Basking in the Morning Sun as Night Ends

That night's thorough investigation lasted more than seven hours, only barely ending when the sky began to lighten with the first pale hint of dawn.

Of the Municipal Council's 203 councilors, 172 were arrested.

The remaining councilors were either from fringe factions or among the small number of pro-government members. Some scattered individuals had been out of Central City on overseas exchange visits when the incident occurred.

Most of them were not important figures, and those abroad did not dare return after hearing the news. They no longer posed any obstacle.

Besides those councilors, the Government Affairs Hall also purged and arrested the armed forces and major interest groups connected to them, swiftly convicting them. Those who resisted arrest with force or were clearly endangering national security were shot dead on the spot.

Chen Chuan stopped by the Handling Bureau's detention hall along the way. Those councilors who normally held themselves above everyone else were now bedraggled and terrified. Yet some still refused to yield, shouting that they would appeal to the Privy Council, take the matter to international conferences, and make the Government Affairs Hall and Qi Weizhao pay the price.

In the past, they might have been allowed to curse and rage as they pleased. But no one indulged them now. The guards simply stepped forward and gave them an injection, making them quiet down obediently.

Chen Chuan examined each arrested councilor and key related figure one by one. His conclusion matched Yao Zhiyi's: none of them showed any sign of "that thing."

Moreover, he was certain that none of the people before him showed signs of having been possessed in the past. As a member of the Purity Faction, he possessed its secret teachings and could tell at a glance when someone had a problem.

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