Branch President

Nikolai is dead.

At the seventh second...

Those last seven seconds of his life were the most painful and longest time he had ever experienced.

A Shapeshifting Faction who had lost their Strongest Original Avatar was almost powerless to resist when Luo Jun, a melee monster, got close to them.

All his struggles were fueled by the powerful Noble Phantasm he had mastered.

Strangely, whenever he tried to use a powerful Fate Dao, he would be inexplicably hindered. Either his actions would be interrupted by his opponent, or his hand would tremble and grab the wrong item. In those seven seconds, he tried five or six different items, but none of them were truly effective. In the end, he still died under Luo Jun's Gathering Origin Protective Qi.

Pulling his fingers out of Nikolai's temple, and looking at the guy's unfocused eyes, Luo Jun swiftly stripped him of his valuables, collected the scattered treasures, then took out Assassin's Cloak, put it on, and quickly swam away, finding a place with lush seaweed and quietly surfacing.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered on the shore of the New Lake. Everyone was very curious about the giant monster that had suddenly appeared and disappeared, and they all took out their mobile phones to take pictures of the still churning lake surface.

However, Yuan Cultivation Society staff quickly arrived at the scene, took out runes that could modify people's memories, dispersed the onlookers, and then sealed off the entire area around New Lake. While using instruments to detect the situation, they also sent people down to the bottom of the lake to check the situation.

Captain Cheng was also standing by the lake. Although he couldn't intervene during the most intense part of the battle, he wasn't idle. He promptly reported the situation to the branch headquarters and also recorded a video of the scene.

The fight between Luo Jun and Nikolai lasted less than a minute, and Captain Cheng only recorded the last few dozen seconds. But even this short video attracted enough attention. Soon, the branch headquarters sent a large number of people to assist in the investigation, and even the rarely seen Branch President came to the scene.

"Is this the place?"

The Branch President Mingjiao Xu Pingfei, is just sixty years old this year. He is tall, with well-defined features and a handsome appearance. If it weren't for his receding hairline, which makes him look a bit old, he would look like a young man in his forties.

Xu Pingfei held up his phone, comparing it to the lake surface. "You were probably taking this from the direction of the hotel, weren't you?"

"I came out as soon as I heard the noise." Captain Cheng took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Xu Pingfei. Upon seeing the cigarette, the latter subconsciously looked around.

"Old Yuan won't be back until next month..." Cheng Yuan said with a smile. President Xu shook his head self-deprecatingly, took the cigarette, let Cheng Yuan light it, took a light puff and exhaled, then took a big, satisfied drag.

"The battle happened very quickly. I heard fighting outside, so I went to the window to look and saw a huge monster standing up by the lake. But soon, Michelle rushed up and knocked the monster into the water. Then the two of them started fighting in the lake, which lasted for less than a minute."

Hearing Cheng Yuan recount the situation, Xu Pingfei frowned and said, "I watched the video, and Michelle's speed and strength were ridiculously high... Have you confirmed her identity?"

"I did meet with her this morning. She was the one who provided the clue that the attacker was an enemy of the Hell- type Lineage," Captain Cheng said. "I didn't have much contact with her originally, and I couldn't see anything wrong with her face-to-face. If I had to point out anything suspicious, it would be that she Zhendan language quite well... but after all, she was a representative sent here, and Cultivators' bodies and minds are enhanced, so learning languages is relatively easy for them. Therefore, I didn't pay much attention to it. Now it seems that Michelle from back then has been replaced..."

"This is a bit troublesome..." Xu Pingfei frowned and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"Indeed..." Captain Cheng shook his head. "Now, including Michelle, all the Federation's representatives have disappeared. This is an international incident; it's not easy to explain..."

"That's not what I meant," Xu Pingfei shook his head. "The Federation's exchange team withdrew months ago. What's left here now are just people from the Hell Lineage. They don't represent the Federation. If someone goes missing, we should follow the normal missing persons procedure, search and investigate as needed."

As he spoke, the branch Branch President sighed, "What I'm truly worried about is this mysterious powerhouse who's impersonating Michelle... The fact that he can impersonate Michelle means that the disappearance of the Hell Creek Family must be related to him. And the power he's displayed is at least at the Peak level, Peak that the Yuan Cultivation Society has never recorded before!"

"Such a powerful being, located in Ningdong, and we were completely unaware of it. Don't you think that's terrifying?"

"This..." Captain Cheng nodded, "But judging from the current situation, this mysterious powerful figure doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards us... Judging from the monster-like breath that the attacker exhaled, if its destructive power hadn't been restricted, let alone New Lake, half of Ningdong City would probably have been reduced to ashes..."

Just then, the salvage team reported that they had found the attacker's body.

Nikolai's body was dragged ashore, with multiple fractures and a missing hand, but the real fatal wound was a bloody hole in his temple that almost pierced through his entire head.

This guy's face is exactly the same as the photos of the airplane passengers that Captain Cheng retrieved; it can be confirmed that he is the attacker who harmed Xing Yang.

"Found it..." Captain Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, but Xu Pingfei clicked his tongue and said, "This is even more troublesome..."

"What's the trouble?" Captain Cheng asked curiously. "The attacker has been confirmed dead, and that mysterious powerful figure doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards us. Overall, the outcome is good, right?"

"He might not have meant us any harm, but he clearly does..." Xu Pingfei shook his head. "You told me before that Michelle called the attackers enemies of the Hell Creek Family Hell Creek Family?"

Captain Cheng nodded, Xu Pingfei sighed, "Now we can confirm that Michelle is a fake, but how credible are her words?"

"Look at this attacker, a Federation citizen, blond, who came all the way from the Hell Creek Family's stronghold in Montaigne State, and is also a master of Shapeshifting Faction ... Do you think he's more likely to be an enemy of the Hell Creek Family, or a member of the Hell Creek Family?"

Upon hearing this, Captain Cheng pondered for a moment, then widened his eyes. "President, you mean...?"

"The fact that he could impersonate Michelle suggests that the mass disappearance of the Hell Creek Family was probably his doing..." Xu Pingfei squinted. "The Hell Creek Family must have received some kind of information and sent a powerful member of their clan overnight to investigate. Their attack on Xing Yang was likely also an intelligence gathering operation. And yet, less than a day later, this Peak Level attacker was killed in the street..."

"What do you think is the relationship Hell Creek Family and this mysterious powerhouse?"