Agreement

After speaking, Elder Song stared intently at Chen Fan.

However, the fluctuations on Chen Fan's face vanished in an instant.

He turned away coldly, his back to the Alloy box that was powerful enough to unleash a bloodbath throughout the outer city.

"Take it back."

Elder Song's expression suddenly stiffened. "Guest Elder Chen, this is Fourth Tier overlord-level Core Crystal! If you miss it, with just these mixed and inferior flesh and blood crystal cores in the outer city, it will take you at least three years to break through the Fourth Genes Lock!"

So what?

Chen Fan didn't stop, stepping towards the stone steps. "If I leave the city, who will protect her? To put her in danger for a mere beast core? Elder Song, you've got a very clever plan."

"Please wait, Mr. Chen!"

Elder Song hurriedly stepped forward, his tone even carrying a hint of urgency, "How could I not consider it! As long as you agree to this, Miss Chen Xi will be directly taken to the deepest underground Pagoda Fortress of the Far East Chamber of Commerce before the convoy departs!"

"That was an absolute refuge built thirty years ago according to nuclear strike protection standards, equipped with an independent miniature heavy water circulation system. I swear on my life, I will personally oversee the central control of the fortress, never leaving its side!"

Elder Song pointed to his chest, his words ringing with conviction. "If Miss Chen Xi suffers even the slightest harm, I will leave myself to Chen Keqing's disposal without a single complaint!"

Chen Fan paused at the threshold.

He didn't turn around, but countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

The shadow of Prometheus Life Technology always looms overhead. As long as Doctor Chu's true form remains, this Black Street alley will never be a paradise.

Fourth Tier Core Crystal... is indeed the fastest shortcut for him to break through the barriers of his Mortal Body at present.

Squeak!!

The door to the inner room was suddenly pushed open a crack.

Chen Xi stood somewhat awkwardly by the door, holding a large, rough porcelain bowl with steaming hot liquid in both hands.

She glanced at the solemn-faced Elder Song, then at the box covered in frost on the stone table, and finally fixed her gaze on Chen Fan's tall and straight back.

The girl bit her lip and whispered:

"Brother... the water's boiled."

Chen Fan turned around, his deep gaze lingering for a moment on Chen Xi's slightly uneasy, youthful face before slowly moving towards the condensation chamber on the stone table, which was emitting faint lightning fluctuations.

Steam rose from the rough porcelain bowl, blurring the girl's slightly pale face.

Chen Fan withdrew his gaze from Chen Xi, turned around, and stared directly at Elder Song with his deep black eyes, showing no room for backing down.

"Leave the box, give me the password."

Chen Fan's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable coldness, "Departure is scheduled for three days from now."

Elder Song's hand, which was holding the hem of his coat, trembled violently, and his long, white eyebrows furrowed tightly.

"Mr. Chen, according to the rules, the deposit is capped at 20%..."

"That's your chamber of commerce's rule for its watchdogs."

Chen Fan interrupted him, pointing to the high-pressure condenser box covered in frost on the stone table. "If you want me to go to the Wasteland to take the fall for you, you'll have to follow my rules. Either deliver the goods now, or get out of Black Street with your piece of junk."

The condenser coil on the stone table emitted a faint sound of pressure relief.

Elder Song stared intently at Chen Fan's still somewhat immature face, trying to find a trace of bluff in those calm, deep eyes.

But he failed.

The boy standing there was slender, yet he possessed a calm and fierce aura like a vast, towering mountain.

Just days after Old Freak Chu's bio-engineered body was reduced to scrap metal beneath the city walls, the power struggle between the council and the chamber of commerce had reached a precipice, leaving him with no way out.

This was a high-stakes gamble. The stakes were the priceless treasure that the Chamber of Commerce had acquired at the cost of three of its top-tier fighters, and Song's own head.

"Good."

After a long pause, Elder Song exhaled a breath of stale air, looking as if he had aged several years. "The password is 710923. I hope Guest Minister Chen will keep his promise."

Chen Fan's expression remained unchanged, his tone completely flat. "There's one more thing. If anything goes wrong with the Pagoda Fortress, even if Chen Xi loses a single hair, I will personally crush the convoy from the Wasteland. On the day we return to the city, I will be the first to raze the Heaven-Piercing Golden Tower and take your head."

An undisguised, pure killing intent enveloped the entire courtyard, and the withered weeds on both sides of the courtyard lay flat without any wind.

Elder Song felt a chill run down his spine, his heart pounding. He didn't utter another word, but simply nodded solemnly and turned to leave the courtyard.

At noon, the dim sunlight could not penetrate the thick, leaden clouds over the Third Base City.

A hovercraft-equipped off-road vehicle, its entire body covered in heavy black titanium armor, quietly parked at the side door of the small Black Street.

Under Elder Song's personal guidance, Chen Fan led Chen Xi through three explosion-proof gates and took a high-speed elevator shaft down to a depth of 100 meters underground.

The two-meter-thick lead-gold gate slowly slid open, revealing a refuge center built entirely to nuclear strike protection standards.

The four walls were cast with radiation-proof barite, and the independent heavy water filtration and circulation system operated quietly. Thirty fully armed assassins, wearing heavy-duty powered exoskeletons from the Chamber of Commerce, stood like sculptures at the entrances to the passageways.

Chen Fan's Divine Thought swept across a radius of a hundred meters in an instant, like mercury flowing across the ground.

There are no hidden probes, no infrasound tunnels, and the energy pipelines are laid out meticulously and neatly.

"Elder brother..."

Standing in the empty metal living room, Chen Xi tightly gripped Chen Fan's clothes, a deep unease surfacing in her eyes.

Chen Fan crouched down and gently brushed the stray hairs from her forehead. "Wait here obediently for three days. After three days, I'll take you away from the outer city to see a real clear sky."

Chen Xi took out a small pendant woven from multicolored electrical wires and thick cotton rope from his pocket.

The weaving technique was extremely rough, and the edges were even worn raw.

"This was made from silk threads I found in a garbage dump... Zhang the Lame said it's called Peace Knot."

The girl lowered her head and carefully tied the pendant to Chen Fan's slender wrist, whispering, "Brother, you must come back safely."

The rough touch on his wrist caused the Red Dust Dao Seed deep within Chen Fan Sea of Consciousness to ripple with warmth once more.

"Rest assured."

Chen Fan smiled gently and placed his index finger directly on the center of Chen Xi's smooth forehead.

Buzz.

A nearly transparent wisp of black and white Taiji Divine Thought quietly penetrated the skin and silently imprinted itself deep within Chen Xi's Niwan Palace.

That was a deadly hidden lock that carried the True Spirit's will of Middle Martial God.

If Esper below the Fourth Tier attempts to taint Chen Xi's source blood, this wisp of Divine Thought will instantly transform into Millstone of Guixu, completely pulverizing the intruder's Sea of Consciousness and physical body into nothingness.

Having done all this, Chen Fan stood up, no longer hesitating, and turned to leave the Pagoda Fortress.

The heavy gate slammed shut behind him.

Back at A-1 Building, Black Street, Heijie, it was nearly dusk.

Chen Fan bolted the old wooden door shut, and his aura suddenly changed.