhere? My leader asked me to send you back.”

“Thank you. Please send me to Martial Valor University,” Chen Chuan requested.

***

Chu An finished devouring pure essence, but he couldn’t absorb a lot of it, so he spent most of the time digesting it.

Once the Gate to Heaven closed up, he couldn’t sense pure essence anymore.

The amount he absorbed, though, made him feel like he had gained a lot.

The old man had been paying attention to the changes from above. When he saw the gap closing, he knew that the Fu-Mu Entity had finished propagating.“The extra benefits you gained should allow you to catch up to your brother and sister.”

Chu An felt like he hadn’t had enough. “Master, what about the pure essence that spread to the other parts of the world?”

“Forget about it. The companies and governments won’t let it be. We should leave. Our act of capturing the pure essence that spilled out is a crime, so we should leave before Central City realizes what has happened,” the old man said with a shake of his head.

They packed up and left, but the incense stick the old man had put in last had yet to finish burning. The still statue of the Strange God seemed to have smiled.

***

Back on the coastline outside Oceanway District, Xue Shou was in a standoff against the conqueror general from the imperial army.

Once the gap in the sky gradually closed, the gap behind the conqueror general started becoming unstable. A low horn came from within.

The conqueror general yanked at the reins and turned his horse around to go back into the gap.

Xue Shou stood still and watched him leave. Once the conqueror general entered the gap, the legion turned around as well. They started fading from view, and soon, the gap flashed violently a few times before it vanished entirely.

Only seawater crashing against the shore was left.

Xue Shou stood with his hands in his pockets for a while before pushing his hair back. Then, he walked back on water, though with each step he took, he faded away a little more. The ocean breeze blew and took away the last wisps of him from sight.