"Isn’t it too late to consider cooperating with them now?" Sun Suigong mercilessly pointed out, "Just a few days ago, your Captain Xiao still wanted to put the Wanderers to death."

"You’ve misunderstood me again. When I said ’turn to the light,’ I meant working together towards ascension, not inviting them to join the Mechanism." Jiang Yiheng waved his hand, "I came into this halfway, and from my perspective, the actions of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism towards the Wanderers are understandable—as long as the Wanderers don’t actively disrupt order or threaten the Mechanism’s plans, surveillance is primary, with control being secondary. Actually, we even have Wanderer officers internally, which shows that people are different from one another."

"Moreover, I must point out, as a warning to you both: most Wanderers are not worth trusting. They have no home of their own and are accustomed to using their ability to traverse worlds for profit. Even if one world is headed for destruction, they can escape to another world and live a peaceful life. So if one day you find that your shelter and tolerance do not bring equal treatment, you are welcome to contact the Mechanism at any time."

For such a giant entity like the Mechanism, these words almost sounded like admitting defeat, Chen Xuan thought. Jointly striving for ascension is essentially a warning to the Wanderers not to interfere with the affairs of the Mechanism anymore, so that everyone can let go of past grievances and temporarily coexist peacefully.

If Lin Qing were still here, she would definitely see this as a major victory against the Mechanism.

After all, the losses on the other side are real, like swallowing one’s teeth when they’re knocked out.

"Since your doubts have been resolved, can we now discuss the issues we care most about?" Jiang Yiheng spread his hands, "I hope your academy can hand over all the captives to the Mechanism, and the thirty-two deceased will also be buried by us."

"The police have no objections?" Dean Sun raised an eyebrow.

"Naturally, it will go through proper procedures. There will be someone to negotiate this. If you want to know about the subsequent progress, I can assign a secretary to contact you." After speaking, the doctor took a phone from his pocket and handed it to Honglian, "Additionally, consider this as a gesture of our sincerity."

Honglian took it with some doubts and then widened her eyes suddenly, "Wang Baihu!?"

The phone played a video showing Wang Baihu, who should have been separated from his head, now shackled in a room.

If this was filmed before his death, then apart from escalating the conflict, it serves no purpose.

"That’s right; if you are willing to release people, those from the Red Lotus Team can all be handed back to you."

"Wang Qianduan didn’t kill him?" Honglian was so excited that her hands were trembling.

"If a lifelike head and a dead man can achieve the same effect, we see no reason to waste an Ability User."

"But the captured people confessed... Xiao Canong declared he was already dead, and killed by the Wanderers!"

"In a certain sense, he was indeed dead." Jiang Yiheng said unflinchingly, "His betrayal of the Mechanism is a fact, and even if Xiao Canong completed the task, he couldn’t return to society using the ’Wang Baihu’ identity. The organization is global, and it’s not difficult for a disciplinary officer to redeem themselves by assuming another identity. By the way, keeping him alive was also requested by Xiao Canong."

This aspect of the negotiation ended quickly.

After all, the Mechanism wasn’t negotiating with Beitian Academy but with the "Wanderers" behind it.

Exchanging captive Mechanism officers to get back Jiang Siqi, Little Pigeon, and others was something Chen Xuan was willing to facilitate.

Let alone now, they also got Wang Baihu back.

For Honglian, this was definitely a blessing in disguise— though the Mechanism she envisioned no longer existed, her team members escaped this calamity.

The following afternoon, Chen Xuan received a call from Dean Sun.

"The discussions about the Mechanism have concluded at a higher level. The Jiang City branch will be disbanded. In the future, they can only leave a liaison office in Shen City and are forbidden to recruit any more Ability Users."

"The captured private soldiers of the Mechanism will be sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment plus deportation, with the public charge being endangering public safety and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition."

"As for Xiao Canong, he is charged with organizing and transporting others to illegally cross borders, sentenced to two years, with a one-year reprieve."

"The leaking of the Ability Potion and the related accountability accidents will be entirely attributed to Former Captain Wan Chongshan."

"The final verdict will be announced within a month, but since the opinions have been established, the rest is just procedural."

"This is already the best result we could strive for."

Chen Xuan was both surprised and unsurprised by this result.

On the surface, although this raid on Beitian Academy caused a huge commotion, none of the employees at Beitian Academy were injured. At Hot Pepper Village, a dozen villagers were injured, but they couldn’t testify in court. Moreover, when you think about it, ambushing another group holding deadly weapons with pre-prepared lethal weapons might even be argued as self-defense, a point that could keep legal circles debating for a year.

What’s hidden beneath is even more astounding. The suppression of public opinion online, and the fact that Jiang Yiheng could still act freely after the incident speaks volumes about the stakes involved with the Mechanism, even when confronted with another vested interest group, Beitian Academy.

The Mechanism wasn’t even defined as an "illegal organization."

"I thought at least we could get them completely expelled from the country."

"I requested the same, but unfortunately, Little Friend, you don’t understand... When they kept hidden, it was fine, but once the cards were laid open, the influence of the Mechanism was found to be everywhere." Dean Sun said helplessly, "The National Academy of Sciences’ cooperative projects, advanced material development, nuclear fusion reactors, super AI development... A large number of tech companies are involved in these projects, and many of these companies have close ties with the Mechanism. Declaring them an illegal organization in the legal sense would halt these key projects."

"Moreover, the Mechanism submitted a defense document recording about a hundred cases of successfully solved or prevented ability crime cases, not just in Jiang City, but in other cities too, spanning five years. The Mechanism claims that they have made an indelible contribution to social stability, serving as a stabilizing force for the world, even when people knew nothing about the Mechanism."

This makes sense, Chen Xuan expressed understanding. If the Mechanism had been useless all along, they couldn’t possibly have had so many people willing to serve them.

As for their technical prowess, that needs no elaboration. According to the history narrated by Lin Qing, if they hadn’t forced the Mechanism to surface, it would have emerged on its own in thirty years—and once it showed itself, it would have been in an unshakable state, not only holding the most advanced global technology but also the ace of prosthetics, resembling a world dominator.

This power evidently didn’t happen overnight.

The greatest issue was that, after much turmoil, they hadn’t achieved the so-called ascension, but instead ushered in doomsday for Earth’s life. In this way, whether they were guilty or not, they were seen as guilty.

However, Chen Xuan couldn’t reveal this to Beitian Academy nor tell the Dimensional Limit Mechanism. Lin Qing’s disappearance had already made him realize that any event with the potential to alter the future must be approached with utmost caution.

Conversely, Chen Xuan felt that the current Dimensional Limit Mechanism seemed weaker than the behemoth Lin Qing described.

Probably because they faced setbacks everywhere in Jiang City.

"There’s some good news too," Dean Sun continued, "Now that everything has been laid bare, the higher-ups have realized the importance of Ability Users. It is estimated that soon a document will come down to establish our own Ability User teams. Unlike the Mechanism’s structure, each city will have its own Ability User department."

"A wise move." Chen Xuan nodded.

Abilities are not just about fighting, as one can glimpse from Ji Yun. A "Cultivation Genius" with his golden ability could set himself apart from other cultivators, so what kind of transformation could a "Scientific Genius" bring to society?

The Mechanism’s achievements in the future were precisely because they silently monopolized Ability Users.

"According to the higher-ups’ intentions, it’s likely that Jiang City’s area will be jointly managed by Beitian Academy and the government." Dean Sun hesitated for a moment here, "Little Friend Chen knows, apart from having some insight into medicine, I am clueless about other matters. Could you represent Beitian Academy in taking up this position?"